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Arlo wasn't the type to be fond of felines, but his conscience was killing him. Drenched in the rain in front of his door was a small, black kitten.
Judging from it's size, it seemed to be around 2 months old. It looked really weak, and it also has some wounds. The blond was sure that if he just left it in front of his door, the kitten wouldn't survive.
So there he is now, wrapping a towel towards the poor thing, all while browsing the net, not knowing what to do.
Warmth, milk and what next? Arlo doesn't have any knowledge about taking care of this kind of... Creatures. He didn't even liked cats. They hiss, and scratch you at any attempt of petting them, and they're jerks.
They're like the animal equivalent of John, and Arlo hated them.
Still, even if he hated John, if ever he saw him in front of his door drenched in the rain and covered in wounds, he'd still help him.
Arlo wasn't that terrible
And so, there he was, nursing this creature. He've already given it a lukewarm bath, cleaning it's wounds. The internet said that he shouldn't clean the wounds with alcohol or with hydrogen peroxide, and since he doesn't really have any proper medicine, he just washed it it warm water, and some soap.
It was even hissing at him as he did, inflicting some scratches on his hands and arms while he's doing it. The kitten really did reminded him of John, and with it's black fur, golden eyes and aggressive personality.
The cat was male too, and Arlo couldn't pick any more fitting person to name it after.
John.
From now on, he's calling it John. It would only be for awhile though, once the kitten has gotten much healthier, he'll give it to Elaine, or maybe Remi. Then, they could give whatever name they want.
Arlo couldn't really imagine taking care of this disaster for a long time.
Still, since the kitten was living here now, he'll have to give it some food. Arlo have researched about it, and he've learned that he needs to feed it 4x a day with some canned food made for kittens. Since the blond doesn't really own any cats, he obviously doesn't have anything to feed it with.
As a result, the blond headed for shopping. He made it quick since no one would look after the feline. He just bough a couple of cat food, cat milk, two bowls, and... A small sweater for kitten that Arlo found on sale.
As soon as he got home, he fed it immediately. It was weird, he was excited with seeing it eat, and when he petted it once it was done eating, it didn't hissed, scratched--- or attempted to bite him.
Instead, it purred, it nuzzled it's head on Arlo's hands, and maybe, owning a feline isn't so bad.
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3 months have passed since Arlo adopted the kitten, or a cat now-- and the blond was almost freaking out rushing to the grocery.
He'll buy John other types of cat foods, since his cat didn't ate anything he gave him. Was he getting tired of the taste? Arlo couldn't tell what was wrong. His cat has been, lying the whole day, refusing to eat.
Usually, when he calls it's name after getting home, it would approach and nuzzle him on his legs, and even sit on his lap, but today, there was no response. The bowl he left there before going to his university was also untouched, and it was concerning.
It was almost night now, and Arlo still couldn't tell what was wrong. All he knows is, that doesn't want his cat to die from starvation.
Thus, he grabbed every kind of cat foods he could find-- anything as long as his cat would eat, and he did it with speed.
However, as he was paying for it, he saw John.
The actual John who isn't a cat, standing in front of him in a line, with his basket containing... Cat foods?
So John owns a cat too, huh?
The blond just stared at the dark haired man, and dark haired man stared back at him, blinking.
Should Arlo ask John about why his cat wasn't eating? He might know a lot of things about cats.
"John." he spoke, "It's nice seeing you."
John blinked at him again.
Why does this feel so awkward?
John was able to forgive him before Arlo graduated, but they weren't close-- and they're nowhere near from being friends. They're more neutral now, he assumed.
"I would be lying if I said that it's nice seeing you too." John said.
Under any normal circumstances, Arlo would be annoyed. But he felt desperation right now.
"So, you own a cat." Arlo started again.
The dark haired man stared at Arlo's full basket, "And I'm guessing that you own cats."
"Just one."
"For owning just a single cat, aren't you buying a lot of food?" the dark haired man asked him.
"The thing is, he refuse to eat anything. He hasn't eaten anything for today, even the food that I gave him earlier." Arlo took a deep breath, "Do you perhaps have an idea why?"
"Well, maybe he's sick. I'll take him to the vet as soon as I could if I were you. Or maybe just call Elaine, she might know how to heal animals since she's been healing you while we're on Wellston."
It was now John's turn on the cashier, and Arlo felt more and more worried for his pet instead of being annoyed at the dark haired man's remarks.
After paying for his stuff, John was about to go, but Arlo stopped him.
"John wait!"
The dark haired man stood there, waiting for Arlo and the cashier to finish. Thankfully, he didn't left, in which the blond was really glad.
"Where's the nearest vet from here?"
"You stopped me just to ask that? You could have just searched it yourself."
"I need it to be immediate." he sighed, "Please, John. Just tell me where it is."
"The nearest vet is on Pebble street. It takes around an hour to get there. Like I said, you can search for--"
"John, can you take me there?"
"No."
And the blond kept staring at him.
"I said no, there's an essay I have to do."
"It's Friday, you can do it tomorrow, John." Arlo said, "And besides, you don't have the best grades last time I remembered."
"If you want to ask a favor from me, I'd be picking my words carefully."
"Please John, I know I did some terrible things to you bef--"
John sighed, "You already apologized over that. I don't need your drama."
"Please?"
And to Arlo's surprise, John agreed-- although it took a lot of work to get him to agree. They even almost had a fight, but thankfully, it didn't end with them yelling nor fighting.
As soon as John agreed, they went towards Arlo's apartment first to take his pet, and then, Arlo booked a ride for them to go on Pebble street.
The dark haired man was on his phone the whole trip, and the blond couldn't help but stare at him as he pet his pet's head.
It's been three years, and John looked much calmer than he last saw him. Since they've almost argued, he would have expected him to have his brows furrowed.
Last time he've heard, John took therapies, and that he stopped for a year to calm his mind again. If Arlo remembered, John was the same age as him right? Yet he stopped for a year before going into Wellston, and he stopped for another year again after that.
The blond assumed that John's on his first year of college.
"What are you looking at?" John looked weirded out, and the blond turned his head down, looking at the sleeping feline on his lap instead.
"Nothing."
Unexpectedly, John started extending one of his arms, gently stroking the cat's head. Arlo's pet opened it's eyes, purring afterwards.
Arlo never thought that John was capable of being gentle, it was almost a surprise, but what's surprising was that 'John' didn't attempt to bite John. When Elaine tried petting it once, it bit her.
Maybe, his cat really was sick today.
"What's his name?" the dark haired man asked.
"Jo- Joan--"
The blond couldn't tell John that he named his cat after him. It would be embarassing.
For tonight, his cat's name is Joan. Yes, it's only for tonight cause after this, he probably wouldn't see John often.
"Joan huh..."
Did John noticed? He hoped not.
For the remaining trip, John continued to stroke his cat's head, and when they were near, he pointed the directions to the driver, until they've finally arrived.
There was a waiting list, but it's only 3 of them in line. Arlo listed his' and his pet's name and information, and John took care of his pet for awhile, sitting there. After filling up the form, the blond sat beside him, and he couldn't help but strike a conversation.
Since John appeared harmless.
"I never expected you to like cats."
"They're cute."
It seemed like the blond has already ran out of words to say. On his last year, he spent a lot of his time resenting, arguing, and dealing with John, that even though John has 'forgiven' him, it still felt awkward talking with John.
They're no longer enemies, but they're not friends either.
Instead of continuing to initiate another conversation, he just let him be, waiting for their turn. It didn't really take that long, in fact, only around fifteen minutes before it was their turn.
"Arlo and John!" the vet's assistant called.
Arlo stood up, and the dark haired man's eyes went wide, realizing something. It sinked in to the blond that he wrote his pet's actual name instead of 'Joan'.
Thankfully, the dark haired man didn't say anything, and the blond didn't bother looking back either, rushing to have his cat checked.
He'll deal with this later.
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It turns out that his cat was suffering a toothache. It was what the vet told him, and thankfully, it wasn't anything serious.
There were no medications required, and the vet has taken care of it using her ability. His pet was lively, now, and the blond would make sure that he eats once they arrived home.
After exiting the vet's room, John was staring at him with a very odd expression on his face, which was understandable to the blond. After all, it really was weird.
John knows that the blond hated him in highschool, so why would Arlo name him after his pet?
When they headed out, everything was more awkward then before. Whenever Arlo stares at him, he'll look away, and his face looked--
"You named him after me."
There it is, the conversation that Arlo thought he could avoid.
"Because he looks like you."
"What? Are you blind? It doesn't look like me at all!"
"You're the one who's blind, John." the blond suddenly stopped walking, raising his cat and holding it beside John's face, "Black fur, golden eyes, and looks mad all the time-- if you were an animal, this is what you'll look like."
"I'm starting to think that you're obsessed with me." John said, laughing awkwardly after that.
"Don't flatter yourself too much, I just found him drenched in the rain outside of my house."
"Wow, how kind Arlo!" the dark haired man mocked him, "Anyway, this is embarassing..."
"It sure is. I wouldn't have made-up 'Joan' if it isn't. I can't really believe that I named it after you either, but it was supposed to be temporary. " the blond reasoned.
"If I knew that I'll adopt him, I would've given him a new name." he explained, "I'm only planning to keep him until his wounds have healed, but-- he isn't so bad. I tried giving another name believe me, but he wouldn't approach me unless I called him 'John'".
John laughed about what the blond said, and Arlo couldn't help but feel... Weird.
It's strange seeing John laugh like this.
Suddenly, the dark haired man started pulling something from his bag. He brought his phone out, browsing something as soon as he've taken it.
Then, he showed Arlo a picture of his cat. A big orange tabby with blue eyes, and around it's neck was a collar with a name,
Arlo.
"What..."
It was his turn to look at John suspiciously, because, why in the hell would John also named his cat after him?
"My therapist suggested me to get a pet, and my friend's cat happened to have newborn kittens. She couldn't raise them all, so she gave me one of them." he told the blond, "I named him Arlo the same reason why you named him John. Weird coincidence, I guess."
"You have friends?"
John frowned at him.
"I'm only kidding, John." this time, it was the blond who laughed, "Pretty funny how you called me blind and obsessed when I couldn't even see any resemblance between me and your cat other than the blue eyes."
"That's it, I'll go now. After all, your cat looks fine and healthy now, and I have to feed mine since it's already 9:16 at night."
"Wait!"
"What again?!"
"I left my keys."
"It's not my problem, good night--"
"You can't be serious."
"What do you even want me to do about it?"
"Let me stay for the night."
After a lot of convincing, John ended up letting Arlo and his cat stay on his apartment, it really was an annoying thing, since their cats seemed to dislike each other, and John's cat doesn't seemed to like another cat eating on his own bowl.
They kept on hissing and attempting to fight each other, and the dark haired man had to hold his cat the whole time so it wouldn't fight with Arlo's cat.
The whole situation about Arlo forgetting about his keys was weird too, specially since John was certain that he saw the blond placing the keys on his pockets right after he locked the door.
But, it could just be his imagination, right?