Toby Part Four: Uh-Oh Romeo
“I do not!” snapped Toby.
“Then why do you hang out with her all the time?”
“Luna’s just my friend, that’s all.”
“Sure,” said Pete sarcastically. “I’ll bet you bring her flowers and stuff when no one’s looking. I’ll bet you two hang out in the boiler room kissing all day. I’ll bet-”
Toby had been holding his temper in until now, but this last jab was too much for him to take. “That’s IT!” he snapped, jumping at Pete. In seconds, the two were having an all-out brawl. It was hardly a fair fight. Even though Toby was in the midst of a growth spurt and had recently been gaining size and muscle almost daily, he was still no match for his older half-brother. And while Pete’s thick fur blunted Toby’s attacks, Toby’s thinner coat left him vulnerable to every painful blow. Fortunately, the fight only lasted a few seconds.
“STOP!” shouted a voice that froze both of them in their tracks. They turned and saw Rex, the police chief’s dog and
Toby and Pete pulled apart. “He jumped me,” accused Pete.
“You were the one-“
“Boys, I don’t care who started it, I just want it finished. Now both of you, get out of here.”
Pete growled at Toby. “You’re darn lucky we were in front of your old man’s place, you little-“
“Pete, enough.”
Pete snorted. “Ah, this squirt ain’t worth my time anyway.” And he stalked away.
Toby started to leave but Rex stopped him. “Son, what have I told you about fighting?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Toby said. “It’s just…aagh, Pete won’t leave me alone. For the last six weeks, he’s been teasing me about Luna. He says we’re in love and yucky stuff like that.”
“Well, that’s no excuse to get in a fight. Besides, who cares what he says? You know the truth, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Toby started to leave. “I gotta get going or I’ll be late.”
“Late for what?”
“Luna’s waiting.”
Rex shook his head as Toby took off. “Kids,” he muttered.
“What kept you?” asked Luna. “It’s not polite to keep a girl waiting.”
“Oh, I got in a fight with Pete.”
“Again?” asked Luna incredulously. “Toby, that’s your third fight this week, and it’s only Monday. What was it about?”
“Oh, nothing,” said Toby.
Luna shook her head. “Honestly, why do boys have to get into fights all the time?” she asked. “Why can’t you have the sense to talk things over like us girls?”
“Ah, girls aren’t as tough as guys,” said Toby playfully. “Everybody knows that.”
“Oh, is that so?” asked Luna. Her ears were perked, sensing a challenge.
“Yes it is so,” answered Toby.
“Well I guess maybe boys get more exercise lugging around those big, fat heads,” Luna retorted.
Toby spun around to face her, a grin spread across his face. “You think you’re so tough?” he asked. “C’mon, bring it on.”
Luna tackled him, and in moments the two were rolling in the dust, whacking, nipping, and pouncing like mad. After several minutes Toby succeeded in pinning Luna on her back. “See?” he asked.
Luna smiled, then jerked her head forward and kissed him right on the nose. Toby reeled back. “Blaaauuuggghhh!!!” he yelled. In a flash Luna jumped up and had him pinned to the ground.
“Told ya,” she said with a grin.
“Foul!” Toby protested. “Foul! No fair kissing!”
“Who said there was a rule against that?” asked Luna, letting him up.
“The guy it was used on,” answered Toby. He wiped his paw across his nose. “Yuck!” he said again. “Seriously, kissing a guy on the nose? That’s low.”
Luna smiled and stared at his muzzle. “I could aim, oh, about half an inch lower next time,” she teased.
“You’d better not.” It wasn’t just his disgust that Luna had kissed him that bothered Toby. It was mostly that nagging little question, ‘Nobody saw that, right?’ All the same he had to admit that there was something about Luna’s smile…
He shook it off. ‘Don’t go there, Toby,’ he told himself. ‘Nothing but trouble.’
For the rest of the morning, and even after they went their separate ways at lunchtime, Luna kept thinking about that kiss. She realized with a mix of pleasure and nausea that she had wanted to do that for a long time. ‘What the heck is happening to me?’ she wondered.
During a chat with Phoebe and Haley, she happened to bring up the subject. Naturally, Phoebe promptly blew it out of proportion. “You kissed Toby?!”
“It was just a distraction, that’s all,” Luna defended herself. “There wasn’t really anything behind it.”
“Yeah, right,” said Haley. “Come on, Luna, you can level with us.”
“Yeah,” added Phoebe. “You don’t have to cover it up.”
“I’m not trying to cover anything up!” insisted Luna. “What are you trying to say?”
“Don’t sweat it, sis,” Haley said calmly. “You and Toby would make a great couple.”
“Yeah,” agreed Phoebe. “He’s a real cutie. A lot better than some guys like that jerk Pete.” Pete and Phoebe had broken up after going steady for exactly one day. It was a typical relationship for both of them in terms of lifespan.
Luna’s face started to flush. “I am not in love with Toby!” Then she softened. “But, if I were, what would you suggest I should do about it?”
“Just tell him straight out,” said Haley.
Luna’s ears shot up in alarm. “Are you crazy? I couldn’t do that.”
“Sure you can. Just tell him you like him and that you’d like to go out sometime.”
Phoebe shook her head. “No way,” she argued. “It’s way more fun to just drop a few hints here and there.”
“What kind of hints?” asked Luna, curious.
“Oh, like when you see a basket of puppies you should get kind of excited, you know?”
“What for?”
“So he’ll know that you’re interested in puppies.”
“Boy, that sounded subtle,” commented Haley dryly.
Luna made a face. “I’m not sure that’s quite the kind of message I want to give him,” she said.
Phoebe tilted her head in confusion. “Well do you like him, or don’t you?”
Luna rolled her eyes. “As a friend, absolutely. As a boyfriend, maybe. But definitely not that much.”
Phoebe shook her head as if she couldn’t figure Luna out. “Anyway,” she said, “Just little hints like that, you know?”
Luna considered. “Well, I always go over to look at puppies, whether he’s with me or not.”
“Hmm, okay,” said Phoebe thoughtfully. “Then try laughing whenever he says something. And act really wistful whenever another couple walks by.”
Luna groaned. “That’s your advice? He’ll think I’m crazy.”
“You got a better idea?” asked Phoebe.
Luna shrugged. “Well, I guess if I get desperate enough I could try it. For now I think I’ll just wait it out.”
“No way,” said Phoebe. “You’ve gotta make your move before someone else does.”
“She’s right for once,” commented Haley. “Luna, Toby is smart, funny, cute…a guy like that’s gonna draw some attention sooner or later, right?”
Luna laughed. “You worry too much.”
She waited for about a week before doing anything else. During that time, the feelings steadily increased. By the second day her stomach felt weird whenever Toby spoke to her. By the fifth day her head swam when he was nearby. And by the end of the week, her mind exploded with images at the slightest touch from him. Since they wrestled a lot, her head was kept pretty busy.
Realizing that this was not going to go away, she decided she would rather try the subtle approach than risk a direct question. So whenever Toby said something even mildly funny, she burst out laughing. Whenever they saw another couple pass by, she sighed passionately. And if she spied a slippery patch in the snow, she fell against him every time. The result: Toby started asking if she had suffered any recent head injuries.
After three days Luna was sick of the ditzy act. For one thing, it was getting her nowhere. Actually nowhere would have been preferable, since Toby kept giving her a wary look like there was some disease he was worried she might give him. For another thing, she hated herself as a ditz. ‘Goofy, giggly, clumsy, this isn’t me,” she thought. But still she couldn’t bring herself to say anything outright.
She decided to visit her mother Taya and ask for advice. ‘After all,’ she thought, ‘It worked out for her and dad.’ Then she realized where her mind was going and shook her head. ‘What am I thinking?’
When she came scratching at the door, Taya was surprised to see her. “Luna?” she asked. “Come on in. What brings you here?”
“Hi, mom,” said Luna, wondering how best to explain her predicament. She noticed that her father was also in the room. “Dad?” she asked. “Can I talk…just to mom for a minute?”
Copper looked at her and seemed to guess that this was a females-only matter. “Okay.” And he left. Luna almost instantly wished she hadn’t said anything. Maybe it would have been better to talk to both of her parents about it. But what was done was done, and she couldn’t summon the courage to call her dad back in.
Taya studied her intently. “Alright, so what’s wrong?”
“I, uh…need some advice.”
“Then maybe you should tell me what it’s about.”
Luna scratched at the floor uncertainly. “Well, it’s about a boy.”
“Ah,” said Taya, nodding. “I see.”
“Now mom, don’t go jumping to conclusions!” Luna blurted out.
Taya laughed. “Did I say anything?”
“No, but you were thinking it,” said Luna. “I can tell.”
“Well, before I go jumping to conclusions, maybe you should explain.”
Luna sat down. “Well, there’s this guy who I like…as a friend, you know?”
“Just friends?” asked Taya, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, maybe more. I don’t know. That’s why I came here.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Yeah, he’s got a name,” Luna said evasively.
“Is he anyone I know?”
Luna swallowed. Taya had known Toby almost as long as she herself had. “He…he might be,” she admitted.
Taya nodded, taking it in.“Well, what’s he like?”
Luna tried to think of something that wouldn’t give it all away. “He’s very nice,” she said, trying to keep her tone casual. “And he’s lots of fun to have around.”
“Is he handsome?”
Luna grimaced. She had never really thought of Toby as being attractive, but now that she thought of it… “He’s…kind of cute, I guess,” she admitted.
“I see,” said Taya. “Luna, you wouldn’t be talking about Toby by any chance, would you?”
Luna gasped. “How’d you know?”
Taya laughed. “Well, it didn’t exactly take a genius to figure it out. So, does he know?”
Luna frowned. “Well, not exactly.” Taya gave her a look. “Okay, so I didn’t tell him.”
Taya looked thoughtful. “How long have you felt this way about him?”
“About ten days.”
“How did it happen?”
“Well, Toby and I were wrestli- don’t look at me like that, mom. We were horsing around, that’s all.”
“Right,” said Taya skeptically.
Luna rolled her eyes. “We were horsing around and he had me pinned. I wanted to throw him off guard, so I…” her face turned red with embarrassment.
“Go on,” Taya encouraged.
“I…kissed him on the nose. It was just for a distraction, but I kind of liked it. And then I started to feel…I don’t know. It was like I’d been wanting to do that for a while and just didn’t know it, you know?”
Taya nodded. “Then what happened?”
“Well, I told Phoebe and Haley about it, and Haley said I should just tell him straight out that I like him and wanted to go out. Phoebe said it was better to drop little hints like giggling a lot and leaning against him. I couldn’t face the thought of saying how I felt outright, so I decided to try dropping hints.”
“You actually took advice from Phoebe? You do have it bad.”
“Mom!”
“Sorry.” Taya looked thoughtful. “So now you’re thinking of something more than friendship, is that it?”
Luna nodded.
“Well, I really don’t know what this calls for. I mean, you know that things went a little differently for me and your father, right?” Luna nodded. “So I don’t know how much help I’ll be. But I can offer you some advice.”
“That would be great.”
“First of all, how badly do you want a relationship? Are you unhappy with just being friends?”
Luna thought about it. “No, not really.”
“Well in that case, you might be better off with simple friendship. Going beyond that might just put too much pressure on you both. And not only that, but these things don’t just happen on their own. You have to work at it. It wasn’t easy for me and your father, that’s for sure.”
Luna nodded, looking a bit glum.
“But if you decide that you do want a serious relationship, obviously the first step is to tell him about it.”
“Well yeah, but how? Lately I’ve been scared just to open my mouth around him.”
Taya considered. “Well like I said, your situation isn’t quite like anything I’ve been through. But I’ve heard of some similar cases. I suggest you start by telling him there’s a boy you like, see how he feels about that, and then sort of ease into the fact that the boy is him.”
“But what if he says he’s not interested?”
“Well,” shrugged Taya, “There’s not much you can do in that case. But at least you’ll know, so you’ll be free to stop worrying.”
Luna’s tail dropped to touch the floor. “Very comforting,” she said sarcastically.
“Do you have any better ideas?”
Luna sagged. “No.”
It was well past noon the next day by the time Luna gathered up her courage. “Toby,” she began, “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay, shoot,” said Toby.
“I’m guessing you’re wondering why I’ve been acting so weird lately, right?”
Toby pretended to think hard. “Hmm. Now let’s think about this. I’ve been asking you for days what was up. Yeah, I guess you might say I’m a little curious.”
Luna swallowed. “Well, there’s this guy I kind of like, if you see what I mean…”
“Uh-oh,” said Toby with a grin. “I guess I’d better warn him, huh?”
Luna forced a laugh. “Very funny. But seriously, do you think I’ve got a chance?”
Although he tried to deny it to himself, Toby was just a little bit jealous and a lot disappointed. ‘Oh, well,’ he thought, knowing better than to say it out loud, ‘At least it’ll shut Pete up.’
“Hello?” Luna badgered. “I said do you think I have a chance?”
Toby shrugged. “I guess it depends. Who is he?”
Luna intended to say that it was someone Toby might know, but when she opened her mouth, out popped that horrible word, “You.”
Toby looked at her sharply. “You’re kidding, right?”
‘Oh, no!’ thought Luna, trying not to panic and failing miserably. “Well, um, see, I, umm…”
Toby looked her very hard in the eyes. “Luna, please tell me this is some kind of joke.”
She took a deep breath. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought, mentally forcing her tail to come out from between her legs. “Well, Toby, I’ve been thinking about it. We’ve been friends for a long time now, and I was thinking maybe…”
‘Oh, please, no,’ thought Toby. ‘This is not happening.’
“I really like you, and…”
Toby had heard all he wanted to hear and more. “Bye!” he said, running off.
“Toby!” called Luna, running after him. “Toby, wait! I…”
But Toby was gone.
Toby ran, trying to get what had just happened out of his head. He didn’t stop until he had run at least three blocks. ‘This is just great,’ he thought. ‘Pete’s been on my case about Luna being my “girlfriend,” and now it turns out she really does want to be my girlfriend.’ “I’ve gotta figure out a way to deal with this,” he said to himself. “There’s got to be a sane answer to this.”
But try as he might, nothing he could think of seemed right. He didn’t like the thought of just not talking to Luna anymore. Crazy or not crazy, she was still his friend. Tell her “Thanks, but no thanks?” What if she persisted? There was only one thing he could think of to do: get help.
Toby went to his father’s house. ‘If anyone knows how to deal with a problem like this, he should,’ he thought. He didn’t want to barge in, so although there was a pet flap he scratched on the door.
“I’m coming,” said the familiar voice of his father. A moment later Rex poked his head through the door. “Toby?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a bit of a problem,” Toby said. “And I was hoping maybe you could help.”
Rex came the rest of the way out the dog door. “Well, I’m off duty right now, but okay, let’s go.”
“Um, it’s not a police dog kind of problem, Dad,” Toby explained. “It’s more of a sit-down-and-talk kind of problem.”
Rex nodded, relieved that he wouldn’t have to go outside and face the cold. “Okay, come on in.” He re-entered through the pet flap, and Toby followed.
The two of them sat down by the fireplace. “So what’s the problem?” asked Rex.
Toby wondered where to begin. “Well,” he said, “Luna was acting kind of weird last week, and today she was telling me about this guy she likes, and I asked who it was.”
“Jealous?” asked Rex.
“No, of course not!” Toby exclaimed. “But it turns out the guy she likes is…” he hung his head, almost too embarrassed to speak. “…me.”
Rex’s eyebrows lifted a notch. “Okay, didn’t see that one coming,” he said. “So what’d you do about it?”
“Well, I ran.”
Rex winced. “As much as I hate to put salt in a wound, that may not have been the smartest thing to do.”
“What would you have done?” asked Toby.
Rex smiled. “I probably would have done the same thing.”
Toby snorted. “I can see why you think it’s so funny. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Rex shook his head no. “Now, son, I’m not trying to laugh at your expense. Don’t get me wrong, I understand how serious this is.”
“So what should I do?” asked Toby.
Rex sighed. “Well, you have to understand a few things about girls,” he began.
“Oh, no,” groaned Toby. “Not ‘The Talk.’ One of the guys had The Talk with his dad, and now they’re not speaking to each other.”
Rex rolled his eyes. “Well, this is a bad sign,” he said. “But don’t worry, I’ll try not to embarrass either one of us too much. And if you’d rather not have ‘The Talk’ right now then perhaps later would be better. But there are a few things you do need to know right now.”
Toby groaned. “Fire away,” he said.
Rex nodded. “Well first of all,” he began. “At Luna’s age, it’s perfectly normal for her to be attracted to boys. And since she knows you and spends a lot of time with you, it’s not so surprising that she’s zeroed in on you.”
Toby let out a groan, dropping to the floor and putting his paws over his head as if he were facing a firing squad. “So what you’re saying is that by being her friend, I’ve been setting myself up for this all this time?”
Rex smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. But then, I should have guessed it would sound that way. Personally, I’d say it’s kind of flattering that out of all the boys in Nome, she likes you.”
“Flattering?” asked Toby. “Flattening is more like it if you ask me.”
Rex laughed. “I suppose it’s only natural for you to think that. They say girls start liking boys before boys start liking girls. But tell me, how do want this to play out?”
“I don’t know,” answered Toby. “I guess it would be good to wake up and find out this was all a nightmare.”
Rex slapped Toby on the shoulder. “Ow!” said Toby. “What was that for?”
“I was testing to see if you’re asleep,” answered Rex. “Next solution?”
Toby thought about it. “Well, don’t crushes usually wear off?”
Rex shrugged. “Sometimes,” he answered. “And sometimes they don’t.”
Toby didn’t like the sound of that. “Did you ever have a problem like this?”
“Well, not really. I was always wrapped up in police work at your age, so I never paid much attention to girls. The closest I’ve ever come to what you’re going through now would be the way I met your mother.”
“Not helping, Dad.”
“Well,” Rex said defensively, “I’m only telling it to you as I experienced it.”
“So what should I do?” asked Toby in despair.
“Tell me something,” said Rex, staring at Toby intently. “Is it really the thought of a relationship that bothers you so much, or is it more Pete’s teasing?”
Toby shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, yeah, it doesn’t help much that Pete’s been on my case about it. But…” he shuddered. “Well, it’s just so weird. I mean, Luna’s my friend.”
Rex raised an eyebrow. “And assuming you had to pick someone to go out with I suppose you’d rather be dating your worst enemy?”
“Well, no, but…” Toby tried to come up with a response, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. “I guess you’re right about that.”
Rex nodded. “Well, this may seem like I’m pushing you and Luna together, but may I point out that your mother and I started off as friends.”
“I’m not looking for anything like…like you and mom, dad. I just want this to be over!” Then out of curiosity he asked, “So how did it go for you and Mom? I mean…you know, how you met?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. I think it would help if you understood that your mother and Pete’s father had the same master, so they lived together. But when Pete’s father died, Terry was so heartbroken she couldn’t bear to be near anyone or anything that reminded her of him. So she ran away from home and became a street dog.”
“So that’s why she spent those weeks on the street that she’s always talking about,” said Toby. “But what does it have to do with you?”
“More than you’d think. You see, a lot of the street dogs weren’t so happy about a housedog intruding on their territory, so Terry got into a lot of fights she didn’t want. And one day, while I was going for a walk…“
“You? asked Toby incredulously. “Out for a stroll? But you never go outside unless you’re on duty.”
Rex’s paw strayed to his thin fur. “Well, it was summertime, and the chief said I should get some exercise. And it’s a good thing he made me do it, because I found your mother caught up in a fight with three other dogs. I wasn’t such a great fighter, but I managed to drive them off. Then once I had gotten her calmed down enough that she could talk, I convinced her to tell me her story and then I persuaded her to go home. And, since it just so happened that she lived close to here, we saw each other quite a lot after that. We became friends, and…well, by and by we fell in love.”
Toby nodded. “Well, I’m not quite sure I want it to go that way for me and Luna,” he said, half-fibbing. “I just want to be friends with her, that’s all. I don’t want it to get romantic.”
“Well, in that case, you’d better go talk to her before she’s too upset with you to be friends anymore.”
“Okay,” Toby said, heading for the door. He thought that was the end of it, but something wouldn’t let his mind rest. “Dad?” he asked.
“Yes?”
Toby gulped, deciding it was time to confront that badgering in the back of his mind. “Well, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Luna. When she started acting weird, I was worried. Really worried, more than when she’s been sick before. So the truth is…I think I do sort of like her.”
“Well, if you like her and she likes you, what’s the problem?”
“Well, having a girlfriend seems like a lot of pressure. What if I do something wrong and end up looking like a moron in front of her?”
Rex thought about that. “Ah, yes. The pressure to impress her. Tell me, when you two are together, just as friends, are you worried about making a mistake?”
“No, why?”
“Well, if she likes you warts and all as a friend, she’ll probably like you any other way too. In light of the hospital incident, it’s pretty obvious that she knows you’re not perfect and accepts you anyway.”
Toby winced. That incident had been an accident, but he still felt guilty sometimes when it was mentioned. “Could we please not bring up the hospital incident?”
“Hey, I’m just saying that if she knows you’re not perfect, it takes a load off your shoulders.”
Toby shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I’ll give you one more piece of advice, Toby.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t rush into anything. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. When your mother and I realized we were becoming attracted to each other, we took it one step at a time and thought things through. I didn’t want her to suffer a second heartbreak, and neither did she.” He shrugged. “Of course, Luna may prove a bit impatient sometimes, but she seems like she’d understand in this case.”
“Okay,” said Toby, glancing at the window. “Uh-oh, it’s getting dark. I’d better get going.” He headed for the door. “Hey Dad?” he added, looking back at his father just before he slipped out, “Thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Uh-huh,” said Rex with a grin. “Good luck, son.”
And Toby stepped out the dog door and into the gathering dusk.
Luna walked away, her head and tail drooping. ‘What have I done?’ she thought. ‘I’ve messed up, and probably lost my best friend.’ She was so busy dwelling on her problem that she didn’t realize she had passed her parents’ house until she heard running feet behind her.
“Luna, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Luna, come on. Tell me what happened.”
“Mom, I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Which probably means you should.”
Luna spun around with her eyes burning. “I blew it, OK?” she snapped. “I completely blew it. I choked, I scared him off, and I don’t think he’ll ever speak to me again!”
“Ouch,” said Taya. “That doesn’t sound good.” Then she noticed that some of the other dogs on the street were staring, surprised by Luna’s outburst. “Come on, let’s go somewhere and talk about it alone.”
The two dogs found a quiet spot and sat down. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“Well,” said Luna, “I started off just like you said. I told him there was a guy I liked, and he took that just fine. But when he asked me who it was…” she started to choke. “I tried to say it was someone he might know, but when I opened my mouth, out it came.”
“Ouch,” commented Taya, wincing. “So then what happened?”
“Well, he looked at me as if I had attacked him or something, and when I tried to explain, he ran off.”
“I’m sorry, Luna.”
Luna hung her head. “No, I’m the one who blew your advice. I’ve completely messed it up, and now I’ve probably lost my best friend.”
“Now hold on, Luna. You two will still be friends. He’ll get over it.”
Luna was near tears by now. “But what if he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore? And how am I supposed to speak to him after…after…” and then she lay down and gave in to the tears.
“Don’t worry,” said Taya, trying to console her. “These things are rarely easy. Now listen to me. You go home and get some rest. You’ll see. It’ll be alright.”
Luna got up, sniffing. “Okay,” she said, heading for home. “Thanks, Mom.”
Taya smiled. “Anytime.” Then she too turned and went home, where she sat staring out the front window.
After a while Copper joined her. “What’s up?” he asked.
Taya sighed. “Luna.”
“She’s still got a crush on Toby, huh?”
Taya nodded. “She tried to tell him today, and…well, let’s just say it didn’t go too well.”
“Is she okay?”
“I talked to her and it seemed to help. She’s worried that she might lose Toby’s friendship now that this has come up.”
“I wouldn’t count on it. Toby doesn’t seem like the type to let a thing like that get between him and a friend. And I’ve seen this kind of thing sort itself out before.”
Taya nodded and leaned against Copper, staring out the window for a long time. Then with a start, she saw Toby come running down the street. “Where do you think he’s going?” she wondered.
“I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out,” said Copper, slipping out the door. Taya was fast on his heels.
Unaware of his followers, Toby arrived at Luna’s house and scratched at the door. ‘Please be here,’ he thought. He heard the clicking of toenails, followed by a gasp from the window. He looked just in time to catch a glimpse of Luna ducking out of sight. A moment later he heard scratching from within. Someone opened the door, and Luna stepped out.
“Toby,” she said, talking fast. “I am so sorry about this afternoon. I swear I didn’t…”
“Hey, hey, calm down,” said Toby, putting a paw over her muzzle. “Listen, I’ve been thinking it over, and we need to talk about this. Come on, let’s go somewhere quiet.” He turned and started to walk away, and Luna started to follow. “No, no, no,” said Toby, looking back. “Look, just walk on the other side of the street, okay?”
“But-”
“Trust me,” he insisted.
With no idea what else to do, Luna moved to the other side of the street and followed Toby to the edge of town. Toby didn’t stop until they were out among the snowy hills. Then he motioned for Luna to come over.
“Toby,” Luna began again, “I’m sorry about what I said this afternoon. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and it all came out wrong. Are we…” she swallowed. “Are we still friends?”
“Always,” he said with a smile. “But about this other thing…” he stopped, took a deep breath, and went on hesitantly. “Do you really…like me?”
Luna gulped. “Yes,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Well, I just want to say that I think we should just try being friends-for now,” he added as Luna’s ears drooped, “And then, well, we can see what happens. But no rushing into anything, understand? I don’t want any pressure for either of us.”
Luna looked surprised. “Whoa,” she said. “Did you rehearse that or something?”
Toby shook his head. “I’ve just been thinking a lot, that’s all. Also, I got some advice from my dad.”
Luna nodded. “I’ve sort of been getting some help from my mom. But I guess it didn’t go as well as your dad’s advice.”
“Well that’s gratitude for you,” Taya muttered to Copper as they listened from behind a snowdrift.
“Shh,” whispered Copper.
“You think we should cancel Operation Lightshow?” asked Taya.
Copper shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Well, you did freak me out this afternoon,” Toby continued, unaware of the eavesdroppers. “But that was partly because of Pete.”
“Pete?”
“Yeah. See, he’s been teasing me about having a ‘girlfriend,’ so…”
“What?” asked Luna, her ears shooting up in shock. “Do you mean to tell me that you already…”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Toby said quickly. “He’s been saying that you were my girlfriend, so when you actually suggested it…”
“Oh, no.” Luna seemed poised somewhere between laughing and being upset. “I didn’t realize.” After a moment’s reflection she asked, “Is that why you’ve been getting into so many fights?”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Toby,” asked Luna, “Do you mean to say you’ve been getting into fights…about me?”
“Well, not exactly,” Toby answered uncertainly. “But I guess if you want to look at it that way…”
Luna blushed. “That’s very flattering,” she said.
Toby was beginning to feel a little strange. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “My dad said the same thing about you liking me. That it was flattering, I mean.”
“Never mind how your dad feels about it,” said Luna. “How do you feel about it? How would you feel about it if it weren’t for Pete’s teasing?”
Toby got a smug look on his face. “It would take some kind of cosmic event to get me to tell you that.”
As luck would have it, the Northern Lights appeared right at that instant. Luna stared at them for a moment, then smiled at him. “You were saying?”
Toby scowled. ‘Just my luck.’ “Well…” he said, looking everywhere except at Luna. If dogs could sweat, he would have been drenched. “I guess I kind of like you too.”
Luna raised her eyebrow. “Is that what you really think, or just what you think I want to hear?”
“No, no, I really mean it. You’re fun, and smart, and nice, and…” he saw the reflected lights mixing with the usual sparkle of her eyes. “…And kind of pretty.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
Toby shook his head. “Heck, no. You’re not pretty at all-you’re beautiful.”
Luna smiled and sprang forward, throwing her front legs around Toby’s neck. “That is so sweet.”
Toby briefly considered trying to slip out of her grasp, then changed his mind and returned the hug.
Taya nudged one of the stray pieces of bottle into the shaft of lantern light, adding a sliver of green to the display. Then she looked at Copper, who was peeking over the top of the hill. “How’s it going?”
Copper smiled back at her. “I think they’ll get along just fine.”
“In what sense?” asked Taya.
Copper knew what she meant. “Don’t worry, I think we can trust them to use their heads. But as far as their friendship goes, I’d say our work here is done.”
Toby, Luna, Rex, Pete, Phoebe, Haley © Dragon Tamer
Taya, Copper © redwolf03
To read the full detail of Rex's story, go here. http://www.animationsource.org/balto/en/view_fanfic/Toby_The_Beginning/54084.html