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“Hey, Marshall, can I talk to you for a sec?”
I raised my chin up and I saw Chase standing in front of me. His eyes were blood red and his nose was runny. His earphone were hanging off of his neck and I could hear sad loves songs blasting from them. Something must have gone wrong.
“Yea sure, what’s up?”
“Meet me under the cherry tree.”
With that, Chase ran off, not caring to give me an explanation whatsoever. I hurried along, obviously.
I feel worried for Chase. He doesn’t seem too great at the moment. Perhaps he came to me for comfort? My heart beats at the thought.
Finally, we’ve arrived at the hill. The cherry tree’s branches swayed gently along to the breeze, pink blossoms falling gracefully down to the moist grass.
Chase and I sat down on the dirty earth.
It took Chase a while, but eventually he heaved a sigh and begun to speak.
“Marshall, do you remember what I told you yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
Oh.
“You know, about Skye?”
“Yeah…”
“Turns out she was a fag the whole time! I confessed my love to her, even bought her some chocolate, and she told me she was dating Everest! Telling me how she treats her better than I do! To add salt to the wound, she told me that chocolate was deadly to dogs! I can’t believe it!”
Hearing these words, my heart skipped a beat. I was feeling all sorts of emotions. Should I feel sad for my friend? Or should I feel relief, that I had no competition?
I wasn’t given time to think however, for Chase immediately started crying on my shoulder, tears streaming down his eyes and wetting my spotted fur. I calmed him down. I wanted to feel bad for him, but honestly it just seemed he was just a tad bit unlucky, and I dislike his antagonistic attitude as well.
“Well… she is dating someone else-
“Not just ‘someone else’ she’s dating another girl! Can’t you believe it? Do you understand how humiliating it is? That a girl would rather be in a disgusting faggoted relationship than a good honest man?”
Hearing these words I was quite shocked. Anger surged through me. What did Skye even do to deserve this? I didn’t know my friend could be so selfish! Maybe he was just emotional, maybe.
Honestly, I know this was a bit selfish on my part, but I also felt a bit sad for myself, for he would never accept me…
Or maybe…
“Skye did nothing wrong, Chase! So who cares if she’s dating a girl, it’s not doing any harm!”
“But it’s not natural!”
“We’re talking dogs, Chase!”
“But the whole point of a relationship is to make babies and stuff. How can you do that when you’re both girls?”
“Because that’s not the point of a relationship! Love is when you can connect with them emotionally, when you can trust them, when you can be safe around them, when you know you will be happy spending the rest of your life with them. A-a-a-and that’s not what I’m feeling when I’m around you!
Chase took a step back, seemingly appalled. He kept muttering under his breath, trying to form sentences, before he sputtered out,
“Fags don’t deserve love! They are sinful people and they don’t deserve any friends or partners!”
My heart quickly sank before it shattered into pieces. How could I have been such a fool! It was as if the hard truth grabbed me by the shoulders and slapped me awake. How could I have trusted someone who wanted me gone. All the self hatred I carried over the years, all reaffirmed and overwhelming my fragile self. How I could have…
He must have known what I was feeling by then, as he immediately quietened down and looked down.
“I-I’m sorry.” He whispered.
I looked at his embarrassed expression, and gently, asked,
“Why do you say the things you do.”
He looked up again, our eyes meeting each other’s gaze.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Why must you limit freedom, happiness, love. Natural qualities, why must you chain them to the shackles of what society wants. Nature, the happiness of our fellow dogs, restricted, what’s more immoral and unnatural than that?”
“I… don’t know.”
Chase remained silent, his face turning all red.
“I am so sorry, Marshall, I really am a pathetic, selfish fool. I’ll apologise to Skye right away.”
I smiled a warm smile, the tension in my chest releasing. It felt like a part of me was finally freed.
…
Night time. The other pups and I were at our dorms, preparing to go to bed. As I snuggled into my warm bed, I had a thought, a nice thought this time, unlike the other spirals into madness I’d have about love. I remembered the nice moments Chase and I had, the times we would confide in each other, the times we played with each other, and of course our fights, the turmoil. That was when I had an epiphany, I finally realised what I had been feeling for Chase the moment we became friends.
I loved Chase.