Brendon: dare you to bring your dog to school
Delivered 7:13am
Ryan: um are you crazy? They'd never let me bring dottie to school
Brendon: are you admitting defeat then?
Ryan: Bren be reasonable how could I possibly get away with bringing her?
Brendon: good luck :)
Ryan: ugh!
~~~
As Ryan walked through the door, eyes shifted his way. They moved down to the little hound trotting beside him. There were a few 'aws' coming from the groups of girls. Someone actually came up to Ryan, asking if he could pet his dog.
"She's shy," Ryan responded and quickly moved down the hallway to find a certain someone. When he did spot the skinny boy with dark hair, he marched up to him. "Are you happy?"
Brendon turned from his locker and grinned up at Ryan. His eyes traveled down and landed on Ryan's baby sitting obediently with her tongue hanging out.
"Oh my god! She's so cute." Brendon dropped down to his knees, placing his books on the floor and started petting Dottie. Ryan frowned and waited for Brendon to finish giving his girl lovings. He didn't have the heart to stop him when he saw her leaning into Brendon's touch. He'd think the scene was actually adorable if he wasn't worried about how he'd hide a dog in class.
"Why haven't I seen her before?"
"We sent her to a dog training school."
"Why would you do that?"
"Can I've been busy with school and senior year and stuff. Dad wouldn't only spoil her so we wanted to make sure she was properly trained. She only knew the basics when we took her and now she graduated."
"I'm sure that was a sight to see. Little puppy running to her dad after graduating from school. Did you get a picture of her in a small graduation cap?" Brendon sounded way too excited."
"Yes, now can we focus on what's important right now? How am I gonna explain this to my teachers?" Ryan complained when Brendon got back up.
"You're a smart boy Ry. You'll figure it out. Plus look at that face. Who's not gonna want her in class."
Brendon walked away after booping Dottie on the nose. Ryan trudged to his locker and grabbed his things for his first couple classes. When he made it to first period, he saw Brendon glancing in his direction often. It didn't take long to realize that he was only looking at the dog now resting on his lap.
"Um Mr. Ross?" Ryan turned to see the teacher standing by his desk. "Care to explain why you have a dog with you?"
"Uh." Ryan turned to Brendon who was just grinning like an idiot. "It's a sport's superstition I have. Yeah. With state qualifications just around the corner, I bring my dog to school for good luck in my classes. Gotta keep up the good grades to play," Ryan lied.
"You do this often?"
"Only when state comes around." Ryan gave a nervous smile.
"Fine but she better not use the bathroom in my classroom."
"No worries. She's well trained." Ryan sighed to himself when the lesson continued. He looked back at Brendon who's mouth was hanging open in surprise. Ryan smirked and patted the top of Dottie's head.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Teachers weren't bothered at all with having a dog in class. Some were thrilled and said she helped relieve stress in the classroom. Others were asking to pet her and hold her. Dottie was always good around other people, never took too long to get used to but always made sure to stick to Ryan's side for comfort.
"I can't believe you managed to have a dog with you all day and no one even cared." Brendon grumbled as he walked beside Ryan. Dottie was happily moving beside them.
"Guess I just got lucky." Brendon smiled and nudged Ryan's shoulder with his own.
"Practice still counts. How are you gonna take care of her there?"
"I already got that covered. Sammy is out for a week, sprained his ankle, and he volunteered to watch her. I brought some of her toys, so he can just play with her on the sidelines."
"Unbelievable," Brendin sighed with a smile. "You're one lucky rat, you know that?" Ryan laughed and shrugged. They stopped right outside the lockerroom and faced each other. "Anyways, I should get home."
"Yeah, I gotta get to practice." Ryan noticed how uneasy Brendon looked. The boy was looking around everywhere but him or the entrance of the room. He was gnawing on his bottom lip and shifting around on his feet. Ryan realized it must've been that they were outside the locker room. "Text me when you get home."
"Why? You won't be able to see your phone till after practice." He peaked up before looking away. Ryan smiled at the action.
"Still, I'd like to know you made it home safe." Brendon nodded with the corner of his lip pulled up. "I should get ready for practice." Brendon nodded again. "Serious though, text me."
Brendon mouthed an 'okay' before turning away. Ryan stood for a moment to watch Brendon leave before walking into the lockerroom. Brendon could stop his smile from growing, especially after hearing how excited Ryan's teammates got when they saw Dottie enter.
---
A/N:
So I realized that I had brought up Dottie in the beginning of the last book, but never mentioned her after. Lame excuse for her absence I know but enjoy the return of Ryan's adorable puppy child! I'll try not to neglect her from the story this time.
