"Ugh." I looked away from the tv screen, gagging at another one of Audrina's disgusting horror movies.

"You need psychological evaluation." Tiffany groaned, looking away equally as grossed out.

"It's just a movie chill out." Audrina laughed, peeling an orange as she happily watched tv.

It had been almost a week since I left the hospital, I was feeling great.

I needed to take pain medications every morning and night but other than that I could move alright.

It hurt a little to bend over and do certain tasks, but my friends were helping me through it amazingly.

"Ryan can handle a little gore, why can't you guys?" She complained, skipping the graphic part of the movie forwards.

"Ryan might be just as crazy as you." Tiffany rolled her eyes, looking back at the screen.

I smiled at their arguing, opening my phone to see a message from Noah.

I gasped out loud looking at all the animals he got to see while volunteering at the animal shelter.

Tiffany and Audrina looked over my shoulder, looking at the pictures.

"If I knew I would get to play with dogs all day for volunteering I would've turned myself in too!" Tiffany squealed, looking through the images.

I shut off my phone, getting up to get myself ready.

"Noah's coming in 10!" I told the girls before locking myself in my room to freshen myself up.

I put on black yoga pants, changing out of my comfy gym shorts. I paired them with a simple black tank top.

I walked out of my room, taking my scrunchie out of my hair and smoothing down my hair.

The girls were now watching some random show instead of the gore fest earlier.

"Noah said he had a surprise for me." I said to them.

"Let's hope it's money or something." Audrina took a big gulp of water.

*

Around 20 minutes later, a kick on the door boomed through the house. I sat up, confused. That was definitely a kick, if not, a very aggressive knock.

"No way that's Noah." I scoffed, getting up to open the door.

Noah grinned widely, holding a large box in his two arms.

"Just break the door, why don't you." Audrina said with a mouthful of popcorn from the couch.

"Sorry my hands are full." He chuckled in, walking past me.

I shook my head, closing the door and turning to him.

He set the box down on the ground, taking a deep breath and smiling widely.

"What'd you bring us?" Tiffany questioned, eyeing the box suspiciously.

He ran his hand through his hair, looking down at the box.

"You have dog fur all over you." I used my hand to dust off the white fur from his shirt.

"You ready?" He excitedly asked us, sitting on the ground in front of the cardboard box.

What was I supposed to expect? It could quite literally be anything. Audrey and Tiffany watched intently as he cut the tape on the box.

Audrina continued eating, her eyes focused on the box. I could tell Tiffany was skeptical, staring with narrowed eyes.

"Okay. Come here." He gestured with his hand for me to sit next to him. The box was now open, but the flaps were closed, his hand keeping it closed.

"This better not be a prank or anything." I joked, sitting comfortably beside him. I eagerly looked at his hands as he pulled the flaps open.

Once he opened it, we all gasped, staring at a small black puppy inside the box.

"You're kidding." Tiffany scoffed, getting up and kneeling down next to me.

The small dog yelped, scratching the sides of the box to get out.

"Noah what the fuck!" I clasped my hand over my mouth, staring as he picked the dog up.

It looked like a German Shepard but it was completely black, it's eyes were a hazel color.

"A dog had some puppies and they didn't have enough space for all of them." He set the dog down on the wooden floor, it's paws patted across the living room.

"You kept a puppy in a dark box all day?" Audrina pet it as it approached her.

"No I only did that so it would be a surprise." He rubbed the able of his neck, looking at me.

"What do you wanna name it?" I asked Noah.

"Him." Audrina picked up the dog, examining it thoroughly.

"I thought we would figure it out together." He shrugged.

I squealed happily, crawling to Noah and giving him a great hug. He laughed , hugging me tightly.

"I thought having a dog would be the closest thing to having a kid. I know you like that stuff." He said in my ear, making my eyes tear up.

He knew how much I loved children. He always said he didn't want any. Was I changing his mind? Was this his way of telling me he was willing to have kids in the future?

I made my mind shut up, now isn't the time for over thinking. I wiped my eyes, finally pulling away from the hug.

"Thank you so much. You're amazing." I gently pressed my lips into his, my arms still wrapped around his body.

"Fuck! No!" Audrina and Tiffany shouted out loud.

We both pulled away to see the dog squatting down and defecating in the middle of our white carpet. I laughed out loud, watching it sniff it and walk away, approaching Noah and I.

"Damn dog." Tiffany sighed, getting up to get paper towels.

"What are you guys naming him?" Audrina asked, ignoring the pile of shit and looking at Noah and I.

Noah looked at me for an answer.

"Tank? That would be funny." I suggested, watching the black puppy wander around.

"That would suit a big dog." Audrina said, moving away from the poop.

"He's a German Shepard." Noah said.

"It's settled then, his name is Tank." I held the puppy like a baby, playing with it sweetly.

"Who's helping me clean this up? How do we get stains out of carpets?" Tiffany continued complaining, gagging as she used the paper towels to try and rid the carpet of the brown stain.

"Tankie! Hello little guy I'm your favorite!" Audrina grabbed the dog and held him up in front of her face, nuzzling his soft fur.

"Tell Tank to start eating dry foods." Tiffany said, a dry laugh escaping her lips as she poured a water bottle on the stain.

"I'll help you." Noah laughed, grabbing one of the clean paper towels and helped her scrub.

*

"Good boy!" I gave tank a small treat when he sat down like I asked. He was great, such a respectful dog.

"You've been out here for hours." Noah came outside, sitting on the ground next to me, petting Tank as he sat.

"I was thinking, we can buy him some cute collars and clothes." I smiled, watching the dog roll over on his back.

"He'll probably shred them. His teeth haven't dulled yet." Noah said.

I sighed, watching Noah as he happily played with Tank.

"He'll only be this small for like another month. I want to make it count." I said, resting my head on Noah's shoulder.

Memories like these were the ones that I wanted to wrap up and keep forever.

"We can pick something later." He said, laughing as Tank gnawed on his fingers.

"Alright." I smiled, watching the small dog's tail wag up in the air.

The sun was beginning to set, creating an orange tint in the air. The air flowed coolly, creating perfect weather.

"Come on guys." I sighed, finally getting up from the ground to go inside. Tank and Noah stayed on the ground, ignoring me. They instead would rather play tug of war with a stick. I shook my head, smiling. Might as well just let them be.

Tiffany was talking on the phone inside, telling Natalie all about the surprise today. Audrina had said she was leaving on a date, but not with who.

I was alone, grabbing my phone from the kitchen counter.

Outside, Tank barked loudly, his puppy voice making it sound like a squeak instead.

I laughed, taking my phone and snapping a picture of Noah and Tank playing. Their innocent game of tug of war escalated to Tank wrestling Noah's arm while Noah laughed at him.

I debated going outside or staying in, but I was beginning to feel left out. They looked like they were having so much fun. Noah and I had to go buy Tank his food and collars anyways.

"Let's go buy him his stuff now." I interrupted their game, making Noah groan.

"We'll be back." He gave Tank one last aggressive pet before standing up and facing me.

"He needs food, let's go." I laughed, looking at his tousled hair that the dog had messed up.

Tank barked loudly, complaining that the game had already ended. Noah looked down at him, a goofy smile on his face.

"Right." He giggled, going inside. I waved to Tank, walking out the door.

"Tank is amazing." I said as a stepped into the car, looking through the pictures I took.

"I hope he gets big. How cool would that be." Noah laughed.

"No, he needs to stay tiny. I love him like that."

We both chuckled, thinking to ourselves.

"I love you Noah. Seriously. This was the best thing you could've done today."

"I knew you'd love him. I chose him out of like 4 other puppies."

"We're parents now!" I giggled, holding his hand as he drove with the other.

"How fun." He dryly smiled at my choice of words, making me laugh.

"One day babe." I sighed, looking out the window. I know he was more open to the idea now. Maybe having a dog would make him realize children weren't all that bad. Either way, he sure enjoyed teasing me with the idea of it.

"I love you too." He smiled, intertwining his fingers between mine.

--