𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝙳 || Original Story

thirteen | friend part i

I'd had a lovely time with Kate and found myself replaying the conversations of the evening inside my head like a video tape.

I hoped that she didn't think of me as a bore or that she wasn't too annoyed by my stammer when explaining things to her.

She had smiled a lot and I found myself captivated by it.

And I hadn't been that happy in a while. Not since-

A loud clatter came from the kitchen, startling me and causing my heart to thump hard against my ribcage.

What could have possibly made a noise like that?

I put down the book I'd been reading in-between thinking and left the living room, walking at a cautiously fast pace towards the kitchen and poking my head around the door.

A cat was lying on the draining board next to the sink, its tail swishing from side to side. Beside it was a milk bottle.

An empty milk bottle.

It had been tipped over and whatever was left in it was either trickling down the cupboard and dripping onto the floor or it was being lapped up by the cat.

The cat.

That tabby one that simply wouldn't leave me alone.

He must have jumped through the window I'd mistakenly left open and crashed into the bottle by pure chance and earning a reward in the process.

"No, no, no," I groaned exasperatedly, making my way over to the cat and picking him up in my arms. He didn't protest and even tried licking my cheek.

I took him to the back door and opened it before placing him down on the flagged patio. He took a few steps forward before turning around to glare at me for a long moment. He then padded off across the patio and around the side of the house out of view.

Sighing, I closed the door and made sure I closed the window to ensure the cat didn't come back inside.

I then spent the next couple of minutes mopping up the spilt milk and thinking that I'd have to make a quick trip to the local shop to get another bottle if I wanted to survive the day.

Tea was a staple part of my diet.

I quickly went upstairs to grab a jumper, slipping it over my hand and sorting the collar of my shirt out before taking a five pound note from my jacket pocket and heading back downstairs.

I spent the journey down the road towards the village thinking about the cat.

I wondered why it felt so attached to me, if at all. It could just be causing chaos like some cats do, toying with me like the universe tended to do just to laugh in my face and bring about disruption to my dull life that I wished was more exuberant.

Or it could just be lonely and in need of companionship.

Kate did say that it didn't belong to anyone.

It was lonely rogue.

Very much like myself.

Perhaps we were more alike than I thought. Or I was just mindlessly comparing myself to a cat because I had nothing better to do.

I wasn't paying any attention as to where I was walking and as I turned the corner onto Main Street, I collided into somebody who seemed as startled as I was.

"I'm s-so s-sorry," I fretted. "I wasn't l-looking where I was g-going."

The man smiled back. "Well, that makes two of us then."

I stared nervously, very much expecting him to be angry. In fact, he was quite the opposite.

There was a smile plastered across his tanned face, his dark eyes were like rich chocolate and they weighed me up and down. He was clad in checkered shirt that featured a multitude of pink and purple hues as well as dark jeans and well-worn boots.

"Dressed like that, I presume you're the guy who's moved up from London," he said.

I nodded, wondering if 'dressed like that' meant something good. And I hoped it was. My fashion sense wasn't immaculate, but at least it was comfortable.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you," he added, extending his arm. "I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Hamilton."

"Edgar B-Bailey," I replied, shaking his hand.

"So, how's country life treating you?"

"G-Good, th-thank you. Everyone is really n-nice and the s-scenery is stunning."

Jack grinned proudly. "Everything is wonderful here. We all say how lucky we are to live where we do... Oh, speaking of which- you got lucky, you know. Very lucky."

I stared at him, confused. "I d-don't understand what you m-mean."

"You got lucky with Kate," he elaborated. "Striking a date with one of the hottest girls in the village. The city boy is a dark horse, it seems."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't q-quite put it th-that way-"

"Don't be so modest, Edgar," Jack laughed. "If I were you, I'd be bragging."

"I'm n-not the bragging t-type."

"Clearly. Anyway, it's totally a date and you can't deny it."

"I'm s-sure Kate wouldn't s-see it th-that way."

"Maybe I'll ask her-"

"P-Please don't d-do that."

Jack grinned like the Cheshire Cat and patted me on the shoulder. "I'm only messing with you. Honestly, I think we'll be great friends."

Shocked by the fact that we'd only just met and convinced myself his judgment wasn't clouded, I asked, "you d-do?"

"Yeah. Of course. You're a great guy. What's not to like?"

I opened my mouth, knowing exactly what I wanted to say, but Jack held up his hand to silence me and speaking as if he'd read my mind.

"And don't say your stammer because quite frankly I don't see it. Kate told me about the letter of explanation you gave her and I understood what you meant. Besides, I have a cousin who used to have a speech impediment, so I'm no stranger in that sense."

"Th-Thank you, Jack," I uttered. "It's n-nice to know s-someone who understands the d-deep roots of the p-problem... and s-someone who is s-so kind about it."

"No problem, mate. Kindness goes a long way, right?"

Jack's smile and kind words rendered me speechless for a long moment.

I knew from that moment that he was right.

We were going to be great friends.