~Duncan and Mittens~

The Quiet Night

                                               Duncan's P.O.V.

     Ever since Mittens and I had the whole fishing fiasco, things between us were...awkward. I had calmed down quite a bit after that, and while I was still ticked that she pushed me in the river, I could forgive her. However, fixing arguments aren't that easy. I wanted to just go up to her and say I'm sorry, but whenever I tried, I stopped. I have an issue with admitting my mistakes. It just feels...wrong. I already have a pretty low self-esteem, and I don't need to have more reasons for that. But I knew I had to talk about it if I wanted to be with her again. 

     Whenever Stampy would ask Mittens to pick a dog, strangely, she would still pick me. I guess she wanted things to be normal again too. It seemed like she was also trying to say something to me, since she would always be nervous and fidget around me. However, we would hardly ever speak, and I missed many opportunities to just say sorry to her. One day, when she picked me for the third time, Stampy said, "Really, Duncan again?! Every single time I say to pick a dog she picks Duncan! I do think there's something going on there. I don't know, do you think they're just friends or...maybe there's some sort of love blossoming between them? I probably shouldn't talk about it in front of them."  Mittens and I exchanged glances and we just sat there awkwardly. I notice Mittens was blushing a little. I looked away and covered my face. She feels the same way, I thought. I knew it was crazy to be falling for a cat so quickly, but I just couldn't help it. I understood her, and she understood me. She's strong, but is still vulnerable. I probably hurt her feelings pretty bad, I thought, my heart hurting. 

     Days past, and things got less awkward, and we were able to talk to each other again. We talked about normal stuff, like like weather, how our day was...ok, so not completely back to normal, but we were getting there. Stampy had started to build a little tree house for Mittens, which he called a "Kitty Cat Condo". It was right next to the dog house, so it would be a lot easier to meet up. I thought that now was the perfect time to get this over with.

     It was a cool, damp night, and Mittens and I were laying down next to each other on her tree house. It wasn't quite done yet, there was still the inside to furnish. But Stampy had already built the tree part, so we just sat on the branches, making sure to avoid the sharp twigs and rough leaves. We settled down on a comfy spot, and star gazed. Mittens told me about all of the constellations in the stars, and how they played a big role back in the jungle. It was really interesting, and I never really acknowledged the stars in that way. "Wow," I said to her, still looking up. "You really know your stuff, huh?" Mittens smiled, and rapped her tail around her back paws. 

"Well, we didn't really have much else in the jungle. Sure, there was stuff to do, but it would get kinda boring sometimes." She looked down at her white paws, and suddenly had a grim expression on her face. "My dad always knew how to cheer me up," Mittens said in a whisper. 

     I felt my stomach drop. This was the first time she ever mentioned her parents. "What-what do you mean? What happened?" I asked softly. 

"I don't really want to talk about it," said Mittens quickly. 

"Hey," I began, looking into her green eyes, twinkling with the reflection of the stars. "If this is about the whole fishing thing, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to act like that, really. It wasn't your fault, I made it a big deal." Mittens turned around. 

"No no," she said. "It's not that, it's fine." 

"No it's not!" I said, raising my voice. "I acted horrible, and I shouldn't have done that to you." Mittens looked at me, startled. I shook my head. "I'm sorry Mittens. I understand why you wouldn't want to talk with me anymore." I was about to get up and walk back to the doghouse, when Mittens grabbed my back paw.