Hey guys! So I saw Sing a couple weeks back and I loved it! I really liked Ash (who doesn't?!) and felt so bad for her when Lance cheated on her. Poor baby ;-;
Anywho this is kinda my take on it with a slight twist.
I don't own Sing!
She was hurt. Not the kind of hurt when you stubbed your toe or hit your funny bone on something. It was hurt emotionally. A broken heart, more like, and she felt torn apart. It was the feeling when you think someone loves you and they stab you in the back. They don't stop and think how much it could tear someone apart emotionally. They only see their pain. She wished she had stubbed her toe or hit her funny bone because at least that pain goes away. How was she going to cope with this?
Ash leaned against her door, slowly but surely sinking down and onto the ground. There she sat with her knees budded, confused and depressed. One moment everything felt fine, no, more than just fine. She felt on top of the world when she was rehearsing for the competition just around the corner. In all honesty she didn't care if she won, but it'd disappoint him.
Like he cared.
Like anyone cared.
Maybe that one was a little far because she knew a lot of caring animals. Even Mr. Moon cared. He cared enough to give her this amazing opportunity. It came as a shock to her that she had picked her instead of him. She was suppose to be in the background. Aka the singer that no one acknowledged or payed any mind to. Now she was a solo act. And now she wasn't just alone in the competition, but she was all alone in the world.
She hated the silence. She always hated the silence, ever since she was little. Her ears were just so used to the loudness of the electric guitar, and when she played she felt like she could do anything. She used to feel that way with him, but she didn't anymore. Negative feelings only came up when she thought of his name and that's how it was going to stay.
After a few moments of just sitting there, she got up on her feet and went into the living room to see that he had left so many things behind. All she had done was throw him out along with his guitar, but most of his things were here lingering. She knew he was going to come back for them but the memories would still be here even as he packed up the last of his things.
When she looked down at the ground she realized they had never finished the scrapbook they were making. Feeling anger boil up in her blood, she snatched up the pictures of him and ripped them up, making angry grunts. Every picture.
Ripped up.
Every frame.
Punched with her first. Blood oozed through her furry hand but she ignored it.
Everything he once owned.
Smashed and thrown out the door.
She had to have been just destroying everything for about a half an hour until she eventually calmed herself down, heavily breathing and looked around to see that she had turned her apartment upside down. Her heart rate slowed a little bit and her breaths were starting to become normal now, realizing the mess she made; her hurt and confused gaze gone and now she was back to being hurt again. She calmly got the broom out and started sweeping up the shredded pictures, murmuring profanities about her stupid, stupid ex. She put herself down, too, calling herself all kinds of names such as mindless follower, prickly wimp, blind son of a-
Ding dong!
Her nasty thoughts were cut off when her doorbell rang. Her head cocked up and she furrowed her eyebrows. "Go away Lance!"
Ding dong!
"Lance!" she shouted, causing the apartment to echo a bit.
Ding dong!
She scowled, smacking the broom down on the wood flooring and stomping to the door. "WHAT LANCE?- Oh." She softened when she opened the door to not Lance, but Mr. Moon. She awkwardly shifted. The koala looked a little scared. He knew the teenager had a bit of a temper but he never saw her this angry.
Then he smiled. "Ah, Lance. That cocky boyfriend of yours. His face was priceless when I said I didn't want him in the show." Buster surely did speak his opinion and wasn't afraid to say it.
The old her would have thrown herself in the way to defend her boyfriend, but the new her, the single her remained silent and briskly nodded, realizing how true that was. His face was a little funny when he found out Buster didn't want him, in a more serious note he was extremely cocky and had always been that way since the day she met him.
"Um, yeah.." she said awkwardly. "Not to sound rude but what are you doing at my house?"
"Oh, right!" beamed the koala, pulling something out of his pocket. "Meena and I were getting ready to close up shop until she found you left your guitar pic. I told her I would go ahead and give it to you because she had to head out for her job at Annie's Ice Cream, she works nights," he explained, holding the pick between his pointer finger and thumb and holding it up to her.
The teenage porcupine nodded again, taking it gently out of his hands. "Er...thanks." She flashed him a fake smile.
"Hey, are you okay-"
She didn't wait for him to finish because shutting the door back. This wasn't the first time she did this in one night, she slammed the door before Becky could get her sunglasses back. She didn't want to talk to him, or anyone in that matter.
The doorbell rung again and she sighed, opening it back up to see Mr. Moon hadn't moved. He was staring at her with his arms crossed. "He dumped you, didn't he?"
Her eyes slightly widened and she scrunched up her face. "No." It wasn't a lie, really. It was worse than being dumped, in her opinion.
"Cheated?" tried Buster.
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner," she said flatly, sniffing a little bit.
Buster frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry Ash."
"Yeah, whatever."
Then he smiled. "Looks like someone could use some ice cream."
She was about to protest but before she could he was taking her by the hand and dragging her all the way to Annie's.
Before Ash knew it she was gorging through her rocky road, crying her eyes out as she told Buster and Meena (who was currently on break) the full story. "I-I mean," sniffed Ash, "I gave everything to h-him, a-and this is how he repays me?!" Then she got a bit more angry and spoke a little more loud, standing up. "I MEAN SERIOUSLY?! IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH YOU OR ANYTHING!" Her quills started flying everywhere, which tended to happen when she was extremely happy or extremely angry. Obviously this case extremely angry. It often happened when she was loud too, which is what she was being right now.
Meena clenched her teeth together, taking a quill that nailed her right on the shoulder and flicking it off with her trunk.
Ash took a few breathes, realizing how much attention she drawed to herself by yelling. All eyes were on her and everyone was quiet. As everyone stared she could almost feel the awkward, wanting nothing more than the ground to be sipped from her feet so she could crawl up in a hole and die. A rabbit mother was looking at her crossly, hands on her hips and her foot taping. Ash quickly looked away and sat back down, setting her hands in her lap. After for what felt like years, everyone started talking normally again.
"I'm sorry about what happened Ash, that must've been awful," said Meena sincerely, then a little more jokingly, "but you don't have to announce it to people who just want a late night snack."
As if she wasn't embarrassed enough, Buster spoke up. "No Meena, she was announcing it to the world. I'll bet her quills reached out to China!"
Meena tried to keep herself from bursting out laughing because it'd probably hurt Ash's feelings. She held her tongue as she watched Mr. Moon laugh at his own joke. When he realize no one was laughing, he cleared his throat and took a big bite of his vanilla ice cream.
It was quiet for a moment other than Ash's little sniffs as she ate until the little bell rung, Meena was called back in, and a familiar white mouse entered the ice cream shop. He smiled, saying something like "time for a late night snack".
Mike struggled to get up to the register given his size, but he managed to do it. "Ah, that wasn't so hard." He ran a few hands through his tux and looked up when he saw Meena. "Hey, Jumbo! I didn't know you were working here."
The elephant nodded. "Oh yeah, my mom wanted me to be more social so to help with that she got me this job. I've been working here for a couple-"
"Don't care," said the white mouse, his voice more polite when he gave his order. "I'll take postauto, please." he pulled five dollars out of his pocket while Meena scooped up his ice cream and set it on the counter.
"Mike, it's only $2.50…"
"Ah, whatever. Money comes and goes. Keep the change." He patted her trunk and took his ice cream. "Thanks Jumbo!"
Although she resented that nickname he had for her, it made her feel a little better knowing it wasn't just her he called names. He called Rosita Porky and Ash Moody Teen, and even often called Johnny Australian Gangster, which really was something that pushed the young gorilla's buttons. She also couldn't get mad at him for it, especially at work because "the customer is always right". All she could say to Mike right now was "have a good night" and be done with it.
She knew that she could do something about it outside of work, but decided not to because she didn't want any trouble. Rosita confronting him about calling her Porky, especially in front of her piglets because apparently they started to call her Porky, which wasn't right. He kind of just ignored her and continued practicing his song. That was just the way some animals were, she guessed.
Now Mike was just beginning to leave until he saw that Moody Teen and Mr. Moon (who he didn't have a nickname for, surprisingly) sitting together at one of the tables, seeing that Moody Teenager was upset. He frowned slightly. Sure he called them all names, and whether he wanted to admit it yet, but he cared about them.
"Hey Mr. Moon, Moody Teen," he nodded towards the both of them, carrying his ice cream and heaving it up on the table, as well as himself.
"I'm really in no mood for your insults right now," Ash growled, gulping down more of her ice cream.
"What's her deal?" he asked Buster. "Is it that time of month because-"
"LISTEN YOU DIRTY RAT-" Ash was about to show him what she was made of until she was held back.
"Well excuse me," Mike said, dramatically putting her hand on his chest. "I'm a mouse."
Ash crossed her arms. "Not to me, Dirty Rat. That's my nickname for you."
He thought for a moment. "Hmm, that should be fine. I thought of a new nickname for you."
"What?" she sighed, already knowing it wasn't going to be anything good.
"Prickly Pear!" he laughed. "Get it, cause you're a porcupine?!"
"It's better than moody teenager…" she reasoned.
"Well, you are one."
Ash was about to lurch herself to him until the little bell rang, revealing Rosita and her piglets who came crashing in. "Your father is going to kill me, this is going to keep you up all night," she said as they dragged her forward, tugging on her arm.
It took about twenty minutes for everyone to order, Rosita being last of course because she had to pay. "Wouldn't want that bill!" Mike laughed. Ash smiled a little bit. "Hey, Porky's and Porky's thousand kids, over here!" he called, waving.
The booth was way more crowded now that the piglets had joined them, and Ash felt a little claustrophobic with Rosita on the left and a little girl piglet on her right. She had just sat down and the moment the piglet saw Ash she got excited. Ash guessed she was the youngest because she was very small and didn't have many teeth. She had a red ribbon wrapped around her forehead and wore a flower dress. She had her mother's green eyes as well and was hugging a stuffed animal close to her.
"Pretty porcupine! Pretty porcupine!" the piglet smiled, pointing at her.
At least someone thinks so. "Heh, um, yeah," she said, feeling herself heating up a little bit, giving her an awkward smile.
"Pretty Porcupine…" she repeated, a little more softly and she hugged her tightly, nuzzling herself into Ash's belly.
"Be...Be careful of the quills, they're sharp," she said, the awkwardness not going away.
"Looks like you have an admirer, there," said Mr. Moon, smiling.
Ash stiffened. She had no idea how to react to this. She was never around kids, and when she was she tended to get a bit awkward. Kid's annoyed her, but this one was cute and cuddly. Ash wasn't big on the cuddling or the hugs or anything like that so she remained frozen against her grip. For one thing it was hard for others to hug her because her quills basically weighed as much as her and anyone who tried to hug her was in for a rude awakening. But luckily the piglet listened and kept her hands clear of her spikes. She knew one thing, though: this young piglet was more affectionate than Lance had ever been.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ash," Rosita said, snapping her out of her trance. "This is Harper, our youngest. She's a big hugger, get's that from my dad's side of the family, they're very affectionate."
"Be careful, Miss Ash," her older sister piped in. She looked about eight or nine. "She might snuggle you to death!"
Ash didn't say anything as Harper kept her tight grip, her ice cream long forgotten while Ash finished hers. One of her mischievous brother's were trying to steal it for her, but she slapped his hand away, still hugging Ash with her eyes closed.
"Ouch!" the boy piglet exclaimed, rubbing his hand and glaring at his younger sister.
"If you mess with the bull you're gonna get the horns kid," Ash said. To her surprise this got a laugh from Rosita.
"Mom! She hit me!"
"You saw it coming for you, leave her ice cream alone." Her voice was gentle yet firm.
He sighed, slumping down in his seat. "Fine." He waited for his mother to look away before he stuck his tongue out at Ash. She knitted her eyebrows, about to close her fist on him to show him who was boss, but she managed to calm herself, realizing there was no need to do that as much as he deserved it.
Harper had finally loosened her grip on the teenage porcupine when her mother calmly told her to eat her ice cream before it melted, but she was still uncomfortably close to her. Ash finished her ice cream just as the young piglet began hers. She got it everywhere as she gobbled it down.
Ash looked down at the counter, playing with her fork and sniffing. She thought she was okay for now until she felt the tears swell in her eyes when she thought of it. It never truly left her mind. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," she said softly, closing her eyes tightly.
"Are you okay?" asked Rosita, concern in her green eyes.
She nodded swiftly, not wanting to tell the pig what happened. She already had enough on her plate, and with her busy schedule confronting a teenager who just got her heart broken wouldn't be on top of the list, or anywhere in her schedule for that matter.
"Well, you heard Miss Ash. Chop chop." She gave her piglets a gentle push and one by one they scooted down for her, Rosita being the last. Ash gave them a genuine smile despite the ache in her heart and made her way past Meena, who was busy with a long line, and went into the bathroom.
She looked in the mirror. Was she really a pretty porcupine? He didn't think so. She took Becky's sunglasses out of her jacket pocket and put them on. "Oohhh, I'm Becky, and I have stupid heart sunglasses," she did a terrible impression of Becky, "and I like to steal Ash's boyfriend clearly because SHE HAS NO FEELINGS!" Her eyes widened a little bit when she realized the same rabbit mother who was glaring at her earlier was staring at her questionably. She then pulled her kid close to her.
"Don't make eye contact Sally, she might poke your eye out with those quills," whispered the mother, dragging her daughter out of the bathroom while the kid barely even moved her feet.
The porcupine simply rolled her eyes and looked in the mirror, feeling a tear fall, stinging her cheek as if it was snake venom. She backed up, not wanting to look at her reflection.
She jumped when she heard a little voice. "Pretty porcupine!" she smiled and clutched her legs, looking up at Ash with wide green eyes, reaching up for glasses curiously. "Pretty porcupine with pretty glasses." She reached a little higher and managed to get the glasses, getting them dirty with her brown fingers from her chocolate ice cream. At first Ash didn't want her touching them, but they were Becky's. So Harper could destroy them for all Ash cared.
Before the little piglet put on the glasses, she looked back up and saw Ash's pained eyes, mascara dripping down her eyes that had been hidden behind the glasses. She cocked her head. "Pretty porcupine sad?"
"Yes…" she answered truthfully. Harper didn't ask anymore questions, thank goddess, because the last thing she needed was telling a piglet about heartbreak. She was way too young for the world to break her. Ash hadn't been much older than Harper when she realized the hard way that with life came heartbreak. She knew this before she met Lance, she just never thought he'd be the one to break her heart more.
"Harper!" She heard Rosita's voice call, her footsteps getting closer, revealing the worried mother as she scooped up her piglet. "I turn around and you were gone!" Harper whimpered a little, trying to wiggle out of her mother's grip. "Look at me sweetheart, don't do that. Ever again, do you understand?"
Harper nodded to prove she understood then explained why she left. "Mama, pretty porcupine is sad!"
"Huh?" Rosita looked up from her daughter and saw a crestfallen Ash standing before her. She gently sat Harper down, who went back right to hugging her legs. "Honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Rosita asked. Her voice was soothing. More than Ash expected. But she had to keep in mind that she was indeed a mom, and she dealt with crying kids all the time.
"I...I…" she began to explain but she felt her nose running and she sniffed. "Here," she pulled a tissue out of her purse. "Blow." At first she hesitated but eventually took the tissue from her and blew her nose.
"Can I...have another one?"
"Sure! You know what- here." She gave her a whole box of them which Ash couldn't figure out but woman always had a lot of things in their purses. She was sure that she had more tissues in there being a mom of twenty five. So she took them without questioning it and blew again.
Once Ash finished telling the story yet again to someone else Rosita was looking like she didn't know what to say. Harper tightened her grip on her legs and patted them to comfort her. "Sorry pretty porcupine…" she said softly as Ash blew her nose for what had to be the twentieth time.
"Well, it sounds to me that you are way better off without that...that…" Rosita tried to think of something to say.
"Meanie face!" Harper broke in, pressing her cheek against Ash's knee.
"Yeah!" said Rosita. "What Harper said."
Harper smiled, proud of herself.
This got a small chuckle in amusement from Ash as well as Rosita.
"Kids, huh? You gotta love 'em," said Rosita, picking up Harper again.
"Right…"
"How about you, ever thought of starting a family some day? When you're older, I mean."
Ash teared up again. "Lance and I...talked about it...once we were older…" She took another tissue and blew. "He didn't seem too interested, though."
Rosita frowned, realizing it wasn't the best time to ask that question.
"The thing is I...I was never around kids," Ash explained. "And, well, I'm not very good with them."
"Well if this kid likes you, how bad can you be?" Rosita smiled softly while Harper repeated "Pretty porcupine!" and put her hand on Ash's nose. At first she softly a bit at the little piglet until she realized Harper was blocking her nostrils so she could barely breathe.
"Pretty porcupine can't breath," choked Ash.
Harper immediately ripped her hands away. "Sawwi."
This was going to be a one shot but it's getting a little long so I thought I would make it a two-shot if that's cool with y'all :)
Part two should be up sometime tomorrow! :D
