Theatre Geek - (R.B.) - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

JULIA WOKE up to the sun's rays warning her face. For a moment, she blinked groggily, her vision adjusting to the sudden light. Sitting up slowly, she ran a hand through her blonde hair, glancing around her bedroom. Seeing as it was a Saturday and there weren't any classes, she contemplated snuggling up inside her covers again, when a loud buzzing sound came from her cellphone, indicating a notification.
Her mother sent her a text message.
Sighing, she threw off her covers and headed to the bathroom. After showering, brushing her teeth and getting dressed, she grabbed her phone and exited her room, leaving an unmade bed behind. As expected, her aunt wasn't at home, probably busy with another early morning shift at the hospital. However, as soon as she walked out of her home and locked the door behind her, a cream-coloured cat leaped out from behind the bushes, blocking her way.
It purred, looking up at her expectantly with amber-colored eyes as it rubbed itself against her leg in greeting. Startled, she bent down to get a better look, petting him softly. "Where'd you come from, little guy?"
It just meowed in response. Curious, she examined its neck and found a little silver tag engraved with the name 'caspian'.
"Caspian? Oh! You're Ricky's cat, aren't you?" She recalled Ricky mentioning to her a few days ago that his cousins had given him their cat to take care of while they were off for vacation.
Caspian purred in confirmation, butting her hand with his head softly. Julia couldn't help but smile as she stroked him behind the ears tenderly. Who knew such an insufferable person could accept to care for such an adorable, sweet cat?
"Did he leave you out here all alone? Poor little guy," she sympathized.
The cat jumped up slightly, meowing as he pawed at her leg, and Julia had understood what he meant. Gently picking him up off the ground, she grinned as she held him up to her face, letting him lick her cheek a little. "You're a cute one, aren't you?"
The cat meowed, seemingly in agreement.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
Watching as Caspian curled up in her arms with a contented purr, she tucked her cell-phone safely in her pocket and set out to the nearby park.
Caspian was missing.
This wasn't strange, nor was it an uncommon occurrence. That damn cat was nowhere to be found about 90% of the time, more or less, but that didn't mean that anything bad could've happened to him. Ricky recalled practically pleading to his cousin about him not agreeing to take care of the cat, but alas, he didn't succeed. Especially when she brought up all of those favours he owed her in the past.
Ricky sighed as he bent down on his palms and knees and stuck his head under the bed, kicking a pair of his stinky socks away. "Cas, buddy? You there?"
No response.
He sat up, ruffling a hand through his hair before getting to his feet, stretching. Caspian had probably slipped out when Ricky's parents had left in the morning for the said 'important business.' He didn't need a specialist to tell him what that meant.
Either way, Caspian tended to do that a lot. Let's just say he wasn't the most responsible owner.
Giving up on his search momentarily, he walked over to the open window and leaned out slightly, relishing the feeling of the cool morning breeze on his face. The sun was shining and he felt strangely content. Maybe he should take a small hike around the neighborhood's park? It was the perfect weather, and he kind of needed to clear his mind.
Having made his decision, he slipped on his old sneakers and hooked his arms through his favorite jean jacket, heading right out of his house the second later.
Julia took a deep breath, choosing to not read the rest of the text message. Gosh, her parents were so infuriating sometimes. Couldn't they see that the one and possibly only time they could see their daughter - how much it would hurt her? How on Earth could they let this slide, and how do they tell her? Through a stupid text.
Feeling her anxiety rising, she took another breath and slowly counted from one to ten in her mind.
One, two, three, four--
"Hey Jules."
A deep voice interrupted her train of thought, causing her eyes to snap open warily. Who could possibly be up at this ungodly hour on a Saturday morning? Well, apart from her, of course.
When she saw Ricky standing across from her, an unusually nervous smile on his face, she sighed.
"Why are you here?" She muttered, clicking her phone shut and slipping it back into her pocket.
"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." His gaze shifted to a familiar cream-colored cat which was lounging lazily under the sun, nestled on her lap. "I see you've stolen my cat."
Julia shrugged as she mindlessly continued to stroke the cat from behind the ears. "He was just hanging around outside, I guess."
"Well, then I can't really hold that against you, can I?" Casually taking off his jacket, he plopped himself down on the grass next to her, crossing his legs. She didn't protest to him joining her, just merely continued to caress the cat carefully.
"I'm pretty sure Caspian likes me better anyways."
Ricky almost scoffed. "Oh, please. I'm his favorite. Well, after my cousin, of course." He held out his arms patiently, gesturing for the cat to come to him. "Come on, Cas. Right here, buddy."
Caspian merely tilted his head to one side, regarding his temporary caretaker for a few moments before snuggling up against Julia's hand, purring.
"See?" Julia gave him a small, smug smile.
Ricky glared at the cat. "Traiter."
"Meow."
She hugged the cat close briefly before offering him back to Ricky reluctantly, sighing. "Here."
"It's fine, if you want to see him again, you should just drop by my place in the next few days. You know, before I've to return him." Nonetheless, he took him back into his arms, frowning a little.
He shrugged as he leaned back and rested his palms on the ground, letting Caspian curl up on his lap. Julia noticed how his eyes glinted in the sunlight, making his eyes sparkle more than usual.
"Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I come down here and get some air. It's like any prior sleepiness just winds down for a while, letting me de-stress."
Julia nodded understandingly, she knew how calming it was to feel the air move through your hair, and to hear nothing but the sweet sound of silence. "I know how you feel. It feels comforting, I think."
"Guess we have more in common than I thought." He gave her his famous Ricky Bowen grin, the one that was known for making numerous girls blush and turn doe-eyed and giggly. That didn't happen to her, but it did make her heart skip a beat.
"Yeah, I guess." She said quietly, turning to face him to find that his face was only mere inches away from hers. Up close, he smelt like her favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream, and something else…
"Listen," he leaned away from her so they were a comfortable space apart. He rubbed the back of his neck, as if he was nervous to say something. "I'm just, I'm sorry for...for whatever happened at the drama room that day."
Julia's mind was momentarily stuck in a daze, trying to remember what it was that happened between them. It was...oh.
"It's okay," she then said, her voice just above a whisper. "You probably didn't mean it."
Ricky cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like dust had just entered his lungs. "Yeah. Right."
Shaking his head, he got to his feet abruptly, the cat in his arms. "Er--I--I just remembered. I gotta go finish my algebra homework. I'll er--see you later." His head down, he hurriedly started to walk away, leaving Julia to stare at him with a puzzled look on her face.
She was in his class…
They didn't have any algebra homework.