“Sorry Jemmi. You took me by surprise.”
“That’s ok Pounci. Kiss me and I’ll forgive you.” She smiled wickedly at him, the tips of her teeth barely showing over her lips. With a small sigh to himself, Pounce leaned in for the kiss, drawing away much sooner than Jemima would’ve liked.
“What’s wrong, Pounce?” Jemima asked, worry present in her eyes.
“Nothing Jemmi,” he answered with a sigh. His reply sounded so rehearsed, it disturbed him. How many times had he said that same thing to her before?
“Come on Pouncival. You know you can tell me anything,” she pressed. Pounce sighed again. If he didn’t tell her something, she would never stop bothering him.
“Uh, I’m just worried about Demi and Munku. They’re fighting or something and I don’t want them to not like each other anymore,” Pouncival came up with, remembering earlier that day.
“Oh, don’t worry about them Pounci,” Jemima gently scolded. She moved behind him and began to massage his shoulders. Pouncival leaned back into her, enjoying the comfort and attention he was momentarily receiving. He figured she shortly wouldn’t be paying too much attention to him anymore. At least not in a kind way.
“If I ever did anything to hurt you, would you forgive me?” Pounce asked after a short while. Jemima looked at him curiously.
“Probably,” she said a bit hesitantly. “Why?”
“No reason. I was just wondering.” Well at least he now knew there was hopes of her not hating him if everyone found out his secret.
“Did you do something, Pouncival?” she demanded, pulling away from him.
Not intentionally, Pounce thought to himself. “No, Jemima. I was just wondering.”
“Are you planning on doing something?”
“Yes, Jemima. I have a whole conspiracy worked out, all against you,” Pounce answered sarcastically. “Look, I’m going to take a walk around the ‘yard. I’ll see you later.” As Pouncival walked away, he nervously chewed on his lip. He hadn’t done the best at pretending nothing was wrong.
Oh well. If I’m lucky, she’ll drop it. Let’s just hope I’m lucky this time. Pouncival looked around him. He hadn’t walked very far. He could still see Jemima sitting on the car, now talking to Etcetera. They both looked very excited about something or the other. Munkustrap was posted on a pile of empty boxes, partially hidden by other junkpiles. He still looked angry. And standing not too far from Pounce was Misto, his ears perked. When Pouncival saw him, he closed his eyes, preparing himself for the questions Misto was sure to ask him. Forcing his eyes open again, Pounce no longer saw Mistoffelees. Taking a few steps forward, he looked around, wondering how Misto had disappeared so fast.
“That’s weird,” Pouncival muttered to himself. “Well, it saves me from having to talk about it. Lucky me. Maybe I should just go home.” Before Pounce could take two steps, he was squashed by something much larger than him landing on his back.