A/N: Wrote a couple of "Behind the Scenes" chapters. Since we only got to see one character's point of view in the story, and a lot more happens that we didn't see, I wanted to show those scenes before I write the actual sequel.

~ Johnny's Story ~

...

Johnny stared in shock as he ran his hand over his face. The slap didn't hurt too much. But he wasn't expecting to be rejected like that.

She walked away… I can't believe it! She walked away! No one walks away from Johnny Worthington!

Girls usually went for the whole: "I don't care about others" thing. He'd finally asked this girl whom he'd liked since the sixth grade out. But she wasn't impressed with him.

He blew it. He never blew anything before. ...Well, except for that dumb old chess game. Who needs it, anyways...?

The Scare Games were over, and he'd lost. All of his team had lost. And now the guy who'd contributed the most to their loss was gone. The girl didn't like that. And that bothered him, for some reason.

"A team is only a team if you're a family." She'd said.

Yeah. As if she was one to talk. Her sorority treated her like an outsider too. They didn't even let her compete in the Scare Games. Of course, she had an excuse for them too.

"Carrie says I'm too free-spirited. She says she only wants the girls who can follow her orders when they play. It makes sense, right? Because an organized team is a winning team." She'd seen his unsure expression. "And, hey, it's not like they dislike me or anything."

True… But he still wished he could have seen her play.

If only… if only Boggs hadn't blown it for the RORs, she wouldn't have taken pity on him, and they'd be partying together right now. Right...? He hated to think that he might have lost her forever.

He sighed. Even though their rejected teammate was scrawny, and even shall-we-say cute, he had put forward a good effort. And it had been fun with him. He smiled, recalling Boggs' many slip-ups that he'd had to correct. He was a fast learner. He picked up tricks faster than any new pledge they'd collected before. He was very competent, if even a bit prideful. Because of this, Johnny had been surprised the kid had used a heart pattern for his scare.

Maybe the girl was right. Maybe he had taken the wrong approach. His father had always pushed him to the top. He wasn't daddy's boy until he made it. But now that he thought about it, not having his father's unconditional love upset him. He didn't want to lose because he was afraid of disappointing him. And anyone who wasn't up to his standards was also given the boot.

"You know… maybe she's right. I really liked that kid. He didn't win us the Scare Games, but he gave a good effort. I don't know… maybe he thought hearts would make the kid scream out of shock?" Johnny sighed. "I have been too hard on you guys… I'm sorry if I ever did anything too harsh."

"That's okay, Johnny!" Chet said. "You know, I really like you like this. You really are nice after all!"

He growled slightly. "Careful, Chet. "Nice" isn't cool." His face softened a bit. "However, I do appreciate your contribution to the team."

"Alright!" He shouted, dancing a little. "Johnny likes me! He likes all of us!"

The team smiled. Johnny couldn't help but smile too.

"So, what do you think?" Johnny said, looking over their trophy. "Should the kid come back on the team? I mean, it turns out we did win after all…"

"Alright, here's what I think," Javier said. "We have a vote."

"A vote?!" Johnny cried.

Everyone stared at him. 'What's wrong with that?' their eyes seemed to say.

The horned monster sighed. "Alright, you know what? Fine. All in favour of Randy rejoining the team?"

Multiple hands went up.

"All opposed?"

All hands were down. Even Johnny had cast his vote for the kid.

"Great." Johnny smiled. Then he hesitated. He had been the one to kick Randy out, after all. "You- you know what? I'm not really feeling up to going over there to tell him. Does anyone else want to go?"

Chet raised his hand. "Ooh ooh! Me! For you, Johnny, anything!"

"Anyone else?" Johnny feared Chet's overly boisterous nature might scare the kid off.

"How about if I go?" The much more calm Javier offered.

"Good call." He patted him on the back. "Oh, by the way, party at my place. Invite Randy, as well as… uh… you-know-who…" He whispered under his breath. He still liked the girl, but he didn't want anyone else to know.

Johnny drove up to the house. He stepped out of the car and came up to his father's door. His fist shook in the air for a second as he mustered the courage to knock.

Three knocks, then silence.

After about five seconds, a big, tall, macho man twice as big as Johnny answered.

"Who is it?" His eyes widened. "John-boy! Hey, how are you?!" He grabbed his son around the neck and gave him a noogie.

"Ah, I've been doing fine."

"How'd ya do in the Scare Games? Another victory for Roar Omega Roar, I'll bet!" His speech was slurred.

Johnny looked down. "Well… actually… no."

"No?" His father blinked. "NO?! What, didn't you try hard enough?!"

"We tried, but-"

"Tried?! No, son. You don't try. You win! And if you can't win, you're a loser, plain and simple."

"Dad… I…"

"Face it. No son of mine is going to be a loser! If you can't come home a winner, you may as well not come home at all!" He lay a blow, much harder than what the boy was used to, across his face.

Johnny got up from the floor, his eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe this! He thought his father would be glad to have him back. But it was true. All his father cared about was his winning.

"You know what, dad," Johnny said, tears threatening the corners of his eyes. "I thought you loved me, but now I see all you care about is your stupid sports trophies! And for your information, we did win! I just wanted to see if you'd still care if I didn't!" His voice broke at the last word.

His father reached out his hand to him.

"No. It's too late." Johnny spat.

He turned away, heading out the door.

"From now on," Johnny vowed. "I'm not going to be controlled by you. I'll make my own decisions, the right decisions. No more abusing teammates." He stopped by his car, shouting out his last words. "And you're just going to have to deal with it!"

He jumped into his car and drove away. This was it. He was never going back. He sped away to his college.

At last he was free! From now on, he would be a new man.

"Wait, Johnny!" His father called from the house. "I love you!" He turned to his empty wine bottle. Cursing, he smashed it down on the floor.

At the party next week, in the dimly lit dance hall, Johnny found the girl mingling with her PNK friends.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention. "I, uh, thought about what you said… You, uh, kind of inspired me to stand up to my father. Thanks." He smiled.

The blonde-haired PNK looked at him strangely. "You're welcome…" She looked a bit guilty.

"If you don't mind, may I have this dance?" he wondered. His eyebrows were raised affectionately.

"Well, okay. But don't try any of your moves on me. I like someone else, you see?"

He nodded, looking over at the reptilian by the snack bar.

"Don't worry, I respect that. This is just my way of saying 'Thank you.'"

Surprised at his rather uncharacteristic gentlemanly behaviour, the girl took his hand.

"You know," She said in the middle of the dance. "I'm sure you and I could be friends. If I over-reacted back there, I'm sorry…"

She winced as she saw the bruise on his cheek. Had she done that?!

"It's okay. It didn't hurt too bad." He rubbed his cheek. "My father's hit, on the other hand…"

Her mouth dropped open. She had no idea Johnny was abused at home.

"Have you called the police? You shouldn't let him get away with that."

"Nope, I haven't." He sighed. "Called them, I mean. I guess I just… saw it as normal."

The girl looked at him sympathetically. She'd never really thought about the kind of home life Johnny must have had. She felt awful for misjudging him the way she had. He continued.

"Your boldness did inspire me to stand up to the guy. Heh. You should have seen the look on his face…" He managed a smile. "Yep. It'll probably take a while to get back on my feet. I've got enough money to rent the dorm for another two years. Yeah, I think I'll do just fine..." He looked away, for the first time worried about his future.

"Hey," the girl turned his face back gently. "If you need a place to stay during the holidays, our family can take you in, until you get back on your feet…"

Johnny looked at her, wondering about the sincerity of her words. Her smile was genuine.

"Thanks. Just… don't tell the guys, alright?" He seemed embarrassed about his situation.

"It's alright, I won't." She looked slightly worried by the fact that he'd think she was the type who'd do that. That meant he really didn't have many people he could trust in his life. She looked into his eyes. And this time, instead of a cold, human-like creature, she saw a monster.

"It's funny," he said offhandedly. "I've known you since we were kids. But for the life of me, I can never remember your name."

"It's Rita." She smiled.

"Rita..." He smiled back. Stroking her cheek lightly, he gazed into her eyes. Clearly, his crush hadn't gone away yet. "This time, I'll remember."

The song finished, and the partners let go. Johnny didn't want to see her leave, but he knew he had to do what was best. He loved her, and he wanted to see her happy. Even if it was with the loser who'd humiliated his team.

"So, I'll… uh… see you around campus?" He wondered.

The girl nodded. The lizard-lion went back to her friends, who all started giggling and whispering.