A/N: Holy cow, has it really been a year since I last updated this? I apologise deeply to anyone who was waiting for this, and I hope you all aren't too terribly disappointed. I had this chapter half-written, just sitting in my Documents folder, waiting to be finished, for an entire year. That makes me sad. At least this one is a bit longer than the others, right? Anyway, I'm going to try to stick to it this time! Only a few chapters left (three, I'm thinking), so hopefully I'll finish soon and can move on to the second instalment of Felis's story. :3

I hope you all enjoy.

PS: I promise Felis will return to her annoying self soon. All this stress is making her mighty serious. Also, any confusion pertaining to her actions/feelings/things unsaid in this chapter will be cleared up in a later one.


Chapter Seven: Crashing the Prom

Prom.

The word hung over Titan Tower like the plague, shadowing the otherwise peaceful days leading up to the dance. Felis seemed to be the only one unaffected by the increasing tension, though the Titans saw little of her as P-Day approached. She was more elusive than she had ever been, often disappearing into her room for hours until she was lured out by the smell of food.

Speedy was far from missing her company. For the first time since she'd shown up at the tower, his clothes were free of cat hairs, and he could finally relax without wondering when she would be attacking his feet next. Besides that, the awkwardness between them was enough to drive him crazy just during meal-times. He realised he'd been harsh in his confusion, but he wasn't going to apologise for something she'd brought on herself.

On the down side, Beast Boy had noticed that Speedy appeared to be at fault for Felis's seclusion, and so took to glaring and face-pulling when Raven wasn't there to stop him. It was six days before prom when the changeling finally confronted him about it.

"Hey," Beast Boy said aggressively. The den was empty but for the two of them; Speedy ignored him. "Hey! Come on, you know I'm talking to you, we're the only two in here!"

Speedy rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming. "All right, what?"

"What did you do to Felis? She won't even come out to play Super Space Patrol unless I trick her with a burger!"

Speedy looked up from the magazine he'd been pretending to read and frowned at the little green titan. "I didn't do anything to her."

"You're lying!"

"Then go ask her!"

"She won't tell me! She said she's fine!"

"Then why are you so worked up about it?" Speedy tossed the magazine onto the table and tried to walk away, but found his way blocked by a growling green bloodhound. "Beast Boy, move."

The changeling transformed back into a boy and crossed his arms. "Dude, what's your problem with her, anyway? She really likes you, and you're just mean to her!"

"I'm not mean to her!" Speedy shot back, offended.

"You are, too! Like that toy robot she won at the arcade that you broke!"

"That was an accident!" he protested. "Besides, it was just a toy. She's what, seventeen? I think she's all right without it."

Beast Boy continued to glower, so Speedy sighed and held up his hands in submission.

"All right, all right," he muttered. "But you can't blame me, she's the most annoying person I've ever met. Look, all that happened was she asked me to go to this stupid prom with her, and I said no. It's not my fault if she got all huffy about it."

Beast Boy looked horrified. "You turned her down for prom? Dude, no wonder she's upset!" He made a dash for the hall leading to their rooms, paused, rushed back to grab something from the kitchen, and finally disappeared down the hall.

Speedy shook his head in exasperation, but as he started toward his own temporary room, he thought that maybe, just maybe, the hairball did deserve some sort of apology.

Not that he was going to give her one.


"Father, I have much to tell you about my reconnaissance."

The Doctor whirled on the spot, catching Lupe by the shoulders and drawing the hybrid close to his face. "Most important things first, Lupe."

Lupe nodded as the Doctor released him. "Er, well, first and foremost, the Teen Titans and Felis will be attending some sort of high school dance this Saturday. They will not be expecting anything that night and will be unprepared."

"Wonderful! Where is it? We will have to have a good plan-"

"W-wait, Father, there's one other thing." Lupe hesitated. He almost did not want to tell the Doctor about his most recent finding; he would rather deal with the offending human himself. He swallowed hard and averted his gaze to the wall, hoping the Doctor would not notice his anger. "One of the Titans, the archer, Speedy. Felis seems to like him quite a lot, but he finds her…annoying. He will probably be weaponless for the dance, and I think if we…threaten him, she will be much more obedient."

The Doctor smiled dangerously, possibly noting the way Lupe growled at the thought of the archer. Plans were falling neatly into place in his mind.

"Very good, Lupe. Now, about the other Titans…"


As the evening wore on and the sound of video games filled Titan Tower, Speedy deemed it possible to leave his room without being told off again by an agitated Beast Boy. He slipped out into the hall, staying quiet as he passed Felis's door, and moved toward the stairs. Keeping an eye on the team members gathered around the television, he eased open the door to the stairwell and breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped onto the landing without being addressed.

"Hey."

"Ahhgh!" Speedy nearly fell down the stairs in his moment of panic; he grabbed onto the door handle to steady himself.

"Jeez, you're so easy to scare." Felis shook her head and dipped a spoon into the jar of peanut butter she was holding, then offered it to him. "You want some? Beast Boy's right; it really calms you down when you're in a bad mood."

"Were you just waiting for me to leave?" he asked, pushing away the spoon when she thrust it closer to his face.

"'Course not," she answered. "I was just out trying to catch a fish. I guess they don't like peanut butter, though…didn't see a single one." With a shrug, she stuck the spoonful of peanut butter in her mouth, looking content.

"Okay, then can you get out of my way?"

"No need to be rude," she said around the spoon as she moved aside for him. "You going out to try and find a date again?"

"Again? What are you talking about, I didn't-"

"You're a bad liar. If you can't find a girl to go with you, you know where to find me." She grinned at the glower he gave her and started through the door, adding, "By the way, I hate elevators, so if you really want to avoid me, you may want to keep that in mind next time you think you're safer taking the stairs."

Speedy ground his teeth in frustration as she disappeared through the door. She was really, really starting to get on his nerves.


The day of prom dawned bright and clear, but the Titans were far less sunny than the warm morning. Starfire was the only one who seemed to be ready for the evening; she spent much of the day attempting to do up the other girls' hair and help them with make-up, an effort that didn't go over well with Felis.

"Star, I don't think she's coming out," Robin told the Tamaranian as she tried to coax a feline cat girl from under the couch.

"Yeah, that hairball's a lost cause." Bumblebee, who had arrived three days earlier as Cyborg's prom date, was proving to be the only Titan not worked up about the dance. "We'll be lucky to force her into a dress."

Starfire dropped onto the couch, looking disappointed. "But I spent two hours at the mall of shopping finding just the right ups of making to go with everyone's dresses…"

Bumblebee glanced at the hall just in time to see the grey and white cat scurrying back the hall. She chuckled and returned to her magazine as Beast Boy joined them. He looked a little panicked as he perched himself on the arm of the couch.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked.

"She won't even talk to me!" the green Titan groaned. "When I knocked on her door, she exploded the waffles I was trying to give her! I knew she'd change her mind, why'd I ever ask her in the first place?"

"Raven's just nervous." Bumblebee flipped the page in her magazine. "It's just that instead of sweating and dropping stuff, she explodes things and hides from everyone."

Beast Boy wanted to ask when Bumblebee had become such an expert on Raven when the girl herself came down the hall, carrying Felis in a bubble of dark energy.

"Looking for this?"

"Oh, now I can put her in the dress of prom!" Starfire exclaimed, catching the small cat as soon as Raven released her. "You will look so very pretty, friend!" Felis looked even less thrilled than Raven as she was carried down the hall by the young Tamaranian.

"I guess we had better get ready as well." Raven glanced at Beast Boy. "Please tell me you were planning on showering before the dance. You are covered in waffles."

Beast Boy looked ready to faint in relief.


Most of the Titans arrived at the dance ten minutes early, which was approximately enough time to drag Felis from the back seat of the T-Car. Speedy arrived with his date, a pretty brunette, just as Cyborg was locking the cat girl out of the car.

"Hurry up, Speedy, my friends are waiting!" the brunette urged, tugging on his arm when he paused to watch Felis hopelessly tugging at the handle. "Come on, I can't wait to show you off." He waved casually as he was dragged away and swallowed by already blaring music.

"Come on, Fey, you'll have loads of fun!" Beast Boy patted Felis on the head as she stared after the archer and his date. "You'll find someone to dance with, no problem!"

But dancing was the least of Felis's worries.


Less than hour into the night, Speedy found himself alone and browsing the food table for something more filling than a tiny spring roll. He was not happy; apparently, his date had been more interested in making her ex-boyfriend jealous than in the Titan. On the upside, he hadn't seen the hairball since he'd entered the building.

He glanced around the room. Raven, who looked stunning in the dress she'd finally consented to wear, was hovering in a corner while Beast Boy stood faithfully by her side, clearly happy to simply be on a date with her, even if they weren't having much fun. Starfire was twirling around with Robin in some sort of Tamaranian dance that appeared to be making the boy wonder a bit ill, and Cyborg and Bumblebee were enjoying a short break off the dance floor.

"Where is she?" he muttered to himself, checking the room for a third time. How were they supposed to keep an eye on the furball in a place like this?

Something suddenly moved by his feet, and he looked down in time to see a grey and white blur darting for the door. Frowning, he set down his punch and followed her into the parking lot. She stopped ten yards from the building, her tail twitching.

"Where are you going?"

She jumped and spun around, and for a moment her look of panic took him back to her curled up in his lap, shivering. Then she grinned, all signs of nervousness gone.

"Dude, relax. I just came out to get some air."

"Uh-huh." He crossed his arms and frowned at her. She kept on smiling, her default expression. He narrowed his eyes. Was that make-up around her eyes? Likely Starfire's doing. And the cat girl's hair had been teased onto the top of her head, too. He was surprised she'd sat still long enough to have her hair fixed. She did look nice in that red dress…

He mentally shook himself. What was he thinking? Delusional, probably, after being dumped by his last-minute date for some guy with a mohawk. How embarrassing was that?

"Like what you see?"

Less embarrassing than having Felis smirk at him because he'd forgotten he was staring at her, that was for certain. "I wasn't-I was thinking," he growled.

"Yeah, okay."

He glared. "Why aren't you in there annoying some other guy, huh?"

She flinched, but recovered quickly. "I…it was too crowded in there. I couldn't hear myself think. I don't really like crowds, and the loud music is killing my hearing."

He raised an eyebrow; she wasn't telling him everything, as usual. Her penchant for blurring the truth really got on his nerves.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" Acting oblivious, as usual.

"Lie. You're always pretending nothing bothers you. We're trying to help you, and we can't if you keep hiding. What's your problem?"

"Ah, come on, it's not important. You don't care anyway."

He ground his teeth, rather inclined to believe her. "Try me."

"Okay, fine." She dropped her gaze to the macadam and crossed her arms. "Everyone in there keeps looking at me like I'm a freak, and they're right. That's why I came out here."

"Par for the course when you're a Titan. I mean, come on. Beast Boy is green, Cyborg's half-robot, Bumblebee has wings, Starfire's from a different planet…it's not that strange for you to have a tail."

"Yeah, but…Beast Boy is funny and Cyborg's really smart with electronics and stuff and Bumblebee's really tough and Starfire's really pretty and I'm…none of that. I'm annoying."

"Beast Boy is funny?" he snorted. "Maybe to you. Look, you are annoying, but you're also…." He stopped, trying to think of something. She was right. She was an annoying cat girl, and that was it.

She stood watching him, waiting patiently for him to think of something nice to say. He wondered if she was tapping into his wavelength, reading his discomfort. If she did, she wasn't showing signs that it bothered her. Not that she was likely to betray her own unease.

"You're…persistent," he said finally, thinking back to every time he had turned her away and she had returned as if nothing had happened. He met her bright blue eyes, noted her crooked grin. She really did look pretty okay in that dress. "And you're…sort of cute, I guess. As long as you keep your mouth shut." He was going to regret that, he knew it.

Her eyes lit up and her mouth opened, no doubt to give him a smug response, but suddenly her expression shifted to fear, and she made a movement toward him. Before he had a chance to figure out what was wrong, strong arms wrapped around his throat, and his feet were lifted off the ground.

"No!" Felis shouted. "No! Stop!"

"Run, and he dies."

Speedy recognised Lupe's voice in his ear. He wanted to tell Felis to run anyway, back into the building with the other Titans, but he couldn't breathe with the dog man's arms pressing on his windpipe. His hands scrabbled hopelessly over the young man's hairy arms. There was no escaping.

"You wouldn't!"

Lupe snarled, his grip on Speedy tightening. "You are lucky I'd spare him at all. He is mean to you, for what reason? None! I should strangle him right here."

Through his dizziness, Speedy could see tears streaking down Felis's cheeks. "D-don't. C'mon, Lupe, please. Don't hurt him."

"Why? Why should I let him go unharmed when he has done so much harm to you?"

"He's my friend, leave him alone! Please, Lupe, please! I-I'll go with you. I'll go with you, no fighting. Just don't…just let him go."

The dog man's choke hold loosened a bit, and Speedy gulped in air. "Fey, don't-"

"Shut up, archer!" Lupe shook the Titan roughly. "I never said you had the right to speak."

"Lupe!" There was panic in Felis's voice. "You're hurting him, stop!"

Lupe narrowed his eyes at the cat girl. "You must come with me, no fighting. And you must promise to stay. Don't leave me again, Felis." A whine escaped his throat. "You can't leave, not again. We are a family, Felis."

If he wasn't being choked by the hybrid, Speedy would have felt sorry for him. Maybe. As it was, he could understand for a moment why Felis couldn't blame the dog man for his actions. He just wanted them to be a family again. It made sense. In a twisted, we're-family-because-we-were-created-by-the-same-madman kind of way.

"I won't, Lupe, I won't." Felis dropped to her knees, submitting. "I won't leave, okay? I'll stay with you and the Doctor. Just don't hurt him. He's my friend."

Lupe hesitated for only a moment before he shoved Speedy to the ground hard enough to knock the wind from him. When the Titan pushed himself up, he was alone in the parking lot. He looked around quickly, searching hopelessly for a flash of her red dress.

Felis was gone. And it was his fault.


Tidbit: I imagine Lupe to be Hispanic-looking. I don't know why. He's not Hispanic. At all.

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