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Yuuki carried me through the hallway, down the stairs, and all the way outside. He set me down in front of the school’s gate, gave me a soft pat on the head, and walked away. It was unusual for him to act gentle, maybe he wasn’t a complete jerk after all.

Now having been kicked out of the school, I had nothing else to do and no where else to go. I couldn’t find Moirae and I couldn’t go home even if I wanted to. I had no way back into the house; the window cracks were a one way trip.

I decided I’d go to Moirae’s house. If she wasn’t at school, she had to be there. But before I could start walking there, a little girl ran up to me, picked me up, and started running with me down the street. I tried to resist, but she held on firm. I kicked and cried until she finally stopped, in front of a tall lady with chubby cheeks and scraggly dirty blonde hair.

“Mommy lookit! Can I keep it? Can I? Can I?” the little girl asked impatiently. The mother looked down at me and replied “I’m sorry dear, but we can’t take home stray animals. You don’t know where they’ve been!”

How dare that scraggly old lady, “Just where have you been?” I thought.

The little girl got a sad look on her face, cheered up instantly, then screamed “Can I play with it for a while?” The mother simply nodded with approval. The little girl then did a tiny jump and a little squeal, and then proceeded to hop away with me still in her arms. Just what was I to these people?

The instant that little girl put me down, I ran away as fast as I could. She tried to chase after me, but I was too quick for her.

When I finally felt safe enough away from her, I stopped to catch my breath and looked around to see where I was. This place didn’t look familiar, so where was I?

I walked around aimlessly, hoping to see something I recognized. In the process I ran into several gardens in which all of them I was immediately chased out by numerous types of dogs.

“I give up” I thought, now looking up at a digital clock along one of the buildings nearby. It was close to 3:30 PM. I sighed and laid down along an alleyway, I was exhausted. “Today is never going to end…” I said to myself in despair, “I’m so tired” I added calmly as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up I was in a comfy bed, in a room I had never seen before. The room had white walls with frames of scenery. The bed was made, books were shelved alphabetically, the desk was tidy, and even though the room looked a little boring, it was elegant and clean.

I shook off the blanket that was around me, and headed for the bedroom door that was left slightly open. I peered into the hallway, but saw nothing and heard nothing. Cautiously, I walked down the hallway, peering into each room as I passed.

The room before the white one, also on my left of the hallway, had light blue walls with frames of newspaper clippings and famous writers. The room parallel to the light blue room, on my right, had light green walls and frames of various temples. The last room on my right was a yellow-orange color and had pictures of horses and various stables.

At the end of the hallway was a huge floor plan living room. The living room opened up to the kitchen and dining room. This place was similar to my house plan, this must be a loft.

In the kitchen was a boy with short black hair. I couldn’t see his face, but I got that feeling when I saw him. Sure enough, when he turned around, it was Yuuki. “I was in Yuuki’s house?!” I screamed in my head.

I looked around frantically for someplace, any place, to dive into and hide… but it was too late.

“So you’re awake?” he asked me as he walked over to where I was. He picked me up and stroked my head as he walked over to the couch. He sat me down, leaned over and asked “Are you hungry?”

“How could I answer that?” I thought to myself, a little nervous now. He was doing it again, being gentle, that is.

He stood up and headed back to the kitchen. I just watched him as he poured some milk into a bowl. He walked back to me and set the bowl in front of me. I could just look at it, did he expect me to drink this?

“Not hungry huh?” he asked, “or maybe you just don’t like milk, what else could I-“ he began to ask as he was cut off. The front door opened and Leon walked in. “Why would Leon just walk into Yuuki’s house?” I thought.

Yuuki turned to look at the door. Leon looked up and said “Hey Yuuki! You’re home early,” He set down a pair of keys onto a near by table, “no meeting today?”

“Yeah, they rescheduled because the President had an emergency at home” replied Yuuki.

“I see, I see” said Leon walking over to where we were. “What’s up with the cat?” he asked when saw me.

“This is the cat that was in the hallways at school today. I found her passed out in an alleyway on the way home” Yuuki recalled.

Leon knelt down, looked at me, patted me on the head and exclaimed “Aw~, she’s so cute! What breed would you say she is?”

“I’m not sure. She has blue eyes and that’s unusual for most breeds… and to top it off she has black fur with odd white spots.” answered Yuuki.

“Hmm… all-knowing Yuuki doesn’t know? What kind of tiger are you? You of all people should know.” teased Leon.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Yuuki said defensively. “That’s like me asking you to name every breed of reptile.”

I continued to look back and forth between Yuuki and Leon, when I heard a pair of footsteps outside the door. I turned to look at the door, Stanton and Zane had just walked in. “Yo!” Zane said happily acknowledging Yuuki and Leon. “What’s going on?”

“Yuuki brought home a cat.” Leon replied.

“A cat? Where?” Stanton asked as he and Zane walked closer to Yuuki, Leon and me. “Ah!” he screamed when he saw me, “That’s the cat that was at school today!”

“Yeah… she looked sad so I brought her home.” replied Yuuki now sounding a little annoyed. From that remark, I was now feeling a little annoyed.

Stanton walked over and sat next to me on my right, then placed me on his lap. If I could blush, I would be right now.

He began stroking my head, looked to his left to look at Yuuki “Are we going to keep her?” he asked.

“We don’t need a cat Stanton, none of us are ever home as it is. Have you forgotten what we’re supposed to be doing?” Zane said with somewhat of a harsh undertone.

“No... I didn’t forget… but she seems well behaved! Look!” Stanton replied as he lifted me into the air and stared me straight in the eye.

“What do I do?~” I panicked. Then Stanton got this confused look and added “She almost acts like a human, don’t you think?”

“Oh snap!” I thought, “I better start acting like a cat…” Stanton set me back down on his lap and looked around at the other guys. “He’s on to me,” I kept thinking, “I have to get away from him.” So I ran over to Yuuki and hid on his left side so Stanton could barely see me.

Yuuki gave a little laugh, “Looks like she doesn’t like you so much.” This time Yuuki picked me up and set me on his lap. “Would they stop doing that already?!” I cried to myself.

“Whatever, she probably just didn’t like me lifting her in the air like that. Why are you home so early anyways Yuuki?” Stanton replied uncaringly.

“They rescheduled my meeting.” said Yuuki vaguely.

“Have you talked to that one girl yet?” Leon asked, trying to get back into the conversation.

“What girl?” snorted Yuuki.

“You know, the one you met in the hallway… the one who you scared half to death… the one you were so rude to… the one you-“

“Ok, Ok I get it Leon,” Yuuki interrupted. “No, I haven’t talked to her.”

“Why not?” asked Leon

“Because I have no reason to, Leon” replied Yuuki now getting even more annoyed than before.

“You do too have a reason! You should apologize to her, what you did was rude.” screamed Leon.

“He is sweet” I thought, thinking back to what Andrea said about him before. “But… were they talking about me? They have to be… who else could he have ran into in the hallway that he was also rude to?”

“Both of you are rude. Do either of you even know her name?” Zane accused Yuuki and Leon.

“Uh… isn’t her name Cerady? She just transferred here from… somewhere…” Leon replied blankly.

“How do you know her name?” asked Stanton in awe.

“Well, she’s been around Andrea a lot recently…” he replied reluctantly and a little embarrassed.

“I should have known” Stanton said with a that-was-so-obvious kind of tone.

I couldn’t help but feel a little sick, they really were talking about me…

“Getting back to the original topic…” Leon redirected, “Have you even talked to her since your last encounter?”

“No, I haven’t” Yuuki said really annoyed now. “Last time I tried she ran away, and she wasn’t at school today.”

“What do you mean she ran away? What did you do to her this time Yuuki?!” Leon pressured.

“Nothing!” shouted Yuuki in defense. “I don’t know why she ran away, she just did. I saw her in the park the other day. I didn’t know it was her until I got closer.”

“Like I said, what did you do?!” Leon pressed.

“And like I said, I did nothing! She was in the park playing a violin… I walked closer so I could hear the music better and I guess she heard me. When she turned and looked at me she asked me if something was wrong, and when I was about to answer her, she just ran off. ”

“Yuuki… you’re an idiot.” Stanton stated as if it were a fact.

“Excuse me?!” Yuuki stood up and screamed at Stanton. I jumped off his lap and onto the side of the couch as quickly as I could.

Stanton now stood up ready to argue back with Yuuki, “Don’t yell at me because you can’t handle a girl! You saw her doing something she probably didn’t want you to see!” he explained, “You ran into her in the hallway and yelled at her in the hallway, think about it! That’s why you’re an idiot!”

“Why should I care about what’s going through her mind?” Yuuki argued back.

“Because you like her!” Stanton argued.

“I do not!” Yuuki screamed taken aback.

“It’s so obvious man! Didn’t you tell us you get that feeling when you see her? What if she’s your partner, then what’re you going to do?!” screamed Stanton.

Yuuki fell silent for a moment as the words sank in. His expression was unusual, and I wasn’t sure how to place it. He wasn’t sad or disappointed, but he wasn’t happy either. I gave a tiny ‘meow!’ to snap him out of his trance; when he looked down at me, he almost looked confused.

“Act like a cat” I thought, as I turned my head a little bit to the side, hoping he’d take it as a sign of curiosity. I think he did, because right after, he picked me up and walked away from the three boys without saying a word, into his room.

When we reached his room he placed me on the bed and walked to his balcony doors. He looked outside across the neighborhood with serious eyes, “what was he thinking about?” I wondered. Again I gave a little ‘meow!’ to catch his attention. I know they were talking about me, and I know he did not seem to like me, but I had to cheer him up somehow. He was so depressing that it was depressing me.

He turned around to sit on his bed beside me, and stroked my head. He then gave a little smile and began to speak with me.

“You’re not afraid of me at all, are you?” he lingered for a moment, “I wonder where you’re from… Do you have an owner? Are you a stray? ... But you’re too well behaved to be a stray… “

I could just look at him because part of me was still amazed that he had a softer side. I wonder if he was only rude to me. Why would all the other girls at school like a boy who was nothing but rude? Then again he was like that with the other guys too. He was serious, smart-mouthed and a little obnoxious. He didn’t really seem to care much for others and their feelings, yet at the same time, he looked so lonely.

“Boys are idiots.” I concluded to myself.

Yuuki stood up, grabbed a change of clothes out of his closet and dresser, and then went into his bathroom. He must have been in the shower because I could hear the water running, and about twenty minutes later he came out while wiping his hair off with a towel.

He then walked over to his balcony doors, cracked one of them open, and prepared for sleep. Was he opening the doors for me? I noticed it was now dark outside, and it was getting pretty late. With all the commotion from before, I guess I never realized what time it was.

I worried a little bit, because I haven’t been home all day. My Mother was probably freaking out by now, “I hope she stays at work tonight,” I thought.

Yuuki turned off his lights and was getting in bed. He held up his sheets as if he was going to let me under… “How embarrassing!” I thought. “I have to act like a cat” I reminded myself, “Just keep my distance…” I thought, and reluctantly got closer to him, without getting too close.

He fell asleep almost instantly. I could hear his heart beat and I could feel the warmth from his body. If I wasn’t in this little cat body, I probably would explode from all the nervousness. But, his sleeping face was so cute and kind of relaxing. “I don’t mind seeing him like this” I thought… as I too drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 4 – A Hidden Persona