Friends, or More? (ZelkPVP)

Chapter 5 - Cat and Mouse

[POV]: Zelk

Mega was a lot nicer in person than Zelk had expected. Maybe it was just the simple fact that Skeppy could get on Mega's nerves easily, and Skeppy wasn't here to bother him for once. Maybe Zelk was doing something right. He wanted to believe the latter, but he also didn't want to oversell himself. Either way, Zelk was glad that Mega was comfortable. Something about seeing the mute boy happy made him happy as well.

Zelk stared mindlessly at the ceiling, inevitably overthinking the day's events. Luckily, he quickly realized what was happening and instead focused on the spinning blade of the fan above. He was well aware of the dangers of overthinking and did not feel like dealing with them at the moment.

He yawned deeply. Zelk's sleep schedule was, for lack of better words, utterly screwed. He decided he might as well try to be as awake as possible for Mega, just in case he needed assistance in the morning. Zelk ended up drifting to sleep faster than he had expected, finally managing to put his worries to rest.

—

Zelk woke up to sunlight streaming through his window. He had apparently forgotten to close the blinds. He squinted, struggling against the overwhelming urge to go back to sleep. Unsurprisingly, he had once again woken up from a decent night's sleep feeling more drained than usual.

Zelk just barely made out a familiar beeping noise. His microwave. Mega must already be up, then. Interesting. I expected him to be the type of person to sleep in.

Once in the kitchen, the first thing Zelk noticed was Mega searching the cabinets, wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans—along with his scarf, naturally. Zelk hadn't seen Mega take it off once so far. As if he sensed Zelk's presence, Mega turned around and waved, then went straight back to opening and closing the cabinet doors.

"Mega..? What are you doing?"

Mega held up a finger without bothering to look up, signaling that he needed a second. Soon after, he grabbed an item and held it up triumphantly in the air. It was a small ceramic plate with a simple pattern around its edges. Mega opened the microwave door and transferred the food he had warmed up to the plate. He then sat down at the dining table and impatiently stared at Zelk, not wanting to remove his scarf in front of anyone.

Zelk awkwardly turned around and waited, unsure of what he should do. He eventually decided to go sit somewhere in the living room before he made Mega uncomfortable (hoping he hadn't already done so).

Zelk heard Mega get up and drop his plate in the sink. Then, a small piece of paper fluttered onto Zelk's lap. From the corner of his eye, Zelk saw Mega walk back towards the rooms. Zelk grabbed the paper and read the writing on it.

you're still in your pjs btw. can't deny that you're a furry now :)

His cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment as he recalled the night before. He had thrown on the first comfortable thing he found in his closet, too drowsy to pay attention to what it was.

In his defense, he only owned the item because of a dare. He had planned to burn it afterward, but was far too lazy at the time. Eventually, he had entirely forgotten about it.

His cat onesie had come back to haunt him.

Zelk heard a door creak behind him and swiveled toward the sound. Mega was peeking through the doorway, and Zelk could've sworn he felt Mega smiling smugly at him, even through his scarf.

"SCREW YOU MEGA!"

Zelk stepped in Mega's direction, causing the mute boy to bolt out of the room, away from Zelk, who was chasing after him.

Mega started furiously typing something on his phone, not slowing down at all. A robotic voice played from the speaker.

"Ha, slow. I guess not all cats are good at catching prey."

Zelk was impressed that Mega could type accurately while being chased. He knew he certainly couldn't. However, unfortunately for him, his brief surprise had allowed Mega to gain a larger lead, and the timing could not have been worse. Mega had rounded a corner, and by the time Zelk had caught up, there was no clue as to where the younger boy could've gone. Mega could have gone anywhere—including areas outside.

Sighing, Zelk began searching his house. He first checked places like bathrooms and closets, even going so far as to open cabinets and drawers, though there was no possible way Mega could've fit in them. There was no sign of Mega anywhere. Zelk moved on to the bedrooms, but he soon found that they were deserted as well.

The only other place Mega could be was outside, so Zelk first went to his room to change. He had already suffered the embarrassment of one person seeing his onesie, and that was one too many people. He didn't dare imagine what would happen if his neighbors saw him dressed like that.

Properly clothed and re-energized, Zelk slipped out the back door. If Mega really did go outside, Zelk wanted to sneak up on him. Revenge would be sweet.

The sun was unusually bright, for how early it was. That means Mega is probably hiding under something. A tree maybe?

A mischievous smile spread across Zelk's face. He knew exactly where Mega was.

He happened to know the perfect shady spot for hot days, from experience. He had taken shelter under his willow tree countless times over the years. It was like a second home to him, comforting him on bad days. It was especially peaceful during light rainfall; the tree would keep him from getting wet, and the rain would keep anything from disturbing his peace. Zelk had so many happy memories there, though the next one would be his uncontested favorite.

He creeped across the grass as lightly as he could manage, wincing at every small noise. At last, he arrived at the tree. Its long leaves were too dense to see through, which was a good thing for Zelk. It meant Mega didn't know that he had been found.

Zelk lunged through the thick foliage and shouted "BOO!" at the back of Mega's head. Seeing the smaller boy flinch and almost lose his balance was absolutely priceless. Zelk stifled a laugh as he watched Mega whip his head around. Mega's eyes narrowed menacingly as he processed what happened.

Maintaining eye contact, Mega stood up, rapidly typing something into his phone with one hand. Zelk would've been impressed if it were not for the robotic voice that came after, derailing his train of thought.

"I am going to kill you."

Zelk fled, with Mega close behind. Their roles had been reversed; it was now Zelk who was running for his life.

Secretly, both boys were enjoying themselves—a lot more than they'd be willing to admit.

—

[A/N]:

I'm alive!!

I'm so sorry for the lack of uploads. Since school has started, I've hardly been able to find the time to sit down and write this, so progress has been slower than intended.

On a lighter note, the next chapter will officially be the last rewrite from the original draft :]

And now, it's shoutout time! Thank you ItsAmber1st and (once again) Starr4f1ffo for just about everything. (I updated your @ on the other chapters btw!)