Cat Boy

07 | identifying the symptoms

"Aloha, children," Joshua hollers as he strolls into the café from the back entrance that connects it to his and Vernon's apartment, making Daehyun jump. Vernon looks up urgently as the pink-haired boy makes his way behind the counter, arms full of heavy sketchpads with thick bindings and supplies.

"Josh," he calls, already getting up from his seat, "can I talk to you for a sec?"

Daehyun looks at him questioningly, the rubber end of the pencil between her fingers tapping an uneven beat against the hard surface of the table. "So you're just going to leave me alone in the middle of explaining capacitors?"

"No, I'm just giving you an undeserved break," Vernon answers distractedly as Joshua yells assent from behind the door. The chair is pushed out from behind him with a squeaking sound like distressed mice, but he barely winces before following his roommate to the 'entry restricted' door. "I'll be back in five minutes."

"I heard the 'underserved' part!" Daehyun yells from behind him, and he ignores it. He steps through the open door and shuts it prudently behind himself. When he turns, he sees Joshua leaning against the table with his arms crossed over his chest, a single eyebrow raised in what seems to be a spill expression crossed with barely-suppressed, rubbing-hands-together kind of delight.

"What is it that you couldn't mention last night?" he asks, bright, mischievous eyes following Vernon as he crosses the room and collapses into the single couch decorating the break room. "Did you break my favorite coffee mug? Spill paint on the handcrafted display in the café's kitchen? Break your earphones again?"

"No, no, and no," Vernon says. He's sitting normally on the couch, limbs pulled together, which is strange for him. It's as if there's a knot of tension at the center of his chest, connected to the tips of his body with tethers, and is making him curl into himself. It reminds Joshua of a puppet. "You know I didn't do any of those."

"Mayhaps I do," Joshua says lazily. He uncrosses his arms and digs the heels of his palms into the edge of the table on either side of him. The side presses into the base of his spine, but it gives him comfort. "But yeah, hurry up with whatever it is you wanted to say, and be quiet about it. The walls have ears."

"Daehyun won't try to listen in, if that's what you're implying."

"Aha," Joshua exclaims like a magician after the rabbit pops out of the top hat. "That's what she wants you to think."

Vernon frowns at him, then shakes his head, as if shaking off a feeling. "It's about her."

"Guessed that."

The blond purses his lips, giving him a look like he's sizing up his expression, but abandons the effort when he realizes it doesn't matter. "I've been having..." He trails off doubtfully, and his tongue pokes out from between his lips. "Weird thoughts."

"Like?"

"I don't know." Suddenly, Vernon scowls and throws his hands into the air, but it doesn't seem out of place. It's like the frustration had just been hidden inside all along. "Just—weird thoughts. About weird things and...things."

"Do you feel sick? Are you running a fever?" Joshua says, perfectly mimicking the mom tone, and Vernon glares at him. Joshua wants to laugh, but he nods instead, trying to look like he's taking this conversation seriously. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that."

Vernon stands up, looking troubled, and crosses his arms over his chest, tucking his fingers under his arms. He starts pacing the length of the small room, brooding, and is quiet for a few seconds before he stops and glares at the floor. Joshua knows that face. It's his thinking hard face, which used to be adorable when he was a boy and is adorable now.