DogBird

Chapter 4: Roe

I didn't have much to complain about. After all, this was the first time I'd hung out with people since I was in second grade, and it was a pretty good change of scenery compared to the dull beige walls that surrounded me back at home. So, instead of voicing how annoying it was that I had to search for a cat that wasn't even mine, I quietly and obediently searched the brush for said cat. If I were to be completely honest, I was having a better time than I remembered having in a while, not that I'd tell Teddy that. Just thinking that, even I thought I sounded like a freak. If I told someone else, I wouldn't even be able to get the whole sentence out before I was choking on the cloud of dust in their wake.

"Anything over there, Roe?" Teddy called out to me from a few dozen yards away.

I shook my head before realizing he wouldn't be able to see me, "Not really." This wasn't getting us anywhere. We'd be searching for hours if we kept going like this. 

With a huff of determination, I got on my hands and knees, not caring if my ripped and faded jeans got dirty—they were second hand anyway—and began crawling through the unkempt bushes. A rustle in the leaves in front of me had me freezing where I was, all of my muscles stiffening as I readied myself to pounce. Alright, on the count of three.

One...

Two...

Three!

I launched myself at the creature in the brush, and my hands wrapped around something warm, telling me that it was definitely alive or at least used to be alive. It began to squirm and struggle, telling me that it was, in fact, alive, so I tightened my hold, yanking on the animal until we both tumbled out of leaves together. I landed on my back with a grunt, followed closely by the grunt of the creature on top of me. 

Slowly, I cracked my pinched eyelids apart, and my gaze was greeted with cat eyes. Only it wasn't a cat on top of me.

The boy's cat eyes blinked back at me, the icy blue seeming to become colder and harsher the longer I stared into them. My eyes flitted across the boy's face, taking in his warm tan skin, the faded sprinkle of freckles on the almost nonexistent bridge of his softly upturned nose, his coppery brown hair that cascaded into his eyes in wild waves that created his bedhead, his slightly oversized round ears, and the most eye catching feature was his. He seemed to be Asian or at least partly Asian, so his pale irises were a shock to my system and I couldn't help but stare. The warm and spicy scent of marjoram flitted through my nose and I realized it was coming from him.

"Um..." An airy, yet strong and confident voice broke our staring contest and both of our heads whipped toward the source of the voice. Teddy stood there with a perplexed, yet amused grin plastered on his face while a new face tilted his head in confusion as he scratched his temple with his pointer finger. "What's going on?"

Both me and the boy with cat eyes glanced back at each other before springing apart. Cat Boy stood, dusting his low hanging cargo shorts off as he glared at me over his shoulder. I sat dazed, leaning back on the palms of my hands as I let my brain comprehend what just happened. Cat Boy was the first to respond to New Face's question. "This fucking asshole pulled the fuck outta my arm," he grumbled in a rough alto voice. Wow, he sounded like a cartoon character.

Finally, I brought myself to my feet, dusting my butt off as I responded to Cat Boy. "Sorry, I thought you were Mr. Fuzzington."

The sharp blue eyes turned to me full force and I realized then that he was a couple inches shorter than me, maybe more. "How the fuck do I look like an ugly ass fucking cat?" He barked at me, flashing his sharp canines, one a charming snaggletooth. I couldn't help the crooked tilt to my lips at his question and he took another menacing step forward. "What the fuck are you laughing at, huh?"

I held my hands up to show I meant no harm, but I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face. "Has no one told you that you kinda look like a cat?" I asked softly, peeking to see his reaction.

He raised an offended eyebrow and his head rocked back. "What the fuck are you talking about? I do not look like a fucking cat."

New Face decided that now was as good a time as ever to step in, holding his hands out to stop both of us from getting any closer to each other—the only one pushing back against his restraints was Cat Boy, though. "Alright, that's enough F-bombs for tonight, wouldn't you say, Ren?" New Face asked Cat Boy—Ren—who scoffed before finally letting up on his pursuit.

New Face turned to me and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about him, he has a bit of a short fuse."

"I can fucking hear you, Kyrie," Ren growled, glaring at Kyrie from the corner of his sharp eyes. So, this was the Kyrie that the others mentioned. He had a handsome and friendly face that drew people in, with narrow and gentle downturned eyes that had a pure and calm happiness dancing in the mossy depths, which added to his warm impression. It seemed as though his lips were stuck in a small and pleasant smile, curved up ever so slightly at the corners. Everything about him screamed lovable and sweet, but I could feel a sense of power rolling off of him, from the strong set of his jaw to his unwavering gaze to his strong and well built body, which was pretty easy to see with the tight fitting v-neck t-shirt he was wearing. Sorry, not sorry.

Kyrie waved off Ren's words with the flick of a wrist as if he were just a buzz in his ear. I would have laughed if I weren't on high alert from being around so many new people in such a short amount of time. My social meter was already running on empty and I wasn't sure how much longer I could go before I crashed and totally embarrassed myself in front of these admittedly very handsome boys. Kyrie's warm moss eyes locked on my fire amber ones and his small smile widened. "So, you're my new neighbor, huh?" Oops, I must've zoned out and missed Teddy telling him about me. I nodded, looking up at him from beneath my lashes shortly before I looked away, nervous to hold the gaze of someone so confident. I twitched my head in a nod and one arm cast itself across my front defensively, latching onto the elbow of my other arm as my shoulders slouched. "Well, it's nice to see a new face around here. My name is Kyrie Sommer. I'm the house on the left side of the street from your house, and Gibbs lives across the street." He flicked a thumb over his shoulder at Gibbs who had his arm thrown around Ren's neck playfully. He grinned down at Ren, who grumbled stubbornly while staring down at his feet.

I nodded in greeting. "Roe Lovie," I mumbled as I tucked my chin into my chest to avoid eye contact.

"Hm..." Kyrie hummed, and I glanced up to find Kyrie's face illuminated with the glow of his phone screen. "I guess the search for Mr. Fuzzington is over." His eyes caught mine and I stiffened, my eyebrows raising minutely in surprise. Kyrie huffed softly in amusement, his eyes softening. "Now that Mr. Fuzzington is safe and sound, would you want to come with us back to my house? We were just going to play some games and maybe watch a movie if you wanted to join." Before he'd even finished his sentence, I was shaking my head until I realized that doing that would make me seem as though I didn't like them, which was far from the truth.

"Sorry, my parents are kinda strict..." My voice fell along with my gaze as my hand wrapped itself around my elbow once more.

Something flashed through his eyes before he huffed in empathy. "I feel that, man. My parents are the same when they're home." He glanced back at the other two before he turned back to me, his eyes sliding down my figure as if assessing me. "Can you make it back to your house okay?"

I nodded slothfully, waving off any help they were aiming to offer, even if it might have been an empty offer.

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "You sure?"

I nodded again and it seemed to do the trick as Kyrie nodded back at me. "Alright, well, we'll see you around?" he asked me over his shoulder as he and the other two made their way back to his house.

Again, I nodded, but this time it was only once. I quirked a corner of my lip up in a big fat lie of a smile. "...Yeah, see you."

Two more introduced! I'm so excited for everyone to be introduced so I can develop their characters and you guys can pick a favorite! 

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