Before I met the band, I was the type of person who had zero issues with standing at the very end of the line. I was quiet. Hesitant. Don't take too much space. Waiting was okay. Taking whatever was handed to me whenever was okay. Not one competitive bone in my body.

Somehow, with time, Juni managed to flip every single one of those 206 bones over.

My first impression of them was that they were stubborn, Feisty. Always knew what to say when they had to rile someone up. But I've come to realize that determined is the word that explains them better. Fiery. They always talk in a way that turns me almost as combative as them.

Which is probably why we're both huffing, sweating, and looking just about ready to collapse in the middle of the street with exhaustion but still speeding through the empty streets when Juni comes to an abrupt halt by the park, almost making me crash straight into them.

I yelp loudly, the sound echoing in the blank block, and press the brakes with enough force to make the rear jump a little. But thankfully, it's just in time before the front of my bike grazes the back of theirs.

"What the hell—"

"Isn't that Bowie?"

The rest of the profanity dies on the tip of my tongue, eyes instinctively following the line of their sight inside the park.

I feel something oddly close to the beginning of a panic attack at the sight of the familiar face only a few feet away by the trees, with all my senses blurring into one and then none, except not as intense. It fills me with a red, loud alarm at first, of course, considering the fact that I'm used to associating this feeling with the chant of bad, bad, bad inside my head.

But... the bad part doesn't come. Instead, it seems as if all the strings of blood pumping life into my senses rush straight to my heart, wrapping around the fragile little thing until it begins to warm. And just as I begin to wonder if I'm going to feel a squeeze in my chest, the feeling leaks into my belly and rushes up so fast it leaves my insides tingling.

"Is that... his owner?" Juni asks, and I quickly blink a few times when their voice doesn't register inside my head at once. The noise of silence around my ears slowly wears off, just in time to hear the second part of their sentence. Their voice is breathless, and I know it's not just because of the fact that we were speeding down the streets on our bikes only a few minutes ago. "Shit, I just felt a flutter in my belly."

Even in my half-concentrated state, I let out a laugh at their words. It comes out wrong; breathless and surprised and a little choked, but it's the best I can manage when I'm feeling the exact same way.

Kaia is pushing her hair back with her tattooed hand now to reveal an earpiece, other hand holding a bright yellow frisbee that Bowie barks at. He urges her to throw it, and she does after teasing him a little bit. There's no mask on her face today so I can see her mouth moving as she talks, but she still looks like she stepped straight out of a sports magazine in all her barefaced glory.

"Imani, I don't remember you telling us they looked like that."

The corner of my lips twitch up at Juni's betrayed voice. "Yeah, 'cause I didn't"

I peek at them to find them looking at me with an unimpressed expression before it melts into one of forced exasperation, followed by an impertinent huff. "How selfish."

I shrug, trying to act nonchalant even though I feel another wave of butterflies crash my stomach when I see Kaia throw her head back and laugh at the sight of Bowie slipping on the grass trying to catch the frisbee.

It's that exact second that Kaia turns and sees us, and I freeze only for a second before catching myself and returning her gaze with a meek wave.

When her lips part and her expression melts into a brilliant smile that puts all of her teeth on display, I feel my breath hitch in my throat just as Juni mutters, "Oh, my God" under their breath. Yeah, I think. So I'm not the only one she has that effect on.

It's a bit relieving, because I don't understand what it feels like to be attracted to someone. Not completely. But Juni reacting like this only confirms how I feel, so I pack and save the little realization away in a Process Later folder inside my head when I see Kaia clap to get Bowie's attention.

He comes running to her, and then she crouches and ruffles the fur on top of his head before pointing in our direction. Only seconds after, the big dog comes bounding in our direction, and Juni abandons their bike so fast that I have to quickly take hold of the seat to keep it from falling over. Throwing open the kickstand of both our bikes with a little effort, I get off right when Kaia reaches us.

"Don't run," I warn when they hide behind me just as Bowie stops in front of us, tail wagging excitedly as he tries to get closer to Juni. With a sigh, I crouch in front of Bowie to stop him and look up when a pair of black trainers appear in my sight, only to find Kaia's eyes, slightly puffy with probably lack of sleep, looking like crescent moons with how wide she's smiling down at me. The sight of the tinge of pink in her cheeks and the tip of her nose—from running all the way around the exit of the park to us—makes the butterflies in my stomach gather together and perform a dramatic little swoop.

"I'm so sorry!" she breathes, reaching for Bowie's collar and smiling apologetically at Juni when she takes in the scene in front of her. Forever a captivated fool for a pleasant voice, I feel the hair at the back of my neck stand straighter at attention with every word that leaves her mouth. "Did he scare you?" she asks.

I press my lips together to hold back a smile and keep my face straight when Juni tries to reply, only for their voice to come out as an incoherent mumble.

"Juni doesn't like dogs."

While people usually react very dramatically to the statement, Kaia only looks more apologetic as realization dawns on her. "Oh. Oh, my gosh. And you still let him stay with you that day? I'm so sorry."

"He didn't give us any trouble," I tell her with a wave of my hand and a shake of my head, directing my attention to Juni to address them when I ask, "Did he, Jun?"

They shake their head.

Bowie raises his face in their direction and lets out a whine, so Kaia clicks her tongue, making him dip his head like a scolded child. His already floppy ears drop further somehow.

"Aw, don't say anything to him," I say, pouting without meaning to. When I hold my arms out it's instinctive, but Bowie places his large head on my shoulder in a manner which looks like we're hugging, and my heart melts. "He's a good boy," I say with my hand scratching his back up and down a few times, tone already switching to one that I use when I talk to babies. "Aren't you, baby?"

I can't see his face like this but I can tell he's happy with the way his tail wags.

"Bo is the sweetest. I promise he won't do anything to hurt you," Kaia assures Juni softly while I pull back, scrunching my nose fondly at the animal before pressing a tiny kiss between his big eyes.

After I stand up and scratch the top of his head with my nails, he looks like he's smiling again.

When I look at Kaia, she's already staring at me, face set in an unreadable expression. She smiles when our eyes meet though, and for some reason, it looks softer than ever. Tender. Warm. "If you keep spoiling him like that, he might run away again," she jokes with a shake of her head, breaking the spell.

"As he should," I joke back.

Kaia laughs, and then looks at Juni. "I'm sorry if Bowie bothered you too much that day." She puts a hand on top of his head, and looks down once. "He's very well-behaved, but he can be super active sometimes so I hope he didn't try to jump at you."

Juni shakes their head, the tops of their ears turning an all-too-familiar shade of pink with embarrassment. They still look uneasy and a little jumpy, eyes darting between Bowie and Kaia, but they don't look like they're going to run away anytime soon.

"He was fine." Their tone is scratchy but honest, so I flash them a smile and reach out to squeeze their hand in encouragement. They rub the back of their neck sheepishly and add, "Big dogs scare me a little bit."

Kaia nods understandingly, and then tilts her head to one side. Maybe she sees something on Juni's face that I don't because she asks, "Do you want to pet him once?" When Juni's head snaps up and they look like a deer caught in headlights, she adds, "Golden Retrievers are very gentle, I promise." When there's still no reply, she looks down at Bowie. "It's okay if you don't want to, but he gets a little sad when he thinks people don't like him."

And he does look upset. His tail isn't wagging anymore, head bowed, and I want nothing more in the world than to give him everything he wants.

"Okay," Juni says, and my eyes widen in surprise. I look at them to make sure it was them that said the word.

"He won't move," Kaia promises, letting go of his collar that she had a gentle hold on, and he immediately begins taking a step closer to Juni. "Bowie?" Kaia calls, and he looks up at her at once. "Stay."

He sits back down.

"I'm in love with him," I announce.

Kaia breathes out a laugh at my words, and encourages Juni to come forward. They swallow and press their teeth into their bottom lip with indecision, but then finally take a step forward. Bowie sits obediently, only raising his head a little bit when Juni's trembling hand finally touches between his ears.

I can't help but coo when Bowie relaxes further under their touch, closing his eyes with his tongue hanging out. He looks happy.

"There we go," Kaia murmurs, eyes kind. "You two are friends now."

Juni's parted lips lift up in a small smile, fingers sliding into Bowie's thick fur. "He's so soft."

"Thank you," I mouth at Kaia when our eyes meet, and she just smiles in return. "Did you manage to find your phone?" I ask, remembering that she had misplaced it the day we were trying to get in contact with her.

"Oh, yeah." She shakes her head a little, expression turning sheepish. "I dropped it in the lobby and this guy who lives two doors away found it—" As if on cue, she's cut off by a low vibrating sound from her pocket. "Oh, just a second." With an apologetic smile and a look in Bowie's direction to make sure he's staying put in front of Juni (who looks far more relaxed now), she presses the center of her earpiece. "Hello?"

I crouch beside Juni to play with Bowie so I can give her some privacy. It's hard not to hear what she's saying, though, considering she's still standing pretty close, except turned to her side now. I watch her run her fingers through her hair, and it looks more like a stressful habit than anything else as she waits for the person on the other end to finish.

"Like, now now?" she asks, pausing for a few more seconds before tipping her head back and exasperatedly looking at the sky. "The fastest I can do is an hour. I need to go home and feed Bowie." And then as an afterthought, she scrunches her nose and adds, "And take a shower." Her hand slides down to the back of her neck with another pause. "He needs me to watch him or else he eats too fast, so no." I watch her eyebrows draw together, the sour expression that follows looking unfamiliar and foreign on her otherwise gentle face.

I look away.

Her voice drops into more of an authoritative tone when she speaks again. "No. I wasn't even supposed to leave him all by himself today. And you're wasting my time trying to bargain with me. I'll be there in an hour."

And then she promptly hangs up and presses her hands to her hips, letting out a sigh.

"Duty calls?"

She meets my eyes, lips pressed in a grimace. "Unfortunately."

I don't know what pushes me to offer, albeit a little hesitantly, "Would you... like someone to watch over him?" I point at Bowie, who is now giving Juni's small hand careful, tiny licks. It's a little funny, because the phrase 'scared animal' suits Juni perfectly right now. The actual animal in the situation seems to think the same with how careful he's being with them.

Kaia looks surprised, but her expression quickly morphs into one of hesitance. "I... it's very sweet of you to offer, but I don't want to be a b—"

"No, trust me, I'm offering because of entirely selfish reasons. Layla hasn't stopped whining about wanting to see him for a week."

And it's true. Layla has been the most dramatic about his absence. She would look at the carpet where Bowie had sat, and say something like, 'It looks so empty'. Or lean against a wall and mutter, 'I still have his fur stuck on my shirt, you know?' Frankly, it had gotten a little out of hand. Sean had been on the verge of contacting Kaia himself only two days ago, sick and tired of Layla's antics.

"She's one string of sanity away from begging you to let her live with Bowie," is all Juni adds, making both of us laugh.

"If it's okay with you, we'd be more than glad to take care of him."

Juni nods enthusiastically at my offer, which is honestly a sight. I never thought there would be a day when they would be eager about being anywhere near a dog. But the day has come, after all, considering that both their hands are now holding Bowie's giant face between them as they talk to him like he's a person.

"He looks like he understands everything," I say with a chuckle.

Kaia looks impossibly fond. "He likes being talked to." She looks away from them and at me. "Are you sure it won't be any trouble?"

I nod in assurance.

She scratches the back of her neck and sighs. "Can I offer you money for his food, at least?"

I shake my head.

She lets out a huff of laughter. "I'd feel bad, Imani, come on."

"Absolutely not. Just let me know what he likes to eat and Juni and I will grab it on our way." I pat Bowie on the head before Kaia can say anything. "Let's go before your mommy can stop us."

The mommy in question only laughs again, and says, "This could be considered kidnapping, you know," when Bowie begins to follow after me without question, Juni in tow after they wave at a grinning Kaia.

"Your child seems all too willing to leave with us. I don't know what you're talking about."

She only laughs again, the sound echoing behind me.

I try not to think about how quickly it's beginning to grow on me, and say over my shoulder, "I hope you still have my number! This isn't the last time we're stealing him away so I'm going to need a list."

a/n: i am...........so incredibly fond of this chapter...........i can't even.........

anyways, before i launch into a proper monologue about how in love with kaia i am, i'll just say thank you and take my leave <3

i hope you're all taking care of yourselves! please let me know in the comments what you think about the story so far if you want to :D

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total word count: 17618