Recent happenings in my life have colored this story I am posting for Zaratan's "Cheerleader Tales". I elected to write about Hope.

Disclaimer: I have no legal connection with either the characters, or any brand names used in this story…

Being a Friend

There had been a lot of things on Hope's mind lately; the upcoming midterms, Regional Cheer-off's, finding a boyfriend… and her dog.

The Vet had told Hope's family that nothing could be done. At 16 years old, the Setter/Lab mix was just getting old. "Just make him feel comfortable, and let him know that he was loved."

Chauncy had been around for most of Hope's life. She was only 2 years old when her family had gotten the pup, and Hope and Chauncy were virtually inseparable ever since. At 16, Chauncy would be about 112 in human years, and that meant he was definitely near the end of his life. Where Hope was 18, her life was just starting.

After Cheer practice on Friday, Kim had noticed that Hope was a bit off, and when she asked if everything was alright, all Hope did was nod and give a small smile, saying that everything was OK. Kim could tell something was wrong with her friend, but she didn't push.

…x x x x…

It was Saturday afternoon, and Kim and Ron were sitting at the Bueno Nacho located in Middleton Mall, laughing and joking while they fed each other nachos. Kim felt her cell phone vibrate in her pants pocket, which she pulled out, saying…

"Hello? … Oh hey there Hope. How are you doing?" There was a long pause, and Ron saw a tear fall out of the corner of Kim's eye. "We'll be there in 10 minutes. See you then."

Ron lay a hand on his girlfriend's arm and slid it down to her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "Chauncy?" Was all he asked, as both knew that their friend's dog was getting up in age, and they also knew how close Hope was with the animal.

"Yeah… Chauncy." Ron also had a tear falling from the corner of his eye, and Rufus just happened to pop up out of Ron's pocket. He looked at his two humans, and immediately knew that something was wrong. Kim and Ron had been clenching their hands together on top of the table, and Rufus' little paw joined them.

…x x x x…

Kim and Ron arrived at Hope's house, and before they could ring the doorbell, the front door swung open. Kim found herself in a hug with Hope, and she could hear the poor girl blubbering, saying something that sounded like, "He's still in the back yard."

"Where's your parents?" Kim said quietly as she gently pushed her friend out of the hug. Hopes eyes were puffy and red from her crying.

"They (sniff) left this morning for a quick day trip to Go City. They won't be back until about 9 or 10 this evening. I… I had gone out back to… to check on Chauncy, and give him some fresh water." Hope bit her lower lip, and Kim suggested they go inside as all three were standing in the doorway.

Hope continued to talk when they walked into the kitchen and sat down at the small kitchenette. Hope sat with her hands folded in her lap, and her eyes weren't focused on anything as she talked.

"I went out the back door, and I saw him laying next to his doghouse. At… at first I thought he was just lying in the sun, so I… I filled his bowl and was walking towards him. I called, and he never moved. 'Chauncy?' I said, and when I was only a few feet from him, I could tell.

"His… his chest wasn't rising, and then I saw his face." Hopes chin dropped to her chest as she sniffed back more tears. Immediately both Kim and Ron were at their friend's side.

"It's OK Hope…" Kim said as she hugged her friend. "Chauncy is in a better place. He lived a great life, and he had a great family, and friends."

"Thanks Kim… Ron." Hope said as she looked at her two friends. She knew that they must be hurting from the loss as well, since they had also known Chauncy for a very long time.

She thought back to a particular time when the three of them were in 5th grade, and all three were trying to teach Chauncy how to catch a Frisbee (copyright). Hope had been convinced that if Chauncy could just learn to catch the thing, she could enter him in a contest. Unfortunately, all Chauncy seemed interested in was chewing up the plastic disc.

"We… we need to move him." Kim said as she sat back down next to her grieving friend. "We should probably get him to the Middleton Veterinary Clinic. They'll know what to do with the body."

"But how will we get him there?" Hope said with her eyes glistening. "You know I don't have a car yet."

Kim took a breath. "We'll use my car."

…x x x x…

When the Tweebs re-built the old Sloth, the one thing they never put much thought into was storage space, or a trunk. After all of their additions, all that was left was a small compartment in the back next to where the rocket booster engines lifted out. Luckily, it was large enough to fit the body of a 45 pound dog.

Finding a place to put the animal wasn't the worst of it. As they drove to the Vet's office, the teens couldn't help but get a whiff of death. But no one said anything for the short 10 minute drive.

Kim and Ron let one of the offices personnel take the body out of the car, as they really didn't wish to do that again. Once was enough when they put Chauncy in the car in the first place.

The two young heroes sat in the main sitting area of the Vet's office with their friend, consoling her once again. The Dr. came out of a back room, and looked at Hope with nothing but compassion for the young girl. He had known Hope, her family, and Chauncy for the last 10 years, and he knew about the inevitable. It broke his heart seeing this young girl grieving for her lost pet.

"Hope?" Dr. George Dearborne said as he walked up to the three young adults. Hope looked up with red eyes. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I'll take care of everything, and I already know your family's wishes concerning Chauncy."

"Thank-you." The young girl said just barely loud enough to be heard.

"It's good that you have friends to be with. It will help, but I think I know of something that also may help. Would the three of you please follow me?"

The three teens stood and followed Dr. Dearborne to a back room of the Veterinary office. There he had numerous cages with dogs ranging in ages from puppies to older ages. "I wanted you to meet a new arrival." He said as he walked up to a small cage on a table. "Right now he's doesn't have a name, and he's a bit weak. See, someone had left him abandoned on the side of the road just a couple days ago, and a Good Samaritan brought him in."

The Doctor moved to the side, opened the cage, and gently took out a small dog no larger than a carton of milk. He was white with large brown spots, and one of those spots was almost perfectly centered around one of his eyes, which seemed to brighten a bit when he saw Hope. His tail wagged a bit as she reached out and gently stroked his forehead.

The Doctor continued. "Would you like to hold him for a few minutes? I'm afraid it can only be for a few minutes though, as he is still quite weak from his ordeal." Hope didn't say a word as she nodded, and the Vet handed her the small animal.

"He's so small… and I can feel how weak he is." Hope said, and Kim and Ron both gave the small dog a gentle pet, making him once again wag is little tail.

"We were going to keep him for another couple of weeks to nurse him back to health and then put him up for adoption. If you like, I'll put you on the top of the list."

A small tear fell from Hope's left eye. "Thank-you… so much. I would like to adopt the little guy, but I need to talk to my parents first, OK?"

"Of course, I understand."

…x x x x…

The three teens left the Vet's office and went back to Hope's house. Just as they walked in, Hope spoke. "Kim? Ron? Thank-you so, so much for being with me today. You guys really helped. I don't know what I would do without friends like you."

"We're just glad to be there for you Hope." Kim said

"Think you're parents will let you get another dog?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." She said truthfully. "But I think if they saw the little guy's big brown eyes, that they just might say OK."

"What would you name him?" Ron asked while Hope was getting them drinks from the refrigerator.

"I'm not sure Ron. But it's something that me and my family will have to decide."

Hope handed her friends the drinks, and the three sat around the kitchen table for the rest of the afternoon, reminiscing and telling stories about their friend, Chauncy.

The End

Seems a bit choppy to me, but I wanted to post it anyway. Let me know what y'all think with that… R and R thing…