Gray and Eugene came out of the clinic, a cat box in Eugene's hand. Gray bent down and looked through the wire mesh to make sure the little black cat was okay. It was huddled at the bottom of the cage, its orange eyes wide open. He meowed as Gary's head appeared in his field of vision.
"Well, we've got a cat on our hands now..." Eugene said a little disappointed.
"Eugene, it's not his fault he's a stray and he got hurt," Gray scolded him.
"Oh, I don't blame him at all! It's just that it's not going to be easy to take care of him alternately until he's completely healed. What a pity my aunt doesn't have more room in her clinic!" replied Eugene, who bit his tongue for forgetting that Gray didn't tolerate any deviation, even of language, towards animals.
Gray sat up. He, too, was very concerned about their protégé's situation.
"And on top of that, the smartass escaped to go crazy outside, and came back with his wound completely reopened..."
The two friends sighed together. Life was not easy for hypersensitive people like them! They started walking again when they came across Gerard coming back from his part-time job.
"Gerard! Are you going home?" Eugene asked when he saw him.
"Yep. I'm done for the day," he replied. "And you? What are you carrying around in that box?"
He leaned over to look in the box in question in turn.
"A stray cat that was injured and was taken to my aunt's house for treatment.
Gerard met the feline's gaze and he feinted as the green head obstructed his only source of light.
"And what are you going to do with him? He doesn't seem to be completely healed..." he inquired, straightening up.
"Eugene's aunt didn't have room to keep him in her clinic so we decided to take turns keeping him until he could return to his neighborhood," Gray replied.
Gerard seemed to think for a moment. The two boys looked at him in amazement. Then he finally made up his mind.
"Give him to me, I can keep him at home," said the tall, green-haired man. "You can't keep it too long because of your parents, can you? I won't mind, I can take care of him while he recovers.
Eugene and Gray exchanged a surprised look. They had not expected Gerard to show an interest in animals.
"Are you a cat person, Gerard?" Eugene asked, too curious to hold back his questions.
"I love cats, but they don't really like me in general," he confessed.
Eugene and Gray nodded together. It made sense. Gerard and the animals was a picture that seemed too unrealistic to be plausible. Eugene handed him the box with a smile.
"In that case, we'll leave it to your good care!"
Gray nodded. Gerard smiled and picked up the small grey crate in which the survivor lay. It feigned and meowed when it saw that it had changed owners.
"You see, he already doesn't like me," Gerard mourned.
The two friends laughed when they saw the big guy's discomfited expression. It was going to be good living together!
"Where are Ben and Alex?" Gray asked as they quietly walked back to their respective houses.
"Oh, they're busy with something very important apparently," Gerard replied disinterestedly. "At least that's what they told me when I left them at school."
"Oh yeah?" questioned Eugene who was suddenly curious.
"Yes, they were talking about something like flying football? Something that's played without feet, if I understood correctly," the singer tried to remember.
"Ah, they are experimenting with sports at the moment! I think Ben told me about it. I didn't understand it all but, well, I don't know if it's a great idea to test air sports... what if they get hurt?"
"We take them to the hospital, I suppose?
Eugene nodded thoughtfully. His friend was probably right. With that, their figures disappeared in the light of the setting sun that bathed the street, still full of cars despite the late hour. The day was coming to an end and the moon was going to chase the sun to reign over the silent world of the night where life was quietly fading away in anticipation of a new day that was sure to arrive with the return of the morning sun.