Soon before I had known it, a full month had past with Leo.  It was difficult at first, but he and I soon fell into a comfortable routine-er well sort of. 

Every morning I got up at the same time, leaving Leo to sleep on. When I returned from school, I would drop off my bags, give him some treats (he's very found of the fish and meat treats.) a few pets and head back out for two hours to go to Eyre's. When I would return he would usually be asleep on my bed, or playing with one of the toys I had gotten him. 

Some how, thanks to some unknown, wonderful of luck, my shrew of a stepmother hadn't found him yet. That was a little less stress off of keeping him. Because of my now constant buying of puppy and tiger chow, Joy stopped giving me the classic "Do I want to ask?" look and now just gives me discounts on it all. Tanya, Lizzy and Ana were now also in a comfortable routine with their new....pets.....?.... Johnghyun and Taemin get along great, and spend almost all day with each other. Which is great considered Lizzy was worried Taemin would eat Jonghyun. 

I giggle at the thought of tiny little Taemin eating Jonghyun who topples over him. Now that would be interesting to see. Well at least for now since Taemin isn't fully grown yet. When he is, Jonghyun will have to watch out.Taemin will be a dangerous predator.......just like.... I look down at Leo who was sitting on my lap. The two of us were sitting at my desk as I wrote an essay for my English class.  Once again, I managed to remind myself of the painful truth. Soon I will have to give him up...he will become to big for me to keep hiding in my room and soon, he will become dangerous. 

I lifted my head when I felt Kala's eyes watching me. Kala? What's wrong?  Within seconds I could tell that her cheering demeanor was gone and that she was now depressed. Kala?

One day, he will have to get put in a zoo. There is no place around here that he can roam free..... I will have to see him behind bars..... Why is it that I've only had him for a little over a month, and yet the thought of giving him away, starts to rip my heart at the seams?  

Kala? What's wrong? What are you thinking?  I stood up on my hind-legs, leaning against her stomach, trying to catch her eyes. Her regular bright blue eyes were now a dark gray, like the clouds before a storm.  

I refocused to see Leo looking at me intently with worry in his large brown eyes. I smile softly and pet his head.  

"Don't worry Leo, I'm okay. Just...thinking....."  I smiled again and after studying me for a few moments he steps back to my lap and gets comfortable again. 

I hope you're right Kala. 

I had just finished typing my third body paragraph when there was a hard knock on my door, scaring Leo and I. 

"Kala? Can I come in? We need to talk."  The voice belonged to my father. 

I gasped, realizing that I had a leopard cub sitting on my lap.  "Leo! Jump down!!! He's coming in!!!"  I whispered harshly to the leopard who's bright brown eyes widened in apparent shock. He stumbled to get up, nearing falling off, digging his claws into my thigh. 

"Ow-uh...just a minute Dad! I'm uh...getting changed!"  I lie and grit my teeth while Leo unhinges his claws from my now red flesh and jumps down, taking cover behind the bookcase.

"O-Okay come in."  I turn myself around in the chair and make sure that my legs are in the line of sight of the bookcase hiding spot.

My Dad cautiously opens the door and when he sees that I'm decent, sighs.  "Kala, I just got an email from your Math teacher. He says that you have been distracted a lot this past week. What's going on?"   My father shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly not wanting to talk about this. 

"You've always been studious about your classes, so hearing that you have been distracted makes me wonder....if there is....a boy...."  He clears his throat a little.

A..... Boy? Ha...You could say that...but this boy isn't human. He's a leopard in fact, and I agreed to take care of him! Having to worry constantly that your crazy wife will find him when I'm not here is probably what's distracting me. Aren't you proud? I did everything to not laugh. It was clear that my Dad was not comfortable with the idea of this conversation, and I just wanted it to end so that I could laugh.

"No Dad, there isn't any boys in my life. I've just....been tired. I haven't been able to sleep that well." 

At that news, my father calmed down and smiled relieved. "Oh goo-I- uh... Well maybe you shouldn't be up so late watching those kpop videos of yours." He gave me the usual "I am trying to be stern but it's not working" expression.  

More like I've been worried that I'll smother poor Leo in my sleep if I'm not careful. I thought to myself sarcastically. 

"Well anyway, just try to get back on track okay?" He stood up and glanced towards my bookcase, walking over to it.

No! Stay back!! You were fine over there!!! Stay back!!! I heart rate increased once more as my Dad looked at my book collection that had increased drastically in the last few years. 

"I haven't even heard of have of these books. You girls sure are weird." He says with wonder. 

I roll my eyes and scoff. "Thanks Dad, you might want to leave now. It's been known to be contagious, you know, girlhood." I joked and he just shook his head, walking to the door. 

With a quick "love you" he went back downstairs leaving me alone again with Leo.

"Well that took off three years of my life." I say flatly as Leo made his way out from behind the bookcase. 

Kala, have you EVER cleaned behind there?! There was a dustbunny half the size of me back there! I sneezed and fell on my . I never wanted to go back there again. 

I looked down at Leo and started to giggle. His brown and tan fur was now covered in gray dust and fuzzies, and he was clearly not finding it as amusing as I was. "Aww! Leo! I'm sorry, here let me help you."   I picked him up and started to wipe away the dust with my fingers gently. 

I smiled to myself as I felt Kala carefully wipe off the dust and dirt from my fur. Her fingers grazed my cheeks, under my eyes, and on the bridge of my nose softly. Soon I was purring, enjoying the soft touches that she was providing. 

I know it's weird to think, but I grow more attached to her every day it feels like. Every night I sleep next to her, sometimes when I know that she is asleep I move closer to her. Desperate to feel at least some what human again when I sleep with her. Most nights, I watch her dream, smiling when I hear her mummer little words that have broken through the dream barrier. Now though, I'm starting to want to be able to trace the lines of her face, to be able to touch her. I know it's crazy to think like this. But, I just can't help it. It's probably just because she is the only girl I have been around for the past month. 

When I was done and made sure all the dust was gone, I smiled and scratched behind his ear, giggling at his loud purring.  

After a minute I tried to get back to working but Leo was having none of it. 

Take a break, it's not good for you to overwork yourself....I should know....  I sat on her keyboard preventing her from typing. 

"Leo, come on I have to-" cutting my off was the ringtone for the group chat. I sighed and picked up my exploding phone while looking at Leo with a slight glare.

  Ana: Hey! For practice today I was thinking of bringing Tae, would that be okay Kala? 

   Lizzy: Oh yeah! I want to bring Jonghyun too! He would love to meet Leo I'm sure! XD

   Tanya: Oooohhh! Let me bring Minho then! It will be a play date for all of them lol! 

Oh crap! I completely forgot about practice today!!  I picked up Leo in my arms and quickly placed him on my bed.  "Leo, I'll be right back, I have to get things ready for the girls to come over for practice! Stay here!!"   

I raced down stairs and told my Dad about the girls coming over, then started pouring out chips and grabbing some soda. 

What was that about? I wondered as I sat back up, watching Kala bolt out of her room and downstairs. Within a matter of minutes she came back up stairs with her hands full of snacks, and drinks.  Uhm.... Is this one of those....craving times? I watched her carefully trying to see if her mood was any different.  Nothing seemed wrong, she seemed to be happy and excited. 

I set up all the drinks and food, and started pushing my bed to the wall to make more room for the girls. It wasn't until I saw Leo almost roll off the bed when I realized he might be a little confused. 

"Oh Leo! I'm sorry, The girls are coming over today for a sleepover and practice. Oh! And you get to see Taemin again! 

Taemin? Oh great. Just the person, well animal, I wanted to see.  I thought grimly of the young idol who was very rude and loud the last time I was with him. 

"And you get to meet other animals too! Hopefully you like them, and please please, don't be mean." I pleaded with the already not happy looking feline who watched me lazily. 

I-But- I will try and be nice to him but if he's loud again, I am sleeping on your bed and not coming down. Wait...new animals? Maybe its one of my members!! My heart fluttered in excitement and I started to look out the window to see any car pull into the driveway, hoping that I will see any of them again, even N Hyung. 

I looked at Leo and smiled at his apparent eagerness. I was eager too, I always loved when they came over. It made the house not feel so.....dungeony. 

When I saw Ana's blue car pull in I rushed down stairs and helped the three of them out of the car. Each of them carrying a large box of some kind. 

"Hey girly! I have Tae with me! I'm sure he is dying to see Leo again!"    Ana exclaimed while climbing the stairs to my room. 

"Thanks for letting me bring Minho, he needed a change of scenery for a little while." Tanya said happily as she carried the small golden puppy in her arms.

"Thanks for having us, and Jonghyun of course. Look at this cute baby!!!"  Lizzy gushed in excitement as she held up Jonghyun to my face.  I laughed and carried up the rest of the bags and shut the door behind me. 

When I made it up to my room, all the blankets were set up on the floor, and the girls had already attacked the snacks, and were gushing about their pets, kpop idols and school. 

When I sat down I noticed that each animal was sitting in their laps, nestled softly with their eye closed. Where's my animal? I looked around and saw Leo on the bed, looking down. I smiled and reached for him, pulling him into my lap.

I looked at all of them before me and took a deep breathe. Taemin? I saw The white tiger's head pop up from Ana's lap and nod to me. Soon The white dog lifted his head and looked at me. Then the golden did as well.

 Hey Leo, how are you doing? I asked him from across the circle of girls. To my left Jonghyun studied him. 

Leo? As in VIXX's Leo? I studied the leopard for a moment and then nodded. How are you doing?

I could be better, but in all things considered, not bad. You're Jonghyun right?  I sighed, depressed that he wasn't Hongbin, Hyuk or any of the others, but he was another friend who understood what I was going through and that was enough. 

I lifted my head from Tanya's lap when I heard the voices. Jesus, I'm hearing voices, this can't be good. They even sound like Taemin and Jong- I looked at the three other animals and heard how they were talking, it WAS THEM.

Jonghyun Hyung! Taemin-ah!!!! I stumbled and rolled out of Tanya's lap and ran to my members. 

Minho-ah!!!!! I walked towards Minho who was a little smaller in height than me. AhHA! Finally!!!  I barked happily at the small victory before tackling him, Taemin right behind me.

Hyung! You're okay!! I ran with Jonghyun to Minho, ecstatic to see another of my members alive. 

I watched in an almost sour state as the three SHINee members had their little reunion. It made me miss my members even more. Yeah, I was happy to have Kala watch over me, but I still got lonely. She didn't realize that I was so much more than a lost leopard....

The girls and I watched happily as the three playmates wrestled with one another. I looked down at Leo who was now watching them with a bored expression. Softly I glided my fingers down his sides making him look up at me. "Leo, why don't you want to play with them?" 

Well for one, they are having their own little reunion that I don't feel like ruining and another thing is, they are loud. So are you guys. I have a feeling that I won't be sleeping much tonight. I sighed and set my head back down on my paws, hoping that she won't urge me anymore and just pet me. 

As the hour past, the girls and I kept talking about the latest in kpop news. 

"Hey have you guys noticed that a lot less pictures have been posted by the idols? It's weird." Ana said to her best friends as they looked at their biases on their phones.

"Yeah, she's right. I haven't seen a picture of Jonghyun that is recent since....well it's been like a month."  

"That's so weird.... Maybe they are just really busy you know, with idol stuff haha." We laughed as we all watched the playmates bat around one of Leo's plastic bells.

"Hey we should start practicing."  Tanya said to get us back on track. 

We all agreed and we each picked up our ball of fur and placed him on my bed. Leo gave me a curious look before slumping into his pillow. The other three sat next to one another and watched us with curiosity. 

We moved the blankets out of the way and plugged in one of our phones into my stereo-sytem. Soon the room filled with the music of SHINee's "Sherlock" 

The guys and I immediately looked at the girls who were now in the position that we all knew too well. I smiled a little when I saw that Ana was in my position.

Tanya dances? Hmm.... I watched as she stood in my place, dancing in perfect sync with the others. She's not bad...

Who would have thought Lizzy could dance? Aw, she dances to me. Cool. She's good too! Oh! Kala is Onew! I think he would be happy to see that she is representing him.

Leo couldn't help but scowl at Jonghyun's thoughts. So what? She's dancing to him...It could have been any one. He thought quietly as he watched Kala. She is good, they all are. They have moves down, they just need the focus is all...

When we finished the song, I VIXX's  "Error" and we got into position. I smiled as I pictured VIXX's Leo dancing with me, just another shameless fantasy. 

My ears perked up at the sound of the beginning notes of the song "Error" I looked at the girls and couldn't help but smile when I saw that Kala was in my position. 

I watched her, careful of every movement that she made. Don't forget to bend your knees before coming up....Okay now twirl....Good! 

I focused on my breathing and prayed that I would remember the right movements. I almost forgot to bend my knees, -almost. I smiled when I twirled correctly and in sync. Usually I could never get it in time with Tanya. 

Alright, we get it, you know the dance routine, but remember, she can't understand you.  Minho snickered a little when they all heard Leo's useless instructions.

I guess you're right but....I can't help but feel like...she understands...to an extent.....

When we were done, we chowed down on snacks and fed the cats and dogs. 

I turned over once again to try and block out their thoughts, but to no avail. I was stuck hearing their constant chatter. I looked down from the bed to Kala who was lying on her stomach with the girls on the floor. She was laughing and turning red. I guess I got used to sleeping with her next to me. Maybe I can sleep down there with her. Unnoticed by the others I jumped down and landed next to her.

I was leaning on some pillows when I felt something nudge my elbow. Turning slightly, I see Leo looking at me with a tired expression. Huh? He was up on his pillow, why would he come down here? I move over and make room on my pillow for him, which he gratefully accepts. 

Thank you Kala. I say before curling into a tight ball in between her forearms and ducking my head under my tail. That's better. 

I smiled down at Leo, and soon the girls were watching me as I pet him for a moment. Tanya got up then and picked up Minho in her arms and brought him into her embrace and laid down with him, Lizzy and Ana following suit. 

As we wined down from the sugar I started to get tired and yawned. I my side and closed my eyes, smiling a little when I felt Leo move closer, like he always does. 

"Night guys."  I say quietly as I stifle through another yawn. 

"G'Night"

​"Don't die in your sleep guys, Good night." 

"GoodNight, and Jesus what's wrong with you Tanya?"  

Everyone fell asleep, each girl clutching her fuzzy friend close to her. All of them were content, except for one man, who was devising the next part of his plan. 

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A/N~

Hey guys! I hoped you liked the super long chapter! Now I have a question, do you guys like the long chapters? Or would you prefer if I broke this up into two chapters? I was going to make this two chapters, but I couldn't find a good place to end it and begin. Annnnywho, Hope you guys like the story so far, (and no i didn't mean to go all Dr. Seuss on you at the end of this chapter, it just sorta happened.) and thank you for all the subscribers! And the comments! I love them all!  I am planning some events for the next few chapters, which I am excited to write! So I hope to see you guys in the next chapter!

P.S. I don't own the drawings of Leo, but aren't they AWESOME! i love them haha.

Ciao!~ Lian. XD