"Grrr….." Ash narrowed her eyes and watched Meena and Johnny, quietly seething with barely concealed rage. Those two had been spending a lot of time together. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that they had just became better friends, the chilling hand of doubt came and probed at her mind. But no matter what, she always repeated to herself one thing.

We're just friends.

Oh, how she was beginning to hate that phrase with the greatest venom. However, she didn't even really understand why. She thought of Johnny as a friend and she was totally not jealous. Yeah, totally not jealous…

On the other hand, her quills immediately bristled when Johnny placed his hand on Meena's arm.

"Ash?" a voice spoke gently. Ash was broken out of her anger-induced stupor. She looked behind her and met the kind, motherly eyes of Rosita.

"Oh. Hi, Rosita," Ash said, turning her eyes back to the objects of her wrath.

"We need to talk," she asserted gently. Ash looked back at Rosita and noticed Gunter and Miss Crawly there also.

"What about?" Ash asked.

"You," Rosita answered. Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. What's there to say? I'm a punk rocker porcupine with a bad attitude and a-"

"Ash, dear, we're not talking about you physically, we're talking about your recent issue with Meena and Johnny." Ash stepped back a bit, mind racing. Was she really that obvious?

"Ya, you totally have super huge problem with Johnny and Meena. What's up with that, Home-Quill?" Gunter asked, being his usual weird self.

"What?!" Ash squeaked. "No way! I don't have a problem with Johnny or Meena. I think you guys are looking too much into this," Ash said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Defensive body-language. Either she don't wanna hear what you idiots gotta say or Jello, Scaly, and Blubber are onto somethin'," Mike spoke up as he walked by. After Rosita finished giving the mouse a stern look for his rude nicknames for the threesome, she turned back to Ash.

"He has a point, you know," she said, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face.

"Since when do you agree with anything Mike says?" Ash shot back, attempting to cover up her contempt at Mike's acknowledgement and Rosita's agreement with it Rosita simply placed her hands on her hips and gave Ash a look. She huffed and sighed quietly.

"Fine. You three win. I've got a problem with Johnny and Meena. Happy?" she asked.

"Okay. So what is your problem with those two?" Rosita pressed.

"Now that I don't believe you guys are getting out of me," Ash said, trying to walk away from the entire situation. But before she could get very far, she felt a hand on her arm.

"Hey, we all care about you. We want to help you," Rosita stated, a hint of pleading in her voice. Ash didn't turn around for several moments, wanting to hold on to her grudge and evade the embarrassingly awkward conversation that was sure to follow.

However, when she glanced back at the mother pig, she knew that she wouldn't be able to leave. She took in a deep breath and exhaled carefully, turning back to Rosita.

"Okay. Let's get this over with. My problem is their closeness lately. I don't know why. It's just the way it is. I shouldn't even really be feeling this way. After all, they're both my friends and I care about them," Ash said as she turned back to Johnny and Meena, desperately hoping the discussion would end soon.

"Do you think you might be jealous, Ash?" Rosita asked. Ash's eyes widened and she looked at the pig.

"Well, no. Of course not. Johnny's not my boyfriend. What do I care?" Ash said, deep in thought.

"Yes, very jealous," Miss Crawly added in unhelpfully as she sipped her coffee.

"Do you want Johnny to be your boyfriend?" Rosita questioned carefully. Suddenly it all added up. The anger, the occasional mental notes on how Johnny looked that day, her sudden jealousy.

Ash 'like' liked her best friend. She put a hand to her head and reached out, supporting herself on a nearby ladder.

"Ash, are you okay?" Rosita asked, worry lacing her voice. Ash's blue eyes stared at the floor for a few moments.

"Ash? What's going on?" Ash's gaze snapped upwards and she saw Johnny and Meena standing there, both with an extremely concerned look on their face. Ash took a few steps backwards, reeling.

"Nothing. Tell Buster I'm quitting early today. Didn't get much sleep last night. Y'know, Lance pounding on the door and everything… I-I'll see you guys tomorrow." Ash turned and walked away quietly. Now was not the time to face everyone. She would have to have a little while of thinking time.

She pushed open the theater's backstage exit door and heard it clunk dully behind her as she walked on the asphalt, heading to the sidewalk in front of the theater.

Had she really harbored these feelings all this time? Never occurring once to her that she thought of Johnny as more than a friend?

True, more than once she had watched Johnny from afar and thought about how cute, kind, and caring that he was. But every time that her mind even slightly wandered to that sort of thoughts, she would metaphorically stomp them in the dirt and continue about her day.

She ambled down the sidewalk towards her apartment, arms crossed over her chest as she tried to rationalize her thoughts and feelings.

How long had she felt this way? Was it a fleeting infatuation or a long-term attraction?

Better than that, what would she do about it? Were Johnny and Meena even dating? She certainly hoped not.

For the remainder of the afternoon and that night, Ash was practically a zombie, only stirring out of her thoughts to eat dinner, brush her teeth, and go to bed. Once she was in bed, all she could do was think.

In some ways, this was worse than when Lance came over and beat up her door. At least Lance would eventually quit.

The bad part about thoughts were that they were stuck in her brain and didn't just get tired and go back to wherever they lived. No, they stayed and tortured her for hours and hours on end until she felt like banging her head against the wall.

Finally, at around two-thirty, she drifted off into an uneasy, fitful sleep.

…

Ash dragged herself into the theater, pulling her guitar case along behind her. As she fought off the need to yawn, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Seven-fifteen. She woke up at six thirty to get ready to go to the theater. Great, four hours of sleep and she got here at the theater late.

"Hey, Ash!" Buster exclaimed enthusiastically. She resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes.

"Hey," she replied dryly, hoping that he'd leave her alone. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.

"Come over here. I've got something extremely exciting to show you," he said, beckoning her over. Ash trudged over, preparing for an extremely boring speech or something that she really didn't want to do.

"Look! I've put you all together in teams so that you can learn from each other and maybe get some pointers. You would've heard who you're with had you been here on time," Buster raised his brow and tried his best to give her a stern look. However, it failed miserably, for his enthusiasm shone through too much.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll try to get here earlier tomorrow. Anyways, tell me who I'm with and I'll go to work," Ash said, completely bored. Perhaps if she'd have gotten more sleep, she might have been more cheery about his entire idea.

"You're with Johnny. He's in his practice room. Y'know that one that used to belong to those frogs." Her eyes widened. Oh, no… The very root of her problem.

Once she overcame the shock, she shook her head slightly and started to proceed backstage.

"Since when did Johnny get a practice room?" Ash mumbled partly to herself.

"Since today! I figured you guys would need a more private place to work on his songs. You've already got one so I figured what the heck?" Buster replied, grinning as he looked at his list. Ash frowned.

Okay. Is fate playing some rude joke on her or what? Was she just destined to deal with her problems head-on before she was ready to?

Ash pulled her guitar case behind her and glanced about as she walked. Strangely, Rosita and Gunter were watching her but quickly pulled themselves together, giggling like schoolgirls. She rolled her eyes and figured it was probably a pig thing.

However, when Mike walked by, her tired mind was bumfuzzled.

"Go get him, Prickles," he said, an unusually large smirk on his face. She stopped in her tracks. What the heck was he talking about?!

Ash rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore him. When she walked over to the practice room, she noticed Meena standing with Miss Crawly. She had a huge grin on her face and covered her face with her ears when she noticed Ash staring.

Well…. Obviously, everybody was having a bad case of weirdoism today.

Ash took a deep breath and opened the door, pulling herself through and gently closing the door behind her.

"Oh, hey, Ash," said Johnny happily and strangely a bit nervously, grinning so that one of his canine teeth showing. She didn't even bother to deny how cute that looked. "I made you some coffee. Just how you like it." She clambered up on top of the piano, figuring that was the best place for her to talk to him at. Ash swung her legs over the edge of it so that whereas she was close enough to see Johnny quite well, she would not be in his way when he played the piano.

"Thanks, Johnny," Ash said, taking the cup from him and sipping it carefully. "I really needed that." She gave him a smile and drank more of the coffee as well as his appearance. She noticed that he didn't have his usual jacket and that he was wearing a t-shirt.

"Yeah, I probably look kinda weird without my jacket. But it was rather hot out today and I thought that the heat would be more bearable if I wore just a tee today," Johnny said with his usual gentleness. She blushed and looked away. Ever since her discovery the previous night, she found that she was attracted to Johnny. A lot.

Ash took a final swallow of her coffee, finishing it off so that they could start working.

"Okay, you do your song and I'll see if I can help you with anything," Ash said, already feeling a bit more energetic simply because of his presence.

Johnny fidgeted a bit while clenching and unclenching his fists. He finally took a deep breath and smiled up at her.

"Alright, then," he murmured, seemingly only partially to her. Johnny placed his fingers on the keys and began to play.

The music sounded strangely familiar to her. Probably because Johnny listened to a lot of weird piano songs when they relaxed and hung out together. After a short intro, he started to sing.

I've been alone with you inside my mind,

And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times,

I sometimes see you pass outside my door,

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Johnny looked right into her eyes when he sang that line and she felt her heart involuntarily skip a beat.

I can see it in your eyes,

I can see it in your smile,

You're all I've ever wanted,

And my arms are open wide,

Cos you know just what to say,

And you know just what to do,

And I want to tell you so much,

I love you…

Ash's eyes widened as Johnny gave her a shy smile. She tentatively smiled back, all the while considering: did she love him or simply 'like' like him?

I long to see the sunlight in your quills,

And tell you time and time again how much I care,

Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow,

Hello, I've just got to let you know,

Cos I wonder where you are,

And I wonder what you do,

Are you somewhere feeling lonely,

Or is someone loving you,

Ash stared at him as Johnny played, never missing a key once. She absentmindedly wondered how much time had he spent practicing this before now.

Tell me how to win your heart,

For I haven't got a clue,

But let me start by saying,

I love you….

He finished the song off slightly early by improvising a bit and mixing the ending with his own touch. Johnny looked up at her and smiled albeit nervously.

Ash knew right then and there that she loved him. Her heart was bursting with an emotion that she never felt before this strongly. She was sure that this was what love felt like. It had to have been, no other feeling could have been this intense.

She found herself leaning toward the gorilla, as if an invisible force was pulling her to him. He almost seemed to be leaning closer to her too. Ash reach her paw out and laid it on his shoulder, feeling his fingers thread between her quills.

Her mouth slightly parted as Johnny closed the gap between them. Once their lips met, she clenched her fist so that she had a fistful of his shirt, at the same time reaching another paw out to grab onto him with, and his hand tightening its grip around her.

Johnny's arm extended around the back of Ash's knees and she allowed him to pull her close against him. She slid one hand up the back of his neck as far as she could, reveling in the difference between the coarse black hairs covering his body as opposed to the soft velvety fur and sharp quills engulfing her own.

Johnny then pulled away slightly, breathing heavily with a gentle smile on his face. Ash couldn't help the large idiotic grin that covered her face. But after a moment, the world and her problems caught back up with her and she furrowed her brows, her smile falling into a straight line.

Was Johnny with Meena? If so, why in the world did he just kiss her? Johnny was a good guy, he'd never cheat on anyone.

"Ash? What's wrong?" Johnny asked, moving the hand out of her quills so that it helped support the other arm. Ash looked him right in the eye and steeled herself to ask the question and get the answer she's been dying to know.

"Are you and Meena going out?" she questioned quietly. The look on Johnny's face was priceless. After he finished stuttering and stammering for a moment, he finally opened his mouth and answered.

"No…." Ash's eyes widened in shock.

"Well… Why have you been spending so much time with her?" Ash asserted, trying desperately to take hold of this situation and understand.

Johnny looked about the room nervously.

"Umm… To tell you the truth, Ash, I was talking to her to get some advice about how to tell you how I feel about you," he admitted shyly. Ash had to think about that for a second.

"So you asked Meena about how to tell me how you feel? You've been hanging out with her for the past week arranging a way to tell me this?" Johnny nodded his head. "Seriously?" Another nod.

"I told the others about my plan for today, too. That's why they've been so strange today." Well, that explained this morning. Ash looked down, fiddling with his t-shirt. She remained quiet for several moments, allowing this to sink in.

"Eh…. Ash? Are you mad at me?" Her piercing blue eyes snapped back up to gaze into his chocolate orbs. She saw the concern and worry in his eyes and her heart instantly warmed.

Instead of a verbal answer, Ash grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him into an intense kiss. She moved her lips against his, allowing herself to soak in the feel of them. Ash then pulled away, resting her forehead against his. Johnny was quiet for a few moments.

"I suppose you aren't mad at me, then?" he asked tentatively. Ash chuckled, her low voice echoing slightly across the room.

"No way. Who I should be mad at is me. I was stupid enough to think that you and Meena were together. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. So in short, I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"No, I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner," Johnny replied.

"Look here, buster, it's a rare occasion that I apologize to anybody. Take it and run with it, got that?" Ash told him, poking her finger into his chest playfully.

"Alright, alright," Johnny laughed, scooping her up against his chest. She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself.

"And guess what?" Ash asked.

"I love you too," she said as she initiated another mind-blowing kiss.

What's up, you guys?! I decided to try out something new for one of my favorite pairings from Sing. I've never done a fanfic for Sing before and I hope I didn't do too badly! LOL

The song Johnny sang during this was Lionel Richie's "Hello." I had to change the word hair to quills. It didn't exactly work for my situation due to the fact that porcupines don't have hair… Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. Read, review, and have an awesome day!