After descending what felt like a thousand steps, Nora met Ali, who was waiting for her at the bottom, amusement flaring in his deep brown, ageing eyes. In response, she rolled her eyes and gestured, communicating that he lead her to where the Uber was supposedly waiting.

The street was busy, and for a moment, Nora didn't think the Uber had arrived until Ali began to stroll down the road, without so much of a 'follow me'. She scoffed but shadowed him, failing to keep up with his rapid steps, as he crossed the road, applied hand sanitiser to his hands, and opened the door, taking a seat first.
Her jaw clenched at the lack of chivalry, but she held her tongue, resisting the temptation of ask him to move along, and instead, walking around the back of the car to sit behind the driver instead.

Thanks to the Uber app, the driver already knew the route, and so after confirming the address, they were soon on their way to the outskirts of Milton Keynes. The pair were travelling further than Nora had expected, and when her phone buzzed, she remembered that she was yet to update Leo on her venture so far.

Only disappointment coated her expression, followed by annoyance when she realised that the message was from her mother, hoping to arrange a call when she was available. Nora didn't plan to reply for a while, at least not until she had a job, and so she ignored the message and texted her brother instead.

Meanwhile, Ali was seemingly growing tenser as the silence continued. When he began to twiddle his thumbs and sigh heavily, Nora had no choice but to stop her texting and point his agitating qualities out.
"Just stop," she interrupted, awkwardly tucking her phone into her jeans pocket as he turned in her direction. "It's going to be fine...just don't think about it,"

"Easy for you to say," He muttered before sighing once more. "What am I supposed to think about then?"
The driver tilted his head, almost intrigued by their sudden emergence of conversation, and Nora rolled her eyes, adjusting her belt so that the strap was only holding her waist, before moving so that her legs were crossed, and she was facing him.

"You shouldn't sit like that," Ali warned as she waved a hand. "It's dangerous, what if we have an accident?"

"It's fine," She dismissed, before she released a small sigh, "Goodness you worry too much!" She observed, her complaint catching the attention of the driver, who peeked at the pair through his rear-view mirror. Nora did her best to ignore him, as she instead cleared her throat and focussed on the man beside her. Though he was older, she doubted the worry lines that had formed due to age. Ali was a worrier, and being a person who didn't care in the slightest, she knew he'd have her at wits end, if he continued expressing his concerns. "Tell me something about you," She decided, removing her hat to lean against the glass pane of the window. It wasn't quite comfortable, but was better than sitting straight, facing the right way. "What do you do? Your company looks pretty fancy, have you always worked there? Do you own the place?"

Ali chortled in response, shaking his head in disagreement. "It's a telecom factory, all glamour on the outside, nothing special within, and I don't work for them."  He informed her, in a very matter- of -fact way. It seemed Ali didn't exactly like the staff who shared his building, but she ignored that thought as she asked the far more pressing enquiry on her mind.

"But you're office...?" She questioned,

"I just hire the space." He explained with a small shrug, "I'm a freelance illustrator-"

"No, you're not!" Nora interrupted, her eyes wide and teeth exposed as she expressed her astonishment. "You're an artist?" She asked for clarification, and then shook her head in disbelief. "I would never have guessed; you're just too...neat,"

And Ali was. Just from his suit alone, she would have assumed he had an office job, and he shrugged again as if to him this was normal. "I just take pride in my appearance," He reflected, "and I'm careful when I paint. Of course, odd accidents happen but I keep spare clothes with me. I would never walk out of my home with, say, tomato sauce on my shoes," Instinctively, she glanced at her converse, noticing the mark that had permanently stained her purple trainers, and scoffed, amusement coating her surprise.

From Ali's soft expression, however, it was hard for Nora to determine whether he had intended to offend her or he was stating the truth. The longer she watched, the more blase he seemed, and so she assumed the latter, preferring to dismiss his rudeness than acknowledge it. Thought it had humoured her all the same.
For some reason, Ali didn't seem to be the type of person who could understand the underlying messages some words could mean. Upon consideration, he certainly seemed to have a literal quality about him; everything appeared black and white. There was no room for grey.

The driver announced their arrival, and the pair exited the vehicle, this time Nora leading the way to the small cottage that invited its' guests with fresh flowers and wildlife. It was quite a beautiful home, and along with the thatched roof, low windows, and of course the blue door,  Nora could easily imagine herself living somewhere like this, remote and isolated, yet always with the company of nature just beyond the thicket of hedges that lined the road.

"Are you ready?" she asked, and he nodded, permitting her to press the doorbell and step back, anticipating the moment someone would answer the door. Gosh, she hoped someone would answer the door, and that would put this whole fiasco behind her.

"Hello?" A woman donning glasses and a red knitted cardigan opened the door, and Nora grinned, thrilled to see the house matched its resident almost too perfectly.
She glanced at Ali's way, and he remained silent, giving Nora no choice but to instigate the conversation.

"Hi," She greeted, "My name is Nora, and this is my...friend," She decided, using her left hand to identify the man beside her, "Ali, are you, Ms Jones?"

"I am," Ms Jones confirmed, and Nora's heart leapt in relief.

"Fantastic!" Her enthusiasm was met with scepticism, and she was quick to dial it down as she explained their predicament. "Ali's cat was accidentally sold to you at the pet store, downtown and we were wondering if we could buy him back." The greying woman blinked. "He...he loves this cat you see, and it's all been this giant misunderstanding-"

"Wait," Ms Jones interrupted, "I'm really sorry, but I think you've come to the wrong house," She expressed as Nora began to pout.

"But the store gave us this address," She explained, "are you sure you haven't bought a cat, or maybe someone used your address?"

Harriet blinked before allowing realisation to cross her features and allow her blue eyes to beam. "I know what's happened, come on in, would you like a cup of tea?" She  asked, and though Ali parted his lips, Nora was quick to agree. He shot her a worried look, but she dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
Inviting them in for a cup of tea was undoubtedly a good start.

"Yes, please! A cup of tea would be great, or hot chocolate would be better if you have any?" Nora requested as Harriet opened the door wider, allowing them to pass through. She led them into a small lounge space decorated with gold wallpaper with a pattern of clocks, whilst a collection of real clocks adorned the east wall. Grey sofas were embellished with white lace slips and the scent of roses failed to mask the mothballs that ensured the aged curtains weren't eaten away. It was almost creepy how quickly Nora found herself feeling at home, and after a peek at the chocolate bowl that sat on the coffee table, she settled on the sofa, with her legs beneath her. 

Harriet had already disappeared into the kitchen, while Ali appeared to be searching for something, peering behind the sofa Nora sat on before checking behind the tv. It was only when he started calling Billy's name did she remember that naturally, he would be looking for the darn cat.

"He's not here," Mrs Jones announced as she walked into the lounge space, tray in hand. Everything, including the white teacups and the sugar bowl, was so aesthetically pleasing that along with the array of clocks on the wall, Nora felt as if she had been invited to the Mad Hatter's tea party. Her excitement quickly dimmed, however, when Mrs Jones' words finally sunk in and Ali stopped searching for the cat that should have been here. "The cat, he doesn't live with me,"

"What do you mean?" Nora asked, ignoring the hot chocolate in front of her as she narrowed her eyes. "If he's not with you, then where could he be?" She asked, her voice an octave higher than normal. Panic began to cause her heart to tremble and her eye to twitch. She didn't dare turn to Ali, who undoubtedly would be feeling worse. "It's your name on the paperwork," Nora added, running her fingers through her red hair. "You are Harriet Jones, aren't you?"

"I'm not," The woman denied with a severe smile, "I'm her daughter Helena; my mum had mentioned adopting a cat a couple of days ago; she must have used my address,"
Nora's eyes perked up as she listened, and her hope renewed in full force.

"So, could you give us your mum's address?" Ali asked, the desperate plea coating his tone as she offered a sympathetic smile his way.

"Yes, of course," She smiled, "it's...." Nora pulled out her phone to type down the address as she spoke, "Number 4, Swanston Avenue, Inverness IV3 8QN,"

Nora gaped as she stopped typing, glancing at the woman who was happily stirring the tiny spoon in her teacup. "Inverness?" She questioned, "As in...."

"Scotland?" Ali filled in. Helena peered at the two over her glasses, recognising their shock with a small smile.

"Yes, she's been in the middle of moving for a while but finally took the plunge last week. She must have bought your cat for some extra company, on the day she left and used my address since the signal is so terrible up there,"

"But Scotland is so far," Nora complained, "Is there any chance she's thinking of coming down south in the next few weeks?"

Helena shook her head as Nora lowered her shoulders in defeat. She didn't dare look at Ali, who could have only been distraught, and so instead, picked up her hot drink, the smooth chocolate adding a tinge of light to their dark situation.

They finished their drinks, and Helena profusely apologised for the inconvenience as she followed the pair out of the cottage. Ali hadn't said a word, but Nora had thanked her anyhow. She'd also offered to contact her mum to see if anything could be done, but going to Scotland...it was an entirely different country. How a simple mistake had led to the feline travelling from one end of the United Kingdom to the other, was only a situation that could have been written in a book. But this wasn't a book. This was Nora's situation and though she wasn't quite ready to admit it to Ali just yet, it was entirely her fault.

Ali was typing on his mobile, most likely ordering an uber, which meant Nora had plenty of time to open a bag of ready salted crisps, to reduce the the internal stress levels that she felt. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Ali muttered his anger and kick the loose gravel, his frustrations slowly making its way into his expression before he turned to where she was sitting on the pavement and glared.

"Don't look at me as if it's my fault," She warned, her mouth full with salt and potatoes- the taste so heavenly it was almost a rush to her brain, "How was I supposed to know this had happened?"

"You said she had Billy," Ali argued, "you said you'd found him,"

"I said I think I've found him, and technically I have. It's not my fault the owner decided to move to bloody Scotland," she defended as he scowled. She mirrored the expression before sticking out her tongue and turning her attention to the road.

'It wasn't her fault,' She internally reassured herself. Sure, she had sold the cat, but she couldn't have possibly known the owner now resided in one of the most northern parts of the island; she couldn't be guilty of this...Only deep down, she knew she was, and Nora emptied the packet, shaking the crumbs into her mouth before crunching the foil into her fist.

"I just, I don't know what to do," Ali sighed, his shadow looming over as she returned her attention to him. "Maybe I should sue?" He considered the thought aloud, and her heart stopped beating. "If I take it to court, then maybe I could get Billy back...."

"Why can't you just go to Scotland?" She queried, praying that her poker face remained as she clenched her other fist. "It would be a lot cheaper," And the blame wouldn't fall to her- the evidence was striking in the logbook; it would be Nora that would get into trouble, and she'd already been fired for it. She didn't need a hefty fine on top of that; she was already struggling to pay her rent.

"I can't drive," He sighed, "and I get sick on public transport," his eyes glazed with unshed tears as he sniffled, allowing his vulnerability to pour through.

"You could always fly there?" She suggested. Luton airport wasn't that far; he could catch a flight tonight if he wanted to.

"I can't," He shook his head, "I don't like flying...or feeling trapped for that matter,"
'well, that explained the lack of lifts being utilised in his life,' She thought. "The only way to get there is to drive, but taking a taxi would be ridiculous, and I can't-"

"I can," She interrupted his spiral, and he looked down upon her, his surprise reflecting the emotion she felt internally. "I can drive," She answered again. "I have a car...if you can chip in for petrol and maybe a place to stay?...-"

Ali nodded, without contemplation. "Okay," he agreed, "I'll cover what you need," he promised, and she raised her hand, extending her pinky finger as he stared, clearly confused.

"If you're going to promise, you have to mean it," She explained, "And nothing is more valuable than a pinky promise," She added, giving him no choice but intertwine their fingers, immediately gaining a frown at the feel of grease on her hands. Meanwhile, Nora grinned, feeling a mixture of guilt and ease as they confirmed their promise and the black taxi he had ordered parked alongside the road.