(A/N: I'm having writer's block for "Could It Be" and "Forever and Always", and I had this idea that I decided to start on.)

(A/N: Important note! Shenzi's parents here are Jack and Maya Johnson! Felicia and Friar Tuck are her adoptive aunt and uncle, while Frankie is her cousin! Okay, note over; enjoy!)

Starstruck

Prologue

Freshly-turned-12-year-old Shenzi Tuck was browsing the website for the Big Mall on her laptop on a nice, lazy, early September Sunday, while lounging in her pajamas: Minnie Mouse Halloween nightshirt, and teal Hello Kitty slippers. She was going on a big shopping trip with her mother tomorrow, and wanted a little recap on what was there. Kohls? Check! Claire's? Gotta go! Disney? Obviously! Hot Topic? Duh! Sanrio? Absolutely! She and her mother shared a strong, mutual love for that store, and overall franchise, as well as Disney. Both stores were frequent stops for the two of them.

She was about to look over the food court when something caught her eye: A special event! It read "Mandrake Waltz signing autographs, this Saturday, 12:00 to 2:00 PM, at FYE!" Associated with the advertisement was the usual clipart of the character/actor referred to. Shenzi's eyes widened so much, she thought they would fall out, as her jaw almost dropped down to her keyboard. Mandrake Waltz was her favorite actor of all time! She had to meet him! "Oh my God!" She shrieked with excitement, and charged downstairs like a rocket, laptop in hand. "Mom! Mom! Mom!"

"Shenzi!" Maya Johnson dashed in the living room from the kitchen, with a mixing spoon in one hand and wearing an apron. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm awesome! Lookit!" She practically shoved her laptop in Maya's face, making her flinch back in surprise, but she was too ecstatic to notice.

"Mandrake Waltz is signing autographs at our mall? That's very exciting! You hoping to go?"

"You bet!" Shenzi nodded, and with a squeal and little hop of joy, she ran back to her room.

"Be careful with your computer, honey! You don't want to drop it!"

"I am, Mom! Don't worry!" She was back in her bed, where she grabbed her iPhone off her nightstand, contacted her best friend, Kimi Finster, and waited eagerly for an answer. "Kimi, look at the Big Mall website right now!"

"Why, what's the emergency?" She heard Kimi typing from the other line.

"Just look in special events!"

She waited as Kimi typed and clicked her mouse, then heard her voice again. "Wow, that's awesome! You going to go to that signing?"

"You bet I am!"

"You going to ask him to sign that poster you got for your birthday?"

"Yep!"

"Hey, maybe you guys will become best friends," Kimi joked.

"If only," Shenzi giggled, "But not in a million years." Don't speak too soon! "If that happens, I'll sleep in a cemetery."

Kimi giggled at that. "I'll tag along with you, to keep your sporadic behavior in check."

"Sporadic?" The young Goth stifled laughter. "You mean ecstatic?"

"Right; that's what I meant."

"I'm not going to be a spaz."

"How can you know that? You heard how excited Lil was about meeting Neil Stanton."

"... You've got a point there. Okay, you can come with me."

"Alright! So uh, what else is going on?"

"Well tomorrow, Mom and I are shopping at the mall together."

"Getting away from your dad again?"

"Yeah," Shenzi nodded, her voice slightly lower in volume.

"Um, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well um, I'd better go. Mom's calling me for supper."

"'Kay, bye!"

"See you around!"

"You too!"

They hung up, then Shenzi selected another number. "Lil, guess what!"

"You mean that signing this Saturday? I saw the ad! You going?"

"Absolutely!" Shenzi let out an excited squeal, but was cut short by the front door opening and closing.

"What is it? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My dad just came in, and he... doesn't like loud noises, so I keep it down for him." Only Kimi knew Shenzi's deep, dark secret, and swore to not tell anyone.

"Ah, gotcha."

"But still, I'm so excited! I'm gonna bring that big poster over there for him to sign."

"You mean that one you got on your birthday?"

"Uh huh! Kimi's going with me, to ensure that I keep my cool."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I for one, was cool as a cucumber when I met Neil Stanton."

"Uhhh huh," Shenzi smirked to herself.

"What?"

"Just kidding," She giggled, "So um, I'm going to the Big Mall with my mom tomorrow for a little spree."

"Really? Mom and I are too! Maybe we'll run into you guys!"

"Maybe," She shrugged, "Well, I'd better go. Mom ought to be done with the spaghetti any minute now."

"Alright. I'll possibly see you tomorrow!"

"You too!" Shenzi hung up, then set her phone back on the nightstand, and looked back at the website on her laptop. She stuffed her face in one of her pillows to muffle her squeal of joy. She couldn't believe she was going to meet her favorite actor! He may have been in only one movie, but it was her favorite, and she liked him the most, with his villain status. He held a special place in her heart ever since she watched the movie in the theater with Maya, and before long, that place would become even more special.

During dinner, Shenzi expressed her excitement for the signing through bites of her spaghetti. Her father, Jack Johnson, couldn't care less about his daughter's happiness, although Maya showed more than enough support. "Jack, can't you be happy for her? She's so excited about meeting this guy, and all you've got to say is 'Anything else new'?"

"It's hard to be happy when all you hear is "Mandrake this", "Mandrake that"."

"He's her favorite actor, and she's going to meet him! What else do you expect her to talk about?!"

"Something else!"

Shenzi stayed quiet as she nervously stuffed noodles and tomato sauce in her mouth. She tried to lose herself in the wonderful taste, as her parents argued loudly about her. All of a sudden, just after she shoveled more in, the back of her head was suddenly struck by a strong, large hand, so her face fell in her pasta. She instantly regretted sitting close to her father. "Jack Johnson!" Maya stood up with a furious yell. "What is the matter with you?!"

"Um, I-I'll be right back," Shenzi excused herself, and dashed to the bathroom to clean the sauce and noodles out of her long bangs, which covered the left side of her face, and wipe off her thick, black eyeglasses.

That's the secret she's hiding from Lil, and pretty much the entire student/faculty body at her school, with the exception of Kimi: Her father is physically, and verbally abusive towards her. And even to her mother as well, so she preferred unjustifiably taking the heat herself over Maya getting hurt for her. How did Kimi find out? She accidentally walked in on Jack yelling at Shenzi for spilling a little water on the kitchen floor. He had forced her to wipe it, even after she had started doing just that. She then confessed everything to Kimi, who had been at her house for a sleepover, and made her swear to secrecy. She couldn't be sent away by Child Service, and leave her beloved mother at his mercy, so she beared through it all until she would be old enough to not be sent off. That was quite a ways away, but she didn't care. Of course she never said any of this to anyone, not even her best friend.

"Shen?" She looked up from the faucet, and saw Maya holding the bowl she left untouched, along with her fork. "You can finish eating in your room, if you want. Just be careful to not spill."

"Thanks Mom," She took the bowl in her hands with a little smile, and headed for the stairs.

"I'm sorry about your father."

"Um, it-it's fine. It didn't get on my shirt or anything, or in my eye."

"Good. But um, just to not set him off so he won't hurt you again, how about you keep this signing to yourself until then? When we go out tomorrow, just the two of us, you can talk about it all you want."

"Okay," She nodded, setting her bowl on her nightstand, "Thanks Mom."

"Anytime, sweetie," Maya kissed her cheek, which had been wiped clean, then left the room.

Once she was alone, Shenzi started eating again while sitting on her bed, feeling tranquility. She was lucky that her fork didn't stab through her cheek from inside her mouth, or puncture her throat! She made a vow to keep her distance from Jack during supper from now on. She couldn't help but smirk as she thought of a quote from one of her favorite TV shows, iCarly: "She said forks are dangerous, and that I could 'stab my tongue'." She was lucky to have avoided that as well. She did feel her fork on the roof of her mouth, but after some checking, she figured out that it was only grazed, not hurt.

After finishing and stashing her freshly rinsed bowl and fork in the dishwasher, she escaped back to her room, and smiled at the poster that hung in front of her bed. It was 27 by 40 inches, with a black backdrop, white text reading "Epic Adventure", the logo for the movie and studio, and most of all, a profile picture of Mandrake. She smiled as she thought of how Saturday would go; she would get his autograph on that poster, or even get a picture with him if she's lucky enough! Only Kimi knew this, but Shenzi had a fangirl crush on him, and had dreamed of meeting him ever since seeing the movie trailers alone. Seeing the whole movie only cemented that life goal into her brain, but she kept it to herself. Her father would laugh and stomp on her dream, while her mother would merely tease her in a playful, harmless way. She would take that over the dream-crushing any day.

Some time later, after brushing her teeth and powering her laptop down, she fell asleep with happy thoughts.

l-l

The next day, she bounded out of bed, brushed her teeth, and dressed herself for a big, long day of shopping with Maya. They were even going to have lunch together in the food court, Shenzi taking advantage of the fact that school didn't start up again until the following Wednesday.

She put on a black v-neck t-shirt, the surprisingly casual black and purple Minnie Mouse skirt from what would be her Halloween costume, classic Converse high-tops, black double-hoop earrings, and a BFF necklace that had a pendant shaped like half a heart, and looked like a chocolate chip cookie. After grabbing her black coffin purse, Jiji the Cat shopping bag, and her phone, she dashed downstairs. Just as she was in the living room, Maya came out of the master bedroom, dressed for the day. "Ready to go, honey?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," She responded with eagerness, and the two girls headed out to the car after leaving a vague note for Jack.

"So, you're really excited for the signing?" Maya asked her daughter, who sat in the back seat for safety, after she started driving.

"Oh yeah! It'll be awesome!"

"What's he going to sign for you?"

"That big poster in my room!"

"Ah, from your last birthday. I remember it. I'll help you take it out of its frame when the time comes."

"'Kay, thanks."

After a few minutes, they parked in the parking lot, and walked into the huge shopping mall. "Alright, where to first?" Maya looked down at her.

"Hmm, what's closest?" They found the directory, where Shenzi figured out where they were. "It looks like Claire's is closest to us. They just brought in their Halloween stuff."

"Alright," Maya nodded, "Claire's it is." The screen next to the directory suddenly played an advertisement for the upcoming signing, using a clip of Mandrake from his movie, as Shenzi's eyes were glued. Maya smiled as her daughter let out a small squeal while bouncing on her heels, so it came out distorted. "Well, I guess it's official."

"Be there!" The voice on the ad exclaimed.

"I will!" Shenzi pumped her fists in the air, gaining a little attention from other mall patrons.

"Okay Shen," Maya giggled with her hands on her excited daughter's shoulders to calm her down, "Let's get our shopping done."

They were stopping at the stores that the youngest girl had mentally checked off the day before, going to Claire's first. When they walked out of Hot Topic with a bag from it and their previous stops in each hand, they saw a couple of familiar faces. "Hey, Lil!" Shenzi called out. "Lil, over here!"

"Hey, Shenzi!" Lil ran up with her own mother, Betty DeVille. Lil was wearing a burgundy red burnout varsity t-shirt with a v-neck and Mickey and Minnie Mouse stacked Tsum Tsums on the front, blue faux-fade jeggings, purple Converse low-tops, and a pink hair extension at the right side of her face, complimenting her short, brunette hair. On her shoulder was the strap to a Disney Tsum Tsums printed crossbody bag. She was the only girl in school to not have any piercings in her ears. "Hi, Mrs. Johnson!"

"Hello! And please, call me Maya," She gently insisted. "Mrs. Johnson" sounded too formal for her.

"Hey there, Johnson!" Betty practically slapped her shoulder in a friendly way.

"Hey Betty," Maya straightened up, "You and Lil shopping too?"

"We sure are! I heard your Shenzi's goin' to that signing on Saturday for that bat guy."

"You mean Mandrake?" Shenzi giggled humbly.

"That's the one!"

"I'm pretty excited for that time."

"Well um, if you and Lil don't have a plan, why don't you join us?" Shenzi nodded at that.

"Sure thing!" Betty agreed.

"Yeah!" The two daughters cheered.

"What's after this, Mom?"

"Umm," Maya looked at the map, "Looks like the Disney Store is nearby."

"Awesome!" Her daughter cheered. "Come on!"

The two Johnsons had a lot of fun shopping with the two DeVilles throughout the day. When they started getting hungry, they headed for the food court to have hamburgers from Wendy's. FYE was nearby, so Shenzi watched from a distance as early preparations were made for the signing. "You excited for that, Shenny?" Betty nudged her shoulder with her elbow.

"Yep," She nodded, "Absolutely. He's my favorite actor ever."

"He's kind of hunky," Lil remarked at seeing the cardboard cutout set up at the store.

"Isn't he?" Shenzi agreed.

"Oh boy," Betty chuckled, "Which one of you is marrying the guy?"

"Mom!" Lil blushed, as Shenzi was quiet.

"Aw relax, Lily, I'm just kidding. That dreamboat's a little old for you two."

"Yeah," Shenzi nodded with a little giggle, "I wouldn't have a chance with him in this lifetime."

"Me neither," Lil agreed.

Later on, they all had to head to their respective homes, so the four headed out to their cars. Maya's bags were in the passenger seat, while Shenzi's were simply in the seat next to her, as they headed home. "Well, I think today went well," Maya remarked.

"Yep," Shenzi agreed, "Did you see them setting up for the signing at FYE?"

"Yes I did," Her mother nodded, "It seems kind of early for it, though. Isn't it this Saturday? That's almost a whole week from now."

"Yeah," She shrugged, "I guess they're working slowly, but surely."

"That's a possibility."

At home, after avoiding Jack like a ninja, Shenzi put her new stuff away in her room, her mind occupied with the upcoming event. After dinner, she accidentally brought up said event, annoying her father into slapping her left cheek, to Maya's fury. She quickly escorted her daughter to her room, not as punishment, but for protection, and had her sit on the bed. "S-sorry Mom, I wasn't thinking. I forgot he was annoyed by me."

"No, it's not your fault, sweetie. He just has terrible, unsolvable anger issues. Trust me, I've tried very hard to fix them, but they're broken beyond repair."

"It's alright, Mom, but... thanks for at least trying."

"Anytime, honey," Maya kissed her right cheek after brushing her bangs away, "Well, it's getting late. You ought to be getting ready for bed. G'night. I love you, Shen."

"Alright," She nodded and stood up, "G'night, Mom. I love you too."

Shenzi Johnson would, from that Monday up to Friday, be a regular soon-to-be 6th-grader living her life. But on Saturday, her life was going to change forever. Change for the better.

(A/N: Well, there you have it. The start of the first Epic/Rugrats crossover ever! XD Here's the disclaimer; Shenzi, Maya, and Jack Johnson belong to me. Kimi, Lil, and Betty belong to Klasky-Csupo. Mandrake and Epic belong to Blue Sky Studios. Also, there's a reference to the All Grown Up episode "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" in there.)