Lost in Paradise - A Troyler FanFic -

Jagga

Chapter 8

Jagga 

The seal-like canine member of the Mellet family. 

Previously:

I wanted to go out; to explore the place he’d called home for the majority of his life, to see the sights and discover places with him that he may normally never go. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up, especially now I knew he wasn’t feeling too good mood wise. 

I debated bringing it up when we were interrupted by an excited yip. 

Tyler POV 

Troye perked up the instant the excited yip sounded throughout the kitchen; all but jumping off the chair to greet the canine making its presence known. 

“Jagga!” He shouted, crouching down to greet the dog bounding towards him. 

Ah, so this was the infamous ‘seal-dog’; the only member of the Mellet family I had yet to meet. She’d been out on a play date with a neighbours dog earlier in the day, not having returned before Troye and I had gone back to bed. 

I watched on, smiling at the way Troye had sat on the ground and wrapped his arms around her, murmuring into her ear about how much he’d missed her. It was a sweet moment, one I felt like I was half intruding on, but at the same time, not. 

A few minutes passed before Troye looked up again, gesturing me over to sit next to him on the kitchen floor. I was quick to join him, not wanting to be left out any longer than necessary.  

“Jagga, this is Tyler, Tyler, Jagga… say hello girl.” 

“Hi Jagga, nic-” I was interrupted by a fit of giggles. 

“I meant the dog Tyler, not you!” 

“Oh… of course.” I could feel my ears turning red, and it was at that moment that I was thankful that we were still, strangely, alone. 

Jagga leant forward, nose sniffing at me curiously. I put my hand out for her to smell, hoping she’d accept me and let me pat and hug her like Troye was. 

I held my breath in anticipation, waiting for her approval. It was the most nerve wracking few seconds of my life, but when she licked my hand and started wagging her tail in excitement, my heart leapt with joy, thankful to have gained acceptance from the beloved family pet.

“Hi Jagga!” I said, patting her head softly. She yipped at me softly, body shivering in excitement at my touch. 

“She loves you.” I looked up to Troye, heartbeat faltering slightly at his open mouthed smile. I loved it when he smiled with his teeth, it was cute, and he didn’t do it nearly often enough. 

“Yeah, well, who doesn’t!?” I replied cheekily, hoping to get a laugh from him too.

His faltering smile and the sudden look of pain filling his eyes as he grimaced and turned away had my heart dropping to my stomach. Had I said something wrong? I didn’t think I had. One minute he was happy; playing with his dog and introducing me to her with a wide spread smile plastered across his face as I interacted with the family pooch, the next his face darkens, pain and anguish flooding his features with seemingly no trigger whatsoever. 

I thought back over the last few minutes, scratching behind Jagga’s ears as I tried to pinpoint what it was I’d said or done. He’d woken up grumpy, a bad dream or something of the sort that had been responsible for his fowl mood… but then seeing Jagga had all but chased it away and he was himself again, if not a slightly happier version than I had ever seen.