(DISCLAIMER: "Hello" lyrics is trademarked to Lionel Ritchie and his studios and I do not claim any ownership over them.)

Like many animals in this day and age, Brandy was very much attached to her phone. She had an account on nearly every form of social media and visited each regularly throughout the day. She was always taking selfies and using the sticker feature to brighten up her photos, not that her selfies really needed it. As a skunk, black-and-white was her permanent design and she felt that if she was going to be a drummer for an up-and-coming rock band, she needed to make more of an image. Brandy had the habit of dying her white stripes various colors to match her "punk-pop" meets "80's glam rock" fashion. This week's color was neon pink, complete with floofing up her bangs and having it dangle over one of her eyes. Satisfied, she decided to take another selfie for good measure.

"Uh, Brandy?"

Brandy looked away from her phone to see Meena, standing awkwardly at the top of the stairs leading into the theater. "Oh hey, Meena!" she said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Not much," she said with a shrug. "Um….do you want some help with that?"

Brandy knew Meena was talking about the large pile of drum cases piled in front of the stairs. Sitting upon the highest case, Brandy shook her head and crossed her legs. "Oh, that's fine, sweetie. I got this covered."

"That's a lot to carry, though. I could easily…"

Meena stopped when Brandy let out an excited squeal of delight. She followed the skunk's gaze and saw what had excited her: Johnny. He came cruising on his skateboard while plugged into his music. It was like the world went into slow motion for Brandy when Johnny kicked up his board and ran his large fingers through his hair, bits of sweat catching the rays of sunlight that glistened his face. When she first laid eyes on that gorilla during his live performance, it was like a lightening strike to her heart. He was strong, sweet, had a bad boy look without the attitude. She couldn't help but be smitten by him, despite having five other entries on her ever growing possible-boyfriend list. Right now, he was number one (though the hot badger barista at her favorite coffee shop was a close second).

Brandy was so busy lost in her dreamy thoughts that she almost missed Johnny walking past them. "Hey Meena. Hey Brandy," he said casually.

"Oh Johnny!" said Brandy in her most innocent voice. She hopped off the cases and gingerly took Johnny's finger, leading him towards the pile. "I'm so glad you got here. I was having a really hard time getting all these cases inside and I could sure use some help."

"But I asked if you needed…" Meena started to say when Brandy cut her off.

"Besides," Brandy continued while playing with the zipper on Johnny's jacket. "I'm sure a big, strong fella like you could handle a couple of itty bitty cases like these, right? What exactly do you bench again?"

Johnny coughed nervously as he ran his hand on the back of neck. "I-I'm not sure. I don't really keep track of that sort of thing." This wasn't the first time Brandy pulled this little flirting game with him. He didn't want to be rude; she was definitely cute enough and he wasn't against dating outside his species. Problem was he already had his eyes on someone else who, coincidentally, shared the stage with her.…

"Brandy? Why is your stuff still out here?"

Johnny and Brandy turned to see Ash standing before the case pile with Olive close behind. The porcupine had her hands on her hips, looking very cross. "Wait, don't tell me," she asked with an irritated tone. "You're having 'trouble' with your drums again?" Ash even used the air-quotes to make her point.

"Ash! Olive!" Brandy stepped away from Johnny and fidgeted with her shirt. "Sorry, Johnny was just offering to help carry my—oof!"

As she was babbling, Ash had picked up the nearest case and shoved it into Brandy's arms. "Ok, everyone. Grab a case and get this stuff inside." Without any argument from anyone, the small group of friends obeyed. Fortunately, Meena and Johnny were able to carry more than one, so a second trip wasn't necessary (much to Brandy's disappointment).

The Moon theater was always seen as a grand edifice, even before its destruction. Thanks to Noodleman, the restoration made the wondrous theater even more beautiful. Updated equipment, much more room for rehearsal and storage, and it still had that fresh "new building" smell to it. There were even glass tubes lining the walls for the glowing squid to swim through, giving the theater an extra luminescent glow during productions. Now that Buster's shows were more successful, he was able to hire extra stagehands and employees. He even hired Herman, Ms. Crawly's new boyfriend, to help with the lights whenever they malfunctioned, which wasn't often thanks to Meena and Eddie's supervision.

Once the cases were dropped off in the rehearsal room, the band started to unpack. "Thanks for your help, guys," Ash said to Meena and Johnny after they dropped off the last of the drum kit. "Although this really should've been set up an hour ago, Brandy!"

"What?" said Brandy, throwing up her paws in defense. "You expect me to carry all eight cases by my lonesome? It was hard enough unpacking the van!" She then turned and batted her eyes once again at the gorilla setting down the last case. "Besides, Johnny didn't mind, did you Johnny?"

Once again, Johnny fidgeted with his jacket collar as his face turned a deep shade of red. Fortunately, Ash came to his rescue.

"Ok, ok, turn off the hormones and set up your kit," she said, stepping between the embarrassed primate and the love-sick skunk. "We only got this room until one, so I want to get through at least one set list. Don't forget, we have a gig coming up."

Brandy rolled her eyes, then went to do as she was told, but not before giving Johnny a quick wink. This small gesture was not missed by Ash, who did everything she could not to make a scolding remark. She motioned for Johnny to speak with her outside the room.

"Sorry about that, Johnny," said muttered once they were out of earshot of her friends. "Brandy has a rare condition that makes her flirt with anyone carrying a y-chromosome."

Johnny just shrugged. "Nah, it's cool. I don't mind lending a helping hand. In fact, if you ever need a roadie, I'd be happy to oblige."

Ash smiled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Well, better get to playing. See ya, dude."

"Y-yeah. Have fun." With that, Johnny headed for Ms. Crawley's office to start his own rehearsal.

It only took about ten minutes for the girls to set up the kit and get their instruments in order. Olive strummed a few chords on her bass and had time to wipe her glasses clean on her retro Rabid Fire band shirt. Brandy tested each drum for proper sound, but not before updating her status on Spacebook.

"Ok, why don't we start on 'Burning the Bridge' for a quick warmup?" suggested Ash as she slipped the guitar strap on her shoulders.

Olive gave a smart salute. "Aye aye, Cap'n! Count us off, Brandy."

Brandy gave both drumsticks a quick twirl before banging them together. "Counting off. One, two, three, four!"

And then Nature's Rejects started their upbeat rock song. Olive lead in with her bass, followed by Brandy on drums keeping a steady rhythm. Lastly, Ash joining in on guitar before jumping into the first verse, while Olive followed up on backing vocals:

So you thought I was just another pit stop.

Come and go, as you please.

Till you see flag drop.

You didn't know that I' m more than just a pretty face.

With a mind and a soul.

And I'm gonna run my race.

So now I'm leaving you behind.

(No more looking back.)

You're out of my mind

Cause I'm staying on track.

I'll strike a match and let it go!

(Burn baby burn!)

Let the firey blazes glow!

(Now it's your turn)

No, you will never catch up to me

Cause I'm burning the bridge!

Johnny sighed as he watched the band preform from the stairs leading up to the main office. Even though it was slightly muted behind the glass, the song sounded amazing and Ash's voice sent chills down his spine, which was not nearly as captivating as her face. Whenever she performed, she wore a passionate expression, like she put a small piece of her soul into every note and lyric she sang. Johnny wished he could write songs like her, but sadly he was still getting the hang of playing the piano. He couldn't even read music, let along write song lyrics. Fortunately, he had a natural ear when it came to music.

As Johnny was lost in his daydreams, Meena quietly observed his expression. She remembered how giddy she got when Johnny confessed to her that he had a crush on Ash, being the romantic she was. Though she promised to keep it a secret (especially to Ash), Johnny always had a hard time being discreet. Most times he was able to talk to Ash directly, but whenever he tried to build up the nerve to ask her out, his shyness quickly took over. She couldn't help but feel bad for her friend, knowing how hard shyness was to conquer.

"They sound great, don't they?" she said as she walked up behind him.

"Mm-hm," Johnny nodded, not taking his eyes off Ash.

"Still haven't asked her out?"

Johnny shook his head. "Mm-mm."

"Oh….why not?"

Johnny sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I dunno. Awkwardness? Can't find the right words? Fear of rejection? Take your pick…"

"Aw, come on, Johnny. I'll bet you half-a-dozen donuts she'd say yes."

"Yeah, will I bet you a full dozen she'll say no. I don't think she's that eager to get back into the fray, Meena. I mean, listen to the song! She's singing about…him again."

"You mean Lance?"

Johnny scoffed and shook his head. "Stupid, selfish twat. I swear, if I had been there when he…"

"Easy Johnny," Meena said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Johnny muttered. "I just keep thinking about how he treated her at the audition. Bossing her around like she was some bloody servant. Pardon the language."

"Um…ok." Meena never understood why Johnny always apologized for using words like "bloody" and "bollocks." She knew in England, they were considered curse words, but he still felt the need to be proper while in the States. She honestly didn't even know what a "bollock" was.

"Oh Johnny! There you are!"

Both friends looked to see Ms. Crawly, carefully wobbling down the stairs while holding a mug in her hand.

"Morning, Ms. Crawly," said Johnny, gingerly taking her hand and helping her off the last stair.

"Piano's all ready for you, dearie. You go on up and I'll be there in a minute. Oh, and Meena, before you start practicing your solos, Mr. Moon wants you to test out the new microphones we installed. Eddie's running a little late this morning."

"You got it, Ms. Crawly," said Meena before heading for the soundboard.

"Now to figure out how to use that new fangled contraption Mr. Moon bought." Ms. Crawly was referring to coffee maker that used capsules instead of regular filters. The first time the old lizard tried to use it, she assumed you opened the small cup and poured the coffee into the dispenser, which made a huge mess that took awhile to clean up.

As he headed up the stairs, Johnny took one last look at rehearsal room A to see the Rejects finishing up their song. Maybe someday he'd write a song for her. For now, he knew just what to sing to match his current mood.

After one last rip on her guitar, Ash brought the song to a close. "Ok, that sounded good, though I think we need to work on the bridge. Maybe a key change near the end? What do you guys think?"

Olive said nothing as she exchanged a weary glance with Brandy, who in return shrugged and went to her phone.

"Hey, what's with the silent treatment?" Ash asked as she took off her guitar. "I'm just making a self-critique."

"The song's fine, Ash," said Olive, also taking off her bass. "I just think you've been falling into a creative rut lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Um, the recurring theme? Every one you've written has about your breakup with he-who-must-not-be-named."

Ash scoffed. "What? That's stupid! Not every song has been about…"

Olive then raised her paw, silencing Ash mid-sentence. She then pointed to Brandy who brought up the notes on her phone for the last gig they played. "Let's see here: 'Set it All Free', 'Better Off Without,' 'You're New Ex,' 'Why Did I Bother?' 'Heart Attack.' Should I keep going?"

Olive shook her head. "Nah, the point's been made,"

"And what point is that?" asked Ash, trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

"That…you're still hung up on Lance?"

Ash's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that one of her best friends from childhood would accuse her of such a ridiculous thing. "Hung up? Hung up? Are you serious? I've been over him for months!

"And yet you're still singing about him…"

"It's not like they're love songs! They're about what a jerky boyfriend he is."

"Don't you mean 'was?'," asked Brandy.

"You know what I meant!"

Olive closed her eyes and sighed, trying to find the right words to say. "Ash…you're like a sister to me. I love you, I think you're incredibly talented, and I'm proud to call myself a Reject, but don't you think it's time to start being more than just some bitter ex-girlfriend?"

"Olive's right, Ashy," said Brandy, who had hopped off her stool to put a consoling paw on the porcupine's shoulder. "You should look at the comments fans have left on our Spacebook page."

Ash sighed. "Brandy, I really don't…"

But the skunk insisted. " 'Great show, but Ash seriously needs to move on from that jerk she keeps singing about.' 'Wow, another breakup song. Surprise, Surprise. #guyissues' 'OMG, just move on already!' 'Click here to watch the hottest movies on the web.'…Ok, I think that last one was a spambot, but you get the idea."

"So, what else am I supposed to sing about, huh?" Ash snapped. "Falling in love again? My anger at the world? Politics?"

"Uh, I'd save that for when we're officially mainstream," said Olive.

Ash groaned and ran her hands through her quills. She didn't want to get upset at her friends, but having her creativity shunned was frustrating. "Look, I know I sound like a broken record and believe me, the last thing I want to do is give Lance gratitude for my success. The truth is the songwriting is theraputic, you know? As much pain as it caused me, I did spend almost four years with that dork and it's not something I can easily forget, no matter how much I want to. So…just try to be patient with me, ok guys? Please?"

The room went quiet. Both Olive and Brandy exchanged glances, showing clear concern and affection for their friend. They knew it was pointless to try and change her mind at this time and it made sense that writing songs helped with the aftermath. Olive looked back at Ash and smiled. "Sorry, Captain. We weren't trying to upset you. If your muse is giving you anti-Lance songs, then heed the call. We cool?" Olive held out her fist in hopes of a possible fist bump. Fortunately, Ash accepted and returned the gesture.

"Yeah, we're cool. Ok, now I do want to go back and work on that bridge." Ash walked over to her case and opened it up. "I also think we need to change the…oh great, where did I put those?"

"Put what?" asked Olive, looking over her shoulder.

"The notes I made. I jotted them down on the receipts from dinner last night."

Olive coughed nervously. "Uh…if they were the ones left on the counter this morning, the garbage truck might have them."

Ash spun and looked at Olive aghast. "Seriously, Olive?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you don't buy office supplies. I mean, notebooks are like - what - ten cents a piece?"

Ash just rolled her eyes and closed her case. "No problem. I'll have to go mooch off of Crawley. BRB."

"Tell Johnny I said 'Hi!'," Brandy called as Ash left the room.

Once they were alone, Olive cast a withering look at Brandy. "Not to douse your passionate flames, but I don't think you're Johnny's type."

"Whattya mean?" asked Brandy aghast. "Didn't you see the way he was watching us rehearse? That big hunk of gorge-illa was spellbound by my skillz."

"Brandy, I don't - wait, what did you call him?"

"A gorge-illa." Olive simply blinked in response. "Gorge-illa? Gorgeous gorilla? Made it up myself."

"I'll alert Webster. Anyway, while Johnny's obviously a fan, I think he's been spellbound with a different Reject."

Brandy shook her head in confusion. "Well, who else was he looking at? I mean, it can't be you since you've been out of the clos - OMG, IT'S ASH!"

Olive sarcastically twirled her finger. "Ding-ding-ding. Give the girl a prize…"

"How long?"

"Probably for awhile. All I know is I can smell his palms sweat whenever he talks her. Are you ok with that?"

Much to the racoon's surprise, her friend was grinning ear-to-ear. "Are you kidding? Johnny and Ash? I would totally ship that!"

"But I thought Johnny was your 'gorgey worgey' whatever."

"Well, yeah, but that was before I realized that he had the hots for our Ashy-poo! I don't steal other girls' beaus, Olive."

Olive couldn't help but chuckle. As boy-crazy as Brandy was, she did have her priorities in order. "Very noble, sweetie, but they're not really together yet. I think Johnny boy's just admiring her from afar."

Brandy nodded. "Right. Does Ash know?"

Olive shrugged. "Hard to say. If she does, she hasn't told me."

"Should we tell her?"

Olive said nothing as she looked out the glass doors to see Ash had stopped to help Ms. Crawley with the new coffee maker. The poor lizard once again had coffee grounds covering her face and was using her smock to clean off her glass eye.

"Johnny practices in Ms. Crawley's office, right?" she asked Brandy.

"Yeah. I think cause it's the only room with a piano."

Olive nodded. "Maybe Johnny will drop a hint…"

Ash gently took the mug out from under the spout and handed it to Ms. Crawley. "There you go, Crawley. One hot cuppa joe."

The lizard smiled gratefully. "Thank you, dearie. I don't see why Mr. Moon insisted on this silly machine. The old coffee pot worked fine."

"Yeah, well Moon doesn't always think things through. Hey, would it be okay if I borrowed a pen and some paper for your office?"

"Oh, of course you can. While you're up there, tell Johnny I'm on my way. Just want to get this muck off my face. Ugh, I can feel it in my wrinkles…"

Ash thanked Crawley and headed towards the offices. As she climbed the stairs, she thought about what Olive and Brandy had told her. She was aware that her songs sounded a little redundant, but she couldn't help it. Every time she tried to write a new song, the only inspiration she ever got was from Lance. For years, he held her back. Keeping her as a backup singer because her voice wasn't "lead material" or doubting her skills and herself. The songwriting did help with getting over the pain, but the girls made a fair point. Perhaps she did need to look elsewhere for inspiration.

When she reached the door, she froze. Coming from inside Crawley's office, she could hear Johnny singing. She had heard him sing before, but this time it sounded different, like the song was written specifically for him and he understood every line. Quietly, she opened the door and entered the room, trying desperately not to disturb him.

I've been alone with you inside my mind.

And in my dreams, I've kissed your lips a thousand times.

I sometimes see you pass outside my door.

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

I can see it in your eyes.

I can see it in your smile.

You're all I've ever wanted and my arms are open wide.

Cause you know just what to say and you know just what to do.

And I want to tell you so much, I lo-ASH!

Perhaps, Ash was a bit too stealthy because when Johnny finally opened his eyes, he was startled to see Ash standing next to the piano. He got so flustered, he lost his balance and stumbled backwards off the bench, hitting his head on the file cabinet against the wall. To add insult to injury, he had knocked over Ms. Crawley's flowerpot which tumbled onto his head, spilling water and flowers all over him.

"Johnny!" Ash immediately ran to Johnny's side. "Oh my gosh! Are you ok?"

Johnny groaned and wiped the water out of his eyes. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a large lump forming under his fingers. The water soaked his shirt, causing it to cling to his skin. "Aw, blimey…" he muttered, wiping the flowers off himself.

"Oh man, I am so sorry!" Ash gushed, helping Johnny sit up. "I didn't mean to scare you. You were just doing really…are you hurt?"

At first, Johnny didn't answer. He felt Ash's paw pressed against his chest as she looked into his eyes (most likely searching for dilated pupils) and couldn't find the words. He immediately forgot about him being soaking wet or his aching head. He was face-to-face with Ash, gazing into her beautiful blue eyes. He couldn't recall them being this physically close before, especially since he was several feet taller than her. He tried to reassure her, but instead he spoke in stutters and nervous coughs.

"N-no, I mean yes. I'm fine. Yeah, it hurt, but I'm not worried you're hurt. I mean, you shouldn't be worried I'm…ah, bugger."

"Johnny? Is everything okay out he-whoa!"

Johnny and Ash looked to see Buster standing in his office door. "Mr. Moon!" Johnny hastily got to his feet, quickly brushing himself off. "So sorry. We were just…"

"It was my bad," said Ash. "I was just coming up to get a pen and paper and I startled Johnny."

Buster put up his paws in defense as he stepped aside to let Ash get to Crawley's desk. "That's perfectly all right, Ash, but I'm sure Johnny would appreciate knocking before entering next time. As would Ms. Crawley's daisies."

Before Johnny could speak on Ash's behalf, she had already gotten what she came for and was heading for the door, which he gladly held open for it. "Got it. Sorry for the scare, dude. You sure you're okay?"

Johnny scoffed as he leaned against the door frame. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it. I've had worse."

Ash chuckled as she toyed with her side quills. "You, uh, sounded really good by the way."

Johnny felt his face light up. It wasn't often Ash complimented his singing, especially with their rehearsal schedules overlapping. "Oh, thank you. You sounded great too. Earlier, I mean, in the rehearsal room. Not that you don't sound good other times, I just meant…"

"I know what you meant. Well…bye."

Johnny gave a small wave as he watched Ash go back to her friends. His elation was quickly replaced with a wave of embarrassment. He couldn't believe he acted like a bloody moron in front of her. It was far from the perfect opportunity to ask her out, but it was one of the few moments the two had alone together and, just like that, it ended. If only he had…

"You doing ok there, Johnny?"

Startled, Johnny turned to see Buster looking up at him while picking up the flowers off the floor. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine Mr. Moon. Oh, here I'll get that." Johnny picked up the pot (which was luckily still intact) and the collecting the flowers. "Guess I should get some more water for these, 'ey?"

"I would. And grab some paper towels while you're at it, huh? You look a little…soggy."

"Right. Be right back. Sorry about the mess." With that, Johnny took the flowerpot and left the office to get cleaned up and save Crawley's bouquet.

Buster simply shook his head and went back to his office. As he sat back at the desk, he thought about what he just witnessed. He had some speculation that Johnny carried a torch for the young porcupine. He'd often be the first to help load her equipment or would be lingering around during her rehearsal times. While he found it odd for a large primate to fall for a small mammal covered in quills, he knew love had no limits and was considered blind for a reason. Still, the idea of Ash and Johnny being together did raise some interesting ideas. Perhaps…

"Buster!"

The koala snapped out of his deep thought at the sight of his best friend, Eddie, hurrying into the room.

"Oh hey, Eddie," he said. "Running a little late this morning? No worries. Meena's already taking care of the…"

"We gotta talk."

"What, now?"

"Yes, now! It's important." Eddie went to make sure Crawely's off was empty before closing the door. Eddie ran his hoofs through his wool, trying to calm down. "Ok, um, you might want to sit down for this. Are you sitting down?"

Buster said nothing as he checked to make sure that, yes, he was sitting down. "Yes. Yes I am." It was normal for Eddie to get himself worked up over small things, but he was never this oblivious.

"Good! Because…Oh man, I don't know how to tell you this. I mean, I know what this place means to you and your shows are doing really well, so I don't get why this is happening…"

"Eddie!" snapped Buster. "For the love of eucalyptus, spit it out!"

The sheep took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye. "Buster…you're going to lose the theater."