In honor of Nickelodeon's 25th anniversary, I'm going to do something a little different... I'm going to write a one-shot for the very first Nicktoon that aired! Not Rugrats, not Ren & Stimpy, but... Doug! That's right, I'm writing yet another one-shot starring our lovable friend... and one of the side characters on the show known as Connie! You remember her? Maybe you do, maybe you don't... but just in case, she was usually treated like a background character on the show, but there were times when she did make her presence known in a couple of episodes... it wasn't until the Disney version that she slimmed down a bit and was more focused on a new thing in music... but just for the sake, we're going for Nickelodeon's Doug! If you want to know more about Connie, I would recommend going to YouTube and checking out 'Familiar Faces: Connie' by a certain Internet reviewer known as CR, on the FamiliarFacesChannel! With that said, let's get on with this one-shot! Anyway, enjoy!

Outside sitting on the porch of her house, a green skinned big girl with purple hair and a pink dress was sighing as she sat down, looking up at the sky. This girl, known as Connie Benge was sighing unhappily as she looked up. Right now, she was feeling a bit down, due to the fact that once again, she couldn't even get close to the boy she loved in her life.

She didn't quite understand why... well, maybe she did. Even though she tried countless times to have him notice her, he just didn't even see it... and who could blame him? He was more attracted to Patti Mayonnaise. Who would ever love anyone like Connie?

Connie sighed as she looked up at the sky, but she didn't want to keep looking up. Every time she looked at the clouds, she kept getting reminded of heartbreak. One cloud even literally looked like two sides of heart splitting in two. She didn't want to cry, but at the same time, she felt like crying. It just felt... painful.

Connie took a deep breath as she picked up her guitar that she would always bring to the porch whenever she felt depressed. She tuned it up before she started playing a nice little tune. It wasn't sad, but at the same time, it wasn't cheerful. It was more of a neutral tune that was a bit of a combination of both. She even hummed along to the music a couple of times.

Connie then stopped playing as she put the guitar aside. She took a deep breath.

"That was pretty good..."

Connie yelped as she looked up to see the boy that she had a huge crush on. "D-Doug! Hi!"

"Hey, Connie." Doug smiled. "I didn't know you could play guitar."

"Well, I've always been a huge fan of music. Any type of music, really." Connie explained. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I was just walking Porkchop when we both heard the sound of a guitar playing." Doug explained as Connie was now noticing that Doug was holding a leash that had Porkchop on the end of it, Porkchop was sitting down and applauding happily. "Imagine my surprise when I saw it was you who could play... I have to say, you're really good."

Connie smiled. "Er... thanks, Doug. Uh... do you want to sit down with me for a while? I-I mean, if you're not in a hurry or anything..."

"Actually, I think I have a lot of time. I'm supposed to meet up with Skeeter at the Honker Burger in about an hour and a half, so I have some time to kill." Doug said as he sat down next to Connie. "So... how have you been, Connie?"

"Oh... okay, I suppose..." Connie said, blushing, but sighing.

It was then Doug noticed Connie's sad face. "You don't look okay to me, Connie. You look like you're a little depressed."

"Well... maybe I am, a little bit." Connie sighed. "It's just... well... it's a little silly."

"It's okay, Connie. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone." Doug said as Connie looked up to see his concerned face.

"Well..." Connie sighed. "Say... there's someone you like..."

"Okay..." Doug nodded.

"And... that someone you like... you really like." Connie said. "That person is cute, sweet, and nice... sure, there are a few blunders here and there, but... in the end, you are able to look past those blunders..."

"Well..." Doug blushed in embarrassment. "I suppose I know someone like that..."

"Say that person you like... had an interest in somebody else..." Connie explained.

That stopped Doug from wondering as he looked at Connie in confusion. "O-okay..."

"And no matter what you do to make him see who you are, he always goes for the other girl... not that you blame the person you like, the person he likes is friendly and pretty..." Connie sighed. "And... you start to feel a little... inferior... a little... sad... because the person you like likes the other girl and never once looks at the person who cares for you. You start feeling that it's pretty hopeless..."

Doug looked at Connie, feeling bad. "So... you have a crush on someone, but that someone is looking at... someone else?"

Connie sighed, knowing that Doug hasn't realized he was describing himself. "Yes, more or less. I just wonder sometimes why I just... feel hurt..."

"Connie?" Doug said, putting a hand on her shoulder as she looked up. "Look, I don't know who this person is that you have a crush on, but... it seems to me that you must really like this person."

Connie could only give a nod, blushing as she noticed that his hand was touching her shoulder. "I just... I just feel like I'm not attractive..."

"What? Connie, that's ridiculous. You're as attractive as every other girl in the world. You don't need to be as attractive as the girl that guy is crushing on. Just as long as you're you, that's all that matters."

Connie looked up at Doug, who was giving a warm smile, which was giving her a warm feeling in her stomach. "You really think that?"

"Just give yourself sometime. Show the guy who you really are... eventually, he'll notice you." Doug smiled. "I mean, I never knew you played guitar until recently, right."

Connie's eyes brightened when she realized this. "Hey... you're right. I never really thought of that. You know, Doug, I've also been practicing my singing as well."

"Really?" Doug smiled. "Well... with your singing and guitar-playing, I'm sure that guy will be bound to notice you. So, don't give up on that. Maybe he'll finally understand just how great you are... maybe he'll even go out with you on one date."

"You think so?" Connie looked at Doug's eyes as both of them didn't notice they were inching closer.

"Well... just keep practicing and maybe someday... even if he doesn't return the feelings... I'm sure he'll appreciate you for who you are and what you do... maybe even be friends..." Doug smiled.

Connie, with a second wind, grabbed Doug and pulled him into a hug as she kissed Doug on the cheek, surprising the boy. "Thanks, Doug! You're the sweetest guy in the whole world!"

Doug blushed a bit. "Y-yeah, that's me."

Connie then realized what she did as she blushed. "Oh, uh, sorry... I guess your advice got me so excited and..."

"It's all right, Connie. I don't mind the enthusiasm." Doug gave a smile.

Connie then smiled as she realized that Doug didn't wipe his cheek. She hoped that it meant that she and him were one step closer to build something... even if it is just friendship. Connie gave a smile as she picked up her guitar. "Would you mind if I played something?"

"Go right ahead." Doug said as he got comfortable, Porkchop, who had been watching the conversation the whole time, sat down, eager to listen.

Connie gave a happy sigh as she started to play a song. "Now, I don't have words for this one, so, I'm just going to do the 'do's, if you get what I'm saying?"

Doug just nodded as Porkchop barked a bit.

"Do, do do, do-do-do, do, do-do, do do..." Connie started humming a song as Doug and Porkchop bopped their heads to the tune.

And from that point on, Connie decided to take Doug's advice into consideration, as she kept practicing on her guitar. And even though Doug didn't quite realize Connie's true feelings for him, he and her grew a little closer together. Connie had her fingers crossed that hopefully one day, Doug would finally understand Connie's love for him.

Until then, she played guitar to her heart's content and with passion.

Orange Ratchet Story

"That's All, Folks!"

An Orange-Ratchet Fanfiction

And there is my 25th anniversary Nickelodeon one-shot! How did you guys like it? By the way, if you're wondering what song Connie was doing in the end, well... it's the Nickelodeon Doug theme. And it sets up pretty nicely for her later characterization for her Disney version as well, don't you think? Anyway, this is going to bring up a big question...

Would you guys like me to do a Doug x Connie fanfiction in the future? Let me know what you think of the idea! I would LOVE to do one! Anyway, thank you all for reading this, and have a wonderful day! And happy 25th anniversary, Nickelodeon!