Chapter 20

                Flamestripe crept forward stealthily, careful not to make a sound. A mouse stood on the grass in front of him, and he was glad for the warm newleaf winds melting the snow and bringing back the prey. He pounced and killed the creature with a sharp nip to its spine. “Great job!” Petalfall called.

                “Thanks, but your catch is more impressive,” he meowed, nodding to the huge squirrel in her jaws.

                They walked back to camp. Flamestripe was painfully aware of her presence next to him. He loved her so much, but he was too scared to say it. He loved her energetic personality, the way she dashed into every task fearlessly, her talents in both hunting and fighting, and her beautiful cream-colored fur. But how could any cat as flawless as her like a not so perfect cat like him?

                These troubled thoughts floated through his mind as he walked back to camp. Petalfall looked like she’d gained weight during leaf-bare, despite the fact that prey wasn’t plentiful. She needs to take less food from the fresh-kill, I guess.

                Flamestripe dropped his mouse on the fresh-kill pile when they arrived at camp, but Petalfall held onto her squirrel. “Want to share this?” she offered.

                “Sure,” he meowed, eager to spend more time with her.

                They settled down as the moon was just rising, the warriors of StarClan appearing in the sky. Petalfall took a few bites and then pushed the rest to Flamestripe. “I’m not hungry,” she meowed.

                “Are you sure?” he asked.

                “Yeah,” she replied. “So how’s Blazestorm?”

                “Fine,” Flamestripe answered through a mouthful of squirrel. “He caught two thrushes the other day, and newleaf is just starting!”

                “He was always a good hunter,” Petalfall commented.

                “You’re better though,” he noted.

                She laughed. Suddenly, Honeywhisker was next to them. “Petalfall, I need to talk to you in my den,” the medicine cat meowed.

                Petalfall stopped laughing and rose to her feet. “See you in the warriors den. Good night!” she shouted as she followed the golden she-cat.

                “Good night!” Flamestripe called, but he had no intentions of going to the warriors den.

                As soon as Petalfall and Honeywhisker disappeared inside, Flamestripe trotted towards the medicine cat den. “You have to tell him!” the ThunderClan medicine screeched. “He’s going to find out eventually anyways!”

                “I can’t,” Petalfall responded, sounding absolutely miserable.

                Are they talking about me? And tell me what? Has she noticed that I love her and she’s too nice to tell me she doesn’t feel the same way?

                Not wanting to hear anymore, Flamestripe walked into the warriors den and settled down in his nest. He heard Petalfall come in, and even though he was still awake, he pretended to be asleep. He finally drifted off, and for once, he didn’t have the battle dream. Instead, he had an even worse nightmare…

                Petalfall kept insulting him over and over again, and telling him that she didn’t even like him, let alone love him. Flamestripe ran through the forest, but she followed him, appearing wherever he went. “Wake up!” he urged himself, trying to block out the sound of her voice. “WAKE UP!”

                It worked. He blinked open his eyes as dawn light was just starting to flood through the entrance to the warriors den. Petalfall was already gone. He stretched slowly in the warm sunshine and then padded out into camp.

                The beautiful cream-colored she-cat was resting in the middle of camp. She saw him and started to walk in his direction.

                Oh, no. Flamestripe braced himself for the words that were certain to come next.

                Petalfall looked extremely nervous and uncomfortable. “Um, hi,” she managed.

                “Hi,” Flamestripe echoed her greeting.

                “Well, um, I have something I need to tell you,” she began.

                He tried to act normal. “What is it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

                “Flamestripe, I’m expecting your kits,” Petalfall replied shakily.

                He was shocked. “That’s amazing!” he purred. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

                “You mean you aren’t upset?” she meowed hopefully.

                “Of course not! Petalfall, I love you!” the words flew out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

                She looked up, eyes widening. “I love you too,” she whispered, and there was no way Flamestripe could’ve been happier.

A/N: Now I bet everyone is wondering, "Why has Crazystar updated this story four times today? That NEVER happens!" Well, just a little warning, I might not be able to update tomorrow so I thought I'd do some extra writing today :) Hope you enjoyed and may StarClan light your path!