*Thank you for your thoughts and comments! I'm still emptying my head to see what I can find!

*Heads up: Things are going to get a little interesting for a while at Petsmart ;)

Chapter 6:

"I can't believe you talked me into this! How could you do this to me, love!?!"

Jack, Carly, and Magnus were all in Carly's small yellow car, driving to Petsmart in a bright and windy day. They all just finished an acceptable breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and water. (Carly likes to cook, but she's not exactly the world's greatest chef...) Carly was in the driver's seat, fully dressed in her usual outing clothes with a small hint of orange lip-gloss on her lips. Jack was staring at her in the passenger seat, trademark white blazer slightly tattered but not too noticeable. Magnus was lying long way in the back seat, scratching on something wrapped around his neck. Before leaving, Carly was worried about Magnus, mostly because of the leash laws recommended for all dogs in the city. So she decides to ask Jack for a small favor...

"I can't believe that mutt has my neckband!!" Jack complains loudly, pointing at Magnus with disgust. "How you were able to talk me into this is beyond me!"

"Jack! Please!" Carly states, glancing at Magnus through the rear view mirror. Magnus snickers silently as Jack glares at him with rage. "It's only until we get to the store! Your beady neckband looks like a dog collar, anyways. And the black color looks great with Magnus' beautiful grey fur! Don't you think so?"

"I think I'm gonna toss that dog off a bridge if he so much as leaves a dent in my band!" Jack becomes more and more irritable as the dog continues to scratch the collar with his hind leg. He wines and whimpers as the band jiggles slightly each time Magnus scrapes it.

Stow it, beanpole! Magnus growls at Jack. This isn't the best idea I've ever heard of, neither! How thin is your neck, man!?! Your band is so tight, it's gonna kill me if I so much as breathe the wrong way! Plus, it's itchy!! And you say I don't bathe! Magnus growls louder as he rubs his neck against the seat. Carly watches Magnus from the mirror, a little worried that he might hate her for this. "Don't worry sweetie. We're almost at the store. Then, we could get you a cozy collar and anything else you like. Wouldn't that sound fun?"

Magnus sits up and barks happily as they pull into the Petsmart parking space. Jack gets out first and opens the door for Carly. "Oh! Thank you, sweetheart!" Carly says as she kisses Jack on the cheek. She gives him the keys and winks at him. "Could you let Magnus out and keep him company while I go to the front desk? I heard that you have to fill out some paperwork to get your dog a personalized collar. I'll be back in about half an hour, and then we'll all go shopping together." About hearing that he's left alone with the dog, Jack twitches and sweats about this for a second or two. "Sure." he finally says with a forced grin. "I'll lock up behind you and we'll wait out here. Meet you inside." Carly kisses Jack again and bounces off, rushing to the counter. Jack turns back around and sees Magnus glaring at him with absolute hate, baring his teeth and fogging up the glass with his breath. "The things I do for love..." Jack sighs deeply as he stars for the car, staring him down and ready for anything. "Alright mutt, let's get this over with!"

As Carly is already filling out the registrations and chatting up a storm with the clerk, Jack carefully opens the door for Magnus. He was a little scared, expected the dog to attack him head on.

Boy, was he right...

Jack ducks to the ground as soon as he opens the back door. Magnus lunges at Jack, flying through the air as Jack slams the door and runs for his life. Magnus sprints after Jack at top speed, barking and snarling at him as the two race back and forth. Jack scrams at the dog to the top of his lungs, asking him about the truce they had this morning and cursing him out at the same time. Jack would momentarily get the upper hand, scaring away Magnus with a large stick. At least there weren't too many people in the parking lot. Gives Jack more space to outrun that dog!

Carly and the clerk inside were completely oblivious to the madness happening outside, Carly was busy telling the quirky female receptionist the story of her boyfriend and her dog getting along so well. A customer stopped on his way out the store and stares at the insanity. Jack and Magnus were dashing from side to side, each taking a turn to chase one another. The customer drops his things and pulls out his cell phone, taping this rare event for everyone that surfs the internet to see.

-40 minutes later.

Jack and Magnus were laying on the side of the store entrance, gasping for air and sweating bullets. They have tracked the entire front driveway, even hopped over a few cars and into other driveways. In the end, they were so tired that Magnus didn't even have the strength to bite Jack. Carly walked out the front door, legal documents in one hand and a fancy collar in the other. She sees Jack and Magnus together, and doesn't state the obvious.

"Oh! There you are! Are you two just hanging out?" Carly smiles as she kneels next to Jack. Magnus and Jack exchange a glance, Jack was stringing together an excuse in his head and Magnus was too tired to even lift his head. "Y-Yeah! We were just relaxin' next to this-" Jack looks around quickly. "Garbage can! Even with the wind, Magnus was getting a little hot so we decided to just, uh, wait here... What took you so long, anyways?"

Carly shakes her head, blushing uncontrollably. "I'm soo sorry, you two! I was coming back as soon as I can. The paperwork was a lot more than I expected. Oh! Here you go sweetheart!" Carly scoots over to Magnus and switches Jack's neckband with the new collar. It was a pretty baby blue nylon band, simple yet elegant with its black safety buckle and diamond-shaped silver ID tag. "Don't worry, Jack. You're neckband isn't damaged. Worst case scenario, it has dog fur on it. C'mon, let's go inside." All three of them rose and enter the Petsmart quickly. Business was slow and there was almost nobody there, aside from the employees and a few customers.

"O.K!" Carly turns around to the boys like a general addressing lazy soldiers on the field. "Time to get to work. Freya says that all the supplies that Magnus needs are in the Dog aisles of the store, so we can all pick up bowls, food, water, toys, and everything else he needs and be out by lunchtime! Any questions!"

Jack slowly raises his hand. "Yeah, Carly? Love? Ehh...Who's Freya?"

"She's the young receptionist that works here. She helped me with my paperwork and told me all the special foods and medical tags we need to get from here, and at a vet's place up the road."

"How long have you known her?"

Carly looks at her watch. "For about...25 minutes."

Jack just stands and stares at her, very much confused. "How is it that all sorts of strange things happen to you when I'm not here?"

"Don't know. Must be my good fortune finally kicking in. But whatever, let's go!" Carly marches off while pushing a cart that was abandoned in the middle of the path. Magnus and Jack exchange another worried look, and finally trail the eccentric Carly.

*This is where I have to stop, for now. Don't worry! The fun continues in the next chapter!