The next few weeks went by without any major events. Sure, there were a few times where I caught Millie's conversations, and they didn't make sense, but I saw no crazy reflections, or had any kill-me-now headaches. I got to know Mike a little more, and he ended up being a really cool guy. He was really into magic tricks, and always was pulling a card or something out of our ears, or making stuff disappear. He had even really freaked Jerry out by making his sketchbook disappear- Jer had gotten so mad that he had stormed away from us. We didn't see him until the next morning, when he was sporting new bruises and scratches from taking his anger out at the skatepark. Mike had tentatively held out Jerry's sketchbook, which Jer grabbed and stuffed into his book bag. He spent the next few days fuming, but simmered down and went back to being the crazy, joking Jerry that we knew and loved.
Jerry had also started nursing a soft spot for Reagan. He was constantly at her side, smiling, bending at her will. I had also noticed that Millie was in the same kind of situation with Mike- whereas, while Reagan seemed semi-aware of Jerry's feelings, Mike was about as aware as a rock. I observed all this from a newfound quiet personality. I no longer felt much like talking. Millie had even grown nicer- we were more like brother and sister now.
It wasn't until the night of Amy Smith's Christmas party did everything spiral into insanity. The party was normal, decorations overload, mistletoe here and there. When we arrived, Mike had glanced around, then muttered under his breath, "Tugger woulda put a lot more mistletoe." This hadn't bothered me. Mike always muttered weird little things under his breath. I looked around, then spotted somewhere that I could sit and watch everything go on. The party proceeded as a normal high school party would, with music and dancing. Only when a game of Truth or Dare started, getting towards the end of the party when things were really close to getting boring. Jerry was dared by some kid to ask out the girl he liked. Jerry had sat there for a moment, lips stuck out in a way that only Jerry could do. Then he stood up and walked across the circle to where Reagan stood.
"Reahgahn, would ya go tuh a movieh wiv meh tomorrah noight?" he asked, looking her directly in the eyes.
Reagan had stared at him for a moment. Then her chest started heaving, before she turned around and ran to the upstairs of Amy's house. Jerry sunk back, his face hurt. I knew that Jer needed support, but what worried more at the moment was Reagan. The free-spirited red-head never cried. Never. Millie had run up the stairs a couple seconds after Reagan, but I wanted to check on her for myself. I skirted around the other students, then slipped up the stairs quickly. I could hear sobbing coming from a room down the hallway. I walked silently down the hall to an open door, where I could see the back of Millie and less of Reagan. "Oi-oi can' do i' aneh mo', Mil!" Reagan choked out. "Oi love 'im so much, bu' Oi can' tell 'im! Whoi? Whoi is i' loike this? 'ow much longah do Oi 'ave tuh do this, Milleh?" she sobbed.
"Not much longer, Teaser. I promise," Millie said soothingly.
"Oi don' wan' tuh do i' anehmore!" Reagan practically shouted. "Oi though' Oi'd beh ableh tuh do i', see 'im again, bu' Oi woas wrong! Oi...oi..." Millie had moved out of the way, giving me a clear view of Reagan. As she yelled and cried, she started to...flicker. One second she was orangeish, the next few she was normal. The flickering got faster, until, suddenly, she was in a different form.
"We need her in her Jellicle Form, Mistoffelees," came back to me. It was from Millie's first night, a month ago. So Reagan was in her 'Jellicle Form'- the form that was half cat, half human. I stared into the room, frozen with shock and fear.
"Do you think it's any easier for me?" Millie said, kneeling down next to Reagan. As she moved, she shifted in some way, melting from human to her 'Jellicle Form'- what she had said so many weeks ago was Tantomile from the musical Cats. I wondered if Millie had been telling the truth. My brain started whirling. What drew my attention was what Millie said next. "Do you think it's easy to look at your brother every day, knowing he has no idea that he's your brother? And not just your brother, but your twin, that you share a telepathic connection with? Do you think I'm not regretting taking this job any less than you are?"
"No," Reagan said in a hushed whisper. She shook her shoulders. "Weh should ge' back downstairs. Oi gotta explain tuh Jer whoi Oi ran off." She sniffled a little, then straightened up. I assumed she was going to go back to her human form, so I silently turned and walked back down the hall, slipping down the stairs and making my way over to my seat without being noticed. I watched the stairs as Millie and Reagan walked back downstairs, seeming perfectly normal. Reagan went to Jerry, who looked up dejectedly at her. She started talking to him, taking his arm and leading him off somewhere. It wasn't them that I was interested in, anyway. I slipped back into the shadow of the giant Christmas Tree, then moved closer to the pine tree, moving a few branches so that I could see Millie and Mike. They were about a fourth of the tree away from me, and speaking in hushed whispers. I shut out all of the nonsense chatter of my other classmates and focused solely on my friends' conversation, a skill that I had gotten better at recently.
Listening carefully, I was able to make out Millie's quiet voice. "We can't stay much longer. Teaser's at her breaking point. If Jerry does much else, he'll accidentally push her over the edge with the grief of loosing Mungo. We have to tell them slowly- and Teaser shifting right in front of him will do the exact opposite of that." My cousin went silent.
Mike took her hand and stroked it. "It'll be alright, Mil. I promise. Tomorrow. We'll start telling them tomorrow." He looked a Millie for a little bit. "I see it. Teaser's not the only one at the end of her will," he said. "It's killing you, isn't it?" he asked, voice quieter than before.
Millie, with tears starting to brim in her gray eyes, nodded. Mike put a hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly, the way Millie had just done for Reagan. As I saw that, I fought a protective growl that rose in my throat.
When I fought that growl, I had lurched forward some, putting my weight on the tree. The tall tree swayed. I backed up. "Crap," I mumbled. The tree swayed back and forth twice before it fell, causing a lot of screaming. Mike yelped and threw himself on top of Millie, knocking her to the ground and out of the way of the tree. I slipped back into the shadows, silently moving back to the spot I had occupied all night.
People started calming down, and Amy gathered up a couple of big football players to get the tree back up. "It's okay, everyone," she called over the nervous chatter. "I guess the tree stand wasn't up high enough. Please, calm down. It's okay. Just gravity," she added. A few people giggled out of nervousness. After the tree was brought back up, the party resumed. I walked around the upright pine, finding Millie and Mike sitting on a bench, close to where they had been standing.
"I'm ready to go," I told them. Millie, whose face bore slight traces of tears, nodded, and Mike got up and went and found Jerry and Reagan. We left as a group, first walking Reagan to her grandma's house, then Jerry to his. Mike walked with Millie and I back to our house.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said, leaving us halfway inside. Millie nodded, and I raised a hand, in both a way of telling him that I heard and saying goodnight without talking. Millie went straight up to her room. Feeling confused, and for some reason, angry, I went to the kitchen. I sat down in a chair, then rubbed my face and ran my hands through my hair. I didn't understand. There was one thing for sure- Reagan and Millie were not human. Then Mike, who seemed to know everything that was going on, probably had this 'Jellicle Form', too. Also, there was something that they were going to tell Jerry and I, something that apparently would completely freak us out if we found out anything but slow.
Now nursing a headache, I stood up. Taking two pain relievers, I walked upstairs. Instead of going straight to my room, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I didn't plan on coming out of my room until the next morning. When I looked in the mirror, my eyes glinted. They glinted with the un-human glint that Millie, Reagan, and Mike all had. I stared at myself, expressionless. I didn't know if I was just so tired that I was imagining things, or if it was really there. From my silent stance in the bathroom, I became aware of the sound of sobbing for the second time that night. I stepped out of the bathroom, knowing that the only person in the house that I'd be able to hear crying was my cousin. I slipped out into the hall, then stood at her doorframe. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed.
Millie looked up. "Cory," she whispered.
I stared at her.
"Cory...Cory, please listen to me."
I continued staring at her, not saying a word.
Millie glanced at her clock. "Well, it's tomorrow now. Listen, Cory. You're already seen me like this once before. I told you it was a costume, but..." My cousin stood there, then shifted into the half-cat form I'd seen twice now. She looked at me, waiting for a reaction. When she got none, she continued, "Cory, I'm not human. I'm a Jellicle. I-"
"What do you want with me?" I whispered. Millie snapped her mouth closed. "Why are you here? What could Jerry and I possibly do for you?"
"Cory, you see, you're not human either. You're a Jellicle. We...lost you in a battle, and you were born into your next life as a human-"
"I AM NOT A GOD DAMN CAT!"
It was Millie's turn to stare. Her face went from what had been sadness to anger in a flash. "You can't prove that you're not," she snarled.
"And you can't prove that I am!"
Millie's face went into one of upmost anger. "Coricopat, let me see you!" she yelled shrilly. "Let me see you in your Jellicle Form!"
What happened next was unexplainable. Suddenly there was a bright, white light in front of my eyes, and I felt like I was melting. It only lasted for a second, however, and then I was standing there again. I turned quickly and looked in the mirror that hung above Millie's dresser. My eyes widened. I was in the Jellicle Form. "Oh my God," I whispered. Then I craned my neck to look behind me. "Oh my God, I have a tail!" I yelped in horror.
Millie seemed pleased with herself for a moment, but the longer she looked at me, the more the satisfaction disappeared. "Oh, Cat," she whispered, her gray eyes getting big. "Oh, crap. This wasn't how it was supposed to go." She ran a paw through the fur on top of her head. She looked at me. "I'm sorry Cory," she said, before reaching out. She touched my forehead, and then I was drifting into darkness...
A/N:
Okay. I'm not really all that happy with how the writing in this is. It's just...off. I don't know how to put it. But thanks for making the last chapter tied for my most reviews ever! There were nine of them!
mirany stone- Thanks so much for the kind words. :D
HumanGuineapig- I know, right? Cori needs some more time in the spotlight.
Ravyn's Wing- Thank you, both Ravyn and Misto. :)
r1y2r3e4s- Thank you. :) You've read all my stories and reviewed them, you're awesome. :)
Raptor- I would hope so! I need you to know! ;)
RedRubyStorm- I love it when everyone knows everything except the main character. It makes it all the more funny.
Violaunte- I'M NOT A MARY SUE HOW DOES A CHAPTER MAKE ME A MARY SUE GRRRRRRRR!
.- Here's the next chapter for ya!
BroadwayKhaos- Thanks so much! :)