Puppy Love
Chelsea's Story

A/N: Well... I've changed the story's overall rating to T, so that's all the updates for now!
Oh, and if you've got the time, be sure to review! Constructive criticism is encouraged. :D

I looked into Max's chocolate-y brown eyes. He was so cute. I totally loved him. He was my friend and confidant. I could tell him anything, completely assured that he won't tell a soul.

"Aw, Max, I love you so much!" I said.

He wagged his tail and pawed at my shirt.

"If Mom would let me, I'd totally take you home," I continued.

Max did what I imagine to be the canine equivalent of grinning. Teeth bared, tongue flopping out in the most adorable of ways...

"Aw, Max!" I gushed again and gave in to the urge to hug him. Yup. This puppy has completely got me under his spell.

The lady at the counter, Alice, I think, looked at me and frowned. "Chelsea, you know it isn't good to get too attached to any animal here. And that means naming them," she gently reprimanded.

I'm a volunteer at the city's animal shelter. Hey, if I have to do my community service, I might as well do it someplace I like. And since animals are so much easier to understand than humans, added to the fact that most animals naturally love me, I might as well work here. I'm not an introvert or anything, but as long as I can remember, my parents have been nomadic. I've never stayed in the same school for more than a quarter. My parents claim that they're 'free spirits'. Gag. Trust me on this one, bouncing from school to school? It doesn't give you the time to study the normal behavior of the human species. In fact, usually by the time I finally learned the names of all the kids in my class, boxes have been packed and the three of us- Mom, Dad, and me- are in the car, heading off to a small apartment in God-knows-where. So of course, having any kind of social life in between the packing, unpacking, and homework is literally impossible. Which meant I've never been on a date, not that I ever wanted to date, since I've long since given up on noticing people, including boys.

Just imagine my surprise when we arrived at a house and my mom kissed me on the head and said, "Baby, we're not gonna move anymore!"

All I did was stare at her in shock. Apparently, my parents felt that it was high time to settle down because they've finally reached the conclusion that moving around wasn't exactly what was best for my teenage morale. It came two years too late. I was already a junior in high school. Well, at least I would be entering junior year. We moved to the house in the summer. And trust me, moving during the summer is the worst. If you start at a school in the middle of the year, the teacher is liable to point out to the class that a new kid, me, was present in the class. Then, someone would feel pity for me and talk to me. But moving in during the summer and starting school in late August... It means that no one pays attention to you since you're unknown. Which meant that I would have to try to make friends. Which is why, now late September, I don't really have friends. I have hangout buddies and acquaintances. Which is why I was determined to take Max home. Then I'd have a friend.

"You'd like it if I took adopted you, wouldn't you?" I said to Max, my voiced muffled in his fur.

"Nope, not really," a masculine voice replied.

Alright, as much of a dreamer as I am, even I know that Max couldn't talk. So who said it? Whoever it was, he was trying to mess with me.

I whip my head around to confront whoever it was. Behind me, stood a guy with honey coloured hair and brown eyes. He'd be a carbon copy of Max, that is, if Max was a human. Hmmm... If I think about it, the guy did look familiar.

"Do I know you?" I said rudely, partly angry and partly humiliated that someone caught me fawning over a puppy.

The boy grinned, "My name's Max. I volunteer here."

That arrogant jerk was teasing me.

"That's not funny." I turn around and continue spoiling Max. The dog.

He shrugged, "Whatever."

"Who's a good boy? Who's the cutest puppy out there?" I asked Max(the dog), rubbing his fur, "You are, Maxy. I wuv you sooo much..."

Baby talk. Alright. I'm disgusting myself here too. Or maybe not. Max is just too cute!

"I feel flattered."

I glowered at the smirking boy.

"What are you still doing here?"

He put his hands up in an exaggerated surrender.

Backing away, he rolled his eyes and said, "I came here to tell you that it's time to feed the cats."

"Feed the..." I trailed off, "Oh my- Shoot!"

"But you don't have to because I passed the cages on the way and fed them."

"Oh. Thanks," I said reluctantly.

I turned back to petting Max.

"You know, I have a puppy. I just took her home yesterday."

Ugh. Whatever. Gregarious people irritate me. I just ignored him and continued playing with Max. Unfortunately, he did not take the hint.

He continued, unfazed, "And I was thinking, since we're gonna have to work on a project for science, and you like dogs so much and seeing that you don't have a puppy, we can do our project at my house."

Uh huh. Puppies. Project. Wait. What?

"What do you mean 'project'?" I turned around to face him again.

"For the science fair-"

Who still has science fairs?

"That you do with your lab partner for extra credit."

Oh. Alright. But it's funny he wants to get extra credit. I thought he'd be a stereotypical jock.

"So why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be, like, talking to your lab partner?"

He blinked. He stared. He looked completely shocked. And I'm staring at him with confusion when it dawned on me. I vaguely remembered a Rax or a Max or a something who was my lab partner.

"Oh my gosh. I'm your lab partner?" I managed to choke out.

He nodded. He was shaking, probably furious with me.

I spent all of my afternoons that month at my lab partner's house. Apparently, his name really was Max. What a pity that Max(the puppy) had to share his name with my barbaric slave driver of a lab partner. Fine. He wasn't that bad. He was actually kind of nice, considering the fact that I didn't even bother to look at him or learn his name.

We were experimenting on the effects of music on bodily functions. Or something like that. I don't really care for music. Max, on the other hand, was a music fanatic. As bad as I am at observing people, the moment I saw the guitar and large stacks of CDs, I realized that he loved music. And all this time I thought he was only a science geek.

Alongside experimenting, graphing, and writing a report, we kind of got to know each other. Max was fun to hang around, for the arrogant jerk I first pegged him to be. I learned that he moved here sophomore year and that his dog was named Seashell, but he just called her Shell. I also learned that he was part of the swim team and hated a girl named Marley 'with the intensity of a thousand burning suns'. His words, not mine. Even I knew, Marley was the queen of our grade. And when she had taken a liking to Max, he rejected her.

When I asked him why, he replied, "Cuz I didn't know her. And she didn't seem like the type of girl I'd fall for. Of course, I've never really liked a girl, so I wouldn't really know..."

Hey, something we have in common. Well, aside from the fact that I've never liked a girl(and I'm pretty sure I won't but who knows?), what I meant was that neither of us had ever crushed on anyone. Ever. And here I thought I was a freak of nature.

But apparently, Marley was so furious that she told everyone that Max was asexual. And that ostracized him, thereby preventing him from having any kind of social life. Which is kinda sad, since Max was really friendly, not to mention cute. From my completely objective point of view, of course.

"Well, I suppose I might be," Max had added sheepishly, "But that doesn't give her the right to spread unconfirmed rumors about people, you know? I suppose it could have been much worse though."

Before I knew it, I had two friends. Max(the puppy) and Max. My parents figured that since we had a house now, we might as well make the most of it. So now, I could baby Max any time I wanted. Max was growing fast. Before, it didn't take any effort to lift him. Now, it's like lifting weights.

It was December before I knew it. Time passed much faster when you had a friend. Even though we finished the project for the science fair(we didn't win), I still went to Max's house once in a while. Between that, school, and volunteering at the animal shelter, we spent a lot of time together. Who would've thought that we would have become friends?

But at the particular moment, I was sitting alone in the cafeteria. Max was in the library getting some work done. I felt increasingly uncomfortable. A girl kept glancing over at me and turning back to whisper something to her friends. From the look on her face, it was something snarky. I really hate those types sometimes. I didn't even know her and she decides she hates me. And she can't even say it to my face. If I hated someone, I have no reservations about walking straight up to her and giving her a piece of my mind. But that girl is obviously not of the same mind as me.

I was contemplating going to the library to see Max when the girl stalked up to me. And yes, I mean stalked. She was like a cat, with a mean glint in her eyes. She slams her manicured nails down on the table I sat at. Of course, I reflexively looked up.

Ouch. That girl looked like she could spit in my face.

She hissed at me, "Having fun with the freak at the animal shelter?"

I tried to look innocent, "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

I was pretty sure I knew who she was. Probably Marley.

For a moment, she looked taken aback. Maybe she thought that everyone knew her because she was sooo important. But she regained her composure, "I'm Marley. Remember that." And then she jabbed her finger at me.

"Oh, like Marley and Me," I said without thinking.

"What?"

"That puppy in the movie."

She snorted, "Takes a dog to recognize a dog's name. Go back to playing with your flea-bitten mutts, you dog."

That didn't even make sense.

"Marley! Pleasure seeing you here!" Behind Marley, Max was grinning at her, as if he was happy to see her.

Marley took a look at him, snorted and headed back to her group of friends.

Max grinned and sat down besides me, "I see you've met Marley."

"Yes. She's really fun to be around."

"I suppose you can call her a bi-"

I slapped him, "Don't insult those poor dogs!"

He looked at me, "Yeah," he said slowly and pulled me into a hug.

"Remember how I said I wouldn't like it if you adopted me?" he asked in my ear, "I changed my mind."

When he released me, I looked into Max's chocolate-y brown eyes. And I realized that he was my friend and confidant. I could tell him anything, completely assured that he won't tell a soul. Déjà Vu? Yes, and no.

But at that moment, I realized that I liked him. It was the first time I actually noticed a boy. And not just noticed his looks, but noticed everything about him. How far he sat from me, how he looked at me... Some call it puppy love. But I call it love.

-End