*Hey, guys, how are you all doing? Do you miss me? It's been three days, but it feels like forever. LOL! To warn everyone on here, this is a filler till you get to the end of the chapter. If you like to take a break from the intensity of the plot, this is the chapter that will relax you a bit. Lately, I've been switching back and forth between putting music and putting posters. Oof, I'm disorganized. Anyway, this is published on April 6, 2021. If you like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and spam the comment section. That would be greatly appreciated. The songs used are "Rag Doll" by Aerosmith and "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. Enjoy!*

 Milla went with the girls after Meena offered her to go with them. She accepted it so that she could get to know the people with who her little brother became friends. They entered a huge mall in the center of Catalonia, escalators revealed as Milla gasped in fascination at the vastness of the mall.

"So pretty," Milla was able to say.

"Oh my gosh! Look at all of these cute dresses, Ash!" Rosita pointed out while noticing a hot pink dress that had Ash's size on it.

Ash looked at the dress in pure disgust. "Barf, could I try on some black dresses?"

"Uh, unless you're going to a funeral, you need something more pretty like this one!" Nancy suggested while showing a purple dress with pink and red flowers.

Ash shook her head. "Come on, with flowers too?"

"It's a pretty dress," Rosita pointed out as she picked up the flowery dress. "At least try it on and if you don't like it, we'll find something else new."

Ash sighed heavily. "This is exactly why I hate clothes shopping."

Meena saw a blood-red dress about Ash's size and picked it off of the clothing line with her trunk. "Do you happen to like red, Ash?"

Ash turned to the elephant holding the red dress, blue eyes widened in awe. "I accept red too."

Nancy spotted the red dress. "Oh my gosh! We should give this one a try too!"

Milla became distracted by the vastness of the mall, her orange eyes wandered aimlessly at the huge mall.

"Hey, Milla, what do you think about this one?" Meena asked, causing the snow leopard to turn to see a beautiful orange dress with white stripes, about Milla's size.

"Wow...beautiful...just...everything is so beautiful. This is going to be so hard for me to choose," Milla answered with a blush.

Rosita gasped wide-eyed when she found a pretty navy blue dress. "Oh gosh, I should wear this when Norman and I have our little date nights."

"You would look cute in it," Nancy complemented with a bright smile.

"Thank you," Rosita accepted the compliment while taking the dress off of the shopping line.

Milla had already had five dresses in her arms with a huge grin on her face. One was bright blue with pink flowers on it, the other one was pink with pretty jewels on it, the other one was green with yellow and pink flowers, the fourth one was yellow, and the last one was orange.

"Is it okay if I can try these on?" Milla asked meekly.

Rosita giggled at the sight of Milla holding five different dresses. "Of course!"

Ash picked out another dress, which was a black one with red flowers on it.

Meena was quiet for a moment until she saw a yellow summer dress that was her size.

"You like that one, Meena?" Nancy asked while Meena glanced down to look at the female mouse.

"Oh-I-uh-I was just going along for the ride and--"

Nancy smirked to herself. "I think that dress would look great on you."

As soon as Nancy walked away, Meena pondered for a moment and picked the dress with her trunk.

Nancy noticed the girls got their dresses to try on, smiling giddily to herself.

Wonder what the boys are up to, Nancy thought to herself when Mike crossed her mind.

~.~

Mike, Johnny, Buster, Gunter, Eddie, and his bodyguards entered the tailor's shop with gold embroidered on the ceilings and the walls, with suits lined up to be tried on.

Mike smiled proudly. "Here it is. The finest tailor's shop in all Catalonia."

Johnny shivered. "It's a bit chilly in here."

"This is fancy for being a tailor's shop," Eddie pointed out while looking at all the suits around them.

Buster arched a brow. "Is there where you got that fancy purple suit, Mike?"

Mike glanced up at the koala with an embarrassed gaze and a nervous laugh. "Uh...yeah...I may or may not have used the bear gang's money to-to buy a red sports car and a thousand-dollar suit."

Everyone slowly glanced down at Mike, brows arched.

"Do you even have that much money?" Eddie asked.

"Well, back then I was betting that I would win a hundred thousand dollars but...uh...there's a miscommunication," Mike responded while giving a slight glare at Buster.

Buster clenched his teeth a bit. "Yeah...that was supposed to be a thousand--"

"A thousand?!" Mike shouted in disbelief, causing the men to shush him.

"How can we help you today?" A tailor, who's a chimpanzee, approached the boys, stance straightened up.

Mike cleared his throat. "Yeah, we're trying to get our friend's measurements and help him with his suit."

"Who's this friend?" the tailor questioned the mouse.

"I-I am," Johnny responded with a hand raised slightly.

Mike nodded his head in confirmation. "His name is Johnny. And he's looking to go out on a date with a special someone. We figured that you might help us out with that."

The chimp pondered. "We're experts on finding the finest suits to take on. Come with me, Johnny."

Johnny followed the tailor hesitantly, getting his measurements around the chest, arm, and waist.

Meanwhile, the boys sat on the comfortable sofas while waiting for their friend to get a suit.

"So...Johnny wants to date with someone special?" Eddie asked Mike.

Mike nodded his head with a mischievous grin. "Yes. And I ain't gonna tell ya who."

There's complete and utter silence, leaving the group to ponder.

"It's Ash, isn't it?" Gunter guessed automatically.

Mike had his eyes widened in shock that the pig was able to figure out quickly. "Whoa, I ain't saying that! I mean, who knows why Johnny has his shirt off in front of Ash twice! Maybe three times if she saw him shirtless this morning--"

"You know, Mike, if you're trying to keep a secret...you are doing a terrible job at it," Buster informed the mouse.

Mike laughed. "I wasn't intending on keeping this a secret. Besides, the kid didn't tell me to keep it a secret. Therefore, I ain't breaking any promises."

Everyone had their brows arched.

"You're saying that Johnny likes Ash...why?" Gunter asked in curiosity.

Mike shrugged. "Well, something about her personality that attracted him."

Buster pondered while a smile was formed from his face. "You know what, I think I got a better idea. I think we should make Johnny and Ash the main cast of the musical!"

"Hey, it ain't a bad idea," Mike responded while nodding his head in agreement.

Gunter nodded his head quickly. "Ya! Ya! That's a good idea!"

"What's a good idea?" They heard Johnny asked as the men looked to see Johnny in a red checkered suit with a red shirt underneath it.

The group had their eyes wide in pure shock.

"We're done here. We'll take it," Mike responded.

"That...was quick," Buster reacted.

Johnny sighed heavily in relief.

Eh, the girls will be done by the time we're done with Johnny, Mike thought about it until he realized...the girls were at a flipping mall.

~.~

The girls showed dresses they wanted to get to each other in the girl's dressing room, earning ooh's and aww's from their group, cooing over how pretty the dress was, and egging on about trying on another dress.

Ash, for one, hated doing this because it felt like she's going to some fashion show no one will care about except for the girls she's with. Well, she would exclude Meena and Milla in that regard. Milla didn't seem to have any experience with shopping in the mall and if someone were to strut while wearing any dress in front of her...she'll most likely steal the dress and run away with it. Meena would probably be bored like Ash but she smiled and complimented, not cooing like both Rosita and Nancy.

Nancy and Rosita were the ones that made the girl porcupine cringed. They had well intentions but she couldn't help but feel like she's ready to go home already. Not to Lance but...maybe stay at Johnny's house for a while until she could just face her ex. She overthought most of the things that she ended up buying three dresses. In all honesty, she liked the three dresses she tried on and she will definitely wear that black dress with red flowers on it.

Milla ended up letting Rosita buy her four of the dresses. The fifth one was a bit too small and tight and she couldn't find a dress of a different size. Milla tried to put the dresses back since she's dirt poor and had no money, but Rosita insisted on paying for them.

Nancy bought her own dress and Meena bought hers with the money her mother gave her.

Hours went by as the girls went to a salon to get their nails manicured and pedicured. The conversations were endless upon endless about hot gossips, about the music they'll participate in, and worrying about Buster and his mental health.

After they got their nails done, the girls went out to eat at a small burger place in the mall, ready for the waiter to come and get their orders, with shopping bags next to them.

"Okay, okay, so here's a thing," Nancy began the conversation with a laugh. "So, the song was added in the script because Mike sang it during the singing competition, and maybe...we'll get him to sing it again."

"Yeah, and Mike did a great job. He sang like Frank Sinatra," Rosita replied to the conversation.

Ash chuckled. "So...he sang like an old man."

"No...Frank Sinatra actually sang beautifully," Meena corrected her friend.

"Yeah, he sounded like an angel," Nancy added with a wistful sigh.

Milla smiled at the girls. "Yeah...I love listening to music and singing. Also, I work out a lot."

"Wow. So fit," Nancy responded with a giggle.

Ash broadened her eyes comically. "How in the world do you even work out?"

"Oh, Eddie has a gym near his pool house and I tried it. It's pretty cool actually," Milla explained with a small smile.

"Wow. I don't even have time to work out," Rosita responded with a chuckle. "When you got twenty-five kids, life gets hectic."

"Twenty-five?" Milla uttered in disbelief.

"She's not kidding," Ash replied. "There's literally twenty-five of them."

"At least, Gunter was willing to babysit whenever Norman and I needed time together. His work schedule gets so crazy that he barely had any time to get off and help take care of the kids," Rosita added with a sympathetic sigh.

Milla frowned while looking up at Rosita. "What is it like to be a Mom?"

Rosita didn't expect the question to come from the snow-leopard. "Oh...a lot of work but...in the end, it's worth it. Why?"

"I-I was wondering," Milla responded shyly.

The group went silent for a moment as the girls moved on with the subject.

"So, Lance was still in that cottage of yours?" Rosita questioned Ash.

Ash groaned irritably. "Yeah. Johnny and Mike had to sneak in there to get my guitar and laptop. I mean, they didn't have to but...I don't know."

"Well, you're very special to Johnny," Nancy replied with a soft smile.

However, everyone caught Nancy's words.

"Wait...special to Johnny?" Meena repeated, causing Nancy to cover her mouth.

Nancy hadn't told the girls why she's suggesting on them going out on clothes shopping and pampering themselves. She almost cursed herself in her mind as Ash slowly shrank away with a blush.

"Uh...as a friend," Ash responded with a fake smile.

Rosita arched a brow. "Well, I could understand that but...your face was saying something different."

Ash shook her head. "Nope."

Rosita smiled brightly as if she discovered something amazing. "Oh my gosh! You have a crush on Johnny!"

Ash groaned heavily while covering her face and her quills tensed up.

"Wow, that's so cute!" Meena added. "Wait...is this why we're going dress shopping?"

Ash turned her head to give Nancy a deadpan stare. "Is it, Nancy?"

Nancy was silent for a moment while giggling nervously. "Oh no, no, no, I mean, since Lance moved in...you won't have many clothes unless we can have Johnny break in and get it for you--"

"But...we didn't know Lance was at my cottage when you suggested dress shopping," Ash added, arching a brow.

Rosita patted Ash's shoulder to comfort her. "It's okay to have a crush. I mean, I had a crush on Norman since we're in middle school, and look at us now. Twenty years into our marriage."

Ash frowned a bit. "How did you do it, Rosita? You and your husband? How can you stay married for that long?"

Rosita shrugged. "I don't know. We just clicked and we stayed together. I think when you love somebody...you just know for sure that they're the ones that you'll spend with for the rest of your life."

"So, Meena, do you have any crushes?" Nancy asked Meena.

Meena had her big ears covering her face slightly. "Um...no. Not at all."

"Not at all?" Rosita urged.

Meena shook her head. "Nope."

"Huh. Well, what about you, Milla?" Nancy moved the question onto the snow leopard.

Milla had her eyes widened, her ears flicking. "Um...what?"

"Do you have any ex's you wanna bash or any crushes you want to talk about?" Nancy asked again with a small smile.

Milla blinked a bit while clearing her throat. "I-uh-have a bunch of exes, I wanna bash...fourteen of them to be exact. Um...three guys dump me on a first date. I dated four girls until it didn't work out because they kissed other girls...um...six of the other guys...um...just...uh--well...they, um, hurt me to the point where I have to leave them...and...uh, one guy...well, was trying to...um...I-uh-I don't want to talk about it..."

The girls watched her with wide-eyed shock and hearing her talk made them want to comfort her and hug her. Milla shrank back from the group as the girls tried to figure out a way to move on from the subject.

"Hey! Do you hear about Ryan Gooseling being in the next action movie?" Nancy changed the subject for Milla's sake.

"Really? What is it?" Rosita asked, playing along with the female mouse.

"I don't know. They haven't come up with the title," Nancy responded with a shrug.

Milla pondered deeply, about her past and about how much she wanted to bash those fourteen people who lost her trust, intoxicated her life more than her own mother, crumbled her to pieces, and stole her virginity to her new friends. But she found it hard to talk about it with complete strangers. However, the girls she's with were nice enough to move on with the next subject instead of interrogating her and demanding answers. Most of the people she's with died...and she didn't pay respects since she had a hard time forgiving them. Milla smiled a bit to herself that Buster must have been extremely lucky for having people like the girls she's with. And now she's lucky that the toxic life was behind her now.

~.~

Buster had no idea why they were at the prison. Johnny said something about wanting to visit his father but he didn't think the visit would take place in jail. Of course, the koala figured Johnny was part of a gang but he wasn't expecting to go to prison to see his father. If it wasn't for the cheeseburger he ate at the hole-in-the-wall diner in a bad neighborhood, he wouldn't have had the urge to throw up. It was late afternoon when they entered the building.

Eddie's bodyguards were on their heels since it's a prison full of dangerous criminals.

Johnny approached the front desk rather less fearful since he's going to see his father. "I'm here to see, Dexter."

"Big Daddy?" the officer at the front desk asked.

"Yep," Johnny responded.

Mike tried to hold in his laughter until he couldn't, causing an outburst of laughter coming from the small mouse. "Pfft! What kind of name is that?!"

The mouse rolled over on the floor and laughed harder than he had ever laughed before.

Eddie and Gunter quickly shushed the mouse as soon as the animals turned their attention to a laughing mouse.

Mike slowly got back up, wiping the tears away from his face from laughter. "Okay, okay...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...that's...just a terrible name."

"Right this way," the officer guided Johnny, unphased from Mike's laughter. The group waited outside, watching the young gorilla going into the prison.

Meanwhile, the officer led Johnny down the hall and into the visiting room where animals were visiting the cellmates through orange phones like they're talking on a phone except it's face to face with a glass in between. Johnny sat on the chair in aisle six while the officer insured him that his father will be there.

His father sat on the chair at the other side of the aisle where Johnny was sitting and picked up the orange phone.

"Hey, Dad," Johnny uttered with a small smile.

"Hello, son," his father greeted. "Oi, boy, I only get fifteen minutes with ya."

"Right, uh, how are you doing?" Johnny asked his father.

Dexter, his father, nodded his head with a smile. "Good. Good. Uh, how are you doing, son? How was your singing--theater thing?"

Johnny giggled a bit. "It's been going great, Dad. In fact, uh, we're starting a musical."

"A musical, eh? I'll definitely watch it when it comes out on television," Dexter responded with a bright smile.

"How's the gang?" Johnny inquired with a soft smile.

"They've been doing fine. They've been meaning to say that they are impressed with your talents."

"Really?"

Dexter nodded proudly. "Yes." Then the big gorilla frowned a bit. "You know, I think I know where you got your singing from."

Johnny leaned in closely to listen to what his father had to say. "Practice?"

"Nah, nah, your voice is good before any practice. No, I think you got that from your mother," Dexter responded with a sad smile. "Your mother's voice was like an angel. I don't know if you remembered but you were just a baby, she used to sing you a lullaby. I had no idea what it is but it seemed to always put you right to sleep. Heh, she's beautiful."

Dexter frowned again while staring at the counter.

"What happened to her?" Johnny probed softly.

Dexter glanced up at his son. "She died, son. She was killed in a shootout...protecting you."

Johnny blinked his eyes while tilting his head. "From what?"

"From the other gang. The bear gang," his father answered with a sigh. "That taught me one thing from both raising you and losing your mother. I would highly advise you to be careful when you fall in love as I did with your mother because that somebody will become your weakness and people like us are cutthroats. I was so young and did not realize this. Both your mother and I had you and you both became my whole world. But...being in the gang took your mother...and I refused to let it take you. So...I thought that you should join and become...you know, a gang so that you would survive. But...when you told me that you don't want to be in a gang anymore, I saw your mother in your eyes...and--" Dexter almost broke down and cry in front of Johnny but he toughened up and straightened his posture. "You know, son, you may have my good looks but you got your mother's spirit. And that's something you should keep always."

Johnny smiled through the tears edging out of his eyes, wishing he could hug his father but he knew he couldn't. He nodded his head in understanding.

Dexter was gestured by the officer that the time was up as he looked at his son. "I have to go. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," Johnny was able to utter without crying as they both hung the phone and left the seat, leaving Johnny alone and teary-eyed. He took a deep breath in and out as he got up from his seat and exited the visiting room, wiping tears away with his sleeve.

When Johnny walked into the front office of the prison, his group was there.

"How's your visit with Big Daddy?" Mike teased, almost laughing until he noticed Johnny's tears. "Oh...uh...that-um-that was supposed to be a joke--"

"Mike, be quiet," Eddie snarled softly at the mouse.

Buster glanced up at Johnny. "You okay, Johnny?"

Johnny cleared his throat. "Yeah...just an emotional visit. Let's go."

The group exited out of the prison, darkness covering the sky.

"Wow, it's nighttime already," Mike pointed out obviously.

Johnny didn't want to separate with the group yet, going into that garage and house all by himself. "Is it time to go?"

Eddie shrugged. "Well...I don't know. I'm up for staying late all night. How about going to the poolhouse for a good night's swim?"

Mike shook his head. "Oh no, I got a better idea than that."

~.~

The girls exited out of the mall with shopping bags of dresses belonging to them, early evening rolled around.

"Wow...that's a nice day," Rosita replied with a smile.

Nancy nodded her head in agreement. "Of course. I would love to do that again sometime."

"Ugh, anything but dress shopping," Ash groaned while rubbing her tired eyes, earning a giggle from the girl group.

"We'll try not to bore you next time, Ash," Nancy responded to Ash's complaint. "Maybe look at all of those edgy clothes to wear in the future."

"Well, I better get home before my husband panics without me," Rosita informed while bidding the girls goodbye.

"Well, yeah, my mom needs me home by now. See ya, guys." Meena walked away from the group and put her headset on.

Milla looked at the time. "Well...I, um, gotta get to work."

"You have a job?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. This is my third week on the job and I don't want to screw it up. I'll see you," Milla answered while heading off in a different direction, leaving Nancy and Ash alone.

"Looks like it's just us," Nancy uttered.

Ash sighed heavily. "Okay, Nancy, be honest with me, was the dress shopping idea inspired by hearing that I have a crush on Johnny?"

Nancy giggled. "Well, you and Johnny seemed cute together--"

"Yeah...um...I don't know. Will he, you know, freak out since I'm a porcupine and he's a gorilla?" Ash inquired while the girls were walking on the sidewalk.

Nancy was surprised that Ash wasn't going to strangle her but she smiled softly at her. "I highly doubt he'll be thinking about that. I wouldn't worry about that part of it and be happy."

Ash twiddled her thumbs. "I don't know...I mean, Lance asked me out and I said yes but I don't know if he knows--"

"He might not know...but it's worth a try," Nancy responded as the girls continued walking down the streets.

~.~

The boys arrived at the front of a flashy building with neon blue and pink lights.

Buster had his eyes widened comically. "Is-Is this a nightclub?"

Mike laughed. "Uh, yes. The best of the best."

"Um...I'm not sure if this is a good idea," Eddie protested softly.

"Oh, come on, you guys are such pansies--"

The gorilla security guard stopped the group. "Halt there---wait, Johnny?"

"Darrell?" Johnny instantly recognized. "Is this where you've been this whole time?"

Darrell gruffed in answer. "Yeah. Well, come on in."

Johnny nodded his head but Darrell stopped the rest of the group.

"You guys are not coming in," Darrell replied coldly.

"Oi, there. They're with me," Johnny informed.

Darrell sighed heavily and stepped aside. "Get in."

The group followed after Johnny into the nightclub, flashing lights everywhere inside while every animal in the club danced by hopping to the beat of the music.

Johnny instantly regretted his decisions.

"Whoa--how in the world did you know that guy?!" Mike asked loudly.

"What?!" Johnny shouted a question.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THIS GUY?!?" Mike repeated his question louder than last time.

"He used to be part of the gang before he quit!" Johnny answered with a shout.

"What?!" Buster jumped in while trying to hear what Johnny was trying to say.

"I SAID HE USED TO BE PART OF THE GANG BEFORE HE QUIT!!!" Johnny repeated his answer in a loud voice.

"I think we should find some seats so that we can hear each other better!" Eddie informed loudly.

"WHAT?!" The group asked in a loud voice.

"I SAID---you know what, come here." Eddie guided the group up the steps away from the music so that they could hear each other better, which solved the problem.

"Oh, much better," Buster replied with a sigh.

"WHAT?!" Mike shouted, teasing Buster.

Buster gave a deadpan stare at the mouse. "Ha, ha, very funny, Mike."

Eddie's security guards sat on the table next to them.

"You know, a drink shouldn't hurt," Mike responded while a penguin waiter. "Hey, waiter, get us some whiskey. The good kind, ya know what I'm talking about."

The penguin waiter nodded and went off to get the whiskeys.

"Uh...should we be drinking?" Eddie asked his group.

"Ah, come on, Eddie, loosen up a bit. I mean, look at Gunter!" Mike pointed at the dancing pig, shaking his bums while rocking his hips side to side. "You guys are not taking full advantage of this."

"I'll pass on the whiskey," Johnny replied. "It's better if I don't drink."

"Now that makes me want to see what happens when you're drunk," Mike responded with a laugh.

Johnny chuckled a bit. "I'll most likely throw up on your suit."

"Oh, never mind then," Mike responded as the waiter brought the shot glasses and a huge bottle of whiskey. "Ooh, thank you, sir."

"Uh...Mike, I'm not so sure if this is a good idea," Eddie warned as Mike was able to open the whiskey bottle.

"Don't be such a pansy, Eddie," Mike replied with a chuckle, trying to pour himself a glass.

Buster looked at the whiskey sighed heavily. He helped Mike poured the glass for the mouse but then...he poured the glass for himself.

"Uh...Buster?" Eddie gasped in surprise.

"Well, as Mike said, a drink shouldn't hurt," Buster responded while taking a shot of whiskey.

~.~

"I can't believe I'm such an idiot!" Buster cried after his eighth shot of whiskey.

Eddie and Johnny watched this drunken scene unfold while Mike finished his ninth shot.

"Can ya do another shot, Mr. Moon?" Mike teased in a slur.

Gunter joined in this drinking contest, surprising both Eddie and Johnny but they didn't expect any less from the flamboyant pig who drank ten shots in the last hour.

"I'm zhe best in zee drinking zhe most shots!" Gunter bragged, his words confusing.

Eddie groaned in discouragement, slapping a hoof on his forehead and shaking his head. "You know, I think we should go--"

"No! Us little guys need to beat the porkchop!" Mike shouted drunkenly.

Buster breathed heavily while pouring another shot and singing, "Not throwing away my shot!!!!! I'm not throwing away my shot!!!!"

"Buster, this isn't such a great idea," Eddie replied while trying to reach for Buster's glass but Buster shushed him.

"You beautiful soul! You're such a great bouyoufriend!" Buster declared drunkenly, taking another shot.

"Buster, you're drunk," Eddie stated clearly.

"You're sexy," Buster hummed with a small hiccup.

Eddie blinked incredulously with a small blush.

Johnny sealed his lip while pondering about what to do next. "Okay, that's enough of--"

"Whoa, Big Johnny--we almost done with this!" Mike hissed while falling over on the table.

The nightclub got unusually quiet as the music began to play.

"Ladies and gentlemammals, please welcome Milla Star on the stage!" the announcer spoke loudly through the speakers. Eddie and Johnny were shocked to find a familiar snow leopard in a blue top with small sapphires around the neckline and exposing her stomach while wearing a long blue skirt that shows her legs, on stage. She positioned herself in the center stage while grabbing the microphone and began to sing.

https://youtu.be/x9Qv47HpEqw

"There's a fire starting in my heart.

Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark.

Finally, I can see you crystal clear.

Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship."

After those words, she began to clap her hands for everyone to clap in rhythm. The party animals began to clap into the beat along with her as she continued to sing.

"See how I'll leave with every piece of you.

Don't underestimate the things that I will do.

There's a fire starting in my heart.

Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark."

Milla began to rock her hips from side to side into the music while the microphone was close to her face for her beautiful voice to be heard.

"The scars of your love remind me of us.

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless.

I can't help feeling--"

Milla spun around while dancing to the music.

"We could have had it all!!"

Everyone began to cheer and yelp with joy while dancing to the music.

"Rolling in the Deep!!

You have my heart inside of your hands!!

And you played it to the beat!!"

While Milla was singing this, she didn't notice Eddie watching her with fascination while Johnny nodded his head along with the music.

"Baby, I have no story to be told.

But I've heard one of you and I'm gonna make your head burn.

Think of me in the depths of your despair.

Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared."

Milla stepped through the music while not paying attention to the audience cheering and dancing to her voice.

"The scars of your love remind me of us.

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless.

I can't help feeling--

We could have had it all!!!

Rolling in the Deep!!

You have my heart inside of your hands!!

And you played it to the beat!!"

The music began to calm down while Milla's eyes closed, carried away with the music with her dancing.

"Could have had it all.

Rolling in the Deep.

You have my heart inside of your hands.

And you played it to the beat."

Milla tapped to the beat as it got to the middle.

"Throw your soul through every open door.

Count your blessings to find what you look for.

Turn my sorrow into treasured gold.

You'll pay me back in kind and reap what you sowed.

We could have had it all!!!

Rolling in the Deep!!

You had my heart inside of your hands!!

And you played it to the beat!!

We could have had it all!!!

Rolling in the Deep!!

You had my heart inside of your hands!!

But you played it...

You played it!

You played it!

You played it to the beat!"

The song ended as everyone cheered for Milla on stage. She opened her orange eyes while breathing heavily. She smiled a bit while noticing the familiar group of people staring at her wide-eyed. She gasped in recognition that it's Eddie and Johnny. Feeling exposed, she quickly exited off the stage, hoping that they weren't there for the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Eddie saw that Milla noticed them while looking at Johnny. "Johnny, stay with the others. I'll go check with Milla."

"Alright. Go!" Johnny urged as Eddie got up from his seat and went through the nightclub, seeing that the DJ went onto the stage and played some weird techno. Everyone bounced around the sheep while Eddie squeezed through the crowd to look for Milla. Eddie's bodyguards went after him but they couldn't go through the crowd and Eddie disappeared in their sight.

Milla went outside in the back alleyway, shivering in her outfit as she saw a shadowy figure approaching her in the darkness.

"You sang very well, Milla," a voice uttered, a brown cobra with red deadly eyes came out of the shadows with white wolf henchmen.

Milla shivered in the cold. "Thank you."

"But...you don't have my money...do you?"

"I-I'm trying," Milla stuttered, shivering. "I'm barely surviving out here."

"You shouldn't have squandered the money I gave you," the cobra hissed at the snow leopard.

"What you gave wasn't enough to keep me off the streets!" Milla blurted out, tears in her eyes.

"What did you just say?" the snake hissed as one of the wolf henchmen grabbed her by the throat and pounded her against the brick wall.

Milla choked on her words. "You didn't give me enough...if your brother were here--"

"My brother is no longer the heir to my mother's riches!!" the snake barked as the wolf choking her punched her and tossed her aside, leaving a black eye behind. The snake scoffed. "My brother should've never helped you. Pah, waste of space. Deal with her."

The wolf henchmen glared down at her, taking out their pistols. If she stepped towards them, they won't hesitate to shoot.

This was it for Milla. The end of the line. Taking a deep breath in, she's ready for the final shot.

However, she noticed Eddie seeing this while taking out a golf club from a nearby dumpster. She shifted her focus on the wolves so that they wouldn't see she's distracted. Before any action was taken, Eddie wrapped the golf club around the wolf's neck, causing the other wolf to shift the aim and fire. Only...it hit his partner and not Eddie. Eddie quickly dropped the wolf and swung the golf club with his good arm, smacking the wolf straight to the head. The wolf wasn't dead but knocked out.

Milla glanced up at her hero with a broken arm as he dropped the golf club.

"I can't believe I just did that," Eddie muttered mostly to himself as he extended his hoof to help her up. To the sheep, it's a small gesture that almost meant nothing to him...however, to Milla, it's something completely different. A good kind of different like she could trust that person who saved her life and risking his own. Milla shook off the deep thought out of her mind as she grabbed Eddie's hoof and he helped her up to her feet.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Eddie responded as he held her hand with his good hoof and led her back into the nightclub to get to the others.

Unbeknownst to them, the wolf that Eddie knocked out slowly opened his eyes with a painful groan and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Sir...the target's got an accomplice and is nowhere in sight," the wolf was able to speak before passing out.

~.~

The quiet roamed through the streets of NorthSide Catalonia. Ash was with Nancy while approaching Johnny's garage, carrying her bag with her three dresses inside. For one thing, Ash didn't expect to find the gorilla's garage so quickly. Another thing was that the girl porcupine already found her gorilla friend or crush safer than her crazy ex. She smiled at the thought of Johnny punching that smug-faced Lance again, satisfying both his and her desire to sock that son of a prickly cactus! Maybe she should have a turn to sock that stupid cheesy apologetic smile off of her ex.

Well, she now imagined her newfound family jumping him and beat the living daylights out of him but...she didn't think her theater friends weren't that violent at all. Buster would give him the man talk, Eddie would just stare at Lance awkwardly, Meena would just glare daggers at him, Rosita would shut the door in his face, and Nancy would roll her eyes. So, the people who would most likely punch would be Gunter, Johnny, Mike(if he wasn't such a prickler himself), and probably Milla.

Ash tried opening the garage through the red door on the side but she found that it's locked. She knocked on the door but nobody answered.

Nancy arched a brow. "There are two possibilities. One, they could still be inside of the house. Two, they might still be out...this late of the night--"

They immediately heard footsteps as they turned to see Johnny carrying drunken Gunter while Milla and Eddie followed behind the gorilla, with drunken Buster hugging around Milla's neck as a normal koala would do. Eddie's bodyguards were nowhere in sight.

Ash and Nancy had their eyes widened in pure shock. Before Ash could question, Nancy gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Milla, I love your outfit!" Nancy pointed out Milla's fashion, who smiled faintly.

"Thank you," Milla replied meekly.

"Wait...where's Mikey?" Nancy uttered the question.

"Right herwe, darling!" Drunken Mike emerged out of Johnny's hair and fell forward, letting the gorilla catch him quickly.

There's an awkward pause as Johnny smiled weakly up at Ash mostly. Ash blushed a bit with that stupid soft smile.

Nancy noticed this while clearing her throat. "Johnny, do you happen to have the key to the garage?"

Johnny regrouped himself while nodding his head. "Oh, yeah, hold on." The gorilla moved between the girls and unlocked the door to let the ladies in first. Ash didn't expect this gesture but she gladly welcomed it when both she and Nancy walked through the door.

Nancy smirked to herself.

Now that's a gentleman. That's what she wanted to say to Ash but right now wasn't a good time as Gunter ran through the garage while stumbling onto some of the stools.

Johnny clenched his teeth in concern for Gunter's health but the pig seemed to go further into the house until he crashed onto the couch, passed out.

"I won zhe round!!!" Gunter shouted but was muffled by his face on the floor.

Johnny, Ash, Nancy, Eddie, Milla, Buster, and Mike entered the house.

"I believe I can fly!" Mike sang as he hopped off of Johnny's hand and landed smack on the wooden floor as Gunter did. "Ooh, soft."

Nancy rolled her eyes at her drunken boyfriend. "I'll see if Mikey is alright."

Nancy departed to see Mike while Buster let go of Milla and began to take his clothes off. "It's getting hot in here!"

"AH! Mr. Moon!" Johnny screeched while covering his face to not see Buster's naked body.

Ash almost let out a burst of laughter as Eddie and Milla had their eyes widened in pure shock as Buster stumbled into Johnny's room and crashed onto the bed.

Johnny had his eyes enlarged comically in shock. "That's my bed."

Eddie noticed Buster covering himself with the blanket, murmurs were made but they were incoherent. "Well...at least he's covered now."

There's an awkward pause.

"Those are my blankets," Johnny pointed out in shock.

Buster laid on the bed comfortably.

"Just let him sleep," Eddie responded softly as they left Buster to sleep in Johnny's room.

~.~

Johnny decided to take a nice long hot shower but Ash, at the last minute, wanted to take a shower too but she figured she'll wait for Johnny first...or ask to join him since the water might be cold by the time she takes a shower but that's a bit too advanced for both of them. Thinking about just made her blushing worst.

Ugh, what is wrong with me?

Ash didn't think of having these feelings for this gorilla gangster, who rides his skateboard and can take down a gang in a heartbeat. He's a sweet guy though...way better than Lance. However, when she's around him, it's almost like she forgot about Lance and wanted to try a relationship with a different animal. She didn't care if her parents will think any less of her since they never really cared for her in the first place. Just like Lance.

Ash heard the door opened and Johnny stepped out of the steaming bathroom, with a towel around his waist and another one he was using to dry himself off. She blinked incredulously while holding a towel and washcloth in her arms.

Johnny had his eyes widened. "Oh...uh...I didn't know you want to take a shower next."

"It's fine, Johnny," Ash responded with a soft smile. "I was debating whether I should ask if I can join you--I mean, just to share the water and everything--ugh...I think you know what I mean."

Johnny arched a brow. "I think I do...but, um, I-uh-took up all the hot water."

"It's fine. Maybe I'll take a shower tomorrow," Ash uttered while letting Johnny through the hallway as he entered his father's room. The girl porcupine peeked in as she noticed the bed a bit messed up. "Wow. Your father's room is a mess."

"Yeah, I haven't been touching the place up. I didn't think my dad wouldn't let me touch any of the stuff," Johnny responded with a laugh.

Ash sat on the bed as Johnny looked through the drawers to find something to wear for pajamas.

"Couldn't you just get pajamas from your room?" Ash questioned.

"Eh...I wouldn't want to disturb Mr. Moon...especially if he's naked," Johnny explained to the girl porcupine, earning a nod of understanding from her.

Then, Ash chuckled. "I'm so giving him a hard time tomorrow morning."

Johnny laughed along with her. "I wouldn't advise scaring him."

"Aw, why not? It'll be worth a laugh," Ash whined playfully.

Johnny giggled at Ash's playfulness. "Well...he might have a hangover. Don't want to increase the headache."

"Aww, you're no fun," Ash teased while Johnny found a pair of sweatpants that fit him perfectly.

"Ah, there you are. Alright, I'm going to change," Johnny informed Ash, which caused Ash to blush a bit while nodding her head.

"Okay," Ash said with a nod.

However, Johnny noticed Ash still staring at him from the bed. He took out his index finger, pointed downwards, and used his finger to tell her to turn around. Ash gasped a bit in embarrassment and looked away as quickly as she could.

Johnny smirked a bit to himself as he removed the towel from his waist and then glanced at Ash, now wanting to tease her. He threw a towel beside her, causing her eyes to go wide comically while her quills tensed up and her face became redder than a radish.

Johnny chuckled quietly to himself while putting on his sweatpants, accomplishing in making Ash blush. Of course, he didn't sleep shirtless on purpose. It's always a normal thing for him but for some reason, he didn't mind Ash seeing him shirtless. In fact, he didn't mind if others see him shirtless but the fact that it's Ash staring at him with eyes wide with fascination caused him to blush.

"Okay, Ash, you can look now," Johnny replied as Ash turned her attention to him. Her face was a bit flushed but she cleared her throat to hide it.

"You know, you're going to make the other guys jealous," Ash pointed out with a laugh.

Johnny chuckled. "Not my intention but that's on them. I care about what you think---I mean, you're my friend and all--"

Ash smiled a bit to herself. "I know. I think you look hot."

"Thanks." Johnny grinned back at her but then he frowned. "You know, Ash, I don't mean to overstep the line--"

"Whatever you got to ask, you can ask," Ash responded, a bit more willing to open up to Johnny than she expected. Lately, Johnny had been easier to talk to than most of the guys she talked to...whether they're friends or not.

Johnny straightened up a bit while rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay...well...why did you date Lance?"

Ash was taken aback a bit.

Her lack of response caused Johnny to have regrets shown on his face with clenched teeth.

"I-If you don't want to answer that, I'll be happy to move on--"

"No...it's okay," Ash responded immediately, reassuring Johnny that he's not overstepping the boundary. "I dated Lance because for one...he asked me out...and another, I thought that he and I belonged together. When we first dated, my parents didn't approve of my love for rock, so...they kicked me out. I ended up living with Lance and we pay rent by doing gigs and Lance had this dream of us getting to become stars on stage together and share this love of ours with the world. Well...when the singing competition happened...I-I didn't think I'm going to be chosen and Lance won't be in it. The first thought is...well, if Lance won't be picked for the competition, then I'm not going to be in it. But...then I did some thinking...a hundred thousand dollars doesn't sound bad and I thought that if I win...we'll be able to use this money to reach our dream."

Johnny listened closer with his soft brown eyes staring into her crystal blues, encouraging her to continue.

"Heh, I even showed him those cheesy pop songs and both him and I made fun of it until I thought about writing my own song...and that's when things took a turn. Lance didn't think I could do it and on top of that, he decided to cheat on me with this...Becky girl. You know, once you're out of a relationship, you look back and realized that there are a bunch of red flags with your ex and you felt stupid for not seeing it. I should've stayed away from him--"

"If you did...you probably wouldn't have met me," Johnny uttered weakly. "And-And the rest of the theater family."

Ash smiled softly. "That's one thing I gave Lance credit for."

Johnny softly smiled back while they both shared a moment where they gazed into each other's eyes.

"You know," Johnny began to speak, breaking the silence. "I think I'm glad Mr. Moon only chose you."

"Me too actually...but...why?" Ash asked in curiosity.

"Well, in my opinion from seeing your auditions, you show more passion for music than he does. In all honesty, he doesn't sing that great," Johnny whispered the last part with a playful grin.

Ash laughed. "What? No, he's not terrible."

"He sounds like he's screaming instead of singing. Blergh! Blergh!" Johnny imitated Lance's rock voice, causing Ash to giggle.

"He does not sound like that," Ash responded with a smile.

"Come on, he sounds like a screaming old man. Blergh! Blergh! I'm so edgy!" Johnny imitated again while using his hands to imitate Lance's movements.

Ash laughed more at Johnny's goofiness. "He does not sound like that."

Johnny giggled along with Ash. "Come on, I bet you that Mr. Moon thought so."

Ash's laugh faded away slowly, her crystal blue eyes staring into his hazel ones. "Well, now thinking about it, he did make me the back-up vocal--"

"Because he knows you're better than him," Johnny responded with a smile. "In every way, not just by singing."

Ash's cheeks flushed as she glanced up at Johnny, who stared at her like he meant it. He may not have seen what he said as a compliment, but Ash took it as a compliment and it almost made Ash questioned.

Does he like me?

Mentally, Ash groaned to herself.

Don't be stupid. Don't fall in love. Just don't.

Johnny, on the other hand, stared at Ash like she's the most exquisite creature that ever walked the earth. Lately, he'd became more possessive over her since he heard so much about Lance but it's not in a bad way. He knew Ash is a person with a functioning brain and heart but he couldn't help but protect her from everything around her. His father was right...once he falls in love with somebody, that somebody will become his weakness...and Ash was becoming his weakness.

To Be Continued...