Imagines Book 1 |Stray Kids|

Cat Next Door •lee minho•

Genre: soft, hehe

Word count: 1.2k

Synopsis: you lost your beloved black cat, Nellie. You checked all through your house for her, but nothing. That is, until you go take a look outside...

***

"Nellie!" you called out in a sweet voice as you placed the food dish on the floor in your kitchen. "Come eat!"

Nothing.

You glanced at your stairs from your kitchen, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion. You approached the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the darkness to see no glowing eyes of your cat.

"Nellie?" you began getting a little worried.

Could you have forgotten to bring her inside? No, that's impossible. You'd never forget to do that. So where could she be?

You checked your house a total of three times. Checking between small spaces, the cupboards, the cabinets, the top of the fridge, underneath your bed, under dirty clothes on your floor— anywhere where Nellie may be hiding. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

You quickly tossed a grey zip up over your pajamas before sliding your wight slippers on. You quickly went out your front door, letting the sunlight peer into your house for a quick moment. You went down your steps and began walking on the side walk to your neighbor's house.

He was new to the neighborhood, so you didn't get the chance to even talk to him yet. Or as a matter of fact, see what he looks like. You've only heard from the neighborhood girls that it was a 'good-looking boy'.

Just as you glanced at his deck swing, your eyes landed on Nellie as if she were a target sign. You quickly ran up to her with your arms out, ready to scoop her up in your arms.

"Nellie!" you exclaimed, picking her up with ease and snuggling close.

"Meow~" Nellie meowed, her eyes squeezing shut and her mouth opening wide, flashing her sharp teeth before looking back up at you with her green eyes again.

You held her in your arms and looked down at her with a serious expression.

"How did you get out?" you asked the feline, holding her a little bit away from your face so you could look at her.

She stared back at you with big eyes.

"Never mind- don't ever do that to me again!" you scolded her, snuggling into her fur with a relieved smile.

Then the front door opened. It was your neighbor, looking confused as ever. But he was all dressed up in jeans with a belt and a tucked in white shirt underneath a beige cardigan. Even his brunette hair was parted and styled. And you stood there in your pajamas, probably looking homeless to the boy.

It felt like you two were just staring at each other for five minutes in awkward silence. He had just caught you on his porch with your cat in your arms. I'd call that awkward.

"What are you doing?" he asked with his eyebrows raised and his eyes slightly wide, still holding the door knob in case you were a murderer or something so he could just run back inside.

His eyes flickered down to the cat in your arms who was squirming around. In only a matter of a second, she managed to escape your hold and jumped onto the boy. He instinctively caught her just in time before she would fall.

Just as you were about to take her back, she curled up in his arms and even closed her eyes in peace. Which she never does. Nellie is known to be an aggressive and mean cat towards anyone she doesn't trust or know. But for some reason, she found your neighbor particularly comfy and trustworthy.

"Nellie..." your voice trailed off, but your eyes caught the boy's hand stroking Nellie's soft black fur. You quickly blinked, snapping yourself out of the trance you had on his hand.

"Why are you on my porch trying to take this cat?" the boy suddenly asked, continuing to pet your cat in his arms. "And who is Nellie?"

"Nellie is my cat," you answered his question, looking down at the cat curled up against him purring.

The boy's face dropped as he looked down at Nellie. His expression seemed to soften whenever he looked at her and it made you a little curious. At first, he looked a little intimidating coming out of his house. But when he caught Nellie his persona completely changed.

"This is your cat?" his head shot up to look at you.

You nodded, glancing down at Nellie once more. She was so spoiled and she had no clue.

"Oh," the boy said, dumbfounded. He held the cat out to you as you scooped her back up into your arms. She quickly snuggled up against your neck, hiding her face under your hair.

You gave her a quick pet on the back and looked at the boy. He itched the back of his neck nervously.

"I'm Minho, by the way," the boy put his hand out towards you as you shook it with the hand that wasn't holding your cat.

"Y/n," you introduced yourself, bringing your hand back to support Nellie in case she wanted to get loose again.

Minho looked around for a moment, thinking of how to explain himself for having your cat while you were going crazy next door, ripping apart your house to find her.

"She showed up on my window sill so I took her in, but then she started picking fights with my three cats so I put her back outside. I guess she didn't want to leave," Minho explained the situation, looking down at Nellie as he let out a nervous laugh.

Your eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "You have three cats?!"

Minho nodded with a smile that you swore made you feel instant butterflies.

"Sooni, Doongi, and Dori," Minho told you, holding up three fingers with a proud smile.

"That's too bad that Nellie doesn't like them. I would've brought her over tomorrow for a little play date," you said, pulling Nellie away from your neck to look at her cute face.

"They'll get used to each other, I'm sure!" Minho popped. He was now getting a little excited. "It was just their first time meeting,"

You hummed, putting Nellie back where she was comfortable. She's always lonely whenever you work at your house, but now with Minho's cats she can have friends.

"Does this mean you'll come over tomorrow with Nellie?" Minho asked softly, looking at your eyes for validation. You nodded with a smile.

"Why not? She's lonely at my place while I work anyways," you told the boy, watching his lips curve into a gorgeous smile.

"Then it's a date," Minho grinned at you.

You felt your heart skip a beat for a second.

"What do you like for breakfast?" Minho asked.

A/n: I kinda like this one ngl

Also, I might have a cat story for Minho again. It's a little different, but I just thought of it now while writing this.

Little sneak peak: what if your cat wasn't just a cat? What if he was a...human, too?