The Adventures of Dogiplier and JackSeptiCat

5

3rd POV

Ever since Jack left for Ireland, Mark had never been quite the same. He was never as happy about holidays anymore. He barely visited the park like he used to. And he struggled to keep his focus on his schoolwork.

He didn't even bother to wear his Santa hat on Christmas day. Nothing was just ever the same without him. Yet he didn't dare remove his collar. It held a special place in his heart every time he saw it in the mirror.

The memory somehow made him feel a little better.

Mark's POV

It was August 20th, 2008. I was eighteen years old and looking for a college to go to the next year. After searching for a while, I'd finally found one: The University of Cincinnati. It was close to home and I really liked the sound of the place and how it works.

I actually had my heart set on being an engineer, so I had that cut out for me. As I waited another year for classes to start, I decided to just give some time to myself during this last year of high school. Though, it was hard to think straight.

I'd recently, a few months ago, went through a breakup with my boyfriend, Felix which was really hard for the both of us to go through. But what can I say? Some things just don't work out. Guess that's what I get for trying to find love so early.

I was in the store, looking for supplies that would keep me stocked for the first year, or semester if not enough. While scanning through items, being the clumsy idiot that I always have been, I accidently bumped into someone, knocking their journal out of their hand.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. I'll get that for you." When I went down to pick it up, I noticed something. Something swaying back and forth in a smooth form. A long, white tail. "Mark...?" I heard him call. The voice was familiar.

Slowly, I looked up at him and stood to my feet when I saw who he was. "Jack....?" I said, looking at him in a high sense of disbelief. "Is it...really you?" I asked, looking into his blue eyes. "It's really me..." He chuckled.

A smile gradually formed onto my face as well did his. "Come here, you!" I hugged him tightly. He laughed and hugged back. "Oh my gosh, it's been ages!" He said as he pulled away. "Yeah, I mean look at you! Look at us! We've both grown so much!"

"Especially you! The big dog you are! Do I even have to say how amazingly toned you are?" He asked, making me blush and giggle a little at the compliment. " Oh man...I can't believe it's been eight years and-" He stopped midsentence as he noticed something.

"The collar...you kept it..." He said quietly as he looked at the picture from years before. "Of course I did. It was the most special thing I owned since you gave it to me...I'd never get rid of it..." He looked up at me and quickly looked away with a bashful smile.

"So where are you headed after you leave here?" I asked. "I'm gonna head back to my brother's place."

"Oh you have a brother who lives out here?"

"Yeah his name's Malcolm. You've never met him because he was in college back then."

"Oh okay." I said as I found myself still smiling at him. He looked up at me.

"Sorry I just, can't believe I get to see you again. This is the happiest I've been in a long while." He smiled. "Tell me about it. It's so awesome seeing able to see you again, too!" I exclaimed happily. Seeing him happy was so adorable.

"Also, I'm gathering all my supplies for the University of Cincinnati. I like to be prepared." His eyes widened when I said that.

"Wait..you're going to Cincinnati??" He asked in shock.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm going there too!" He said happily. "Wait, really?? That's amazing!"

"Man I'm so happy.." He smiled. "Tell me about it..first I find you, and now we're gonna spend four years in college together. Awesome!"

He giggled a bit. "Definitely. Mind if I join you for the rest of your shop?" He asked politely.

"Not at all. I'd love for you to tag along." We both smiled and continued shopping for supplies and things.

Jack's POV

We checked out and went out to the parking lot. "You have a car?? Ok you are sooo fuckin lucky." I quickly placed my hand over my mouth in realization of my words. He laughed. "Don't worry dude. I don't mind if you cuss around me. There's probably a lot of shit we do that we didn't do back then."

I laughed. "And yes, I have a car. Don't you?" He asked me. "Nah, I never had time to get my liscence in Ireland. And it's way harder to get one now then when my parents got there's. So there isn't a point in me getting a car if I can't drive it."

"Oh I see. Well I don't mind being your personal Uber." He smiled as he got in the car. I got in the passenger's seat. "You wanna come over for a bit, or do you need to go home now?" He asked before driving off.

"I'd love to see the kind of lifestyle you're rockin nowadays." I chuckled. "My place it is." He said as he began to pull off. It only took about ten minutes for us to get there. "Here we are." He parked in front of his house.

"Oh god, ultimate nostalgia! You guys still live in the same house!" I said excitedly. "Yeah but um...you won't...see my dad in there..." His voice softened as his ears slightly lowered. I could tell something bad must have happened.

"Why? What happened?" I asked him. He looked down. "He...passed away last month...Unfortunately he lost his battle to cancer he'd been fighting for some time...it wasn't such a great 4th of July for me..." He explained quietly.

I gave him a look of pity. "Oh...Mark I'm so sorry..." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine. I'm actually feeling a lot better now, especially since you're here again." He smiled. I smiled back. "Now come on. I'm sure my mom will be very happy to see you." He said as he got out the car.

I got out and followed him to the door. He rang the doorbell and his mom opened the door. Her eyes went wide when she saw me. "Jack, honey is that you?? Oh my goodness!" She gave me a big hug and pulled away with a smile.

"It's so good to see you, you've gotten so big!" She said as she pet my head. I laughed a bit. "It's good to see you too Mrs. Fischbach. May I come in?" I asked her. "Yes, please!" She opened the door wider for me to do so.

I looked around to see how much had changed. "Wow...things really are different since I last visited."

"Yeah and I've still got to haul all those boxes into my car." He pointed to them. "Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Want me to help you?" I offered him."Sure, thanks." We both grabbed a couple of boxes and took them back out to his car, putting them into the backseat as all our supplies sat in the trunk.