Title: Ryan's Cat

Summary: Ryan finds a kindred soul.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the cat.

Chapter 2

Ryan was sitting up on his bed, working on his homework. The cat was curled up next to him. Every once in a while, he would look over at her and reach out to pet her. She loved being scratched under the chin and around the ears.

Ryan had decided that she was a she, even though he didn't really know for sure. He tried to check, you know, in the back, and he didn't find any, um, masculine equipment. Of course, that could be the result of a trip to the vet, but Ryan preferred to think of her as a she.

Ryan had already fed her with some tuna he'd found in the kitchen, using a plastic bowl he'd found in the back of a cabinet that he'd never seen used. She loved the tuna and gobbled it down like she hadn't had a good meal in days. Ryan knew he'd have to go out and get real cat food, bowls, and other stuff. But he'd need to use the car for that - he couldn't carry everything home on his bike. So it would have to wait until Kirsten or Sandy got home from work.

Ryan had pulled down all the shades and locked all the doors to the pool house. He didn't want people barging in, like they always do, without waiting for an answer to their knock, if they knocked at all. And he didn't want the cat to be startled into running out. He was afraid he'd never see her again if that happened.

Seth got home after his lit. mag. meeting finished. He headed out to the pool house to talk to Ryan, as he usually did after school. He was surprised to see all the shades down in the middle of the afternoon. Well, at least, he didn't expect it to be that way now -- now that Ryan and Marissa weren't together any more.

Seth went over and knocked on the door and waited for Ryan to answer. Usually he'd just barge in, but maybe Ryan had a new girl. Like maybe Catrina Ross, whom he'd seen eyeing Ryan recently.

Ryan responded to the knock, "Seth?"

"Yeah, can I come in?"

"No, I'll be right out."

Seth saw through the shades the blurry figure of Ryan walking over to the door from the bed. He heard Ryan unlock the door. The fact that Ryan had locked the doors convinced him that Ryan had a girl in there. He knew Ryan didn't want a repeat of what happened with his mom walking in on him and Marissa. Ryan opened the door halfway and quickly slipped out and shut the door behind him. Seth tried to get a look inside to see who was in there, but couldn't see anyone.

"Hey, man, what's going on? You got a girl in there? What's her name? Anyone I know?"

Ryan smiled and decided to mess around with Seth a little. "Yeah, you could say there's a female inside the pool house."

"Way to go, man! Who is it? What's her name?"

"Um, I call her Cat."

"Really? You mean Catrina Ross? She's hot! I thought I saw you guys eyeing each other at lunch the other day!"

"Actually, no, not Catrina. A different Cat. You don't know her."

"Yeah? So what are you guys doing in there?" Seth smiled and waggled his eyebrows.

Ryan sighed. "Nothing. Just sitting on the bed."

"Then why do you have the shades down?"

"She's shy."

"Uh-huh. So what are you doing? Talking?"

"Um, Cat doesn't really, you know, talk." Ryan was barely able to suppress a smile.

"Well, then, you guys should get along great." Seth was grinning ear to ear, and Ryan gave him a look like 'give it a rest'.

That was a joke, of course, about Cat not talking, but now that Ryan thought about it, she hadn't meowed yet -- not even when he brought her the food. Ryan remembered hearing that cats who lived away from people learned not to meow, because it would bring unwanted attention from predators or competitors. He wondered if Cat would meow at all.

Seth grabbed the door handle. "Come on, man, I gotta meet her..."

Ryan grabbed Seth's hand and said quickly, "OK, Seth, I've just been messing with you. I don't have a girl in there. It's a cat, a real cat."

Seth looked at Ryan, like he didn't know quite whether to believe him. "OK... Well, where'd you get a cat?"

"She was just here, today, when I came home. Come in, you can see her. But she is shy, so be careful."

Ryan opened the door slowly, and walked in first. Seth followed, and saw that indeed Ryan was not kidding, there was a real cat lying on his bed. Ryan closed the door behind them and walked over to the bed. He sat down and started petting Cat. She picked her head up, saw Seth standing there, and quickly got to her feet, scared. Ryan immediately started talking to her softly and petting her, and she calmed down.

Seth saw a tan-colored, scrawny, beat up, scarred old street cat, and wondered what Ryan saw in her. Although the cat did kind of remind Seth of Ryan, in a way. Seth said, quietly, trying not to scare the cat any further, "So, are you going to keep her?"

"I'd like to. Do you think that would be OK with your parents?"

"I think so, as long as she lives out here in the pool house. I'm not sure they'd like her in the house. But, you know, you'd better ask them."

Ryan nodded. Seth asked, "Does she have a name?"

"I told you -- Cat."

"You're naming your cat Cat?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, Man." Seth said with a big smile. Ryan caught the emphasis, and gave Seth a half-smile back.

Seth turned towards the door. "Well, I'll leave you two alone..."

Ryan locked the door behind Seth and turned and walked back to the bed. Now that Seth was gone, Cat settled herself back down and started to give herself a cat-bath. Ryan layed down on the bed on his side, facing Cat. He watched with fascination as she washed her face, using her front paws, first one side then the other. Then she proceeded to get herself into all different contortions in order to reach all parts of her body with her tongue: her back, her stomach, her back paws. Ryan had never seen this in person before.

He got a little bored when she seemed to get stuck on one spot, washing it over and over again. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He always noticed the strange looks he got when people saw him staring at the ceiling. They didn't understand what he was doing. He was thinking. He was figuring stuff out. He liked to stare at the ceiling for this because it was smooth, and white, and unbroken by anything. It calmed his mind down.

But now, with Cat, he could justify just laying there "doing nothing," staring at the ceiling. He was spending quality time with his cat. Yeah, that was his story, and he was sticking with it. But right now, he knew he should really sit up and finish his homework, so he'd have time before dinner to go out and go "cat shopping".

Cat finished her cat-bath and stood up, stretching first her front paws, then her back paws, then her back. Ryan thought she'd jump down off the bed and go get some more water or something. But she surprised him by turning towards him. She tentatively put first one paw then the other on his stomach. She climbed up on him, and settled herself down, with her back end on his stomach and her front end on his chest, her face just inches from his. She pulled her tail in to lay along her body, and tucked her front paws under.

Ryan reached up with his left hand and started stroking her back, in long, slow strokes. She blinked her eyes shut. Ryan could feel the warmth radiating from her body into his chest and stomach. Well, he couldn't sit up and go back to doing his homework now, he'd disturb Cat. He took a deep breath and looked back up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

And then Cat started to purr...