The playground was deserted, as usual. Brittany didn't mind though-she knew it would be. She tugged a bit harder on Lord Tubbington's leash.
"Come on, Tubbs. You know that the meeting's about to start! The kids are just late, as usual."
Noticing the decidedly lackluster way in which his Lordship moved, she stopped, and sighed, planting her hands on her hips right there on the sidewalk. Putting on a mock-scolding look, she decided to try a different tactic.
"Lord T, can we at least try to make it to the swings? Please? I know you're tired, but we needed to walk today, because you've been gaining weight. And don't give me that look-I am not letting you smoke ever again, even if it does make you skinny."
There, that should do it, she thought.
When all she got was a frowning face and unimpressed eyebrows, Brittany sighed, and squatted down, rubbing her friend between the ears. "Tubbs, we have to get to the swings. That's where I wrote on the posters so that people know where we were, and so that they know where the meetings are. I made them super-big this time; someone's going to turn up, for sure." Smirking mischievously, she straightened, grabbing the end of the leash once more. "I mean, you can't hold court for cats without the cats there. Which is why I put them all near to the sidewalk, lower down. See?"
This time, when she tugged, Lord Tubbington followed.
She skipped her way through the slides, the sandbox, the merry-go-round. The sand under her feet made her toes itch to be free from her shoes, but after the last time she trailed dirt home, her mommy had given her that tired sigh, and asked her to keep her shoes on always at the park.
Reaching her destination, she plonked down onto one of the two available swings, casually wondering if she had a purple crayon left over in her box to make a new poster-purple was their official colour, and no matter what everyone said to her, twelve-year-olds could still use crayons. You never got too old for crayons.
She settled into the seat, pushing back and letting her body fly through the air, as she pondered new drawings for her posters-they needed new members, even if she was happy being with Lord Tubbington by herself.
The wind was grumpy today, she noticed, because the irregular bursts of wind was definitely because Mr Cloud was angry-sometimes the air was soothing, playful, and sometimes it swirled around her arc through the sky, as though trying to tell her something.
When Lord Tubbington made a spitting noise by the ground, Brittany sighed, and slowed her swings through space, dragging her feet into the dust, and accidentally kicking sand into the obviously bristling fur.
"Sorry, Tubbs. Let's just wait a little longer, alright? Maybe someone will come today." She reached down a hand to run her fingers through the ill-tempered tabby's fur, hoping to soothe his displeasure. "I think someone will come." Her eyes slid shut, as she took a deep breath.
"I hope somebody would come."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a change in her surroundings. The wind dropped, the sun seemed to shine a bit darker, and she suddenly itched to be moving.
The sound of footsteps on summer-dry sun had her cocking her head curiously, eyes still closed, not wanting to face the disappointment if it happened to be just a random passerby. But the footsteps continued, towards her, and the sensation was suddenly accompanied by a shadow across her face.
Somehow, Brittany knew that the person wasn't some random passerby.
Somehow, she knew that the person was here for her.
Her fingers never ceasing their ministrations on the soft fur, she opened her eyes.
Brown eyes, red lips, tan skin. Dark hair, long lashes, petite body.
Brittany's breath caught. Her movements slowed, her heartbeat raced, her mind went blank.
She was speechless.
For all of three seconds, of course.
"Lord Tubbington says you're pretty." Said tabby blinked up at her in ridiculous surprise. But she didn't mind at the moment, because those brown eyes flickered over to her. She found herself drowning, falling, blinking hard. The curious tilt of the girl's head gave Brittany the courage to continue. She had never seen her around before.
"Are you new?" The quiet stranger crossed her arms over the innocent white top she was wearing, which contrasted beautifully against her skin.
The silence stretched on for a while, with neither saying anything. Brittany began to squirm, feeling the air turn awkward, and yet, she didn't turn away.
Not even when Lord T scratched her knee to get her to look at him.
"I mean, I've never seen you around here, and I don't think anyone else would ever come to the Cat's Appreciation Club; no one's ever come to a session. But, I mean, we're still going strong, and it's our second year, and I think some cats would come if they saw the posters-"
The girl lifted a poster. Brittany remembered making that one-it was purple and red, with a portrait of Lord Tubbington on it. She had felt like she was making it for someone important when she wrote the words, drew the picture. The poster had been special, but she didn't know why.
Was it meant for this girl?
"So, uh." The silence stretched on, softened, as Brittany was offered a smile. Small, but a smile. "Are you here for the meeting?"
A small calico crept out from behind jean-clad legs, and she couldn't hold back the noise of delight. "Oh my god, she's so cute!" Blue eyes blinked up at her, and a warm nose nuzzled at her ankle, making her squeal and laugh slightly.
"What's her name?" She asked, after a few moments of rubbing the soft fur behind a white ear. Mysterious Stranger only shrugged, pointing to the collar around her furry friend's neck, as she tucked her hands into her jeans pockets. A bag hung off one shoulder, looking full.
Brittany bent at her hips, the swing moving forward with the motion, to lift a classic tag, reading off the animal's name. "That's a nice name." She commented, a smile gracing her lips, as she locked eyes with the dark brown ones that stared oh-so-intensely at her.
Lord Tubbington mewled suddenly, and did something that Brittany was pretty sure he had never done before. Voluntarily, of course.
He stood up, and walked over on ungainly feet to the lithe feline at his owner's feet.
"Aw, Lord T, do you like Charity?" Brittany teased, gleefully clapping her hands, as she reached down to rub between his ears. This was great news! Lord Tubbington almost never liked any of the ladies she brought around-it was why she set up the club in the first place! Well, that, and she really did like cats.
Still grinning, she glanced up, and excitedly proclaimed, "My cat ti amos your cat!" because there was no way the girl in front of her was anything other than Hispanic, and probably spoke Spanish a lot better than she did.
The brunette's small smile turned into a smirk, and she finally, took a step closer. Her bag swung slightly on her back, and she released a hand to tug it higher onto her shoulder, leaving it there to pull it tight around the curve. Brittany always did that when she was nervous-was the girl nervous too?
Something pricked in her brain though, like a fluttering she couldn't catch, or the tip of a word she should know. There was definitely something about the girl that was strange. She just couldn't seem to pinpoint it.
Trying to dispel more of the silence, Brittany stood up, bouncing on the balls of her feet the way she did in dance, right before she had to stretch and perform a routine. "Do you want to join?"
The ever-silent girl stares at her, then down at her cat, who was busy ignoring the larger tabby. Her mouth opens in a noiseless mirth, when Charity bats at Lord Tubbington with a nonchalant paw, obviously unimpressed by him.
"Well?" For some reason, Brittany wanted her to join. She had never wanted to talk to someone more than she wanted to talk to her, and she figured she could use cats as a backup if things got too strained. Her bottom lip found its way between her teeth, and she began to worry. Did the other girl not like her? Did she think she was weird?
Her fears were blown away with the breeze that tugged at her hair when shiny white teeth showed themselves with a nod.
"Yes! Alright! Lord T, we have a second, new member!" She started to dance around on the spot, fueled by delight and a strange giddiness. She couldn't help it-when her body wanted to move, it would.
Lord Tubbington couldn't care less at the moment about his owner though; he was too busy trying to regale his future-mate with stories of his impressive pedigree. All she got was a huff of acknowledgement.
Calming down, Brittany's grin just grew wider, as she stuck a hand out the way her mother had taught her, and introduced herself. "I'm Brittany S. Pierce. Not Brittany Spears, but Brittany S., founder and first member of the club!"
Warm hands, smaller than her own, grasped hers in a gentle grip, as they shook, an even warmer smile on a tan face.
"What's your name?" Brittany asked, when it became clear that the girl wasn't going to say anything.
Brown eyes flashed, and hardened for a moment, before turning into liquid chocolate, her lips twitching as they melted even more across the borders of a smile that Brittany had never seen before, but liked the look of.
Instead of replying, the strange girl took a step into her personal space, red lips sending a warm draft across Brittany's neck with every exhale. Her own breath picked up, shallow and fast, and she didn't know why. "Um…" She tried, stuttering to a stop, when a lone finger rose and touched itself to her lips. Brittany went a bit cross-eyed trying to track it, and the quiet girl's eyes squinted, and her nose scrunched as a deep smirk settled comfortably on her features.
Suddenly, Brittany couldn't think about many things. She couldn't think about her mother telling her not to talk to strangers. She couldn't think about why she was in the playground. She almost couldn't think about her name and her next sentence.
All she could think about was standing right in front of her, boldly rising on her tiptoes to press a feather-light, barely-there kiss on the corner of her mouth.
Her mouth dropped open in surprise, and her eyes widened. What?
Stepping away, the girl smiled at her, pricking a feeling low in Brittany's chest, as she tried to will her legs to follow after.
But, as it always was in books and movies, she seemed to be in a spell, unable to do more than gape at the magnetic person, watching as smooth and slightly gangly limbs crouched down beside Charity, who purred, as she rubbed her head against the proffered palm, completely casting the other tom aside.
Brittany watched some more, as the walking riddle leaned down and placed a kiss between her pet's ears, and straightened once more to stand at her full height beside the dancer.
Brown eyes stared deeply at her, shadows in the hollows of her soft face, the sun beating down on them, mingling their silhouettes on the ground at their feet.
Still, Brittany couldn't move, as the girl raises a hand to cup her cheek, all tenderness and, if she had to be honest, adoration. She couldn't resist pressing herself deeper into the comforting touch, and the tight feeling in her chest grew into a firmer knot, constricting her airways.
She felt like she was on the edge of something big, something full, something bigger than she was herself, and the answer lay in the shape of the caring, nameless girl in front of her.
And then, as suddenly as she had come, the girl pulled away, backpedaling as she bit her lower lip between her teeth, looking very torn about her action. Pain rested amongst her features, and Brittany felt her own heart ache at the sight, as the spell broke, and surprisingly uncoordinated limbs reached for the retreating figure, the disappearing warmth.
"Wait…" The word was a disgusting attempt at a rasp, barely leaving her mouth, and she cleared her throat, feeling tears pool in her eyes for no apparent reason. Where was she going, the girl with the sad eyes and even sadder mouth? The girl with the lonely smile and bold kisses?
Said girl was still moving backwards steadily, her gaze locked on Brittany, as though trying to squeeze whatever she could from the last few seconds they would have together. As though she was begging her to stay where she was, so that she could stare at her forever. She was almost to the edge of the playground, edging back into the darkness of the tree line.
"Wait!" This time, it was an explosion, as her body finally caught up with the desperation, and she managed to take a step, as her arms reached out, hands groping at the air for something.
A meow had her stuttering, almost tumbling over herself, as Charity darted in between her legs. Looking down, she tried to pry the animal off, as she muttered words that didn't make any sense to her, tears flowing freely now, as the emotion dropped to her stomach, cramping. She didn't understand it, not at all, but she somehow knew that the caramel-skinned girl could. She needed to get to her…
And by the time the calico unwound from around her ankles, she glanced up eagerly at where she had last seen the girl.
Hungry gazes and pained smiles didn't greet her; there was nothing but the swaying trees, their green leaves fluttering in the sudden breeze, washing away the wisps of her shared moment.
And that was the first time Brittany S. Pierce ever met her.