Best Friends: Bombalurina & Demeter
Demeter Point of View
"Finally," I said aloud to Bombalurina as we headed towards her house. Or should I say, the basement of the house she habitually snuck into. "That was more exhausting than usual." She laughed in agreement.
"Yeah, but at least you and Munkustrap got… closer." I looked away in embarrassment.
"Of course that's what you'd be thinking of. Hey, as long as I got a tom to notice me, it was a good night, right?"
"Hell yes it is!" She said with all seriousness. "And he's not just ANY tom! He's Munkustrap! Protector of the Junkyard, son of Old Deuteronomy—"
"He's much more than that, Bom." I stopped to look at her.
"I know Dem," she smiled sweetly. "And I for one think you two are adorable together. He'll treat you right."
I sensed the double meaning with her words. But I didn't know if she was talking about her experiences with tom's not treating her right or with mine. But that's a place we usually didn't like to talk about a lot.
"Speaking of son's of Old D, I don't know if you should stay over tonight. I got the feeling Rum might head over."
"What?" I looked at her incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me! After he pushed you aside to flirt with the kittens, you're going to let him go running back to you? Besides, how do you know he's heading over?"
"Because he seemed to be a little upset over Grizabella leaving." She mumbled into her paws.
I tried to keep my eyes from rolling but I don't think I did a good job, because Bom gave me a look of annoyance.
"Look, I know you don't like him—"
"Huge understatement."
"But… we do care about each other and… Don't give me that look Demeter!"
I threw my paws up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I get it. You love each other, he's just a coward, got it."
Bombalurina, it seemed, also gave up on explaining to me her devotion to that… douche bag. So kept walking in silence. It wasn't often we fought, but when we do, we both are too stubborn to apologize, so we just let the silence speak for us. And it's been like that since we met, back when we were young queens.
We met shortly after Bombalurina's parents died in The Fire. Jellylorum took her in after that, but she could never quite keep Bom out of trouble. All the toms took an instant liking to her, but it wasn't till she got lost on the wrong side of town that we met. I'd been living in a small apartment with an old woman who'd been living in there her whole life. I knew my way around but I instantly noticed young Bombalurina looking extremely out of place, a scared and confused look on her face. I strolled up to her on the beat up sidewalk and extended my paw as to not frighten her.
"Hello," I said in a calm voice, "I'm Demeter. You look a little lost."
She nodded a shaky 'yes' and mumbled "I'm Bombalurina. B-but, you can call me Bom."
I nodded that I understood. Since she wasn't alone anymore she was shaking less, and her face looked calmer.
"Are you a stray?" I asked her. It wasn't uncommon for strays to end up here. Sad but true.
"No, I just… he told me to meet him here but I… I can't find him." She looked around as she talked as if this tom would just pop out of nowhere and rescue her.
"Who?" I asked.
"Rum Tum Tugger." She said with certainty. The way she said his name you'd think he was the second coming. I however rolled my eyes. I knew of his antics. Tell a young Queen to meet him in the middle of nowhere and if she found him, great, but if not, oh well, plenty more where that came from.
I took her by the paw and told her gently "Look, Rum's a jerk. Why don't you just come with me. You can stay with me tonight and then tomorrow I'll take you back to your house." I tried to pull her with me but Bom stayed where she was, surprisingly strong, and just shook her head 'no'.
"No, no," she said. "He asked me to come see him. I'm just… I just got lost, I need to find him. Please, do you know where he is?"
I sighed exasperatly, but I knew there was no stopping this girl. "Sure," I said. "I'll show you where he is." Once again, I took her by the paw and lead her down an alleyway. "I should tell you, he does this to a lot of girls. I just don't want you to get hurt. You seem really nice, and I wouldn't put it past him to take advantage of you."
Bom just nodded, an understanding look on her face. "I know. But there's just something… special about him. I can't quite put my paw on it."
I just shook my head. She'll learn, I thought, just like all the others. It wasn't long till we reached Rum's hideout and I couldn't help but notice that Bom's paws had stopped shaking all together and she got a new look in her eye that I couldn't quite identify. She pranced up to the dumpster and pounded on it, hard.
"Rum!" she called out. "I'm here!"
It wasn't long before the Rum Tum Tugger came out. "Hey uh… Bom! You made it! I was starting to get worried."
Here we go, I thought. I was just about to leave thinking this was when she would jump into his arms and he would whisper meaningless nothings at her, but I was quite wrong.
Rum had no sooner jumped out of the dumpster that Bombalurina slapped him across the face. If I looked surprised, it wouldn't hold a candle to how Rum looked at that moment. He had one paw on his cheek and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
"How dare you!" Bom shouted at him. "How could you leave me here, you jerk!"
"I—I…. sorry?" It was a beautiful sight to see. I have never, in my life, seen the Rum Tum Tugger, actually speechless!
"Yes, you should be sorry!" Bom continued. "And let that be a lesson as how not to treat a lady." Then Bombalurina walked back over to me, linked my arm in hers and said "Let's go to your place, Demeter. I'm sick of this guy." With one last look over her shoulder we began walking back down the alleyway. Of course we didn't get about three steps away that we heard Rum shout "Bom, wait!"
We both turned around, displeased looks on our faces. I could tell Rum was taken aback a bit at the sight of us.
"Bom," he started. "How uh… how bout I meet you at your place, tomorrow? You know, to make it up to you."
Bombalurina drew herself up to her full height and said "Sure. Don't be late." And with that we walked off, leaving a shocked Rum in our wake. It was at that moment I realized how strong this young queen really was.
That was the beginning of our friendship, and it only grew stronger over time. She would come to me when she was feeling upset, or someone, (cough, cough) had upset her and in turn I went to her. We were so close many cats often confused us for sisters. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hello? Earth to Demeter." I was brought out of my thoughts by a paw waving in front of my face. I looked around and noticed we were in front of Bom's place.
"Sorry," I muttered. "I was thinking."
"About who? Munkustrap" We laughed together.
"God, I hope not." I jumped at the noise and turned to see Rum strut up toward us. I glared at him, but he appeared to not notice.
"Daydreaming about my brother, huh Demeter?" I looked away. He chuckled. "Well, then I suggest you go see him. He's sitting all alone looking over the Junkyard. Maybe you can go show him a good time, he never has enough fun." I hissed at him then turned to say goodbye to Bombalurina.
As I walked away I heard Bom purr and whisper "I had a feeling you'd come tonight." I didn't hear what Rum said, as I'd turned a corner but decided, maybe for once, that arrogant jerk was right. Maybe I will head off to see Munkustrap. Why should Bombalurina be the only one to have a good time?
Well there's chapter two! Once again, please review! Next is Bombalurina and Rum Tum Tugger!
