When Rocky entered the lookout, he spotted Marshall watching T.V.

"Hey Marshall." He said, making his way over to the Dalmatian. Marshall looked up from the T.V and smiled at Rocky.

"Oh, hey Rocky. I thought you and the others were playing outside." He said.

"We were, but..." Rocky bit his lip. This didn't go unnoticed by Marshall, who turned his attention to the mix-breed fully.

"But...?"

"But Chase came out, looking as though something spooked him. Since you were the last person to see him, I was wondering what happen?" Rocky asked, peering up at the Dalmatian. Marshall blinked.

"I'm wondering that myself. We were talking for a minute or so before Chase totally spaced out on me, and when I called his name, he just...left. Why, what happened?" Marshall asked, concern overflowing in his eyes and in the tone of his voice. Rocky shook his head.

"He...he ran away. Rubble tried to call out to him, but he ran so far away. Skye is going to talk to him now." Rocky said. For a minute, Marshall didn't say anything, before he let out a quiet 'oh' and turned to face the T.V. Rocky wanted to talk more, but for a long time, he didn't know what to say. When he finally gathered his thoughts, Rocky took a deep breath. "I've noticed you and Chase has been...acting weird around each other lately. Is...something wrong?"

Marshall tensed, and Rocky could sense it. With a small whimper, he'd said: "You can tell me, Marshall. We're buddies, remember?"

Marshall sighed.

"Okay, but you can't tell the others. Promise?" Marshall said, giving Rocky a stern glare.

"Promise." Rocky said, making Marshall sigh again.

"Okay, well...it's just..." Marshall bit his lip, blushing lightly. "I have a crush on Chase. I been had it since, I guess, the Fall Festival. I hadn't noticed it before, but Chase...Chase is beautiful, inside and out. He's so kind and helpful, and determined too. Brave, and smart, and since he's been my best friend from the start, I have always admired him because he possessed some traits that I could only wish I had. He's been a loyal friend to me, sticking by my side through thick and thin, and it's just now...I want something more than just friendship from him." Marshall whimpered. "Please don't hate me."

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Rocky asked, both curiosity and concern.

"Because Chase is a guy and it's not right." Marshall said, but Rocky shook his head.

"So? It doesn't mean I don't like you any less. You're my friend, Marshall, I can't hate you and I don't care who you be with, male or female. If there's any problem with the rest of the pups, just know that at least I got your back." Rocky said, patting Marshall on the back. Marshall smiled.

"Thanks Rocky."

"No problem. And besides, how can I possibly hate you...when I have a crush on a male pup myself..." Rocky said, blushing as Marshall stared at him.

"Really Rocky? Who? I mean, if you don't mind me asking..." Marshall said. Rocky shook his head again, the blush on his face growing even worse.

"I-it's Zuma..." Rocky whispered to which Marshall gasp out loud.

"Zuma? Really?" Rocky nodded. "Aww, you two would make such a good pair!"

Rocky blushed as he hid his face.

"I don't think so. Lately, he's been spending time with Skye, so I doubt he'll notice." He muffled into a pillow, but Marshall could hear him well and frowned. So, he has problems with the flying pup too? And come to think of it, Skye HAS been hanging around with Zuma an awful lot lately. And if not him, then Rubble. He thought.

"Well...yeah, but that doesn't mean Zuma has romantic feelings for her. For all we know, he could possibly be interested in you?" Marshall said, wiggling an eyebrow suggestively, which made Rocky laugh.

"Oh god, don't get my hopes up." He sighed. "I don't know. Zuma never really showed interest in anybody, so it's possible he may not have any sort of romantic interest. Which is heartbreaking, to me, at least."

"You know what I think? I think you should tell him." Marshall said, causing Rocky to raise an eyebrow.

"How ironic, coming from you. Anyway, why are you so pushy with Zuma and I anyway? Knowing your own romantic problems." Rocky asked, causing Marshall to blush and look shyly down at the ground.

"I just want you to be happy. Somewhere, in my gut, something's telling me that Zuma really does care about you, Rocky, more than you know. If I don't get my happy ending, at least you get yours." Marshall said, and Rocky frowned.

"Why...why do you think you won't get your happy ending Marshall?" Rocky asked and Marshall tensed again, looking down at the ground. Rocky could see the sadness and the hurt swimming in those beautiful blues, and Rocky had to wonder just how bad was Marshall's self-esteem.

"Because...because..." Marshall whimpered, tears starting to build in his eyes. "Because I'm scared, okay?"

"Scared? Scared of rejection?" Rocky asked. It made sense, after all. Normally, when going through a crushing stage, you usually think about the negative outcomes than you do the positive, and since Rocky has a crush of his own, he definitely knew where Marshall was coming from.

"More than that. I'm scared...of Chase." The small whine hidden behind the name was alarming to Rocky, and to his shock, the pup, usually so cheerful and bright, looked small and weak and vulnerable that it nearly broke his heart.

"Chase? Why are you scared of Chase? You said you're his best friend, so if anyone knows him better, it should be you."

"Exactly! I do know him! It's just..." Marshall whined again, the tears continued to fall. "Have you ever seen Chase angry before?"

"Hmm...can't say I have. Why?" Rocky asked, and almost immediately, a thought occurred to him. Dumb question. Marshall continued to whimper and whine, hiding his head as more and more tears started to come.

"It's just...it's...it's...I know." Marshall sobbed, not even bothering to hide the meltdown anymore. "I know what he's like when he's angry! I know! It's not a pretty sight a-and..."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Rocky said, wrapping his front leg around Marshall's shoulder. "It can't be that bad."

"It is!" Marshall whined. "He's just so...scary and mean when he's mad. I know it's hard to believe that, but there's a reason you don't make Chase mad and I..." He hiccupped, but Rocky filled in the blanks.

"Marshall...has Chase ever gotten angry at you before?" He asked and he could feel Marshall nodding his head as his sniffled.

"Yeah, when it was just me, Ryder, and Chase. I had accidentally broken his favorite toy." The Dalmatian said, shivering when he'd remembered the look Chase gave him when he'd found out. "There was so much hatred in his eyes, and for a moment, I thought..."

"What?"

"I thought he was going to kill me," Marshall whimpered, remember how every time Marshall tried to apologize or even talk to him, Chase would bare his teeth before walking away from the Dalmatian. "I thought he would hate me forever..."

"What changed?"

"The first time I got into trouble, in the woods of Adventure Bay. During the time Chase decided he hated me, Chase and Ryder had gotten pretty close. So close, in fact, that I started to feel like a third wheel, even though Ryder was my owner. So...I ran away." Marshall sniffled. "I went into the woods, but at the time, I didn't know how dangerous they were. There were wolves in there."

"Were?"

"They had eventually moved somewhere else." Marshall said. "Anyway, I had made a mistake and bumped into one. If I thought Chase was going to kill me, then his look was nothing like the wolves. They wanted me dead."

Rocky shivered.

"So I ran as fast I could, with three or four wolves after me. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die, with the only thoughts of how my best friend hates me for breaking his toy and how Ryder would easily replace me with said best friend. It...it broke my heart. I thought neither of them cared...but..." Marshall gave out a small smile, tears still falling from his face. "But...Chase...Chase somehow found me and saved me. It was at that moment that I knew...Chase didn't hate me."

Marshall remembered Chase screaming at him for being stupid, for going off on his own, and how worried he made both him and Ryder when he'd smelled the wolves. He remembered the worry and fear in Chase's amber eyes, smelled how anxious the German Shepherd was, and despite how furious he was with Marshall, was glad he was safe and home with both him and Ryder.

"B-but, I never forgot the look in his eyes when I told him about his toy. He wanted to tear me to pieces with his own claws and teeth." Marshall finished, looking at the ground. "It was the look I'd always feared...and the reason I can't tell him about my feelings. He's stubborn as it is...I cannot imagine him being stubborn and angry at the same time."

Rocky was silent, not knowing what to say.

"I...I'm sorry." Rocky said, but Marshall shook his head.

"Don't be. Besides, he likes Skye. You know it. I know it. It wouldn't make a difference if I'd confessed anyway..." He said, looking at the T.V. Rocky watched Marshall in concern before a determine look fell upon his face as he walked out of the lookout.

He needed answers and he needs them now.