Mirrorlae Academy

((This will be a series of different things that my best friend and I have written together. This is a story about a Mako Shark named Tiburon and a Hawk named Orion... They are attending Mirrorlake Academy of Magic for anthromorphs, meaning they can change into animals. Orion is blonde short and very slender... Tiburon is taller, muscular, and has blue hair.))

Story One: Trying to get a tan...

It wasn't the first time in his life Orion made the long walk from the White Rabbit, a nightclub, to the school beach. He was now eighteen and he was going to get a tan and get noticed because over the summer he had come into his cute little body. Normally he waited for school to start before attempting to get his pale pallor to become a little golden. But since he had made such a drastic look-change this summer, he thought to add a tan would really shock his friends who'd be returning in a few weeks.

So now he stepped onto the white, shifting sand. He walked to about the middle of the beach, before laying out his soft towel, the one with the lovers in the water in front of a sunset.

Ignoring whomever it was he felt nearby, he slowly stripped from his clothes down to well, not much. It was an invention of his, these little bicycle shorts, cut extra short to only cover up the necessities. It was a white material, but he had charmed them to let through the tanning rays so he wouldn't get tan lines.

His new figure was quite appealing, and he lied down on his back and let his eyes fall shut against the brightness and heat of the sun. A few minutes later a shadow fell over him.

"Excuse me," he said politely not opening his eyes. "If you would mind moving a little more to the right, I would appreciate it, thanks."

The mako, Tiburon, who had been swimming and hunting in the ocean in his animal form, popped some winterfresh into his mouth and looked over to see a nice piece of meat stripping down to practically nothing not more than twenty feet away. Well now was his chance. The almost nineteen year old was looking for some action and this young man looked like he would do nicely.

But as he approached he noticed that this was his roommate and, dare he say it, enemy. Now he was kicking himself and recalling that little bit about the ugly duckling. He had just figured that this duckling would stay ugly. Still he strode over and obscured the other's light.

"Hey... What happened to you? Did you finally grow... well I wouldn't say 'up' cause you're still not tall... Or did you take that potion I had mentioned at the end of last year?" He asked looking upon the other with a raised eyebrow.

Orion knew that voice, and opened his eyes to see indeed it was the shark. He was going to make a rather scathing remark but knew it wouldn't befit his politeness so he shrugged.

"This is what I have become. It's been here all the time, and any of my friends have seen it. The shell doesn't matter anyways. It's what it contains."

"Right..." The blue haired Tiburon said rather dryly looking down at the other but not in such a way as to check him out or let on that he was interested... cause he wasn't. He was not at all interested in that hot body or those sexy eyes. He didn't need that perfectly beautiful skin. He had self-control.

"Is this like that stupid goose or duck story where everything is all happy at the end and the ugly... thingy gets the charming prince or something?" He asked.

He laughed at the other's idiocy, and not the good kind of laughing either. So incredibly shallow...

He stretched out and once again said, "Now if you would please move, you're the one who always comments on how pale I am. Not that it's your business precisely."

"Please tell me that you're not tanning to get my attention because it's going to take a lot more than that kiddo. Midgets... I don't do midgets and I mean look at you. Skinny with no visible muscles was like last week and that's not a fad that comes back..." he said rolling his eyes at the other teen. "You're nowhere near hot enough for me so... get over it... it's just sad now," he said running a hand through his metallic blue hair.

"Oh please! Coming from you!" he said scathingly, on his feet, hands fisted at his sides. This was the only person on earth he had met who could make his blood boil, and the only one he was not nice to. He was not at all interested in the other. He'd been put down far too many times.

"You! Oh yes! I want some of that dried out, salty skin. Or those chapped lips! And Hon," he said, grabbing the other's hair and running a hand through it. "You need to get some new conditioner if you even use it at all. Or can you not read the instructions on the bottle? Perhaps because there are no pictures you don't understand?"

"Don't understand?" He growled, knocking the other's hand from his hair and went to hit him. It was purely his pride that made him want to smack the other but then he was pushed back into the surf. A wave washed over him as he sat there and glared at the boy. It didn't help that the other had that stupid smug look on his face like he had won either.

"No muscle, eh?" he spat, and bent over and picked up his towel.

Without a second to waste Tiburon was up on his feet and tackled the other to the ground. It was no problem for him to pin the smaller down. He glared at the other.

"I have a perfect body, my lips are not chapped, and my hair is gorgeous," he demanded. Why did he care what the scrawny man thought? He didn't know... no one was watching and no one witnessed that embarrassing fall. Why was he so angry?

"I've heard you whispering in your sleep... You talk in your sleep you know? You tell me that you want me. You tell me that you need me. And you've told me a dozen times that you love me... I just never felt like embarrassing you like that..." He moved very close to the other's face.

"You can't ever have this," he kissed the boy intimately before pulling back, punching him, and standing up.

Orion had been just about to deny all those accusations, for he never remembered having dreams of that sort in his life, the other did something surprising. His eyes grew wide and he remained frozen in shock as he was kissed. This, as it turned out, was not a good thing, because if he'd had his wits about him he might have dodged the blow to his jaw that caused him to yelp. The sharp snap and sudden tearing pain, along with instant swelling indicated the other had broken his delicate jaw.

"Like I would want that," he said, spitting out a spray of blood from where his teeth had cut inside his cheek. It hurt his jaw, and he winced in pain. "A shallow person like you, who has no true friends and cannot even value the closeness or the heart of a lover, you'll live a lonely life when all your fair weather pals leave."

By now his eyes were streaming with pained tears, but he didn't care. He just grabbed his wand and pulled on his clothes as he talked but never leaving the other's eyes.

He just looked at the other who was clearly hurt and very angry with him but he really didn't care too much. He just watched and listened calmly before smiling that brilliant smile he had become famous for.

"Don't you know?" He asked looking the other right in the eyes. They had not broken contact yet. "All friends are fair-weather friends. The whole purpose for having a friend is for them to make you feel good. They keep you around because you make them feel good. Once all of those good feelings are gone... Then so is the friendship and really isn't that just what a fair weather friend is?" He asked looking at the other.

"It's the same way with relationships. Why stay with someone that doesn't make you feel good?" He asked. "Unless you're a masochist... And don't tell me you believe in love because I'll just laugh..."

Orion cast his eyes aside then and gathered up his things in his bag, standing up. His expression was almost a sad one when he looked up at the other.

"I think... I finally understand you," he said. "You've been betrayed. Hurt, by someone who obviously meant something very much to you. And now you say these things. No person who's had a perfect life like you supposedly say you have had says things like that."

For the first time in his life, Tiburon was speechless. He couldn't believe that the other was so insightful. Usually he didn't have to worry about people catching on like that but... He should have known better. It wasn't his stupid ex or one of those stupid girls but it was Orion.

He started to walk past Tiburon and whispered, "I pity you." as he passed the other's ear.

Wordlessly, the shark grabbed the other's arm and forced him to look him in the eyes. "I don't need your stupid pity and I don't want it. I'm not hurt, never was. He was just a nice ass to me..." he sneered. He shoved the other away before starting to leave. "You're not even that...." How odd was it that Orion reminded Tiburon of that Catholic boy?

"Like I'd want to be your flavor of the week," he said just as quietly, before transforming into the hawk -whose beak looked rather crushed on one side- and flying off.

...

Later that night, when most of the students were going clubbing at the White Rabbit and making the most of the remainder of their summer, a woman appeared out of no where.

"Like I would want to be your flavor of the week," Orion said.

Those were the words running through his head as Tiburon sat at his usual table. He was with his usual group and they were all about their usual mindless banter that he often chose to ignore and think about more important things. School was one such topic. Without a thought he stood and made for the bar to get another drink before getting snatched up.

He stared at the woman who was so tiny and tried to figure out who she was. She did look so familiar. But before he could ask or be rude to her she was off talking faster than a teenage gossip on speed.

"Hello dear, I'm sorry I pulled you from the club but I heard what I could from Orion about what happened today and I just wanted to make sure you're okay? Are you okay?" she ran his hands over his chest and frowned. "No, come here dear." She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the couch, and removed his shirt with magic from his back and to his lap folded ever so neatly.

"I'm fine... really..." He protested. Orion... No wonder she looked so familiar.

She heard a groan from the wall and looked around. There stood Orion fresh from the shower, towel around his waist, and arms crossed. Slight bruises were on his arm and his hips from the other's strong pressure, and his jaw though healed was the same. He sneered slightly at the other and moved off to his room. Tiburon almost jumped up then, how dare the other sneer at him.

"Oh, he's just being silly," said the mother, pulling out her wand and letting it start a scan on the other; healing had been her favorite class at the school. "He won't even let me heal anything than his jaw which you broke so well dear." She said it in a reproving manner, but still smiling. Kind of like 'Dear, you broke the window with the baseball but I'm so proud of your improved swinging!'

"Yes... He is silly isn't he?" He asked with a slight lisp with the 's'. "Sorry about that... I guess I kind of lost my temper there. I really have a problem with it but I'll definitely work on it," he promised before trying to stand up but finding that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, as long as you realize your mistake," she nodded approvingly. He nodded back to her to let her know that he did understand and that he would be more careful. For some reason his danger radar was going off in his head and it was telling him that he was in trouble if he screwed up. It was then he looked up and really noticed Orion's trophies and award ribbons about the place. There were even several pictures of him smiling and laughing with his parents and friends were along the room intermitted. Clearly he was his parents' joy, unlike Tiburon with his.

"How is Orion? I didn't hurt him too bad did I?" He asked looking sympathetic.

"He gets hurt easily dear," she said and then spoke softer when the door clicked closed, obviously he'd been listening and didn't want his pride more hurt by what his mother would say next. "He's got light bones, and bruises even with a not so gentle grab of the arm, and yet he continues on with his gymnastics determinedly. Though I'm curious as to how he got the bruises on his hips. He just said that a crowd of people had pushed him into the boardwalk railings..."

Obviously Orion had covered for the other, and the boy sat in his room at his window. He couldn't bear the shame of it, both lying to his mother and for doing it for someone he disliked so much. But he was worried about what his mother would say if she knew the reason of it. She was a very protective mother dragon.

"Some people," he said not at all wavering at the fact that Orion had lied. It didn't seem beneath the kid really. But Tiburon thought of the other much differently now. "I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on him then. God forbid that he gets seriously injured."

"I'd appreciate it. I daresay, he sometimes finds me overbearing," she smiled sheepishly. She couldn't help she loved her son so much.

"Maybe I could see him?" He asked.

"Of course, he should be dressed by now. I've got to get going, but it was a pleasure. You must come over for dinner sometime," she said, and kissed him on the cheek in a motherly fashion before leaving for the club she ran.

He smiled at that kiss and waited till she had left. It was then that he rose from his spot on the couch and walked over to the room and then just waltzed in without knocking. "Hey... You ok? You know... I don't get why you didn't tell on me... Why didn't you?" He asked before shutting the door behind him.

He didn't even comment on the other walking in without knocking or telling him he would. Orion continued to sit there at his window, not even bothering to look at the intruder. He would not give the other that.

He noticed that Orion didn't really care to pay him any attention really. It was both frustrating and bothersome to one who was hardly ever ignored by anyone. He waited and listened to the response that the other gave.

"Why do you care? You stay out of trouble, and you won't have to see me again until the bruises are gone. So why don't you leave now to go back down to the party?"

"Maybe I don't give a rat's ass about any of the people I'm with and I'm much more interested in bugging you." He was honest enough when he felt like it. He moved over to the window and leaned against the wall.

Orion tensed when the other approached and broke his personal bubble by leaning against the wall close by. He continued to stare determinedly out the window, watching the old man on the bench below reading page 47 of the book Pride and Prejudice.

"Want to get out?" He asked thinking about what he wanted to do. "Get out and check out the school. I can get us in you know..." He offered. "Or go get something to eat? Whichever... Or I could stay here and just talk to you until you hex me out," he said dryly looking at the other.

"I can't hex you anywhere," he said, gaining a slight growl to his voice. He was irritated the other continued to bother him. And in his own home even! That was going too far; he got enough of the prick at school to last him well enough! "I'm only eighteen; I would have gotten you back at the beach if I was a few months older."

He noticed the growl and frowned at the other. "Listen... For once I am just trying to be civilized and I wanted to try and patch up what problems we have with one another. Is that such a bad thing? Obviously you know that I have my issues with things from my past and I'm sure that my..." he had to choose his words carefully in this situation.

"...insecurities have caused me to cause you a great deal of grief. We've got three more years together and maybe we can make them semi-enjoyable. Hell, if we can't then we can go back to hating one another and I'll even promise not to hit you anymore..." he offered. He was smart, knew what the other needed to hear and wanted to hear and told him a mixture of the two.

The other had told him to listen so Orion did, and by the end he was not quite facing the other but did have his head partially turned in the other's direction. He was trying to figure out if it was a trick, cause guys like Tiburon... well, he knew they could lie about anything and make it sound just as good as anything he wanted to hear. There were things that sounded promising but he wouldn't give up his caution and not trusting the other; he'd been given far too much shit in the past years.

"What do you say?" He asked. "Want to get on the subway for a ride about the town? Get some grub and walk around the campus? Maybe you want to know why I take so much of my anger out on you." He offered hoping that would intrigue him.

'Cause you're an uncaring, shallow prick?' he thought casually, answering that question himself. But he figured the only way this guy was going to leave him alone was to at least go with some option.

"I've already eaten. Let's go on the club's marina tour boat," he said, getting up to change. Worse came to worse (as the boat was an overnight ride) he would retreat to the family's private quarters and lock the door. Having changed enough in front of the other the last several years at school, he pulled his shirt off over his head and dropped his jeans from his hips with no problem. He got dressed in a sparkly black, long-sleeved shirt made of a thin, soft material that stopped above his belly button and tight pinstriped pants that rode low on his hips.

He agreed and watched, not with interest but simply cause there was nothing else that he cared to look at in the room, as the other changed. He had never been on the boat tour but had heard that it was an all night thing and was a good place to talk.

"Come on, before it leaves," the hawk said.

An hour later he was regretting the decision of this, pressed against the other in the party room of the small yacht and being slightly pressed against the glass. Most of the people on the boat seemed to be an unusual crowd of rowdy drunks. Orion and Tiburon were slowly making their way out of the room when they got pinned like this. Orion was blushing suddenly and hit the other on the chest.

It was terribly amusing to the blue haired boy at how many drunks were aboard the ship and honestly he knew quite a few of them but then they were pressed against the wall. He found this even funnier. He wasn't at all turned on by the other and with the accusation he was outraged.

"You-you're not supposed to be happy about this situation!" The smaller said

"What do you mean by happy?" He asked looking at the other with a slightly irritated look. He soon realized that the other was pressed against his phone. "That's my cell phone..." he said dryly. And then something horrifically funny happened. "My phone is set to vibrate..."

He froze when the thing started vibrating strongly right next to- to him. Orion was feeling like electrical shocks were going up his body, and he ducked his head. He shuddered and trembled against the glass.

Tiburon would have done something if he wasn't busy keeping them both up off the floor by pressing his hands against the glass. The phone was vibrating against Orion and there was really nothing either could do. "Orion, Are you ok?" He asked.

He shook his head ever so slightly in the negative, and if one listened closely over the music, they'd hear his quaky breaths. Tiburon stared at the other and listened to the breathing and had to admit that the other's little gasps and whimpers were turning him on. He had much more control being that he was pretty experienced. A space cleared suddenly but not soon enough to stop the damage to the little virgin.