Back again, folks!
Nothing much to say except thank you for reading this far and on with the adorableness!
The next rehearsal could have been going a little smoother.
Through an incident involving Miss Crawly's glass eye, the lighting rig had come crashing down onto the stage and burst into flames, along with a swinging sandbag landing Pete the camel in the hospital. And to top it off, while Meena and Miss Crawly were assessing the damage, the frog trio's endless bickering had finally caused them to storm out and quit the show entirely.
Things weren't going too great for Steff backstage either.
"Alright, let's try this again." The skunk murmured to herself before pressing the play button on her CD player. As the backing music for the second track started, she once again got into position and began to move as she sang:
Just call me angel of the morning, angel
Just touch my cheek before you le-EA-ave me, baby
Just call me angel of the morning, ange-EL!
Then slowly turn away
I won't beg you to sta-AY with me
All morning, Steff had gone over her song list, singing every word with ease. But each time she tried to emulate Grandma Julie's movements, it never felt organic; she teetered whenever she attempted to strut, her shoulder shimmying came off as rigid and trying to flash a flirtatious smile only scrunched up her face uncomfortably.
"Come on, Steff. More swagger in the hips." She muttered, trying to smoothly put one foot in front of the other, only to still wobble precariously.
As the music neared the final chorus, the skunk took a deep breath. Singing the lyrics of the bridge, she yet again attempted her grandma's signature move that would make or break her act: the double pirouette culminating in a grand sweep of her tail.
Through the tears
Of the day
Of the years
Ba-BYYY!
And just barely managed to catch herself before she tripped over.
"Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move?"
Massaging her temples, Steff shut off the music before letting out a sharp exhale through her nose. She'd been at this for hours and had made practically no progress in her movements. How was she expected to do Grandma Julie proud if she couldn't copy at least one of her stage moves flawlessly?
Promptly deciding that a quick break would clear her head, the skunk adjusted her glasses and pushed open her rehearsal room door, just as Meena came through the backstage door into the foyer.
"So, uh, how's the stage looking?" Steff asked as the elephant placed the empty fire extinguisher down.
"Well the fire's out. And the damage shouldn't be too hard to fix." She replied. "That and I, um..."
The two of them flinched at the sudden sound of a loud slap, followed by the red panda group storming out of Peter's rehearsal space and out the fire exit. Buster staggered out a moment later, clutching his stinging cheek.
"Yeesh, that could've gone better." Shaking his head, the koala quickly brightened up and dashed past them both. "Meena, don't forget, my offer for you to reaudition is still on the table!"
As he made his way over to Ash's rehearsal space, Steff turned back toward the young elephant, looking surprised.
"I didn't know you originally tried out for the show." She remarked, her tone laced with interest.
"Well, uh, yeah, I-I did. But the thing is..." Meena paused. "I have really bad stage fright. And when it got to my turn, I just got so scared and, uh…" She let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders drooping.
"I left."
Steff's eyes softened in sympathy as she listened.
"Just like that?"
"Yeah." The elephant gave a meek nod. "And when I came back to try and reaudition, I couldn't get the words out and I... ended up getting this stagehand job instead."
"Oh, Meena, I'm so sorry." Steff replied gently, all the pieces coming together in her mind. Her smile quickly returned as she recalled what Buster had said a minute ago. "But on the bright side, Mr. Moon's offering you that chance again."
Meena's mood didn't seem to improve at those words.
"Yeah, but..." She sighed, gazing forlornly down at the floorboards. "I mean, I love singing. But singing in front of a whole crowd, I just... I don't know if I can do it."
Steff mulled over her next words carefully; her mom used to tell her that one should always jump at the first chance they get and never let go of it. But stage fright wasn't something one could overcome simply by being told to get over it. At last, she reached up and gave the teenage elephant's large hand a reassuring pat, snapping her out of her sad trance.
"Meena, you've been nothing but sweet and helpful to everybody since you got here." She said, smiling warmly. "I won't force you to choose. Whatever you decide to do, none of us will think less of you, I promise."
Except maybe Mike, but forget him.
Staring down at the skunk for a moment, Meena finally gave her a grateful smile.
"Thanks, Steff."
Meanwhile, Ash's rehearsal was going just as poorly.
In light of her spending more time practicing on her guitar rather than singing any of her pop songs, Buster had opted to select one for her. Preparing her CD, the koala hit the play button and the opening notes of Call Me Maybe immediately sounded out, much to her annoyance.
"I am not singing this!"
"What's not to like?" Buster asked, moving his body to the song's beat. "You're a female and you're a teenager. This song was made for you."
"Wow, it's like you can see inside my tiny teenage mind." The porcupine's reply was drenched in sarcasm at this blatant stereotyping. Buster, of course, was totally oblivious.
"I know, right? You just gotta add some moves and a little bit of..." Ash gave the koala the most deadpan stare imaginable as he started dancing and singing along to the chorus, completely unaware of how stupid he looked:
Hey, I just met you
And this is crazy
But here's my number
So call me maybe
He finally stopped, mercifully, and gestured toward Ash. "Go for it!"
"Oh, you mean like this?" She asked in a faux sweet tone, before putting her own sardonic spin on the last part, cheesy dance moves included:
Try to chase me
But here's my number
So call me maybe!
Striking a pose with a shake of her quills, the porcupine's phony smile dropped at Buster's positive response.
"There ya go! You're a natural! You perform that song exactly like that, you're gonna blow that audience away!"
"What? No, I was being sarcas..." Ash's words died in her mouth as the koala was already out the door. "Oh, forget it."
Letting out an annoyed sigh, she jabbed the off button on the CD player before gazing over at her shining guitar sitting proudly on its stand. It was so unfair; she'd been prepared to blow the audience away with her rock 'n roll skills, only to get restricted to performing songs that didn't suit her in the slightest. That koala's optimism was beginning to get on her nerves.
"Ash?"
The sound of knocking catching her attention, the porcupine turned around to see Steff standing in the open doorway. Her frustrated mood softened a touch.
"Hi, Steff. Come on in." She said. "You doing alright?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing." The skunk replied, closing the door behind her.
"Not really." Ash grabbed her orange soda from the high chair in the corner and took a swig. She then plumped herself down on the bench by the window, Steff following suite. "Take a wild guess which song Moon picked for me?"
"Not Call Me Maybe?"
"Ding, ding."
"Yikes." Steff winced while her friend breathed a heavy sigh.
"Yep. What about you?"
"My rehearsal isn't going too great either." The skunk frowned at the lingering memory of her botched emulation. "I keep stumbling over the movements for my song, it's driving me crazy."
"Sorry to hear that." Ash replied, her brow furrowed in sympathy before she glanced across at her guitar again. "Guess this contest is starting to get under both our skins."
Following her gaze, Steff immediately understood her friend's disappointment of not being able to put her beloved instrument to good use. Seeing the rocker girl look so dejected hurt.
At that moment, an idea flew into Steff's brain.
"Y'know, Ash... this just came to me, but I was wondering..." The skunk paused. "Would you maybe wanna grab a coffee later? I think with how vexing today's been for both of us, we could use a bit of a breather. Plus my parents' café is open on Wednesday evenings."
Her eyes popping open, Ash turned to look at her friend, silently considering.
"You know, now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever actually been in your family's café. And me and Lance don't have anything planned this evening anyway." Taking a gentler sip from her can, her smile returned.
"So… yeah. I'm up for that."
"Great!" Steff cried, practically leaping off the bench and onto her feet. "So I'll see you after rehearsal?"
"Yep, see you then." The porcupine replied, still smiling as Steff left her rehearsal space.
The skunk released a blissful sigh as she bounded down the wooden steps to her own room. Okay, it wasn't exactly the same as asking Ash out on a date. But still, she and her amazing friend taking a break from the stress of the competition to just hang out and chat like old times?
That was plenty for her.
After enduring the gruelling last hours of rehearsal, Ash and Steff revelled in the monotonous taxi journey over to Brewtiful. As promised, the lights inside the café were still on when they pulled up.
Smiling gratefully at her friend holding the door open for her, Ash stepped inside and took in the charming baby blue walls and spotless bar. Animals were seated at different tables, locked in conversation with one another while the aroma of fresh coffee lingered in the air. To make things better, there was only one bull being served. The moment he turned to walk over to his table, Steff led her friend to her parents standing behind the counter.
"Hi, Moms!"
"Hey, sweetheart, how was rehears..." Andrea's eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she noticed the porcupine beside her daughter. "Why, hello there!"
Looking up from the order she was preparing, Cassie followed her wife's gaze and her smile immediately grew as well. "Ash Johansson! It's so nice to see you again!"
Ash grinned modestly, giving them a little wave; they'd encountered each other a fair bit whenever they used to pick Steff up at the end of school.
"Yeah, hi, Mrs and Mrs Pearce. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" asked Cassie.
"We're both here as customers tonight, Mama." Steff replied. "Can I place an order for table five please?"
"You can indeed." Andrea said, the smile never leaving her face. "Fire away."
The young skunk turned to her friend. "Ash, what are you in the mood for?"
Glancing up at the chalkboard menu hanging behind the counter, Ash quickly made her decision. "Can I get a cappuccino and a carrot cake slice please?"
"Sure thing." Andrea typed the order into the cash register before looking to her daughter. "And for you, Steff?"
"I'll have a vanilla latte and a slice of Mom's chocolate fudge cake."
"Alright, that'll be $10.43." Ash was about to reach into her jeans for her wallet before Steff's arm shot across in front of her.
"It's alright, I got it." She said with a smile, fishing her purse out of her dress pocket. Contemplating how she usually paid whenever she went with Lance to the nearest fast-food joint, Ash watched the skunk casually paying with her card in quiet surprise.
"You want your staff discount, sweetheart?"
"No, thanks, Mama." Steff politely shook her head, returning her purse to her pocket.
"Okay then, you both take your seat and we'll bring it right over."
Nodding gratefully, the two of them made their way over to a table directly in the window. They both took their seat, Ash setting her guitar case down beside her chair.
"I would've been happy to pay for mine, Steff." She said, to which the skunk held up her hand.
"Don't worry about it, Ash. I put the offer on the table, it's my treat."
"Fair enough." Ash sat in silence for a moment before glancing around at the quaint café again, still enthralled. "This place is nice. Did you do it yourselves?"
"Well my mom used to be a painter before I was born." Steff smiled warmly, recollecting her parents telling the story of their first meeting when she was a child. "Then she met my mama who was looking to open a café, things clicked and then they worked together to fix up this place."
Ash gave an impressed nod. "Well I gotta say, they both did a great job."
At that moment, Cassie came over, their order balanced neatly on the tray in her grasp.
"Here you are, you two!" She said, carefully placing each item down in front of them. Steam from the coffee wreathed through the air while the glaze on both cakes glistened in the light.
"Thanks, Mrs Pearce." Ash took in a whiff of her steaming drink, smiling at the pleasant scent. "This looks really appetising."
"No problem, Ash." While the porcupine gave her coffee a stir with her teaspoon, Cassie leaned over to her daughter and spoke in a rather loud whisper.
"Did you finally ask her out on a date?"
Steff's breath caught in her throat, her eyes bulging wide.
"Mom!" She whispered-shouted through clenched teeth.
"Wait, what?" Ash's teaspoon almost dropped from her grip as she stared at the two skunks.
Steff's mind and heart raced, her eyes darting around frantically; her crush wasn't supposed to come out like this, especially with said crush sitting directly across from her. Did she dare confess to her now? Would Ash think she was weird? Would she believe this whole evening was a ruse just so Steff could try and get with her when she was already in a relationship?
Think, dang it! The miniature voice inside her mind screamed. Open your mouth!
She finally belted out a boisterous laugh, turning quite a few heads in the café.
"Oh, Mom, you old joker!" She said, a painfully wide grin on her face as she patted Cassie on the shoulder. "That's one of her classic Mom jokes. Like we always say: great sense of taste, lousy sense of humour!"
Her forced grin not breaking as she stared at her mom, Steff pointedly shifted her eyes toward the bar twice. Getting the message, Cassie quickly turned on her heel and darted away from their table. Ash, all the while, stared at her friend who was silently praying that she had come across as natural.
"...Okay." She finally said.
All Steff's muscles finally relaxed, losing her toothy smile as her friend went back to stirring her coffee; that was way too close. The tension eased much more as Ash brought her cappuccino to her mouth and took a sip.
"Mmm." The porcupine's eyes lit up at the flavour flowing over her tongue and down her throat. "Oh, my God, this is delicious!"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not even kidding, this might be the best cappuccino I've tasted in a long time." Ash placed the cup down as Steff, smiling, took a sip of her vanilla latte.
"Glad you like it." She replied. "We try to put out the best coffee we can."
"Well, mission accomplished." Picking up her small fork, Ash carved a corner off her carrot cake slice and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she savoured the dessert. "Mm, the baked goods aren't too shabby either. Just as nice as that cake Meena brought yesterday."
"Thanks. That particular one's my handiwork."
"Really?" The porcupine raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Wow, if I'd had your baking skills growing up, I wouldn't have snuck candy from my mom's handbag."
Steff chuckled as she ate a piece of her own cake. "Hey, by the way, how is your mom?"
From the way Ash's face dropped at those words, the skunk immediately realised she'd opened up an old wound.
"We're... not on speaking terms right now." She said quietly, looking down at her coffee as she took another sip of her drink. "Let's just leave it at that."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Steff gazed down at the table with guilt.
"It's okay, you didn't know."
The two teens sat in silence for a minute, various conversations between the surrounding customers being the only noise that filled the air. At last, Steff found the confidence to speak up again, choosing her next question more carefully.
"So any plans for what you're gonna do with the hundred-thousand dollars?" Finishing off the piece of cake in her mouth, Ash gave a smile at her friend's question.
"Well I'm hoping me and Lance can start our own label with that prize money, maybe build a recording studio. No more settling for small gigs at restaurants and stuff. The whole world would know our names."
"Whoa, that's pretty ambitious." Steff raised her eyebrows; it was a comfort to see that Ash hadn't lost her determined spirit. "In that case, I'm rooting for you to win."
"How about you? What would you do with that money?" The porcupine asked curiously. Taking a long contemplative sip of her latte, Steff slowly set it back down on the table.
"You know, I haven't really given it any thought." She said at last, shrugging. "I guess, maybe spruce up the café or go on vacation or something?"
"No eyes on the prize, huh?" Ash leaned forward slightly with interest.
"Not really." The skunk shook her head before smiling with hope. "Honestly, just knowing that I'll have lived up to my grandma and made my moms proud... that'll be enough for me."
Ash's brow furrowed. "Surely they're already proud of you for entering this contest?"
"Oh, yeah, of course." Steff gave a quick nod. "But, y'know, when I get Grandma's moves down and surprise them with my performance, they're gonna be even prouder. Besides she left such a great legacy behind and I just... I wanna keep that going."
"I guess there's no harm in that." The porcupine said after a moment. "Just... try not to overwork yourself. I noticed you were a bit tense during rehearsal today."
Steff heaved a big sigh, straightening her glasses. "Yeah, it's these dang dance moves that keep throwing me off. But hey, we've still got a few days before the contest. I'm sure I'll nail them before then, maybe even tomorrow."
"Well I'm sure you'll have better luck than I'm having with Call Me Maybe." Both girls rolled their eyes, thinking back to that dreaded ear worm.
"If it's of any consolation, unfitting as your songs are, your voice still sounds great when you sing them." The skunk said, offering her most complimentary smile as she ate another piece of her cake.
"Thanks. But that doesn't change the fact that those songs just aren't me."
"I guess that koala has a pretty specific vision for his show."
"A pretty flawed one." Ash responded, taking another sip of her cappuccino. "I mean, I even thought about maybe writing my own song for the contest."
Steff's eyes widened; hearing her friend's incredible guitar skills was one thing, but listening to a song Ash could potentially create herself was a whole other level.
"Whoa, really? That would be awesome!"
Ash didn't return her smile, instead idly tracing her finger along the rim of her cup. "I... decided against it."
"Huh? How come?" Steff asked, confused at her friend's hesitance.
"Lance thinks it's best if I just do the songs Moon picked for me." Came the quiet reply. "I mean, between the two of us, he's the song-writing expert. For all I know, mine wouldn't be any good."
"What?"
The porcupine flinched as the table rattled from Steff slamming her coffee cup down, once again drawing attention from a few customers.
"Ash, that's nuts!" She cried. The skunk locked eyes with Ash, placing her hands atop hers.
"You are the most talented, musically-gifted girl I've ever met. You're already a whizz on the guitar, you could definitely write a song if you wanted to. I mean, how do you know you aren't any good at song-writing if you don't give it a shot? Heck, for all you know, you could write a masterpiece right off the bat."
The intensity in her stare softened. "I just can't stand to see you limiting yourself like this when you have so much potential. If it's something you really want to try… I say go for it, Ash."
The two of them looked at one another for the longest time until finally, Ash's cheeks blushed a shade of pink.
"...Thanks, Steff." She said, the corners of her mouth slowly curling up. "You're right, maybe I'll talk it over with Lance when I get home."
"And who knows?" Steff added, smiling back. "If Mr. Moon is open to it, he might agree to let you try." She then went to take another sip of her latte only to taste nothing. Looking into the cup, she noticed it was completely finished, along with everything else they'd ordered.
"Yeah, here's hoping." Ash said, noticing that her own coffee was finished as well. Standing, she smoothed out the ruffles in her skirt and picked up her guitar case. The two of them made their way towards the door.
"Thanks for this, Steff. I needed to unwind a little bit this evening and… this was really nice. And now I know where to go for a coffee before or after work." The skunk's heart fluttered at the thought of potentially getting to see Ash every day, even after the contest.
"Glad you enjoyed yourself, Ash." She grinned, holding the door open for her. "See you tomorrow?"
"You know it." Cupping her hand to her mouth, Ash turned her attention to the counter. "Thanks for the coffee, Mrs and Mrs Pearce! Have a nice evening!"
"You too!" Cassie and Andrea called in unison. Giving one last thankful smile to Steff, the porcupine turned and began making her way down the sidewalk. As soon as she'd rounded the corner, Steff finally let the door close and sighed happily. This whole evening had been a complete joy.
"So..." Cassie slowly walked up to her daughter. "It wasn't a date?"
Her mind flashing back to her secret almost getting out, Steff rapidly shook her head.
"No! So can you please not make assumptions like that?" She said before turning to stare at the doorway where Ash had been.
"I am gonna tell her how I feel. Just... in my own time."
But with how long she'd been holding her feelings in, along with her desperation to perfect her routine still eating away at her, when exactly would 'in her own time' be?
Ash trudged down the apartment hallway, the long trek home from the train station having worn her out. But throughout the whole journey, she hadn't stopped thinking about the relaxing evening she'd spent with Steff. Just the two of them talking like back in high school. One particular moment, however, stood out to her. And not just Steff asserting how much she genuinely believed in her.
It was Cassie's question to her daughter. Had that actually been a poor attempt at humour? Or did Steff really have a crush on her?
Not that she minded if that was the case; Ash had known she was bi ever since developing a small crush on Vicky, a fox from her first week of freshman gym class who had turned out to be straight. And she knew Steff wouldn't be the kind of person to try schmoozing with somebody who was already in a relationship. Even if her and Lance were an item now, it was a nice thought that her friend possibly cared about her enough to develop feelings for her.
And honestly, looking at her now, she did find Steff rather cute.
Deciding to ask her about it later, Ash reached her apartment door and unlocked it with a tired sigh. She was greeted by the sound of her boyfriend singing Love Interruption coming from the living room.
"Baby, I'm back." She called, leaning her guitar case against the wall. As she tossed her keys onto the console table, her brow furrowed at the sound of another voice accompanying Lance's. Rounding the corner, her puzzlement quickly melted into shock.
There was Lance on his guitar, singing away with another female porcupine beside him on the tambourine. They were both smiling at one another, not even noticing Ash.
And leaning in very close.
"What is going on here?!"
The whole room went dead silent, the two porcupines turning to look at her. Lance stood there, dumbfounded, until the new girl spoke up, removing her heart sunglasses.
"Hi, I'm Becky." She said casually.
"Becky?!" Ash spat, turning her glare toward Lance.
Not even thirty seconds had passed before the two of them found themselves shoved all the way downstairs and forced out of the building, Ash on their tail completely livid.
"Hey, what did you expect? You're never around anymore!" Lance asked defensively, him and Becky rushing out into the sidewalk.
"I did it for us, Lance!" Ash shouted, her tone shifting between pained and furious. "You and me!"
With that, she hurled Lance's guitar case directly at his legs, causing him to fall forward with a yelp. While he glared back and picked himself up, Becky started walking back up the steps again.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry." She said, either oblivious or uncaring to the situation. "I think I left my sunglasses in there..."
All she got was a door in the face. Pressing her back against it, Ash panted heavily, listening to her ex through the door leave with his new lover. Finally she slumped to the floor with a sigh. Multiple emotions ran through her head.
Anger. Regret.
Betrayal.
After everything she'd done for them, all she'd sacrificed, all the work she'd put in for their chance at making it, this was how he repaid her?
The porcupine didn't move from that spot for almost twenty minutes until a notification ping came from her jeans pocket. Slowly pulling out her phone, she stared listlessly at the message from Steff lighting up the screen:
All set for tomorrow, rock star?
Ash thought about laying bare the heartbreak she'd just been put through. But did she really want to bother Steff with her problems at this hour? Eventually she typed the only reply she could find acceptable:
yep, all good
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review explaining why. Free content thrives on interaction and feedback.
Fun fact: In the very, very early drafts of this story, I thought about Becky being Steff's ex-girlfriend before she met Ash. Ultimately I decided that would be too much of a coincidence and scrapped that idea.
The movie Sing belongs to Illumination Entertainment. I only own my OC, Steff Pearce.