Chapter 4: They Call It Puppy Love
I felt through my wet hair with my fingers after taking a long morning shower to try and wash off the black hair dye, obviously after I returned the extensions to the Triple D of course. Fortunately, the three had chosen to use the washable kind so it was very easy to get the dye off. There was still some patches of the stuff deep in my hair but they were barely even noticeable so I could always save those for another shower later in the future.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I headed downstairs and noticed through the kitchen window to see Da Vinci outside painting on a canvas against a wall. Curiosity replaced my desire for breakfast so I went to the back garden and approached the painter dog, looking at the painting and seeing that it was Destiny with a Doberman next to her in front of a background of hearts.
"Hey Da Vinci, what's going on?" I asked as the Dalmatian in question turned to face me. "Oh Cody, hey! Well Destiny met the son of a millionaire after she and her other sisters just finished another advertising gig and believe it or not, he asked her on a date! Destiny was so excited that she asked me to paint her a portrait of her and her date together as a memory for the future!" Well, that was certainly a surprise. Destiny never mentioned anything about getting a boyfriend, maybe she was so excited for the date that she forgot to tell anyone besides Da Vinci, although there was the chance that the other two of the Triple D and Dylan knew already. Congrats to Destiny regardless.
"Looks like that guy's got a real date with destiny, eh?" Da Vinci snickered a little at my joke as she was adding the finishing touches to the painting. Given how many years of experience she had with painting, it was very well done and detailed. "I think they'll both love it." I complimented as she smiled with a blush in response. I took another look at her finished work of art before noticing that she hadn't said anything and was just standing in place, looking down at the ground.
"...Da Vinci, you good?" I asked as she blinked in sudden realisation. "Ah- Ahah… I… Cody, I… There's something I should probably tell you. And… you might laugh about this because it's kind of stupid." Da Vinci scratched the back of her own head, an embarrassed grin plastered on her face before continuing.
"When I first met you back when I was eleven years old, you remember how I was all shy with meeting a new face and all?" I nodded at her question, remembering when Dolly had of course introduced me to Da Vinci. "W-Well, I felt something else when I first saw you. Back then, I didn't understand what it was but now that I think about it… I think…" She stammered a little before putting her fingers together with a flustered blush.
"…I think I had a bit of a crush on you."
My eyes widened a little at that revelation. "I don't know if it was just me, but I guess you could call it a bit of puppy love." She laughed nervously before glancing at me, her shy smile falling. "B-But I don't have those feelings anymore, don't get the wrong idea! I just love you as a brother! ...You don't think of me any differently after I said that, do you?" I shook my head and patted her back. "Da Vinci, you're my sister. And nothing you say will ever change that. I'd never have a reason to hate you." I reassured her as her smile returned before she hugged me gently.
"BOW-WHACKA-WAHOO!"
Our embrace was suddenly interrupted by the over-thrilled yell of Dolly come from the front door as the energetic dog herself raced into the back garden, doing a few twirls with a big grin on her face.
"Well someone's happy as Larry today." I pointed out as I let go of Da Vinci to which Dolly rushed up to Dylan who had come out to see what the commotion was about. "Bro! You are not gonna believe this!" She exclaimed, gripping Dylan's arms. "Uhh, what? Did you get invited to dinner by Tony Hawk or something?" Dylan asked, confused.
"HANSEL FINALLY PROPOSED TO ME!" Dolly beamed as Dizzy and Dee Dee appeared, both having excited grins on their faces. "For real?!" They inquired as I rushed over to Dolly, just as thrilled. "Dolly, that's amazing! Congrats to you and Hansel!" I patted her shoulder before she pulled me into a hug with one arm. "Aww thanks, Cody! Oh dog, I'm getting so giddy!" Dolly giggled before putting a hand to her head and nearly collapsing to her knees. Luckily, Dylan was quick to catch her and help her back up, having a proud smile on his face as well. Meanwhile, the atmosphere being filled with applause from many of the other witnessing Dalmatians.
After helping a lovestruck Dolly to a couch to rest, I was about to return to the back garden to see if any of my siblings wanted to hang out when all of a sudden I felt someone grab my arm and drag me into another room. I looked to find that the arm belonged to Deja Vu who was giving me the most serious look I've ever seen on her.
"Cody, let's talk. Now." She said curtly before shutting the door for privacy. "I demand to know something from you." She stated before pressing her nose against mine. "Why haven't you found yourself a special someone yet?" Wait, what? Where the hell did this question come from? Deja Vu seemed to read my thoughts as she continued. "Think about it. Dylan's with that collie from Cornwall, Dolly's getting married to Hansel and Destiny's out on a date. Most of us have found a loved one, so why haven't you?" She put her hands on her hips as she interrogated me. There was actually a good reason why the thought of having a girlfriend never crossed my mind, but recalling said reason caused me a small deal of grief. I sighed before answering.
"If you're so desperate to know, I'll tell you. I promise you however, it isn't fun to talk about."
[Flashback – 12 years ago]
There she was. The one girl in my school in Yateley that I had funny feelings for. I think it was the feeling of love. A chipper girl called 'Amy Smith' with the loveliest flowing brunette hair and bluest of eyes. Whenever I saw her, my face went red and warm yet I couldn't bring myself to talk to her.
This time however, that was going to change. With a rose I had picked on the way to school in my hand, I was going to ask her the ultimate question. I walked over to her as she noticed me approach her, a curious look on her face.
"S-So… I found this on my way to school and… I wanted you to have it." I held the rose up to her, my face already going red from talking to her. She accepted the rose with a smile. "Aww, that's so sweet! But why did you give me a rose?" She asked curiously as I swallowed my fear and said it.
"Amy. I think I like you. Do you… want to join me at lunch today?" She blinked as I said those words, her mouth opened like she was about to say something until I suddenly felt my pants being pulled down, revealing my underwear to her before I then felt a hard kick to my back, knocking me to the ground, followed by the sadistic laughter of Brian, my worst bully at this school.
"Ha! You really want to date Cody Nopants, Amy?! The one with his pants down like a loser?!" He mocked before bursting into laughter. But that wasn't what made me start to tear up.
It was that Amy started to laugh at me as well.
I jerked my head upwards to see the one girl I had feelings for point at me and laugh hysterically alongside Brain, both of them joined by several other students who had witnessed the ordeal. It was so humiliating. The one chance I had at happiness in my otherwise abusive life and Brian ruined it. Voices started to ring in my head, calling me a "pants-less freak" among other nasty hurtful words as I held my hands over my ears to try and block them out. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and just ran, nearly tripping from the pants around my legs as I fled the area.
[Present Day]
"...So that's why I never gave love another chance." I muttered to Deja Vu. "Because if there's one thing that Brian taught me, it's this: Why would anyone want to be with me when I'm just a big loser in their eyes?" I looked up to see that Deja Vu's face of stern interrogation had completely changed to a dejected one.
"Oh, Cody… Come here." She held her arms out to me as I walked over to her to accept her hug. She then gently spoke in my ear as she hugged me fairly tightly. "You're not a total loser at all. Don't believe what that jerk says. Knowing him, he's probably never gotten a kiss in his life." I guess she was right. Brian always did see himself as the one in the right and why should I listen to someone who did nothing but devote his life to treating me like shit? "To be totes honest. If you weren't my little brother, I'd so think about going out with you." After she said that, I felt her lips press against my cheek. Her kiss felt just like the one Dallas gave me when I unintentionally improvised the Triple D's act for that milk commercial. Perhaps maybe I should see if I can get a girlfriend myself.
The question is, who could I possibly choose?
Deja Vu and I decided to spend the rest of the day doing whatever we pleased to help take my mind off the bad memory I had to recall. Right now, we were sat in the living room watching some good old SpongeBob. To be more specific, it was one of the more famous classic episodes where SpongeBob and Patrick discover a magic pencil and end up unleashing the crudely drawn SpongeBob duplicate known as 'DoodleBob'. The duo had just climbed up a hole DoodleBob had drawn for them to fall into as the sentient drawing, using the pencil drew a bowling ball on a nearby rock, ripped it off and rolled it straight towards Patrick who screamed as his head cartoonishly morphed into the shape of a bowling pin before exploding into a mass of pink bowling pins that fell back into the hole as soon as the bowling ball collided with him. A red 'X' appeared on the screen to simulate DoodleBob scoring a strike as the ball fell into the hole and landed onto Patrick once more, another red cross appearing on screen.
"You okay, Patrick?" SpongeBob called down to his pink friend, getting this as a response.
"FINLAND!"
Deja Vu giggled at Patrick's random answer as did I. If there was one thing that always made us laugh, it was Patrick's antics. "Hehehe! Oh my dog, like how does even this show's old episodes stay fresh with it's humour?" Deja Vu laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. I was about comment on that when we both heard someone bang on the door.
"Ugh! Dimitri, did either of you harass the postman again?!" Deja Vu called out in frustration, assuming the person at the door was said postman at the door wanting to file a complaint. "How could we?! We were all hungover!" Dimitri 1 protested from another room as I got off the couch and opened the door, who I saw outside was not what I was expecting to see.
Destiny was stood at the doorstep with the most miserable look on her face, black liquid on her cheeks that looked like flowing tears, my best guess being that it was her running mascara from crying. But what could've been the matter? I also noticed she had a half-empty bottle of what I could assume was wine. "...Destiny, are you oka-" My concerned question was cut off when she barged in, taking me with her.
Destiny had me sit back down on the couch Deja Vu was on as she took a sip from the wine bottle and placed it on a nearby coffee table. "What's up with her?" Deja Vu whispered to me, having noticed Destiny's current state. "I don't know yet." I whispered back as the sad Dalmatian sat down next to me and looked directly into my eyes.
"...Cody… I have a question, and I need you to be honest." She said with a sniff before continuing with whatever the question she had was. "...Am I beautiful?" I blinked, looking back at Deja Vu before returning my gaze to Destiny.
"Yeah?"
Destiny suddenly burst into more tears, pulling me into a tight hug and bawling loudly. I had a feeling that whatever Destiny was upset about had something to do with the date she had, but just to make sure…
"Destiny, what's wrong?" I asked, hoping Destiny would hear me through her sobbing.
"Miidaytstudmiupforanoergurl!" She blubbered incomprehensibly, neither of us could understand what she said.
"Destiny, you have to stop crying and tell me what's wrong." I urged whilst rubbing her back to calm her down.
"My date stood me up for another girl!" She screamed more clearly before breaking down into crying again. "What?! That's horrible!" I yelled in shock after registering what she had just said. "Yeah! That's like totally not cool of him at all!" Deja Vu agreed with me as Destiny said something else in between sobs. "I waited at my table for so long and then when I left the restaurant, I saw him kissing a bulldog! Who even gets infatuated with someone who has cheeks like a ballsack?!" She said in a mix of anger and despair as all I could do was hug her when an idea came to mind, it may not work but it was worth a shot.
"Destiny, look at me." I asked as the tearful diva dog looked up at me, sniffling. "Your date standing you up is just a sign that she wasn't the right person for you. Not everyone's first date goes smoothly, I'm sure some of our other siblings have gone through that experience. Bottom line, don't let this experience make you sad for the rest of your life." I told her as Deja Vu stepped in. "Cody's right. That guy was clearly just a jerk for setting you up like that. Besides, Cody's first and only experience with love… didn't go so well either." She explained as Destiny sniffed whilst looking back at me. "Y-You too?" She asked and I nodded in response before reaching for a nearby box of tissues and grabbing one to try and wipe off some of the mascara off her cheeks which proved to be difficult since it was stuck to her fur as another idea came to mind. "You know, it's still the weekend. If you want, we can hang out tomorrow, me and you if that'll make you feel better." I offered as Destiny wiped her face and tried to smile. "W-Well… Would you go with me to the shopping centre tomorrow?" She asked.
"A shopping trip? Absolutely." I nodded as I stroked her head, noticing her tail starting to wag. I could always use a bigger wardrobe of clothes anyway.