I sat silently on the old pipe, thinking. No one noticed me, I wasn't often noticed. I was the quiet one, the sweet one. I was thinking about a lot of things, but mostly him. I thought about him a lot now, and I wasn't sure what it meant, really. I was almost a queen, but still a kitten. I didn't have experience with love or crushes, or anything of the sort, and though I'd considered it, I wasn't sure yet. He was older than me (everyone was), but not much. I was sure he didn't love me. After all, I was just sweet, quiet-

"Jemima!" called Etcy, running over "Oh Jemi, what am I going to do?"

"What are you going to do about what?" I asked her patiently. About once a week Etcy would have a minor panic attack and would come running to one of her friends.

"About Misto! I love him, but I don't think he knows I exist!!" she wailed.

"He knows you exist." I assured her. Mistofelees was actually quite kind to Etcy.

"I mean as a girl, Jemi. Like a girlfriend." She rolled her eyes, as if I was missing something obvious "He'll never ask me out!"

"You never know, Etcy. He might." My words were practical, and I sounded a bit like Etcy's sister, Electra. Soon Teazer had joined us.

"What's th' probl'm with Etcy today?" she asked, grinning.

"Boys." I sighed.

"Boys." Teazer nodded.

"Well Etcy, let's go ta th' doctor o' calmin'." Teazer was grinning still. They walked away, probably to Electra, who could calm Etcy down when no one else could. As soon as they were gone, a patched cat tumbled over, true to his name.

"Hey Jemi!" grinned Tumblebrutus.

"Hello Tumble." I smiled at him. He was one of my tom friends, though he wasn't quite a tom yet. *By the way, by tom friend, I DO NOT mean what humans call boyfriends. I mean friend who is male*

"Are you going to Vicki's party?" he asked. Vicki was having one of her huge parties that night, and all the kittens and young toms and queens went.

"Yes." I replied "Are you?"

"Yep." He nodded "That's why I'm here. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. Like, a date, I guess."

I stared at him, shocked. He was hardly older than me (and he was not that 'he'.)

"Well…." I wasn't sure what to say "I don't know…"

"We don't have to go as dates." He said quickly, looking slightly disappointed, but still hopeful "We could go as friends."

I knew that friends didn't usually go to parties together like that, but I couldn't stand to disappoint him.

"Well… I guess…." I agreed hesitantly.

"Thank you!" he said excitedly, giving me a hug. He ran off, probably to tell his friends. Soon Vicki, Teazer, Electra, and a now calm Etcy approached.

"What's with Tumble?" asked Vicki "He looked like Etcy, almost."

Etcy glared at her.

"Well," I hesitated "I just said I'd go to your party with him. Just as friends." I added quickly, as Etcy opened her mouth to speak.

"Jemima let me tell you something." Said Vicki "I've been with a few boys, and they don't go with girls 'just as friends'. I'm guessing he'll be treating you like his girlfriend all night."

"But I don't want a boyfriend." I argued.

"Well, he seems to want a girlfriend. You." she declared, and Etcy burst into giggles.

"Well, I did say yes, so I guess I'll go." I sighed.

"So, do you like him?" asked Etcy curiously.

"No. Well, he's my friend, but that's all." I replied.