Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 18

A/N:  Fun fact, this was one of the first chapters I thought up while planning this story! Hope you enjoy it!!!!

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The next day, Dell was in the middle of feeding his cat when a knock sounded at his door. He stopped for a moment, confused. Hugo was the only person he'd ever really known well enough to have come around, and they'd barely spoken since high-school. His parents wouldn't be back from work until after dinner, and besides, they had keys. He finished emptying the can of cat-food into the bowl on the floor before walking to the door.

Hesitantly, he opened the door without unlocking the chain to see who was standing outside. To his surprise, Willa peered at him through the crack and greeted him with a shy wave. He gave her a confused wave back before shutting the door and taking a deep breath.

What is she doing here? he thought. He hadn't exactly prepared for her to show up on his doorstep when he woke up that morning.

Taking a moment to compose himself, he pulled down his shirt and ran a hand across his hair before turning back and opening the door.

"Hi!" Willa said cheerily.

"Hey," he replied, his confusion evident in his voice.

"I just got off work and I was thinking maybe you'd want to get some lunch,"

"Oh," Dell said.

There was an awkward silence as no one said anything, and Willa swiveled on her heels.

Say something you idiot, Dell thought to himself. She wants to go to lunch!

"Sorry," Willa said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I realize now this probably came off as totally weird. I'll leave you to your day now,"

She started to leave, but Dell, his brain finally cooperating with the rest of his body, threw out a hand to stop her.

"No!" he yelled, before she could turn around.

"You're fine," he said. "I was just...I don't know I....sorry."

Willa chuckled and flashed him a shy smile. Just then. Willa gasped, her gaze switching to look down at Dell's feet.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he asked, concerned, until he looked down and saw his cat standing there, having followed him out the door.

"You have a cat?" Willa squealed, her voice raising about two octaves in the process.

"Yeah," Dell answered. "That's Elvis,"

Before, he could say anything else, Willa was crouching down and picking up the cat by its stomach. Dell winced- Elvis was known to react unfavorably to strangers- but he simply sat still in Willa's arms, his expression unchanged.

Of course, Dell thought. The only thing you are more than mean is lazy.

"Oh he's so adorable!" Willa cooed, nuzzling Elvis' fur while scratching his head and back.

"Demon cat," Dell muttered.

"No!" Willa gasped. "He's a big sweetheart."

Smiling, she returned back to petting Elvis. Dell raised his eyebrows at her. Watching her in class and the school hallways, he'd never expected that she had a side like this. Looking up for a moment, she noticed his confusion and chuckled.

"I'm a double major in Bio and Environmental Science," she explained, though she still paid more attention to the cat than to him. "I want to be a zoologist."