disclaimer: I don't own Cats, I don't pretend I do. I don't own the song Here With Me by Michelle Branch, it's a cool song though. I don't own a lot of things, but I do own this world, aside from all the copyrighted things that appear in it. I wish I owned it all, but... tough luck.
A/N: First: The Jellicles in this are cat people. Not regular cats, okay? This came to me one day, took a long time to get it worked out so well, and... well it's not perfect by any means, but its not too bad... I think... And I found it again just now, years later, so here it is!
P.S. I love SNOW DAYS!!!!
Please Don't Cry
carbuckettycue
It's been a long, long time since I looked
into the mirror
I guess that I was blind
Now my reflection's getting clearer
Now that you're gone things will never be
the same again
"Come with me!" He beckoned eagerly tugging on her arm. She figured it must of been another one of his crazy ideas.
She stared at him with her mysterious eyes. "Where, why?"
"I don't know, anywhere! Away from here!" His multi-colored chin-length hair fell into his face and she resisted the temptation to brush it out of his face. It would make her seem soft. "C'mon... please?"
"No, I can't." She pulled away and clasped her hands together, looking at the pavement. Leave? That was out of the question, the world was a bad place, here was safe... Her hair fell forward concealing her expression.
"You're serious!" His green eyes looked first hurt, then angry. She nodded miserably, black. brown and gold hair brushing her nose and hiding her face. He glared at her, turned away and left. Without so much as a goodbye...
Demeter awoke with a start. She sat up entangled in her ragged navy blue sheets. Upset, she stumbled over to the bowl full of water that she used as a sink and splashed cold water on her face.
She stared at her reflection in the foggy mirror. She hadn't changed that much in appearance over time, but she wasn't the girl she used to be. And she never would be again.
"Live a big lie, and they all believe." She murmered and rubbed the sleep out of her brown eyes.
Dem wished she knew what time it was, it could be any time, maybe even just eleven pm, but then again it could be six am. She was starting her day. Even though it did feel like she'd only had an hours sleep.
Demeter began her day by washing her hair with stolen shampoo and conditioner. Not stolen by Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, something you'd expect of the notorious duo, but by her. Dem had more then a few tricks up her sleeve from when she'd lived on the street.
She shunned her spiked collar and instead clipped on a thin silver beaded necklace. In flare blue jeans and a pink tank top, she was almost satisfied with her looks, but not quite. She put on a leather jacket and a black belt with five rows of silver studding to finish of her look. Symetrical.
Satisfied, Dem pushed her way past the sheet in her small door. It was round and led into the pipe that served as a hall between her room and Jelly and Bomb's rooms. But she didn't go to either of their rooms, she crawled down the pipe and towards the open sky. Out onto the main floor of the junkyard.
It was night still, and the moon was a crescent one. Twinkling stars peeped out tauntingly at her from behind thin wisps of cloud. She climbed up onto the pipe and gathered her feet to her.
"I wish things were different. Why doesn't he ever come here?" She blinked back tears that threatened to spill forth. "I've learned my lesson. His sister's here, why doesn't he come visit her? Then I could see him!" The stars flickered mockingly, and the only answer she recieved was the breeze whisking about the junkyard.
There's not a minute that goes by every
hour of every day
You're such a part of me
But I just pulled away
Well, I'm not the same girl
you used to know
I wish I said the words I never showed
Dem started as the trunk of the old Ford creaked open. Jennyanydots stretched and crept out of the trunk, wearing her usual: thick, black rimmed glasses, blue jean flares, a white sports tank and black lace-up boots. Dem stared, Jen was also wearing an orange bathrobe. How she changed inside that cramped car trunk, Dem could never figure out.
"Who's out here?" Jen asked, blue eyes wide, long burnished auborn hair hanging limply past her thin shoulders. She almost always had it colored some freaky color, but right now it was natural.
Dem's looks were the only thing natural about her. "It's just me." She spoke louder then she had intended to.
Jen winced. "Shh!!" She hissed. "That little too much trouble for his own good brat Pouncival is sleeping in his 'club house'!" She glanced over her shoulder.
Dem followed her gaze and spotted the naughty boy sleeping curled up on his rocking chair, still wearing his shoes. "Rascal!" She laughed softly. "Oh, Jen, you've got something on you're face."
Jen began to rub her face vigorously. Despite the humor of how it looked, Dem didn't even crack a smile. "Here, c'mon, you can use my sink."
Jen walked across the floor to the pipe, where Dem was sitting, then followed her inside. "Thanks," she whispered so as not to wake anyone. "That's the one problem with living in a car trunk. No sink."
In her room Dem carefully lit her lantern; she never used it, but Jen didn't know her way around the room. "I'd think it would be a bit cramped, too."
"No," Jen shook her head, splashed water on her face and began scrubbing vigorously, staring intently at the mirror. "It's cozy. I've got a flashlight hung on the ceiling, I mean trunk lid, so I can write and everything." She turned back to Dem as she dried her face. "No one can read your diary while your writing." She paused and frowned, setting down the rag of a towel. "Of course, I can't really have friends over. It gets a little cramped."
"Well, this isn't exactly ballroom size, either, princess." Dem told her in her best snooty but cool act.
Together they went back outside, and Dem noticed that the sky was getting lighter. Dawn was creeping up on the world, the first rays of light caressing the junkyard.
Munkustrap slid quietly down a pile of junk, but Demeter heard him. He stood up at the bottom and walked over to them, brushing bits of garbage off his khaki cargo pants. He straightened up and looked at them, tugging on his three-quarter length sleeved shirt with it's black number and sleeves on a blue base; very clean looking. "What you two doing up so early?"
Jen shrugged amiably, and smiled at him. But Dem glared at him, he was always snooping... she just couldn't handle it all anymore, something had to happen, something had to give... "Why are you?!" She demanded.
Kus shrugged and sat next to Jen. "He was just wondering, lighten up Dem!" Jen defended him as she fixed his hair, silvery white with black stripes, cut so long strips of bangs hung halfway down his face, while the rest of it was relatively short.
Dem stared at her, envious of her ability to just do stuff with her guy. Dem didn't even have her guy. That was something Dem had never been able to do with anyone, let alone her guy, if she'd had one. "You don't understand..." she whispered, but neither heard her.
I know you had to go away
I died just a little, and I feel it now
You're the one I need
I believe that I would cry just a little
Just to have you back now
Here with me
Here with me
She blinked back her emotions again, choking down her tears, and a little blonde boy popped up in her vision. "What's up, Dem!" It was Pouncival, who's hair was all ready starting to lighten in places and darken in others, but not drastically. His blue eyes peeped out astonishingly of his brown slash marked face. He didn't look cheerful though, even though he was trying to sound cheerful.
She swallowed her sorrow, Pounci wasn't feeling happy, so something was wrong. Besides her life, that is. "The sky. What's up with you? Why were you on your chair last night?" She smiled encouragingly at the little boy.
"No reason..." he fidgeted under her pasted on kind expression. "Well... actually I had a fight with Tumble."
"So you slept on the rocker?" Dem said slowly, not comprehending.
"I live with Tumble!" Pounci cried.
"That would make it difficult. I'm sure it'll be all right, you've had some cool down time now and..."
"Yeah! It was really cold up there last night." Pounci exclaimed. "C'mon, play with me!" He tugged on her arm, and she allowed herself to be dragged off to the mattress. "C'mon!" He giggled as only a child can, and started to bounce on the 'bed'. Dem shook her head, with a hint of a smile, but she started bouncing, too. "Now do a flip!" Pounci told her, and demonstrated.
"I can't do that." She told him firmly, but he ignored it.
"C'mon, please?" He gave her kitten eyes, knowing very well that those were much better then puppy eyes. Puppy eyes were infinately disgusting, and infinately Pollicle. Kitten eyes were Jellicle, and in his experience no Jellicle could resist them.
She gave in with a great sproing, and flew right off the mattress, flying right into Kus's lap as she completed her flip in a panic, not wanting to land on her head. "Well hello!" Jen grinned. "To what do we owe this pleasure, Miss?"
Dem stuck out her tongue, feeling, for the first time she could remember, very childish. "I ain't no Miss, Miss." They both laughed, and Kus pushed Dem off his lap. "That wathn't very nithe." She informed him, trying to give herself a lisp. It didn't work.
"What's with you?" Kus raised one eyebrow.
"I have a lisp... oh dear, I mean lithp..." Dem started to giggle. She hadn't giggled since he'd left... it felt kind of good. But it made her miss him again. She frowned suddenly, but Jen and Kus didn't notice because of Tugger and Bomb's entrance.
Or rather Tugger/Bomb's entrance. They were practically attached at the hip, which upset some of the little kittens. Right now they were going out, they weren't always. That was why they were Tugger/Bomb, when they were going out they were practically one cat. Except when they slept. How they'd got together before making their entrance, Dem could only guess, because they stayed on seperate ends of the junkyard and the only exit for Bomb was right under everyone's noses.
"Tugger/Bomb alert!" Shrieked Pounci, bouncing higher... and higher...
Tugger pointed at him without taking his arm from around Bomb's shoulders. "Look, he's preparing for take off! T-minus 10,"
Bomby joined him in counting and the Tugger/Bomb chanted, "9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... lift off!" They roared with laughter as Pounci sent himself flying with an enormous sproing.
Dem tried to laugh with everyone else, but found that she couldn't. The laughter faded in her ears as she concentrated on thinking.
You know that silence is loud when all
you hear is your heart
And I wanted so badly just to be a part of
something strong and true
But I was scared and left it all behind
Bomb was his sister. She remembered seeing her through the leaves of a tree in the park. Dem had loved that park, but when Bomb had left after he left, new nasty neighbors had moved in, and she'd had to leave. Bomb knew her name, so since no cat can have the same name as another, she had had to lie. How could she come here as his best friend? Bomb could come as his sister, but she regarded him with obvious contempt. Dem may have been a good liar, but she just couldn't do that.
He left her, and she still protected him. No, she'd left him. When she thought about it, that was the way it seemed.
"Roar!" Pounci tackled her, knocking her out of her thoughts.
Jen frowned at his behavior, but Bomb laughed delightedly. "Look at that! Wake up Dem! Woo Hoo!"
Dem glared at Pounci, and he shrank back. "What is it, Dem?" He stammered, not sure why she was doing that.
Dem shook her head quickly, she'd almost lost it again! That was not a good sign. "Nothing, sorry Pounci. You really scared me, that's all."
Pounci turned to Jen, beaming. "Hear that? I'm scary!"
Jen moaned, "You aren't helping his behaviour, Dem. And neither are you Bomb!"
"What's there to help?" Dem asked. "I think it's perfect."
Jen frowned. "He's just a kid, Jen, lighten up!" Bomb told her, but did not let go of Tugger. Tugger grinned at her in apparent agreement. "C'mon Tugger, let's go, Jen's being such a spoil sport!"
They made their grand exit, leaving the little kittens who were up all ready staring after them. Little Etcetera made a pouty face, Tugger was obviously taken for the day. Pounci tugged on Dem's jacket.
"Come play again!" He bounced about hyperly.
"Sorry, not now. Go find Tumble." She ran her fingers through her hair tiredly. Being a deciever of such nice people was hard.
"Kus! Play with me!" Pounci yelled, running over to where Kus and Jen were. Kus allowed himself to be pulled off to play, apparently Pounci wasn't ready to approach Tumble after the fight. It must have been some fight.
"Let's play... cops and robbers!" Tumble appeared on the scene, frisky as ever. At least he wasn't holding a grudge, and apparently it hadn't occured to him that a person might hold one. To Tumble, grudges were unholdable. Now he and Pounci could get over their fight. Dem blew out a breath between her teeth, that was one last problem on her mind.
Now there was still that problem of him. What if he came someday, what would she say anyway? She'd messed up, and he'd left. She had needed to learn that hiding wasn't always the best option.
Looking at her present situation though, she realized she'd learned nothing.
I know you had to go away
I died just a little, and I feel it now
You're the one I need
I believe that I would cry just a little
Just to have you back now
Here with me
Here with me
Jelly crawled out of the pipe and stumbled to her feet blinking. Her white hair hung almost all the way down her back, with two streaks of solid color in it; dark, dark brown, and yellow gold. She stuffed her hands in the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and blinked owlishly.
"Stay up too late?" Dem asked, trying to restore her facade.
"No, woke up too early." She retorted. "What were you doing up so early? You woke me up, I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't!"
Dem shook her head, like she was going to tell everyone present that she'd had a dream and couldn't sleep. "Woke up early and couldn't sleep." With that, she got up and left the main floor of the junkyard. Little Pounci paused in his frantic gaming to stare after her, as if he knew that something wasn't quite right. Well, maybe he did. He wasn't a stupid kid, after all.
It was growing cloudy and a chill wind swept through the alley just outside the junkyard. A few raindrops splattered her nose, and Dem decided to go sit just inside the junkyard, just around the corner of a junkpile from the main floor. There was some shelter there, and no one would see her.
She turned and started walking, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her leather jacket, and hoping that the Jellicles wouldn't notice her leaving. Well, other then Pounci. She felt kind of sorry for the kid, with no family at all, but then agian, that made him just like her. Well, not just like. She was lying to them all. That was one major difference.
Dem hung her head and squinted to avoid the raindrops that were falling towards her eyes. It seemed to her almost like she was the only one being hit, and the others were all perfectly dry. Great, now she had her own personal rain cloud.
Lightning flashed up in the sky, and the other Jellicles skittered for cover. Except of course, Pounci and Tumble. That is, until a particularly huge bolt of lightning caused Tumble to bolt for the safetly of home. Pounci on the other hand, just continued bouncing.
Dem shook her head and turned around the corner, running her hand along one of the towering junkheaps and wishing, just wishing that something nice would happen for once. Just once.
Not looking where she was going, Dem rounded another corner and ran smack into... him.
And I'm asking
And I'm wanting you to come back to me
Please?
"Woh!" She cried, slipping and toppling over, he caught her by the hand, and then frowned.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dem saw Pounci peer around the corner, gape, and then run back into the junkyard.
She pulled away. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for my sister."
"Oh, Bomb?" Dem asked, brushing the dirt off her jacket from where she'd hit the pile of junk. She knew it was silly, but she'd been hoping he'd been looking for her. "She's here, somewhere. Probably with Tugger."
He cursed under his breath, and then looked at her again. "Demetria?" He asked suddenly, in a strange voice.
"That's Demeter!" He flew around and so did Dem, and saw little Pounci standing there, in the rain. And behind him stood several of the Jellicles, Jen and Kus, Jelly, Tumble, and the Tugger/Bomb.
He looked skeptically at Dem. "Really?"
Dem stared at the ground miserably, and was about to shake her head when Bomb spoke. "Macavity? What are you doing here? I hope you aren't here to visit me, after you left me like that!"
Jen and Jelly stared at Bomb, and the rain grew heavier. "You wouldn't come with." Macavity said.
"So you left me? Your own little sister?!" Bomb glared at him, and constricted her grip on Tugger, who was starting to look just a little blue but was trying not to show it.
Macavity turned his head to look at Dem again. "And neither would you."
Dem shook her head miserably and wished that the ground would swallow her up. Pounci raced forward and slid across the wet pavement on his knees, not something most normal people could do, and hugged Dem's knees. "Your name is Demeter, right?"
Dem shook her head just a little bit, and Macavity rolled his eyes. "Taking up lying now, are we?"
"Old habits die hard." She whispered.
"When did you... YOU!... ever lie?" Macavity demanded, gesturing wildly.
Dem just shook her head, and stared at the ground. The rain pattered in a puddle forming around her feet, and Pounci shifted his grip on her knees, obscuring her view of the ground. "Pounci," she whispered. "Get off."
Pounci shook his head, and tightened his grip stubbornly. Dem's feet came together sharply, and she nearly fell over.
Macavity sneered and kicked a puddle at her and Pounci. "Fine! You can be that way! Don't tell me anything!" Then he added as an after thought, "You guys didn't want to leave with me," he addressed both her and Bomb, "but as soon as I was gone, you left. Maybe I shouldn't care at all!"
I never will forget the look upon
your face
How you turned away and left
without a trace
But I understand that you did what you
had to do
And I thank you
Dem toppled over, and Pounci released her quickly. "Oops," he muttered, grinning sheepishly.
Dem pushed herself up out of the puddle and stared up at Macavity. "I was too scared to come!" She cried, grabbing at his jeans, "It was safe there, the world isn't safe!"
"And so then you left after I left?" Macavity accused. "Real likely."
"But it wasn't safe after you left and..." Dem gulped down her fears, "... and I missed you."
"Right. Demetria the emotionless missed me? Ha!" Macavity pronounced, though he didn't seem so sure of himself this time, almost as if he wanted to believe her.
She buried her face in his knee and started to cry. She never cried. Not even when she was little, and she'd been orphaned. Not even when he'd left.
"So you're really Demetria?" That was little Pounci. She sniffed and nodded, for once a question whose answer was a yes and not a no.
The other Jellicles, probably driven inside by the storm, or perhaps driven away by the whole idea of it all, had disappeared. A huge bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and Pounci's fur stood on end. "I'm going inside..." the little kitten bolted, splashing his way back into the junkyard.
"You really mean it, don't you?" Macavity said, staring down at her. She sniffed, nodded, and blew her nose on his jeans. "Yuck." He started laughing, and she smiled to. "You know what, I missed you, too, Dem. I..." He paused, and helped her to her feet, "I love you."
"I love you too." Demetria said, smiling happily. How she was going to explain everything to the Jellicles she didn't know, but it didn't really matter right then. In fact, it didn't matter at all.
He was here, and he understood.
And life was definitely looking better.
I know you had to go away
I died just a little, and I feel it now
You're the one I need
I believe that I would cry just a little
Just to have you back now
Here with me
Here with me