Caden POV

"Did you get them?" My brother asked instead of greeting me as soon as I picked up the phone.

"If you’re referring to the money you sent then yeah, I got them. Do I even wanna know where you have them from?"

"Relax, little bro!" He laughed. "It’s legal this time."

"Doubt it!" I snorted.

"For real! I got a job as a security guard. So don’t worry about the bills; I’ll be helping you with that from now on!"

"For how long I wonder…"

"Look, Cade…" Logan’s voice suddenly became serious, "I plan on keeping this job. I’ve been clean for months. It’s gonna be different this time."

"I’ve heard that before," I remarked sardonically.

"I mean it! I’ll make it work out this time. You’ll see. I gotta go now ‘cause my shift is starting. I’ll be back in town this weekend to pick up a few things for this place they provided for me. See ya then?"

"Yeah, see ya."

I hung up before he responded and sighed.

I hoped things would work out this time. I hated this feeling; Logan had let me down one too many times exactly because a part of me couldn’t help but hope he’ll stay clean and things will be the same between us as they were when we were kids. As they were before mom went crazy.

I sighed again.

I hadn’t visited her in a while. Maybe I should go. Would she recognize me this time?

Either way, I’d feel terrible after I see the way she was now.

On impulse, I reached for the phone and started dialing Alice’s number which I knew by heart. I stopped myself before I pressed the call button.

What was I doing? Sure, I got upset just thinking about the state mom was in but why did I instinctively sought Alice?

"Because she calms you down." A voice inside my head said. "Like our very own antidepressant."

Yeah… And what did I offer her in return? I just made her worry about me time and time again.

I looked at the envelope with the money Logan had sent.

What if…? I meant to do it anyway. Why not now? I had already paid the bills for this month.

Yeah, I’ll do it now!

Grabbing the envelope I got out of the house.

*****

Alice POV

My phone rang and I smiled when I saw who was calling.

"Hey, Cade! What’s up?"

"What are you doing now?"

"Just finished with my homework. Why?"

"Are your aunts there?" He asked instead of replying to my question. I was getting used to him doing that.

"Only Flora. But she’s busy reading her books."

"How long will that last?"

"At least a couple of hours."

"And when will the other two come back?"

"At about the same time."

"Perfect. I’m coming over."

"Why don’t we just…" but he had already hung up.

I sighed. The boy needed to learn some manners!

Good news was that Caden was coming over. I wasn’t worried about Aunt Flora finding out the boy was here. As long as we weren’t too noisy, she wouldn’t notice. She got completely spaced out when she was reading her books. What were they about anyway? I should ask her sometimes.

A noise made me turn my head towards the window just as Caden was coming through it.

As usual he was wearing just a pair of blue jeans and a singlet. Today it was dark blue. He also had a rucksack on his back.

Hmm, I’d never seen him with one before. When we were at school he carried only a notebook and a pen.

As soon as both his feet were on the floor, he hastily removed the bag from his back and opened it. What was his hurry?

I answered my own question when I saw what he got out of it.

"Oh, my God!" I squealed. "Caden, that’s a kitten! It’s so cute! Can I hug it?"

"You can do whatever you want; it’s for you."

My eyes grew wide. Was he serious?

"For… For me?"

"You wanted one, right?"

"Yes!" I all but screamed taking the little grey-stripped fur ball from him and snuggling it. "Oh, it’s so cute! It’s exactly what I wanted!"

"Here, you’ll need these as well."

He took a few more things out of the backpack: a twin bowl, a can of pet food, a small fluffy blanket, and a cat teaser toy, and placed all of them on the floor.

I put the kitten on the blanket and went to give Caden a hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…" I started placing kisses all over his face with every “thank you”. "… thank you, thank you, thank you…"

He laughed and turned his head slightly probably to say something, but just as he moved I tried to place a kiss on the side of his face. As a result I missed his cheek and our lips brushed.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed, giving him a sheepish smile. Oh, man, my cheeks were getting hot!

"That’s…" he cleared his throat, "It’s okay…"

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" I questioned, purposefully changing the subject and going back to the kitten that was watching us with its head slightly tilted to the side.

"Boy. What are you going to name it?"

"Chess."

"Chess?" The boy raised an eyebrow at me. "That’s a weird name. I didn’t even know you liked the game."

"Huh? Oh, no. Chess is short for Cheshire; you know, like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland."

"Leave it to you to think of a name like that!" He shook his head amused.

"You know what?" I queried, taking a closer look at the kitten. "If I didn’t know better, I’d say this is a purebred Maine Coon."

"It is."

"What? Caden, I can’t accept it; those are expensive!"

"Don’t worry, little Alice," he sat on the floor next to me and Chess. "I got him from a shelter."

"The pet shelter had purebred Maine Coons?" I asked skeptically and looked Caden over. Was he lying to me?

"Yes, they had," he nodded with no hesitation in his voice whatsoever. Maybe he was telling the truth after all. "Apparently the woman who owned their mother had to leave town in a hurry and didn’t have time to sell the litter so she just took the kittens to the nearest shelter. The moment I entered and saw them I thought they were something you’d like. I picked the only grey one ’cause I remember you told me you liked grey-stripped cats."

"So that’s why you were asking all those questions!" I knew he wasn’t just making small talk over the phone that day!

He answered me with a sly smile.

"Yeah… I knew a kitten would make you happy…" he nervously readjusted his position on the floor, looking a bit uneasy to admit the next part. "And I really wanted to make you happy, Alice."

"Thanks!" I gave him a hug. "That’s so…"

I clapped a hand over my mouth.

"That’s so what?" He asked curious to know what I meant to say.

"I was going to call you “sweet” but I remembered you told me not to because it wasn’t manly enough."

"Oh, that!" He laughed and ruffled his short black hair. "I guess we can make an exception this time."

"Thanks, Caden!" I squeezed him tighter. "That’s really sweet of you. Oh, and by the way, Maine Coons are amongst my favorite cat breeds."

"Didn’t know that," he admitted as I let go of him. "To be honest, I didn’t even know the kittens were purebred until the vet that worked there told me. Which reminds me…" he got up and reached in the back pocket of his jeans, "You'll also need this."

Caden gave me a small book. It was really thin, probably just about twenty pages if not even less, and dark blue.

"It has the vaccinations they already made in the clinic that works with the shelter and the dates for the ones you’ll have to make sure he gets. The doctor put a list with his feeding schedule as well."

"Thanks! I just keep on thank you today, don’t I? Anything else I should know about Chess?"

"Give him milk mixed with a bit of pet food for the next few days and gradually start adding more pet food until he gets used to it."

"That all?"

"I think so…" He furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, that seems to be it. If I remember anything else, I’ll call you. I’m gonna go now before your aunts get back."

I got up as well.

"I really can’t thank you enough!" I hugged him again. I wanted to give him a few more kisses but stopped myself when I remembered our lips brushing.

"Glad you liked him." He hugged back.

"I don’t like him, I love him!" I pulled out of the embrace to look at his face. "And the fact that he’s a gift from you makes him all the more special."

Something flashed in the boy’s eyes and for a moment he just stared at me. After that his signature amused smirk replaced whatever emotion he felt before.

"Glad to hear that as well!" He said in a low tone and out the window Caden went.

*****

I heard the front door of our house close shut and realized my aunts had returned. I immediately stopped playing with Chess and ran down the stairs, jumping over the last few steps in my hurry to get to the first floor.

"Aunt Rosy, can you drive me to the pet store?" I pleaded without even greeting the two of them which made Azalea shake her head at me with disapproval.

"Are you going to buy that kitten you wanted?" Rose asked with a smile.

"Oh, I already got the kitten. It was…" I stopped before I said “a present from a friend” because I knew they would want to know who exactly that friend was. "It was in a pet shelter. I got it from there. The vet had it vaccinated and all but I need to bye a brush, a litter box and maybe a pet bed. Not sure about the last; I could just let Chess sleep on mine."

"Chess?" Flora repeated, coming down the stairs. She must’ve heard me run and probably came to see what the commotion was all about. "Is that short for Cheshire?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I thought it is appropriate; you are Alice after all."

"I see nothing appropriate in the name," Azalea remarked. "It is childish, Alissa, that’s what it is. Anyway! You can’t go because Rose has work to do."

My enthusiasm went down the drain. It was times like this I wished I had a driving license. But with me getting easily distracted and often getting lost, it was probably not a good idea to operate such dangerous machinery as a car. I was just about to tell them that Chess really needed a litter box ASAP when Aunt Flora spoke again.

"I could take her!" She suggested, surprising us all with her wish to go out. I didn’t even know she could drive.

"Are you certain?" Azalea asked worried. "Perhaps I should come as well."

"Azalea, dear, I’m a grown woman. I’m quite capable of taking my niece to a pet store on my own. Besides, you know I like animals."

"If you’re sure…" Azalea didn’t seem convinced but nodded in agreement. And with a wave of her hand she dismissed us.

*****

"I gotta admit, Aunty, I’m also surprised you’re getting out of the house," I commented, buckling the seatbelt of our small green car. I didn’t really like this color for a vehicle but we were the Greens so I guess in a way it suited us.

"Well, I can’t let poor little Chess suffer because he doesn’t have everything he needs," she spoke while driving away from our house. "But I got to admit: it was thoughtful of that young man to provide you with the other things the kitten is going to use. I suppose that’s why you are getting only a litter box and a brush."

I was readjusting the spaghetti straps of my brown top but I froze at her words. Did she say what I thought I heard her say?

"Wh-what young man?" My voice shook as I spoke and she giggled.

"The one that climbed out of your window a while ago. I’m guessing he must’ve given you Chess because you haven’t been out of the house all day."

I muttered something incoherent. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say anyway.

"Oh, don’t worry, dear!" Flora reassured me. "I won’t tell Elanor or Azalea about him. I think it’s terribly romantic the way he snuck in to present you with your gift."

She sighed wistfully. Romantic? Did she think Caden and I…

"Oh, no, no, no!" I shook my head vigorously. "We’re not like that! I mean, we’re not together."

"Really? Than why does he keep on sneaking in and out of our house?"

Keeps on? Just how many times had she seen him? And why hadn’t she said anything before? Flora must’ve noticed my perplexed expression because she went on.

"My bedroom overlooks the garden. Surely, know that, dear! So, yes, I’ve seen him before."

"Why haven’t you said anything then?"

"Because I figured it was none of my business." She shrugged. "Although I was worried that time he was injured; I noticed the bowl with the potion you made. But I have faith in your knowledge of herbs, so I kept quiet."

I looked at my aunt. It was like I saw her for the first time. I’ve always thought she was the head-in-the-clouds type of person. I never knew she could be so astute.

She giggled once more as a knowing glint lit her green eyes.

"Just because I’m off to my own dream world, Alice, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost touch with the real one. You should know; after all, you are very much like me. Only, you have better social skills. That is why I feel more confident around you."

"Thank you! For not telling the others about Caden."

"Caden? What a beautiful name your boy has."

"I told you, Aunty, we’re just friends!"

"If you say so!" Amusement danced in her eyes. "But the last time somebody had been sneaking into our house was when Rose’s lover came to visit her."

"Aunt Rose has a lover?" I asked amazed. How had I missed that?

"Oh, honey it was a long time ago. And we rarely speak about him." Sorrow showed on her face. "The two of them were very much in love. We were sure they’d get married one day. But the boy was a soldier. He died in battle. Rose was terribly upset afterwards. It took months for her to speak to us and start sleeping and eating properly. He was her one and only love. I think that is why she never got married."

"Oh!" I exclaimed quietly getting a bit sad as well. Even though I hadn’t known the man, he was obviously important to Rose and I was upset that she had to go through such a terrible experience as loosing someone dear. "Aunty? If it is not too personal, why haven’t you and Azalea married?"

"Azalea is the eldest of four sisters and she has always been too busy taking care of the rest of us. As for me…" she sighed, "I haven’t met my prince yet. I guess I have myself to blame for that: I’m shy and I have high expectations. I really should stop reading all those romance novels! They fill my head with such unrealistic view about the male part of the population."

"So that's what her books were about!"

"We’re here," she announced, turning the engine off.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. We both smiled as soon as we stepped in the shop. It wasn’t big but it had a variety of pet goods and I had a feeling that here I’ll find everything I needed for Chess.

"Oh, they have canaries!" She exclaimed merrily. "I’ve always wanted to have one or two but Azalea would hear nothing of it. I’m going to take a closer look."

She left me and headed to the far end of the shop where the bird cages were.

"Alice? What are you doing here, kid?" A familiar voice asked and I turned to see who it was.

"Will!" I exclaimed, seeing one of the regulars at Cillian’s. "I was just picking up a few things for my kitten. What about you?"

"This is my pet shop. What do you need?"

"A litter box, a brush and a pet bed… A bigger one ‘cause Maine Coons can become rather large."

"No problem," he turned to the side and saw my aunt for the first time. She was smiling gently at the birds, leaning slightly forward to get closer to the cage. "And who might that astonishing creature be?"

" "That astonishing creature" would be one of my aunts." I tried to hold back a giggle because of the way he watched her. He was obviously checking her out but not in that rude, blunt manner. No. The look he was giving her was interested, yet respectful.

"Let me introduce you! Oh, Aunty! Can you come here for a sec?"

"What is it, dear?" She asked, approaching me and stopped when she noticed Will.

"I wanted you to meet a friend of mine. His name is William. He owns the shop. William, this is my Aunt Flora."

"Delighted to meet you, Ms. Flora." He kissed her hand and she turned tomato red. "Please, call me Will!"

I was barely holding back my laughter seeing my aunt’s wide-eyed stunned expression.

"Th-the pleasure’s mine!" She stuttered.

They stared at each other for a while before she cleared her throat and turned to me.

"So, what did you need again, dear?"

"Oh, yes!" I clapped a hand over my forehead. I had momentarily forgotten why we came here. "Will, can you show me the pet beds?"

"Sure!" He led the way leaving my aunt at the counter. "Your aunt is…"

"Really shy?" I suggested helpfully.

"Well, yes, but I find that kind of cute. Is she married?"

"Nope," I tried to hide another smile.

"Is she seeing someone?"

"Nah."

"Do you think she’d go out with me then?"

"Ask her and we’ll see! But as I already said she’s terribly shy."

We had arrived at the pet beds section and I picked out a round one with a flower pattern. I got the other things I needed and we headed for the counter. Just as Flora and I were about to leave, Will turned to her with a decided expression. But as he spoke it was obvious he wasn’t as determined as he tried to appear.

"I… umm…" I couldn’t help but smile this time. I’ve never seen the guy nervous before. "I… I hope you have a nice day!"

Have a nice day?! What was that? Wasn’t he supposed to ask my aunt out?

I raised an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged, giving me a sheepish smile.

Chicken!

"Thank you! You too!" My aunt’s face got a bit red again and she hastily left the shop with me in tow.

"So… What do you think about my friend William?" I queried while buckling up.

"What should I be thinking about your friend William?" She replayed a bit nervously, doing the same.

"I don’t know." I shrugged, trying to sound casual. "Just tell me your first impression."

"He seems…" she cleared her throat and started the car. "He’s very charming."

I giggled seeing her face turn red again. Charming, huh? I guess he was good-looking for someone his age.

"There is nothing to giggle about, Alice!"

"Would you go out with him if he asks?"

"I… I guess I would," she admitted, chewing on her lower lip. "But I doubt he’d be interested in someone like me."

Oh, how wrong you were, Aunty! How wrong you were!

*****

A/N: If you want more Alice/Caden/Chess time, check out my one-shot “When the human’s away, the cat doesn’t play.” As a time frame, it is set AFTER this story, so you should probably finish The Green Girl first, otherwise there will be spoilers ;)