"What do you mean 'she's gone'?"
"I mean I have no idea where she is and I'm totally freaking out!" He rushes through his sentence, I could hear his breathing and it wasn't good.
"Okay, take a breath. Calm down. We'll find her."
"What if she's hurt? Or some stranger took her? Or-" he starts to ramble on, naming every possible outcome that could come out of this.
"Evan, what if's won't help anyone."
"Neither do I but here I am." Ouch.
"I know that's your anxiety talking and you don't mean that. I'll be over in like 10 minutes, okay? Just stay put."
"O-okay." Then I hang up. Jeez Evan is a handful sometimes. His dog, Maple, is missing now and he won't stop hyperventilating. I should bring a bag. She goes missing like every other week, and we've always found her. I don't know why he's so worked up this time.
Well just sitting here won't help Evan calm down or find his dog. Who I envy so much but it's fine. Dammit. I hate that dog but it makes Evan happy so I can't do anything without- shut up Jared! It's a dog, get over it. Also get your butt over to Evan who is still freaking out. Fine! Fine... I need to stop talking to myself.
I arrive at Evan's and his door is already open. Don't tell me that's how the dog got out. Great. I told him he wasn't ready for all that responsibility. Don't get me wrong, he can be really smart and take care of himself just fine, but it's a dog. A live animal that needs constant care, and he already has to do that for himself. It's a lot for someone with his condition. That's why he has me, I help him as much as I can.
I just step inside when I see Evan hyperventilating (of course) and pacing around the room. I didn't realize it would get that bad. He's lost her before and you would think that would convince him to put her back but he's too pure to put her back in that hell hole. Despite all that, this isn't the first time it's happened, why is so much worse than before?
"Ev?" I abruptly say to get his attention and I do. He looks at me and I can get a clear look of his face. It's... it pains me to see him like that. Puffy eyes, red face, tear streaks everywhere, rapid and unsteady breathing, fidgeting, it's just awful. I race over to him and bring him into a hug, trying to calm him down. He can't seem to hug back because of how frightened he is, as expected but I need to calm him down.
"Evan, I know it looks bad, but you need to chill out. Maple is fine, she's always been fine. And she will be. We will find her." I try to use a softer voice to avoid any further freak outs. I rub his back in slow, gentle circles, giving him reassurance. He hastily put his arms around me and finally hugs back. I sigh in relief, he didn't lose it yet.
"I brought tissues, no need to worry." I add, trying to lift the mood. It somehow works, considering he let out a small laugh. Progress at least.
"L-like that's my b-biggest is-issue."
There's a pause before either of us say anything, so I suggest an idea that make work. "You want to try the question method, until- you know, not freak me out from you freaking out?" (I just want to say, I hope there's already a method like this because it's just a great idea. If not, I am a genius). I chuckle at the end, desperate to keep the mood as it is, peaceful.
"Mhm." He hums I'm response.
"Okay. We'll start off easy. What is the color of my shirt?"
"B-burgundy? It's a- a dark red."
"Good. I think. I don't know why I asked that, I don't even know the color myself."
"T-that's very helpful." He smugly responds.
"I know. Anyway, moving on. What was the first thing I said when I came in?"
"E-Ev, the n-nickname you gave me." I could practically feel him smile, it gave me an idea.
"Does Evy sounds better?"
"N-no! Shut up!" He grumbles.
"I'm kidding... what did you eat for breakfast today?"
"Uhm... I had... I-I don't think I r-remember..."
"That's okay, we'll come back to it later (I know this is different from other one-shots but I just came up with it so I'm going with it). When did you first notice Maple wasn't in the house?"
"23 minutes."
"Wow, okay, uh have you been counting?" I laugh.
"Y-yeah, I have. 34 seconds, 35 seconds, 36-"
"Okay I get the picture, are you feeling any better now? Based on your breathing and being able to speak I'm guessing-..."
"Yeah, I am."
"Good, where did-"
"Can I actually ask you a question?"
"That's not how this works but go for it."
"Ha ha, very funny... did, did the kiss mean... anything to you?" I can feel him hold his breath, still shaking.
"Oh, uhm, it definitely...," screw it, crappy confession time, "yeah. It did. It meant everything to me. I've been wanting to do that for years so when I finally could I was ecstatic. Kind of sucks it took jealousy over a dog for it to happen but I'll take what I can get." I still manage to laugh, even in a situation like this. I wait for a reaction and jeez do I get one.
He stops shaking for a moment, and turns it into a bounce. He pulls out of the hug and looks at me with beaming eyes. Huge smile on his face and a relieved laugh. I probably have the stupidest look on my face, still processing what is even happening. It just gets worse when he puts his hands on my face and eagerly kisses me. It pushes me back but damn I'm happy once realization hits. I gladly kiss back and put my hands on his.
I look at him and he doesn't look nearly as bad as before. No fidgets or puffy eyes, almost dried tears. He looks happy. "Fuck I love you." He says without warning and kisses me again. Never in my life, would I expect to see Evan be so bold.
When we pull apart I ask, "since when did you have confidence?"
"First off, rude. Second off, rude!" He laughs.
"I'm kidding. You know I joke a lot."
"Yeah, yeah I do. Honestly it gets annoying."
"First off, rude. Second off, rude!" I say back. He snickers and everything is good until I remember the reason why I came over.
"What about your dog?"
Boom. I finally wrote something. Another part 2, too! I'm proud of myself >:3.
Anyway, I'm perfectly fine. Even though the last part just seemed... off, but I'm good! Still confused but eh I'll figure it out eventually. Right now I'm content so I'll let it be.
Okay, have a good day/night! 🤍🐈🤍
(I'm running out of hearts-)
