By Chance

PROLOGUE

"I'm sorry Pete, maybe we have to cancel out dinner plans tonight, there is an important meeting and I can't miss it, maybe next time okay. lock the door before you go to bed. love you"

I sigh 'happens every time' I slip my phone back in my pocket

"why the long face?" asked my best friend Hunter

I give him a small smile and he frowns and I tell about my mom's text

"again?" he asks looking pitiful

"yeah" I say in a small voice

he puts his arm around me " you can always stay at my place. my mom loves you more than me anyways " he rolled his eyes and I chuckled

"thanks but I need to be with polo tonight" I make an excuse

he grins "you and your damn dog" he chuckles

polo is a golden retriever and is about 2 years old, I had him when my doctor suggested that I shouldn't be spending time alone.

we take our regular bus to go home because I don't know how to drive a car. and Hunter just crashed his new XUV on his neighbors wall which also got him grounded.

Pete Night is my name, I know not very interesting. I'm 17 years old, senior in high school. I look Asian but was born and raised in America, my height is average of 5.9 inches. I'm not a nerd neither a popular but lets just say that I survive the day.

(A/N: this is how i have imagined Pete looks like but you can always choose to imagine someone else)

my mom raised me and I've never seen my dad. don't know how he looks or if he is still alive. every time I ask about him my mom avoids the question or changes the subject. after a lot of attempts I gave up, that woman is a hard shell to crack

Hunter Steen is my childhood friend we do everything together. he is 100% American totally opposite than me, he is as tall as me, fair skin, Brown eyes, blonde hair, average looking body and a total nerd, he literary went crazy when he scored 98 in chemistry and not a 100. that guy is a little extra, but my best bud. but the way we met was totally crazy.

(A/N: this is how i have imagined Hunter looks like but you can always choose to imagine someone else)

we were in preschool, playing in the school playground. I spotted a blonde kid under a slide digging something in the dirt. I watched him silently, observing his strange behavior, and than all of the sudden he started chocking, I ran to wards him and patted his back. do you know he liked a worm so bad that he ate it? like seriously!

thank God! he doesn't like my dog.

well that's how we met. and maybe that little stupid accident made him stick to me like glue, cause nobody else wants to be friends with a crazy weird worm-eater and an awkward Asian guy.

but there will always be something missing and that is presence of someone to hold on to, someone to rely on, someone to talk to without thinking of consequences, someone to lean on, someone that not will leave me and will always love me no matter what.

depressing I know, but happens to one when he has to spend his birthday alone for almost 6 years in a row. you got it right, it's my birthday tonight and I'm gonna spend it with polo. my golden retriever like always.

I really don't want to spent it alone this year, beggars can't be choosers right?

Pete P.O.V

11:50 pm

′ Ten more minutes' I think and set up a chocolate frosted cupcake on a plate. why buy a huge cake when only one person is going to eat it.

I have bathed and brushed Polo's fur because I consider it as his birthday as well.

glancing at the metallic wristwatch, I sigh it's almost time.

" looks like it's just me and you, polo" I glance down at my dog who just tilts its head while looking at me.

outside the window, we can see the night sky, the moon is shining brightly and stars are twinkling. the night looks so romantic. seems like it's a full moon tonight

"Polo, do you ever feel lonely?" I ask my dog, while softly brushing his golden fur with my fingers

"I know how you feel, at least we have each other that counts right?" I smile stupidly

tee tee tee

the timer just goes off exactly at 12 am

I place the cupcake on the coffee table so it is easier for Polo to see. while we sit on the carpeted floor.

I lit a small candle and pin it on the cupcake. I close my eyes and join my hands making a wish.

′ I wish to get happiness and everlasting love

opening my eyes I blew the candle. smiling slowly I take a bite of the delicious chocolate cupcake and share the rest with polo. who has been eyeing the cake since the moment it was set on the table.

"here you go buddy, have it all" I slide the plate to him and he eagerly digs in.

*vibrating phone*

I pick my phone and see Hunter calling. smiling I pick it up

"happy birthday my bitch!" he sang out making me chuckle in amusement

"thank you, worm-eater " I tease, and he groaned annoyed" it's getting a little old, don't you think?" he complains

"nope" I sit on the couch while talking to him.

a few minutes later I notice it. 'why is it so silent I look around trying to find polo

"Pete, you there ?" Hunter's voice brings my attention back to the phone

"Hunt, I'll call you later," I said and hung up without waiting for his answer. he is probably confused but I need to find Polo first

I run around the entire two stories house and even look around the bathrooms but I couldn't find him

"Polo! polo! " I yell out his name but there was no response. I rounded around the back and saw the backdoor was open? I'm confused, I was sure I had locked it

"oh no" I exclaimed running to my back yard but there was no sign of him ever being here.

"where did he go?" I mumbled scared, he is the only one, I consider close to family, I can't lose him. not on my birthday!

"polo! " I yell running on the streets, calling out his name. he is a well-trained dog. always answers when called upon.

I stop to catch my breath and walked a little further, then I heard a small whimper coming from behind the bushes.

"Polo" I call his name, moving the bushes aside

and there he was. whimpering in pain I bend down to take a closer look to see where he was hurt.

bare traps? who the hell would put bare traps around here. I wondered suspiciously

I carefully remove Polo's leg from the trap. which was lightly bleeding. I quickly take out my handkerchief and wrap it around his bleeding leg

my heart is beating so fast right now. I thought I lost him. I couldn't bring myself to think of a life without him.

this place was freaking me out. I need to get the hell out of here.

looking around I can't recognize this place. "where the hell am I?" I wonder out-loud, Polo whimpered in pain to the sudden noise

I look around again trying to find a way out or even my footprints but I couldn't see much, due to the darkness of the night.

on cue, my phone started vibrating, sigh.

"dude, what the hell!" Hunter yelled frustrated. I've never been this happy to hear my best friend's voice

"Hunt, thank God!" I take a much-needed breath " look, I don't know what happened. but I'm somewhere out and I can't find a way back home, can you please track my phone and come pick me up?" I ask him. knowing very well that he is gonna lose his shit

"what! why the hell would you go out in the middle of the night and lose your way back home" he rants but I can hear him moving in the background.

"I'll tell you everything, but please hurry. I don't feel good about this place" I gulp frightfully looking at the endless trail of trees in the dead silent night.

"Okay okay, I'm on my way. stay where you are or I'll kill you myself if you get yourself hurt" he hung up. if I weren't in this situation I would have laughed.

another glance at the endless trail of trees, I decided to look for the highway. the one that got me here

moving forward I fell

yes, I fell. face first

I was quick to move polo out of the way, but couldn't say the same about myself, and I think I sprained my ankle. my foot was stuck in a small hole. carefully I lift my foot from the hole but my foot was stuck in the roots. slowly and carefully I untangle my foot from the roots and I pulled it out.

my foot was not the only thing that came out of the hole. there was something heavy that was attached.

I dug a little deeper for whatever was stuck on my feet.

it's an old box, a muddy wooden old box. I cleaned it a little with the palm of my hand and pulled at its lid. but it was stuck and wouldn't open

I sigh "what a day" I groaned in frustration" A wounded dog, a locked old mystery box, and a sprained ankle" I sigh again tiredly "a very happy birthday to you Pete "

Pete P.O.V

"You have to take a lot of caution while bathing it because of the plaster, but no need to worry. he is a strong boy he will get better in no time" the doctor smiles and writes some prescriptions

"Thanks, Doc" I say and lift polo off the examination table, it will be hard for him to walk with the plaster on

"bye Pete, bye Polo" he waves us off and we leave the room, it's 3 in the morning and yeah, there are 24 hours pet clinics in our area.

Hunter is in the sitting area, waiting for us. I feel bad for him, I've caused a lot of trouble for him today. dragging him into unnecessary things.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I say apologetically. he waves it off, I know he has told me hundreds of times to not speak so formally with him but I can't help it.

"How is he now? do we have to come again in the morning?" he asks looking at a very drowsy Polo in my arms.

"Nah! the Doc said the wound is only on the flesh and the bone was just scratched a little bit, he said it was good that the bone was not broken or it would have been more painful for Polo" I explained while brushing Polo's fur.

he sighed and yawned "well we better leave, we have homeroom at 9. I need my beauty sleep" he yawned again, I chuckled lightly and followed him to his car, well more like his brother's car which he borrowed without asking.

"I'm sorry Hunt, for dragging you into this," i said as we drive back home

he shakes his head and chuckled "stop being so damn formal with me Pete, we have been friends since kindergarten" he scolds and I look down in shame

he sighed again "look I'm always a call away, whatever the problem I promise you that you won't have to face it alone, I will always be there because you're not only my best friend but also my brother" his words relaxes me a little, makes me believe that I'm not burdening on him

"you still haven't told me how you ended up 5 kilometers away from your house in the middle of the night" he finally asks me, seeing that I was not gonna start talking on my own.

I take a deep breath "I don't know how I ended up there because I swear i was just looking around in my neighborhood" I sigh looking at Polo through the rearview mirror "but how did Polo leave the house because I'm sure I had locked my door"

"doesn't matter now the important thing is that both of us are safe," he said while parking in front of my house "looks like your in for it this time," he said nodding towards my house where the lights were on and mom's car was in the garage.

I sigh "well, wish me luck," I said and lifted Polo in my arms for a two-year-old dog he is quite light "good night hunt," I said and left

"good night Pete and good luck cause your gonna need it" he had the guts to laugh, some best friend he is.

slowly I open the front door and carefully place Polo on his bed which was by the living room couch.

"where were you?" asks a very calm and angry voice

gulping lightly I look at my mother who was standing by the stairs her arms were crossed in front of her in a very intimidating way, she was wearing her work clothes, looks like she just arrived.

"I asked you something young man, where were you? and why are you coming so late" she almost yells

I sighed "Polo ran out and I was looking for him and found him far away from home and he was injured so I asked the hunter to take us to the hospital so we were late" I explained it as subtle as possible.

her expression changed and she looked at Polo "you had one job and you couldn't even do that" she sighed while rubbing her forehead "well he looks fine now, make sure to take better care of him in the future" she said and left to her room

I shouldn't be disappointed, I shouldn't be sad but I can't help it. it's my birthday for fuck's sake, not even a simple 'happy birthday son'

I sigh and make double sure to lock all the doors and windows. as I was passing by my mom's door I could hear the crying and it was so painful that all my anger was drained out of my system, I can't be selfish about this because after all its the same day she lost her husband and I lost my father

I slowly walked away from her door to my room, I know what you must be thinking. what kind of son I am to why I didn't console my weeping mother, I have. and it didn't end well for me. the blame, the pain, the humiliation it was unbearable.

as I get ready for bed, cold air makes brings a shiver down my spine. the temperature in my room was lower than normal. did I also leave the windows open? I wonder. I need to eat more fish, I'm so forgetful these days.

occupied with all these thoughts I didn't notice the old muddy normal size wooden box sitting on my study table.