Pining for You

By Cassandra Hamm

Being inconspicuous is difficult with a dragon in your pocket.

The text came while I was studying for biology, but when Kitty McDowell sends a cryptic message asking for help, am I going to say no? Of course not.

I stare up at Sterling Hall. Most of its windows are still lit, but hopefully everyone’s studying and not looking down because I must look super sketchy right now, creeping outside a girls’ dorm at night.

Coins clink in my jacket pocket, followed by a squeak of excitement. I glance down at my hand-sized dragon, Venus, who’s chewing on spare change.

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought Venus. But being alone with Kitty… That’s terrifying.

“Drew!”

I jump at Kitty’s voice. Venus squeaks in protest, then continues chomping on her miniature hoard.

“Kitty?” I call softly.

A silhouette moves toward me, keeping close to Sterling’s wall. Then a growling noise echoes across the lawn—and it’s not from Venus. My skin prickles. Venus’s claws dig through my jacket and into my chest.

I clear my throat. “Kitty, you said you needed my help?” My voice cracks.

“Promise you won’t tell,” Kitty whispers.

“Uh, okay…”

Kitty steps into the streetlamp’s glow, cradling a cat. Except it’s not a cat—it’s smaller and thicker, with short, squat legs and thin, pointy ears. Green spikes poke from the cat’s skin like fur.

“Are those… pine needles?” I sputter.

“Shh!” Kitty cradles the sort-of-cat. “And yes, they are.”

Venus pokes her head out of my jacket and snarls.  The creature hisses in reply, baring too-sharp teeth.

I step backward. “Seriously, what is that thing?”

The cat’s yellow eyes narrow, and its ears flatten.

“Er… the, uh, distinguished creature. Not thing,” I say quickly.

The creature’s ears perk up like springs.

“Drew, this is Ever, a.k.a. Evergreen, a.k.a. my pinecat.” Kitty strokes the cat’s spiky head. Its spines smooth out, and it settles against her chest with a deep purr.

Venus’s low growl hums in the background as I lean against the dorm wall. So much for asking her out tonight. I blurt the first thing that comes to mind. “So… it’s a plant?”

“She’s not a plant.” Kitty frowns. “She just has leaf-like fur.”

“Uh…”

Kitty sighs. I can only see half her face; the rest is in shadow.

“I found Ever wandering around the academic buildings. She was scared at first, but I befriended her and called her Evergreen, for obvious reasons, and named her species, for even more obvious reasons—”

“Wait, you named a species?”

“Well, yeah.” Kitty pushes her glasses up her thin nose. “I discovered it.”

“You don’t know that!”

Ever squirms violently. Kitty sets her down on the grass. Instead of bolting, the pinecat washes her paw with a bark-brown tongue.

Venus claws her way out of my pocket and leaps, spreading her wings to slow her fall. Ever’s back arches. Her black eyes focus on the golden dragon, ignoring me entirely, as if I’m not a threat. Rude.

I should grab Venus, but I’d rather keep my fingers intact. Eyes on my problematic little dragon, I ask, “Why’d you text me?”

“I wanted you to meet Ever.”

That’s it? Sure, I’m one of the few people who know magical creatures exist, but I thought maybe…

I don’t know what I thought.

“And, well, I was wondering if you’d help me sneak Ever into my room.”

My head snaps up. Kitty McDowell wants to break a rule? Why is that so hot?

“If you want to help or whatever.” She stares fixedly at the grass. “It’s fine if not. But, like—”

“No, sure. I’ll do it.” I shove my hands in my pockets. “What were you thinking of doing?”

“Um… I thought maybe Ever could go in my hoodie. Then you can, like, distract anyone who comes near.” Her cheeks redden. “Everyone will be so focused on the fact that I’m actually bringing a guy to my room that they shouldn’t notice… anything else.”

My mouth opens, then shuts. I’m going to Kitty’s room. I mean, she’ll have to keep her door open while I’m there, so I probably won’t stay long since she needs to hide her pinecat, but she invited me to her room.

“Is that okay?” She bites her lip, which is way too distracting.

I focus on the coins clinking in my pocket and shift from side to side. “Yeah, of course.” I still don’t get why she asked me. She totally could’ve snuck Ever in on her own.

Except… My face warms. What if she just asked because she wanted to spend time with me?

Venus launches herself at Ever. They devolve into a spitting mass of scales and needles, teeth and claws.

Gasping, Kitty reaches for Ever. Venus’s claw catches and tears Kitty’s sleeve. I lunge forward and grab my pet dragon. Her claws dig into me as I stuff her down in my pocket. She squirms, snapping at my hand. I yank it back just in time.

So much for being unnoticeable.

“Are you okay?” Kitty hugs Ever to her chest. How is the thing—creature—pinecat—not scratching her eyes out? Other than her sleeve, it looks like Kitty escaped unscathed. Lucky.

“Uh…”

Venus flings herself from my pocket and thumps against the grass, then shakes her head, dazed. Tiny flames dribble out of her mouth, making the grass ignite. Yelping, I smother it with my shoe.

Lip curled, Ever lets out a low growl. Venus glares back at the pinecat.

Kitty bursts out laughing. “I don’t think they like each other.”

I snort. “You think?” The way she’s smiling at me makes the pain from my scratches fade away.

“So,” Kitty says quietly. “Will you help me?”

I find myself stepping closer. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

Ever and Venus are giving each other an epic stare-down, but I don’t care. Because when Kitty grabs my hand and pulls me into the streetlamp’s light, I know I’d follow her anywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassandra Hamm is a psychology nerd, jigsaw puzzler, and hopeless romantic who spends most of her time lost in another world. She loves mothering her two kittens, Keefe Hawthorne and Chase Daniel, who are named after her favorite middle grade heroes. Her work appears in various anthologies, including many of Havok’s collections, Warriors Against the Storm, When Your Beauty is the Beast, and The Depths We’ll Go To.

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