christian was 37 minutes late today.
opal sat alone, staring at her tea swirling around in her cup. she also ordered coffee for christian which was probably getting colder by now.
he came in, finally. he was holding something in his shirt, and opal barely had time to question where he was before he pulled her out of her seat, leaving everyone in the cafe confused. but what else would they expect from two kids?
he was running, pulling the small girl behind him, dodging people, and sometimes even accidentally bumping into them with his shoulder. the hand that is not holding opal's is holding what ever was in his shirt.
opal screams at him the whole time, sometimes even laughing obnoxiously.
"what is happening? what are you doing?"
finally, christian stops running, and walks quickly with opal now by his side. he lets go of her hand and holds what was in his shirt with two hands.
"christian, what is that?" opal asks the boy.
opal realized that he's taking her to his condo again, but she doesn't mind this time. she is actually quite fond of her parents just as they are to her.
"it was alone in an alley way, i couldn't just leave it there. i wouldn't live with myself if i did." christian cried aloud, making the girl tilt her head in confusion.
"what the hell are you talking about, christian? what is that?" opal furrows her eyebrows at him, and pokes his shirt.
and it meows.
the girl squeals, jumping backwards and holding her arm that touched his shirt. "christian, what is that?" she asks for the third time, except more squeaky and worried.
the boy pulls a small, orange and white kitten out of his shirt, making opal cover her mouth in shock.
"oh my god... christian." opal whispers, reaching her hands up and taking the small thing out of his hands.
"i don't know what to do, i can't keep him.. my mom is allergic, and even if she wasn't, she would kill me for bringing home an animal.. but i COULDN'T JUST LEAVE HIM, he was meowing at me!" christian cries, tugging his hair.
opal cuddles the small animal to her chest, and she laughs. laughs.
"you're so stupid," she tells him, holding the kitten out in front of her.
it has two different colored eyes, one eye green, the other blue. opal gapes, and christian stands next to her, examining the cat also. "he's like you." he says and opal nods.
"do you want him?" he asks. she nods again.
"isn't this illegal though?" opal whines, pouting at the cat.
christian ponders for a few seconds before shaking his head. "well, if you want to keep it, you should probably take it to the vet to find a microchip thingie just in case there is actually an owner. if there is, you have to return it? i guess?" christian tells her, running his sweaty hands across his jeans.
the girl pets the kitten's ears, causing him to start purring. she smiles hard, and christian admires how her cheeks makes her eyes all squinty.
"so if i bring it to the vet and there is no microchip, then i can keep him?" opal squeals, nearly jumping in the air and screaming.
christian nods. "i dont see why not, you will just have to file a found report with an animal shelter and i guess he's yours. and check for rabies. please don't get rabies."
opal nods, still petting the small kitten. "how do you know all this stuff?"
"i have a lot of time on my hands." he answers, reaching behind the cat's ears.
.
the two still had time before it got dark to hang out at a nearby park christian was telling opal about. rarely anyone went there because its old and most of the play grounds were rusty. the only things that seemed actually safe there was the swings, which christian and his friend, michael, replaced a few months before the two started going to the small coffee shop.
christian and opal didn't sit on the swings though since opal was still carrying the cat, but they sat in the grass across from one another.
they stretched out their legs so their feet were touching, like a fence, and put the small kitten in the middle so he could walk around. he couldn't crawl out even if he tried as he was too small to reach over.
the two talk like normal, christian being the one who talks more as usual. opal stares at him, the way the sunlight hits his face perfectly, he always has a constant smile when he talks, and she just wants to crawl over and kiss him. she wants to so badly.
she can't. she's never kissed a boy before, and what if he doesn't like her back? what if she is just ruining their friendship? she doesn't ever want to even think about losing him, she needs him. she knows damn well her mom is slipping away, not even aspen could help her anymore. she needs christian to be there for her as he can distract her from hell. if only she met him earlier when her dad died, maybe she would be different.
she stares at the cat rolling around in the grass, he tries to attack a dandelion near opal's knee and completely misses, making christian squeal at how cute he was. he tried eating it as well, making an idea pop into opal's head.
"dandelion," she says aloud. "that's his name."
**
okay i actually cringed at this chapter but oh well
they got a cat
song recommendation of the chapter: i want to hold your hand - the beatles
