sure you don’t—”

“Oh, we’re sure.” Skip growled.

“O-o-okay,” Sam stuttered. “See you later, then.”

And he followed Rose out of the alley.

When they were gone, Afghanna turned to Skip and curled her lip. “What,” she said, disgusted, “was that?”

“That can’t be him,” Skip scoffed. “It can’t!”

“It isn’t.” Afghanna muttered. “But who else could it be?”

“He was being…” Skip choked on the word. “Being…polite.”

They stared at each other for a heartbeat, and then turned their heads away from each other with a jerk, sticking their tongues out, eyes scrunched. “Eeghh!”

Afghanna shook her head, making her short-framed ears flap. “We’ve gotta figure out what’s going on.”

“Ditto.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Come on!” Sam laughed. “You can do it!”

“Wait for me, Fang!” Rose giggled. She leapt up another rock.

They were in the park, climbing a mound of rocks.

Sam grabbed Rose by the scruff gently, and hauled her up to his rock.

“Thanks, Fang,” Rose shook herself and gazed at him adoringly.

I’m not Fang, Sam thought. But if I want her to keep treating me like this, I’ve gotta let her call me that. It was a sad thought that she was in love with the dog she thought he was— not with him, not really.

“We made it,” Sam announced.

“Yep.” Rose flopped down. “I’m beat!”

“Same here.” Samwise flopped down beside her.

“You know something?” Rose spoke up suddenly.

“What?” Sam asked, panting.

“They’re right. You’re different.”

Sam felt a pang.

“But in a good way, don’t worry,” Rose nuzzled him.

Sam practically melted.

“You’ve never treated me like this before, right?” Rose questioned. “It’s great. Maybe Affy and Skip finally got through to you.”

“Through to me?” Sam asked, surprised. Wait, she thinks I’m Fang. So what did Fang do so badly that Afghanna and Skip had to ‘get through to him’ for?

“Yeah. No offense, Fang, but you were kinda being…um…” Rose looked away.

“What?” Sam nudged her shoulder with his nose.

She turned to look at him. “A jerk, I guess.”

Samwise felt anger rise within him. “A jerk? I was?”

Rose looked confused. “Uh, yeah. Hello! You pushed us in a pond, Fang.”

“I did?” Sam’s eyebrows lowered.

“Yes!” Rose said, exasperated. “Don’t you remember? Then you let us just walk away like that.”

Samwise glared at the ground, picturing Fang’s smug little grin on his face as he asked Sam to trick the gang into thinking he was that prideful, arrogant Golden Retriever they all looked up to. It sounded as if he never paid Rose any attention! How could anyone not notice her? There was so much more to her than her looks.

“I gotta tell you something,” Samwise began, feeling sick.

“Okay. What’s up?” Rose asked, smiling at him.

“I’m not—”

“There you are!” Afghanna and Skip appeared. Afghanna panted. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“You found us.” Rose stood up. Sam did the same.

“Rose, that’s not Fang!” Skip burst out angrily. “His name’s Samwise.”

Sam stiffened.

“What?” Rose looked confused.

“Look.” Skip dropped something he’d been holding in his mouth.

It was a license, like to a collar. It was diamond-shaped and golden. It had these words on it:

Samwise

If found please call:

990-423-758

“Whoops.” Samwise blinked.

“Yeah, it fell out of your fur in the alley behind Tony’s.” Afghanna went nose-to-nose with Sam. “Care to explain?”

“What’d you do with Fang?” Rose asked, still looking confused and a bit hurt.

“I-I didn’t do…I mean…” Samwise backed away from Afghanna. He fell backward off the flat stone and down into the grass and a pile of leaves.

The gang leapt from rock to rock down to Sam, Afghanna in the lead.

“Okay, okay.” Samwise sighed. “It was Fang’s idea. He wanted to switch places to show you how much you wanted a dog like him, not me.”

“And you let him drag you into this?” Afghanna said disbelievingly. “Of all the gullible—”

“Cut it out, Aff’, he’s not so bad!” Rose barked in defense of Sam.

Sam was surprised.

“Ever think maybe we do want a dog like him?” Skip muttered dryly.

“Skip?” Afghanna said sweetly.

“Huh?”

“Two things.” Afghanna sat down. “Shut. Up.”

Rose giggled.

“Okay, look, I’ll take you to my home and bring Fang out to you.” Samwise sighed.

“Wai-wai-wait,” Afghanna held up a paw. “You’re a House Dog.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And Fang and you switched out?” Skip asked.

“Yup.”

“So he’s in a human household right now…” Rose began, eyes crossing instantly.

They all looked at each other.

“Shall we?” Afghanna asked, standing up.

“Let’s do,” Sam woofed nervously.

They bolted for the Park entrance.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Wait here, I’ll switch back with him.” Sam whispered.

He leapt over the incredibly-short wall that surrounded his house. The gang peeked over.

Rose’s tail was drooping as they watched.

“What’s wrong?” Afghanna whispered.

“It’s Sam,” Rose hissed back. “I thought he was Fang that whole time. I really liked him.”

“No worries,” Skip grumbled. “Fang’ll be out in a minute and you can drool all over him. Not that he’ll notice—oof!”

Afghanna had elbowed him in the side with a paw.

Suddenly Fang appeared. He flung himself through the front porch’s dog-door, tangerine collar tight around his neck—without a license, and dripping wet, bubbles floating from his soaked fur.

“Do not ever squirm when they put y’in fer a bath!” Fang wailed to Sam. “It gets ugly!”

Sam just smirked at him, eyelids lowered. At that moment, he looked like the mirror-image of cocky Fang.

“Okay, here, take yer collar, take yer smooth fur, take it all,” Fang growled. He slid the collar off of his neck, flinging it at Sam’s paws.

Sam pushed his nose through the collar, sliding onto his neck. “Good to be home,” he muttered.

“Yeah? Prepare fer a broom-lashin’, buster, ‘cuz I ain’t gonna be here when the ol’ lady brings it out.” Fang shook his fur and scraped his paw along his hair fur, messing it up and making his fur look grimy and ratty again.

“What? What’d you do?” Samwise groaned.

“See y’later,” Fang sprang over the wall.

“Fa-ang!” came Sam's shout from the house.

“Good to have you back,” Afghanna trotted alongside him as Skip and Rose walked along behind.

“Yeah? I knew you’d miss me.” Fang held his head high.

For the first time since she’d met him, Rose curled her lip at him and rolled her eyes. But of course, he never noticed.

“Great. Now I can chew you out.” Afghanna leapt on top of Fang, bowling him over and pinning him onto the sidewalk with one paw on his chest.

As she and Skip ranted, Rose could feel someone watching her.

Rose turned to look over her shoulder. Samwise had his front paws on the top of the wall surrounding his house, staring at her with a small smile on his muzzle, tangerine collar glimmering.

She blinked, eyelids lowered, and smiled back. He disappeared over the wall and into his house.

“…Ow, Affy, cut it out!” Fang was growling.

“Don’t…”

The sound of gagging came.

“…call me…”

“Gakk!”

“…Affy!” Afghanna took hold of Fang’s ear in her mouth and tugged it playfully.

“Ow-ow-ow, knock it off, ow!” Fang cackled.

“Let me teach you a thing or two about trickin’ your friends!” Afghanna did a little paw-dance on Fang’s stomach, making his eyes bulge comically.

Skip and Rose laughed.

“Lemme up! Agh! I’m sorry, a’ight? Uncle, Affy, uncle, leggo!”

 The End

Story 2:

Fang's Teenmare

Short Story by Doverstar

“Wha’s’a mattah wit’ you, Joey, I break-a you face!” Tony shouted for the millionth time in a row. “Spotty, she wants-a best in-a house!”

Joey nodded. “Okay, Tony, you da boss!”

Afghanna sat in the back alley of Tony’s Italian Restaurant, scratching at a flea by her ear with her right hind leg, corner of her mouth open, teeth gritted, one eye scrunched.

“I