A/N: Once again, I don't own anything except the characters that were never in the Lorax movie.

"So, how come you never told me about Mr. Tall, Dark and Lanky back at work?" Maria asked as they were heading back to Kat's apartment.

"Last time I saw him, he wasn't so tall," Kat said in deep thought, remembering how she and Once-ler used to be the same height.

"Going to need a little more to go on than that," Maria said, snapping Kat out of her thoughts.

"Okay, Once-ler and I were betrothed in Grade School."

Maria stopped in the sidewalk on hearing that.

"Betrothed?!" Maria exclaimed.

"You want to shout that a little louder, I don't think they heard you in Canada," Kat said, turning to Maria and rolling her eyes.

"How do you expect me to react when I hear that your parents forced you to get married?" Maria said, lowering her voice but still having a tinge of panic as she continued walking.

Kat nervously laughed.

"No, the betrothal was our idea," Kat explained.  "When Once-ler and I saw Godzilla: King of the Monsters, we knew we wanted to get married when we grew up.  So we always joked that we were betrothed.  I guess I should have found a better way to word that."

"Yeah, you should've," Maria said, calming down.  "What do you mean you came up with the idea when you saw Godzilla: King of the Monsters?"

"Don't tell me you haven't seen it."

"Keep in mind that I'm not as fluent in geek as you are," Maria said, putting her right hand out and checking her fingernails.

"In the movie, there were two people, Dr. Serizawa and Emiko, who were betrothed to one another by their parents as children," Kat explained, trying to remember as much as she could about the movie.  "It didn't work out because she loved another man, Ogata.  Which was stupid because Serizawa's way cooler even if Ogata's the better looker of the two."

As Kat was describing the movie, she got lost in her own little world until a light tan hand was waved in front of her face.

"Hello, Earth to Kat," Maria said.  "Hate to distract you from your day dreaming but I'd really like you to finish the story sometime this year."

"Sorry, it's been a while since I've seen the movie and I don't have an eidetic memory," Kat explained sarcastically.  "Ever since then, Once-ler and I always joked that we were betrothed."

Then Kat put her hand on her chest and lowered her voice as deep as she could get it.

"And now, out of all of the diners in all the towns of all the world, he walks into mine," Kat said.

"Did you just go from Godzilla to Casablanca?" Maria asked.

"Both movies have a few things in common," Kat said blushing.

"Like what?" Maria asked doubtfully.  "They both have giant monsters destroying a giant city?"

"No, they both have men who do what's best for the woman they love even if it means having to give her up," Kat explained with a dreamy sigh.  "It's so romantic."

"I'll say one thing, you definitely have a creative mind to make that connection," Maria said.  "Still, don't get your hopes up about finding a guy like that."

Kat snapped back to reality as she opened the door to her rundown apartment building.

"I know that," Kat told Maria getting annoyed while she checked her mail.  "It's just fun to imagine it."

"Okay, just wanted to make sure you still had a glimpse of reality," Maria said as Kat opened the door to her apartment.  "I've seen many women who think they've found their Prince Charming and they end up with--,"

Kat's apartment wasn't much to look at, just a single room with a television, sofa, a wall bed, a typewriter (Kat saved like mad trying to afford that), a refrigerator, a tape recorder and a small kitchen.  Maria pointed to a short man with dirty brown hair, hooked nose and a distinguished face who was helping himself to a box of cookies while watching TV on the sofa.

"--that," Maria finished.

"Billy?!" Kat exclaimed.

"Hey, sis," Billy said and changed his voice to a suave tone when he saw Maria.  "Hey, babe."

"You didn't tell me your perverted brother was going to be here," Maria said disgusted.

"I didn't know," Kat said and then turned to Billy.  "Let me guess, Peg threw you out?"

"How did you know?" Billy asked.

"Because every time you try to move in, it's always because you've pissed off a wife or girlfriend," Kat said as she and Maria walked into her apartment and shut the door.

"I'll tell you what happened during a commercial," Billy said, keeping his eyes glued to a rerun of I Dream of Jeannie while continuing to eat the cookies.  "Major Nelson's a moron, if I had that blonde babe for a genie, I'd hit that in a second."

Then the TV showed a commercial for a microwave oven.

"What happened was I was friends with this college chick," Billy said, eyes still glued on the TV.  "She has this abusive jock boyfriend and she was crying on the couch when Peg was away.  So I comforted her and we were making out.  Then Peg came in right when I had that chick's shirt off."

"And then she threw you out," Maria finished.

"It was Peg's fault," Billy said.  "If she wasn't constantly nagging me about getting a job, cleaning the house and taking care of the baby, I wouldn't have cheated on her."

"Maybe if you did what she asked, she wouldn't have to nag you all the time," Kat said, looking through her mail while Billy laughed.

"Can you believe this?" Billy asked.  "I'm the one who gets thrown out of the house and Kat acts like it's all my fault."

"Maybe because it is all your fault," Maria said, not even bothering to disguise her disgust with Billy in her voice which only made him laugh harder.

"Maria, you don't have to disguise your joy from me," Billy said trying to be suave and failing miserably.

"You mean my joy that your wife finally realized what a loser you are and got rid of you at the next opportunity?" Maria asked sarcastically.

"Come on babe, I know you want me," Billy said with a sleazy smile.  "Don't try to hide it."

Maria looked like someone force-fed her poison.

"The only thing I want from you is a restraining order," Maria said.

Kat put the mail on the kitchen counter.

"Maria, can I talk to you alone real quick?" Kat asked.

"Sure," Maria said as they went to the bathroom.

Kat searched through the bathroom cabinet for a box of condoms and found a Ziploc bag with crushed green powder inside.

"Good, he didn't touch my stash," Kat said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You hide your stash in a box of condoms?" Maria asked.  "Wouldn't that be the first place Billy would look?"

"Trust me, he'd never look there," Kat said.

"I'm almost afraid to ask but how do you know this?" Maria asked hesitantly.

"Let's just say that my room was right next to Billy's and the walls were hollow," Kat said, grateful that there was a toilet nearby.  "Actually, I was hoping you'd do me a favor."

"What?"

Kat put the condoms back in the cabinet.

"I was hoping you could go to the cafe in my place and tell Once-ler that I have to postpone our meeting," Kat said.

"'Meeting?'  You make it sound like a business arrangement," Maria said with a snicker.  "Why don't you just call it a date?"

"Because it isn't one and, even if it was, I can't go on account of not being stupid enough to leave Billy alone in my apartment," Kat said firmly.

"So, your brother makes himself at home in your apartment and you're the one who has to change her plans?" Maria said while brushing her hair out of her face.  "Just tell Billy that it's your home and he's not allowed to stay here."

"It's not that simple, we'd get into a huge fight over it and I'd end up standing Once-ler up anyway," Kat said.  "Makes me wish he had somewhere else to go for the night."

That's when Kat got an idea and looked at Maria inquisitively.

"Maria, what would it take to convince you to take my brother out for the night?" Kat asked innocently.

"A hot steamy night with Robert Redford afterwards," Maria said with a smirk that instantly disappeared.  "Wait a minute, are you serious?"

"It's just for one night and you don't have to do anything with him!" Kat pleaded.

"So, while you're making goo-goo eyes at the bard, I'll be fending off your perverted brother's advances?" Maria said with disbelief and shook her head.  "No thank you."

"Come on, Maria, this is my one chance to break out of my shell and there's only one thing holding me back!" Kat grabbed Maria's shoulders and looked at her with puppy dog eyes.  "And it's sitting on my couch and eating my food."

Maria's expression softened.

"All right, but I'm not doing this for free," Maria said.

"What's your price?"

"Tomorrow, I have to wax the floors and clean the bathrooms in the diner," Maria said.  "If you do those jobs for me, I'll take Billy out."

Kat hugged Maria.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kat practically screamed.

"I just gave you a ton of extra work tomorrow and you're thanking me?" Maria asked with disbelief.  "You must be really looking forward to this date."

Kat stopped hugging Maria and stood up straight.

"It's not a date," Kat insisted while blushing.

Kat heard the phone ring and peeked her head out from the bathroom to see Billy answer it.

"Yes???  Trisha...  Of course I'm not mad at you...  Do you need anything???  I'll be happy to help..."

Billy hung up.

"Good news, Sis, you have the place to yourself tonight," Billy said with a sleazy smile.  "Trisha's afraid that her boyfriend might come to her home uninvited, so she wants me there for protection."

"Hold on a minute," Kat said while exiting the bathroom.  "You gave a stranger my number?!"

"She's not a stranger to me," Billy said.

"That doesn't matter, you have no right to be giving my number to whoever the hell you please!" Kat said, about to go into a rage.

"First the comment about how if I do things the first time I won't be nagged and now you're mad at me for no reason?  Sounding like your mother already," Billy remarked.

If Kat wasn't angry before, she certainly was now.  Kat was about to respond before she heard Maria's voice in the bathroom.

"So, you're going out?" Maria asked seductively.

"Yeah, got a hot date tonight," Billy said oblivious to Maria's tone.

Maria opened the door to the bathroom and leaned her left arm on the doorway.

"What a shame, I was hoping you and I could be alone together," Maria said, with the same tone as earlier.

"Really, well I can always cancel," Billy said while brushing his hair back and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're going to abandon that poor girl?!" Maria said with faux horror as she left the bathroom.

"No, I'll-," Billy said.

"I don't want to hear another word out of you!" Maria said in an exaggerated crying voice.  "Now leave this instant!"

Billy left the apartment.

"And to think, I was going to let him do things I'd never let another guy do," Maria said to Kat in a fake sad tone.

"Damn it!" Kat heard Billy say on the other side of the door before he finally left.
Kat and Maria were in hysterics.

"Looks like the deal's off," Kat said between laughs.
"So we make a new deal," Maria said.  "You tell me everything that happened on your date and don't spare any juicy details."

"It's not a date!" Kat insisted while going through her closet and picking out a light blue button up shirt and a pair of black jeans and then went to the bathroom.

"Kat, you can change out here," Maria said.

"No thanks, I'm fine in here," Kat said.

Maria rolled her eyes.

"Honey, we have the exact same equipment.  You don't have to change in a different room," Maria told Kat.

"You're better equipped than I am," Kat said.

"If you're like this around me, how are you going to be around the bard?" Maria asked.

"I'll worry about that when it comes," Kat said while getting dressed.

As Kat was getting ready in the bathroom, she thought of how Once-ler's jet black hair fell into his blue eyes, how he had the innocent smile of a dreamer, how the light shone on his cute round face with his freckles and how cool he looked in his clothes with that fedora to finished it off.  She also couldn't help but notice how big his feet were and remembered what Maria once told her about guys with big feet.  When Kat was done, she looked at herself in the mirror.  She could feel a little vain at times and, when she wasn't dressed in that tight waitress uniform, she actually looked good.  Her clothes highlighted her good aspects, like her curves and breasts, while hiding her less pleasant ones, like her stomach and cellulite.  Her hair was combed in a way that hid the split ends.  She didn't own any make-up but, in the right light, her face looked beautiful.  She just hoped she wouldn't be standing in the wrong light when she met with Once-ler.

"It's a good thing you bought condoms because some guys will poke holes in the ones they bring with them.  Oh, and make sure it's pulled down all the way.  Some guys will screw you over like that," Maria instructed.

"Yes, Mom," Kat said while rolling her eyes.

"And you're on the pill, right?"

"No, I bought condoms and didn't even think to get a birth control subscription," Kat said sarcastically.

Kat grabbed her purse and was about to leave the apartment until Maria looked Kat up and down.

"I don't think you're quite ready for going out," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" Kat asked.

Maria undid the first two buttons on Kat's shirt, showing a little bit of her cleavage.

"Maria!" Kat exclaimed about to button them back.

"Trust me, the bard will love it," Maria said with a smile.

"You really think so?" Kat asked.

"It's sexy without being slutty, just the type of image you want to go for," Maria insisted.

Kat went to the bathroom to check herself out in the mirror and, though she felt a little self-conscious, she had to admit that Maria was right.  It did look good on her and she really wanted to make a good impression on Once-ler.

"Have fun," Maria said while wiping away a fake tear.  "My little girl's all grown up."

"Thanks for your help."

"No prob, hon."

Then she and Maria went their separate ways.

                                            * * *

Once-ler washed himself off in the freezing cold river, trying to get every last bit of tomato juice off of him.  Selling the thneed hadn't worked out so well the first time but that didn't mean he shouldn't try again.  He wasn't expecting to have any luck on the first day, though that would have been amazing.  He had to admit that he wasn't really sure when he would have success, but he did know one thing.  It would be a long while before he ate spaghetti again.

After Once-ler was sure that every last bit of tomato was out, including the smell, he stepped out of the river and put his clothes back on.  Then he went back to his cottage and looked through some stuff he brought with him.  It was the usual, bags of marshmallows, supplies for traveling and some things his father sent him.  Once-ler's father loved to travel and would often send him letters and souvenirs from his various stops which Once-ler discovered could fetch a decent price at local shops.  Well, that and busking for cash.  When Once-ler received a letter from his father, he usually fed it to Melvin.

Then Once-ler found what he was looking for, the letters he saved from Kat when her family moved.  The letters started out childish and loving, about how much it hurt to be apart and how, when they grew up, they would find each other, get married, have eight kids and become a famous rock star and actress.  As time went by, the letters lost their romantic value.  They were even admitting to crushes on other people in their high schools.  Kat had a huge crush on the quarterback of the football team, Josh O'Reilly, who was dating her sister, Tanya.  Needless to say, there were tons of letters from her about how he only saw her as his girlfriend's kid sister or what he could possibly see in Tanya, the Queen of Evil.  In return, Once-ler sent her letters about his crush on Patricia Anderson, the head cheerleader of his high school, and how sad he was that she never even noticed him.  It seemed like once they were out of each other sights, they were out of each other's minds.  When Once-ler saw Kat at the diner, her chocolate brown hair, her ocean blue eyes, her face shining in the light, that shy and nervous smile, how tight that uniform was on her chest and curves and how sneaky she was making up excuses to talk to him like that, everything he felt about her when they were children immediately came rushing back.  And now, they were meeting tonight.  Pipsqueak walked through his window and looked at the letters Once-ler was reading over his shoulder.

"Hey, Pipsqueak," Once-ler said, putting the letters down.  "These letters are from an old girlfriend of mine.  Well, she's not really my girlfriend anymore.  You want to know how we met?"

Pipsqueak nodded.

"Our dads were really good friends in high school," Once-ler said, taking a hair brush out of his drawers.  "When our dads got together at a barbecue, they tried to introduced us.  At first, we didn't want to meet each other.  Then Bret and Chet knocked me unconscious.  When I opened my eyes, there was Kat wanting to know if I was okay.  The first thing I ever said to her was, 'are you an angel?'"

Once-ler disappeared into the memory of when he first met Kat.  It was the first time a girl was actually concerned about him.  It was also the first time he caused a girl to laugh or made a girl blush.  Now that he thought about it, that was an incredibly stupid line but it worked on Kat.

"Of course, we started out as friends and then I wrote a note to her in class asking her if she wanted to be my friend or girlfriend.  She kept the paper out of my eyeshot when she checked the box and hid it from me until the end of class.  When the bell rang, she left the paper on her desk and that's when I finally saw what she checked," Once-ler said, remembering how happy he was when Kat checked girlfriend.

Once-ler took his hat off and brushed his hair.

"After seeing Godzilla King of the Monsters, we were betrothed," Once-ler said, putting his hair brush down and putting his hat back on.  Then he dusted off his clothes and turned to Pipsqueak.

"Be honest, Pipsqueak, how do I look?" he asked.

"Like a Beanpole" an annoying voice said.

Once-ler saw the Lorax sneaking through his window again.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Once-ler said, glaring at the strange creature.

"Knocking?"

"It's when you bang lightly on the door before barging in," Once-ler told him.

The Lorax went outside, banged on the door and then waited for Once-ler to open it.

"How was that?" The Lorax asked.

Once-ler sighed.

"You know what?  I don't have time for this, I have a date which, in my species language, is a meeting with a member of the opposite sex," Once-ler said.  "Or, in some cases, the same sex."

"So, you're getting married tonight?" The Lorax asked.

Once-ler stared at the Lorax like he'd gone insane.

"I just reunited with her!" he said.  "Maybe we'll get married a few years later but not now!"

"Isn't that what humans do when they mate?" The Lorax said confused.

"No one proposes on the first date!" Once-ler said.  "Okay, there are some men that do, but these men also carve the woman's name in their arm and, if she has any sense, she'll take the nearest exit out of there."

Once-ler had a mental image of showing up to the cafe with a diamond ring and Kat's name carved into his arm and her running to the nearest exit calling for the police.

"You humans have a ritual for everything," The Lorax said, looking around the cottage.  "With animals, everything's simple.  The males find a female they like and they sing to her.  If she likes the male in return, she takes him as a mate."

"What if the female doesn't like him?"

"Then the male finds a new female to sing to," The Lorax said.  "It's as simple as that."

"Well I'm glad everyone in the animal kingdom has it so simple," Once-ler said sarcastically.  "Unfortunately, I don't, so I really have to make a good impression if I want Kat to like me."

"Kat?" The Lorax said while laughing.  "Your mate's name after a household pet?"

The Once-ler glared at the Lorax.

"If you must know, her name is Katrina.  Her friends call her Kat and she's not my mate!" Once-ler said angrily.  "Well, not yet."

"Hope you have better luck with her than you did selling the thneed," The Lorax remarked.

The Lorax mentioning the thneed just made Once-ler even more angry.

"Look, Mustache, it's only been the first day and how did you know I didn't sell that thneed?!"

"You come home looking depressed and covered in tomato sauce and you think I can't figure it out?"

"I'll have you know, that it's only been the first day!" Once-ler defended.  "And, when Kat and I were kids, she was crazy about me!"

Once-ler smiled as the Lorax raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you haven't even seen this girl since you were a kid?" The Lorax asked.

Once-ler's smile faded.

"Yeah, what difference does that make?" Once-ler said.

"I don't know much about your kind but, from what I've seen, you're always changing," The Lorax said, his face showing concern.  "This Kat might not be the same girl you knew when you were young."

Once-ler's face fell.  As much as he'd hate to admit it, The Lorax did have a point.  What if Kat still had a crush on that Josh guy?  What if she only saw Once-ler as a friend?  Maybe that was what Kat was going to tell him before that other waitress interrupted them.  Or worse, what if Kat hated him for humiliating her?  It was because of him that her boss yelled at her like that.

"You've only met one human in your entire lifetime, how could you possibly know anything about my species?" Once-ler said.

The Lorax sighed.

"I'm just telling you not to get your hopes up," The Lorax said.

"Thanks for your advice but I can handle this on my own," Once-ler grabbed his guitar and walked out the door.  "I'll sweep her off her feet, you'll see!"

A/N: Uh oh, Kat doesn't want a relationship but Once-ler's hoping it would blossom into one.  How will this play out?  I'm not going to give a threat saying that I won't put out another chapter if you don't review, but I will say this.  I find reviews highly motivating, whether it's praise or constructive criticism.  I mean, writing a story's like giving a speech.  If there's no one in the room, then there's really no point in giving it.