The chase for Chase- A Paw Patrol love story

Chapter 1: When Worlds Collide

Marshall's POV

Full of nerves, I took a step towards the door in front of me, determined to push down the increasing anxiety and land a hard knock on the door. This was the right apartment, wasn't it? Yes, it must be- I had recited the address diligently before leaving and on the drive here. There was no mistake; I just had to push through the nerves and get this over with. It didn't take much tapping on the door before it swung open, revealing a handsome man in a deep blue robe. It was obvious he had been drinking from the tint of alcohol on his breath and his ever so slightly staggered movements. Well, that and the fact a near empty bottle of beer was swinging around in his hands. We stared at each other for a while before either one of us spoke.

"So...you actually came." He stated, stepping closer and leaning against the door frame.

"Uh.. yeah, I wanted to see you." He appeared amused at this, as if the very notion was ridiculous.

"Why would you ever want to do that? I thought you'd be at home watching nature documentaries or something lame like that." He sneered, hurt flashing through his deep topaz eyes. I resisted the urge to retaliate and instead reached out my hand and placed it on his shoulder tenderly.

"I don't have to be here Chase. I chose to come here after you specifically invited me. I just... wanted to spend some time with you, okay?"

"Sounds pretty gay, Marshall. What did you have in mind?" He said with a flirtatious wink, grabbing my wrist and pulling me closer.

"Well it might help if you actually let me in, genius." I rebutted with a smirk before he leaned in dangerously close and whispered into my ear:

"Nobody likes a smart ass, Marsh. You better watch it before I shut that pretty little face up myself."

Trying to ignore the heat rapidly rushing to my cheeks, I pulled back and mustered up the courage to utter a bold "make me". Before I knew it, I was being yanked into the apartment and thrown against a wall as a pair of rough and demanding lips found my own. His tongue slipped into my mouth as a hand dragged down my chest and stomach, eventually stopping at my abdomen to grab my-

"Marshall!"

I heard my name called out from across the table and my head snapped up to meet a glaring gaze, pulling my eyes away from the window and yanking me away from the memories invading my mind. There sat Kida, my childhood best friend and honorary sister, who was supposed to meet up with me in the corner shop café well over an hour ago but as usual, failed to show up until the last minute. That was just her way; I was used to it by now. She tucked herself into the table neatly and gave me a look of unauthentic concern as she took my hand.

"I've been calling your name for a few minutes now, everything okay?" Once I gave her a hurried affirmation, she clapped her hands together and grinned wildly, eagerly giving up the act of sympathy to shift the conversation onto herself. Over time I had learnt to simply allow her to do so- it was much easier than putting up a fight. I returned to staring out the window as she droned on, giving the occasional 'mhm' or 'no way!' in fake response, hoping she wouldn't catch on so I could replay the memories of...him.

"-and then I said to Rocky, 'that's not yoghurt!'" She laughed gleefully, but abruptly stopped when she finally caught notice of my distractedness. "You weren't listening to a thing I said, were you?"

I hung my head in shame before meeting her eyes with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Kida, I guess lately I've just been...distracted." By him. I wouldn't dare say that out loud, though.

"What's wrong, sweetie? The Marshall I know would never let something bother him this much. You usually don't let anything get you down like this. You can tell me what it is Marsh, I can keep a secret!" She offered an encouraging smile and took my hand, and I almost believed her. Not quite though. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her half the truth, right?

I cleared my throat and took a shaky breath, my confession resting on the tip of my tongue. "Well uh, the thing is...I-I don't really know how to say this, but I think...I think I'm gay."

Kida paused and blinked slowly, as if she were entranced in a spell. My heart worked its way into my throat and the anxiety began to settle deep in my stomach as nausea started to take over me. Suddenly she spoke again.

"Oh, this is excellent news Marshy! I was afraid you were just gonna end up being one of those pathetic, loveless 40-year-old virgins who perv on nubile teen girls until he eventually dies of alcohol poisoning, but this is wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" Kida exclaimed, squeezing my hand firmly. I chose to ignore her backhanded compliment in favour of her support.

"You're- you're not disgusted? You don't think there's something wrong with me?" The sickness in my stomach was beginning to fade away and my heart rate levelled again, but a slight confusion took over as I regained control of my breathing.

"Of course not! Didn't you know I'm pan?" I stared inquisitively.

"Pan..?"

"Pansexual. I basically don't regard gender when I'm looking to date. Sort of like bisexual, except there's no preference since gender is overlooked." She stated matter-of-factly, a proud glint in her eyes. I was just grateful to no longer be the focus of the conversation.

"Oh. Huh. I never knew that. Thanks for telling me, Ki. But I'm confused..didn't you used to tease that lesbian couple back in high school?"

"I wouldn't say I teased them, it was just a little light banter that they blew way out of proportion." She rolled her eyes a little at the last part. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Next week, I'm hosting an event at my family's mansion. You're invited! I'll send you the details later, but just make sure you wear something formal but not too fancy, m'kay? Actually, I'll just go clothes shopping with you- you're hopeless. And make sure you bring some food to the party. Got it?" She barely looked up from her nails while she spoke. I absentmindedly stirred the coffee I had ordered long ago, considering her offer. She finally shifted her gaze and stared at me, clearly expecting a response, and so I hurried out an answer.

"Sure, sounds good. See you there, I guess." I spoke half heartedly. Kida's events were tedious at best, often a means to both boost her reputation in the community and fish for compliments to inflate her ego. I had no place there, yet she always insisted I come for no reason other than to follow her around like a dog as she socialised with people from around town of a much higher status than myself. She would occasionally invite me into the conversation to puff up her image, but I served no other real purpose. One question remained: why did I always agree to go nevertheless?

Smiling in satisfaction, she glanced at her watch and shot up to her feet.

"Well this has been fun Marshall, but I should go. See you next week!" She began to make her exit.

"Thanks for coming Ki, I appreciate it. Have a great day and-" I started before she interrupted.

"Oh! One more thing. Please don't show up alone. I don't care who you bring, just... bring somebody. See you around!" And with that, she disappeared through the doors and into the crowd.

I was finally left alone with the thoughts that were pounding at my brain, with the two current pressing issues at the very forefront of my mind.

What could I do about Chase? We'd barely spoken since that night and it was eating me up. I had absolutely no idea how he felt about the situation, or if I even meant anything more to him than a drunken hookup. That's all it was, right? Who could say. It was well known that it was impossible to decipher the enigma that is Detective Chase. Was there even any point in trying?

And where the hell am I gonna find a date for this event?!