Everest's POV:

I look outside the window of Jake's cabin. It's officially the season of Summer. That means no more frosty, crisp snow. No more snowboarding or contests for Jake. I love the snow! I mean...I am a Siberian Husky. We love the feeling of cold weather. But it's fine, I suppose. We can hang out at the beach to cool off. It won't be the same, but I still enjoy the beach. Not as much as snow, though.

"What are you looking at, Everest?" Jake comes into the room with a glass of lemonade in his left hand. Even if it isn't a warm mug of hot cocoa, Jake still enjoys drinking ice-cold lemonade. 

"I'm just looking outside. Nothing is happening, Jake. I guess I could say I'm just bored." I continue to stare out of the window. It's early afternoon. Sunday afternoon. A weekend without anything to do.

"Since you're bored, how about we invite Skye over or something. I'm sure she'd like to come. You can hang out with her. Do you want me to call Ryder to make sure she can come?" Jake took out his phone, which was in his pocket.

"I'd love it if Skye would come over! It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Can you call Ryder to see if she can come?" I eagerly ask. 

"With cool vibes, Everest. I'm going to call Ryder right now!" Jake responded. 

I haven't seen Skye in quite some time and it would be nice to see her once again. We'll have a great conversation while she's here if she comes today.

"Ryder, dude! What's cool? Long time no see...Or talk!" Jake held out the phone to show Ryder on the video call. 

"Hi, Jake and Everest! I'm doing fine. How are you doing today? Is there anything I could do for you?" Ryder questioned. 

"I'm doing pretty cool, Ryder, dude. We just wanted to know if Skye could come over today to hang out with Everest. It's pretty dull in my chalet today." Jake explained.

"Okay, Jake. Skye can come over. She isn't busy or anything. I'll call her so she could come over." 

"Yes, thank you, Ryder, dude! You're very cool. Bye!" Jake ends the call. 

"So I'm guessing that means Skye can come over, right? I'm very excited!" I squeal in excitement. 

"Yeah, I know you are. All you have to do is wait for her to come. I'll go prepare some snacks to eat, but I'll have to go into town first. I need to go to Mr. Porter's Restaurant. We're starting to run low on food, therefore I'll need to order more." Jake got up from the couch he was sitting on. 

"Okay, Jake. Make sure you get some liver treats too while you're at it." I wink at him. 

"Don't worry, Everest. I'll make sure I do." he patted my head lightly. 

Around ten minutes later, there was a slight knock on the door. Jake and I exchanged glances, knowing who was already there. Jake rushed to the door and opened it quickly. I trailed behind him 

"Skye! We're glad you came! What's cool today?" Jake looked down at the light-brown Cockapoo, Skye.

"Hi, Jake! I'm glad I came. I didn't have much to do at the Lookout, anyway. And how are you doing today, Everest?" Skye noticed me behind Jake. 

"I'm doing great, Skye! You should come inside now. We have lots of catching up to do, you know." I stepped back to make room for her to come in. 

"You're right. we do have some catching up to do." she stepped inside of the chalet. It's home to me. It's where I lived ever since Jake adopted me. It reminds me of the day I fell for Marshall.

When he threw me that treat, I felt warm and different inside. A feeling I never felt before...I loved him. And I still love him to this day.

"You two could stay here while I go into town to pick up groceries. I'll be back soon." Jake flung the door open again to step out. 

"Okay, Jake. We'll be here. Bye!" I called out before the door shut. It's complete silence for a few moments. 

"So...What do you want to talk about, Everest? It's been a while." Skye broke the chain of secrecy. 

"Yeah, Skye. It has been quite a while. I know exactly what I want to talk about. We can talk about who our crushes are. If you tell me who you have a crush on, I'll tell you mine." I plop myself onto the comfy nearby chair. 

"Oh, okay. If you want to know who I like...It's..." she stammers.

"Ooooooooo! You're blushing, Skye. Your face is as red...As an apple...Or a tomato. Who is it?" I smile. 

"Okay...You got me, Everest. My crush is...Chase. Don't tell anybody! I'm just too embarrassed to have anybody even know about this!" she pleads. 

"Don't worry, bestie. I won't tell a single soul." I accept her request. 

"Now, Everest. You have to tell me about who you love as a crush. I told you my crush and now you have to tell me yours. Spill the beans!" she pulls a pillow to herself.

"I'm not much of a bean person. Anything that has liver in it would be a little nicer." I envision the statement of liver, my favorite food.

"Sure...Then spill the liver tea. I'm waiting right here. I know you love a certain pup!" she digs into the nearby pup treat pack to get a treat. 

"I-I don't love anybody." I blush. "Oh really? Then how come you're blushing? You wouldn't blush if you didn't like a pup." Skye smirked, "You said so yourself!"

"You're right. Make sure you keep this a secret. The truth is...I love Marshall."

"Don't worry, Everest. Your secret will be safe with me. And how do you manage? What I mean is...How do you get confidence? That same confidence of not getting discouraged and thinking that he won't love you?" Skye asked curiously. 

"I don't know, Skye. I always feel that he doesn't love me. He's very playful and funny and is always there to make me laugh. Even when I'm down." I stare at the roof. Nothing is going on up there.

"So he once cheered you up when you were down? I really want to hear this story." Skye lounged herself onto the pillow. 

"Here's how it all started..."

● ● ●

I can't believe what's happening right now. I'm walking right next to the pup of my dreams, Marshall. He's very kind, considerate, hilarious, and playful. Neither of us had anything to do, so we took a walk together. 

"Is there anything specific that you want to talk about, Marshall? Just you and I?" I looked over at him. 

"Sure we can, Everest. Let's sit at that bench over there." he changed his direction to the nearby, wooden bench.

We both hopped onto it and sat side by side. 

"How have you been doing lately, Everest? We haven't talked in a while." Marshall stared into my eyes. His eyes were ocean-blue colored. I found them extremely appealing. It matched him very well. 

"I've been doing well, Marshall. Thank you for asking!" I smile. I felt a warm and fuzzy feeling inside of me. Marshall is just...Altered. I felt a different, yet tender feeling for him.

"That's great, Eve...or Everest. I'm doing fine too." Marshall looked to me, and me only. 

"It's okay, Marshall. You can call me Eve. I like the nickname." I cherished the words he spoke. Wow...He called me Eve. Maybe he loved me more than just a friend. Maybe I'm amazed. But I'm sure he just thinks of me as the label, a good friend'. 

"Okay, Eve. Do you need anything? Like any favors and things?"

"I don't need any favors from you, but can I ask you for some advice if you don't mind?"

"I can give you all the help you need. What is it?" he stared down to the ground. 

"The thing is...There's a pup I love and I don't know if he loves me back. I've been trying to gather the persistence to tell him ever since I met him one day. But that confidence goes away from me every time I even think about it. I often feel unhappy about it." I sigh. 

"You have a crush on a pup but you think he doesn't love you. I suffer the same problem, actually. My best advice to you, Everest, is to try to regain that confidence." Marshy suggests. 

I love calling him Marshy But not to his face. It will reveal too much about how I honestly felt about him.

"I see your point...But how do I regain that confidence? I find it very difficult. More difficult than getting yourself out of a situation when you're surrounded by hungry, predatory bears." I look up to him. 

He pauses for a few moments. 

"You have to tell yourself not to be sad about it. And even if you think this pup doesn't like you, maybe he does. In probability, there's a fifty percent chance of him loving you as a lover. And to be honest with you, I don't see why a pup wouldn't like you. You have to believe in yourself." Marshall stares right up at me.

"T-That was v-very meaningful to me, Marshall. I never knew you gave such great advice." I get closer to him. 

"Thank you, Everest. It's pretty nice of you to say that." he reddens. I go way closer to him than before. I lean onto his spotted fur. He felt rather comfortable. 

Before the moment could even escalate, Marshall gets a call on his pup tag. 

"Marshall! Are you there? Farmer Yumi needs you at the farm to help water her tomatoes as well as her other crops." Ryder speaks. 

"I'll be right there, Ryder." he jumps off of the bench, looking at me, "We can talk another day, Eve. I like having talks like this, but right now I have to go." 

"It's okay, Marshall. Go help Farmer Yumi with her tomatoes. They're growing better than ever with your help." I put on a hopeful smile. 

"Thank you, Everest. Well...I'm leaving now." he walks to the curb to his firetruck. 

"Okay! Bye, Marshall. We'll talk another day!" I call out.

● ● ●

"Wow, Everest. That's very deep what Marshall told you. He said he has the same problem as you. That means he has a crush on a pup. But who is it?" Skye pondered on a very complex question. 

"I don't know who it is. But I'm certain that it isn't me. I mean, why would he like me?" 

"You're very nice, Everest. And remember what Marshall told you. It could be possible that he loves you. But I'm still worried about Chase." Skye sighs concerned, "I'm positive that he wouldn't love me. I mean, I'm very small and all. Why would he love me? He deserves a better pup. A pup that isn't...Me." 

"I guess you feel a lot worse than me. It'll be okay, Skye. Try not to lose hope. When are you finally going to confess to him?" I ask interested in an answer. 

"Uhh...I don't know. Maybe...Never? But if I never make a move, then nothing will ever happen if Chase doesn't say anything if he loves me. This is very hard." Skye shakes her head. 

"I agree that this is very hard. And I have no clue how long it will take for me to tell Marshall how I feel about him." I sigh. Love is confusing. More complex than a one-thousand piece puzzle. 

"Anyways...What's happening over at the Lookout? Is everybody doing fine? Especially Marshall?" I ask curiously. 

"Uhh...You'll be very surprised by what I'm about to tell you." she looks away. 

"What is it?" I question desperately, "Tell me now."

"So...You know how Chase and Marshall are best friends, right?"

"I do. So?"

"The point is...they used to be best friends. But they got into an argument...And now they're frenemies. The other pups are doing fine...It's only Chase and Marshall who aren't fine." Skye explained. 

"I always thought that neither of them would've stopped being friends with each other." I frowned in disbelief. 

"We all thought that. I'm still very surprised." Skye looks up at the door that Jake was in front of.

"Hi, Jake! You're back from town, finally." I glanced up at Jake, who had a few grocery bags in his hands. 

"Yeah. I'm back with lots of food for us. And I brought your liver treats, Everest." Jake took out a packet of my beloved treats and set it next to me. 

"Mmm...This is good. Thanks, Jake." I show appreciation. 

"Oh, you're welcome, Everest! I'm just going to put the rest of these groceries away." Jake lugged the extra bags to the kitchen. 

"Do you think Chase will ever confess to you, Skye?" 

"I'm not so sure. I know he doesn't love me. Everyone knows that!" 

"Everyone?" I look over to her with a bewildered look. "Well...okay. Not exactly everyone...but you get the point. I know he'll never, ever love me." Skye shakes her head.

I still feel very doubtful. I know Marshall would never love me and I feel bad about it. I'm just not the pup that he deserves.