*Is this mic on? Okay, perfect! Hello, guys! I finished the first chapter of this fanfic. I published this on March 20, 2021. If you guys like this chapter, don't forget to vote and spam the comment section. Btw, the songs are called "All of Me" by John Legend and "Closer" by The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey. Enjoy!*

Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, hundred--

The phone rang in the garage while the gorilla put the dumbbell down that he's been curling his arms up with. He grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off of his brow from the early workout while answering the phone on his workbench.

"Hello?"

"Johnny!" the familiar excited voice spoke from the other end of the phone.

"M-Mr. Moon," Johnny, the gorilla, stuttered while wiping his sweat faster. "Uh, what's up? Is there still rehearsal--?"

"No, no rehearsal. It's canceled today. Just stay home, okay, kid?" Buster cautioned Johnny, who looked at the phone confused.

"Uh...I'm home but, uh, sure, I guess," Johnny replied while scratching the back of his head.

"Great, see you tomorrow, Johnny," Buster replied while hanging up the phone.

Johnny arched a brow with a shrug. "Hmm." The gorilla walked through the warehouse while passing by photos of him and his father when he's younger. However, what he noticed in most of the pictures was that his mother wasn't in any of them. The gorilla was confused as to why but he just shrugged and sat on the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Well, nothing to do today," Johnny talked to himself with a sigh. Since his father and his gang were in jail, Johnny had been living in the house alone. Frequently, he visited his father and had conversations about him about his music career taking off and his new job opening as a piano teacher for a small elementary school. His father had changed since he saw his son performing that one night on stage on television. Having the change of heart, his father could have never been more proud of Johnny. Johnny was hoping that he could see his father again to rekindle their relationship as father and son.

But right now, his father's in jail, and Johnny had to wait till he gets out. The young gorilla leaned back on the green couch and turned on the television in his living room.

The television automatically showed him the news.

"On Today's Parker News, a group of mysterious gang members beat and almost killed the retired actress's grandson, Eddie Noodleman," the news anchor, who's an otter, spoke up.

"Eddie Noodleman is luckily still alive after the incident but he has suffered injuries--"

Johnny had his eyes widened in shock. Even though, Johnny didn't know Eddie...Buster does. No wonder Buster wanted to cancel the rehearsals and told him to stay safe outside. Before the news anchors could provide further information, the phone rang again as Johnny turned off the television and picked up the phone beside him.

"Hello?--"

"Johnny!" another familiar voice spoke urgently.

"Dad, hey, how are you doing?" Johnny responded to his father's call.

"Johnny, I just saw the news."

"Yeah, me too," Johnny uttered nervously.

"Son, I need you to be careful when you go out, okay?" Johnny's father responded. "Remember that pistol in the drawer of the workbench? Carry that with you--"

"Whoa, whoa, Dad, my rehearsals are canceled today but still, I'll be fine," Johnny replied, trying to ease his father's conscious.

"Just be careful. And carry that with you whenever you go out," Johnny's father demanded softly. "Lock the doors, closed the windows, make sure you don't leave anything unlocked."

"Dad, Dad, I'll be okay," Johnny soothed his father.

"I-I can't just lose you the same way I lost your mother," his father blurted out.

"M-My mother--?"

"I'll tell you later. Love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

The phone hanged up as Johnny placed it back in its place, pondering deeply.

Oh boy, there's going to be a lot of questions I need to ask Dad. Johnny sighed and went back to the garage while pulling the drawer on the workbench, seeing the pistol just like his father had pointed out. The young gorilla had carried a gun before, in fact, he's just as good at it as he was with piano. Johnny debated in his mind whether he should take it or not since he's going out someplace to see if Eddie is okay. Or if his other friends are okay. However, he knew Rosita was safe with her twenty-five crazy children and husband at the house, Gunter he wasn't sure of, Buster was safe with Ms. Crawley but he highly doubts she'll do anything to protect him, his father was in jail, Mike was with his mistress...even though no one knew where he was at this point, and Ash...Ash was living in the house all by herself.

"Maybe I should keep her company if this situation is going to be a big deal," Johnny talked to himself while a groan escaped his lips. "Fine." Johnny picked up the pistol and made sure it's loaded. When he saw that it's loaded, he hid it in his belt. "Just in case."

~.~

"Putting my defenses up,

Cause I don't want to fall in love.

If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack".

In the small cottage, a young porcupine strummed her guitar quietly while going over the lyrics she'd written down on her computer. She continued to play on her guitar.

"Never put my love out on the line.

Never said, "Yes" to the right guy.

Never had trouble getting what I want.

But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough."

She messed up in one of the notes while going over it with the same lyric. Before she could proceed further, a loud obnoxious knock came from the front door.

"I know you're in there, Ash," A familiar annoying voice came from the door, causing her to groan irritably.

"Go away, Lance," Ash, the young porcupine growled irritably at her ex.

"Come on, babe, I know I was a jerk, but if you give us a second chance--"

"The answer is no," Ash snarled while rolling her pretty blue diamond eyes.

"Come on, babe, I know I made a mistake and I know you want me back--"

"Uh, no," Ash argued while adjusting her guitar strings.

Ash was sure that Lance would be the one that would love her always but...since he cheated on her with this basic girl named Becky, Ash had been closing up and would not give Lance another chance. Once a cheater will always be a cheater. She adjusting the guitar strings.

"Come on, babe, you know you can't live without me," Lance said in an obnoxious tone.

Ash just had enough while one of her quills was launched out of her hair and stabbed through the wall. She got up and stomped towards the door. When she opened it just to give him her piece of mind, Lance, the other porcupine, quickly invited himself in without her consent. Not the one to let him do so, she placed a hand on his chest and shoved him out of the door with a growl.

"I'm sorry, you don't get to come in and for your information, I can live without you! And you need to leave!" Ash barked angrily while getting ready to slam the door. However, Lance stopped it.

"Look, Ash, I'm sorry--"

"No, you're not sorry. Go be with Becky for all I care--"

"Look, babe, I know that--"

"You know nothing! Get out or I'll call the cops!" Ash threatened tearfully.

Lance smirked. "No, you wouldn't."

Before she could do anything, Lance quickly charged through the door, grabbed her wrists, and pinned her against the wall, leaving the front door wide open.

"What the--?! What are you doing?! Get off of me!" Ash barked angrily.

"Come on, admit it. You really want me," Lance replied while Ash kicked him on the side to get him off of her but he didn't flinch.

"I hate you!" Ash screamed with tears streaming down her eyes.

"Aw, Ash, I know you don't mean that."

Meanwhile, Johnny was driving his truck down towards Ash's since he knew where she lives and she knew where he lives. Johnny noticed her front door wide open at her small cottage. With a brow raised, he turned off his truck and hopped out. He heard screaming and grunting, which didn't sound good to his ears. He immediately peered into the house to notice someone pinning Ash up against the wall. When he took a closer look, he noticed that Ash mentioned having an ex-boyfriend...that must be him.

Johnny drew his brows together while looming over Lance. Before Lance could turn around and Ash could call out Johnny's name, Johnny surprised both porcupines as Johnny was able to lift Lance up by the quills without flinching in pain.

"Hey! Get your hands off of me, dirty ape!" Lance shouted while throwing his fists around.

Johnny threw him out of the cottage while standing at the front door. "You stay away from her. You don't touch her, don't think of her, don't even look at her. If you do, I'll make you wish you're never born."

With a menacing growl and a deadly glare coming from the gorilla, Lance nodded his head nervously. Like a coward, Lance ran away from the cottage, far from sight. The gorilla huffed while pulling quills out of his hand without whimpering in pain.

Once the quills were off of his hand, Johnny sighed heavily while turning to Ash, who looked up at him in shock.

"So, how are you doing?" Johnny asked in a light-hearted tone. "Besides running into the ex-boyfriend?"

Ash let out a small chuckle at the way Johnny was able to change his tone so quickly from threatening to friendly in a matter of minutes. "Uh...well, I was bored, and Lance decided to harass me until you show up. You know, I could've handled that."

Johnny shut the door with a smirk. "Sure you could, but I thought you might need a little boost from a friend."

Ash cornered a small smile. "Thanks."

"It's not a problem."

"So...what are you doing out and about?" Ash asked while Johnny lowered his head so that he wouldn't bump his head into the ceiling.

"Thought you might need some company and it turns out that I was right," Johnny replied while not further stepping into her house without her consent. "Do you mind if I keep you company in case your ex decides to pick another fight?"

Ash smiled softly at her friend. "You know? Why not. You're the only sane guy in this crazy city."

Johnny snorted at that comment while walking into the living room. "I wouldn't say I'm 'sane' but sure, we'll go with that."

Ash giggled at her friend with a light blush on her cheeks that he didn't notice. "Want me to get you something to drink?"

Johnny sat on the couch. "Nah, I'm fine for right now."

Ash noticed a pistol hidden in Johnny's belt as he glanced down at what she's looking at and shrugged.

"It's just in case," he answered before she asked. "Dad would have my head if he found out I wasn't carrying this thing around."

Ash giggled a bit while sitting by him. "How is your dad anyway? Still in prison?"

Johnny nodded his head and leaned back on the couch. "Eh, yeah, but he'll get out in a few months."

"That sounds good for you and your dad."

"Yeah. I was thinking about rekindling the relationship I had with my dad. Just because I want to build a stronger bond with him."

"I think you're already building a stronger bond by visiting him in prison--"

"Yeah, but that's limited. We have five minutes from each visit and it's never enough," Johnny responded while looking up at the ceiling. "I mean...just to spend five minutes with him."

Ash leaned back and looked up there with him. "Maybe five minutes with you is all he needs to face prison life. Maybe that meant something for him more than anyone."

Johnny looked at the young porcupine with an arched brow. "Really?"

"I would think so."

Johnny faced the ceiling again and sighed deeply. "I guess you're right." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a piano at the corner of the room. "Whoa, you got a piano?"

"Yeah, I just bought it...I'm trying to learn how to play piano so that I can expand my horizons," Ash replied while watching Johnny looking at it in pure fascination.

"Is it okay if I can--?"

"Of course," Ash responded with a smile at her friend as the young gorilla sat on the bench and opened up the piano. He played the keys, messing around a bit while Ash watched in fascination.

Johnny decided to play a song while singing the verses.

https://youtu.be/ngq5Aw0Q6rQ

"What would I do without your smart mouth?

Drawing me in and you kicking me out.

You've got my head spinning, no kidding.

I can't pin you down.

What's going on in that beautiful mind?

I'm on your magical mystery ride.

And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me.

But I'll be alright."

That's when Johnny had his eyes closed and let his fingers play the keys without thinking.

"My head's underwater but I'm breathing fine.

You're crazy and I'm out of my mind.

'Cause all of me loves all of you.

Love your curves and all your edges.

All your perfect imperfections.

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you.

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning.

Cause I give you all of me.

And you give me all of you, oh."

Ash watched this with awe while smiling at her friend enjoying the piano. He now didn't have to barge into the theater so that he could play the old used piano in there. But Ash couldn't help but watch at his beautiful angelic voice singing the next verse.

"How many times do I have to tell you

Even when you're crying you're beautiful too.

The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood.

You're my downfall, you're my muse.

My worst distraction, my rhythm, and blues.

I can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you.

My head's underwater but I'm breathing fine.

You're crazy and I'm out of my mind.

'Cause all of me loves all of you.

Love your curves and all your edges.

All your perfect imperfections.

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you.

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning.

Cause I give you all of me.

And you give me all of you, oh."

Johnny let his vocal cords shine while playing the keys while Ash played her guitar strings quietly.

Then Ash began to sing along with Johnny.

"Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts

Risking it all, though it's hard."

Both Johnny and Ash began to sing together in one.

"Cause all of me loves all of you.

Love your curves and all your edges.

All your perfect imperfections.

Give your all to me

I'll give my all to you.

You're my end and my beginning

Even when I lose I'm winning.

Cause I give you all of me.

And you give me all of you, oh."

Johnny sang the last note by himself with a soft smile.

"Cause I give you all of me.

And you give me all of you, oh."

Johnny stopped his singing and drew his hands away from the piano while Ash watched this with a soft smile.

The young gorilla smiled softly. "Wow, that's a release."

"The song or you playing the piano?" Ash asked with a small smile.

"Just playing the piano in general. Thank you, Ash," Johnny responded with a soft smile and a tiny blush on his cheeks.

Ash cleared her throat while coming up with a playful remark. "Well, you look a little lonely singing all by yourself."

Johnny chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you joined. We should do a duet together."

Ash pondered a bit. "Well, let's see what Mr. Moon says--"

"Oh yeah, our rehearsals are canceled--"

"I know...he called this morning. It seems weird since he's usually energetic and--"

"Eddie was shot today."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah."

"Will he be okay?"

"Well, yeah. I'm sure he'll be better in the next few days," Johnny responded with a warm smile. "Do you think your ex will come back?"

"Well, you scared him out of his wits but...I'm not sure what happens if you leave. Do you mind if you stay the night just in case?" Ash asked shyly.

"Sure, I don't mind."

~.~

In the dead of night, Buster refused to leave the office while Ms. Crawley already left. He had his window open so that he could see everything and feel the night breeze. Mr. Moon sighed heavily while looking into the computer, his search history relating to a cheetah and earrings. For some reason, the cheetah sounded familiar. Buster kept searching while breathing heavily.

"Mr. Moon," a silky voice uttered, causing the koala to look up in pure terror at the cheetah with earrings on the right ear.

"You," Buster growled. "If you touch him--"

"Or what? You'll fight me? You know you won't stand a chance," the cheetah snarled, her green cat eyes glaring straight into his blue ones.

"What do you want?" Buster interrogated the cheetah.

"Just to get your attention. Apparently, hurting your little sheep friend has gotten your attention," the cheetah replied with a growl.

"Alright, you got my attention. Now, what do you want?" Buster questioned in an aggressive matter.

"I want you to give this theater up," the cheetah answered while digging her claws on the wooden desk. "My family had rights to this theater before you stole it from us."

"Wh-What? Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you'll get the message once I--"

"Wait, wait!" Buster shouted, knowing what she's going to say. "Look, you can't just swoop in and hurt innocent people just because you want this theater."

"Your father stole my father's fame, your father made sure you have everything you want, including this theater--"

"Excuse me, my father never 'gave' me this theater. I worked for it," Buster argued his point.

"Ha! That's a laugh. Your father handed you the theater but you almost got it bankrupt!" the cheetah responded with a laugh. "Sure you worked hard for it. My father had worked his whole life to own this theater like this but your father didn't have to lay a finger on it. Instead, with a snap of his fingers, he gave you this theater."

"Because your father turned to crime. My father was an obedient citizen--"

The cheetah slammed her palms on his desk, scaring the koala back in his seat. "Your father got my father killed, Mr. Moon! Your father ain't a saint! So, next time you want to say your father was such an angel, you better double-check his records...otherwise, you're just a blind spoiled child with a rich dead father. And a whole lot of debt ahead of you."

Buster breathed heavily while looking into the deadly glare of the cheetah's. There's a deadly pause as Buster clutched his chest with fear in his eyes. The cheetah smirked deviously and exited through the open window of his office. Buster sighed heavily in relief, laying back on the chair. Was that a nightmare or was that real? He blinked his eyes a couple of times to find that it's real.

"Oh, what do I do?" Buster muttered to himself.

To Be Continued...