101 Dalmatian Street: Crush Landing

Falling in Love?!?

  After a while, all the Dalmatian pups had to head home for dinner, and Dylan immediately saw to it that Delgado's bruised face got an ice pack (or two) on it as soon as possible. Rosalind had already told the concerned eldest brother about what'd happened to the little handicapped pup at the skatepark, and he'd informed their mother. "From now on, no more playing at the skatepark unsupervised," Delilah prescribed, with Dylan adding, "Or without a helmet."

  After dinner, Delgado went out to do his pre-bedtime run around the block (to make it a little easier to fall asleep), but as he was running, he had the memory of meeting Rosalind playing again and again in his head, like an Internet video stuck on Replay. As he was heading back inside, he quickly noticed that he'd left some pawprints on his way outside (he knew those pawprints were his because there were only half as many as an average pup in the family would normally leave). Curious, he raised up his left paw and quickly saw the cause: his paws were really sweaty. In reaction to seeing this, Delgado thought to himself, That's weird. Oh, well.

  That night, Delgado was getting ready for bedtime (along with all the other pups), and all the while, he still had his memories of the day repeating through his head. He wound up getting so caught up in those thoughts that he bumped right into Deepak. "Whoops. Sorry, Deepak."

  "That's quite alright," Deepak replied, though he was slightly startled, "Um, Brother Delgado, you seem quite red in the face," he added, noticing a reddish tinge in his wheelchair-bound brother's face. 

  "Really?" Delgado asked before rushing up to the bathroom mirror to see what Deepak meant by that and saw that his whole face was indeed glowing with a soft red hue. It also felt slightly warmer than usual. He's right, Delgado thought to himself, I don't feel sick, though. What could be happening?

  Later on, Delgado had had his wheelchair removed and gone into bed, sleeping in the same room as quite a few of his siblings. As he was sleeping, he had a dream where he was on a giant half-pipe, and he was doing the same trick that he'd attempted that day. However, just when he was about to nail the landing, he felt someone's paws catching him. He opened his eyes and immediately saw Rosalind smiling at him! 

  Before he could ask her what she was doing there, she swiftly pinned him down! He would've started struggling free, but for some bizarre reason, he actually kinda liked this. Then she placed a paw on Delgado's cheek, pursed up her lips (clearly for a kiss), and started lowering them down to his head. Suddenly, just as her lips were about to touch his face, he was awoken by a loud, erratic noise. Ka-thump! Ka-thump! Ka-thump! 

  Naturally, this noise was pretty startling. However, thanks to having been born to a medical professional, Delgado was able to quickly identify the sound: a heartbeat. The only question was: Where's that pounding coming from?

  To figure this out, he put a paw over his chest, and he could feel it; the loud heartbeat was his own heart booming rapidly in his chest. I guess that dream really took me by surprise. 

  Ka-thump! Ka-thump! Ka-thump!

  It sure is loud. How am I supposed to sleep when it keeps pounding like that? Delgado looked around the quiet(er), darkened room, and he managed to see Deepak sleeping (curled up with a ball of yarn) in his hanging pod bed. Seeing his zen brother, Delgado initially thought, How the Dog can he even get up there? Then he quickly remembered the 4-7-8 breathing technique that Deepak had taught him a while back. That technique is supposed to slow your heartbeat down. I guess it's worth a try.

  The little wheelchaired pup laid back down and started inhaling for 4 seconds, but as he was doing so, he noticed a strange scent coming from his bed. He moved himself back up and placed a paw on the other side, and he felt a puddle where the scent was coming from. Oh my Dog! I wet the bed!

  Naturally, Delgado found this to be really embarrassing, so he got his bed (and the stuff that was in it) and started sneaking his way down to the basement to clean the little mess up before anyone noticed. All the while, he thought to himself, This is so weird. First the constant thoughts about Rosalind, then the blushing, plus that strange dream and the fast, loud heartbeat. What the Dog is wrong with me? I'm starting to act like Dolly whenever Hanse- Wait a minute. Could I actually be... falling in love?!?