Skylar: Hola chicos! Here's another chapter to my novel! I hope you are all doing well! Before we start, I need to say the song I used is called "Colombia, Mi Encanto" sung by Carlos Vives from the movie, "Encanto." That song doesn't belong to me, but I wanted to use this song, and hey, it's catchy! I suggest you listen to it. It's really good! But if you aren't able to understand the lyrics, go to YouTube and look up "Encanto lyric translation." Now for the disclaimer, "Sing" characters don't belong to me, only my OC's and plot. "Enjoy!
Irene went to grab her new drum sticks back at Ash's practice room, but as soon as she saw the drum set, her face drooped. She gave a sad sigh, and picked up her new drumsticks and effortlessly hit her drums. She tried to drum but her excitement to do so died out a while ago, due to the incident with Ash's ex. Irene gave up on drumming and she slumped on her seat, thinking over what she could've done instead. She kept thinking on how close they nearly lost Ash and thinking that it was her fault.
A knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Porsha, Meena, and Nooshy at the doorway. She gave a weak smile. "Hey girls." She said.
"Hey, everything okay?" Porsha asked. They walked in and sat next to her. Irene gave a shrug. "I'm fine, I guess."
Meena knew she was lying. Trying to get her out of her sad shell, she said, "It's about Ash, isn't it?" Irene didn't respond and just tapped her drumsticks.
Nooshy said, "Irene, it's not your fault. That Lance guy picked on the lock, it's not like you let him in with the door wide open." Irene gave an unsure look. "I know… but if I didn't answer the door in the first place, maybe none of this would've happened." She said and hung her head in sadness.
Nooshy didn't want Irene to be sad, she wanted the cheerful, excited teenage girl that could sing and drum with a passion. She thought for a moment and then got an idea. She gave Porsha and Meena a signal with her hands to tickle Irene, and they both nodded, slowly grinning.
"Hey Irene…" Porsha said with a grin. Irene looked up and saw them with mischievous grins. She slowly and cautiously got up. "Yeah?" She slowly said.
Right at that moment, Irene was held by Meena, and Nooshy along with Porsha started to tickle her. Irene started laughing while trying to say, "S-Stop it!"
"No way! Not until you say it wasn't your fault!" Nooshy said with a grin.
Irene said between laughs, "O-Okay! I-It's… N-Not… M-My fault…"
Everyone else in the gang heard her laughing and went to the practice room to see Meena holding Irene, while Nooshy and Porsha continued to tickle her. Irene was squirming trying to escape but she couldn't because she was laughing so hard. "And what does Gunter and Rosita call Lance?" Meena said with a wide grin.
Irene yelled with laughter, "A-A… t-total… s-super jerk… d-dinkleshplat!"
Satisfied with her answer, Porsha and Nooshy stopped tickling her and Meena stopped holding her. Irene got on her knees and was catching her breath, while giggling. "Thanks girls. I needed that." She said with a wide grin.
Gunter walked to them, but in a small, dramatic way. "What was that about? Because I want to join the fun!" He said excitedly. Irene smiled at Nooshy, Porsha and Meena. "I just needed a little cheering up." She said. She turned back to the group and noticed Johnny and Ash weren't there. "Hey, where's Ash and Johnny?"
"Oh, that's right!" Buster said snapping his fingers. "They're waiting at the entrance for you."
Irene's eyes widen. "Oh, shoot! I gotta go!" She exclaimed and grabbed her drumsticks. She gave everyone a farewell hug. "Bye! And will I see you all tomorrow?"
"Yeah! I got an important announcement to tell you guys! Come here at 11 AM!" He called out.
"Alright, I'll tell them! Adios!" And she ran through the backstage to the stage and then to the entrance. She dashed through the door and stopped to catch her breath. She panted, "Hey…guys… sorry about that…"
"SHH!" Johnny said, and motioned to Ash, who was now sleeping, pressing her head to Johnny's chest. "That's okay." He whispered.
Irene nodded, before quickly realizing that Ash was sleeping on Johnny, who was carrying her. She slowly gave a mischievous grin and was about to say something when they suddenly heard a boom from outside. Their eyes widen in surprise, and they looked out and saw that it was starting to rain. Hard.
"Seriously?!" She hissed, then pulled a hand to her cheek. "Now what?"
Johnny whispered, "Get my phone and call Dad. It's in my right pocket of my jacket." Irene nodded and she did what he said. She went through the contacts until she found Matthew's contact. She called him.
"'Ello?" Matthew said.
"Dad, it's Irene." She whispered. "We're at the theater and there's a storm."
"Oi, I heard that. The weatherman said that it's supposed to rain all night." He said.
"Can you come pick us up?" She asked.
"Sure, sweetie. I'll be there in 5 minutes. And I have a bit of a surprise for ya. It's something you'll like." He said, excitement filling his voice.
She smiled. "'Kay. Oh, and another thing. Can we bring a friend home? Before you say anything," She held a finger to an imaginary Matthew, "It's Ash who we're talking about here. We had a little… incident earlier and she fell asleep." Irene didn't want to talk about it and decided that it was Ash's story to tell.
"Of course, Ash can come with us! I'm on my way." He said.
"Alright, love you Dad!" She whispered, then hung up. She turned to Johnny. "Dad's coming in less than 5 minutes."
Johnny nodded. "Good."
5 minutes later…
They waited and Irene looked outside to see if their dad came yet. Right at that moment, Johnny's black truck came, with Matthew driving. He waved them to come. "Dad's here." Irene whispered to Johnny. He nodded, and got up, careful to not wake Ash up. Irene went and picked up Ash's guitar case, and they both went to the truck. Irene opened the door and Johnny climbed in, while still holding Ash, and Irene followed him and shutting the door quietly.
Johnny whispered, "Sorry Dad. We didn't mean to bring Ash."
Matthew whispered back, "That's okay, son. Good thing we have that other bed in Irene's bedroom."
Soon, they were back home. Matthew opened the door, and they all came in. Matthew closed the door and whispered to Irene, "Irene, your surprise is upstairs in your room. Why don't you go check it out after you and Johnny put Ash on one of the beds?" Irene nodded with a smile and hugged Matthew before quietly going up the stairs, following Johnny, who already went up the stairs.
She opened her bedroom door and walked in, heading to the other bed that was across from Irene's bed. She placed Ash's guitar case next to the bed and pulled the covers and Johnny placed Ash on the bed. Once he did that, Irene covered her with the blankets. Ash smiled in her sleep and snuggled deeper into the covers. Irene stared at her for a moment, with guilt covering her face, before she shook her head. It isn't my fault. It's Lance's fault. Remember that. She thought to herself.
She turned around and saw Johnny staring at Ash in a… desperate way? Irene raised an eyebrow. "Johnny." She whispered. Johnny snapped out and looked at Irene. "What?" He mouthed.
Irene jerked a thumb to the door, gesturing "You need to leave." Johnny nodded and he left. Irene sighed quietly and was about to cover herself in the warmth of her blanket when she saw Matthew's surprise. She saw at least 15 books on a shelf she didn't notice until now. Irene smiled, knowing that she had to thank Matthew in a way. She came up with an amazing idea and was going to do it the next morning.
She plucked a book off the shelf and got herself comfortable, getting ready to read the new story she had. But before she did, she glanced at Ash. Seeing her sleep peacefully with a smile, it made her have a gentle smile as well.
Ash, we all protect and look out for each other. We all will protect you. Gunter, Rosita, Clay, Nooshy, Porsha, Mike, Meena, Miss Crawly, Buster, Johnny and I will make sure Lance doesn't lay a finger on you. I promise. She thought. And with that she started to read her book, not noticing Ash's sleepy smile widening.
The Next Morning
Ash never felt so comfortable in her life. Not to mention that she had an amazing sleep. Which was weird because Lance would usually bang the door up until 4 in the morning. But she didn't care and continued to sleep, until the smell of pancakes and chocolate filled the room. Ash sniffed and smiled, before snapping her eyes open in shock.
She thought, No one should be in my home except me! With that, she jerked up and saw that she was in a honey-colored room. She saw that there was another bed along with a shelf that's drilled to the wall and books with cheesy titles, at least in her opinion. She got out of bed and quickly opened the door. She ran down the stairs and headed to the kitchen where Irene was freshly dressed and making pancakes.
She hummed while flipping a pancake and turned around when she saw Ash at the doorway. Irene smiled. "Morning!" She said happily and grabbed the empty bowl of batter that was on the island and put it in the sink, along with a pan and kitchen utensils she used.
Ash stared, dumbfounded on how she ended up in Johnny's place. "M-Morning… Um, Irene, what am I doing here?" She asked.
Irene explained. "Oh, you fell asleep yesterday and since Dad, Johnny and me didn't know your address, we took you here. In case you were wondering where you slept, you slept in my room." She flipped the pancake, which had a golden color with chocolate chips inside the pancake.
Ash went to the island and climbed on one of the seats next to it. "Oh. Well thanks."
Irene smiled. "No problem. I'm assuming your hungry?" She asked with a raised eyebrow knowingly.
"Starving." She responded. Irene laughed and pulled a plate out of the oven. "Here you go. Fresh and hot." She placed the plate in front of Irene. It had a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, along with scrambled eggs with cheese sprinkled on the top, and crispy bacon. "You want coffee or orange juice?" She asked. Ash responded politely, "Orange juice please."
Irene nodded and she pulled a glass cup off a shelf and went to the fridge taking a carton of orange juice out. She returned to the island and filled the cup with orange juice. Ash said, "Thanks." She grabbed the cup and started to drink the juice.
Johnny came downstairs wearing his usual leather jacket and a fresh pair of jeans but wore a dark blue shirt with flame patterns printed at the front of the shirt. He went to the kitchen where he saw Irene doing the dishes and Ash eating breakfast.
"Top of the morning, y'all." He said cheerfully. Irene and Ash turned to look at him. Irene smiled. "Buenos dias, Johnny! Hope your starving, 'cause I got a plate of breakfast for you."
She went to the oven and pulled another plate out, that was filled with eggs, pancakes, and bacon. She placed it on the island, next to Ash, who was happily chowing down the delicious breakfast Irene made for her. "Thanks, Irene!" Johnny said happily, then took a seat next to Ash. Ash didn't know why, but she suddenly felt shy when she's sitting next to him. Irene went back to the sink and continued to do the dishes.
She started to hum while shaking her hips a bit. Both Ash and Johnny noticed, and Ash couldn't help but ask. "Hey Irene, what are you humming?" Irene glanced at them for a moment. "Oh, just a song I listened to. It doesn't come up on the radio anymore, but I just hum the tune, so I won't forget it." She was about to go back to doing the dishes when Johnny asked, "Can you sing it for us?"
Irene continued with the dishes and said, "Sure." She took a breath and then she started to sing in Spanish, while drumming her hands against the counter.
Irene
Colombia!
Ash and Johnny stood still when Irene sang the first word.
Noche de fiesta
Todos vienen a celebrar
Noche de fiesta
Todos llegan para gozar
Sigue bailando
Contento en mi paraíso
Y revelando
Milagros en cada piso!
Encanto!
Encanto!
Irene shook her hips and moved her arms in a salsa.
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Que siempre me enamora tu Encanto!
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Que sigas bendiciendo tu Encanto!
Colombia!
Encanto!
Encanto!
Completely forgetting the dishes, Irene kept on with her dancing, moving her hands and hitting counters in a rhythmic beat.
Abriendo puertas
Va llegando la madrugada
Siguen abiertas
Y el café se cuela en la casa
Canción alegre
Para que gane el bien sobre el mal
No me despierten
Que esto parece un sueño real
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Que siempre me enamora tu Encanto!
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Te sigue bendiciendo tu Encanto!
Colombia!
Encanto!
Encanto!
(Ah-eh-ah-eh-ah-eh)
Encanto!
Encanto!
Colombia, te adoro tanto
Tu nombre tiene un encanto
De Bogotá hasta Palenque
Me fui con toda la gente
Colombia, tierra tan bella
La madre naturaleza
Te dio una forma de ser
Colombia stays, my favorite place!
At this point, Irene was singing with all her might and dancing like crazy. She spun around here and there.
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Que siempre me enamora tu Encanto!
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Te sigue bendiciendo tu Encanto!
Y es que a ti, Colombia, yo te quiero tanto!
Que siempre me enamora tu Encanto!
Colombia, te quiero tanto!
Te sigue bendiciendo tu Encanto!
Encanto!
Encanto!
Encanto!
Encanto!
Irene finished singing and struck a pose. Ash and Johnny had their mouths agape and Irene giggled to their reaction. "You can close your mouths now." She whispered teasingly with a wide grin. They did as they were told. They heard clapping and everyone turned to the doorway. There, Matthew was clapping, impressed with his daughter's singing.
"Sweetie, that was amazing!" Irene beamed and curtsied. "Thanks, Dad. Oh, and I have something for you!" She ran to the oven and pulled out one more plate for Matthew. Matthew had a touched look. "Aw, sweetie! You didn't have to make breakfast."
"I wanted to, to thank you for what you did." She said with a gentle smile. Matthew beamed and hugged her. Irene hugged him back, then her eyes snapped open and widen. "CARAMBA!" She cried out and put a hand to her face. "We need to go now!"
"Why?" Ash said with a confused face. She took her plate and went to the sink, but it was a little too tall, so she couldn't reach it. Johnny chuckled lightly and helped Ash put her plate in the sink.
If Irene wasn't panicking, she would have said something to tease Ash and Johnny, but instead, she said, "Mr. Moon said that he had an important announcement today! I was going to tell you both yesterday, but Ash was asleep and now we need to go!" She glanced at the clock and saw that it was 10:15 AM. Without stopping, she grabbed the keys to Johnny's truck and ran out to the door.
"WHAT?!" Johnny and Ash cried out of shock. Not waiting for another second, they both dashed out. "Argh, I need to change! But we don't have time!" Ash said in worry and annoyance. "Don't worry! I can drive to your place, and we'll be in the theater in a jiffy!" Johnny said and was about to get in the truck when Ash exclaimed, "My guitar!" Irene slapped her forehead and dashed back into the house, running up the stairs to her room, and grabbed Ash's guitar case. She then ran outside, calling over her shoulder, "Love you Dad! See you later!"
"Alright, sweetie! Make sure you and Johnny are careful!" He called back.
Irene jumped in the car and repeatedly hit the dashboard of the car with her hand. "HIT IT!" She exclaimed, and Johnny quickly started to drive.
Well, that's not the best way to start a day…
Skylar: Yay! Irene doesn't blame herself to the incident with Lance! But she will blame herself for not telling Ash and Johnny about Buster's announcement if they're late… Oh well, *shrugs* that's what happens when you forget things. And I'll see you readers in the next chapter! Adios readers!