A/N: Here's The Pressure. I know it's short and doesn't add too much, but I wanted Denny to interact with the Gumball cast a little before she would go to Elmore Junior High. She should be in school by the next chapter, let me know what ya think and Read & Review!

Denny was raking leaves in her home's yard. As she did, she heard some giggling and saw some girls who appeared to be about her age. There was a black dinosaur girl, an antlered peanut, and a ghost girl.

"Hey, why don't you ask her to join us?" the antlered peanut spotted Denny and looked right to her.

The ghost and dinosaur went to her sides, looking at the gerbil.

"What is she?" the ghost wondered.

"She looks like a muskrat." the dinosaur girl shrugged.

Denny looked back. "Um... Hello... I'm Denny..."

The antlered peanut giggled, coming closer. "That's funny, my name's Penny."

Denny giggled. "Our names rhyme... I love rhymes..."

"My name is Carrie," the ghost told the rodent girl. "You must be new in town... We haven't seen you in school."

"You do go to school, right?" the dinosaur asked.

"Yeah, but I don't start until next week," Denny informed them. "Nice to meet you all. Penny, Carrie, and..."

"Molly," the dinosaur gave her name. "Molly Collins."

"Still nice to meet you," Denny smiled.

"Oh, I see you live next door to Gumball," Penny looked interested. "Is it fun having him as a neighbor?"

"So far so good, I've met Darwin and his sister too, but not in school yet, do you guys go to Elmore Junior High too?" Denny hoped her question would be answered truthfully.

"Yeah, we'll see you there I guess," Molly smiled. "Would you like to come to my treehouse?"

Denny looked nervous. "I dunno... I'm kinda bad with heights..."

"Oh, we'll help you," Penny offered. "Come on, you look like you need some fresh air..."

"Uh, okay, just a second," Denny told them, then ran to the backyard door, opening the screen door. "Daddy, I'm going out with some friends!"

"Okay, Denny, be back in time for dinner!" Arthur called from inside.

Denny beamed, then went on the sidewalk with the other girls, then walked with them.

"You could be a cheerleader, Denny," Penny told the gerbil. "It's really fun!"

"Yeah, it really is!" Molly added.

Carrie seemed to not care over that topic.

"I dunno... I took ballet lessons when I was really little though," Denny shrugged. "I'm a little clumsy though..."

"Aw, it'll be okay..." Penny assured her.

Denny shrugged, then looked way up at the treehouse once they got to the Collins' backyard. "Whoa... It's as tall as my dad..."

"Come on, then!" Molly climbed up the step ladder.

Carrie simply floated up to the house since she was a ghost.

"Uhh..." Denny looked nervous. "You go on ahead, Penny... I'll catch up..."

Penny took her hand. "Here, let me help you climb..."

Denny was very scared and nervous. She gently squeezed Penny's hand and slowly climbed up with her. Denny felt her heart race as they went up and she gasped as soon as they could sit down.

"This isn't too bad I guess..." Denny hugged her legs.

"Denny, do you mind me asking, but... What are you?" Carrie asked.

Denny looked to her. "I'm sorry?"

"What are you?" Carrie repeated her question. "Like... Are you a mouse? A chipmunk? A squirrel, what?"

"I'm a gerbil," Denny replied. "I get confused for other animals all the time... So, Carrie, you're a ghost?"

"Yeah," Carrie smiled with her eyes shut. "Don't cross me though, or else I'll haunt your nightmares..."

Denny and Carrie shared a friendly laugh together.

"I mean it..." Carrie then said sharply, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Denny nodded quickly. "Right then."

"Well, I'm a peanut." Penny gave her species name.

"And I'm a dinosaur, don't worry though, I'm nothing like Tina." Molly smiled.

"Who's Tina?" Denny asked, she kept hearing that name, but never had the chance of meeting this one they call Tina.

"She's another dinosaur at school," Penny said softly. "She's a bully who lives in the Junkyard. She mostly beats up and eats people."

"Whoa, thanks for the tip..." Denny would know now to avoid Tina at all possible once she would be enrolled in school.

Soon enough, there came a flower child with a pot, a paper cut-out bear girl, a cactus girl, and a cloud girl. Penny introduced them all to Denny and Denny back to them. Denny smiled as she made new friends she found out were named Leslie, Teri, Carmen, and Masami. She was advised to be careful with Masami too since she was a spoiled girl since her father owned the Rainbow Factory that Gumball's mother worked in. Molly was telling the girls this treehouse was new and her family had just set it up over the weekend.

"So what do you think of my treehouse, girls?" Molly asked.

Denny reacted with excitement with the other clamoring girls.

Masami sighed. "Boring... You think being in a treehouse is all that? It's just as boring as a REAL house!" she floated over to the dinosaur girl. "I mean, what is it you actually do in here, Molly?"

Molly looked nervous at the cloud girl. "Oh... I just like to sit up here and watch the boys..."

The girls looked out the large window to see Gumball with Darwin and a boy Denny found out was named Tobias and a banana boy named Joe. Denny winced once she saw Gumball skate, but slam against Denny's father's van and knock himself out in the middle of the sidewalk.

"You don't watch boys, you kiss them..." Masami told the girls, then saw they looked a little shocked. "Hold on... Don't tell me you all don't have boyfriends!"

"Well, I don't..." Denny spoke up. "My father says I'm too young to date anyway."

Masami huffed to her, then looked to Molly. "You have one, don't you, Molly?"

"Well... Yeah... S-Sure I do... You never met him, he's way older... He..." Molly got nervous, then blurted out. "He's in High School!"

The others girls were surprised suddenly.

"Well, my boyfriend is so old he doesn't need a babysitter." Teri bragged.

"Well, mine's so old, he's stopped wearing braces!" Carmen added.

"Mine's so old, he doesn't have any teeth." Carrie smirked, then got odd stares.

Denny looked at all of them, she thought for sure they were just making this stuff up.

Penny sighed and stared out the window. "I wish I had a boyfriend..."

"Maybe someday we both could..." Denny shrugged with a smile. "Do you have your eye on anyone yet?"

Penny smiled. "Gumball... I've loved him since I first met him, but... I don't know if he likes me back."

"Have you asked him?"

"I'm just afraid of rejection... Boys can be so unpredictable."

"That's true... I'm sure if you tell Gumball though, it'll make you feel better... You never know."

Penny smiled at her new best friend.

"So, Masami," Denny looked over to the cloud. "You never told us... Who's YOUR boyfriend?"

Masami blinked, then stammered a bit about her boyfriend after grilling Molly about not having one, she then looked out the window and looked at the first boy she saw. "DARWIN!"

"Darwin?" Denny sounded very dubious.

"Yeah..." Masami smiled. "You know... Cuz he's got legs... And a body..."

"Ooookay then..." Carrie even thought that sounded fishy, no pun intended.

"What about you, Denny?" Penny asked the gerbil. "Do you have a boyfriend."

Denny sighed with an apologetic smile. "My father says I'm too young to have a boyfriend... I have to wait until I'm at least 16."

"Oh, no need to be jealous, Denny," Masami hovered to her with a smirk. "I'll still be your friend even if I got a boyfriend now like the others... You and Penny are just single."

"I hope not for long..." Penny whispered as she looked out the window, seeing Gumball.

"Don't worry, Penny, I'm sure he'll tell you soon..." Denny whispered, having known that Gumball did in fact like Penny, but the peanut girl wanted to tell him for herself, so Denny decided to wait until that moment would come true.

Penny smiled gently to Denny in admiration. Denny was at home, doing chores for her father. She decided to keep herself busy until she would be accepted into Elmore Junior High. It wouldn't be long now. Then she could go to her favorite place in the world that was school, plus she would be able to hang out with Gumball, Darwin, and Anais more. She hoped the treehouse girls were doing okay, even if Masami was obviously lying about Darwin being her boyfriend.