I've got my paws on you [BoyXBoy]

chapter 4

Diana leans against her locker with a small pout. When I approach, she straightens up and gave a small worried smile. "Vincent," she says. She sounds apologetic.

I stroke the back of her hair lightly. "I'm sorry," she says softly.

I hate apologies. I've been hearing them all my life. They're meaningless, and only hurts. "Don't apologise, Diana. It's my fault I shouldn't have peeked into the room, you know."

"It's just, I never told anyone about my family before, and I thought that it would stay that way so.. I'm sorry."

I hold her hand and lead us over to a quiet wooden bench outside. It's sunny, but still tolerable. "Diana, I won't tell anyone about this okay? I just want to know..if you have the same ability as your brother."

She looks at the notebooks on her lap, scrawled with her name and random stuff. She's hesitating if she should go on.

"I don't," she says simply.

She stands up and pads on the grass in a circle. "It's alright if you don't tell me the rest, it's okay."

She looks at me. "No, I suppose it's all right. I trust you, Vincent."

My heart warms a little. "Only the males in my family has the ability to shift into a cat. It's like a genetic disorder. My granddad, and my great great granddad, they could do it as well."

"It doesn't hurt?"

"No I don't think so. Lucas just said he feels dizzy everytime it happens. He still can't get used to it though."

"He can control it? The change I mean."

"He can, but sometimes the cold forces him to change, just like the other night." I recall the chilly night breeze.Oh.

"Lucas may seem a little withdrawn, but I think it's most probaby due to the cat thing. I think he's a cute little cat, but he hates it." She steps a litlle closer. "You guys are in the same class aren't you? Can you look out for him? I know it's too much to ask.." she looks away.

I pull her face to mine. "Anything you ask isn't too much for me," I say.

Diana gives me a peck on the cheek. "Thank you so much Vincent." Her smile knocks the breath out of me. "See you at my house tonight?"

"Of course," I beamed.

I think I'm getting better at dinners. I hope I'm good at keeping secrets as well.

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Obviously, things are going to change now that I know their secret. Mr and Mrs Sharpe regards me with a stern look. I did a curt nod and say my greetings. Tonight, they are letting me stay over. "I've prepared some blankets and a pillow for you. They're in Lucas's room," Mrs Sharpe says.

Lucas chokes on his water. "He's staying over?"

"Of course sweetie. We told you yesterday, no?"

"No," he levels a glare at Diana. I feel so welcomed.

"This way," he says, looking at my backpack. I follow him silently up the stairs and into his room. His room is painted a deep blue. Unlike my room, His room is neat and tidy, all his stuff organised nicely in smart looking wooden shelves. There's a nice smell here, like the pine trees in the forest when it's winter. The heat is turned on at full blast. When I close my eyes, I can picture summer in a golden forest, along with maple leaves and sounds of squrriels rustling about.

"Nice," I say.

"Thanks." he points to an empty spot on the floor next to the shelves. I drop my bag there.

"Sorry if it's stuffy here, I'll turn down the heat." he walks over to a panel of switches on the wall.

"No, it's alright. I'm fine. You need the heat right?"

His hands stop and his face screws up. "Diana told you all that?"

"Yeah," I look at a poster stuck at the back of the door. There's many species of plants depicted, names I've never heard of written on it.

"Dinner's ready!" Mr. Sharpe shouts from the living room.

"Coming!" Lucas shouts back. He makes an impatient sound while I run my eyes over  pictures of brown coloured cats in black frames. In one of them, the kitten was beside a bowl of salad, looking uninterested.

"Are all of these..you?" I ask with wonder. 

"Yes..and no." 

I knew what he meant. The larger darker brown cat would be his dad, assuming I'm still sane. The kitten (read: Lucas) would either be looking away or turning his back on the camera. There's one where Diana has Lucas on her shoulder and his Dad on Mrs Sharpe's lap.

 A nice and warm family, even if half of them can shift into cats. 

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That night, I was laying on the make-shift blankets on the ground when Lucas came out of the shower. His hair was damp and smells like oranges. He's also without his glasses. I think girls would definately fall for him if they see him right now. He tread carefully over me and flopped onto his bed. I turned to stare outside the window instead, feeling a little uneasy staring at someone just out of the shower.

"Sorry did I wake you?" he whispers.

"No, I wasn't asleep anyway." 

The silence followed hangs over us like a mist. I have no clue as to whether he's asleep but I'm definately glaring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. 

"Hey," I say softly to the window. 

"What?" came his instant reply. I sat up straight, and glanced at where he's lying stiffly on his bed. He's staring at the ceiling too. That makes the two of us. He got up slowly and sat on the edge of his bed. I hug my knees to my chest. 

It's a long night.