I do not own Over the Hedge or any of its elements or characters. They belong to Dreamworks Animation and Michael Fry and T. Lewis. The lyrics to "Beautiful" were obtained from .com and belong to Triangle Sun and their respective company. There are two other songs in this chapter but they'll be referenced. Likewise, they belong to their respective owners as well.
All I own are Abby, Tony, Slim Jim, Delilah, and a very uncooperative sense of imagination.
Chapter 7
"And it was uh big un', too!"
"Whoa...how big?"
"As big as you, little missy—that's how!"
Tony chuckled in good humor as he observed Jim exuberantly storytelling his childhood adventures to Abby. Those two were so alike the blue jay was surprised at himself for not drawing comparisons between the bearess and rat sooner. If they'd been of the same species, the two goofballs could have almost been relatives.
All around the animals, nighttime croaked and chirped as fireflies danced in the air above the fire, the zenith of the heat becoming a congregation for a plethora of the shiny critters.
Abby was lying on her stomach, feet in the air, her chin propped up in her hands as her ears ate up the country rat's stories like how a little kid gobbles up a piece of candy. The tales of Jim's experiences of growing up in the wilderness fascinated the bearess to no end, each conclusion leaving her ever curious mind with questions upon questions: why did his family always spend their nights in the trees? How did he manage with so many siblings and relatives to take care of? Why did he come with her, Vincent, and Tony on this wayward journey instead of remaining in the comfort and safety of his own kin?
Her last question...received the saddest answer yet.
For once, Jim lost his characteristic smile. His lips waned into a subtle frown as the rat braced himself to answer. "Cuz...I ain't long for this world."
'Oh boy, not this again...' Tony felt he had to put his foot (or talon) into this conversation. "Jim, you're middle-aged."
The addressed shot a sharp, withering, no-nonsense stare at his friend—not quite a glare, but still potent enough to get the point across.
"For a rat, that's just as well as being dirt-old. Remember, this world ain't none too kind on my kind. Heck, it's hardly frien'ly for any otha' types of critters, including bears an' birds." The last part made Tony bite his tongue in embarrassment. Even as an expert orator, Tony could never bring himself to argue against Slim Jim's brand of logic.
Fortunately, the embarrassment only lasted shortly thanks to Jim placing a comforting hand upon the avian's thin shoulder, his loveable grin back and bright as ever. A reciprocated smile of gratitude flew in from Tony's end.
Abby could only gaze upon the scene of friendship with a warm beam. 'How come I can never keep friends like that?'
Speaking of friends...someone was missing. Abby didn't take long in figuring out the missing member to her ring of companions. Said member could be seen sitting in the dark, pointedly avoiding the others while doing something the bearess couldn't discern from her current distance. She looked back to Tony and Jim, both of whom were occupied in a conversation about something called "Demacrix" and something else called "Econamay."
'Probably something from Pokémon...I think...,' the bearess mused before lifting herself to her feet and discreetly departing from the scene to check up on a certain "grumpy-pants."
Vincent heard her before he saw her. The moment she was three feet away, he muttered in a bored growl, "Whadda ya want, kid? I'm busy."
Abby merely looked on at Vincent's "activity" in confusion. As far as she could tell, the larger male was tossing rocks across the great, neighboring lake, the sounds of splashes sloshing through the nighttime air before punctuating with a watery plop. "That doesn't look very busy to me. It actually looks pretty fun."
"It's more for stress than anything else." Vincent suddenly paused to register what he'd just been said.
Abby, too, appeared to be deeply surprised at her guide's words, even though a trace of excitement flashed in her verdant pupils.
Why did he just tell her that? Why did he even respond period? For one reason or another, neither bear could chalk up an answer.
Thoughts made them introspective and quiet for a few moments before Vincent suddenly shook his head and barked, "'Sides, you looked like you were havin' plenty of 'fun' back there with those old geezers."
The cinnamon bearess tilted her head in childish confusion before she shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, but it didn't feel right having fun when you were all the way over here by yourself." Abby pointed a paw back to the fire. "Don't you wanna warm up at least?"
A smirk flitted over Vincent's muzzle before he looked back at Abby with a critical yet wondering gaze. He decided against commenting on how her statement just sounded. "Don't ya have somethin' better to do?"
Words failed a pouting Abby as she planted her haunches on the grassy bank and crossed her arms like a teenager, eyes downcast and staring at the moonlit waters shimmering before her and her companion. "Um...not in particular, I think."
The other black bear fixed another questioning stare on Abby, more amused than annoyed. "You think." 'Now there's a scary thought.'
Abby shrugged her shoulders again. "I only came because cuz I didn't want you feeling like you're alone. I figured that Jim and Tony would be alright by themselves; I mean, they've known each other for a long time anyway. But I don't like letting the friends I manage to keep think I've forgotten all about them."
She curled her legs up to her chest and wrapped them up with her arms like a security blanket. Her emerald eyes subtly peeked out of their corners to peek at Vincent's massive, silent form, as if attempting to detect some tattletale sign of her admittance melting down her male counterpart's icy defenses.
'Manage to keep...?' Vincent thought in confusion.
What did she mean by that? With that bubbly personality, garrulous tendencies, and insistence on being clingingly caring and concerning for the well-being of others, Abby should have at least had a bunch of friends waiting for her at the end of this kooky journey, Vincent figured. Aside from being a nuisance, what could be there about this woman that would override her bright, friendly character and drive others away from her?
Pretty certain he'd regret his next course of action at some point in the future, Vincent dared to glance at Abby, whose focus now lay the moon far above, a faint smile on her face. The darker-furred bear couldn't help but wonder at how she could occupy herself with staring at something so distant and out of reach and, therefore (in his opinion, at least), so pointless. The moon was too much like wishes: unreachable and only taunting you when you try to reach and reach with all the might you can muster.
In the end, dreams break and all wishing leaves you is a life littered with broken promises and tears—lots and lots of tears.
He shook his head of this profound observation. He swore to himself he'd never let his mind ponder on such matters ever again. Never, never again...
So how was one bearess, absent-minded and all, capable of inciting such feeling in him with only silence where her words had failed?
No, her words failed to pierce him...but they succeeded in another way...succeeded into reeling him into the mystery, the enigma that was Abby.
'A woman like her shouldn't be able to affect you like this, you old idiot!' Vincent softly growled to himself and rubbed his paws over his eyes, frustrated with himself more than ever before.
His behavior did not go unnoticed. Abby's eyebrows knitted in concern as she witnessed the external signs of Vincent's soul-struggle.
"You okay, Vince?" she asked in a soft tone of voice, her eyes expressing her deep concern. Vincent never replied; he simply remained silent, unsure what to do with himself, much less figure out what had been wrong with his mind lately.
A metaphorical light-bulb suddenly went off above Abby's head in the form of a firefly that gone astray from its brethren and lit up just above her head. Smiling to her herself, she quickly fished into her belt, thankful she hadn't removed it yet, and pulled out her I-Pod. Expertly maneuvering through the menus, she quickly found the song of her choice. Then with the stealth of a raccoon, she managed to slip the earbuds (after cleaning them, of course) around Vincent's thick neck and into his ears. The larger male didn't even react until he noticed the presence of something lodged in his ear canals.
He barely managed to say, "What the hell are you—," before Abby planted a claw on the "play" button.
Random words about being murdered, eaten by birds, and getting stuffed into a potato suddenly entered Vincent's ears. He twisted his face as if he'd just seen something extremely disturbing and questionable. (1)
A tomato would have been put to shame by the blush on Abby's muzzle! "Whoops! Wrong song! Stupid shuffle!"
Next song to plague Vincent's ears detailed a computer virus that must be dropped down some twenty-something foot hole in the ground before it...e-mailed someone's grandma? Best he'd not receive any elaboration or interpretation on that part of the lyrics. (2)
"Darn it, that's not it either!"
Fed up with Abby and her melodious mishaps, Vincent almost managed to rip the auditory buds out of his ears, about ready to order the lady bear to scram...before the essence of the next music (also accidently shuffled by the device) stopped him in mid-pull.
From the first tech-synthesized beat, an angelically soft tip-tap of chimes and synthetic heartbeats halted his breath and unraveled all thoughts of frustration...until only one word remained twirling and pirouetting in his mind...
'God...'
The stars are looking down on you and me
Sweet breath of the wind—your smile
All your worries are behind; you don't need them anymore
We will enjoy the night and life
So beautiful, to be here's so beautiful
By the summer night and music of the sea
So beautiful, to be here's so beautiful
When your friends are around the taste of life is real
Somewhere, amongst the smooth beats and enchanting voice, Vincent's head began bobbing up and down as if in it were the planet Saturn in an appropriately sized bathtub. (3) Long before the song's conclusion, the male's left paw was tapping on the right knee, a genuine smile taking form on Vincent's face for the first time in years—no malice, no rage, nothing of a vindictive nature. Just real, unadulterated tranquility...
Time is running fast
Can we bring it back?
Please tell me if it's a dream or not
The music of this moment will always live inside
Of my heart and soul
So beautiful, to be here's so beautiful
By the summer night and music of the sea
So beautiful, to be here's so beautiful
When your friends are around the taste of life is real
And even as the song closed into silence, its captivated listener still smiled—and laughed a bit, too—the rhythm and melody continuing to play in his memory. With a sense of ease he swore he hadn't felt in years, Vincent removed the earbuds and chuckled to himself, wondering in befuddled awe...
'That was actually pretty good.' He had to admit: that Abby possessed a fine ear for music. Speaking of which...
"So what did you think?"
A voice hardly unlike that of a dove gently nudged Vincent out of his reverie and brought his attention to the sow beside him. He'd completely forgotten her presence. "Hmm...?"
"I said what do you think—you know, about the song?"
Vincent furrowed his thick eyebrows, his forehead wrinkling before his shoulders shrugged in a dismissive manner. "It's decent, I guess."
"You guess...?" she asked teasingly, craning her head towards him.
The male bear rolled his eyes; he could already feel the calm going out the back door. "You were expectin' me to go all teenybopper like you and gush at how pretty it was?"
Nothing popped out of Abby in the aftermath-seconds of that comment. The bearess merely blinked twice before she shot her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, I admit. That's not exactly how I expected you to act about it...but I still say you liked it. You were even bobbing your head; I know so cuz I saw you doing it!"
Vincent instantly found himself at a loss, inwardly embarrassed and cursing at the spell of absent self-control that song momentarily brought upon him. He wanted to blame Abby for that incident...a tiny part of him, somewhere deep down told him not to.
Why?
He had the freedom to blame her—just like how he had the freedom to blame RJ for ruining his winter supply of food, just like how he had that fat human to blame for turning him into an oversized poodle...but what about the forest animals RJ befriended? Did they deserve to be blamed?
'Of—Why couldn't—They were in league with...DAMN IT, WHY CAN'T I SAY IT?!'
For the first time in years, Vincent's anger didn't have the slightest idea where to go. The bear, for reasons unknown, couldn't bring himself to hate RJ's motley group of companions.
Actually, now that Vincent thought about the turtle, the squirrel, the family of porcupines, the skunk, and the two opossums more in consideration, all his mind could label them as were..."unfortunate saps."
The meaning of that phrase managed to incite a slight cringe in Vincent. Now that he was hearing them in his head, the near silence of night serving as the perfect backdrop for his thinking, the black bear had to admit: calling those guys and gals that did sound a tad harsh.
Out of nowhere, Vincent threw his arms in the air in pure exasperation, an action that caught Abby utterly by surprise. 'Is he alright?'
In a word: no.
If the bearess had owned the ability to read minds and used it on Vincent's, she would have discovered an internal struggle between an old idea Vincent was trying to keep faith in and a new mindset that somehow managed to infiltrate his mind.
Vincent wasn't quite sure of the reason behind this problem himself. 'Why the hell do I even care about those squirts? It's their own stupid fault that they decided to stick by and protect RJ! They could've at least thrown him to me and saved themselves the trouble! That's what I woulda' done!'
But they didn't. Again: why?
Vincent griped to himself, not all dissimilar to how Dr. Seuss's Grinch puzzled over why the Whos down in Whoville never really needed their presents to celebrate Christmas. There was nothing particularly special about RJ. Heck, he was only just skin and bones, all wrapped in a bundle of fur. Oh sure, he had brains and a knack for stealth, but every raccoon possessed those qualities—not to mention he had 'treachery' written all over him, to boot. Vincent had seen his handiwork firsthand plenty of times, after all.
Yet those animals saved him anyway. All of Vincent's thoughts wondered over how stupid those foragers could possibly get, accepting that leech even after he left them all to fry. Were they that willing to leave themselves open and vulnerable to the risk of him hurting or even betraying them again?
And even if RJ did save them out of the goodness of his heart, what if he messed up? What if he landed them into an even bigger jam by accident? What then...? Would they reject him for that mistake...or keep on being blind and still accept him?
That question should have been a cinch to answer. It should have taken Vincent only a second to answer.
Such wasn't the case.
Why?
All of a sudden, a sliver of a voice—a hauntingly familiar voice from eons ago— whispered in his heart, 'You know very well why. Don't you remember when you had what they have?'
'No...No, not this again...'
Anger and frustration returned to Vincent in a rushing flood, relentless in their attempt to smother him until all intelligent thought no longer remained discernible. The black bear, shaking his head in denial and beginning to breathe heavily (in spite of his best efforts to contain his emotions), wanted to feel rage, yes...he wanted to release it...but not like this.
Vincent felt himself thrust back into reality when something warm and solid suddenly strung itself around him by the arms, pinioning him yet delivering a delicious heat through his body that expelled the icy grip of his inner darkness. His eyes widened at the sight of a pouting Abby, her chest mashed up against his beefy arm. Since her eyes were closed shut, she was unaware of the look of incredulous shock currently being aimed down at her through a certain pair of golden eyes. The bearess's right cheek lay against Vincent's left shoulder, the softness of her touch somehow driving away the rage in Vincent's mind and replacing it with a strange, unfamiliar sense of calm...a calm with which the male had no idea what to do.
And that's how the two bears stayed for the next minute or two: one too shocked and confused to speak, the other too concerned and focused to explain.
In a sort of trance state of mind, Vincent somehow looped his other arm—the free one— around the affectionate female, his expression still numb and speechless, and rotated the arm Abby was squeezing, allowing himself to use the other arm in order to somewhat return the embrace...though he couldn't quite explain his reason for doing so...
Abby, her muzzle bright pink with blush, eventually let go and scooted away from him...
And the hug was over...just like that...
The sow tucked a nonexistent bang behind her ear, her eyes indecisive in whether or not to face the man before her. She gripped her hands like a nervous schoolgirl. "S-Sorry...It just...seemed like the right thing to do."
Vincent suddenly regained his composure (or at least what he considered to be composure) and stuck a claw at her like an index finger...except his scalding words halted in his throat.
Abby merely raised her head expectantly, already used to the bear's surly comments.
Vincent's glare dropped into a thoughtful look...only to regain itself in the form a confident (though noticeably restrained and mellow) scowl. "Next time, ask for somebody's permission before you start grabbin' them like that. Color yourself shocked, little lady, but not everyone is as unnaturally affectionate as you."
Abby found herself giggling a bit, despite her futile efforts to stifle it behind her paw. "Yeah...I sort of figured as much. Sorry about that..."
The larger male, arms crossed, simply scoffed jokingly and turned his face to the lake, an actual smile on his muzzle, subtle as it was, much to Abby's heightened optimism. To the male's satisfaction, the girl bear commented no further and had ceased from giving away future hugs for now. Instead, Abby also shifted her sights onto the lake, the eyes of both her and Vincent distant...yet their minds always managing to end up on each other.
Neither of them knew it, but those moments between them ignited something strong...small (for now at least) but still strong.
Well, I'll be. Looks like Vincent's got a soft spot after all! Expect a few surprises next chapter because I intend to implement a bit more characterization and to even add some plot points before the story really kicks in.
(1) The first song was "You Monster" from the video game, Portal. Yeah...it's extremely weird when taken out of the context of the game.
(2) The second song was "Virus Alert" by Weird Al Yankovic—the proof's in the name. XD
