At four o'clock, I bounded out of school, my fingers curled round the straps of my backpack. Theodore was leant against the gate, his beanie pulled down to his eyes, his silver curls peeking out by his ears. His glasses only succeeded in hiding his face even more, and his oversized sweater practically drowned him.
I shot him a lazy smile, "Hey. Ready?"
He hitched his backpack up on his shoulder, smiling shyly, "Y-Yeah, hey."
We squeezed past cars, winding through crowds of kids laughing and chatting, until we eventually reached my car on the far side of the car park. After clambering in, I started the engine and drove out of school, the radio murmuring between us.
"W-Where's your cousin?" Theodore asked, tugging at his sleeves and fidgeting with his hands as the tyres bounced along the wet road, dotted with puddles.
"She's out getting a manicure with Sam and Daya." I laughed lightly. "I told her I had football training."
His glistening eyes snapped to mine, "Y-You didn't have to-"
"Shut up." I laughed, pulling into the pet shop's small concrete car park, containing merely four spaces. "Dude, I love kittens. I'd rather be doing this, trust me."
I could tell he still felt guilty as he exited the car and I locked it behind us. The shop was already open when we walked in, though the sign read 'closed' and no one was behind the counter. Theodore didn't dwell on this as he walked straight through the store and into the back room.
I froze when my eyes landed on a woman, clutching a small ginger kitten to her chest. She - like Milo - had Theodore's green eyes, but her hair was darker and her skin not so pale. "Oh, good, you're here." She sighed, glancing up at us before pausing. "Oh, hello." She nodded curtly at me.
"Mum, th-this is Luca." Theodore introduced.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." I smiled warmly.
"What an adorable accent." She complimented, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Luca." And after ruffling her son's hair and placing the kitten into a large cardboard box, she was out the door.
"Her a-and my Dad share the day shifts." He explained, sitting crosslegged on the cold floor, "Me and M-Milo take the afternoon ones."
I sat beside him, in front of the tall box, peering into it and gasping. The box was layered with blankets and toys, little balls of fluff wandering around and meowing softly. Most of them were ginger, their bodies inflated with fluff, their legs spindle thin and barely able to support their weight, their tails pointy and sharp. "Oh my god." I breathed. "They're fucking adorable."
Theodore laughed softly, carefully picking one of them up, holding it close to his body, his fingers running along its soft fur as the kitten snuggled into his chest. "Yeah, they are." He agreed, "You can hold one. I-If you want." He told me quietly.
I shuffled closer to the box, my eyes darting between the various strays before landing on a little calico one, its coat white with splashes of brown and black. I slipped my fingers under its soft belly and lifted it gently, resting it on my lap as I let it sink its claws into my thigh, my fingers caressing its spine, "D'you think people will take them?"
Theodore sighed, "I don't know. H-Hopefully."
"What if they don't?"
His gaze fell to the cat in his arms. Its eyes had fallen shut and it was purring softly as Theodore stroked it. "I-I guess I'll take a couple of them. The rest will have to be sold off t-to a breeder or s-something."
"How many pets do you have?" I queried. I'd never asked him before, but now that I thought about it, I was curious.
"Uh...s-six." He smiled shyly. "T-Two rabbits, a tortoise, a dog, a hedgehog and a snake."
My eyes widened in surprise, "You have a snake?"
He laughed lightly, "Yeah."
"Wow." I rose my brows. I peered back into the box; the cuteness of the animals was almost overwhelming. "I hate snakes."
"They're not so bad."
"Whatever you say, Theodore."
He laughed, "W-Why do you call me that?"
Teddy belonged to everybody else. Theodore belonged to me. I liked being the only one who called him that. I shrugged, "I don't know." I lied. "Do you want me to call you Teddy?"
"Uh, no." He blushed. "N-No, I don't...I don't mind." He mumbled.
I fixed on a lazy smile before quickly repositioning the kitten on my lap before it tumbled off, "So, what're we gonna do about these guys?"
He sighed, focussing his attention back on his own fuzzy ginger cat, "I-I'll put a sign up outside." He declared, hastily stuffing the kitten he was holding into my arms before fumbling to stand up. I held both animals carefully as they purred and struggled to keep their eyes open. Theodore grabbed a notebook from one of the messy, overflowing drawers and ripped a page out, pulling a pen from the same draw before starting to scribble a note. FREE KITTENS. "I-I'll be one second."
He left for a moment, leaving me alone with a room full of strangled meows. It was only thirty seconds before Theodore returned, telling me he'd pinned the sign up outside. He sat down, cross legged, beside me. I put the kittens back in the box and we both watched the six of them endearingly for a while.
"W-Why are you here, L-Luca?" Theodore whispered, disrupting the thick silence.
I frowned, "What d'you mean?"
"I-I mean..." He hesitated, chewing on his lower lip in apprehension, "Y-Your friends...they're not like me, th-they're popular, like you. So, why are here...w-with me?"
I didn't reply for a while. I didn't know how to. "Everything with them is fake." I stated simply. "The stuff we talk about, how we act, what we do. I love them, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like they don't even know me." I shrugged. "Sometimes, I just wanna be with someone who's real, and be able to talk about stuff that actually matters."
He watched me blankly, blinking in confusion. Then he did what he does best; he blushed. "Oh." He uttered. "Stuff that matters." He echoed, glancing into my almond eyes, "W-What's something that doesn't matter? With your friends?"
I thought about it for a moment, "We're always talking about what goes on in other people's lives; gossip, you know?" I replied, "I'm not a huge fan of gossip."
"N-Neither."
"We talk about parties, and sex, and who's dating who. I just...I don't know."
He watched me curiously for a moment, his green eyes studying my face. I hoped he understood what I was talking about. I think he did. "A-And you and that girl...S-Sam Wilkins?" He continued, "You two are...like...together?"
My brows furrowed before my expression melted into a smile and I resisted the urge to laugh, "Me and Sam? God no."
He laughed lightly too, "It's just...all the rumours..."
"I mean, we hook up." I shrugged. "But that's all. It's just sex." I told him plainly. He suddenly looked uncomfortable, averting his gaze back to the kittens as he fiddled with the hem of his jumper, "What about you?" I shot back. "Any girls on the scene?" I teased.
His face just coloured further as he shook his head, "N-No." He laughed nervously.
I nodded, unable to stop the next words falling from my lips, "Any boys?" I mentally scolded myself the second I spoke, wishing I'd just stayed silent.
Theodore finally dragged his eyes up to meet mine, his face redder than I'd ever seen it, "No." He choked out.
My interest piqued, my brows twitching up in curiosity, "So...if there was someone on the scene..." I pushed, "It would be a guy, right?"
His eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting such a question. His hands were trembling where he twisted the piece of fabric between his fingers, his jade eyes bouncing between the floor and the kittens, avoiding my face. I already had my answer. "Uh...I-I...um..."
"It's okay." I interrupted sharply, feeling guilty enough, unwilling to put him through any more pain by forcing him to explain himself. "It's, uh...it's fine, I don't care." I assured him.
His whole demeanour relaxed, his shoulders loosening, his breathing evening out. He even managed a lopsided, forced smile, "Th-Thanks." He murmured.
"Is that why you left your old school?" I didn't know what was wrong with me today, I was being so carelessly reckless with my words, I was surprised Theodore hadn't told me to shut up by now.
He shuffled so his back was resting against the cold wall, his legs hugged close to his chest, "N-Not really. I-I mean...yeah, it played a part, but...it was something else."
I nodded, itching to know more, desperate to uncover every little dusty secret buried away in his mind. "I'm sorry...about whatever happened."
He smiled, "You want to know." He stated quietly. "I-I can tell you. I-If you want."
I was surprised by his bold offer, I'd expected him to shy away from confrontation and refuse to speak about the ordeal. "You don't have to." I promised. "But, yeah...yeah, I wanna know."
He nodded, staying silent for a moment before finally opening his mouth, "Th-There was this boy, Eddie Long. H-He was popular and smart and attractive and had all the girls drooling over him...like you." He added tenderly. "Everyone was obsessed with him, including my best friend, Sophie."
I rose my brows, "Were you?"
He flushed again. I don't think his cheeks have been without colour since we got here. "I-I wasn't obsessed. I thought he was g-good looking, but he wasn't a nice person. I-I don't know how someone can be attracted to p-people who aren't nice." He admitted, making my adoration for the boy grow even further. "Sophie was...a bit too c-consumed by the idea of him. Sh-She was turning crazy over it. She...she started stalking him." He confessed.
"Shit." I breathed out.
"I told her to stop, b-but she wouldn't listen. She f-followed him home, took photos and l-left them in his locker. H-He knew someone was stalking him but he didn't know who. A-And then...well, she wanted me to help her. Sh-She was trying to use me to get into the boys locker rooms. I kept s-saying no but she...she dragged me in and forced me to hide behind a shower curtain with her." He gulped. "I was about to leave w-when the door opened and all th-the boys came back from practice." His voice had faded into a quiet, soft murmur, his eyes glassy and glossed over.
"What happened?" I questioned, already fully invested in the story and desperate to discover the ending.
"E-Eddie...he saw us and...and Sophie quickly shoved the camera into my arms." He told me. "Sh-She started crying and saying how I'd dragged her there against her will. H-Him and the rest of the f-football team beat me up, calling me a-a...a pervert and a f-faggot." A single tear brimmed in his eye and slipped down his cheeks, but he quickly brushed it away. "Th-They wouldn't leave me alone after that. I-It got so bad, I-I had to move."
"Shit." Without even thinking, I sprung forward and wrapped my arms around his small frame, hugging him tightly, letting him cry into my chest.