Roads And Maps - Aru Shah

Mochi

Aru's POV

"Yo, Aru. Did you order stuff for Moe yet?" Brynne asked. I was cuddling with my cat on the couch.

"Yeah. It should be here any minute. I also got her a mouse-shaped, rose-gold nametag!" I told her.

"Cool. How much did you end up spending?" 

"Like $150," I said.

"Oh, nice." She left the room. 

I stroked Mochi. "It wasn't just me, right? She is acting kind of weird," I said to the kitty.

I heard a clunk at the door and I ran out. There were four packages waiting to be picked up. I immediately opened them and found Moe's collar and nametag. "Moe, come here!" I called. 

The kitten pranced outside and sat in front of me. Mochi reminded me more of a dog than a cat sometimes. "Let me put your collar on you, silly kitty," I said. 

I put the orange collar around the cat's neck and laid down on the porch. "Isn't it an amazing day out, Mochi?"

I heard her little paws scamper away and I sat up. The cat was running down the street and towards an oncoming car. "Mochi!" I screamed. I ran as fast as I could to the kitten but then I saw two hands scoop her up.

"You must be Mochi," Denver said. 

"Give me my cat, Denver," I said impatiently. 

"Yeash, rude much?"

I crossed my arms. "Me?! Do you not remember what you said yesterday?!" I basically yelled. 

"Oh, yeah. Whoops. I'm quitting dance, I think. Ava doesn't want me physically seeing you with my own two eyes," Denver informed me while giving me back my kitten.

I let out a little laugh. "If she doesn't want you seeing me then she should break up with you. You do realize she's like a clone of me, right?"

"You don't look that much alike. She almost always has her hair down." 

I took out my phone and scrolled through the photos that Aiden had taken of the whole group when Ava was still dating Aiden. She had her hair in a braid. I was next to her and Aiden, with my hair also in a braid. I showed them to Denver and zoomed in on Ava and me. 

"Holy sh-" 

"Denver, language," I warned. 

"Moley macaroni?" he tried. 

"Sure, whatever."

"You guys look near identical!" he said surprised. 

"That's what I've been saying. Have you listened though? No, because I have a reputation as a liar. Your words, not mine," I said. Mochi jumped out of my arms once more and ran down the road again. "Mochi!! Sorry, Denver. I've got to go catch her before she gets ran over by some truck," I yelled as I ran down the street. 

She ran onto the sidewalk, safe from a car.

I hid behind a tree so I could try to pounce on her.