Cheddar Biscuit awoke to the bright morning sun shining in her eyes, letting out a loud yawn as she stretched her limbs wide over the windowsill and the edge of the headboard. She felt several of her joints pop in unison as she did, her mouth feeling extremely dry this morning as she tiredly smacked her lips. As the spotted white dog glanced out the window, she soon realized how high the sun was in the sky.
“Oh no, I slept in?!” She said aloud in a panic as she frantically fell over on her face onto the pillows below, quickly bouncing out of bed to immediately freshen herself up for her tour ‘date’ with Colby. She just hoped he’d still be waiting for her at the agreed spot.
As Cheddar Biscuit finally approached the familiar Amusement Bark bench in an exhausted jog, her heart sank. The dog she had fallen hard for was nowhere to be found.
“I’m… too late…” She began to tear up as she sat down on the bench, resting her forearms on her knees as she caught her breath. “Of course I had to find a way to mess this up…” Cheddar sniffled as her tail drooped, silently hating herself for how long she had probably kept him waiting. She was certain he probably never wanted to see her again.
“Hey, Cheddar!”
Cheddar’s tail started wagging immediately at the sound of a familiar voice, turning around to see Colby running in her direction.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, I kind of… overslept a little,” he admitted as he quickly approached her, “I really hope I didn’t keep you waiting here for too long.”
Cheddar wiped the subtle tears in her eyes in relief; the date was still on, after all.
“Not at all, I actually slept in too!” She giggled cutely at the funny coincidence, the sound of which melted Colby’s heart.
“Good, so uh… where’s the first stop on our da… t-tour?” Just then, Colby’s stomach growled rather loudly, almost as if making the suggestion itself.
“I’m hungry too.” Cheddar replied to the growl with a soft laugh as she stood up from the bench, noticing a few small leaves strangely stuck in his hair before she leaned up and gently brushed them off with her paw. “I know, let me take you to The Big Bowl Diner, it’s the best place in town to go out for breakfast! Or for any meal, really.”
As the two canines walked together down the street to the diner, Colby noticed that even though they weren’t at the Amusement Bark, Cheddar seemed to have a natural sweet aroma of a sugary mix between cotton candy and funnel cake. He wasn’t sure if it was simply because she spent so much of her time there that the scent of carnival treats had been permanently stained into her fur, or if she just naturally smelled that sweet. Or perhaps, it could have been that his brain was just playing tricks on him.
When they passed by rack of newspapers in front of the grocery store, the yellow Labrador’s eyes happened to gloss over the headline of today’s front-page:
‘THE BLINK : STILL NO ANSWERS, EXPERTS SAY’
“By the way, Colby, what do you think happened with that weird explosion the other day?” Cheddar asked, having noticed the newspaper as well.
“Oh, uh… I’m not sure. Maybe it was a strong solar flare or something... I dunno.” Colby seemed to brush off the question as though it were nothing to concern himself with. “...What about you? What’s your theory?”
“Well, maybe it sounds crazy, but I think it was aliens.” Cheddar Biscuit replied, looking up into the blue sky.
“You believe in aliens?” Colby asked casually, scratching an itch on his muzzle.
“Of course! They’ve gotta be somewhere out there. The universe is a big place, after all.” Cheddar said with a slight skip in her step.
“Bigger than big…” Colby mumbled under his breath as he looked up at the sky as well.
Suddenly, his ear perked up a bit as they came upon a trio of dogs jovially singing to themselves; there was a short purple one beatboxing, as well as two other dogs - one orange male and one blue female - singing harmony.
“We’re warmin’ up,” “(We’re warmin’ up)”
“‘Cause you never know,” “(We’re warmin’ up)”
“When somebody could use a song~” “(We’re warmin’ up, we’re warmin’ up.)”
“That sounds really nice.” The yellow Lab casually commented as they approached, changing the subject; if there was anything he always appreciated, it was good music.
“Oh, those are the Barkapellas, Bass, Tenor, and Alto. Everyone in Pawston loves their music, they’re practically local celebrities. Hey guys!” Cheddar waved to the singers. “This is Colby, he’s new in town.” Without thinking much of it, Cheddar’s paw impulsively reached over to hold Colby’s as she introduced them before letting out a slight yawn, still currently feeling a bit tired from her lack of sleep. The Barkapellas were apparently very perceptive of this, giving each other a coy grin like they knew exactly what song to sing next as the purple dog Bass began to beatbox a new beat; the orange dog Tenor started with the melody with the aqua-blue dog Alto singing backup.
“Tell me, am I goin’ crazy?” “(Uh huh)”
“Tell me, have I lost my mind?” “(Yeah)”
“Am I just afraid of lovin'?” “(Uh huh)”
“Or am I not the lovin' kind?” “(Yeah)”
“Uh, l-let’s keep going, Colby. They’re um, busy… practicing! For their concert tonight, and I’m starving.” Cheddar continued holding his paw as she eagerly pulled him down the street towards the diner, trying to avoid an even more awkward situation.
“O-oh, okay.” Colby replied, turning his head back curiously as the Barkapellas continued singing in their direction.
“Gimme that caaan't sleeeep looove” “(Gimme that can't sleep)”
“I want that caaan't sleeeep looove” “(Gimme that can't sleep)”
“The kind I dream about all day,
The kind that keeps me up all night,
Gimme that caaan't sleeeep looove~” “(Yeah)”
They soon reached the Big Bowl Diner, and as the two found an open booth to sit in, Colby quietly looked around at the many decorations and vintage photos littered across the walls. Within less than a minute, a lethargic-looking blue waitress dog wearing an apron approached them before speaking in a dreary monotone voice as she handed them menus.
“Welcome to the Big Bowl Diner… my name is Wagnes, and I’ll be your server today… can I start you with something to drink…?
“I’ll have some orange juice, please.” Cheddar smiled politely at Wagnes. “And I already know what I’m going to order, a bacon-and-bacon omelet with buttered toast, no crust.”
Wagnes simply nodded with a slow blink, looking to Colby as he opened his menu for a second before closing it again.
“Uh… an apple juice, if you have any. And you know what, I’ll just get the same thing as her. But I’m fine with crust.”
The faintest smile was just barely visible on Wagnes’s otherwise disinterested expression as she nodded and took the menus back before disappearing into the kitchen.
“She doesn’t seem like she wants to be here…” Colby quietly commented as he watched her go through the swinging door.
“Oh, that’s just Wagnes, that’s how she is all the time. She might seem grumpy, but she’s actually really friendly and pleasant to talk to. She’s just not very good at expressing her emotions outwardly, that’s all,” Cheddar Biscuit said casually as she laid out her napkin and utensils.
“Oh, I see. I can understand that.” Colby tapped his fingers idly against the table, looking down at the fur on his fingers. “You probably noticed that I’m not exactly the most… outgoing dog around, either. Sorry about that.”
“It’s really okay, Colby.” She discreetly rested her paw on top of his with an empathetic smile, feeling gradually more comfortable with physically showing her interest in him. “You have nothing to apologize for. I do like hanging out with you!”
“It’s just…” Colby sighed as he looked out the window at the colorful world of canines going about their daily lives without a care in the world, blissfully unaware. How he envied them. “I can’t get into it, but… I’ve been through a lot. I’ve lost a lot. So that’s why I might seem a bit… distant. I’m still just… processing some things.” The longer Cheddar’s paw was on his, his restless fingers slowed down to a halt before he turned to face her again with a smile, one slightly more genuine than the ones he’d been giving her before. “But I like hanging out with you too.”
After a few more minutes of intimate silence, the two nervously cleared their throats and brought their paws back to their sides as Wagnes returned with their juices as well as their large bacon-and-bacon omelets and toast on a serving tray. Instead of a plate, however, they were in comically large dog bowls. And just as the name implied, the omelets were generously filled with bacon; chopped-up bacon bits were inside, mixed in, on the side, underneath, and on top. It was almost more bacon than egg.
Colby and Cheddar thanked Wagnes for the food and she walked off to tend to another customer, leaving the two to their breakfast - though it was practically a lunch, with how late in the morning it was now. They picked up their forks, and Colby used it to cut into his omelet before lifting it up and taking a bite; he quietly moaned with immense satisfaction at the strong flavor as it hit his tongue. After he took another bite from his fork, he glanced across the table to Cheddar only to find her giving him a perplexed look as she swallowed the bite of omelet hanging out of her muzzle. Rather than using her fork to eat, she was simply leaning her head down into the bowl to eat as dogs normally do. Colby glanced around at the other dogs in the diner; they were all eating straight from their bowls. And it wasn’t just bowl-eating etiquette, the dogs dining from regular plates were eating theirs with their heads leaned down as well, and every single one of them simply held their silverware in their paws without ever actually using them.
“So, uh… what are these for, exactly?” Colby asked Cheddar awkwardly, looking at it from different angles to see if there was something about it that he wasn’t getting.
“...It’s a holding-fork. You’ve never seen one of these before?” Cheddar tilted her head in confusion, wondering if he was serious. Colby was certainly one of the oddest dogs she had ever met. But regardless, she didn’t mind in the least. If anything, it was part of what she liked about him.
“I have, at least… I think so. But I would usually use it to just pick up the food to…” Colby lost his train of thought as Cheddar simply gave him a confused look as if he was speaking gibberish again. “N-nevermind. So, you just… hold it? Like this?” He held the fork upright, looking down at his omelet. He thought it felt a bit ridiculous for him to eat like this, but as they say, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’.
He lowered his head and clumsily bit down on the thick omelet with the fork held firmly in his paw as Cheddar looked on in slight amusement. She wished she could understand the strange and unique ideas the yellow dog had in his head, like needing ‘munny’ to ‘pay’ for things and using holding-forks to stab food with before eating it. The little white dog hummed a quiet chuckle to herself as she resumed eating along with him.
Although Colby felt silly at first, something about eating food in this way quickly began to feel more… natural. Never in his life had he actually tried eating something like this before. It still felt a bit weird, but he began to enjoy it more with every bite. But more than the flavor of the omelet itself, the best thing about this meal by far was that he had someone to share it with.
“Alright, so now that we’ve eaten, where to now?” Colby asked his tour-guide as they exited the diner, their stomachs fully satisfied from the large omelets.
“Hm…” Cheddar thought to herself as she looked around for ideas. But before she could say anything, the giant bell hanging from her dad’s doorbell store across town suddenly rang, signaling that it was noon. As if some kind of pavlovian switch immediately flipped in her mind, Cheddar’s pupils seemed to shrink slightly and she began to repeatedly bark with a distinct ‘Arf’ as she jerked her head in the direction of the loud ringing. Nearby dogs walking up and down the street followed suit, immediately stopping in place and barking at the bell in their own unique fashion as well. Colby simply stood awkwardly all the while and waited in silence until the noisy commotion died down and Cheddar resumed the conversation as though nothing had happened.
“I know! What if I introduced you to my family? They work at some of Pawston’s most popular attractions, and I’m sure they’d love to meet you! And we can make stops at whatever else interests you along the way!” She slowed herself down, not wanting to come across as being too overbearing. They were still practically just getting to know each other, after all. “I mean, if you feel like it. We don’t have to…”
“Sure! I’d like to meet your family, if you’re sure about it. You’re my tour guide, after all. I’ll go anywhere with you.” Colby gave her a smile of reassurance, as he was just grateful to have her as his company.
“Alright, then let’s go, dog, go!” Cheddar Biscuit exclaimed with a playful shout as she firmly took his paw in hers and began to eagerly run to the Pawston Pawtomotive Garage to introduce him to her grandparents. The yellow Lab had to maintain a brisk pace to keep up with her, almost feeling a faint sense of adventure as she pulled him along with their paws clasped together. His chest tightened, as though small traces of a laugh were trying to build up inside him and wanted to be freed from his lungs. As he looked at the little Beagador girl, Colby felt a warmth inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long time.
After several blocks down the street, they finally approached her Grandmaw and Grandpaw’s garage before slowing back down to a walk as their stomachs began to churn from their breakfast sloshing around inside.
“So ‘go, dog, go’, is that like a Pawston thing, or…” Colby asked as he caught his breath, keeping Cheddar’s paw held in his grip.
“Oh, yeah. It’s just something we say around here. Kind of like a mantra. It basically means, ‘life only happens when you go’. You know?” Her paw held onto his just a little bit tighter as she said this, sneaking a glance over to him.
“Yeah. That’s a good mantra.” He looked over to see her glancing back at him, then down to their paws as they continued to hold each other’s. He smiled as he looked forward again; this time, he felt no reason to stop holding onto it. That was, until some sobering memories crept into his mind. He subtly let go of her paw again as they reached the large open door of the Barkers’ garage. His padded palm began to feel especially sweaty, anyway.
“Hey Grandmaw and Grandpaw!” Cheddar called out to her grandparents Marge and Mort, who were both huddled over a rusted old car engine until they turned around at the sound of her voice. “This is-”
“Oooh, is this the young stud who saved our granddaughter?” Marge eagerly approached the yellow Labrador, wrapping her arms around him and lifting him up in a surprisingly tight hug as Cheddar cringed at her grandmother’s embarrassing phrasing.
“Yes, Grandmaw… this is Colby. He’s new in town, so I’m just showing him around.”
“It’s nice to meet you, uh-” Colby wheezed as the elderly pink dog’s surprisingly-strong squeeze cracked his back in several places.
“The name’s Marge, but you can call me Grandmaw. And you’re always welcome here at the Barker abode.” Marge blinked in surprise when she finally set him down, sticking her thumb on his cheek and pulling it down slightly to get a good look at his unusual green eyes. “My goodness, you got some peepers on ya!”
“And I’m Grandpaw Mort, nice to meet ya champ.” Mort clasped Colby’s paw in a surprisingly gentle pawshake. “Ya got a car? Bring it over sometime and we can getcha a tune-up and a fresh coat of paint, if ya like. Or some rocket-boosters.”
“Oh, no I actually don’t have a car. Or any kind of vehicle at the moment, really. Thank you so much for the offer though!” The yellow Lab replied politely as he leaned back, establishing a bit of personal space between him and Grandmaw.
“Alright, well feel free to stop by anytime! And thank you for saving our Cheddar. Truly… thank you.” Mort patted Colby’s shoulder with a smile before the two turned back around to work on the rusty engine.
“C’mon Colby, I want you to meet my mom! She flies a blimp!” Cheddar took Colby’s paw again as she began to run down the street once more.
“It was nice meeting you!” Colby shouted as he disappeared around the corner of the building.
“...I got a good feeling about those two, Mort.” Marge commented as she looked over her shoulder with a smile. “Cheddar and Colby. It’s like it was meant to be.”
Cheddar and Colby had barely gotten to the Barker house next door when a large cream-colored dog suddenly popped up out of a manhole cover in the street, slightly startling the yellow Lab.
“Whoops, wrong manhole. Oh, hey Chedda’! Who’s the new guy?” He balanced the heavy metal lid on his head like a hat, simply sticking part-way out of the street and making casual conversation as Colby regained his composure.
“Hi Manhole Dog, this is Colby, he’s new in town so I’m showing him around!” Cheddar gestured with her thumb as a polite way to signal that they had places to be.
“Oh, well that’s fun! I’ll let you two get back to it then! Welcome to Pawston, Cody!” The dog accidentally butchered his name as he saluted them goodbye before dipping back down into the ground with the lid closing the hole above him.
“Wait, does that dog… live in the sewer?” Colby asked with his nose slightly turned as the smell from the opened manhole finally reached his nose.
“Yeah, that’s Manhole Dog. That’s just his thing.” Cheddar replied nonchalantly as if there was nothing strange about what just happened, continuing on down the sidewalk.
“Hm… gross.” Colby said to himself quietly as he shook the imagery from his head, continuing to follow Cheddar Biscuit. ‘Wait, his name is ‘Manhole Dog’?’
Within moments, Colby found himself in the backyard of the Barker house as Cheddar led him to a lone cannon.
“Wait, if we’re going to see your mom on a blimp, then how are we… wait…” Colby gave Cheddar a baffled look, to which she simply returned a mischievous grin.
“Ever been shot out of a cannon before?” The clown dog snickered giddily, getting behind it with one eye closed and her tongue sticking out while taking aim at the large yellow blimp slowly flying on the other side of town.
“What?! No! Didn’t you almost die falling just a hundred feet?! That blimp’s gotta be like half a mile away!”
“That first performance was just a fluke, and besides, I’ve been shooting myself out of cannons for years.” Cheddar Biscuit nodded affirmatively down the sight of the cannon that she aimed for the right spot before draping the pull-cord into the rim. She approached Colby, standing only an inch away from him as she looked up into his eyes with her own. “Plus… I had you there to save me.”
They held their gaze locked in place into each other’s eyes, each feeling the organ in their chest pumping harder with each passing second. Colby thought he saw Cheddar’s lips barely quivering in a subtle nervous smile.
“...Do you trust me, Colby?” Cheddar whispered as she held Colby’s fingers in her paw. The blushing yellow Labrador gulped.
“...Yes. I trust you.” He nodded, though he was still a little hesitant. He had a plan just in case things went wrong, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“Then we should get in quickly, or I’ll have to reset my aim.” Cheddar reluctantly broke the staring contest as she got into the cannon, shifting to the side to make room for Colby. He let out a heavy breath before getting in as well, feeling his body faintly tremble with nerves; partially because they were about to be launched high in the air, but mostly because his and Cheddar’s bodies were practically rubbing against each other in the confined space.
“Hold onto me… tightly…” Cheddar sweetly murmured under her breath as she wrapped her arms around Colby’s back, pulling him into a close hug. The yellow Labrador’s face felt like it was on fire as their warm chests pressed together, feeling their hearts pumping together as one. He let out an anxious sigh as his fingers found their way to Cheddar’s waist, keeping her smaller frame firmly held against his.
“Three… two… one…” Cheddar’s breath brushed against Colby’s neck as she spoke before pulling on the cord.
*BANG*
They launched far into the air, accompanied by the loud honk of a party horn and a blast of rainbow confetti from the cannon.
As they got closer and closer to the blimp, Cheddar Biscuit felt Colby’s grip on her begin to tighten. She was surprised to see not a look of fear and panic in his eyes, but one of focus and determination that she hadn’t seen from him until now; he almost looked like a completely different dog. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her again, as she could have sworn she saw his emerald irises begin to faintly shimmer and spark in the sunlight; what Cheddar Biscuit didn’t notice was that the green crest in his dog-tag began to glow as well.
But just as Cheddar promised, they landed together safely on top of the blimp. With adrenaline still pumping through their veins, the two continued to hold each other in a tight hug as they laid side-by-side. They looked at each other again, and Cheddar no longer saw the faint glow in his eyes.
“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She teased as they both loosened their grip, sitting up and feeling the warm spring breeze brushing against their fur as they drifted through the sky.
“No, you were right. It was actually kind of… fun. I’m glad I trusted you.” Colby sighed with relief, coming down from the adrenaline rush as he looked down at the town far below. “So this is Pawston.”
“This is Pawston.” Cheddar repeated with a smile as she looked down at the town she grew up in. Her home. She rested her paw on Colby’s.
“I love being high up like this. All of life’s problems seem so much smaller.” The yellow Lab commented before looking back at the little white Beagador next to him. “And the world looks more colorful from up here.”
Cheddar’s head leaned in closer, her lips barely opening as she was more tempted than ever to go in for the kiss. However, the moment didn’t last as Colby suddenly stood up while clearing his throat, looking around in confusion. “So… now that we’re here, how do we actually get into the blimp?”
“Oh, there’s a flap right there in the middle.” Cheddar stood up as well, pretending she didn’t just try to make a move a second ago. She showed him the opening as she lifted the well-hidden yellow cover, revealing a tube with a ladder to climb down into the gondola.
“Hi, Cheddar!” Maw immediately spoke from the cockpit as the two entered the main cabin without even having to turn around.
“Wait, how did she…” Colby muttered to Cheddar.
“Know my daughter was coming? I’m a mom! I know everything!” Maw replied, quickly turning off the passenger security camera in the dashboard. “And you must be Colby! Cheddar’s been raving about you. You should have seen the big smile on her face when-”
Maw stopped when she turned her head around, receiving a death-glare from her daughter. Suddenly, another yellow dog poked his head out from the passenger’s seat of the cockpit, looking Colby up and down.
“Hey, I’m Gilber. Thanks… for saving my big sister the other day.” He gave the Labrador a modest nod of acknowledgement before turning back around.
“My little brother might be nice now, but don’t believe a word he tells you about me.” Cheddar whispered to Colby as she leaned to his side, still feeling salty about their argument a few days ago.
Suddenly, the yellow Lab felt something small tug at the fur on his leg; he looked down to find an adorable little magenta puppy wagging its tail, his whole body wiggling frantically like he eagerly wanted to play.
“Yip! Yip!”
“That’s my baby brother, Yip.” Cheddar Biscuit chuckled in amusement at her sibling’s excited little body-wiggle at meeting someone new. “And I think he likes you.” She playfully nudged Colby’s arm.
Unable to resist Yip’s cuteness, Colby crouched down and gently picked the little puppy up in his arms before immediately receiving an onslaught of slobbery licks on his cheek. He exhaled out of his nose ticklishly.
“Anyway, it’s so nice to finally meet you, Colby.” Maw continued. “Anywhere you want me to drop you two off?”
“Actually, can you bring us to Pawston Speedway? Tag said she was practicing there today, right?” Cheddar Biscuit asked as she gave Yip a pet on the head.
“She is, and sure thing! Feel free to sit down and relax for a bit, I can get you there in about five minutes.” Maw turned the wheel a bit, heading in the direction of the racetrack as Colby and Cheddar found a seat. Yip was full of energy today, however, and soon wriggled out of Colby’s arms and back onto the floor to chase the bouncy rubber ball he had been playing with.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, both looking out the window as the town slowly passed by underneath them.
“Oh, before I forget, do you see that glittery pink mountain waaay over there?” Cheddar eventually spoke in a hushed tone, pointing at the window as she leaned over Colby’s lap.
“Yeah, I think so.” Colby squinted his eyes, noticing a pinkish landmass brightly reflecting the sun amidst the distant mountain range.
“That’s Pink Peak, it’s a mountain that’s covered in these huge pink sugar-rocks. It’s the sweetest in the whole world!” Her mouth began to salivate a little as she remembered the delicious cookies Tag and Grandmaw made from it. However, her train of thought came to a screeching halt as her sensitive dog ears heard Colby whisper something to himself so quietly, she could barely hear it.
“Like you.”
Cheddar looked at Colby as her heart skipped a beat, her nose barely an inch away from his as she held her position leaning over him from the side. The look he gave her in return made it clear that he didn’t even realize at first that he had said it out loud. They could feel the gentle warm air from each other’s noses as they exhaled.
“Alright, we’re here!” Maw unknowingly interrupted the moment as she came to a steady hover over Pawston Speedway. “You should come over for dinner sometime, Colby! I can make you some spaghetti, do you like spaghetti?”
“That sounds great, Mrs. Barker. It’s been forever since I had spaghetti.” Colby nodded politely with a smile before looking out the window again as he and Cheddar stood up from their seat.
‘Forever.’
As the two reached the bottom of the rope ladder hanging from the blimp and onto the main entryway of the racetrack, they were immediately met with the loud engine of a sleek purple race car as it zoomed by them on the blacktop road.
“That’s my sister Tag, she’s only seven years old, but she’s practically a prodigy when it comes to anything with a motor.” Cheddar almost seemed to be bragging on her sister’s behalf as Tag was already nearly halfway around the lap. “She’s the definition of the word ‘go’.”
Within a few more seconds, Tag finally slowed to a stop as she noticed Cheddar Biscuit and some other dog with her.
“A dog I haven’t met before? Impawssible!’” She said to herself, shifting her race-car into park as she hopped out to greet them.
“Hey Tag! That must’ve been a new personal record!” Cheddar gave her a few claps of applause as they approached her on the track. “This is Colby, he’s the one who caught me the other night. He just moved to Pawston.”
“Hi, I’m Tag!” The little copper-colored puppy got an excited look in her eyes as she introduced herself. “Welcome to Pawston! I like race cars, and speed boats, and jet planes, and-”
As Tag went into great detail about her countless interests and caught him up on her many adventures, Colby simply listened intently to her enthusiastic rambling while giving the occasional interested nod as Cheddar stood by, a smile glued onto her face the entire time.
“Your sister seems really nice,” Colby commented as they crossed the street on the corner of Waggy Way and Ruff-Ruff Road to Paw’ Barker’s Ding-Dong Doorbell Store. The blue sky above them had slowly turned a pinkish-orange as the sun began to set, as they had spent a bit more time at the Speedway than they had anticipated. “Does she ever take a moment to breathe, though?”
“Like I said, Tag is the definition of ‘go’. And she never wants to stop.” Cheddar gently bumped her shoulder against his arm flirtatiously. “...My whole family really likes you, you know.” Colby blushed a little.
“Well, I still haven’t met your dad yet,” He reminded her with an air of caution in his voice, but his eyes suddenly squinted as he noticed they had passed by something that struck him as peculiar.
“Trust me Colby, if anyone from my family is gonna like you the most, it’s-” She stopped as she noticed the yellow Lab had suddenly halted in place on the sidewalk, standing in front of a ladder.
“What… is this?” he asked, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he stared up at it.
“Oh, that’s the town ladder.” Cheddar replied indifferently, returning to Colby’s side and looking up at it as well.
“The town… ladder,” he repeated; sure enough, it was a single yellow ladder that was over eight stories tall sticking vertically out of the sidewalk pavement. “And what is it for?”
“You know, I don’t really know myself. Honestly, I forgot we even had a town ladder.” Cheddar shrugged as she continued down the street, with Colby shaking his head at the ladder in utter confusion before he followed suit.
*Ding-Dong*
The front door quietly chimed as Cheddar and Colby entered Paw’s store. The yellow Lab looked around curiously for a moment at the many different doorbells displayed on the walls until Paw suddenly came out from the back room, his face lighting up as soon as he saw the young pair.
“Hey Cheddar! Good to see you, Lit- I mean, ‘Sunshine’!” He scooped both her and Colby up together in a big hug before setting them back down. “And you must be Colby!”
“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Barker,” Colby said, dusting himself off as this would make the second time he had been tightly hugged in a day - not that he minded. Paw gave a goofy grin as he patted Colby’s shoulder firmly.
“I was wondering when you two would arrive!”
“Well, we got a little sidetracked with Tag,” Cheddar explained as Colby noticed a drum set with a microphone attachment randomly placed against the wall of the store.
“Do you play?” he asked Paw, gesturing at it.
“Oh, yeah! I used to be in a band back in the day, but I still like to play as a hobby. Hey Cheddar, do you wanna show him that song we made? The store’s been pretty quiet for the last few hours, and I need a little noise.” Paw winked as he gave his little clown a few nudges.
“You know it, Dad!” She pulled out her clown nose and slide-whistle from behind her back with an equally goofy grin closely resembling her dad’s, placing the nose on her face and giving it a few honks as the father and daughter went to the drum set.
As Colby listened to the bizarre mashup of drums and slide-whistling played in a funky soul beat, he didn’t even know what to think at first - it was like seeing someone reinvent the definition of what music could be. But as Cheddar Biscuit began freestyling on her slide-whistle with a big smile on her face and her Paw playing his drums to keep the beat going, Colby eventually found himself nodding his head and tapping his foot in enjoyment. Just seeing this funny, silly side of the little white Beagador as she had a blast and enjoyed life to the fullest made his heart feel like it was going to grow three sizes. It made him start to believe there might be hope of him feeling that happiness too.
When they finally finished their song, they gave Colby an expectant look.
“So… what did you think?” Cheddar asked, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious that she might have been a little too weird for his taste.
“That… was… ridiculous.” Colby shook his head much to Cheddar and Paw’s disappointment, though his smile was quickly growing on his face. “...And I loved it.”
“Really?!” Cheddar’s expression lit up as she ran over to him, impulsively wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.
“Yeah, you were both great.” Though he hesitated a bit, Colby soon returned the hug as well. Suddenly, the front door opened.
“Oh, looks like there’s finally a customer.” Paw’s ears perked up as it did, getting up from his drum set. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Colby! And you really should come over for spaghetti soon.” He shook Colby’s paw, giving his daughter a wink before tending to the shopper.
“And that’s my whole family,” Cheddar said as she led Colby to the door. “except for my brother Spike, but he’s up in space right now.”
Just before they walked out, the customer rang one of the doorbells to test the noise it made. Cheddar’s head turned to the sound, and she barked at it just as she had done before; but unlike before, Colby’s pupils suddenly contracted as well. He turned his head to the noise, letting out several impulsive barks of his own.
“BARKBARKBARKBARK!”
Colby’s paw immediately slammed tightly over his own muzzle, suddenly running in a panic out the front door and around the corner as if he were about to vomit.
“Colby?” Cheddar followed him outside once she came to her senses.
The yellow Labrador’s paw trembled as he removed it from his mouth, looking at the reflection of himself in a small puddle of water as he sat in the dark alleyway adjacent to the doorbell store.
“What is happening to me?” He whispered.
“Colby, there you are… can we talk?” Cheddar asked as she peeked around the corner into the alley. Colby simply sat in place, looking over to her as the orange evening sun illuminated the back of her head. He nodded.
“You’re really… an odd one, you know?” Cheddar began as she approached and sat closely next to him. “You’re probably one of the weirdest dogs I’ve ever met.”
“Thanks…” He sarcastically mumbled in response, lowering his head into his arms folded over his legs.
“And I mean that in the best way.” Cheddar placed her shaky paw on his leg, running her fingers through his yellow fur. Her mouth felt dry. Her heart was pounding like never before. “I… I really like you, Colby.”
He turned to look at her, their eyes meeting for a few seconds before he looked down at the pavement again. He sniffled.
“...I like you too, Cheddar Biscuit.”
“I-I’ve never... done this with anyone before, but, um…” She took a deep breath. “Would you… go out... on a date with me?”
Colby was silent for what felt to Cheddar like a lifetime.
“...I thought this was a date. Wasn’t that what you called it last night?” He turned to look at her again with that familiar sad smile on his face.
“So… is that a…”
“Yes. I’d love to go on a date with you.” Colby exhaled from his nose with a smile, slightly bigger this time. “By the way… you’re juggling again.”
Cheddar Biscuit blinked, only now noticing she was repeatedly tossing three red rubber balls in the air.
“Oh shoot, not again!” She chucked the balls down the alley in embarrassment. “Sorry, it’s-”
“I know.” Colby finally stood up with a very faint chuckle, reaching his paw down for Cheddar’s before helping her back up as well. He looked down at her. She looked up at him.
“It’s a clown thing.”
