Bandit's POV


Gosh. I feel like I've been in a loop for an eternity now, listening to Chilli re-tell the entire story of why we have Shane living with us to my bros and Trixie who's reactions are what I would've expected as I was accompanied by sitting at this wooden table for a long period of time which is really starting to make my bum hurt. "Bandit, is this true?" My train of thought would be put on hold when I heard my brother Stripe ask me the very question, now hearing the full story.

"It is." I replied. He along with Trixie and Radley were stunned, I nodded that Chilli was telling the truth. "Why didn't you tell us?" Trixie asked, having a question of her own to which I immediately responded. "I was going to. But I didn't have time to meet with you all to discuss this… and even then I was afraid you wouldn't have taken it lightly." I explain to them honestly, their faces telling me I wasn't far off from being wrong, especially Stripe knowing I would do something like this.

"It's… a lot to process… obviously." Radley responds as he then took a drink from a cup of juice to relieve the tension, which Stripe then chimed in.

"Mate. Not to be biased that you're my brother and all… but I can tell you're handling him well enough, even with your two girls being by your side all the time… I can trust you and Chilli will treat him like your own. However at some point he does need to return to his parents." Stripe told me. I shook my head agreeing with that last part he said before responding.

"He's hoping. But things have gotten… odd lately." I said, he then raised an eyebrow wondering what I meant by that. "Why's that?" He asked, to which I elaborated. I had to tell him about the strange cameraman I seen a month ago who recorded my every move outside my own house, maybe he knows about it or even has had the same encounter with him.

"I need to ask you. Have you had any run-ins with a male bulldog recording your every move with a camera down the street?" I asked precisely. The whole table became an awkward silence as their faces became fearful and worried. Stripe began to look around the park urgently before turning to me with a serious expression, I was unsure as to what was going on but seeing my brother's sudden urgentness, this was far from some harmless joke.

"They've gotten to you too, haven't they?" Stripe questioned me, I was beyond confused as I immediately responded back with a. "What?" He then slammed his fist onto the table.

"Tell me?!" He asked, more aggressively compared to the times I've talked to him before as I questioned his sudden change. "What is your deal? Mate." I asked back, wondering as to why he was being hostile towards me. Seems like he must have caught wind of his sudden mood change and proceeded to calm down, rubbing his eyes before talking to me more calmly.

"Sorry… I just… *sigh* look. You're not the only one dealing with this, me and Radley have had suspicious cameramen recording our every move for the past month, same as you. I have lost a lot of sleep, trying to keep an eye out for anybody recording us in the day or night, even this very conversation, out in the public eye. They're stalking us Bandit, and for some reason I have a hunch it has to do with that manager you hired." Stripe said, mentioning my manager, Ross. I was unsure as to why he was thinking he had something to do with it, he's a decent guy and sure he can be… weird, maybe odd at times but I don't see him pulling off a stunt like this.

"Ross? You're joking right?" I asked them but it appeared to me they weren't joking about this potential lead at all. "Bandit. That guy is not to be trusted, he might appear to you as nice and well being. But that's only a way to stop you from finding out the truth of what he's really been doing, I received an odd phone call from him yesterday. He asked me if you were doing anything "out of character or going off script." I told him no. He instantly hung up right after I said that" Radley admitted to me, my mind began to grow worried. If they were being serious about all this and actually telling the truth about what they claimed to see, and hear. then Shane might be in danger but not only that, we all might be in serious danger.

Shane's POV


I was roaming through the dark and treacherous forest. The corgi had let go of my hand, letting me walk around freely but I still had to be close to her so neither of us got lost as she was moving branches and bushes out of the way so we could see. I do wonder where she was planning on taking me? The more we walk deeper into the forest, the eerier it gets. and I start to question. "So… where are we going?" I asked her curiously. "You'll see. It's private but we're not far from my place." Scarlet told me while continuing to move the branches.

"Your place?" I wondered, until she stopped. gazing at something I couldn't see. I didn't know what it was, so I got closer, moving a bush out of my way as I saw what she was seeing. A big circular plain with trees around came into my view as I saw in the middle a huge tree with roses around it and a wooden treehouse hanging from a huge branch that seemed to keep it sturdy as she and I began to walk over to it. I felt the nice cold breeze passing by me, assuming it was caused by the trees around me and the sunlight shining down mostly at the tree who held the treehouse.

"Did you make this?" I uttered in amazement, looking at her treehouse in awe that she might've done this all by herself. "I sure did, might've taken a lot of work… and wood, but it was all worth it… Welcome to my palace!" She exclaimed, presenting me with her work of craftsmanship. "Woah." I could only react, as she then pulled a rope which brought down a ladder probably to enter the inside of the treehouse. "Anyways… shall we head inside?" Scarlet insisted. I then nodded in agreement.

After a couple of seconds climbing the ladder to the treehouse, I was greeted by the interior of the place. It was nothing to ride home about, there's a sleeping bag, a lantern, a large square window that didn't have any glass, most likely for sunlight, air and to see outside, and lastly her stuff which I assume she took with her out of the orphanage when she left as I noticed her leather jacket placed by her backpack to which I went over too.

"I love what you did here Scarlet, you sure you did this all by yourself…" I wanted to ask her only to be unaware from behind me that she got closer to me and immediately closer to my face, her expression being very mad. "What are you doing here?" She asked me, demanding for an answer as to why I was here. I knew at some point she was gonna draw the big question. "Excuse me?" I replied in confusion, only to feel her nose pressed against mine. It was wet but taking into consideration that she was a dog, I shouldn't be too surprised. "Why did you come looking for me?" She continued to ask me, I felt I was being interrogated at this point as she then pushed me backwards.

"What is your deal, Scarlet?" I asked her my own question to which she replied. "Don't play dumb with me, Mate. I thought you stayed at the orphanage, you shouldn't be here, so why are you?" Scarlet pestered me again with more questions, after all this I had enough and tried to claim the already heated tension down. "Look. Can we just relax and talk for one second? I'll tell you everything I promise." I told the corgi who then a second later chilled out before staring back at me serious. "Fine." She obliged.

"Anyways, I came looking for you because… I miss hanging out with you at the orphanage. I was in an unhappy state, so when I got an offer from a doberman to leave and go find you, I took the opportunity. However, escaping said orphanage was in lack of better terms… a disaster." I explained to Scarlet who raised an eyebrow hearing how I called my escape to attempt a disaster.

"Disaster? What do you mean?" Scarlet asked, still serious about me being here. "Me, and this guy made our way up to the roof, it was the only way to leave but Rosemary caught us. Having no other choice left, the guy who offered to help me sacrificed himself so I could escape. I didn't want to leave him. However, it was too late to turn back, so I did what he suggested I do… find you." I explained to her, she just stood in silence as I continued to speak.

"While escaping, I accidentally sprained my foot, making it difficult for me to continue running, so I chose to sleep in an alleyway. Only if I knew that someone would end up finding me there… Bandit Heeler." I finished, her jaw immediately dropped after I said that. "You're joking?" She asked in denial that I wasn't making it up, I couldn't blame her. It sounded too crazy to be true, so I pulled out my phone and opened my photos in order to prove I was not making this all up.

"Here look." I said giving her my phone, she looked at the selfie of me and Bandit during the tradies incident, wearing hard hats while fixing the walls that were damaged. Her reaction speaks volume as she looked back at me with shock.

"I can't believe this… You're living with. The Bandit Heeler!!" She yelled with a slightly angry tone. "You don't seem rather happy about that." I could tell from her tone of voice as she replied. "Of course not. You got Brisbane's biggest celebrity involved with your escape attempt… Gah Shane. You're such an idiot." Scarlet called me which we then looked at each other in silence, hearing what she just said as her angry expression changed into a more calm look. She looked at her hands for a moment, possibly regretting her sudden outburst before sighing and looking back at me with regret.

"I… uh… apologize for that. I might've gotten carried away seeing you here and I freaked out on you." She admitted, again I couldn't blame her for getting mad, I already came to the realization of how stupid leaving the orphanage ended up being, so I could at least agree with that.

"It's cool, we all have that kind of moment sometimes…" I was going to say but I was cut off when Scarlet rushed over to me and put me into a hug, one that was sincere. "I've missed you dude." She whispered calmly, and I embraced her back feeling the same way. "I've too." I said in return as we then pulled away from the hug. "So. Who helped you get out of the orphanage?" Scarlet asked while walking over to her jacket.

"Someone named Royce. He wore an eye patch and said he was your ex and you two used to sneak out of the orphanage here and there." I answered, mentioning the very doberman, who got me to where I am now as Scarlet paused hearing his name. "Royce?… he helped you?" She asked me to be sure if she was hearing me correct. "He sure did." I nodded.

"Man. I'm surprised he knew. I gave him a similar goodbye letter just like you, I didn't talk much about you to him but he must've had a good heart to tell, we have something…. Close." She admitted while putting on her jacket as I then realized, her pin. That was the reason I came looking for her in the first place, so I reached into my pocket and saw it was still there, pulling it out and quenching it in my hand.

"Oh I remembered. I came looking for you because… you dropped this." I said, unclenching my hand to reveal to her said pin. She could tell it was hers, the very pin of a heart with an arrow through it, she had dropped the night she left as I saw her eyes look at mine. I then placed the pin in the original spot it had fallen from her jacket, making it appear complete with all the others. She saw I had reattached it and smiled at me.

Moments Later...


Time passed and it became dark as I along with Scarlet were staring up at the stars, sitting on top of the roof of said treehouse. The breeze from earlier still present as I felt it go by making me shiver a bit, unlike the corgi who didn't care for it since she had fur. "Hey." I called out to Scarlet for her attention as she looked at me.

"I was thinking… Maybe Bandit could let you stay with me at his place. He's a nice guy and I know he would be fine with another addition." I offered her, but she seemed to think otherwise. "Shane… I, thank you but… I'm gonna have to decline. It would be nice… however I'm not sure." Scarlet response, I blinked in confusion. "What's wrong? You deserve so much better than this, somewhere cozy, peaceful, less eerie, or even lonely. I got to know you more Scarlet, you want and desire a lovely family, you said it yourself." I questioned, wanting to know why she wants to give her opportunity away.

"Remember when I freaked out on you, when you told me you were living with Bandit?" She asked me, I then nodded which she saw. "I was scared that you living with the heelers would put them at risk." Scarlet continued. "I don't understand." I replied puzzled. "Listen. Bandit is Brisbane's most famous archaeologist and with that power comes great responsibility." She said. "Really… a Spider-Man quote, kind of overused don't you think?" I jokingly asked her to which she rolled her eyes.

"What?! It makes it sound cooler… anywho, that isn't all to what being famous comes with, it also comes with a curse. What's that curse?… People. People who will stop at nothing to create outrage over something unnecessary, even if it's just someone trying to be helpful, take it from somebody who's looked at Paws for the past few days as a form of entertainment." Scarlet replied, pulling her phone out to wave it at me.

"So you're saying that me living with them could lead to people possibly finding out and it will create media attention that would maybe lead to outrage?" I asked which she nodded in concern. "I'm afraid so. I just want you to be careful with this, I don't want you, him, or his family getting caught up in some fake drama that was only made to put him down or get to be some shitty tv show." She said worryingly.

I thought about it, if she's really telling the truth, then I need to warn Bandit, I can't let this happen especially after all he and his family has done for me, I'm in need to return the favor. "I won't. I don't care if it breaks me, how many sacrifices I'm going to have to make or even if I won't be able to be with my parents and I'm stuck here longer, the heelers do not deserve this… and I will not let that happen."