Love In The Open
Chapter 7 (Part 2): #LITO
Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake starts to play.
I got this feeling, inside my bones, that comes electric wavy when I turn it on. All through my city,
All through my home…
As the song continued to play, Gazelle stared in pleasant confusion. She hadn't seen Justin for
such a long time, the last time she heard of him, he was in a gang and was acting rather dark
for his usual self. But when she looked into his eyes, the handsome and fun-loving complexion
had been restored, as well as his youth and vigor. "Never thought you'd see me here, did you?"
Justin said in that charming charismatic voice of his. "No, not in a really long time. How did you
know I was here? What are you doing in Zootopia?" Gazelle asked with excitement animating
from her vocal and body tone. "Well, I was hoping that, you and I can actually discuss this over
dinner at your place. After bowling of course." Justin asked. While Justin's natural green eyes
were laser-focused on Gazelle, another pair of more metaphoric green eyes were staring at the
pair from a distance. It wasn't that Sonic wasn't happy that the two hadn't reunited, in fact,
Sonic couldn't be any happier for her. It's just that Sonic had also had a weird feeling inside his
bones, but it was more like miniature acupuncture needles stinging him than that electric wavy
feeling Justin had. It was weird of Sonic thinking this way about anyone, and yet, he still
couldn't explain the feelings he had. The weird dream he had last night, the way Sonic seemed
to naturally wow Gazelle with his bffl speech, and the way he couldn't stop thinking about her as
a beautiful friend, both inside and out. He was here on a mission to find purpose, and so far,
her advice seemed to work. But why was Sonic wanting to be with her more? To be in her
presence more? To get to know her better than before? And why did it seem that Justin would
only get in the way? "Are you ready Sonic?"
Record scratch effect, song ends.
Sonic's thoughts were interrupted by Gazelle staring at him, either to make sure he was ok, or to
make sure she wasn't seeing a ghost. "Uh yeah, I'm ready. So who's this guy, er I mean, who
are the captains?" Sonic bumbled out embarrassed.
He face-slapped himself for the awkward intro right
before Justin gripped his hand and shook it. "Hey,
you're that hedgehog I heard about. Name's Justin, Justin Timberwolf. Hey, first off, I just
wanna say thank you so much for being so kind to my pal here. I couldn't even think of
imagining what she went through after I left her like that." "The captains, Justin?" Gazelle
reminded her silver friend. "Oh yeah right right right. So, I figured you and 'Zelle want to be
captains, is that cool with you?" "I didn't really have any preference there, but sure." Sonic
replied, with a signature thumbs up and a handshake to Justin, which Justin accepted. "May the
best team win." Sonic capped that conversation off with.
Timeskip: About a minute or two later
Bowling shoes and all, everyone was finally picked for the match. The teams were like so.
Team Gazelle: Gazelle, Justin, Tails, Nick.
Team Sonic: Sonic, Silver, Judy.
Sonic had Judy and Silver on the same team for two reasons. One, to make sure Silver
wouldn't get too dirty competing against Judy and he also had a more ulterior motive for his
second reason. Five days before Silver and Tails went to visit, Silver was going through some
tough times with his friend Blaze the Cat. The two were already great friends, but when Silver
asked if they could be something more, Blaze said she didn't want to, but would always be there
for her friend no matter what happened. Although Blaze didn't say it in a mean way, it still hurt
Silver in some way, and Sonic saw some people become shells of themselves because of such
things. From what Tails told him about Judy, Sonic probably guessed that the two might get
along with each other better than he thought. He hoped though he didn't have to intervene too
much.
#LITO by Press Play plays
I got a story, I got a story that I got to tell. You only live once, so tonight I'm gonna live it well…
Through the first five frames, everyone seemed to be bowling quite well. Although the two main
Matchups were Sonic vs. Justin and Silver vs. Judy. Silver didn't want to hold back on his
bowling, and although he had telekinesis, he didn't want to cheat, especially with the two cops in
the game. Since Silver was already an excellent bowler, he used the time mainly to reflect on a
few things. The main thing he focused on was that phone call with Judy. Silver didn't mean
anything by the jestful way he joked with her, in fact, Judy did seem like a nice rabbit deep
down. But she seemed to be bowling with a vengeance tonight as she bowled down one
dominant set after another. "Maybe I should just apologize anyway. I mean, it wasn't like I was
'Trying' to hurt her, but if that's what I did. Wait a minute, I have a better idea…" Silver's mind
was processing a thought it never had before. On his fifth frame, he bowled the ball, tripped,
resulting in the ball spinning hitting the two back right pins. Second set, he aimed left as to go
for the middle, but he provided a small enough amount of telekinesis to have the ball go slightly
to the right without anyone noticing the telekinesis. "Well, looks like I'm not doing my best
today." Silver sighed, as he went back to the bench. "Oh yeah Rusty, I see my pins go down
and think of you." Judy hollered from the alley where she bowled next.
Yes, sing it out, sing it out, let the music come to life, come to life, come to liiiiiiife… This is the
time, to lo-o-ove, this is the time, to daaaaance, this is your life, your cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-nce to
Love In The Open, Love In The Open.
Timeskip to 9th frame.
Justin and Sonic were bowling like two boxers in a ring, and both were delivering knockout
punches, er I mean, strikes. Both Justin and Sonic were on pace for a perfect game, as was
Gazelle. Silver however continued to "lose" by having some good shots, but then purposely
miss the next few after that. He thought that by perhaps losing a bit, Silver could show her that
he wasn't as much of a hotshot jerk she thought she was. It worked, in a way. Although Judy
was glad about her bowling game, the fact that Silver wasn't performing his best bothered her
somewhat. As if someone or something weighed heavy on his mind. She wanted to get back at
Silver, but she didn't want to take advantage of someone else's feelings by tearing them down.
Then she came to the conclusion that maybe his feelings were hurt. But did she hurt them, or
did something else happen to cause Silver to play and act this way?
She decided that the best thing to do would be to ask him after the game.
Instrumental...Sing it Out, Sing it Out, let the music come to life come to life, sing it out, let the
music come to life come to life…
Timeskip: Final Frame
Sonic and Justin each bowled strikes, finishing their perfect games. The two went up,
chest-bumped and high-5'ed each other as a sign of good sportsmanship. Gazelle just laughed
at the funny boyish antics as she rolled her ball down the alley, and also landed a perfect strike
sealing her perfect game. The three then joined together in a victory celebration jumping for
joy. Then the final scores were tallied.
Team Gazelle;
Justin: 300
Gazelle: 300
Nick: 250
Tails: 240
Total: 1,090.
Sonic bowled a perfect game, but since he was a member short, team Gazelle obviously sealed
the victory. The only other matchup to keep an eye on was Judy vs. Silver. For Silver, the last
bowler of the day, he didn't
care about bets anymore, he just wanted to do what was right, even if it meant self-humiliation.
So he bowled his ball and
believe it or not, got a strike. Silver stared at the pins dumbstruck. That wasn't supposed to
happen, and Silver expected the trash-talk and the fur to be flying from the bunny. "Whoo hoo,
way to go Silver. Hey, get those next ones down Silvy." To say that Silver was surprised by what
Judy said was a huge understatement. He thought Judy was going to shoot him down again.
He would've been fine with that, as long as the two made up afterwards. He wound up the ball
again, and bowled another strike. Now he was a few points behind Judy, and this is where he
was expecting her to get arrogant.
"Alright Silver, let's do it. One more strike, one more strike, one more strike…" Silver was really
confused this time. When the game began, Judy was starting to tear him down, but now, she
was leading everybody to cheer him on for the final frame. "One more strike, one more strike,
one more strike…" was now being chanted by everyone in the lane. Silver cautiously realized
that this might be a trick. Silver seen Sonic use this tactic against Shadow once when they
were playing a video game. Lifting Shadow's morale just enough to encourage him to be good,
but when Shadow lost, he went back to trash-talking against the black hedgehog. Sonic and
Shadow used that as part of their friendly rivalry, but Silver didn't know Judy that well, so he held
his breath, rolled the ball, and hoped for the best.
Music stops.
The ball rolled with a streak towards the pins and this time, the ball knocked down all of the
pins… except the one on the back left corner. Silver held his head down as he took a brief
glance at the scoreboard.
Team Gazelle;
Justin: 300
Gazelle: 300
Nick: 250
Tails: 240
Total: 1,090.
Team Sonic;
Sonic: 300
Judy: 168
Silver: 167
Total: 635
Silver hung his head low, realizing that it was time to apologize, but he stopped when he noticed
Judy kneeling down next to him. "I just wanted to say, 'great game.' You really did great out
there." Judy said softly. "Thanks." Silver replied. "Look Judy, I'm really sorry about the way I
was picking on you today." Silver apologized sincerely. "It's fine Silver. I kind of owe you an
apology too," Silver's mental train had to rapidly screech on the brakes. Judy was apologizing
to him?! What did she do wrong? "You know, for exploding and throwing a tantrum like that on
the phone." Judy continued. "Oh yeah. Well Judy, I'll see you at your place." Silver said, but
just as he was about to leave, Judy grabbed his arm once again. "Look, I knew you were trying
to lose on purpose. Why did you do that?" Judy's question was something Silver was
expecting, so he told her the truth. "You want the truth, well here it is. I felt bad for what I did,
and when I saw you play, there was some kind of anger inside you. I needed to make things
right, but with the way you were acting, I didn't want to see you lose and then be upset."
Silver saw the tears forming in the rabbit's eyes as she was trying to process it all.
Was Silver implying that she was the reason he decided to lose? "I wanted to prove to you that
I'm more than the jerk you perceive me to be. I was afraid of you Judy, but
regardless of what happens to me, regardless of if you forgive me or not, I will do my best to
make things right." As Silver finished that, Silver then heard his voice on what he thought was a
recorder shaped like a carrot.
"I was afraid of you Judy, but I will do my best to make things right." "I was afraid of you Judy,
but I will do my best to make things right." When the recording stopped, she was sobbing,
making Silver think he went too far on being honest, but was interrupted again by Judy, who still
had to recover from her tears. "Well, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I didn't know that I was
such of a monster."
"Judy, that's not what I…" Silver started, but was interrupted by Judy again.
"Silver, wait a minute. I know what you're going to say. That I never did anything wrong and that you're sorry. But pleases hear me
out for just a second."
Silver complied as the teary-eyed bunny continued.
When I was on the phone with you, I thought that you were really meaning to insult me. That you were actually trying to tear me
down. I was so angry at what you said, that I literally assumed you were this arrogant jerk who thought about nothing but himself.
You were more than willing to put your reputation, your life, and your will on the line, just to help me see who you really are."
Silver smiled at that statement, but then had a sad frown after he heard what she said next.
"You also helped me see something else. I am the jerk. I was the one that you feared. I was the one that believed in a lie, without
truly getting to know who you are."
Judy paused again to make sure that Silver fully understood the truth, but also to figure out how to best word the truth as her sobbing
continued from the weight of her guilt that was bearing upon her. "So if you
want me to leave, if you never want to see me again, then that'll be fine. And in case you were wondering, everything, everything Sonic
said you thought about me, everything you said about me, you were right all along. Whatever you want to do to me, do it now. I don't
deserve mercy Silver. Because, because..." she paused as the tears and crying
started again. "Because you don't deserve a friend like me."
Brief Pause
"Because you don't deserve a friend like me." This time, it was Silver, who was recording Judy's
reaction on his phone. "Judy, I didn't come to make myself feel good or to make you feel bad. I came to make things right. You're the
jerk, I'm the jerk, it doesn't even matter. I wasn't even expecting what I saw tonight. But just simply you admitting what you've done
and how've you encouraged me tonight. It made me realize that I was wrong about you. About everything."
Judy was slowly starting to wipe the tears from her face as her face slowly began to brighten up again. "You have proven to be strong,
kind, and you have a great heart. I just wish that we were friends right now just so I can see you happy again."
Silver then looked at Judy to see not tears of sadness, but tears of joy and a smile of happiness spread across her face.
The two finally embraced, no longer feeling weights of guilt, but even stronger bonds. Bonds of true friendship.
"Yes, yes, I would love to be friends with you. You won't regret this Silver." Judy said, wiping away her tears. She saluted
at Silver to affirm that his friend she will stay, and his best friend she'll always be.
"I know, that's why I asked." he said, as the two walked hand-in-hand towards Nick's car where Nick and Tails were patiently waiting
for them.
Sorry it's been a while, but I was doing a test and also celebrating a birthday this week as well. Had this idea a week ago, but had to wait until now to actually get this one down. So anyhow, I do not own "Can't Stop the Feeling" (which belongs to Justin Timberlake) or #LITO (which belongs to Press Play and Dream Label Group.) Send me a review if you know what the acronym LITO in the song meant. (Hint: Search #LITO press play on Youtube to watch the video.) (Double hint: Read the title of my FanFic again.) So next time, we're going to see how Justin plays into Sonic's story and also find out why he has returned. Also, Sonic has been through a lot mentally, so he has to turn to someone new for help. Who is this new person and does he/she actually help? Find out in the next chapter. Send me a review and see you then.
Also, kinda thought I'd update this chapter a little bit because some of you may have been wondering, "Wait a minute, what else was going through Judy's mind between that call and the bowling game?" Well, that's all figured out now. It's also a fun way to take advantage of both Judy's emotional side and her amazing dedication to make sure that the right thing is done. Really looking forward to seeing where Judy and Silver will be from here.
Anyhow, shout out to Chimichangar for inspiring the story updates and also another shout-out to my newest follower wise70.
Anyhow, hope to see you all soon in the next chapter of Love In The Open.
