"Phoebe! It's so nice to see you!" said Jemima as Phoebe and Sammy entered the yard.

"Phoebe! What are you doing?" Sammy whispered in her ear. "You know I shouldn't be here!"

"You said you wanted to meet my friends," she said. She looked up at him seriously and asked, "Don't you trust me, Sammy?"

"I…well, yes, of course I do," said Sammy.

"Who's this?" asked Jemima as the two friends approached her.

"This is Sammy, the tom I've told you about," said Phoebe. Jemima smiled kindly at Sammy.

"So you're Sammy," she said. "Phoebe talks about you all the time."

"She…she does?" Sammy asked, shocked. He looked over at Phoebe, who smiled.

"Yes, she does," said Jemima. "In fact, sometimes it's hard getting her to stop."

Phoebe blushed, embarrassed, but Sammy looked pleased. He looked far more pleased than she'd expected him to.

"I have lots more friends for you to meet," said Phoebe. "Come on."

Sammy was reluctant at first, but once he met a few other Jellicles, he began to realize that Phoebe had been right about them. He'd never felt so at home, so accepted, as he did with these cats. They made him feel as though he were one of them, when he knew very well that the Jellicles were all afraid of Macavity and his agents.

"Well? What do you think?" Phoebe asked after he'd met all the Jellicles.

"I think…" Sammy was at a loss for words. "I don't know what to think. I…I love it here. I really do. But I just can't stay here."

"Why not?" Phoebe demanded.

"I'll get in trouble," said Sammy. "You know that, Phoebe."

"Sammy, don't you see?" Phoebe asked. "That's exactly what's so bad about Macavity! You're not free to make your own choices. Don't you think there's something fishy about that?"

Sammy stared at her in surprise. "Well…yes, I suppose there could be."

"That's what Macavity does to everyone," said Demeter, stepping forward. "He traps them without realizing it. And then, when you least expect it, he…"

"Cracks down on you," said a familiar voice. They turned and saw Macavity standing at the junkyard gate.

"Macavity!" Demeter hissed.

"Didn't think you'd ever have to see me again, did you?" Macavity asked her, his voice as cold as ice. "You left without even thinking of my feelings."

"Feelings! Don't make me laugh," said a tall, red queen named Bombalurina. "The only thing you ever felt toward Dem was…"

"I loved her!" Macavity cut in. "And she betrayed me. Just like you've betrayed me, Samuel!"

"I…I…didn't mean…" Sammy faltered.

"You belong to me!" Macavity growled at him.

"No he doesn't!" Phoebe spoke up. Macavity glared at her.

"I'd stay out of this if I were you, Phoebe," he said darkly. "This affair doesn't concern you."

"It does too," said Phoebe angrily. "Sammy is my friend. I care about Sammy. You don't. And Sammy doesn't belong to you, or anyone else, except himself!"

"She's right!" Jemima put in. "No cat belongs to another cat, because we're all cats just the same as each other."

"I'm warning you, kittens!" Macavity growled. "Do you know what I could do to you?"

"I'm not afraid of you, Macavity," said Phoebe boldly, as much to convince herself of that fact as to convince Macavity.

"You will be if you don't shut your yap!" Macavity thundered.

"Hey!" Samuel protested, hugging Phoebe protectively. "Lay off her. She's just a kitten."

"Kitten or not, I've given her – and you – a fair warning," said Macavity. He rushed at Phoebe and Samuel, who braced themselves for an attack.

"I love you Phoebe," she heard Sammy whisper in her ear. Her heart jumped.

"I…I…I love you too, Sammy," she said softly. They hugged each other tighter, waiting for Macavity to pounce on them.

What's taking so long? Phoebe screamed inside her head. Why can't he just get it over with?

That's when she realized that there was no way that Macavity was ever going to get near her. She looked up and saw that the entire Jellicle Tribe had launched an attack on Macavity, driving him out of the junkyard. The Jellicles were defending them! With a kittenish whoop of joy she ran to join in, and when Sammy realized what was happening, he did too. It didn't take long for twenty-some cats to drive one tom out of the junkyard.

"Yeah, go, you meanie!" Phoebe hollered after Macavity as she watched him run away. "Go away and don't come back anytime soon! If you do, my friends and I will be on you like smell on a dog! You…"

"Uh, Phoebe…I think that's enough," said Sammy. Phoebe stopped hollering and started jumping up and down.

"We did it! We did it, Sammy! We beat him!" she said excitedly. "We beat Macavity, and we're Jellicles!"

"Are we?" Sammy asked.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Phoebe cried, delighted. "Munkustrap asked Old Deuteronomy and he said that we'd be accepted into the Tribe if that's what we wanted!"

"Oh…well…okay," said Sammy. Phoebe stopped jumping and looked at him.

"That is what you want, right?" she asked. Sammy didn't reply for a moment.

"Phoebe, the truth is…all I want is to be wherever you are," he finally confessed. "I want to make you happy. I love you, Phoebe."

Phoebe stared at him with wide eyes. "You love me?" she asked, incredulous. "You love me?"

"Y-yeah," Sammy stammered. "And…well…if you want to think that I'm a freak now, then go ahead. But I'll still love you."

"Oh, Sammy!" Phoebe cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "This is the most wonderful thing that's ever happened! This is…this is…oh…I love you, too, Sammy!"

Sammy hugged her tightly. As he did so, a gentle sprinkling of rain started to come down on them.

"Rain!" Phoebe shouted. "Not now! Why did it have to rain and spoil all this?"

"If it weren't for the rain, we never would've met; you should be grateful for the rain," said Samuel. "And it's like I've always told you: a little rain never killed anybody."

"Well, if we're going to be in love, you're just going to have to get used to the fact that I hate rain," said Phoebe. And with that, she smiled and punched his arm playfully.