[A/N]: I feel kind of bad for using all the time I have to update on this story... but it needs some work! Cause it's new! I'll still update on my other story, but I only have about 5 more chapters to go in it! I'm almost scared to write it because even though when it ends... I don't have to work on it anymore... but when it ends... I don't have to work on it anymore? If that makes sense. It's gonna be bittersweet. ANYWAY I have LOTS more chapters to go in this story. Tis just begun! Let us goooo on! Still Louis' P.O.V.
I woke up earlier than my alarm when my phone rang. Sitting up groggily, I fumbled around at my bedside table until I felt the familiar feeling of my phone, and pulled it to my ear, "Hello?"
"Yes, Louis? It's Rob. You don't have to come into work today. A pipe burst so we have to get someone in to clean it up. Tomorrow we're back in business though. I'll see you then yes?" my manager Rob spoke in a business like manner. He didn't allow anytime for me to respond until the very end.
"Yes sir, I'll see you then. Good luck with the pipe. Goodbye sir," I replied back.
I hung up the phone and returned it back to my bedside table. I absolutely hated my manager. He was seemingly nice, but in all honesty, he was a selfish jerk who constantly seemed to try and make me fail. I sold electronics for him, and he always sent me the most snappy customers to see if I'd snap back, and if it appeared that I got the slightest bit irritated with them, he'd yell at me for it later. I was also always the one he would ask to work later than the rest, and I had no choice but to accept. If I didn't need the money, I would have already quit.
Deciding that there was no way I could go back to sleep, I threw back my covers, changed into a pair of gray sweatpants but left on the blue t-shirt I had, shrugged a red jumper on, put my phone in my pocket and wandered into the living room. Somehow, I'd managed to forget that I had a cat boy sleeping on my couch, and I let out a surprised yelp when he made a snuffling sound as I walked into the room. Once I'd remembered that I had taken Harry in, I chuckled at myself and moved to wake up the younger kid. I gently prodded at the sleeping mound that was laying slightly curled up across two of the couch cushions with his head resting on the arm rest.
He sat up abruptly, a tiny squeak escaping his lips, and I quickly sat down where his upper torso had been, "Good morning!"
Harry blinked sleepily before rubbing at his eyes. He didn't respond back, simply closed his eyes again, and hunched over slightly where he sat. Very slowly, he started leaning back towards me, and he finally slumped over onto my lap, fast asleep again. I laughed at his kittenish ways, not being able to stop myself from stroking his curls as if he were a cat. I ran my thumb gently over the back of his ear. It felt velvety and soft.
His ear twitched a bit, causing me to jump, "That ti-tick-tickles."
"I didn't think I'd ever want a kitten but you're fun! I like when you cuddle."
Harry sat up groggily and blushed as he rushed out, "Harry is sorry... and sleepy."
"No, no, it's fine.... From here on out, usually at this time we'll have to get up so that I can take you over to Liam's while I'm at work," I explained to the boy.
"Why... can't H-Harry just... stay... here?" Harry asked, taking his time to pronounce each word slowly.
"Because my landlord could come over or something and he'd see you, or something could happen... like a fire... and then you wouldn't know what to do and you could get hurt. It's... it's just better if you go to Liam's," I sighed.
"Harry does not like Liam's because that is where Niall is," Harry said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well you don't have to go over there today so don't worry about it," I said, a bit more snappily then I meant to. Harry's green eyes flashed with hurt, so I softened my tone, "Today I get to stay home from work, so we can spend all day and get to know each other."
Harry pondered what I said for a moment, "What is Louis' work?"
"You mean where do I work? What do I do?" I chuckled.
"Yes."
"I sell stuff like computers, phones, iPods..."
"What is an iPod?" the boy sure did ask a lot of questions.
"Hold on," I smiled. "I'll show you."
I leaped up from my couch to retrieve my iPod touch, removing the headphones. I figured they didn't exactly make headphones for cat ears, so he'd have to hear the music that came from the speaker at the bottom. I returned back to the younger boy, who had waited on the couch patiently.
"This is an iPod?" he asked as I slid the device into his hands.
"Yep! I already unlocked it for you, so just move one finger up the screen to make the screen move... like this," I reached over to swipe my finger over the screen and send it scrolling rapidly through the songs.
"Oh," Harry gasped, cautiously reaching out with his own finger and poking the screen. Without realizing quite what he was doing, he had managed to make Never Say Never by The Fray play. His eyes widened as music began to sound from the iPod. "Did H-Harry b-break it?"
"No," I laughed. "You selected a song! One of my favorites actually."
"A song?" he asked.
"Yeah," I explained. "Like music. It's beautiful, yeah?"
"It... it is nice," Harry nodded, leaning his head closer to the iPod. Harry and I sat in silence, listening until the song was over. When the music faded out, Harry instantly demanded, "Again!"
I chuckled, "Another song? Or this one over!"
"Har-Harry likes t-that one," he murmured..
"Okay, to hear the song again you just hit that little arrow there," I pointed, and Harry carefully poked the arrow, and the song began again. "There you go! To turn a song on repeat, you touch the circle in to the top corner. It'll turn blue and a 1 will show on the circle."
Harry's eyes grew large, "Harry does not know..."
I leaned over and pointed, "That circle there!"
"Oh... th-that is a circle?" he asked, and I felt my jaw drop. The boy didn't know what a circle was.
"Harry... do you not know your shapes?" I asked in disbelief.
"Harry can name shapes..." he squeaked.
"What shape is my iPod?" I asked suddenly.
Harry glanced down at it, his cheeks reddening, "It is... it is a circle?"
"It's a rectangle..." I mumbled gently.
"Harry is stupid!" he wailed, dropping the iPod onto the couch and burying his face into his hands.
"No!" I shook my head frantically, grabbing the iPod and hitting pause. "No you aren't stupid!"
"Harry is too!" he sniffled, and when he looked up I was horrified to see his green eyes swimming in tears. "Harry do-does not know his shapes, o-or h-his co-colors, his nu-num-numbers. Harry can ba-barely even speak right!"
"It's not your fault!" I soothed, letting my hands flutter uselessly onto his back. I had no idea how to comfort him. "You didn't have anyone to teach you. You can't be stupid if you haven't even learned. Liam and I will help you. We'll help you learn... Liam helped Niall."
Harry's teary green eyes studied me, as if searching my face to see if I was making fun of him, "Louis does not th-think that Harry is stupid?"
"Not at all," I promised him. "I actually think you're quite smart. You started talking on your own, and I barely have to help you with pronunciation of words! I mean, you talk in third person sometimes, but it's not bad... it's kind of cute actually but... we can fix it later."
"What is third person? Harry is only one person," Harry sniffed, wiping at his tears.
I chuckled, "We'll work on it... but first, are you hungry?"
Harry nodded, "Can we have pizza?"
"Of course!" I grinned, standing to my feet and offering him a hand. "We've got a lot left over in the refrigerator."
We walked into the kitchen, and I got down two glasses and then pulled out the leftover pizza and the milk. Harry followed closely beside me, watching me carefully with his ears perked forward and bumping into me slightly if I stopped moving when he wasn't expecting it. He certainly acted like cat waiting for its food. I was just glad he wasn't small enough to weave in and out of my legs and trip me. I pulled down two plates and put a slice of pizza on each, poured the milk into the glasses, and then handed Harry his food and drink.
He nearly sat on the floor, but stopped himself, "Table?"
"Table," I nodded with a chuckle.
Harry set his things down onto the table and slid into a chair, "You sell iPods..." he began.
"I do," I nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"Liam does too?" he finished.
"No," I grinned. "Liam writes books."
"Harry... wi-wishes he could read," he said sadly. "Could Liam teach Harry to write books? And read them?"
"If you asked him there's no way he'd say no, I'm sure," I encouraged.
Harry beamed, "Harry w-will ask tomorrow!"
"Sounds like a plan!" I chuckled. "But today, after you finish eating, do you wanna go for a walk with me?"
"But... you know how to walk," Harry said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
I laughed, "I do... but when I say go for a walk, I'm asking if you want to go outside with me and we'll walk to the park or something. Get some exercise."
"Ohh," Harry nodded. "Harry knew that! Dr... Dr. Shell took me on a walk before. Harry d-does not like wear-wearing one of those rope things though."
"You had to wear a leash?" I asked in disbelief.
"People looked at us very weirdly," he said before drinking the rest of his milk and setting his pizza crust down on the plate.
"You don't have to wear a leash when you walk with me. I'm not taking you on a walk, we're going on a walk together..." I told him gently. "But you won't like... try and run away, right?"
"No," he shook his curly head. "Harry will stay with you."
"You'll have to wear the beanie though," I told him apologetically. "People can't see your ears."
Harry frowned, but nodded, "Right... people can't see my ears."
I smiled at the boy, who beamed back at me proud that he had strung a sentence together correctly, "Alright, now go change out of pajamas! In my room there's a dresser, you can borrow some of my clothes. I'm gonna do the dishes and then we can go."
Harry jumped up and bounded from the room, while I carried the dishes to the sink. As I ran some water, my phone buzzed from my pocket. I pulled it out to see Liam's name lighting up my screen, and I answered with a, "Good morning, Liam!"
"Louis!" he rushed out. "It's nearly 8AM! Why haven't you dropped Harry off yet?"
"Oh," I laughed. "I forgot to call you... I didn't have to go in for work today. A pipe burst."
"Are all your electronics destroyed?" Liam joked.
"I wish," I sighed. "One bad thing if I keep Harry here with me is that I'll have to work more. I can barely support myself as it is."
"I'll help you out if you need it," Liam promised. "Keep the kitty boy with you."
"I've found out a lot of stuff about him and Niall," I bragged suddenly. "From an inside source."
"He's told you about Dr. Shell?" Liam gasped.
"A bit," I responded smugly.
"Tell me," he demanded.
"Maybe later," I said in a bored voice. "I've got to do some dishes and then Harry and I are going for a walk at the park. I'd invite you to come but Harry and Niall don't exactly..."
"I know, I know," Liam snapped. "Have fun on your walk, you jerk."
"Bye, Liam," I laughed.
I put my phone back into my pocket and quickly washed our plates, cups, and then dishes left over from the night before. Harry reentered the room, only now he wore jeans. Yet, he still wore the same white jumper.
"These... these are called j-je..." he tried.
I nodded, "Jeans."
"Jeans," he repeated. "They are not as cozy as sweats."
"They really aren't," I agreed. "But they sure do make a person look good... did you not feel like changing your jumper?"
"Th-this one is warm," Harry explained, coming to stand next to me and peer into the sink at the bubbles in the bottom. "Th-those are circles?"
"They are!" I grinned, ruffling his hair. "Good job, Harry! They're called bubbles."
"Bubbles," Harry repeated.
"Yep! You ready to go for a walk now?" I asked.
"Yes!" he said excitedly.
"Let me grab us some socks and coats really fast," I told him. "And put your beanie on! It's still in the living room from when you threw it yesterday."
I put away the dishes and left the kitchen, Harry following closely behind. He stayed in the living room while I pulled two coats from my closet and two pairs of socks from my drawer. As I returned to the curly boy, he was trying to situate the beanie on his head so that it didn't bother his ears. I gave him a sympathetic look.
"Harry does n-not like having things press on my ears," he pouted.
"Sorry, Kitten," I handed him his socks, and held one of the coats out to him so he could slip his arms through the sleeves.
Once Harry was wearing the black sneakers I'd given him to replace the brown tattered ones he'd had before, and I shoes on myself, we slipped out the door and began walking down the sidewalk towards the park.
"What is the park like?" Harry asked.
"Lot's of grass," I replied. "Trees... places to sit. There's a pond."
"Oh," Harry said thoughtfully, scooting closer to me as a car sped by on the road.
"Don't like car sounds, hmm?"
"They... they are loud," he mumbled.
"Yeah," I chuckled. "They are."
After several turns, and street crossing, we finally reached the park. By the time we stepped onto winter browned grass, Harry was pressed so close to me we could have been mistaken for a large two headed person.
"There is a lot of pe-people ar-around," Harry squeaked.
I glanced at the numerous amount of people that were spread across the fenced boundries of the park, "Yeah, I guess there are. You just gotta ignore them. They probably won't even talk to us."
"Okay," Harry whispered.
We wandered around the park for several hours, Harry eventually unattatching himself from my side and bounding around the park pointing at things like squirrels and ducks, asking what they were. Harry and I had been walking around the pond when a dog, who had been playing frisbee with its owner, came rushing towards us excitedly. Harry stiffened as the dog dropped it's frisbee at our feet, wagging it's tail excitedly. I knew that if Niall was here, he'd be having a blast playing frisbee with this dog, but Harry seemed absolutely terrified.
The dog, suddenly seemed to notice Harry, and he leaned forward to sniff at him. With his dog sense of smell, the dog must have been able to smell the cat part of Harry, because he was leaping backwards, barking and growling. Harry let out a small cry of fear before darting behind me and cringing into my back. I grabbed the dog's collar as he tried to get to Harry, "No, no boy! Leave him alone! He's nice!"
The owner of the dog came over immediately, "I'm terribly sorry!" she said in a rush. "He's generally so nice! He only acts like that towards cats! It's so strange!"
"Ah," Louis nodded, his hand reaching back to pat soothingly at whatever part of Harry he could reach. "It's perfectly alright! Just frightened Harry, here, a bit I believe."
"Sorry about that," she clipped the dogs leash on, and with a curt wave began dragging him away from Harry while he continued to bark.
I turned around, doing the only comforting thing I could think of and giving the trembling kid a tight hug, "It's alright, Kitten. He's gone."
"Harry do-does not l-like dogs!" Harry whimpered into my chest.
"Understandable," I soothed. "Sorry to say, but I don't think they favor you much either."
"C-can we g-go h-home?" he asked, still shaking.
"Course we can," I said, pulling back and adjusting the beanie on top of his head.
He nodded sadly, "Harry wants to go home. Th-there are no dogs."
"Alright," I wrapped an arm gently around his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Let's go home."
So we walked back out the park gates, across the street, and down the sidewalk. It was when I noticed a vendor selling corndogs that I let the arm wrapped around Harry's shoulders fall to his back, "Have you ever had a corndog?"
"H-Harry d-does not like dogs," he began to state in a panic.
"No, no!" I quickly soothed. "This is food... not a dog."
"It... it is like pizza?" he asked hesitantly.
I led him over to the corndog vendor, digging out my wallet, "Um... it's like pizza in a way. Two corndogs, please."
Harry stood pressed against my side as we waited for the vendor to hand us the food. When he finally did, I handed Harry his corndog and picked up a ketchup and mustard packet off the cart.
"It... it is on a stick," he said. "How do you eat the stick?"
I laughed, "You don't eat the stick. You throw the stick away when you eat the corndog off of it."
"Oh," he said, and we began walking again.
"Take a bite!" I persisted, taking a bite of my own after putting a little mustard on it. "Like this."
"What i-is Louis putting on it?" Harry asked.
"Mustard," I said, holding the packet out to him. "Want some?"
Harry glanced at my corndog for a moment and then nodded, "Louis likes it?"
"It makes the corndog taste better," I explained, putting mustard on the top of his corndog for him. "Try it!"
Harry hesitantly copied my actions and bit off the top of his corndog. His eyes widened, "Harry likes this kind of dog!"
I laughed, "I figured you would!"
When we reached the flat, it was already 4:30PM. Harry raced excitedly inside, pulling off his coat and beanie as he kicked off his shoes. He went to deposit them on the floor, but I quickly scolded him playfully, "Now, now, young Harold. We must hang up our things!"
Harry blushed, hanging up his coat and beanie on the coat rack and pushing his shoes next to the others, "Sorry Louis."
"No harm done... let's watch a film, yeah?" I walked past him and ruffled his curls to dig through my selection of movies. I quickly found a movie that made me chuckle. The Aristocats. I quickly put the movie in and plopped down on the couch next to Harry.
He shly scooted closer, snuggling against my side, "Wh-what are we wa-watch-watching?"
"It's a secret," I smirked down at the cuddly kitten boy. "You sure are snuggly all of a sudden."
"Louis makes Harry f-feel safe," Harry mumbled quickly in embarrassment.
"Do I? But you haven't even known me for a full two days!" I teased.
Harry slowed down his words this time, "But Louis knows what food is good, and cars do not bother L-Louis, and Louis can keep dogs away."
"Niall is a dog," I pointed out.
Harry scowled, "Niall does not count."
I laughed, "I guess he is more person than dog."
At that moment, the opening of the film finally finished and Harry's attention focused on the screen as talking began, "Cats?"
"It's a great film," I promised.
And Harry did indeed enjoy it, because where as I was gradually falling asleep with the warmth of Harry curled against my side, the film ended and Harry sat up quickly, "Again!"
I chuckled sleepily, "You can take it with you to Liam's tomorrow and watch it there. We need to eat dinner and go to bed."
Harry pouted, "Okay... can... can Harry take a bath?"
"You have open access to the bathroom," I stood and stretched. "Just take some pajamas in there with you to change into." Harry nodded, climbing to his feet and scurrying off to get pajamas. "Oh! And Kitten, put your dirty clothes in the hamper so I can wash them."
I moved to the kitchen to start making grilled cheeses. I'd finished both and was pouring glasses of milk when Harry came rushing into the kitchen, "Louis!"
He shrieked out, causing me to jump. I spun around, expecting by the tone of his voice for him to be gushing blood from somewhere. He was dressed, but with his hair still dripping water and spattered with suds. He clutched a towel unhelpfully in his hand.
"What on earth is the matter?" I asked, moving forward to take the towel and start drying his his hair, being careful of his ears, yet all the suds in it still made it pointless.
He pointed to his eye, "It stings!"
"It sti-" I began in confusion, but then realization hit me. "Oh... oh, you got soap in your eye." I pulled a washcloth from the drawer next to the sink and wet it down, turned around, and gently took the boy's chin in my hands. I dabbed carefully at his closed eye before pulling away. "Now rub the water away from your eye, Kitten."
Harry shakily followed my instructions, and opened his eye hesitantly, "It does not sting anymore!"
"That's good!" I chuckled, moving to wipe at his curls and ears with the wet rag. "This should get out the soap that's left."
After I was sure that there was no longer soap in Harry's curls, I gently dried his hair again. Harry shivered slightly, so I pulled off my jumper and held it out for him to shrug into. He quickly pulled it on, burrowing into it slightly, "Thank you, Louis."
"Sure thing, Kitten," I grinned, handing Harry a glass of milk and his grilled cheese on a plate. "Eat your food. I'm going to clean up the er.... puddles of water."
"Sorry," Harry paled.
"Eat!" I demanded playfully, taking the towel and running it over the water on the floor, scooting it out of the kitchen, across the hardwood of the living room and hallway, and into the bathroom. I cleaned up the water on the floor, drained the tub, and chucked the dirty towel into the hamper. Returning back to the kitchen, I found Harry sitting at the table and patiently waiting for me to sit down and eat with him. I raised my eyebrows, "You waited for me?"
"Mhmm," Harry nodded.
"Thanks, Kitten," I grinned.
Harry, like always, told me that the food I gave him was good. After we ate I pulled Harry back into the bathroom, and gave him a spare toothbrush I hadn't used yet. He informed me that he'd had his own toothbrush back at Dr. Shells, so he knew how to use one. I then led him back to the living room, tucking him under the blanket that still sat on the couch.
"Good night, Louis," he grinned.
"Night Kitten!" I said cheerfully. "See you in the morning!"
I changed into my own pajamas once I was back in my room, plugged in my phone, and climbed into my bed. I was so tired, I was instantly falling asleep. Yet just as I was about to drift off, I was jolted awake by a pressure on my feet. I looked towards the bottom of my bed to find Harry curled up with his pillow and blanket.
I lifted an eyebrow, "Did you get lonely?"
"C-Can Harry sleep here?" came the squeaking reply from the end of my bed.
"Get up here, Kitten," I chuckled.
Harry crawled up and lay down beside me, and I reached out to ruffle his curls, "You can sleep here. But don't think about cuddling with me. I'm not a sleeping cuddler."
"Thank you."
"Go to sleep Kitten. And remember, no cuddling!"
Yet I didn't object when, as I was drifting off, I felt the curly boy curling up against my back.
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