Noel Archibald.
- - - - Present Day: Phoenix, Arizona - - - - Paws and Pooches hadn’t even been open a year, but already, it was a pretty popular animal shelter in the Phoenix area. As much as he knew that most of the people who came in to adopt a pet was there to also meet Chase - the Chase Donovan - he liked to believe that he and Rhys had actually done a good job with the shelter, despite both of their busy lives. P&P, as Chase referred to it as, wasn’t the only business that his roommate owned, so he was pretty busy. Chase on the other hand, kept to his writing when he wasn’t visiting the animals. Having grown up in front of the camera, the male had decided not long ago to work on some behind the scenes stuff. He’d directed and produced a small handful of projects he starred in, but lately, script writing seemed to be the current obsession. That was what he had spent the last couple of weeks doing in his spare time. Today, though, Chase wouldn’t be able to stay at home, writing the next scene of the still untitled movie, which he was hoping would be finished within the next couple of months. Paws and Pooches needed his assistance today, which, if he were being honest, he was looking forward to. It had been the most random thing ever; last week, this stranger had come into the shelter, asking to speak to Chase. Noel, as he had introduced himself as, was a guidance counselor at the local high school, asking Chase for a favor. Hearing his idea, he quickly agreed to it. Why not help a bunch of misguided or troubled teens learn how to take care of themselves and another living thing? Of course, Chase had been the perfect person - everyone knew about his past before he moved to Phoenix, about his drinking issues, the DUIs he had gotten, his raging temper. But, here he was, still as successful as ever, despite not having been seen in a lot of movies over the last couple of years. He didn’t need acting though - he just needed Phoenix, the only place he’d ever felt at home. He needed his friends, his girlfriend, his happiness, and he had all that living in the one place he never expected to like. Fame and fortune was great, don’t get him wrong, but sometimes, he hadn’t been happy. A small part of him had felt like something had been missing, and it wasn’t until he made his real friends and fell in love for the second time in his life that his heart felt complete. People always assumed being famous was everything, but it wasn’t: friendships, family, and love. That was everything in life. “Mitch, how’s Shadow doing?” Chase asked the veterinarian technician, Shadow being the Rottweiler that had come in yesterday. A bad home situation. Any time he had heard stories like this Rottweiler, he always felt sick to his stomach; why were people so horrible? As much as he hated hearing them, it was also those stories that made him love owning an animal shelter, dedicated to helping out cats and dogs and searching for a good home for them. He hoped that the kids that Noel were bringing in that afternoon would do something like this in their lives, provide help to those who need it, who can’t fend for themselves. It didn’t matter the lifestyle they had, if they wanted to help out others, Chase knew that they could achieve that goal one way or another. Chase barely heard what Mitchie said, as the front door opened up, the bell that they had going off, taking his attention away from his worker. “Uh, hold on. I’ll be back,” he told her, leaving her to her work on the dog. He made his way out to the lobby, taking in the small group that was gathered there. “Aye, Noel.” The twenty-five year old greeted him, nodding his head once. His eyes turned to the group of high schoolers, the corners of his lips tugging into a slight frown as he saw the oh so excited looks on their face. He understood though, no one actually liked to do volunteer work, but he knew how beneficial it would be, especially to these young people. “Welcome to Paws and Pooches. You’ll observe and learn, and maybe if you’re lucky, you guys can even play with the animals. We’ll see how that goes though based on your attitude and your ability to listen.” His eyes flickered back toward to Noel, half hoping he’d give him a signal on how he was doing so far, and the other part hoping he’d jump in and take over.