New Hope

Love is the only medicine for a broken heart

-Unknown

Chapter I: Domestic Disturbance

"Josh, walk the dog please!"

Looking up from the family computer screen, I glanced outside. It was nearly pitch black out.

"Mom, you can barely see anything outside! Can't I just let him out?" I yelled back.

"All right, but stay out with him because he's getting so old, he might run away!" She yelled back.

"O.K., I'll be right up!"

Turning back to the screen, I maximized the AOL IM conversation I had with my best friend.

Brb, I typed, I gotta watch the dog outside for a sec.

This late at night? came back.

Yeah I know.... Be back in a few.

OK.

It was a Wednesday in the middle of October, and it was colder than usual. I threw on my boots and a hooded shirt over my tank top, and made my way to the front of the house. My mom was picking up her purse and her car keys from the front couch as I came into the room.

"Hey Josh, I'm going to take your brother to a friends house to sleep over. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Kay," I said.

Then they were gone. Faintly the car started, and seconds later, I saw the car pull out of the driveway and drive away.

Shadow, are family dog, was waiting for me at the door, tail wagging, and ears upright. He was all black, from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail.

"Come on boy! Let's go outside!" I said energetically to him.

The moment I opened the door, Shadow ran out and into the yard. It was early October and it was already starting to get cold. I had to zip my hooded shirt all the way up to stay warm.

"Shadow, stay in the yard!" I yelled after him.

He didn't go far. Our yard was barely big enough for a grown dog to fully run around in. He wandered over to the far left edge of the yard to do his business. Our house was to the right of the back lot of an ad agency which my brother worked for. Across the street was a business office, which had their parking lot right in front of our front yard, and you could see the local pizza parlor that was set back from the main road, next to it.

Toward the back of the parking lot, two cars were parked side by side with their headlights off. Damn it. Even with the dim lights of the lot, I could clearly see the four guys outside their cars, exchanging items with each other.

Fuck! Why can't the cops keep this neighborhood clean of shit like this? I thought, pulling out my cell phone from my pocket. I dialed the number for our police station, and waited for the call to connect.

"Rock Hill police station, please state your problem?" Said an older female voice.

"Yeah, this is Josh McCormen. I'm calling' from outside my house. It looks like a couple of guys are dealing' drugs across the street."

"All right sir, can you give me your address?"

I told her.

"OK sir, I've dispatched a squad, and they'll be there any minute."

"Thank you," I said.

I was about to ask if I should stay on the line, but a sharp yip caught my attention. I glance around my yard quickly. No Shadow. Damn it...

"Don't do this to me this late at night boy..." I murmured to myself.

There was a down cline where the ad agency's lot met the side yard. It was a three foot slant upward to the lot, and about three feet of grass between the house and the asphalt. A small metal linked fence was the only boarder for our back yard when the house ended on the side. And there was about a two foot walkway between our house and the fence.

The lot's light was on the frits. It never stayed on for a long period of time. Of course, it was off. So looking back down the lot, it was pitch black.

"Shadow?" I called.

No answer.

Taking a few steps further, I called again.

Again, no answer.

"God damn it..." I murmured, "SHADOOOOOWWW!!!!!!!"

A deep growl filled the night, slowly building itself up. And for some reason, the light hanging over the delivery dock decided to flicker on.

I wished it hadn't.

What was left of Shadow's bloody corpse lay on top of the dock, dismembered and disfigured. A huge form crouched over it, holding what looked like intestines, from its mouth. It shouldn't have been called a mouth, yet a muzzle soaked in blood. Its body was that of a huge human like form, yet covered in fur. It was like looking at the remake version of all Hollywood werewolves put together, except that this one didn't look like a wolf. Instead, it looked like a cat, from its shorter muzzle, to its sleek tail. And its amber eyes, focused on me.

Oh shit.....

The creature growled deep in its throat, a sound that went beyond human, and animal.

Run you dumb fuck! - My conscious told me, but for some reason my body wasn't listening. My feet were nailed to the ground, and I wasn't going anywhere soon. The werecat jumped off the dock and landed only ten feet in front of me.

OK, so are you gonna get the fuck out of here now?!?! - My conscious screamed at me.

I almost tripped over my own feet to turn around, trying to run away. I made a dash to my front yard, but completely forgot about the downward drop, and landed face first into the ground. I could feel something warm rolling down my forehead, but that wasn't the biggest problem on my mind, as I got up to run again. The thunder storm earlier that day didn't help my escape either, making our yard a slip and slide arena. I somehow stumbled into the middle of the yard, dazed and confused, and almost blinded by the amount of blood that was running into my eyes. While I tried to wipe my face clean, loud scratching and scrapping caught my attention. The werecat didn't bother to run after me, but decided to watch my movements from the roof of our house. Now it was crouched down on all fours, ready to leap at any moment. Without thinking, I wobbled backwards towards the street and tripped on the curb, falling flat on my back. Propping myself up on my elbows, I glanced back at the roof. The thing was gone! Frantically, I glance around to see if it was around, but didn't see it anywhere. Rolling around on my hands and knees, I started to stand back up, but the deep growl of something inhuman made me stop. It was standing in the middle of the street, staring right at me.

This time, it didn't wait to lunge. The force hit me full in the chest, and I was thrown back into my yard with the creature attached. It stood right over me, pinning my body to the cold ground. Its hind right leg with claws extended, slammed hard into my thigh, tearing into flesh and muscle. I screamed in agony at the pain that seared through my leg, as it surged up and down my body. I didn't even realize that I still had my cell phone in my hand, until I heard the female cop loudly yell for me.

"HELP!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Then the real pain came.

The werecat suddenly lashed out at my right shoulder, taking it in its jaws and wrenching it upwards. The pain was excruciating, and I was now almost to the point of passing out. Blood started to run down my neck, onto and beneath my spiked collar. Then, all of a sudden, the creature let go of my shoulder. It settled over me, looking at me right in the face. If its face were human, it would have looked shocked and sorry. It quickly got up and started to back away, ears flat against its scull, almost ashamed of what it had done to me, and ran off down the street. I tried to watch where it ran off to, but twisting my body reminded me of huge teeth gashes in my shoulder. The last thing I remember before passing out was faintly hearing the police operator shouting for me.

"Sir? Sir?! Are you still there?!" -Click- "Car 6, please be advised, high possibility of a civilian injured at the scene. Use caution, attacker may still be in the area..."

Chapter II: Recovery

I slowly woke up to the sound of arguing next to me. The conversation gradually made sense to me as I fully woke.

"What do you mean his leg is almost fully recovered?!" Said a male voice.

"Exactly what I'm saying! Look for yourself!" Came a female voice.

A slight sting in my leg told me the man was lifting the bandages wrapped around it. "God, you're right!" He said, slowly re-wrapping my leg back up.

"How's that possible," I slurred.

"Oh, you're up! But how....?" Wondered the nurse.

"Nurse, do you mind if I talk to my patient?" Said the doctor.

"Yes, sir," she said, then left us alone in the room.

"Hi Josh, I'm Dr. Crane. How do you feel?" He asked.

Dr. Crane looked very young to be a doctor. He had bleached hair just like a college student's, and looked very much like one in other respects.

"My leg is a bit sore, and my shoulder is killing me," I said, wincing.

"I would guess so. When the paramedics found you, your leg was torn open, as well as your shoulder. What happened to you last night?"

I let out a short laugh, "Even I really don't know what happened."

"Well, take it slow."

"I was watching my dog outside, when I saw these guys across the street dealing drugs. So I call the police and report 'um, and while I'm still on the line, my dog goes missing. I went searching for him around the side of my house, and..." I stopped myself.

"What? What did you see?"

Tearing up, I stuttered out, "This huge animal had torn my dog apart... I froze when I saw it standing there. I turned to ran, tripped and smashed my head on the ground, then made it to the front of the lawn. And this thing had jumped onto my roof, and was ready to leap right onto me. I stumbled back into the street, and when I looked back, the thing had vanished. When I started to get up, this thing was right behind me, it jumps right into me, and it threw me back into my yard. It gashed my leg, bit my shoulder, then all of a sudden stopped, and ran away."

After a moment of silence, the doctor spoke up, "Well that is quite and explanation..." He started.

"And you don't believe a word of it, do you?

"I didn't say that. It's just very hard to swallow that's all."

"I bet you think I was high off my ass, right?"

"No, I don't. One because we did drug tests and didn't find any illegal substances. And two, those wounds you have are some type of animal bites. Maybe the lighting played tricks on you, and this animal seemed bigger than it actually was."

"I'm telling' you, it was bigger than a normal animal, I know that for sure. And it didn't act like a normal animal."

"What do you mean?"

"After it bit my shoulder, it was like it snapped out of some kind of faze or something. Like it didn't realize what it was doing. And when it looked at me, it was almost as if it I could tell that it was sorry for attacking me."

"That's very interesting..." Said Dr. Crane, rubbing his chin, "Well, I'll tell you what. I'll do some more research on your wounds, and see if I can come up with anything unusual, alright?"

"Sure thing," I said, "Hey, are my parents here?"

"Yes, they're in the waiting room. So far they're the only ones who know what your condition is," he explained, "Now, I'm gonna have the nurse give you a sedative so you can rest more, alright?" He said, making his way to the door.

"Thanks. I do feel real tiered."

"I should hope so. Well, I'll be in touch!" He said, waving. Then he left.

The woman from before came back in, holding a plastic cup.

"Here you go," she said, handing me the cup, "Take these, and you should be asleep again in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks."

I downed the pills with some water and started to get comfortable again in my bed. Outside, Dr. Crane was talking to my parents, who looked worried as ever. I wouldn't blame them. After a brief conversation, he led them down the hall and out of my line of site. I started to feel real drowsy, and almost nodded off. Glancing back towards the door, I noticed a girl in her high teens standing in the doorway. She was medium height, long black hair, and wearing a complete set of black clothes. The long sleeve shirt slightly covered her spiked bracelets, and her hair draped over the spiked collar she wore. The blue of her eyes was the only color on her, and I could have sworn right before I fell asleep they changed to amber.

Chapter III: Visitor

What woke me up from my drug induced sleep, was myself, or rather this feeling I got. It was like someone that was connected to me in some way was close. But it didn't feel like it was someone who was related to me. Like a part of myself left, and now was trying to come back. My eyes fluttered open, and my vision slowly cleared. The same girl I saw standing in my doorway before falling asleep, was sitting next to me in my bed.

"Who...?" I stuttered, "Who are you?"

"Oh, just a fellow classmate from school who cares," she answered.

OK, why is this girl visiting me in the hospital, when she doesn't even know me? Is she really that desperate?

"How'd you know I was here?" I asked suspiciously.

"I know how you rarely miss school, and when you hadn't shown up I just called your house, and your brother told me you were here."

"But, why did you come? I don't even know you."

"I'm in a bunch of your classes. I'm surprised you haven't noticed me before!" She said, slightly offended.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that I keep to myself a lot."

"It's all right," she said, getting up, "I came because I think you're cute. And what better way to tell someone when they're alone and slightly sedated."

"Yeah, you're right there."

"So what do you think? Want to go out sometime?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"I guess I'll have to wait a little for you to get better then."

"Well, it might be sooner than you think. My leg's almost fine already," I said, unwrapping my bandage, "See."

"Wow! Wasn't that a pretty deep cut?"

"Yeah, it was. How did you know that?"

"The doctor told me when I got here,"

"Oh..."

I thought Dr. Crane said only my parents knew my condition...

"So I guess I'll see ya in a couple of days then?"

"Yeah, give me a call."

"Well," she said, going for the door, "See you then."

"Wait! I don't even know your-" I tried to say, but she was already gone, "Name."

I have to say, that was one weird way for someone to ask me out...

It was Friday when I was released from the hospital and I went back to school. I finally found out the mystery girls name, Kat, and it turns out that she is in a lot of my classes. Almost all of them. Our first date's tonight, Saturday at nine, and I was at home at eight thirty trying to find something to wear. Jeeze, you'd think I was a woman with all the outfits I tried on. I finally went with my favorite one. All black, spiked collar and bracelet, silver ring necklace, and spiked my blue hair. At about quarter till I left to go pick up Kat at her house. Luckily she lived close to one of my best friends, so it was easy to find.

I was half way up the walkway when Kat came outside. She was wearing a short, black skirt with fishnet stockings, a black tank top, and a loose, long sleeve buttoned, black shirt. Her hands were covered in rings of all kinds, from gem filled to just plain silver ones. She still wore her spiked collar and bracelet, and now wore some lightly tinted blue glasses.

"Wow! You look fantastic!" I said in amazement.

"Thanks. You too, Josh."

"Shall we?" I said, opening her door.

"Well, chivalry isn't dead yet I see."

"You're lucky. I could be the last of my kind."

She rolled her eyes at the corny joke. Great. First fuck up of the night...

After getting into the drivers seat, I asked, "So, where do you wanna go?"

"Let's just go to the park down the street and walk n' talk a bit."

"Alrighty then. Let's go."

As the engine turned over, the radio switched on to the classic rock station I'd been listening to. Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" just ended and Ozzy Osborne's "Bark At the Moon" switched over. OK, a little too weird for me. I started to switch it over, but Kat stopped me.

"No, wait! I really like this song. It gives me a rush."

What ever tickles you fancy.

The part was basically empty except for a few couples, but they soon went their own ways, and in a short time it was just me and Kat. We'd walked around the entire park almost twice, just talking to each other about ourselves. Once we were done walking the third lap, we headed back to my car. By then it was almost eleven and it felt like the date was going to go on even longer.

"You know," I said, "In the past two hours, I've gotten to know you better than anyone other person I've had a relationship with."

"That's good to know. At least I wasn't boring you to death all this time.

"Hell no! I've been on the edge of my seat the entire time."

This time she at least giggled slightly at the joke.

"You know, there is one more important thing you should know about me."

"What's that?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. So I'll show you. Take my hand."

I took her hand softly in mine, and she closed her eyes. She clenched her eyes shut, as if she was concentrating deeply. Then all of a sudden, she stopped and opened her eyes again.

What the...?

Kat was still wearing her tinted glasses, and her blue eyes now looked green. She slid the glasses off and smiled.

"Surprised?"

"What...?" was the only thing I could spit out.

"Don't worry. This is only the beginning."

A light illuminated around Kat, filling the car with bright light. In a second, Kat was gone, and the enormous creature that had attacked me now sat in Kat's seat.

I had no time to react at all before the creature was on me. This time, it didn't stop at my shoulder. It took my heck in its jaws like I was a rag doll and I felt blood run down my chest, soaking my shirt. With my last breath I tried to scream, but all that came up was blood.

Chapter IV: Awakening

What woke me from the nightmare was me hitting the hard ground with a loud thud. I had wrapped my covers around me like a cocoon, and I was sweating like a pig. Holy fuck that was so real! I wiped the sweat off my forehead and ran my hand through my hair. What time was it? My stereo clock read 8:30pm. Fuck, I'm gonna be late! My date with Kat was at nine tonight, and I had to make a good impression.

After looking through my entire wardrobe, the only thing that I found that looked half decent was my all black selection, spiked collar and bracelet, and silver ring necklace. Oh great, this is real familiar... My hair didn't look good anyway else besides spiked, so I naturally went with that. After finally finishing up, I left my house at quarter till and drove off towards Kat's house. She lived right down the street from my best friend, Sean, so it was a breeze to find her house.

I was half way up the walkway when Kat came outside. This is just fucking unbelievable! She was wearing the same outfit as she did in my nightmare. A short, black skirt with fishnet stockings, a black tank top, a loose, long sleeve buttoned, black shirt, and her hands were covered in rings. She still even wore her spiked collar and bracelet, and the tinted blue glasses.

"Wow...! You... look fantastic!" I said, slowly getting out the words.

"Thanks. There something wrong?" she asked.

"No, no, nothing's wrong. Shall we?" I said, opening her door.

"Well, chivalry isn't dead yet I see."

"Uh huh."

At least I didn't have the first fuck up of the night early this time...

After sliding into the driver's seat, I asked, "So, where do you wanna go?"

"Let's just go to the park down the street and walk n' talk a bit."

"Alrighty then. Let's go."

So you can turn into a monster and tear me limb from limb.

As the engine turned over, the radio switched on to the classic rock station that had been on. Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" just ended and Ozzy Osborne's "Bark At the Moon" switched over. OK, now this is doubly weird. I started to switch it over, but Kat stopped me.

"No, wait! I really like this song. It-" she started

"Gives you a rush," I finished for her.

"Yeah. How'd you know I liked it?"

"Oh, just a guess."

The park was basically empty except for a few couples, but they soon went their own ways, and in a short time it was just me and Kat.

And where do we remember this from?

We'd walked around the entire park almost twice, just talking to each other about ourselves. Once we were done walking the third lap, we headed back to my car. By then it was almost eleven and it felt like the date was going to go on even longer.

"Do you believe in fate?" asked Kat.

"Not really. I just don't like how I'm not in charge of my own destiny and all..."

There was the appropriate odd silence, and then I spoke up again.

"You know," I said, "In the past two hours, I've gotten to know you better than anyone other person I've had a relationship with."

"That's good to know. At least I wasn't boring you to death all this time.

"Hell no! I've been on the edge of my seat the entire time."

This time she at least giggled slightly at the joke.

"You know, there is one more important thing you should know about me."

This can't be happening...

"What's that?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. So I'll show you. Take my hand."

I took her hand softly in mine, and she closed her eyes. She clenched her eyes shut, as if she was concentrating deeply. Then all of a sudden, she stopped and opened her eyes again.

Oh shit, not again!

Kat was still wearing her tinted glasses, and her blue eyes now looked green. She slid the glasses off and smiled.

"Like them?"

Hold up. This is different...

"Y-yeah, they're nice."

"And that's not all. But why don't we step outside and I'll show you the rest?"

"Um, OK."

We both stepped out of the car and Kat led me to an open area near the car.

"Now, I don't want you to freak out, OK?" asked Kat.

"OK, sure."

"I'd cover your eyes if I were you."

"Its pitch black out. Why would I need to-?" I started, and then remembered my dream.

In a flash of bright light, Kat was gone, and a cat like person stood where she was.

"So, how do I look?"

I couldn't answer at first, because of the initial shock. Then I couldn't at all, because I fainted.

Why does it always feel like I fall asleep or unconscious every two seconds?

I stood in the middle of some pitch black room, for the exception of a single light shining from above. I couldn't tell you where I was for the life of me.

Maybe because you're a fucking idiot!

Out of the shadows walked in a creature just like Kat had looked like just before I passed out. But this one was different. It was a he! He was wearing all black from head to toe. He even had a spiked collar and bracelet to match. I noticed a glint of something metallic on his chest from the light above. My ring necklace!

Who the hell are you? Why do you have my necklace?

Don't recognize yourself? I wouldn't act so surprised Josh. Who else would I be?

Maybe a fucked up dream I'm having from being knocked around so much in the past few days.

Nope, I'm no dream, Josh. I'm you. You're me. We're the same person.

No, it can't be possible...

Think about it Josh - He started walking closer - You're almost always by yourself, and even when you're around other people, you still keep to yourself. That's how you are. How we are. We're loners until we find someone.

Just then, Kat appeared from out of the shadows, and walked up to my other self. She still looked the same before I passed out, all black and all cat.

And now you have, Josh.

Kat then walked over to me and reached out a hand.

It's what you are Josh. Accept it... and me.

Nervously I took her hand in mine and grasped it softly. Her hand was velvety soft against mine, sending a chill down and up and down my spine. She firmed her grip on my hand slightly and slowly pulled me closer to her. Soon, we were practically nose to nose, and looking into each others eyes. It felt like we were gazing into each others souls the way we were staring at each other.

You can feel it, can't you? Not lust. Not need. But completion. Like you belong to each other. You do, Josh.

After myself said that, I broke down. A deep sadness washed over me, of loneliness and depression, so powerful I started to cry. Tears welling up, I rested my head onto her furred shoulder.

I hate being alone... - I whimpered.

You're not anymore. - Said Kat

Do you believe in fate, Josh? - My other self asked.

I'm getting there. - I answered.

Well, here's one piece of advice - He said, backing away into the shadows - Fate knows no mercy to those who stand against it.

The light above suddenly went out, and everything was thrown into complete darkness.

Chapter V: Tender Loving Care

Soft, scratchy licking on my forehead woke my from my dream. It felt like my cat Cyprus was sitting on my arm and licking my head. My eyelids fluttered open, and my vision cleared. Well, it wasn't Cyprus on my arm, unless he grew ten times bigger in the past hours. Kat was kneeling next to me and her hand was resting on my arm. She was still in her cat form, which was why I'm guessing felt like soft sandpaper on my forehead. She stopped her administrations on my head and looked at me square in the face.

"So, what do you know about fate?" she asked.

"Fate? It has no mercy for those who stand against it," I said, surprised she knew what was said in my dream, "How did you-?"

"Just a guess."

"Well, can you tell me what's going to happen next?"

"I'm hoping... that you'll kiss me."

"Nice guess..."

Grabbing the back of her head with my left hand, and taking her hand in my right, I gently yanked her down to my face and passionately kissed her on the lips. Her lips slightly parted and my tongue slipped in. Are tongues entwined for a second, then mine went forward to exploring her mouth. I could feel the razor sharp teeth along the sides of her mouth. Kat forced me out when she sat up.

"Hey, what was with the licking?" I asked.

"You cut yourself when you fainted. Licking is the best way to clean it," she said, smiling, then pausing for a little, "Why don't you change?"

"I have no idea how to."

"Wait a sec. I've done something like that before, and nothings happened."

"That's because you needed a little encouragement," she said, touching my scarred shoulder.

"That was you that night? But you look so different then!"

"That's because I got lost control of my emotions that night, and they took over."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say that there was some trouble at home and leave it at that."

"Uh, OK. But that doesn't make up for the fact of what you did to my dog."

"Oh God! What did I do to him?"

"He's sort of dead and dismembered."

"God, I'm so sorry! I should have never let this happen. That's why I mean to keep my feelings in check. We can become real monsters if we want to."

"How's that?"

"We can change without knowing it with queues from our feelings. Like what happened that night. I was so angry and full of hate, I shifted without knowing. But this time, I kept changing. I got bigger, and more feral, and soon I didn't have and rational thought. Luckily I was outside or I would have torn a hole through my wall. Somehow I ended up across town and to your house without killing anything, but then I got to your dog I guess. And you know the rest."

"But when you attacked me you stopped all of a sudden."

"That's when I realized when you were different form other people. I could taste it." She said, licking her lips.

"Taste it?"

"In your blood. It was powerful, unlike anything I had experienced before. So I put two and two together."

"So, does anyone know about - this?"

"Nope, just you and me so far. But that could change."

"How's that?"

"At school, I got this feeling when I was around you, that you were like me, but I wasn't quite sure. Now since there are two of us, if we both get the same feeling, we both can't be wrong, right?"

"I guess not..."

"So, how 'bout changing now, huh?"

"OK, I'll give it try."

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on how I looked liked in my dream. The fur, the muzzle, the tail, all of it. Suddenly, my body started to heat up, and my body started to glow. Just like Kat, a brilliant light followed and my old body was replaced with my other self form my dream. I could feel energy rushing through me like it was a busy highway.

"Man, I feel so alive!"

"Isn't it the best high you've ever had?"

"Hell yeah!"

Examining myself, my fingers still looked finger like but thicker to allow the retractable claws to hide. My entire body was about twice as muscular as I had ever dreamed. My new tail tightly urged to be free of my pants, so I ripped a hole to let it out.

"Why wouldn't I? I look like Schwarzenegger compared to my old self!"

"Yeah, and I look so much better in these fishnets now than I use to."

I had noticed then that I had never let go of Kat's hand ever since we kissed, and I really didn't want to let go.

"You know, I feel like I never want to let you go."

"I feel the same way," she said, nuzzling against the curve of my neck, below my head, "I wish we could be together all the time, but with school and all..."

"Which ends in less than a month?"

"And you probably work..."

"Mom has enough money from the divorce."

"And your families probably home a lot..."

"Hell no, they're never home."

"Well this is turning out for the best."

"I'd say so."

After a brief break in the conversation, Kat broke the silence.

"Hey, do you just wanna hold hands all night or some other stuff?"

"Yeah, let's."

This time, it was Kat who yanked my head to hers and planted a passionate kiss. It was ten times as electric as before, I could barely keep contact with her lips. I was so enchanted by our kissing; I didn't even notice Kat had reached her hand up underneath my shirt on the side of my chest, until she started rubbing up and down. The friction soon had my purring with delight, which added to the level of how turned on I was to all of this. While we still were kissing, I quickly reciprocated to Kat, but had no shirt to reach up under since it was so short. She started purring just like I had in response to my administrations, like I had to hers.

"I get the feeling you like that," I said.

"It's great! And it sounds like you don't mind it at all, either."

"You're right there," I said, moving my hands up to her shoulders, slipping her unbuttoned shirt off.

"Tryin' to make your move, are we?" Asked Kat, playfully.

"Trust me; I've made my move about twelve times tonight. You just didn't notice."

"You're right, I didn't notice!"

"Hey!" I said, trying to act hurt, "Come here you!"

I lunged at her, knocking the both of us to the ground. We started playfully rolling around on the ground, and then somehow Kat ended up pinning me. She started nipping me all over. The face, the cheeks, the neck. While she was preoccupied with me, my hands found their way to Kat's back, and I continued my rubbing from before. I noticed my hands didn't bump along anything on her upper back as I stroked up and down.

"Expecting to get lucky were we?" I asked.

"Always be prepared," she answered, going straight back to her nipping and kissing.

My hands slowly made their way to the small of Kat's back, and that got her murring right away. I was nervous as to go on, afraid I'd offend Kat if I was going too far to fast, and I stopped my hands at the pant line each time I rubbed down. She seemed to read my mind, "Go ahead. You're teasing me already by getting so close," She said, going back to her administrations a second time.

"Wait. Why don't we go somewhere else? This feels like one of those "Lets do it and then never talk to each other again" moments, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, lets. But where are we gonna go?"

"My place. No one's home."

"Then why are we standing here?"

Chapter VI: First Times a Charm

Fixing ourselves up and changing back to humans, we got back into my car and drove off towards my house. You know how when you're driving sometimes and all of a sudden your home before you know it and you don't know how you got there? I had no idea how I got home, but it was probably because I was still high off of all the fornicating Kat and I did in the park. Sure it was light, but it was the most I'd ever done with a girl.

I had forgotten how incredibly messy my house was since I'd been at the hospital. The only room that was halfway decent was my room, ironically, in the basement. Although the area around my bed was full of my crap, my poppa son was surprisingly clean, except for a few drawings and my CD player remote. Tossing the drawings onto my bed, I started to turn to Kat, "How 'bout we try-"

I was cut short as a transformed Kat jumped me, flinging us both onto the poppa son, with her landing on top. My back oddly lay on the remote and as I tried to twist my hand underneath myself to grab it, it switched the CD player on; playing the disk I had listened to last.

"In a hurry are we?" I asked.

"Nope. I've got all the time in the world."

I changed underneath her, "We have all the time in the world."

Kat took off her unbuttoned shirt and threw it onto my bed, now only having her short tank covering her chest.

Instead of Kat nipping my neck and other things, it was my turn to reciprocate.

However, she did continue to rub my chest like before.

I started nipping all over her like she had before, as Kat scrunched up my shirt and slowly lifted it up over my head, stopping my administrations for a second.

My hands wandered all over her body, going anywhere they could. I stopped and started massaging Kat's shoulders at her angel bones.

Kat then focused on kissing me, deep, full and long, one hand on the back of my head, holding me there. Although her hands started going south for the time being, sliding up and down my right thigh then to my left.

Then she went right for the kill. Kat's hand found its way to the zipper on my pants, and slowly started to unzip it. Kat's hand then worked its way to the silver button on my pants, and undid it, letting loose some tension that had been building up.

The deep base of chorus slightly shook everything because of the deep base and guitar solo, and it really set the mood. All this time Kat had been straddling my waist, and once she undid my pants, she slightly stood up and reached down to unlace my boots. Instead of untying them, she sliced the laces down the center, so my boots literally fell off my feet. She reached underneath my butt and tugged on the back of my pants, pulling them off my legs, leaving me in my boxers and collar. She threw them on my bed, along with my boots, and went back to straddling my legs again.

I started to undo my collar, but Kat stopped me.

"Leave it. I really like how it looks on you."

"Thanks," I answered, "How 'bout I even the odds here?"

My hands slowly worked their way up Kat's waist, to the beginning of her rib cage and stopped there.

"Go ahead. I'm not gonna stop when it's my turn."

I worked my fingers underneath her shirt and slowly peeled it upward and over her head. That's when I heard the scrape of a key in the front door.

"Shit!" I exclaimed.

Kat grabbed her shirt from my bed, and I dived for the rest of my clothes. In a flash of light, we had both changed back to our human forms, and lay together on my bed. Just then my mom came downstairs.

"Hey Josh, I… Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company," she said.

"It's alright," I said, "Mom, meet Kat."

"Hi Kat, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. McCormen."

"Well, I'm off to bed. I'll see you guys later."

"Night, mom!" I said.

"Bye Mrs. McCormen," said Kat.

The stairs creaked as my mom made her way up, leaving Kat and I alone again. Kat changed back to her cat form while still lying on top of me. The contact between her fur and my skin so was electric, I closed my eyes to absorb the feeling in. I had my arms wrapped around her waist, her hands on top of mine. It was then Kat asked what time it was.

"It's twelve twenty."

"Damn, I got to get home. My parents are gonna kill me."

"O.K. Let me get my keys."

Fifteen minutes later I was parked outside Kat's house.

"So you up to doin' somethin' tomorrow?" I asked.

"Definitely," she said, kissing me.

After that she got out of the car and walked inside her house.

Things are looking up…