Author Notes:

Now that I've ascended back to cooler climate, I've left behind Kat (a cat as the name suggests) who was taken in by chance about a year ago.

Not being accustomed to such animals, I was at first apprehensive to go near him. But after some time, I was actually able to pet him and feed him…growing a particular fondness for him.

I have truly come to miss Kat since I've been gone. Hence, this story is dedicated to him…the crafty, cute thing that he is…

Flintphone

Disclaimer—Hey Arnold and the two Disney movies that this fanfiction is named after (and briefly based on) are not mine. *Ponders* Although, that would be nice…

That Darn Cat

By: Flintphone

Part I: Panicky

Once the boardinghouse's front door swung open, a stampede of colorful pets squealed and shrieked as they suddenly rushed into the interior of the building. As usual, Arnold stepped aside, making way for the adventurous bunch as they trudged up the flight of stairs and out of his sight.

Not quite interested in the animals' daily escapades, the teen waved it off, as was the custom, and set off on his regular task of taking out the trash.

With a large black bag in hand, Arnold stepped out of his noisy house (filled with animal and human sounds alike) and immediately walked out into the calm ambience that surrounded him once he closed the door behind him.

His appreciation for the setting grew once his round eyes caught sight of the full moon suspended in the dark sky above. He softly smiled, relishing in the beautiful scene it presented before him…even among the city's lights.

Taking in a refreshing deep breath of the summer's night air, he felt his mind and body relax, a sense of serenity permeating through him. He gladly continued to observe the view until he reluctantly sighed, deciding to finish his chore before it became too late.

Arnold strolled down the front steps and onto the sidewalk, purposefully making his way over to the alleyway between his house and another. He came up to one of the tin trash cans that stood propped up against the edge of the building's brick wall and casually reached for the lid. Yet, as soon as he was about to lift it, he heard a few heavy labored breaths.

The blonde, believing that the noise was coming from within the dark alley, curiously peered down it...and there, at the far corner, he could make out the shadow of someone, whom he assumed to be a man, bent over.

He briefly debated with himself if he should approach the mysterious person or not, but in the end, the boy's curiosity and his general concern won over his caution as he absent-mindedly set the trash bag down on the ground and slowly started to walk towards the figure.

The person remained in their hunched over position, not seeming to notice Arnold's advancing presence as their rasping pants became much clearer to the youth's ears.

Faint streetlights flickered over the far end of the alleyway's walls as he carefully inched closer, gradually helping him make out the individual clearer. He was now sure that the figure was male and after a few more deliberate steps, he was able to catch a glance of the person's brown, thinning grey-speckled hair. However, it wasn't until green eyes lay upon the man's dark blue outfit that recognition immediately set in.

"Mr. Kokoschka?" Arnold asked, now standing a few feet away from the now identified person.

"AAAHH...!" Oskar suddenly yelled out in surprise, startling the boy who in response took a step back.

The man's eyes squeezed shut as he swiftly crossed his arms over his face in fear...as if on reflex. "Please don't hurt me..." he begged with a trimmer in his voice, crouched down upon the hard ground with his back against the wall.

"It's me, Mr. Kokoschka...Arnold..." he spoke; stressing his name as he hesitantly stepped forward again, putting a reassuring hand on one of the older man's tense shoulders.

Oskar visibly seemed to relax at his reassurance, plopping his shielding arms down to his sides. "Oh, Arnold..." he sighed with each exhaled utterance. "It's...only...you..."

Not said in disappointment or annoyance, Arnold could clearly tell from the expression on his face that these words were spoken out of relief. Thus, this peculiar reaction caused the younger man to become even more worried over the other's welfare.

He squatted down near him, now at his eye level. "Are you okay...?" the sixteen year old questioned seriously, the furrowing of his brow visible even though more than half of his wide face was shrouded in artificial light.

"Uh...yeah...heh heh..." the boarder said, trying to laugh in his usual way, yet couldn't hide the nervousness that laced his voice. "You just scared me," he added as he slowly stood back up, dusting off the front of his pants.

Arnold gave him a worried, dubious look as he rose up too, his brow creasing further. "Are you sure that's all..." he emphasized slowly, still not over what happened less than a minute ago. "Because you were acting very—"

"Heh...heh..." the slightly taller man laughed again, interrupting the boy. "You teenagers...you always over-react..."

"But Mr. Kokoschka..."

"I'm good, Arnold..." the tenant hurried with some finality, cutting him off yet again. Anxiously, his brown eyes shifted from the watch on his wrist to some distant spot in the darkness. "It's late...I better get inside," he added rather quickly.

"But wa—" Arnold tried once more, clearly bemused but his companion had already sidestepped him and marched out of the alley. It didn't take much time after this before he heard the front door slam shut.

The blonde slowly shook his head. "What could have made him act like that?" he questioned to himself as he thoughtfully propped one hand on a jean-clad hip.

However, Oskar's weird behavior could only shortly fill his musings before his eyes landed on the abandoned trash bag which still lay exposed upon the ground.

Temporarily putting his concern aside, he rushed back over to the garbage can, glad that after his thorough inspection, he found that the bag was all in one piece.

The boy felt fortunate, knowing that the local cats and raccoons would've loved to pounce on such an open target and carelessly leave their trash littered all over the ground.

Quickly lifting up the bag, he placed it inside the receptacle, tightly securing the lid over it.

Now pleased to have that small task done, he curiously raised his eyes up to the moon once again. But, unfortunately, the supposed illuminant now seemed rather dim and distant compared to how it appeared when he had first stepped out.

Arnold sighed in disappointment, not only from the change in the beautiful scene but from the feelings that surged through him because of the unsatisfactory answer he'd received from the boarder.

Ever since an early age, the teen had always felt obligated to help others. But, now, in this situation, he wasn't sure what to do. Oskar hadn't even asked for his assistance and Arnold didn't want to pry into business that was probably none of his concern.

With more thought, he decided that he wouldn't press Oskar further on the subject (even though he still felt the desire to do so) unless the adult came to him or certain alarming circumstances came forward. Besides, he soon reasoned, there was probably nothing going on except for the man's odd quirks (which he personally had many of).

A yawn of drowsiness unexpectedly came over Arnold, his body aware of the last hour. Ready for some rest, he headed back towards the boardinghouse, surprised by the silence that reached his ears as he opened the front door.

Yet, all of a sudden, his grandmother came rushing downstairs with an onslaught of animals in front of her, every one of them tied up on leaches. "Go find those clues..." she commanded them, following after the group into the foyer as they all (dogs, cats and Abner in front) snuffed the wooden floor. "We must catch the scoundrel that stole the Queen's jewels!"

She left out of his focal point almost as quickly as she had come, her grandson not even the least bit phased by her behavior...more interested in his ascent up the stairs. He finished the first set, walking passed the various occupied rooms until a loud, distinguishable voice came to his attention.

"Oskar...where have you been? It's almost midnight..." He heard a female voice say, most likely Suzie's, from behind one of the doors. Her tone came across as a mixture of worry and exasperation to the teenager's ears, as he curiously hesitated to hear the man's answer.

"I was out for a walk...there's nothing like some fresh air, heh..." he answered, ending with a light chuckle.

"At this hour?" she questioned suspiciously. "And since when have you gone on walks?"

"...Since I ran out of bus money..." he replied slowly.

"What happened to the money I gave you yesterday...?"

"Suzie, I was robbed..." he whined out. "Red Hot Smoke should have won..."

There was a pause. "Wait...you spent all your money on a horserace again...? Oskar!" she cried, her voice bouncing off the corridor's walls.

Arnold flinched before walking away towards his room, disappointed with himself that he had fallen into eavesdropping on the couple...knowing that it was bad to do so (no matter how loud they were). But his increasing distance down the hall did nothing to stop him from overhearing the man ask his wife to dismiss the issue...instead, voicing in favor of her making him a sandwich.

Author's Endnotes:

I'm not sure what I think of this, but I'll just let it be. Besides, I have other writings to finish, including the second chapter of ABOASP (All Because of a Shiny Penny)…and some serious celebrating to do now that finals are over. *YAY* I'm going to treat myself to some ice cream and maybe a Muppet movie marathon. *Mahna Mahna*

Peace...