I managed to keep the kittens eyes open and made sure it was doing alright for now. I knew it would get some help at the vets, even if it meant spending every last penny of my bank account.

It was now huddled up a lot closer to me as it managed to crawl over. It was like it was telling me it was ill or begging me for some kind of help.

"Help's on its way, little one." I whispered to the kitten. It tried to meow but instead let out a strangled noise.

I waited patiently, occasionally checking my phone to see if Theo was going to magically message me about whatever. But no new messages. Not even a message from my Mom which was pretty surprising since she liked to know how I was and what I was up to while I was out.

The kitten looked calm. A lot calmer than it looked earlier on when I first found it in the bushes. Thank goodness I saw the it else I would've left it on its own for God knows what to happen.

I rested my elbows down on my bent legs as I stared down at the kitten. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into twenty minutes. Before I knew it I heard a car pull up beside me and a door close. I really hoped it was Theo and not someone random.

Willow, not everyone's bad!

"What the fuck is that?" I rolled my eyes at Theo's blunt tone. I could recognise his voice from anywhere.

I looked up at him and tried to not look as if I wasn't dragging my eyes very, extremely slowly down his body. He looked fucking hot.

He was wearing a black graphic tee with a pair of dark blue denim trousers. He wore his usual accessories like his rings and also his necklace that I still had yet to discover what it meant. He was also unusually wearing some black glasses.

They suited him so fucking well but I never knew he wore glasses.

I pressed my finger to my lips, shushing him. He narrowed his eyes at me and then back to the kitten that looked startled and at unease.

"You called me up just to come and help a fucking cat?" He asked in disbelief, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes at him. "First of all, It's a kitten, not a cat." I told him with a stern look to which he scowled at. "Second of all, I didn't meant to call you. Trust me, I'd rather have my horrible grandad here to help me instead of you if you carry on being so rude to this poor kitten."

He threw his head back and groaned loudly. The kitten yelped and tried to hurry itself into the side of my leg. I whacked Theo's leg harshly. "Stop being so loud. You're stressing it out."

He looked down at me and then at the kitten, an almost apologetic look on his face that soon went away. "Whatever." He said and groaned as he lowered himself down onto the dirty ground. Though his legs didn't once touch the ground.

"You're going to crease your shoes." I pointed at his expensive looking trainers.

"Jesus women!" He scoffed and sat down on the ground. Now his shoes were not creasing.

"I'm not Jesus, but I would like to be. Maybe by being Jesus I could actually help this poor kitten instead of what you're doing." I said in a mean tone and he glared at me.

"What the fuck do you want me to do?"

I frowned. "Less of the swearing. This kitten has sensitive hearing." I pointed down at the it and it was staring up at us with big, sad eyes.

Theo didn't say anything and I looked at him to which he was doing the same. He was glaring at me. "Ugh, fine. We need to take it to the vets immediately." I said, looking down at the ginger kitten. "Then we need to find its owner...if it has one."

From the corner of my eye I could see Theo nodding his head and then he stood up. He slowly came round to my side. I could smell his cologne because he was rather close to me. I wondered what aftershave he used.

No!

I needed to stop this, he was my brothers best friend!

"What are you doing?" I asked. My voice came out wobbly and it was like I had just been stung by a wasp and was trying to hide it. Theo looked at me, no icy expression on his face. It was just neutral.

I spoke too soon.

His eyes narrowed into slits and there was that look again. He had put up his wall. His boundaries were up. He wasn't going to let me in.

"Checking the cat." He said, his voice dead, flat of any emotion — and that was when I came back to my senses.

"It's not well. Which is why I said we should take it to the vets, Theo." I said. Gosh, what did he not understand?

Theo ignored me and continued to take a look. The kitten just stared up at him and it looked scared. "Theo you're scaring it!"

Theo groaned loudly and looked at me. He looked annoyed. His brows were narrowed deeply and his eyes were boring into mine. His jaw was clenched tightly and I swear his teeth were gritting together.

He stood up and brushed off the dirt from his pants.

"Do you want my help or not?" He asked, his tone low and cold. I could see the veins in his hands and even on his neck. They were popping out and I realised I was annoying him a hell of a lot.

I looked down at the kitten and gently smiled. "I'm sorry. You can go, I'll call someone else." I lowered my finger to the kitten and the head of its nose brushed lightly against my finger. Then it leant its chin on top of my hand and I dared to coo.

Theo went silent and I thought he had gone, but hearing shuffling behind me indicated that he had not gone anywhere. "You're still here?" I called out and earned a grunt in response.

"I'm not leaving you here. Especially not by a main road for anyone to come passed." His voice sounded blunt and I continued to stare down at the kitten. Its eyes were fluttering closed.

"Then, drop me off at the vets and leave. I don't want to be a bother." I said truthfully. I knew this was a big enough ask for him to come here, stopping him from doing what he was doing before.

"You're not a bother." He replied.

I snorted and looked up at his face. His arms were crossed across his wide chest and he was looking down at me. "Sure." I scoffed. Yeah, I was definitely a bother to him. "Really, it's fine, just g-"

"Get in the car. I'll drive you." He said and turned around, going over to his car and slamming the door closed.

"Slamming the door. A very logical thing to do." I muttered to myself. What was I supposed to do? By taking the kitten to the vets, it meant picking it up. I didn't want to overstep the boundary.

I looked back to Theo's car and I could see his head rested against the back of the seat. His eyes were closed.

I quickly grabbed my phone with my spare hand and dialled his number. He picked it up and looked through the glass. "What?"

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "What if this kitten has rabies? I don't want to get sick." I said.

Theo swiftly ended the call and got out of the car. He went to the back of it and opened up the trunk, taking out something which looked like a blanket. He walked over and bent down next to me, the blanket unfolded in his hands.

"Why do you have a blanket in your car?" I asked him, eyeing him up weirdly. He looked at me, stared. As if to say, 'are you fucking for real?' "Is it a picnic blanket?" I continued.

"Quiet." He said sternly and I closed my mouth. Definitely a picnic blanket. Theo spread the blanket out on the ground and the cat took one look at it, eyeing it suspiciously.

The kitten lifted itself up on its paws, and one of its back legs looked weirdly off. The kitten was limping and dragged itself over onto the blanket. When it got onto it it dropped its limp body down.

Theo looked at me. "Now slowly put the blanket over it and then pick it up."

I looked at the kitten and it dropped its head down onto the soft material. It purred slightly. I smiled warmly and slowly but surely grabbed three sides of the blanket and covered the kitten up, leaving its small head out in the open. The kitten jumped slightly, scared of what was going on.

"We're going to take you to the vets now, little one." I whispered and the kitten looked at me, then curled its head into the fabric again. It was like it understood me. I ignored the glance from Theo and continued to wrap it up. After five minutes of letting the kitten get comfortable and readjust, I slowly lifted it up in to my arms and took it over to the car.

Then I stopped and looked at Theo, startled. "You're not allergic to cats are you?"

"No." Then he got into his car.

I buckled myself in and plopped the kitten down onto my lap. It was nice and warm which reassured me that it was going to be okay.

"Ready?" Theo asked, taking a look at the kitten who was hopefully sleeping peacefully.

"Yep."

Theo immediately pulled out of the parking space he was in and drove down the road. I noticed how he wasn't going fast like he usually did — like the last time I was in his car.

With the soft hum of the music in the car and my eyes growing tired from that run I was on, I let my eyes flutter closed.

I didn't know how long I was out for the count for, but I felt like something was shaking me awake. I groaned and lifted my head. Why did my head feel sore? I rubbed my eyes and groaned again. As I opened my eyes I saw that Theo was looking at me from his seat. We were parked and not driving. I looked out the window and realised we were at the vets. Oh.

As I moved my head my forehead felt sore.

"You banged your head when you fell asleep." Theo answered my question and I looked at him. My eyes were slightly blurry and I still fell tired.

"I did?" I rubbed my eyes and blinked for a couple of seconds to regain my consciousness. I slid the cover to the mirror of the car and looked at myself. My forehead had a small bump but it looked as if it would go away pretty soon. Least it wasn't going to be permanent. "You didn't stop me from banging my head?"

Theo scoffed. "I was driving. How was I supposed to know you were going to do that?" Theo questioned.

I shrugged and looked down at the kitten. It was like it had a small smile of its lips. It stirred in its sleep and slightly stretched its body out. But it stopped again. Making me remember how much pain it was in.

I opened up the car door and lifted the kitten up into my arms. I made sure I had my phone before turning to Theo. "Thanks for giving me a lift. I appreciate it." I said and Theo resumed quiet.

He didn't give an answer so I shut the door and made my way over to the doors. As I walked inside, I looked out the window. Theo's car was still there and didn't look like he was moving. Then I heard a car engine. He was gone.

I think.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" A pretty red haired women asked. She was wearing white scrubs with an embroidered pet image in the top corner of the top.

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes, gesturing down to the small animal in my arms. "I found this kitten on the side of the road while I was on a run and thought it was best to come here to get it looked at."

The women nodded and jotted down the information onto the computer. Then she looked back up. "What's your name, lovely?"

"Willow Anderson."

"Your age and phone number?" She asked and I leant my free hand on the tall counter.

"I'm seventeen and my phone number is 555-1234."

The women nodded and jotted that down. She tapped down on the keyboard for a few minutes then stood up, grabbing a clipboard with a sheet on it. She also passed me a pen. "If you sign here and here for me then we'll get started." She pointed down at a couple spots and I pressed the ink to the page. I signed them with my signature and handed it back to the lady.

"Thank you, lovely." She said. "So, as you know, you will have to pay for any surgeries and medication. Is that something you are able to do?"

I gulped and looked down at the kitten. It was stretching its paws out to me. "Yes." I nodded firmly.

"Great. If you would like to wait over there in the waiting room, someone will come out to collect you."

I nodded. "Do you know how long that'll take?"

"Roughly half an hour to an hour. It depends. Today is not a busy day." The women replied, sitting back down in her spiny chair.

"Okay, thank you." I said and took the kitten with me down to the waiting room. I passed a couple people who were in their way out. I saw a freaking Dalmatian!

I went in and took a seat by the window. There were office blinds covering it to it made the room look slightly dark. But I was thankful because the kitten needed to rest before getting prodded and looked at by some person.

"What a lovely little thing that is. What's its name?" Some old, pretty women asked. She pointed at it in my arms and I smiled at her. She also had a kitten with her. It was a small, grey one.

"It doesn't have a name. Not that I know of anyway. I found it laying around somewhere." I replied and the women frowned. She looked genuinely upset by what I said. She stroked her kittens head.

"After the storm it's broken apart homes and people. Little thing is glad to have found you. It's awfully lovely to have you take it to the vets." She smiled kindly at me and I felt warm being in her presence. She looked really cute too. A white dress with flowers on. A little flower in her white hair.

"I was only on a run and if I didn't go on it then I would've never found this one." I stared at the kitten in my arms and it purred, trying to get closer to the warmth of the tartan blanket.

"That kitten is lucky to have you."

I hummed in response. It was sad that I had to look for its owner. If it had one. But I knew it needed to go back to its rightful owner. I'm sure their owner was freaking out. I know I would be.

"Marie Angular!" A women in scrubs called and waved to Marie who was sat beside me. Marie turned to me and sent me one last smile.

"That's me! It was lovely meeting you dear." She stood up and carried the kitten along with her.

"You too!" I called just before she disappeared through the door.

I sunk into these uncomfortable seats, though I was thankful for that cushion else my butt would be hurting an extreme amount.

Half an hour passed and the door opened. Both Marie and the veteran came out. The old lady waved to the young looking women and turned around to leave. But she gave me one last wave before she went and I waved back.

"Willow Anderson!" The veteran called out and I stood up. I carefully walked passed, and stepped over peoples feet who decided not to move them to let me passed. "It's nice to meet you, Willow. I'm Emma. I'm going to be looking after that one today for you." She said and pushed open another door, keeping it open to allow me to get in.

"Hi, Emma." I said quietly and she gestured for me to put the kitten down on the table.

"Wow. What a lovely kitten you've got here." She said in adoration as she looked down at it. She slipped her hands down into some blue gloves and walked round to the side where the cat was facing forwards. "So you've said you found this kitten on the side of the road, was that correct?"

I nodded my head and the women grabbed her spiny stool and sat on it, taking herself over to the kitten who looked frightened.

"Alright. So I'm going to start by taking off the blanket and checking you." Emma spoke gently down at the kitten. She slowly peeled off the blanket and the cat hissed slightly.

I didn't know what drew me to do it but I pressed my finger on the kittens ginger for and slowly stroked it. The kitten soon relaxed into my touch and the women was able to do everything she needed to do.

The women stripped off the gloves and threw them into the garbage bin. "Okay, so she has shown that she is extremely malnourished and weak. She also has a fractured leg which will need to be treated by having a cast and to let it rest. I highly recommend to leave her here for a couple of days to to stay in the medical care of our staff. But after that, she is free to go."

I slowly nodded, taking in the information I had just heard. "So, she doesn't need any operation?"

Emma shook her head and smiled down at the kitten. "No. She seems to be healthy in the terms of that we don't need to perform any kind of surgery."

I let out a relieved breath of air. I knew I couldn't afford to pay for the surgery along with the treatment. "That's great. Thank you so much."

"It's okay. Always happy to help." She smiled and opened the door for me. I bent down and said my goodbyes to the kitten. I'd see her again soon in a couple days to then find its owner. I selfishly hoped it had no owner.

I swallowed. "When should I pay?"

"You can either pay today or when you come to pick her up." Emma smiled and I felt another wash of relief. I had work tomorrow and knowing I could get some more money to help pay for the treatment and check up, was even more of a relief.

"Could I please pay when I come to pick her up?"

Emma nodded. "Yes of course!"

"Thank you." Emma showed me out and I waved goodbye. The doors to the vets closed behind me and I was stranded. Theo's car was gone and I had to call someone to come pick my ass up.

A/N: