Another day, another instance of Jay shirking all adult responsibilities and obligations to run around the park as a dog. This time, however, he wasn't his usual golden retriever; he thought it'd be odd if the same blue-eyed dog kept showing up, and people might get suspicious. It'd be even better if his eyes didn't stay blue when he shifted, but, really, Jay was just thankful he was able to do this. It was his escape. That thing he could turn to when nothing else helped, or when it was too early to drink or too late to play bass. 

The sun still high in the sky, a blue-eyed Chihuahua ran through the park on his short yet powerful legs. Every now and then he'd stop and sniff. Then, his head would snap to another direction and he'd run, sniff, and repeat. I knew I buried my clothes around here somewhere... he thought, becoming a little more frantic with every passing second. 

Pretty soon, he was walking briskly, his nose to the ground, and whenever he'd get to a tree he'd stop and dig, then fill it back in before moving to another spot. Occasionally he'd let out a soft whine. It was mid-day; he was in a form not suited for covering a lot of ground. And he damn sure wasn't going to be any use if things hit the fan. But shifting back naked in the middle of the park at noon...not the best idea. 

He picked the chihuahua because they were inconspicuous, and he would be able to hide and pick up information for potential jobs(both savory and less than legal). And besides, for some reason, women found them cute. But now here he was, a whopping three pounds and unable to find where he stashed his extra clothes. 

If Jay could talk in dog form, this chihuahua would be spewing curses at a mile a minute. But instead, he was running and furiously digging. 

There was a definite chill in the air. Not cold, but enough of a warning that California-like temperatures in New York would be fading soon.

Allegra still wasn't about ready to admit that. She dressed for the summer wearing just running shorts and a bright blue sports bra. She flew the park with her 'babies' beside her. Her babies were a white Shih Tzu with light gray mask and ears and a black shaved Brussels Griffin. Once Allegra got in her running zone, she didn't even notice the breeze was blowing stronger and that the weather was quickly getting colder. She was just content and one with nature.

That was until her two dogs immediately bolted to the right, nearly giving Allegra whiplash. They then started growling and yipping in unison.

"Hey you two! What's up?" she asked. Her puppies were usually so well behaved and ignored everything while they were running. No barking at other dogs or chasing squirrels up trees. What got their attention now?

Allegra saw an adorable little chihuahua probably digging up a bone. Her two dogs seemed to think they were face to face with Cujo.

"Enough!" Allegra ordered. "He's even smaller than you two, so relax." Allegra walked over to the chihuahua while her two dogs whimpered. The Shih Tzu barked out a warning. Allegra just turned back and scolded her dogs with a loud shhhhhh.

"Hello there," Allegra said to the chihuahua as she bent down to pet him under the ears. "What are you doing here all alone? Where's your mommy or daddy?"

Jay was momentarily snapped out of his panic by the sound of barking, but he quickly noted that the source of the sound wasn't too much bigger than he was, and he wished he'd chosen one of his larger forms today. He knew the pups were likely barking because they realized something was different about him. He may have looked like a dog, but he still smelled mostly human. Scents were always a dead giveaway when it came to shifters. And his seemed to have just betrayed him. Just as if today couldn't get any worse...

It was then that he noticed the girl who hadn't seemed to have gotten the memo about New York's weather. Yeah, it seemed nice one minute, but then the wind would bite you right in the--oh great she was talking to him now. Obviously he couldn't talk back, but he kept his nose to the ground, trying to pick up his own scent. Chihuahuas, while their sense of smell was still rather keen, were not exactly built for tracking like a bloodhound, a retriever, or other hunting dogs. So, the little black chihuahua looked up at the girl, ears pinned back to show defensiveness, and barked.

Like all three pound rat-dogs, he couldn't help but bounce as he did so, shaking in the cool wind that was starting to pick up. However he wasn't sure if the shaking was the dog or if it was from the realization that this probably wasn't going to end well.

Allegra could see the Chihuahua was tense. It may have had something to do with her dogs barking or perhaps he was scared because he was all alone. Allegra  didn’t see a collar on him so she figured he probably shook it loose.

“Hey there baby, it’s okay,” she said in a soft calming voice. “My dogs bark way worse than they bite. They won’t hurt you.”

Allegra looked around for any sign of an owner but didn’t see anyone. This was most likely a lost dog. He had probably been missing for
days.

“Can I pet you?” she asked him. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

As Allegra gently rubbed the Chihuahua’s head, her diamond tennis bracelet caught the sun and glittered right in front of the shape shifter’s eyes.

“You know, it’s very dangerous for such a little puppy to be out here all alone,” she said. “Why don’t I pick you up and take you home with me. Then we can make some posters and find your mommy and daddy. What do you think about that? I’ll take good care of you until we find who you belong to. You can talk to my friend Derek who speaks fluent dog-ese.  How do you feel about that?”

Inside the chihuahua's furry brown head, Jay's mind was working furiously. It was midday, and if he shifted back, he'd be naked. Maybe he should go with this girl. Maybe she had a dad or a brother who had clothes he could 'borrow.' Yeah...that could very well work.

Then, she reached down to pet him, and as her hand rubbed the top of his head, her diamond bracelet glimmered right in front of his face. Yeah...maybe going with her would be a good idea. He relaxed, and his tail wagged as his tongue lolled out of his mouth and he rolled over onto his back. He still didn't like the other two dogs she was with, but maybe he could make this work, right?

He did have to make a mental note that he likely wouldn't want to meet someone who could talk to dogs. Or maybe he would...depending on whether they were mutant or one of those hacks like you see on TV. He really really hoped it was the second one. Standing back to his feet, he rose to his hind legs, looking at her with his oddly blue eyes.

"Awwww!" Allegra cooed when the chihuahua started relaxing and wagging his tail. She scratched his stomach and gushed about how cute he was.

Allegra's two dogs did not agree. They were now growling and observing every move the little dog made. There was something just not right about him. Not right at all.

"You two hush!" Allegra ordered as she scooped up the tiny chihuahua. She rubbed her nose against his. "You're just a-dog-able aren't you? Yes, you are! Yes, you are! Look at those pretty blue eyes. OMG!"

She cradled the dog and walked out of the park with her two disgruntled dogs trailing behind her. The white one kept trying to make eye contact with the newcomer and growling whenever their eyes met.

They finally made their way to the edge of the park where a limo was waiting. The impeccably dressed driver smiled when he saw them coming. "Picking up strays, Ms. Avers?"

"I'm sure he belongs to someone, James," Allegra answered. "But I'm gonna keep him til we find out where his home is? Do you think you could keep Chocolate and Sparkle up front with you? They don't seem to like him much. Just jealous I think. Hey, what should I name him?"

James took a look at the dog as he opened the door for Allegra. "He looks like a Jay to me, Ms. Avers."

"Okay, Jay it is then," she smiled as she slid into the spacious back seat. Chocolate and Sparkle whimpered having to be up front leaving Allegra alone in back with the 'enemy.'

"Okay," Allegra said as she grabbed a champagne glass. The pushed a lever and dog food spilled into it. "Here you go, Jay. Eat up. I'm gonna text Derek to see if he wants to stop by and meet us. You'll really like him. All animals do. Bark if you need anything."

Soon, the limo pulled in front of the mansion. "Yep, Xavier's school," Allegra said to Jay. "Mmm-hmmm. It's the mutant school. Don't worry. I won't let any mean mutants hurt you. I promise."

James opened the door for Allegra and then let the other two dogs out. "James, if you could just take Chocolate and Sparkle inside," Allegra ordered before turning to the chihuahua . "Did you want to go in too, Jay or do you want to run around a bit."

He let her scoop him up, his mind ever working on a game plan; after all, it was foolish to rush into a situation like this blindly. Even if 'blindly' is exactly how he got into this situation in the first place. But if he could get out of this unscathed and make a little money in the process, then no harm done, right? Those other dogs were likely going to be a nuisance, though. He knew they only disliked him because they knew he wasn't a "real" dog.

When the girl started talking to her driver, his blood ran cold when they used his name. Either these people were really lucky(though Jay didn't necessarily believe in coincidences) or, more than likely, they were onto him already. But...how? Why?

Well, it was too late for him to turn back now. Not that he could, because he definitely wanted to, but he didn't really have a choice now. He had to ride this out.

When she gave him the champagne glass of dog food, he sort of turned his nose up at it, playing up to more of a spoiled dog type of persona. And then...they pulled up to Xavier's School...

Crap. Now he was even farther from home than before, he had no clothes, and he was still a freaking three-pound chihuahua. He hopped out onto the grass, and just froze, thinking. However, to anyone not inside his head, he looked like he was frozen in fear.

"Oh poor puppy! Don't be scared," Allegra said. She stroked the dog gently. "I know this place is scary but it's going to be okay. We're going to find your real mommy and daddy. I've texted my friend, Derek. I'll have him come talk to you. Then he will be able to ask you where you live and we'll take you back home."

"But until then, you are my special guest." She scooped the small dog up and carried him up to her room. "Here, just lay there on my bed and I'll find you some good doggie treats. I bet you're starved. Don't worry. I've got really good stuff."

She hoped he would like these. He did turn his nose at the champagne glass. She also hoped she didn't mind she left her door open. She tried to keep it open as much as possible in case someone decided to stop by.

Dressed in a sweaty white tank top, bright blue athletic shorts and black Adidas sneakers, Andy was on his way back to his room. What a workout... If I keep this up, I’ll be an X-Trainee in no time, he thought as he strolled confidently down the hallway, his chest out and his chin up.

Then he heard what sounded like Allegra’s voice and saw, a few doors down, that her door was wide open.

Shit!

Eyes widening, Andy froze in fear. His instincts told him to hide, to walk the other way and keep avoiding her until she no longer wanted to date him, but his conscience told him otherwise.

Talk to her. Tell her the truth. Be a good person.

But Andy didn’t want to. He was too afraid of what she might say, of how she might react, of who she might tell. Then again, if he kept lying to her, if he kept using her to make everyone at Xavier's think he was straight, she’d have even more of a reason to be angry with or even hate him. And he really didn’t want Allegra to hate him...

“You can do this,” Andy muttered to himself, then took a deep breath and pressed onward. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster with every step he took, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He had to do the right thing. He had to be true to himself for once in his life.

Reluctantly, Andy poked his head into her room and saw, much to his surprise, a cute little chihuahua on her bed. “Hey Allegra… You got another dog?” he asked, smiling widely as though nothing was wrong. “Can I pet it?”

"Oh my....." Allegra gasped. She hadn't expected the boy she had been crushing on to just walk into her room. What was he doing in the girls' wing anyway.

'He obviously wanted to see you, dummy!' Allegra told herself, but that just made her more nervous. Now she had to be worth seeing which was hard when she was a nervous wreck.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry. My room is a disaster area," Allegra said. It was somewhat true. Her dorm room at Xavier's was about the size of her shoe closet back home so she had all her many belongings piled up haphazardly. She had just started to organize everything. For instance, she had strands of diamond necklaces lying on her dresser; Allegra's latest project. She noticed the Chihuahua noticing them just laying there when she first brought him in. Obviously he couldn't know they were diamonds, so the dog probably just liked sparkly things.

Allegra on the other hand, couldn't help but notice Andy all sweaty and hot in his workout uniform. She averted her eyes so it didn't look like she was staring too much. She wondered if he was checking her out. Thank god she always did her makeup and hair before she went out so she looked somewhat presentable.

"Oh yes. You can pet him," Allegra offered. "He's a little skittish but he doesn't bite."

>> "Oh my....." 

Allegra’s entire face lit up when she saw him. How could he look her in the eye and tell her he never liked her? What if she never smiled at him again? What if she hated him? Ugh. Why did he ever agree to go on a date with her in the first place? He should have just made up some story about him already having a girlfriend or something.

>> "Oh my god! I'm sorry. My room is a disaster area."

“Don’t worry about it,” Andy said nonchalantly as he glanced around Allegra’s supposedly messy room. To him, as someone who accidentally flooded his dorm-room two weeks ago, it was hardly a ‘disaster area’, but that was beside the point. He wasn’t here to critique the state of her room, but rather to tell her the truth and beg for forgiveness.

But he really didn’t want to do that, either.

So what did Andy do? Instead of facing the problem in front of him, he shifted his attention to something else: Allegra’s new dog.

>> "Oh yes. You can pet him. He's a little skittish but he doesn't bite."

With Allegra’s permission, he walked into her room and over to her bed with an excited smile. It was even cuter up-close! And were those blue eyes? He had certainly never seen blue eyes on a chihuahua before, but he guessed even dogs could have mutations in their genes.

“Hey there, little guy...” Sitting down beside it, Andy reached his hand out to gently pat it a few times on the head and, if possible, lift it up and put it on his lap. “Aren't you the cutest thing ever?”

So many things were running through Jay's mind, and before he knew it, he was faced with even more problems as some other kid walked into the room and started talking to his adolescent dog-napper. He had to get home, but to do that, he'd need to shift back, which wasn't an option since if he did that, he'd be naked on a campus full of minors--not to mention the mutant adults who were more than capable of kicking his ass. But he wasn't about to stay here and become someone's new pet(especially since the payoff was nothing like he expected, but that's what he got for assuming she lived in a mansion...). Well, technically she did live in a mansion, but it wasn't what he thought. And now...he was potentially in deep sh--

"Can I pet it?"
BINGO.
There was his chance, right there. Jay watched the hand approach him, drawing closer and closer. And finally, when it was in range, he bit down on the hand then leaped off of the bed, out of the room, and then he scurried down the hall aimlessly. He ran as fast as he could, looking for some semblance of a male's room, or a laundry room, or somewhere he could steal some clothes.

But...seeing as how he never even gave this place a second glance...he didn't have a clue.

'Jay' was such a cute little puppy. Allegra was halfway hoping they wouldn't be able to locate the owners so she could keep him. He was a little scared (which was understandable) then CHOMP!

"Oh my god. Andy, are you okay?" Allegra said. Great. She couldn't believe she actually had a totally smoking hot guy on her bed. And how do you impress him? Let him get bitten by a dog that, for all you know, has rabies.

Allegra grabbed one of her shirts and wrapped it around Andy's hand. "Here, keep your hand elevated," she said. "I'm gonna get you some Neosporin so it doesn't get infected. Just keep your hand elevated. I am so sorry."

She looked into his beautiful brown eyes and hoped he would forgive him. But first, she had to catch the dog. If it did have rabies they would need to know. Plus, Allegra would get into some major trouble for bringing him into the mansion without letting one of the staff know.

"I've gotta catch him but I'll be back and I'll make everything alright." Spontaneously she kissed his hand. "I'll make it all better. I promise."

She ran out into the hall not knowing whether Andy would follow her or not. "Bad dog! Come back here right now!"

"OW!" Andy winced in pain as he felt the Chihuahua's surprisingly sharp teeth sink into his flesh, tearing through a number of veins, and instinctively pulled his hand away.

Seconds later, blood gushed out, pouring down the back of his hand and dripping onto Allegra's bed. "Shit! Sorry!" he quickly apologized as he scrambled to cover his bleeding hand with his other hand, bringing both hands to his chest.

>> "Oh my god. Andy, are you okay?"

Glancing down, Andy was hesitant to respond. Blood continued to rush out of his body, filling his white tank top with bright red spots that grew in size with every passing second, and he could already feel the area start to swell. Who would have thought a dog so small could do so much damage?

"Yeah, I'm fine," he finally said with a forced smile, trying his best not to let his panic show. He didn't want to look like a wimp, especially not in front of the pretty, popular girl. "But I take back what I said about your dog being the cutest dog ever..."

>> "Here, keep your hand elevated. I'm gonna get you some Neosporin so it doesn't get infected. Just keep your hand elevated. I am so sorry."

A look of worry flashed across Andy's face as Allegra wrapped his injury in one of her shirts. With a nod, he kept his hand elevated, but he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be enough. What if the bleeding didn’t stop? What if he needed medical attention? What if he lost too much blood?

And then, just when Andy was about to politely ask Allegra to take him to the infirmary, she kissed his tender, wounded hand (ow...) and ran after her new, clearly untrained dog like any loving pet owner would. But what about him?

“Stupid dog,” he muttered angrily under his breath.

Jay scurried down the hall as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him, which was surprisingly fast. He never did understand how these little rat-dogs could move like that. Sure, they were quick, but they had a very narrow stride in comparison to his favorite shift--speaking of which, if he'd done the smart thing, he'd have been a golden retriever and probably would have made it home by now without having to deal with his current fiasco.

When he reached the end of the hall, he took a sharp right down another hallway and ducked into a random room, whose door just happened to be cracked. His dog eyes took in the sights and smells, and honestly...this room smelled...fishy. He ducked under the bed, which seemed like it'd never been used, then waited, hoping they wouldn't find him. Maybe this would be his chance!

It's a shame he had to bite that kid though...

Wait...no it wasn't! That was kind of fun.