Chapter Text
You end up at an unfamiliar intersection a long way from your house. Scratch that, your ‘former living space’. You pull out your phone to find out where you were only to watch it blink a ‘0%’ and shut off. You groan out loud.
“Great. Where the fuck am I?” you ask to the air. You feel the day’s events catch up to you, the exhaustion bone-deep and threatening to pull you under. You look around one last time in hopes of recognising the area but find nothing. You know it’s dangerous—even for a man—to sleep alone outside, but you can’t help it. You put your bag under your head and let the night take over.
The sun is just peeking over the horizon when you wake, turning the sky a pretty pinkish-purple colour. You blink and stretch your arms, thanking whichever deity kept you alive. As you pick up your bag you notice a small piece of paper right where your head had been. “You’re welcome” it read, and a bloody fingerprint decorated the corner. You don’t recognise the writing, and it sends shivers down your spine. So I wasn’t alone. You curse the deities now, your heart still pounding in your chest. You shove the note in your pocket and take a deep breath.
“Okay! New plan. Find somewhere to plug in my phone,” you say to yourself, placing a hand on your heart to calm it.
Only for it to ramp back up at the sound of a twig snapping.
You whip your head around and catch movement behind the bush you’d been sleeping beside. Carefully, you creep over and come face-to-face with…a cat. It was a fucking cat. But instead of running away like you thought it would, it comes towards you, meowing and purring lowly.
“Aww, hi there buddy,” you say softly, reaching out your hand for it to lick. Its fur was a patchwork of different colours, in some places white and others orange and black. You notice it wasn’t wearing a collar. Stray? Huh. Like me.
Once it deemed you trustworthy, it put its paw in your hand, and you finally got to see its eyes. They were mismatched, one green and the other blue, and both were staring at you intently—or as intently as a cat could.
“Would you like to join me in my delinquency?” you ask the cat, standing back up and walking backwards in the direction you’d been going last night. To your delight, the cat follows you happily, its tail tall and relaxed. You smile and turn around, picking up the pace only slightly. You look down periodically to ensure your friend is still there, smiling every time you see the furry animal.
After what feels like almost an hour of walking, you come to a small intersection. You’d noticed the area get quieter and quieter, the once-pretty sky now obscured by an ugly grey fog. It was colder now too, and you hoped your friend wasn’t feeling it too much. Your eyes catch a plaza with small-brand restaurants and a convenience store just across the street. Cheering, you point to it and look down at your friend, who is now walking circles around your legs.
“Let’s go!” you say, not even checking for traffic(though there wasn’t any in this eerily silent part of town) before you j-walk to the complex. You pull out your phone and are about to open the door to the convenience store when your stomach grumbles loudly.
“Uhmmm, maybe food first?” you ask your friend. You receive a loud “mreow” in response. “Yeah. Food first.”
You round the corner and pick up your friend in one hand, pushing open the door to the first restaurant you see and finding a seat. Though the exterior made it seem dingy, the interior of the building was actually quite nice. It was modelled like a 70’s kitchen, with checkered floors and red and cyan accents. Almost like one you’d find in a zombie-apocalypse video game.
“Hi there sir, what can I get you?” A young girl approaches you from a curtain at the back, smiling sweetly.
“What do you recommend?” You ask. She proceeds to list a few items she thinks are good.
“Oh, but this one’s my favourite,” she says, her smile even brighter, as she points to an item on the menu she’d placed before you. ‘Eighth Crow’s Catch’, it read. You take a look at what it entails and nod, “Yeah, I’ll get that.”
“Wonderful! It’ll be right out. Can I get you something to drink in the meantime?” she asks. “Yeah, just a water is fine. Thank you,” you softly return her smile. She nods and disappears behind the curtain separating the sitting area from the kitchen. You find your friend has made your lap a pillow, and you absentmindedly pat the furry head while you wait. A few moments later the girl returns with your water.
“Here you go, apologies for the wait. Your food will be ready soon!” She smiles brightly again and then notices the cat in your lap.
“Aww, isn’t she adorable! ” She squeals. You smile at her excitement, scratching your friend’s head.
“Yeah, I met her a little while ago.”
“Oh, she’s not yours?”
“Nope. Also, how do you know it’s a girl?”
“I used to work at an adoption centre for a while before coming here. I’m pretty good with animals,” she answers, smiling more at your friend than you. “Where did you find her?”
You pause. If I tell her, she’s going to ask me why the hell I was sleeping next to a bush.
“I was taking a walk and found her behind a bush.” You feel bad about lying to her, but it’s better than facing the embarrassment and pain that came with the truth.
She nods, and then asks, “Do you have a name for her?”
“Oh, come to think of it, no,” you tilt your head, thinking.
“Aw, why not?” she asks, slowly petting the cat’s head.
“I think…I’m going to wait. Until it comes to me,” you finish.
“I think that’s a good idea,” she smiles. “Let me go get your food.”
You watch her leave again and sigh.
The girl comes back with your food and sets it in front of you, reminding you for a moment of your grandma. You feel your eyes prick with unfallen tears. Man, I’m tired.
“Thank you, uh…”
“Giulia. And you?”
“Y/n. It’s nice to meet you, Giulia.”
“You too, Y/n. And you’re welcome! Enjoy your meal!” She waves and disappears again. You take your time with your meal, savouring the taste of the hot meat. Your friend wakes up shortly, peeking her head up and purring low in her chest. You smile and cut the smallest piece from your plate, unsure whether she can have it because of all the added spices. You hesitate, hovering the fork just above your friend’s mouth.
“Uhm, Giulia?” you call out quietly.
“Yea? Did you need something?” she pokes her head out from behind the curtain.
“Can she eat this? Like, will she die if she does?” you ask.
“Oh, no! I mean—yes!" She exclaims, hurrying over to you. "Cats can’t have anything with garlic or onion, or really any seasoning for that matter. She also can’t have chocolate, it’s toxic. I can get her an unseasoned piece, I’ll be right back!” She hurries right back into the kitchen before you can say anything more. The cat in your lap purrs impatiently, her paws now dangerously close to the plate on the table.
“Ah ah, sorry girl but you can’t have that,” you say to her, putting the fork down and taking her paws in your hands. You very lightly massage them, and to your surprise, she doesn’t immediately tear you to shreds. You continue to do so until Giulia returns with a small bowl with a piece of unseasoned steak.
“Here you go, little one.” She places the bowl on the ground, and you let your friend's paws go, allowing her to hop down to the floor and nibble at the meat. You smile first at the cat, purring contently with her tail wrapped around her, and then at Giulia.
“Thank you, Giulia.”
“You’re very welcome, Y/n.”
You smile, and then something occurs to you.
“Are you here alone?” you ask, genuinely curious. Unfortunately, her face hardens at that and the smile you’d come to love disappears.
“Why do you ask? Why does it matter?” She bites out.
Taken aback, you pause to think about why she’d ask that. Oh.
“Oh my God I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I promise. I was just curious, I swear. I’d never do anything like that,” you answer frantically, putting your hands up in surrender.
“Right. Just curious,” her expression softens if only a little bit. “It’s me and my dad in here. He’s the chef,” she continues.
“Oh, okay. Honestly Giulia, I was more concerned for you than anything, I promise,” you bite your lip, brows knit. She nods, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“I, uh—I’m gay, even though that’s not an excuse,” you admit, rubbing the back of your neck in embarrassment. Well, shit. It’s easier to come out to strangers than my own parents, who woulda thought.
Your shoulders sag in relief as her smile breaks out again.
“Oh. Well, that makes me trust you a little more,” she says, giggling.
You smile back, seeing your friend looking up at the two of you. It seems she’d noticed the tension. You pat her head as she licks her paws and Giulia picks up the empty bowl.
“Thanks again, Giulia,” you say as she leaves.
“No problem. I’ll leave you to finish your meal,” she smiles. You smile back at her and turn to your food once again. Fifteen minutes later your plate is clean and a portion of your bad mood has gone with it.
You fish out your card from somewhere in your bag as Giulia returns with the machine.
“It’ll be $12.99,” she says.
“And for her?” you ask, not wanting to take your friend’s meal for free.
“Oh please, don’t worry about her. I honestly miss working with animals so consider it a favour from your end,” she smiles genuinely. “I owe you one, Y/n.”
“You really don’t, Giulia, but thank you. It means a lot,” you respond, tapping your card and putting it back in your bag. Your friend paws at your cargos and you tilt your head, before you realise she’s asking to be picked up again. You smile and shake your head.
“Nuh-uh, if I keep picking you up you’ll never want to walk again,” You and Giulia both chuckle.
“Good call,” Giulia adds. You nod, biting your lip as awkwardness sets in. You don’t want to leave.
“I guess I’ll, uh, head out now,” you say, though you don’t move.
“Hold on, wait right there,” Giulia puts a finger up and rushes back to the kitchen. In a few moments, she’s back holding a small container.
“Here, for her,” she nods to your friend now licking her paw at your feet. You slowly take the container from Giulia, peeking through the clear plastic to find pieces of unseasoned meat cut into small squares.
“For the road,” she clarifies. You nod, a bright smile creeping onto your face. You’d only met an hour ago and yet she felt like a close friend.
“Thanks,” you say, and awkwardly open your arms, asking for a hug. Her face lights up and she comes in, wrapping her arms around you tightly.
“Mreowww,” your friend is pawing at Giulia now, nuzzling her leg. Giulia chuckles behind her hand and bends down to scratch your friend’s head.
“I’ll see you around, yeah?” Giulia looks at you.
“Yeah. Definitely,” you smile. Definitely not. The gods only know if I'll even stay alive after last night.
You and your friend wave to Giulia as the bell hanging by the door jingles, signalling your exit. Before you can walk off, your friend trots back to the convenience store around the corner. Surprised at her memory(and your forgetfulness), you follow her and push open the door. You make quick work of buying a cheap power bank and a cable, knowing that if you were gonna get to class on time you couldn’t waste time waiting for your phone to charge. After wandering for another hour or so in the musty fog to allow your phone to gain some battery, you check the map to find out you’d been going in the wrong direction. For nearly three hours. Why can’t I catch a fucking break?!
You finally make it to your residence building(after rerouting your map and walking another two hours) just in time for your afternoon lecture on visual and digital media. You take the elevator instead of the stairs this time(your legs really fucking hurt) and walk the short distance through the beige-coloured hall to your shared dorm. Ah yes, shared. With a douchebag that won’t shower, won’t do the dishes, and plays FPS games until three in the morning. You rarely saw him except on Mondays, when you both had class at the same time. Today, however, when you unlock your door and push it open, he’s standing in his dirty white tank and basketball shorts looking terrified. You yourself, in fact, are also quite scared. There isn’t much in this world that scares you, but the men standing before you in bulletproof vests and guns at their waists most certainly did.
Why the fuck are the cops here?