Lights, Camera, Action

Chica

THIRTY-SIX: CHICA

Mark's POV

Today was the day - I was finally getting a dog. I was insanely excited, and so was Alyssa. She had decided to come with me. We met up and left for the animal shelter in the morning.

I really wanted a golden retriever, if I could find one. Luckily for me, they had a few to choose from. Alyssa wore an ear-to-ear grin practically the whole time we were playing with the dogs, but I couldn't blame her. They were all so adorable, and I loved every one of them. But ultimately, I could only choose one.

There were two males and a female, all of which Alyssa and I got to interact with so we could learn their temperaments and see who we bonded with the most. One of the dogs was really hyper, but super friendly. The other male kept to himself and it took a while for him to get comfortable around us. The female was somewhere in between. She seemed friendly and sweet, and she got excited when it was time to play, but she was pretty laid back otherwise. As soon as I started petting and playing with her, I felt a connection. I could already imagine a life with her - walks around the neighborhood, teaching her to swim in the pool, having her sleep at the end of my bed... It didn't take me long to realize that she was the dog I wanted, and she got along really well with Alyssa, too.

"I think she's the one. I think I'm going to get Chica," I told her.

"You've already named her?" Lys laughed.

"Kind of..."

"Well, I think the name suits her. And she does seem like a really good fit for you and the guys," she admitted.

"I agree. I'm going to see if I can adopt her," I smiled. I did just that, and they were happy to have me fill out paperwork and make things official. By the time Alyssa and I left the shelter, we had a beautiful, fluffy, young golden retriever named Chica in the car with us. She seemed a bit nervous, but Alyssa and I both comforted her the whole way home. When we got to the house, she got a bit more comfortable. She had more of a spring in her step and her tail began wagging, which was more than I could say about the car ride. It was fun to see her explore her new surroundings and she absolutely loved the toys and beds and treats that I had for her.

Matt and Ryan were so excited to meet Chica, and although it took a little bit of time for her to get used to her new environment and family, she settled in nicely. I made sure to take pictures and videos for my viewers, because some of them seemed to be just as excited as I was to get a dog. They fell in love with her just as easily as I did. People made fan pages for her and demanded more and more pictures and videos even though I already felt like I was spamming everyone with her cute little puppy face. Luckily, Chica didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, it wasn't long before she was completely used to her new life, and it felt amazing to have a new furry best friend who had opened up to me.

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A doggy playdate between Webster and Chica was inevitable. After a couple weeks of having Chica around, Lys and I decided that she should bring Webster over. Chica hadn't been around many other dogs yet, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the interaction. I did my best to get her excited and to let her know that something was happening when Alyssa called to say that she and her pitbull-mastiff mix were on their way.

By the time the doorbell rang, Chica was already jumping at the door, her tail wagging rapidly. When I answered, both Chica and Webster's ears perked up at the sight of another canine. Lys brought Webster inside and his tail wagged excitedly. It was clear that both he and Chica were happy to be meeting each other and it didn't seem like there would be conflict, so he was let off his leash and once they sniffed each other, they pranced around each other happily. Alyssa couldn't resist - she captured a video of the two of them and it was absolutely adorable.

"I'm so glad they like each other. I was really afraid that there might be issues," I admitted.

"I was too. I mean, Webster loves other dogs, and Chica's plenty friendly, but you never know. It looks like these two are going to become besties, though," she determined.

It was a nice, breezy day in LA, so we let the dogs outside in the backyard to play. Ryan and Matt had been out getting lunch, and when they got back, they were introduced to Webster, who they had never met before. He loved basically everyone, so he of course licked them to death while Chica tried to steal their attention out of jealousy.

"Do you think having three dogs around at once would be too much?" Ryan wondered. He had already talked to Matt and I about having another dog around the house, but as time went on and he thought about it more, he got more serious about the idea.

"Are you thinking of getting a dog, too?" Alyssa asked him.

"I mean, Mark has Chica and Matt has Banana Rambo, so why not? As long as everyone gets along, I think it would be cool for us to each have a pet."

After more talking, we took the dogs out for a walk and spent as much time as we could outside until it got dark and cooled down a little too much. That was Alyssa's cue to head home with Webster. The first puppy playdate was a success, so they had another just a few days later. Before too long, Chica and Webster became friends, or it at least seemed that way.

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Thanksgiving arrived, and I spent it in LA with Matt and Ryan. Alyssa and Aubrey both went home, so we took in Webster while they were away. It was really handy that Webster got along with Chica. He even liked Banana Rambo, although Banana Rambo didn't really care for either of the dogs as much as they seemed to care for him. Either way, Christmas approached, along with Alyssa's birthday and our one year anniversary. It was kind of crazy to think that we had been together for that long already, but at the same time, it felt like it should have been much longer. I already had an idea of what to do and buy for all three holidays/events that were coming up, and I honestly couldn't wait. She was going to freak out (in a good way), I just knew it. Until then, I'd have to try insanely hard to keep my mouth shut, and I'd probably have to use a lot of duct tape on the boys to stop them from giving anything away.

Hey guys, I'm sorry that it's been forever since I updated this story. I've lacked inspiration plus I'm trying to juggle other stories as well as school and a social life. I know this chapter wasn't that long or exciting, but I'm hoping to update again either tonight or tomorrow or at least within the next few days to make up for that. Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading! Also, if you have Instagram, please check out my account fanfics_for_days where I post sneak peeks of my stories and where I do picture edits. I also have a Youtube channel called MyLifeAsRyana where I read your Wattpad comments from stories I've written here. I'd love if you followed the Insta account and/or subscribed to my channel. Thanks again :)