Policeman and the cat

5 - Crossing eyes

Like it usually happened when you had too much to drink, Ian woke up with a dry throat just a few hours after heading to bed, but as he opened his eyes all thoughts about getting water left his mind-- his ceiling was squirming red. One fuzzball wasn't frightening, but dozens, all stuck to his ceiling, were terrifying.

He drew a breath and looked away, only for his eyes to stop at his fish tank. Something was in it - taking up half the fish tank with fish swimming through there was a horror movie version of a mermaid. The face alone would be cute, but you couldn't offset the morbidness of a translucent body with a see-through skeleton with that alone. It had a glowing heart in its chest and a blown-up version of the ring he had lost in the hip area... It was munching on one of the fuzzballs.

Their eyes met...

Her's were predatory, snake-like, silver with slit pupils.

Shit!

Ian pressed his back to the wall.

"Human," it said with some happiness in its voice, letting go of the now lifeless fuzz, almost like finding new prey.

Ian scrambled to put on whatever clothes he could get to, reaching a record speed, then took ahold of the closest fuzzball, the glasses, and ran out before that creature could come out--

Shit. Shit. Shit. His mind was spinning as he ran. The fuzzball slipped out of his hand to crawl inside his jacket. Ian panicked for a moment, but since the creature seemed to do so out of fear, he let it be and continued running, his feet taking him up the stairs of the building on Corn street no.56.

The fuzzball shivered as he approached the door. Ah, it too could feel that presence-- Ian lifted up his glasses to his head and rang the bell.

He could hear a faint sound of Mandy's voice in the room and mentally prepared himself to soon see the ghastly figure. She poked her head out from the door and her eyes met Ian's.

"Umm, August is still sleeping... would you like to come in for tea?" the ghost asked.

"Sorry," Ian said.

He felt the fuzzball squirm and crawl out while Mandy floated her head back in and opened the door.

Ian stepped in, whispering. "You wouldn't know what this is?" he glanced down at the fuzzball.

Mandy shook her head. "I'm as clueless as you are," she replied in a whisper.

"I'm Chilli!" A bright voice came from the bunny. It could talk?! More importantly, Ian grabbed at the fuzzball to hush it but stopped part-way spotting August.

August was disheveled, wearing a very oversized shirt and pajama shorts. His bedhead formed two cat ears on his head. Ian's cheeks turned redish and he looked away. Ian had never been attracted to men, but looking at that pale skin and beautiful face was dangerous-- he would start doubting his orientation at this rate.

Ian heard a yawn, then an unamused question: "Don't tell me you came because a dustbun freaked you out?"

At least it looked like August both knew what it was and... it didn't seem dangerous from the way he phrased the question. "... it's not the only one. My ceiling is squirming in them," Ian said, his face paling as he recalled. "And there's this cat-eared water thing in my aquarium that ate one of them..."

"Witten, huh..." August tilted his head, his shirt sliding without care to reveal more of his collarbone.

Ian regretted turning his eyes back to August. While it was good that he couldn't stay pale and frightened, now he was starting to feel things he should never feel for another male and even the ghost seemed flustered--