'Beep! Beep!'

"Ugh...Be quiet! 10-no forget it! Just 20 more minutes or an hour or two at least!~....," I say, groggily and sleepily.

'Nope! Forget it! You are gonna wake up and that's final', says my annoying alarm.

"Fine!!!," I shout, moving a bit before sitting up and rubbing at my eyes. I pick up my phone and turn off my alarm.

"Finally!!~," I say as I sigh happily for it to be quiet again.

Oh shit! I completely forgot why I had turned on my alarm in the first place!

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Ugh," I grumble as I put on some clothes.

"Okay, relax~ It's all good;you got time~," I say not rushing as much as I was just doing.

"Ugh forget it!," I say to myself, shouting a bit. 

I start rushing around making sure I got everything before heading out. Crap! I forgot my wallet! I rush in, grab it, get in my car, turn the keys, and drive away, going to the store before I go somewhere because 1) I'm hungry 2) I need whatever the hell I need there! And again I'm hungry!!

I stop the car after arriving to my destination, and jump out slamming my door, not bothering to turn the car off.

"I'll just hurry up, get out, and be done with it!," I thought. Boy, was I wrong!

I walk in, taking a cart by the  register, and start walking around pushing my cart. I spot something and reach for it. At the same time someone else reaches for it. We pause and turn to each other.

"E-etalon?!," I stutter out, surprised.

"Murado?!," Etalon says, surprised as well.

"What are you doing here?," I ask.

"Um, shopping?," he answers, more like a question than a statement.

"Oh...Of course you are! Sorry, just ain't it weird that we see each other after just talking and the meeting the day before?," I ask.

"Must be fate!," Etalon says with a laugh.

I blush deep red. "Um sure fate...hahaha," I say, embarrassed and shy.

"Hmhm~ Yup~!," he replies with a big smile on his face.

"So um, did you need that...?," I ask, referring to the thing we both had reached for.

"Oh no, you can have it~! It's okay~~," he says.

"Oh, really?," I say happy, a little too happy, I'd say.

"Sure!," he tells me.

"Um okay!," I say taking it from him as he hands it to me.

"So, shopping?," he asks the obvious.

"Yeah, what else would I be doing?," I say, a little sassy.

"Hahaha Idk~ Loitering around the store, checking out people?," he says, wiggling his eyebrows.

'Dang, his eyebrows on fleek...so unfair~ Wait, why am I thinking about his eyebrows right now? Wow, Murado, way to be unweird!'

"And NOO! Why would I be loitering around a store, checking out people?," I ask him, a little hurt he would think that but also guilty cuz it's partly true.

"Um because you were?," he says, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I wasn't!," I say, shouting a bit. I whisper to myself,"At least not today..."

"Hm? What was that? I didn't hear that last part," he says, sad I won't speak up and tell him instead of whispering, but suspicious at the same time.

"N-nothing!," I say  forcibly, maybe a little too forced.

He catches on but doesn't ask anything more on the subject. Instead he asks," So you busy later?"

"Huh?," I ask, dumb written all over my face.

"I asked if you were busy later. So are you?," he asks, a bit serious.

Surprised at how serious he asked me," Um no?, why?"

"You wanna go get a drink later maybe?," he asks, embarrassed maybe, but I'm not sure.

"Sure! Sounds good!," I say, giving him a thumbs up.

He says," Okay I'll text you later then!" He waves later and walks away, hands in his pockets.

Oh shit! I'm gonna be late!!! 

I rush around the store scaring customers as I wizz past. I rush to the register, pay, leave, and then FINALLY leave. I rush to my next destination, jumping out of the car. 

I get out of my car and head into the shelter. I tell them my name and then they tell me right this way. 

I follow after, nervous, excited, warm with happiness, Idk what I was feeling the most. I go into the room they tell me to go into. I sit at the chair in front of the desk. The door opens and someone's voice, familiar, yet I can't put my finger on it, says," Murado Lanquez, is it? Well, nice to see you again!" 

I turn around, shocked to see, you guessed it, Etalon Thorn! I stutter out," H-hi Etalon! So you work here?" I try to sound casual but really inside I'm freaking out.

"Yeah I do, so what brings you here?," he asks, somewhat curious.

"Um well I came here one day and well- i kind of say had love at first sight with one of your cats and I came here to pay for him to take home if I could," I tell him, excited about the cat I would, possibly, be taking home.

"Oh, Georgie, is it?," he asks me as he walks to his desk files in hand, one open displaying the cat I wanted to take home.

"Yeah," I say, my voice full of happiness and excitement.

"Hahaha well sounds to me like you wanna take him home now and do whatever with him, huh?," he says.

"Yes! See, I love animals and when I saw him I thought,'I need to take him home with me,now.' I guess I didn't want to live alone anymore," I tell him.

"Hahahaha understandable~ See, that's the reason I wanted to work here. Because I love animals and they love me, as long as they don't do something to me that just makes it so hard not to just toss it out the window or something," he says, irritated.

I laugh,"Hahahaaha now that's funny but true! Like come on, what did I do to make you hate me? Amirite?"

"Totally!~ Sorry~ You probably wanna take him home now instead of talking to me for hours on end," he says with a laugh.

'Actually I wouldn't mind I think when he says that. Out loud though I say," Yeah I am kind of busy now so yeah~"

"Hhahaaha I get it cause me too! But still, are we still on for tonight?," he asks, all serious again.

"Yeah, why? Did you find out you were too busy for me?," I ask him jokingly.

He replies, all serious,"Of course I've got time for you! I planned this, didn't I?"

I say," I guess but I have a say in this, don't I?"

"Of course! So what's your answer? Hmmm?," he asks me meeting my eyes.

Huh, I didn't realize this before but dang..his eyes tho..They're really green...

I answer him with," Yeah, sure!~"

"Cool, cool~ Now fill out these papers for me?," he asks, kind of on the teasing side.

"Sure," I tell him.

15 mins. later ~~~~~~~~~

"Here." I hand them to him.

He says,"Okay now just go out that door and hand them this." 

He hands something to me and I take it. I go out the door like he told me to. I hand it to the people there and then they hand me his carrier with him in it.

I don't have to look inside to know he's in there: Georgie is all I need to know. I thank them then leave. 

I put him in the front seat, beside me, and buckle it in, for safety. I park in the driveway and take him inside with me. I put him in my room. I open the carrier and wait. Georgie peeks out then rushes to me, sits in my lap and starts to purr. 

I guess he likes me then. I pet him and cuddle with him, him cuddling and purring back. I pick him up and carry him to the kitchen. I put him in front of the food bowl and water I had already had ready beforehand for him. 

I head further into the kitchen, getting something to eat in the process. I check my messages and since there's nothing there, I pocket it back in my jeans. 

After Georgie is finished he starts following me around since I started to do chores because there was nothing else to do and because I procrastinate a lot, my house was really messy and the chores were adding up.

 He starts meowing and rubbing against my legs and I tell him,"Sorry! I can't cuddle right now since I'm busy but later I can, okay?"

He meows once and heads to my room. I follow, curious. He jumps up on my bed, and goes to lie down in between my pillows and looks as if he understood and is waiting for me.

Awww he understood! Cute~

I go and finish my chores.

_______________

A couple hours of dying of boredom of doing chores later.

I flop down on my bed, careful not to hurt or harm Georgie. I take out my phone and scroll through my messages and spot one from Etalon asking if we should meet at the bar at 7 or 8. I look at the clock and realize that it's past 7. I hurry up and rush around getting what I need and head out, locking the door behind me and checking to make sure Georgie didn't get out cause it's dangerous. Phew he didn't. I rush to my car, hop, in and drive to the bar. I park and head in. I sit at the bar and look around. 

Someone waves his hand in front of my face, startling me. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." He orders something and I order too. I turn toward Etalon and ask," So what brings you here? Trouble or dumb shit?"

He says,"Actually I came here for you so is that trouble or dumb shit?"

I say,"Guess not."

We both laugh and then talk about ourselves:whatever friends' talk about. He tells me he's 25. I tell him I'm 24. I also tell him I live alone which I briefly mentioned earlier. I tell him about how Georgie was when he came home. He laughs. And I do too. After that we talk about anything. We talk and talk, and get drunk and more drunk, until the bar is about to close so we leave, leaning on each other's shoulders'.

I take him to my house since it's closer and decide to get my car in the morning. Luckily I have the keys and no one will steal it.

We arrive at my house, waiting at my door, and waiting for me to open the door, fingers slipping and almost dropping the keys and not able to open the door when I have them.

"Here, let me," Etalon says, leaning on me, breathing in my ear, wrapping his hand around mine, around the keys.

I shudder when he does. Either hes oblivious or he felt it and doesn't bother telling me straight out.

We head in and shut the door, Georgie waiting for us at the door. He meows and walks ahead, heading for my room.

We follow and I suggest we each take a shower and tell him that he can borrow my clothes if he would like.

He grumbles out a response," Yeah, yeah, I'll go first and sure, if you won't mind, I'll borrow your clothes."

"Yeah, just wash them and give them back to me when you're done," I inform him.

"Okay," he says."I'm gonna go shower now. Uhhh where's your shower...?" He asks me, scratching his head, looking sheepish.

"Down the hall, turn right after you leave my room."I tell him.

"Thanks," he says then heads for the shower, with some of my clothes in his arms for after he takes a shower.

I sigh,"I'm tired."

I'll just sleep a bit. After like about 10 mins. he comes back shaking me awake.

"Mmmmm..."

"Wake up, Murado. It's your turn."

"Mmmmm...Okay.."

I get up and head off to take a shower. I come back 10 mins. later and see him laying on my bed, using my pillows for leverage. He has my computer and is typing something. He's also wearing glasses.

"Oh you done? Okay, well I hope you don't mind I use your computer. I also made us something to eat and there's also water too."

"Not at all," I tell him."And thanks."

He hands a plate and glass of water to me. I lay beside him like he is and place my plate on my stomach and eat as I watch him work.

At some point I fall asleep but I don't remember when. I wake up and realize that at some point we ended up, what's the word?, hugging, cuddling? Idk!

I'll just go back to sleep and enjoy this feeling of being loved. Because I've never had a feeling of love or was given any. I just want to feel loved even if it's just a little bit or lasts a little bit..please just this once.....let me feel loved.....

                        ..........................To be continued......................