It's quiet. Too quiet. Winx Club Season 8 isn't premiering until next year, no one knows when the second season of World of Winx is going to be released, Ever After High is practically dead. Winx Club Season 7 was kinda bad and aired all the way back in 2015. Ever After High hasn't produced a true webisode since "A Big Bad Secret" back in October 2016. Some are saying Ever After High is being cancelled, and I'd totally believe it at this point. We're 1/3 into 2017 already and we haven't heard ANYTHING. Winx Club is even worse date-wise. Season 7 ended in late 2015 and we haven't had any news about season 8 (which I'm totally fine with since Winx Club sucks now but ANYHOO). As I said earlier, both franchises are being quiet. Thus, this story was born. Well, the remake.

See, I originally planned to write this story AFTER my first WC/EAH story, but I had bored of that. I had most of the chapters mapped out since…late 2016-early 2017, and had actually been planning the story long before that. In fact, I started this story back in 2015, but I trashed it after seeing it was undeveloped. But this time I mapped out everything, and I think I'm ready for round two! At first, I wasn't gonna bother publishing this, but I think everyone needs a little enlightenment. Even me. I think I lost my own inspiration after Ever After High started to decline, that's why I was gonna scrap this. But after rewatching a few episodes, I HAD to do this. This story will serve as a reminder. A reminder that no matter how much empty time goes by, the fandoms will never die.

And speaking of the story, it's inspired by Lisi Harrison's Monster High book series. Thus, it's supposed to be a real-world AU. Sort of. Well, you'll get the picture when you read further. Be sure to leave a review at the end! I always love feedback!

Oh, yeah! Another thing: a lot of this fanfiction will have elements from the Winx Club comic book series, so a lot of you might not recognize a few characters. For an example, Manuel. Manuel's Roxy's love interest ONLY in the comics, NOT the actual cartoon.

Boy, it's weird writing the Trix like this. I'm not used to writing them as anything other than super villains. But I do love portraying them as the Mean Girls. Mind you, this is something completely different, so give it a chance.

Disclaimer: I don't own EAH or WC or any of the characters mentioned in this chapter. Sorry if this chapter is bad. I'm not good with intros. Roxy's was boring to write, so it's probably boring.

Chapter 1 – Raven, Roxy

Raven Queen felt screwed. No, Raven Queen was screwed.

For nearly the past two hours, she'd been cramped in the back of the SUV in between her sisters' bags and luggage. Her legs had long gone to sleep and were stiff as heck, and she didn't even have enough room to stretch out her arms. So in other terms, Raven's day had been miserable so far. Miserable and uncomfortable.

And with the SUV being trapped on the middle of a gridlock highway, Raven's predicament obviously wasn't ending anytime soon.

"Stormy, you told me you'd switch with me an hour ago," complained Raven, taking her headphones off. She kicked the back of her sister's seat.

"Hey, it isn't my fault you were stupid enough to sit back there," retorted Stormy with a hiss, snapping her gum.

"Well, somebody had to," countered Raven, folding her arms across her chest (it was a miracle she had enough room to do that).

"And that someone's you so just shut up already," groaned Darcy, letting her head fall back onto her headrest.

Icy, the oldest Queen sister who sat all the way in the front with their dad, just snorted. "Would all of you shut up?" she said, inspecting her reflection in the passenger vanity mirror. Mirror gazing seemed to be Raven's sisters' favorite pastime, a hobby they all had inherited from their mom. "At this point, I'm seriously thinking about freezing you all over." Raven could practically hear Icy rolling her eyes.

"Not before I blow you away first," snapped Stormy, furiously snapping her gum again.

"Oh please, Stormy. I'd hardly think your little autumn wind is strong enough to get rid of me," insisted Icy arrogantly, turning around in her seat to give Stormy a taunting smirk.

Stormy gritted her teeth, obviously insulted. "Why you…" she growled.

Oh boy. Raven groaned. Not this again. This would be the fifth fight Stormy and Icy got into since they had started their trip. Raven didn't blame them for being frustrated and annoyed about being schedule, but that was no reason to fight. Raven was just as fed up at them yet she wasn't threatening to zap any of them into next Saturday.

But, unfortunately, that was the thing about witches. They were overly aggressively, especially with each other.

Yes, you heard right. Witches.

Raven sighed, slipping her headphones back on. She turned her attention back to her iPod, setting her playlist on shuffle. She increased the volume by a few notches as her sisters' quarreling voices got louder. There was only so much arguing Raven's ears could take. During her sisters' constant verbal battles, Raven usually tuned them out by playing or listening to music. But since she was stuffed in between bags in the backseat of a SUV with her music equipment packed away in the back of a moving truck, Raven's only option was to blast music into her eardrums. Raven had learned a long time ago that listening to her sisters' disputes was useless. Thus, she usually got out of their way until the storm blew over (Stormy pun semi-intended).

It was times like this Raven was thankful their mother wasn't around. If "the Evil Queen"(cue dramatic music) were there, Raven would've already had a headache throbbing like tecno. That was the thing about dark sorceresses. When they were displeased, they seemed to get loud. Really loud.

Dark sorceresses? Witches? One would think Raven insane for describing her family that way, but that was what they were. See, Raven's family wasn't like most…

They were different. Like, out-of-this-world different. Defying-the-laws-of-science different. Well, not all of the laws of science. Just the ones "normal people" had come to accept. There were other aspects of the world they didn't know about. Like magic, for instance.

No, Raven's family wasn't the kind that believed in the supernatural because they were the "illogical" or "naïve" type. It was because they were the supernatural.

Simply put, magic was real. Like, real-real. Magic was a fundamental part in the world's makeup and revolution. Magic was almost like an element—unseen yet essential. Magic was everywhere. In things, in places, in people.

It was a lot to explain. Not that Raven ever tried to. What would be the point in telling everyone she was the daughter of the Good King and Evil Queen? That would just sound preposterous. Unbelievable. Insane.

That sounded like something you'd see on a TV show Once Upon a Time. As somewhat insulting that show was, it was crazy to know how accurate it was to an extent.

See, it went something like this: fairytales were real. Ish. And not just fairy tales—magic in general. Spells, curses, wizards, fairies, realms, dimensions. All of it. A long-long time ago, the fairytales you probably read as a child existed. They actually happened in an ancient realm that existed in ancient times. This realm had been the very definition of mythical. Dragons had roamed the lands, mermaids resided in the seas, evil sorceresses casted curses, kings and queens ruled their kingdoms, unicorns and other fabled creatures had been common animals, dark beings waged war with their foes, fairies protected the lands and guided and watched over its citizens. But then something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

The realm—it just started to die. Like someone had poisoned it. Cursed it. Thus, everything and everyone living in it began to suffer. This magical realm deteriorated so much, it became dangerous for any and all life to exist there. It literally became a wasteland. So much had perished, so much had been lost. But not everything. According to what Raven had been told, a highly powerful sorcerer had taken an extreme risk to ensure the magical realm's legacy would forge onward even if the realm itself was destroyed and beyond repair.

But at that point, more than half of the realm's inhabitants were dead. Majority of the survivors had been the legendary fairytale figures, the ones with special magic. Thus, the powerful sorcerer used the rest of his own magic to find these figures and seal them and their stories into magical pages. These pages were encrypted with a rare magic that could penetrate the dying realm's curse. As a result, the sorcerer sent these pages into a different realm—the one that was now referred to as "the real world". His objective had been for their void world to exist in a new one through the stories written on each page. Like some kind of historical document or memorial.

And as he intended, these pages were found and the tales written on them were spread all over the new world as folklore and fairytales over the course of history. Unfortunately, the humans only read and perceived these stories as nothing more than fiction. Make-believe. So instead of embracing, accepting, treasuring, and honoring the fairytales as a testimony of the fallen mythical realm, the humans shunned and laughed at the idea, deeming them nothing more than entertaining myths. Fantasies instead of realities.

But apart from the fairytales, back when the fantasy world first declined, other civilians had managed to escape into the real world on their own. Knowing they could never go back to their magical realm, the refugees had no choice but to learn to live with the humans in their world. That was a disaster in itself. The humans hadn't liked the idea of living beside beings with supernatural powers—it made them feel inferior. That being said, they began to get rid of them. Witches were trialed and burned during the Salem Witch Trials. Fairies shared a similar fate, being captured and tortured and clipped of their wings, resulting in the weakening, forgetting, and near disappearance of the fairy gene. Mermaids were captured and used as figureheads on the bows of pirate ships, forcing the survivors to hide themselves within the deep dark depths of the sea.

The rest of refugees that had managed to endure the hardship were forced into hiding and over the years, they learned to keep their true identities hidden. But of course, you'd never know about this from reading history books. The existence of magic was erased from all records and if it ever was mentioned, it was always referred to as an "evil act" and viewed as a demonic, unnatural practice.

Meanwhile, the ancient pages that contained the original fairytales grew old as the centuries passed. The magic within them eventually wore out, releasing the legendary fairytale characters into what was known as the modern-day world. But their awakening came with a hefty price. Because they had been sealed away for so long, they'd been stripped of most or all of their magic.

You could guess what happened afterward. The fairytale legends had no choice but to start a new life in a new world, hiding their true heritage as they blended in with the human population.

And it was because of this heritage the Queens were moving to a suburb in Newton, Massachusetts. See, although the original fairytales had lost their own magic, they still kept their magical genes, which they passed down to their offspring. And since their mother was the Evil Queen, Raven and her sisters had exceptional magic.

While Icy and Stormy had the specific powers of ice and storms, Darcy and Raven had regular black magic, though Darcy specialized in illusions. As they grew, so did their powers and abilities. That wasn't entirely a good thing, though. Having their kind of potential was dangerous, especially in this world. The Salem Witch Trials proved enough. In fact, this magical potential was why the Queens were moving in the first place.

See, there had been an…accident.As soon as the rumors of witchcraft had surfaced, the Good King, Mr. Queen, hadn't wasted a second packing up his family and getting out of town. Thus, the Queens had to leave their comfortable life behind in Hartford to start a new one in Boston. And that was what had led up to Icy's current irritation, Stormy's over aggressiveness, Darcy's boredom, and that cramped feeling in Raven's legs. Everything was flowers and sunshine.

"Just try me, Stormy. Try. Me," growled Icy.

"Oh, it's so on—"

"Girls." Mr. Queen spoke up, silencing oldest and youngest daughters. "There's no need for that. We're all frustrated right now, but let's not take it out on each other." As mentioned earlier, Mr. Queen was the girls' dad and the ironic husband of the—cue dramatic music—the Evil Queen. He was a well-known physician with a constant smile and a heart of gold. His deep blue eyes were always twinkling and glowing, especially around his daughters. Sometimes, Raven felt that she and her sisters were responsible for his thinning hair and graying beard—stress could do that to a guy and with the Queen Sisters always bickering, Raven often thought the tension was weighing down on their dad. When she confronted him about it a while back, Mr. Queen had only laughed and assured her that his condition was only caused by the natural phenomenon called aging.

Mr. Queen brightened up. "Hey, why don't we play a game?" he suggested since they were literally going nowhere. "How about a game of I Spy? Darcy's got a keen eye." His daughters, including Raven, let out a groan. Sometimes, their dad just didn't get it. "What?" he said innocently, "I thought that was Icy's favorite game."

Icy facepalmed. "Yeah. When I was eight. I'm nearly eighteen now." And Darcy, her twin, wasn't far behind by a few minutes and then there were Raven and Stormy, "Irish Twins" at age sixteen.

"Yeah, Dad. We're way too old for that game." Raven rolled her eyes. "Since, like, fifth grade."

Mr. Queen pouted. "I guess you are too old for that, huh? Time sure does fly. Feels like we brought Stormy from hospital just yesterday."

While Mr. Queen reminisced about the girls when they were in diapers, a sharp pang of guilt stung Raven again. Her growing up wasn't necessarily a good thing. As she grew, so did her powers. Dark powers. Dark powers Raven wasn't very good at controlling. It was the whole reason they had to move to begin with.

Raven sighed, looking down at her hands. These hands were capable of so much. These hands were dangerous. Though Raven's mom often encouraged her to embrace her black magic, Raven tried hard to do the opposite. She wasn't evil and didn't want to use her magic to hurt others, especially ones weaker than her. Besides, using magic like that was risky in this world.

The people of the modern day hadn't witnessed outright magic before. They'd totally freak and it could be the Salem Witch trials all over again. Mrs. Queen often encouraged Raven not to fear the magicless humans. "They are inferior to you, Raven. And you have more than enough potential to prove it. Make them know their place. Don't be afraid to follow your evil instincts," Mrs. Queen had once told her daughter. It was a miracle Mrs. Queen had lost her magic or else the whole world would've been in her hands already.

But Raven didn't take after her mother or her sisters. She didn't wish to enslave anyone or dominate anything. Besides, who knew what kind of consequences those decisions would bring Raven, her family, and the world. This wasn't the magical world Raven's parents had come from. The balances here were different and were not to be tried. Not that Raven would ever consider. She wasn't that bold.

Her powers were also the reason she tried not to make friends in the past. She didn't want to risk exposing her family or hurting anyone with her unpredictable magic. Her dad, however, told her things would be different in their new town. Now that Raven was older, Mr. Queen said her magic was stabilizing. She wouldn't have to be so worried about outbursting anymore and was free to be more social. Raven somewhat believed him, though still didn't trust herself or her abilities. Summer vacation was nearly over and school was going to start soon. Mr. Queen had strongly assured her she'd make friends at her new school and Raven believed him.

Maybe moving wouldn't be so bad. Raven felt her mood lifting. Maybe moving wouldn't be such a bad thing. It'd give them all a chance to make a fresh start.

Raven caught herself smiling. Deep down, she just had this feeling. A feeling that this new chapter in her life was going to be different, unpredictable. But in a good way. Well, whatever was to come in the road ahead, Raven would have to face it not as a scared little girl but as the strong young woman both of her parents saw her to be. New Raven would be confident in herself and her abilities, instead of letting her past mistakes haunt her.

It was like Socrates said. The secret of change wasn't fighting the old, but by building and embracing the new.

oOo

Raven wanted to scream with relief when the SUV finally pulled onto their new street, Princevalle Trail. It was wide and lined with charming, beautiful, large homes sitting in the shade of the big, sturdy trees surrounding them. Each lawn was big, manicured, and polished with impressive gardens you'd see on the covers of those home and garden magazines. Raven knew at first glance this neighborhood was elite. After all, her mother wouldn't settle for anything less. Raven had read somewhere that Newton was one of the best places to live in the country, so it wasn't a surprise Mrs. Queen would decide to move here when Mr. Queen announced they'd be relocating to Massachusetts.

The car cruised along the street and eventually turned into a large U-shaped driveway of a regal-looking brick Colonial. The Queen Sisters didn't waste time; they were jumping out before Mr. Queen even shifted into park.

"I thought we'd never get here," muttered Stormy, stretching her arms above her head as she, Darcy, and Icy fanned out across the front lawn.

Raven hopped out last, taking a good look up at the house that loomed above them. It was a dignified beauty completed with a wrap-around porch on both sides, and a symmetrical façade of shuttered double-hung windows. Their house back in Connecticut had looked something similar since Mrs. Queen was a huge fan of that Colonial-revival thing.

And speaking of Mrs. Queen, the girls' mother appeared in the doorway. "Girls!" she exclaimed, taking her huge smartphone down from her ear. Even at her age (of which the girls were forbidden to tell), Mrs. Queen was still extremely beautiful with sharp raven eyes, a youthful face, and flowing dark hair. Though she'd been stripped of her out-of-this-world magic, her out-of-this-world beauty hadn't been taken away from her and Mrs. Queen prided herself in this. Although she was technically no longer the Evil Queen, she still considered herself to be the fairest of them all (that drama with Snow White was a thing of the past apparently).

"How was the trip? Terrible I assume," said Mrs. Queen, rolling her eyes at the SUV. "At first, I thought that piece of junk broke down again. It's doing that way too often. I keep telling your father it's time for a new one."

"And I keep telling you Big Blue's been in the family longer than Stormy and Raven," said Mr. Queen, stepping out of the car. "I can't scrap her now. We've been through too much together."

"Yes. Far too much." Mrs. Queen seemed haunted at the memories. Her huge smartphone started to ring in her hand. She scowled at the caller ID. "You better have good news," she hissed into the phone, not even bothering herself with a proper greeting. See, Mrs. Queen wasn't still the Evil Queen beauty-wise, but also personality-wise. She was still imitating as heck, especially when displeased. And her presence was unbearable when she was angry. If looks could kill, everyone Mrs. Queen ever encountered would be drop lifeless with one glance.

"What? What do you mean he—put that idiot on the line!" snapped Mrs. Queen, pinching her forehead. Mrs. Queen wasn't capable of ruling her conquered kingdoms anymore, so she settled with the closest thing: running her own cosmetic line. The job suited her, really. She was already in love with all things beauty, and she definitely had the personality and competitive spirit to endure the vicious worlds of business and marketing.

While Mrs. Queen barked into her phone, Icy suddenly bolted for the front door. "First one inside gets the biggest room!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Hey, no fair!" whined Stormy, going after Icy.

"Yeah, for you!" Darcy, who was a faster runner than Stormy, had already passed her younger sister, tailing Icy.

However, none of them had a chance against Raven, who had a huge advantage. While her sisters were hobbling across the yard in their high heels, Raven had chosen to wear sneakers, which were way easier to run in.

"See you inside!" she grinned, whishing past all her sisters. She made it inside first, jumping over the threshold and landing on the hardwood in the foyer. She jogged up the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time. Her sisters weren't far behind her, the clicking of their heels against the hardwood floors echoing all through the near-empty house (even the movers were running a bit late too).

"I call this one!" shouted Raven, dashing into the first room on the right. Being the room in front, it was very spacious with an expansive window overlooking the street and a long window seat. And as a bonus, the oak tree was directly outside her window, shading her domain from the sun.

Outside, her sisters were quickly claiming their bedrooms too. And apparently, Stormy got stuck with the small one because she began making a fuss. "Hey, how come mine is the smallest?" she complained, storming through the hall.

"Because you were dumb enough to run into it," yawned Icy as the sisters gathered in Raven's room. She took a good look around. "Raven, switch with me," she said expectantly.

Raven furrowed her brows. "What? No way. I claimed it fair and square."

Icy's mouth set into a grim line, meaning she was annoyed. "But it's bigger and I want it. Besides, I'm the oldest so I deserve the best."

Stormy stomped her foot. "No, I should have it!" she insisted stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest. "I deserve it the most since I have to put up with you guys all the time. You guys are always trying to cheat me out of the good things."

"Stormy, no one's trying to cheat you." Darcy rolled her eyes at their dramatic little sister.

"Sorry you two, but this is my room now." This was the first time in a while Raven had finally managed to one up her sisters so she definitely wasn't going to yield to their jealousy.

"Well, I'm certainly not missing out on anything," said Darcy with a smirk, moving one of her curly brown bangs out of her face. "At least I'm not next to Stormy anymore. There's only so much snoring my ears can take."

"I don't snore!" snapped Stormy, "Icy's the one who snores."

"Uh, excuse me?" Icy arched eyebrow screamed, You did NOT just say that.

While Icy and Stormy got into another argument, Darcy walked over to the large window. She peered out and immediately let out a whistle. "Hey girls, you might wanna come see this," she said, her voice laced with a dangerously high level of interest.

All three of her sisters were over to the window in seconds, forgetting about the room dispute. It wasn't very often Darcy was this curious, so whatever had grabbed her attention was definitely worth investigating.

And that whatever was a guy with brown hair in the front lawn of the brick colonial across the street. He was watering the flowery shrubs, completely shirtless. Though his back was turned to them, you could already tell he was ripped. The muscles in his backside were nicely toned, and, Raven would admit, looked stunning drenched in sweat. As he moved pointed the water hose at different angles, his muscles undulated nicely.

Icy whistled. "Maybe this day has its advantages after all."

Darcy wasn't missing the opportunity; she was already undoing the latch and opening the window. "Hey! Hot stuff!" she called out to the guy across the street. Raven's sisters were huge flirts, especially Darcy. They liked to get guys wrapped around their fingers, mainly to manipulate them.

The guy across the street turned around. The second they saw his face, Darcy ducked while Stormy and Icy reeled back in horror. Shirtless Muscles adjusted his glasses, looking up at Raven. Raven immediately felt self-conscious as the guy gave her an awkward wave. Great! He thought Raven was the one who caught his attention. Not knowing what to do, Raven gave an awkward wave in return and backed away from the window the second Shirtless Muscles went back to watering his flowers.

"What the heck, guys?!" she snapped, feeling her face flush. "Why'd you do that? That was totally embarrassing!"

Icy looked disgusted. "I take back what I said. This day is getting worse."

Stormy scowled. "How can someone with a body like that look so nerdy?"

"I know right. And to think I called him hot," gagged Darcy. "For crying out loud, he wears glasses."

"You wear glasses," countered Raven with a frown.

"Yeah, but I have enough sense not to wear them out in public. Besides, I actually look good in mine," insisted Darcy, watching as Shirtless Muscles retreated back inside his house. "And did you see how awkward he was? Totally not my type. You can have him, Raven."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. "What? I never said I wanted him." But her sisters had already lost interest in the conversation and were comparing the sizes of their new rooms again.

Raven sighed and facepalmed. They were so hopeless. Thanks to them, Raven was already off to a bad start and they hadn't even lived in their new neighborhood for ten minutes. Ugh, hopefully, Raven wouldn't have to run into that guy anytime soon….

If Roxy Quinn was one thing, it was tired.

She yawned as she wiped down the rest of the equipment while her dad flipped the business sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED, ending another hectic day at Frutti Smoothie, her dad's juice bar.

"I can finish closing up, Rox," said Klaus Quinn, her dad, taking a broom.

Roxy nodded, letting her long hair loose from its high ponytail. "I'll go get my stuff," she said, disappearing into the back room to get her bag. Amaryl, the juice bar's other worker, was sitting in the small employee's room, taking off her uniform.

"I thought this day would never end," she grumbled, removing her plaid top, exposing her orange-and-pink bra. "That businessman was getting on my nerves." Being known to have a temper, Amaryl found fault in at least one customer a day. Today, she got annoyed with some fortysomething in a suit who hung around all day using the free wi-fi and flirting with her. Yesterday, she had been highly irritated with an old lady who couldn't decide what she wanted in her smoothie.

"I think he had a crush on you," said Roxy, taking up her Hello Kitty tote from the bench and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Puh-leez. He's at least thirty. And I totally saw him take off his wedding ring before coming in." Amaryl rolled her eyes, sliding off her skirt. In nothing but her matching undergarments, the girl dug through her Nike bag in search of her other outfit.

"No one's your type," pointed out Roxy, recalling the countless number of cute guys who came into the shop in hopes of wooing Amaryl, but ended up leaving with a smoothie and broken heart.

It was so serious, Klaus used Amaryl's attractiveness as a secret weapon to get more customers (specifically the male kind). He moved the cash register Amaryl operated onto the center of the front counter so she was visible through the window to passing civilians outside. All it took was one glance into the shop at Amaryl, and the passerby would become a regular customer from then on out.

It wasn't like Roxy was bothered by it; she could see why guys liked Amaryl so much. She had fair skin, deep green eyes, and cute short honey-brown hair. A guy would be crazy not to find her attractive.

"Because the type of man I want is rare," insisted Amaryl, her voice muffled by the fresh new tee she was yanking over her head.

Roxy giggled. "If you say so." Though she was full of attitude, Amaryl was a real hoot sometimes. That was probably why she was so fun to work and be around.

"Hey, why don't I give you a ride back home?" offered Amaryl suddenly, wiggling into a new skirt.

"Huh? But don't you have to go your grandmother's house tonight?"

"Yeah, but I pass your place on the way. C'mon, Rox. It's been a while since we talked outside of work." Finished changing, Amaryl stuffed her uniform into her bag and started for exit.

"Dad, I'm riding with Amaryl tonight," she called out to her father.

"Okay, that's fine. I have some things I need to take care of anyway. And Amaryl, remember—l"

"I know, I know. Yellow means slow down, not floor the heck out of the gas pedal," yawned Amaryl like that was old news, pushing open the exit. Roxy followed after her, stepping out into the small parking lot.

Amaryl's ride was an old Toyota, a hand-me-down from the older sister Amaryl claimed to hate.

"So what's it like?" asked Amaryl, turning her Toyota onto the street.

"What's what like?"

"You know. Living with single dad."

Roxy shrugged. "It's normal." She didn't exactly know how to answer that.

"Normal? Girl, please. That's gotta be awkward. I can't even imagine mentioning bra shopping to my dad more less actually going with him. And don't get me started on periods. How'd he explain that to you?"

Roxy couldn't help but giggle. "It's not all that weird. Contrary to your belief, it's actually pretty normal to me. I don't really remember my mom, so it's always just been me and Dad."

"So…have you talked to him about boys?" Amaryl seemed more than curious.

"Okay, moving on," announced Roxy with another giggle.

The rest of the car ride was like that; Amaryl asking bizarre questions and Roxy giving her silly answers. Eventually, the car turned onto Roxy's street of row houses.

After wishing Amaryl a good night, Roxy walked up her walkway and was surprised to find another stray cat waiting at her doorstep. This was the third time this week! No way Klaus would let her take in another cat! Roxy bit her lip nervously as the cat looked up at her with big puppy eyes. It was so cute and tiny. She couldn't just leave it out here. The poor thing was probably starving.

But her dad had already made it perfectly clear they had enough animals and wasn't interested in sheltering more. Roxy didn't want to upset him but…

The small cat gave an innocent meow and rolled over onto its backside. It purred softly. Roxy felt herself giving in. There'd be no trouble in only feeding it, right? Her dad never said she couldn't do that. Besides, who knew how long the poor thing had gone without food. It probably didn't have much energy.

"Aw, come here," cooed Roxy, bending down and scooping up the cat. She unlocked the front door and walked into the house. Artu, her dog and best friend, instantly ran down the stairs and gave his mistress a greeting yip.

"Hey, boy!" Roxy dropped her bag onto the floor, giving her dog a rub on the head. "I missed you too." Roxy carried the new cat into the kitchen, where the other three cats were already waiting for her. Lately, a lot of strays just started showing up in the yard out of the blue and since Roxy had a serious soft spot for animals, she had to take them all in.

Roxy poured some kitty chow into a few bowls for the first three cats, and then into Artu's food bowl for the new one. Roxy watched as all the cats greedily devoured their food. She noticed that the orange one, Tiger, was becoming spoiled; every time she fed him the particular brand of food, he always picked out the green pieces and left them on the floor for her to clean up. Something similar was happening to Midnight and Snowball as well. Midnight was always demanding attention and Snowball wouldn't use the little box unless it was set nearby a window. Klaus always said Roxy was too lenient with the cats, but he was even worse.

After the new cat, who Roxy had just named Bandit, finished his food, he helped himself to the green pieces Tiger had set aside. "You must've been really hungry, huh?" Roxy smiled softly as she scooped up the small cat. He meowed, relaxing in Roxy's arms.

Roxy stroked his backside gently. He was so warm and soft. No way could Roxy leave him outside to fend for himself. That was cruel. She'd just let him sleep in her room tonight. There was no harm in that.

After feeding Artu, Roxy started dinner. Her dad had always been convinced Roxy would become the neighborhood's cat lady. Yes, Roxy would keep lots of cats, but she wouldn't be confined to her home. And she wasn't a social outsider either. She could love animals and human beings. It wasn't uncommon.

And Roxy wouldn't call her love for animals abnormal either. Animals were living things too and deserved affection just as much as people. Besides, Roxy just had…a connection with animals. Sometimes, it was almost like she could feel their feelings and hear their thoughts. Like they had some kind of bond. This might've sounded crazy, but Roxy felt like the animals understood her too. Whenever she spoke with them, they seemed to comprehend.

Almost like there was some kind of magic tying them together.