Chapter 6: The love triangles turntables
The alarm started blaring next to PJ, who snored loudly before his snore bubble busted. He laid there for a good moment before slapping his hand down on the clock to get it to stop its alarm, and making it play an actual song. Then he slapped it again to get it to stop. He stretched his arms a bit before sitting up. He grabbed his headphones and his sunglasses before leaving his room. He stopped by the record player, played a song, then got his usual breakfast, a bunch of pancakes, a bunch of waffles, toast, bacon, sausages and so on, then scarfed it all down. Once he finished his larger than what most people would consume breakfast, he put his plate on the counter for later, turned the record player off, grabbed his phone and connected his headphones to it, then headed out.
That was just the typical morning routine for the gluttonous teddy bear. In fact, it was just part of a daily routine. Have breakfast, go to classes if he had to, hang out with his friends, get lunch, do something fun with the others, then play DJ at Club Fun. But that was mostly it aside from whatever situation PaRappa accidentally drags him into, like the time all the food in PaRappa town got turned into noodles, or the time he and nearly the entire town's population got shrunken down in the Rappa household, or that one time his dad's car got totaled on the first day he got his license…basically, he stood by his best buddy through thick and thin, no matter what the ridiculous situation!
He walked down the street, bopping his head to the music playing through his headphones, whistling the melody, walking past and waving at anyone that greeted him. For him, it felt like any other day, nothing really stood out.
"Yo! PJ!" He could hear PaRappa's voice over his music and he looked over, spotting the rapping dog and Matt, smiling as he turned the music down and put the headset over his neck.
"Hey guys." The bear nods. "What's up?"
"Not much." Matt shrugged, resting his hands behind his head. "Just walkin' around."
"Any plans at all?" PJ questioned.
"We decided on going to the skate park today! Well, I mostly did, Matt just wants to study." PaRappa said, holding up his skateboard slightly.
"Oh cool, sounds like a good way to start the day." The bear smiled softly. "Wish I knew, would've brought my board."
"I texted ya a few times." PaRappa furrowed his brows a bit. The teddy bear blinked before pulling out his phone.
"Huh…you did…whoops."
"Heh, it's alright man. We can probably get a rental at the skate park." Matt smiled as the trio began walking down the street.
They skated for a couple of hours, and while PaRappa was pulling off some cool moves, PJ was staying still, stiff as the board as he rode on, and somehow never fell off. It was so weird for the other two just seeing what looked like a teddy bear superglued to a skateboard occasionally doing a flip or spin, if not a little humorous. After they finished skateboarding, the three decided to stop by the mall, look around, maybe buy something that catches their eye and of course, in PJ's case, eating at the food court. He mostly got a pile of pretzels that was so big, it blocked his view of PaRappa and Matt. As he munched through the pile, something caught his attention.
Nearby was a pink teddy bear, wearing a maroon-colored skirt. a matching red bow on her head, a white shirt with a pink heart on it and a pair of blue sandals. She looked a little lost, but a soft, kind, optimistic smile. PJ didn't recognize her at all, quickly putting together that she was new to town. He stopped munching on his pretzels when she looked over at him, their eyes catching each other. The pink teddy smiled at him and wave, to which he responded with a casual wave and a smile before biting into another pretzel. Before he realized it, she was approaching the group, stopping in front of them.
"…Can I have some of those?" She asked, pointing at the stack of pretzels, catching PaRappa and Matt's attention.
"Sure." PJ smiled, pulling the empty seat next to him out for her, letting her climb onto it. "I'm PJ." He said, handing her a pretzel.
"My name's Sweety." The pink bear smiled, accepting the pretzel before munching on it. After that, the two munched away on the pile before them.
"…Am I seeing double?" Matt questioned.
"If you are, so am I." PaRappa blinked as they stared at the two teddy bears. The pile was demolished after a few minutes, and Sweety was cleaning her mouth with a napkin.
"Hmm…thank you." She smiled softly before hopping down from the chair. "I should get going though…I'll see you around PJ." She waved before walking off. PJ had a dumb grin on his face as he turned back to Matt and PaRappa.
"Dude…you're crushing on that girl!" The rapping dog's ears perked up.
"Heh…she is kinda cute." PJ admits, looking behind him to watch the pink teddy bear leave the food court. He wasn't going to deny it, he did have a crush.
"You gonna try to ask her out?" Matt asked.
"Maybe. If I see her again, I'll probably do it." He shrugs.
"Guess that's fair." PaRappa smiled, wondering what the odds were that they'd run into her again during the day.
Once they finished at the mall, the day became pretty uneventful again as the trio went about their activities; stopping at the arcade, play some games at the park, or snooze a bit in PJ's case, stop for ice cream, meet up with the girls at MilkCan's place to listen to them practice some songs, and that was about it. Looking at his watch, PJ waved everybody off and headed out. It was time to go to work.
That night, Paula walked down the night streets of the town, the night was young and sticking around home for the evening wasn't her idea of fun. So, what better way than to spend some time at the only Club around? Adjusting her shades, which she only wore for privacy reasons, she put her hands in her jacket and stepped inside, the music blasting through the speakers, people were dancing on the dance floor, getting drinks at the bar, generally having a pretty fun time. She wasn't really all that impressed.
"Hmm…I thought this was supposed to be the best club in town, but neither the music or the boys are giving off that 'Wow' factor." She shook her head as she cleaned her glasses. After a moment, the lights started to dim, and the spotlights shined over the stage as a new song began playing.
"Ah, you gotta show me your smile, Love Together~" The song started, the mood shifting a bit. Paula's ears twitched and she smiled as she lifted up her glasses.
"That…doesn't sound too bad!" She smiled as her eyes drifted over to the stage. "The DJ's pretty good tonight!" As she got closer, all she could see was the DJ's silhouette as he spun a record with just his hands before slapping it down to provide a few scratches that led the song he was playing to the chorus. She felt a sudden beat in her heart as the DJ continued playing, and in her mind, a coin slot machine landed on a Jackpot and was pouring out coins, unaware that a certain purple rabbit just snatched the machine from her imagination, even though it was just going to fade away the second he was out of range of Paula.
The next day, PaRappa yawned as he, Matt and PJ walked through the park, PJ a little behind them, half asleep, snore bubble going in and out as he breathed.
"Morning!" Sunny and the MilkCan girls greeted.
"Morning." PaRappa and Matt greeted back before looking behind them to see PJ was still asleep.
"He's half asleep…" Katy shook his head, just as the teddy bear tripped on a small crack in the pavement and fell face first, still snoring. "Or he's out cold."
"Yo, PJ! Wake up!" PaRappa said, nudging the bear with his shoe. "Classes are about to start soon, dude!" Slowly, PJ stood back on his feet, head wobbling slightly as he still snoozed.
("Shit…it's gotta be rough having reversed sleeping patterns like him.") Ma-San shook her head.
"Hey look, here comes Paula!" Sunny commented, pointing towards the fox, who had a love struck look in her eyes.
"Morning Paula!" Everyone, aside from PJ greeted as she walked on by, still having that dumb love struck look on her face. Everyone just stared at her.
"…What was that about?" Lammy questioned, looking to the rest of her friends.
"Good question. Wish I could give an answer, though." Matt commented.
Later on, in class, everyone was at their seats, trying to learn to the best of their ability. At least they could if their teacher weren't buried face first, mumbling about how he doesn't know what the certain side of a triangle was called. It was a miracle anyone was able to learn. Sunny looked behind her, seeing Paula was spaced out, but after a moment, a pink puff escaped her as she sighed.
"…Could it be…?" Before her thoughts could continue, the bell rang.
"A-Alright, class ends here!" Shyman-sensei said, quickly standing up and grabbing his things, hoping he could dart out the door, but he froze once he saw PJ casually walking out the door. One thing was for certain about that bear, he might've been slow at any other given time, but when it came to lunch, he was pretty quick on his feet. Though once he got to the cafeteria, his attention was drawn right to a certain pink teddy bear he saw the other day. The tired look in his eyes melted away, and he shot right awake. He could even tell she was feeling it too once she saw him, though he was surprised as she was first in line, probably the first time somebody's beaten him to the front of the lunch line. With a smile, he got in line and approached, just in time as PaRappa and the others caught up.
"Hey, there's that girl we were talkin' about the last night!" PaRappa commented, pointing in their direction.
"Huh…she does looks just like PJ." Katy commented.
("Just…blindingly pink.") Ma-San added.
"H-Heh, it's kinda cute…it looks like PJ woke up just by looking at her!" Lammy noted, seeing he and the pink bear were engaged in a conversation. After getting their meals, PJ and Sweety sat at the same table, everyone else soon catching up to greet the new girl.
"It's nice to meet you all." Sweety commented as she ate her food. "But…you said there was another person in your group?"
"Yeah, Paula…though I have no idea where she's at." Katy shrugged before taking a bite out of an octopus sausage.
"…There she is!" Sunny said, pointing to the tree just outside the cafeteria. Everyone watched the flower girl get up from her seat and walked over to the window, aside from PJ and Sweety who were still eating. "She did it again…" She said, watching Paula exhale another pink cloud. "Yup…that is definitely the sigh of love."
"The sigh of love?" PaRappa, Matt and Lammy said in unison.
"Watch carefully…!" Sunny said, pointing at Paula again, who, sure enough, exhaled another pink cloud that turned into a heart, catching just about everyone off guard. After they finished eating, they went outside to see what was up. PJ said goodbye to Sweety before following suit and fell right asleep once he caught up.
"And he's asleep again." Matt sighed, crossing his arms as he nudged the bear with his foot, while Sunny and the girls sat around Paula, wanting to know the answer to the big question.
"So, Paula, who are you in love with?" Sunny asked blatantly. The blush on Paula's cheeks spread to the rest of her face, turning it a dark shade of red.
"D…DJ…" She said quietly, unaware everyone misheard her.
"PJ?!" They shouted as the sleeping teddy bear's snore bubble popped. He opened his eyes for a good few seconds before going right back to sleep.
"And he goes right back to sleep even after hearing someone's in love with him." Katy shook her head.
"No, no! Not PJ, a DJ!" Paula clarified. "D-J!"
"Ohhh, a DJ!" PaRappa laughed a bit before something clicked. "But…PJ's a DJ."
"What?" The fox looked at them with a slight head tilt.
"Yeah, PJ is a DJ who works at one of the clubs in town." Katy explained, seeing the news settle in on the mind of a shocked fox.
"P…PJ…is a…is a DJ?" She mumbled softly. Lammy's ear twitched a moment, and she cleared her throat.
"Hey guys? A word, please." She said, motioning everyone else to follow. Once they were out of ear shot of Paula and PJ, they huddled up like a sports team. "Okay…you guys see the problem too, right?"
"Problem? What problem?" PaRappa cocked his head a bit, only to receive a drumstick being thrown at him by Ma-San. "AH!"
("PJ's crushing on that pink girl, but Paula's crushing on PJ, you dope!") The mouse drummer squeaked aggressively at him. ("Sheesh, does everything need to be spelled out for you?!")
"Easy, Ma-San…" Katy Sighed. "But yeah, Lammy's right…this is going to be an issue. Love triangles are never fun. What are we going to do?"
"Let's not jump to any conclusions here, maybe she's talking about a different DJ!" Matt suggests.
"How many DJ's do you know work in town?" Sunny questioned.
"…Fair enough." He said, looking down, furrowing his brows. "Any suggestions, then?"
("I don't know, I ain't a miracle worker.") Ma-San grumbled.
"Me neither…I'm still wrapping my head around the idea of Paula being in love with PJ!" PaRappa shook his head.
"IT ISN'T PJ!" Paula shouted, making everyone jump out of their huddle in a joined scream.
Everyone blinked and looked down at the sleeping bear again.
"Y-Yeah…maybe I was just over thinking again…" Lammy admits, rubbing the back of his head.
"No way it could be PJ." Sunny shook her head.
"The one I met last night was…cool, fresh and super fly!" Paula put her hands together as she looked to the sky.
"Last night?" PaRappa and Matt looked at each other.
"That DJ had big hands, tall, dark and handsome…he had silky-smooth hair that ran down to his shoulders, not only that, but he had amazingly blue eyes…!"
"Well, that's obviously not PJ." Matt concluded.
"No kiddin…" PaRappa looked down at his sleeping best friend again.
"Is there really a DJ like that in PaRappa Town?" Sunny questioned.
("Doesn't sound familiar to me…") Ma-San crossed her arms.
"Uhh…what club did you see this guy perform at exactly?" Katy questioned, looking at the fox.
"Club Fun…!"
"WHAT?!" PaRappa and Lammy jumped a bit, shocked looks on their faces as Katy reaches into her school bag, pulling out a green book.
"According to the city's Club Fun's schedule…PJ was the DJ last night." She said, pointing at the bear's name in the book.
("Ain't he the only one? Dude's got top billing at that place!") Ma-San squeaked about, occasionally hopping around.
"Alright, so it was PJ who Paula fell in love with after all." Sunny sighs.
"But…it doesn't make sense!" PaRappa gripped at his beanie. "Especially if she's claiming to have seen someone completely different!"
"But that can't be the case if PJ was the DJ last night!" Lammy argued, feeling a little dizzy with how confused she was getting, her pupils turned to spirals. "Ahh…headaaaache!" Before the group could continue, the bell rang. With a collective sigh, they decide to put it aside for now. Matt and Katy picked PJ up and carried him inside.
Class went about as well as they thought it would, the teacher being too flustered to actually do his work. This just gave PaRappa and the others time to figure out what to do about Paula and PJ. After class, they went outside by the fountain so Paula could think things a little more through. Though their attention was taken by the sound of Ma-San hitting PJ with her drumsticks.
("Wake your stuffed stress toy ass up!") She angrily squeaked. ("You can't sleep through this!")
PJ opened his eyes for a moment, then fell right asleep again.
("Goddamn it…") The mouse facepalmed, shaking her head.
"Just make sure he doesn't fall in the water…" PaRappa Sighed.
"So, you're nervous about confessing to this DJ, huh?" Katy questioned, sitting next to Paula.
"I think the idea of being rejected is kinda pulling me back." The fox admits. "I mean, what if I confess, but he doesn't like me back?"
"W-Well…just make a confession he can't refuse!" The cat smiled at the idea, only to be received confused looks by everybody else, except PJ.
"Like what?" They ask.
"Like uh…" She paused for a moment but couldn't think of anything. "W-We'll just have to make something up! Something he can't refuse!"
"What does that even mean?" Sunny asks.
"I-I don't know! I'm just spit-balling, Sunny!" Katy sighs.
"Well, if a girl of my type were to confess to me, I probably won't be able to refuse…" Matt Pondered, putting a hand to his chin as he thought. Katy then snapped her fingers.
"Matt, you're a genius! Paula just has to be the guy's type!"
"…Good, idea, but I don't know what his type IS!" Paula spoke up.
"Wait! I got an idea!" PaRappa grins as he reaches in his bag and pulls out Boxy Boy, sitting him down on the fountain before pressing the play button. "Boxy Boy can probably give us some advice on how to go about this!" Everyone gathered around as Boxy Boy opened his eyes and stood up, yawning.
"Hey, PaRappa!" The boom box smiled. "It's been a hot minute since ya last activated me! What can I do for you guys?"
"We need some help, Boxy!" The rapping pup said before looking up at Paula. "My friend Paula here is crushing on a mysterious DJ, but she's not sure if she might be the guys type!"
"Huh…love advice eh? Alright, let's see what we can do!" Boxy pressed his nose and his eyes began spinning as music played. "Body! Very cute body! Uber sexy comment! Girl!" The group just stared at the dancing boom box; a collective confusion was growing.
"…What?" Lammy blinked her eyes as she watched.
"…I see a cute girl with a sexy body…" PaRappa scratched his chin as the boom box continued.
"Cute girl with a sexy body?" Katy rose a brow as Boxy Boy powered down.
"That didn't help at all." Matt crossed his arms.
"I don't know, I think I get it!" Sunny said as everyone looked to her. "A cute girl with a sexy body? Sounds like Paula to a T if you ask me!" Hearing that, Paula had a bright blush on her cheeks as she cupped them with her hands.
"I-I don't know if I'd go THAT far…"ATH
"I would, and I think she's right!" Katy nods to Paula. "Just do what I tell Lammy to do whenever she feels like this and have some confidence to confess to him tonight!"
"…How often do you tell her that?" Paula asked.
"Oi!" Lammy huffed, looking offended by that question. Before she could get another word in, Katy spoke up again.
"A lot actually." The cat said, now given a glare from the lamb who just quietly took a deep breath, as if saying, thanks for rubbing it in. She was going to remember that. "But that's aside the point! Look, I can even give you a dating course, so that way, things can go a little more smoothly!"
Before Paula could get another word in, PJ had fallen backwards into the fountain, face first into the water.
"P-PJ!" PaRappa shouted before he scrambled to get his best friend out of the water.
Later that night, outside of Club Fun, Paula fidgeted with a song request in her hand for a moment, looking at the sign of the club. Looking back at her friends, they gave her a thumbs up and with a nod she went inside as the others followed suit. Paula put the song in the request box and went near the dance floor to wait, keeping her eyes on the DJ's silhouette the entire time. She then spots someone approach him with her card, and she felt her heart skip a beat.
"My request card…" She gulps, watching the DJ pull a record out, spin it in his hand a few times, then started playing the song.
"Ah, you gotta show me your smile, love together~" The song started.
"He played the song!" PaRappa grinned before looking to the others. "The date's on!"
"We should probably get a better look of the guy. All I can see is the reflection of his shades." Katy suggests. The others nodded as they head for the dance floor. But as they got closer, they were able to see who was really playing.
"P-PJ?!" They shouted in unison.
The next day, Paula and PJ were sitting on the park bench, Paula was looking a little frustrated, while PJ looked as spaced out as ever.
"Will you get the hell out of here, PJ?!" Paula growled. "A super fly DJ is supposed to be meeting me here! So, for God's sake, please go away!"
"I don't know why I'm here; I was just told to come here." PJ shrugged, looking off into the distance. "Besides, the only DJ I know is here is me." As they converse, they didn't realize the others were watching them from behind the bushes.
("Do you think she's ever going to figure out it was PJ she fell for?") Ma-San questioned.
"Hard to say…" Matt shook his head.
"I got an idea! PaRappa can just tell her!" Sunny said.
"Wha-…Why me?!" Before the dog could get his answer, Lammy, Katy and Matt kicked him out of the bushes, making him yelp as he lands face first, catching Paula and PJ's attention.
"PaRappa?" Paula cocked her head to the side. The dog laughed nervously as he scrambled to his feet.
"U-Uh, hey! Whazzup Paula?" He was sweating bullets, laughing nervously.
"Hurry up, PaRappa…" Katy whispered, pointing to the bench.
"Come on, PaRappa…" Matt followed suit, pointing at the bench as PaRappa started to sweat more.
"You agreed to tell her, PaRappa!" Sunny added on top of it, pointing at the bench.
"I didn't agree to shit, Sunny…!" He looked at the trio of hands behind him.
"Just go, PaRappa…!" Lammy urged, pointing to the bench.
"…Is everyone else hiding in the bush?" PJ questioned as PaRappa approached them.
"S-So, Paula, I think I got something to tell ya…" PaRappa rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh, I know. You guys are eavesdropping on my date. I'm not that oblivious." The fox crossed her arms in annoyance.
("Bullshit.") Ma-San grumbled before being bonked on the head by Katy's fist.
"And I'm guessing that's why PJ's here too, he just didn't hide in the bush with the others."
"Well, uh…" PaRappa looked at the floor awkwardly. "PJ…is, the date."
"PJ…wait…PJ IS THE DATE?!"
"Yup! Turns out the DJ you fell in love with is PJ!"
"WHAT?!" Paula screamed as she stood up from the bench, the shift in weight caused said bench to raise up because of how heavy PJ was. He tried to balance himself but ended up falling off of it and fell right to sleep.
"Aaaand he's asleep again." Lammy shook her head.
"T-This PJ was that DJ?" Paula questioned, a drip of sweat running down her face. "That DJ was this PJ?!"
"'Fraid so." PaRappa said as PJ's bubble bursts and he opens his eyes.
"I am hurt…physically and emotionally." He said before closing his eyes again.
"Looks like she's still having trouble accepting it." Sunny sighed.
("Must've been that big of a shock for her.") Ma-San squeaked. After a moment, the shock subsides in Paula, leaving her looking physically drained.
"Guess I'll just go home then…" She sighed.
"W-WHAT?!" PaRappa squeaked. "Y-you're not gonna give him a chance?"
"Come on, PaRappa…me and PJ don't have any chemistry here…" She put her hands in her jackets pocket, looking over at the sleeping bear.
"PaRappa!" Everyone called to the rapping pup, making him look to the bushes to see everyone pointing at him.
"…Me?" He pointed to himself, then they pointed at PJ. "A-Alright, alright!" He put his hands up before going over to the sleeping bear, trying to shake him awake. "PJ! Wake up!"
"Motivation is shrinking…" PJ grumbled.
"W-Well, he's always promising, Paula! Plus, he emits a lot of natural sounds!"
"…Natural sounds…?" The fox questioned, imagining a few small creatures hovering around him to listen to such noises. "What…what exactly am I supposed to do with that info?"
"…PJ COME ON!" PaRappa shouted. Paula rolled her eyes before putting her hands in her pocket, realizing she still had the schedule Katy made her.
"…She did go through the trouble to make me this…" She thought to herself before looking over at the sleeping bear. "PJ come on! We better get going!"
"Wh…Where are you going?"
"Well, obviously we're going to follow up on the date plan."
"You're actually going to go on a date with PJ?!"
"That's right." She nods.
"…SHE SAID YES!" PaRappa cheered as he darted back to the bush with the others, while Paula looked at the list.
"Take a walk through the park with your lover…Alright, sounds like a good start for a date." She approached the teddy bear and plucks him up, making him stand on his feet. Once his eyes open, she motions him to follow her. As they walked, the others followed, in disguises. PaRappa and Lammy were in trash bins, Ma-San had found a bag big enough to hide her entire body in, Sunny was moving around in a pile of leaves, Katy was covering herself with a bale of hay and Matt was covered in litter.
"So, question." PaRappa started as he lifts the bin up so he could see. "Why are we disguising ourselves if they already know we're following them? We don't really have to do this."
"Yeah, it doesn't look like she even loves him." Sunny followed up, starting to think this was a lost cause.
"Don't worry you guys…! The dating course I came up with can even make two polar-opposite people like each other!" Katy smiled. "They're on that high-speed highway to romance as we speak!"
The walk continued into the city streets, Paula was keeping her hands in her pockets, but then stopped when she realized PJ stopped. Looking behind her, he saw her holding his hands out as he basked in the sunlight.
"You can call it sunbathing, but from here, it looks like he's doing photosynthesis." The fox shook her head before looking over, her attention drawn to the record store.
"Ohh, a record store! I wonder if they have the new Sili-Con album!"
"They might. You wanna take a look?" PJ offered. Paula smiled and the two went right inside.
"T-That wasn't in the date plan…" Katy's eyes widened as she pulled out a list.
Inside, Paula and PJ were looking through the records together, doing what they could to find the record.
"Ah-ha!" PJ grinned, pulling out a record with three frog women on it with the name Silver Convention, and handed it to Paula.
"Sweet! I've been waiting for their new album for a while!" She said as PJ continued looking through the records, hoping to find something he could sample off of while playing at Club Fun. One in particular caught his eyes. Pulling it out, it was in a white sleeve with no price tag on it. He was surprised to find two records inside! Both were a solid gold color and nearly transparent, with both labels showing a black and red checkered pattern on it. Paula finally noticed and looked up. "What's that?"
"…No idea." The bear flipped the records, looking for some kind of a name on them, but found nothing. Curiosity kicked in and he put the records in its sleeve. He wanted to see what was on them. They went to the counter, and after Paula purchased the record in her hand, PJ hops up and sits the sleeve down on it. "Say, could you tell me about these vinyls here?" He asked, watching the man made of gears pull the records out and examines them.
"I'm not sure about them myself, good man." He said, shaking his head. "These records have been in our inventory for the longest time, but we don't remember ever purchasing them, sure as Hell don't know where they came from."
"Is there anything on them?"
"As far as we can tell, no. I don't know why we even have it. Tell you what, you can have them for free if you want, as long as you buy a record with an actual price tag on it. Maybe you can figure these things out."
"Fair enough." PJ nods and jogs off to the isles again, while Paula took a time to look at the records herself. After a while, PJ returned with a record labeled as Speed Balling. He didn't care much for the band on the cover, he didn't like the flow they had, and they sure as Hell didn't have anything he could sample for his deck. He was only interested in those odd vinyl's, so when he got home, he would toss the one he was currently carrying.
After they leave the record store, Paula and PJ decided to stop at a local ice cream parlor for lunch. While Paula was looking at the menu, PJ was staring at the records. He put them down before leaning back, looking up to the bright blue sky. Not paying too much attention, he ended up leaning too far back and fell backwards, catching most of the other customers attention.
"Oh no, he's going to fall asleep again at this point!" Katy gripped at her ears, tugging them down.
"Hurry PaRappa, go get him up!" Sunny suggests as she, Matt, Lammy and Katy start pushing.
"S-Stop! Why do I gotta be the one to keep intervening?!"
"…You alright PJ?" Paula questioned. Before she could get an answer, a waitress approached their table with a large sundae.
"Sorry for the wait! Here's the lovey-dovey parfait you ordered!" She smiled and sat it down. Without missing a beat, PJ launched himself, grabbing the headrest of his chair and sits it back up before sitting down at the table.
"…There, see? I didn't have to intervene this time!" PaRappa crossed his arms, giving everyone an agitated glare.
"This is actually a great time to order that actually! I heard that if two people eat it together, down to the very last bite, their love will last forever!" Katy grinned, clasping her hands together.
"Aww, that's…wait a minute…" Lammy looked down, hand on her chin. "…I think we just forgot this is PJ we're talking about…"
"What do you- "Before Matt could finish his question, it quickly hit him what the lamb meant. "…Oh…Oh no…" Eyes widen in horror, the group slowly looked back to PJ, who plucked the cherry off of the parfait, then proceeded to scarf the whole thing down in front of everyone in no time flat, then ate the cherry whole, including the pit. He snapped his finger, summoning the waitress.
"Can I get a second helping of that stuff?" He asked. Everyone, besides Paula who had a bored look in her eyes, stared at him in shock and confusion.
"If I knew he was going to eat this much, I wouldn't have offered to pay!"
"Make that two please." Another voice spoke up, getting Paulas attention. Looking over, there was suddenly a pink teddy bear sitting at the table.
"WHERE'D SHE COME FROM?!" Katy's eyes widened. Before she could get an answer, two lovey-dovey parfaits were put down before the two bears, who plucked the cherries from the top of the parfaits, scarfed them down within minutes, then ate their cherries, once again, the pit included. The crowd cheered as PJ stood up, holding his hands up. Paula blinked as she flashed back to the night, she saw PJ at the turntables, doing a similar pose.
"Sooo, does it count as their love lasting if one person eats two of the parfaits?" Matt questioned, looking over at Katy.
"No, it only works if they eat it together…" The cat sighed.
("What's 'forever' is PJ's snoring…") Ma-San squeaked.
"What if two people eat one whole parfait at the same time? Does that count?" Lammy scratched her head, thinking about it.
"…Honestly, I don't even know anymore." Katy shook her head. That's when they heard chuckling coming from Paula.
"…What's so funny?" PJ asked as the two bears looked at her.
"You two!" The fox giggled. "It's been fun and all, PJ, thanks again for the record by the way, but honestly, I think you two would make the better couple." She said as she stands up, holding her record under her arm before walking by PJ and noogie's him with one hand. "Besides, it's more fun to screw with you than being with you!"
"Heh…feeling's mutual." The DJ smiled before Paula pulled the list out of her pocket and hands it to him before walking off.
"D…did they just…" Sunny pointed at the trio as one of them walks away.
"Do a date swap?" PaRappa blinked in confusion as he looked up at Katy. "Is that even legal?" His only response was the cat falling flat on her back. Ma-San slowly waved a hand over her face to see if she'd respond.
("I think she's out cold.") She snickered.
The date continued as normal, despite the odd change, as the two teddy bears arrived at the park again.
"Let's see…next on the list is eating a hot dog together." PJ said as they looked over at the nearest hot dog stand. He smiled, putting the list away before approaching it. "We'll have everything ya got." The vendor, upon hearing this, began crying hysterically.
"I didn't think anyone was gonna stop! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" He bawled as he started preparing hot dogs. PJ would be walking away with a massive pile of hot dogs, and Sweety took half of them. After eating, they took whatever bits of buns they didn't eat and started feeding the pigeons with them. Out of boredom, PJ dumped the entire bag on the ground, and they got covered in pigeons. The two then sat down, letting the birds eat the crumbs, while the others still sat back and watch.
"So…do you and your friends always eavesdrop each other on dates?" Sweety asked, noticing them talking amongst themselves.
"It tends to vary." PJ shrugs. "They've been at it all day I think."
"So, they're either nosy, or care a lot about you."
"I like to think it's the latter, given I've known some of them ever since we were kids."
"That's pretty sweet of you." She smiled softly at him. He looked at her and smiled back before taking her hand as the pigeons cooed and hovered around them.
The sun was setting, and the two bears were sitting on the guard rail that looked over the river, the town and bridge shimmering in the suns fading light. The two sat there quietly, staring at the sky.
"Not how I expected it to happen, but now we're at the dramatic final scene!" Katy says, leaning against the tree to get a better look. "The couple will look into each other's eyes, talking about the sun sinking beneath the ocean line, and then…they kiss!"
"K-Kiss?!" PaRappa suddenly felt flustered, his entire face going red. PJ slowly looked over at Sweety and held his hand out to her, who looked down.
"You have leftover bun pieces?" She tilts her head to the side.
"Wanna go feed them again?" He asks.
"Sure, I'd love to!" Sweety smiled softly as they got off the guard rail and walked off again. Katy then promptly rips her copy of the date plan in half and stormed away.
That night, everyone turned up at Club Fun, listening to the music at one of the tables.
"So, guess you and PJ are a no go then?" PaRappa questioned, looking over at Paula.
"'Fraid so." The fox sighed, looking over at the stage where PJ was playing, then saw Sweety at one of the other tables, arms resting on the table as she watched the DJ with a smile, letting out a sigh of love herself. "Besides, I think him n' that Sweety girl will be a better couple in the end. Sure, it looks like PJ's dating a girl version of himself, but he's probably looking for someone who could match that bottomless pit of an appetite of his."
"Shame…it was going so well, too." Katy sighed, writing through a new date plan. The others had a good laugh at it though.
After the party, PJ collected his performance fees from Mushi, and with the golden records still in his paws, he walked home, humming the music that was playing in his headphones. Arriving at home, he turned the lights on low and started up his DJ deck.
"Alright…let's see what mysteries you two hold…" He smirks as he pulls the two out of their sleeve and sat them on the platters of the deck. He plugged his headphones in, then pressed play. He crossed his arms…at first, there was nothing. No voices, no music, no audio at all. His ear than twitched when he could hear hushed whispers. With a cocked brow, he adjusted the volume, but the whispers stayed at the same level…scratching his chin, he started messing with the sliders on his deck, changing the volume, increasing the bass, messing with the tempo and EQ faders. Slowly, the whispers slowly became more intense, not in volume, but he swore he could hear more voices amongst it all. Once he clicked one of the EQ fader dials one more time, he felt something hold his hands before resting them on the records as his eyes began to shine through his glasses in the same rainbow pattern as the logo of his deck. Images flashed before him, slight glimpses of the future came and gone before he could process what the glimpses even were, all the while he spun the records with grace. Once the flashes finally stopped, he put his hands up and turned his deck off, removing his headphones and glasses, taking deep breaths.
"…Nobody's going to believe this, even if I swear on it up and down…" The teddy bear sighed, rubbing his temples. "I should probably head to sleep early tonight…" He sighed, sitting his gear on the couch before turning the lights in the room off. As he moved up the stairs, he held onto the railing as a few of the future images stuck with him. He remembered seeing a couple holding hands, but for what reason he wasn't able to see, someone being dragged off stage by an audience of white eyed souls, a battle of sorts at the recently renovated Chop Chop Master Arena, and the last one he could remember was seeing PaRappa Town on fire. He hoped none of this meant anything, but there was a feeling in that bottomless pit of a stomach of his that told him otherwise…
"What a day…" He sighed, getting as comfortable as he could before closing his eyes. "Maybe things will be better tomorrow…"