Sorry for not uploading yesterday, been pretty busy with school, etc. But here is Chapter 5! It's the longest one yet, so sit back and enjoy :)
Also, thank you for all the positive feedback! I really appreciate it. Not a single review goes unread so tell me what you think! Bad or good, doesn't matter!
Chase was trying to clear his mind. He was lying inside his pup house with the door open, filled with anxiety given the situation he was in right now. His ears perked at the noise of footsteps, as he lifted his head to see Marshall happily strutting over to him. At the same time he heard the sliding glass doors of the Lookout open. Must be Skye, he figured.
"Oh great! You're both here!" Marshall exclaimed. Everything was falling into place for their plan. "The other's and I are playing hide and seek! Want to play?"
Chase smiled. Hide and seek sounded great. He could use something to take his mind off of his whole dilemma.
"Yeah sure!" he said wagging his tail.
"Yeah, I want to play too!" Skye chimed in.
"Yay!" Marshall said trying to act casual, "Want to be it Skye?"
"Oh, um.. okay, sure! Why not?" Skye agreed, wondering why he suggested her specifically to be it.
"Alright! Count to 100 while Chase and I hide. The other's are already hiding." He informed her.
"Got it." she comprehended, then started counting, "One.. Two.. Three.. Four…"
The german shepherd and dalmatian started to run off and hide from Skye.
"Follow me Chase! I have a great hiding spot." Marshall told him.
"I hope this isn't going to be like last time." he said rolling his eyes, thinking back to when Marshall insisted for the two of them to hide in a tree, which they later found out had a huge beehive inside. It wasn't a very pleasant memory.
"Trust me!" Marshall assured him.
"Oh, alright." Chase gave in to the firepup's persuasion.
Marshall led Chase down the hill of the Lookout to the trees and bushes that were covering the entrance to their hideout.
"Marshall, it's just a tree and a couple of bushes. What's so special about-?" Chase began to say but was cut off as Marshall pushed him into the bush that contained the hole that lead to their underground hideout.
Chase tumbled down the tunnel, landing on his stomach in the heart of the secret room, followed by Marshall. The german shepherd was speechless. There was too much to comprehend as he looked around the room and everything he was surrounded by. As he struggled to find something to say, the mixed breed interrupted him.
"Welcome to our secret lair!" Rocky welcomed the police pup. He then gave the same explanation he gave when Zuma and Marshall were first introduced to the place.
"So let me get this straight, you didn't even ask Ryder to dig this?" Chase wanted clarification, "He could get really mad you know."
"Chase please don't tell him. I know you don't like to lie, and you want to obey the rules, but this is so cool and we worked hard on this." Rubble begged.
"Yeah, please don't." the other pups agreed.
"Oh.. alright, I won't." Chase gave in to their begging, "I have to admit, it is pretty cool. You guys did a nice job."
"Thanks." Rocky and Rubble blushed.
"Does Skye know about this?" Chase wondered.
"Uh, no... Not yet, at least." Rocky answered.
"Well why don't we go tell her? If we aren't going to tell Ryder, we could at least share it with all of the pups." Chase suggested.
"We will, but now isn't the best time." Zuma told him.
"Oh, right," Chase chuckled, "I almost forgot we were playing hide and seek."
"That's not really what I meant dude." Zuma corrected him.
"Chase, I warned you that this wasn't over. Now please just tell us.." Rocky started
Chase immediately knew where this was going, and really wanted to avoid it. Before Rocky could finish his sentence, as if he even needed to, Chase made a run for the exit. Unfortunately for him, the pups expected this, and were quick to pounce on him. Chase was strong, and could hold off each of the pups on the team, maybe even two at once, but three was just too much. The police pup was currently laid out on his stomach, with Rubble lying on his two hind legs, and Marshall and Zuma holding down his arms. There wasn't much he could do, so Rocky asked him the same question again.
"Chase, do you have a crush on Skye?" Rocky inquired, "You can tell us, we're your friends."
"I already told you before, I don't." Chase said firmly, still not wanting to tell anyone how he truly felt.
"Oh really?" Rocky raised his eyebrow, "What if I told you we have proof? Video evidence of you showing love and affection to her."
"Video evidence? Have you been spying on me with a camera?" Chase questioned the mixed breed.
"What? No, that's ridiculous. Ryder has small cameras installed in our pup packs which have recorded all of our missions," He briefly explained, "Now I'm gonna ask one more time. Will you admit you like Skye, or will I have to expose you in front of everyone with the videos we found?"
Chase didn't say anything, but just frowned at Rocky. He was full of embarrassment. There was nothing he could do. He was about to be exposed of his longtime crush in front of all his friends. He gave one last attempt to escape, but the three pups had him pinned down well. All he could do was sit and watch as Rocky started to play the videos.
X
Meanwhile back at the Lookout, Skye had finished counting to one hundred and was ready to sniff out the other pups. As she uncovered her eyes, she saw something on the Adventure Bay Bridge in the distance. It was coming towards the Lookout. As it got closer, Skye had recognized who it was and was filled with excitement.
"Everest!" She called out to her best friend.
"Hey Skye!" Everest exclaimed as she pulled up next to her.
They were the only female pups on the team and therefore made great friends. Before Everest had joined the team it was just guys, and Skye didn't really have anyone to relate to, or open up to. When Everest was introduced to the team, Skye instantly had a new best friend.
"What brings you here?" Skye asked.
"Oh, you know, I haven't seen you guys in a while," Everest lied, remembering she couldn't really tell her the real reason she was here, "And besides, I borrowed Marshall's liver-flavoured chew toy and needed to get it back to him."
"Ah, I see. Hey, me and the guys are playing hide and seek. I was just about to go look for them, wanna come?" Skye offered.
"Um, well I was wondering if we could just chill here for a bit. And just.. Talk." Everest suggested.
Skye thought about it for a bit. It was a little odd that she only wanted to talk instead of play but she eventually coincided with the husky. She had raised a good point, they hadn't seen each other in ages and needed to catch up.
"Sure! I guess the guys can wait a little longer," Skye complied with her as the two sat comfortably ready to start up a conversation, "So what's up?"
"Nothing new to be honest, just been chillin with Jake up in our cabin," Everest responded. Before Skye could comment, Everest instantly fired a question at her.
"Sooo.. I've been wanting to ask you, is there anybody that you have feelings for." Everest winked at her.
Skye, who was caught completely off guard by the abrupt question, struggled drum up an answer for her.
"Um.. well, why would you ask that?" Skye said trying to avoid the question.
"I'm curious," Everest replied, "And besides, I've made a couple 'assumptions' about who you like."
"Oh really? Well looks like you're mistaken, because I don't really like anyone right now. Haven't thought about it much." Skye lied, trying to make it sound believable. But Everest wasn't going to give up there.
"Ohhh, come on! We've all thought about it once or twice. Just tell me." Everest persuaded.
Skye still didn't look sold.
"Here, if you tell me who you like, or even have a little bit of feelings for, I'll tell you who I like." Everest tried making a deal with her.
Skye bit her lip. She wasn't fond of letting anybody know about how she felt for Chase. Then again, Everest was her best friend, and if anyone could keep a secret, she could.
"Oh, alright," she sighed. She took a deep breath in, knowing that once she said it, there was no going back.
"I..I l-like…" she stuttered uncomfortably, "Chase. I like Chase.."
A firework had just gone off inside Everest's body. Yes! She likes Chase! she exclaimed in her head. It was difficult for her to contain her excitement, so she responded as best as she could.
"Awwe Skye! That's so cute." Everest smiled. She had completed her task and couldn't wait to tell the boys her discovery.
Skye looked at the ground and could feel her face getting red. She'd never had feelings for anyone else before, and never confessed them to anybody either. She tried to change the subject as fast as she could.
"So, who do you like?" She asked, expecting Everest to own up to her end of the bargain. The cockapoo was interested to know who her best friend liked and thought about who it could be. But in no way did she expect the answer she was about to receive.
"I don't like anybody." The husky giggled.
Skye had to shake her head a couple of times to make sure she heard that right. There was no way she had just opened up to her best friend, only for her to deceive her like that.
"You're kidding right?" Skye said, not believing what she had just heard.
"Nope! My mind is guy-free at the moment!" Everest assured her.
That answer struck a nerve in Skye's body, and she wasn't one to usually get angry. In fact, nobody could even remember the last time she was remotely mad at anything. She was always such an optimistic pup.
"You.. you LIED to me." Skye accused her, starting to get aggressive.
This kind of took Everest by surprise. She thought that Skye would appreciate her little 'prank,' but instead got pretty heated over it. This made Everest start to get defensive.
"No I didn't. I told you I would tell you who I liked, and that happened to be nobody." She explained, thinking that she was not in the wrong.
"Oh wow, so you tricked me. Basically the same thing as lying!" Skye raised her voice, and stood up.
"No it's not! You must be real dumb if you think that." Everest rolled her eyes, insulting her friend.
"Excuse me?" Skye said, not believing what her so called 'best friend' was saying to her. She wasn't going to have any of it. Before Everest could say any more, the cockapoo came back at her.
"Well at least I don't have to lay off the liver treats! No wonder they call you a husky." Skye snapped.
Skye had just hit it with a bullet. Everest could only gasp as she stood up with steam boiling out of her ears. This was only just getting started.
"You better take that back." Everest warned her.
"Make me." Skye smirked
Everest was so done at this point that she just wanted to walk up to her and slap her. However, she knew she couldn't do that, as there would be serious consequences, but she wasn't about to be defeated yet.
"Well at least if I liked Chase, I would have a chance with him! He'd never go for a disrespectful, unattractive pup like you!" Everest shouted.
Within seconds, the tense atmosphere quickly broke out into silence. Skye's anger had completely worn off. Her fiery glare at Everest, had turned into a sad and depressed one which faced the pavement. It was as if a wave of sadness had just smacked right into her. Tears started to form in the cockapoo's eyes as Everest's comment swirled through her mind. Calling a girl unattractive alone was enough to destroy all her confidence, and not only did Everest do that, but she added how thought Skye had no chance with Chase. Any hope of getting together with Chase had just been obliterated. Not to mention, it put a huge hole in her self-esteem.
Within that silence, Everest thought about what she had just said, and saw as sadness began to appear on Skye's face. Oh no. I went too far. she thought, sympathizing for her friend.
"Skye, I didn't mean-"
"Just go." Skye firmly said, not wanting to even look at Everest after that.
Everest got the memo and didn't say another word. She simply turned around with her head down and walked towards her vehicle. She hoped that this didn't ruin the once very strong friendship that they had.
After Skye heard Everest drive away in her snow plow, she collapsed into the pavement and began to cry, a lot. That remark hurt a lot. A lot more than Skye would have ever thought. For someone to say that you had no chance with the pup of your dreams was just heartbreaking. Especially if you're best friend was the one that made that comment. Skye lied there for the longest time sobbing into her paws. She was all alone, and didn't want to interact with anyone.
X
Back in the hideout, the guy pups were almost done showing Chase all of the clips in which he had shown affection towards Skye. At this point, they didn't have to hold down Chase anymore. He lied on top the dirt floor on his belly, face in paws, and as red as Marshall's collar. Flames of embarrassment were engulfing him right now and there was no escape. His life-long secret was no longer a secret anymore.
When they had finished the videos, there was an awkward pause. Chase was too embarrassed to talk and the other pups weren't sure what to say to him. They had successfully exposed him of liking Skye, but seeing how humiliated he was, they kind of felt bad. Rocky eventually spoke out.
"So… What did you think of the videos?.." Rocky managed to spit out.
Chase lifted his head and stared at the mixed breed.
"Fine. I do like Skye," he mutered. "There, happy?"
The other pups looked at each other. They hadn't heard Chase speak like this before. It was almost, depressing.
The german shepherd was even more embarrassed than before. he worried that his secret would be spread among even more people now, and he was doubtful that he would ever be with Skye, or even tell her how he felt. He couldn't keep it all in.
"Look Chase we're sorry, we didn't intend to embarrass you as much as we did. We just wanted to help yo-" Zuma tried to apologize before he was interrupted.
"Oh, what's the point?!" Chase shouted, putting his face back into his arms, angry at his situation. "I'm so embarrassed that I'm redder than Marshall's fire truck! I'll probably never end up with Skye, let alone tell her how I feel, and now that you guys know my secret you'll probably tell her anyway."
The stress was overcoming Chase and letting all that out made him feel slightly better, but it still didn't solve anything. The police pup quietly sobbed into his arms as the other pups stood there awkwardly. Love is a roller coaster of emotions, and for the young german shepherd, it was overwhelming. His friends sympathized for him, and tried to cheer him up.
"Chase don't say that," Marshall said walking up to his best friend and putting a paw on his shoulder.
"Love is a beautiful thing, and it's great that you love Skye. It can be stressful, but it is all worth it in the end." Zuma added.
"Tsk, Yeah, when two pups end up getting together. It's not like that will happen with me and Skye." Chase doubted himself.
"You're wrong Chase, because we're going to help you!" Rubble insisted, earning agreement from the three other pups. Chase's ears perked and he looked up at them.
"No! Please don't tell her! I won't be able to handle it!" Chase begged them, assuming that's what they were going to do.
"Calm down Chase, we weren't planning on doing that. It wouldn't be right for us to tell her how you feel," comforted Rocky. "That's going to be your job."
"Ha, good one Rocky. You're too funny." Chase said sarcastically, getting up and wiping his eyes.
"No we're serious," Zuma told him, "Dude, if you never tell Skye how you feel, you could be missing out on the girl of your dreams. And it's only right that you get to tell the pup you love how you feel about them."
Chase thought about it for a second. Just the thought of him confessing his feelings to Skye made him gulp.
"Everything is so perfect about her, I just love her so much. I couldn't live without her," Chase whimpered, speaking his thoughts, "I don't know what I would do if she… r-rejected me."
"Oh Chase, don't be silly," Rocky said, walking over to the computer, "I guarantee she likes you just as much as you like her. Remember this?" he asked as he started playing the Friendship Day Song.
Rocky didn't promise anything, as they hadn't heard back from Everest yet, but he wanted the german shepherd to gain some confidence.
Chase watched as the clip came up where Skye basically nuzzled him when they sang their lyric. He smiled and blushed seeing this. He did remember that. He also remembered how shocked he was when it happened. It was as if he was put in a love trance. The moment it happened, he didn't know what to do. He was in disbelief. After it had happened, Chase didn't end up questioning it and kind of forgot about the whole incident.
"Yeah, and don't you remember this morning? Skye was snuggled up right into you, and probably was throughout the entire night." Rubble pointed out.
"She was? I didn't even notice.. I woke up and walked straight up to you guys." Chase admitted.
"Well, you don't have a thing to worry about dude. Skye is sure to like you back, and if you tell her how you feel, you may just end up with the pup of your dreams." encouraged Zuma.
Chase wasn't as uncomfortable with having his friends know about his secret now. They were being so supportive and helping him through it. He was thankful to have such amazing friends.
"Thanks guys. I'm actually kind of glad you guys made me confess. I don't think I ever could have ever built up the courage to tell her on my own." Chase said full of confidence, implying he was ready to tell Skye.
"Go get her tiger!" Marshall said patting Chase's back, glad to see he was being his old self again.
After Chase trotted up the tunnel back to ground level, Zuma spoke out.
"I hope Skye does like Chase back. I mean, they'd be perfect for each other and I don't think I could bear to see Chase heartbroken if things weren't to work out the way he hoped." Zuma thought aloud.
"Oh no! What if Skye doesn't like him back." Rubble whimpered.
"Guys, the chances of that are low. You've seen how Skye acts around him. She's just a lot more subtle than him," Rocky explained, "And besides, you didn't forget about Everest, did you?"
The three other rolled their eyes at themselves. They had completely forgotten they had called Everest to try and ease an answer out of Skye.
"So if Everest tells us that Skye doesn't like Chase, we need to be prepared to give him all our love and support, because words cannot describe how upset that will make him," Rocky continued, "If she does like him, then great! Mission accomplished. If Skye didn't fess up, well, we have to be ready for whatever's to happen."
The pups nodded in agreement as Rocky went to call Everest through his pup tag. Meanwhile, Chase was getting closer to the Lookout and was starting to have second thoughts.
'What if this isn't such a good idea?'
'This could be absolutely pointless and just hurt me even more.'
'Who am I kidding, why would she like me anyway?''
As these thoughts circled the police pup's head, he was about to turn back when he heard a faint sobbing in the distance. He looked over to the pavement around the Lookout and spotted his favourite pup lying on the ground, sobbing into her paws. Once the realization came to him that it was Skye crying, he felt his heart shatter. Skye, who was rarely in a bad mood let alone crying, being upset brought a lot of sadness among Chase. He couldn't bear seeing his love in this condition. Instinctively, he instantly walked over to see what was the matter.
Ooooh! The drama unfolds! Things are pretty heated at the moment, Chase was going to confess but what will he do now that Skye is crying? More importantly, what will Skye tell him? Could she tell him the reason they fought? Ultimately admitting her love for the shepherd? Chapter 6 awaits...
My next chapter is extremely long and I decided I will be shortening it, so expect a chapter that's probably not as long as usual. Unless you guys want a 5k word chapter...