The Brawler meets Miss Perfect

Pets?

"C'mon, we're going to be late!" Carson yelled through Dylan's front door, peaking through to look at the sparkling clean hallway in Dylan's house.

"Hello there! You must be Carson." Dylan's mom walked to the door, motioning Carson to come inside.

"That's me, ma'm." Carson bowed and walked inside, adjusting the cap he was wearing.

Carson and Dylan were starting to work part-time at an animal shelter, planning to head there together on their first day. Carson was extremely punctual that day, considering how he was usually a mess for these kinds of things. Dylan soon walked to his doorway, standing in front of the giddy Carson. Before Dylan could say anything, Lora slid down the stair railing, landing on the floor. She was still in her pyjamas, wearing polar bear house slippers.

"You guys going to work now?"

"Yup!" Carson replied excitedly, wearing a bright smile as he lifted the bill of his hat slightly.

"Have fun, and make sure Dylan doesn't scare any puppies!" Lora said as she ran into her kitchen, pouring cereal very loudly.

Dylan sighed as he watched his sister run into their kitchen, turning his attention back to Carson.

"Can you drive." Dylan asked, which sounded more like a statement. His monotone voice always made him sound so mellow.

"W-What? I thought you were driving!" Carson looked up at Dylan, almost sounding a little upset.

"Okay, I'll drive." Dylan said bluntly, grabbing his car keys as he walked out the door with Carson. Carson gave Dylan an extremely confused look. Why didn't you just say you could drive in the first place??

The animal shelter they were working at was very close to where Dylan lived, which was extremely convenient. Carson lived a couple blocks and two right turns away from Dylan; on the opposite side of the school. Garrett, Turk, and Elena lived on the opposite side of the neighbourhood, Garrett being the farthest away.

"You excited for this job?" Carson asked animatedly.

"Yeah." Dylan replied, consistent in his monotone behaviour.

The animal shelter they were working at housed mainly cats and dogs, Carson's favourite kind of pets. Once they arrived at the animal shelter, Carson hopped out of the passenger's seat, eagerly rushing into the building. Dylan calmly exited the car and locked it, following Carson into the building. The interior was much bigger than both the new part-timers expected. There were small centers where a bunch of animals were running around in a semi-circular playpen, with a large front foyer that led to the different animal cages. The building was also functioned as an adoption center, to their surprise.

"You two must be Carson and Dylan-" a woman in a formal skirt, blazer, and collared shirt approached them, instantly cutting her sentence short the moment she saw Dylan's height. 

"Hi! We're here for the part time job for helping out here at the animal shelter." Carson said with a smiling expression, breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh, yes! Sorry, right this way." The woman recollected herself, leading the two boys down the foyer, winding through the various hallways leading to the office.

"This'll be interesting, huh?" Carson said as he looked up at Dylan.

"Yeah."

~

"No short stack, you're doing it all wrong!"

The shift manager who was moderating Carson and Dylan's first shift was not exactly the nicest of people. In fact, he was the kind of person that sounded like he hated going to work every day.

"Sorry sir, but why are you calling my short stack-" Carson asked as politely as he could before being interrupted.

"Because you are a short stack. Oi, Chrysler Tower, not so rough with the food placement! You'll scare the animals!" The shift manager exclaimed, adjusting his glasses as he scolded both Carson and Dylan.

Carson and Dylan sighed to themselves. It was going to be a long day, they thought. Despite the difficult shift manager, Carson and Dylan got through their first shift; it was around 6:00 p.m in the evening when they were done.

"Dylan?"

"Yeah?" Dylan replied, sounding like he was actually asking a question.

"You thinking about adoptin' a pet?"

"Maybe." Dylan smiled as he drove down towards Carson's street.

"I'm thinkin' about adopting a puppy."

"What breed?" Among the few times Dylan sounded like he was asking a question.

"I dunno ... I know! I'll name it Bruno!"

"Why Bruno?" Dylan asked questioningly again.

"Just like that. I can imagine it now: Bruno, my very own pet ..." Carson trailed off as he smiled to himself, staring out the car window.