matter-of-factly. Julian’s eyes flashed to Jenna’s bandana and back to her face, and nodded. “I’d love to hear your story. Speak on.” He said with a flourishing gesture of his paw. Jenna grinned and began.

“Well, maybe a year and a half ago, I was still living in White Mountain with Rosie and my masters. My best friend, Gabriel, got it from a fan, and he gave it to me.” She looked down at it and her eyes flashed with love and happiness. “I never take it off. And I don’t think I ever will. I love it.” Everyone nodded in approval and continued talking.

The party went on for hours, and soon, after everyone arrived, they had to take it to another venue because the room was just too small. On the outskirts of town there was a very small, abandoned shed surrounded by a huge open space, another popular spot for parties. Dogs spread out and rolled down surrounding hills, laughing and howling and having an all out good time.

Julian finally got down to truly enjoying himself. After he finished talking with Jenna and the other girls, he made his way back to Steele and got to know him better. He really liked Steele, he was really humble and friendly and seemed like he would always have your back. After they learned more about each other and felt more comfortable, both were able to really come out of their shells, talking all around, telling jokes, making fun, and just being guys. Julian loved the idea of a guys night out, because in all reality, he had never had a real guy friend to just hang out with and be himself. He had been a loner for such a long time, or with his sisters, or with his older father or mother. And since Fletcher hated him, he couldn’t get any good guy time there.

He also got to meet Steele’s wacky wingmen, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star. Nikki was a chubby, manly chow dog who had an interesting way of speaking that intrigued Julian. Kaltag was Julian’s favorite, he was a Chinook dog and stood with a regal yet casual pose and was very friendly and loose. Star was a neurotic and hyperactive little husky, who honestly got under Julian’s skin a bit, but Julian tolerated him. Overall, it was a great night to celebrate and just be guys.

One thing was unnerving him, however; he continually looked over at the female Silver, and to his frustration, every time he caught her gaze she would give him the same disgusted look. What had he ever done to her? All he could think was that this was Fletcher all over again.

Near the end of the night, however, there was a big problem. A pack of absolutely starving wolves went loony and began to attack the party! In the chaos of around 50 dogs racing around frantically and another thirty or so wolves mixing up with them, Julian got shoved into the shed and was knocked out by a falling plank of wood. That was all he remembered until the next morning.

When he woke, light was seeping through the small cracks in the wood and the window above him. He moved slowly, the weight of the wooden plank still evident on his back.  He expertly slid out from under it and stood, his head still pounding. Julian lay a paw to his throbbing cranium and grunted, looking around at where he was. He sort of recognized the area; it was the shed in the field the party was moved to last night. But why was the door closed? He shoved his weight against it a few times, but it wouldn’t open. As he continually tried to open it, a female voice broke into his concentration and startled him.

“It won’t budge, moron. I tried that earlier this morning.” He stopped and turned, finding himself awfully close to Silver, the very one who was flashing those looks at him the day before. He narrowed his eyes. “V’hat exactly is rong v’ith you?” He hissed, his blue-green-and-gold eyes shooting daggers at her. She was laying on the floor, facing the wall, and she lifted her head to look at him from the corner of her eye.

“What, is Mr. Rich and Handsome not used to a little rejection?” She sneered, returning her head to the wood floor. Julian growled. “V’hat is that supposed to mean?” Silver sighed and rolled her sky blue eyes.”V’hy do you ‘ate me? V’hat exactly ‘ave I ever done to you?” He spat. She grunted and shifted her weight a bit, remaining calm though Julian was getting angrier with her by the minute. “Don’t blow your top, pretty boy. You might break a nail.” He roared lowly, sitting down as far from her as possible, fuming. Silver smiled slightly, delighted at getting him so worked up. Julian flashed a look at her, mumbling a snide comment under his breath.

“At least I don’t sink I am queen of everysing."

And that set Silver off. She flew up from her spot on the floor and snarled, nearly falling over in a rage.

“I think I am queen of everything?! Really? Because I’m not the dog who lives in a top notch cabin house walks around the town every day like I’m the man. I don’t look for pity from my family because, oh, I’m HATED by my brother. I don’t go around like a depressed emotional wreck, practically desperate for attention. You know who does? Oh, I think it’s a certain husky with a denim collar, sitting like he’s the man right in front of me!” She raged on. Julian opened his mouth, feeling miffed at this accusation.

“Excuse me, v’oman, I v’alk around looking for attention? ‘ave you looked into ze mirror, lately? Because every time I see you around town, your strutting your stuff like your ze thing everyone vants!” He spat back, getting up in her face. “Your nozzing but a hypocritical oversized rat!” He roared, watching as her blue eyes took on a tinge of red in pure anger.

“Oh, you did not go there!” She screamed back, actually at a loss for words now. She huffed/growled and turned away from him, beginning to pace the short length of the shed. Julian watched her with narrowed eyes, slowly lowering himself back down to a sitting position. The pit of his stomach was sort of twisted now; yelling at any female went against all of his values. Even a female who truly got under his skin and ticked him off. Nonetheless, he sat there fuming and watching her pace the room as she cooled off, taking deep breaths and willing himself to calm down. Finally, after almost ten minutes, Silver sighed and sat down at the opposite end of the room, flashing him a look that he threw right back at her.

A day later, and they were still locked in the same room together, with no one coming to find them.

That night, it was deep midnight when Julian was shaken awake by roaring winds and pounding rain outside of the thin walls he was concealed in. The room was dark, almost too dark, and everything was illuminated with eerie white light every time lightning struck. He shivered and curled his head closer into his tail, hiding under its thick fluff. After an hour, the storm continued to rage on. He hadn’t fallen back asleep since the storm woke him up an hour earlier. He tried to listen to it and allow it to put him to sleep, but something was off in the room that he couldn’t shake off. He listened closely, and sensed something had changed in the air.

Ever since the big outpour of feelings the other day, the room seemed perpetually charged with a negative energy, laced with hatred and disgust. However, to Julian’s surprised, the atmosphere was different now. Fearful. Needy. Scared.

Julian lifted his head and looked around, his eyes bombarded by the black night, and when a flash of lightning came lay his eyes on the silver-coated female he had been sharing this blight with all along. She seemed to be shivering, her body making the most minuscule vibrations in the midst of the storm. He heard a faint whimpering being whisked away by the crashing rain and pounding wind. He was at a loss for words; he had never really seen the more vulnerable side behind her sarcastic wit. The knitted his eyebrows together and ever so softly called out to her.

“Silver…” She didn’t move. He sighed and lay a paw closer to her, trying to muster up any courage he could possibly have. “Silver.” He said more forcefully, feeling sort of sympathetic for her. A clash of thunder, and she whisked her head up off the ground to look around. Whether it be directly from the clap of thunder or from Julian calling her name, Julian wouldn’t know. The flash of lightning, and he found her staring back at him, blue eyes wide. She began to resituate herself, but didn’t give an answer. Julian cursed at her under his breath; she was so full of herself sometimes.

The next morning it was a little different. The ferocious nature of the aura in the room had toned down, and the nervousness shot up. Silver was pacing around all day, he heard her mumbling things like “why haven’t I been found yet” or “am I going to die here?” Every so often he caught her flashing looks at him, but they weren’t disgusted or angry. More…confused. And not a second later she dropped them again.

Two more days passed. Things were getting more and more tense in the little shed, and Julian was worried about another spat between him and Silver. She had stopped pacing and was curled up in the far corner, face to the wall. Julian stood and eyed her for a moment before taking the few steps closer to the door. He hoisted his front paws onto it, standing nearly as tall as 5 feet. He studied the door closely, looking for weaknesses, cracks, any sign that he could force the door open. He bounced on it a bit; yep, still solid. He sighed and hopped back down, shaking his head and walking back to his spot. When he lay down and