Macavity purred in contentment the next morning as he woke up. Next to him, Bombalurina lay sleeping. The sheets had fallen down from around her, and her chest moved softly as she breathed. Her head rested on his pillow, her whiskers quivering as she slept.
Macavity smiled to himself. She had decided to stay overnight, and he had been glad to have her. He purred softer and slid an arm around her, pulling her closer to his bare chest. She purred too and curled against him, her whiskers brushing against his. He kissed her lips gently, and her purr rose.
Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! His alarm startled them both out of their revenue. Macavity rolled over and slapped the clock off as Bom sat up quickly, her blanket falling down around her waist. She yanked the blanket up around her exposed breasts, clutching it to herself like a life raft. But when Macavity’s emerald eyes met hers she smiled and kissed his black nose lightly. He smiled and pulled her closer to him. He felt her heart flutter against his own, and he purred softly in her ear. Bom closed her eyes and listened to the comforting sound.
Macavity gently pushed her back onto the blanket, his hips pressing against hers through the blanket. Bom pulled him down on her and ran her paws down his chest, feeling him shiver under her touch. He purred louder and pulled the blanket away from her, touching his lips to hers. Bom kissed him back, any thoughts of getting up slipping her mind.
Jerrie sat up quickly as the string around his wrist pulled taut. It was his alarm to get up. He didn’t dare set his alarm to ring, for fear of his dad getting mad at him, so he had rigged it to pull the string. He turned off the clock before his wrist could turn purple. Not like it would have been the first time, but he’d rather not have his alarm clock hurt him any more than necessary. He got up, yanking off his pajama top, an over-sized sweatshirt. He groaned when it rubbed against his beaten skin. He had nearly forgotten. He quickly pulled the bandages off of his chest and back, slipping on a clean shirt. He quickly grabbed a pair of clean jeans out of his drawer and quickly changed into them before he crept over to Teazer’s side and gently shook her awake. “Hey, Tea, wake up!”
“Huh? Wha?” Teazer moaned, blinking sleepily.
“Wake up!” Jerrie told her.
“Too early,” Teazer moaned, rolling over and pulling the blanket up.
Jerrie sighed and yanked off the blanket, turning away respectively from Teazer’s bra and jeans. “Sis, get up. We have school.”
“Oh yeah.” Teazer sat up, her fur cock-eyed on her head. She rubbed her eyes and retrieved her shirt off the floor.
Jerrie sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket to himself. “I didn’t do my homework,” he moaned.
“How much is due before lunch?” Teazer asked, rubbing his shoulder gently.
“I don’t know. Not much. I’ll do most of it at lunch, but I don’t wanna get detention again for late assignments.”
“You won’t,” Teazer promised. “Come on. Let’s go down for some breakfast.”
Quiet as mice they tiptoed downstairs. But their dad had beat them down, like usual. He turned to glare at them as they stepped inside. Teazer instinctively stepped in front of her brother, and Jerrie put his arm around her. “So, you two decided to get your lazy asses out of bed,” Roth said, setting a heavy paw down on the counter with a bang to emphasize his words.
The twins cowered. There was a silent, tense moment before Roth turned back to whatever he was doing. He had a kitchen knife in his paws, and Jerrie noticeably shrank back farther from him as they quietly opened the refrigerator. They pulled out a jug of milk, then grabbed two oranges off the counter. They sat down at the table and began to eat, careful not to make too much noise. Their father threw the knife into the sink with more noise than necessary, and Jerrie flinched, sliding down in his seat. He ate without a word, giving Teazer a helpless look that plainly said I-want-to-leave-NOW. They quickly rinsed their dishes in the sink and headed for the door.
Roth’s paw grasped Jerrie’s arm, sinking his claws in just a bit. Jerrie gasped in pain and froze, waiting for the phrase he heard every day before he left. “You better get your ass home on time tonight or you’re gonna get it. Understand me?” This was followed by a sharp shake.
“Yes sir,” Jerrie answered, his voice soft and humble. His father glared and released him sharply.
“Get out! Go!” He got. Jerrie raced out the door, Teazer at his heels. They paused to snatch their backpacks off the chair by the door before racing out, careful not to slam the door. As soon as the door clicked into place, Jerrie collapsed onto the step with a gasp for air and comfort.
“I hate him,” he cried into his paws. “I hate him, Teazer.”
“Shh. I know. I know.” Teazer sat down next to him and cuddled his head to her breast, letting him rest against her a moment. Suddenly the lock rattled. The two leaped up and bolted into the shrubbery. Their dad stalked out, yanking on his leather jacket. He had a bottle of beer in his paw. He took a swig of it and looked around as he swallowed. The twins shrank back farther into the bushes. Roth turned towards their hiding spot and tossed his bottle against the side of the house, raining brown glass down on top of their heads. They didn’t make a sound as their dad headed off down the street, no doubt headed off to find a good whorehouse or a bar. Or both.
As soon as he had crossed the street, the two stood up, brushing glass from their clothes. They didn’t normally hide in the bushes every day, but today their dad had left early. And if he found them sitting on the steps, Jerrie’d get a kick or worse.
Holding paws tightly, the twins raced off towards the school, eager to be anywhere but by their house.
“How’d she take it?” Alonzo asked, leaning against his locker, dribbling a basketball lazily with one paw.
“Badly. She’s gonna get me for it,” Munkustrap said, pulling his history book from his locker. He slammed it shut and leaned his hot forehead against the cool metal.
“Relax. What’s the worst she can do?” Alonzo asked, switching paws to dribble with his left.
“Anything she wants.”
“You’re taking this too hard. Lighten up. You have Demeter now, right?”
“Yeah. Right. I do.” Munkustrap brightened just a bit.
Alonzo grinned. “Hey, Munku, think fast.” He tossed the basketball at his friend.
“Hey!” Munkustrap held up his book in front of his face. The ball bounced off of it and rolled off down the hallway.
That was when Jemima came around the corner. The ball rolled right in front of her, tripping her. She hit the floor paws first, her books skidding halfway down the hall.
“Sh*t,” Alonzo muttered, racing over to her. He held out his paw to the shaken freshman. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Jemima took his paw and stood up, then suddenly looked up at him. Her face turned bright red, and she bit her lip, a shy smile curving across her pretty face.
Munkustrap came jogging over. “Gee, sorry about that,” he said, smiling at her. “Didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“It… it’s all right.” Jemima looked totally embarrassed to have the two hottest senior toms fussing over her less-then-graceful performance.
Alonzo smiled and leaned down to pick up the books by his feet. “Are you sure, Miss…?”
“Uh, Jemima. My name’s Jemima.” She took the books and held them close. “And you were… Alonzo, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me. And this is Munkustrap.”
“Hey.”
“Hi,” Jemima said softly, blushing and glancing down at her feet.
Alonzo handed her the rest of her books and smiled at her. “Thanks.” Jemima smiled again and hugged her books tightly, wondering if they were as nice as they seemed or if they were players. She sure hoped they weren’t. “I, uh… I got to go now.”
“Right now? School doesn’t start for almost ten minutes.” Alonzo’s dark eyes pleaded with her to stay.
Jemima blushed. He wanted her to stay? She glanced at her watch. 8 minutes til school. “Well, I guess I can stay for a bit.”
Alonzo smiled. “Great.” He scooped up the basketball that was lazily rolling along the floor.
Jemima gripped her books so tight she thought she might cut off her circulation. “So, uh…”
“Still gonna join theatre club?” Alonzo asked, smiling softly at her.
“Yeah. I am,” Jemima said, smiling back at him. She felt so short compared to his head, shoulders, and upper chest advantage over her.
“Cool. You’ll like it.”
“Is… is your girlfriend gonna be in it too?” Jemima asked, wanting to know if the brown queen she had seen was going to be there flirting with him the whole time.
“Girlfriend? What girlfriend?” Alonzo asked, his eyes confused as he leaned one arm against the locker.
“The… uh… The brown queen you were talking to yesterday at lunch,” Jemima said softly, ashamed to ask such a question of the mighty senior.
“Brown… oh! Cassandra! She’s not my girlfriend,” Alonzo said, smiling in amusement. “I was just getting her away from Munkustrap for a while so he could ask Demeter out.”
“So… you… uh… don’t have… a girlfriend?” Jemima asked softly.
“Not at the moment,” Alonzo said, winking at her.
Jemima turned absolutely red beneath her white face fur. With a shaky throat-clearing, she swallowed and whispered, “Well, I uh… I got to get to class now.”
He knew he had made her uncomfortable. “Okay. Bye Jemima. Maybe I’ll catch up with you sometime?”
“Sure,” Jemima said softly, smiling a bit. “Bye.” She smiled at him, then at Munkustrap, then turned and raced around the corner, leaning against the wall, putting her paw on her hot cheek. No tom had ever made her blush this much. She took a deep breath just as the 5 minute warning bell rang. With a sigh of relief she dove into her classroom.
Victoria had just about had it. He had followed her across the schoolyard, up to her locker, then into their math class without even stopping at his own locker to take off his jacket and get his books. He just sat and stared at her.
“Hi Jemima,” Victoria greeted her friend, sitting down in her seat with an angry growl of frustration.
“Hi Vicki,” Jemima said, rubbing her red cheeks. “What’s wrong?”
Victoria jerked her head in Mistoffelees’ general direction. “Lover geek over there. He has been following me all morning since I hit the grounds.”
Misto instantly turned away and headed for his locker. Victoria smirked as he left. “Good riddance.”
“Victoria!” Jemima exclaimed. “Be nice to him!”
“Why?” Victoria asked, rolling her pale green eyes. “He’s driving me nuts.”
“Maybe he’ll stop.”
“When Pollicles stop barking,” Victoria moaned.
Jemima sighed. “You’re dead.”
Rumpleteazer slammed her locker shut as Mungojerrie leaned against the locker next to it. “You gonna be able to finish your stuff on time, Jer?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care anymore,” Jerrie said, rubbing his temples with a paw. “I’ve given up all hope of passing through here without getting held back.”
“Mungojerrie, you listen to me!” Teazer commanded, putting her paw on his shoulder firmly. Jerrie winced. Teazer let go slightly, her eyes firm but apologetic for her sudden motion on his hurt skin. “You listen. I will not let you fail this year, understand? I won’t. You can’t. You know what’ll happen if you do.” Jerrie nodded slowly, his eyes scared. Teazer squeezed his paw gently, knowing she may have gone too far, but knowing he needed to hear the truth.
Jerrie smiled and held her close, despite the books pressing against his stomach. “I hope not. I don’t wanna get held back.”
Teazer laid her ear on his chest and listened to his slightly faster heartbeat. “I won’t let you. Come on. We’ll be late for class.”
“Just a minute.” Jerrie grabbed a can of spray paint from his backpack. “I got something I got to finish before I go to class.”
Teazer nodded slowly. “Want some help?”
Jerrie smiled and held out his paw to her. “Partners in crime?”
“Now and forever,” Teazer promised, taking his paw in hers, locking her thumb around his in the strongest grip that could not be broken. Together they headed off for the brick wall behind the parking lot.
“How could you, Macavity?” Bom demanded, yanking her skirt on angrily.
“What do you mean me?” Macavity demanded, yanking on his sweatshirt. “You coulda said something!”
“It was your alarm clock!” Bom hissed, snatching up her shirt and yanking it over her head.
Macavity glared as he grabbed his keys off the dresser top. “Well, you were the one who didn’t stop me when-.”
Bom growled at him, silencing him. “Come on. We can fight on the way to school. Let’s go.”
Macavity followed Bom out the door to his car, slamming the door and turning the car on sharply. Bom stayed silent, afraid he was mad at her, but after a few moments of tense silence, Macavity turned to her with a soft smile. “Are you okay, Bomby?”
Talk about a mood swing. One second he was ready to hit her, the next he sounded as caring as any boyfriend. Bom nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m all right, Macavity.”
Macavity smiled and slid his arm around her shoulder as he stopped at a red light. “We gonna go out tonight?”
“Go out? Don’t you mean go to your house?” Bom teased, giving his arm a light punch.
Macavity grinned. “I’ll actually take you out tonight if you like,” he offered, driving on.
Bom smiled and snuggled into his arm. “Okay.”
Etcetera closed her locker with a bang. Tugger was standing right by it, grinning broadly. Etcetera gasped and clutched her books to her chest. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry,” Tugger purred suavely, giving her a playful grin.
Etcetera smiled a bit, her eyes growing soft as she gazed at the handsome tom. “Uh… did you… did you want something?”
Tugger sidled closer to her so she could feel his warm body against hers. “Yeah. You.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wanted to say hi to you.”
“Oh! Oh. Hi.” Etcetera swallowed, knowing she sounded totally ditzy.
Tugger smiled. “Hi.”
Etcetera had to stop herself from saying hi again. “Uh, I… uh… um…”
Tugger slid his arm around her shoulder. “So, you busy tonight?”
Etcetera held back a purr. “Um, yeah, I am, actually. My family’s going out for dinner tonight.”
“Oh,” Tugger said softly. “Well, can I give you a call sometime?”
Etcetera smiled softly. “I… I don’t think I’d mind,” she said lightly, fluttering her eyelashes just a bit.
Tugger smiled and pressed his chest against hers. “Good.”
“Etcy?” came a voice nearby. Both turned to see Electra standing nearby, her backpack looped over her shoulder.
Etcetera felt Tugger move away slightly, and she instantly missed his warmth. “H… Hi, Lec,” she said softly.
“Hi.” Electra eyed Tugger suspiciously. “What’s he doing here?”
“Hey sweetheart,” Tugger said, smiling smartly. “Missed you too.”
Electra gazed solidly back at him. “Don’t call me that.”
“Okay, Sugar.” Tugger winked at her and walked away, swishing his tail.
Electra watched him go, then turned to Etcetera. “What was he doing here?”
Etcetera swallowed. “Nothing. Just talking.”
Electra looked skeptical. “Etcy, stay away from him. He’s dangerous.”
Etcetera pulled her books closer to her. “You sound like my mom.”
Electra glared just a bit. “Good. He’s bad, Etcy. Face it. He’s dangerous. He’ll bed you.”
Etcetera swallowed and nodded. “I… I know.”
Electra watched her with raised eyebrows. “Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I understand you, Lec. I’ll leave it alone,” Etcetera said, smiling at her friend.
Electra smiled brightly. “Good.” She turned to her locker and fiddled with the combination lock. Etcetera watched her, feeling her heart thump in her chest as she remembered Tugger’s warmth on her chest as he stood by her side. Slowly the throb in her chest grew faster, and she knew one day she’d have to give in to it.
Bom and Mac raced into school one minute before the final bell. Bom yanked her locker open, grabbed her science book, and slammed it shut. “Bye Maccy baby,” she purred, giving him a light kiss on the nose. Macavity smiled at her as she turned and raced into a classroom. With a self-satisfied smile, he headed for his locker.
The school bell rang. It was the second day of school.
Chapter 4! Chapter 4!
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