Shade

Madeline sat on the couch watching TV. Caroline was supposed to show up in fifteen minutes, so Madeline decided to order some pizza to talk over. While she ordered, Laura pranced out of the bedroom and went to the window to watch the cars, like normal.

"Laura, you have to be extra good, okay?" Laura turned to look at Madeline and turned back to the window, obviously not caring.

After a few minutes, the pizza was ordered and Laura perked her head up.

"Is someone there?" she asked. Laura stood up and opened her eyes wide, "Okay, that’s a yes."

Madeline stood up right as a knock came through the door. She opened it to reveal a short, ruby-haired woman with green eyes and freckles everywhere.

"Hey! I'm Caroline!" she chirped. Caroline smiled to reveal a set of perfectly white teeth.

"Hey! I'm Madeline!" Laura stuck her nose out of the crack in the door, trying to push her way through to the visitor. "This is Laura."

Caroline came through the door. "Oohh! Helloooo!" She got down on the pooch's level and gave her head a rub, then stood back up. Laura pawed at her to get more attention.

"I'm sorry, I can put her up if I need to. She's pretty good." Madeline started to shoo her pet into the crate by the TV.

"Oh! No! Please, I love dogs. She's totally okay." Madeline took a better look at Caroline. Her hair was longer, falling in obviously natural curls. Her eyes were perfectly coated in makeup, allowing for the color to pop even more. And her clothing was extremely girly, including a pink tank top with short jean shorts and gem covered sandals.

"Well, I ordered a pizza for us. It should be here soon. Would you like a tour?" Madeline asked. Caroline nodded.

"Obviously, here we have the living room. Add any extra furniture you want. The kitchen is right through there. I've left empty half of everything for you. If you need more room, let me know. I'm sure I can accommodate you." Madeline pointed through the kitchen entrance, then began down the hallway. "The last bedroom is mine; I'm sorry I took the biggest one. But this one on the left is yours. You have your own bathroom and closet." Madeline opened the door.

"I love it!" Caroline said as she walked in. "It's perfect. So, is there anything else you want to know about me?" Caroline asked.

"Nope! I'm not picky, so you seem great! What about for me?"

"Do you mind if I have a few friends over?" asked Caroline.

"No, as long as they like dogs and don't leave the place a mess." Madeline noticed a bit of worry on Caroline's face. "What's up?"

"Well, It's mostly guys and, well, you'll see. If you don’t like them, just let me know." Caroline smiled. "So, I have my stuff outside. I'll go get it."

Madeline's eyes widened. "You wanted to move in now?" Madeline wasn't expecting someone so soon.

"Yah!" Caroline pushed past her and went to open the door.

"Wait!" Madeline cried right as she opened the front door, letting the world's most curious dog go free. "No!"

Laura took off towards the parking lot. Caroline gasped and started to chase her, Madeline right behind.

"Laura, come back!" Caroline yelled, as if it would do anything. Laura rounded the corner of the apartments and out of sight. Madeline sped up and passed Caroline, expecting her dog to run into the road.

She was surprised when she saw her friendly pup surrounded by a group of guys scratching her belly. Once one guy would stop, another would pick up.

"Guys!" Caroline yelled. It was then that Madeline noticed the trailer full of furniture to the right. The guys turned to look at the girls making their way towards them.

"Hey, is this your dog?" One man asked. He was tall and skinny, with jeans and boots to go with a grey "Bud Light" shirt. His hair was short, like a military cut, and he had a distinct curve in his upper lip.

Madeline smiled and leaned over to grab her pupper's collar. "Yes, I'm so sorry. Y'all must be Caroline's friends."

"Actually," the guy smiled, "she's my fi-an-sayyy." The man wrapped a tan arm around Caroline's waist and pulled her in for a hug and kiss. "I'm Joe," he said once he came up for air. Caroline stayed in his arms and giggled.

"I'm Madeline," she replied. She looked around at the other four men standing around. "And who are all y'all?"

One bulkier man came over and slung a thick arm around Joe. "I'm Jeryl."

Jeryl had the same short, military cut with cargo shorts, a plain white tee, and some ratty flip flops.

"We are all Joe's pack. This is Ryan," he said, pointing to a short guy with black glasses and basketball shorts. "This is Chris." Jeryl pointed to a tall, pale guy with light blond hair and a sharp nose. "And, this is Trent."

Madeline took particular notice of Trent, feeling a skip in her heartbeat as she looked up at him. Trent had longer, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slight overbite. He stood extremely high, but his legs and arms held the largest muscles she had ever seen. It was as if she was looking at a rock. But, when Madeline looked into his eyes, she didn't even notice the intimidating size of him, or the worried glances the group around her shared.

Trent took one look at Madeline and sneered. "I helped you guys get this shit here, I'm going home now." Trent turned on his heel and left without another word.

Madeline felt a slight pain in her chest, but disregarded it. She stood up as straight as she could with Laura in her hands, trying to pull away to get at the guys, and waved hello to everyone else.

"If you want to move in, I'll go put her up." Madeline turned to walk inside and began to drag Laura behind her. For some reason, she could not get Trent off of her mind. It was as if his awful look was etched into her mind. She opened the door to the apartment and pointed at Laura's bed.

"Kennel," was all she needed to say for Laura to know she needed to get into it and settle down for a little while. Laura climbed in without much protest.

Madeline sighed, not knowing why she felt a little upset over a guy being grumpy about helping someone move.

"Oh well," she shrugged and went to open the door for the remaining guys. "I probably should have ordered more pizza."