Many thanks to TheMichiganWriter, AlienGhostWizard14, LRW, Casey Storm, and daphrose for reviewing and showing interest in this little...one-shot series? Personal challenge series? I don't know. But thank you guys so much, and I appreciate the prompts I received, too! I'm looking forward to using your awesome ideas!
Okay, I'll be honest - this one was DIFFICULT to write. I was under more pressure: I had to write this in under 1hr30mins AND it was done right before an important appointment. So, I was very frazzled. Please forgive the errors and inconsistencies you may see here. I did my best. :(
Onto day two!
/day two/
Prompt: puppy
Featured LR character: Leo
"Chick Magnet"
Rose gives Leo a puppy as a gift to help cheer him up. As it turns out, Queen provides more than company for Leo.
Usually, when a person has their heart broken, his or her family gives them the gift of space and isolation – two things which are both necessary so they can sort out their thoughts, come together, fall apart, pick up the pieces once again, and realize the importance of moving on. However, in Leo's case, space and isolation are out of the question. When Janelle broke up with him, in addition to the spectacular social disaster that is the Academy, his family decided to give him something else to help him cope: they decided to give him a responsibility.
'They,' as in his grandmother, and 'responsibility,' as in a one year-old West Highland white terrier.
When his grandmother introduced the dog to him, Leo just stared. "What do you mean I have to take care of her?" he asked, completely lost.
"I mean, you have to take her with you," Rose had said. "I bought her for you. Your mom's told me about the robot boot camp and how sad you are there."
Leo glanced at his mother then, a look of betrayal on his face.
Tasha only bit her lip remorsefully and mouthed, I'm so sorry. She drew it out of me.
Leo sighed, knowing there was nothing they could do about it. He looked down at the white fluffball, who was then looking up at him excitedly. "It's the Bionic Academy, Grandma," he gently corrected.
"Potato, po-tah-to," she said absently.
"I'm sorry, but I can't take her with me. I don't think Big D would be okay with me having a pet."
"Oh, believe me, baby, he'd be okay with it." His grandmother finally picked up on his hesitation after a moment. She asked, "Do you not like the gift your grandfather and I got you?"
It was clear what his answer should be. His grandparents had never been one to take refusals lightly.
So, that night, he came back to the Academy with a brown bag full of home cooked meals from his grandparents and the energetic puppy.
The first few days were a little awkward. True to his grandmother's words, his stepfather was okay with the dog being there, though he knew it was because he'd been threatened into being favorable to it. To accommodate the new situation, his stepfather gave him a room of his own, a sizeable equipment room that had been upgraded and turned into a bedroom. Queen loved it. She barked at everything when they first stepped in, clear from one corner to the other, before finding her own spot and settling on it.
As for him, he…well, it was a room. At least it provided the space he needed.
He cared for Queen as if it was a chore. He fed her when she needed to be fed, played with her whenever she wanted to play, took her out for a walk if she wanted to walk. He taught her where she needed to do her business. He did things because he had to. He did feel sorry for the puppy, because it was clear that she wanted him to be more engaged and not be so perfunctory when dealing with her, but it was the best he could manage.
He did just get his heart squashed underfoot by someone he loved a lot. He felt lame and pretty worthless, even if he kept telling himself that it wasn't his fault and that he was still awesome. It didn't help either that a number of the male students in the Academy, thanks to Spin, had turned his situation into a joke to entertain themselves – kind of like their 'What Not To Do In Your Love Life' guide.
Everything sucked. He was girlfriend-less, friend-less, and apparently, just an overall drab.
Unknown to him, though, Queen had noticed his sadness. He didn't really figure out that the puppy was offering him solace until it had happened the third time. Whenever he would come back from school or whenever he would be too lonely, Queen would climb up to his lap and sit there. She would nestle close to him then nudge him for him to pet her.
He smiled when he realized what she was doing. "You're a good girl, you know that?" he said to her.
Queen only looked up at him, her tail wagging, and then barked.
He chuckled. "Yeah. Okay."
He's still not back up to his feet, but it's a bit easier now with Queen. He's starting to see that maybe it had been a good idea, because having a pet does cheer him up considerably. His attention is on his new puppy and not on his misery, and, apparently, she prefers that because she enjoys the attention.
The more time he spends with her, the more things he discovers.
Like, he's come to learn that she's a bit of a drama queen, but in a good way.
She's also very friendly. She likes his older siblings, and the feeling seems mutual. Since she's of a hypoallergenic breed, Chase has no problem with her, which is good, since she seems to like playing with him a lot whenever she sees him.
She doesn't like it when she's left in the room whenever he has to go to class. She whines whenever she knows it's time for him to go, and at times, it makes him wish he could take her. However, due to his stepfather's restriction, she has to stay in the room. He can only apologize as he put her inside her kennel before he goes.
As it turns out, along with being dramatic and friendly, Queen is also smart and resourceful.
He finds out about this one day during lunch, while he's eating at a table, alone, and all of a sudden he hears sharp yipping coming from one of the tunnels. Looking up, he only sees some of the students moving out of the way before the bright ball of fur bounds towards him and leaps up to him. "What in the – How did you get out?" he asks her, surprised.
The puppy only licks him before turning her attention on the food on his plate to investigate it.
"No," he tells her gently, turning around in his seat to keep her away from his lunch. "Queen. You can't do this. You can't just get out of the room and come here. Big D will be upset, and… Wait. How did you get out?"
Queen only stares at him as if he's spoken something entertainingly gibberish.
"Aww…"
Leo looks up then and sees the small cluster of girls standing close by.
"It's a puppy!" the blonde (Holly, he thinks her name is) coos.
"Is it yours?" the brunette beside her asks.
"Yes."
"Aw!"
Another brunette took the liberty to sit next to him. "What's his name?" she asks.
"She's a she, actually," he answers. "Her name is Queen."
"Why?"
He thinks about it. "Well, I think it's because she's a bit of a drama queen," he says unsurely.
The girls laugh, and it kind of surprises him.
He sees the way they are looking at her, especially the blonde, so he asks, "Do…you…girls want to pet her?"
"Can we?"
"Sure. She's nice. She actually loves being petted, so she won't bite."
"Oh, okay." The blonde is the first to reach out. She does so cautiously, but once she makes contact and Queen only scoots forward, she continues ruffling the puppy's soft fur amiably.
Some of the girls also do the same afterwards, but some, understanding how too much touching can overwhelm the dog, just admire at a distance.
Not long after, other girls begin to notice what is happening and soon, he and Queen are surrounded with female students.
"How old is she?"
"One," he answers.
"Since when did you have her?"
"A few weeks back, maybe?"
"You bought her?"
"My grandmother did."
"Oh. She's a present?"
"Yeah. An 'I Hope You Feel Better' Present."
"You're sick?" one of the girls ask.
"No. Just sad," he says, not meaning to include that last part.
A majority of the girls look at him. "You're sad? Why?"
"Uh…" He debates whether to tell them or not. It doesn't seem appropriate. However, he feels that maybe it's not such a bad idea to talk about it now. He's been holding in it, and honestly, he can use some sympathy if it's out there. "My girlfriend broke up with me."
"What?"
"No."
"Why?"
He shrugs. "I don't know," he says. "We've been together for three years and – She told me she's not my girlfriend, and I talked to her about it because I was kind of lost. I don't know. I guess I just wanted to be clear where we stood. I mean, it's three years."
"Yeah."
He shakes his head. He must have been affected by talking about it because Queen scoots close to him again. "Apparently, it wasn't serious. I've been making a fool of myself all along. Well, at least more than usual."
"Oh, come on. Don't say that."
He smiles a small smile down at Queen. "Yeah. I guess I really just need to get it together," he says.
A ring then goes off, signaling the end of lunch. It scatters most of the students into their next classes, save for a small group of girls. "Hey, uh, listen, Leo," the brunette beside him says. "We're hanging out by the beach after school, my sisters and I. Would you like to come?"
He sits up. "Oh, uh, sure," he says. "Though, you know, if you want to just borrow Queen, you know I'm okay with that. I'll just bring her with me, and you can take her for a walk. She'll like that."
The girls exchange looks. Some of them smile, some of them smirk. "Yeah, that sounds good," the brunette says, "but…we were kind of hoping you'll join us."
"Um…yeah. Sure. Okay."
The brunette stands up. "Cool," she says. "See you after the classes, Leo."
The girls walk away after waving goodbye.
Soon, it's only him and Queen left.
He thinks about what happened for a while. It's a little weird, having that many people around, but it's kind of nice to not be alone at lunch for once.
Then, it clicks.
He looks at Queen with widened eyes. "Did you just get me friends?" he asks Queen in disbelief.
Queen just barks.
He grins. "Oh, Queen, you're awesome!" he says, standing up after putting her down on the floor. "Come on. Let's go back to the room and open a bag of treats for you."
Reviews are appreciated! And I'm still open for prompts!
