After the first class was over, you had two hours worth of classes on the opposite side of campus from each other, so as you stepped back into the hallway, Kory placed his arm around your shoulder and gave you a gentle squeeze and a peck on the cheek. "See you in a bit, hon."
In your peripheral vision, you noticed that a few of your classmates had their eyebrows raised, and for a moment, you thought about trying to downplay any signs of affection, but when you looked back at Kory's big, sweet eyes looking directly at yours, your heart melted all over again. "Bye, babe," you said as you leaned forward. You meant to kiss him on the mouth, but you still weren't used to his larger size yet, and instead your lips made contact with his nose.
Kory giggled, then kissed you right back on your nose. "Don't miss me too much, Ash." As he pulled away, he brought his hand up through your hair, ruffling it a little, before dashing off down the hall in the direction of the Art building where his next classes were. The panda moved through the crowd of students as spry as ever, weaving in and out of traffic with an effortless grace, even at his increased height.
For a moment, you stood there in a daze, before you realized that dozens of eyes were staring at you. Snapping back into it, you cleared your throat, and when that didn't clear out the onlookers, you let out a low, menacing growl that did the trick, causing everyone to go back to minding their own business -- or at least pretending to.
You arrived five minutes late to your next class, slipping in the back and sitting in the last row. The room was a large lecture hall, and the subject was Biology, a topic which you knew a good deal about already. With today's topic, cellular structure, being one you already knew pretty well, you soon found yourself losing focus and starting to daydream about Kory.
You were certainly glad that he felt the same affection for you as you did for him, but his sudden growth over the weekend still gnawed at you a bit. Not that it wasn't a pleasant surprise, of course; in fact, if you had your way you might want him to be a bit bigger, since at your size and stature you rarely got to be around anyone bigger than you, and it would be intriguing to date someone whom you had to look up to for a change. But still, the fact that it happened so quickly, and that he (and everyone else except for you, for that matter) seemed to be so oblivious to it… that troubled you, and you couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Still, he sure was damn sexy. You had seen him shirtless before at the pool, and he had an impressive little body, tight and limber. You couldn't wait to see how he looked now that he had sprouted up.
After Biology, and the nondescript Statistics class that followed it (which allowed you to daydream about a shirtless, then naked, Kory even more), you had a break of three hours before your final class of the day, Literature, one you also shared with Kory. You wouldn't be able to see him, though, until an hour or so before that class started, as his Art Studio class was still going on. You had half a mind to sneak into that class so you could spend more time with your panda, but Kory had told you horror stories about the professor being a complete and utter dictator when it came to interruptions, so you didn't dare chance his wrath.
Instead, you decided to head to the student union, keeping your eyes open for a certain--
"Hey, Ash!"
You turned around just as a small yet hyper wallaby hopped right in front of you, nearly knocking you over with his enthusiastic greeting.
"Well, hello, yourself, Nik," you replied. "Hey, can I talk to you for a bit?"
Nik grinned, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. "What do you think we're doing right now?"
You rolled your eyes and motioned with your hand for him to follow you over to a table near the wall. As the two of you sat down, you noticed that Nik still seemed to be hopping in his chair. "You need to cut down a little on the caffeine, ya know."
"I've only had two cups of coffee today," Nik countered. "And a soda."
"Whatever. Listen, I need to ask you something about Kory."
Nik's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I heard the two of you became an item over the weekend. What's the question? Are you looking to buy him an engagement ring? I think emeralds would best match his eyes."
"What? No!" You frowned slightly, a low growl forming in your throat. "Who told you that we were an item?"
"C'mon, Ash, I've known the guy since grade school. We tell each other everything."
"So I've noticed." You shook your head. "Listen, just keep this relatively quiet for now, okay? I mean, we're not keeping this a secret or anything, but the whole campus doesn't have to know."
"Well," Nik chuckled, "it's kinda too late for that. Everyone's talking about you two." You gave him a puzzled look, so he continued. "I mean, it's not everyday that two of the tallest, most attractive guys on campus start to make out in the middle of the hall. Most furs are bound to sit up and take notice."
"Now that's not fair. We weren't making out in-- wait!" Nik's casual throw-away comment reminded you of the reason you wanted to talk to the wallaby in the first place. "What did you just say?"
"About what? About you guys being attractive?" Nik grinned as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm not saying you're my cup o' tea, but there are plenty who would disagree."
"No, not that!" You started to scowl in frustration. "I mean, you said…" Stopping for a moment, you tried to choose your words carefully. "So, you also noticed that Kory's now my height?"
"Yeah, so?" Nik shrugged. "He's been that tall since he was sixteen. I personally don't see how a red panda grows to be that big, but whatever. I'd chalk it up to genetics, but neither of his parents are anywhere close to that height. Perhaps he simply ate more than his share of vegetables--"
Now you were completely confused, and beginning to question your own sanity. Maybe Kory really had always been this big, and you didn't notice it until now. No, that's preposterous. You distinctly remember having to bend down to hug him before, and being able to lift him with relative ease. There was no way you could do that now without killing your back.
Nik looked down at his phone, and his eyes bulged as he noticed the time. "Crap! I'm gonna be late for chemistry. Talk to ya later, Ash!” You didn’t even notice as he jumped up and waved good-bye, as you were still lost in a fog of confusion about this whole situation. Nothing about any of this made any sense at all, and you felt your head begin to pound from all the confusion. What the hell was going on?