Everything seemed to be moving too fast for Marshall. Everest led the way as they made their way through the hallway of the dorm rooms.
Marshall was supposed to be leading the way, but he was so shy around Everest that he couldn't really think straight, let alone lead her….
The dalmatian kept his head low, as the husky took her time looking around.
Marshall was trying to get a grip. He wanted to feel normal. He almost started to hate himself. He did not like how weak his feelings seemed to be.
His stomach was full of butterflies. He felt very light, and his face was very warm. No matter what he did, he just felt so uncomfortable with himself. He wanted to speak to Everest so badly, but he was so afraid that if he spoke…. He would just make himself look even stupider.
Everest was calm and collected. She was very sure of herself. She slowly looked around the hall carefully as they passed up many of their extra rooms.
"... Hmm…. Why did you guys have all these rooms?" Everest was pondering as she explored the halls. Marshall still kept his head nervously low, even though he smiled at her observation
"Well…. We have them… just in case…." Marshall said without explaining why they had them. Everest gave off a small smile, as she let Marshall catch up a little.
"Just in case of…. What?" Everest asked, wanting a better answer. Marshall looked up, and he had realized that he was beside her now. He looked around the hall, nervous.
"Oh…. We have them just in case we recruit new members ..." Marshall explained better, giving Everest a better understanding. Marshall blushed and gave her a small, sheepish grin. "Y-You know…. Like you…."
Everest nods once, before continuing onward.
"Yeah, but why so many…?" She continued to question. Marshall just slowly shrugged before following.
"I'm sure it just came with the tower…." Marshall guessed. Everest nods again. She looked slowly around again.
"I guess…." Everest replies with a small sigh. She then stopped again and quickly turned to Marshall. "Hey! Where's your room?"
Marshall slowly lost his shy grin as he let his face frown quickly. His heart started beating fast.
"M-My room…? Why….?" Marshall asked with a shy and shaky voice. Everest seemed to turn away. She was beginning to blush when she thought of her answer. She tried to hide her blush and tried to hide the fact she was actually really shy around Marshall. She just knew she was pretty good at remaining calm even if she was right next to the dog she liked
"I want my room to be close to yours…." Everest answers too quietly.
Marshall tried to lean his ear in.
"Come again?" Marshall asked nervously. Everet lets out a small giggle. She trotted forward, as more and more shy laughter was yelped out loud.
"Come now, Marshall! I wanna see what your room looks like!" Everest bursted with excitement. This left Marshall a bit stunned as he watched Everest giggle and playfully leaped around, as if she was still just a puppy. Marshall found her very cute as she leaped around, with no care in the world. This made the dalmatian feel joy.
"Alright! Fine, you win…!" The dally yelped joyfully, joining in behind Everest. "You can pick out whatever room you want!"
"Awesome! Right on!" Everest cheered as the two grown dogs barked and yelped happily as they enjoyed each other's company as they leap forward, heading to the end of the hall where Marshall's room was.
"Here it is!" Marshall cheered as he welcomed Everest to the location of the door to Marshall's room.
"Ah… So this is where you sleep…." Everest seemed to note out loud. Marshall sat down, he didn't even think about why Everest wanted to see his room. Everest looks forward. She gives Marshall a small smile, before moving towards his door.
"... H-Hm?" Marshall felt his heart start to race. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm gonna look inside your room, of course?" Everest admitted honestly. Marshall frowned a little as he approached closer to Everest.
"And… Why would you? My room has nothing special…" Marshall pointed out, sounding bored of that idea. Everest just kind of shrugged.
"... I don't know…. Cause I want to~" She answers in a teasing way. Marshall shook his head, as if trying to ignore her excitement. He didn't understand her thrill in checking out his room.
"Well, alright…. But then let's pick out your own room…" Marshall suggested, trying not to complain. Marshall didn't have much in hos room, besides a fire truck shaped bed…. And he was wondering if that was just made for puppies…. And Marshall wasn't a puppy ….
Everest opened the door. The two grown dogs didn't enter the room. It was the same as it was before…
Marshall had a weak and nervous smile when he felt just how empty his room really was. Everest seemed to feel it too. His room wasn't exciting, but luckily for Marshall, Everest was okay with that.
Everest let out a sweet giggle. She walked in slowly.
"Cute bed…." Everest teased as she giggled. Marshall slowly followed her inside. Marshall felt embarrassment when she stated this. He wondered if his odd fire truck bed made him…. Uncool…
However, it did make him feel better when he noticed that Everest was all too happy to jump up on top of it, giving it a little bounce.
She seemed to blush as she looked around his room.
"At least the rooms are comfy…." Everest remarks with a smile. Marshall gave her a soft and a less shy smile as he walked up to her and placed his paw over his bed.
He smiled shyly at her. He was glad she didn't seem to flinch when his arm was near her body. She just just seemed to relax even further.
"Well…. Lucky for you…." Marshall began. "Most of the rooms…. Looks like mine…."
Everest eyes soften. She looked around again, before they rested back on Marshall's eyes.
She gave him an odd, and almost a flirty expression that started to make Marshall blush once again.
"Yeaaah…." Everest started to reply slowly. To Marshall, Her eyes seemed to flutter in a lovely way. She leaned over to him a little. "But I think I'd sleep a little better in the safety of this fire truck….."
This made Marshall's heart race. What did she even mean by that!? He thought instantly. His stomach felt weird as all he could was smile awkwardly.
"... Say…. What?" Was all Marshall could shyly muster. Everest giggled as she seemed to lay on her side. Marshall could feel her head lean in towards his arm. She nudged it a little.
"Your bed is…. kind of soft…" Everest states in a whisper. Marshall just stared at her for a bit as she found herself comfortable on his own bed.
"A-Ah…. You don't say….." Marshall remarks back, in a shy whisper. Everest smiled a little more clearly. She could feel Marshall's shyness grow. She lifted back up her body. She didn't want Marshall to feel this way around her.
She knew that Marshall was just shy, and she knew there was a courageous hero within this young dalmatian. He proved so many times how heroic he truly is during their childhood.
Everest was in love with this dalmatian. She felt that this dally did not need to feel shy or nervous around her. She felt that he had already proven himself worthy of her attention. Her affection was real, and she felt the desire to share it with Marshall. However, her own shyness held her back.
She leaned in and nuzzled his nose a little.
She whispers, "Hey…. Don't look so nervous….. I get it, we're not puppies anymore…. And you're not used to having a cute girl in your room…."
Everest then gave Marshall another gaze upon him with her flirty expression.
"But…. You better get use to having me in here …" Everest said, with a shy blush. She leaned in towards his ear. She then gave him the sweetest whisper, "Cause I think I enjoy it here…The most….."
Marshall's eyes widened a little. Was she trying to give Marshall a hint at something? Marshall wanted to believe that this was her hint at a romantic level…. But he just wasn't used to someone being so straight up about it. He knew that he would've never said that if the scenario was reversed.
Everest leaned back a little. All she could do was smile upon Marshall's cute and shy expression.
"W-... What?" Marshall let out. This caused Everest to let out a sweet laugh, that made Marshall smile weakly.
"Oh come on…. What do you think I meant by that…..?" Everest continued to explain. She was trying to get Marshall to break out of his shy little smile. She knew he liked her…. He had always liked her. It was obvious from the beginning.
Marshall looked down, with a shy little smirk.
"Well, I….. I don't really know… You could mean anything by that..." Marshall simply put.
Everest shook her head with a defeated smile. She crawled a little forward. "Well, I think….."
"You're really cute….." Everest complimented. Marshall's small and shy smile almost felt the need to feel stronger.
"I'm…. What?" Marshall said with a sheepish grin. His tail wagged a little. He enjoyed the compliment.
Everest's expression turned really shy, so shy in fact, that she felt embarrassed as she quickly hid her blush into her own arms.
"Don't-...! Don't make me say it again…." Everest complains shyly. Marshall felt his confidence, and his blush grew at the same time. His hopes started to grow as well.
He began to wonder if this meant that Everest shared his childhood feelings that they once had before. He began to wonder if she still carries that….. puppy love they once had before.
"... I'm cute?" Marsh repeated for her. They both fell silent for a moment. Both of them were almost too shy to carry on this conversation.
Everest shyly turned her eyes towards him. Marshall could see a very pink blush that ran across her muzzle.
"Well…. I personally think you've grown into a more…. Handsome dog…." Everest flirts ever so shyly. It made her shy away quickly after she openly stated it. This made Marshall's tail wag almost uncontrollably.
"O-Oh! …. " Marshall yelped out happily. His shy feelings almost began to become replaced with a feeling of confidence.
Marshall could hear Everest giggle softly against. She laid her head down on her arms. She let her gaze fall upon the small dalmatian. Marshall and Everest locked eyes.
"... You still kept that innocent look about you…" Everest slowly sighed peacefully. She admired him with a very soft gaze. "... That sweet…. Caring…. And a practically amazing part about you….."
Marshall stared at her, with a sweet smile. She was filling him with confidence. Marshall felt himself straighten up slowly.
He felt that Everest was the most beautifullest thing on the entire planet, but she wasn't as confident as she was just to plainly tell her that. He just gave her a soft smile.
They stared at each other for a while.
She looks out Marshall's window slowly.
"I think…. I'm going to like it here….." Everest thinks out loud. Marshall didn't want to think too hard about what Everest was thinking about…. But he was hoping Everest was thinking about him.
"I…. I hope you do too…" Marshall agreed quieter than Everest was.
She turned towards Marshall. They both saw each other blush. They both even saw each other grow with joy. They both wished that they shared each other's feelings.
All of these things made the two turn away from each other. The two both began to think the same thing…
Are we crushing on each other…
They couldn't help but to think about it. They were so deep in thought that they didn't even notice each other. Marshall slowly crawled up beside her.
Everest was still blushing. She shyly looked towards the carpet and just stared at the ground. Marshall turned to her, and he noticed that she was still blushing quite a bit.
All he could think about was if she had feelings for him or not. He wanted to ask, He just sat there trying to build up the courage to do so. Everest bit her bottom lip.
She was a bit braver than Marshal, so she fully turned to him.
"M-Marshall…. Um…" She tried to begin with. Marshall turns a little more. He kept his face downward, in order to hide his blush.
"Y-Yes… Everest…?" Marshall urged her to continue. Everest shifted her weight a little, so she could turn a little more towards Marshall. Their hearts began to race. They both could feel the same thing.
"... I…. I actually…. Thought about you…. Quite a bit during the slow part of the year…." Everest explained shyly, Marshall could hear a bit of struggle in her voice. He shifted a bit too.
He let loose his smile and he almost looked too happy to hear that. He let his tail wag a bit.
"Oh… Did ya?" Marshall happily asked, letting his tail wag. Everest slowly nodded.
"Yeah…. It helped me convince Katie that…. I really wanted to come here…" Everest told Marshall. Marshall nodded slowly.
"O-Oh yeah! What is your owner up to? " Marshall asked, changing the subject.
" Oh…. She's here in Adventure Bay….." Everest tried to explain quicker than she wanted to. She felt her head tilt a little bit. "She's with her Uncle….. Working for the Journal, part time…."
"Ah! That's cool!" Marshall assured in a small cheer.
"Marshall….?"
"Yeah…?"
"D-... Did you think about me?" Everest asked sweetly, trying to regain the original conversation, and his attention. Marshall felt himself become nervous. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he was so shy, he didn't know if he could do it. He rubbed his own paw nervously. He just looked down, trying to not gaze into her pretty eyes.
"Y-Yeah…." Marshall admitted.
"... How much?" Everest pushed herself to ask. This made Marshall hesitate. He didn't know how to answer her. He wanted to tell her the truth, but it would make things weird. He didn't want to push her away by wanting to be so close.
"... Marshall?" Everest pressed on. Marshall looked up to her. "... How much did you think about me….?"
He looked back down, and felt himself rub his paws a bit more. He didn't want to lie to her.
"... All the time…." Marshall finally admitted. Everest seemed to smile. Marshall turned to her, wanting to see her reaction a bit better. She seemed to be filled with joy, and it showed quite a bit.
She turned away, seeming to relax.
"... Maybe….. We….. Maybe we could….." Everest started to stutter a bit. She turned to him, almost in a crawling manner.
"Maybe we should go o-"
There was a sudden buzz sound from the speaker that was built into the ceiling in the room.
Ryder's voice echoed throughout the tower.
"Calling all dogs! We have an Urgent Mission! Please report to the debriefing room for further details! I repeat… It's an Urgent Mission!"
" A mission….?" Marshall said, quickly hopping off his bed. Everest's ears fold. She felt her heart feel a bit of a quiver. She was going to ask him something difficult, and she almost had it out. "Must be serious!"
"Right…." Everest agreed, as she slid off the bed slowly.
"Come on! Let's go see what the situation is!"
Marshall quickly left to head down the hallway. Everest was shortly behind.
They backtracked towards the large elevator. Further down the hall Marshall saw Chase and Skye enter the same hall as them. Everest saw Marshall smile as he trotted a little faster towards Chase, eventually joining his side.
"Hey there Chase!" Marshall greeted. Chase smiled back, as Skye slowed her pace when she saw that Everest was behind.
"Hey Marshall! You ready…?" Chase asked, Marshall could tell that he was ready to go on another rescue, despite the fact that this was supposed to be their only day off.
"Always! I'm fired up! Aren't you?" Marshall returned his question, with a very warm smile.
"I'm always ready!" Chase chimed in confidence, his smile practically glowing. Chase smiled with so much confidence he playfully bumped into Marshall. "I'm more ready than you are!"
"Nah-Uh!" Marshall couldn't help but to laugh as he bumped him with his hip. Then the two struggled against each other's body as they were trying to push each other to the walls, giving each other playful growls.
Skye found herself walking next to Everest. Everest was deep in thought, although she had a calm smile as she watched the two male dogs push each other playfully.
"So…. Are you nervous to be back on duty?" Skye slowly asked Everest starting a conversation. They was already nearing the elevator.
"I suppose…. Could be a good warm up…. It's been a while since I've been on an actual rescue…" Everest remenist slowly. Skye could sense a longing in her voice. She didn't even need to ask what was on her mind. She knew that Everest liked Marshall. Much like Marshall, Everest wasn't too good at hiding her feelings, even if she could admit she was better at it than Marshall was.
They all reached the elevator and waited for it together.
"Alright guys... Let's get out there and work as a team!" Chase said to everyone, giving everyone a slight nod.
"Right!" They all seemed to cheer together.
It didn't take long for them to meet up with the rest of the team. Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble were in the debriefing room. Ryder was leaning on the window of the tower.
Ryder looked up and saw that the whole team had gathered, and he stepped up quickly, lifting himself off the window.
"Hey guys… Sorry that you guys were called during your day off...'' Ryder felt the need to apologize quickly. He knew the dogs had been working really hard for their team. All the dogs slowly sat in front of their owner. They lined up perfectly.
Everest saw how they were sitting. She felt a sense of pride as she slowly walked up, and joined them in the line up. She sat by Marshall. They exchanged smiles quickly, before they turned to their leader.
Ryder turned around and swiped up on his tablet.
"Okay team! So today I got a call from the mayor and she brought to my attention a series of fires that had taken place in Adventure Bay." Ryder said, starting off their meeting. When he tapped three buttons on his tablet, his projector showed an image to the dogs. It was a three story building. It was on fire and every floor was engulfed with flames.
"This is the current situation…. Luckily no one was inside. There is no known cause to the fire, and the fire department had already arrived." Ryder explained slowly. He then proceeded to swipe left four times. With each swipe he showed the building from a different angle.
"Our job is to make sure that no one gets involved and find out what has been causing these fires…." Ryder explained their mission, before turning to them. "This is actually the fourth fire this week…. And the fire department can't figure out why these fires keep happening. Our job will assist the fire department with the fire, and investigate the cause of the situation."
He grabbed his backpack off the floor and shoved his tablet inside of the pack. He nodded at everyone.
"The quicker we check things out, the sooner you guys can continue to rest…." Ryder assured them as he started to walk around them, ready to head out. "Any questions…..?
Marshall was still staring at the picture. He slowly pointed with his paw.
"Yeah….. What's that?" Marshall asked, pointing something out on the current angle of the building. Everyone turned back to the screen slowly. It took a moment for everyone to notice what Marshall was looking at. It seemed to be a shadow in an alley. Chase walked closer to the screen.
"Is…. that a dog?" Chase asked quietly. Marshall Everest, and the other dogs slowly walked up behind Chase.. The dogs stare at it. The picture was blurry, but they could tell that whoever it was. It was definitely some sort of white furred dog. He seemed to be peering around the corner of the alley, and a shadow loomed over his face, so they couldn't make it out clearly.
However, it was like Marshall's mind was playing tricks on him. He couldn't shake this sudden gut feeling…. Like he knew this dog. There was just something about that dog's face, or expression, or just the entirety of the dog's body that told Marshall that he had met this dog before.
But which dog that came to mind…. It just couldn't be...
"Is something wrong, Marshy?" Everest asked in a sweet and caring voice. Marshall snapped himself out of his thoughts and he looked around. Everyone was staring at him, especially Chase and Everest.
Marshall gave them a small nervous smile.
"Oh-Oh! Yeah, of course!" Marshall lied. He shook his head once. He tried to give them all a big confident smile.
"But hey! Fires are dangerous! We better go help the Fire department out!" Marshall suggested, reminding them of their urgent situation that their team was asked to address.
"Marshall is right! We're already behind! Let's go gang!" Ryder called out as he quickly made his way to the elevator. "Everyone! Let's roll out!"
Chase walked backwards from his team, with a small wag of his tail and a confident stride to his step.
"Alright team! Paw Patrol is on the case! Let's give it our all!" Chase encouraged everyone. Which caused Skye to share his excitement. She hopped near him and wagged her tail.
"Yeah! Let's do it Chase!" She said, joining him in his determination. They turned and strided out together. This caused all the other dogs to yelp with their own courage and they ran after Chase and Skye. Everest smiled and went to join him. However, she saw that Marshall was distracted by the photo, once again.
"Coming…. Marshy?" The Husky asked him, caringly.
Marshall turned from the photo and looked towards Everest.
"Oh…. Uh…" Marshall stutted, giving the photo one more good glance, before turning towards Everest. He rushed over towards her. Everest turned and joined the others in the Elevator.
Marshall went to do the same, but he paused. He slowly turned back to the photo that was still bleeding on the screen. He felt the need to check out that blurry image of that mysterious dog.
He slowly turned to it and he felt captivated by its appearance. He just had this gut feeling. A gut feeling that he wanted to decline was true.
"Marshall! Let's go!" Marshall heard Chase call him. Marshall looked down, quickly getting out of his head. He quickly entered the elevator, squeezing in.
Marshall's mind was still fixed on that mysterious figure.
It just couldn't be….
