Talk to Me, Baby

"…Let's get love on line. Baby can we talk sometime? Don't just drop me a line. Baby can we talk sometime…" Johnny's smooth voice echoed out over the stage as his nimble fingers danced lazily over the keys, coaxing the final notes from the ebony grand piano before him.

With the rebuilding of the theatre came a line of new equipment at their disposal. Nana had outright refused to let Johnny play the broken down piano held together by mere rope and copious amounts of duct tape. While Buster had been eager to accept the brand new equipment, Johnny had been nervous to even touch the instrument for fear of breaking it. But when Buster had announced that their little theatre family was going to showcase their talents in yet another show, Johnny had reconciled himself with sitting down on the cushy bench and taking the grand for a test ride. He had already practiced his song extensively on the old piano with Ms. Crawley but this ne wpiano was a whole new ball game. His heart was racing as he began to play. Almost immediately he found himself lost in the feel of the keys beneath his fingers and the music that flowed through him like a river. When he finally opened his eyes and came back down to Earth he found all of his friends watching him with a mix of amusement and amazement. Buster was the only one to give him a smug smile before wandering off, his head buried in his clipboard. Everyone else had rushed over to sing his praises and Johnny glowed under their attention despite his humble protests.

With his father and uncles still in prison awaiting their respective sentencing hearings Johnny often found himself alone in the cavernous garage that was usually filled with the familiar smell of cigars and the raucous laughter of his father as he schooled his brothers in poker for the millionth time. Now that the building was silent and echoed with every sound that Johnny made. It made him extremely uncomfortable and as a result he spent most everyday at the theatre helping with odd jobs and perfecting his piece for the show. At this point he knew it forwards, backwards and even sideways but he still had the nagging feeling that something was missing.

Johnny was pulled from his thoughts as sweet Rosita wrapped her short arms around his shoulders and squeezed. Johnny smiled bashfully up at Rosita who was beaming so hard he was sure her face would break apart.

"I'm so proud of you honey!" she squealed and hugged him again, "You really are so talented." she gave him a motherly kiss on the forehead before stepping back to let Gunther babble at him in his own unique way. Ash punched his arm just enough to be solid without hurting him and smirked when he pretended to be injured by the blow.

"Show off." Ash muttered playfully before ambling over to Rosita and the pair retreated to the practice area. Gunther let out a few more exclamations of admiration before dancing off to the back as well.

Johnny looked up when he heard something move across the body of the grand piano. Meena was shyly running her large hand over the smooth surface, awe sparkling in her baby blues. Johnny lept up from his seat, making the bench rock with the sudden movement. Johnny quickly steadied it before turning to give Meena a friendly smile. Meena let out a soft giggle and then looked shyly down at the piano surface one more.

" 'Ey Meena what's up?" He asked the shy elephant, taking a step closer to her.

Meena blushed as soon as he spoke and pulled her ears in close to her face reflexively. "That was beautiful Johnny." she said softly and gave him a shy smile that made his own grin grow wider.

"Oh it was nuffin'" Johnny scratched the back of his neck bashfully and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"I wish I could play the piano like you or the guitar like Ash." Meena woefully ran her hand over the instrument before letting out a heavy sigh and shoving her hands in the pocket of her faded blue sweatshirt. She scuffed her shoe on the stage and then began to walk away off stage and down the aisle towards the exit. Johnny watched her make it to the door before he shook himself into action. He leapt off of the stage and went running after the elephant.

"Meena!" he called out as she opened the front door. Meena froze, the door half open, letting in the cool autumn breeze. Johnny screeched to a halt in front of her and she looked at him in surprise, her ears flared out curiously.

"I could teach ya if ya want." he said a little breathlessly and Meena frowned in confusion.

"Teach me what?" she asked and Johnny let out a small chuckle as he cauht his breath and looked up at her with sincerity warming his chocolate eyes.

"Piano! Ms. Crawley taught me everythin' she knows and I'm free pretty much anytime. It wouldn't be any trouble." he looked down as his nerves caught up with him, "I mean if ya wanna that is."

He assumed the worse when his proposal was met with silence but a few seconds later he was being enveloped by a pair of large, warm arms. He blinked in shock and slowly brought his long arms up to embrace Meena.

After a few seconds Meena jumped back, her face as red as a tomato. "That would be great Johnny. Thank you." she muttered and looked up at him through her lashes. He had grown alot since they had first met a year ago, and was now closer to his dad's height, which made him only slightly taller than her.

"Sure thin'" he cleared his throat as he recovered from the surprise embrace and brushed imaginary lint off of his leather jacket. "So when should we start?"

"I'm free after work tomorrow. Around noon." Meena said quietly, looking anywhere but Johnny. Her embarrassment was painfully obvious with one look at her ruddy cheeks but Johnny pretended not to notice.

"Perfect. I'll pick ya up. Where do ya work?" Meena's blush immediately deepened and she looked down, mumbling something unintelligible.

Johnny tried and failed to understand what she said. He put a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face so that she was looking at him. Her blue eyes were wide with nerves and her ears were pulled in as close to her face as she could get them. Johnny smiled reassuringly and gesured for her to repeat herself.

"Sunrise Bakery." she breathed out just loud enough for him to hear. Johnny grinned and released her shin, stepping back to give her the breathing space that she obviously needed.

"I'll clock ya tomorra." he winked and began walking back into the theatre, hands in his pockets. Absentmindedly, he was whistling the tune to the song he had just finished playing. When he glanced back at the entrance to the theatre he caught a glimpse of Meena stumbling slightly as she hurried home in the light of the sunset.

He smiled as he watched her go but frowned once he realized how late it was getting. Buster would be closing the theatre soon.

He helped everyone clean up backstage and when every job was done they all began to file out of the front one by one. Rosita was first out, her purse slung over her shoulder. She hurried down the sidewalk, meticulously studying her grocery list and muttering to herself as she added to it.

In the year that they had been friends Johnny had come to see Rosita as a sort of mother figure. She always brought snacks to rehearsals and made sure that everyone was well taken care of. he almost felt bad about lying to her about not really having a family to go home to but he knew that if he told her she would just worry about him, and she had twenty-five piglets and a husband to worry about first.

Ms. Crawley was next, hobbling down the street towards her nearby apartment. She cheerily waved goodbye to Johnny and he chuckled as he watched her amble away. The kind hearted old lizard had taken him under her wing when he needed it most and despite her scatter brain and tendency to lose her glass eye she was full of wisdom that Johnny tried to soak up whenever he could get a solid sentence out of her.

Gunther came bouncing down the stairs in his gold sequin tracksuit, headphones over his ears and techno music blasting so loud that Johnny could hear it. He gave Johnny a thumbs up and then danced off to god knows where, his duffle bag thrown over his body diagonally. Johnny shook his head. The funny little pig was always ready for a good time and never seemed to lose his positive upbeat attitude. He always knew how to bring Johnny's mood up when he needed a boost.

Finally Ash trudged down the steps, already yawning as she lugged her guitar case along with her. She gave Johnny a sloppy salute and began making her way to the subway station. Her caffeine high had long since faded and without another dose she looked ready to pass out. Johnny waved her off, hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep on the train. It wouldn't be the first time.

Johnny looked around in suprise when he heard the loud roar of a sports car's engine as it sped past. He shook his head when he saw that the driver was a Buffalo rather than the snarky white mouse that he had been expecting. No one had heard anything from Mike since after their first show. He had disappeared off of the planet without a trace. Johnny shook his head to banish thoughts of the little nuisance that had golden pipes but only brought trouble.

He caught sight of Buster locking up the theatre for the night and the two exchanged smiles and waves before the koala locked the doors and retreated back into his precious theatre. Johnny wasn't completely sure if he was still sleeping in his desk or if he was staying with Eddie still but he hadn't seen the sheep stagehand exit the theatre that night so the two of them had to be together. Buster Moon had become a mentor and a strong supporter of Johnny's talents in the time that they had been working together and Johnny felt an almost constant need to make the koala proud of him and his musical talents. They were all he had left to count on.

Johnny shrugged off his current train of thought and retrieved his skateboard from where he stashed it in the alley. He took a running start before throwing the board down onto the sidewalk and hopping onto it. Expertly he skated through town towards his home. A city bus passed him and his thoughts turned to Meena who was probably on a bus somewhere heading home.

While everyone else was like family to him and he cherished every moment that they were together, Meena was….special. She made his heart flutter when she spoke and when she sang he was mesmerized. She was sweet and caring but rather shy. He couldn't help but stumble over himself when she was around and he deeply wished to dive beneath her shy mask and get to know the beautiful elephant for who she really was.

He sighed wistfully as he rolled up to the dark building that was his current home. Everything was silent except for his steps as he trudged up the stairs to his room above the garage and collapsed in his bed. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling in contemplation.

He missed his theatre family. He missed his dad and his uncles. And he missed Meena. Desperate to escape the overwhelming quiet of the garage, Johnny sighed and closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep. After hours of trying, tossing and turning in his sheets, and changing into his fuzzy pajama pants and tank top Johnny still couldnt find solace in sleep.

Another sleepless night under the stars. He thought as he stared up at the full moon in the sky.

With only the moon to talk to.