Rule Number 5:
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If you find yourself falling, make sure to place your feet firmly on the ground
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There’d been times in the past where Viola had found herself left speechless. When her teacher scolded her for fighting during recess when she was little, when her parents got her concert tickets to see her favorite band on her fifteenth birthday, and when she’d gotten her acceptance letter to her dream school. None of those times seemed to compare to this. It felt like she’d been smacked in the face.
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Sure, she’d never really made a great effort to hide her… displeasement towards Alex, but she’d never explicitly made it clear that she didn’t like him. So when he marched into her job (again), and asked her why she hated him so much, for a minute all she could do was stare at him blankly with her mouth slightly open, too shocked to compile a proper answer.
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“What?” she asked instead, voice quiet as she averted her gaze, looking at the clock on the wall. The shop wouldn’t be open for that much longer anyway, so why on earth couldn’t she just close up now and run back home to bury herself under her blankets to hide her embarrassment. She’d never thought he would confront her about whatever all of this was and now that he had she felt so weird about it. She couldn’t explain it.
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“If that’s not on the menu tonight, I understand, but I’d like to know eventually, if not now. I’ll get going now so you can work in peace, thanks for the coffee,” he said with a wide smile on his face, and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off from there. Instead she just swallowed nervously, offering him a slow nod as acknowledgment. And then he was off. She wanted to scream and run after him, tell him all the reasons she truly despised him, why the simple sight of his face was enough to get her blood boiling, but she didn’t. She kept her composure, somehow. She wished the ground would just swallow her up whole.
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Closing up the store was usually the best part of her day. It marked the end of a day filled with work, usually not all that fun, and the beginning of her freetime, which she’d usually spend with her roommate turned best friend. But it felt different. Because now, all she could think about was what if he’d come again? What if he’d waltz into the store again, and then what? What would she do? Quit? The possibility seemed intriguing, but she needed her job to make money and pay for rent. She cursed him silently in her head. But ultimately she was the one at fault, and as much as she wished she could keep her resentment aimed at him, it quickly redirected itself to be aimed at herself instead. Really, he’d done nothing wrong. Except be annoying, but that was hardly enough to warrant her behavior towards him.
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She sighed. Would he really try to find out her answer again? If he’d meant what he said, that he’d like to learn the answer eventually, it meant she’d have to see him again. And the possibility didn’t seem all that inviting. On the contrary, it terrified her, though she would never admit it, at least not aloud.
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She’d locked the door already when she heard it. Some sort of ruckus, some disturbance in the distance, which caused her heartbeat to pick up. It’s probably nothing, she told herself, but couldn’t shake off the sense of dread brewing in her gut. Something was wrong. In the months she’d spent working at the café, times where she’d have to close the shop alone were few and far between, so even if she’d heard some noise then, she wouldn’t have been as scared as she was now. Because this time, she was alone.
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She’d taken a self-defense class some years ago, to ease her parents’ nerves as well as her own. Truth be told though, she’d always thought that even if she got into a situation where she might need those skills, she might end up freezing anyway. Humans often talk about fight or flight, but leave out the third option: freeze.
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Her hands felt shaky as she slowly brought her keys into her hands, holding the sharp end of her key out, just in case. In caseshe might need it. She didn’t really want to spend any more time out there on the street, hours of the night dragging on as she felt fear freezing her heart. So she started walking, trying not to make much noise, in case there was someone out there waiting for her to make a mistake so they could pounce on her like a predator onto its prey. Or maybe it was just an alley cat, rumbling in the trash cans. She hoped so.
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Another pang, this time from farther away. Her heart felt like it’d jumped up to her throat. She couldn’t even feel her legs as they moved, only knew that they did when she saw the scenery in front of her change. Finally she’d made it to her building, but she was still holding her breath. So close now. Slowly, she turned around before opening the door. Something in her told her to do so. Had she been followed?
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Taking a deep breath, she took a good look around the front of the building, not seeing anything particularly out of the ordinary, except for… a kitten? Oh. Suddenly she felt silly.
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“Hi buddy, was it you? Was it you following me all this time? It’s okay, you can come here, I’m not gonna hurt you,” she spoke, voice sweeter than it would’ve ever normally been, had she been talking to a person. For a second she thought about how Alex would feel about her sweet voice- huh? Why had he popped up into her head at a moment like this? She pushed the thoughts away, focusing them on this cute little baby kitten instead.
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The poor little thing looked like he’d been surviving on the streets for at least a few days by itself. He was tiny, head too heavy for his little body, eyes so big, yet tired. His once beautiful tabby coat was dirty, from his time on the streets no doubt. His eyes were adorable, shimmering in the lamp-lit street. He seemed wary of her at first, but came closer eventually when she crouched down onto the ground, holding her hands out patiently. She took her time, and when she felt the tiny creature was comfortable enough, scooped him up into her arms and carried him upstairs into her apartment.
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“Hey! I went to the store, I got us some snacks for our marathon, they’re waiting in the pantry for after you come out of the shower so be quick!” Mina yelled out as soon as the door to the apartment opened. Viola could hear the distant sound of the tv in the living room as she closed the door and toed off her shoes.
“Uh, yeah, about that, I found us a new roommate,” Viola said, walking into the living room, kitten in arms, now more comfortable than ever. He seemed sleepy.
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“What on earth are you- oh,” Mina stopped her sentence as she took in the sight of the drowsy kitten. “He’s adorable,” she whispered, holding out her hand as if to pet it, but stopping before she made contact. She didn’t want to wake him.
“I think it’s best if we feed him something and then give him a bath and then take him to the vet tomorrow. We… We’re keeping him right?” Viola spoke, mindlessly petting circles into the kittens back, careful not to wake him. Mina smiled, nodding slightly.
“Sure. I don’t see why not. But he needs a name.”
“How about… Spoon?”
“Spoon?”
“Spoon.” Mina smiled.
“Spoon it is,” she laughed out.
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Game night was going along well, if not a little boring. Game night usually went one of two ways; Drew won, and rubbed it in Alex’s face, or Drew won, but decided to give the honor of winning to Alex instead. He really was a force to be reckoned with, even though he usually got cocky about it.
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“It’s time to call it a night, right?” Drew said with a yawn, stretching out his limbs. He’d spent the last few hours sitting on the couch, giving his all to winning in Rocket League. Alex thought he cheated, but he insisted it was all pure skill.
“Yup, I’m just gonna put out some food for Donna,”Alex responded, fighting off a yawn of his own. They’d just gotten a kitten, adopted it from a shelter Drew’s sister worked at. Small tabby, liked to be cuddled. They named her Donna, Alex didn’t know why but suspected it had something to do with them watching Mamma Mia the week before getting her.
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“Speaking of, I haven’t seen her today. Is she in your room? She’s not in mine,” Drew said absentmindedly. Alex felt a strike of panic run through him.
“Drew?”
“Yes, dearest?”
“Donna doesn’t go into my room. Ever.”
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