In the darkness of her room, Lucy sat on her bed, deep in thought.

It was snowing lightly outside. She could easily leave the house for a moment, if just to take her mind off things. Yet, she had no intention to. Instead she continued sitting and staring at the floor, trying in vain not to think about the words Mike had said to her.

"You're a parasite."

"Nobody can love you for who you are."

"I HATE YOU!"

Lucy shuddered as she recollected the things he had said. It was one thing to be called things. It was another to know they were completely true. She wanted to scream, cry, maybe find Mike and punch his face in, but she simply had no inspiration to. So she continued sitting, hardly batting an eye as she heard the door to her room open.

"Lucy?" It was her mom. "You've been inside almost a week, shouldn't you go outside at least once?"

"I don't want to." Lucy replied blankly.

She heard her mom sigh. "Look, I know you're feeling down, but a walk might help cheer you up..."

"It won't."

To her annoyance, her mother refused to give up. "Well...I got an invitation in the mail earlier...your friend Tessa's having a Christmas party tonight..."

"I'm not going."

"Lucy please. You need to get out of the house eventually. I'm getting worried about you."

Lucy bowed her head. "If I go will you leave me alone?"

"...Yes." Her mother sighed again. "Party's at six." And with that she left the room and closed the door, leaving Lucy in solitude once again.

Meanwhile, in a different part of town, Mike was lying on his bed, phone next to him, having a far better time than Lucy.

"You sure this won't be cutting it close?" He asked nervously. "I mean I thought it was hard en-"

"Nope!" Sandy's cheery voice cut him off. "I'm already in the area. Just a quick schedule change and I'll be able to see you at your friend's party!"

Mike smiled warmly upon hearing the good news, but it quickly faded as he realized something. "...Riiiiight, but that means the original date is still off, right?"

"Yeah, sorry, that is cutting it close..." Her voice grew somber, but quickly switched back to sounding happy. "...But it's still seeing you either way!"

Feeling the call had run it's course, Mike slowly sat up and took his phone in his hands. "Well, I'll see you later tonight, have a safe trip!"

"You too! I love you Maishul!"

"Awww! Bye!"

As soon as he ended the call, Mike flopped back on his bed, heart fluttering with joy. It was nice enough hearing her voice, but the prospect of seeing her later in the day nearly sent him through the roof.

However, his spirits began to sink as he absently checked the clock near him. 1:37. Over five hours until he'd get to see Sandy. Disgruntled, he began to tuck himself under the sheets, trying to think of a way to occupy himself until then. However, as he continued thinking, a brief loss of concentration made a certain someone cross his mind.

Lucy.

Immediately, his brow furrowed in anger as he realized he might run into her at the party. She had already ruined enough of his life, he wasn't going to let her ruin his meeting with Sandy. Unfortunately, he could do nothing but hope and pray she didn't come. A prospect that seemed more and more likely as he remembered the things he said to her a few days earlier.

Satisfied for the moment, Mike returned to thinking of ways to occupy himself, gradually growing drowsy and eventually dozing off while the time of the party slowly drew near.

While Mike slept, Lucy stared out the window back at her house, watching the snowflakes fall for a few minutes before flopping back on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. She checked her clock. A little over five hours until the party. She sighed silently to herself, dreading the time she would be expected to leave for the party.


Eventually, Mike was slowly roused from his peaceful sleep. After a brief moment for his brain to catch up to him he shot up straight in fear and glanced at the clock. To his great relief there were only a few minutes left until the party.

After taking a moment to awaken a bit more, Mike began to haul himself out of his bed, only to gain a burst of energy as he remembered he'd be seeing Sandy later. Ecstatic with anticipation, Mike hurriedly used the bathroom, donned his signature blue scarf, coat, and a pair of snow boots, then flew down the stairs, stopping only to tell his parents where he'd be.

While Mike sprinted down the street toward Tess's party, Lucy had only just left her house. Slowly she set off down the street, paying little attention to anything except the ground in front of her. Her thick fur kept the cold away, but she silently wished it didn't. At least then she would have something to care about.

Still she pressed onward, driven only by the fact that angering her mother would probably be worse. Despite this, she still did not want to attend the party at all and considered simply sitting on a park bench until she felt it had been long enough.

Meanwhile Mike was nearing the end of his run, stopping to catch his breath just outside the gates of Tess's mansion. He briefly scanned the area, but saw no sign of Sandy and deduced she was either already inside, or late.

Mike sighed silently and shook his head. Either way he'd be seeing her. Mike quickly readjusted his scarf and walked up the steps to knock on the door. A few seconds passed while he waited for someone to answer the door, until Sue eventually opened it.

"Oh hey Mike! You're pretty early."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Huh, really?"

Sue nodded. "Yeah, before it was just me, Amaya, and Tess. Don't know where the others are at."

Mike shrugged and stepped through the open door. "I'm sure they won't be too long."

Once the door was firmly shut, Mike began to remove his snow boots while Sue watched idly. "So..." She decided to ask. "What's new?"

"Well..." Mike looked up at her, huge grin on his face. "...Sandy'll be coming to visit soon!"

Sue's bored expression suddenly perked up. "Huh. Today?"

"Yep!"

"...Here?"

"Yep!"

Sue whistled and smiled slyly. "Heh, congratulations!"

"I knoooow!" Mike squealed excitedly. "I haven't seen her in so long! I just know it's gonna be perfect!"

Sue silently rolled her eyes at the semi-sickening display and began to walk back into the main room. "Well good luck then!"

Mike smiled in return and began to follow her, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Immediately his heart began to pound excitedly as he rapidly opened the door, anticipating Sandy to be on the other side.

Instead, Lucy's dead eyes stared back.

Immediately his eyes shruck to pinpricks and his blood ran cold. Everything was seemingly perfect and now she was here to ruin it all? Mike felt his free hand clench into a fist as he tried to think of something to do.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing here?"

Lucy appeared to flinch slightly. "My mom made me come." She replied flatly.

Mike frantically checked behind him. Sue was gone and she didn't appear to have heard him. He stared back at Lucy's emotionless face, as anger began to overcome him.

"Well...look." He said coldly. "Sandy's coming in a few minutes. Don't you dare try anything alright? This is supposed to be perfect and I don't want you ruining it."

Quickly Lucy stared at the floor, unwilling to show her face to Mike. "Sure." She said, and walked right past him, trying not to show emotion as he stared at her scrutinizingly.

Mike felt a tiny twinge of regret as he watched her somberly walk away. It was quickly forgotten though as he looked out the door to see if Sandy had arrived yet. Paulo and Jasmine were playing in the yard, but Sandy was still nowhere to be seen. Slowly, Mike closed the door, a bit less hopeful than before.

While Mike attempted to enjoy the rest of the party, Lucy decided to isolate herself on a couch in the corner of the living room, right in front of a roaring fireplace, flames dancing wildly on a set of blackened logs.

Lucy attempted to get comfortable. The fire was warm and the cushions were comfy, but her mind was too occupied to truly relax. Sandy was visiting. The very girl that had indirectly ruined her life was going to be attending the same party she was at.

Lucy grimaced as her mind flashed with images of what could have been - everything from simple walks through the park to settling down. Maybe even having a family. Dreams that would never happen because Mike would rather have someone a hundred miles away than her.

Her eyes grew damp, but tears did not flow freely. She was too depressed to even cry. Instead Lucy attempted to focus on the warmth of the fire, while her broken mind silently cursed Sandy for the pain she had brought.

Slowly the minutes turned into hours. More people arrived and went about dancing, singing, and generally enjoying the party. All except for Lucy, who was still reflecting in front of the fire, and Mike, who grew increasingly worried that Sandy would not arrive.

However, just as Mike began to despair, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He slowly walked over, anticipating another late guest to be at the door, but as soon as he opened it his eyes shot open as he stared into the eyes of an angel.

"Hi Maishul!"

Immediately Mike's heart began to melt as Sandy rushed forward and smothered him with a huge hug. Several of his friends watched the display, including Lucy who just as quickly looked back at the fireplace.

Lucy covered her face with her hands. The sickening display of affection she just witnessed was more than enough to break her heart even further and she gritted her teeth to hold back cries of anguish.

Gradually Lucy uncovered her face, emotions controlled once more. Curious she glanced behind her, only to be met with the sight of Sandy still hugging Mike. Lucy shuddered and forced herself to stay focused on the fire before her mood deteriorated any further.

Eventually Mike and Sandy finally separated, a huge smile on both of their faces. The two continued staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, while Mike's friends waited from a distance for something more to happen.

"So..." Sandy giggled. "Sorry I'm so late...didn't think the weather would be this bad..."

Mike waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. All that matters is that you're here!"

"Heh, true." Sandy briefly looked behind him curiously. "...So I'm guessing those are your friends?"

Mike quickly looked over his shoulder. Nearly all his friends stood a few feet away, watching expectantly. "Oh!" Mike laughed nervously. "Right, well..."


Eventually another hour came and went. While few people left the party, it was apparent it was beginning to die down. While Lucy continued sitting on the same couch, blocking out the rest of the world, Mike and Sandy simply enjoyed themselves, chatting, getting reacquainted, and even dancing at one point.

For Mike, it was one of the best nights of his life. Simply being in the same room as Sandy made his heart flutter with joy and every word she spoke felt smoother than silk. The fact that she would eventually leave persisted in the back of his head, but he did everything he could to purge said thought and did his best to enjoy the short time they had together.

But for Sandy, something felt a bit off. While it was a pleasure to reconvene with Mike, she noticed he seemed strangely energetic. A few days earlier he didn't seem quite as ecstatic and Sandy slowly began to suspect something had happened.

At first Sandy was content, feeling happy for him at his sudden change of mood. But occasionally she would get a glimpse of a strangely familiar white cat sitting on a couch in the corner of the room, feeding her curiosity even further. Eventually Sandy grew too curious and decided to inquire further.

"Say Maishul..." She began to ask. "...Who's that girl in the corner? She seems familiar somehow..."

Immediately after hearing those words, Mike swallowed wrong. The punch he had been drinking seconds before got stuck in his throat, causing him to cough profusely. Sandy watched anxiously while Mike recovered from the shock of being asked about Lucy.

"You okay..?"

"Yeah..." Mike swallowed hard."W-Well...I...I've told you about Lucy...right?" Mike asked shakily.

"Yeah..." Sandy said slowly. "...She's the one that was hitting you, right?"

"Yeah. She is." The vitriol was apparent in Mike's words as he quickly recalled years of horrible memories. A few tense seconds passed until Mike shot up straight in realization. "Ah! D-don't worry, there's nothing between us, alright? I broke ties with her a few days ago...she didn't take it well, but..."

Sandy stared back at Lucy. Her ears were flat and she slumped towards the floor. "I suppose..." Sandy replied absentmindedly. She was not at all convinced that Mike was telling her everything. Mike began to nervously walk towards the kitchen, Sandy watching as he did so. She considered following him, but after looking back at Lucy again, Sandy felt talking with her was necessary.

Meanwhile Lucy was starting to have enough of the party. At first it was simply about fulfilling her mother's wishes, but now painful memories came back every time she even thought about Sandy. She had been sitting in the same spot for two hours, her mother would be satisfied enough if she didn't stay for the rest of it. However, as she moved to get up, she noticed a very certain someone walking her way.

Lucy paused and steeled herself. It would probably just be a short conversation. But as she looked at Sandy's oh-so-innocent looking face, Lucy began to feel a sense of dread.

"Hey there. You're Lucy, right?" Sandy asked innocently.

Lucy quickly looked away. "Yeah..."

"Mind if I sit next to you? You seem kind of lonely..."

Lucy shrugged indifferently. Sandy was momentarily confused, but considered it reason enough to join her. Lucy looked away to hide her face as the source of her suffering happily sat down beside her.

"So..." Sandy tried to think of a conversation starter. "...I've heard a lot about you from Mike-"

"So he's actually talked about me, huh?" Lucy cut her off, still refusing to show her face. "Was any of it actually good?"

"Yeah..." Sandy's smile vanished as she stared forward. "...At first. Now he hardly talks about you...and when he does he just...doesn't care what he says about you I guess..."

Lucy drew one of the couch pillows close to her and buried her head in it. "Figures."

Sandy quickly took note. "Eh? Something happen between you two?"

"...You could say that..." Lucy replied, voice full of sorrow.

"You uhh...wanna talk about it?"

Lucy laughed dryly. "Heh. Like you'd understand."

"Try me."

Lucy growled slightly as she stood up straight and brought the pillow close to her chest. She blinked a few times as her eyes began to grow damp, but still kept them out of Sandy's sight. "I'm not telling you."

Sandy furrowed her brow. "And why not?"

Lucy gritted her teeth as the tears in her eyes slowly began to pick up. "Not. Telling."

"Lucy...it's obvious something's wrong." Sandy tried to be sympathetic. "I don't like to see someone suffer if I can't help it."

That was the last straw. Suddenly Lucy was inches from Sandy's face, snarling while tears streamed down her face. "Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what you did to me!"

Sandy immediately recoiled. "E-excuse me..?"

Lucy sniffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes, then stared towards the floor. "...You're not the only one who loves him..." She said meekly.

Realization soon dawned on Sandy's face and she gasped as she realized exactly what Lucy was saying. "You...you mean..?"

"Yes!" Lucy sobbed. "I loved him so much...then you had to come along and ruin it. By the time I finally told him he...he..." Lucy failed to complete her sentence, instead burying her head in the pillow once more, quickly dampening it as she continued crying.

Sandy brought her arm close to her chest, unsure of how to try and comfort the girl crying next to her. "Lucy I...I'm sorry...I didn't-"

"That's not all." Lucy cut her off. "After he rejected me...He kept ignoring me for months...Somehow I managed to get over it...but then...just a few days ago I tried to be friends with him again and..." Her voice trailed off.

A few tense seconds passed. "...And what Lucy?" Sandy asked softly.

Lucy swallowed hard as she attempted to prepare herself for what she was about to say next. Every terrible thing Mike had said to her came rushing back, threatening to make her break down yet again. "...It seemed to be going well, but then...then he got a text from you...I tried to be happy for him, I really did, but then..." Lucy grit her teeth, "...he snapped..."

Lucy paused briefly, trying her hardest to continue speaking. "He said he hated me...that I was never his friend. That I was a parasite...and that he was going to take away everyone I ever loved..." As soon as Lucy finished she gave up on holding it in. The innocent pillow below her was shoved into her face once more as she began sobbing profusely.

Sandy was aghast. Hearing Lucy tell her everything was horrifyingly eye-opening, yet she found herself unable to do anything more than stare as Lucy stained the pillow and her fur coat with ounces of pent-up memories. "He...he really said all that?"

Lucy nodded painfully. "And th-then s-some...But...P-please don't m-make me tell y-you all of it..."

For a while the two cats sat and reflected. Lucy continued crying her heart out into the pillow, which was now soaked with her tears. Sandy just watched sadly, thinking hard about the implications of what Lucy had said. She didn't want to believe that the things Lucy told her were true, but she could think of no other reason why Lucy was acting as she did.

Eventually after minutes of silence, Sandy finally made a move to try and comfort Lucy. "Lucy I...I'm so sorry...I didn't think he would actually-"

"I don't want your pity." Snapped Lucy. "He's not the only one that did this to me you know..."

"...Really?" Sandy ask worriedly. "Who else?"

"I'm talking to her." Lucy replied coldly.

Sandy cowered slightly as she realized what Lucy was saying. Regret washed over her as she began to think about just how much she had affected Lucy's life. Eventually she looked back over at Lucy and made another attempt to comfort her. "I...I can understand why you'd hate me Lucy, but..." Sandy sighed and looked away again. "I never thought this would happen, alright? I never wanted any of this to happen..."

Slowly Lucy's sniffling began to die down until she finally brought herself under control again. She stared over at Sandy, noting how she seemed mournful herself. Steadily Lucy inched closer to an unsuspecting Sandy and reluctantly rested her head against Sandy's shoulder.

Sandy jumped slightly at the sudden feeling and stared down at Lucy. Lucy stared back up at her, the sadness not completely gone from her eyes. Sandy's heart ached at the sight and she wrapped her arm around Lucy's shoulders in an attempt to console her. The two felines sat and embraced each other for a while, both still deep in thought after Lucy had opened up.

Their cathartic embrace was cut short, as a gasp of horror and the sound of something splashing against the floor came from behind them. The two quickly looked over their shoulders and Sandy's face fell as she stared into Mike's terrified eyes.

Lucy immediately turned back and ducked down, trying her best to avoid the person who had brought her so much pain. Mike did not react. He was too busy trying to make sense of what he was seeing. "S-sandy? What are you..?" He somehow managed to stutter.

Sandy's expression quickly vanished, replaced with anger and disbelief. "Michael? How...how could you say those things to her?"

Mike was dumbfounded. "She...she told you..?"

"Yeah." Sandy nodded grimly. "And I want to know just what the hell you were thinking!"

Seeing Sandy angry for once brought out something different in Mike. His ears pinned themselves backward and his eyes sunk slightly. Sandy's face was full of broken trust, a sight which made Mike begin to dread what was coming.

Desperately, Mike tried to salvage the situation. "Sandy please, don't believe her! I wasn't that hard on her! Honest!"

Sandy opened her mouth to respond, but she quickly was cut off as Lucy spun back around, her face equally angry. "Not that hard?" Lucy asked. "Mike," Her face quickly molded into fear, "...do you have any idea what you did to me..?"

Mike's brow furrowed in anger and he stared at Lucy. "I didn't ask for your opinion." He growled, only to jump in surprise as Sandy's arm swung between the two of them.

"Stop, please!" Sandy cried. "Haven't you hurt her enough?"

Mike quickly recoiled, staring deep at Sandy's face. The hurt expression on her face made him stop and consider his actions seriously for a second. Only to have his train of thought interrupted as Paulo's voice called out through the silence.

"Alright, what the hell's going on here?"

Mike looked over his shoulder. Over a dozen people, including his friends were staring at him, each equally curious as to what was going on. Fear began to grow in Mike's heart as he realized everyone wanted a thorough explanation. He looked back at the couch, eyes snapping open as Sandy seemed to have disappeared.

He looked over towards the exit. Sandy was slowly putting on her coat. Eager for a reason to leave everyone else, Mike ran over, hoping dearly it wasn't too late.

"Sandy, please!" Mike begged. Sandy only looked up at him dully, making him briefly stop talking to gulp. "I...I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think she'd actually tell you..."

Sandy sighed, disappointment clear in her voice. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing too."

Mike's heart felt like it was being kicked, but he still tried one last time to salvage something."W-wait! We're still together though, r-right?"

Sandy paused again and looked back at him. "I don't know." She said flatly and opened the door to the outside, slowly stepping through while Mike watched, heart shattering with each step she took.

Slowly she disappeared down the path, not bothering to look back. Mike watched sullenly, trying hard to hold back tears. He leaned against the doorframe and covered his face with his hands, regret washing over him as he realized just how badly he had messed up.

Eventually Mike recovered slightly and he quickly remembered everyone else in the other room. Frantically he reached for his snow boots, but before he could grab them he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Mike looked over his shoulder in fear. Sue stared daggers back at him. "Just what the hell did you say to her Mike?"

Mike stared down at his snow boots. It was too late to put them on. He'd have to come back another time. Instead, he laughed nervously and took off down the steps, running as fast as he could to get away from his friends and whoever else wanted an explanation out of him.

The party disbanded quickly after. People left rapidly, until the only two people that remained were Lucy and Tess, the latter of whom was busy trying to seduce a christmas tree, too drunk to realize said task was impossible.

Eventually Lucy picked herself off the couch. She had been sitting in nearly the same position for over two hours and stumbled around briefly from the stiffness in her legs. Slowly she made her way to the entryway, still pensive over what had happened earlier.

As she closed the door behind her, she stared up into the night sky. Clouds blocked the moon and patches of sky, while snow fell lightly all around. She sighed to herself and walked down the steps, refusing to look up from the ground.

By the time she came to the sidewalk, Lucy stared around a bit. The streetlights illuminated the street while a few cars passed by occasionally. Lucy turned to go home, only to stop as she heard someone call her name.

"Hey Lucy! Wait up!" Lucy looked to her right. To her surprise, Sandy was running down the path towards her. Lucy waited patiently while Sandy caught up to her and took a moment to catch her breath.

"Here." Sandy held out her hand, a piece of paper resting on it. "Take it."

Lucy stared for a moment before she obliged. Written on the paper were two numbers, one labelled 'cell', the other 'home'. Lucy blinked in surprise and looked up at Sandy.

"I...I thought we should keep in touch..." Sandy told her. "After tonight, well...there's a lot to talk about...Call me tomorrow if you can, okay?"

Slowly Lucy's mouth curled into a smile. Not a dead one, but rather a small, weak, genuine smile. The first one since Mike had exploded at her. She reluctantly stepped forward a bit, but quickly eased up and embraced Sandy in a hug.

"...I never thought I'd be telling you this..." Lucy eventually spoke up, "...but...thank you Sandy..."

Sandy smiled softly to herself and returned the hug. Snow swirled all around them and the wind whistled softly as the two girls continued the warm embrace. A few seconds passed until finally the two felines separated, smiling warmly at each other.

"Well, my mom's waiting for me," Sandy said sadly, "but don't forget to call, alright?" Lucy nodded happily in response.

With that, the two separated, waving one last goodbye to each other before walking their own way down the sidewalk.

Halfway through her trek home, Lucy decided to pause and stare down at the piece of paper once more. Slowly she brought it closer to her chest and smiled to herself. There was still a lot of stuff to be said and things to do. But at least she had someone to help her along the way.


Hoooo boy, is there a lot to say about this fic.

I might as well get it out of the way that this too is inspired. Special thanks to Mistletoe (by Gazara12) and Familial Relations (by my-dear-fangirl) for providing two ideas I wanted so much to explore:

1. Lucy and Sandy meet each other in person (Mistletoe)

2. Lucy-Sandy friendship (Familial Relations was going to touch on this, but then it never updated.)

While both fics are favorites of mine, I felt they could be a bit more. One thing led to another and, well, here's that 'more'.

I also want to mention this was an absolute joy to write. Most of my other fics were fun to write as well, but this is the first I didn't want to stop working on. I'd say a good 1/3rd to 1/2 of this fic was written in the span of 24 hours. It was that fun.

Lastly, I had no idea I was capable of writing 4,491 words worth of non-stop cat drama. But I did. And it feels damn amazing.