A/N: Sorry this took so long. This is also kind of a filler chapter and I'm sorry about that too. This was also not beta read because I wanted to get this out so… :D I hope there's no mistakes.
It was a strange sound and she'd been hearing it for two days. It sounded high pitched and squealy and not irritating, but worrying. Carrie dropped her head into her hands and groaned.
"Okay, enough is enough." Carrie muttered. She stood up with a sigh and listened for the sounds. She wandered to the stairs, then to the front door, then to the back door, and outside. She followed the sounds, which were getting louder and louder and she turned her head to the right. She was looking at a tiny, decrepit shack that used to store their gardening supplies before her dad had bought a larger one and hired a new gardener after the previous ones had "failed".
She stepped closer to the shack and listened harder. She yanked on the handle of the door, cursing loudly when she found it locked. She sighed, and kicked the door in, piercing the weak wood. She pulled her foot out of the wood and kicked it again. Again and again until there was a hole big enough for her to fit through. She slipped through the hole into the cobweb infested room, cringing at the dust she was inhaling. The sounds stopped. Carrie frowned, moving around the room, her heels clicking on the wood. She moved aside the gardening pots and miscellaneous tools. She searched the other shelves and corners of the shack. Scowling and stomping her foot in irritation, she moved to leave the room when she heard the sounds again.
Her frown deepened and she stared at the floor. Her face pulled into one of suspicion, her eyes narrowed slightly and her eyebrows raised, then slammed her heel into it. The wood gave way, and there was a little screech. Hoping she wasn't about to put her hands into a nest of baby skunks, Carrie reached into the pocket below the shack and pulled out a fluffy, white and brown fluff ball with shimmering blue eyes and the fluffiest tail ever known to exist. Two fur tipped ears poked out of this little fluff ball and Carrie was fairly sure it was a cat. Never having owned a pet before, she nearly squealed with joy until she realized she had no idea what she was doing and there were more of them. She looked into the hole, put her white and brown kitten down next to her and picked up a shorter haired ginger tabby who had similar eyes to the other kitten, but deeper. She reached into the hole again and this time grabbed an all black kitten, this one short haired and feisty. The kitten scraped its claws on Carrie's arm, but she simply raised an eyebrow at it because it hadn't applied nearly enough force to actually do anything. There was one more kitten in the hole, a very very brown kitten who was also quite fluffy. She struggled to pick up all four kittens and maneuver out of the shack. She nearly dropped the fourth kitten on her way out.
. . . . .
"Jelly Bean." Reggie offered helpfully as he stared, transfixed at the rolling ginger fluff ball in front of him. Carrie glanced at Julie and Flynn and said with a shrug,
"I kinda like it."
After calling a mobile groomer (because apparently that was a thing) and bringing the kittens to a vet office that had conveniently had an appointment available, she called Julie and Flynn and demanded that they all - including Julie's bandmates - come to her house to meet the cutest little kittens on earth. The kittens hadn't been sick, they were just extremely malnourished and would need some proper care taking in order to get to full health. The cleaning had revealed the kittens' true colors - a fluffy white girl with light markings, a ginger tabby girl, a brown tabby boy who liked to sit weirdly, and an all black, save for a spot of white on her chin, shy girl.
Reggie had already fallen in love with the ginger one and named her. Carrie wasn't sure what to do with a cat, much less a kitten, much less four kittens, so logically asking for help was the best thing to do.
"What about Silly Bottom for the brown kitten because of the way he's sitting, Popcorn for the white one with the light markings and… for the all black one how about-"
"Oh no you don't." Julie interrupted Reggie. "If you get to name those three, we're naming her. Flynn, what do you think?"
"How about Willow?"
"Willow Wisp?" Reggie added in a "spooky" voice. The girls gave him a look and he sighed.
"I like Willow." Julie put in and Carrie nodded her agreement. Alex and Luke were seated behind Julie, playing with the brown kitten - Silly Bottom as he had been dubbed. Carrie was rhythmically stroking Popcorn, who had curled up on the counter in front of her and was purring like a chainsaw. Willow was viciously attacking Flynn, who simply endured the playful kitten's scratches with nothing more than a snicker.
"Okay, so… would you guys be willing to take home a kitten?" Carrie asked. "I'd hate to split them up, but I can't take care of them all and if we each took one we could have them get together a lot and see each other. Maybe even do some kitten sleepovers or something."
"We're taking Jelly!" Reggie declared.
"But what about Silly?" Luke asked with a pout. "We can't just leave him!"
"I'll take Silly then. You guys can come see him whenever you want," Julie said. Alex and Luke wore matching frowns but nodded.
"I'll take Willow and I don't think we could ever separate Popcorn from Carrie now, so Carrie you're taking Popcorn." Flynn said. Carrie smiled down at her kitten.
"I'm good with that." Popcorn released a contented sigh, along with a yawn much too big for a sleeping kitten.
"Oh now we get to go KITTEN SHOPPING!" Julie squealed. "We should get them collars, and beds, and toyssssss!"
"Yes." Flynn said, excitement dripping from her tone.
"How about cat food, bowls, litter pans, and litter?"
"Of course." Flynn replied with a wave of her hand. "Wait you're allowed to bring animals into pet stores right?"
"Pretty sure you are." Julie leaned back as she spoke, twisting in what looked quite uncomfortable to pet Silly Bottom. The cat allowed her to pet him and when she moved to twist back, released a pitiful meow that demanded that Julie keep petting him.
"Alright then, what are we sitting around for? Let's go! I can have Sabrina drive us there." Carrie said, standing up slowly so she wouldn't disturb Popcorn. Carrie texted Sabrina to meet them at the front door and they each carefully picked up their kittens. Popcorn laid her front paws on Carrie's shoulder, dropping her head down lazily. Flynn had to hold Willow tightly to keep her from jumping away. Alex held Silly like he was the most precious being in the world. Reggie put Jelly bean on his shoulder where she sat and chewed on his hair. Sabrina drove the car up - a Tesla with enough room for everyone - and Carrie pulled the back seat and the middle seat doors open. Alex, Luke, and Reggie filed into the backseat and Flynn and Carrie took the backseat. Julie took the front seat next to Sabrina and asked her for the pet store. There was a local one, family owned, called Paws, Wings, Tails, and Things.
They pulled up, Sabrina putting on the breaks slowing to a stop. They exited the car with the kittens in hand, entering the shop all together. A man at the checkout counter called,
"Welcome!" He said. Julie waved at him. "Do you need anything?" He asked.
"We're looking for stuff for kittens." Julie said, her gaze following Willow, who was busy trying to wrestle out of Flynn's hands.
"That's aisles four and five. There are cat trees on aisle six though." The man said. "If you need help finding something specific, just let me know."
"We will, thank you." Julie said. They found aisle four and five, where Flynn loaded a cart with all the kinds of cat toys imaginable. Julie picked out bowls for Silly and Reggie picked a pink bowl with multicolored bean shapes on it for Jelly Bean, proudly proclaiming that the bowl had been made for her. Carrie and Flynn found the aisle with collars, ones for cats. Some had bells, which would be unnecessary since the kittens were going to be strictly indoors
A blue and silver heart collar caught Carrie's eye. "Oh this would look good on Willow." She held it up to Flynn.
"Oh yeaaaaaah! I like those hearts!" Flynn said. Carrie stepped closer and put the collar around Willow's neck, not buckling it since the annoying tag got in the way. Willow thrashed and Flynn sighed. "Chill, girl. Chill." Popcorn meowed at Willow, who sent her a cat-glare.
"I guess she wants to explore. Maybe you should get her a harness and a leash." Carrie joked.
"Oh, you think I should?" Flynn asked, completely missing the joke. She adjusted her hold on the kitten.
"Well I was joking but sure." Carrie told her.
"Oh."
"But go for it, if you want to."
"I kinda want to do it."
"Then do it."
Flynn grinned at her, which sent her heart into overdrive. Sure, a hallway at a pet store wasn't the most romantic place, but nothing stopped Carrie's heart from fluttering at the smallest glance from Flynn, and beating like she'd run a marathon when Flynn smiled at her. Then she realized how close they were standing, and she was pretty sure Flynn realized it too. Flynn's grin changed to an uncomfortable smile as she stepped away.
"Sorry." Carrie said. Flynn shrugged and said,
"I'm going to go look at the leashes and harnesses."
She didn't tell Carrie not to come, but she didn't invite her either, and Carrie got the message.
Carrie you idiot.
. . . . .
"She'll love that." Julie said to Reggie, who was looking at cat toys. He'd found a pink and yellow feather toy that also had streamers on it. Jelly Bean was sitting on Reggie's head like it was a throne, licking her paw and then running it over her ear.
"She will." Reggie agreed, showing his new best friend the toy. She eyed it for a second before lashing her tail and springing at it, launching herself off Reggie's head. Julie lurched forward and caught the kitten before she fell on the ground. "I didn't know she would do that." Reggie said.
"What did you think would happen?" Luke asked. He was leaning against a shelf, watching them while Alex shopped for Silly Bottom. Reggie paused to think about it, causing Luke to smirk. Julie shook her head.
"Let's go find Carrie and Flynn." She said. "We're not getting anything else. Carrie may have offered to buy everything, but that doesn't mean we get to max out her card." Julie glanced at their already-full cart. Sure there was the cat litter box, the cat litter, and all the food and stuff that was needed for them but that was all in the bottom of the cart. But the entire top part of the cart was filled with toys, and when she said filled, she meant filled. It would be hard to fit anything else in the cart.
They found Carrie in the collar aisle, eying a pink collar. "Hey." Julie said.
"Hey." Carrie responded, her voice sounding saddened and disappointed. Julie shot Reggie a look that said "give us a moment" but he didn't notice. Luckily, Luke stepped in and led Reggie away, saying they should go look at harnesses for Jelly Bean so they could take her for walks. Julie gave him a smile, which he returned (No. Her heart did not flutter. She did not get lost in those dreamy eyes for a second. No. What would make anyone think that?) before turning back to look at Carrie.
"What's up?" She asked. "And don't say nothing. Despite how it may look, I'm not that oblivious." Carrie snorted at that, but didn't deny that something was up.
"I think I just made things between Flynn and me super weird." She adjusted her hold on Popcorn, who didn't thrash at all. "We were talking and stuff, and I don't know suddenly we were super close and then it got all awkward."
"That sucks." Julie said, unsure of what to say.
"Yep." How could Julie tell them both that they liked each other? She couldn't tell Carrie without betraying Flynn and she couldn't tell Flynn without betraying Carrie. "It sucks having a massive crush on your ex-frenemy."
"Well, I'm sure everything will get sorted out eventually." Was all Julie could think of. She wasn't super good at comforting people (at least she was better than Luke, though that set the bar pretty low) "And you know, maybe you just need to tell Flynn. If you say it, something good could happen. And worst case scenario, it's awkward for a while right?"
"But I don't want this to ruin our friendship again." Carrie said, leaning lightly against the shelf behind her. It was funny she said that since that was the exact same thing Flynn had said to her. "Has Flynn said anything to you?" Carrie asked.
"Um." Julie couldn't lie, but she couldn't exactly tell the truth either.
"Wait, sorry. I just realized that you can't really tell me if she has or hasn't. I get it."
"This is going to be SO much fun!" Came an exuberant voice that belonged to none other than Reggie.
"We should probably leave before Reggie spends all your money." Julie said, remembering that was why she came this way in the first place.
"My dad's gonna kill me when he gets back if that happens." Carrie commented. Though she said it as a joke, Julie could see that Carrie was a little bitter about her dad. At least that's what she assumed.
"Come on." She said, pulling Carrie towards the checkout counter.
. . . . .
The kittens were settling in nicely at Julie's house. Jelly Bean loved romping around the studio and she had taken quickly to the litter box, with only one accident that had been cleaned up fairly easily. (She'd pooped, not peed. Cat pee was a lot harder to get out than cat poop.) Silly Bottom, unfortunately, had not done so well.
"Seriously! That was the third time today!" Julie grumbled. Her dad sighed.
"Having a pet is a big responsibility. I'm just glad that your bandmates moved to this area and can help take care of Silly Bottom. Interesting name choice, by the way."
"Reggie picked it." Julie said. The boys had met her dad, but they hadn't talked for long. Julie still hadn't told him about them being ghosts, but now needing to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom all while still being able to pass through walls and objects, and still being able to poof anywhere they wanted to go. They could hide themselves from other people (well sort of. Luke was practicing and had managed to scare Carlos, who already knew about them. Julie could always see them, so even when they tried they couldn't scare her) Julie knew she would have to tell her dad about the boys soon, but was stressing over it.
She refused to bring Silly Bottom into the studio for fear that he would pee all over everything. She had the boys sneak Jelly Bean up later that afternoon, and the kittens had finally crashed, snuggling up next to each other. Julie went back to drafting her script on what to say to her dad while Reggie and Luke talked about something.
"Hey Julie." Luke said. Julie lifted her head up.
"Yeah?"
"Can you come out to the studio for a little while?" Luke asked, seeming a bit nervous. Julie wasn't really sure what was going on, but saw no reason not to go.
"Sure. Though the kittens are staying here. We can't bring Silly into the studio." She said for what must have been the seventh time that day. Luke and Reggie stood up and poofed out, while Julie made her way downstairs and out the front door. She entered the studio and found the boys all standing near each other, Luke mid-pace. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the studio doors.
"Come in." Julie called, not surprised to see Flynn yank the door open but was surprised to see the expression on her face. "Hey are you okay?" She asked. Flynn flopped down on the couch and dug something out of her pocket. She handed it over to Julie. It was a purple heart-shaped gem with a faintly engraved C on it.
"What's this?"
"I found it a few days ago. I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't sure what it meant, but it's been taunting me from my nightstand for hours and I had to give in. It came with some irises."
"Hmm." Julie said. "What do irises mean?"
"Hope." Flynn answered.
"How many days ago exactly did it arrive?"
"Two I think." Flynn said with a sigh. She shifted so she took up the entire couch and was looking at the ceiling. The boys had all settled on the floor and were not saying anything.
"That's the same day Carrie brought me those dahlia's." Julie commented.
"Oh. You think it's from her?"
"I'm saying it's a possibility." Julie replied, handing the gem back to Flynn. "It looks expensive though. And Carrie has a lot of money. And she went into a jewelry store when we were at the mall."
"To get something for Kayla." Flynn finished. "So it probably isn't her."
"Could she have lied that it was for Kayla?" Alex asked, finally pitching in to the conversation.
"I mean, she could have, but why?" Flynn asked.
"Maybe she doesn't want you to know it's from her the same way you didn't want her to know those flowers you gave her were from you." Luke said.
"I never thought of it like that." Flynn said. She covered her face with her hands. "Help. I don't know what to do. I don't want to mess anything up and ugh." Carrie had literally said the exact same thing to Julie earlier that day and Julie just wanted to shake both girls very hard until they figured it out.
"Well." Julie said. "If it is from Carrie, why don't you leave her some more flowers? And if it's not, maybe some flowers just blew onto her front porch, right?" Julie shot Luke a smile. (because she'd used the same excuse that he had used the other day. A very dumb excuse in her opinion, but an excuse nonetheless) "Come on Flynn." Julie wasn't sure if she imagined it, but Luke's returning smile seemed a little forced.
A/N: Well. This was definitely a filler, but… Kittens. This was mostly based on a thing that happened to my friend where they found a litter of kittens in their backyard. Thank you for reading. I hope I can get the next chapter out faster!