A/N: Story related trivia: the acronym for this story is FUN. Oh, how that'll be abused…

Forever Until Now

Chapter 4;; Behind The Scenes

"It's okay," Plato said, his expression calm. "It can't hurt us. Besides…" He glanced wistfully at her. "This is just a dream, Victoria."

Of all the things Victoria had expected to feel, anger was most definitely not one of them. In fact, she had been expecting to feel anything but anger. But alone in her den, only minutes after the kiss, she found herself shaking. It took her a few moments to realize why, and she sat there, the oddest look on her face. She wasn't cold, she wasn't scared…and then the feelings overcame her, like a tidal wave. Feelings that turned her expression black.

They made no sense at all, of course. Only moments before the anger she'd been in euphoria. Plato had kissed her! That meant that he did like her back after all. Maybe he evens loves me, Victoria had thought dreamily. They hadn't exchanged any conversation after the kiss, but she felt sure that more would happen between them.

Victoria began to pace. Maybe I'm imagining this anger? she thought hopefully. But it was definitely there, burning in her heart. She didn't even want to feel angry. So how…?

Oh! An idea formed in Victoria's mind. I've been feeling the oddest feelings for a while now…do they even belong to me…? She put the pieces together in her head. The odd jealousy over Etcetera that she was reluctant to feel. Was that related? She focused, and with a shock, realized that that jealousy was still there. That wasn't the main shock – the jealousy was not only still there, but it had intensified.

But that's impossible! a voice in her head protested. I know that Plato wants me, not her. Every rational part of Victoria's mind agreed with that voice. She tried to rid herself of the jealousy, to cast it away, but it was impossible. It was lodged deep in her head like some sort of growth. So instead, she focused on it, trying to get a clear hold on every aspect of it.

The more she thought about the jealousy, the stranger it seemed to her. Part of it did belong to her, because the jealousy was directed at Etcetera because of Plato. Yet, if that was merely the case, she wouldn't still feel jealous. Part of it…must be something else entirely… Uncomfortable, Victoria tried to focus even more, and caught just the briefest flash of something new. What was that? Breathing hard, Victoria flopped onto her bed and slowed her breathing. She had to calm herself down, because the brief image she'd discovered at the core of her jealousy seemed completely impossible.

She had seen herself, but in a different way than she usually portrayed herself. Usually, when she saw herself in a mirror or reflection, she saw the same pretty white queen that had always gazed back. In the image she'd seen, she had looked far too beautiful; almost god-like. She had been poised with utter grace, the color of her blue eyes too blue and the whiteness of her coat too bright. She had been almost glowing. "That's just stupid!" she muttered out loud, furious at herself. "I would never think of myself like that! So…where did it come from?"

In her alarm at seeing herself at the root of her own jealousy, Victoria had forgotten to consider the other very important aspect of the image that she'd seen. Another cat stood beside her, an arm wrapped possessively around her. That cat had been taller than her, had a pair of vivid green eyes and he'd worn the smuggest smirk on his face. It had seemed a very natural expression to him.

"This is ridiculous. Ridiculous!" Refusing to believe that she could be jealous of herself, she tried to push her confusion to the back of her mind and think of other, better things. Plato. Think of his kiss. It wasn't hard for Victoria to distract herself thinking about that moment. She sighed blissfully, and traced the shape of her lips with her fingers. She tried to recall how it had felt when he had moved closer, eyes moving over her as if she was the only thing that he could ever want. Just imagining his face sent shivers down her spine. His piercing green eyes, his lazy smirk. His slow, thoughtful way of speaking.

No cat could deny that he was exceptionally good-looking. But because he preferred to observe and think about things rather than take action, nobody noticed him as much as his three friends. Pouncival was the boisterous one, the one who was loud and funny. Tumble was a bit of a show-off, but no one could deny that his acrobatic skills were incredible. And of course, Misto would never miss a chance to show off his magic. What with his three friends, Plato was overshadowed.

In fact, before Etcetera had become so completely obsessed with Tugger, she'd admitted to having a crush on Plato. That had been so long ago that Victoria had almost forgotten it, but it came back to her now, and made her feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. It's okay – he kissed you. He obviously doesn't want Etcy. Every time she thought of the kiss, her insecurities were eased.

Feeling slightly better, Victoria fell asleep.

"Plato…" His eyes were scrutinizing her every aspect…it was like he was seeing into her. It was like he was seeing every one of her secrets, all of her feelings. She didn't know how he did it, though she'd always known that he was something special – something beyond what the rest of them were. There was something in his eyes that always drew her in. It was like there was an entire world nestled in those orbs of green.

"Victoria." He smiled, and stepped forward, easily scooping Victoria within his arms. He was the tallest of the young toms, closely followed by Tumble, and he was more powerful than he looked. Victoria laughed easily, elated to be in his arms. "I've been waiting so long," he added, eyes filling with that intensity she so loved.

"Me too," she breathed, placing a hand on his cheek. He laid his own, larger hand over hers, stroking it gently. All the while, he gazed contemplatively at her face, his eyes roaming over her every feature.

"You're so beautiful," he said at last, brushing her cheek with his lips. Her heart skipped a beat, and she beamed at him.

Just then, his eyes flickered up, and his expression went cold. Gently, he set Victoria down and wrapped a protective arm around her. To anyone standing in front of them, they would've represented the exact picture that lay at the heart of Victoria's jealousy. "What's wrong, Plato?" she whispered, huddling closer to him. A low snarl rose in his throat. Looking up, Victoria saw nothing but blankness. Shocked, she clung tighter to Plato, because she would be utterly alone without him.

"Where are we?" she cried. He merely glanced down at her and took one of her hands.

"It's okay," he promised. "Don't be afraid."

Just then, the world erupted into flames. Victoria screamed, gripping Plato's hand so tightly that he winced. The flames licked closer to Victoria's feet, and she froze. Plato whipped her back up into his arms and let out an infuriated snarl. With that, the flames recoiled, just a little.

"It's…afraid of you?" Victoria whispered in wonder, gazing at him admiringly. He shook his head ever so slightly.

"Not quite," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the blaze. "But I can hold it back…"

"How?" Victoria breathed. Plato said nothing, instead grimly staring at the fire as if he were sending it a message with his eyes.

"You can't hurt her," he sneered. "You know that if you do…"

"What are you talking abou-AHH!" Victoria's cut herself off as the flames roared higher, rearing over the pair.

"It's okay," Plato said, his expression calm. "It can't hurt us. Besides…" He glanced wistfully at her. "This is jus

Etcetera sat with Jemima and Electra. Victoria had gone to bed early, and besides, the white queen was still being a little weird. She'll be okay when she wakes up, Etcetera thought confidently to herself.

For once, she wasn't participating very much in the conversation. Jemima and Electra were talking about reeaally complicated singing techniques, and Etcetera had trouble understanding a single word of it. Instead she just sat quietly. She passed the time by watching Tugger laze around until Bombalurina approached him and they started flirting. Etcetera didn't like it when they flirted, because everyone said that they were meant to be a couple and that it was Tugger's weirdness that stopped them getting together for real. For one thing, Etcetera just knew that she and Tugger were meant to be. Another thing: Tugger wasn't weird! Etcetera had trouble even comprehending the thought.

So when they began to flirt, Etcetera's eyes drifted away…and rested on Plato. He seemed to be taking a nap – his eyes were shut and he was curled up. Yet, his ears were constantly swiveling as if he were paying attention to the sounds around him, and he was breathing a little too fast to be sleeping. Curious, Etcetera studied his expressions, and as she watched he let out a little growl.

She didn't admit it to anyone, but she still had the tiniest crush on him. Of course, Tugger was most important, but it was difficult to look away from Plato's alluring green eyes. There was a strange, mysterious aura about Plato that made Etcetera's heart speed up. Tugger's most important though, she argued in her head. Isn't he?

Something within her couldn't help but argue back whenever she looked at that face of his.

"Etcy? Helloooo? Earth to Etcy!" Jemima waved a paw in front of Etcetera's face, startling her.

"O-oh! Hello…" As if just waking up, she yawned.

"What're you thinking about, Etcy?" Jemima teased. "Tugger? You seem awfully distracted."

"Oh, I guess so. And…" Etcetera hesitated.

"And?" Electra prompted.

"And Plato," Etcetera admitted. Jemima stiffened, but neither of her friends noticed.

"Oh! Do you still like him?" Electra asked, tilting her head to one side and smirking. Jemima stayed silent, her eyes staring blankly at nothing in particular. Etcetera finally noticed, and bit her lip.

"Yeah, I kinda do. But Tugger's more…" She paused. "More important…Jemi, what's wrong?"

Jemima started. "Um, nothing," she murmured. Even Etcetera could tell she was lying.

"Jemi…" she whined. "Do you like him too?"

Jemima looked taken aback. "No! Of course not!" Etcetera could definitely believe the conviction in her friend's eyes.

"Then…what?" Etcetera asked, bewildered.

"Nothing, like I said before," Jemima said firmly. Etcetera sighed and decided not to press her.

"Well, that's exciting," Electra enthused, chuckling. "I never realized. Do you think he likes you back?"

"Um…" Etcetera hadn't really thought about it before. "Well, maybe…he talks to me an awful lot. He's really nice. What do you think?"

"He never talks to me!" Electra grinned as if that was something fantastic. "That means he must like you!"

Etcetera blushed happily. "Aw, really?" I hope so!" In her head, a plan was forming. She wouldn't exactly give up on Tugger…but maybe it would do if she took a break from being obsessed over him. Maybe it would be best if she gave Plato a chance. "I think I'm going to get him to ask me out!" she decided. "If he likes me, he will! And then maybe I'll end up liking him as much as I like Tugger…"

Electra smiled at this statement, but Jemima looked positively upset. In her head, a number of thoughts were rushing about. The first was that Etcetera, although she claimed to just 'like' him and obviously didn't adore him, was going to go after him. The second was that Plato did seem to talk to Etcetera more than a lot of other cats. And the third was the memory of Victoria confessing her infatuation with Plato. Jemima recalled the look in Victoria's eyes when she spoke of him, that look of pure adoration. Etcetera couldn't possibly have such strong feelings for Plato. By trying to gain Plato's affections, she would break Victoria's heart.

"Etcy, take it slow," Jemima warned, unsure of how to deal with the situation. She couldn't blatantly tell Etcetera to stay away from Plato.

"Jemima, stop being weird! Tell me why you're so upset!" Etcetera demanded. Jemima looked away helplessly.

"I'm not upset," she said slowly. "I'm just…um…worried about you." It was the best she could come up with.

Etcetera's eyes blazed. "What? You think he's going to reject me?" Jemima winced, wishing she'd taken a little more care with her choice of words. "Just because I'm not pretty like you and Vicki?" She was almost in tears. "Well! I don't care! I'm going to try and be just as pretty as you two! I can be! So stop being such a bitch 'cause you think you're that much better than me!" With that, she turned on her heel and ran out the Junkyard. Jemima's mouth hung open; never had she seen Etcetera acting like this. She was being weird…just like Victoria had.

Victoria woke up just as the sun was setting, and stretched before she left her den. At once, Jemima crashed into her. "Woah woah woah, slow down," Victoria laughed lightly. She smiled until she saw Jemima's panicked face. At once, the smile dropped away. "Jemi? What's wrong?"

"Etcetera," Jemima said simply. "Oh Heaviside, Vicki, Etcetera's gone mad."

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked warily.

"She's convinced she has to get Plato to fall in love with her," Jemima whispered, looking at her hands. Victoria stiffened. "And when I tried to stop her…she got real mad at me and just ran away. And by mad…I mean as in, mad beyond what I thought she was capable of."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "You're right, she has gone mad," she said coldly. "How dare she?"

Jemima took a step back. "Vicki? Please…don't look like that…you're scaring me." Victoria realized, with a start, that her face was twisted into a cruel sneer. She relaxed her expression at once and tried to calm herself so she could act more normally.

"Oops," she said in a small voice. "Sorry, it's just…" Her brain worked, trying to come up with an explanation. "It's just that she saw us. I suppose I can't blame her…"

"Wh-what?" Jemima looked completely confused. Victoria kept her face calm, trying to tell her story with all the right gestures and facial expressions.

"Well, you see, me and Plato are sort of together now." Jemima gasped at this, but Victoria continued. "And Etcetera saw us. I can't blame her for being jealous, but it's not like she has to pretend she still has a chance." What am I doing? Why am I lying? Victoria was confused at herself, but she kept up the act.

"Are you…serious?" Jemima's eyes popped. "Heaviside! I never would've expected that! But…it sort of makes sense about why she's acting so weirdly, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," Victoria agreed hastily, relieved that Jemima believed her. Just then, Plato came up behind her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. As she turned around, he pulled her into an embrace, and she giggled. Jemima's eyes shone in approval as they broke apart.

"Oh, didn't see you there, Jemima," Plato laughed, eyes sparkling in amusement.

"It's okay, just pretend I'm not here," Jemima smiled teasingly. She completely believed Victoria's story now – she thought that she had enough evidence right before her.

"Sure thing," Plato winked, taking Victoria's paw and leading her across the Junkyard to the exit. Victoria waved at Jemima over her shoulder and then followed Plato out. As they headed out, Victoria noticed another cat coming in. To her dismay, it was Etcetera.

She always has the worst timing, she thought in frustration as Etcetera came to an abrupt halt, looking the couple up and down. Her mouth hung open as if she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.

"Hello, Etcetera," Plato said pleasantly, well aware of the effect that had been produced from her. She blinked, and suddenly her eyes were wild with emotions. Victoria stepped back as Etcetera shoved past, letting out a choked sob.

"Hmm, she seems a little…upset," Plato commented after a while.

"No kidding," Victoria muttered. "She's jealous."

Plato didn't look surprised. He just sighed and tugged on Victoria's paw. "Come on, let's go. We don't need to stick around." Smiling up at him, Victoria forgot the look on Etcetera's face and kept on walking.

So that was why Jemima tried to stop me. Etcetera sat alone, away from the Junkyard. Silent tears rolled down her face, but she didn't try to wipe them away. Somehow, she knew. I should have expected it, really. Victoria's always been better than me…

All her life, Etcetera had tried to hide the jealousy she felt over Victoria…her sister. Ever since birth, Victoria had been better than her. She even had a better name! Victoria was a beautiful, royal name. And as for Etcetera? Etcetera had found out what it meant after a long time asking around. 'Other unspecified things'. What sort of a name was that? Even from birth, everyone had preferred Victoria. Why else would she have a name like Etcetera?

And as they were growing up, it was always Victoria with all the attention, Victoria with toms drooling over her. Victoria was far more beautiful than Etcetera…with her pure, shining white fur and lovely face, she far outshone Etcetera. She was just a plain tabby with a sort of cute face. She always tried to make up for it by being loud, but all that did was gain her a reputation as 'that mad Tugger fangirl'.

Then, there was the matter of dancing. Etcetera loved dancing – she considered herself pretty good at it. But she was nothing, nothing to Victoria. Everyone knew it. Victoria was by far the best, along with Misto. Etcetera was forgotten in all the rush to praise Victoria.

So she should've only expected that just as she decided on a tom, Victoria would take him. After all, it wasn't as if she had a chance if Victoria was after him as well. But she had hoped so much that Plato maybe, just maybe liked her back. It looked like all her dreams were shattered again. She would never be as beautiful nor as talented as her sister. Is there anything for me? she thought hopelessly. No…it's so unfair.

"Etcetera…what has you down, little queen?" Etcetera's head flew up.

"Who's there?" she snapped, trying to sound tough. But she wasn't a tough kind of cat, and her voice squeaked.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kitten."

"I'm not a kitten!" Etcetera protested, quivering a little.

"You sure are…compared to your lovely sister." There was a sneer in the voice.

Etcetera's eyes flared with fury. "Don't talk about my sister!" she snarled, her fear forgotten. "Barely anyone even remembers anymore that we're sisters, she's so much better than me!"

The voice laughed almost uncaringly. "But of course. Everyone knows that." Etcetera let out a cry of indignation. "Don't deny it," the voice sighed. "Or I won't bother helping you."

"H-help me?"

"Yeah, I can help you. Your problem is Victoria and Plato, correct? I can fix that for you."

Etcetera was immediately suspicious. "Why would you want to help me? You don't seem to care!"

The voice sighed again. "Look, Etcetera. Just believe me. I'll help you, if you promise to take Plato and never let go. It might mean upsetting your friends for a bit, but they'll be okay."

"Um…no, I can't…" Etcetera wavered. "Besides, why should I trust you?"

"Oh, Etcetera…just believe me," the voice said smoothly. Etcetera suddenly saw a pair of eyes, and gazing into them, her mind went completely blank.

"Okay," she whispered. "Help me."