A/N: That last chapter seemed a bit out of place. Also, you've got to trust me on this: Things won't go that simple for Krystal. I also seem to be straying away from what the fic is supposed to be about. Oh well, that too will come up.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Star Fox, Nintendo and/or Rare do. Any relation to my original characters in anyway is entirely coincidental.

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Chapter 7: An Unexpected Get Together

After School, Fox had gone straight home. Regardless of what his friends sometimes thought, he would always listen to his dad when he needed to do so. Today his dad had asked him to come straight home.

When Fox got home his dad wasn't there, which was strange. Perhaps that's why Fox was ordered to come straight home. There was a note on the door that stated that he'd gone to another job interview. The high-tech software company wasn't working out for James. In fact, James wanted to be a cop more than anything.

Fox opened the door and walked into a dirty kitchen. "Of course that's why I had to come home." Fox sighed. He'd much rather be with Wolf and the gang.

He closed and locked the door and looked at the piled up dishes in the sink and the more than cluttered counter. At least the counter was still visible through his eyes, but the nicely polished green counter top looked brown. "How did it get so bad?" Fox wondered out-loud. Then he set his stuff down and made his way into the kitchen. Lots of his dad's papers and spilt coffee were there. James was probably up late again, but Fox never exactly knew why.

Fox gathered up all the newspaper that was mostly turned to the wanted ads section. If it wasn't there it was sports. He gathered them up and put them in the recycling bin in the garage. When he went back to the kitchen he finally realized that he could probably get this done in a snap.

He started to clean off all the counters, adding more to pile of dishes as he did so. He'd have to put them in the dishwasher anyway. Once he finally got all the dishes out of the way and the papers all in their proper place, he decided to start loading the dishwasher. Amazingly enough, there was nothing inside. His dad was probably too tired to clean the dishes. Luckily his dad didn't work Mondays where he was.

When Fox finally finished putting away the dishes he took out the liquid soap. He ran the water in the sink and put only a dab of soup in. It wasn't long before there were suds and foam coming in. It would take a lot to get these coffee stains out. Sad part was that they all belonged to James, as Fox much preferred to start his day off with a cup of tea or a can of soda.

Fox was amazed that the entire mess only took fifteen minutes to clean. 'There's got to be something more I'm supposed to do.' He thought to himself. If not, then maybe it was just the fact that James wanted his son home after school if he wasn't going to be there. That was probably it, since this time James wasn't at the office but was at a job interview. Usually if Fox planned on doing something after school he could reach his dad at work.

The house seemed more empty than usual. Fox went upstairs to his room where he could just relax for a while. 'Maybe I should call Krystal.' He thought. Nothing stopped him from calling her the other night, but somehow this day was different. He felt nervous about calling Krystal this time. As Fox reached for the phone, the doorbell rang. Of course Fox wanted to say the same old "who could that be?" but he was relieved that something broke the utter silence that filled his room.

He went downstairs to answer the door. It would probably be Slippy or Shane…or both.

To his surprise it was neither of the two. When he opened his door he stood face to face with Katt Monroe. 'What is she doing here? Better yet, WHY is she here? Not just that but how does she know where I live?' Fox thought. He seemed dumbfounded, as his greeting remained unspoken.

"Aren't you going to say hi?" Katt smirked.

"How did you get my address?" Fox wasted no time asking.

"That's a fine 'how do you do.'" Katt shook her head. "I recognized your car and took my chances in coming here."

Fox noticed that she had her backpack with her. She hadn't been home yet it seemed. Fox didn't really know what to do. He wasn't supposed to have girls over when his dad wasn't present. But he was at an interview, and that could take a while. Not to mention that he wasn't home. Why not? Fox backed away and let Katt in. He closed the door behind her but couldn't help but wonder why the feline was here.

"Nice place." Katt said as she looked around the main floor. A living room, dining room, and kitchen. All the bedrooms must've been upstairs. The garage was adjacent to the entrance, as most houses were.

"Thanks." Fox said. He was feeling a bit nervous having her in the house. "So…why are you here?" Fox asked.

"Can't a friend stop by to say hi?" Katt joked.

"Friend? We barely know each other. I wouldn't even know you at all if it weren't for Falco and Krystal." Fox said sternly. It was clear that she wasn't whom Fox wanted to see.

"Well, let's use this time to get to know one another. Time is short Fox, we may not even know each other after high school." She said trying to buy some time for Fox. Her parents were at work and Fox saw no harm in letting her stay for a bit.

"We still have two years to get to know each other." Fox said.

"Two years isn't enough time for me." Katt said earnestly. "My parents had always told me that time only goes by faster and faster as you get older and older."

That was surprising for Fox to hear. He didn't quite see Katt as one to listen to or take advice from her parents. Two years seemed like plenty of time to Fox. Time was still going slowly for him. "Fine. But don't you think this would be better if we did this at school?" Fox asked.

'A good boy huh?' Katt smiled at Fox. It was clear that he wasn't one to get into much trouble. Which also made it strange as to why she hung around Wolf. 'He's probably Wolf's voice of reason.' Katt thought. After all, she'd known Wolf longer than Fox had, and ever since Fox came around Wolf had been getting into less and less trouble.

"Katt?" Fox snapped her back to reality. She had no idea that she was staring. "Hello?" Fox waved a paw in front of her face.

"You're a pretty easy person to get used to." Katt said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Sorry that slipped." That was the problem with Katt. Every moment she had where she spoke her mind, it always "slipped."

"Look, you're not supposed to be here. My dad could come home any minute you know. And I've got stuff to do."

"Well, dad isn't here now is he?" Katt smirked. "Don't worry Fox, I'd be more cautious about what YOU would do to ME."

"I'm not like that." Fox shook his head and backed away quickly. "If my dad ever found about something like that he'd kill me ten times before I hit the ground!"

"So don't worry so much. I'm not here for any particular reason really." She honestly spoke this time. "I just came to see you."

"Why?" Fox demanded.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe some day we could hang out. You know, just you and me."

"Are you asking me out?" Fox smirked.

"Oh, no. I'm not asking you out. Just a friendly get together." Katt sat down on a chair in the living room and looked at some pictures on the mantle. "Just something for us to get to know each other better."

Fox had noticed that she was much more out going than Krystal was. He knew that if it went silent for more than ten seconds Katt would say something to break it. He kind of liked that actually. "I suppose we could." Fox agreed. "But when? I've got plans this weekend."

"Why not include me?" Katt suggested as if she didn't know what those plans were. 'No…I shouldn't do that to Krystal.' She thought. Still, a moment with Fox would be nice.

"Well, it's kind of a private get together with Krystal." Fox admitted. "I'll be out with her on Saturday. Maybe we can plan something on Sunday?"

"I thought you were busy the WHOLE weekend?"

"No, just Saturday."

Katt thought for a moment. Then she took out a piece of paper and jotted down something. "This is my number, I'll give it to you. Call me sometime." Katt said.

"You're not leaving now are you?" Fox asked. That wasn't what he meant to say and he found himself surprised that he had done so.

"I wouldn't want to get you in trouble." Katt said. "Call me okay?"

"Wait a moment." Fox tore the paper in half and then put his phone number on the other half. "That's my number. Why don't you call me sometime?" Fox said.

This surprised Katt. She had expected to have to beg Krystal for the number. She didn't think that Fox would give her the number just like that. She accepted it with a smile on her face. She walked out the front door holding onto the number as if it were a treasured piece of her heart. "See you later Katt." Fox said.

"Bye." She replied as she started home. On the way she didn't realize that she felt a bit warmer, more content. 'Wow' she thought. Even with how many she'd had in the past she never experienced THIS feeling before. The only problem was that Krystal had the same feeling.

***

Katt had spent much of the night in her room. She had her own phone line in her room and that was nice for her since she talked on the phone a lot. She sat in her room debating on whether or not she should call Fox or not. At times she started to dial but quickly put the phone back down. She was usually never nervous about talking to a guy on the phone. What made Fox different?

She reached for the phone again and once more set it down. She sighed, thinking about how she never had this problem before. She didn't have this type of problem with any of the boys she'd gone out with in the past. It wasn't just that, but the fact that she WASN'T going out with Fox. "Relax." She told herself. "He's just another guy." But was it really just 'another' guy? No, this wasn't just 'another' guy. This was Fox McCloud. He wasn't a complete and total nerd like other she'd met. He was very good-looking and very smart. He was somehow different.

She sat up on her bed and once again reached for the phone. She pressed the talk button on her phone and dialed the number. As soon as she placed the phone to her ear she heard a voice. "Katt? Hello? Are you there?"

"Krystal?" Katt swallowed deep. What a relief! Just as she's about to call the guy of her dreams, she gets a call by the other fur that wants him. Perhaps it really was a relief.

"The phone didn't even ring, as soon as I dialed your number and got you there were buttons being pressed. Who were you trying to call?" Krystal asked suspiciously. They knew each other all too well.

"I was trying to call you." Katt said as content and calm as she could. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Katt breathe a sigh when she lie back in her bed. Things would be okay for now. But for once, Katt was nervous over a boy. A BOY! Katt was never nervous over a boy before. "Krystal, what are you and Fox doing this weekend? Just refresh my memory."

"Going to the movies. He said he take me. We're going to see a nice love story."

"Of course." Katt grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Krystal asked.

"Nothing really. I'm tired I guess."

"But why did you ask?"

"I was hoping to get out this weekend I guess." Katt said. It was obvious what she was trying to do, and Krystal knew. She was trying weasel into her plans.

"Relax. Nall doesn't have any plans. Why not hang out with her?" Krystal suggested. There was no way Katt was going to ruin her chances with this one.

"I probably should do that." Katt yawned. "Except I don't have her number."

"Talk to her in school tomorrow. But this weekend it's just me and Fox." Krystal said. "We can do something on Sunday though." Krystal said.

Katt's eyes widened. "No, not Sunday. I'm busy on Sunday. I just want something to do on Saturday."

"Oh. Can I ask what you're doing?"

'I should've known she'd ask.' Katt's mind told her. She had to think of something fast. "Well… My parents are redecorating the kitchen soon and they want me to help." Katt said. The ironic part was that was actually the truth. However, Katt didn't have to help in anyway.

"Oh. Well, maybe next weekend?"

"Maybe." Katt said and then there was a beep on her line. "Hold on a sec, I got another call." Katt said and switched over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hello?" The voice on the other line said. It was a nice soft and comforting voice. 'It's Fox!' Katt was excited.

"Umm, hi." Katt said. "Can you hold on for one second, I've got another call coming in." Katt said and switched lines.

"Hey Krystal."

"Who was it?"

"It was just a sales fur. But it looks like dinner is ready so I've got to go now. I'll try and call you back."

"But it's--" CLICK! Katt cut her off.

***

'What?' Krystal thought. "It's already 8:30. Katt has usually eaten by now." Krystal hung up the phone and started to think. "What could be so important that she'd have to cut me off?"

Krystal pondered for a moment and then pieced a bit together. The other caller wasn't a sales fur. It was probably…no of course not. Katt wouldn't stab Krystal in the back like that. 'She's my best friend. She'd tell me the real reason.' Krystal told herself. 'She wouldn't betray me.' Or would she?

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A/N: There. Now I can make it more interesting. You didn't think that things would be all simple for Krystal did you? Anyway, R+R and try not to flame.