Disclaimer: I do not own Cats. It is property of the amazing Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber who has contributed so much to this fandom!! Names that you don't recognise and are not from Cats are mine though. If you want to use them in any story feel free to ask me! Enough for now, enjoy the story!

Chapter One: A Jellicle Queen

The sun rose over the city of London reflecting off car windshields and the numerous windows of the numerous buildings, making the Thames glitter like an iridescent snake. Everywhere sleepy heads rose from their pillows making their way to showers or coffee pots and furthermore on to tiresome jobs only to return again to showers, coffee pots and pillows. This world however has basically nothing to do with the story I am to impart on you. It's just an introduction to life, an author's tool to suck in the reader into a false sense of security, opening their mind to another existence, an alternative tale that might be true, but then again, it might not. Again, I'm getting sidetracked.

Within this glittering London lay a strange place. To the ordinary eye, the eye of Human, it was a junkyard, a shell of life that was once before. Once a new car, now outdated by technology and left to die amongst old appliances and treasures discarded carelessly. But as the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, or shall we say one man's trash is a Jellicle's treasure. Jellicle. Now that's a familiar word. Something Human's know at the back of their mind but refuse to admit its existence. Which is hardly the case for the beings it describes.

Cats.

More specifically a tribe of cats as old as time. A tribe of cats that has been living in the Junkyard since the first piece of junk. A brief history would be unnecessary as it has no true meaning to the story. But now I have rambled on enough with this "introduction" for want of a better and more sophisticated word. I shall now let the story begin on this beautiful, glittering, English summer morning.

The Junkyard was a hive of activity in the early hours of the morning.

"One week until the Jellicle Ball!" Sighed a young cream and white queen to her orange tabby friend.

"Jelly, I'm so excited!" Jennyanydots said as she preened her fur in the growing warmth.

"Why?" Jellylorum asked her chocolate brown eyes searching her friend.

"I don't know, it's just exciting!" Jenny giggled.

Jellylorum rolled her eyes, but smiled sideways at her friend. She scanned the Junkyard from their perch on the car. Her older brother Gus sat with his best friend Bustopher Jones joking and laughing. Their protector, a tall silver tabby named Deuteronomy watched over everyone, a slight smile on his face as he looked down at Noily Prat, his heavily pregnant mate with her friend Olivia. The toms were play fighting in the centre watched on by anxious queens, hoping to look good for them. Her eyes locked on a brown, black and white tom with a brown slash across his face. She sighed. He was definitely the best looking tom in the Junkyard. All the queens liked him.

"Still lusting after Carbucketty?" Jenny asked.

"He won't notice me." Jelly grumbled.

"Of course he won't. With that attitude no one will notice you." Jenny huffed throwing a smile out to Skimbleshanks who toppled over with shock.

Jellylorum grumbled and rested her head on her paws. There was a sudden commotion with the toms as they all began to pick up their game. Jellylorum groaned out loud and Jennyanydots flopped down.

"Oh great, here they come." Jenny whispered sideways to her friend.

And indeed they did come. Three queens as sleek and chic as Human supermodels, the eye candy of the Jellicle tribe, the popular girls, the Plastics, whatever you want to call them. The typical stereotypes. The first, Nefertari, a sleek black Burmese with exotic amber eyes that you could get lost in. The second, Griddlebone, a fluffy white Persian with enough spunk to be able to talk back to the Jellicle leader and get away with it. And the last, the most wanted, and most beautiful, Grizabella, a gold and red queen with a stunning white chest and sapphire blue eyes that made you melt. The toms immediately stopped what they were doing and watched the three queens past with bated breath. They paused with one movement and smiled over their shoulders, causing all the toms to basically trip over themselves. They then made their way over to the car where Jenny and Jelly were situated.

"I believe you are in our spot." Growled Griddlebone.

Jellylorum raised her eyebrows. "I don't see your name on it."

Griddlebone glared at Jelly, eyes narrowed. Sensing trouble, Deuteronomy padded over.

"I don't see why we you can't share girls." He said his deep yet soft voice had such a commanding power even Griddlebone listened to him, occasionally.

Sticking her nose in the air Griddlebone nodded and the three queens sat down together in a little huddle.

"I hear Carbucketty is going to approach you at the Jellicle Ball next week." Nefertari said to Grizabella.

The tri-colour queen sighed. "Great."

"It's really exciting that you're coming of age," the Burmese continued, "I can't wait until it's my turn. Are you excited Bella?"

"I guess." She replied.

"To land a catch like Carbucketty, that would be beyond cool." Nefertari beamed.

Jellylorum felt like throwing up.

"Sure." Grizabella said.

"Don't jump for joy or anything." Griddlebone said, flicking her long bushy tail.

Grizabella merely sighed and checked her claws.

"How can she not be excited?" Nefertari asked.

Griddlebone shrugged. "How should I know? I don't know what's going on in her head lately."

"Yeah Bella, what's up with you?" Nefertari asked.

"It's nothing, just thinking about the ball." Grizabella replied, getting up and jumping behind the car, padding off into the distance.

Her friends stared after her, not sure whether to follow or not. They glanced at each other and decided instead to go and flirt with the toms, leaving Jellylorum and Jennyanydots alone.

"Do you really think that he'll approach her?" Jelly asked.

Jenny bit her bottom lip; she knew the answer but didn't want to say. "I really doubt it. They never even speak."

That was a lie. "Thanks Jenny."

The two friends smiled at each other

Already to an outsider we can see the cracks forming with Grizabella. She was a strange queen anyway, brought to the Jellicle's by her mother, claiming that she had had an affair with Old Gus the Theatre Cat, and that this was his daughter, making her Jellylorum and Gus' half sister. Not sure whether it was true or not and not to cause a scandal, Old Gus adopted her. Jellylorum had always resented her slightly. Grizabella got a lot of attention, especially when Jellylorum's mother died; Old Gus seemed to pour his sorrows out as affections on the older kitten. And then she was prettier. But there had always been something different about her. As she grew up, she seemed to get distant, from her friends, from her family, and from her tribe. Her sense of belonging decreased. She began to see flaws in her society, she felt stifled. In other words, she wanted out.

But how?

Author's note: Please tell me what you think!