Laced By Love

Chapter 1

It was an exciting new day for Boston, as he jumped out of bed happily, ready for what this day could bring. It was a typical Sunday to most, but for Boston and his best friend Amber, it was a day to hang out. He loved every moment that he was offered with Amber, so to have an entire day with her was extremely exciting.
He turned off his alarm, which was still beeping, and got a look at himself in the mirror. It was dark in his room, so the only thing he could really see was his luminous green eyes that glowed in the dark. He went and turned on the light.
Boston was like any other ordinary boy his age. Well, sort of. He hid something from everyone, and that was who he really was under the disguise he put on daily. To others, during the day, he was a little strange looking but looked like an average human for the most part. The only things that really stood out about him were his dark green hair, which everyone assumed was dyed, and his sharp teeth, which everyone thought were just some modifications he made.
Of course, there was that nasty scar across his left eye, but scars were normal. Though at home, Boston looked completely different. He had green, scaly skin, horns in his dark green fluffy hair, pointed goblin-like ears, hooves, and a lizard-like tail with a rose leaf at its end. Not to mention his strange cat-like nose. It was no wonder. Boston wasn't human.

He was good at hiding that fact, though. He acted like just any human you would meet casually in everyday life. The only difference really was his species. Though he knew that humans could be so cruel and judgemental, he kept what he was, a lacey, a secret. The only people who knew were Cookie, his adoptive father, and Silas, his best friend. He took one look at himself in the mirror and cringed. He hated seeing his hair so messy. It gave him memories of things that happened in the past that he promised he would never bring up again. But that sort of thing was difficult to forget about. Especially since all of that happened when he was a kid.
He took a deep breath, pushed himself out of that mindset, and grabbed his comb and hair styling gel. He had to be careful with choosing his gel. He had a terrible allergy to water. Laceys didn't have the need to eat or drink, so that was why Boston was able to live without it. Though to most of Boston's kind of lacey, the earth lacey, water was harmless to them as fire was. This meant Boston had been deemed faulty.
He allowed the comb to gently glide through his hair, with the few exceptions of being caught by a small knot. Once his hair was smooth enough, he got a very small amount of gel and styled his hair to the side very subtly to ensure that his hair remained fluffy.
He liked it fluffy. It had been that way ever since he was actually able to express himself. That's what he liked about the human realm: the freedom to be original... to some extent.
His phone chimed. Picking it up, he read the message that was sent to him. He smiled when he saw it was from Amber.
"Hey, I hope you're up. I'm super excited for today!" It read, with a smiling emoticon attached. Boston felt his tail wag as he hastily typed a response.
"Yeah, I'm up, just woke up. Getting ready right now. Do you want to come to my place, or do I come to yours?" He put down his phone once he hit send and continued to get ready.
Finished with his hair, he opened his drawer and went through his clothing. Then he realized he didn't know what Amber expected him to wear! What if she wanted him to dress formally, and he dressed casually? What if she wanted him to dress casually, and he dressed formally?
He picked up his phone again and quickly added, "What kind of clothes do you want me to throw on?" and hit the blue send button, waiting for a response. It took a minute before his phone vibrated.
"Haha, you goofball. Would you seriously show up in a suit?" She responded, clearly a little amused by his overthinking. Boston did that a lot. He chuckled at his own stupidity and responded.
"Oh, right. You want me to dress casually. Should've known."
"Haha! It's okay! I've been friends with you for the past 5 years, so I know how to deal with your shenanigans!" Amber sent a laughing emoji.
"I'm surprised you could spell that." He wasn't, actually. Knowing Amber, he didn't doubt that Amber could spell such a word. She was a smart girl, unlike Boston, who had relatively low intelligence. He was mighty impressed by Amber keeping her grades at a steady A 24/7.
"Shut up and get ready." Somehow, Amber knew that Boston wasn't already dressed. It was like they'd been friends for so long that she could predict what he had done and what he hadn't.
"You're a telepath, aren't ya, witch?" He replied teasingly before returning back to getting dressed.
Boston and Amber had a running gag between the two of them. Since people commonly were suspicious of Boston, they called him things like "satan's son" or just straight-up "demon." He knew better than to fight against it, so he and Amber rolled with it.
Because of Amber's association with Boston, she was referred to as "witch." Boston felt bad for Amber, especially since she just threw her popularity status out of the window, and for what? For him, of all people? He threw on a light blue polo shirt and some jeans. He loved polos, but he liked hoodies more. Knowing that Amber would probably get tired of all the hoodies he wore, he didn't bother throwing one on for this occasion. He picked up his phone again. "All done. Your place or my place?"
"My place. Get your weird dog dad to drive you over here."  Boston was adopted by a talking dog. Cookie was an ex-lab experiment who managed to escape. Because of the experiment's effects, he functioned like a human. Amber didn't mean to offend him; she meant it in a more joking way. Boston chuckled at that witty remark.
"On my way, nerd. Be there soon." He turned off his phone, put it in his pocket, and went to his father, sitting downstairs in the living room, drinking coffee and watching the news. As fathers do.
"I'm assuming you need something," Cookie said, looking up from his cup of coffee to Boston. Boston smiled.
"How did you know?" He asked jokingly. Cookie smiled, too.
"I know my son like the back of my hand paw thing. Now tell me, what's up?" He put his coffee on the table, looking at Boston with his ears perked up.
Cookie was an anthropomorphic shiba inu dog. He looked like any average dog, the only exception being his paws. His paws were morphed into something that resembled hands, in a sense, from the ruthless experiments he had to bear. His fur was a light tan and his innerbelly was a cream color. It was quite remarkable, Cookie's ability to stand, but Cookie had developed the skill after many years of practice. He found it more comfortable, anyway, with his front paws being warped they were.
"I need a ride to Amber's." He replied, knowing what Cookie was about to say next. He didn't want him to make the remark, but he knew it was bound to happen.
"A date, huh?" Cookie chuckled, knowing it bothered Boston to be shipped with Amber. Boston sighed.
"No. Not a date. We're just really close friends." He affirmed, looking agitated. Though he knew they were really close friends, deep down inside, he wished they were something more. The thought of something so silly made him blush. Laceys didn't feel love, and that was a fact. So, how could Boston have a crush on his best friend?
"Alright, whatever, Mr. Romance." Cookie stood up and stretched. Boston grinned and ran off to the car, where Cookie followed behind. "You think you're going over there looking like that?" He mentioned on the way to the car.
"Like what?" Boston responded, looking over his shoulder at Cookie.
"That," Cookie repeated, making various hand motions at Boston. Boston continued to look confused. "Whatever you call yourself? A green thingamabobber?"
"A lacey, you mean?" Boston chuckled. "Gee, for a dog genius, you really are a smart one." He added sarcastically. Cookie narrowed his eyes.
"Lacey. Whatever. Just, I wouldn't recommend going out like that."
"I know, I was going to change," Boston said as he shapeshifted into his human disguise. Cookie shook his head with a sigh as they made it to the car.