A/N: I didn't get any reviews this last chapter :/ I'd love to have some feedback on the story, especially constructive criticism. I actually like it because it shows me what I can do better. Side note: I know it's a little odd that Pepper has such a keen sense of time, but I'm just going to go with her knowing how to tell time by the position of the sun… Sorry if this chapter is a little random and off the wall… I'm in a strange mood…
9: Games, Questions, and Mental Smacks.
When I woke up the next morning, my paw was throbbing. "Gwah! Mom, it hurts!" I yelled, still half asleep. Jem and Vicky rolled over, yawning.
"Shut up, Pepper, we're trying to sleep," Vicky snapped.
"Mmm…" Jem mumbled. I got up and limped to my parents' room. Oh, great, they're gone. I left the den and went to seek out Jellylorum or Jennyanydots. One of them was bound to have something to help. I found Jenny first.
"Hello, dear, how are you this lovely morning?" she asked, cheerily.
"My paw is killing me. Do you have something that could help?" I asked.
"Well, I have some human Tylenol caplets back at my den, but I'd prefer to ask your parents first before I give it to you," she said. Dang…
"I'll go find them," I replied before limping off to find a parent. I located my father, the complete opposite side of the Junkyard. I slowly made my way over to him, and asked him to accompany me to speak with Jenny.
"You look like you need carrying…" he said. I didn't protest, so he picked me up and carried me back across the Yard. Thank Heaviside for strong fathers… When we got to the Gumbie Cat, she asked him about the pills, and he said to only give me a small piece of one. She had no objections. A little while later, no more pain! I went to find Electra.
"Hey, sexy!" I said jokingly when I found her.
"Hello!" she replied, laughing. "Whatcha wanna do today?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Wanna go find Brutus and ask him what we should do today?" I asked.
"Sure, sounds like a plan," she said. And we were off to find Brutes. We found him with his brother on the chair again.
"Hey, Br00t4lz, come down here!" I shouted up.
"Okay! Bye Pounce, Admetus, Plato!" he said before jumping down.
"What should we do today, Tumblebrutus?" Lecty asked.
"Hmm, hunting?" he offered.
"Okay! Sounds fun!" I replied, energetically. We went to the hunting grounds. By the time we had each made a kill, it had been about three hours. Brutus caught a bird, Lecty caught a rat, and I caught a large lizard. We lay down to eat our meal.
"That looks rather… gross… Pepper," Lecty said, gesturing to my lizard. [A/N: I'm not sure if they have lizards in London, but we have lizards here in the desert, so it makes perfect sense to me.]
"It's not too awful…" I said. It was an acquired taste, reptile. I hadn't fully taken a liking to the things, but I could tolerate them.
"Hmm…" Lecty said.
"Hmm indeed," Brutus replied. We ate in relative silence for the rest of the time.
When we padded back to the Junkyard, everyone was out and about. We went over to the group of kittens.
"Hey, guys!" Jemima waved.
"Hey!" we replied.
"Wanna play a game?" Etcy asked.
"Sure! What game?" Lecty asked her sister.
"Truth or Dare!" Pouncival replied. We nodded in the affirmative and sat down in the circle.
"Who's first?" Mistofelees asked.
"Hmm, I'll go first," Plato said. "Vicky, truth or dare?"
"Hmm, truth I guess…" she replied, slightly blushing.
"If you could have one thing, material wise, in the whole world, what would it be?" he asked.
"Uh, I don't know. I'd really love a diamond collar," she answered. Hmm, interesting… "Misto, truth or dare?"
"Dare," he said, grinning.
"I dare you to eat dry dog food," she said with a glint in her eye. Ooh, that's a good one!
"You're joking, right?" he asked.
"Not at all. There just happens to be some in this junk pile over here," she replied.
"I'll get you back for this, Victoria. Just wait and see," he said, stalking over to the dog food. He took one bite and ran back over to us, scraping his tongue with his paws. "Cettie, truth or dare?"
"Truth," she replied, warily. I guess she didn't want to get stuck eating dog food, too.
"How many toms have you kissed?" he asked.
"Hmm," she said, mumbling to herself. She started to count on her paws, and finally answered, "Five. I've kissed five toms. Now, Lectra, truth or dare?"
"Dare," Lecty replied.
"I dare you to go find a baby doll's dress and wear it for the rest of the day!" Etcy said, grinning madly. Poor Lecty! That's going to be so embarrassing!
"Fine, but first, Pepper, truth or dare?" she asked.
"Umm, dare," I replied.
"Okay, I dare you to answer this question. Who would you want to go to the Jellicle Ball with this year?" she asked.
"Uh, well, I don't really know yet… I don't really think about crushes very much…" I replied. Who would I like to go with?
"You give the worst answers, Pepper. They never divulge anything good…" she sighed. "Off to find a stupid dress…" She scampered all around the Junkyard, rummaging through piles of junk. After about ten minutes, she came back, wearing a hilariously pink, frilly dress. Her ears were flattened and she looked like she wanted to disappear.
"My turn! Brutes, truth or dare?" I asked, looking at my friend.
"Truth," he replied.
"Same question Lecty asked me," I said.
"Um, well, I uh, erm," he stammered, a blush creeping across his face like paint spilling across a floor.
"Well?" I prodded.
"I uh, don't know…" he said, drooping his ears. "Pounce, truth or dare?"
"Dare!" Pouncival piped.
"I dare you to go on a date with Etcetera," he said. Etcy blushed and gave him a killer look.
"Ooh, death glare!" I laughed.
"Okay… Well, how about tomorrow evening, Cetts?" he asked, slightly blushing.
"Sounds good…" she replied.
"Good," he replied. "Jemima, truth or dare?"
"Dare," she said softly.
"I dare you to kiss the tom you like," he said.
"Can I change it to truth?" she asked.
"Nope, sorry," he replied, smirking. Jerk… She padded slowly across the circle, ears flattened in embarrassment and nervousness, and lightly planted a kiss on Mistofelees's lips. His ears perked up and his eyes went wide in response. When she pulled away and padded back to her spot next to Vicky, he stood up and followed, sitting next to her. I couldn't hear anything, but I swear I saw them whispering and giggling.
"I'm getting bored of this game. Let's play Tag!" Vicky shouted. All the other kits, besides me, shouted in agreement. I padded over to the big tire and took a seat, knowing that with my injured paw, I couldn't run. Lecty went off to find Addie, who wasn't in the circle of kits. I laid my head on my paws and closed my eyes, just wanting to bask in the warmth of the day.
"Mind if I join you?" a soft voice asked me. I opened my eyes to see Tumblebrutus, looking into my eyes from the ground. Catching his gaze made my stomach flutter, and I could feel myself almost blushing, though I didn't know why.
"Sure, why not?" I said, trying to be nonchalant but failing. He laid down beside me.
"I figured you could use some company, since everyone is playing Tag," he said, sounding almost rehearsed.
"That's very considerate of you," I said, smiling. We were there for a while, watching the others play Tag and chatting quietly about nothing in particular. Every time I looked at him, my heart skipped a beat. I found myself staring at him, studying his features, multiple times. What am I doing? He's my best friend! I don't even like him like that! I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and my bell tinkled.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, looking concerned.
"No, I had a bug in my ear…" I lied, hoping he wouldn't catch me. He didn't appear to.
"Oh, well is it out?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so…" I replied.
"Tumble, Pounce, time to come home!" Asparagus shouted. "Your mother has dinner ready!"
"Sigh, I guess I've gotta go… I'll see you later, Pepper," he said.
"Bye, Brutus. I'll see you later…" I replied, somewhat sadly. He hugged me, and I started to purr. I realized it and tried to quiet the happy rumbling in my throat, but I heard him purring too. He rubbed his head against mine, and I purred louder. Gwah! Enough, Pepper! You don't like him like that! He left, padding slowly away. I stayed for a little while longer.
At sundown, I jumped down from the tire, forgetting about my sprained paw, and yelped in pain when I hit the ground. I padded home, painfully, and went to my room. Sitting on my bed was a beautiful dark red rose and a note that said, "Be on your roof Thursday at midnight." Why Thursday? Why the roof? And who am I meeting? I made a decision and went to say goodbye to my parents and Jemima. I was going to my human home. I needed to think. I limped slowly through the streets, doing my best to avoid any strangers, so I wouldn't have to run. I finally made it home, and my human was outside in the garage with her father, hitting a blue bag on a chain. I meowed, hoping to get their attention.
"Hey, Pepper! Oh, what happened to your paw, little neko? Dad, look at her paw!" Ryann said as she scooped me up off the ground.
"Poor thing, she probably sprained it or something. Bring her inside, I think I can make a bandage small enough for her," her father said. She carried me into the kitchen, where her father started messing with a strip of cloth. He walked over to me and started to gently wrap the strip around my forepaw. He wrapped it tightly, but not too tight. I was amazed at how fast he did it.
"It's so useful having a licensed Paramedic around," Ryann laughed. Oh, der! He's trained in emergency medical care… I mentally slapped myself for not remembering. I started wriggling in Ryann's arms, signaling that I wanted to be put down. She obliged. "There you go hon. Hope your paw feels better soon!"
I padded into her bedroom and laid down on the bottom bunk. Now to do some thinking… I was right about to delve into my thought process when Penny walked into the room.
"Hey, Pepper! How are you?" she asked, cheery as ever.
"Eh, I'm alright I guess… I have a lot to think about… You?" I asked.
"I'm good," she replied, tail swinging and hitting the door frame. How has she not broken that thing yet?!
"Penny, come here!" Ryann's sister, Tabitha, yelled. Penny was out of the room and down the hall faster than you could say she was out of the room and down the hall.
Anyway, back to my thoughts… Why is it that every time I'm alone with Tumblebrutus, I can't seem to keep my head clear? I get so lost in his eyes, his smile, the way he laughs. He has such a nice smile… HEY, STUPID, STOP GETTING DISTRACTED! Fine, mental slapping voice, you win. I don't know why I keep feeling like I do. I don't have a crush on Brutus… Do I? Well even if I did, I shouldn't, because then it'd get all awkward. I don't want to be that awkward friend that you can tell has a crush on you, but you don't like them back, but you don't want to tell them you don't because you don't want to hurt them. I want to be the friend that is just a friend… Sigh, no I don't, but he doesn't like me that way. He wouldn't. After all, he liked Etcetera, and we're nothing alike. She's so hyper and energetic, and I'm just kind of, well, mellow. I like to run around and have fun, but I'm not bouncing off the walls. I just wish there was a way I could know for sure if I'm actually starting to like him or if I've just been hanging around him too much and I feel like I do... Even if I do actually like him, I can't show it, or ever speak of it to anyone. It'd just be too insanely awkward if they told him. For now, I guess I'll just see what happens over the next few days. If I keep feeling like that around him, I'll know I like him. If not, then the issue is over and done with. Now, some sleep…
I lay my head on my paws, and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Luckily, my human let me sleep the night through without coming to bug me.
I awoke the next morning, and Ryann had already left for school. I made my way to the Junkyard, avoiding any troubling incidents. The day passed fairly quickly, but I was bored most of the day. The other kittens had an ongoing game of Tag, and I couldn't join them. Brutus wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Lecty was spending the day with Admetus. I went to Lecty's den for the night, for a sleep over. Jemima and Vicky came as well. It was a long, fun night.
I woke up the next morning and a single thought popped into my head. It's Thursday… Jem, Vicky, and I said goodbye to Electra, Etcetera, and their mother, Exotica. They were going to be out of the Junkyard all day. I decided to go find Brutus. I looked all around the Junkyard, and I couldn't find him. I found Pouncival. I padded over to the tom-kit.
"Hey, Pounce. Where's Brutus?" I asked.
"Hmm, I don't know," he said.
"Sigh. Do you really not know, or do you just not want to tell me?" I asked.
"I just don't want to tell you. So, I won't," he replied, smirking.
"You're an idiot sometimes…" I grumbled, padding away. My paw didn't hurt as bad today, thankfully. I went to the pond to be alone. Where is he? He's never gone like this… And Pounce knows where he is, but he won't tell me… What is going on? I decided to go visit my human family again. I made my way slowly across the city and reached my human home faster than I had thought.
"Hey, neko cat!" Ryann said when she saw me. I brushed up against the wall. They always thought it was adorable when I did that, though I don't know why. She walked over and kneeled down to scratch my head. I purred. She picked me up and carried me into the kitchen, where she set me on the counter at my food bowl. I went and ate a few bites of the dry cat food. The stuff was actually not half bad. I went and jumped out the pet door, onto the cinderblock wall, and onto the neighbor's roof. I lay, basking in the late afternoon sun. I guess I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, it was dark. Oh, crap! I have to get to the Junkyard! I jumped down onto the wall and walked to the big tree that barricaded the front yard and the back. I crawled through the tree and jumped to the ground, quite painfully I might add. I limped to the Junkyard, now with pain in my front paw, and made it through the fence at around 10:30. I padded slowly to my den and went inside.
"Hey, Pepper!" Admetus greeted.
"Hey, Admetus! Are you staying the night?" I asked, curious.
"Yeah. Victoria is, too. She's in Mim's room," he replied. I noticed his unique nickname for Jem. Hmm, Mim, I'd have never thought of that…
"Ah, well cool," I said. I padded to my room. I wanted to get cleaned up before whatever was going to be waiting on my roof. I sat on my "bed" and began the meticulous task of grooming myself. After a bit, my mother walked into my room.
"Hey, Pepper. We're all going to sleep. Goodnight, darling," she said.
"Goodnight, Mom," I replied and nuzzled her affectionately. She padded out. I crept through my den, careful not to wake anyone, and went outside. The moon was high in the sky, and it was almost time. I made my way to the roof and lay down, looking up at the stars.
"Hey," a quiet voice said from behind me. My heart jumped.
"Hi," I replied, quietly.
"Mind if I join you?" the voice asked.
"I'd like that," I replied. The cat padded forward slowly and lay down next to me. I looked over, already knowing whose face I'd see.
A/N: Okay, so that chapter was longer than I expected, even though it's still kind of short. I tried to leave a little bit of a cliffie, but I don't think that one was very good. Anyway, the parts where Pepper was describing her human home, that's based on actual fact. My dad actually is a retired Paramedic, I do have a cinderblock wall right next to my neighbor's roof, there's a tree blocking the back yard from the front, and I do really have bunk beds. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! Please, feel free to review. Constructive criticism is strongly welcomed. :D