CHAPTER 7: Just a hug
Little Cato let out a short scream as he sat up. His heart was racing and his eyes were hurriedly darting around the room. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.
'It was just a dream. It was just a dream.' Little Cato thought repeatedly to himself as he tried to stop violently shaking but nothing was working. He knew he was overreacting. It had just been a dream… but everything in it had felt so real!
'What if it wasn't a dream?' Little Cato thought to himself in utter panic as he locked his gaze on the door.
Little Cato just couldn't take his mind off the dream no matter how hard he tried and the worst part was he remembered every detail. He remembered watching everyone eating H.U.E's newest creation. He remembered everyone starting to choke and falling to the floor. He remembered trying to help everyone but nothing working. He remembered KVN stating everyone was dead. He remembered himself being the only living being alive on the ship since Mooncake flew away after everyone died. He remembered being all alone and crying for what seemed like forever.
Little Cato then realized that he was in fact crying. Hurriedly wiping away his tears, Little Cato shook his head slightly. 'Everyone was fine! It was just a dream!' Little Cato tried to convince himself but there was this loud voice in his head that couldn't believe any of that.
Little Cato let out a shaky sob before burying his head into his pillow. He felt so alone. He NEEDED to check if everyone was still alive! He knew he was being ridiculous but he really needed to see someone, anyone!
Little Cato made to stand up but almost fell over due to the unexpected pain coming from his right foot. After taking a few seconds to recover his balance, he shakily walked to the door. Little Cato then pressed the green button next to the door permitting the door to open.
Little Cato tried his best to walk as normally as possible as he made his way to the lounge room. As he got nearer, he began to hear voices. He recognized the first voice as Gary's. Although this relaxed him slightly he still needed to see him to be sure that he was still alive. It could be just KVN and H.U.E watching one of Gary's video logs.
As he got nearer he heard Fox's voice too. This comforted him a little more, even though Fox and him weren't the best of friends. Once Little Cato arrived at the door, the door opened and he immediately ran in.
Inside were Gary, Mooncake, Fox and Ash. All their heads turned to him and although he was super relieved to see them all, how they looked at him made him uncomfortable. They all had strange expressions on their faces. Most of them had what looked like a look of shock and concern, but why?
For a split second, Little Cato thought about what he had just done. All he had done was walk into the lounge room and then everyone started staring at him.
Then he realized that to them it looked like he had just come into the lounge room for no reason. Thinking fast, Little Cato walked over to the bookshelf where a bunch of books and collectables were kept. He pretended to look through the books for a few seconds before pulling out a random book. He then started walking towards the door.
It wasn't one of his best ideas but at least it was something.
He could feel their eyes still on him making him even more self-conscious and nervous. Why were they just sitting there staring at him! Why hadn't any of them said anything! Why did they all have odd looks on their faces! Had he done something wrong?
Little Cato quickened his pace as he hurried to the door.
Once he was out, Little Cato sighed in relief and decided he would go have a shower. Maybe that would make him feel better. It was reassuring to see them but it didn't calm him at all. He was still thinking about the dream and now he was also wondering what was wrong with the others.
After Little Cato got to the bathroom, he casually looked in the mirror. He then immediately jumped back and made a hissing sound at the sight of himself. Was that really him? Little Cato lifted up his hand and slapped it to his forehead unable to believe what he had just done. No wonder they were looking at him funny!
He was a mess! His fur was extra scruffy and was sticking out in random places. His eyes were really red, probably from crying. His tail and ears were both drooping downwards which annoyed him greatly because they reflected how he felt and he couldn't just change how he felt! He also couldn't help but notice he was still shaking and his eyes were open a lot wider than usual.
Little Cato momentarily forgot about his nightmare as he groaned in embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had just walked into the lounge room looking like THIS!
Gary, Mooncake, Fox, and Ash had all been there! Additionally, he knew A.V.A had a chance of knowing too! Being the ship's A.I, A.V.A had unlimited access to every room in the ship, even the bathroom!
Little Cato bitterly turned away from the mirror. He just had to go into the lounge room looking the worst he had in months!
The only positive thing he could come up with in this situation was that it really had just been a dream! He shook his head, disappointed with himself as he decided to have a shower and try to forget about everything that had happened today.
Once Little Cato had finished in the shower, he took a frustratingly long time drying his fur, got dressed, and made a decision to not put new bandages on his wounded foot. Although it hurt a bit more, it was a lot easier to walk around like he normally did, so he didn't mind too much.
Little Cato then began to brush his still extremely messy fur. Normally, he wouldn't bother but right now it looked too untidy to ignore.
When he had finished brushing his fur, he looked back into the mirror. He looked…better. His fur looked a lot neater than it usually was. He was still shaking slightly but he doubted anyone would notice. His ears and tail were still lowered but he couldn't do anything about that. His eyes were still a little bit red but at this point, he really didn't care.
Little Cato was hesitant to leave. He REALLY didn't want to be alone right now but after what had happened in the lounge room earlier, he definitely didn't want to go back in! So Little Cato decided that he would just walk very slowly down the hallway and hope that he would meet someone before he arrived at his room. He was ashamed of himself. He was being this pathetic over a stupid nightmare. He had plenty while he was in prison but then again, he doubted any of them had been as bad as the one he'd just had.
He just wanted to see someone and talk to someone, he didn't care who!
He even thought his own plan was terrible but he was too mentally exhausted to come up with a better one. With his plan in mind, Little Cato left the bathroom and walked slowly down the hallway. It definitely didn't do any good for his foot but he kept going anyway. Then he was pleased to hear footsteps coming his way. Someone was there!
Little Cato walked a lot faster as he got closer and closer to whoever it was. He turned a corner and saw Avocato! He was extremely happy it was his dad. He was the person he most wanted to see at the moment. He then unwantedly remembered his dad lying dead in his dream and shivered.
"Hi, dad!" Greeted Little Cato in a falsely cheerful voice.
"Hi…Son?" Avocato replied looked down at his son. Something wasn't right with him. Little Cato's voice was slightly more high pitched than usual and his ears and tail were lowered. He was pretty sure his eyes were a tad redder than usual too. However, what really confirmed Avocato's suspicion was that he was shaking.
"Are you alright?" Avocato asked in a concerned tone.
Little Cato tried not to look shocked. How did he know? What gave him away?
"I'm fine. What made you ask?" Little Cato replied not looking his father in the eye.
Avocato audibly sighed making Little Cato slightly apprehensive.
'He's so stubborn!' Avocato thought to himself as he examined his son. His son's gaze was on the floor. He looked so…agitated and sad. Even though he had no idea what was wrong, he needed to comfort him anyway.
"Little Cato, you can tell me anything but if you really don't want to that's fine. Just know this. I'll always be there for you. Okay." Avocato said as he stepped forward and gently patted his son on the head.
"Okay." Little Cato replied unable to hide his content smile. Avocato could physically see and feel his son relax. Playing with his fur always did seem to calm him down, despite him always pretending to hate it.
Little Cato was sad when his father let go.
"By the way, son. You know you can't lie to me." Avocato said before he began to walk away. This left Little Cato slightly annoyed but speechless as he watched his dad leave.
Once his dad was out of sight, Little Cato began to walk to his room. When he arrived, he climbed the ladder and slumped onto his bed. He couldn't be bothered doing anything other than lying on his back and thinking.
Ash was just leaving the lounge room. She couldn't stop thinking about earlier. Little Cato had looked very unlike himself. He had looked like he was afraid of something but he had also looked relieved. She didn't understand! He was fine yesterday! Well, then again he did seem a little irritated yesterday but he definitely hadn't looked like he did when he came in earlier.
Ash sighed. Maybe she should check to see if he's okay. She knew he probably wouldn't give her an answer but she just wanted to know that he was alright. He had looked like he needed someone to be there for him and comfort him before, but…her? She would probably just make everything worse. She knew it was the right thing to do but lots of things could go wrong.
Ash took a deep breath as she made her decision. She was going to check on him. Ash hesitantly walked to Little Cato's room. She vaguely wondered what it looked like. She had never been in there before but she doubted it would be too different from her and Quinn's room. The nearer she got to his room, the more nervous she became. She began to panic as she realized she had no idea what to say.
'Maybe this isn't such a great idea after all...' Ash thought as she spotted the door. 'No! I'm being ridiculous! All I have to do is knock on his door and see if he's alright!'
Ash was now right outside the door and she was having second thoughts. 'What if he wants to be alone or doesn't want to see me? What if I'm doing the wrong thing?'
She tried her best to ignore her negative thoughts and sum up the courage to knock on the door. Ash hesitated as she anxiously lifted her hand to knock. Then she pulled it away again. 'I can't do this!' Ash thought to herself looking back to where she had come from. 'No! I have too.'
Ash quietly sighed to herself as she once again lifted her hand to knock but this time she actually did knock.
Little Cato sat up from his spot on the top bunk and turned his head to the door as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Little Cato doubted that they would be coming to his room, although there weren't many other rooms past his own. He was surprised however when he heard the footsteps stop right outside his door.
He waited in slight confusion for the person to knock. Under a minute later, he heard a small sigh and almost fell off the bunk. 'IT'S ASH!' Little Cato thought to himself, his heart racing and his eyes widening.
Then he heard a light knock and he didn't bother climbing down the ladder instead he just jumped off. Little Cato anxiously pressed the green button on his right allowing the door to open.
Then there stood Ash who looked…kind of nervous.
"Hi." Ash greeted fiddling with her fingers.
"Hey, Ash." Little Cato replied, successfully hiding most of his own anxiety.
"I just came in to check if you were alright. When you came into the lounge room earlier you didn't look…yourself and I-I was worried about you. I just wanted to check if you were okay." Ash confessed, a light blush forming on her cheeks.
What Ash had said made Little Cato's heart race even faster and his cheeks burn. 'Ash had been worried about me!' Little Cato thought to himself dreamily, unable to suppress a small grateful smile. Although he despised the thought of her being worried, it was good to know that she cared. It made him feel warm and happy inside.
"I'm fine." Little Cato replied before pausing for a few seconds. Should he tell her what was wrong? Ash did go through the trouble of going to his room to check on him, he definitely owed her an explanation.
"I-I just had a bad dream, that's all." Little Cato told her, absentmindedly scratching behind his head in embarrassment.
He truly tried not to re-remember the dream but he couldn't help but remember Ash lying dead on the ground with him crying next to her. Little Cato started uncontrollably shaking again. Why did he have to think about THAT now?!
Ash gazed at Little Cato sadly. He looked upset again. 'It must have been a really bad dream.' Ash thought to herself slightly guiltily. If she hadn't come in, he wouldn't be acting like this.
Ash could visibly see Little Cato was shaking and she tried to think of something to say or do to help him. Then it hit her! She knew what she should do. Although, she wasn't sure if she had the courage to do it.
Ash bit her lip as she recalled the time when Little Cato and her had been inside Worthrunt and he'd hugged her. It'd made her feel a lot better.
Ash looked nervously at Little Cato. 'What if I hug him and he just pushes me away! What if he doesn't like hugs or ME!' Ash thought to herself, apprehensively.
Ash quickly tried her best to will away her negative thoughts. Deep down she knew that a hug was exactly what Little Cato needed at the moment.
Without any other second thoughts, Ash stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around him.
Little Cato was utterly frozen in shock. 'ASH IS ACTUALLY HUGGING ME!' Little Cato screamed in his head. It wasn't like the other time they had hugged where Ash had been crying. This time was different!
He felt like his brain had stopped working. Now the nightmare was completely erased from his mind.
Finally coming back to reality, Little Cato began to relax in Ash's arms. He then looked timidly at Ash, who was still hugging him. He was so lucky to have her. Then Little Cato shyly lifted up his arms and hugged her back.
Ash blushed as she felt Little Cato's soft, strong arms wrap around her. She was just about to let go of him when he didn't hug her back fearing the worst but she was truly shocked when he did.
'How is he so warm and fluffy?' Ash asked herself as she smiled contently in his arms. She didn't ever want to let go.
Ash then pulled away. She definitely didn't want to but she was pretty sure she had been hugging him for a bit longer than just friends did. She looked at Little Cato's smiling face after she pulled away and knew it had worked.
They were now both just staring into each other's eyes, smiling, unable to look away. Little Cato then opened his mouth to speak.
"Thanks for everything, Ash." Little Cato thanked her with the brightest smile he had had in weeks. His cheeks were still burning and his heart was still racing. His ears were perked up and his tail was sweeping from side to side slightly faster than usual. However, his focus was only on Ash.
"You're welcome." Ash replied with a cute giggle, then she added in a slightly awkward tone. "I…Should probably go now..."
Little Cato was about to protest but was sad to realize he had nothing relevant to say. "Okay, bye!" Said Little Cato, not allowing any of the reluctance he was feeling to seep into his voice.
"Bye!" Ash replied with a small wave as she left.
Little Cato watched Ash leave with a giddy smile on his face. How was Ash able to make him feel this way?
Little Cato felt so much better than before, in fact, he felt so happy that he wanted to jump around the room in joy. He didn't however and instead did his daily training.
Little Cato couldn't stop smiling all through training. He just felt so cheerful and happy! Nothing could ruin his mood!
Once Ash got back to her room, she squealed in pure happiness. She had really hugged him! And he had hugged her back! He seemed to have enjoyed the hug too! Although she was down-right certain he didn't as much as she did, it was still something worth celebrating.
"Wow, someone's happy!"
Ash jumped slightly as she realized she wasn't alone in the room. Quinn was sitting on her top bunk with a smug expression on her face. She looked like she had been writing something down. She was most likely trying to figure out the secrets of the universe or something.
Ash tried to look angry at Quinn but she couldn't. She was in a too good mood. Instead of glaring at Quinn, she ended up just smiling at her.
"What happened? I haven't seen you in a this good mood…ever." Quinn questioned curiously.
Ash debated if she should just tell Quinn. She was pretty sure Quinn already knew about her crush on Little Cato but could she trust her not to tell anyone?
"Can you promise not to tell anyone?" Asked Ash still smiling but now slightly nervously.
Quinn nodded, now having a slight idea of what this could be about.
"Well…I have a crush on Little Cato!" Ash blurted out so quickly that it was surprising Quinn understood what she'd said.
"I knew it!" Exclaimed Quinn with a grin. "So what happened?"
Ash's cheeks had turned a light shade of red as she thought about what had occurred.
"I hugged him and he hugged me back!" Ash told Quinn gleefully.
"Really!" Responded Quinn. She had honestly been expecting a little bit more but this was still great news. Quinn honestly really wanted them to get together. They would make a really cute couple!
"Do you think he likes you back?" Asked Quinn, happy to finally be getting some answers from her roommate.
"Well…He seemed down earlier so I went to check on him. He looked happy to see me and after we hugged he seemed to have enjoyed it."
"Well, that's good!" Said Quinn encouragingly. "I've got a feeling he likes you back."
"You really think so?" Asked Ash, her whole face lighting up even more. She wasn't about to believe for a second that what Quinn said was true but it did boost her confidence slightly to hear her say that.
Quinn nodded as she remembered yesterday morning when she and Little Cato had been playing a round of bowling together. She had overlooked it at the time, her mind being set on his injured foot. However, later she realized that the reason he had dropped the bowling ball on his foot was because he had been shocked by what she had said, and if she remembered correctly, she had accused him of thinking about Ash. The only reason she could think of to why he had been so shocked was that she had been correct. This meant that he had been thinking about Ash and why else would he be so surprised over her finding out that he was thinking about her other than if he liked her?
"What makes you think he likes me?" Asked Ash smiling cheerfully.
Quinn thought carefully about her answer to Ash's question. She didn't have it in her to ruin her happy mood by telling her about Little Cato's injury. She was certain if she told Ash she would start panicking and maybe even get angry at Quinn for not mentioning anything to her before.
Instead, she just shrugged and said, "I mentioned your name once while we were playing a game of bowling together and he reacted strangely."
"How so?" Asked Ash nervously.
Quinn ponded on her question. She knew she couldn't answer with shocked, nervous, or embarrassed, so she lied. "He looked happy."
Quinn watched as Ash stared at the wall with a dreamy expression on her face. "You like him a lot don't you?" Asked Quinn as she let out a small chuckle.
Ash's cheeks turned slightly redder as she said, "It's only a small crush."
Quinn raised an eyebrow at Ash. "Really?"
"Okay, so maybe it's not that small." Stated Ash with a quick nervous glance at the door. "Remember, don't tell anyone."
Quinn nodded with a friendly smile as she looked back at the sheet of paper in her hands. She paused for a moment before continuing to right stuff down.
Ash sat on her bed and pulled out her drawing book and pencil that Clarence had stolen for her. She was a pretty good drawer but she did it mainly because she found it a soothing way to pass the time.
Ash began to think of what she should draw but all she could think about was Little Cato. Would it be weird to draw him?
'Well, I guess no one's ever going to see this drawing, so…' Ash made her decision with another happy smile. She was going to draw Little Cato.
