One and Only | ONER Short Stories

The Cat Next Door (Yue Yue)

Okay so I decided to make special short stories for each of the four rice cakes, also known as ONER.

~XY

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Oh. My. God.

   It was 2 a.m. in the morning and my neighbor's cat will not stop meowing. You would think that dogs would be the most annoying next-door pet, right?

You're wrong.

   "Gege, can you make that stupid cat shut up?" Ling Chao groaned from his bed, barely lifting his face from his pillow.

   I sighed, not wanting to get out of bed but seeing no point in staying if I couldn't sleep. Another irritating mewl came out from the thin wall which my bed was pressed again, making me crinkle my face.

   "Fine. Fanfan, you come with me," I called out to Bu Fan, who was eating a cantaloupe for no apparent reason.

   Really, who eats fruit this late at night?

   "Okay Yue, give me a second." he choked out, scarfing down the last few bites of the slice. I rolled my eyes, but waited for him at the doorway with my flip flops.

   "I'm done now, let's go." he said, somehow full of energy. We walked down the short, quiet hallway. Well , it would be quiet if it wasn't for that stupid cat.

Meow.

Meow.

MEow

MEOw

MEOW. MEOW. MEOW.

   "Oh isn't that annoying?" Bu Fan mumbled rhetorically. I nodded my head, reaching the door which lead to the room next to ours. I knocked on the hard wood, ruffling my hair slightly.

   After a few crashes, thuds, curses, and what I thought was breaking glass, a girl opened up the door, swinging it frantically. Looking extremely out of it, she looked up at us in panic, trying to straighten out her crumpled t-shirt.  Is it bad that she looks kind of cute like this?

   From above her head I could see her apartment, completely trashed. The coffee table was turned sideways, there was shredded newspapers across the tile floor, and as suspected, a broken vase with fresh flowers laying under the shards

   "I'm so, so, so sorry about the noise. That's why you came here right? I think so. Anyway my cat won't shut up no matter what I do and I'm new here and I know that pets aren't allowed but I love him so much-" 

   "Hey, hey, it's fine. I swear." I cut off her nervous ramble, while Bu Fan just looked straight above her into her apartment.

   "Bu Fan what are you-"

   "OH MY GOD HE'S ADORABLE!" He yelled in excitement as a fluffy white cat was suddenly rubbing itself on his leg. The cat looked up at him with big brown eyes and started pawing at his leg, claws out of sight.

   "Can I pick him up?" Bu Fan asked softly to the girl, who looked just as bewildered as me looking at the cat in the building. I wasn't surprised at his reaction though, despite looking tall and quite scary, he's just a huge goofball. The girl simply nodded which he subsequently lifted the cat up gently, cradling it against his chest like a newborn. The cat simply purred softly and moved itself closer to his chest, closing its eyes.

   "So cute." Bu Fan whispered, smiling happily. I stole a glance to the cat's owner, only to see her with her mouth so wide open that her jaw could've hit the ground.

   "How....? Who.....?" she babbled out, shakily gesturing to Bu Fan. She rubbed her tired eyes, blinking multiple times.

   "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm (Y/n), and this is my cat Golfball," she said in a soft voice, smooth as silk.

   "I'm Yue Yue, and this is Bu Fan. We live next-door with two other guys. It's kind of late, but I don't know when Bu Fan is going to let go of your cat." I informed, smiling politely. She grinned gratefully, albeit tiredly at Bu Fan.

   "You have no idea how long I've been trying to get Golf to settle down. Thank you so much- uh.. Bu Fan." she said, bowing slightly.

   "It's no trouble, I think I might've just fallen in love. Do you want me to bring him in?" Bu Fan asked, still holding the cat.

   "Uh, if it wouldn't be too much trouble. But my apartment right now is nothing short of a junk yard. So-uh, yeah, you guys can come in. Just watch the glass." she said, hesitantly opening the door to her ruined living space. Bu Fan set the sleeping cat onto the couch, watching as it snored silently. I turned and sweeped over her front room, seeing many tilted and broken paintings and in simple terms, and absolute mess.

   "Can I help you clean? I'm sure you'd need help," I offered, already gathering the newspapers on the ground into a pile. Bu Fan nodded and started getting to work too.

    "No I can't have you do that, you're my new neighbors and I've kept you up all ni-" 

   "No we insist." he said, already righting the coffee table in it's direct position." 

   "But-"

   "We're helping you." I said with finality in my tone, grabbing a broom and dustpan I found in the corner.

   After about an hour of all three of us cleaning and (Y/n) periodically asking us to stop out of guilt, we finished. The trash can was piled with cat fur, porcelain shards, paper, and more. I wiped the small bit of sweat off my brow, smiling at our accomplishment.

   "Thank you both so much, I don't know how to repay you for being so nice to me." she said.

   "You don't need to repay us," Bu Fan said chivalrously, giving her a kind smile. However a smirk found it's way onto my face.

   "No, I think I have the perfect idea for payment. How about.... a date?"

.

.

.

   "Only if Golfball gets to come."

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I'm sad. I actually don't like this one, and Yue Yue's one of my favorites. It just kind of feels like there's no meat or substance to this story. Just useless fluff :(

~XY