Street Rat
You ease the door open as you hear a soft click of the deadbolt being unlocked. Slipping into the shadows, you stick your hands into the pockets of the three neatly hung coats, pulling out a wallet and two separate wads of cash. After pocketing the money, you slip into the next room.
Carefully, you creep into the kitchen, scanning the room for any forms of life. After deeming it safe, you crack open the pantry, raiding it for nonperishables. You grab endless amounts of cookies and a six pack of grape soda, you're about to slip them into your backpack when the light switches on.
You freeze for a moment before slowly turning around. You're met with a pair of wide eyes. Suddenly the short girl is screaming, yelling things along the lines of "burglar! Someone call 9-1-1! Help I'm under attack!"
You roll your eyes. "Cupcake, chill out. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay." She looks at you for a moment, screaming subsided for a second. She studies you for a second, then bursts into a run out of the kitchen.
You release a swear under your breath, rolling your eyes again before charging after her. As soon as you round the corner, a can is being held up towards your face.
"Does that say bear sp-"
"Who are you and why are you in my house?"
You narrow your eyes at her. "Carmilla, sweetheart. I was a little hungry. So I decided to help myself."
The girl in front of you lowers her bear spray before taking you in. You're wearing your leather pants and a raggedy jacket you've had since you were sixteen, and an old pair of sneakers.
"Are you… homeless?"
You shift under her gaze, eyes ducking to the floor.
"Do you want me to make you something to… To eat?" She asks.
You laugh, because of course the one time you get caught stealing, you're treated with kindness and offered food.
"If you'd like to make me something, cutie." You state.
"It's Laura. My name is Laura. Laura Hollis. I go to college. Silas University. I share this apartment with my friends, Laf and Perry. They're asleep right now, actually. I was cramming for finals, so I was just in the living room, which probably explains why I heard you and-"
"Cupcake. I don't need your life story. You said you would make me something to eat?"
The small brunette, Laura, seemed to remember her current situation. "Oh right! Food. Of course. You must be starving!"
"I'm not helpless. I can manage on my own. I just… fell behind a little this week." You answer sternly.
"Okay…" Laura murmurs. "What are you hungry for? We've got Mac and Cheese, Ramon Noodles, leftover spaghetti, rav-"
"Anything will do, buttercup."
"Why do you keep using those nicknames? I already told you, my name is Laura."
You smirk. "Okay, Laura."
"Okay. So I was thinking Mac and Cheese. It's quick and easy and tastes really good." She beams.
"Sounds good to me." You move to sit at the table, bag dropping to the floor.
You watch the small brunette busy herself around the kitchen, filling a pan with water and putting it on the stove. After she finishes, she sits down across from you.
"So, Carmilla," she begins. "Do you sneak into people's homes often? Have you ever been here before? Do you have a home?" She rushes out.
You blink before mulling over the questions for a second. You take a deep breath.
"Yes, No, and…. No. No I don't." You lower your gaze to your fidgeting fingers.
"Oh… well, where do you stay?" she inquires.
"I uh, I bounce from couch to couch, but lately, out and about." You say, trying to sound nonchalant.
"It's the dead of winter. In New York. It hasn't been more than 12 degrees since November. Do you have any more clothes? Blankets? Thermal blankets?"
The shorter woman is cute even when she rambles, you've observed.
"Don't worry, cutie. I've got this all under control. I know how to produce body heat. I am just incapable of producing food." You try to calm the rambling girl.
Her smile drops. She stands up to check on the boiling water, dumping a box of Mac and Cheese into the pot.
When she turns around, you see the lines of worry wash across her face.
"So you have nowhere to stay?" she probes.
"I, uh. No, not exactly. For now, that is."
"How old are you? You can't be more than 21."
"I'm 19. And a half." You say, your guard building back up.
"Why don't you live with your parents?"
The water in the pot starts to boil over, drawing the attention away from you. Laura quickly turns down the burner and finishes up the Mac and Cheese.
"Could you grab some bowls? Top left cabinet."
You reach up and grab the bowls, then the spoons after she tells you where they're located before handing them to Laura. She fills them up to the top.
Raising a brow, you grab your bowl, walking back to the table. You look up and see Laura carefully balancing hers, trying not to drip anything on the floor, tongue poking out in concentration.
You can't seem to get over how cute this tiny human is.
When she makes it over finally, she looks up to see a smile on your lips.
"What?" she asks, self-consciously touching her face.
You break out of your thoughts, letting out a cough before muttering a quiet "nothing."
"So…"
You've finished your second bowl of Mac and Cheese when you look up and see Laura watching you inquisitively.
"What?" You say with a mouth full of food.
"I was wondering if you'd like to sleep on the couch tonight."
The sudden offer catches you off guard, causing you to choke. After a few coughs, you look at her with a skeptical gaze.
"I suppose that would be," She hesitates, thinking of the right word. "…. Nice."
"Great! I'll go grab some blankets and pillows!" The tiny brunette scampers out of the room.
"This is probably a terrible idea." You mutter.
"Okay, so I couldn't find any spare pillows, so I brought my yellow pillow. And I only have these quilts my weird aunt made. I personally think they're haunted, but Laf said that just because they randomly fly off of your body in the middle of the night despite the lack of wind or any other source of atmospheric disturbances doesn't necessarily mean they're haunted. So you should be fine."
You look at Laura in disbelief. Maybe this was a bad idea.
She seemed to pick up on your discomfort.
"Oh gosh. I know that must sound crazy. I promise, we are pretty sane people." She giggles, and you decide you decide to believe her because anyone with that cute of a giggle has got to be a good person.
"So these roommates of yours. What are they going to think when they wake up in the morning to find a random person on their couch?"
"Oh, Perry will probably freak out at first, but I'm sure Lafontaine will just be curious of who you are." She says, "And Danny-"
"Danny?" You raise an eyebrow.
"Oh, Danny is my friend that lives a couple of floors down. She usually comes in every morning to eat breakfast with us because her boyfriend, Kirsch, is in the military, so she gets pretty lonely, and we've been best friends since freshman year. We even dated in junior year until it was decided that we were simply too good of friends to be romantically involved." She finishes her ramble.
You're smiling at her with a weird glint in your eyes. A gaze you haven't used since-
"So, I need to go to bed. Finals tomorrow." She turns to leave before hesitating in the hallway. "Are you going to be here in the morning? Laf makes great eggs and hash browns. You could always eat with us." She looks at you hopefully and even if you wanted to, you couldn't say no.
"Sure cupcake. I'll be here when you wake up." You give her a reassuring smile before settling into the couch.
"Okay, cool. Goodnight Carmilla."
"Goodnight, Laura."
End of Chapter 1
