My least favourite season is finally here: stormy season. The season where nature decides to let loose and party! One of those that blare all night long multiple nights a week, despite the innumerable amount of noise complaints filed. Constant warnings against severe weather, be it flash flooding, hail, thunderstorms, or even tornadoes. Very much unwelcome, in my opinion!

Today marked a severe thunderstorm warning. Loud thundering easily scared me, no matter what form I was in. I checked my phone the moment the rumbling started. Severe thunderstorm warning. Potential for hail and flash flooding. Warning against limbs and trees potentially falling.

That last one was the most worrying bit. Didn't used to be, but thanks to a particularly bad storm the first year I lived here, my PTS-Tree (phrase coined by Jongup) was always on the highest alert when loud storms rolled around. During that storm back then, a large oak tree that had been in the yard toppled over onto apartment A.

That's not what happened to Miss Park, by the way. She was fine. There was only structural damage.

But that sound, of the tree snapping and then crashing into the house, always surfaced in my mind with even the smallest rumbles of thunder from there on out. And there's still one tree within falling distance of the house, except for on my side. It at least has the benefit of being a smaller tree with springier branches instead of another large oak tree, but that never did much to settle my anxiety about it.

So cue me in cat form hiding under the blanket that I used as a couch cover, growling at every thunder clap the great party in the sky sounded out. Feta and Gouda were wildly unbothered by the storm. Which pointed to the fact that this was another storm with all bark and probably no bite. Wouldn't stop me from being distressed, though!

Amidst it all, my phone began to rang. I shifted, still under the blanket and having to shimmy up a bit to get to my phone on the arm of the couch. Caller ID: Jongup. “Hello?” I squeaked out.

“You sound pathetic, fam.”

“It's loud and stormy. I don't like it,” I whined.

“Yeah, I figured. Wanna come over? Distract yourself instead of hiding under the blanket?”

Hm. Distracting myself did sound like a good idea. Less chance to freak myself out. “Lemme just-” I heaved myself out from under the blanket so I could get up and use my legs. “-get some clothes on.”

“Great, I'm already parked on the sidewalk. Come out when you're ready, dude.” With that, Jongup hung up.

I clambered off the couch and clothed myself, a startled squeak followed by a growl leaving me at a particularly loud clap of thunder. I pulled on my beanie, hid my tail appropriately, grabbed my bag, gave my usual spiel to Feta and Gouda, then locked the door behind me before standing on the edge of the porch by the steps.

I squinted at the tree on the corner and pointed at it. “You... you stay put.”

A sheet of rain separated me from Jongup's car, so I had to mentally prepare myself before bolting down the steps and down the walkway. Junhong was in the passenger seat, so I had to crawl into the backseat, quickly shutting the door behind me. Due to being in a car, I couldn't just shake myself of the wetness from the rain quite yet. But at the Moons' house, all bets were off.

“I've never seen you run that fast,” Junhong commented as Jongup pulled off the sidewalk.

“Last time I saw him bolt like that, he was avoiding meeting the neighbour,” Jongup chuckled.

I pouted from my place in the backseat, but I didn't say anything. I didn't have the chance to. Another loud thunder clap rang out, and I nearly jumped out of my skin with a startled yelp.

Not that it bothered my friends. “So we're gonna go to McDonald's,” Jongup declared, turning right to get to where he said we were going rather than the left required to get to his house.

I wasn't sure I was up to going inside. “Like... eat in?”

“Nah. Drive thru.” Stuck at a stop light. “But like... food is the best distraction there is. So we're gonna get lots. What do you two want?”

I also wasn't sure if I had much of an appetite. “I dunno. Maybe some chicken nuggets?”

“Yeah, chicken nuggets sound great!” Junhong agreed. “I'm not about eating a mayo sandwich today.”

“A mayo sandwich?” Jongup wondered. “I don't think that's on their menu, my dude.” Light finally turned green, so a left turn it was to get to McDonald's.

“If you ask for a McChicken with no shredded lettuce, they put so much mayonnaise in its place,” Junhong explained. “May as well be a mayo sandwich with a side of chicken patty.”

I hummed in thought. “That doesn't sound too bad, actually.”

Junhong pointed at me from the front seat, head turned to look my way. “You say that now, but once you've taken a bite and have nothing but bread and mayo in your mouth, you'll think differently.”

I shrugged. “If I didn't have a problem eating a hot dog with mayo and easy cheese, then I doubt I'd have a problem with the McChicken you're describing.”

“EXCUSE ME? MAYO AND EASY CHEESE?” Junhong exclaimed.

“Yeah. Put mayo in the bottom of the bun, then the hot dog, then put the easy cheese on top,” I described.

“What the , dude,” Jongup piped up quietly as we pulled into the drive thru line. There was a bit of a wait before it'd be time to order. “Why the would you eat that? To punish yourself for past sins or some ?”

“That's gotta be the only reason! That's the grossest combo I've ever heard!” Junhong made a grossed out noise.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. And I didn't have any ketchup.” It was actually pretty okay tasting. Edible enough for me, at least.

“Oh. That's... a valid reason, I guess.” Jongup said as we pulled up to the speaker.

“Seems like it'd be better to just eat the hot dog plain,” Junhong grumbled.

But nothing else could be said on the subject, because someone on the other end of the speaker was doing their job. “Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?”

Jongup leaned his head out the window a bit, despite the rainy weather. “Yeah, I'd like five twenty pieces,” he began.

There was a pause. “What would you like to drink with those?”

Jongup glanced between me and Junhong. “The usual?” We both nodded in response. Jongup turned back to the window. “A large Dr. Pepper with no ice, a large half cut tea, a large sweet tea, and uh... a large Coke, and a large Mountain Dew.”

Another pause. “And what sauce would you like?”

“Uh... all of them?”

Pause. “Alright, will that be all for you today?”

“Yeah, that's it.”

“Alright, your total's on the screen. Pull up to the next window, please.”

Not like we could do that immediately thanks to the line. The downpour had settled a little bit, but the sky was still rumbly. Up at the window, it was a different person based on the voice. “Alright, you had the cheeseburger and the Dr. Pepper?”

“No, we had like... a hundred chicken nuggets.”

“Oh, uh. Right. Okay.” Then they read out our total, Jongup handed over his card, we got our receipt, and at the second window we were handed our drinks. Then we were told to pull up to wait for the rest of our order.

I sipped on my Dr. Pepper as I pulled out my phone to check the weather. The warning was now a watch, but according to the radar, it was supposed to pick up again in about an hour. At least I'd be at the Moons' house for that. I held onto the hope that home base would be safe, though. As I did whenever Jongup distracted me from stormy weather at his place. I'd feel horrible if something happened while I was gone!

We got our large bag of chicken nuggets and made the short drive out to the Moons' house. Went inside, I unleashed my cat ears and tail, put my drink at my place at the table, and I dried myself with a towel while Jongup and Junhong separated out all the chicken nugget boxes and various sauces.

I came out of the bathroom to hear Mister Moon talking. “How about we play cards while we eat? Let's play some rummy!”

So that led to all of us being at the table with our list of sets we had to make with the cards, all the while snacking on our individual box of nuggets and designated sauce. I preferred McDonald's BBQ sauce, despite my love of honey mustard. The power flickered at one point, but that was it. Miss Moon griped about the power not going out, and upon further questioning, it was because she just wanted something interesting to go on around here for once.

Says the woman whose house has had all sorts of wild happen around it. It's right next to a four way, so there've been a fair amount of minor accidents. Sometimes cops liked to park by the building on the other side of the road to catch speeders.

But also some other... things? Like that time a guy got tazed in the front yard. Or that time Miss Moon and Jongup ate their KFC inside the car instead of going inside because they wanted to watch the cops searching the woods right next to the house to see what they were up to. That time Mister Moon came across a pig in the field by the house. Every instance of Charlie, the fiercest hunter of the Raptor Squad, bringing her victories to the doorstep. Birds, mice, moles...

Or the time Miss Moon went out for a morning walk and saw the silhouette of a horse in the morning mist, only for it to have disappeared by the time she dragged Mister Moon out to see. At least that one had an explanation. Some horses had escaped from the horse farm down the road and were wandering about in the early morning. All thankfully wrangled back in. We still about the horse in the mist to this day, though.

Junhong ended up winning the game of rummy, but I came in close second. Nuggets and a card game had been a welcome distraction from the weather, and by the time we were done, the storm had completely blown over. The radar said it was going to be clear for the rest of the night! Because of that, it was time to go home.

Jongup also had to drive out to take Junhong home, but since I lived in town, I got dropped off first. The tree on the corner was still rooted in the same place. As was the tree by the mailboxes, but that tree wasn't one I was concerned with falling on the house. It was smaller, and even if it did fall, it would likely just fall on the mailboxes.

“Goodnight, dude. Drive safely,” I slipped out of the car and waved.

“Of course. I'll let you know when I get home,” Jongup said.

“And I'll let you know when I'm home,” Junhong added.

“Thanks. Take care!” Another wave, and I went up the walkway and onto the porch. Then inside, because Jongup wasn't going to drive away without checking that I'd made it inside my house safely first.

After locking the door behind me, I greeted my cats affectionately. They came running from where they'd been lounging and brushed against my ankles with happy meows. It was always nice to be welcomed home by them!

“Hello, my kitties! I hope the loud noises from the storm didn't scare you any today.” Based on the fact they weren't rattled in the slightest, they were likely as unaffected by the thundering and rain as they always were.

A quick bath, and then I had some window time. Cat me hopped up onto the sill just in the nick of time because Youngjae was pulling up into the yard right then. He'd been doing better lately. Not forgetting to lock his door at least, and he didn't miss dropping by to chat to whatever cat happened to be in the window when he got home.

Sometimes it was funny, because I'd be in the kitchen making something in the microwave and I was able to hear that he was talking to Feta or Gouda or both. But as soon as he heard the microwave go off, he lowered his voice then scurried away. Seemed he was just as adamant about avoiding meeting me as I was to meeting him!

I watched him lock his car, grab a bag that clearly had KFC in it, and step carefully around the puddles in the yard before taking the steps. He waved at me. “That was a pretty rough storm today, huh?” he said as he stepped over. “It got pretty loud at the doctor's office. The parking lot also got flooded, but thankfully I parked on one of the higher bits, so my car was unaffected. I can't say the same for some of the folks parked there, though...”

Briefly, I recalled a situation last year during stormy season where Miss Moon's car had gotten stuck in the Walmart parking lot due to flooding. The water reached high enough to do... something to the inside bits. Look, I'm a cat, I don't need to know car details! Whatever happened stopped the car in its tracks, and she along with some other people in the parking lot had to push it into a parking space. And then Jongup had to drive out to pick up his mom. Then Mister Moon fixed and got the car the next day. Maybe it was something around those lines that the neighbour was referring to?

“I hope you kitties were alright during today's storm.” Then he chuckled. “Although, I'm sure the lot of you knew the whole time it wouldn't get that bad. Animals have an innate sense for when there's danger in the environment, after all.”

Maybe Feta and Gouda knew, hence them not making any sort of fuss. But my pesky PTS-Tree acted up too much for me to be unbothered like them. I envied that.

“Well, I've got some schoolwork I need to finish, and it's already getting late. I hope you, the other kitties, and your owner have a good night.” Then he took his KFC and was off to his apartment with a little wave.

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A/N:

Don't get me wrong, I love a nice rain. But it'd be nice if the side effects didn't happen.