Gracie Abrams is eking out a solitary existence, fighting day-in, day-out against the drain of working customer service and nursing two newborn kittens in her off time. Out on her own ever since her sister moved in with her boyfriend, the burden of...
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Once again, my apartment became a crisis meet-up center. With one couch to split among five people, my two kitchen stools had been dragged onto the blue carpet, much to the kittens' ire.
Kirishima, always the helpful cat distractor, sat on the ground, arms studded out in his Hardening quirk to protect himself from feisty little teeth that only grew feistier by the day.
Sam wedged her stool closer to the door, effectively blocking all of us in. She leaned back against the shiny wood, the eyes behind her glasses narrowed into cat-like slits. Maybe Kirishima's hidden talent at calming cats extended to humans who had catlike qualities. The sixteen-year-old crossed her arms, ruffling her plaid shirt that was her namesake. Today's was yellow and black with orange accents. The sunny colors misrepresented her entirely as Sam glared out at Bella.
Leaving Kakashi and I on the couch, staring out at the scene with furrowed brows and unsure half-smiles—well, on my part at least—Bella the witch sat hunched over her knees like she was made of putty. There were no backs to these stools, yet the woman had a ballerina-esque grace about her as she folded in half on the slim circle. I suddenly had the strangest feeling that I was surrounded by cheeky felines who had transformed into humans. Maybe I was actually Alice in Wonderland. I mean, how would I know I wasn't just absolutely losing my marbles?
I glanced at Kakashi, who still sat without his mask. A slight flush from our endeavors at the Wolf Den stole over his cheekbones, giving him an even softer look than before. That damn little beauty mark looked so tiny, like it was nothing but a crumb that could be brushed away. I clamped down on my right hand with my left, its sudden twitching terrifying me that it would rebel on its own and commit a deed there was no coming back from.
Kakashi bumped his shoulder into mine, sending my tense body tottering the other way. Before I could crash on the couch's arm rest, he pulled me back in, settling me under one of his lethally toned arms. Even hidden behind that eggshell-colored shirt, I could still feel the power trapped within it. I was so unused to male forms. Were all men like Kakashi? Did leaning against them create a feeling of...safety?
The shinobi gave me one of those half-moon smiles. Effectively catlike.
I really was Alice.
"You're actually living alone with a boy?" Bella sighed into her knees, loudly. I didn't even know jeans allowed for such movements. "A teenager?"
"Whatever," Sam huffed, growing several shades rosier. With all her freckles, she was a giant blusher. Rage, love, embarrassment. It was all the same in the end, wasn't it? "That's not even important right now."
One of my brows rose on its own accord, an action not unnoticed by the newest witch to enter my apartment. Bella leveled a stare at me, and I felt the smallest building block form between us. Our own lego bridge, stalled construction, being paved one two-piece lego at a time.
