A/N: This is such a joy! Honestly. Writing this story has been a blast so far, and recieving all this positive feedback is really keeping me going. So here's Chapter 7; the pups have recieved the good news from Ryder and it's only a matter of time before the party gets underway. The pups have start getting dressed up and looking good for the occaision, some more than others ;). Enjoy!
Skye had just pulled up to Katie's salon and cheerfully skipped through the doors, excited for tonight. Katie was happy to see Skye, as was Skye to see her.
"Hey Skye! How's my favourite customer?" Katie greeted her.
"I'm doing really good Katie! Ryder just told us about the party tonight and I'm so excited! Are you going?" Skye asked her.
"Of course I am! I couldn't miss it for the world! It's going to be such a fun night!" Katie proclaimed.
"I know!" Skye agreed, "Anyway, I'm here for that very reason. I need to look dazzling tonight, even better than usual."
"Even better, huh? Trying to impress someone?" Katie winked at her.
"Uh.. I- um.." she stuttered.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Anyway, extra dazzling? Not a problem. Let's get down to business." Katie instructed, leading Skye to the baths, "Here's a nice warm one that's ready, hop in!"
Skye slowly got in the warm, bubbly bath, getting comfortable, and thinking about tonight. Katie was right. She wanted to look extra pretty for Chase. If she could steal a dance with him on the night, it would mean everything to her. She laid back in the tub and fantasized about her and Chase dancing. However her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front doors opening.
"Hey, Everest!" Katie greeted the husky, "I assume you're here to be groomed for the party tonight?"
"You got it." answered Everest.
WHAT? Why does she have to be here at the same time as me? Ugh, Just my luck, Skye thought to herself, remembering what had happened earlier. It kind of saddened her mood, and she started to question if there was even a point to try and attract Chase. What if Everest was right?
"Alright Everest, follow me to the baths. I have one ready right next to Skye." Katie informed her.
"Skye..? I mean, great!" Everest corrected herself.
When the two pups came within each other's vision, they both exchanged glances and quickly turned away from each other. Both of them felt the awkwardness and tension due to their fight earlier. Everest plopped herself into the bath next to Skye, and tried to look away. Skye didn't make an effort to look her way either.
"You both can soak in there for a little while now. I'll be back in five to ten minutes to rinse you off and groom you. Talk to you pups later." Katie grinned.
"Okay." they both replied.
The two female pups sat there for a couple minutes, not saying a word to each other. Skye, who had arguably been hurt more in their earlier argument, was still upset at what Everest had said. Everest on the other hand, was feeling more sympathetic towards Skye. She knew she had screwed up and was swallowed by the guilt of making her cry like that. In the end, it was the husky that ended up breaking the silence.
"Skye..?" Everest spoke up.
Skye simply looked up at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Skye, I can't express how sorry I am!" Everest blurted out, "I knew what I said was wrong the second it came out of my mouth! I'm so upset that I hurt you like that, and I didn't mean it! I was just mad. Skye you're beautiful and you deserve Chase! He would be stupid to go for any pup other than you, and I truly mean that."
Skye watched as Everest apologized and could see that it was genuine. Her comment about her and Chase really gave Skye some of her confidence back about the whole situation.
"Thanks Everest. But it was my fault really, I shouldn't have insulted you." Skye apologized, taking her part of the blame.
"Oh don't be silly, I started it." Everest declared.
Before Skye could insist it wasn't Everest's fault, the husky decided to cut the nonsense short.
"Here, let's just drop this whole thing, and pretend it never happened. I don't like to argue with you and I don't want to be on bad terms. I think we can agree on that," she reasoned, "Friends?"
"Friends." Skye smiled.
Everest wagged her tail, happy that she could call Skye her best friend again.
"I'm glad we're friends again. Besides you're gonna need a wingman, or should I say, wingwoman for you and Chase tonight." She winked at her friend.
Skye blushed.
"I just hope that he likes me as much as I like him." She sighed.
"Don't worry Skye, tonight is going to be a great night. I'll have your back." Everest assured her.
"Thanks Everest," Skye smiled and blushed, "I can always count on you."
Before they knew it, Katie was back with her accessories and ready to prepare the pups for an amazing night.
"Time to get out!" She announced, "We have to get you pups looking amazing for the party tonight. And besides, I have to get ready later too you know."
The two pups eagerly jumped out of their tubs and shook themselves off as Katie started to dry them, ready to be groomed.
X
Back at the Lookout, Chase was becoming a bit stressed for the party tonight. The other pups were putting pressure on him to ask Skye to dance and look good for her, and he wasn't really prepared at all. The five pups were rummaging through Chase's pup house to look for something for him to wear. Chase pulled out a tux that he had worn at his brother's wedding.
"This?" He asked for the other pup's opinion.
"Nah, a bit too dressy for a party." Zuma presumed.
They continued to look and found a nice combo. It was a tight, light blue button up long sleeve shirt with a loose collar, along with lightly coloured khakis.
"This is perfect Chase!" Rubble declared.
"Yeah, I agree! That shade of blue look really good on you!" Marshall observed.
"You guys think so?" Chase asked for reassurance.
"Yeah for sure! Just roll up the sleeves so it looks a bit more casual, and you don't sweat you tail off. It's gonna get hot in there with all those people and all that dancing." Rocky figured.
"But do you think Skye will like it? That's all I really care about.." Chase inquired.
"Chase, that's like asking if I like surfing," Zuma said reassuringly "Skye will love it."
Chase showed his appreciation with a big smile.
"Well we're not done yet guys. I don't want the spotlight to just be on me here. We're all going tonight, let's get you guys some outfits!" addressed Chase.
The guy pups worked together, going from pup house to pup house picking out what to wear. They hadn't been to a party this big, and though it's not like the guy pups to ponder over what they wear, they were excited for tonight and couldn't get it off their minds.
Eventually the rest of the pups had decided upon what they would wear tonight. Marshall, being best friends with Chase, had chosen a similar outfit, the difference being his shirt was his favourite colour, red. Zuma wore a light orange hollister shirt with a white logo, representing his love for the beach. Rocky picked out a green polo shirt, again picking his favourite colour like Marshall, and finally there was Rubble. He wore a tight grey shirt with buttons at the top, along with his dark shades. There was nobody else on the team that was as stylish as Rubble, and he sure liked to show it off.
"Okay, now what guys?" Chase pondered, "Should we head to Katie's and get groomed before put on our clothes?"
"We will, but we can't right now. Skye is there and I think Everest is too." Rocky indicated.
"Yeah, it would probably be better if we went after they came back. It would speed up our process." Zuma pointed out.
"Besides, I'm sure Chase is probably going to faint when he sees Skye in all her makeup." teased Marshall causing the german shepherd to blush. He tried to change the subject.
"So, what should we do until then?" Chase asked them.
"Let's go to the park and play while we wait! It's not like we have anything better to do." Rubble pleaded.
"Sure! Why not?" Chase gave in.
They put their clothes back nicely in their pup houses so they'd be ready when the pups were to come back. With that done, they made their way to the park, ready to head to Katie's once they saw Skye's helicopter and Everest's snow plow make their way across the bridge back to the Lookout.
X
About an hour and a half has passed since Skye and Everest had initially arrived at Katie's. The young blonde was doing her absolute best to make the two pups shine. She washed them, trimmed them, combed them, and was making them look practically flawless.
Skye was really aiming to get Chase's attention tonight, and she was on the right track so far. Her whole outfit blended nicely, she was groomed to perfection, and looked undeniable cute without even putting on her makeup yet.
Katie had groomed Everest exquisitely as well, but she wasn't as worried about her makeup or her outfit as much as Skye was. After all, she wasn't planning on hooking up with anybody tonight.
Another half hour had gone by and they were finally done, looking prettier than ever. Katie had really done them well with the finishing touches and makeup. Their mascara was on point, nails clipped, polished, and painted, Skye having her nails pink with sparkles, and Everest having hers silver with sparkles. Finally, a spritz of perfume sealed the deal.
"Alright pups, you're all set! What do you think?" Katie asked, leading them over to a mirror.
"Wow Katie! It's.. it's.. amazing!" Skye struggled to say, in absolute awe at what a good job Katie had done. Everest nodded in agreement
"Thank pups," Katie giggled, "I did my best!"
"Wow Everest. You look stunning!" Skye said, turning towards and looking at the husky.
"Ohh stop it," she blushed, "But look at you though! If Chase doesn't fall for that, then he must be crazy."
"Ahh, so you were trying to impress someone." Katie winked at Skye.
Skye madly blushed. She was still uncomfortable with other people knowing how she felt about the german shepherd. However, she still appreciated Everest's comment.
"OOPS!" Everest blurted out, "Oh my gosh Skye I'm sorry, I-"
"It's okay Everest, I may have to get used to this anyway if I want anything to happen tonight," Skye faced the facts, "Just please don't tell him, or anybody, Katie."
"My lips are sealed!" Katie promised, "But I must admit, I always thought you and Chase would be cute together."
"Thanks Katie, I really appreciate it," Skye blushed, "Anyway, we better get going, we only have an hour before we have to leave! Thanks again Katie!"
"Anytime pups! I'll see you two later tonight!" She called as they made their way out the exit.
"You too!" they called back as the door shut behind them.
The two pups got in their vehicles, trying not to ruin how well they looked, and carefully drove back across the bridge to the Lookout. The both zoomed upstairs into the bathroom together, checking themselves out in the mirror, making sure they looked just as good as they did when the left Katie's salon. They planned on being in there basically until they had to leave. The two pups, especially Skye, would do anything to maintain the way they looked until the time of the party.
Meanwhile, back at the pup park, the guy pups had seen Everest and Skye make their way across the bridge back to the Lookout, which was their cue to head to Katie's and be groomed within the hour that they still had. They all rushed into the salon as fast as they could and found Katie, who had just finished filling up a fifth bath.
"Ah pups, I've been expecting you," she greeted them, "Here to be groomed for the big party tonight?"
"You bet!" Rubble said, excited to hop into a nice, warm, bubbly, bath.
"Well you're in luck! I just finished filling up the baths. Hop in you guys!" She signaled them.
Without hesitation, most of the pups hopped in the baths, except for Rocky.
"You too Rocky." Katie ordered him, "Tonight's going to be fun, don't you want to be all nice and clean?"
"I am Katie! I had a bath two weeks ago!" declared the mixed breed.
"Come on Rocky. If I am going to tell Skye how I feel about her, then the least you can do is take a bath before the party." Chase raised a good point, and therefore Rocky complied and got in the tub. However, the german shepherd instantly realized his mistake when he saw that Katie was standing right there and heard what he said. He struggled to think of a cover up but it was too late for that.
"Awwe, Chase! You like Skye?" Katie squealed.
She thought about only moments earlier when she discovered Skye had feelings for Chase and thought it was so cute that the german shepherd was hiding feelings for the cockapoo too. She wanted to tell him about Skye's secret but remembered she had made a promise, so she kept her mouth shut.
"Uh.. yeah, I guess I do.." Chase muttered, trying to hide is obvious blush and embarrassment.
"Well don't worry about it Chase. I think it's brave of you to tell Skye how you feel, and she'll probably be flattered when you tell her." Katie said, trying to give Chase some motivation.
"Thanks Katie." He half smiled. He still wasn't completely comfortable with the situation, and was nervous to confess to Skye. As all the pups sat in their baths relaxing, Chase thought and thought about what he was going to do. His teammates had done so much for him to get up to this point, and he couldn't back down now. But he was so nervous about how Skye would react. He wanted one thing, and one thing only, which was to be with Skye.
Katie came back about ten minutes later and was ready to start the grooming.
"Alrighty pups! Time to get out!" Katie told them.
"Awww, but it was so relaxing in there!" Rubble complained.
"Speak for yourself Rubble!" Rocky said as he jumped out of the tub and shook himself off in a jiffy.
Katie got her blow dryer, and dried down all the pups, followed by some trimming, brushing their fur, and then clipping their nails. She spent a little extra time and effort on Chase, as she knew it was going to be a special night for him. She finished with the guys much quicker than with the girls due to the fact they didn't need any makeup, and they were heading back to the Lookout now.
As all the pups were thanking Katie and leaving, she quickly called Chase over to give him something. She pulled a little glass bottle of cologne, and sprayed the german shepherd a couple times. The police pup responded with a sneeze.
"Sorry buddy," Katie giggled, "But it's sure to get Skye's attention tonight, she'll like it."
"Wow, thanks Katie." Chase thanked her.
But that wasn't it. Katie had pulled a small black case from her pocket. Inside was a beautiful diamond necklace with a bright pink gem in the centre. On the back was Skye's name engraved in the shiny rock.
"I was going to give this to Skye for her birthday in a few months, but I think this is more important." Katie smiled, "You take it, and give it to her tonight. I know how much Skye means to you and I want you to make her happy."
Chase was almost in shock. The necklace was beautiful. Skye would absolutely love it. He couldn't express how thankful he was towards Katie.
"Katie.. I don't know what to say.." Chase stuttered, "Thank you so much. I owe you, BIG time."
"Don't mention it," Katie giggled and winked at him, "Go get her tiger."
Chase laughed and ran back out to his vehicle, following the pups back across the bridge to the Lookout. As the bathroom was still occupied by the two girl pups, the guys changed into their outfits in their pup houses, and patiently waited for Ryder to tell them it was time to leave.
They were all ready, all seven of them. Ready to face what was to come that night. For some, it was just a matter of going and having a good time, while certain pups were hoping to accomplish something more. It was going to be a night to remember, and at this point, all they could do was wait for Ryder to announce their departure.
Damn, Katie just hooked Chase up BIG TIME. All that's left to do now is ask Skye to dance. Simle enought right? I guess we'll have to wait and see how Chase gets on with it...