A/N: reader: *gasp* YOU, the Bustash crazed Lu Silveira, wrote A JASH FIC?!
me: Yes. Yes I have. Don't hold it against me ;-;
Jokes apart, this is a gift to my good friend and Jash-crazed buddy Emily, aka bookreader525, to celebrate the anniversary of her birth. Should've come out a long time ago, but I'm slow as hell. Happy Birthday Em! *heart*
Another chapter of The Koala And the Porcupine will come out later today or afternoon tomorrow.
I hope you all enjoy this. And if you're fond of Jash or just really good stories, go check Emily's out! ;)
Time for the story! If you like it, please leave me a review.
Johnny goes past the many corridors, a shopping list in hand, grabbing a few bags of chips and cans of soda. And as it's for Ash's party, he gets some beer cans, too. He silently prays the cashier doesn't ask for his ID, because if they do, he'll have to leave those behind. And he doesn't want to leave those behind. Unlike Ash, he doesn't have a fake ID - and doesn't want one either. This side of the law is way cooler. Plus, he's a terrible liar. If someone questioned him about his age, he'd start stuttering, and the other person would see right through him. He could say he's taking them to an adult, which wouldn't be entirely a lie. Many guests to the surprise party he's throwing for Ash today are adults, even if the biggest consumer of beer among them isn't.
His hands are so shaky when he takes the beer from their freezer he's afraid they'll pop in his hands. Not because he's worrying if someone will ask for his ID - not at the moment, at least. But yes because tonight, May 26th, he's going to confess his love for Ash. He'd been crushing on her almost a year now. More like that, after half a year of crushing on her, he'd been struck dumb because of his crush. Everyone at the theatre knew about his feelings already. And as the saying goes, 'when everybody says you're drunk, maybe it's time to sit down', he told them he crushed on the porcupine on the billionth time he was questioned about that. And so, everybody in the so called 'theatre family' encouraged him to confess.
He never did. Why? Because until yesterday, Ash was a minor, and he could get arrested for dating her. But today she isn't a minor anymore. Today, May 26th, Ash turns 18. And that means they can date. Him being 19 going on 20 in two months or so… he's afraid of her reaction, however. He doesn't want to make her uncomfortable, make things weird between them, or be rejected - a voice in his head keeps telling him he will be. But as everybody encouraged him saying that it would be alright, he decided to try. He loves her a lot.
He moves over to the kitchen session, grabbing napkins and plastic cups. Moon was supposed to handle that part, but he forgot, and then it was too late. So here he is, grabbing napkins and plastic cups for the party tonight. Luckily to all of them, Ash is spending the day with some old friends of hers, so they don't have to worry about her going to her house and finding out about the surprise. Plus, they have plenty of time to put everything together.
The hard part had been getting the keys to her apartment - because no, they weren't throwing it at the theatre. That was not due to Moon's concerns, surprisingly, but simply because the rocker would get suspicious if she was called to the theatre at night. When he noticed that, it was almost too late. How would he get the keys? Mike had a simple solution - using his diminutive size, he got close to the keys.
Close enough for him to put it on a clay plate, therefore making a "copy" of the key. So, he took the clay to a locksmith - Buster going along to make sure only one copy was to be made. The mouse had changed in the past few months, but they decided not to take a chance - and they were still there now. After that, they'd meet the others at the theatre, and all of them would go together to Ash's house.
The cashier, an otter, looks at him suspiciously but doesn't ask for his ID. He just takes the money and tells him to get going. Once he's out of the market, he packs the several shopping bags into the bag of his truck, gets in, and leaves hurriedly.
Just in case that cashier changes his mind and decides to go to the parking lot asking for his ID.
Ash's apartment is exactly how he imagined it: dark, a bit shady, rock bands' posters all around, many CDs, and huge stereos. When the lights were turned on, showing the living room in its entirety, Mike was sure there was a sacrificed baby somewhere. The cast rolled their eyes at the mouse, as they usually did. Given his history with Ash, they wanted to send the impolite mouse away, but could not. It was thanks to his pick locking skills that they were inside, anyways. So Johnny just told him to keep his comments to a minimum, to which the mouse replied 'he wouldn't promise anything'.
"I can't believe there is no table here."
"Maybe in another room?"
"None. Just checked. We could get them from the theatre."
"The theatre has none."
"You're joking, right?"
"Well, after the flood… we have mine and Miss Crawly's desks, but how willing are you to empty them?"
"Maybe get them somewhere."
"Where? The tables on our houses are too big to fit your truck."
"Roc's sells plastic ones. Not too big, or expensive, and great quality. We could buy a couple of those and a few chairs."
"And what do we do with those after the party?"
"We open a party organization company." All animals present laughed at the mouse's joke. They didn't expect him to be anything but inconvenient and annoying. "What? We could. Now that we're experts on it," he says, joining in the laughter. "But seriously, Moon, don't you have a place for them in the theatre? Not even for some play?"
"Well... true, I need desks for plays. Since mine got destroyed," he laughs, "I could put those to good use."
"There. We buy them, then dump them at the theatre."
"Wow. Thanks, Mike." The mouse just snickers.
"You sure the tables fit my truck?"
"Yeah, I think so. If it doesn't, I can balance them on top of it. I just need ropes."
"Got that in the truck. Thanks, Rosita."
"Anyone got news from Meena or Gunter?"
"Meena is giving the final touches on the cake. As for Gunter, I think he's putting a music playlist together."
"Pete help us."
"Mike!"
"He's mixing a lot of genres, Mike. And downloaded a ratpack playlist just for you."
"Bless him!" The mouse cheers.
Rosita just rolls her eyes at the mouse before going to the door with Johnny. "On the way back, we could pick Meena up. She baked a lot of stuff, it'd be hard to get it on the bus."
"Yeah, no problem."
The party was a great success. Ash arrived a tad bit late, but she got there, and that was all that mattered. When she opened the door, lights all around were turned on as everyone yelled a cheery 'surprise!' Granted, they almost gave the porcupine a heart attack, but once the shock was over, she hugged everyone and the party began. They even made a karaoke contest - one that the Mike-Meena duet won, with Feline Dion's My Heart Will Go On. They received a standing ovation for it, signaling all other 'competitors' admitted their defeat. Apart from that, they played many rounds of Cards Against Animality and drinking games - much to the adults' concern. Ash wasn't legal and Meena has little tolerance to alcohol.
That was probably why Ash won the round with her, too. Apart from that, Buster and Mike tried beating one another in a faster downer contest, while Eddie and Gunter played Mario Kat and Cheetah Hero. Johnny and Rosita found a rather healthier pastime, that being sitting in the kitchen, talking and drinking fizzy drinks. Rosita was the first one to leave, leaving an anxious Johnny behind. Perhaps, confessing tonight was a bad idea. He went back to the party area, where he sat, and talked to Meena all night - and when she, too, left, he directed his attention towards the two animals playing videogames. He even beat Eddie in an easy Cheetah Hero level.
Then, it was Gunter's turn to leave. He and Mike got a ride home from Eddie, and so the party started to die down. When Johnny thought they were alone, he heard soft snoring coming from under a blanket on the couch.
"Mr Moon?" He asks, almost to himself, as he lifts the blanket. He pokes the koala, who doesn't move. Johnny sighs in relief. If he's gonna have company when he confesses, at least let it be so drunk it doesn't wake up in the middle of it. The drinking game with Mike, he figured, had been good and bad.
When Ash returns from the kitchen with two cans of soda, he freezes. God. Is he really gonna do this? Before he realizes, she has closed the distance between them and deposited a can on his hand. He smiles as calmly as he can, taking a seat on the ground. She's with him in no time, and it makes him tense up, altho she doesn't seem to mind.
"Alright... one thing is for sure... this is the best party I've ever had! Thank you for this."
"Heh. You're welcome. I'm just the planner, this wouldn't have been possible without the others."
"They all got individual 'thank yous'," she laughs, "seeing Moon drunk and talking to the stereo was awesome." Johnny scrunches his nose, but laughs a little.
"It was. It got a bit weird when all of them got their shirts off, but it was fun. Ash, are you drunk?"
"How could you tell?" She snickers, playfully elbowing his side.
"The smell and the slurring are good clues," he retorts.
"Hey, if you don't drink, don't un-drink the drinkers."
He cracks up laughing. "What?!"
"No idea! I say weird crap when I'm drunk!" She joins in the laugh, leaning against him. Their laughter slowly dies down.
"Drink something without alcohol so you get sober."
"On it," she replies, lifting her soda to prove her point.
Johnny chuckles nervously, downing half his soda in one sip. It wasn't a good idea. Ash was drunk as a skunk... could she even think straight? If he confessed, and she said yes, she probably wouldn't remember she said yes tomorrow. And if she said no, she too wouldn't remember it tomorrow. Maybe she wouldn't even remember he said anything. And so, things wouldn't be weird between them. Exactly what he wanted if she rejected him. That is, if his theory of post-drunken-state-amnesia is correct. And he isn't sure if it's correct or not, so he just sits in silence. Part of him wants to say those three words, but the other part is too afraid to do so.
While debating the issue in his head - his heart, at many times, trying to interfere -, Ash leans into his side. He stiffens up when she takes his arm and wraps it around herself. Her sharp quills sting him a little, but he doesn't mind it. Thick skin has got to be useful for something, right? He stays still, flashing her a shy smile when she looks up at him. She reaches over, taking his other arm and resting it across her lap. He blushes, stiffening up just that tiny bit more. He silently thanks the skies for giving him fur, or else he'd be blushing like hell now. However, there is a thing he can't hide. Two, actually: one is his rigid body, and two is his bashful look.
Ash catches up on that quickly and shoots him a glance. "What?"
"Nothing," he shrugs.
Ash's voice sounds less slurry. "If you were standing against a wall, most animals would mistake you for it," she teases, elbowing his side once again, before letting out a soundly laugh. "Is it because I'm drunk? If it is, don't worry. It never lasts long."
Johnny laughs nervously. "Yeah, I noticed. You sound way better now."
"I know. I didn't even drink all that much, anyway," she says with a wink. He hopes his skin is still hiding his blush. "Just enough to laugh at Moon's dancing skills. Doesn't take much."
"Yeah," he giggles, "and then he started singing along and made it even better."
"You kidding? It got funny when he challenged Mike to a faster downer competition," she snickers. The two of them laugh before the porcupine turns serious once again. "But seriously, what is it?"
"Ash, it's nothing, really. Don't worry."
"But you are worried about it."
"More like anxious about it. Actually, not even that. More-" he stops mid-sentence. She's smirking up at him, her eyebrow cocked. "Nevermind."
"Come on, you can trust me," she assures, a sweet smile on her face. She caresses his hand gently, so he sighs.
"Only if you promise you won't kill me. Deal?" He extends his hand.
She looks at his hand with a suspicious look. "Depends. Did you break my guitar?"
"No."
"Scratched it?"
"No."
"Maybe let Mike unattended near it?"
"No." She takes his much larger palm in hers and stands up to be at eye-level with him.
"Then I won't kill you. What's up?"
Johnny gulps, looking down to avoid her gaze. He can tell she's waiting for him to say something, but she doesn't rush him. His throat is as dry as the desert, so he takes a huge sip of his soda through the straw. He doesn't wanna face her just yet. At some point, he loses track of time. For how long has he been looking down? Minutes? Hours? He takes a deep breath, slowly lifting his head to meet her eyes. Her heavenly blue eyes. There, he reads both concern and curiosity. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He tears his gaze apart from hers once again, looks down at his hands, and closes his eyes.
Come on, he commands himself, why are you making this so hard? Just... just tell her and get this over and done with. Johnny opens his eyes slightly, discreetly peeking out at Ash. She's still waiting. Even his thoughts are stuttering, so the matter is serious. He bravely looks up, staring straight into her eyes.
"I..." he begins, his voice low and raspy. Oh, for Pete's sake, his throat wasn't supposed to be so dry! He downed almost half his soda not long ago! He clears his throat. "Sorry."
"It's alright."
He chuckles nervously. "Heh. Thanks. As... as I was saying..," there he goes again. "I may... I... I mean... I might..."
Nice going, he mentally scolds himself. Ash raises her eyebrows.
"You might..?"
"I mean, I do! I..," he holds his breath in and shuts his eyes tight. "I love you."
There. He did it. No turning back now. He keeps his eyes shut just in case she slaps him or walks away. He doesn't want to see either things. Silence reigns around him for - what he believes to be - a few hours. And then Ash cracks up laughing and the sound fills the room. Johnny gives her a confused look. Seriously? Did she think he was joking? Or just found him ridiculous? What was it?! He nervously watches her. At some point, she throws herself on his lap - sideways, for obvious reasons. Once again, he stiffens up and lowers his eyes. That's more or less when Ash's laughter begins to die down. She looks at him, laughter tears on her eyes, and takes both his hands in her own.
"I thought I would never hear it from you." His eyes go from sad to confused in a second.
"Wait..." Ash smirks. "How did you knew?!"
"You did a terrible job hiding it," she taunts, playfully.
He blushes. "Oh come on!"
"What?! You did!" They laugh once again before Ash leans in to peck his lips. It was barely a touch, but damn it felt good. Johnny lets out a relieved sigh. He did it! He confessed and things turned out to be better than he expected! She tilts his face lightly and closes her eyes, pulling him into another kiss - one that, he can tell, is more elaborate. He presses himself further into the couch, holding her back. The move doesn't go by unnoticed by Ash, who opens her eyes to look at him.
"I'm sorry... I..." he rubs the back of his neck. "I... I never... kissed. I don't know how to... well, you know..."
Ash looks at him for a moment. Then, lets out a small chuckle as she leans in. She doesn't let their lips touch just yet, she just gets close enough so he can feel her breath on his lips.
"You'll have many chances to get the hang of it."
So he feels her warm, slightly alcoholic, breath.
A/N: Alright, this is it! My first (and probably last) try at Jash! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you do, please leave me a review. *heart* It keeps me going.