I woke up, but I didn't bother opening my eyes. I was exhausted and every muscle I had was absolutely on fire. I didn't actually know that a person could feel this bad and still be alive.

The first thing I was aware of was that something was tickling my nose. I brushed it away, but it sprang right back. Slowly, I forced my eyelids open. I was faced with a wall of green.

Grass.

I was lying in the grass. Why was I in the grass?

I managed to get myself into a seated position as the events of the night slowly came back to me. The sun was just beginning to rise, and everything was washed in a pale pinkish light. Did that mean we'd done it? I hadn't died after all? Well, that was a welcome surprise.

I remembered Comet being there last night, and he'd brought his small army with him. Did that meant he'd kept his promise? Or had he just left me to my own devices? Now that I'd done what he wanted, there wasn't really much of a reason for him to help me out. He hadn't exactly been all that reliable when he did need me. Nervously, I looked down at my body, not quite sure what I'd see.

The first thing I saw was my hand. My actual, normal, human hand propping me up in the grass. The second thing I noticed was that I was completely naked.

Being naked in the middle of campus was just about the last thing I'd ever want. Normally, it would have qualified as some kind of nightmare. But I almost didn't care; I was finally human again. Maybe this whole thing really had worked out. And here I'd always thought happy endings were for other people!

The thought of other people made me whip my head around frantically, searching for a sign of any other living, breathing thing. Fortunately, it was early enough in the morning that no one was outside. Well, except for Gabe and Olivia. Now all I had to do was find them. Too bad I didn't really want to move from this spot. It was bad enough to be naked at school; there was no way I was going to go wandering around like this.

I heard a kind of scuffling behind me. It sounded like someone running along the pavement, and I suffered a momentary panic. My mind raced, trying to figure out how I was going to explain what I was doing out here like this. Fortunately, it was only Gabe.

"Found you!" he wheezed, coming up beside me. He sounded so terrible I could barely understand him. 

He sat down in the grass not to far away, sliding out of his backpack as he did. He immediately began pulling at the zipper before throwing me clothes I recognized as being from his own closet. I wondered vaguely when he'd had time to get them, but decided I didn't really care.

I got dressed as fast as I could. Gabe rasped a string of nonsense words at me that I couldn't begin to decipher. I pulled the shirt on over my head before turning back to him.

"What?" I asked.

At least, that's what I'd tried to say. But my throat seemed to catch, and I didn't end up making any sound at all. But Gabe had seen me mouth the word, and he knew what I meant.

"You sound even worse than me!" Gabe grinned, dropping into a whisper and carefully enunciating each word. "I said, it's good to see you again."

You too, is what I thought. What I said was more of a "Mrrow."

I stared at him for a second, eyes wide.

"Cat got your tongue?" Gabe rasped. I rolled my eyes. So funny.

He just started laughing. But he stopped when I tried again and the same sound came out. I clapped my hand over my mouth.

"...Evan?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

No, I don't think I am.

"Mrow," I whispered through my fingers. How could this have happened? How could those stupid cats have messed this up so bad?

Gabe looked stricken. He opened and closed his mouth, apparently not sure what to say.

Of course, that was the moment Olivia found us.

"Hey, guys!" she said brightly. "I thought I saw you a minute ago. But when I realized Gabe was giving you his clothes, I thought I'd wait over there a bit..."

She pointed vaguely across the lawn and I automatically turned my head to follow her finger, not really sure what else I was supposed to do. When I turned back to her, she was still grinning.

"I'm just so glad it all worked out," she gushed. "For a second there, I thought we were in real trouble."

I found myself almost glaring at her. Really? She somehow thought that this had all worked out? As I continued to glower at her, there was only one thought in my mind: Keep your happily ever after— it ain't mine.

Word count for round three: 20,857

Total word count to this point: 29,218