From Mystery to Romance

A Xander Chapter: A dog

"A dog?" My dad yelled when he saw the little dog in my hands.

"A dog," I repeated.

"You got North a dog? Without my permission?" My dad frowned.

I put the little guy down, "I knew you were going to say no! And I did the adoption process days ago."

"Well, what if her parents don't accept it?" My dad sat on the couch.

"They got to! How do you think they'll say no to a little dog like this? And it's not their dog, it's North's dog!" I explained.

My dad sighed, "I guess your right. You're doing a good thing for North. She needs to have a special birthday this year. After all, she is a teenager now. This would be a good way to have her start on being responsible."

I smiled.

Dad smiled too, "C'mon. Let's take this little fella to where he really belongs."

I put the dog in dad's car and we went off. 

The one thing dad didn't know is that the dog wasn't only for North. It was for two other people too. North's twin sister. And Emily.

 Emily needed a companion. She hasn't gotten any other friends ever since Judith died. She should start making some new friends now.

We arrived at the Sanders.

 I was nervous.

What if dad was right? What if they don't accept it?

I put the dog in a yellow basket surrounding it with toys.

"Ready?" My dad asked.

I nodded, "Ready."

We opened the door. Everyone looked at us.

There was silence.

Was that good or bad?

At least North looked happy.

I couldn't tell if Emily looked happy. She was crying.

Then finally there was some cheery talking.

I gasped as if I was holding my breath in.

Emily walked up to me, "Who's-who's idea was it?"

My face got red, "Well...um..uh...I mean-"

My dad cut me off, "It was all Xanders, idea. He did everything behind my back. It's his gift for North, not mine."

I blushed a bit more.

My dad, Mr. Sander, and Mrs. Sanders went out to buy somethings for the puppy. I set the little guy down.

North played with it while Emily and I went to the kitchen.

"That's amazing what you did there." Emily smiled

I shrugged, "I wanted to make her birthday special. She needs a dog anyway. It'll be a good companion for her."

Emily nodded then stared at the table of gifts, "Now, I'm sure North is going to hate my gift."

I giggled, "I bet she'll like it too."

"What are you going to name the dog?" I called out to North.

She hesitated, "Apple."

"Apple. That's a cute name!" Emily exclaimed.

Dad and I stayed over for the whole day. After a while, Emily and I went outside for some fresh air.

She sighed, "Finally, a birthday when North is happy."

I chuckled, "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I'm actually enjoying coming over here."

Emily gave me a look with disbelief, "Oh, really," 

There was an awkward silence after that.

Then I sighed, "Emily?"

She looked at me.

I took a deep breath and looked at the stars, "Do you think that sometime soon, we can be friends?"

From the corner of my eye I saw Emily's eyes widen, "Um, I-I don't see why not."

"Cool," I said, "What's your favorite color then?"

Emily gave me a weird look, "Why?"

"Well, if we're going to be friends, don't we have to know things about each other?" I explained.

"Oh, okay then. Yellow." Emily said.

"Blue. What's your favorite food?" I asked.

"Pizza." She said. Classic Emily.

"Same," I answered.

"What's your biggest fear? Mines cancer." Emily asked.

"Mines car accidents," I said.

Emily gulped, "Is-is it because of...your mom?"

I looked at her instead of the stars. Only realizing that Emily's eyes reminded me of stars. The glow in them was just...beautiful. 

I nodded, "Yeah. Is yours because of Judith?"

She nodded. I can see the sadness in her eyes after saying Judith's name.

I looked back at the stars. Then I realized something else. 

The stars were nothing like Emily's eyes. Emily's eyes were more beautiful.