Author's Note: Gaah, this chapter is shorter than the previous ones cause I've been working on the new chapter for Bittersweet Vengeance. There's a distinct absence of reviews, so apparently no one is reading that (or it's not good enough to review on, perhaps)? DX So I'll try to update both of these simultaneously..

Chapter 7: The Black Choker and the Stupid Cat

Tiffany had left, and I was now dressed in my nightgown, hair tied up, ready to settle in for a good-night's sleep after the entire day's events.

Raven jumped onto the bed as I pulled up my covers. I turned to face the cat.

And then, I remembered something.

"Raven, come here, baby…" I said, grabbing the cat under the foreleg-pits, and placing it on my lap as I propped myself up against the backrest.

I checked his arm. And surely, both my cat and Sebastian wore the bracelet on the same hand/paw. The right one.

The bracelet fit my cat's paw snugly. To say Sebastian's was tight-fitting would be an understatement.

"Meow?" The cat looked up at me with large, shining eyes. In the yellow light of my bedside lamp, the crimson hue shimmered a brilliant vermillion.

"You know, Raven…" I mumbled to my cat. "Your eyes are frighteningly like Sebastian Michaelis's…"

The cat purred. I couldn't decipher what this particular one meant.

It stared at me as I touched my nose to its little black one. It blinked as I set it down beside me.

I was about to turn off my lamp, when he suddenly sprung to its legs and leapt down from the bed into the darker corners of my room.

"Raven…" I growled menacingly. "Not now…"

But my anger gave away when the cat jumped back up onto my bed, and trotted over my quilt at me. It had something hanging from its mouth.

"What have you got there, ma man?" I reached out and Raven dropped whatever it had in its mouth on my outstretched palm.

It was a black choker with red stones embedded all over it. It was gorgeous, to say the least. The stones glimmered with the same sheen as Raven's eyes.

This must have cost quite a lot, I thought. That's when I saw the small label attached to it.

I examined it closer to my lamp. Written in a stylish cursive script was the following: "For a special lovely lady who has stolen my soul." The 'special' was in bold.

I read the sentence, and reread it about ten times before turning to my cat.

"Raven, where did you get this?" I questioned, frustrated. Honestly, I'd had way too many surprises for one day; I didn't need another one thrown into my face just as I was about to close this far-too-eventful-for-my-taste day with a good night's sleep.

Raven looked back into the dark part of my room, and turned back to face me. It stared into my eyes for about four to five seconds, turned its small head away, moved in circles, and tucked its head down, purring.

"Hey, you bastard kitty!" I yelled. "Don't you go off to sleep when I'm asking you something!"

A kitty groan was all I got.

"Wow. Just wow."

I fell back against my pillows, choker still in hand.

That's when the entire day (minus the starstruck nonsense) came flying into my head.

"…Sebastian! What brings you here?"

"Oh, I was going around the mall because I wanted to buy something for someone special."

"Oh, okay…Sebastian, if it isn't much work, could you help us with some-"

"Thanks a lot, Sebastian. Tiffany. Sebastian is busy-"

"Actually, I'm done, and I was about to leave. If I could be any help…"

I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to think it distantly possible.

'…special lovely lady…'

'…wanted to buy something for someone special…'

I couldn't believe it, even in my wildest dreams.

Okay, Ash. Get real. You didn't see any parcel with him, did you? And he was coming out of a gents' clothing store. How could he buy a choker from there? Something of this shape and size couldn't be concealed in a jeans pocket. Perhaps inside his coat?

Possible.

But why buy me a choker and not give it to me? How did it get to my house? He doesn't know where I live!

Right?

I wasn't sure I was ready to believe anything about Sebastian at this point. The guy was creepy in the most inconspicuous of ways. The most inconspicuous of ways was the creepiest way to get creepy. That way, only your victim knows that you're creepy. Everyone else sees your victim as the creeper, not you. Very convenient, very effective, and secretive to boot.

Sebastian knows more about me than I think.

The thought disturbed me. But I had this gut feeling, and it seemed absurdly right. You know, those times when you'd rather believe someone's supernatural rather than admitting he's superhuman? I was going through that phase.

This is sent by Sebastian. For sure. The note's meaning…I don't know. Is he really falling for me or something? Could Tiffany be right?

Or is he toying with my mind?

But why would he? We didn't even know each other two days back!

How does he know where I live? How did he know that I watched the trailer for that movie on TV? No one was with us at that time…just me and…

I looked at Raven, sleeping peacefully.

It's as if red-eyed Sebastian and my crimson-orbed cat are the same being…

It makes sense.

If he was Raven, he'd know where I live, the kind of music I listen to. Come to think of it…he could have made up that entire conversation on our first night at the mall, just to impress me and have me at ease with him.

I chuckled to myself. So much sense. A guy turns into a cat, stalks a girl, faces her in human form, impresses her and her friends, and sends her gifts in a stalker-ish manner.

I'm getting influenced by Tiffany's supernatural virus. Which she seemed to have abandoned when I needed her to have it.

That's when a crazy idea came into my mind. I have no clue why I even went with it, but it seems my hands had a will of their own when they scooped up Raven (waking him up in the most unconventional manner).

I brought Raven into my lap. The cat hissed at being awakened. I snapped the bracelet from its paw.

The cat hissed and snarled in protest.

Hmm…let's try something, shall we?

I had to keep it somewhere from where I could be sure it was there. That just one of this existed. It was crazy, but no one else gets to know about this.

So, reaching beneath my nightgown, I slipped the slim belt of the bracelet through the ring of my bra strap, and tucked the rest under it. There's no way I would be losing it.

"Hey, Ashlyn, you done?" Tiffany walked into my room, sipping on a can of Red Bull.

She was wearing the knee-length strapless bronze dress we bought just yesterday. Matched with sparkling gold earrings, knee-length net stockings and gold pumps, she looked fashionable, but not gaudy.

"You look so cute!' I said, picking up my purse.

Tiffany just stood and stared at me.

"What did you do to your hair?" She asked.

I looked at her. "Nothing."

"Why not?" She asked.

"Umm…isn't it fine like this?" I asked.

"…you know, the fact that you're dressed up for club is enough. I really shouldn't be asking for more." Tiffany said. "And, fyi, you look stunning. Sebastian's gonna go head-over-heels."

"Bitch, please…" I said, turning off the lights of my bedroom, as we stepped into my living room. "Oh, and by the way, he's already seen this dress n me. He picked it out, remember?"

"Fuck…" she said. "Ruined all the fun of that, didn't it?"

"Shut up…" I said. We heard a car horn outside my house. "And that must be Glade."

Two seconds later, my doorbell rang. As I went to answer it, Tiffany was too busy checking her reflection in the mirror for the last time.

"Hey, Glade," I said, as a tall, blonde guy stepped through the door.

"Hi, Ashlyn!" He said. He always sounded so charming and enthusiastic. Completely Tiffany's type. "You look so cool!" He said, looking at my dress.

"Thank you…" I said, not really knowing how to reply other than, "You don't look bad yourself."

He laughed, as I led him into the living room.

"Glade!" A blur of bronze tackled the guy in brown leather jacket and black jeans.

"Hey babe…"

I averted the scene as they kissed, busying myself in collecting my house keys. Turning away from where they stood snogging, I checked through my dress to feel the bracelet was still safely tucked beneath my bra.

And then, came my last agenda.

"Raven?" I called out as soon as the couple had stopped their ministrations. "Where are you?"

No meow. No shuffle of feet. No furball flying towards me.

"Fuck this cat. Guys, let's go," I was seriously annoyed. Glade and Tiffany followed me as I exited the house and locked it.

Tiffany sat in the front passenger's seat and I entered the back seat; Glade took the wheel, and we were off.

Tonight…I thought to myself…Tonight, I get some answers.

Loud music reeked out of Club Black Stone as we stepped out of the car. The rest of the girls were already there. They took it in turns to hug Tiffany and Glade. They even hugged me for some reason.

"It's cause we got this invitation because of you!" Jan declared, laughing. "It's because Sebastian was totally interested in you! Now we get free entry to the VIP corner, all thanks to you!"

"Okaaay…" I was flustered. So Tiffany wasn't the only one who thought Sebastian was into me.

"Let's go, guys!" said Kate, as she grabbed my arm, dragging me towards the entry.

In her haste, she pulled me along way too fast, and I nearly tripped. To gain my balance, I reached out for the pillar nearby, and dropped my handbag.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ash!" she exclaimed.

"Ugh, it's no big deal, really…" I said, as I reached down for my handbag.

And almost immediately, as I bent down…it was almost too quick to discern from a blur, but I am 100%sure…a black cat rushed past my handbag and into the club.

"Raven!" I called at the cat, but to no avail.

"Raven?" Kate said, confused. "As in, your cat?"

"Yeah!" I turned to look at her. "I think…no, I know I just saw my cat rush into the club."

"But what would your cat be doing here? A club?" Kate looked even more confused. "Surely cat's don't drink booze…"

"I know," I said through gritted teeth. Explaining that cat's actions was always such a pain in the ass. "But my cat does pretty shady stuff from time to time…"

"Look, Ash," Kate turned to look at me. "Your cat found its way here, right? I sure it'll find its way back home." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me again. "Besides, it was probably just your imagination. I didn't see any cats…"

The door was locked, the windows were locked…there was no way Raven could have got out of that house. I reasoned to myself that it could have been someone else's cat for all I knew. But there was that nagging feeling, deep down, that it was my cat. He has done shady stuff. But urgh! How could he get out of the house with everything bolted (even the air vents. I made sure it couldn't escape like…god-knows-how-many-times before).

We'll just have to wait and see…I thought, letting her continue to drag me with her.

A/N: So whatcha think? I hope this chapter was enjoyable...R&R! :D