insane stray cat vs. panicked teenage girl

who: Jamie (w/ Caleb later-phone call)
where: streets (specifically between her house and Nevermore), Laundromat, her house
when: late afternoon~early evening

With the heavy bag of books in hand, it was surprisingly easy for Jamie to stay in a good mood on the walk home. They reminded her of Caleb. Being reminded of him reminded her that they were no longer fighting, and things seemed to be settled back to normal between them, despite this morning's panic attack. She had been well behaved and hadn't thrown herself at him. Victory! She wasn't a whore. Problem solved there.

Well, not really. It wasn't just her having hormone issues. But, no, she was thinking positive here. She had been around her boyfriend for a few hours, and her clothes had stayed on. They'd argued, they'd had a strangely philosophical discussion about the supernatural, they'd flirted... And they had a date for tomorrow. Hurray!

Jamie considered the little talk they'd had as she walked down the street, heavy bag swinging with every step. He was worried about her. He wanted her to take a few days off a week now. That was actually a little scary, when she thought about it. Two days off a week to do absolutely nothing? Even normal people cleaned the house on their days off, right? Well, she'd promised him. She was going to keep her promise for as long as she could.

...but that didn't mean she wasn't still going to try to clean the bathroom tonight. It really did need it, but she wasn't going to stress herself out over it. If Caleb was right, and she'd need more energy (and sanity) to learn this magic stuff, then she was just going to have to learn to let some things go. Learning white magic, and helping Caleb (and hopefully other people by proxy)? Insanely more important than keeping the sentient soap scum from overtaking her bathroom.

She slowed down her walk as she passed an alley, hearing a strange noise. Jamie tilted her head to the side as she stopped completely. It sounded like... a cat. A very unhappy cat, if the growls and hissing were anything to go by... She saw it then; a rather large, ordinary looking grey housecat stepped out from behind a trashcan, staring at her with odd, amber eyes. She stared back, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise. Why did it feel like a stray cat was staring her down..?

Because, apparently, it was. She blinked, and the next thing she knew, the cat had sprung out of the alley and jumped for her torso, yowling all the while. She brought up her right arm instinctively to shield herself and took a quick step back, but the cat's claws still raked her forearm, not quite managing to gain purchase. It's teeth dug into her wrist, but before it could sink all the way into her flesh, Jamie swung the bag of books still in her left hand upwards. It slammed into the cat's kicking hind legs and sent it flying upwards in a yowling, spitting frenzy. The crazy stray only narrowly missed swiping her face before it slammed into the pavement.

She stared, wide-eyed at the suddenly still cat, taking another few steps back and clutching her bleeding wrist with her free hand. What the hell had just happened!? She'd just had a stray cat jump for her fucking jugular while walking down the street! A pained, panicked whimper escaped her, but she shook her head violently to clear her thoughts. It was just a cat, just a cat! She was not going to have a panic attack over an insane stray.

She took a hesitant step back towards it, wanting to see, despite herself, if it was okay. It's probably just hungry or scared or rabid or something, and I just scrambled it's brains. Calm down, it's just a fucking cat. Jamie stopped next to it and debated with herself whether to reach down to check it. It's just a cat, she repeated in her head, over and over, but she couldn't get those eyes out of her head. That predatory gleam...

That long hesitation while she tried to figure out what to do? Bad idea. Before she had time to properly react, the cat was up again and growling. Jamie yelped in alarm and made to take another step back, but the cat attacked; this time, it sprung for her bared calves, and there was nothing this time (gravity, for instance) to impede it's progress. Its' front claws raked harshly down the back of her left calf, and its' teeth sank deep into the side. Before she could stop herself, Jamie loosed a scream of pain, and her eyes began to water. "Fuckfuckfuck," she whimpered, shocked as she tried to gather her wits.

Fuck wits. Instinct won over, and she swung the bag of books again, this time with the intent to kill (or at least do as much harm as she could). She swung directly at the fucker's skull, satisfied when she connected with a sickening, but still pleasant crunch. It's teeth went a little farther in from the slam, but immediately the cat released her, dazed again. Jamie kicked it away with her right foot hard for good measure, and quickly began to backpedal, wincing in pain. Fuck, her leg was screaming in agony! What a day to choose to wear a skirt.

Another pained whimper escaped her as she continued moving backwards, away from the cat. Walking currently sucked, but--"Oh fuck," she whispered, eyes growing wide as, once again the (rabid?) stray rose to its feet. This time, it looked much more unsteady, but when it let out another angry yowl, she didn't stop to consider any other option. Jamie turned and darted--limped, rather--into the nearest open store. A laundromat, thankfully empty except the startled clerk. She made a dash for the open storage room in the back, skidding on a slick spot on the floor and falling on her hands and knees just inside the tiny space. The cat was following her, and in a panic she kicked out blindly as hard as she could with her sandalled foot. It was a lucky shot; her foot connected with the cat's already abused head. She managed to whirl around to face it, though it cost her; she ended up sprawling backwards, propping herself up with her hand and arms. Her injured right arm shook as she dragged herself in a circle around the thrice dazed feline before collapsing completely... only a foot from the door.

The cat rose again, growling, and Jamie began to cry breathily, panicked, all of the fight in her completely exhausted. I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie. An insane rabid stray fucking cat is going to eat me in the storage room of a laundromat and I'm gonna die and then it's gonna eat the stupid clerk behind the counter and he'll die and it's my fault for running in here and Caleb's gonna be so mad--

Hands were suddenly hooked under her armpits, and she was dragged out of the storage room. Jamie managed to hook her uninjured left hand around the door and she pulled it shut as she was dragged. There was a heavy thud and another angry yowl as the cat slammed into the other side of the door, and crazed scratching could be hurt as it attempted to dig its' way through.

"Jesus Christ," the clerk breathed in her ear, sinking to his knees to check her injuries. "Are you all right, girl? What the hell was that?"

Jamie sniffled, rubbing desperately at her eyes and smearing blood across her cheeks. "I-I dunno. I-It looked like a cat, and it just attacked me outside. I'm sorry, really sorry that I brought it in here, but I didn't know where else to go..."

The clerk-turned-good-samaritan made soothing sounds, petting her head and smoothing back her hair. "It's all right now. That door's sturdy, sweetheart. Where did it get you? Can you show me?" The teenager nodded, holding out her right arm and showing the bite and scratches there. Then, she moved her left leg slightly to the side to show off her calf. The man winced in sympathy, suddenly understanding why the girl was in such a state. The cat had certainly given her good reason to panic. "Let me call animal control. You just sit here and rest. Sorry, there really aren't any comfortable chairs," he apologized, once again smoothing back her hair. "There's a first aid kit under the counter. I can help patch you up after I've made the phone call, okay? Is there anyone you want me to call for you? Your parents?" he offered.

She nodded with him, still rubbing childishly at her eyes. But she was calming back down now, now that she knew the cat wouldn't be able to come for her again. "If you'll give me the kit, I can do it while you make the phone call," Jamie offered softly, dropping her bloody hand to press against her calf and hissing quietly from pain. "And you don't have to call my parents... I... I don't live far," she explained. She didn't have anyone to call, not really. It hit her then, how alone she was, and for a horrifying moment she thought she was going to cry. She took in a deep, steadying breath, however, trying to calm herself down. Not having anyone to depend on was just another reason she couldn't cry right now. She had to take care of herself.

He eyed her thoughtfully. Only a blind person would have missed the way her face had momentarily crumpled; the sudden sadness that had appeared on the girl's face. "No one at all you want me to call for you, sweetheart?" he asked kindly. Maybe she had parent trouble, but that didn't mean she should be alone right now. "Another relative, a friend... boyfriend?"

Boyfriend. Caleb. She instantly felt a little better. Of course, she wasn't entirely alone... she did have him. And he wasn't far away at all; he could be here in five minutes. But this all seemed so silly, all of a sudden. To call him over a silly cat bite? And he was at work. She was fine now. She wouldn't bug him over this.

...even if she would feel worlds better if he was here.

"I'm okay," Jamie affirmed, her jaw setting determinedly. "Home is only five minutes away. If you'll give me the first aid kit, I can patch myself up while you call... and I'll buy you new supplies to replace what I use as soon as I can. I promise."

The man blinked in surprise, taken aback. He'd fully expected he'd be spending the next hour or so trying to calm down a hysterical teenage girl while waiting for someone to come pick her up. Instead, she seemed less shaken up by all of this now than he was, and she was the one bleeding! "Now, there's no need for that." He rose to his feet and retrieved the first aid kit from behind the counter, eyeing her speculatively for a minute. She'd already popped the case open and was cleaning herself up, a determined grimace on her face. Independent little thing, wasn't she? He shook his head in amazement, but pulled out the phone book to dial animal control.

The only real sign anything was abnormal was the continuous frenzied scratching against the storage room door, and the occasional angry yowl from the cat locked inside.

Jamie had been debating with herself since she'd arrived home on whether or not to call Caleb. Her leg and arm had been disinfected and bandaged, and the strange cat had been taken away by animal control. Things were... back to normal. Except for the whole pain thing from the bites, and the uneasy feeling she had about the whole encounter. She was even starting to feel physically unwell, almost like... No. It was just a crazy cat. She was imagining things, really, she was!

It wasn't until she'd started making dinner that she finally caved. She dialed his number and tucked her phone between her ear and her shoulder while she cooked, silently praying that Caleb answered and not one of his brothers. It wasn't like frying pork chops was rocket science, anyways; she could talk and cook at the same time.

Caleb did answer. "Hello?" came his voice on the line when he picked it up on the second ring. He'd been listening to music and half debating napping, even if he wasn't at all sure he was going to sleep. Might be worth it to try, but then...phone-ness.

"Hey," Jamie said, sounding a little nervous. Oh crap, she shouldn't have called. Why had she called! She was being clingy-crazy-girlfriend, wasn't she!? They'd only just left each other's company, what, an hour and a half ago!? Arghh...

"Hey, Jamie." Caleb said, smiling a little. "What, miss me already?" he asked. Then paused, her tone sort of sinking in slightly late. "Everything okay?"

She sighed quietly, giving the potatoes a quick stir. Damn, he was good. "Of course I miss you. The loneliness is absolutely killing me," she said lightly, though now she really sounded troubled. "...it's really stupid. You'll laugh," Jamie muttered, after a moment's pause.

Caleb didn't like the sound of that. In fact, it gave him a sinking sort of feeling in his stomach. This was where things went downhill again, he just knew it. "Well if it's stupid, you probably wouldn't have called to talk to me about it." he pointed out. Because yes, he figured that was why she was calling.

Jamie flipped over the pork chops, giving herself another moment to stall. "I got attacked by a crazy cat on my way home. I don't know why it's bugging me so much. It was just a cat, you know?" she murmured. "I know it's stupid. Sorry."

Caleb blinked. "A cat? Are you okay?" he asked. What the fuck? Attacked by a cat? That was...weird. "It wasn't a wildcat, was it? I haven't seen any or whatever, but I know they're supposed to be around the area in the woods and shit. Like, bobcats or whatever. But are you okay?"

"It..." she hesitated, shifting the phone to her other ear. What the hell could she say? That for a moment, she'd actually thought it was going to kill her? And she really didn't doubt it would have gone for her jugular. But it sounded insane to say it out loud. And she really didn't want to worry him... "It was just a stray. A house cat, maybe a little on the big side... I'm okay now." Jamie bit her lip harshly. "It bit me, but I'm okay."

"It bit you?" Caleb repeated. "Did you go in to get that looked at? Cats can carry things, you know. You could get sick." he added, and yes, he sounded worried. "You should really go get looked at, I could walk you to the hospital..."

She winced. Hospitals? Bad. "Animal control said they'd call me tomorrow morning if the cat had anything," Jamie murmured, taking the meat out of the pan and putting it onto a plate. She shifted her focus over to the potatoes, draining the water out of them before she began to mash.

He sighed. "Really?" he asked doubtfully, not sure if she was just telling him that to make him feel better or something. "You weren't bit bad, were you? It had to have been kinda bad if you called animal control." Yeah he didn't like the sound of any of this, and it was clear in his tone. But then he was a worrier.

Jamie sighed. "Really," she affirmed. "They promised they'd call. They'll have to put it down anyways, so they'll run tests on it after..." Apparently, she had nearly crushed it's skull in. Even if it hadn't attacked and labelled itself as dangerous to humans, they would have had to put it down for humane reasons. She'd nearly killed it. "I... It was pretty bad, the attack," she admitted quietly. I was really scared. "It bit me twice... and scratched me."

Caleb dropped down on the couch and sighed. "You're not making me feel any better." he said. Though he didn't sound like he expected her to. "You also don't sound really very okay. You sound shaken up, Jamie. Are you sure you're going to be alright? Do you need anything, or...want anything..?" he asked, feeling useless.

"'msorry," she apologized, feeling guilty. She shouldn't have called him. It was no big deal, really. She'd dealt with worse on her own, right? She was acting like a stupid, clingy girl. "No, I'm okay, really." I just wanted to talk to someone. "I'm sorry I bothered you, Caleb."

"Oh god, please don't start that." Caleb groaned. "I wasn't bitching. I'm just worried. Don't even go passive aggressive on me with 'sorry I bothered you' bullshit. You didn't fucking bother me. You're never going to be 'bothering me', and if you are, I'll let you know." That really bugged. "I can't believe you just did that."

Jamie cringed, then laughed weakly. "Yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn't it? I am sorry to worry you, though. I just feel so stupid. Like I'm making a big deal out of nothing, you know? It's just a cat. Sorry, I'll be back to whatever counts as my normal tomorrow."

Just when I think things are fine again, she turns around and pulls bullshit. What the fuck? he thought. He really couldn't just drop it. He didn't believe she'd said that. I'm sorry I bothered you, Caleb. ran through his mind again. Also known as 'Poor me, I'm going to sit back and cry and say shit like that to make you feel fucking horrible'. That's called 'manipulation'. And if it wasn't, then it's still fucked up, because you really think that you calling me after you got shaken up by being attacked by something--even if it was just a cat--that it'd be bothering me. What the fuck kind of guy do you think I am?! While his mind was reeling, he hadn't answered, and realized late that he needed to say something. Damn Jamie could hit his 'frustrated' button with pinpointed ease. In several different kinds of ways. Currently, it was a very bad one. "So it was just a cat. Who cares? It went after you. That's probably freaky for you." was what finally got articulated.

"Yeah." Again, she sighed, struggling with herself. To talk about it, or not to talk about it? Really, she was wishing she hadn't called him at all. That pause had been long, and awkward, and... yeah. Open mouth, insert foot much? She'd screwed up again. Go her. "I feel like I'm going crazy, I guess. It was just a cat, but... there was just something really weird about it. The look in its' eyes was just... really intense. Like it wanted to eat me alive, or something. And I don't know if I'm going crazy and just making shit up in my head, or if it really would have killed me. I fell down, and for a minute I really thought it was all over... just over a cat." And she kept wanting to babble apologies that she'd called him to rant about insane she was, but fuck if that hadn't upset him already. Ugh.

He tried to focus past his frustration to what she was saying, and managed after she started to get into the details more. "...feral shit is sometimes like that. I mean, you say it's just a cat, but if it's really wild, then anything can do damage. If it's got no fear of humans, or was injured or...well, like wrong, then it's possible it was really after you that bad." he said. "Don't discount anything just because it looks normal. Lots of things look normal." I do, if you don't catch sight of the scars.

She blew out a shaky breath. That did make her feel a little better. Caleb knew more about this stuff than her, obviously. "I know. I should know better. Appearances are deceiving and all that." Jamie bit back yet another apology, knowing it would probably just upset him more. Ugh, she was really bad at this leaning on other people shit. "I'm..." She sighed again, shaking her head. 'Sorry', the stupid word kept popping back into her head. Passive aggressive bullshit, he'd said. Damnit. "I'm just really shaken up. I'll be fine by tomorrow. Maybe after I sleep on it, it'll just make more sense in my head." Sorry.

"There really isn't any reason for you to know that." Caleb said. "You just found out about the weird in the world the other night, so it's not like you should expect yourself to be an expert already." Quit being so goddamn hard on yourself. You're not superwoman, quit talking like you expect yourself to be, or worse, that I expect you to be. "I can tell you're shaken up. It's okay to be. Getting attacked sucks." And okay he was used to it by now. But she wasn't, and he didn't particularly have any desire for her to get used to it. In any way shape or form.

Jamie smiled wryly. Was it really okay? She wasn't sure. Yeah, she'd agreed to take a few days off a week, and to worry less about the house being clean, but... That didn't mean she could afford to spaz out now. She was disappointed in herself. She'd lost her cool. Quite possibly, that could have resulted in her losing her life today. If it hadn't been for that man in the laundromat... Sigh.

"We still on for tomorrow?" she asked lightly. It was less an evasive change of subject and more... she really wanted to talk about something lighter right now. "Was thinking maybe we could come back here, after. I can make you dinner? Whatever you want," she offered. "I'm all for that feeding you thing. I can even provide dessert," ...oh, crap, that could totally be taken as a double entendre. She slapped her forehead the second that registered in her head. Wow, she really had foot-in-mouth disease today.

Caleb certainly caught that, and blinked, but realized half a second later that she hadn't meant it like that. "Isn't the point of taking a day off not doing something like making more work for yourself?" he asked. "Yeah we're still on. How about we order food after? I know, something you didn't make, it might be iffy, but humor me."

She pouted a little. "Cooking isn't hard. I like making food and feeding people," Jamie insisted. And oh was she glad he hadn't mentioned the dessert line. That? Had been bad. Were her 'wtf!?' brain filters turned off today, or what? "I'm domestic like that, remember?"

"Yeah, I caught that somewhere along the line, I'm all observant." Caleb commented. He absently scratched at the scabs on his wrist while he talked. "Maybe I like buying you dinner too. But see, I wouldn't know, because you haven't let me yet." It was worth a shot, right?

Oh, damn. He had her there. She was thrown completely for a loop, and subsequently dropped the potato masher on the floor with a clatter, sending mashed potato splattering on the cabinets. Smooth. Thank God he wasn't there. "God, you have no idea how many warm fuzzy boyfriend points you just earned with that sentence," Jamie laughed softly, feeling a blush rise on her cheeks. She was such a girl. "Okay, I give. We can order food."

Caleb grinned to himself. "Good. Deal, then." he said. Apparently, he was very slowly but surely breaking through Jamie's more stubborn traits with things like logic and persistence. He'd have to keep trying. All he had to do now was start erradicating some of the more insane stuff. At least this time they hadn't argued before returning to semi normal. "What was the noise, anyways?"

"I hate your hearing," Jamie groaned, reaching down to pick up the masher and toss it in the sink. "I did something horribly embarassing when you said that from happy-girly-surprise, and I'd prefer if we both pretended it never happened." She grabbed a wash cloth from the sink and dropped carefully to her knees to clean up the mess.

That had him just barely stifling a chuckle, but hey. He managed. Thankfully. "Sure!" he said. In a tone that suggested he was nothing but highly amused, and wouldn't be forgetting it whatsoever. Possibly he'd be taking that to the grave. "Never happend. Check."

"I am so glad to keep you entertained," Jamie muttered dryly. But she was smiling. He'd almost laughed! Okay, it was totally at her expense, and she felt absolutely ridiculous now, but Caleb had nearly laughed and that made it all worth it. "But listen, babe, I gotta go. Dinner's ready, and I gotta get it on the table. What time are we going to the movie?" she asked, realizing they hadn't really set a time yet.

"Um, I don't know, we can look tomorrow. Picking a movie would probably work out better for that in the first place. You've got a computer, you can look it up online then let me know what's playing and all that shit. Sound like a plan?" Caleb asked.

"Yep, sounds good." She beamed brightly. Oh yeah, she was beyond giddy about this whole date thing. He'd asked her! And he was buying her dinner! God, total warm fuzzies. It made her feel special. "See you tomorrow, then. And be safe tonight, okay? No playing with strange cats," she warned, though her tone was light hearted.

"Promise." Caleb said. "I won't even go out tonight, how's that?" he added. Since he was kind of planning on getting sleep for once. While he could function on amazingly little, that didn't mean he liked constantly running around feeling half dead. Therefore a night in was good.

Jamie felt relief wash through her. She had a feeling she'd sleep a lot better tonight, knowing he wasn't wandering around. It wasn't like the town was overrun by crazy strays or anything, but... so soon after her ordeal? She'd definitely feel better tonight. Not that he would be able to defend himself or anything; he was more than capable of that, especially compared to her. "Earns you more warm fuzzy boyfriend points," she assured him warmly. "Which can be exchanged for hugs and kisses at a later date."

"Interesting. Good to know." Caleb said. He wondered if that meant the score was in his favor again, and thought with the spoon-dropping incident, he was. That was his theory anyhow. "I'll hold you to that though. Is there a running tally I should know about?"

"Not really. I keep the numbers in my head, but I'm touchy feely anyways." He was so getting a hug and a big kiss first thing tomorrow for making her feel better. "You don't really need a tally. The only time I'm not going to be all snuggly and kissy on you is if I'm upset with you, or if you're in a twitchy 'no touchy' mood."

Caleb wondered if one of those statements was entirely true. She'd mentioned that she'd wanted to kiss him-kiss him when the whole bath incident had gone on, and she'd been upset with him then... But yeah he so wasn't going to ask about that right now. He wasn't that dumb. Really he wasn't. Even if he was curious. Maybe he'd just test the theory one day. "Okay, just checking to see if there was some other score going on and being kept that I wasn't aware of." he said with that same lilt of amusement in his tone.

She smiled, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, maybe just how awesome of a guy you are. But really, that number keeps going up instead of down, so no worries," she said cheerily, pushing herself back to her feet. "And I really gotta go now, babe. The food's gonna get cold. Have a good night, okay? And call me if you need anything."

"Okay, I will." Caleb promised. "Have a good night too, I'll talk to you tomorrow." he added. "...Night." How come he never quite knew how to say goodbye to someone? He was kinda bad at that.

"'Night, babe," Jamie said with a smile before hanging up the phone. Well, that hadn't gone too badly. Except at the beginning, of course. But now she felt much happier, and much less shaken. Apparently, he was good at calming her down.