Hey everyone! This is just a re-upload cuz something went wrong with the original.
A young girl gazed up towards the bright, blue sky to find the shadow of a roaring plane blanketing her in its darkness. When it soon passed, the girl was greeted with the bright, blaring glare of the sun that stung deep into her blue eyes.
"Ok, where am I supposed to go again?" she asked the emptiness around her.
There was nothing but the barren wasteland of the airport. Not single human in sight. And her mother wasn't here to guide her this time. Apparently, there was this super-important call from work that BEGGED FOR her assistance just before Layla could begin her vacation of freedom. So when summer finally arrived, the young, little girl had to travel all the way to this super, secret island of dangerous experiments all by herself.
But no worries! Being 17, she's basically an unstoppable adult now! Or at least, that's what she hoped to believe.
"Excuse me, my fair maiden!" a voice called out of nowhere. "You seem a little lost in these parts! Do you require any assistance?"
Layla's eyes instinctively followed the familiar voice. There, they found a huge, buff dinosaur making his way towards the small human with a comforting, happy grin. On top of his head was a snoozing, orange kitten that made his head seem like the most comfortable bed in the world. And trotting right alongside him was the most fearsome-looking canine in the world that wagged his adorable tail and panted with his long, cute tongue.
"Ethan, what's up, man!" Layla greeted cheerfully.
The dino returned her happy grin. His figure blocked the sun and casted a shadow over her small form. "Yes, salutations to you too."
Shakespeare ran in endless circles around the human and synced his happy barks with her laughter.
"Hey, good to see you too, Shakespeare," she said as she patted his soft head and he barked in appreciation. An annoyed meow reached her ears. She looked up to find Ginger trying to resettle herself into a better spot for a nice nap. Layla smirked. "It's good to see you too, Ginger."
The cat bared her fangs and hissed in response. Ethan chuckled and rubbed her orange head. "Don't worry about that. I know she means well."
Ginger grumbled at that.
"Anyways," Layla began. "Why are you here all of the sudden? Shouldn't you be back with Malcolm learning about the history of underwear or something?"
His stance became prideful and stoic. "If you must know, underwear is just one of the many crowns of human achievement," he explained proudly. "As for the location of your mother, she's with Dr. Malcolm and other researchers working in their laboratories. So, in the anticipation for your arrival, I was instructed to guide you."
She was more expecting to be hit with the feels than that boring statement.
"But the real reason why I'm here… was because I was scared..." Ethan whimpered, almost choking on his words. There was a sudden drop in his height as he fell to his knees and wrapped one big arm around the human who was too caught-off guard to do anything and was pulled into his strong chest. It was a bit crushing, but otherwise, very comforting. He dipped his muzzle over her shoulder so that she could feel his heavy breaths breathing down across her back.
"Are you okay?" he whimpered again, pulling her tighter as if any moment, she'd disappear in thin smoke.
At first, Layla had absolutely no idea what he's talking about. The ride on the plane was smooth enough. Soon though, tears invaded her widening eyes when she realized he meant the accident. "Yeah… I'm ok…" she whispered and assured him with soothing rubs on the back of his scaly neck. Loud, affectionate purrs were emanated deep within Ethan's throat as he snuggled his head closer to her.
Back then, he felt destroyed, insecure, and lost when he nearly lost her. What would he do without her? What would he become without her? Now, hugging her made him feel safe and secured again.
"Can you walk?"
"Well, duh. How else could I have gotten here if I couldn't walk? Each step makes me a little sore, though."
Ethan reluctantly released his hug so he can be face-to-face with both hands on her shoulders. "Then do you wish for me to carry you?"
She returned his pleaing gaze with a smirk. "Oh, come one, Ethan. I'm not that weak."
"Nope. No excuses. My love for you will not allow you to harm yourself."
A strange warmth washed over Layla the moment he said that one word. She recalled many times when the dino said that he loved her over the years, but the fire in his predatory eyes seem to grow fiercer with each use. It's like he actually means it… as if he wants to tell her a deeper meaning but too afraid to continue on.
While trapped in her deep thoughts, Ethan gently lifted her from the ground and carefully settled her on his shoulder. He glanced at her while wearing an obnoxious smirk. "I believe the correct saying is 'how's the weather up there?'"
Her brain didn't have the space to register that. It was too busy taking in the new scenery around her. Suddenly, the mountains didn't look so high and mighty. And the ground beneath her felt like a deep, never-ending trench that gave her headaches just staring at it. "Whoa… so this is what it feels like to be tall. You've got yourself a pretty good view up here, Ethan."
His blush glowed under his scales. "Why yes… I thank you for your praise."
"All right, so where we going? Back to your place to hang out like old times?"
"Actually, do you recall the park that was destroyed many years ago by a horrid storm?"
Her memories began clinking together. "Yeah, I think so."
"Shall we hang out there instead?
"Wait, so it's fixed now? After all this time this place finally decided to fix it?"
"Yes, well, a simple park doesn't really help with the ground-breaking research the scientists uncover here. The only reason why they fixed the park for me was because I simply asked them."
"Wow, you're cool," she said, rolling eyes.
Another blushed tackled Ethan's cheeks as he scratched his chin. "Was that another compliment?"
Light casted from the sun shined off from the gleaming new paint that covered the brand new park that stood proudly on the soft sand. A light breeze gently brushed the empty swings as their chains rattled together.
"Have you caught your little animal friend, yet?" Ethan called from afar, smiling at Layla. His back was plopped up against a solid tree that covered him in a protective shadow while his tail maneuvered around the trunk. He sat with one leg extended out and the other kneed up. And nesting on top of his head, as always, was Ginger dreaming about fish.
"It's not called little animal friend, Ethan," the human scoffed at him yet never taking her eyes off from her phone, "It's called a Pikachu, and no, I haven't friggin caught it yet." She paced furiously around the park's sand. "I mean, I know it's here, but where the heck is it!"
Shakespeare barked his way to her side. He just came back after hunting for this Pikachu his best friend has been searching far and wide for,but brought no luck with him. This Pikachu is so elusive, does it even exist?
Ethan smiled at them before returning his gaze to the paper in his claws. He mumbled and recited every word, etching them into his mind to the point where he can say them backwards effortlessly. He crumpled it and shoved it into his pocket. Then finally, when he built up enough confidence, called Layla over. "Excuse me, Layla! May I have a word with you?"
Layla struggled to make a decision. Should she either catch this Pikachu now before it disappears forever or head towards Ethan for another boring speech about something completely out of her interests? Her decision became final when she removed herself from her phone and saw the scared nervousness that covered Ethan's eyes.
She headed towards him and each step eroded Ethan's confidence as regret started to take effect. Shakespeare wanted to follow, but his prey comes first. The canine ran to the forest fully confident he had captured the scent of this elusive mouse.
"You called?" Layla asked, a foot apart
Speech wasn't easy being cooperative right now. "Yes, I shall be asking a series of questions that may be too personal for you to answer. If that is the case, then you may ask me to refrain from asking anymore."
Questions stirred in her mind. "Ok…" she answered, half-heartedly.
Ethan coughed into his fist before continuing. "In your years of human life, have you ever felt any kind of affection towards another? Another human, to be precise."
"What kind of affection?" she asked.
He tapped his claws together, his blush's reflection held inside. "L… love…"
"No," she answered with full honesty. The heck is this all about?
"Are you certain? Then when you participated in your school's ritual called prom, did you feel any love for the human who had taken you?"
A laugh was her response. He probably didn't know. "No, cuz you see, I never actually went to prom. Freshman year, nope. Sophomore year, nadda. And Junior year, I was in the hospital."
Ethan gave her a strange stare, "Never? Isn't it your duty to uphold the tradition of prom? Surely at keast once you went with a boy you found attractive in order to attend."
It was her turn to blush. Rubbing her arm, she continued. "Ugh, I didn't go Ethan. I was busy."
"Busy? Busy with what?"
"I was playing COD, Ethan."
"Cod? Like the fish? You play with fish?"
"No! Ok, long story short, I didn't go. The end. And I found nobody attractive to go with either."
"Do you find me attractive?"
Immediately, Ethan shifted his stare back into his nervous claws.
Her blush became painted with a deeper surface of crimson red. She lifted her gaze off the grass and came in contact with the dino. Suddenly, she had the familiar urge to run her fingers across the soft feathers that layered his nicely-sculpted muscles. Her eyes traveled to his own and she wanted nothing more than to get lost in the deep ocean of red. Then there's that strong desire to want to rub his sensitive snout just so she could see that tail wag. "Um… is this a trick question?"
"Forgive me," he said, shame clear as day in his voice. "I knew that question was too invading, and yet I still asked."
"Hey, it's cool," she said and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We're friends."
He locked gazes with her again, his tone serious. "And for that matter, do we act like friends?"
That started the gears in her brain to grind. Through all these years being together, do the human and the dinosaur even act like friends? At least once or twice per week, they'd have another bout of ticklw fighting and the human would always emerge as the victor. Hugging is also pretty much daily thing every day because that's what friends do. However, when Ethan starts to get too affectionate, he'll keep slobbering her face until it's completely drenched in his affection. Do friends like to lick each other's faces?
"Um, sort of?" was her brain's only answer.
"And the other part that is not sort of, do we act like…" He paused to take in a deep breath. "No, not act like. Do we treat each other as if we were a couple?"
She didn't have the courage to answer that. Would admitting freak him out?
He read the hesitation written all over her silenced face. "Recall that you don't have to answer," he assured. "And you needn't worry for any more personal questions for I am ready to confess my sin."
Sin? Holy crap this is getting serious.
He coughed gently into his fist. "It has come to my attention… no… that's not right…"
Ethan apparently tripped over his words because he began again.
"Over the years I have… "
Again, he closed his eyes as his emotions swelled painfully beyond his control.
"I am simply trying to confess… dammit…no…" He forced his eyes shut as he stuttered the incomprehensible mumble. Why was this different than the other times he told her these three words? Ethan could effortlessly lift objects 10x his own weight, and yet he couldn't even lift a few measly words out of his dry mouth. "I'm sorry!" he finally blurted. He threw his head away from Layla to the ground. Ginger crashed but still rolled around and napped as if nothing ever happened. "I-I can't do this. I'm too much of a coward to admit that I lo-"
Small, frail arms were suddenly wrapped around his sides and something pressed against his chest. He widened his eyes and looked down to find that the teen was snuggling on top of him as if he were the most comfortable bed ever created by man. Which he pretty much was in her opinion. This sudden invasion of warmth scrambled his thoughts into an uncontrollable frenzy. He kicked off his hands as far as possible from her and felt conflicted whether he should pry her off him or pull her closer to his rapid heartbeat.
"Y-you're hugging me?" he asked in a worried half-shout. "Why?"
She just sighed in bliss and pushed her head deeper into his soft feathers. "Because you're not you when you're a nervous wreck." With her ear pressed against his chest, she felt his hammering heart settled peacefully into a nice, steady rhythm as tree-trunk arms encased her in a scaly embrace.
Human and dinosaur remained like that for a good two minutes just embracing the other… feeling the other.
"Better?" Layla asked in a tone similar to those snicker bar commercials you used to see on TV. Those were the shit back in the day.
"Better," Ethan purred and tightened the hug.
She pulled away and stared up at him, inches apart from his snout. "Ok, so what were you gonna confess to me? Just take it slow and you'll say it."
Her presence kept his hesitation at bay and allowed him to speak clearly. "I love you," he confessed, plain and simple. It was difficult to detect any emotion in his unblinking gaze as they kept on peering into her soul awaiting for her response.
"I know you do, Ethan," she smiled and rubbed the side of his muzzle. "You tell me that like every time."
Those words shattered his fragile poker face and revealed the desperation he tried to lock inside him. He shook his head violently. "No, this time, I am determined to fully explain my words!" he growled dangerously. Instantly, he trapped her in a crushing embrace he could not control. The suddenness instinctively caused her body to fight and break free from his hold, but the dinosaur released a more deadly growl as he tightened his strong hold. Her entire body immobile, she convinced her strained body to relax as she continued to listen.
"I love you! More than I should! More than just innocent friendship! Years with you have drowned in love! Oh, how I wish I could convey my feelings to you in the poems I assembled many nights for you that detail my love! Haikus! Sonnets! All the works of literature I have embedded into my memory. I've prepared them all in my head! But as of right now, I deem expressing my feelings to you from memory weak and foolish."
He removed his strong hold over her and lifted her under her armpits. Hot breaths came crashing down against Layla's stunned face. Intense eyes burned into her own. "I desire to tell you from the bottom of my heart with these three simple words. I love you."
Imagine your best, super-platonic, friend, who just happens to be the most dangerous dinosaur created by mankind, exploding with powerful emotions as he tells he has loved you after all these years. How to respond?
"If my words cannot convince you," he growled, filling her ears. "Then I will show you…"
Ethan opened his muzzle, revealing rows of razor-sharp knives made for tearing apart a prey's flesh that resided in his maw. A big, long pink tongue snaked its way into the outside world and landed on Layla's silenced lips. He did not force his way in, as much as his burning heart wanted to. Ethan waited patiently for her permission as he coaxed the human's lips in loving saliva. Then, when those soft lips made the slightest parting, Ethan immediately took it as an invitation and dived in, exploring every region of her mouth.
This was nearly indescribable to Ethan. He could taste the cheesiness of Nacho Cheese Doritos blanket his tongue and the sweet bite of Mountain Dew.
Better than oyster crackers and simple tea, Ethan mused.
He hoped he wouldn't get addicted to junk food after this.
The two minute eternity sadly ended when the dino's tongue parted, for he knew she did not have the same lung capacity as his, leaving her breathless yet wanting more. Ethan nuzzled her face with his head.
"However, you don't have to accept my love," Ethan whispered softly. The fierce fire that blazed in his eyes shrunk to a gentle candle flame. "Many moons I have pondered if I choose to deny my love to you would be the right decision. What kind of fate am I putting you through if you love a terrible beast like me?" He closed his eyes and inhaled a deeply. "Ultimately, I decided that I should let YOU decide whether we can be a couple together or not. And I swear on my life I will not be consumed by rage in your decision. Being friends with a great human like yourself…" He pulled her back in a loving hug. "Is enough to keep me both happy… and safe..."
A war between two answers fought in her head. Friggin YES to the dinosaur who just poured his heart to her or be an asshole and say no to the scary dinosaur who looked ready to cry at any moment.
She closed her vision off from the world and focused herself deep within the darkness of her memories, recalling every single moment they spent together that gave light to the darkness. Laughing… smiling… hugging… tickle fighting… and that one kiss they shared… she remembered experiencing all that happiness together with a certain dinosaur
She made her decision. "Ethan…" she whispered to the motionless silence. "I guess I love you too…the same way you feel about me... but this better not be some stupid prank you're expertly pulling because- "
Promptly and exploding with joy, Ethan shared another intimate kiss with her, fiercer, and expressing much more love to her than the last time, driving their heated tongues together. The dino became the first to moan and Layla soon followed. Not within her control, Layla's legs shifted around and brushed against a solid lump, electing a deeper, more lust-filled moan from him as he pulled her away.
"Ah crud, did I screw up?" Layla asked, worry in her voice. Kissing has been foreign country to her until now.
"No… of course not…" he said through heavy breaths. His tightening boxers stung him. "You were absolutely wonderful. It's just I may be a bit… aroused at the moment."
"Define aroused," Layla asked with honest confusion.
Unable to let out a single word, Ethan guided her head behind to a sizable bulge sitting on his crotch that begged for attention. Layla's leg accidently brushed against it again and another, deeper, lustful moan emerged from Ethan's throat.
Despite its allure, Layla managed to tear eyes from it. Blushing beyond limits, she asked, "Oh, so are we gonna have sex now?"
That snapped Ethan out of his aroused state into concerned confusion. "Why would you ask such a thing?"
She didn't have the courage to look at him. "I dunno… it's just that I heard a lot of girls in high school already did it with their boyfriends or somethin… and I'm just thinking now that we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend… I'm supposed to do it with you now…"
Any moment, she waited for her clothes to be torn off.
"Forgive me, my dear, but I'm afraid I must deny your request."
Her head shot up. "Wait, really? Why? You really don't want to do it with me?"
A claw traced her soft cheek, leaving shivers in its wake. "You are mistaken. As you have witnessed earlier, my cock yearns to bury itself inside the deepest of your regions and burn your very spirit with my seed. I want to explore you in every intimate way possible. Oh… what I could do to you… what I WANT to do to you…" he growled possessively into her ear. Then he spoke in a softer tone, "But you are a flower still yet to be plucked. Are you not?"
"Huh?" she asked while picking her ear.
His snout darted for her neck and he inhaled her arousing scent deeply. The lump grew and a drop of pre stained him. "I can smell your pure scent emanate off you. No man has ever touched you. Am I wrong?"
"No. I guess not."
"Then there is no need to rush things," Ethan said, nuzzling her neck. "I want to spend every happy moment of this life with you that does not include any needless sex. Until you feel ready for it, I shall wait. No matter how much my body desires to be with you, I promise to never touch you wrongly in any way until you firmly believe you are ready."
His warm consideration made her light up inside. Already he's turning out to be the best boyfriend ever. "Wow, thanks Ethan."
"You needn't thank me," he assured and pulled her into his chest. "I'm simply looking out for your safety."
Ethan rolled to his side with his human still in his protective hug. He dipped his snout then nibbled her exposed neck and shoulder from here and there while granting the marks soothing licks. Laughs and moans broke free from her mouth thanks to the pleasurable sharpness that squeezed her skin and the gentle licks.
"So, what do you wanna do now? More kissing?" she asked.
"Actually, may I ask if we could talk? A simple conversation between two lovers."
"Talk about what?"
"Then I shall get us started," Ethan said happily. "In your early childhood, what is the most villainous crime you committed?"
"Ok, so it was when I was like four or something," she began and Ethan listened closely. "You know that cereal brand called Lucky Charms?"
"Bahh… sugared cereal," he hissed.
hh"Shut up, I'm talking. Anyways, I remember opening the annoying plastic bag with my teeth. Took me a while, but when finally managed to open it, I dumped the whole thing on the table then freakin started eating all the marshmallows like crazy. Not a single marshmallow survived. I made sure of it. Then I shoved all the disgusting oats back inside the box. Ha… then when my dad showed up and poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charm, he was all like 'Hey, where's the marshmallows?' Then I'd tell him 'I dunno' and run off before he could suspect me. I still do it sometimes, actually…"
Ethan chuckled. "You villainous fiend."
"Say what you will, but it's worth it. Ok, my turn for questions. You were born from an egg, right? What's the earliest thing you can remember?"
Ethan closed his eyes and searched deep into his past. "I recall sitting on the floor for I had not learned to walk yet. Two objects were placed in front of me. A pile of meat and a book."
She already had an answer. "Lemme guess, knowing you, you probably went for the book."
"How did you guess? I admit, the scent of fresh, raw meat and sweet blood was alluring and nearly drew me to it, but I thought the strange object next to it was more perplexing than a pink slab of meat. It tinkered the curiosity in my mind. I crawled to it, and I immediately grew interested as I inspected its contents. In the end, I ate the delicious meat as I read my very first book," he ended proudly. "I believe it's my turn to ask a question, though this may be rhetorical. Who do you think will be the chef of this relationship?"
"Can I try?"
His expression grew serious. "You can't even cook."
"I can cook!" she defended.
"Oh?" he said, his interests peaking. "Then describe to me the proper preparations of a culinary meal."
"Fine! First you get bowl."
"Ok."
"Then you get a spoon."
"This must be an interesting dish."
"And some nice, cold milk from the fridge."
"I formed a hypothesis to where this is going."
"And then you pour your favorite cereal and milk into the bowl! I recommend Lucky Charms!"
Ethan rolled his eyes with a playful smirk. "Of course. But moving on, may I inquire another question?"
"Ask away."
"What would you become if human civilization did not come along?"
Layla felt the fear radiate off him as he tightened his nervous hold. "Whoa, you hanging in there?"
"Yes," he lied. "It's just that sometimes… I wonder what kind of beast I would've become if neither your mother or Dr. Malcolm or any of my caretakers were there to teach me… to guide me…"
Ethan waited in painful patience for her thinking hum came to an end. "To be honest, Ethan, you really shouldn't care about all that confusing stuff."
"Pardon me?" he said, hurt written in his voice. "I find this to be very personal to me."
"Well, don't make it personal," she shot back. She sighed and continued. "What I'm trying to say is, don't care about the what ifs, should ifs, and all that crap about the past. Focus on what you have and who you are now. You have Shakespeare, Ginger, and me! Then there's the fact that you're a total bookworm since birth. You're such a nerd too. And who would've thought a dinosaur would make a great chef?"
Despite his immense intelligence, it required time for Ethan to process her words. Then he remembered the young girl he held in his arms, the snoozing cat next to them, and heard the bark that singled Shakespeare's return. Then remembered the many of this island who sought after his food, his amazing intellect that challenged many geniuses of this world, and his great love for reading.
"You're not a monster, Ethan," Layla assured. "You're Ethan, the greatest most besttest dinosaur who ever lived!"
A warm tear fell from his watery eyes. "And you're Layla, the first and only human to be my true love…" he purred.
Now, unlike the last few chapters where it only detailed one event per summer, all the chapters from now on will take place this one summer. And for those interested in the two's age, Layla is 17 and Ethan is 25.
Reviews are appreciated!