Eve

Chapter 3

"Eve!" his mother yelled from below.

Eve sighed, dropping his pencil against his desk and bounded down the stairs where his mother was cooking.

Eve loved his mother but there were times when she wasn't her best, such as her drunken one night stands.

He couldn't blame her. After his father's death, she tried so hard to forget the man, drowning her sorrows in a bottle and searching for someone to warm her bed.

But other than that, she was a great mother who worked and took care of him every day.

"You called?" Eve said, shuffling towards the kitchen. With blue eyes and brown hair, his mother was a vision. She was a pretty woman in her youth but she seemed to get even more as she aged. If Eve were to stand next to his mother, it would be easy to see where Eve got most of his attributes. Perhaps the only thing he inherited from his father would've been the black hair that his mother would never stop ruffling.

"Yeah. Did you check out the neighbors?" she murmured, checking the casserole that cooked in the oven.

Eve shook his head, "I met one but he didn't seem all too friendly."

"Hmph. Nobody is these days," his mother muttered, pulling out the casserole and setting it on the oven to cool off. "I'm off to work, once the casserole has cooled down, take a piece and give the rest to the neighbors," she spoke, removing the apron from her blue scrubs.

Eve nodded, "Yes mom."

His eyes followed his mother, the noise she always carried with her becoming silent when the front door closed.

Eve sighed softly, the silence of the house weighing on his shoulders. He then glanced at the casserole, it's tantalizing smell beckoning him.

He cut himself a small piece before removing the rest of the casserole and putting it inside a plastic bowl while humming to himself.

Meow.

Eve blinked and looked through the kitchen door.

Fluffy, was the word that popped in his mind when he saw the white cat. Large green eyes looking at him through the screen door, it's tiny mouth opening and closing with each cry.

Eve glanced about, searching for it's owner but he found none. Quietly he opened the door taking the fluffy cat into his arms.

"Hey little guy," he cooed, gently scratching the cat's chin, "Where did you come from?"

The cat only purred, nuzzling her head against his hand. Having an idea what a cat would like, he poured milk into a bowl and microwaved it before pulling it out and setting it on the floor, that cat following close, her petite mouth licking the warm milk.

Eve chuckled softly, watching the cat with an amused expression. There was something entertaining about watching a cat daintily licking the bowl. Eve had been so focused he nearly jumped from his seat when two loud knocks sounded against the front door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered under his breath before opening the door.

His breath left his lungs, his entire body locking in place, leaving him paralyzed.

It was an odd reaction, especially when Eve thought he loved Evan, but here stood his neighbor with a rather worried expression on his features.

"Um. Uh, hello?" Eve said, blush touching his cheeks.

"Hey. Sorry if I'm bothering you but I was wondering if you've seen my cat?" his neighbor said.

Eve felt his lips twitch, "Why maybe I have. What does the cat look like?"

The boy's eyes furrowed, "White, fluffy and has green eyes."

Eve took in his appearance. Stereotypically, a man who owned a cat was either gay or an indoor person and yet, his neighbor seemed to break that stereotype.  Tall, dark and foreboding, his black leather jacket that hugged the hard contours of his body not helping to soften the bad boy look nor his piercing green eyes that were heavily framed with dark lashes. Yet, in his hand he held a pink collar with a bell dangling with every movement.

"Meow." A warm fluffy body pressing up against his leg, purring contentedly.

Eve looked down, a soft chuckle leaving his lips, "Looks like I found her."

Relief filled his neighbors features, "Wolverine!"

The cat meowed in acknowledgment, jumping into her owner's outstretched arms, purring happily. Eve couldn't but feel a little used but he had no choice but give the cat back to it's owner.

"You named your cat Wolverine?"

The neighbor grinned, "What? It's a fitting name for a cat with claws as sharp as hers."

"I don't think Hugh Jackman would appreciate that," he muttered under his breath.

The stranger laughed and placed the collar on Wolverine, "Any ways, sorry about the inconvenience. I should be heading home or my brother will worry."

Eve nodded before his eyes flew open, "Oh wait! I forgot! My mom wanted me to give you guys something! Let me go get it since you're here."

He returned a few moments later, a bowl filled with his mother's casserole filling the air between them, "Here."

A single black brow rose, "Smells good."

Eve blushed, "Yeah. Mom makes the best."

Wolverine meowed, struggling against her master's grasp.

His neighbor gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I got to go. See you around, yeah?"

"Yeah," he mumbled softly as he watched the stranger walk away, but leaving behind a strange fluttering in his heart.