Superhero

Chapter 88

Addison gently placed one of the puppies into a shoebox whose insides she lined with soft material, complete with a pillow. The puppy barked and pawed at her but she petted its fur and gently closed the box.
"You sure that boy will take it?" Felicia asked, coming in with a small container of puppy food which she handed to Addison.
Addison shrugged and took the box, placing it inside her bag. "I hope he does. And I hope he likes surprises."
Felicia frowned. "You didn't even tell him?"
Addison shrugged again, a slight smirk on her face. "Surprise?"
"Oh, Addie..." Felicia groaned. "You taking this pup to work in this box? How are you getting to work?"
"Free bus?"
"No, no bus," Giuseppe suddenly entered the chat. "I'll take you to work today."
Addison winced as she turned around to look at him, immediately plastering on a smile. "Mr. Galante!"
The Italian man instantly frowned at the formal address. "Again with the mister stuff... we're not in college now, Addie!" Addison just smiled sheepishly and picked up the dog box, trying not to jiggle it. "Sorry about that, but thanks for the offer. Can we go now? I don't wanna keep the pup waiting."
"He doesn't have a name yet?" Giuseppe asked in surprise as she followed him out.
"Nope," Addison shook her head. "Let Jeff name him himself."
Giuseppe smiled. "Okay, then."
They made their way to the garage and got into Giuseppe's red Fiat.

"Thanks, Mr. Galante, I mean Giuseppe, I'll take it from here," Addison smiled, holding onto the door handle when Giuseppe parked in front of the convenience store. "It's very nice of you to drop me."
Giuseppe smiled. "You're most welcome, Addie. Also, I better be on my way, I have something to settle."
Addison nodded and got out of the car. "Thank you."
She got out of the car and entered the convenience store without looking back. Jeff was surprised to see her acting so stiff, leaning over the counter as he gave her a strange look. Addison caught a glimpse of the red Fiat driving off and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Well, well, what's up, Parker?" Jeff smirked at her.
"Parker?" Addison asked in surprise before realising that it was her surname. "Oh! Hello to you too, Clarkson."
"Smart," Jeff nodded slowly, the slightest of smiles on his face. His gaze fell on the shoebox in her hands. "Oh! So you went shoe shopping with your beau?"
"Beau?" Addison's face contorted in disgust. "Eww gross! He's not my beau and I did not go shoe shopping." She sighed, trying her best to remain patient with him. "It's actually a gift, for you."
Jeff was surprised. "For me?" He pointed a thumb at his chest.
Addison nodded and placed the shoebox in front of him. "Open it. And it's not shoes."
Puzzled, Jeff lifted the cover and gasped. What greeted him wasn't a pair of shoes but a little grey puppy.
"Aww!" Jeff uttered. "A puppy! I didn't know you had a dog Did she give birth?"
"No, this is a puppy that someone threw together with its siblings in a plastic bag," Addison sighed.
"Oh, so you rescued them while walking home?" Jeff gently lifted the puppy out of its box. "How many times did I tell you to not walk alone at night?"
"More times than I can count on ten fingers, I know, but it wasn't me who found them," Addison pointed out. "I was walking alone, yes, but it was the Superhero who found and rescued them. He handed them to me to take care of and brought me home. My landlady is taking care of the other two."
"Aww..." Jeff uttered again, patting the dog's fur. "The Superhero is an amazing guy if you ask me."
Addison nodded, a slight smile on her face. "He so is. Anyway, you like the doggy, right? The Superhero gave us three, two female and one male. This one's the boy. You know, to avoid inbreeding and stuff?"
"I see, that happens a lot," Jeff nodded, holding the dog to his shoulder as if it was a baby. "I've heard about this and seen it in one my childhood dogs. Never got a dog since. Until now, that is." He chuckled.
"Great," Addison grinned. "So you'll take the puppy?"
Jeff smirked and held the puppy in front of him, regarding it for a second with a frown. The puppy let out a short whimper and snuggled into his hands.
"Too late, doggy likes me," Jeff grinned hugging the puppy in his hands. "He's so cute..."
Addison smiled. "Are you gonna name him?"
"Name? He doesn't have a name yet?" Jeff asked in surprise, looking at the puppy. "Hmm... I have to decide on that." He looked up at Addison and smirked. "How about... Addison?"
Addison groaned. "That's a girl's name!"
"Think again, it can work both ways," Jeff pointed out.
"Yeah, but since it's after me, it's still a girl's name!" Addison argued.
Jeff looked at her in seeming surprise. "You're a girl?"
Addison groaned exasperatedly and sat down at the table facing Jeff, crossing her arms with a deep scowl on her face. Jeff smirked slightly before bursting into laughter. Addison's scowl deepened as she turned away like a child.
"Oh come on, I was just playing!" Jeff chuckled, placing the puppy back into the box. "Also, I wanna name the doggy Addison because he was a gift from you. Also, Addison was originally a boy's name but somehow became a unisex one."
Addison rolled her eyes and took her phone out to search for it herself. To her dismay, the Internet proved Jeff correct.
"Okay, fine," Addison sighed and pocketed her phone. "Anyway, you like your gift?"
Jeff shrugged, trying to fight a grin. "I do. He's adorable and he's a gift from the Superhero, not you."
Addison frowned. "He only saved them. And then he just handed them to me since he didn't wanna take the responsibility to take care of them. Thank my landlady."
Jeff shrugged, still trying to fight a smile. "Okay. Thank your landlady, Jake's mom."
"And Jordan since he actually went ahead and got puppy food for these guys," Addison chuckled. "Even though he's..." she stopped short, her face changing as she finished her sentence. "...allergic to pets. Jordan's allergic to pets! And if he's Superhero, no wonder Superhero refused to take them home with him." Addison gasped dramatically and ran both hands up her head. "Darn!"
Jeff smirked, shaking his head at her reaction. "Maybe that's the case. After all, allergies aren't a joke."
Addison turned to him suddenly as if she just got an idea. "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about a very important clue! Jordan wears a mood ring that changes colour. Superhero wears a ring too! I saw it last night, it was barely seen from his fingerless glove. It was yellow!"
"I thought Hoodie's ring's usually blue?" Jeff pointed out, confused. "Like I've seen it when he came here."
Addison nodded, taking her phone out. "Yes, yes, but what if it becomes yellow when he's using his powers?"
Jeff watched her fiddle with her phone, her fingers rapidly moving across the screen, as he leaned over the counter with a smirk on his face. Addison gasped and suddenly came to him with her phone, much to his surprise.
"Look! It says here that mood rings can turn yellow when someone's nervous or tense!" Addison gasped. "He did look tensed and nervous when he appeared with the puppies, his hands shaking as he ripped the bag open."
Jeff frowned, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. "Whoever threw these puppies away like that has zero humanity. They could've at least given it to someone, maybe even letting them go in the wild would be better. But tying them in a bag? That's monstrous."
Addison nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." she decided to change the subject. "Anyway, what you gonna name the dog?"
Jeff sighed. "I wanna name him after you, but you're not letting me." He looked down at the puppy in the box, curled up like a ball, before turning back to Addison. "How about, I name him Superhero? How's that?"
Addison smiled. "That sounds like a nice name."
"Then we'll just go with it, then."