Katy parked her car in her favorite spot next to Lammy's at the building, smiling as she shut off the ignition. "Well Ma-San..you ready for another amazing practice session?"
The mouse played with the drum sticks in her hand, hitting them together to make a soft tap sound. "Excited as I'll ever be." She looked up at her with a slight scowl. "And anyways, what's with Lammy not carpooling with us as usual? Suddenly decided that she's too good for us?"
The cat laughed at the statement. "No, silly! Don't you remember me telling you that PaRappa's coming today?"
A look a clarity came upon her face. "Oohhhhh...so that's why she was acting even more skittish than usual." She shrugged at the thought, and opened the door to get out. "What she's sees in that mutt, I'll never know."
"Hey." Katy poked her softly in the shoulder before she hopped off of the seat. "Don't you talk bad about who she likes. The heart wants what the heart wants. You don't see her teasing anyone you like, do you?"
The mouse blushed slightly as she began walking away, waving off her friend's concern. She muttered under her breath, "*As if she would ever say anything bad about you…*"
Katy got out of the car as well, and walked to the trunk, opening it and grabbing her guitar case aside the assorted drum cases inside. "You sure you don't need any help carrying your stuff in? I don't doubt you being strong enough at all, but it just seems like so much to carry…"
They always had to bring their instruments home with them in order to avoid them getting stolen. How she somehow managed to see past the towering bundle on instruments while she carried them inside each time (and not throw out her back), she never knew.
"I-I got it!" The mouse huffed as she roughly set each individual case on the ground, paying no mind to her friend's concerns. "Thanks though."
Katy shook her head as she watched her scoop the pile into her arms, deftly carrying it so it somehow did not fall back onto the ground again.
"If you say so...but I'm gonna buy us a dolly so you won't have to do that anymore.."
"That's what you said the last time too."
They both walked together into the building, which happened to be a large, abandoned warehouse. The trio managed to find this place on accident, and have successfully been able to use it for their practice sessions.
The inside was dimly lit from the sunlight peeking in through slightly crumbling walls and broken windows, with a musty scent carrying itself through the entire enclosure. Stray families of birds nested themselves in the metal pillars far above their heads, making good use of the broken lights (and also causing a bit more of a mess as well).
Of course, it used to look much worse a few years ago...Katy gave out a soft sigh as she remembered how the entire floor was littered with broken glass, assorted droppings (from who knows what), and even large chunks of splattered paint.
It was a tough effort to clean it up as best they could. But they've managed to do their best so far.
Ma-San set her dismantled drum kit onto the ground, the cymbals and drums inside the case clattering around as they landed on the concrete floor. From far away, a soft voice called out to them. "H-hey you guys!"
Katy smiled as she saw Lammy getting up from her spot on the floor, a pencil in one hand, and papers in the other.
*Huh...papers?*
"Hey Lammy! So, uh…" The cat waved towards the stack in her grasp, noticing scribbled marks all over them. "Whatcha doing?"
"Oh! Um..t-these are the notes for the song...y-y'know.." She stuttered on her words as she tried to explain herself. "I-I-I was f-fixing them for..for, uh…"
"Ohhh...trying to make sure they're absolutely *perfect* for our special guest today?" Katy grinned at her, wiggling her eyebrows impishly.
Lammy blushed noticeably, and pretended to wipe something from her face. "N-n-no…."
*Ugh. She knows me too well…*
Of course she was nervous about today. Why wouldn't she?
And with this song they've been working on...she can't help but feel herself starting to panick.
The stupid words she had foolishly chosen sounded so..*specific*, to say the least. She just..needed to fix it a little, is all. The last thing she would want would be for him to get suspicious.
And then what would happen?
Lammy let out a sigh a relief as she read over the papers one last time, scribbling in a few words here and there quickly before holding them out to her friend. ''What do you think of this?"
Katy reached for the papers, and read over them diligently, giving a curt nod to her. "Sounds alright to me! You ready for this?"
The lamb nodded at her, and went back to her guitar case, which was still on the floor. "Y-yup...d-d-do you think he'll b-be here soon?"
Ma-San, who had been listening to their conversation after she set up her drum kit, set down the book she was holding, and stated, "Relax Lammy. I don't think he'll really even figure it out. Not unless someone were to write it out for him in crayon, anyways." She smirked. "That dog is so oblivious to it all…"
Katy grinned at the mouse, taking no notice of how Lammy angrily huffed at her in response. "Oh, hey! Talking about him...you really should have seen what happened yesterday!"
Lammy tried to get up, nearly falling back down. "W-wait, no! D-d-don't…"
"What? What happened?" Ma-San looked back and forth between the two. She tapped her drumsticks against her thigh impatiently.
"Oh...just that PaRappa seemed to have reeaally liked seeing Lammy in her swimsuit, is all. *If you know what I mean..*"
The mouse guffawed at this, crowing out, "*Are you serious?!*" She slapped her knee, keeling over as she kept laughing hysterically.
Lammy set her head in her hands shamefully. *Why….*
Katy chuckled as she watched Ma-San continue to try to breathe from her laughing. Finally, she straightened herself back up, wiping a tear from her eye. "I can't believe that...ha.."
"I-it wasn't that funny…" An irked lamb pouted on the spot, twitching her ear irritatingly.
"No, I guess you're right...but that does leave an important question open now, Katy…."
Katy cocked her head at her. "..and what's that?"
She clapped her hands together. "(You think PaRappa finally wants to try a sample of that shank?)
The cat brought her hands to her mouth in complete shock. "(*M-Ma-San!*)"
"(I mean, I guess PaRappa realized what he likes when the deli aisle opened!)
"(*MA-SAN!*)" The cat's tail began swishing around angrily as she winced from yet another tasteless joke.
"(A dog needs a lot of meat in his diet, and I'm sure she can provide more than enough.)"
"(*Stop!*)" She could feel the pure disgust bubbling up inside her.
"(Do you think she's feeling charitable enough to let him bring her home to have a private *4-star dinner?*)"
"(Okay, I'm done.)" Katy brought a cautious paw to her mouth as she swayed on the spot, turning around slowly.
She's always hated these lewd jokes…
"(Alright, I'm finished. No need to get your tail in a twist.) She let out a squeaky laugh as the cat rubbed her forehead achingly.
Lammy twitched an ear in confusion. Why was Ma-San talking about food?
"You aren't hungry, are you Ma-San? I could maybe get us something to eat since there's still a bit of time before we-"
"I'm sure PaRappa is pretty hungry for something of yours to eat."
"W-WHAT!?" Lammy buried her head into her hands, feeling her face become scorching hot. "H-how could...i-it's not like that! N-not even-"
"Well, not yet! I am sure the circumstances would change if you were to, oh, I don't know, make him an offer he could not refuse?" The mouse then attempted a gruff voice, batting her eyelashes at her. "'Oh Lammy, just slip that swimsuit on again and I will do absolutely whatever you want!'"
Katy slapped Ma-San's shoulder hard enough to make her stumble. "Knock it off Ma-San! You're embarrassing her!" She pointed at the cowering lamb as she shakingly walked towards her guitar, still in its case on the floor. "Go and test your drums out, or something!"
The small bundle of dynamite began to spark atop her head. "It was just a joke! Are you unable to just relax, and enjoy a laugh every once in a while?!"
"Not when the person you're teasing can't handle it!"
"Maybe she should grow a backbone then!"
"WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD-"
"A-ahem…"
The two shouting girls quickly looked towards where the interrupting voice came from.
A dog in an orange beanie was standing timidly at the doorway. "Did I come at a bad time…?"
Neither of them moved until Ma-San exclaimed, "Ah! Speak of the devil!"
Katy shoved her aside, quickly bolting up so she can greet him. "Hey PaRappa! Glad to see you could make it!" After giving him a quick hug, she nervously stood before him, pointing over her shoulder. "You, uh, didn't hear all of that..did you?"
"Not really...just you two shouting at each other over somethin'." He looked back and forth between Katy and Ma-San, then asked, "Hey, where's Lammy at?"
At hearing her name, the lamb perked her head up, her ears flicking at hearing her name. She couldn't help but smile at hearing that voice, a small bolt of excitement going through her. *Is that him?*
The cat whipped her tail around smugly before waving towards the other end of the room. "She's over there, psyching herself up." She turned around and called out to her, "You got a visitor, Lammy!"
*Eep! It is him!* She frantically searched around her feet for her guitar case, hurriedly unbuckling it so she can take her instrument out.
PaRappa skipped over to her, happily saying, "Hey Lammy! I can't wait to hear you guys play! You have no idea how excited I am for this." He bounced on his spot, overcome with enthusiasm.
She finally stood up, bringing the guitar strap around her shoulder. Adjusting it slightly, she confidently responded, "Really? I guess you're in for a show then."
He wanted to say something back, but found his words stuck in his throat again. She wasn't wearing her usual attire; all she was wearing was a black sports bra and mahogany shorts.
PaRappa felt himself staring for a bit too long once again.
"U-uh..y-you look nice, Lammy." Which wasn't a lie at all. He found it strange that she was so self-conscious of herself, when she obviously had no reason to at all.
He also thought it strange that it just occurred to him that the other two girls in the band had changed their clothes as well for the practice session. Weird how when it came to Lammy, he felt…*strange*, to say the least.
The lamb shyly looked over at Katy, who had appeared at her side, before turning back to him. "Hem…t-thank you."
The cat threw her own shoulder strap around herself, adjusting her bass guitar. "Lammy always gets incredibly into practice times..going into these ridiculous solos, and...oh wait!" She danced on the spot for a moment, excitedly shouting out, "Why am I just telling you this? You're here now; we'll just show you!" The cat whipped around at her fellow band members, and began pumping her hand into the air. "C'mon MilkCan! Let's get moving!"
Lammy brought a pick out from a pocket, bringing it forcing down on the strings. "No cutting corners!"
Ma-San sat down in her seat at her drum set, her feet dangling off the floor as he held her drumsticks. "Leave it to MilkCan!"
Ma-San suddenly brought down her sticks, playing off a quick beat before Katy and Lammy joined in alongside her.
The two guitarists played side by side, Katy beginning to sing out loud.
"*On a lovely day, the sun sets in the sky
The clouds gather, it starts to rain, all through the night..
I watch them as they fall, feeling so worried
What do I do? I can't forget, that I must stay strong
Every single day, no matter what I say -
It won't match what's inside my heart..
I'll find myself still thinking of you
Even after we've said our goodbyes
But each day it always seems to grow stronger
What am I supposed to do?
And though you might not think much of it
I hold each word you say so dearly
You help me move on*"
Lammy gave off a laugh as she continued playing, dancing around slightly as the song progressed.
PaRappa couldn't help but sway along to the song, feeling completely captivated by the catchy beat. Already, he began to think up words to go along with their playing.
*But that'll be for another time. If they invited me to that too, of course.
A dog could dream…*
Katy whipped her tail around as she continued playing, and began to sing again.
"*The sun begins to rise
In a bright blue sky
Another day, a sleepless night
What else is new
So now I face the day
Headon, with my guitar
But I still don't know, how long I'll go
With you not knowing
Sometimes it seems nice
To follow your advice
Yet I know what the truth'll be
I know you won't ever see it in my way
Mainly since you've shown me elsewise
And it gets hard knowing that this is pointless
But I keep my head up still!
Yet who knows? I could be proven wrong
And things could work out for the better
I'll keep hoping on*"
Katy then suddenly shouted out, "Go Lammy! You got this!"
She gave a nervous smile, and walked up to the microphone, clearing her throat softly before singing aloud.
"*I just hope, someday soon, you'll see the truth
And whether or not you feel the same
Just know that I'm still here-
and I'll be thinking of you*"
She then stepped back and began playing away on her guitar, her hand zipping up and down the frets as she strummed out an impressive solo. PaRappa watched in awe as he studied how fast she was going, with a solid look of concentration on her face as she focused on playing.
Amidst her frantic playing, she looked up and locked eyes with him. Her playing began to relax slightly, and her hand moved with less spirit than a few seconds ago.
Though he felt every fiber in his body telling him to look away, he couldn't help but stare back. He felt himself blushing as he watched her step back shyly.
Katy strutted over and elbowed her, shouting out, "Wow! That's probably the first time you didn't go completely overboard!" She looked at PaRappa and gave him a wink. "You should come to our practices more often!"
Lammy blushed heavily, turning away as she stepped back further and played along with Katy, who began to sing again.
"*I know I should go with what's in my heart
And try to move past all my fears
Yet I still think about what could happen
If you feel differently
So though I wish for something more between us
I'm happy with just staying as your friend
and I'll keep hoping on
Keep hoping on!
Keep hoping on!
Move on*...woo!"
Finally, the two played a quick riff on their guitars before ending with a hefty strum, the sound echoing through the warehouse.
After a few moments of silence, PaRappa bolted up from his spot, clapping his hands excitedly as he shouted, "That was awesome! Woo! You guys played AMAZINGLY!"
Katy chuckled breathlessly as she heaved for air, her voice sounding soft after singing for so long. "Thanks! We practiced for a long while on that one.."
He jumped up and down in his spot. "Did you make all the words yourself again?"
Katy was known for being a fan of poetry; so naturally, she was the main girl who wrote most of their songs.
"Actually, that would be this girl, right here." She stepped aside and set a hand on Lammy's shoulder, who had been nonchalantly plucking at her guitar behind her. "She wrote the entire thing herself..with a little bit of help from me, of course!"
The dog stopped hopping in place as he stared at her in disbelief. "Wha...really? You made that song by yourself, Lammy?"
"I...uh...y-yeah…" She gave him a nervous smile. "D-did you like it?"
PaRappa shook his head. "I absolutely loved it! You should write more songs!"
Katy patted her on the back softly. "I think so too!" She gave her a smile and walked away from the two. "Em, anyways, I thought I heard Ma-San calling out my name...you two hang tight!"
"(Wait, what? I didn't even say any-)"
"(*Shush!*)"
The two watched her walked off before Lammy looked back towards PaRappa. "..y-you really like that song I made?"
He nodded eagerly at her. "Of course i did! It's probably a new favorite of mine, to be honest."
She gave a halfhearted smile at him. "Oh...that's good to hear.." The lamb turned away, walking off slowly.
"Wait, Lammy!" He ran up to walk alongside her. "Did i say something wrong?"
The guitar that was strapped around her was taken off, and set softly into the case on the ground. "N-no...not at all. But…" She shut it, clicking the handles securely. "I just thought that the words were too..sad, I guess." The lamb gazed up at him with a downhearted look. "Just..what if no one likes it? When we play it in front of an audience?"
PaRappa cocked his head at her concern. Now that he thought about it...
The song sounded amazing, of course. But when he thought about it, the words were really something else.
"Well...you know what? Everyone'll be too busy obsessing over how amazing it sounds before thinking of that!" He shyly rubbed his arm. "To be honest, I didn't think too much of the words until you pointed it out."
Her eyes widened at him and she hurriedly looked back towards her guitar case, fumbling with the handles. "O-oh..really?" She laughed nervously before clearing her throat. "W-well, no need to think about it t-too much! I, uh.."
The dog watched as she made an effort to shrug as nonchalantly as she could. "I-I-I just thought up t-the words one day, n-n-no big d-deal. It's n-not like I w-wrote it for anyone, or a-a-anything like that.."
She winced as the word vomit continued, despite her effort to stop it all. IShut up, shut up!*
Now she's done it. If he had any reason to think that something was up with that song, that something weird was going on, now he would know for sure. And now he'll know.
*Oh no, oh no no no! This was a terrible idea! Why did I let Katy talk me into this?!*
PaRappa smiled sympathetically at her for a few moments before asking, "That song is about that guy, isn't it?"
"I-I-I...u-um. What guy?" She laughed a little too hard as she tried to stay as calm as she could be. Her stomach began tying itself tight as she wished desperately for this all to be over with.
"Yeah...the one you didn't say that other night."
"O-oh, right! Heh..y-yeah. I-i-it was….yup."
"He's really missing out."
Lammy looked over at him alarmingly, not expecting such a comment from him. "W-what?"
"He is. Anyone who can make a song and play through it with all that raw emotion really is someone special." He gave a genuine smile to her, his tail wagging softly. "You're a really cool girl, Lammy."
She felt her face heat up even more at his explanation, and stood up, attempting to stutter out, "O-oh, t-t-thank you, PaRappa…."
From a bit ways away, Katy and Ma-San watched on in interest, both having differing reactions between themselves.
"(Gross. They're practically in love already.)" She made a quiet gagging sound while shaking her head.
"(I know! Isn't it so sweet?)", cooed Katy in response as she continued watching them. "(I just hope things will end up happening soon...all this suspense is killing me!)"
Lammy let out a small sigh of relief as she rubbed her neck nervously. *All that worrying over nothing...again.
I have to stop doing that..*
It was weird hearing such kind words from him. And referring to himself as such.
Well..if he only knew..but it's for the better, I guess...
PaRappa, meanwhile, was happy she had put so much feeling into her song. It was really special when someone could do that.
He should know. All those raps he made especially for Sunny….and it didn't even matter.
A sudden pang of sadness hit him as the realization sank in once more. It bit down into his gut, making the bright smile on his face fade again; the same as all the other times he would remember it.
He seriously hated feeling like this..hopeless, upset over his uselessness in it all…especially when he was trying not to be.
It honest to God depressed him; and no matter what he could do, there wasn't really anything to stop it.
The prickling feeling he had become all too familiar with these past few days began to sting at his eyes, making him let out a pained whimper.
Lammy looked at him alarmingly. She held out a hand hesitantly, taking it back when she wasn't sure on what to do.
Right then and there, she noticed how absolutely exhausted he looked. How his hat was actually misaligned on its spot, and how there were dark rings under his eyes.
He really didn't look like his usual optimistic self...all he looked was….
Defeated.
The dog blinked at her slowly, making her realize that they'd both been staring at each other for a few moments now. She hurriedly tore her gaze away, feeling her cheeks burn at the realization.
"Hey...Lammy?"
"Y-y-y-yeah?" She quietly forced the words out, feeling herself becoming petrified in fear.
"..C'mere. You're too tall." He walked over and suddenly gave her a small hug, eliciting a quiet squeak from her.
..I….
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly hugged him back, feeling as if her entire body was on fire.
She heard him give a small sniff, and quietly murmur, "..thanks for inviting me. You're a really good friend for sticking with me this entire time."
And he really meant it. These past few days have been hell for him..and it was only going to get worse tomorrow. He was tired, and depressed, and needed this...that wasn't too much to ask for, right?
"I..y-you're welcome PaRappa."
*I seriously can't believe this is happening...this has to be some sort of evil dream, or something. I'm gonna wake up soon. Any moment now.
Any...moment….
…...this isn't a dream then..this is for real.*
From far away, Ma-San was watching Katy struggling to keep her excitement down.
"(I-I-I just can't even believe it! MA-SAN!)" She frantically pointed at the two as they let go of each other. "(Look! LOOK!)"
"(Yeah, I see it, relax.)"
PaRappa itched himself under his beanie nervously, a tired grin on his face as he held out his fist to her. "Best friends?"
She eyed it disappointingly before trying to give him a smile, reaching her own fist against his. "Best friends."
*Nothing more, and nothing less.
..but if we've made it this far, maybe he can change his mind….
Just maybe…*