Chapter 2

Bolt watched the human children chase each other around the small playground as he walked by. But then he spotted a little girl trip and fall into the woodchip flooring. She stayed on her knees and began to cry, which stopped him in his tracks. He hesitated and looked around, about to go check on her, but she was soon comforted by an older woman, presumably her mother.

He continued on his endless trek through the park, which was already his second time passing the same playground. After thinking about it, he realized he didn't have many memories of his own puppyhood. He didn't know his parents or any of his kin, which didn't really bother him because pups don't spend too much time with their mothers to get attached to them. Instead, they find a person to be cared for and loved by. He spent all his time with Penny and it just so happen she was starting a lead role in a TV show when he was first adopted. When the director met Penny, he saw the unbreakable relationship the two had. They hired a professional dog trainer who studied Bolt and worked closely with the director on a plan, and thus, Bolt the superdog was created.

He was misled for the sake of a company that just wanted to make money, but in a way, he was glad with how things ended up in the end. He loves what he does now and by a strange course of events, he was able to meet Mittens too.

The sudden thought of the cat reminded him why he came to the park in the first place. He needed to think and he rather enjoyed walking through the park. The fresh air from the lake cleared his head and allowed him to hear his thoughts better, but the cool air didn't help him today as he struggled to think of what to do for his date with Mittens. He never did anything like this before and he had only just learned how to be a normal dog too. Oddly enough, he never experienced these feelings before either and they only resonate when he's with Mittens. He didn't even really know why he was so attracted to the black cat, but he was determined to figure these feelings out.

As he followed the path that led out of the woods, he only just noticed how late it was getting. The sun began to sink below the horizon of the lake. A hanging wooden bench sat on the shore of the lake, watching over the calm lake. He spotted a pair of humans sitting on it, curious; he snuck as close as could and hid behind a tree a few feet behind them.

They seemed older than Penny, but not by too much. One was a boy, the other a girl. He watched as he pulled her closer to him by the shoulder. She proceeded to rest her head on his shoulder while they both just watched the sun set, not even saying a word. What were they thinking? And why weren't they talking? He was about to leave, when finally the boy broke the silence.

"Hey," he turned his head to whisper in the girl's ear, "do you love me?"

"Yes," she paused and turned to look at him, "I do."

He scoffed softly. "Good because I love you, too."

Bolt watched, wide-eyed and in awe, as the two got closer and kissed each other on the lips with their eyes closed. He had never kissed anyone before. He would occasionally get one from Penny sometimes, but those would be on his cheek or forehead. It got him thinking, what was it like? Could he… no, he couldn't. He tried to not to finish that thought, but it continued to linger in his mind even though he tried to repress it. At least he knew where he was going to take Mittens now.

"So Bolt," The cat and dog walked through the woods, following the same path he took the day before, "you used to always stay at the studio when you first started your show?"

"Yeah, well, when Penny first took me in, I stayed with her for a year since I was still just a pup. But eventually they kept me at the studio where I worked with a different human while growing up. They eventually isolated me from the real world and Penny. I only got to see her at the studio when we did recordings, which I thought we were undercover to save her father at the time." He stopped when he heard her giggling, but he soon started laughing himself. "Guess I was a pretty silly dog back then."

"Back then? You still are if you ask me," she teased.

"What about you, Mittens? I know you don't like to talk about your past much but… you must have some good memories?"

"Ah, well… Like you, I had a little girl who cared for me too. She found me on the streets and decided to take me home to care for me."

Bolt knew Mittens was sensitive to the past so he tried not to bring it up often, but he hoped she would be willing to talk about it by sharing his own past. "What was her name?"

"Alicia… She was very nice and I know she cared for me a lot. She would often let me sit in her lap while she sat at her desk." Memories of the little girl came rushing back and overwhelmed Mittens. Memories she had tried to forget to save her the pain of something she missed greatly.

"What happened?"

"Her mother…- Bolt watched her as painful memories suddenly showed in the cat's eyes, "her mother didn't like cats, but she put up with me for a while. Until…"

"They moved away?"

Mittens suddenly stopped with her eyes shut tightly. "They left me, without saying goodbye or anything."

Everything suddenly made sense, why she tried so hard to convince him to stay with her. She was trying to protect him, thinking Penny would be the same. And yet, he still left her so he could be with his person again, for he knew Penny truly cared for him. It was selfish of him to leave without her. He should've tried harder to convince her to go home with him.

Mittens suddenly felt her head being lifted by the chin with one of his paws to look him in the eyes. He softly brushed the side of her head with his other paw.

"Mittens, Penny and her mom will never do that to you." He gave her a soft smile, "and I'll never leave you either."

The black cat rushed to hug the white shepherd and softly sobbed into his shoulder, but Bolt was glad. All the pain she kept hidden away after all these years was finally being released.

"This is it." The two arrived to the wooden bench which dangled and swung softly by the breeze from the lake. The sky glowed pink and yellow as the sun barely touched the horizon. The colors reflected off the lake and the waves shined as they slowly approached the shore.

"Bolt, its… its beautiful."

The two sat on the bench and watched the sun slowly disappear behind the horizon. The pink sky faded away while the dark night sky took over. One by one, the stars started appearing. Bolt felt mesmerized by the ever changing scenery. The two stayed quiet, and suddenly, Bolt understood why the two humans didn't talk much. There was something soothing with watching the sun set. He glanced over to Mittens, who was now gazing at the stars. And it was even better with someone else.

Suddenly the image of the two humans kissing flashed before him. His head felt warm and he shook the thought away. He couldn't, it wouldn't be right. But then he noticed Mittens give off a quick shiver as a crisp, cool breeze blew by, so he reached for her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She suddenly rested her head onto his shoulder and reached her paw across his chest to cuddle closer to him.

"Bolt... you're so warm." She murmured. She looked up and felt her gaze locked into his deep brown eyes. Something about his eyes struck her and gave off an unknown, but warm feeling of happiness and comfort. She felt safe in his arms, knowing he wouldn't let go of her.

"Mittens, I…" he paused, unsure of what to say. Instead, he felt himself moving closer to Mittens. Something drew him in, but he didn't really know why and the same time, he didn't bother to question it. Drawn into his eyes, she moved in closer too.

And before they knew it, their lips touched with eyes closed.

So… this is what it's like.