-Sky-

"And that gets filed under I didn't know that," Max chuckled.

I let out a small giggle, stretching my legs. We were in my room, lying on my bed and trying to focus on our project about the owls, but our conversations kept changing from animals to music to our mutual dislike for fashion to pretty much everything else. I was telling Max about my wealthy uncle, who used to take me with him when he went camping or hiking or exploring the wilds, and that it was probably because of him that I fell so deeply in love with nature.

"He has always been the odd one in our family," I continued. "He never liked people, and everyone in the family always joked about me being the only one he liked. I don't think it's true because he likes Freddy too. I mean, at least he buys expensive gifts for him too. Mom always complains about him spoiling us. I don't think she's serious though..."

"Have you seen him at all after moving here?" Max asked, pulling me closer to him.

"Nope..." I sighed in sadness. "I have talked with him on the phone, but it's not the same."

"I'd like to meet him one day," Max said sincerely. I gave him a small grin, showing I didn't believe it was such a good idea. "What?" he asked with a frown.

"Well, he is pretty weird. Like, I'm practically normal compared to him," I chuckled.

"You are perfectly normal," he said, and his frown deepened.

"No, I'm not, and I don't even want to be normal," I said from the bottom of my heart. "Normal sounds so boring. I tried to be like everyone else here, but as you can see, it didn't quite work out," I added, pointing at the clothes I was wearing. I was wearing the jeans and the hoodie my mom and Freddie had selected for me a month ago, and they already were worn down and filled with holes.

Max started laughing and hugged me before he grabbed my school bag. "I must say, I like this better than the black one," he said, studying the picture of a turtle on the green canvas. "You had this before we started dating," he added.

"I guess Bella likes it more, too," I sighed and turned to squint my eyes at the tiger-striped murderer of my black backpack. She pretended she didn't see me while listening to the sounds coming outside my room. "I can't be mad at her, though. She's so cute!" I laughed eventually.

"And she's right. This is perfect for you," Max said, tapping the bag.

"I was embarrassed of it," I admitted, and took it from him. "I wanted to fit in, and I knew having this would make things worse for me," I said quietly.

Some kids had tried to pick on me after I started using the green turtle bag again. It didn't bother me that much – I did feel a bit bad about it – because I had a boyfriend and cool friends, so I didn't have to be afraid of being left alone ever again. I was going to just ignore their mean jokes. But Max being Max, he didn't tolerate their behavior.

After the third person joked about my bag, Max was angry. He told me to stay with Troy until he got back and left. Troy and I stayed behind, wondering where he was going just before the start of our next class. It was the first time Max skipped classes, and we got worried. After the class was dismissed, Troy and I hurried to find him. I called him, and he told me to meet him in the yard.

Man... It was like from the movies. We got outside, but we didn't see Max. There were so many students around we didn't spot him at first. Then we saw him walking through the gates. He was wearing the football team's black jacket and matching black jeans. His hair was flowing freely through the wind while the brown leaves, matching his hair-color, fell down around him.

And the yard fell silent when people saw him. Max stopped in the middle of the pathway that led to the main entrance, glaring over the crowd with such a furious look on his handsome face that even Luke Frost would have been proud.

There he was, standing defiantly in silence, in the middle of the students, the King, with his new pink My Little Pony backpack hanging on his shoulder.

No one joked about my bag after that. The look on Max's face at that moment convinced everyone that it was a very bad idea to joke about my bag. Or his. Or Troy's. Or anyone else's.

"I can't believe you turned this into a fashion trend at school," I giggled and grabbed his radiantly pink bag from the ground. On the next day after that incident, almost half of the students had turned up at school with children's bags. "You really are the king," I praised him, but he still didn't like being called that, so he wrinkled his nose in disapproval.

"I just didn't want them to tease you. I thought that if I had this bag, they would aim their jokes at me, and forget about you," he explained quietly.

I gave him a wide smile before I pushed myself up so I could kiss his lips. "You are the best boyfriend anyone could ever have," I told him.

He returned my smile and brushed my hair away from my face. "But that's not true," he said quietly, and something froze inside me.

During those couple of seconds when he was silent, a dozen horrible scenarios ran through my mind, most of them about him telling me he had someone else; he was cheating on me; he hated me; this all was just a great big prank.

"You are the best boyfriend," he continued with a tender look in his eyes, and I remembered how to breathe again.

"Well that's not possible," I said and giggled. "I'm just a weird, clumsy geek who keeps forgetting everything..."

"You are so much more than that," he spoke softly, and I forgot to argue back when those brilliant eyes of his trapped me.

I wasn't aware if time passed at all while we stared at each other, and I really enjoyed our little bubble, but then Bella burst it with a sharp bark. Max laughed and looked away, leaving me as cold as always, and we both turned to look at Bella, who was now standing by the window, her nose pressed against the glass and tail wagging like crazy.

"What is it, girl?" I asked and got up on my feet.

I walked to the window and peered out. There was a green car in our driveway, but I didn't see anyone. A second later, I heard our doorbell, and Bella went completely crazy. She dashed to the door and barked wildly until I let her out.

"Is it Luke?" Max asked with a laugh. "I thought he'd call us when he's coming."

I picked up my phone. "Uh... He probably has... My battery is dead," I chuckled.

"Mine is on mute," Max muttered. "Yeah, two missed calls. But they're from Troy?"

"Come," I said, and followed Bella downstairs.

She looked like she was trying to get through the door. I laughed at her enthusiasm and opened the door, and Bella forced herself through the small gap. I heard Luke's deep laughter, and Bella's whining intensified. I pushed the door wide open just as when Max joined us.

"My baby girl!" Luke spoke cheerily, and tried to pet Bella, but she was all over the place. "I know, I know, I missed you too..."

It didn't seem to be enough for Bella to run around his feet and push herself against him. She moved fast, standing first behind Luke, then she ran around him and jumped high in the air, and Luke caught her. Bella was still whining and crying, licking his face all over, tail wagging like a whip while Luke tried to hold her against his chest and laughing harder than ever. It was so wonderful to watch.

Troy was there too, and he seemed to be in a great mood too. He noticed me watching him, so he took a step closer to us.

"We tried to call you guys," he said while Luke was too busy cooing, "Who's a good girl?"

"Sorry," I grinned and let him in.

Luke followed him and let Bella down on the ground. They both were still really excited to be reunited, and I found it somehow really heartwarming to see this side of Luke. He was just another silly dog owner who had missed their puppy like crazy. He was acting like me, and it made me feel better about myself. I had something in common with the school's grumpy quarterback.

When the door was closed, Luke seemed to snap out of it. He spotted us, and it seemed like he hadn't even noticed us standing there. He cleared his throat, straightened his posture, wiped Bella's snot off his cheeks while his expression turned serious, like he was trying to salvage the little he had left of his cold and uncaring reputation.

"Too late," Troy smirked and patted his back. "Now they know you're actually a sweet guy."

Luke squinted his eyes at him, but Troy didn't seem to be bothered by it. "Go wash your face. And you still have some saliva on your hair," he told Luke.

Luke rolled his eyes, but turned to look at me anyway, asking about our bathroom. He left after I pointed him in the right direction.

"So...?" Max muttered quietly, giving Troy a curious look.

"Like, I guess...?" Troy smirked back and rubbed the back of his neck.

"But, you know?" Max said, but Troy only shrugged.

Meanwhile, I had no idea what they were talking about. They had this whole communication system I didn't understand. Sometimes I really did feel like I was watching a pack of wolves, not humans, trying to understand them and their behavior.

When Troy turned to look at our bathroom door, his smile grew smaller, and there was something in his eyes... Worry, maybe? It vanished when Luke stepped out, and his smile returned, but it was enough to convince me he still had doubts. But even so, when his eyes met Luke's, his expression turned softer and warmer. I think the sweetest part was when Luke turned to look away from him, pretending to scratch his nose even though he clearly was trying to hide his happy smile. I wanted him to know that showing his emotions was nothing to be embarrassed about, but I guess he was already learning that.

"So... Thanks for taking care of Bella," Luke suddenly said and turned to look at me.

And I suddenly remembered why they were there, and my mood dropped drastically. I looked at Bella, who hadn't left Luke's side even when he was in the bathroom. She kept a close eye on her human so she wouldn't lose him ever again. I felt something cold and icy around my heart when I remembered my own dog looking at me like that. It was a memory I didn't want to have. Now, I kind of wished I hadn't agreed to take care of Bella, after all.

"She's a really good dog," I said quietly. "It was really fun," I added, and even though it was true, I still felt like I was lying because I couldn't bear the thought of her leaving. I really wished they didn't notice how miserable it made me feel.

Maybe Max knew, because I felt his hand landing on my shoulder, pulling me tightly against his side. I immediately felt better when he did that.

"You know..." Luke spoke hesitantly, and fell quiet for a moment when all three of us turned to look at him. Then he continued, looking down at Bella. "I think she'd like it if you come visit her... if you want... Max, too, if you want..."

He spoke like he had to force the words out of his mouth. First, I thought he was just acting nice in front of Troy – I still wasn't sure if Luke liked me or not – but then he looked up at me, and I could have sworn he looked hopeful, like he really wanted it. It was the strangest thing I had even encountered. Why would he care if I wanted to visit his dog or not? Then, it occurred to me that maybe he was using Bella as an excuse to hang out with me? But why? That made zero sense!

"That'd be great!" Troy said. "We could all hang out and Bella doesn't need to be left alone, like we could go to dog parks and to that dog-friendly beach and I bet Sky could show us around the forest too, and–"

"Breathe," Max laughed and patted his back. "I like that idea – it's actually really good exercise to walk in the forest. I got winded really fast at first. It would benefit our team as well."

"And the forest floor is better for your knee than pavement," Troy told Luke.

"Would you like that?" Luke asked Bella who barked as a reply. "She'd love that," Luke said, and looked at me, and his expression was still quite timid. "I know I've been a jerk to you, so I get it if you don't want to–"

"Oh, don't worry about it," I hurried to cut him off. "You apologized already, so we're good."

"Yeah?" he said, smiling a little.

"Positive," I nodded. "I thought you knew that, since I took care of Bella for three weeks and all."

"Yeah, I guess... Yeah..." he trailed off. "I just... wanted to make sure..."

He looked down at Bella, and didn't look back up again. Did I just witness him being just as shy and awkward as the rest of us? I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but then again, looks can be deceiving. I guess he had just hid his shyness behind his grumpiness.

"Um, do you guys want to stay and hang out?" I asked when no one seemed to be in a hurry to speak.

"Sure," Troy spoke with a smile. "We were actually thinking the same."

"Awesome!" I chirped, and turned to look at Max. "We can continue the project later, right?"

"We never even started with it," he chuckled. "But yes, we can do it later."

"Great! We should go out in our backyard, so Bella has more room to play," I suggested, and gestured for them to follow me out.

It was a really nice day, even though it was quite cold. Bella was excited to be outside, but she still didn't want to leave Luke's side. She spotted one of her toys nearby and went to get it. She dropped it at Luke's feet and looked up at him, expecting him to throw it for her, which he did.

"She can't get out of this yard, can she?" Luke asked, when she returned with the toy.

"The gate's closed," I said reassuringly.

"I don't think she's going anywhere without you," Troy laughed and patted his back.

"Papa's little crybaby..." Luke chuckled quietly and tossed the toy again.

Max and I sat down on a cushioned bench we had on our patio. Max still hadn't removed his hand from my shoulder, and I guessed he was worried about me. I rested my head on the crook of his neck and watched Bella, who was clearly having a blast.

"I miss Brutus," I said so quietly only Max could hear me.

"I know you do," he said tenderly, and kissed my temple, giving me a tight hug with one arm. "This can't be easy on you."

"A part of me wants a dog, but I don't want to go through that again..." I mumbled and snuggled closer to him.

"I know..." Max said again with a soothing voice.

It was hard to stay miserable when he was there comforting me. I gave him a smile before I turned to look at Troy and Luke, who were now standing in the middle of the yard, playing with Bella. Luke was watching her with a content smile on his face. Troy, on the other hand, was watching him, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"You know what's weird?" Max suddenly spoke, keeping his voice down. "I couldn't imagine them together, no matter how hard I tried, but now... Just look at them now."

Luke turned to look at Troy and noticed him already staring at him. His smile grew softer and warmer, while Troy's turned shy, accompanied by a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Perfect fit," I agreed, when Troy stepped right in front of Luke, standing so close there was barely an inch between them, taking his hand in his.

"Yeah, and that's just really, really odd to see them together. Like, they are my closest friends, and we're always been friends, and watching them now makes me just feel so... weird," he said. "I mean, I've never seen two guys flirting with each other, and now my closest friends are doing exactly that."

"You almost sound like you don't like it," I said carefully. "There's nothing weird about guys flirting with each other."

Max chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I never said that," he mumbled.

"What did you mean by it, then?" I asked with a frown, and he bit his lower lip, keeping his eyes on Troy and Luke, who seemed to have forgotten we were still there. As we watched, Luke leaned in to kiss Troy, who seemed more than happy to return it.

"I meant that... they are my friends, but... that's just hot," Max mumbled absentmindedly.

"You are so gay," I chuckled.

I did have to agree with him, though. It looked beautiful, the way they disappeared into each other, and into their own happy little world.