The vet had given the kitty a clean bill of health. He was underfed, but other than that he was fine. After the vet Emily had gone to the local pet store and bought some necessities for the kitty before heading home. When she'd gotten home and set up his food and water bowls he had eaten so much Emily was honestly worried he would throw up later. After gorging himself he had taken a nap and was now playing with a jingling ball on the floor, batting it around excitedly. Emily was in the kitchen making herself dinner and pondering what she should name the cat; she couldn't just call him kitty forever. She thought about his previous anxious behavior and his current exuberant behavior when it suddenly came to her. Jack. The cat was excitable and anxious like a rabbit, a jackrabbit. Turning from the stove, Emily made her way over to where the kitty was sprawled out on the floor with one arm under the sofa, no jingle ball in sight.

"Silly little Jack," she said with a giggle. The cat flipped over yanking his arm out from under the sofa in the process startled by her voice. Emily couldn't help but giggle at his wide eyes even as she tried to calm him.

"It's okay, Jack," she cooed softly. "It's just me. I won't hurt you." Emily extended her hand to him and he sniffed it before rolling to his feet and padding over to her lap where he curled up and started to purr.

"Sweet kitty," she murmured, softly stroking his fur. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket. "I bet that's Jimin telling me he made it home safely." She told the sleepy kitty in her lap. Jack's head swiveled at the sound of her voice. He looked up at her with bright intelligent eyes. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She saw that she was right and grinned to herself.

Good! I'm glad! She typed out. Jimin replied almost immediately.

Are you having fun with Angela? :)

Actually, no. I was on the way there and I found a hungry stray cat so I took him to the vet and brought him home with me.

Cool! Are you going to keep him?

Also, sorry that you didn't get to hang out with Angela.

I am! I named him Jack.

Wanna see?

It's okay! We rescheduled for tomorrow night.

Sure! I'd love to see him. I love cats!

"Okay, Jack," Emily said, adjusting the kitty so she could take a selfie with him. "I"m going to show Jimin what a handsome kitty you are." Jack started struggling as she got him into position. Just before she could snap the picture he managed to wiggle out of her arms and race away toward her bedroom.

"This cat," Emily said in amusement as she pulled herself up off the floor and made her way after the wayward cat. She caught him and tried again, but every time she tried to take a picture he ran away. She even tried to catch a snapshot of him with the same outcome.

Giving up, Emily made her way back to the living room and flopped down on the couch. She sent Jimin another text.

Apparently Jack is the most camera shy cat in the world.

I'm sorry. :(

He answered almost immediately.

That's alright! Maybe some other time.

Emily toyed with the edge of her phone, considering inviting Jimin over for a movie night or something. She was about to type out the message when she realized what a jerk of a friend she would be if she cancelled on Angela for a cat and then invited Jimin to come hang out and meet her kitty. She shot back a quick message to Jimin and then opened up her messages with Angela, inviting her to come have dinner, watch some movies, and meet Jack. While she was waiting for Angela to reply Emily got up and made her way to her bedroom to change into something comfortable.

When she entered her room, she saw Jack curled up on her pillow. She smiled softly at the sweet kitty and turned to her dresser to retrieve an oversized T-shirt and some sweatpants. Having grabbed her clothes she crossed the room to her hamper. She started to pull her shirt over her head when she heard the sound of Jack leaping to the floor, she looked over her shoulder in time to see him streaking out of the room. She finished changing and went to leave the room when she noticed that somehow one of her favorite ties for when she cosplays on her pillow.

"How did that get here?" She murmured, moving to the bed and picking up the tie, which was still warm from Jack laying on it. Emily turned and looked at her closet door and found it closed. She was sure that not only had her tie been hanging with her Hufflepuff vest in her closet, but that she had left her closet open when she left this morning. "Weird," she muttered, opening the closet and returning the tie to its rightful place. Emily shut the lights off and made her way back to the living room. Her phone sat on the couch, the light in the corner flashing blue signifying that she had messages. She picked her phone up and crossed to the kitchen reading her messages as she went.

Angela had replied:

Yes!! I would love that!

I'll be there ASAP!

Oh my gosh.

You.

Are.

Saving.

Me.

Ralph made stew. Squirrel stew. WHO DOES THAT?

Emily chuckled at Angela's messages until she got to the squirrel stew bit. Then she gagged. Where did Ralph even get squirrels for stew anyway? Were they roadkill he picked up? Did he hunt them himself? Was there even any place nearby that he could legally hunt them? Emily didn't have a chance to consider the matter further because someone was knocking at her door.

"Coming!" She called, hurrying toward the front door. She looked through the peephole in the door and smiled when she saw Angela. Unlocking the door, she pulled it open, stepping back to let Angela in.

"EMILY," Angela all but wailed. "He tried to feed me squirrels. SQUIRRELS! Doesn't he love me at all??" Emily tried to hold in her laughter and failed. Clutching her stomach and laughing much to Angela's dismay. It wasn't long before Angela joined her in her laughter. Jack padded toward them and peered around the corner, curious about what all the racket was about. As their laughter subsided and Emily shut the door Angela's eyes latched onto Jack's inquisitive little face peering around the corner. Angela gasped, causing Emily to jump and Jack to flinch from the sound.

"Hello, cute kitty," Angela cooed, crouching down to his level. Jack took a hesitant step toward her, his tail flicking behind him nervously. "It's alright buddy," she said calmly, "You can trust me." Jack crept closer and sniffed Angela tentatively, tail whipping back and forth, before he suddenly stilled and looked up at her. Emily looked on, curious about Jack and Angela's interaction. It seemed that Jack had come to the conclusion that Angela could be trusted. He closed the distance between them and Angela picked him up, snuggling him to her chest as purrs broke forth from his.

"Well, now that I have your cat wrapped around my little finger," Angela said, a triumphant grin on her face. "Let's get this girls' night started!"

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!