Aro

She loves Pip

The sun woke me up by blazing through my curtains and into my eyes. I laid in bed and stared at my ceiling. Last night had to have been some weird dream. I peeled back my comforter and sat up, studying the floor, trying to focus my groggy eyesight enough to stand. The clock on my nightstand flashed 7:35 in an annoyingly bright red color, which matched the screeching sound that ripped through the quiet air. I quickly slammed the snooze button and then switched off the alarm. Getting up, I grabbed a towel off my bed and went upstairs to shower.

After drying my hair, I chose a new book from my shelf and sat in the porch to read. It was a pretty normal morning for me; birds chirping, the sun in the perfect place so it didn't beat down on me in my chair, a small warm breeze. In fact the only thing that wasn't normal was the large orange moving truck in the driveway next door. Three people continuously went in and out, carrying boxes and furniture into the house. One of them had light blond hair, but unlike most it was a soft hue even with the sun beating on it. That must be the boy from last night. What was his name? Waldo? Fre-

"Hiya miss, it's me again."

I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked up, first at light hair and then at the hand in front of my face. I ignored his offer and instead locked eyes with him.

"So, you're my neighbor now?"

"I guess I am, yeah," he put his hand down, "Um, my name's Finnigan." Finnigan. Right.

"Yeah, I know. You told me last night after I almost fell off my roof." I lie a little too easily.

I could tell he was getting a little flustered, "W-well yeah, I am still really sorry about that. I didn't mea-"

"Listen, I already told you it's fine, okay? Now can I please get back to my book?"

"Hey Finn, I see you're meeting our new neighbors without us," a tall man with hair that reminded me of a dying forest put a hand on Finnagan's shoulder and then looked to me, "My name is Eric," he held out his hand, which I didn't take, "It's nice to meet you, uh,"

"No," I got up and went inside, leaving the pair on the porch. I watched them stand there for a few minutes, confused as to what just happened, until they finally went back to the moving van.

I really don't care for social interaction. I favor my cat, Pip, to people. He sprinted into the living room and jumped up on my lap. He's getting old. I got him about ten years ago on my sixth birthday, which is explanation enough to why he has such a simple name. He's still soft though, and now that he's older he's less feisty too. I grabbed a treat from the kitchen and gave it to him.

"It's probably a lot easier being a cat than a person, huh Pip?" He looked up at me with wide eyes, rivaling those of most kittens. I sighed, scratching between his ears, "I bet it is. You get treats and you can demand attention whenever you want. That's okay, I still love you though."