I spent so much time on this, reading and rereading, it's not even funny. D:
But I think this needs some explaining before you read it. First of all, the roman numerals separate each panel of the story, which are all at different a different stage in their relationship. Number one is when they are at a school dance. Two and three are before they knew each other well. Four is when they are dating, and five is easy to figure out. ;) All except number one (middle school) take place in high school.
Enjoy! I did! :D
I.
"Dance with me?"
She could barely believe it. An annoying queen who spent most of her free time stealing candy bars from the convenience store and moodily blasting her ears out with 3OH!3 dancing with a smart, popular and handsome tom like him? Not to mention how she was always inhaling second-hand smoke from her brother's fumes (she tells her brother to quit if he loves her; apparently he doesn't love her).
When she actually realizes that Mistoffelees, the guy of her unrealistic dreams, wants to spend the last minute of the painfully slow but incredibly romantic song with her, she modestly and maturely (understatement of the year) accepts his kind (also the understatement of the year – his offer wasn't just kind, it was charitable. Like, third-world country charitable.) offer.
"Well if you – I mean, if you have… Shouldn't you… okay. I'd like that."
II.
"So we're partners, huh?"
Rumpleteazer officially hates Mrs. Jillian. She's the one who suggested they do a ballroom dance for an elective to replace tennis after Mungojerrie broke in over winter break and cut all the strings on the rackets, as revenge for the entire quarter where he had to participate in it. She's the one who made Rumpleteazer join instead of spending another quarter in the quiet art room, thus completing a year and becoming the only student in their high school to have an entire year of the same elective. She's the one who paired Rumpleteazer with Mistoffelees.
There are multiple reasons why this won't work. First of all, Rumpleteazer is all of three inches taller than Mistoffelees. Second of all, Rumpleteazer doesn't like to get caught up with people she's not in the same social circle with (and hanging around Mistoffelees would be the worst – they're so far apart they practically go to different schools.) Third of all, Rumpleteazer is a terrible dancer, while Mistoffelees happens to be a good dancer (do not ask Rumpleteazer how she knows this.)
"Yeah, I guess."
III.
"Hey."
She's sitting in a corner of the art room after school, and her canvas is slowly turning into a wild array of colors. The teacher, Ms. Moore, says it looks like a Chinatown celebration, so Rumpleteazer is in the process of adding red lanterns with warm yellow lights into the blank spaces. When she looks up, his salt and pepper fur looks like an old-fashioned picture compared to the monstrosity now covering the paper, table, multiple paintbrushes and her hands.
The string of pristine white pearls makes an elegant clink as he drops it on the table in front of her.
"These are for you."
She carefully washes her hands before picking them up (it's weird because she usually likes everything really colorful, but for some reason she can't stain these pearls) and putting them around her neck.
They are perfect.
"I don't understand. Why did you get these for me?"
"I felt like you deserved them."
Mistoffelees looks around, noticing the paintings so obviously by her, (they have her name scrawled across the bottom) covering most of the walls of the art room. He seems to like the one depicting two people dancing lightheartedly, looking at their feet, under an archway that was penciled in, reading sentiment d'un nuage. This was one of Rumpleteazer's more soft drawings, and she considers those one of her weak points.
His amber gaze travels back around to her, and he smiles.
"Shall we dance?"
IV.
"The stars look like pearls."
They're sitting underneath a canopy of the night sky in the park, with the duvet swiped from Rumpleteazer's mom and a picnic basket lovingly prepared by Mistoffelees' mom. The trees rustle in the wind that makes Rumpleteazer shiver. But it's bearable because of the tom sitting next to her.
"You're right. I feel like I should collect them and give them to you."
Rumpleteazer gingerly feels the pearls hanging in a loop around her neck and shyly takes Mistoffelees' hand in hers.
"D'you think that anyone would see us if we danced together?"
It's his is rash boldness that surprises her. "Who cares?"
V.
The minute she sees him, she knows something is wrong.
She stops him in the parking lot on the way to first period. "What happened? Did you get hurt or something?"
"I'll tell you later."
The way he says it, the way he guiltily mutters it with his eyes cast downward, makes her start to panic.
"No. Tell me now."
"I… all I can say is that we can't be together anymore. I… I'm sorry." The words slam into her, hard as a brick wall.
"You… you mean-"
"Would you like one more dance?" Mistoffelees interrupts, apologetically holding up his hands so she could hold him tight one more time, pretend that maybe he still loved her.
But she was already running to her pickup, the salty tears stinging in her eyes.