CH10- I Want This Dog

-Isaac Allen's View-

"A dog, really? You're 17 years old and you're asking for a dog now?" Joe asked.

"Come on Joe, think about it. Don't you think a dog would add so much more joy to the house? And don't act like I didn't ask for that Golden Retriever a few years back."

"You know how I feel about those damn Air Bud dogs." Joe snarked.

"Come on Dad, Isaac has been such a good kid since that incident in Starling City. I think he deserves a dog. Besides, he's probably the most responsible person you know." Iris said, helping me convince Joe to get a dog.

Ever since Thea and I became a thing, I had unintentionally became more attention craved when I wasn't around her, but no one else seemed to notice except me. It's been two years since that incident.

Two years of me usually being home by myself. Joe is always at the station and Iris works late. A dog is a man's best friend, it would be perfect for my situation.

"Alright fine, we'll go to the pet store in a few minutes." Joe said, defeated.

"Let's go!" I yelled into the air and pumped my fist. Iris just laughed at me and ruffled my hair.

"Hey, I am 17 years old now. You shan't treat me this way." I playfully declared.

"Whatever you say Tatertot." I gasped in utter disbelief.

"You all promised you would never bring that nickname back up." When I was younger and living with the West's, Joe and Iris used that nickname as a weapon of mass destruction.

Once they had told Thea about my nickname, she has called me that every time I talk to her, and I think it'll be like that forever.

"Had to put you in your place. Now I have to go to an interview for CC Jitters, I'll see you two later." Iris said, leaving the house.

"Good luck!" I called out before she left. I slowly turned around to Joe and looked at him with a smirk.

"Come on, let's go." Joe said with a grin.

"Maybe a dog wouldn't be so bad." Joe agreed.

Joe drove us to the pet store, but not a single one of those dogs enticed me enough to want it. I didn't want any of the dogs they offered. They had a lot of lap dogs, but I was looking for a dog on the bigger side, like a Retriever or a Rottweiler.

'No, German Shepard.' That was the only name that actually came to mind. They were one of the most intelligent dogs around, and were highly loyal to their owners. There was only one other place I could check. There were other pet stores, but I doubt they'd have it.

"Welp, I guess no dog for you Tate." Joe said as we walked back to the car.

"Joe, take me to the pound."

"You want a dog from the pound?" He looked at me questioningly.

"I'm certain I'll find what I'm looking for there."

"Huh, alright." Joe said, shaking his head.

——

We walked past the cages of the dog sections, some of them were barking at the cages in a begging way or were simply aggressive, but one had caught my eye that I almost passed by.

It was an all black German Sheperd puppy, with light brown eyes that seemed to pierce into my soul.

When it noticed I was staring, it stepped up to the cage and tilted his head. My heart instantly melted.

"Joe, I want this dog." Joe walked over and looked at where I was pointing.

"An all black German Shepherd puppy? You lucked out today. Alright, I'll go get the guy and we'll file out some paperwork. You stay here with.. What's his name?" Joe asked.

'Name?' I can't believe I was gonna come here and adopt a dog without thinking of a single name. To be fair, I didn't know what color the dog would be.

I thought long and hard. I wanted his name to resemble what I have and what I stand for. I have the Star Force and, as cringey as it is, it stands for saving the Multiverse.

"His name is Cosmo." Joe nodded and walked off to get everything right. I crouched down in front of the dog's cage and put my hand on it.

"You like that name? Cosmo?" He put his paw where my hand was and barked in response, his tail wagging like helicopter blades.

"You're adorable. Don't worry, you'll be coming home with me today buddy. I can make you great." He seemed confused by my words.

——

"So Joe, what's the background on Cosmo?" I asked while he drove, Cosmo obediently sitting sitting on my lap in the moving vehicle.

"Well, this pup had a mother, believe it or not. The guy said that they were homeless and the mother was going through some drunk prick's trash, looking for food nearby, close to the pound.

One of the employees watched the drunk come out of his house with a rifle and shot the dog, killing her. The puppy ran off from fear, and eventually they found him and brought him to the pound." I looked down at the happy Cosmo, doubting if he even remembered that event, because of how much younger me must've been.

'That guy surely was arrested. Can't wait for Barry to come home and see the dog.' In the last few months of last year, Barry had graduated college and came back home. He got a job as an assistant CSI.

'Everything is moving so fast. It's already 2012, meaning Oliver will be saved from Lian Yu soon, and next year is the particle accelerator explosion which will leave Barry in a coma for 9 months.'

I probably shouldn't be in too close proximity during the explosion, the last thing I'd want is to get caught in a Ronnie and Dr. Stein situation where they fuse with each other.

'I'll be at a comfortable distance like Barry was… just a little closer though.. hopefully.'

I breathed a sigh of disbelief. I don't know if I was ready yet. Once Oliver is rescued, that's when everything changes.

'I have to be there for Thea that day.' I remember for the show that Oliver was very hard to communicate with in the first half of Season 1. I don't know what day he gets rescued, all I know is that right now it was September. I'm pretty sure he gets rescued this month.

'These next few months are going to be both a disaster and a roller coaster. I hope I get put in a coma just like Barry when it happens.' My gaze left the window and down to the dog in my lap who was staring at me.

'Never mind. Nine months won't be too bad with this little guy.'

I felt my phone vibrate and looked down at my phone, it was a call from Thea.

'Another reason why nine months wouldn't be so bad.' I thought softly.

I answered it and put the phone to my ear.

"Thea, what's up?"

"Isaac." I sat up and listened carefully. She only calls me by my actual name when it's something important.

"It-it's Oliver. He's alive. They found him."

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'Sigh.'

——