Summary: Vanessa (ILITW MC) brings her cat to college.
Author’s note: This is in response to the Pets prompt from laniquelove’s April Fanfic Challenge.
Vanessa petted her black cat, who was sitting beside her. “I hate being away from Onyx. I’m taking her back to school with me.”
“Your dorm doesn’t allow pets,” Connor reminded her.
“I can hide her in my room. If I have a nightmare, it would really help to have her there.” In her sleep, Vanessa sometimes still saw the shadow monster.
“I guess I can’t talk you out of this.”
She shook her head, then leaned in and kissed him. “I wish I could hide you in my room too.”
Connor laughed. “That would be a little harder.”
After putting Onyx in her carrier and packing up her things, Connor drove Vanessa back to college. Her parents were out, so they were able to get Onyx out of the house unnoticed.
When they entered Vanessa’s room, her roommate Hannah immediately noticed the carrier. “Ooh, you brought your cat?” As Vanessa set down the carrier, Hannah peered into it. “She’s so cute!”
Vanessa turned to Connor. “Thanks for bringing me back.” She pulled him close and kissed him deeply. When they broke apart, she looked into his eyes. “I love you. And I miss you already.”
“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.” He kissed her again, and then headed home.
Vanessa set up the food and water bowls and litter box, then let Onyx out of the carrier. The cat immediately hid under Vanessa’s bed.
“Aww, I wanted to pet her!” said Hannah.
“She’s scared,” explained Vanessa. “I’m sure she’ll come around soon.”
Later that night, Vanessa’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was her mother. “Hi, Mom!”
“Where is Onyx?” her mother asked.
“Here with me,” Vanessa responded.
“You can’t keep her in your dorm room!”
“It’ll be fine. She’s my cat. I gotta go study now. Bye.” Vanessa ended the call before her mother could argue with her any further.
Within a couple of days, Onyx had settled in. Vanessa was comforted by her cat’s presence, especially at night. Everything seemed to be going well, until the day Vanessa came back from class and found her door open.
Alarmed, she looked to Hannah. “You can’t leave the door open!” She looked around the room, but didn’t see Onyx. She checked under the beds, but didn’t see her. She glared at her roommate. “You let Onyx out!”
“I’m sorry,” Hannah said. “I only left the door open for a minute, but she must have gotten out. When I couldn’t find her, I opened the door again so she could come back in.”
Vanessa checked the bathroom, but didn’t see Onyx. She headed to the lounge, where her eyes were drawn to the couches. I wonder if she could be hiding under there, she thought. She lay down on the floor and peeked under one of the couches. Sure enough, there was Onyx, hiding. She moved the couch, and Onyx ran out from underneath. She quickly grabbed the cat and began walking back to her room. But before she made it there, she ran into Angela, one of the girls on her floor.
Angela sneezed, then scowled at her. “Get that cat out of here. I’m allergic.”
Vanessa rushed past her and into her room. A little while later, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Kirsten, the resident assistant.
“Angela told me you have a cat in here,” said Kirsten. “That’s against the rules.”
Vanessa frowned. “I know. I’ll bring her back home.”
After Kirsten left, Vanessa called Connor. “My RA found out about Onyx. Can you come over and pick her up? I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Oh, really? How are you going to do that?” he asked.
“You’ll find out when you get here,” she told him. “Thanks. Love you!”
As Vanessa hung up the phone, Hannah looked to her. “So Connor’s coming over, huh? Guess I’ll go over to Jesse’s.” Hannah’s boyfriend Jesse was a junior and had a single room.
When Connor arrived, Vanessa wrapped her arms around him. “Thanks so much for coming. I really didn’t want to ask my mom and dad. They’d get mad at me.”
Connor kissed her, then grinned. “You said you were going to make it worth my while.”
Vanessa led him to her bed, then pulled him down with her. “Oh, I will,” she said as she rolled on top of him.