I try not to look too desperate when looking around for Layla when we reach BART. I finally explain to Travis what BART is and I briefly wonder if this is what I sounded like when Layla had to explain it to me. However much of an idiot I probably sounded like, it brings a smile to my face.

"What's she look like?" Travis says as he cranes his neck to look around the crowds of people passing us by.

I join him in looking. "She has brown hair and she's about to my chin. She wears glasses, too. Oh, and she usually has a camera around her neck."

Travis stops looking so he can look back at me with a quirked eyebrow. "Bro, you're in deep."

I roll my eyes. "No, I'm not. Layla's not my type."

"That girl isn't your type?" He says, and I follow his gaze to see Layla approaching us, dressed in a sundress that hooks around her neck instead of over her shoulders. Her dark hair is pulled up into a ponytail and her glasses are gleaming in the midday sun. To my surprise, there's no camera.

I open my mouth to reply but no words come out before Layla sees us. She grins and walks over to us.

"Hey, Jonah," she greets as she laces her hands together in front of her. "You must be Travis."

Travis smiles at her. "Nice to meet you, Layla."

"You too. So, what are we trying to find?"

"Um..." I trail off. "I want to find something for Jordan. Something that'll remind her that I'm still her brother and she has to talk to me."

Travis pats my back. "What he's trying to say is that he wants to apologize to her." He glances at me and then back at Layla. "If we're being honest here, he's not the best at that."

Layla giggles, a sweet sound. "I see, I see. Well, I have an idea, but I'm not sure you'll be on board with it."

I cross my arms over my chest. "What is it?"

"... How big is your back yard?"

*

"I can't believe I'm actually considering getting my sister a dog. For an apology?" I say this as I scan the few cages lined against the back wall of a pet store. The cages are big enough for the dogs to run around in but small enough for it to seem cramped.

"If I had a brother and he got me a dog to express how sorry he was for something, I'd for sure forgive him. I'd probably think twice when getting mad at him again, too," Layla explains as she looks at the dogs lovingly. She looks so content.

I shake my head. "You don't know my sister. She's the most negative person I've ever met. Nothing makes her happy."

Travis scoffs. "Hello? I believe I saw a smile on her face when she saw me today."

I roll my eyes. "She used to have the biggest crush on you, what do you expect?"

"Ah," Travis sighs. "You're just jealous that she likes me more than you."

"Can't argue with that," I laugh. I catch Layla giggling at the two of us, sneaking glances every now and then. "So, do you see one?"

She comes to stand beside me. "I think you're the only one who could possibly know what she'd like."

I look to Travis. "I don't know, apparently she likes Travis more. Trav?"

Travis jumps up from kneeling next to a poodle who is showing interest in him. "What?"

"I guess it's up to you and me then, Layla," I say quickly, making Layla laugh.

I kneel down and look into the cage of dogs. Some of them sit with their tails wagging at the little bit of attention they receive from passing customers and some lay curled up and in a deep sleep amongst the chaos. There is one little guy who just can't stand the fact that he's in that cage, though. He paws at it when someone walks by in hope that he'll be let out.

I walk over to him and kneel down so that we're almost face to face. He looks at up at me with those puppy dog eyes, the same way my sister does when she wants something, and even the same way that she does when she doesn't even mean to. Either way, it usually makes me rethink whatever matter we're fighting over or changes it completely.

His fluffy, white, and red-tinted hair brings out how bright his hazel eyes are. I've never seen a dog like this up close, only in pictures people would post. The freckles sprinkled across his face remind me even more of my baby sister. The collar around his neck has the name Moose etched across it in bold letters.

"Hey, Moose." At the sound of his name the dog perks up and his tongue flops out of his mouth.

"That's Moose," a lady tells me when she kneels down beside me. "We found him in a dumpster when he was only about a month old. We think his parents were an Australian Shepherd and a Border Collie. He's probably about six months old now. Would you like me to take him out for you?"

I watch Moose and how his furry ears stand straight up and the way his light eyes look at me almost as if he depends on me to save him today. I just hope he'll like an owner with forever changing hair.

I look at the woman beside me. "Yeah, actually. That'd be great."

Layla is the first to pet Moose. As soon as he's released from his tiny prison and put on a leash, he darts over to Layla who is sitting on her knees ready to pet him. He goes right to her and begins to lick her face and wag his tail.

"Moose here is probably the friendliest stray we've found. He loves right up to all the other dogs. He really is a sweetheart." The lady holding Moose's leash continues to tell me the little things I'll need to know about Moose and how I can adopt him. I go through the paperwork quickly and give her the money for the adoption.

It isn't until Moose comes to sit beside at my feet that I feel like this is the right choice. Jordan will absolutely love him.

Travis takes the leash from me as we exit the pet store and lets him do his business and smell around a grassy area outside.

"I think this was a great idea," I say aloud for no one in particular. Layla stands beside me as we watch Travis pat Moose on the head for peeing on someone's car tire. "Thanks, Layla. I'm glad that you were with us because this never would have crossed my mind."

"I hope your sister truly loves him," she says genuinely.

I watch her for a few seconds longer while she watches after Travis and Moose. For a moment it feels like we're Travis' parents watching him with adoring eyes. I wonder if she remembers me telling her about him and what happened last year.

Layla twists back to look at me again and I have to look away quickly.

"So," I say before she can say anything. "How are we getting this little guy home?"

*

Once we're a few blocks away, Layla slows down. She takes a few breathes before she turns to Travis and me. "I had a lot of fun today. I hope your sister really loves Moose."

"What?" Travis beats me to it. He elbows me in the ribs for it, too. "You have to see her reaction."

Layla looks to me with hesitant eyes, like she can't figure out if I want this or not.

"Yeah, you should come. I'll have to tell Jordan it wasn't all my brilliant idea one of these days, anyway."

She laughs at that, the smile reaching her eyes. I look down at Moose and smile at him, too. We start walking towards the house. Moose's leash is wrapped around my hand and he's trotting beside me, his tail wagging along with each step.

A few people stop to pet him, and I have to let them because of how excited he gets. It's actually really cute the way he loves every person that passes us, even when they don't bend over and pay him any attention.

"What's your dad gonna say?" Travis asks once we reach my house. I open the door and try to keep Moose calm since he has turned his sniffer on and wants to investigate everything.

I shrug my shoulders. "Dad's away for some business meeting in Texas. He'll find out when he gets here," I say lowly so only Travis hears it. I can only imagine how Layla would react if she knew the rule my dad made for us a long time ago on getting pets. The last pet we had run away – but then again, it was also a stray rabbit that belonged in the wild that Jordan thought would stay under our front porch step forever.

This pet, however, is a completely different story.

"Jordan!" I yell. It only takes her a few minutes to finally come traipsing down the stairs again. She looks at me and scowls.

"What is this? Some kind of intervention?" She stands on the last step and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I..." I trail off, looking for a way to say that I'm sorry. "I got you a dog."

I tug on Moose's leash and trots around me so he's standing at my feet, still looking around. He spots Jordan and instantly races towards her. I let go of his leash so he can reach her and she drops down to pet him, her face lighting up.

"What – why?" Jordan gushes over Moose, twisting his collar around to see the name tag. "You're so handsome... Moose."

"How about we take Moose outside and let him around for a while? The people at the pet store said he loves playing fetch."

Jordan doesn't say anything as she takes Moose's leash and leads him to our back door and into the small, fenced-in yard.

I follow her outside, not paying attention to anyone but her and the giant smile on her face. I sit down on the edge of the patio and watch her unhook his leash and toss a stick through the air. He grabs it in his mouth and starts walking back to her, but he dodges her last minute and trots in the other direction.

I decide to sit down next to her in the grass. "I'm sorry for everything I said and did, Jordy. You also know how terrible I am at apologies, so..."

To my surprise, Jordan wraps her arms around me tightly. "I know you are. I'm sorry for being so hard on you. I just get so tired of seeing you guys go at it."

I drape an arm over her shoulders and release a sigh. "Dad and I have to work through our issues. Which I'll try to do when he gets back. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. So, was Moose your idea of an apology?" He hears his name and walks over to us, leaving his broken stick in the grass. He climbs across my lap and licks Jordan's face. She attempts to move away but I move my arms so her head is trapped and she has no choice but to smell Moose's puppy breath.

She starts to laugh and push herself out of my grip. I finally release her and she falls backward, but Moose does not give up. He jumps onto her and continues to lick her and playfully bite her. She raises herself up and looks over me. "I have a question, though."

"What's that?"

"Well, two actually. Is that the girl whose place we snuck into? And do you know this number? It's from Arizona." She holds up her phone to show me the number.

I raise an eyebrow and pull out my phone to look at the call I ignored. "Yes to both."

Jordan smirks at me. "interesting. I don't know about the weird number, but I'll let you answer it next time. As for her," she looks back at Layla. "She seems like a really cool person."

I make a mental note to look up the number later. I push myself up and turn to see Layla and Travis standing at the edge of the patio. Layla smiles when I approach them.

"I think they're getting along really well," she tells me.

I nod my head in agreement. "I think so, too."

"Well, I should probably get going now. I have a youth group thing going on." She uncrosses her arms and holds them in front of her.

Travis decides to put his two cents into it. "You know, I was planning on just chilling here and getting some rest from all this jet lag," he yawns to add emphasis. "Jonah, you should totally go with her."

I glare at my friend and the smirk on his face. Layla looks at me. "You can if you want. I promise it's fun. There's music and food and there's always a great message. It only lasts for about an hour."

I watch her talk so highly of this place. The only thing I can think of is the last time I was at a church – I can't even remember it.

"I don't know..." I trail off and Layla's smile immediately falters, but she replaces it with a faint one.

"It's okay. You really don't have to. I'll see you at school?" She turns around to show herself out.

Travis groans loudly and punches my shoulder. "Really, Jonah?"

"You're here. I can't just leave you here by yourself when you came out to see me."

"Who says I came to see you?" He jokes and heads into the yard to sit with Jordan and Moose.

I look at Layla about to walk out the front door and I jog to catch up with her. "Wait, Layla."

She looks at me in surprise. "Yeah?"

I rub the back of my head awkwardly. Please, don't let me regret this. "What time does it start?"

__________________

How do you think Jonah will Layla's youth group? And what are you expecting this youth group will be like? I bet you won't expect what it's like!

On that note, I'm really excited to show you guys the next chapter. I tried really hard to make it to where it makes sense and is easy to understand. Like I've said before, ask any questions you have!

Also, the dog in the picture is most likely older than 6 months haha. I just wanted to give you an idea of what Moose looks like in my head! Isn't he cute?

The song for the chapter is Confidence by Sanctus Real because Jonah needs some confidence :D