CATS © T.S. Eliot and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Story © phantomgirl110
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Three Weeks
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Week One
On Sunday the Rum Tum Tugger grins at Etcetera as he walks by, and she bounds off to tell Electra.
On Monday Etcetera examines her reflection in an old hubcap. She thinks she might be losing her kitten fat, but realizes that might just be wishful thinking. She wonders if Tugger could ever find her attractive with so many other beautiful queens around.
On Tuesday Tugger lets Etcetera lean up against him while Mistoffelees entertains the tribe with magic tricks. Jemima is leaning against his other side, but Etcetera chooses to ignore that.
On Wednesday Etcetera finds Tugger lying alone in a pipe, and he asks her why she isn't playing with the other kittens. She shrugs and doesn't answer, because there isn't really an answer. He doesn't say anything more, but he also doesn't ask her to leave, so she doesn't.
On Thursday Etcetera goes back to Tugger's pipe, but Bombalurina, Munkustrap and Demeter are all there too. She feels embarassed, so she skitters away.
On Friday Etcetera walks by Tugger's pipe as casually as she can manage, and sees him sitting alone. She forgets to be casual and darts over, skidding to a halt in front of him. He barely glances up at her, but asks her why she left in such a hurry yesterday. When she tells him she was embarassed, he opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it again and is silent for the rest of her visit.
On Saturday Electra, Jemima, and Victoria come with Etcetera to the pipe. She doesn't want them to, but they're her friends, so she watches glumly as they fawn over the Rum Tum Tugger and he flirts with every one of them.
Week Two
On Sunday Etcetera reaches Tugger's pipe even before Tugger does, so determined is she to get there before attracting tag-alongs. He is surprised to see her there waiting for him and tells her she needs a hobby. She is prepared for a sarcastic remark from him, and she quickly tells him that she has several hobbies. When he asks what they are she just stares at him, because she hasn't planned this far ahead. She goes pink under her fur and he laughs at her.
On Monday Etcetera is determined not to go to Tugger's pipe, so she plays with the other kittens and wonders what he's doing.
On Tuesday, when Etcetera reaches the pipe, Tugger asks her where she was yesterday, and her heart jumps at the thought that maybe he missed her a bit. She forgets to answer his question and instead asks him what he thinks about when he's quiet, her bravado impressing herself. He answers "Not much," but she doesn't believe him.
On Wednesday the sun is beating down hard on the junkyard, and Tugger lets Etcetera sit inside his pipe with him. She stretches, purposefully letter her body come in contact with his, and he doesn't seem to mind. He watches Bombalurina across the yard, but Etcetera has her eyes closed as she purrs in contentment, and she doesn't notice.
On Thursday Etcetera notices Munkustrap and Demeter watching her as she lays in Tugger's pipe, but then Tugger's tail whips casually across her thigh, and she forgets everyone else. She thinks she hears him purr for a moment, but the noise stops and she thinks she must have imagined it.
On Friday Etcetera is at the pipe before him again. She watches as he approaches with Bombalurina, and she feels her blood run cold in her veins. When Bombalurina has gone back in the other direction, Tugger lays down close to Etcetera, but she is still too jealous to care.
On Saturday, Tugger is at the other side of the junkyard with Bombalurina, and Etcetera curls up in the pipe alone.
Week Three
On Sunday Etcetera doesn't leave the box she shares with the other kittens. They invite her out to play but she doesn't come. She doesn't care about playing silly kitten games today. She also doesn't care if Tugger is with Bombalurina. At least, this is what she tells herself, over and over.
On Monday Jennyanydots and Jellylorum come to see her, because she still hasn't left the box. She tells them she's fine, she just doesn't feel like playing. They leave, and Etcetera wonders who else in the tribe might be worried about her.
On Tuesday Etcetera leaves the box to convince everyone that she's not terminally ill. She decides to take a walk and her paws take her to Tugger's pipe. He lifts his head and turns in her direction quickly as she approaches, and she stares hard at him. He doesn't say anything, so she leaves.
On Wednesday she finds herself at Tugger's pipe again. He's alert as she pads over, almost as if he's been waiting for her. She shakes her head to dispose of that thought and sits down on a heap across from him, staring hard again. Finally, he tells her that she can come lay in the pipe again, if she wants to. She does so, but she lays down stiffly and as far from him as the dimensions of the pipe will allow. He watches her, shocked at first, then an odd sort of smirk appears on his face. He says nothing more as he lays down, and Etcetera silently considers that smirk. She realizes that he's impressed with her.
On Thursday she knows she'll be going back to the pipe, but she waits longer than usual before doing so, and she doesn't enter or lay down until Tugger invites her to, because she realizes that she can do that now.
On Friday she lays down close to him, without saying anything or giving him a chance to either. She unashamedly presses her body to his, purring.
On Saturday she's there before him again. He curls against her and tells her that she really needs a hobby.
The End.