Johnny was freaking out. He had not expected to see Ash here, and now he had apologised she was just staring at him. Bollocks, he had no idea what to do. The rough wood floor was starting to hurt his knee, but the idea of moving wasn't on his to do list. Instead he waited with bated breath, feeling their friends gazes bore into his back. Ash wasn't even moving. Was the porcupine that upset with him? He almost twitched when those black lips quirked into a small smile.
'I don't think I could ever been afraid of you, Johnny. Hell, I think I'd be more wary of Mike than you,' She joked lightly. A rush of air left his lungs. Ash continued. 'I'll forgive you on one condition. If you forgive me for being an absolute bitch.' Johnny gazed at her for a moment, before letting a grin spread across his face.
'There's nothing to forgive, Ash. And if there was, I think my da' would have my head if I didn't forgive you.' Ash snorted, before holding her arms out.
'Still friends?' was her question, so full of hope. With a shake of his head, Johnny scooped her up, one arm looping around her legs, the other below her quills. Still hugging her, the gorilla spun, laughing lightly. Ash squealed slightly, laughing also.
'Put me down, you great oaf. I didn't survive your driving just to be chucked about,' was her joyous shriek. Giving the smaller mammal one last squeeze, he set her gently on her feet. Pulling back, the teen watched his friend dust off her skirt, before grinning up at him (don't swoon, Johnny).
'Sooooo, you went to go see your dad then?' Johnny smiled back.
'Yeah, went this mornin', said sorry and everything. I still can't believe you met him.' His awkwardness just seemed to make Ash giggle.
'Chill dude, he wasn't that bad. We got on pretty well.' He made a face.
'Yeah, I know. Swear he likes you more than me,' he teased. Meena dived in then.
'Wait, you met his dad?' both animals spun round, having forgotten about their company. Johnny could feel his ears burning as Ash replied.
'Yup. Got dragged in to meet him, because someone,' she shot Johnny a look, 'hadn't been to visit. Got interrogated about this one's whereabouts and everything.' The Rocker's cheeky grin showed her joking nature, whilst simultaneously making Johnny's heart skip a beat. He could help but think how pretty she looked, smiling with mirth dancing in icy blue eyes. Buster suddenly clapped his hands.
'Well, I'm glad you two have returned. And just in time, as the musical score and script is complete! Practice begins tomorrow. Now if you would all follow me, I shall give out copies.' The koala bounced off, not even bothering to check if they were follow. Johnny shared a grin with the group, before following their loony employer.
Ash groaned for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Chocolate eyes peered at her in concern, but she ignored them. Striding over to her guitar, she lifted it, immediately strumming out an anger filled tune. After she and Johnny had made up, Buster had started rehearsals. And they were going brilliant… for everyone but Ash. She just couldn't get the character right, no matter how many times they tried. Buster was filled with kind words and advice, but it felt hopeless. She was constantly on the verge of nearly there, never actually making it.
A hand on her arm stopped her playing. Johnny was smiling softly at her (curse her heart for speeding up), leaning down to be on level with her.
'Ash, it's ok. We'll get there.' The words were kind, and would've been reassuring if she hadn't already heard them several times. Sighing, she ran a hand over her quills.
'You keep saying that, yet it's been two weeks, and I'm still not getting this.' The porcupine's frustration bled through in her words. She gazed around the practice room they were currently in (her's today). Johnny's jacket lay neatly by the wall, next to her bag and amp. Two empty mugs sat on top of the black box, evidence from their earlier break. Looking longingly at the door, she turned back to her companion.
'How long have we been at this?' Johnny glanced down at his watch.
'Including our lunch, 5 hours. But it's helping. You're getting closer.' Ash huffed a sigh.
'You and Moon have been saying that for two weeks. How close can I get without getting it?' she began pacing. Spending so long in the practice room made her feel claustrophobic. Johnny straightened up and grinned.
'Heyy, don't worry. Me and Meena are coming over tonight, and with any luck, we'll get it sorted tonight, yeah?' the elder of the two stopped, sighing as she looked up at the younger. She could see nothing but belief shining in his eyes and she couldn't bear to destroy that look. She let out a groan, flopping back next to her script. All her lines were highlighted in orange. The bright colour hurt her eyes, but it was better than the pink on Meena's version. Or the bright purple Gunter had chosen. Johnny joined her, lifting his own green covered script. It clashed with his lightning bolt jumper, making her headache feel even worse.
Two hours later, they had still made no progress. The whole play was at a halt, as they couldn't practice the songs until Ash could get this right. The other's told her they weren't bothered (well, except Mike, who told her to hurry the hell up), yet she could feel the frustration beginning to build. She shoved her script in her bag, turning back to the gorilla. He stood holding the door, leather jacket back in place, truck keys dangling from long fingers. She nodded her thanks as they left the room. They soon found Meena, and started towards Ash's flat.
One death defying ride later, they were waiting for Ash to unlock her door. She could see the faint scratches in the wood, and hoped her friends didn't notice. She had neglected to tell them Lance was appearing in the night again, finding him less of a problem with the help of headphones. Throwing open the door, the trio walked inside. Ash immediately flopped on the sofa, kicking her boots off with a huff. Johnny and Meena left their own shoes by the door, and came to join her.
After a while of mindless chatter, scripts were pulled out. Choosing the beginning scene with all of their characters, practice started again. This went on for hours, the only break being to shovel down some Chinese take away. Yet, still the porcupine struggled. Soon enough, Meena's mum came to pick her up. After waving goodbye to their youngest friend, Ash turned to Johnny.
'I suppose you'll be heading off soon.' It was more of a question that a statement, but Johnny just shook his head lightly.
'I'll stay a bit longer, if you'll have me. Gotta good feeling bout this.' Blue eyes rolled at his endless optimism. They sat back on the couch, facing each other, and started on a new scene. Another hour passed before Ash threw her script down, crying out as she flopped back over the white arm.
'For shits sake, I damn well give up. Moon should've never given me this bloody role.' Johnny peered up, sitting up a bit from his own sofa arm. He hummed softly.
'You will get it, you just need to put yourself in Toni's position.' Ash released another dramatic groan at the name of her character. It sounded like one of those stupid cheerleaders she had gone to school with. Johnny had the much nicer named character; Dennis. Lifting her head, she stared at the teen.
'Put myself in her place? How? She is another stupid bimbo, drooling over a boy. Even her words are irritating. Oh Dennis, you're so tough. Kiss me before I swoon.' The last piece was said in a high pitched voice, how Ash imagined her character to talk. Johnny tilted his head.
'First, she doesn't say that. Second, you only think tha' cause that's what you've put in your head. She is more like you than you think. Just be Ash, whilst saying Toni's words.' The smaller sat back. No one had told her to try that, and she was a bit hesitant. She stared at her friend, and he just grinned back. Damn that smile, she couldn't fight that.
'Fine,' she said huffing. 'But can we please change scene, this one is grating on my nerves. Johnny shrugged, and started flipping through pages. Pausing momentarily, his eyes flicked across a section. Smirking slightly, he spoke up.
'Page 394 looks good.' Ash flicked through her own booklet, finding the scene. Glancing over it, she raised a brow at the grinning gorilla.
'Ok big guy, you're the boss.' Pulling in a deep breath, she tried to focus. Be yourself Ash, can't be that hard. Squaring her shoulders, she began. 'Dennis! Don't sneak up on me. Christ, you gave me a shock…' Johnny joined in.
'Sorry bout that, Toni, didn't mean ta scare ya.' The gorilla's accent worked perfectly with his characters speech pattern, making the transition look seamless. Ash couldn't help but feel jealous. Trying to relax, she continued.
'Don't worry about it…..' she trailed off. The almost wispy voice still felt wrong in her mouth. Raising a paw to keep Johnny quite, she sat there. How would she react in that situation? Sass was her original thought. Ash gazed up into curious brown eyes, thinking about what she would say if Johnny had just scared her, then apologised with that grin. She could practically feel her muscles weaken. Yet she would never show it. So she took that feeling, and tried again.
'Don't worry bout it, I'm harder to scare than that.' An eye roll joined in her sentence, voice containing a lot more of her usual attitude. Her ears perked expectantly as she waited for Johnny's line. But in never came. Glancing up, Ash immediately felt warmth spread across her face. That bright beam, canines and all, shone her way. Her stomach twisted at the slight of those gleaming teeth, and she wanted nothing more in that moment, than to kiss those grey lips.
Luckily the owner of said lips interrupted her thought.
'Told yer, you'd do it, didn't I?' that teasing British voice didn't help her thought train. But she managed to shake her hormones just long enough to smile back.
'Indeed you did, big guy. How could I ever doubt you?' her own voice was light, not giving away the feelings under the surface. It didn't help when he leant closer, eyes sparkling. Subconsciously Ash held her breath.
'I don't know Ash. Don't ya trust me?' his voice had lowered, basically a whisper. The porcupine held back a shudder as the noise rumbled through her.
'You tell me.' Her voice was almost breathy, eyelids dropping so she could gaze through her lashes. She watched lazily as his ears took on a pink tinge that slowly crept up his furless cheeks. Brown eye's widened, glancing down to her mouth, as he swallowed heavily. Ash practically jumped out of her skin when he suddenly shot up, off the sofa. A cough later, he began stuttering.
'I, ah… b-better be getting back. It's pretty late, and we've got rehearsal in the morning. Wel-well done on the lines, knew you'd get it. I'll see ya tomorrow, yeah?' she nodded quietly as her friend grabbed his shoes and keys. Stumbling slightly in his rush to leave, he paused at the door, glancing back. 'G'night Ash.' And then he was gone.
The porcupine sat until she her the squeal of his tyres fade into the distance. When the sound had gone, she flopped back with a sigh, body feeling like it had been lit on fire. Then she shot up. What the hell was she thinking? She had just come on to Johnny, her best friend. All he did was smile at her, and she was ready to jump him bones. Her supposedly light crush was getting out of control. I mean, who uses sex eyes on a boy who had never even see a porn mag? Poor guy was probably terrified, if the speed at which he ran out was any indication. She didn't even know if the dude had ever kissed anyone.
Ash groaned again, cursing herself. Trust her to put their friendship back on the rocks, just after they had patched it up. Lost in her thought, she didn't notice the time pass by. Only Lance's irritating voice broke her from her trance. Glancing at the clock, she realised how late it was. A few minutes later, she had plugged her headphone in and curled up under her duvet. Sleep stole her within moments.
