After getting Katie's permission (who was honestly just thankful that what they were asking of her was within a surprising amount of reason knowing Audrey), as well as Marshall and Everest's, the two pups excitedly walked down the street under the setting sun, not a single tail in sight standing still.

To Audrey's surprise, not that she was complaining, she was very clearly not the only one enjoying herself. Emma almost looked more ecstatic, running ahead as she eagerly waited for her to catch up—a shame her legs weren't at peak capacity, she normally would've had no issues keeping up with her.

"This is so exciting! I've never had a sleepover with someone I didn't already live with," the shepherd exclaimed, bending forward in the universal language of wanting to play—or in this case, simply pure excitement. Either way, she was definitely getting the message across.

"Me neither! I've only ever had one with Katie," Audrey answered, although she never once thought anything less of the ones she typically hung out with—be it her owner, or just members of her family. However, having someone around her age that was actually the same species as her to hang out with was exactly what she had been asking for, and most certainly something new. And even if her percentage of experience was down in the single digits, as far as she could tell, so far it was going well.

At least, she saw this as going well until she heard the dreadful mix of sounds flooding her ears; tires racing against the pavement, and the roar of an engine as a car blazed past her. Without the ability to even consider if her actions were a good idea or not—by all means, she wouldn't have done this if her mind had even a spare second to think it through—she whimpered and shrunk behind the shepherd.

"A-Audrey, are you okay?" she nervously asked, stopping and turning to the Border Collie—who was only now facing the fact that she was using someone she had only just recently met as a body shield from her own stupid fear.

And since by the time she managed to process the question, and the situation as a whole, the car had already sped off into the light of the sun, Audrey just sighed to herself as she jumped up with a small, unconfident smile.

"I-I am...so sorry about that. I've never really liked cars, i-it's kind of a long story, I'll spare you the details," she awkwardly explained, saving both of them such misery as she dragged her eyes back to the sidewalk ahead and marched on—somehow missing the obvious concern on Emma's face. Then again, even if she had seen it, she wouldn't have commented on it, she had no intentions of dragging any pity out of her.

And after a minute or so of walking in a silence that would make even the fanciest of libraries jealous—that Audrey was already blaming herself for—the world decided that now was the time to have traffic one would only see on this road during rush hours, sending yet another obstacle her way.

She could hear it in the distance, but for the sake of not making a fool of herself for a second time, she tensed up and did everything within her power not to react. Even if her mind was running as fast as ever, desperately wishing to get away from her approaching fate, she was determined to uphold the impression she had miraculously set for herself—one that was not that of a coward.

However, in an act that was one of the few things able to grab her attention, Emma froze and sat down on the sidewalk. If she was trying to make her more confused than scared, it was working. The collie stopped and turned around, about to ask her what was going on before her words were cut off by the sound of silence. Before she could protest (well...she really didn't know if she would have), the shepherd rested her front paws on her shoulders, softly looking back at her.

"Look at me," she demanded, sending a strange yet weirdly warm, tingly feeling through Audrey's chest. Having no idea how one was supposed to react to this, the collie just played along, only trying to turn her head over to the road as the car passed them. And despite her best efforts, Emma brought one of her paws up against the pup's cheeks and gently pushed her face back to her own, giving no choice but for Audrey to look into her soft, green eyes. "No, I said look at me, not the car. Just me."

Audrey gave a soft, dazed nod, her head lost in another reality as the shepherd warmly smiled—part of her was wondering if she was following the instructions too well. The job was mostly to avoid letting herself focus on her fears, at least that's what she assumed, but now she was locked into a place where she could hardly process anything that belonged to the outside world. The only exception was the soft, comforting presence of the other dog in front of her.

"And...it's gone! Sorry if that was a bit much, I-I just thought it might help you," Emma sheepishly explained, her justification being the much-needed calling for the Border Collie to shake her head and snap herself out of her trance—even if that weird fuzziness had yet to leave her alone.

"Oh, u-uhm, yeah, I-I think it did help, thanks." Audrey smiled softly, still trying to calm herself down and get her heart to stop beating so fast—the car was gone now, there was no reason to be anxious. And even if that was her reasoning, the shepherd looked a bit dazed herself, with a nervous smile on her face (and a wagging tail, but that was probably just from the previous excitement). "Are...you okay?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I-I think you rubbed off on me, I zoned out a bit there too." The Border Collie, already being a full expert on the concept of dazing off, smiled and laughed it off. Something as simple as that couldn't mean much, and hey, at least the car hadn't been a worry.

And on the brightest side of them all, they were finally at the lookout. Emma looked up at the tower in awe, her jaw dropping to the ground as Audrey giggled slightly—obviously she didn't remember it, but she assumed she had reacted in a similar way in a different time. The grey pup was amazed but finally got her eyes down enough to step into the elevator without running into the wall, though she made it clear she was still blown away.

"You...live here?" Emma finally managed to ask, trying her hardest not to look around and pry at every last detail of what she had seen so far—this place claimed to be a home, not an art exhibit. The Border Collie nodded confidently, by this point, she was sort of used to her family being retired celebrities, with their tower being, to many, a symbol of the rescue team that once was.

"Yep, lived here for as long as I could remember." The shepherd continued to look around in amazement, taken back by the gorgeous view through the glass window as the elevator rose. Audrey chuckled to herself, unlike her last guess, she was certain that she was once just as invested in that window in her younger years.

Her younger puppy self would've been jealous of getting to show someone new that view, and once the elevator doors opened, a different puppy was less than hesitant to voice their opinions.

"Audwey, who is this?" Ruby demanded, looking up at her with her own teeth out and a look that could kill. Audrey only sighed as Emma turned around to face her—the latter looked more confused than anything. Determined to both not let this ruin her friend's first impression, and also to not look like a jerk to a literal pup, the collie looked down at the puppy with a smile.

"Relax, Ruby, she's my friend, her name is Emma. She's just here to stay the night," she explained, with the shepherd giving a small, awkward wave. For as big of a game as she talked, the mixed breed lowered her guard with her tail starting to slowly wag, already won over by a single reply. Thankfully no one ever tried to break in, if they did, all they'd have to do was say that they knew someone and give her a quick pat on the head and she'd probably be the one to show them where all the valuables were.

"Audrey?" The Border Collie raised her eyes up from Ruby, her face lighting up in excitement as her parents stepped forward. Although Emma was still trying to give all these strangers an identity to call their own, Audrey rushed forward, tightly hugging them—which of course was returned with mutual excitement; a warm embrace that they could all share.

"Hey, guys. I missed you," she softly muttered, even if she had only not seen them for a couple of hours. And while she had yet to leave the hug, she tilted her head back to her friend, only then remembering that she was probably still confused since none of them looked alike. Just another side effect of being the adopted child of the family. "Oh, yeah, these are my parents."

"Hi! You must be Emerald, it's nice to meet you. My name is Marshall," the Dalmatian greeted as the three of them separated. He extended his paw out for the closest thing they could do to a handshake—and once Emma was fully up to date, she fulfilled her end of the deal as well. Everest repeated the same action, introducing herself and sharing a small handshake between them.

"It's nice to meet you both as well. And you don't have to call me Emerald, everyone usually calls me Emma," she introduced herself, smiling brightly—though nothing was said after that, not until she turned over to Audrey. "Hey, I hate to kill the mood and all that, but where's the bathroom?"

"Oh, yeah, you're fine. It's right over there," the collie answered, pointing at the closed door off to the side. After thanking her, the shepherd smiled and waved as she walked away, only to leave Audrey and her parents alone for the very first time since the new pup's grand appearance.

"So...I take it you and your friend are getting along well?" Marshall eventually asked, smiling softly smiling when his word choice wasn't denied—if things weren't going well, he was certain he would've been able to tell by now. If that wasn't enough of an answer, he didn't know what was, but he was still fully waiting for an explanation from the infinite possibilities of his daughter's own words.

"Yeah, I would say so. She's really nice, I think we hit it off well." Audrey couldn't help but smile, seeing the joy on both of her parents' faces. She knew what they were thinking, and she was too happy about this whole thing to go against it—after all, there was no reason nor a way she could stop her biggest supporters from celebrating a victory, their determination was that of dedicated sports fans. At the end of the day, she was probably just as thankful as they were.

"Yeah, she seems pretty cool, doesn't she?" the husky asked with a small laugh, her intentions lingering somewhere between a joke and a genuine compliment. A very harmless comment, and it wouldn't have been taken any other way if Audrey hadn't slowly started to zone off, meaning that she had to fill in most of that sentence herself. But even then, her thoughts ran freely with the handful of words she did understand, and her big mouth was doing her no favors.

"Yeah...s-she is really pretty," she muttered, dreamily smiling as her thoughts floated around in her brain—the shepherd's soft fur, her, well, emerald eyes, her...cute face...not that she actually thought any of those things, of course, her mind always had a track record of bringing up thoughts that weren't true. Well...okay, maybe they weren't not true, but it was her head's fault! It wasn't like her thoughts would have an audience to hold her to them, and she had no control over what she thought, it didn't matter at all.

Though in all fairness, she had yet to realize that yes, she had said part of that out loud. And Everest, being one of the two lucky enough to catch wind of her sentence, subtly smiled as she looked over at her mate—who had the exact same expression on his face. Surprised eyes, sure, but an all-knowing smirk that only they could read with their couple mind powers.

"What was that, Audrey?" In an instant, the Border Collie jumped and let out a soft yelp, her head darting between her parents—the smirks only adding to the terror weighing on her shoulders. It was a little late now, but only now did the puzzle pieces in her head click. Hopefully, they had actually not heard her, such misinformation could not be known by the public.

"N-nothing, nothing, I was just agreeing. She is...pretty nice?" she explained, awkwardly smiling—personally having no idea if that was even the original claim being used. Her parents held eye contact with each other for just a second more before turning back to her, smiling innocently as Everest set her paw on her back.

"Oh, alright, I thought you said something, never mind then. We'll just leave you two alone, me and Dad have something we need to do. Right, Marshy?" Without even giving him the chance to agree, the husky turned around and grabbed onto his shoulder, pulling him alongside her until he was able to get keep up by himself.

"Yep, you two have fun!" With that sudden goodbye, they were gone before she could've even said bye herself, and she could've sworn that they were whispering to each other as they stepped into the elevator. The collie rolled her eyes and brought her eyes back to the bathroom door, waiting patiently as she tried to ignore her thoughts. Whatever, they didn't mean anything.

"I'm back!" Pretty much immediately forgetting that awkward encounter (at least, for the time being, that would definitely come back and haunt her some night), Audrey turned her head up to the shepherd closing in with a wagging tail. Her timing couldn't have been better, and thankfully, she had no reason to question why her parents had disappeared so suddenly.

"So, what do you wanna do now? It's probably gonna be fully dark soon, but I'm sure we could still do whatever," she asked her guest, more than willing to do anything listed. Emma thought carefully, giving it a good consideration before coming up with a more obvious answer given the limitless possibilities.

"Do you have video games here?" Audrey sighed and shook her head, unfortunately, only Katie's house had been blessed with that—she wanted to change that sooner or later, she had her fingers crossed for Christmas. "Hmm, well, I'm cool with just heading to wherever you stay and talking."

"Sure! I'm gonna grab some snacks in case you want any," she proclaimed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a box of treats off the counter—one that she probably wasn't supposed to have, but oh well, this would be far from the first time that such a rule didn't stop her. A small snack felt like a pretty normal suggestion until she turned back around and noticed the shepherd's hesitant face. "Uhm...do you not want any?"

"Oh, u-uh, I don't know, I might have one or two. You can bring them down though, thanks." Audrey had no trouble breaking through her shield of secretiveness, at least enough to know that her friend was nervous about...something. What was making her nervous was a complete mystery, one that she was admittedly curious about, but not one that she intended on letting her curiosity take over for.

The two of them walked into the elevator, the doors closing as the platform began to lower to the ground. The shepherd was still smiling (that and still awe-struck by the view), an expression that Audrey couldn't have been more thankful to see.

"You're pretty close with your parents, huh?" the grey pup suddenly asked, a bit random, but it got a confident nod from Audrey. Not a day went by that she didn't think of them highly, forever the loving guardians that took her under their wing. She was scared of losing a lot in life, what little friends she had, control of her emotions, but one of the few things she knew that she could hold near and dear were her parents. Nothing could take that away from her.

"Yeah, we've always been close, they've raised me for as long as I can remember. They were actually my foster parents originally, at least that's what I was told, and things ended up working out so I could permanently stay here," the collie explained, thinking back on what was probably the best day of her life (even if she only remembered it through pictures and stories).

"That's...great, I'm happy for you," Emma softly commented, her smile slipping down for just a second before she replaced it with a fast smile. Thankfully for her sanity's sake, Audrey was blissfully unaware, opening the door to her purple doghouse without a clue in the world. "Wow, this is a big room. You guys have a really fancy home."

"Thanks! It's pretty sweet having a bunch of inventors living around here," she responded with a small laugh, stepping inside her house—only to sigh at the state she found it in, even if it was far from shocking. "Oh, uh, sorry about the mess. I'm not exactly the most organized."

"Don't worry about it, it's not like Katie's room was any cleaner." The two were able to laugh it off as they started to get settled in, placing the box of treats in between them as the border collie sat on the carpeted floor while letting the guest use her dog bed—which did take some convincing, but nothing that she wasn't capable of. Audrey didn't waste any time munching on the snacks they brought, offering Emma some, only to be pushed away again.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you still know your parents?" Audrey curiously asked, just then realizing how bad that was to ask someone who she knew had been in foster care. Just as she feared, the shepherd's face flashed into darkness, a somber shadow clouding her face as her expression took a turn for the worse. "O-oh...I'm sorry, forget I asked anything."

"N-no, it's fine, I've gotten used to explaining it, i-it kinda helps to tell someone, actually, If you're still curious. Not that you have to do anything, of course, I-I don't mind." Ignoring the cautionary warning, Audrey nodded, more than ready to take on the role that many had done for her.

"If you think it'll help you, then sure." Emma raised her head, softly smiling at her friend's kindness—though that made her feel even more concerned that by speaking her truth, she was only adding to whatever might've already been on the other's plate. Still, she had already set up these expectations for a story.

"Well, my dad left right when I was born, so I lived with my mom for as long as I could remember. We were both strays, and for a while, everything was fine. I know that she missed Dad, but we managed to get by for the first year," she slowly started to explain, her face still down to the ground. "But it started getting hard to find food, a-and everytime we actually managed to find some, Mom would give it to me and say that she wasn't hungry. A-and being the stupid, clueless puppy I was...I-I ate it."

So far, Audrey could only tell that this wasn't going to be ending well. Without thinking it through much, reached her paw out and gently gripped onto her friend's paw, already seeing the tears starting to well up in her eyes. Hoping that it wasn't coming off weirdly, she softly rubbed the fur on her paw, feeling nothing but sympathy toward her. It took one to know one, after all.

"A-and one day, w-when I woke up...s-she didn't. She was still hugging me, b-but she was so cold, s-she just wouldn't wake up. And...I stayed with her for a couple of days, waiting for her to wake up until the pound found me." Emma brought her paws up, wiping away her tears as she took a long, shaking breath. Audrey, at this point assuming that them only being new friends could get a pass this time, stood up and wrapped her front legs around the shepherd.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. I-I know how it feels, I lost my biological parents in a car crash. U-unless it's too much for you to talk about, I'm only asking since you said it helped you to talk, is that why you don't like eating a lot?" The Australian Shepherd slowly nodded, softly hugging back before backing away—somehow smiling and still holding onto the other's paw.

"S-sorta, I have anorexia nervosa, y-you may have heard of it, it's an eating disorder. B-but you don't have to worry about that, I have a therapist I've been seeing for almost half a year now and all that good stuff. Thank you, Audrey, I really appreciate it." Although the Border Collie wasn't sure what she was being praised for, she smiled and took it with grace. This was just what friends were supposed to do, right?

"O-oh...I have heard of that, I'm sorry, is there anything I can do to help? And also, who do you see for therapy?" she curiously asked, secretly wondering if the stars had aligned and given them another not-so-great trait in common—though of course, that wasn't her main focus.

"Just listening is enough, that's more than some people are willing to give me. And I see a girl named Haley, she's pretty nice, why do you ask?" With her ears now perking up, Audrey smiled and chuckled a bit, which at the very least seemed to break the ice a little. Oh what a small world it was.

"Hey, she's my therapist too, we have the same one!" she proclaimed, laughing until she saw the concern on Emma's face. Still completely unaware, she innocently tilted her head, her eyes only widening a little too late as she realized what she had done.

"You see a therapist? For what? Is everything okay? Well, sorry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." In a single second, the Border Collie felt every last bit of their newly found friendship slipping away.

It was a good run, filled with limitless possibilities, but no, she had screwed it up and ruined it for both of them. No chance she could salvage it after what she had just done, so there wasn't much of a point in lying. She had already dug herself a perfectly fit grave.

"Uhm...y-yeah, I do. I-I have ADHD, and epilepsy...b-but, you know, there isn't much she can do about the second one," she explained with a nervous laugh, refusing to make eye contact as she waited for judgment to be cast on her. Any second now, the sleepover would probably be ruined, assuming that it wasn't already

"Oh my gosh, are you sure you're okay? I've heard ADHD is a pain to go through, but that and epilepsy? What triggers seizures for you?" At first, Audrey was surprised to hear such genuine concern, almost not buying into it at first. The two of them had only just met, why was she so worried? It wasn't like she had suddenly revealed that she had two days left to live or something like that.

"W-well, stress is my main trigger, but things like not sleeping well and flashing lights can cause them too. Why?" To her, all of this felt like a whirlwind of confusion. Not only as to why Emma was suddenly acting like her doctor or her parents when they were checking in on her, or even that she was so easily accepting of her real self, but also that all of this concern continued to make her insides feel bubbly.

"Why? Because I'm worried about you, when was the last time you had one?" The collie was very much aware that she had two options here, either being brutally honest or brushing it off. It was tempting to cover her tracks, it wasn't like Emma had any proof to argue it (even though her legs were still sore). But unfortunately, she didn't want to get into the habit of lying to her friend this early on, the sake of whatever was left of this sleepover may depend on it.

"A-a couple days ago," she muttered, and as she assumed, an extremely concerned expression washed upon Emma's face. Without much clarification, the shepherd stood out of the dog bed, marched over in front of her, and extended her paw down—glaring down at the pup below her.

"Take my paw. Now." The sudden switch and tone made it feel like she'd be risking her life if she didn't do what she was told, so without being given really any option, Audrey lightly took hold. The shepherd gently pulled her up, wrapped her leg around her—which for some reason caused complete a meltdown in her head—and carefully laid her against the bed that she was originally in. "Don't you even think about getting up. I don't care if I'm the guest, you need the bed, I can handle sleeping on the floor."

"Emma, you don't have to do that, I-I'll be fine," Audrey tried to reassure her, slowly standing up. And of course, now was when she winced, apparently hitting a pressure point in her legs—an irritatingly bad time for them to start acting up. Her friend raised an eyebrow, not saying a word as the collie gave up, loudly sighed, and laid back down. "F-fine, thanks. But I'm sure we could probably find a spare bed around here somewhere. I don't want to make you sleep on the floor."

"Well, do you know where they are? If you don't, it's fine, just let me sleep here. This carpet is already more comfortable than some beds I've slept on, give me a blanket and I'll be out like a light!" she proclaimed, probably meaning it too even though Audrey was far from agreeing. This was her guest, her friend! She couldn't just throw her to the floor, she had to give her something, no matter the cause.

"You could sleep here," she blurted out, scooting over and nodding her head to the spot next to her. The moment the words left her mouth, her eyes widened in horror at what she had just done (she hated how many times that was happening today). She would've taken it back if the shepherd didn't shrug and walked over to her, apparently not bothered by it—though she could've sworn she was more nervous than usual.

Audrey made sure she scooted over as much as she could, and thankfully, the size of her bed made it easy for Emma to lay down on the other side without them being overly close to one another. They had separate blankets and pillows, it would be like nothing was happening. At least, that's what she wanted to tell herself, her mind was racing to the point where she could hardly speak. And of course, that was when her parents decided to make their big cameo.

"Hey, Mom and I are going to bed now. Goodnight, you two, and love you, Audrey. Don't stay up for too much longer," Marshall's voice rang through the door. She sighed in relief, beyond thankful that they didn't open the door to see them in such close proximity (that was something she didn't even want to think about explaining).

"Don't worry, we'll sleep soon. Love you guys too, see you in the morning." Of course, it still took willpower for her to speak, and there were yawns in between words as her parents left and she handed out their blankets and pillows. Emma took a few seconds to get her sleeping situation fully set up, giving the collie a small opening to take her medicine before the former spoke up again.

"Welp, I wouldn't mind going to bed either. It's been an eventful day, I'm pretty worn out." Personally, the Border Collie couldn't agree more, sleeping sounded perfect right now. That being said, a part of her still didn't want this day to end. It felt so different, so calming yet partially terrifying. She wasn't sure if she was ready to risk waking up from this weird dream.

"Sure, I'm tired too, let's call it a night," she answered with a small laugh, nuzzling into her pillow as she wrapped her forelegs around its soft, cotton surface.

"Goodnight, Audrey, thank you for everything, you've been an amazing friend. Sleep well." Although she couldn't see her, Audrey had the feeling Emma was either already asleep or mere moments away from being there the moment the words left her mouth. She couldn't help but smile, her head falling against her pillow as her head and heart raced together.

"I should be thanking you, Emma. Goodnight." The collie let her eyes shut on the outside world, but on the inside, her insides were dancing in excitement. She felt so happy, this entire day had gone better than she could've ever asked. It all felt so good, she couldn't stop smiling even if she tried. This was almost perfect, she had a friend now, and that was all that she had ever wanted.

But if that was all that she had ever wanted...why did a part of her always hurt when Emma called her a friend?