A/n: sorry for the late update! I was at the pride parade on Saturday and had turned off my alarm. Anyways the parade was so cool! It was my first time and I'm glad I got to go :>
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I hug the little furball close to my face and let its soft fur tickle my nose. It blinks up at me with huge emerald eyes and sticks out a pink, little tongue.
Rosier is glowering at the cat and it makes me giggle. I wonder how he knew where I live though. I was sitting by the window when I saw him walking down the street, already holding the kitten. He came straight to my front door.
"What should we name him?" I ask instead, deciding to ignore how he came by this information. It was nice of him to do some kitten-rescuing anyway. He must've found a stray near his house.
"The Void," he replies, and then immediately looks like he regrets it.
"That's a perfect name!" I exclaim. "I never would've thought of it."
I'm glad that I asked him first before I suggested that we name him Cat. Or maybe Mister Cat if I was feeling especially innovative.
"Yes, well...I suppose we should get going." Ro indicates the kitten and then starts making his way out.
"Wha- going where? I have loads of homework to do."
"It won't kill you to skip homework for once." A smirk plays on his lips.
"Of course it will! I don't want to get in trouble!" I exclaim. "Football practice has been taking up all my time, and now I have loads of homework piled up for the weekend. Where do we need to get going anyway?"
"We need to get some supplies: cat food, litter, and etcetera."
"I wish I could but I really do have a lot of homework to catch up on." I grab a carton of milk from the kitchen cabinet, handing The Void to Rosier before pouring it into a saucer.
Ro holds The Void about a foot away from his body. I turn around to see it clawing at him, hissing and trying to chomp down on his finger. I pull the kitten into my arms and it nuzzles up to me. Like it wasn't just trying to commit cat crimes.
"Do you have a dog?" I set The Void down on the kitchen table where he happily starts lapping at the warm milk.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"The Void doesn't seem to like your smell."
"What's wrong with my smell?"
"You don't smell bad! I just thought it because cats don't like the smell of dogs and uh...."
I unconsciously shift a little closer to him. He smells like cherry blossoms. Ro is staring at me with a guarded expression, his eyes clouded over like a stormy sea. I used to go to the beach all the time before I moved here. It seems so far away now.
"...Andrew."
"Huh? Were you saying something?" I avert my eyes from him to stare at The Void instead.
"We should probably take it to the vet. I found it in the gutter after all."
"What?! Why didn't you say so? Okay...homework can wait."
A look of something crosses his face but I can't figure out what it is. It's gone as soon as it appeared. I shiver as soon as we step outside and Ro hands me his hoodie.
"I have a hoodie in my room, I can just go back in and get it."
"This hoodie has pockets; you can keep The Void in them."
"My—how do you know my hoodie doesn't have pockets?"
"Well, do they?" he asks pointedly.
I huff at that and go off to get my bike, pulling on his huge hoodie.
Ro lags behind me. "We can just walk there...."
"Do you know where it is? I haven't seen any nearby."
"It's just... such a nice day for a walk!" He waves his arms around, eyes widening to make him look much more expressive than usual.
I haven't been able to figure out anything about Rosier right up till this very moment. His fingers tap nervously on the handle of his bike and he's looking at the air above me, not meeting my direct gaze.
"You don't know how to ride a bike." I say it as a statement rather than a question, surprising myself as well with this accidental discovery.
"Of course I do." He scoffs. "I rode all the way here, didn't I?"
"I saw you walk all the way here, wheeling your bike along. I was at the window."
He stares at me in horror, realizing that I knew the kitten had been nowhere near my house. I don't know why he lied about it anyway—I wouldn't have thought he was weird. On second thought, tracking down my address is kind of weird.
But I do like kittens. (Priorities)
I grin at him. "Get on the bike, Ro."