Astrid's P.O.V.

"Toothpick, I really don't think I need a dog," I say as we walked through the rows of cages.

"What about this one? Former police dog," he said, crouching next to a cage containing a German Shepherd. She looked young and vibrant, her tail smacking the walls of her cage excitedly.

"She must be blind or something, why else would they send her to a pound?" I ask.

"Her owner was killed and they had a surplus of dogs as it was. They sent her here because they couldn't keep her busy enough," a lady said as she walked up to us, overhearing our conversation, "She's loyal as heck, and a great defense."

"Her name's Stormfly?" Toothpick asked, reading her personality paper.

"Yup," the girl replied.

"How bout it Astrid?" Toothpick asks, looking at me over his shoulder. I looked at the dog as she let out a whimper.

"Toothpick, I can't get a dog. I won't be able to feed it, I won't have any of the supplies, I just can't take care of one!" I sigh and walk up the hall before going to meet him by his car.

"Astrid, I really think you should reconsider," Toothpick said as he walked out with me.

"I know how to use a gun," I say as we get in the car.

"You can't take a gun to school," he says.

"I can't take a dog, either," I counter.

"I'm sure that if you explained the circumstances, they'd let you," he says as he starts driving.

"I'll just lock the doors at night and let the police deal with it," I sigh. We then drive in silence before he pulled up to my houses gate. "You're mom's coming back tomorrow, isn't she?" I ask.

"Yup," he says with a nod.

"Good luck," I tell him before getting out of the car.

Next day, after school

I walked out of the building with a sigh before turning toward the truck as my friends whooped and hollered, wrestling each other for the front seats. "Hey, Astrid!" I paused and turned around as someone called my name. Toothpick was jogging toward me with the German Shepherd from yesterday.

"Please tell me you did not buy that dog," I say.

"Happy early birthday!" he cheers.

"Toothpick!" I sigh.

"And with this dog, comes a mat, two free chew toys, a food and water bowl, this fine leash, and a whole bag of dog chow," he said as if he were a game show host.

"How much did all of that cost you?" I ask.

"Doesn't matter. Once my parents heard why I was doing this, they were fully on board," he says, "It's all on us."

"Toothpick, no, I can't," I say. Suddenly, the dog nudged my hand with her nose and moved her head until my hand was resting on top of it.

"Aw, see? She likes you," Toothpick says. "I'm not taking no for an answer, so you might wanna take the offer. I know you had that gun all day, next time you bring it you might not be so lucky, and get ratted out." I can't hold back a sigh.

"Her name's Stormfly?" I ask and he smiles.

"I'll drop her and the stuff by later if you want to catch your friends," he says. I take a deep breath as I hesitantly meet his eye.

"Be by around five?" 

He nods. 

"Ring at the gate," I say before patting Stormfly's head and going to the truck, throwing myself at the back bumper as Eret took off. I then climb into the bed of the truck before we drive to the cafe.

"Hey, Astrid, I tried texting you last night and you didn't answer. What the why?" Heather asks.

"I got my number changed," I say.

"Okay," Ruffnut says before they pull out their phones. I look at them in confusion.

"What?" I ask.

"Give them digits!" Heather says.

"You guys never text me anyway, you don't need them," I say.

"Astrid, come on-" I cut her off by snapping my gun from my waistband. Their mouths gaped and their eyes widened.

"Did-did you have that all day?" Ruff asks on shock.

"This should tell you that I don't share everything," I say.

"Astrid, what the heck?!" Eret shouted before the truck swerved to the side of the road before skidding to a stop. 

I stand up and walk down the middle of the bed as Heather and Ruffnut lean out of my way. I step onto the roof of the car before walking onto the hood and jumping to the ground. I continue to walk down the street as Eret speeds passed. I turn onto my street and walk until I reach my gate. I punch in my fathers name and walk through the gate before locking it again. I walk across the large lawn and go inside before heading my father's den. I start to clean the pistol and about an hour later, I hear the buzzer before the intercom.

"Hey, Astrid, it's Toothpick," Toothpick's voice said over the speaker. I assemble the gun again and load it before stuffing it in my waistband and going to the door. I use the keypad to unlock the gate before pushing the answer button on the intercom.

"Come on in, I'll be in the den," I tell him before going back to my father's lair. I start to put the cleaning stuff away before I heard the door open, followed by the scratching of claws on the marble floor.

"Astrid?" Toothpick called.

"Yeah, in here," I called back as I stuffed the handkerchief into the desk drawer.

"Hey, whatcha doin?" Toothpick asked as he and Stormfly walked into the room.

"Just straightening," I say before walking by him and to the foyer.

"Okay, I talked to the school, and they said that if it'll make you feel safer, you can bring Stormfly to class. I tested her out at home, and she's very well behaved," he tells me. "You want me to let her off the leash?" he asks. I sigh before shrugging.

"Sure," I say and he bends down before unclipping the leash from her collar. She paused before running forward and sitting in front of me. She bared her teeth and growled at me before barking.

"Stormfly," Toothpick scolded.

"My fault," I tell him before taking my gun out and setting it on the newel post of the stairs. I then backed away from it before she tilted her head with a doggy grin. "So, where's her stuff? Or were you joking?" I ask.

"I was not, it's all outside," he says.

"Can you help me bring it in?" I ask.

"Sure thing, M'Lady," he says and I roll my eyes before we go outside and to his car.