#bbbcau

 Maui was quick to follow though, moving forward with a speed Jimmy wasn’t even aware of until something heavy came down on him, hard and fast. Jimmy let out a yell as the weight slammed him to the floor and stopped his escape, and he wheezed as all the air escaped out of his body.

 Jimmy laid still as Maui’s face came close, a small sniff escaping his nose. Jimmy shut his eyes tight, hoping that Maui would move on. Maybe now that he had been caught, the cat would lose interest?

 Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

 Maui’s face left and the paw that was still holding him down moved him slightly before completely lifting off of him. Jimmy didn’t even have a chance to think about getting up though, as in the next moment, Maui’s paw hit him in the side and set him flying a few feet. He let out a noise as he came to a stop only because he hit the wall and groaned as he laid there. The hit had hurt and slamming into the wall hadn’t been fun either. A small meow had his eyes snapping open though and Maui was stalking closer once again. He needed to move but as he tried, he let out a hiss of pain and curled back up subconsciously.

 Before he could work through the pain and make himself move, Maui was right on him and another paw came down. This time though, it wasn’t just the brunt force of Maui’s paw but also his nails slicing across his side. Jimmy screamed at the sharp and sudden pain, tears leaking out of his eyes as he immediately clutched at his side.

 He squeezed his eyes shut, keeping pressure on his side. It hurt so much but Jimmy knew he had to get up. Maui was still there, still a threat, and if he didn’t get up, then he’d be in even worse trouble.

 He shifted slightly and let out a hiss as his struggle was met with pain. He groaned, face in the carpet as the ache and the sting washed over him.

 He ignored it though, he had to ignore it. Gritting his teeth he moved his free hand down to the floor, gripping the strands of the carpet in a fist as he pushed himself up. He ignored how the pain in his side flared up again, ignored how much his body was protesting about being moved, and finally managed to sit up on his knees.

 His other hand was still held tight at his side and, for the first time, Jimmy was aware of a wet and sticky feeling covering that hand. Swallowing the forming lump in his throat, Jimmy took his hand away from his side for a moment to look.

 His hand was completely red.

 Jimmy felt sick and quickly moved his hand back to press against his side. Red, red, red…Jimmy chanced a glance down and almost threw up at how much red was covering his clothes, his body, the carpet…

 He felt dizzy watching the amount of blood spilling out of him and moved his eyes away, making himself look up instead and suddenly remembering that Maui was still there. The cat was just sitting there, simply watching him, his tail wagging back and forth slowly behind him. Jimmy got the sudden feeling that Maui was enjoying watching him like this.

 Jimmy shook his head, ignoring the dizziness that went along with the action and managed to get to his feet with the help of the wall behind him. But as he stood, it seemed Maui was no longer interested in just watching him anymore. He once again drew himself lower and stalked closer, but Jimmy couldn’t help but note that his form was a bit more relaxed than before. It was like Maui knew Jimmy was hurt and therefore not as much of a challenge.

 Not that he had been much of one in the first place.

 Jimmy leaned heavily against the wall, his hand still clutching at his right side and ignoring the way he could feel the blood dripping out of him. He wanted to run, needed to run, but he took one step and he was back on his knees, wincing at the ache that went through his body at the motion.

 A shadow fell over him but Jimmy couldn’t move. Everything hurt and Jimmy felt close to passing out. From pain or fear, he wasn’t sure but whatever the reason, he was completely at the cat’s mercy now. The thought would have brought tears to his eyes if there hadn’t already been some rolling down his face from the pain. All he could do was curl up and brace himself.

 Something snagged the back of his shirt and Jimmy yelped as he was suddenly lifted into the air. The pure fear the action brought him jolted him just enough to try and struggle against the cat. But it only caused him pain to move like that and it did nothing but move him back and forth, making him even dizzier than before. Jimmy stopped and hung there limply, unable to do anything more. He couldn’t even keep a hold of his side anymore, the way his shirt was being held had his arms hung up at a weird angle.

 He looked down, seeing several drops of blood falling to the ground below. The sight had Jimmy’s head swimming.

 It was then that Maui started to move and Jimmy felt a deep sense of panic as he realized Maui was heading out of Grian’s room completely. And if Maui took him somewhere else, somewhere hidden, then there might be no way for Grian to find him…

 At the thought, Jimmy found a bit more strength to fight against the hold, but his struggles were still weak and no amount of twisting and turning was going to make Maui let go. The cat’s hold was far too strong.

 Maui, at the very least, stayed upstairs, turning to the right and going down the hall, toward a room with the door already partially open. He slipped inside and Jimmy scanned the room as best as he could. It looked to be another bedroom, similar to Grian’s. He didn’t take in much more than that though before Maui had picked up speed and jumped on top of the bed, causing Jimmy to close his eyes as the quick movement jostled his body.

 “Oh, well hello Maui.” A voice spoke and Jimmy’s breath hitched. It was a vaguely familiar voice but only because he had heard it a few times over the course of yesterday. It was Pearl, Grian’s sister, and the only human left in the house.

 If he had the energy, he might have been more afraid. But at the moment, a human was a lot better than a cat. He just hoped she would notice and help him.

 There was a small pause, a silence that seemed to stretch on for far too long, before Pearl spoke again. “Wait…Maui, what do you have?” Pearl asked, an edge of something in her voice. As if in answer to her question, Maui bent down and finally released Jimmy from his fangs. 

 Jimmy watched as Pearl’s eyes went wide as she realized what exactly she was looking at.

 “What…?” She trailed off, the words caught by her own shock. Her eyes then focused more on the wound he was still clutching at his side. “Oh my god, you’re hurt.”  Pearl’s hands started to come toward him and he flinched. It had been a while since a hand coming toward him had made him nervous, it was almost strange.

 Thankfully, it seemed Pearl had noticed his flinch and her hands halted before even getting too close. She quickly brought them back toward herself and Jimmy let out a small breath at the action. In fact, he would have fully relaxed at the gesture, a sign that Pearl really did mean him no harm, but he was quickly reminded that Maui was still there when movement caught his attention. Jimmy yelled in fear and launched himself back as a paw, claws at the ready, had swiped where he had just been.

 “Maui, no!” Pearl yelled and then quickly reached over Jimmy and grabbed Maui before the cat could try anything else. She ignored the cat’s squirms as he struggled in her grip and kept her hold strong as she got out of bed. She met Jimmy’s eyes and Jimmy only found worry in them. “Just…just hang tight, mate. I’ll be right back.” She said, before rushing out of the room with Maui in tow.

 With Maui gone and Jimmy finally feeling safe, he felt his body slump over. The adrenaline that had coursed through his veins throughout this whole thing was gone and now Jimmy just felt…exhausted. Hurt. Still rather dizzy too.

 He looked down at his side again, moving his hand a little to properly see the wound. It hadn’t stopped bleeding and he was surely staining Pearl’s sheets with his blood. The amount of blood coming out made him even dizzier. He tried taking deep breaths but no amount of breathing deeply or clutching his side tight was making anything better.

 He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) when he heard Pearl rush in. Maui was nowhere to be seen, thank goodness, and instead Pearl was clutching a small white box in her hands. “Okay, Maui is locked up in the bathroom, so you don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Pearl said, stepping closer. “And I brought a first aid kit so-hey, hey don’t fall asleep on me now!” Pearl said, suddenly in a panic as she had gotten a better look at Jimmy.

 She came forward and kneeled in front of the bed, looking worried. “Come on, please stay awake.” Pearl said. She had put the first aid kit down and her hands were now hovering, not too close though, like she was afraid of touching Jimmy.

 Jimmy would have loved to listen but found that he couldn’t. His eyes were already closing again against his will.

 The three talked for a bit longer before Joel had to go. Once they said their goodbyes, and made plans to call the next day, Joel hung up and Grian and Jimmy made the conscious decision to stay in bed a bit longer. They didn’t even switch positions as Grian went to YouTube on his phone and started playing the newest video from Jimmy’s favorite youtuber, Mumbo Jumbo. The sound and visuals of the video, paired with the warmth and steady rhythm of Grian’s chest, made for a cozy morning.

 They were soon interrupted by a knock on the door though.

 “Grian? Can I come in?” Grian’s mom asked through the door. Grian shared a glance with Jimmy before pausing the video and placing his hand over the borrower, hiding him from view.

 “Yeah, you can come in!” Grian said and his mom opened up the door and smiled at him.

 “Good morning. I’m glad to see you awake, at least.” She said with a small chuckle. “I came to tell you that your father and I want to head into town for a few things and we want you to come with us.”

 Grian tried his best not to grumble. “Uh…do I have to?”

 Grian’s mom smiled. “Yes, Grian. You need to choose what sides you want for Thanksgiving, among other things.”

 Grian let out a sigh. “Alright, alright.” Grian shifted up a bit but didn’t fully get up, still aware of Jimmy on his chest. He just wanted to move enough that it let his mom know he was getting up. “Is Pearl coming?”

 “Not this time.” Grian’s mom said and Grian pouted.

 “Well, how is that fair?” Grian questioned.

 “Because she was smart and brought what sides she wanted with her when she came home. You know, like we had asked you to?” Her smile never dropped but the tone was telling. Grian tensed and bit his lip, no longer looking his mom in the eyes.

 “...I’ll be ready in ten.” Grian finally murmured.

 His mom laughed. “Good.” She said and with that, she closed Grian’s door again.

 Grian sighed but started to sit up fully. Instead of lifting his hand, he closed it around Jimmy fully and picked him up before putting him on the nightstand. Free from the hand at last, Jimmy watched as Grian got up and stretched before going to grab some clothes for the day. Jimmy turned around, allowing Grian some privacy. “You never mentioned the fact that you were supposed to get things before coming here.” Jimmy said and he heard Grian sigh.

 “I actually completely forgot.” Grian admitted as he put on his shirt. He had been so excited, and nervous, with having Jimmy come with him that it had completely slipped his mind. “I’m done.” He said after a moment and Jimmy turned around to find Grian in jeans and his red hoodie.

 “What sort of things are you gonna get?” Jimmy asked, sitting down and swinging his legs off the side of the nightstand. Grian looked over at him fondly before answering.

 “Not sure yet.” Grian sat on the bed and pulled on some socks before looking back at Jimmy. “Did you want to come with us and help me decide?” Grian asked, standing up again.

 Jimmy blinked but shook his head. “Nah, I’m okay.” He had still yet to go to a grocery store or food place or anything public outside of classes with Grian and Joel. The idea still made him nervous and he found himself holding out as long as possible. Eventually, he would go, but that wouldn’t be today.

 Grian seemed to catch onto his thoughts because he didn’t ask again, he just nodded. “Alright, then I might be gone for a while. Do you want me to leave you with anything?”

 Jimmy thought for a moment but shook his head. He still hadn’t fully explored Grian’s room and that should more than pass the time it took for Grian to come back. “I’m just going to explore a bit more.” He said his plans out loud.

 Grian frowned. “Just in here, right?”

 Jimmy rolled his eyes at the worry. “Yes, Grian. Trust me, I want to be as far away from Maui as possible.”

 Grian let out a small chuckle and then turned toward the door. “Alright, have fun then!”

 “You too!” Jimmy exclaimed back and watched as Grian left the room, the door closing with a loud click. Jimmy took this time to look around the room from where he sat. He was in no rush and he was still in a lazy mood from their morning of staying in bed.

 Finally, he pulled out his hook and jabbed it into the nightstand before using the string to climb down to the floor. Once again, he decided to leave his hook where it was as he started walking across the room.

 He wasn’t looking for anything in particular but the simple act of just exploring was always fun. It wasn’t often that Jimmy was in a new place and he loved to see the differences between them when he could. He really had a lot to thank Grian and Joel for. Without them, he’d never get these chances. Without them…well, he’d still be trying to simply survive.

 It wasn’t often that Jimmy allowed his mind to wander into that kind of thing. But something about being alone and being in a new place was sending him down a thoughtful path. Maybe because Grian’s home was so similar to the one he used to live in before, with his parents. Joel’s home had reminded him of it too. The dorm building was a lot different, at least different enough where he could push the memories back.

 But here, in Grian’s room, it reminded him of being a child. A child with a family who was just trying to survive. He remembered his time with his parents fondly for the most part, but looking back, there were a lot of times that food was scarce. Of course, his parents always took care of him first and foremost, something he hadn’t even realized until he was older. Jimmy vaguely remembers a few times where he had been given food for dinner but couldn’t remember his parents eating. It had taken Jimmy a while to realize it was because they hadn’t.

 And there were so many other borrowers out there that were all in similar situations. They were all just trying to survive in a world far too big for them.

 But Jimmy wasn’t just surviving anymore.

 Ever since he had met Grian and Joel, surviving hadn’t even been a question. He never had to worry about food or shelter. He didn’t have to worry about getting hurt (not as much as before anyway), because he knew Grian and Joel were there to protect him. He didn’t have to take things from humans anymore because now it was freely given to him. He wasn’t on his own because now he had friends. Two best friends and three other friends he was still getting to know but who he was getting closer and closer with every single day.

 It put a smile on his face, just thinking about all his friends. And the real kicker was, he knew there were more friends to meet. It wasn’t a distant dream of hoping another borrower would move into the dorm building. It was a real, tangible thing that at any point, Jimmy could decide he was ready to meet the rest of Grian and Joel’s friends. Cleo, Bdubs, Etho…and a few others that Grian and Joel had mentioned in passing. Eventually, he would meet them all. Maybe not any time soon, but he will and the option was always there.

 Jimmy’s smile dropped a bit, his hand brushing against the leg of the bed as he continued to walk past it. Sometimes he wondered how other borrowers would react to his position. Obviously, Skizz didn’t really count since he was in pretty much the same boat as Jimmy. But…normal borrowers. Borrowers who were still terrified of humans, the ones who still followed the rules…what would they think? What would his parents think?

 He’s thought about what his parents would think plenty of times since he’s met Grian and Joel, in all honesty. He can’t know for sure, but he likes to think they’d be happy for him, knowing he was well taken care of and in good hands by people who saw him as an equal despite the size difference.

 Other borrowers on the other hand…

 Jimmy shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts. If he ever met another borrower then he’d cross that bridge then. But right now, it was unlikely he’d be meeting another one any time soon. Joel’s home had been empty and Grian’s was sure to be as well, what with the cat and all. The dorm, too, hadn’t housed another borrower for as long as Jimmy had been there. Unless they were like Skizz and also with a human, Jimmy had long since lost hope of another borrower moving in.

 But, Jimmy didn’t find himself really minding that fact anymore. After all, he had his human friends and Skizz now. That was more than enough for him.

 Jimmy reached the other side of the room and noted nothing too interesting. Grian’s room was pretty clean, what with him not really living in it anymore, so there wasn’t a lot to find. Jimmy could only be thankful that he also hadn’t found any sort of traps around either. He didn’t think he could handle another glue trap again. He had enough going on with the cat.

 As if thinking about him made it happen, Jimmy found himself reeling back as something large suddenly appeared before him. It moved in a swiping motion and Jimmy quickly realized what it was that he was looking at. A paw had come from beneath the door and had tried to get him. Jimmy hadn’t even realized he had walked that close to the door.

 Taking a moment to calm down his heart and assure himself that Maui couldn’t get to him from where he was, Jimmy started walking further away from the door. Back over towards the bed to continue exploring. 

 At a sudden thud against the door though, followed closely by a faint meow, Jimmy found himself flinching. He turned back toward the door, watching as it tremored a bit. He made himself relax again though as he realized Maui was just banging against the door, wanting to come in. Probably after realizing Jimmy was inside. It had happened a few times within the last few days. But just like those times, the door was firmly shut. It was easy to not be scared when there was such a big barrier between the two of them.

 Jimmy turned to go back to his exploring when another sound made him stop dead in his tracks. He turned back around to look at the door and sure enough, the doorknob was jiggling.

 Jimmy took a step back as he watched it. Surely it was just Maui batting at it a bit. The cat would give up soon and leave, there was no way for him to actually get in by just hitting the doorknob a few times…right?

 His confidence in that fact completely shattered when the doorknob was pulled all the way and the door drifted open with a small, but deafening, click.

 Jimmy felt frozen, unable to move as he watched Maui push at the door to open it a bit more and slipped inside. The cat’s eyes scanned the room and Jimmy’s heart sank when they landed on him. Maui’s pupils grew in size as their eyes met and he crouched, his tail wagging slowly back and forth.

 Jimmy knew a hunting position when he saw one.

 Oh, this really wasn’t good.

***

 Grian walked along the walls of the aisle, looking for sides he might want as a part of their Thanksgiving dinner. Though he was also on the lookout for something Jimmy might like as well. Even though the borrower couldn’t be with him at the table on Thanksgiving, no matter how much he wished he could be, that didn’t mean Grian didn’t plan on bringing some food back for him just like he always did. For Jimmy, he was mostly looking out for something sweet, knowing that was Jimmy’s favorite.

 Grian’s mom rounded the corner into the aisle he was in and placed a few things in the cart from elsewhere. She then looked at all the things already in the cart and snapped her fingers in sudden remembrance. “Oh! Shoot, I almost forgot.” She said, mostly to herself. It was then that Grian’s dad walked into their aisle and she turned to him. “Honey, we need…oh, you got it already!”

 Curious, Grian looked over and saw cat food in his dad’s hand. As he placed the cat food into the cart, he turned to his wife. “Yeah, not to worry, I had it added to the list before we left this morning.” He said, waving his phone with the notes app open to their shared grocery list.

 “Thank you, dear. You always remember just the exact right things.” Grian’s mom said with a smile and the two shared a kiss. Grian rolled his eyes and looked away mostly out of principle but it was all out of fondness. He was lucky to have parents that were so in love.

 “Oh! Grian, that reminded me of something else.” His mom said, and Grian turned his attention back to her. She was still smiling but now she was taking out her phone. “We forgot to send you this video of Maui we took a few weeks ago!” She said as she tapped her phone to try and find said video. Grian smiled at that. His parents were always sending him videos or photos of Maui while he was away. He really did appreciate it a lot.

 In hindsight, with the amount of videos they sent where Maui was ‘hunting’, either one of his toys or the occasional bug, he really should have realized the danger enough to warn Jimmy.

 There wasn’t much he could do about that now though, obviously. So, unfortunately, Grian let that thought go. At the very least, nothing had happened so far. And nothing would, if Grian had anything to say about it.

 “Here it is!” She handed her phone to Grian and Grian smiled as he pressed play. It showed Maui in front of his parent’s bedroom door, hitting it with his paw. The scene was incredibly cute but the smile that had been on his face quickly dropped as the Maui in the video suddenly jumped up and swiped at the doorknob.

 No, surely not. There was no way…

 Grian’s heart dropped to his stomach as after Maui jumped a few times, the cat managed to open the door, slipping inside his parent’s room without a care in the world.

 With the video over, his mom took her phone back, not noticing the horror on his face as she put it away. “Can you believe he’s figured out how to open doors?” She laughed, as if Grian’s blood hadn’t just run cold at the thought. “He’s been doing it for a few months now too, he’s even managed to get into your room a few times now.”

 Grian felt like he could barely breathe.

 “We need to get home.” Grian heard himself blurt out and his parents looked at him with surprise.

 “Grian, we still have a bit of shopping to do. You haven’t even picked out your food for Thanksgiving yet.” His dad reminded him and Grian knew all that very well but that didn’t stop the pure feeling of dread hitting him at full force.

 “I-I know but…” Grian trailed off. But? What could he say? He couldn’t tell them about Jimmy and any other realistic emergency he could think of would require some kind of proof. He was stuck.

 His parents waited a moment longer for Grian to continue, but when he didn’t, they just looked at each other. “We’ll leave soon, just make sure you pick out some food.” His mom said, coming over to kiss his cheek before her and his dad walked out of the aisle for whatever else they needed. It was obvious they could tell something was wrong but not what it was.

 Grian used the cart to steady himself as he thought about the fact that Jimmy was currently a sitting duck in his room right now. And, really, it was all Grian’s fault for putting him in that danger. Maui could open his door and walk into Grian’s room at any moment. Grian just had to hope and pray that Maui had decided to take a nap or maybe was distracted by Pearl or something. He had to hope that Jimmy was still safe.

 Grian continued to look for the food he would want, being less picky and far quicker than he would have been otherwise. His heart still raced as he only had one goal.