Authors note:

Benji embarrasses himself in more ways than usual, but Bolt is kind enough to make sure he doesn't feel too bad about it. Also, with the help of a waffle map, the duo teams up to go to California.


- Chapter 8: WAFFLES AND SUPERDOGS -

After a few minutes of running, Bolt arrived at the sleeping spot where he, Mittens and Rhino had spent their first night. He dove his nose into the wet grass, sniffing around for something. Behind him, Benji wobbled up and sank down in the grass behind Bolt, panting heavily.

"Here it is!" Bolt was relieved to find the waffle map still lying on the field where he had left it just a day ago. He picked it up carefully and dropped it in front of Benji who was still exhausted from the run.

"This is a top-secret map, of the entire world." Bolt said dramatically.

"Uhu" Benji gazed skeptically over the colorful piece of plastic, filled with cartoon characters and bright colors.

"Bolt hunkered down, investigating the map silently, his concentrated gaze scanning over the surface like a laser beam until he found what he was like for. "There!" he suddenly burst out, his discovery causing Benji to jump in surprise and his own tail to whip happily against the wet grass.

"Look, here! By the waffle with the sunglasses" Bolt pointed, then looked up at Benji who looked at him as if he had just said something weird.

"The waffle with the sunglasses?"

"Yeah. That's where my person is, and that's where you're persons are now. It's written California."

"You can read?"

"No, but I recognize the word. Mittens and I have gone through this map like a thousand times!".

Bolt's radiant smile was almost infectious. Benji couldn't help smiling back, more due to Bolt's share enthusiasm than any hope that this "map" would help him find his family. His eyebrows furrowed as he took a closer look at the map.

"Wait a minute here, you are on to something" Benji looked up, somewhat amazed. "This means that we're going the same direction, right? Both of our owners are in California!"

"By the waffle with the sunglasses, yes" Bolt nodded eagerly. "We just need to follow this trial of waffles… " he landed a paw on the map, a furry digit following the trail "until we get to the waffle with the sunglasses, aka California" his paw stopped at the cartoon waffle."

"Wait wait wait, let's slow down a bit." The Labrador stared confusedly at Bolt. "Are you saying we can navigate to California with this glorified piece of fast-food commercial?"

- "Well, me, Mittens and Rhino used it to get this far."

- "How on earth did you manage to do that!?" Benji could barely believe his floppy ears.

Bolt shrugged. "Well, Mittens does most of the navigating. I'm mostly just using my dogface to generate food we can eat on the way."

- "How did you convince a cat to go along with all this?"

- "Well, she was sort of my hostage"

- "And the hamster? Is he like your pet?"

- "No no" Bolt laughed. "He thinks I have superpowers, though."

- "Superpowers? Of course?" Benji rolled his eyes. "I guess it's because you're named after that Bolt TV-dog, right? It's crazy, you sort of look like him too."

Bolt's ears perked up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm actually named after some stupid actor dog as well, who doesn't even look like me might I add."

Bolt just stared vacantly at Benji. In his furry head, he was trying to figure out what this dog was talking about. Suddenly it hit him; He doesn't know I'm Bolt... Bolt opened his mouth to tell Benji the truth, then stopped himself, deciding instead to take advantage of the situation.

"So, ehm. What do you think about that Bolt fellow?" he asked, a coy smile growing on his muzzle.

-"He's okay I guess. Used to watch it when my family had it on".

"Did you see it on your magic box, eerr, television thingy?"

"Yeah" Benji sat down on the grass, scratching himself with a hindpaw, trying his best to look as casual as possible. "Used to like it kind of lot. Used to think he was kind of cute."

"Really? What, ehm, did you like about him?" Bolt tried to keep his tail from wagging, to no avail.

"It's silly I know. But that was like a year ago. I'm not really into him anymore."

"Why not?" Bolt tail slowed down significantly.

"Guess I just grew out of it. Besides, the show started getting pretty unrealistic towards the second season. Arctic hover base? Like anyone can believe something like that is real" He chuckled, then turned to Bolt whose head and ears had drooped unhappily. "Anything wrong?"

- "Oh, uhm nothing" Bolt looked up. "Or well, I mean, maybe he like..." Bolt cleared his throat, trying to think of how to finish the sentence. "Maybe he thought it was all real? The show I mean. Maybe he thought that his person was in real danger?"

- "From the evil Doctor Calico?" Benji snickered. "Then I guess he's stupid, too".

Bolt's tail had no come to a complete stop, dangling between his legs.

- "Anyway" Benji continued; "He wasn't even that attractive when I think about it. I have to say that you, for example, look a lot better than him" Benji smiled carefully, hoping he hadn't said too much.

"Really?" Bolt crooked an eyebrow.

-"Really." Benji confirmed, then froze as he laid eyes on a patch of greyish fur on Bolt's flank. A patch which sort of looked like a smudged lightning bolt. The kind of lightning bolt that Bolt from the TV-show had…

"Oh my gosh, I'm such an idiot" Benji stumbled for apologies. "I'm sorry, I, ehm, shouldn't have..." He had to look away, avoiding looking at the shepherd. Why did he have to say that about Bolt's handsomeness? Why does everything that blurt out of his darned muzzle had to embarrass him like this? He leered carefully towards the white shepherd's direction, and noticed that he didn't seem too insulted. Instead he came closer and sat down next to him.

"Hey, don't worry. You couldn't have known" Bolt smiled.

"I... ehm" Benji couldn't quite think with Bolt so close to him. He felt his cheeks heating up and thanked whatever gods may be for his black fur hiding his blush.

"Something about you make me say stupid things, do stupid things. I want you to know, I'm not normally this weird."

"Well, I'm normally weirder." Bolt chuckled.

Benji saw that he still had that goofy grin on him, despite the fact that he had first unknowingly insulted him and then blatantly complimented his looks. In his head, he was skimming through possible subject changers. All he could think of was questions.

"So you are Bolt. The Bolt, the superdog?

-"That's a positive."

"Alright. My first question is, what the heck are you doing out here?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, we got a few days to walk before we're in Las Angeles, so you might as well"

"Fine" Bolt cleared his throat. "It all started when me and Penny infiltrated the Green Eyed Man's supercomputer-complex…