It'll Never Happen
A pair of large, brown eyes peered out from between the large, green tree leaves, watching as the tom below stretched, the sun glinting off his white and brown fur, his well-defined muscles rippling beneath his glossy coat. She could see every tense spot in his back – every tight muscle, every knot. Oh, how she longed to be down there, kneading hers paws on his tense back, massaging him until every muscle in his body had been loosened.
She sighed, her light breath causing a slight disturbance amongst the leaves. Stop dreaming, she told herself mentally. It'll never happen. Her ears drooped slightly, as did her tail.
Suddenly, she noticed him turning over onto his back. He looked up at the tree – right where she was hiding. Careful not to be seen, she slowly inched backwards, hoping her fur would blend in with the tree trunk.
He frowned. "Hello? Who's there?" He sat up, peering intently up at where he thought he saw a movement.
She froze in her tracks. He must have seen her. She made no attempt to reply.
He stood and made his way to the base of the tree, craning his head back to get a better view. "Is that you, Jemima?"
Her whiskers twitched.
"Jemima?"
No reply.
"Are you going to come down or am I going to have to go up there and get you?" He waited in silence for a minute. "Right, that's it, I'm coming up."
Her voice was barely audible when she spoke. "I'll come down." She slowly made her way down the tree, reluctant to let him see her. Once on the ground, she turned to face him, head hanging and eyes trained on the ground.
"Jemi?" He gently lifted her chin to meet his gaze, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Yes?" She used the same whispered tone.
He frowned, puzzled at her behaviour. "Are you alright?" he asked, genuine concern showing on his face.
She nodded.
"Please, Jemi, if there's something wrong, I'd like you to tell me."
She shrugged, averting her gaze.
"Jemi?"
She sighed, knowing he wasn't going to let go of this until she told him. "I guess I just keep…"
"Keep what?" he prompted.
"Keep dreaming of something that I know will never happen."
He nodded, finally letting go of her chin. "I know what you mean." He looked away, training his eyes on another tree nearby. "But I'm sure your…dream will come true. One day. Unlike mine," he muttered bitterly.
She shook her head adamantly.
"Would you mind telling me what it is?"
She hesitated. Should she? She could always skip the details… "You'll think it's stupid."
He shrugged. "Can't be much more unrealistic than mine."
"Well…alright. I…I want to be a masseuse," she said, wording it very carefully. She slowly raised her head to see his reaction.
He looked at her blankly. "That's it?"
She nodded.
Somehow, he had been expecting something bigger. Just what, he didn't know. Maybe something really ambitious. He put his paw on her arm. "Then what's stopping you?"
"You don't understand." Her gaze flicked away again. "I want to be a masseuse for…a particular cat."
"Do you love him?"
Startled, her head flew back as she stared at him in surprise.
"It's alright, Jemi, I don't need to know who."
Slowly, she nodded.
He moved away slightly. Now he knew he had no chance of his dream coming true. Quietly, he asked, "Have you told him?"
"I couldn't do that," she said slightly louder than before. This was getting awfully close. She knew she shouldn't have said anything in the first place.
"Why not?"
"I…" There was a moments' silence while she tried to figure out what to say. "I guess I'm afraid he'll think I'm stupid," she admitted, blushing furiously.
His gaze turned back to her. "Jem, no tom in his right mind could think you're stupid. Just…tell him."
"O-okay," she faltered. Taking a deep breath, she scraped up the courage to say it. "Plato, I'm in love with you."
His eyes widened. "You – you what?" He stood there, utterly stunned. He had been caught completely off-guard.
Suddenly shy again, she averted her gaze once more.
"Did I hear you correctly?" he asked, unable to believe she could possibly love him.
"Yes."
A slow smile spread across his face. "I – I can't believe it," he stuttered. "Maybe…maybe my dream can come true, afterall."
She looked up, confused. "Wha– what do you mean?"
He moved closer to her and moved his paw back up to her face, this time cupping her cheek. "I mean…I love you, too, Jemima."
Her breath caught.
Slowly, he leant in closer to her, being careful not to scare her as he softly kissed her delicately-shaped lips.
Maybe it would happen, afterall.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of the characters used in this story; they belong solely to T.S. Eliot, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn. I DO, however, own the story, which is protected under my name by Australian Copyright Law dating back to 2011.