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It had been a rather long day for Phil, filming quite a few videos all morning for his youtube channel and then playing catch up on social media. Phil decided that he wanted to go on an evening walk. The weather was quite lovely, and he needed to get some fresh air after being cooped up in his apartment for so long.
Phil’s walking, humming along to the Taylor Swift song that’s stuck in his head. He stops as soon as he hears a sound that sounds like a meow. Phil looks around curiously, and he gasps when he sees a little orange cat across the street. Phil instantly pulls out his phone and starts filming. “Guys, you won’t believe this-” Phil glances both ways before quickly crossing the street, carefully walking over to the cat. “The cat distribution system has finally chosen me. I’ve been waiting for this for so- oh my goodness. Hi.”
The cat starts meowing more, and happily makes his way over to Phil, pawing at his leg.
“Oh wow, you’re super friendly, aren’t you? Hi there,” Phil says, and he bends down to pet the cat’s head. “You’re so cute. Where did you come from? Are you lost?”
“I see you’ve met George,”
Phil blinks in surprise, and he looks up to see a man with curly brown hair walking up to him. “I’m sorry?” He keeps his phone recording, just in case this guy happens to be a total creep and he needs evidence.
“George,” the man says, walking closer to Phil. “This cat has been coming around my apartment for weeks now. I’d love to bring him inside but my dog wouldn’t allow it. He’s super sweet.”
“Yeah,” Phil chuckles softly and finally turns off the video, continuing to pet the cat who is apparently named George. “You said his name was George? Why George?”
“Oh,” the man chuckles. “I’m a Harry Potter fan. I saw the orange hair and thought of Weasley.”
“I see,” Phil says. “Do you think George would come with me?”
“He follows me all the time when I walk my dog, so I’d say there’s a good chance. You’re taking him in?” Dan asks, with a bit of hopefulness in his voice.
“If he’ll let me, then yes, I’d really like to. I’ve been waiting for the cat distribution system to give me a cat for years, ever since I kept seeing all those TikTok’s of other people getting lucky,” Phil chuckles.
“Not to sound really creepy or anything, but… why don’t I walk you back to your apartment? Maybe he’ll follow us. I’ve been feeding him for weeks, but has never let me pick him up,” the man says.
Phil hesitates, because he doesn’t know this man. He’s a total stranger. Just because he seems nice, it doesn’t mean anything. “Uhm,” he begins. “You promise you’re not like… a serial killer or anything?”
He snorts in response, clearly surprised. “I’m not. I promise. Just one of your neighbors who loves cats, animals in general really. Maybe I should tell you my name. I’m Dan. Dan Howell,”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dan. I’m Phil,”
“Pleasure’s all mine. We should start heading to yours before it gets too dark,” Dan suggests.
“Right, yes. We should do that,” Phil agrees, and he looks down at the cat. “Come on George. Want to follow us? I promise I’ll get you out of this cold. You’ll have a nice bed, plenty of toys, and good food.”
Dan and Phil slowly start walking with each other, Phil leading the way obviously. After a quick moment, Phil stops to turn and look to see if George has followed them. Unfortunately, he’s still wandering about in the same area, not following them in the slightest, which unsurprisingly disappoints Phil. His heart is totally set on taking George home with him. The cat is sweet, and seems super friendly.
“Hmm. That’s interesting. Usually he’s willing to follow me everywhere I go. Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t I go get Meeko? George loves following me around when I have Meeko,”
“Meeko? That’s cute. Let me guess, you’re a Disney fan too?” Phil asks, grinning.
“Duh,” Dan replies, and grins right back at Phil. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. I’ll be here, I guess,” Phil says, and watches as Dan walks away, heading towards the apartment building. Phil stares at George for a moment before bending down, and starts calling him over. “Come on, sweet boy. Come here. I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help you.” Phil smiles as soon as George finally starts walking over to him, and Phil can’t help but chuckle when the orange cat starts rubbing against his leg, purring and begging for more attention. “That’s a good boy.”
After a few more moments, Phil finally hears footsteps. He looks up and sees Dan walking towards him, this time with a leashed dog. Phil’s eyes widen when he sees that Dan’s dog is a shiba inu, which is definitely not what he expected the dog to be. “Wow. What a gorgeous dog,”
“Thanks. I was always obsessed with shiba inu’s as a kid. Come on, Meeko. Follow me,” Dan says, and he chuckles. “We’re not going our usual walk, so I’m sure he’s wondering what the hell is going on.”
“I promise it won’t be long. I’m just a bit that way,” Phil says as he points towards his apartment building, and he stands again. “Let’s see if it works. I would really like to take this little guy in tonight.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. It’s going to start getting cold soon, and I’d hate for him to have to spend winter outside,” Dan says as he starts walking. Phil walks as well, leading the way to his apartment. He’s pleased when George starts following them. In fact, George follows them all the way to Phil’s apartment building.
“Well, here I am,” Phil says, and he walks up the small set of stairs, he walks up to his door and unlocks it. He opens the door, and he laughs when George just walks right in. “Well, that was easy!”
“I think he knew,” Dan says, grinning. “I’m glad George found a good home.”
“Thanks for the help. Here,” Phil digs his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it before handing it to Dan. “Put your number in. I’ll update you on how George is doing. You know, settling in.”
“Thanks,” Dan says, and hands Phil his phone back after putting in his phone number. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” Phil says, and he looks down, chuckling when he sees George waiting for him. “Alright. Let’s go.” He looks at Dan one last time before walking into the apartment, allowing George to walk in, before shutting the door and locking it. He takes a deep breath. “Holy shit.”
Phil spends the rest of the night trying to get George settled in. He doesn’t have any supplies, but he already knows that he’s going to go out in the morning to buy everything George needs. Luckily, it’s late, and as soon as Phil got into his bed, George laid right there with him. Phil can only imagine how exhausted the cat must be, fighting for its life and surviving on the streets.
The next few weeks go by in a blur. Phil spends most of his time working at his coffee job, and then going home and taking care of George. He has friends over, but that’s about it. Phil doesn’t have much of a social life, really. But, he was never one to be social anyways. He’d rather hang out with his cat. Phil texts Dan small updates on George every once in a while, or sends him a picture or two, as promised.
Of course, that is until he runs into Dan Howell again. They bump into each other at the mailboxes.
“Oh, hi. Phil, right? It’s been awhile since I’ve last seen you,” Dan says.
Phil chuckles, nodding in agreement. “Yes, it has been. How have you been?”
“Busy, but good. How are you? How’s George?” Dan asks.
This is your chance, Phil. Be brave. “Well, maybe we could talk about it over lunch? You like coffee?”
“I can’t say I’m much of a coffee guy, but I’m certainly not going to miss an opportunity to have lunch with a hot guy like yourself. I know of this sick burger joint that just opened a few months ago. You in?”
Phil’s eyes instantly light up, and he nods eagerly. “That sounds perfect. What do you say… one thirty?”
“One thirty would be great. I’ll text you the directions to the place. I’ll see you at one thirty,”
“It’s a date!” Phil grins, and finishes grabbing his mail and heading back to his apartment. Phil has a date to get ready for after all, and this is the first date he’s gone on in over a year. He’s not screwing this up.