Another Day, another bone: Night Out

  Karaoke night. The one time at the Fleabite dogs could get onstage and sing their hearts out. Good or bad, they always got a mix of cheers and boos from the crowd. Some dogs went rock, some country, some rap, and others who-knows-what. It was never a competition thing, just a fun thing that had been set-up for the night hours.
  That was where Charlie, Zak, and Zero were. Zak was there to finally have a drink, having been keeping his nephew Duncan company. He liked being around him, but sometimes he liked to kick his hind paws up on a table and drink himself silly. Charlie was there for the same reason, but he could do that any time. Zero was there for kicks.
  Up on stage now was a nervous Greyhound, singing Last Dollar (Fly Away) by Tim McGraw. When he finished the song he gave a quick little bow and took off as cheers and boos came at him. Some dogs just couldn't hold up to review. Charlie gave a small shake of his head.
  "Some dogs need to learn either how to sing or how to take criticism." The mutt said. "So far three have run off, one stayed for an encore, and one has stuck around for review."
  "We know Charlie, we were here." Zero said, rolling his eyes. He promptly got a playful smack on the back of his head. The Shepherd didn't mind, in fact he found it funny. The dog who ran Karaoke night, a white American Pitbull, came up on stage and adjusted the mic before she spoke.
  "Alright, we need more dogs willing to come up and give a song. Come one, come all they say." She said, grinning. The bar was silent a moment before a murmur started on who should go up next. Charlie glanced at his two companions.
  "How about one of you two?" He asked, crossing his hind paws. Zero and Zak glanced at each other then looked back at him.
  "Why don't you?" They asked simultaneously. Charlie shrugged then shook his head.
  "Not much of a singer."
  "I'm not."
  "Neither am I." Charlie rolled his eyes.
  "What are you two chicken?" Before the two could respond they spotted someone going onstage and looked over. It was a female Black Lab-Irish Setter mix. She talked with the band lowly about what song she was going to do. Zak, only a few sips of his beer missing from his glass, looked at her with interest.
  When she finished discussing her song she took center stage as the pianist played the opening for her. The song was Lullaby for You by JYONGRI.

"There may not be an answer to this tune
Why the sky is blue
Is the change in me all true
Now that you are next to me I have no fears
And all I know is that I want to be with you
Sometimes it’s easy to
Forget the times we weep
The moment makes us weak
And all the shame I seek
Memories exist for all the precious days my heart still wants to keep
Somewhere deep inside of me
A lullaby for you
Don’t you worry baby
I’ll be here by your side
May tomorrow be wonderful too
Close to you I hope to stay
Endlessly from today
Even through cloudy days
You are not alone
Sweet dreams I do not see
‘Cause darkness scares me
Is it because I’m still fifteen
Or the loneliness in me
Wish I may I wish I might
Sleep soundly through the windy nights
Just to dream of you tonight
A lullaby for you
Stars will always gracefully watch over ’till it’s bright
May tomorrow be wonderful too
Take my hands and promise me
That we’ll be all right
Finding a place to feel at home
You are not alone
Maybe I’ll turn back to stay
Where I came from on the yesterday
Whisper that the past is gone eternally
A lullaby for you
Don’t you worry baby
I’ll be here by your side
May tomorrow be wonderful too
Close to you I hope to stay
Endlessly from today
Even through cloudy days
You are not alone
You are not alone."*

  Throughout the whole song, Zak was hypnotized by her. The tan Doberman was so into the song she was singing that he tried to take a huge gulp of his beer to wet his throat (which had gone dry), but spilled it all over his chest without noticing. It was around that time that Duncan had come into the Cafe' to see what his Uncle was up to, and he reached him just as the song ended. He looked at his Uncle's damp chest curiously before giving a small gnaw to his hind paw to get his attention.
  Zak glanced down at his nephew.
  "Oh hey Duncan. Whatcha doing here?" He asked.
  "I wanted to find you and see what was up." The little mutt tilted his head curiously. "You don't notice your drink on you?" This caused the mix to look down at his chest and between his hind paws and his ears to pinken slightly in embarrassment. He turned to the barkeeper, who was trying hard not to smile or laugh at Zak.
  "Er... Could you get me a towel barkeep?" He asked. The barkeeper nodded and went to the back to fetch a towel. How didn't I notice that I spilled my beer all over myself? He wondered.
  He heard snickering and he glanced over at Zero and Charlie.
  "Beer is supposed to go in your mouth, not all over your front Zak." Charlie said, grinning. Zero could only nod, afraid he'd bust out laughing. The barkeeper was soon back with a towel and Zak took it and started drying himself up. Duncan looked at the singer going off stage, having put two and two together to figure out what Zak was staring at.
  When she was off stage he couldn't see her so he crawled up onto the bar and peered over the crowd. He saw her leaving the Fleabite... Followed soon after by a few mean-looking dogs. The young mutt shivered and hopped quickly on his Uncle's head.
  "Uncle Zak, that girl was followed out by a few dogs. They looked pretty mean..." He said. This promptly made Zak drop the towel and start racing off, shoving a few dogs out of the way. When he reached the outside he looked around quickly, and saw the dogs dissapearing around a corner.
  The tan Doberman was promptly after them. He had a dark look on his face that made Duncan a little worried. He crawled down to his Uncle's back as he ran. As Zak got closer he heard talking and growls.
  "I said I'm not interested in any of you guys, go away!"
  "Oh c'mon, quit being hard to get."
  "I'm not being hard to get, I'm telling you I'm not interested!"
  "That's being hard to get honey." Zak growled deeply as he turned a corner into an alleyway. Instinctively he reached forward and grabbed the nearest tail, pulling back (which caused the dog to yelp) and punching the dog he had in the face. The others looked back and stared as he circled around in front of the other mix. Duncan hopped down and stayed by her and smiled.
  "Don't worry, my Uncle will handle these guys." He said confidently.
  "... Move your stub dog. This ain't your business." The leader of the dogs growled. Zak gave a grim smile and gave his stub-of-a-tail a twitch.
  "There, I moved my stub. I suggest leaving the lady alone." Zak growled as got his paws into fists. He quickly cracked his paws as all the dogs attacked. The Doberman, however, was the son of a fighting dog, and was quick on his paws.
  He quickly ducked and made most of the dogs butt heads together before giving a few swift punches. He didn't know where these moves were coming from, but he was using them. The Doberman seemed like he was everywhere at once. The fighting lasted a few minutes as Zak beat the other dogs. He sent them off with their tails between their legs.
  He looked back at Duncan and the female mix.
  "You're safe now. Mind if I walk you home Miss...?"
  "Molly. Molly Beth. Thank you."
  "Name's Zachary, friends call me Zak, and this little mutt," he ruffled Duncan's head fur, smiling as the young dog playfully bit his paw, "calls me Uncle Zak."
  "Thanks again Zachary. Yes, I'll let you walk me home." Molly said as she started to go, Zak following after allowing Duncan to hop on his back. They both had crushes on each other, but didn't admit it. Zak was happy that she was even walking with him, a lowly street dog.

  Back at the Cafe', Zero was wandering around while Charlie drank himself silly that night. He himself had found someone who caught his eye. She worked at the bar, as a waitress. When he saw her he was like Zak was: Hypnotized. He however, went right up to her and decided to try and ask her out.
  "Uh... Hey..." She looked over at him a moment.
  "Hello." She said. This guy is kinda cute.
  "Er... I was wondering if you would um... Like to go out with me sometime?" Zero asked, hind paws shaking. She stared at him a few moments silently. Just as he was about to turn and run, she smiled and nodded.
  "Tomorrow sound good?" Zero asked, grinning sheepishly. Another nod. "My name's Zero. Yours?"
  "Mishka. See you tomorrow." Then she went off to serve other people. Both dogs felt like they were going to have a heart attack. Zero turned at looked at Charlie.
  It was an instant facepaw moment. Charlie had drunk himself out cold.
  "Come on old mutt, lets go home..." He growled as he picked Charlie up and carried him out back to the apartment.

  A few weeks passed after that night of two romances, and Zak had come to figure out that Molly wasn't that bright. But he didn't