A/N: Thank you to .Xx, my consistent reviewer! :]

Ch 5: A Day With Family & an Evening With a Friend

When I padded back to the Junkyard the next day, I was greeted by Vicky.

"Hey, cous! How are you?!" she asked.

"Oh, I'm alright. You?" I replied.

"Well, I could be better…" she said. "I'm having no luck with Plato." I gotta just tell her…

"I think I know why, Vicky. I'm sorry, but Jem told me yesterday that Misto and Plato like me, but Plato likes me more out of the two…" I said, desperately hoping she wouldn't flip out.

"Oh… Well, I guess if he likes you…" she said quietly.

"Vicky, I'm sorry. I don't even know if I like him. If you want, I can talk to him and see if he likes you at all…" I said.

"No, that's okay. I'll find someone. Let's talk about something else," she replied.

"Okay," I replied. We talked about the previous year's Ball, and how everyone danced so well. We were only allowed to watch because we were too young. I wish I could dance… I have almost no skills whatsoever… Hey! Vicky could teach me! "Hey, Vicky, I need a favor," I said.

"Sure, cousin, what do ya need?" she asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you could teach me to dance. You're the best dancer in the Junkyard, and I'm probably the worst…" I replied.

"Of course, Pepper! I'd be delighted to!" she squealed.

We padded over to an empty corner of the Junkyard, and my lessons began. We started with trying to make me more flexible and limber, as those were crucial to dancing. It took all morning. We decided to break for lunch when Aunt Bomba strutted over and told us Mom had caught us food. We made our way over to my den, and were greeted by Mom, Dad, Uncle Tugger, Addie, and Jem.

"Hey guys!" I said, and the greeting was returned. We ate the mice that Mom caught, and we sat around the main room in the den just chatting. Later that afternoon, Vicky, Jem, Addie and I decided to go play Hide-n-Go-Seek. Addie was It first. He counted to thirty, and scampered off to find us. I was hiding in the trunk of the car, and I heard noises on the lid. It sounded like paws walking around..

Then, I heard voices. "Why did you tell her?! Now she has the completely wrong idea about the situation. I don't like her at all! I thought I did, but I've changed my mind." I heard a tom's voice say.

"Well, I'm sorry! I thought you said you wanted us to tell her…" a queen replied.

"I did, but now, I don't know. She's just… I don't know, we just don't seem to connect," the tom said in response.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" the queen asked.

"I don't know yet… I guess we'll just wait to see if things improve between us between now and the Ball… We'll figure the rest out then…" he replied.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later," the queen said. I heard the two cats jump down off of the car, and wondered who they were and who they were referring to. A few moments later, Addie threw open the trunk lid.

"Found ya! You're It!" he laughed and sauntered off, leaving me to my counting.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty…" and I was cut off by a paw over my eyes.

"Guess who…" a low, gritty voice said.

"Erm, I don't know…" I said.

"Wrong answer!" Mistofelees shouted. I'm going to get you for that!

"Hey, Misto!" I laughed. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering where everyone is. You?" he replied.

"Playing Hide-n-Go-Seek. I'm It. Jem, Vicky, and Addie are playing with me." I said.

"That sounds like fun! Can I play?" he asked.

"I don't see why not," I responded. "But now I have to start counting again." I turned my head back to the car and counted to thirty. When I was done, I stalked around the Junkyard. When I got to the old pipe, I heard giggling and went to investigate. I saw Jemima and Victoria trying to blend with the shadows, but Vicky stuck out like the Moon. "I found you both!" I said.

After a while, we got bored of the game. Misto had to go home, and Jemima decided to spend the night with Vicky. I walked to my personal favorite spot in the Junkyard, an old book case in the far corner. At night, if you were sitting up on the top, you felt as though if you reached out, you could touch the Moon. I lay down across the top of the case, and looked up at the sky. It was so peaceful.

"Hey, Pepper," a quiet voice said.

"Hey, Brutus," I responded, happy to have company. I sat up and looked at him, and I saw a slight smile playing across his lips. It didn't quite look like a regular, happy Brutus smile, though. There was something different about it.

"What're you up to?" he asked me.

"I'm just looking at the stars, you?" I replied.

"Same, I guess," he said.

"So, what did you do today?" I asked him.

"I hung out with Etcy some, talked to Lectyand then I went with my mother to her human home for a while, and now I'm here," he replied.

"Oh, sounds like fun." I said.

"Eh, I guess…" he replied. "What about you?"

"Well, I went to my human home last night, and when I got back this morning, I hung out with Vicky. I told her about something Jem told me yesterday, and then she gave me some dancing lessons. Then we ate lunch and played Hide-n-Go-Seek." I said.

"Oh. What was it that Jemima told you?" he asked. I explained to him what Jem told me. "Hmm… What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"I think I'm just going to wait it out and see what happens at the Ball…" I replied. The rest of the time, we mostly sat in silence.

"PEPPER! YOU COME HOME RIGHT NOW, LITTLE MISS!" my mother shouted. Oops…

"Well, I gotta go, Brutus. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, and I hugged him goodnight. He purred, and I did too.

"Night, Pepper," he said quietly.

"Night, Tumblebrutus," I replied. I padded to my parents' den, to find a rather angry mother waiting.

"Where were you, Pepper? You were supposed to be home an hour ago," she scolded.

"I'm sorry… I was sitting on the book case and I lost track of the time…" I said, almost truthfully. I'll just leave out the part about Tumblebrutus being there…

"Oh… Well, say goodbye to staying out late for a couple of days. You have to come home at sundown for the next three," she said.

"Sigh, alright. Goodnight, Mom. I love you," I said, and she nuzzled me affectionately.

"Goodnight, Pepper. I love you too." I padded off to my room. When I got there, I curled up on the pillow fitted into my box, and lost myself in sweet day-dreams. It was the Jellicle Ball. I was dancing with a tom, but the figure was a shadow. We were having so much fun, and I could tell by the way my heart was fluttering that I really liked him. He leaned in to kiss me, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I shook my head, releasing myself from the reverie. That certainly was pleasant. But who in the world was I dancing with? I guess I'd just wait till something like that happened to figure it out. I closed my eyes and went to sleep, continuing with the lovely dream.

A/N: So, I've had a strange day today. A day full of mice. There's a mouse somewhere under my bed, as I discovered. It's been eating cookies that fell behind my headboard, because I have bunk beds and it's hard to reach back there. There's also a mouse living under my oven, as discovered by my sister. She saw it dragging a Reese's wrapper across the floor. Needless to say, it's mouse trap time. Oh, not to mention the whole side of my house where the kitchen, my dad's room, and my sister's room reside, as well as the outside of that area, smell of decomp. -_-" Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you all.