The next afternoon, Demeter and I sat out in the sun again. Like every day, most of the Jellicles were out milling around, but there wasn't much excitement. For once, the Junkyard was peaceful and quiet. Which was odd for mid afternoon. Usually there was a fight breaking out, or kittens running around and screaming. But now there were just hushed conversation and napping cats. Even Etcetera was being quiet, which was a miracle on it's own. It was almost unsettling.

Deme stretched beside me and gave a loud yawn. "Isn't the quiet so nice?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I've always been more of a hustle and bustle kind of cat my self."

"I know- but you've gotta enjoy the change in pace at least a little."

I shrugged again. "I suppose."

"Fine. Think whatever you want, but I'm going to enjoy it. I haven't had a peaceful day like this in ages. I mean who knows how long it'll last-"

"TUGGER!"

The loud squeal came from Etcetera, who was now jumping up and down in excitement. Tugger had come out of his den, apparently.

"Oh Tugger I missed you so much! Why didn't you come out to see us at all last week?" Etcetera whined pitifully, leaning in his leg. The other kittens were starting to gather around him.

"Well, there's your hustle and bustle." Demeter murmured to me.

"Sorry, kits. I was taking care of a friend for a little while. But I'm back now." Tugger said. I could see him look at me for a split second before diverting his attention back to the kittens.

Most of the Junkyard hadn't been told what happened to me. Only Munk, Tugger, Skimble, Jenny, Jelly, and now Demeter knew. Earlier in the week I had asked Tugger where the other Jellicles thought we were. Neither of us had left his den for quite some time by then. The other cats had to be curious. But he just said that no one really worried, they all just seemed to assume that we were at our owners, or on some kind of romantic tryst. I didn't know if I was happy that no one was worried, or offended.

"How's your arm feeling, Bombs?" Demeter asked, drawing my attention away from the clearing.

"Well, it's still broken. So... not good."

"I can't believe he did that to you!" Demeter said angrily, bunching her hands into fists. "I mean we all knew Mac sometimes got a little... temperamental,"

I winced.

"But this! How could we not have seen this in advance? And you were in a relationship with him-" Demeter tutrned to face me, her eyes wide. "You were alone with him all the time! Never knowing the risks! If Munk hadn't come to save you when he did you could be dead-"

"DEMETER. Can we please not talk about this?" I hissed under my breath. The more she talked about it, the worse the sinking feeling in my stomach got. She was right. I could have been dead right now. I would've been helpless to stop him if Munk hadn't arrived. And what if he came back? I'd be like a sitting duck. There's no way I could defend myself with one arm. I started to feel nauseous just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry, Bombs." Demeter apologized, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

She laid a paw on my shoulder, and I flinched away from her. She gave me a wounded look and pulled her paw away. I looked down.

"C-can we just change the subject please?" I asked, taking a deep breath to calm myself down.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

I shrugged, and went back to watching Tugger. He was over by Cassandra and Exotica now, clearly flirting with them. My tail flickered back an forth in annoyance. I didn't know why it was bothering me so much now- it never really bothered me when he flirted with other queens before. But so much had changed in the last couple weeks. Nothing was the same as it used to be.

Demeter seemed to notice my gaze, and she spoke up.

"Looks like Tugger is back to his old tricks."

I frowned. "Yeah, looks like it."

Demeter gave me a steady look, and we were both quiet for a second. Then Demeter spoke up again.

"Maybe you should go talk to him? Y'know, say hi? Let him know you're doing okay. He seemed pretty concerned about you yesterday, he might appreciate it."

I narrowed my eyes at my sister. Since when did she care about Tugger getting peace of mind? Well whatever the reason, she had a good point.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Nah. I'll be fine."

I gave a little nod to her, and told her I'd be back in a second.

When I reached Tugger, he was still flirting with Cassandra. My fur bristled, just a bit. She was practically throwing herself at him, and was stroking his arm seductively and thrusting her chest out towards him. I would admit that Cass did have some appeal to her, and she was definitely beautiful. Her owners took her to the groomers at least once a week, making sure her fur was always smooth and sleek. And Tugger didn't look like he minded the attention one bit. Bile rose in my chest that almost felt like jealousy, but I pushed it away, instead curving my lips into an easy smile and swaying my hips.

"Hey there, sport. Long time no see." I purred as I approached Tugger.

Tugger whirled around to see me, a grin on his face.

"Hey babe! How are you? Your arm feeling better?"

I could feel Cassandra's glare drilling holes into me and I fought a smirk. Well, some things were still the same.

"Well, it isn't any worse than yesterday." I said with a shrug and stepping closer to him. "And the swelling in my eye seems to have gone down too. So that's a plus."

I glanced at Cassandra, and placed a paw on Tugger's shoulder, making sure she knew darn well what I was doing.

"What happened to you?" Cassandra quickly interjected, pressing closer to Tugger. "You look like death." She sneered.

"It's not really any of your business." I hissed back.

Cassandra pouted, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I heard you you got beaten up by some Tom in an alley. What happened? Didn't spread your legs fast enough?" She scoffed. I bit back a gasp, a low growl rumbling in my chest. She had no right. She had no idea what I went through!

"Cassandra." Tugger scolded, his eyebrows bunching in annoyance.

"What?" Cassandra asked in a falsely sweet voice. "I was just kidding!"

I gritted my teeth and struggled not to tackle her right then and there. Fighting wasn't going to solve this problem. Well, at least fighting like that. I covered up my anger with a flirtatious smirk and let my hand trace down Tugger's chest. "Didn't you hear?" I asked, drawing out my words with innocent causality. "Tugger and I were just taking some time away from the tribe to... have some fun. And we had a lot of fun, didn't we?" I let my eyes drift up to Tugger's hoping he would catch on.

Relief flooded me as his lips curved into an easy smile, and he wrapped an arm around my waist. "Hell yeah."

A scoff of disgust came from Cassandra, and she rolled her eyes. I could tell she wanted to say something, but she bit her tongue, knowing saying anything else might hurt her more than help her. I walked my fingers up his chest, and smiled at him coquettishly. Then I looked over Tugger's shoulder at Cassandra. "Now, why don't you run along? We have some... unfinished business to take care of."

Cassandra looked between Tugger and I, and gave a "humph." My eyes flashed at her, daring her to throw a tantrum. Really, it would make my day. After a moment of pause, she just lifted her chin and gave me an icy "whatever" before stalking off, probably to find Alonzo. Exotica went chasing after her.

As soon as she was gone, I let out a small sigh of relief and leaned a little heavier on Tugger. I didn't want to admit it, but my body was still pretty battered, and ached worse whenever I moved.

"So, a lot of fun, huh?" Tugger asked with a flirtatious purr, wrapping his other arm around my hips to join the first.

I grinned and let my head fall on his shoulder. "Mhmmm." I knew he'd be happy to go along with the story. It would only help his reputation, and it would keep other cats from asking too many questions. I would let them figure out how I got hurt on their own. Besides, I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone found out what really happened. I just... really didn't want everyone to be in my business right now. I didn't want to see their eyes following me around camp with pity or answering a million questions or hearing "I told you so"s.

"Hey." He said, catching my attention again. I lifted my head and looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you really okay?" He asked.

I blinked in surprise for a moment at the sudden sincerity, but recovered quickly. "Yeah." I nodded. "I'm fine."

A grin spread on his lips and she noticed some of the tension leaving his shoulders. His hand slipped down to grope my behind then, his smile growing wider. "Oh yes, you are." He crooned. "And since you're feeling so good..."

I let out a small laugh and yanked him down to my level, placing a hot kiss beneath his jaw. "I'll see you later, hot shot." I purred, then pushed him back, turning to leave.

Some things never changed, no matter how much your world crumbled around you.