*Hello, everyone! I'm so grateful for all of you reading this, and please don't hate me if I do not portray Horuss correctly, I am just not good with his character. Lastly, I do not own the organization mentioned in the story, the ASPCA. :]*
Catch Me: Ever so Slightly
You read over the message again and again, astounded by the sincerity, and heartbreaking grief evident in the writing. And as the words sink in, you begin to understand Nepeta's pain. Just as she, you never felt the affection you sought for. Instead, you faced rejection with every word of Nepeta's own crush. However, unlike the dear girl in the emergency room, you had time to spend with the person you loved. She forever felt alone, even if in your company. Tears fall from your eyes, dampening the sketch pad in your hands. And as you cry silently, a hand shakes your shoulder, ceasing your obsessive reading of the note.
Looking up, you see your brother, Horuss, with his boyfriend, Rufioh.
"Equius," your brother begins quietly with a worried tone, "What are you doing here? We just got a message that you were here, screaming." Of course, you should have known the staff would have contacted them. Rufioh used to volunteer here and became close friends with a good number of the staff. You used to come with them, before enrolling at MSPA, when Horuss wanted to visit his boyfriend, but had to babysit you. One of the staff must have recognized you and sent a message to Rufioh, who in turn informed Horuss. Sighing, you point at the emergency room door.
"Nepeta is in there, Horuss," you state, more collected and just looking at the ground depressed. Horuss glances at the door, shocked and looks back at you. The college student has no clue of Nepeta's self-harming and eating disorder. "She-she did something she shouldn't have," you finish vaguely, not wanting to elaborate. Your brother, clearly not satisfied, but refraining from asking questions, just nods. The other, older, teens opt to sit in the chairs on the other side of the hallway, and wait silently in the hall. The silence becomes deafening an so, to pass the time, you think back on the time you and Nepeta first met.
When you were thirteen, Horuss, once again, dragged you to visit Rufioh; at the time, you swore your brother had an unhealthy obsession for the teen. After all, Horuss, at twenty years old, should have had some different friends, or at least acquaintances, but nope; Rufioh remained the sole highlight of the college student's life. Anyway, this time Rufioh decided to help at a local ASPCA doing little things, like cleaning after the animals and such other kinds of manual labor. You had gotten bored, per usual, and decided to wander through the barn outside, to find anything interesting.
Once there, you noticed a large black stallion, truly a majestic beast. For the next hour or so, you just watched the horse, asking a nearby attendant about the creature. Apparently, the horse belonged to a prodigious line of award-winning animals, and he, a being meant for racing, soon got bought by a wealthy family. However, this family, rather cruel and neglectful, forced the horse to run in every competition on only the barest amount of training, food and water. Although the beast performed well considering the circumstances, getting third place at almost every competition just from natural ability alone, the owners soon found no reason to keep the animal which should have received first place easily. They sold him for a fraction of the price he deserved and spent four years, alone and mistreated, in some horrible animal hoarder's barn. Eventually, the ASPCA rescued the creature, dehydrated, starving, and on the very brink of death, and rehabilitated him back to his full glory.
The story gave you a new understanding of the world, not just a black and white picture of right and wrong. And neither did it operate as a machine, all the small gears doing what needed to happen and going forward. Instead, the real world consists of all different shades of right and wrong, yet all equal in some, strange, impossible to explain way. Similarly, some of the damaged gears in the machinery of real life can break others, or get broken themselves, needing some sort of modification or reparation by an outside force. The world doesn't follow an order and even if one tries to deny it and consider one thing greater than the other, truthfully, everything, and especially, everyone remains equal.
Stunned by the strange enlightenment, you did not spot a tiny, gray kitten napping next to your foot until a girl practically pounced on top of the poor creature. Jumping up from the sudden intrusion, you looked down to find a frail girl on the ground, trapping the animal with cupped hands.
"Now," the strange girl said to the mewing animal, starting to stand up, "I finally caught you. You're a purrety fast for a little guy, aren't you?" The younger girl, as if just now noticing you, looked up and began blushing heavily. "Oh, I'm sorry. You were sitting there, weren't you?" she apologized shyly, "I'm Nepeta Leijon, it's a purrleasure to meet you." The little girl stuck out her hand, looking down. Even back then, three years ago, you thought she looked beautiful; her short black hair slightly messy, and her light sprinkling of freckles burning bright red due to her blood-flushed face. Although flustered, you then proceeded to chuckle nervously and took her hand, "I'm Equius Zahhak."
As you smile slightly, recollecting the precious memory, a loud rolling sound catches your attention. Looking down the hall, you see three male nurses rolling a cart covered with several bags of blood speeding toward the emergency room. You quickly stand up and notice the emergency room door's wide open, revealing your small friend and a screeching heart monitor. Panicking, you rush into the room, ignoring the shouts of your companions. You sprint inside the room, eyes never leaving Nepeta's thin, scarred body. And once inside you throw your body to the wall, allowing the nurses to get inside, and the doors close behind them.
"Hurry!" a doctor shouts at the nurses as they connect a blood filled IV to Nepeta, "She lost too much blood and her circulatory system has ceased!" The Holter monitor next to you stops beeping and releases a shrill, continuous shriek. You rush forward, trying to reach your friend, but the three nurses, now relieved of their job of attaching the IV to Nepeta, hold you back. Struggling against the male attendants, you see another doctor pick up a set of manual external defibrillators. He uses the paddle-like machine and sends an electrical jolt through the patient's body. Roaring as you continue to hear the flat lining heart monitor, you press forward against the medical assistants. The three men, not able to simply restrain you anymore, throw you back, causing you crash into the heart monitor, silencing it. The doctors, as if oblivious, shock the frail girl again, still receiving no response. Getting off the ground the medical team defibrillates the girl one last time before a physician checks her pulse. Your stomach drops as you watch the doctor stands idly, holding the girls wrist and looking at his watch.
The medical team, now distracted, does not have time to stop you as you rush to the poor girl's side, speaking softly. "Nepeta, please," you sob, "Come back, I need you." You hold on to her hand, ignoring everything, but her angelic face. "I know I'm not who you wanted. I know I'm not your knight in shining armor. I'm not like that to you. B-but Nepeta, I wouldn't have hurt you. I could never reject you!"
You lean forward, tears streaming down your face, and whisper softly into her ear, "Nepeta, I would have caught you, if you gave me the chance." Shoving your face into her shoulder you release a muffled shriek, letting out all the heartache and pain in one fell swoop, your body racking uncontrollably. Finally, as your yelling dissolves into fits of sobs, a hand shakes you, grabbing your attention. Looking up, you see a doctor pointing to something in front of you. You gaze at the smaller girl and you almost cease breathing altogether. Yet again, you burst into tears, but this time because you see little Nepeta's chest move up and down, ever so slightly.
*Okay guys, if you are there bawling, it's okay, I am too. Also, I have been sick lately so updates may come in a little slow, I am so sorry guys. So yeah, I love how this story is turning out and if you agree, please leave a review or follow/favorite. It would really mean a lot. Thanks guys, you're the best. :']*