Morgan had been exploring Fox Forest all morning since she had nothing better to do. Actually, that was a lie she had a ton of homework due on Monday but she was the queen of procrastination leading her to be in the woods this fine morning.
The sound of crunching leaves got her attention because for a moment she had been standing still admiring the fall colors. But before she could identify the cause of the sound she was knocked over and the wind knocked out of her. Gasping for air she was greeted with two muddy paws on her chest and face full of kisses from a shaggy dog. As soon as she could breathe again she couldn't stop herself from giggling. The dog was beyond adorable.
She sat up looking around for an owner that she assumed would be close by. But as she sat on the Forrest floor petting this giant of dog she realized that no one was coming. He must have been lost.
Reaching for his collar there was no address or phone number but a name, Hotdog. She didn't want to bring him to the human society because well she felt like could do better for dog without them. She knew most of the people on the Northside of Riverdale and no one had a dog like Hotdog so he had to be from the South Side.
She had been warned from going to the south side from her friends, parents, teachers and even the sheriff but she just wanted to get Hotdog home. So, she and Hotdog loaded up into her old hunk of junk truck she loved so much. she thought she would head to places on the south side she knew people hung out at like the quarry and she had heard about the bar the Serpents hung out at.
She had decided on a game plan if no one was at the quarry and she couldn't find someone friendly enough wondering the streets to ask about Hotdog she would head over to the bar. I️ mean who would harasses a person over wanting to find a dog's owner. Yeah, the south side was rough but it couldn't be that bad right?
No one had been at the quarry and so the next step was to just driver around. She hadn't taken what everyone else said about the Southside to heart but she had never needed to be on this side town. So, taking her time, she cruised taking in her surroundings and hopefully would find someone eventually.
She had no issues keeping Hotdog if she couldn't find the owner but she would feel terrible if she didn't put in effort to find his owner. What if it was some little kids pet than they would be heart broken.
In all her thoughts she hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings just the fact that no one was out so when Hotdog started to bark when they passed the Whyte Wyrm Morgan decided to turn around and take her chances with the bar.
Before she could put the truck in park Hotdog jumped out of the window and would not stop barking but he did not run away he impatiently waited for Morgan to get out of her truck. She was assuming with his attitude that Hotdog belonged to one of the Southside Serpents.
It was Sunday afternoon when she entered the bar so she wasn't shocked when there weren't many people inside the bar. But as she entered all eyes were on her and Hotdog. She was nervous but knew she couldn't just drop him off without saying anything.
So, she followed Hotdog to the first person he made contact with and it was guy around her age who was tall with dark hair. It made it easier that he had chosen to go to someone in similar age with her. "Um excuse me but I️ found Hotdog in Fox Forrest and well I️ just wanted to make sure this is where he belongs." Morgan wasn't really sure what to say.
He stopped petting Hotdog to shake her hand. "I'm Sweet Pea and yes Hotdog belongs here."
Morgan took his and introduced herself to him. When she heard his name, she wanted to giggle because Sweet Pea did not look all that sweet on the outside making her wonder how he got the nickname. "I'm just happy to get him back home where he belongs. I had fun driving around town looking for his family." She gave a bright smile to both Sweet Pea and the dog who had been her new best bud for the day.
She realized that she had come here to find Hotdogs family and she had done that so she should probably start to head out. It'd be sad to just leave Hotdog. In the back of her mind she had decided that if no one claimed him she would keep him. He was such a lovable dog. She started to head for the door when Sweet Pea stopped her. "Let me buy you a drink." She stopped in her tracks because Sweet Pea was gorgeous and well she didn't know what to say. She knew she was probably going to say yes but she wasn't sure if it was the best answer. When she didn't answer right away he tried again. "For returning Hotdog." This time she nodded and followed him to the bar.
Effortlessly Sweet Pea climbed over the bar to get her the drink he had promised. She simply asked for a coke. Which he slid to her only to come sit next to her. They got to talking about all kinds of things and how she had found Hotdog in the woods. Morgan hadn't realized that she had spent so long talking to Sweet Pea till the bar filled with people and it slowly got louder bringing her out of her bubble.
When someone had knocked into her and gave her a dirty look Sweet Pea Steadied her and glared at the man who had been rude to her. "Hey watch where you're going man!" Before she could react, Sweet Pea sat her on a bar stool promising he would be right back before dispersing in the crowd.
It wasn't long before Sweet Pea returned but he didn't stop when he got to the spot he left you at he grabbed your hand and started to walk to the doors. She followed without a problem but could feel the other Serpents eyes staring holes in the back of her head. When they made it outside the cold air hit her. "Do you have a phone?" Morgan didn't bother answering yes, she just hand her phone to Sweet Pea. He didn't waste any time typing his number into her phone. "We really appreciate you brining Hotdog home."
She tried to stop him because it wasn't a big deal. "I did what anyone would do."
"That's where you are wrong. Some might have left him in the woods, kept him instead of finding his owners or simply dropped him off somewhere else instead of searching all over town for his owners and that's why if you need anything the Serpents got your back. " Morgan had no idea what to say to him she was just in shock. Before her or Sweet Pea could react Morga wrapped her arms around him. "Morgan your now considered an honoree Serpent."
She took a step back from Sweet Pea because it was one thing to know the Serpents had her back but another to know that liked her enough to consider her one of them simply for doing the right thing. They talked a little more and Sweet Pea walked her to her truck while explaining the situation to her. Before she actually got in her truck he had stopped her. "Would you wanna go out sometime?"
Today was full of surprises. "I'll be looking forward to it." With that they said their goodbyes and Morgan headed home. Not even ten minutes down the road she got a text from Sweet Pea asking her if she wanted to go to the quarry tomorrow and she couldn't stop smiling.
Hope you liked it! Please review and thank you for taking the time to read this story.
