Rey loved her job. It was so much fun because it allowed her to spend time with some of her favorite creatures in the world: Dogs.
Dog Walking had been Rey's job ever since she moved to New York. She was going to college and had needed a job to pay the bills and then found the job when her friend Poe asked her to watch his dog, Beebee for a few days. She found that she enjoyed walking him and then decided to make that her job.
Today wasn't a busy day for business, with just three dogs to walk. Rey took them on her usual path through Central Park and after making sure they all got a treat, she let them play around. These dogs had been with her for a long time so she knew she could trust them.
She had just sat down on a bench when a white dog burst into the park, tense and ready for something. It startled Rey for a minute but after looking around for its owner, she knew what to do.
Moving slowly, Rey approached the tense dog. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a male and a white german shepherd. He had a collar, so Rey knew he wasn't a stray. He was still looking around wildly and seemed ready to bolt at any moment.
Quickly and quietly, she snuck up on the dog and attached a leash to his collar. The dog noticed immediately and jumped back, tugging away. But Rey was strong and trained for tough dogs. She held onto the leash and never budged, but that dog was a strong fighter. Rey had no idea what his goal was, but whatever it was he was very determined.
Eventually, the dog realized that he wouldn't be able to escape from Rey, so he finally surrendered and stopped pulling.
Feeling relieved, Rey stood and called the other dogs over. They greeted the new dog with happy barks. But the white dog seemed very wary of the others. He stepped back as the others surrounded him.
Rey could always tell if a dog was uncomfortable or upset, so she could clearly see that the other dogs' presence was making the new one uncomfortable. So, she quickly gathered them all up and returned them to their owners.
Rey was a fast walker, so the trips to return them all went fairly quickly.
Eventually, she found herself walking back to the park. It occurred to her that she had been so preoccupied with returning all the dogs that she never realized that she had checked the white dog's collar.
It made Rey feel silly. She was a professional dog walker, she should know to always check the collar of a lost dog before anything else. Well, she was doing it now.
She had just read the name, Bolt, before running into a huge brown dog.
"Woah!" She fell back, surprised, as the dog licked her face energetically.
"Chewie!" A man's voice called out from the side. Something about it seemed familiar to Rey, but she couldn't place it, not with a huge dog slobbering all over her.
Suddenly, the dog was pulled back and someone helped her up.
"Sorry about him, he's usually so calm…" The man who had helped her up suddenly faltered, recognizing her.
Rey recognized him, too. "Oh. Hey, Ben. I didn't know you had a dog."
"I don't. Chewie's my father's dog. I'm just taking him on a walk."
"Oh." Rey looked him up and down. She didn't like Ben that much. They had met in college, and he had been rather rude to her when they first met. That had been about a year ago and since then, he had kind of softened up, but not a lot. Rey still didn't like him, but when they occasionally ran into each other they were polite in a cold way.
"Yeah, in fact, I was just about heading back there when Chewie broke free. He must have smelled something on you." Ben frowned as he looked down at Bolt.
"Must have been my dog treats." Rey smiled down at the great brown dog and pulled one out. "You want one?"
Chewie barked excitedly.
Rey laughed as he gobbled it down, oblivious to Ben still staring down at Bolt.
"Hey, Rey?" He began, still staring down at the white dog, who was staring right back up at him.
"Hm?" She glanced back at the exchange between the dog and man.
"Where did you get this dog? Is he yours?"
"Oh!" Rey laughed and crouched down next to Bolt. "No, he's not mine. I saw him running around without an owner and picked him up. I was just reading his collar when Chewie ran into me."
"What's his name?"
Ben was acting awfully strange, stranger than usual, and it made Rey slightly nervous. "Um...Bolt. According to his collar."
At the sound of Bolt, Ben went white.
"What's wrong? Do you know this dog?" Rey was really nervous now. Why was he acting like this?
"Know him?" Ben laughed a little crazily. "Know him? In a way, I suppose. I mean, he's only the superhero dog in a TV show that everyone watches. I've never seen him in real life."
Rey blinked. "Superhero dog? What?"
Ben nodded seriously, although he was talking fast. "Of course! Have you never heard of it? It's like the most popular thing on television!"
Blushing slightly, Rey looked down at her toes. "I-um-don't own a TV. I could never afford one."
"Oh." At this statement, Ben seemed a little uncomfortable, but he recovered quickly. "Well, that's probably good." There was an awkward silence.
"And anyway, how do you know if he's actually the Bolt from that show? What if he just belongs to a fan?" Rey said, changing the subject.
"Check his collar," Ben said, sounding deadly serious. "It has to be him. There's a lightning bolt on his side. It's him."
Feeling slightly lightheaded, Rey knelt down to read the back of his tag. She hadn't paid much attention to Bolt, even though he was the whole idea of this conversation, but the dog seemed really...confused. Rey wasn't sure if she was interpreting that correctly, but there seemed to be no other words for it. He was looking up at Ben as though he had turned the world upside down, and when Rey crouched down to his level, he backed away, wary.
With shaking hands, Rey flipped the tag over. She gasped upon reading it and stumbled back. "Ben!" She stood up so fast her head spun. She pointed down at Bolt. "That's...that's…oh my god...Ben!"
From her reaction to the dog's collar, Ben nodded solemnly. "I told you."
"Ben! We have to get him to the...I don't know...Hollywood!"
"Hollywood?"
Rey nodded seriously. "Yes! That's where he lives, right? It says so on his tag!"=
Ben was spluttering for words. "But Hollywood is on the other side of the country! You can't expect yourself to go there! How?"
Shrugging, Rey said, "I'm not sure yet, but we have to get Bolt back home." She thought about it for a second. "I don't have a car, so maybe I'll fly? No, that attracts too much attention and I don't have that kind of money...so how…" Rey muttered to herself.
Ben held up his hands. "Whoa! Hold on right there! You don't have a car?"
Crossing her arms, Rey glared up at him. "No, I don't! It's New York City and as I said, I don't have that kind of money! Got a problem with that?"
He shook his head. "No! It's just that your own car would be the best way if you didn't want to attract attention."
Rey huffed. "Well do you have any better ideas?"
"I'll drive you," Ben spoke so fast that Rey almost didn't understand him. But she knew she had heard correctly when he blushed.
"Excuse me?" Rey cocked her head at him.
"Um…" He coughed. "I just...it might be better...I wouldn't mind...unless you don't want to...I'd like to help get Bolt back." He smiled weakly down at the white german shepherd who had seemed to have been listening to every word of the conversation. For a dog, he looked pretty confused.
"Well…" Rey hesitated before glancing down at Bolt too. It was true that she had no real good way of getting to Hollywood without it seriously affecting her budget. "I suppose if you're willing…"
"Great!" Ben gave her a big grin that made Rey almost want to smile back. She suppressed the urge. "You'll uh… probably want to pack some things for the road. Can I meet you back at that coffee shop in an hour?" Ben pointed at a small coffee shop tucked away in between some buildings across the street.
"Yeah, I can do that." She smiled slightly at Ben before turning away to head back to her apartment. She tried to act cool and collected, but her head was spinning and freaking out on the inside. What had she just done? Agreed to drive across the country to return a famous dog with Ben. Ben! Why?
Well, there seemed to be no way out of it now. Besides, he was right. Driving a car would be the best option and since she didn't have one or a friend to drive her, Ben was the only option. But Rey was beginning to dread all of the time that she would have to spend with him inside of a cramped car on a cross-country road trip. She didn't even know him that well.
But Rey didn't really have any choice. Her head spinning, she went back to her apartment and packed for the long trip. It didn't take her long, and before she knew it she was walking back to the coffee shop to meet Ben with Bolt by her side.
Rey hadn't packed much, just a few changes of clothes, and two books. One filled with puzzles, the other just to read. It was Pride and Prejudice, one of her all-time favorites. She was also planning on writing fanfiction for her favorite franchise, Galaxy Wars.
Even though she had gotten there fairly early, Ben was already sitting at one of the tables sipping a coffee. He smiled at her when she walked in.
She returned it with a little wave before ordering her own coffee. A vanilla latte with caramel drizzle. Once she had gotten her order, she joined him by the window.
"You're here early," she observed as she slid into the seat across from him. Bolt was there too, sitting rigidly next to the chair. He seemed on high alert, as always, and Rey still couldn't figure out why.
"Well, it took me quicker than I realized to get ready," Ben responded. "Besides," He glanced down to the dog guarding their feet. "Getting Bolt home is a very good motivator."
Rey nodded absently. "Yeah, I guess so."
"You have no idea who he is, do you?"
"I know some things!" Rey said defensively. "I know that he's the hero of a TV show!"
"Mhm." Ben crossed his arms and leaned back. "That's not enough. For your information, Bolt is a dog with superpowers and his mission in every episode is to protect his master, Penny, from Dr. Calico who is always trying to get information out of her father. Bad guys go after Penny all the time but Bolt always gets them. Unfortunately, in the last episode, Penny got captured. It's a very popular show. I'm surprised you've never heard of it before."
"Yeah, well...unlike some people I don't have the time of the money to do those things." She sipped her coffee and side-eyed him. "But it sounds like you are a pretty big fan of this show."
Ben's eyes lit up and then he slumped. "Yeah, I'm a nerd, aren't I?"
Rey laughed. "It's fine! I myself am a major nerd of Galaxy Wars."
At this, Ben lit up again. "Really? Me too! I love that franchise! Everything about it!"
Rey was surprised to find that they both had a common interest. She had just opened her mouth to ask him if he ever read or wrote fanfiction when there was a loud bark.
Flinching slightly, she glanced down to Bolt who was bristling out the window at a black cat who had been walking down the sidewalk. Looked like a stray.
Before she or Ben could process what was happening, the dog had bolted out the door that had been opened by a surprised old man.
In a span of about ten seconds, Bolt had the black cat pinned under his paws.
Rey and Ben stared at the two animals through the window for a moment before rushing outside to fix the problem. She acted fast, grabbing the blue leash connected to Bolt's collar that was snaking down to the ground.
Pulling hard, Rey attempted to pull the dog off the cat, but Bolt wasn't having it. He continued pinning the creature down and growling at her.
Ben came to the rescue. Carefully, he pulled Bolt off the cat by the collar. He almost seemed scared of hurting the dog. Then he picked the cat up.
"What are you doing? Let the cat run off! It's a stray!" Rey exclaimed as Bolt backed away but continued to almost glare at the cat in Ben's arms.
"She's probably scared out of her mind!" Ben hissed. He began to pet the cat who didn't seem to like anything about the situation. She was tensed up and looked down at Bolt warily but calmed down a little when Ben started petting her.
Rey just sighed, exasperated. "Ben, what do you plan to do with that thing?"
He didn't seem to be listening. He was busy cooing at the cat and scratching its ears. The cat still seemed suspicious but then relaxed as he rubbed her entire head. "I think I want to call you Mittens. I love your little paws!"
The cat meowed back at him. Bolt barked. Rey jumped. Ben laughed.
Rey glanced down at the white dog, still bristling at the cat or 'Mittens.' Sighing, she squatted next to him, petting his ears. "Hey, it's okay. It's only a cat." But she agreed with Bolt. Cats were not her thing, in fact, she hated the beasts.
Bolt barked again in response, not taking his eyes off Mittens.
"Ben?" Rey stood, facing him. "Are you a..cat person?" She already knew that he probably was, based on his interactions with Mittens. Come to think of it, he seemed like a cat person.
He glanced over at her. "You're not?"
She sniffed. "Not really. I'd prefer a dog over a cat anytime."
Ben adopted a similar attitude. "Well I'd prefer a cat over a dog unless of course the dog is Chewie or even Bolt here." He gestured down at the tense canine. Suddenly Ben frowned as if realizing something.
"What is it?"
"It's just…" He hesitated. "Bolt is the main hero from a TV show. Right?"
"Um, yes?"
"And Hollywood loves to make things seem really realistic to get money, right?"
"I think so, yes."
"Okay, this might sound crazy but…" Ben bit his lip with uncertainty. "What if they somehow got Bolt to believe everything?"
Rey blinked. "You mean...Bolt thinks…"
"That he has superpowers and this is an agent of Dr. Calico? Yeah." Ben shifted Mittens in his arms. She mewled in protest.
Rey didn't know what he meant by an 'agent of Dr. Calico,' but the other bit made sense. After all, Bolt had tried to barge out of her apartment when she had been packing by ramming his head into her door. At first, she had dismissed it, thinking he had just freaked out at the fact of being in someone else's house. But if what Ben was saying was true, then Bolt probably thought he could break out.
She looked back down at the dog who somehow seemed to understand what Ben was saying. But dogs couldn't understand English as far as she knew.
Rey couldn't decide if the dog was a danger to others or himself. At the moment, Bolt was looking pretty dangerous, growling suspiciously at Ben and Mittens.
Sighing deeply, Rey stepped in between them. "We shouldn't focus on that right now. It doesn't matter. What matters is bringing Bolt home. Now, where is your car?"
Ben nodded and began walking briskly down the street towards a black Corvette. It was an older model, probably made in the nineties, but Rey loved it. She realized that the ride was probably going to be cramped, but she decided not to point that out.
Ben took Mittens with him, Rey noticed. But she didn't say anything about that, either. Who knew what would happen if she criticized him for bringing along a random stray cat that he had named and bonded with.
She found herself sulking as she fell into step with Bolt.
Soon enough, they were both sitting in the Corvette with the animals in the small back and Ben driving. He got onto the freeway and suddenly Rey realized that she was about to go farther than she'd ever been away from home, with Ben Solo no less. Sighing, she settled down back into the seat. It was going to be a long ride.