Chapter 13

Inner Reflection | home

"Mrow?" Lance meowed when JC came out of the bathroom ten minutes later.

"What, Scoop?" JC asked, looking down at his pet.

"MROW!" And then Lance began rubbing up against JC's legs and purring. JC laughed and thought for a minute.

"Are you hungry, by any chance?"

"I guess that's the reason you're being so affectionate at--" JC checked the clock, "seven o'clock in the morning. God I hate animals' alarm clocks. Just like Lance's." JC paused then and glanced down at the little cat. "Lance... where in the hell could he have gone?" JC began muttering to himself as he pulled out a dish and a can of cat food. Checking the label, he found that Scoop's breakfast consisted of "shrimp and salmon." JC smiled a little.

"Damn cat eats better than I do," he muttered to himself, dumping the can in a bowl and placing it on the floor. Scoop sidled over to it and sniffed before looking up at JC as if to say "what is this stuff?"

"Smells gross," Lance complained. "What the hell is this?"

"Food, Scoop," JC responded to his new pet's mrowing. "You eat it."

"I'd like to see you eat this stuff."

"Come on, it won't bite."

"I'll bite YOU. How can you expect me to eat this junk? Where's my lox? My caviar?"

"Shut up and eat it, you stupid animal," JC finally said, throwing up his hands.

"Who're you calling stupid!"

"Just... why the heck am I arguing with a cat? He can't understand a word I say!"

"Josh, I love you, but you don't understand a thing about cats. I do so understand everything you say!"

"Sheesh," JC said to himself. "Josh, you really need more sleep if you're talking to the cat like you would talk to Lance."

"I am Lance!" Whoops. "Hang on, you don't know that. Damn!" Lance just sighed and sniffed at the food again. It actually smelled kinda... good. And he was hungry. Lowering his head after one last glance at JC to make sure he wasn't laughing too obviously, Lance quickly devoured the cat food placed in front of him. JC, meanwhile, JC hopped in the shower, amused at his pet's behavior.

"Well, JC's in the shower, so what am I going to do?" Lance asked himself, licking away a dirty spot on his fur. Pondering, Lance mentally kicked himself after a minute. "Duh, email! I've got to be really behind in my Freelance stuff." Hopping down off the bedside table, Lance headed for the computer JC had left out. Lance smiled as he saw the music program open with a few notes scattered about the virtual page. Looked like JC was having trouble with his new song. Pawing at a key, Lance inserted a few notes and listened to the playback. It sounded louder now that he was a cat, but it sounded good. Hitting another key with a paw, Lance attempted the mouse next. Because he no longer had fingers, Lance found he had trouble double-clicking.

"Damn," Lance swore. "Why can't I click the damn mouse?" The little white object sat there stubbornly, unwilling to move even an inch to the icon on the left side of the screen. "I'm going to eat you," Lance threatened, batting at the infuriating object, sending it sliding across the mousepad, and across the screen. He growled at it and flapped the screen with one paw.

"Scoop?" came the confused voice from the doorway. "What on earth are you doing?" Lance turned to see Justin standing there. "Why are you batting at the mouse?"

"I'm playing?" Lance meowed, giving Justin his best halo look. 'Idiot blond. What does he think I'm doing?'

"Should have known you'd go for the mouse," Justin grinned, reaching over to lift Lance off the desk.

"Hmph." Lance allowed Justin to put him on the floor, but instead of staying put like Justin wanted him to, Lance jumped on the bed and sat on JC's pillow, glaring over at the tall blond. 'What's He doing in JC's room?!'

"J? What're you doing in my room?" JC asked from the bathroom.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go for breakfast with me," Justin said.

"At--" JC checked the clock, "eight in the morning? Wow, you're up early."

"You are not going ANYWHERE with my man," Lance growled. "JC is mine, Justin. You hear me?"

"Well?" Justin prompted.

JC laughed. "Sure, just let me get dressed."

Lance groaned and flopped over on the bed. "Bastard. Bastard. Asshole. Hate Justin." Fifteen minutes later, JC and Justin were out the door and Lance was still on the bed, cursing Justin in every way, shape, and form he knew how.

"Bastards," Lance finally finished, pouting as only a cat could. "Josh, you are so in for it when you get back." Lance sighed and headed back for the computer. "Now, how do I get to my email?" The cream and gold cat sat staring at the laptop in utter frustration. But Lance was not one to let a minor obstacle keep him from his internet. No stupid piece of plastic and wire was going to beat him. He climbed on to the chair, standing on his hind legs, with one foreleg on the desk. Concentrating, he nudged the mouse carefully until the cursor lined up over the mail icon. Using his nose, he pressed the enter key.

{You have 127 new messages}

"Yikes!" He sat down abruptly and stared at the monitor, his tail thrashing. "Okay, just one at a time. Replies can wait til I figure this out. Sorting first." with a heaved sigh, the little cat began carefully nudging the mouse and clicking with his nose. "This is going to hurt."

Thirty minutes later, he had most of the messages sorted and the junk deleted. His nose hurt, his eyes hurt and his back was killing him. Cats weren't made to sit at a desk. Cats were made to sleep in sunny windows, cuddle on (somewhat bony) JC laps, but not sit at desks. He jumped down and sprawled out across the bed as limply as only a cat could do. Belly up, legs spread, front paws curled, chin up; he was the perfect picture of feline oblivion.

But it was a set up. He was just waiting for the next person to come by. then he would attack his unsuspecting victim. Just waiting. Just wai-yawn-ting. Just... snore... snore... gurgle....

"Arrghh!! I'm gonna kill that wretched beast of yours JC! Do you see what he did to my shoes!" Chris screeched hysterically, charging into the kitchen.

"Man, that's gross. Do you have to bring that here?" Joey asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"Ewww, that's sick, Chris." Justin chimed in.

"Chris, what do you want me to do about it?" JC asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Rub his nose in it and spank him. Then take him to the vet and get him neutered before he gives Busta and Korea some nasty disease."

"Uh, right. You spank him."

Chris stomped out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, spotting the snoozing culprit in the middle of the bed. Sniggering, he tiptoed towards the bed, intending on pouncing on the beast and then dragging it off for punishment. Chris was used to dogs. You can pounce on dogs without harm. Cats on the other hand, metamorphize into something else when attacked. Scoop went from a sleeping meatloaf to a cactus in a millisecond. the next sound the guys heard was Chris screaming for help.

They dashed in to see Chris spinning around the room, Scoop attached to his head and shoulders, all of his fur standing on end, looking like nothing more than a blond Daniel Boone cap. Joey gasped, then collapsed with laughter.

Justin just stared wide eyed and shook his head. "Man, that's rough, dude."

JC rolled his eyes and darted over to the frantically flailing Chris/Scoop. He yanked the cat off his friend and held it up by the nape of his neck. Scoop automatically curled up into a furry ball with huge mournful green eyes and went limp. "Bad cat," JC scolded.

"Meep?" Scoop said apologetically. He wasn't sorry about Chris, he was sorry that JC was annoyed with him.

"That's not nice, Scoop." JC wavered as the sad green eyes fixed on his face. His shoulder slumped and he caved, cuddling the cat to his chest.

"Not nice!?" Chris looked crosseyed. "Not nice! I'll not nice him!" he lunged for the cat now purring in JC's arms with clawed hands. Joey recovered enough to tackle him and carry him out of the room, murmuring sympathetically as Chris wailed about his shoes and his scratches.

Justin shook his head. "Jayce, you gotta do something about the cat, man. Can't let him eat Chris. And what about Dirk? Lance'll have a fit if that cat eats Dirk or his rats."

"Chinchillas, theyre chinchillas, not rats," Scoop mumbled drowsily, too snug in JC's arms to take his usual offense.

"They're chinchillas," JC echoed his cat. "And go away, Justin. I think we've traumatized Scoop enough today."

"Man, Josh, that cat has got you wrapped around a paw already."

"Isn't that what pets are for?"


	Inner Reflection \| home back to The Eyes of the Cat Chapter 13 "Mrow?" Lance meowed when JC came out of the bathroom ten minutes later. "What, Scoop?" JC asked, looking down at his pet. "MROW!" And then Lance began rubbing up against JC's legs and purring. JC laughed and thought for a minute. "Are you hungry, by any chance?" "CHIRP!" "I guess that's the reason you're being so affectionate at--" JC checked the clock, "seven o'clock in the morning. God I hate animals' alarm clocks. Just like Lance's." JC paused then and glanced down at the little cat. "Lance... where in the hell could he have gone?" JC began muttering to himself as he pulled out a dish and a can of cat food. Checking the label, he found that Scoop's breakfast consisted of "shrimp and salmon." JC smiled a little. "Damn cat eats better than I do," he muttered to himself, dumping the can in a bowl and placing it on the floor. Scoop sidled over to it and sniffed before looking up at JC as if to say "what is this stuff?" "Smells gross," Lance complained. "What the hell is this?" "Food, Scoop," JC responded to his new pet's mrowing. "You eat it." "I'd like to see you eat this stuff." "Come on, it won't bite." "I'll bite YOU. How can you expect me to eat this junk? Where's my lox? My caviar?" "Shut up and eat it, you stupid animal," JC finally said, throwing up his hands. "Who're you calling stupid!" "Just... why the heck am I arguing with a cat? He can't understand a word I say!" "Josh, I love you, but you don't understand a thing about cats. I do so understand everything you say!" "Sheesh," JC said to himself. "Josh, you really need more sleep if you're talking to the cat like you would talk to Lance." "I am Lance!" Whoops. "Hang on, you don't know that. Damn!" Lance just sighed and sniffed at the food again. It actually smelled kinda... good. And he was hungry. Lowering his head after one last glance at JC to make sure he wasn't laughing too obviously, Lance quickly devoured the cat food placed in front of him. JC, meanwhile, JC hopped in the shower, amused at his pet's behavior. * "Well, JC's in the shower, so what am I going to do?" Lance asked himself, licking away a dirty spot on his fur. Pondering, Lance mentally kicked himself after a minute. "Duh, email! I've got to be really behind in my Freelance stuff." Hopping down off the bedside table, Lance headed for the computer JC had left out. Lance smiled as he saw the music program open with a few notes scattered about the virtual page. Looked like JC was having trouble with his new song. Pawing at a key, Lance inserted a few notes and listened to the playback. It sounded louder now that he was a cat, but it sounded good. Hitting another key with a paw, Lance attempted the mouse next. Because he no longer had fingers, Lance found he had trouble double-clicking. "Damn," Lance swore. "Why can't I click the damn mouse?" The little white object sat there stubbornly, unwilling to move even an inch to the icon on the left side of the screen. "I'm going to eat you," Lance threatened, batting at the infuriating object, sending it sliding across the mousepad, and across the screen. He growled at it and flapped the screen with one paw. "Scoop?" came the confused voice from the doorway. "What on earth are you doing?" Lance turned to see Justin standing there. "Why are you batting at the mouse?" "I'm playing?" Lance meowed, giving Justin his best halo look. 'Idiot blond. What does he think I'm doing?' "Should have known you'd go for the mouse," Justin grinned, reaching over to lift Lance off the desk. "Hmph." Lance allowed Justin to put him on the floor, but instead of staying put like Justin wanted him to, Lance jumped on the bed and sat on JC's pillow, glaring over at the tall blond. 'What's He doing in JC's room?!' "J? What're you doing in my room?" JC asked from the bathroom. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go for breakfast with me," Justin said. "At--" JC checked the clock, "eight in the morning? Wow, you're up early." "You are not going ANYWHERE with my man," Lance growled. "JC is mine, Justin. You hear me?" "Well?" Justin prompted. JC laughed. "Sure, just let me get dressed." Lance groaned and flopped over on the bed. "Bastard. Bastard. Asshole. Hate Justin." Fifteen minutes later, JC and Justin were out the door and Lance was still on the bed, cursing Justin in every way, shape, and form he knew how. "Bastards," Lance finally finished, pouting as only a cat could. "Josh, you are so in for it when you get back." Lance sighed and headed back for the computer. "Now, how do I get to my email?" The cream and gold cat sat staring at the laptop in utter frustration. But Lance was not one to let a minor obstacle keep him from his internet. No stupid piece of plastic and wire was going to beat him. He climbed on to the chair, standing on his hind legs, with one foreleg on the desk. Concentrating, he nudged the mouse carefully until the cursor lined up over the mail icon. Using his nose, he pressed the enter key. [click] {You have 127 new messages} "Yikes!" He sat down abruptly and stared at the monitor, his tail thrashing. "Okay, just one at a time. Replies can wait til I figure this out. Sorting first." with a heaved sigh, the little cat began carefully nudging the mouse and clicking with his nose. "This is going to hurt." Thirty minutes later, he had most of the messages sorted and the junk deleted. His nose hurt, his eyes hurt and his back was killing him. Cats weren't made to sit at a desk. Cats were made to sleep in sunny windows, cuddle on (somewhat bony) JC laps, but not sit at desks. He jumped down and sprawled out across the bed as limply as only a cat could do. Belly up, legs spread, front paws curled, chin up; he was the perfect picture of feline oblivion. But it was a set up. He was just waiting for the next person to come by. then he would attack his unsuspecting victim. Just waiting. Just wai-yawn-ting. Just... snore... snore... gurgle.... * "Arrghh!! I'm gonna kill that wretched beast of yours JC! Do you see what he did to my shoes!" Chris screeched hysterically, charging into the kitchen. "Man, that's gross. Do you have to bring that here?" Joey asked with a disgusted look on his face. "Ewww, that's sick, Chris." Justin chimed in. "Chris, what do you want me to do about it?" JC asked with a roll of his eyes. "Rub his nose in it and spank him. Then take him to the vet and get him neutered before he gives Busta and Korea some nasty disease." "Uh, right. You spank him." Chris stomped out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, spotting the snoozing culprit in the middle of the bed. Sniggering, he tiptoed towards the bed, intending on pouncing on the beast and then dragging it off for punishment. Chris was used to dogs. You can pounce on dogs without harm. Cats on the other hand, metamorphize into something else when attacked. Scoop went from a sleeping meatloaf to a cactus in a millisecond. the next sound the guys heard was Chris screaming for help. They dashed in to see Chris spinning around the room, Scoop attached to his head and shoulders, all of his fur standing on end, looking like nothing more than a blond Daniel Boone cap. Joey gasped, then collapsed with laughter. Justin just stared wide eyed and shook his head. "Man, that's rough, dude." JC rolled his eyes and darted over to the frantically flailing Chris/Scoop. He yanked the cat off his friend and held it up by the nape of his neck. Scoop automatically curled up into a furry ball with huge mournful green eyes and went limp. "Bad cat," JC scolded. "Meep?" Scoop said apologetically. He wasn't sorry about Chris, he was sorry that JC was annoyed with him. "That's not nice, Scoop." JC wavered as the sad green eyes fixed on his face. His shoulder slumped and he caved, cuddling the cat to his chest. "Not nice!?" Chris looked crosseyed. "Not nice! I'll not nice him!" he lunged for the cat now purring in JC's arms with clawed hands. Joey recovered enough to tackle him and carry him out of the room, murmuring sympathetically as Chris wailed about his shoes and his scratches. Justin shook his head. "Jayce, you gotta do something about the cat, man. Can't let him eat Chris. And what about Dirk? Lance'll have a fit if that cat eats Dirk or his rats." "Chinchillas, theyre chinchillas, not rats," Scoop mumbled drowsily, too snug in JC's arms to take his usual offense. "They're chinchillas," JC echoed his cat. "And go away, Justin. I think we've traumatized Scoop enough today." "Man, Josh, that cat has got you wrapped around a paw already." "Isn't that what pets are for?"