"Ok now slowly…slowly…" Rosita nervously hovered over Johnny and Ash as the two performers slowly moved around the stage. Johnny was nervously watching his feet, trying desperately not to step on Ash's feet while the young porcupine flinched as he once again squeezed her hand nervously. It wasn't his fault, he was three times Ash's size now with his recent growth spirt. He had to lean down just to dance with her and he didn't know how to dance in the first place.

"Ow!" Ash looked meaningfully up at Johnny who sighed and released her from his grip right as his heavy foot landed on top of her small one.

"Johnny!" She groaned in frustration and the gorilla immediately backed off, putting at lest a couple feet of distance between them.

"I'm so sorry Ash." He said, defeat coloring his voice.

"Don't worry about it Boy Scout. It's not your fault you dance like you got no feet." She said sarcastically and limped over to where Ms. Crawley was waiting with some ice packs.

"I can't do this Mistah Moon." Johnny groaned and ran a hand through his spiked hair in exasperation.

"I know it's hard Johnny but my vision for this show is of you dancing and somehow we have to figure that out." Moon tapped his clipboard thoughtfully and looked over his options. Johnny was definitely his number one choice for this song, his soulful voice was beyond perfect for it, his only trouble was finding the best partner for him. Ash was definitely out now that he saw their chemistry when they were dancing. It was practically nonexistent, besides their size difference was just too hard to get over. Rosita was too small for the large gorilla as well so that left… Meena.

It was like a stroke of genius hit him and the director inside of him was already coming up with ideas for the two. With Johnny's growth spurt, he was now slightly taller than Meena. Their voices were a perfect match, both vocal powerhouses. He jumped happily onto the stage and hurried towards Meena who was humming happily as she observed Eddie going through his cues with her.

"Meena!" Buster crowed happily and the elephant turned to him with an eager smile on her face.

"Yeah Mr. Moon?" She asked in her deceptively quiet voice. She was still rather timid offstage despite her knew confidence onstage and most people underestimated her voice based on her personality.

"I have the perfect assignment for you. You are going to replace Ash in the number with Johnny." he stated matter of factly and pulled her onto the stage where Johnny was desperately trying to work out the steps with Rosita but his nerves were taking over and he kept going the wrong way or nearly stepping on Rosita's nimble feet.

"Wait…what?" Meena squeaked in surprise and reflexively pulled her ears in close to her face to hide her deep blush.

"It'll be perfect. Just trust me." the excited little koala winked at Meena but she was not reassured in the slightest. Being alone with Johnny always made her so flustered. She could barely even talk to him, let alone perform with him.

"Alright Rosita. Teach these two how to dance." he gently shoved Meena forward and she collided with Johnny who swiftly caught her and helped steady her on her feet. Rosita grinned and Buster, picking up on his true purpose.

"Okay everyone let's get started." she clapped her hands to get their attention and then jogged over to the radio to pick the right music. Johnny smiled sweetly down at Meena and said quietly so that only she could hear, "Thanks for bein' me partner. I'm glad it's ya."

Before Meena could say anything the music started up and Rosita bounded over to where they were awkwardly standing close together.

"Alright first things first, Meena take off that sweatshirt, and Johnny you take off that leather jacket of yours." Johnny quickly slipped out of his jacket while Meena reluctantly pulled her sweatshirt over her head. She was rarely seen without her signature faded baby blue sweatshirt so it was a surprise when Johnny turned around to find her dressed in a flattering lavender t-shirt. Meena smiled shyly at him when she caught him staring and Johnny quickly looked away, his cheeks turning a little red in response.

"Okay chop chop." Rosita pulled them back into reality and Meena and Johnny immediately ran over to stand at attention in front of her.

"Let's start with some basic stuff." Rosita gently pushed them so that they were facing each other and then she placed Johnny's tentative hand on the curve of Meena's waist. They both jumped slightly at the intimate contact but just as quickly they settled into it as if Johnny's hand was made to rest on Meena's hip and Meena's hip had been molded perfectly for his hand. Rosita placed Meena's hand on Johnny's shoulder and when she went to nudge their hands together the two intertwined their hands without any form of prompting. Rosita grinned triumphantly and bounced back over to her spot in front of them.

"Let's start with some basic steps." With that they were off, Rosita dictating their every move, and their eyes rarely leaving each others. Their hearts were pounding simultaneously and Meena's breathing was a little shallow but neither seemed to notice.

When she noticed them getting a little stiff Rosita stopped them and put her hand over their joined ones. "Just relax you two. Imagine that it's only the two of you dancing and everything will be fine." Johnny gulped and Meena blushed brightly but they both nodded.

They continued like this for hours, the dance gradually progressing towards a more complicated routine. After one last try, Rosita decided that they were good enough to show Mr. Moon who had long since retreated to his office so that eh could get some work done. When everyone was comfortably seated in the audience, Mr. Moon and Rosita in the front, the house lights dimmed and Johnny and Meena resumed the position that felt natural at that point. Their hands belonged together and his hand belonged on her hip.

The sweet melody of the song that Rosita had chosen for them filled the stage and they were off like magic. Of course they were still new to dancing and sometimes the steps were a little bit off, but those small imperfections were nothing in comparison to their chemistry and they twirled around the stage in unison.

Their small audience was captivated as they watched the pair dance like no one was watching. They could tell by the looks on Meena and Johnny's faces that they could see no one but each other. It was beautiful and magical but eventually the song had to come to an end and so did the magic.

With one last twirl, Johnny brought Meena in close to his chest and dipped her as low as he could without making her nervous. They were just staring at each other, their faces moving ever closer, when loud applause broke them out of their reverie.

Johnny helped Meena up into standing position and the pair bashfully bowed.

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect. I'm a genius!" Buster congratulated himself as Meena and Johnny hurried off stage to escape their admirers.

Just as Meena was about to disappear into the locker room to get changed and ready to go home Johnny stopped her with a hand on her arm. She turned around curiously to find her friend nervously rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the floor.

"Would ya uh, loike ter get sum ice cream sometime?" he stuttered out, his face cherry red. Meena was silent for a moment and Johnny felt himself being overwhelmed by the sudden urge to flee but his whole body filled with relief when she finally answered in a timid but happy voice.

"I'd love to."