Oliver's POV

I peered under the table. Annabella — not a dog, as I feared, just Axel's youngest sister — stared back at me.

"Mew," she said, sitting back on her haunches, looking up at me seriously. "Mraw."

I blinked. Was she meowing?

"Meow," I greeted in return.

Axel saw me talking to the tablecloth and leaned over. Seeing Annabella crawling around on the floor, he rolled his eyes and informed Mrs. Reaper.

"Annabella, get out from there!" she exclaimed, shooing Annabella out with her foot. 

"Where are your table manners? And how did you even get out of your chair?" she snapped as Annabella crawled and hid under my chair.

I snickered, pushing my chair back gently so she could get out.

"Meeew," she told me innocently, refusing to move.

"Do you like cats, Annabella?" I asked, picking her off the ground. She clung to my shirt, so I let her sit in my lap.

"Meoow," she replied, nodding soberly.

"Really? I like cats too," I grinned. 

Her eyes lit up, and she jumped off my lap to hurriedly crawl out of the room. 

It was a bit comical, watching her try to crawl as fast as she could, before she eventually gave up and just started running normally, but Mrs. Reaper muttered complaints. 

Just a moment later, Annabella returned with a pink stuffed cat toy in her mouth, proudly presenting it to me.

"That's a cute kitten," I accepted the offering, avoiding the parts she got spit on. Annabella made grabby hands, tugging at my shirt, so I helped her up onto my lap again.

"I'm so sorry about her," Mrs. Reaper apologized again, clearly embarrassed.

Why did she mind so much? Mrs. Reaper seemed very concerned about keeping up appearances, and I was starting to see where Axel got it from. 

I could relate, in a sense, but this was just a kid harmlessly being a kid.

"She's usually much better behaved. I don't know where this silly cat obsession came from. Here, I'll take her from you," Mrs. Reaper rambled excuses, reaching for Annabella.

I shook my head. "Oh no, it's more than okay. She's absolutely adorable, I don't mind at all. And I love cats too."

Just then, I felt something wet slide down my face. Annabella looked up at me innocently, her tongue hanging out. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Annabella, you shouldn't lick people," I said, humor evident in my voice. Kids were much funnier than adults. 

She only meowed back at me. I snickered. This is why I like kids better than people.

"Not that I'm doubting my own hygiene or anything, but I was sick with the flu last week, and I wouldn't want her to get sick," I told her parents. 

Mrs. Reaper had a knowing look and didn't seem worried about Annabella getting sick. Instead, she sent Mr. Reaper a demanding look, clearly wanting him to scold the little girl for her behaviour.

"She's vaccinated, don't worry," Mr. Reaper assured. "Annabella, what did I say about licking people without their permission?" he asked sternly.

"Meeowww," Annabella said sadly.

Mrs. Reaper rolled her eyes as Cameron and Hannah snickered.

"Well if she won't get sick, I don't mind. You have my permission, Annabella," I told her, half-joking. She leaned up and licked my cheek again.

Mr. Reaper hid a chuckle. "Well, if she has permission..."

"Greg!" Mrs. Reaper snapped. "You're teaching her the wrong things! Licking people—permission or not—is not behaviour we should be promoting!"

Mr. Reaper and I shared a hidden grin.

Annabella decided she had enough of my face and sat nicely on my lap, muttering to her toy cat. Jesus, she was cute. How was she related to Axel?

"So you're a cat fan, Oliver?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, I love them." I grinned, sheepish. "I've always wanted to adopt some, raise them, their babies, and their grandkitties."

"How about dogs?" Cameron asked.

I wrinkled my nose. "Um, I'm really not the biggest fan of dogs."

Silence.

Hannah, Cameron, Brett, even Mr. Reaper began snickering. Mrs. Reaper looked aghast.

I didn't get what was so funny. "Oh, do you have dogs?" I cocked my head when they shared a knowing look.

"Yeah," Hannah snickered. "We do."

"Oh." I still didn't get what was so funny. "I'm not the best around them, but they can be cute," I tried to subtly warn them to keep the creatures away from me.

When they stopped laughing, Mr. Reaper turned to me. "Can I ask why?"

I turned my arm over, exposing faded marks. "I never particularly minded them, but they don't seem to like me," I explained, faking sadness, as if it bothered me. 

"I only wanted to pet them, but they've attacked me almost every time, I think I'm safer away from them..." I trailed off, looking dejected.

I could see them wince at the scars. Mrs. Reaper looked troubled, glancing at Mr. Reaper. But before they could continue, Annabella patted my arm.

"Stupiy doggy," she consoled. She licked my arm.

I snickered a thanks. She was adorable. I was surprised she was willing to get so close to me when I was a stranger, but I enjoyed her antics.

When everyone had finished their dinner, a group of well-dressed ladies whisked our plates away and brought out dessert. 

I offered to help, but the way they kept glancing at me and whispering made me kind of glad they refused.

Axel was quiet as I fed her sister a slice of pie. 

In fact, he was rather quiet the whole night. 

I was so busy playing nice with his family that I hadn't paid much attention to him, but when I glanced over, he was watching me quietly, kind of zoned out.

My attention seemed to surprise him, and he hurriedly looked away, sinking deep in thought again moments later.

That was fine. If Axel wanted to behave well in front of his parents, I wouldn't complain. Annabella hopped off my lap when she was done with her cake, and I grinned at her retreating, crawling figure.

I helped Mrs. Reaper take the plates away, she seemed to have gotten over the displeasure about the dog conversation, and introduced me to the well-dressed ladies in the kitchen. 

As I suspected, they weren't maids, just residents of the building.

Their excitement in meeting me made me wary. 

What had Axel said to them to make them want to meet me so badly? 

I certainly wasn't anybody special. Perhaps they were surprised Axel was bringing over someone who he wasn't just hooking up with?

That didn't make me a friend or anything, though. 

I wished I could clear that misconception, but there was no way to do so without seeming rude, so I just smiled along when they called me 'Axel's new friend'.

"Oliver," Axel stood at the entrance to the kitchen. 

The ladies and Mrs. Reaper tittered about quietly, and Axel avoided their gaze. 

Even Axel wasn't immune to the power of gossip-loving housewives. 

"Do you want to..." he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Study, or whatever..." he trailed off.

"Sure, just a minute," I gestured to the few dishes I had left.

Axel nodded, and leaned against the doorframe awkwardly. I'd never seen him look so out of his element.

The ladies seemed charmed. "Aww, look at him," Chunhua whispered. Muskaan nodded, excited.

"He's finally growing up," Sahra seemed to be getting emotional.

Axel was clearly aware of the attention he was receiving, and it seemed to fluster him. He wouldn't look at me.

I almost wanted to snicker. I didn't understand what was going on, but anything that made Axel all meek was too good to ignore. 

So I took my time, finishing up in no rush.

"I'll wait for you at the elevators," he mumbled as I washed my hands, scampering away like a dog with its tail between its legs.

When I made my way to the elevator, I cocked my head. Mr. Reaper and Axel were talking in low voices, looking too serious for me to interrupt. 

I paused for a moment and noticed that there seemed to be more people than before, scurrying around in the shadows but avoiding the lobby. 

They weren't staying long enough for me to get a view of them or what was going on, and it was weird. Was something happening?

"Oliver," Axel noticed me approaching. "Something came up, do you mind waiting a bit before we get back to the project?" He hesitated, eyes flickering to his dad for a moment. "You can watch a movie with Van, I'll be done by the time it's over."

I cocked my head. "Sure, that's no problem. If you're busy, I could go home for today and we can continue next time," I offered politely because his dad was still there.

"No, it's sa—" Axel paused, looking like he was concentrating on something for a moment before his face smoothed out again. "Actually, yeah. It's getting dark out, so Van will drive you back, alright?"

Mr. Reaper jumped in before I could protest. "That's a great idea," he agreed with Axel. "Van's a safer driver, anyways," he joked.

I grit my teeth lightly, smiling back at them. They stood on either side of me, waiting. The pressure to accept was heavy. 

"I don't want to bother him," I gave them an innocent look. "And I've already got a bus pass, so—"

"No worries," Mr. Reaper put a hand on my shoulder. "Van's been studying non-stop, it would be good for him to get some fresh air and talk to a friend. Why don't you grab your stuff? He'll be waiting for you here when you're done," Mr. Reaper nudged me in the direction of the open elevator doors.

I couldn't do anything but smile and thank them. When the doors shut, I clenched my jaw, annoyed.

The last person I wanted to be in a small, cramped car alone with was Van. I felt more confident in my ability to deal with Axel than Van.

My gut told me I was walking into a trap. And Van?

I didn't have a single doubt that he was an excellent trap setter.