Tugger woke early on Saturday morning after a restless night. Unlike his usual restless nights, there was no one else in the bed. Instead, nerves had kept him awake. The little windows of sleep he had managed to find had been plagued by dreams where he chased Mistoffolees through the library, down a hall, through a busy street, only for Tugger to wake up just as he was finally catching up.

Even upon waking, Tugger struggled to find his usual confidence. He found his eyes flicking between the five leather jackets he owned, trying to figure out which one Mistoffelees would find the most appealing. Why did he own so many leather jackets? If he just had one there wouldn't be a decision to struggle with, time wouldn't be whittling away, the sun wouldn't be steadily becoming brighter and brighter in his window. The sun. What an idiot he was; wearing a leather jacket would absurd in this weather. Mentally kicking himself, Tugger threw on something more weather-appropriate and headed out the door to the cafe where he was meeting Bombalurina, Demeter, and hopefully the Mistoffolees twins.

They were in at a table in the back corner of the cafe, half hidden from Tugger's view when he arrived. As he ordered himself a coffee he could only see Bomb and Demeter's backs, the other side of the table, where he assumed the object of his infatuation was sitting, was hidden from him. It was hard to resist craning his neck to catch a glimpse, but Tugger was still in control of himself enough to know that that would look ridiculous. Instead, he anxiously watched the barista as they made his latte, wondering why they couldn't pour the milk faster. Finally, cup in hand, he made his way to his friends.

Mr. Mistoffelees was not there. Victoria was the only person sitting across from Bomb and Dem. Disappointment hit Tugger like a ton of bricks.

"You made it." He heard Bomb's voice call out to him through the cloud of disappointment which had enveloped him. His former Enthusiasm gone, he took a seat beside her. "This is Victoria, Demeter's friend."

It was weird to be introduced so formally to someone he knew of but had not officially met. Usually he would just saunter up to someone he had heard about and start flirting, but lately he had been straying further and further away from his usual behaviors.

"Hey. I'm Tugger." He said, distracted by how closely Victoria resembled her brother. They were nearly identical, the only real difference was how Victoria was pale where her brother was dark, as if someone had cloned him using a human printer but the ink had run out. He found his eyes lingering on her features, enthralled by the way they conjured up images of her brother in his mind.

"Nice to meet you." Her the slight shortness of her tone told him she must have been somewhat of his reputation. "Can you stop looking at me like that? I know albinism is rare but I really don't like being stared at."

"Oh! My bad, sorry." Tugger said quickly. He hadn't really thought about her being albino, but it was easier to just pretend he had rather than admit that his fixation with her stemmed from his infatuation with her brother. "So uh, will your brother be coming later?"

"Tugger is quite taken with him." Bomb fake-whispered mischievously before Tugger could kick her under the table in an attempt to shut her up.

Victoria sighed and shook her head. Tugger's stomach plummeted. He looked down into his coffee, significantly less interested in hanging out now that he knew Mistoffelees was not coming. Then he felt a sharp elbow to the ribs and quickly looked up to find Victoria's hard eyes fixed upon him.

"Why," she began, speaking dangerously slow. "Are you so interested in my brother?"

Tugger wanted to kick Bomb for her earlier comment, but felt unable to move under Victoria's accusatory gaze.

"Surely you aren't planning on making him one of your… conquests."

"No, no! Of course not!" Tugger replied quickly, mentally cursing his reputation. "I just- well, I… I…".

Realizing he was speaking nonsense, he paused and took a deep breath to collect himself.

"I saw his performance at the showcase. I always thought ballet was a bit boring, but seeing him dance really changed my mind." As Victoria's eyes began to soften relief washed over Tugger. "Singing is different than dancing, but it's still performing. As a singer, as a performer, I just want to meet anyone who… whose performance can make such an impact on me."

Tugger felt self conscious as he finished speaking, feeling as if he might have revealed too much of himself, but Victoria and the others were smiling.

"My brother often has that effect on people." Victoria's voice was full of pride. "He has no idea how charming he can be. I can never convince our parents to do anything, but Misto is different. When we were kids he found a litter of kittens under an old hat at the dump, and somehow he managed to convince our parents to keep all seven of them!"

The conversation devolved into Victoria showing them pictures of the cats from her phone and giving anecdotes about each of them. Tugger listened eagerly, desperate to take in every detail remotely related to Mr. Mistoffelees.

Munkustrap was leaning against his apartment door, looking disappointed when Tugger got home hours later. His brother seemed to be disappointed with him every time Tugger saw him; he was beginning to forget what Munk's normal face looked like.

"You have to stop forgetting everytime we make a plan to get dinner." Munk chided as Tugger unlocked his apartment door.

"Sorry bro, I was out with friends and lost track of time."

"Out with 'friends'" Munk's tone made it clear he thought Tugger had been doing something else, or rather, someone else.

"Honest, I was at a cafe with Bomb and Dem and some freshman." Tugger argued, opening the door.

"This place is a mess." Munk wrinkled his nose as he stepped in the door. "Some freshman- Tugger I know you know better than taking advantage of someone young and naive- If I find out you're doing anything wrong, I won't hesitate to report you, brother or no."

"Giving me the benefit of the doubt as always," Tugger said with rueful sarcasm. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in her. I-" Tugger thought about whether or not it was worth revealing his feelings to his brother to shake off any accusations. "I'm interested in her brother. Not as a fling or anything, I haven't felt this way in… I just haven't felt this way before."

Munkustrap raised his eyebrows. "So then, who is this guy?"

"A freshman in the dance department. I saw him in the showcase. His twin is friends with Dem, so I was hoping he'd come along to hang out today, but he didn't." Tugger explained, trying to be vague.

"Quaxo Mistoffelees."

Tugger sighed heavily, then perked up realizing what his brother's recognition might mean.

"Do you know him?

"Not really, but his sister teaches the beginner modern dance class I've been taking. Sometimes he comes to meet her after class." Munk shrugged.

"Since when are you taking dance classes?" Tugger teased.

"I'm a musical theater major, it helps to know how to dance for that." Munk said with exasperation.

"So…" Tugger began awkwardly. "Can I start coming with you to dance class?"