Sweat glistening, Rome moves in sync with the rest of C-Clown as they finish up their dance practice. Their bodies were moving, sliding and coordinating to create a great visual. Coming to a stop, the sounds of heavy breathing echoed around the room. All at once the boys begin to chatter. T.K. began telling jokes and ran out of the room yelling that the last one out is a rotten egg. That's me today then I suppose, Rome thought to himself as he pushed a new song choice. The rest of the members headed out to change. They know Rome will stay late. He usually does.

Rome often stays late to work on vocals or on dancing.  He wants to perfect every issue he finds in his performance to put on the best show for the fans. Maybe just a few more minutes, and then I'll go home Rome decides.

~~~~

The sound of rain pounds on the roof of the practice building. Water fills the streets and old potholes as the evening light dies. A small shape moves from behind a deserted stall.

A cat makes its way slowly along the alley near the back of the practice building. It seems weary and hardly lifts its paws, causing it to stumble slightly as it walks. The brown fur of the cat blends into the dimly lit street pavement and alley walls. A small purple ribbon tied to the tip of it's tail is the only color visible as it nears the back of the practice building. It pauses and for the first time the cat's eyes are seen. One a vibrant green and the other a glowing amethyst gaze around the streets. It spots a sideways crate at the side of a door and makes a beeline for it.

With one last effort it collapses under the edge of the crate and doesn't even bother to curl its tail up as it falls asleep.

The rain continues to fall.

~~~

Rome, breathing heavily wipes his face with a towel and drinks some water. Panting he puts his phone in his pocket and grabs his jacket, its getting late. Slipping the jacket on loosely as he grabs his keys, he shuts off the lights he opens the back door and steps outside. He moves to hurry into the rain when he pauses. Did I lock the building door behind me? Crap. Pivoting he tries the door. It swings open. His sigh is lost in the sound of rain falling. He pulls out his key, locks the door and sees the purple.

Seeing the purple he bends down and realizes its a ribbon tied to a tail. The tail of a very soaked looking cat shivering, barely under the edge of the crate. Rome gently picks the cat up. It doesn't even awaken as he pulls it under the edge of his jacket. Deciding to take it back to his apartment, he hurries along the building until he sees his car and quickly slides inside starting the heater. Carefully he places the still passed out cat onto the passenger seat with his coat. Pulling out of the parking lot, Rome decides that he is ready for bed as soon as he gets home.

Finally parking, he wearily picks up his coat with the cat inside and unlocks his front door. A rush of warmth hits Rome and he closes the door quickly.

"OK bed time!" He announces to the empty living room.

Leaving the jacket behind he removed his shoes and took the cat to the back bedroom. Seeing the cat's chest rising and falling slightly he changed into pajamas and brushed his teeth. Yawning he looked at the cat thinking it unusual for a cat to sleep even after being picked up and moved. Heading into his bathroom he took a small towel out. Carefully he used it to dry the poor cat's chocolate brown fur.

Tossing the towel into a hamper he clambered under his comforter, plugged in his phone and pulled the cat near his chest. With that, he drifted asleep.

~~~

"!"  Shay sprang up onto a cushy pillow. Very disoriented she wondered where she was. To her left a handsome young man slept under a large blanket. Looking around the room she assumed this person must be wealthy. And wealthy people usually were not people who tried to help her. She needed to run. What if this guy worked for IRIS? They could be on their way already.

Her stomach growled. She needed to get back on the street she decided. Morphing into her human form she opened the bedroom door and crept out. Her generic transformation clothing was ideal for stealth. It consisted of a deep purple halter top and form fitting black shorts. In this outfit, she headed to the front door where she spotted the kitchen. Tempted, she peeked in the refrigerator. Eyes widening at the multitudes of food she grabbed a bunch of grapes and turned back to the door a few spilling onto the immaculately clean floor in her haste.

Crossing past the large couch she opened the front door and carefully stepped outside, eating the grapes quickly. Tossing the stem aside she changed back into cat form, stretched and scored the wooden railings with her claws and hurried towards the hubbub of town to hide herself in the fray.

~~~

Rome awoke and stretched, rubbing his face. His memories of the night before hit him and he looked for the cat.

"Here kitty kitty!" He called. Searching under the bed and in all his rooms he found no luck. There was cat fur still stuck to his jacket so he knew it couldn't be a dream.

Deciding it would come out when it was ready he headed into the kitchen and slid on some grapes on the floor.

"How the hell did those get there?!" Rome yelled as he stabilized himself on the counter. "That's so gross!"

He pulled out a rag and wiped up the juice. Thinking he must have had a midnight snack and forgotten, he cooked leftover pork for breakfast and got dressed for work. There was a fan meet today, he needed a lot of energy for that! He locked up and stepped out of the house shutting the door firmly behind him.

He paused. One of the railing poles had scratch marks. THE CAT! Rome realized he forgot about the brown feline. Shrugging, he decided it would be ok for a few hours. He'd tell his cleaning lady to check on it and bring food for it. Putting the cat from his mind, he started his car and headed for the company.

~~~

Meanwhile Shay the brown cat, begged some food from street vendors and headed into the thick of the crowds hoping no one knew she was in this area.