Chapter Two

So that night, Collins went out to get some dog food, a collar and a leash with what money he had left. Roger and Mark stayed in the loft with Jesse, sitting across from him and staring at him. The dog stared back, looking at them with its big brown eyes.

"What do we do with him?"Roger asked Mark.

"I don't know. Play with him, I guess,"Mark shrugged.

"Oh."There was a pause. "What do dogs like to play?"

"Fetch,"Mark said. Roger got up, picked up an old sock and rolled it into a ball. "Hey! Jesse! Fetch!"He threw the sock across the loft. Jesse leapt up and ran after it. He brought it back over to Roger, who laughed. "He did it, Mark! Did you see that? He did it!"

"Yes Roger, that's what dogs do when you throw things and yell 'fetch',"Mark replied sarcastically. Roger threw it again. And again Jesse brought it back, to Roger's utter amusement.

"He actually does it! This is awesome!"Roger cried, throwing the sock again. Mark sighed, shaking his head.

"You really need to get out more..."Roger continued tossing the sock for Jesse, until there was a knock on the door. Roger and Mark exchanged glances. Collins didn't knock.

"Hmm...I wonder who would be coming over this late,"Mark said, getting up and going over to the door. He opened it...and jumped.

"AH!"

"Nice to see you too, Mark,"Benny greeted.

"Shit!"Roger hissed. He quickly grabbed Jesse, who had come trotting back over to him with the sock, and stuffed him inside his jacket, quickly sitting down on the couch. Jesse squirmed, unsure of what was going on, and Roger struggled to hold him down. Benny came walking into the apartment.

"I was walking by and I thought I heard a dog,"he explained. "Just making sure you didn't decide to keep that puppy from earlier."

"Who? Us? With a dog? You've got to be kidding, Benny!"Mark said. Benny looked around the loft suspiciously.

"Yeah...I guess you're right. You guys would never-"Suddenly Jesse let out a bark. Roger jumped, and Mark stared at him. Benny frowned.

"What was that?"He turned to Roger. "Are you mocking me?"Roger put on a sneer, going along with it...

"Not at all..."he said, trying to sound arrogant. Benny scowled.

"Very funny, Roger. You know, I could still have you both thrown out of here-"Suddenly Jesse whimpered. Roger quickly continued to whimper, making a pout. Mark covered his face, unable to watch this...but Benny sighed, unable to hold back a grin.

"Fine. I'll go. But if I hear so much as a bark..."Benny was about to head out the door when Collins came marching in with a huge bag.

"I got the leash!"he announced, holding up a leash. Roger and Mark both winced as Benny stared at Collins.

"Why do you need a leash?"he asked curiously. Collins looked around, then looked at Benny, realizing the situation...

"Uh...for Maureen,"he said dumbly. "Yeah, we finally decided to leash the drama queen before she causes any real harm! Haha!"Benny smiled.

"Very nice, Collins. I'm not so sure she'll take it quite as lightheartedly though,"he replied. Collins shrugged.

"I guess we'll have to see,"he said.

"I guess so,"Benny agreed. "Well, I'll see you boys tomorrow."And as Benny closed the door, Jesse let out another bark, leaping out from Roger's jacket and running over to Collins. Mark let out a huge breath, and Collins laughed heartily.

"Ha! Now the looks on you two's faces when he walked in must have been priceless! I'm sorry I missed it!"he laughed.

"Shut up!"Roger snapped, taking the leash and the bag of dog food. "You can explain to Maureen tomorrow why Benny thinks we bought her a leash!"Collins stopped laughing.

"Hey, you gotta admit, that was pretty good for a spur of the moment excuse,"he said.

"This is terrible...we can't keep this! We're going to get caught!"Mark moaned.

"Mark, relax. Benny doesn't really care, he's just looking for a reason to pick on us some more,"Collins said. "Besides..."He picked up Jesse. "Could you throw this little guy back out on the street?"Mark just stared at Collins.

"Easily,"he replied. "I knew you guys would get all attached to it..."

"Hey, this stuff actually sounds pretty good..."Roger commented, as he read the dog food bag.

"Roger! We are not going to resort to eating dog food!"Mark cried. Roger grinned.

"Speak for yourself!"And again, he and Collins laughed as Mark merely shook his head.

"This is bad news already..."

Hey, I got a lot of good feedback for chapter one. I'm glad people like it! Sorry if it takes me a while to update, but I'm invovled in THREE plays right now, so I'll be kind of busy. I promise to do my best though! Thanks for your feedback and your patience.