It was interesting to say the least. My alarm clock had went off at three in the afternoon, and in response I groaned and smacked my hand around in an attempt to turn it off. I moved to where I was laying on my front when I failed to find it and groggily looked for the off-switch. After a moment I finally found and hit the "off" button, quickly slumping back into my mattress with a groan, and stretched out as I yawned loudly before flopping back down and rolling onto my back.

I lazily pulled myself up, sliding my legs over the edge of my bed, only to pause and just stare at what was in front of me. I blinked a couple times before brushing my bangs back with my hand and holding them there at the top of my head to make sure I was seeing clearly.

Moments like these I was glad I was near-sighted, but at the same time I still didn't believe what I was looking at. I let my hair fall back down in my face and instead just rubbed at my eyes, making sure I got the crusties out, and leaned forward, blinking. "Why is it, that the one day I don't decide to wake up by falling out of my bed, that there's a basket full of animals?" Maybe I'm still sleeping and this is just a dream. I wouldn't put anything past it; I've had plenty of weird dreams before. I got up and walked forward before kneeling down, picking up the first animal that caught my attention; a spotted rabbit with green eyes. I stared at him, the very life I could see in his eyes informing me of his being along with the twitching of his muzzle and ears. His fur felt pretty real as well.

I set him back down in the basket before reaching over to poke the orange tabby cat on the forehead. He blinked at me with his violet eyes. Odd... I don't remember cat's being able to have purple, but then-what do I know? I looked around, mentally counting them all as panic started to well up in my stomach, and just as I was about to burst into frustrated tears my eyes met those of an brilliant blue. The rabbit was beautiful... long silver fur covered his big body, neatly brushed, and his bright blue eyes stood out among it all. "Dude... you're gorgeous." The rabbit blinked at me in surprise and it took all I had to pull my gaze away. I shook my head, dazed, and blinked a few times. "Okay, calm down." I pressed a hand against my forehead, trying to steady my breathing as I started to panic again. "It's... it's five animals. Don't know why the cats haven't ate the rabbits yet, but that's good, that's good-they're good cats." They're behaved and I won't be finding any corpses any time soon. Awesome.

But oh my god what am I going to do? I can't take care of five animals; I barely have enough money to feed myself! I don't even have money to feed myself! The hell am I supposed to do!?

"Oh, god, no..." This is not okay. Very much not okay. "Why is this happening; let this be a dream. Please let this be a dream." I covered my face with my hands, and then peeked through my fingers. Nope. They're still there. Pretty silver rabbit had a tiny albino one cuddling up to him, and the spotted rabbit seemed to be trying to keep as much distance between him and the other animals as much as possible despite how cramped it was. Laying on his back was a black cat with amber eyes, and beside him dangling out of the basket was a small orange tabby. "I don't have money to take care of animals!" I felt like crying. Why was this happening? No-how was this happening? Did someone break in? Did Grandma drop by while I was sleeping?

But that doesn't make sense. She hates animals. I wasn't even allowed to have a goldfish when I was little!

"You're not real! You're not real, you're not real, you're not real, you're not real!" Tears-nope, nope, I'm not crying. I refuse. "Oh god, oh god, oh god; no! Okay-um, oh god, I don't know what to do." What am I supposed to do? Call the police? Tell them what-Santa dropped by and left me a present? The animal thief decided to do something different for a change? They'll send me to the loony bin, and like hell I'm calling a pound. If they don't get adopted they'll be killed! But that just means that I have to take care of them regardless and I don't have the money to do that! Oh god... do I even have food downstairs? "I got cabbage. I think I got cabbage. And tuna. Wait, can cats eat tuna?" I was muttering to myself, eyes darting around the room as I stood. "Cats eat fish; tuna's fish." And it's not like I have internet; I can't google anything. "Okay; I have cabbage and I have tuna and I need to get ready for work and oh my god, this is not how I'm supposed to start my morning!"

Next time, roll off the bed like you usually do. Otherwise you get random animals in your bedroom!

"Don't move!" I ordered, pointing at the basket full of animals, and seeing their blank looks I just waved my finger at them for a moment as I struggled for something to say before pointing at a certain one. "Silver Rabbit's in charge! I'll be back! To carry you to the kitchen. Or... bring food here. But I'll probably carry to the kitchen so don't move! And don't cause the silver rabbit any problems! Got it? G-Good!" With that I slammed my door shut, making sure that they wouldn't be able to leave the room, and quickly made my way through the livingroom to get to the kitchen. The empty house echoed with my frantic footsteps as I ran, simply reminding me of the extra two bedrooms that were completely vacant.

One had been, or what I like to imagine was, for my dad and the other... was for my best friend. Grandma gave me this house after Dad's death and for a graduation "present". That's what she calls it, but I know she just wanted me out of her house. She hated looking at me after her son's death.

Now, as for my best friend who was supposed to be living with me... she got a boyfriend. And moved to France. So now I'm alone.

It was a pain, and I had to shut off the cable and internet because of money trouble, but Grandma still calls so I try to keep the house phone going. It was one of those old-fashioned ones with the chord, and I found it too cute to bother trying to replace.

But yeah-a two-story house with only one person? It takes a toll on a you. That's how I got started talking to myself in the first place; the sound fills up the silence.

I eventually arrived to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge, utterly and completely frantic to find food for the poor animals. Who knows how long they've been sitting there, waiting for me to wake up? They're probably starving and I... oh man... Why didn't I wake up sooner!?

It took a minute, but I finally found the cabbage in my practically empty fridge, and I found the tuna residing in my dust-gathering cabinets. I made a face, but placed the cabbage on the floor and tore a few leaves off of it and letting it surround it, and then poured the canned tuna on a paper plate. I then got out two clean containers and filled them with water, setting them near the food. And, just to be on the safe side, I moved over to the livingroom and rummaged through a few drawers and cabinets for some newspapers. After grabbing those I laid them out on the kitchen floor near the food.

I nodded my head, hands on my hips, and approved my handiwork. I'll have to go shopping for actual food after work today but-OH SHIT I NEED TO GET READY! I practically leaped five feet in the air and almost slammed into a wall once or twice on the way to my bedroom. I opened the door, practically shouting, "Food's in the kitchen; use your noses; I'm going to be late for my job!"

And, in my rush, my foot hooked over my ankle and I was sent toppling over, face-planting into the floor with a high pitch scream.

"...Oww..."

That really hurt... I groaned and removed my face from the floor, spitting out some hair that got in my mouth, and blinked when I saw that the animals were staring at me.

"What!? You'd be in a hurry too if you were late for work!" I don't want to be yelled at. I hate being yelled at; it always made me feel useless and pathetic. I pushed myself up and rummaged through the drawers for undergarments and decent clothes to paint in.

I grabbed a a stained black plaid shirt and a pair of worn jeans. I dashed to the bathroom to get ready, and when I was done-now fully dressed with contacts in and my dark auburn hair up in a sloppy pony, I walked out and found, to my surprise, that the animals weren't in the basket. Did... "Did they actually understand what I said?" I turned my head to look at the open door, which I suspected they left from. I made my way to the kitchen slowly after grabbing a pair of socks and saw them all eating. "Huh." Then again, they probably could smell it and followed it anyway.

I felt a hole in my chest as I stared at them, tired and guilty and ashamed.

They'd get nothing out of having me as an owner; I can't provide for them at all. I'm a mess. How am I supposed to pay bills if I can't even grocery shop? I mean, I ride a bike everywhere I go! I can't actually drive and I definitely don't own a car, and if I did then it probably would have gotten towed or something because I wouldn't have been able to make that car payment along with everything else. I'm just barely scraping along with paying my electricity and water bills, and it takes all I have to make sure I can keep my phone going. There's no way I'll be able to take care of them. And I doubt after what happened I should even be allowed to care for a life, nonetheless five lives...

"Mrrow?"

I jolted and looked down when I felt something brush against my leg. It was the orange cat. And upon feeling something cold on my face I realized I was crying and quickly wiped the tears away, sniffling, and knelt down with a smile. "What is it, little guy?" Or is he a she? I leaned over to get a look and saw that the cat was clearly male. "You not like the tuna or something?" He meowed again and brushed his head against my hand. I stared blankly for a moment before figuring out what it was he wanted. "Oh! Sorry. I'm not good with animals." I reached a hand out and started to pet him, and after the black cat finished eating what was left of the tuna he licked his lips and made his way over. "And, uh, sorry for yelling. I'm just... stressed out, you know?"

They probably didn't, but black cat's eyes seemed to flash with understanding. He licked my other hand, and it took all I had not to pull my hand away and wipe the spot he licked on my jeans. They were cute, but... saliva was definitely a no-go. "Meow."

"...You realize I don't speak cat, right? Or rabbit?" I sent a glance towards the three who were eating the cabbage. Silver rabbit looked like he was finished eating and was now just waiting on the albino, and spotted rabbit appeared to be eating all the cabbage he could. It's safe to say I know that one's favorite veggie. I looked back down at the cats, whom I was petting at the same time. "If I get enough tips from my second job I'll go buy you guys some actually animal food, alright?" Just how expensive is cat food anyway? And rabbits eat vegetables, so it should be fine to just get them cabbage and carrots... right? I haven't the slightest clue. Maybe I'll ask Nicole or Jason later.

With that thought I sat down and pulled my socks on before standing and making my way to the front door in the livingroom where my shoes were.

"I'm going out; the pretty rabbit-" I paused, realizing they probably didn't know who I was talking about, "The pretty silver rabbit is in charge," I corrected. I'm fairly certain they all understand me, and even if they don't I'm just going to talk to them anyway. It was nice to have the company. Really freaking nice; in the short half hour I've seen of them I was loving having another living being in the house, but at the same time I hated it because they'll probably starve along with me. "If he, or uh, she-okay, I'm just calling you all "he's" until I find out your actual genders! If he tells me you all were a pain in the butt then I'm comin' after ya! Got it?" I pointed a finger at them as I used the rest of my fingers to pull on one of my brown, paint stained gloves. "Behave. And the newspaper on the floor is if you need to use the bathroom; if you even think about going on the carpet then so help me I'll shave all the fur off of your body. And I'll do it with a normal razor, too, since I don't have the cash to buy one of those fancy electric ones. Deal? Deal." I grabbed my jacket that was hanging off the doorknob and put it on, pulling the keys out of my pocket as I unlocked the door and opened it. "I'll be back sometime in the morning, so don't wait for me." I closed the door behind me, locked it, and shoved my keys into my pocket with a sigh.

Let's just hope they don't destroy my house while I'm gone...

I walked on the porch, as it was connected to the front of the house, and walked down the steps before running to the side where my bike was parked. I grabbed it, got on, cast one more glance at the two story house with a deck, before looking ahead of me and pedaling.

Jason was the first to greet me when I arrived. I parked by the alley near the candy shop and got off, and was more than grateful when Jason welcomed me to the set with a cup of warm coffee. "You are amazing," I breathed and chugged, badly needing this to last me the day. "I didn't have time to make coffee this morning."

The blonde looked surprised at my words before asking, "Why? Did you wake sleep through your alarm?"

"Not really; I just..." Would it be alright to tell him? I don't know. "I just had a nightmare. Don't remember it, but I recall waking up and thinking it was really weird." Yeah; waking up to five animals at the foot of my bed. "What about you? How was your night?" I paused in my devouring the coffee to talk to him. Jason was pretty tall compared to me, the male being five foot nine whereas I stood at a measly five two. He had pale blonde hair that he had cut short and spiked up just the slightest, and his eyes were a stormy blue.

"Same as normal; stayed up late, went to bed with only three hours left." I scowled at him, opening my mouth to rant about how that wasn't good for his health, but he quickly held a hand up to inform, "Relax, Rhea; I was joking. I went to bed with five hours left." I just gave him a look. Jason chuckled at me, ruffled my already messy hair, and told me, "Besides, it's alright if one of doesn't show up. We got fifteen others. Richard isn't going to care if two or three of us are missing."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, before taking another sip of my coffee. "I seriously appreciate the coffee though."

"No problem. Not like I drink it." True. Jason hated coffee and the very smell, but he was still nice enough to get some for me. Guess that's what happens when you're friends for over... thirteen years? Maybe fifteen? I'm not sure. We became friends sometime during elementary school through another person, but that person moved to another school and we haven't seen him since. Probably won't, either. But that's okay; I don't miss him that much as I used to.

I quickly chugged the rest of my coffee, dumped the plastic cup in the trash near the bike stands, and slapped Jason playfully on the shoulder. "Alright, let's get going, blondie. We got a long day ahead of us." At least I do. "Oh, and by the way... out of curiosity, rabbits can actually eat cabbage and carrots, right?"

"Yeeeeaaah," he replied, speaking in a tone that implied he thought I was dumb. I scowled and resisted the urge to smack him.

"Jerk."

"You love me."

"I wonder."

My day was mixture of ups-and-downs, though it mostly just proceeded to get worse. I almost passed out once or twice, and when another crew member bumped into me I ended up knocking over some white paint and completely soaking myself as I crashed onto the ground and into the giant white puddle that had gathered. Most of the people were annoyed, but they weren't too terribly angry since I was the only one covered in paint, and Richard was just irritable because he had to send someone to get some more white paint.

I was still allowed to paint after that, and I did a pretty decent job, but the second I stopped moving the paintbrush it was like I was disaster waiting to happen.

Nobody had extra clothes to lend me, so I was stuck wearing icky wet clothes all the way to my next job once I was done helping with my part of the mural. I biked it as fast as I could so I would be able to have extra time to wash up in the bathroom and get most of the paint off of my face. I made it with thirty minutes to spare and quickly parked, ran in, and made my way to the back where I could wash up and get changed into my uniform.

Nolan was an old-fashioned boss, and being in his fifties he quite liked seeing young women in skirts, so I, unfortunately, had to wear a skirt with my job. Thankfully it went down to mid-thigh, the uniform consisting of a white blouse and a black pencil skirt and, depending on your preference, heels or flats. I wore the flats and once I finished up buttoning my blouse in the locker room I headed to the bathroom to rid myself of the white paint staining my face and hair. Paper towels aren't exactly the best thing to use to dry your hair, but it would have to do. I got out most of the paint, but a little still remained so I hoped and prayed no one would notice.

Other than that you would have never guessed I went swimming with a paint puddle. Brilliant, right? Yeah, I thought so too. Not.

I did pretty well, acting extra cheerful and friendly to the customers, and got pretty good tips. This nice old lady noticed the paint in my hair, so I explained to her how it happened, and telling me that she hoped I would have a better day tomorrow she gave me a ten. She was a really generous and nice lady. I actually spoke to her about how I woke up and found a bunch of animals in my room, and what they looked like, and how they were the reason I was late for one of my other jobs, and that I was actually considering keeping them despite my lack of money. I repeat; she was a really nice old lady. She gave me a twenty after that and told me that I should bring some pictures of them next time-of which I told her when I'd be coming back to work here and the time-and I promised I'd show her the pictures.

I left that job around ten pm, more tired than ever, but happy as I had a good forty-five dollars in tips. Whoo! I was tired, but I managed to bike it to my next job, which was hilarious as it was where I was going to be doing some shopping once I got done. Bright side, I get a discount since I work there. Yeah! Employee perks!

I was left working until four am, so I sluggishly made my way over to the food aisles after closing my lane. Closing up was easy, but trying to stay awake long enough to make sure I got the right food for the animals and pay for it was the rough part. Somehow, through sheer willpower, I managed to finish it and went outside, shoving the grocery bags into the basket of my bike and rode.

I lived pretty far away, sadly, so I got home around five thirty. I walked up the steps of the porch and unlocked the door, letting the bags hang on my left arm, and opened it. I closed it behind me and leaned against it as I pulled my shoes off using my toes, and then dragged myself over to the kitchen. As I turned on the lights and walked, the animals sleeping around the living room began to wake up and stared at me in surprise before quickly running after me.

I guess they were really hungry. I know I am... but I didn't get anything for me, so I'm going hungry again tonight. Or, well, today.

"I got cabbage and cat food and-" I yawned loudly, dumping the bags on the kitchen floor as I knelt down to open them. "Carrots." I pulled out the wet food and dried food for the cats to see, and set a carrot and some cabbage on the floor for the rabbits to eat. I put the rest of the vegetables in the fridge and tiredly asked the cats, "Which one do you want?"

They sniffed the bags before recoiling in disgust. The rabbits were already eating their food though.

"What's wrong with it? It's cat food!" Ugh, fine. "Tuna then. Jeez." I'm so tired... my eyes are watering. I don't want to deal with moody cats right now. My day is bad enough as is. I opened another can of tuna and dumped it on the plate, the cats dashing forward to eat it eagerly. I then slumped, leaning against the fridge, before falling over and laying on my side on the floor. I used my right arm as a pillow, curling up into a ball as I closed my eyes. I found myself falling asleep within mere seconds.

"What's wrong with her?" The orange cat asked in confusion, watching as she just collapsed on the floor. "Did she hit her head on the fridge or something?"

"No, you stupid cat," The spotted rabbit growled, glaring, "She fell asleep! Anyone could see the bags under her eyes and know she's fatigued!"

The black cat rolled his eyes at their behavior, annoyed, and said, "Just shut up and eat your food; let the woman sleep." Sure he was a little irked that she tried to feed him that "cat food" that smelled more like rabbit turds than actually sustenance, but she was trying. She didn't ask for them to appear in her life after all. He could give her a little break. "She's been gone almost an entire day-working. Just leave her alone. If you keep screaming, then she's gonna wake up."

"Well, shouldn't we at least wake her up so she can move to the couch or her bed?" The orange cat suggested.

"Eddie..." The albino rabbit whispered softly. "I don't think she's feeling well..."

"I agree, Young Master," The silver rabbit responded calmly, his blue eyes flickering over to their "owner's" sleeping form. "But I'm certain that she takes care of herself; we just can't see it." After all, no one is foolish enough to let themselves go without eating or getting a proper rest, right? "Being gone so long, she must have eaten at some time."

"...I suppose..." He didn't look convinced, but seemed willing to listen to the silver rabbit anyway. It sounded almost like he was trying to convince himself that was the case rather than him or anyone else.

"Hey, foodgiver! Wake up and go to bed!" The silver rabbit turned his head to watch in shock as the black cat rudely pressed his face against the woman's face to wake her. "You can't sleep on the floor!"

She groaned in response and groggily opened her eyes, her dark green orbs flickering around the room blearily as she tried to make sense of where she was.

I woke up to a man screaming. But when I opened my eyes all that was in front of me were the animals, all looking concerned. I rubbed my head, sitting up, and groaned. "I passed out, didn't I?" Jeez. Just my luck. "I'm sorry. I'll just..." I stood and wobbled, dizzy, and quickly leaned onto the fridge for balance. I felt sick. "Oh, wow. Okay." I waited for the world to stop spinning. "I'm... blaming the paint..."

I nearly tripped right there as I walked around the animals to get to my bedroom. I walked through the livingroom and to the hallway, bluntly ignoring the stairs, and opened the door. I barely had enough energy left to put my pajamas on-a plain T-Shirt and shorts-and take out my contacts and brush my teeth. I made my way over to my bed and collapsed on it, sinking into the mattress almost like melted chocolate on a marshmallow, and I was on the verge of falling back asleep when I felt the bed shift.

I squinted and through the darkness I could see a pair of blue eyes staring at me with concern. I don't really mind if the animals sit on my bed, but... "Ya here to be my cuddle buddy or somethin'?" I spoke sluggishly, too tired to try and speak clearly, but the silver rabbit seemed to understand what I was saying. "Because I'm warnin' ya... I'm a blanket hog." I then shifted, turning on my side so I was facing him, and closed my eyes. I patted the spot near my chest, not really expecting him to accept my offer, so when I curled my hands up to my chest I was more than a little surprised when I felt the bed shift as the rabbit hopped, his long soft fur tickling my arms as he laid next to me. "Night..."

The rabbit made no noise, though I was fully aware of it's stare despite having my eyes closed. After a moment I opened them and reached a hand over, gently stroking his fur with my fingers. I stared at him, the two of us just looking at each in the eyes, and after a moment I apologized. "I'm sorry." His eyes showed confusion. "You're... stuck with me instead of someone else. I'm not... I'm not going to be able to provide for you and friends very well a-and..." I could feel frustrated and ashamed tears start to well up in my eyes. I choked. "-and I'm s-so sorry. I'd... I'd give you away to people who can actually provide for you, but I-I don't really know that many people who I can trust a-and... and if I send you all to the pound you'll get put to sleep if you don't get adopted. And..." At the same time, I selfishly wanted to keep you here so I wouldn't be alone.

I stopped petting him to wipe at my face to get rid of the tears. I sniffled.

"And I... I don't know what to do." I took a shaky breath, wishing there was something I could do to actually help these poor animals. "I never even had a pet before either, so... I'm sorry... that you got stuck with such a pathetic owner." Forgive me. "I hope you and the other animals aren't mad." It's been so long since I had company or someone to talk to like this. My grandma doesn't like me and Nicole and Jason are really the only people I can trust ever since Dad's accident and Samantha's moving away. She doesn't even try to contact me, I thought gloomily, thinking of all the letters I sent her way and how I never got a response. Samantha had completely forgotten about me. I don't even know what I did wrong...

A cold, wet nose pressing against my cheek snapped me out of my thoughts and I blinked, looking at the silver rabbit in surprise. Was... Was he trying to comfort me or something? The rabbit's ears then twitched, one remaining forward and the other turning and leaning backwards as if to listen to something. It twitched a few times before it moved forward again, the bed shifting as the white rabbit hopped onto it. Silver rabbit pulled his nose away and moved to where he was underneath my chin, curling into a ball against my chest with the white rabbit curling up to his side.

I resisted the urge to laugh at the cuteness of the two of them and instead smiled softly, closing my eyes. His long fur tickled my skin, but I didn't mind. I actually welcomed it. "Good night, you two." I bet if they could actually speak human rather than just understand it, one of them would have commented on how it was morning.

I slept pretty darn good and the only reason why I even bothered waking up later that day was because albino bunny kept nudging me with his head to wake me up. I groaned, not wanting to move and get up as I was comfy, but after a minute I groggily opened my eyes and stared into the crimson of the white rabbit's. "Wha...? Wait..." I pushed myself up, ignoring his and silver rabbit's stare, and looked at my clock that resided on my nightstand. My eyes widened and I shot up out of the bed-only to get tangled in the blankets and crash onto the floor. "Ow..."

The animals looked slightly concerned when I didn't get up right away, but the second I started to get up after kicking off the blankets they realized that I was alright.

"I can't believe it's that late! I need to feed you guys!" I quickly picked up silver rabbit and cast a glance at white rabbit, and I became at a loss how to hold them both. Oh, wait! I quickly set silver rabbit down, confusing him, and picked up the white rabbit to set him on my shoulder. I then picked up the silver rabbit again, holding him against my chest. "There! It works." Though two rabbits are kinda heavy... but that's okay! It's a work in progress. I slowly made my way out of the room as I didn't want to drop albino bunny, and said, "I hope you guys are okay with eating only cabbage and carrots right now; I don't get my paycheck until Wednesday and I don't start work again until Monday, so I won't be able to buy you guys anything else until then. I also don't really know what all rabbits can eat, so... there's that, too. I also need to return the cat food... Picky felines." I scowled, walking down the hallway to get to the kitchen. "They have no idea how expensive that stuff is and they won't even eat it! It's cat food. For cats. But I guess I can't really complain; I'm not the one eating it. I know rabbits can eat veggies though..." I paused, just a few feet away from the kitchen, and looked at the albino bunny on my shoulder. "Can rabbits eat apples?" I shook my head, making my way into the kitchen and kneeling down and carefully setting the rabbits on the ground. "I dunno; I'll ask Jason later. He knows these things."

I quickly got to pulling out some more cabbage. I tore off a few leaves, handing them to the rabbits and trying to ignore the smell of the food as my stomach twisted sickly. Once I finished giving them their food I pulled out a bag of bread for me and took out a single loaf, throwing the rest back in the fridge. Silver rabbit stared at me questioningly, almost as if to ask "That's all you're eating"?

The odd characteristics he's shown of understanding human tongue and behavior was making me wonder if this was like Flowers for Algernon and instead of it being the albino rabbit, though in the original story it was a mouse, it was the silver rabbit. He seemed far more intelligent than I think rabbits should be. Of course, I don't know much about animals so it's probably completely normal, but... it almost felt like I was talking to another person. A mute person, but still a person.

"What?" I asked, feeling oddly defensive of my bad eating habits. "I'm broke! I don't have money; I told you this." Twice, or maybe three times now. "I have three jobs: one pays nothing, another gives awesome tips, and the last isn't that good of a wage. And I spent the forty bucks of tips on your food yesterday after work. I'm not exactly made of money, honey." I took another bite of my bread, silently berating myself in my head for being so irritable about being broke and taking it out on the innocent rabbit. I swallowed and sighed. "I'm sorry... I-I shouldn't have snapped like that. Life just... Life just really sucks right now, you know?"

He lowered his head, seeming to think deeply about my words, before nibbling on some of the cabbage. I stared at the two rabbits, thinking of what I should call them. I knew from when I picked them up earlier that they were both male, and I know the black cat definitely was. "Pretty Boy. Pretty Boy and... Peter. Yeah." I smiled, like that. "You're Pretty Boy," I pointed at the silver rabbit and then at the albino bunny, "and you're Peter, for Peter White. He's the White Rabbit and has red eyes, so it fits you perfectly. Although I don't think you go kidnapping innocent young girls and bringing them into a different world simply because you're in love with them. But he's cool. I might name the black cat Sirius..." I hummed to myself, ignoring Peter's blank stare. Pretty Boy didn't seem to know how to react. Instead he just blinked, bringing his ears forward, and knelt down to finish nibbling his leaf.

Before long the two rabbits were done eating and hopped over. I moved over so I was leaning against the cabinets next to the fridge and picked Pretty Boy up and set him in my lap. Peter climbed up onto my thigh and laid down, closing his eyes and going to sleep as I pet him and his friend. Well, with the way they act I think Pretty Boy might be his dad or something. Maybe a brother? Aw, that is so sweet. It's already very clear that the two of them are very close.

"You two are adorable." Peter's ears twitched at that. Suddenly his ears moved forward, turning to the direction of the livingroom, and I followed his gaze to see what he was hearing only to watch as the cats and the spotted rabbit made their way into the kitchen. I opened the fridge upon seeing them, turning only my torso so I could see what it was I was doing without really getting up, and opened the drawer the cabbage and the small almost empty pack of honey ham was in. I ripped off quite a few leaves for the spotted rabbit and tossed them to him, and then did the same for the cats. Out of ham I closed the drawer and the fridge, wiping my hands on my jeans as they were wet from the ham juice. "I have three cans of tuna left, so that's enough for your guys' dinner tonight, and breakfast and dinner tomorrow." Black cat, ham hanging halfway out of his mouth as he chewed on it, lifted his head to look at me with his big golden eyes. "I'll return the cat food tomorrow since you guys obviously don't like it, so I should get some money back, and I'll get you some more ham and tuna. That okay?"

Black cat finished eating his slice of ham and licked his lips, before wagging his tail and moving forward. He brushed his side against my left knee and rubbed his head against the thigh the white rabbit was not on.

"I'll take that as a yes," I said and stopped petting Pretty Boy to pet him. "Oh, I'm also going to call you Sirius from now on. Okay?"

"Meow." ...Why on earth did it sound like it was just a human trying to mimic a cat? Oh, whatever. Pretty Boy's intelligence is making me question everything. "Mrrooow." Okay, that one sounded more feline. I'm not going crazy after all.

Orange cat then meowed and I turned to look at him, only to flinch when he suddenly jumped up on my thigh and made his home there.

"...I'm gonna call you Kyo." Orange cat was a boy as well. All the animals appeared to be male. On the bright side, that means I don't have to deal with baby bunnies or kittens. I'm this close to calling him Firestar though. But I won't. "So that's Pretty Boy, Peter, Sirius, Kyo, and..." I looked at the spotted rabbit, who was narrowing his green eyes at me. Emerald and Jade don't really work... Oliver? No. Cow bunny is too mean. How about... "Momo!" The offended look on his face nearly made me bust out laughing, and I swore that Sirius had choked on his own saliva. Spotted rabbit glared at him. "Hey, come on! Momo is a highly intelligent flying lemur and has ninja skills beyond comprehension! You should be honored to be named after him!"

I feel like Sirius and Kyo were laughing... I'm not sure though. Can animals laugh?

Momo continued glaring at the cats, but seemed slightly less offended after my explanation. He was still irritable, but at least seemed to accept the title. "Awesome. Okay, well... seeing as I have the day off you're all stuck with me, which is probably awful for you, but oh well." Spotted rabbit, having just finished eating his leaves, lifted his head up and gave me a questioning look. He was probably wondering why I said what I did about it being awful, but I didn't give an explanation. Instead I picked the animals off of me and set them back down on the ground, standing, threw the empty ham pack away, and made my way to the livingroom-but only stopping to pet Momo who then promptly ran to hide in a corner by the stove.

I put in a movie, deciding to have Howl's Moving Castle as background noise and to entertain the animals, and then went to grab clothes to change into as I was going to take a shower.

I still had paint in my hair after all and I probably smelled like sweat. Having the hot water pelt down on me like it was felt amazing and I was more than just a little happy to get clean. Once I was done and dried off I threw on a black v-neck shirt, the sleeves pushed half way up my forearms, and a pair of black capri yoga pants with a blue waistband. I brushed my hair, put it up in a sloppy pony-tail with my bangs hanging in my face, and put my contacts back in. I looked pretty bad due to the lack of nutrients; my cheeks were starting to sink in and I was much paler than I should be, and due to my lack of sleep there were bags underneath my eyes. I was also much skinnier than I should be... I was five two but I weighed one fifteen. When I first started moved in to the house I was around one thirty. This seriously isn't good...

I was always pretty petite, but this is just going out of bounds. I... almost look fragile. Like I'll break any moment. Maybe I should put in some extra hours at one of my jobs so I'll actually have money for real groceries... But if I do that I won't get any sleep at all! Ugh. And I don't want to quit any of them... the mural painting was volunteer work, but I enjoyed doing it so much, and the waitress job gave me pretty good tips... I barely get five hundred per paycheck at the store, but I need that money and I don't want to have to schedule around everything to train for a different job if I quit that one.

I groaned as I made my way out of the bathroom, feeling drained just by thinking about my predicament. I dragged myself to my bedroom to grab my notebooks and pencil bag and then made my way to the livingroom, plopping down on the couch and pulling out a few drawings I had ripped out and setting them on the coffee table in front of me, separating them by fandom, and flipped to a blank page.

I had just gotten halfway through of drawing Sebastian from Black Butler when I realized there was a pair of eyes watching. I looked around, only to find Pretty Boy sitting on the armrest of the couch and staring at the drawing I had on my lap. Without thinking about it I put the pencil down and reached up, petting him lightly. He jumped a little, having been focusing so intently on the drawing that he didn't pay any attention to me, before relaxing and leaning in to the touch. "I'm surprised you're not with Peter," I told him. He stared at me. "You're always with him, so I was beginning to think it was impossible to see you two not in a room together." I chuckled. I could feel my stress fading away as I spoke to him, his presence welcoming and distracting. "I think it's cute that you're always taking care of him." I pet him for a few more seconds before returning to drawing, soon adding in an amused Ciel as Sebastian gestured frantically for them to get away as in the background there was a tiny Grell running and waving at him. Pretty Boy watched me draw intently, and unlike with people I felt comfortable being watched by him.

After a while I closed my notebook, putting all my drawings back in, and put it back in the place I had grabbed it. I then went to my room, walking over to the desk where my laptop resided, turned it on, and waited to be called on Ringo. Ten minutes passed and then the familiar ringing sounded and I quickly accepted the call.

"Hey."

"Hey, Jason." I greeted in response. "'Sup?" The male on the screen shrugged in response.

"You know... same ol', same ol'. How's life?"

The conversation started out awkward at first, just like it always did, before we could start talking more easily. "Hey, you, uh, remember what I said yesterday? About... About what rabbits like to eat?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? What of it? You didn't buy a rabbit, did you?"

"Well, no... I didn't... buy one." I hesitated, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Peter staring at me from his spot on the window sill. "I found three. And two cats," I added as an afterthought.

"Oh my god-where do you find FIVE animals?" He didn't look like he completely believed me, but at the same time he knew I wasn't one to lie about these things. "Where are they?"

"In the livingroom, I think. One's actually sitting on my window sill right now," I pointed in the direction, but was too lazy to turn the computer so he could see him. "But I found them. In a basket. At the foot of my bed. I just woke up and they were there." I was pretty blunt with my explanation, not bothering to hold back. "They're all really cute, actually."

"Wait, wait, wait-did someone break in!? Are you alright!? Oh my god, Rhea-is that why you were a zombie yesterday!? Did the person hurt you at all!?"

"What; no! I'm fine! Stressed out, maybe, but fine. And I don't think anyone broke in... if they did, then they were total ninjas. Nothing's missing." I think. Everything's still in place like it was the previous day... "Hey, you don't mind if I move to my bed, do you? I kinda wanna lean against my pillows."

"Why are you asking me? It's your room."

"I know, but you're the one who'd have to deal with the spinning and stuff and-"

"Rhea." He said, cutting me off with a stare. "Just move."

"Okay." I didn't waste time and awkwardly got up, pushing my chair in and unplugging my laptop. I picked it up and moved to my bed, setting it down on the bed as I sat cross-legged against my pillows which I had pressed against the wall. "Sorry."

"I can't believe you're apologizing."

"Sorry!"

"Stop it; you've been doing that since we were little. There's nothing to apologize for."

"S-" I cut myself off, made a conflicted face, and then sighed. "Fine..." I feel awful if I don't apologize though."So..." I brought up awkwardly, hoping to change the subject, "How are you and Diana?"

He stiffened, surprised, and his face quickly grew pink. "O-Oh... uh... you know. G-Good... Normal. I... Oh, hey-is that one of the rabbits!?" His distraction worked and I quickly looked around me, confused.

"What, where?" Right there, hopping into my lap, was the albino bunny. "Oh, yeah. That's Peter."

"You... actually named him? You're gonna keep them all!?"

Peter's red eyes stared at the screen, looking almost mystified by the fact that I was talking to Jason through a computer screen. I gave Jason an upset look, not understanding why he was freaking out like he was. It wasn't like he was the one who had to raise them. "Well... yeah. At least... until their original owner comes to pick them back up." I stared down at the albino bunny, before hesitantly reaching a hand over to pet him. For a second I thought he was going to run away like Momo, but he accepted my show of affection and let me pet him. I relaxed. "I mean, if they left them here... they'll come back after a few days, right?"

"I don't know... You live out in the middle of nowhere, Rhea."

"So? I also live on what used to be a farm, so I can start growing carrots and stuff for the rabbits." Not like I know the first thing about gardening or anything though...

"You don't even know how to garden," He deadpanned. I scowled, making a face, and retorted,

"I can read about it! You know I always research stuff if I don't know anything!"

"Yeah, yeah-holy shit, I just realized."

I blinked, dumbfounded. "What?"

"That rabbit's albino."

I nodded, acting as if he was stupid. "Yeah."

"Shut up! Wait-oh my god, you have a silver rabbit. Wait, no-grey?"

"Silver," I corrected, turning my head when I felt the bed shift, Pretty Boy having jumped up onto the bed and hopped until he was next to me. He stared with his blue eyes at the white rabbit in my lap and then up at me, one ear pointed at me and the other at my laptop where Jason was talking. He then laid down beside my leg. "This one's named Pretty Boy." I grinned and gently stroked his back with my fingers. He seemed to like it. "Isn't he beautiful?"

"Looks kinda weird to me. Is he a mutant?" What?

"No!" I glared at Jason in disbelief the second he asked, feeling oddly protective of the silver rabbit who had stiffened the moment Jason said that. "Did you forget to get your eyes checked; I named him Pretty Boy for a reason! He's gorgeous!" I picked Pretty Boy up and held him against my chest, scowling at the man on the screen before smiling down at the rabbit. His brilliant blue eyes looked confused, and at the same time hurt. I didn't like that look. "He's crazy. Jason's just mad because he can't get a girlfriend and he's taking it out on you 'cause you are a hundred times more beautiful than he'll ever be. Okay? Don't listen to him. He's stupid."

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

"Shut up; you hurt Pretty Boy's feelings!"

"He's a RABBIT. He doesn't have feelings!"

"Yes he does! Every living thing has feelings!"

"Oh my god, Rhea; this is ridiculous. He doesn't UNDERSTAND you."

"How do you know that!? He seemed pretty hurt when you insulted him! I'm fairly certain he understands everything I'm saying! He could be one of the genius animals or something!"

"Don't be stupid-"

"I AM stupid, Jason! I can't be something I'm not. But I know I'm at least right on this!" During our argument I ended up putting the stunned silver rabbit back on the bed, the albino rabbit jumping out of my lap and heading over to Pretty Boy and pressing his muzzle gently against his neck. He was either trying to comfort him, or hide from all the noise. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes from frustration and I knew if this argument kept up I was going to break down into tears before it could end. I hated yelling and I hated being yelled at, but I was not going to take this without saying something. I don't even know why Jason was saying this; he was being ludicrous. He was probably joking, but... I really didn't like it. "So quit being so mean to him!"

"Mean? What has gotten into you!? He's just an animal!"

"So? He still has feelings and emotion and a soul-" I felt like a little child, arguing that their imaginary friend was real, but something inside me snapped. Something in me made me want to protect that small, beautiful creature. Jason looked really angry the more I continued and before I could even think of finishing my sentence he cut me off.

"Okay, that's it," He said. "I'm done." Without another word he canceled the call and I could only sit there in silence as everything registered. Did... Did that really just happen? Did I... Did I really just get into a fight with my best friend?

"Oh god..." I choked, voice cracking. What have I done? I wanted to call, to apologize for getting so angry for such a stupid reason but... a part of me said that he'd rather be alone. I wanted to call, but I was scared to. I didn't want to make things worse... if they could even get worse. "No, no, no..." I pressed my back against the wall, trying desperately to hold back the tears. "No..." I screwed up. I screwed up so bad. It's all my fault. Jason definitely hates me now. Why else would he have hung up like that? I was stupid and argued and made him mad and-and-

I pulled my knees up to my chest, grabbing my hair as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I could feel them burn with the familiar stinging of tears, and my heart raced loudly in my chest as I found myself muttering and apologizing in a small voice repeatedly. He hates me. My best friend hates me and its all my fault. I shouldn't have gotten so mad, but I couldn't stop myself-the anger just formed and I snapped and I- I'm so sorry! I buried my face in my arms, rocking back-and-forth as I recalled the argument and how everything went wrong. Before long, I found myself recalling memories I had been trying to suppress as well. The whole reason Grandma sent me to live here...

If I had just died in his stead-no, if I wasn't even driving that day then...

I choked on my tears and the hiccups got stuck in my throat, recalling the car that slammed into us as I had driven down the highway. He just wanted to go to the store and-and he... "I-I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry!"

Between all the stress and frustration I was feeling for so long the guilt and pain just piled up onto my grief and overwhelmed me, pushing against the dam around my heart and breaking the wall. Ever since his funeral I had been locking it inside, trying my hardest to keep it all in, but all the emotions had finally bubbled up and exploded. So I cried uncontrollably, unable to stop, and kept going even as I felt the two rabbits press themselves to my side.

"I-It's all my fault!" I wasn't sure how long I cried-maybe an hour, maybe two-but when I was done and had calmed down I just sat there, staring into nothing as the gaping hole in my chest grew. I could only ponder why I was the one who was alive. Why I wasn't the one who died.

But I knew I would never have that answer. How could I?

I'm not sure how long I sat there, moping in my depression and guilt, before I finally blinked and zoned back into the real world where time was still turning. I was fully aware now of the two sets of eyes that were staring at me-confused, surprised, worried, relieved... They had a mixture of emotions. And it was because of those rabbits that I bothered reaching a hand over and petting them. My eyes hurt badly and I knew they were swollen, but I still cast a look at the clock to view the time.

It was night now... I needed to feed the animals.