"Cordelia!"
Frankie was on her hands and knees, searching under every piece of furniture in the apartment. She hadn't seen her cat in almost six hours and she was starting to freak out. Her ratty pajamas were bunched up around her knees, the green fabric long faded and threadbare.
"Would you please quiet down?" Charlie groaned, poking his head out of his room with a serious case of bed head, "It's Sunday. Sunday is a day for sleeping."
Frankie pushed herself up to her knees and turned to her brother. "Sorry, yeah, I just-"
"Have you been up all night?" he questioned, finally stepping out of his room.
The simple answer was yes. She'd actually been up for the last twenty eight hours working on her cauterization device. But she wasn't about to admit that. "No- no, I woke up about an hour ago, and now I can't find-"
"Have you eaten?"
She froze for a millisecond, eyes flicking over to her brother. He looked halfway between concerned and annoyed. She kept her face neutral, avoiding his eyes as much as she could. "How the fuck can I eat when I can't find my cat?"
Her brother's mouth twisted up as he rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Cordelia," she clarified, voice tight and annoyed, "I can't find Cordelia anywhere. I've looked through the whole apartment."
"Maybe she finally decided to jump out the window," the boy grumbled, "Maybe then this place wouldn't reek of cat litter."
A white hot flash of anger shot through Frankie. She didn't even realize she'd snatched up a pillow before she'd thrown it hard at Charlie's head. He ducked, glaring at her with wide eyes. "Hey, what the fuck-"
"Don't talk about Cordelia like that!" she spat, her whole body rigid and ready to snap, "Mom gave me that cat."
The silence that followed made Frankie want to curl in on herself. Charlie just stared at her, his hair stuck up in different directions that only framed his strangely upset face. With a sigh, he ducked his head and nodded.
"Fine," he mumbled as he pushed his hair out of his face, "Maybe she's out in the hall."
The girl's brows pulled together. "Why would she be in the hall?"
"Sometimes she sneaks out the door when we come in," Charlie shrugged, his voice crackling with barely contained yawns, "Usually I just scoop her up and throw her back in before you notice."
"Throw?" she gaped, already reaching for another pillow to chuck at his head, "You threw my fucking cat?"
"Are you gonna look for your stupid cat or not?" he griped before turning back into his room and slamming his door shut, the pillow bouncing off of it and landing limply on the floor.
A strangled groan escaped Frankie's lips before she ran out into the hall, already calling out to her cat. She looked all over their floor, passing by every apartment before realizing that Cordelia wasn't there. She griped at her hair, desperately looking in every corner before she noticed that the door to the stairs was open.
"Oh, shit," she hissed, running straight into the stairwell.
Her bare feet slapped against the cold floor as she descended. "Cordelia? Lady Cordelia? Baby, come on!"
Each door she passed was closed, meaning the cat couldn't have gone onto another floor yet. She checked every one until she came across one cracked open just enough for the old creature to slink through. Not bothering to check which floor it was, Frankie burst through the door and started calling out in hushed tones to make sure she didn't wake anyone up.
"Cordelia?" she whispered just loud enough to be heard, "Sweetie, you around here?"
She kept tiptoeing through the hall, starting to feel cold in only her pajama pants and t-shirt. She carefully eyed every corner, continuing to call out and try to attract her lost cat.
"Cordelia, come on-"
"Excuse me, are you looking for this one?"
Frankie whirled around at the sound of someone talking behind her. She nearly fell off her feet as she came to a stop in front of Ben Parker.
He stood in his doorway, brows quirked up and face concerned. She remembered him from a long time ago, though he looked ever so slightly older. The sides of his eyes still crinkled at the sides, like he was always smiling. His dark hair was rumpled and he was wearing old flannel pajamas. But what caught her eye was the fluffy black cat cradled gently in his arms. Her eyes widened and her arms snapped out as she ran towards the man.
"Cordelia!" she smiled, hands going up to her scruff and gently scratching, "Are you okay, sweetie? Why'd you wander off?"
Mr. Parker smiled down at her, joining her in giving Cordelia a little scratch behind the ear. "Saw this little one walking around looking lost. Figured I'd hold onto her until I could ask around about who she belonged to."
"Oh, this girl doesn't belong to anyone," Frankie cooed, pulling the cat from Mr. Parker's gentle hold and cradling her to her chest, "She's an independent woman. But I do like hanging out with her."
The older man chuckled, relinquishing his hold on Cordelia. His eyes quickly scanned over her. "New hair."
"Few months old," she responded, eyes flicking towards him only for a moment before continuing to inspect her cat, "Got bored."
"Too bad. You looked so much like your mother."
Frankie's fingers paused over Cordelia's dark fur, the mention of her mother making her blood go cold for a moment. Mr. Parker seemed to notice, quickly changing tactics and pointing towards her sleep shirt. "Still a Slytherin, I see."
Frankie's eyes went down to her shirt, the Hogwarts house name emblazoned on the front. There were several tears in the shoulder and a hole towards the bottom, but she'd never been able to throw it away. Holding her cat a little closer as the creature pawed at her face, she sent what she hoped was a nice look up towards Mr. Parker.
"What can I say?" she shrugged, feeling Cordelia's paws press against her cheekbone, "Some stories stand the test of time."
Mr. Parker nodded, a slow smile spreading over his face. "I remember you and Peter dressing up as- what were their names?"
Frankie's head ducked slightly. "Harry and Ginny-"
"Harry and Ginny, yes," he laughed, nodding his head, "You two were adorable. I swore you were going to puke all over our living room on Halloween. I'm surprised it didn't come out neon from all the candy you two inhaled."
As Frankie listened to him reminisce, her stomach twisted up in knots. Having to listen to stories about who she used to be on an empty stomach was not a pleasant venture. She didn't like talking about this. Pretending. She was never one for lies.
"I'm so sorry that I woke you up," she said simply, feet shuffling underneath her.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Mr. Parker shrugged it off easily, "Peter's been up all night building a computer."
The girl nodded, lips pressed together and stringy hair falling over her cheeks. "Still dumpster diving, I see."
"Not much has changed," he responded, face falling slightly, "Not everything, I guess."
Her face nearly fell at that, but she managed to keep it neutral. Resting bitch face was a blessing at the moment. The edges of her lips felt tight as she pressed them hard together. She stretched them into a hard smile, feeling her face tighten around it. The older man seemed to notice. He quirked his brows up and pointed towards his apartment door.
"You know, we're about to have breakfast," he offered gently, "You're free to join us."
Frankie's mouth opened and closed uncomfortably. She buried her fingers in Cordelia's fur. "I- I really shouldn't."
"You sure?" he inquired, his eyes going soft, "We're making chocolate chip pancakes. Those were always your favorite."
"Guess I lost my taste for it."
He held her eyes for a moment, practically looking straight through her. "Somehow I doubt that."
The teen dropped the man's gaze, looking back over to her cat. She gently rubbed the top of her head before stepping towards the elevator. "I- I better be going. Long day of homework and such."
Mr. Parker raised his hand in a limp little wave. "Say hello to your family for me. And the offer for breakfast is still on the table."
She nodded stiffly, turning away as quickly as she could. She could hear Mr. Parker stepping back into his apartment, the sound of the morning news spilling out before he closed the door. Her face fell almost immediately, slipping back into a frown as she cuddled her cat close.
She rode the elevator back up to her floor, her bare feet cold on the linoleum floor as she padded her way back home. Gently, she opened the door and heard the static silence inside. She placed Cordelia on the counter and the little thing sauntered away towards her food bowl. Frankie looked around the quiet apartment, her hands unsure of what to do now that she had no one to talk to.
"Hello?" she called out, her voice cracking a little over the word.
"Shut up!"
Charlie's voice spilled out from his room, tight and annoyed. She could picture him throwing his pillow over his face to block out her voice. No word from her father's room. Frankie's mouth snapped shut, eyes falling on the empty counter. Slowly, she moved towards her room, already thinking of the homework she would bury herself in.