Cuffed. [Norman Reedus]

8*Buck.

Chapter Eight ::: Buck.

{*UNEDITED*}

I'm awoken abruptly by a loud thump followed by an abnormally large living thing jumping up on my bed. With fear, and my memory overlooking Buck, I jump and turn and struggle against the tangled blankets to break free. "OW!" Buck's back paw finds my crotch, and before I can do anything else, I'm tumbling to the ground. What a way to start the day.

"Son of a bitch," I groan, rolling slowly out from under my comforter. Buck stares down at me from the comfort of my bed before letting out a bellowing "Woof!"

I squint in the morning light flooding my apartment room before making uncomfortable eye-contact with Buck's large, round, green eyes. He barks again before jumping off the bed heading for the living room and whimpering like a puppy.

"Okay," I grouse, rising from the ground like a zombie. I aimlessly stumble through my new place, proceeding to open my apartment door and shuffle down the chilly halls and down the fridgid staircase. Buck leads the way before we reach the front lobby. "Do you have a leash?" I ask the front manager, overlooking my morning breath.

"Uh, you can check the lost and found. . . ?" the man says it more like a question, discreetly observing me from head to toe. I'm wearing nothing but basketball shorts and some black socks.

The man points me in the right direction and I proceed to rummage through a large cardboard box containing random things like: a bright pink comb, a stuffed dog, empty (and colorful) water bottles, an empty wallet, some nail-filers, and a wimpy blue rope. With no question of who or why someone would have (or lose) a blue rope, I pick it up and manage to tie it around Buck's immense neck.

"Let's go pee," I say to the crazy dog, walking outside into the brisk morning.

Buck truly walks me to the small section of grass before doing his business and tugging me back inside to the warmth of our home. I don't bother to return the rope or even look anyone in the eye before trudging up the stairs, letting Buck roam free in the apartment (dropping some left-over ham from my fridge on the ground for him), and lunging back into the solace of my bed.

* * * * *

Ring! Ring! Ring! My phone wakes me up the next time, ringing from my kitchen. I feel way more refreshed than before and walk to my phone with ease before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey, man. I didn't think you'd be at home." It's Boone. "You need a job."
I nod, sort of, before realizing it's my fellow argument-buddy. "Uh, aren't we supposed to be in a fight?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"So. . . Why are you calling?"
"Oh, uh, well. . . Janice is making me apologize."

In all the chaos of the past week, I had completely forgotten that Boone was in a some-what successful relationship (so far) with a nice girl named Janice. She had been on a business trip in Alaska journaling for her editor guy or something, and I assume that she had gotten home to find out that her boyfriend was in need of bailing.

"How'd she take the news?" I ask, forcing back a chuckle.
"I'm sleeping on the couch for a week." he mumbles.
I laugh. "Is that before or after you clean up the mess of the party."
"Man, shut up." Boone sucks his teeth.

And just like that, I can already tell that we've made up. Thankfully, it's always been easy for us to make up after a fight. Whether it was a girl or just the spoiler from our favorite show, me and him have always found a way to steer right back to best-buds.

But enough of the sappy shit. I wanna hear more about this so-called 'apology.'

"So! About that apology?" I say out loud.
Boone groans, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. The party got out of hand and I was hungover and just really lost it, man. Sorry."

I smile. "Thanks." I'm about to come up with an excuse about why I need to hang up, settling with 'I don't like talking on the phone so goodbye.' when Boone brings up that job observation once again.

"So, um, Janice thinks it would be a great idea for me to make it up to you by letting you come work at the bar. Would you be interested in bar-tending?" he explains, sounding as if he would rather not offer me this job.

I look around like I'm searching for the answer before realizing how high my debt is at the moment. "When can I start?" I ask immediately.

"Tomorrow." he answers. "Be here at seven AM for training."

Despite my awful morning attitude, I agree to the conditions before bidding him goodbye and hanging up the phone.

(A/N: I know this chapter is as short as an eye-lash, but I felt like it had a nice tight ending that wrapped the chapter up like with a nice little bow! How'd you feel about it? Also, I feel like I should start naming my chapters... For example, I could call chapter 7 'Dog-Man.' What do you think? Annnndddddd THANK YOU SOSOSOSO MUCH FOR 1 THOUSAND READS ALREADY! Woohoo!! I love you guys so much! It means the world :* I'll see ya later! SMOOCHES) ~writingslayer