𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 ♛ (𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝)

12 : Curiosity Killed The Pumpkin

Frank's POV :

It was a nice Monday morning. Gerard was at work and I was home, supposedly doing the homework he gave me. Key word : supposedly.

More like daydreaming, actually. I was thoughtfully chewing on my pencil tip, not motivated enough to work but too responsible to flip off my homework and go watch TV.

A real dilemma and probably the worst case scenario, because I found myself taking the third option and do nothing. Just stare at the window, not really in this world and not quite in an other one.

So yeah, daydreaming.
And a quiet scratching noise snapped me out of it.

I looked up and saw a little furry thing at the bottom of the floor-to-ceiling window. I dropped my pencil and looked up.

Oh my God, a kitten ! A little grey kitten !

I opened the window and stepped in the front yard. Crouching, I approached the kitten slowly. It was surely a feral kitten, but it seemed tame enough, or at least used to human presence.

It stared at me blankly and tilted its head. "Meow!"

Oh my God ! So cute !
I stepped forward slowly and crouched. The kitty stared at me on its guard but I guessed I wasn't impressive enough to scare it away.

"Hello little fella," I said softly once the kitten was a foot from me. "I'm Frank! What's your name?"

"Meow"

I reached out for the kitten and petted its head. At first it let me, but all of a sudden it bolted away like I had just turned into a monster. It slid through a hole in the wooden fence that had kept me away from the world so far.

I looked through that hole and saw the kitten staring at me from the street. It seemed like an invitation to follow it.

I pressed my hand on the fence gate and froze in the middle of my motion. I hesitated.

I am not allowed to leave the house under any circumstance. Forbidden.

But Gerard is at work, right now. So... he won't know, will he?

With a lump in my throat, I unlocked the gate and put a foot on the sidewalk. It was the first time I discovered that street. Oh God, this is a bad idea...

"Meoww..." The kitten licked its paw lazily. I died a little at the sight. It was just too adorable. I crossed the street and crouched before the kitten.

"Aren't you a little cutie pie? Lil fuzzy friend," I cooed, rubbing behind the kitten's ears. The kitten meowed and purred happily.

"Where's your owner? Are you alone? You can come home, if you want ! You gotta meet Miss Jackson, you're gonna love her. Gerard will be okay with it. He took me in ; he'll take you in too !" I started getting excited at the thought.

The kitten rubbed its jaw on my knee and I felt blessed. Aww, pretty kitty...
"Who's a good little kitten? Huh? Who's a little cutie? You wanna be my friend? Wanna come with me?"

Suddenly, my arm was grabbed, and I was yanked back violently. I let out a bloodcurdling scream. The kitten pounced away.

I thrashed and screamed out "no !", as someone brought me close to them, pressing their large hand against my mouth. In the span of a mere second, I envisioned violence submerging me just the way Gerard said it would happened to him if I dared disobey.

It all happened so fast. I couldn't do anything and got immobilized so easily. Fear paralyzed me. The outside world was a death zone and I was meeting my end. Game over.