Chase hid behind one of the trees that surrounded the lake area, quietly watching the two dalmatians. His ears were perked and he could hear every word being said between the two very clearly. He watched as Marshall pulled out a pup-tag designed white with a red cross.

That's the same pup-tag Ryder gave to him earlier. The shepherd thought to himself.

"You told me about how your old speaker always had static… so I had this made for you. It's like my pup-tag, except it has the same frequency as your old speaker. Now you'll be able to hear your emergency calls more clearly and… you can also contact me."

Chase looked closely at Marshall's face and could see that he was blushing.

"Marshall… You really didn't have to do all that." He heard Joey say. He watched as Marshall's smile faded into a frown.

"You don't like it, do you…"

"No! I love it! It's just, you really didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble… I really wanted to do it for you, though Ryder did all the work after all."

Chase watched as Joey took the pup-tag from Marshall's paw and quickly hugged him.

"Thanks Marshall, it's the best gift I've ever gotten. You're the best. No, you're even better than the best. I love hanging with you."

Marshall returned Joey's hug.

"I'd do anything for you…" Marshall said. Upon hearing this, Chase clenched his teeth.

As the embrace was coming to an end, Marshall and Joey looked into each other's eyes and blushed.

Marshall… Why are you looking at him like that? Why are you looking at him with those eyes?! Not too long after, Chase watched as the two's muzzles slowly moved closer to one another. Why… Why is this happening?! Before Chase even realized it, he had moved from behind the cover of the tree. He stood out in the distance growling.

As Joey's lips were about to connect with Marshall's, his ears twitched to the sound of growling and he turned his head to the sight of the angry german shepherd. Marshall, wondering why Joey had stopped his advance, looked into the same direction.

"Chase?!"

"So this is what you had to leave for? This is why you couldn't continue hanging out with me?!" Chase bellowed as he walked up to the two.

Marshall was dumbfounded. "Chase, how? Why? Where? What are you doing here? How did you even-"

"Answer me! You blew me off just to come here and lock lips with this guy?"

"Why do you even care? What I do on my personal time is MY business. Did you FOLLOW me here?"

Even though he was filled with anger; at this statement, Chase's cheeks began to turn pink. He couldn't believe he blew his cover without thinking like that.

"Uh… Marsh, who is this?" asked Joey, with a look of confusion of his own.

"This is Chase. He's one of my teammates in the PAW Patrol." Marshall said with frustration clear in his voice.

Joey rubbed the back of his head, looking at Chase. "Ohh. Nice to meet you then. My name's Jo-"

"I don't care who you are!" Chase snapped. Joey was taken aback.

"Chase, what is your problem?! You can't talk to my friend like that!" Marshall hollered back.

"Friend?" Chase scoffed. "You don't see me running around trying to cross tongues with MY friends." Chase retorted, causing Marshall to blush.

"I… that's none of your business!" Marshall said, in an attempt to defend himself.

"So I guess that's how you treat all your friends, huh?" Chase fired back. Marshall's blood was starting to boil, bringing back all of his forgotten anger towards Chase. Bringing back his bitter feelings of the shepherd.

"You know, for someone who has a girlfriend, you sure have been focusing on ME a lot lately." Marshall said. He knew exactly what to say to get under Chase's skin and as expected, the shepherd's cheeks developed a little color while his face twisted up in anger.

Joey watching this, was starting to notice a pattern here. "Uh…" He began to speak up, in the midst of the tension. "I think I'd better go Marsh. You two seem like you have a lot to talk about."

"What? No! We haven't even finished watching the sunset." Marshall replied.

"That's right! You should just get outta here!" Said Chase, causing Marshall to glare at him.

"Don't worry, we'll just do it again another time." Replied Joey with a light smile as he proceeded to walk away. Chase's eyes followed the dalmatian with every step. "Just call me when you get the chance. You can do that now." He said, holding up his new pup-tag. With that, Joey was off.

"What is your problem?! Why did you follow me here?! Why are you acting like this?!" Marshall turned to Chase, bombarding him with questions.

"Why did YOU blow me off?!" Chase asked in return. "We were having such a fun day hanging out, and you cut it short to be with someone else!"

"I had already made plans before agreeing to hang out with you!" Marshall said. "Why are you so bent on hanging out with me lately?! I haven't existed to you for sometime, so why now, huh?! Why is it so important that I give you all my attention?!"

Chase hesitated at this question. Why indeed? Why was he so bent on Marshall spending time with him? What was his reasoning for acting out like this? For acting so possessive.

"Because…" Chase started. "Because I want to help you!"

"What?" Marshall's expression shifted to clear confusion upon Chase's answer. "Help me with what?"

"I want to help you, because this isn't you, Marshall. We've been friends for the longest and I know that you aren't attracted to males." Marshall's mouth dropped at this statement. "You're just going through a phase. Males are meant to be with females, that's just how it is. Just look at me and Skye. You being with other males… You liking other males… it's weird… It's awkward… and it's disgusting… IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!"

Silence fell between the two like a calm before the storm. The only sound that could be heard was the light whistle of the wind. Marshall lowered his head.

"And to think… I made a promise to myself that I'd never let myself get hurt by you again." Marshall said, catching Chase by surprise. Marshall laughed. "This is what I get for accepting you back into my life, right?" The dalmatian laughed and laughed as he continued to hold his head down. "I'm so stupid. Hey, do you not want me to be happy at all? Is that it? I'm weird, awkward, and disgusting." Marshall's expression and tone quickly changed to a serious one. "Well if that's how you feel… then why don't you just STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Marshall screamed out, looking up with angry teary eyes. Chase was a little shocked with the reaction. Marshall's voice grew shaky as he continued. "No one asked you to follow me here. No one asked you to spend time with me. No one even asked you to be my friend, so if you're so disgusted by someone like me… Then STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!" With that last sentence, Marshall turned around. "I HATE YOU!" He yelled out before running out of the area and heading back to the beginning of the trail.

Chase stood there speechless, except within his mind. Why… Why did I say those things to him? Chase fell to the ground and covered his head. Why did l come out of hiding? Why did I act like that? I tried so hard to fix our friendship and now I've broken it all over again. In Chase's mind, he could see a picture frame with Marshall's image shattering to pieces. Why… Why am I like this?

Why can't I stop hurting him?