Author's Note: This is pretty long, but I felt I could get it all down. Enjoy.

Chapter 9

Crash and Pasadena were on their way back to town to hang out with Crash's friends. On the way there, Pasadena was feeling a bit nervous meeting Crash's friends.

"So, what are your friends like?" she asked. Crash tilted his head a bit in confusion. How could he describe his friends? Of course, Crash felt a bit guilty about that last question. What kind of friend is somebody who can't even describe their own companions? Needless to say, Crash tried to fill Pasadena in on his buddies' descriptions.

"Well, there's Josh. He's kinda, a little, what's the word? He's a little annoying, but other than that, he's alright. There's Oscar, he's kind of the humor guy, but he's also got a short temper. There's Isaac, who's kind of a mellow person. There's also Penelope. She's kinda shy and quiet, but she is pretty smart. Almost as smart as Coco. Then there's Lisa. She's more like the cool, calm, and collected person, y'know? And last but not least, me. That's about it."

Pasadena said,"They seem pretty ok." She was a little jealous that Crash had other girls who were his friends. Yet, she seemed confused to why she got jealous. Pasadena sighed, knowing that her feelings were probably behind the envy trigger.

"No worries, Pas," Crash said. "You'll fit in just right." Nervously, the possum replied, "I hope so." Crash silently laughed to himself. Pasadena's nervousness reminded him of what it was like to make new friends. To be unsure of what kind of person to be in order to try to fit in. Most of the time, people would say, "Be yourself." However, most people would think it would be embarassing to be themselves, but nonetheless, when every strategy fails, being yourself seems like the only idea that actually works.

Within a couple of minutes, the two friends were back in the small town of Wumpa Villa. Crash drove the jeep into the parking lot of a building that seemed to look like a bar. As Pasadena got out of the car, she read the neon sign out front that said, "The Backstage." Out of curiosity, she was about to ask when Crash said, "Don't worry, you'll know what it means when we get in." Pasadena was surprised as if Crash could read her mind, but she shrugged it off and proceeded to enter the building as Crash held the door open for her like a gentleman.

Inside the building, the Backstage really did look like a bar. It had a said bar, along with a couple of tables and booths and chairs. There were also 3 pool tables where the locals would play billiards, a dart board that rested on the wall near the bar, a neon-lit jukebox that sat a few inches away close to the dart board, and along the wall were a few arcade stations. As Pasadena try to figure out the meaning of the building's name, she saw her answer. On the far side, straight from the bar, there was a stage. On the stage, there were a couple of instruments already set, as if a band was to play later today. There were three guitars, two electric and one that was possibly a electric acoustic. Next to the guitars was a bass guitar, and behind the string quartet were the drums, resting on a part of the stage that seemed a bit raised. On the left side there was a keyboard, and on the right side, what appeared to be a sound system. In front of each instrument there was a stand and a mic resting on the top of the stand.

"Oh," Pasadena thought simply. As Crash walked towards the bar, the bartender who was facing the drinks, turned around. "Hey, look who's back!" The bartender appeared to be a large, round koala who wore a white t-shirt with a small grease stain on his left sleeve. Other than his torso, the man wore black pants and wore a white apron. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties based on the sound of his voice. Crash walked up to the koala and said,"Hey, Louie. How you've been man?" With a laugh, Louie replied, "Oh, I'm good. Anyway it's good to see ya, Crash. It's been a while hasn't it?" With a chuckle, Crash responded, "Yeah, I've been busy. So, the gang's here?" Louie pointed to a table that was a few feet away and shouted, "Guys! Look who's here!" Immediately, a group of five other animals which consisted of a tasmanian devil, a kangaroo, an emu, a lizard, and another bandicoot, around the same age Crash was, looked over at the bar and saw their friend. "Hey man! Get over here," shouted the tasmanian devil. Crash procceeded to walk over to the group. "Hey guys. What's goin' on?" As Pasadena walked over, Crash took notice and said, "Guys, this is Pasadena. She's-" Before Crash could finish, the emu said, "Awww, Crash brought a date!"

Immediately blushing, Crash said, "Oh, well actually she's just a friend staying over for a couple days." After Crash's statement, the group giggled with the bandicoot being the only one confused. Within a few seconds, Crash realized his mistake. "Oh come on! It's nothing like that," Crash spoke before looking at Pasadena and said, "No offense. Uhhh...What I meant was-"

"It's alright. We all get it," Pasadena replied before looking toward the group and simply said, "Hi." As the hero caught a sigh of relief, Crash pointed out and said, "Pas, that's Oscar, the tasmanian devil. Josh is the kangaroo, Penelope is the emu, Lisa is the bandicoot, and Isaac is the gecko." The possum shook hands with each of her friend's companions in the order Crash pointed out.

"Anyway, since we're done with introductions," Josh had said before shifting himself into a more comfortable position and continued, "We're playing tonight, Crash. That's why we invited you bro."
Immediately, Crash's ears perked up. "That's why? I thought we're here just to hang out."

"We are, but we'll be playing in a few once we get an audience goin'." As Josh finished his sentence, he leaned toward and said, "So, in honor of you coming back, you get to pick the songs. Just so you know, we're playing three tonight." With a smile, Crash thought about what he should pick. He knew two he wanted to play, but as for the last one, he thought. As his gaze settled on Pasadena, the bandicoot thought about his feelings and decided perhaps that would be the best way to express his feelings. "Alright, it's a plan."

1 Hour Later

As the Backstage began to fill up, it began to really fill up. Pasadena had overheard that many people were there to see Crash play again. Crash must be the local rockstar, she thought and laughed a bit at the thought. Within minutes of finding a seat, a spotlight shined on the stage, and Louie walked up.

"Alright, alright. I see we got a full house tonight," the elder bartender had spoken. "Now in case you're wondering, yes, he's back." With Louie's statement, Pasadena nearly covered her ears as the crowd shouted a loud cheer. Crash really was a local celebrity. "Alright, settle down. Enjoy the show." As the crowd settled down, Louie stepped off stage and the spotlight was joined by four more spotlights, as each light directed its bright ray toward each instrument. Soon, the band members walked in, and Pasadena saw Crash walking toward the right side picking up one of the electric guitars in the process. Crash was joined by Oscar who walked toward the drums, Lisa who picked up the bass, Josh who went to the mic where Louie once stood, Isaac went to the keyboard, and Penelope walked to the sound system.

"Hey," Josh spoke and the audience replied with cheers and claps. Josh then pointed towards Crash and said, "Look who's back, everybody." The audience cheered once more, and Crash gave a friendly wave. As the lights died down, Oscar shouted, "One, two, three, four!" The band then proceeded to play, and Pasadena joined with the crowd in cheering with joy, pride, and excitement.

If you're listening, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Sing it back, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
String from your tether unwinds (String from your tether unwinds)
Whoa oh, whoa oh
Up and outward to bind (Up and outward to bind)
Whoa oh, whoa oh

I was spinning free, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
With a little sweet and simple numbing me.

Are you listening? whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Sing it back, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
So tell me what do I need (tell me what do I need)
Whoa oh, whoa oh
When words lose their meaning (When words lose their meaning)
Whoa oh, whoa oh

I was spinning free, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
With a little sweet and simple numbing me.
Yeah, stumble till you crawl, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Sinking into sweet uncertainty

(Are you listening? Are you listening?)

If you're listening, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
If you're listening, are you listening?
Sing it back, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
If you're listening, are you listening?
I'm still running away (I'm still running away)
Whoa oh, whoa oh
Won't play your hide and seek game (your hide and seek game)
Whoa oh, whoa oh

I was spinning free, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
With a little sweet and simple numbing me.
What a dizzy dance, whoa oh oh oh oh oh
This sweetness will not be concerned with me.
No the sweetness will not be concerned with me.
No the sweetness will not be concerned with me.

As the song came to an end, the crowd screamed wildly. The band members were just smiling as they waved and threw up rock signs. From Crash's view, he saw Pasadena cheering and smiling at him. Crash smiled back as he saw that she was impressed by his talent. Crash never felt so great in his life. Playing with his best friends and playing for the girl he liked made Crash pretty happy for coming down to the Backstage.

As the band set down their instruments, Josh spoke to the audience,"We're gonna take a quick break, and we'll be back in a bit to play again." The audience then turned back to their activities around the bar and Pasadena decided to wait for the band to come back.

Behind the curtain, the rest of the band was stoked to be playing again, and they were happy to have their lead guitarist back. "Crash, I'm glad you came back, dude. We were this close," Josh said and made his fingers into a gesture where the thumb and the index finger were close but not touching,"to replacing you. I'm just kidding."

"I'm glad I came back then. Even though you meant it as a joke, I'm really glad you convince me to come here tonight," Crash said. As the hero was about to walk back on stage, Lisa grabbed him. "Whoa, Lisa, what are you doing?" Lisa looked at Crash, smiled and said,"I know you like her. I saw the way you looked at her while we were playing." Crash was not suprised by Lisa's response, as she could figure out what someone was feeling. A bit embarassed, the bandicoot couldn't help but blush a bit, which made Lisa squeal and said,"Oh my God! You do like her!" Crash then spoke immediately, "Okay okay! Sheesh, keep it down, would ya? So I do like her. But I don't th-"

"Trust me, Crash, she likes you too." Baffled at his friend's statement, Crash simply asked, "How do you know?" With a laugh, Lisa replied,"Believe me, a girl knows when a girl likes a guy. Based from my point, she really likes you. Why not ask her out?" Before Crash could respond, Isaac came out of nowhere."Yeah, why not? She really seems like a nice girl." Sighing, Crash said,"I don't know. You guys know why it's hard from my point." Isaac rolled his eyes and said, "Crash, you can't dwell on your breakup with Tawna to haunt you forever. It happened a long time ago, and you should get over it." The hero then crossed his arms and spoke with a irritated tone, "It's easy to say something like that when you're not on the receiving end. I went through three, count 'em, three fucking islands to save her. And what happens? In the end, she dumps me for some Mafia-looking punk. You know what? Forget this, let's just play the damn show." Crash then stomped back to the front stage where the waiting audience screamed in joy. As Lisa walked by Isaac, she said, "You can be a real jerk, you know that?" Isaac then rolled his eyes and followed Lisa back to the stage.

Pasadena clapped and whistled as her friend came back, but this time, Crash stepped up to the center mic. They probably have no idea what his voice sounds like, she thought. She saw Crash rubbed the back of his neck, but as he finished he put on a smile and looked at his friends who nodded at him. Again, Oscar gave the countdown and the band began to play.

Do you memorize theatrical lines
That seem to lead them in
Play the role with a good girl heart
Hide the tangled webs within

Who was it that led you on,
and makes you want to hurt me so?
Who do you want to forget,
That forgot you long ago?

Do you still feel him
Calling in the air tonight
Do you still feel it
Seems like you've done this before

You make breaking hearts look so easy (seems like you've done this before)
You've got breaking hearts all but down (and you've done this, you've done this before)
You make stealing hearts look so easy (where is the girl I adore?)
You've got breaking up all but down (and I can't love a thief anymore)

Do you collect the souls you've lost
In the top of your dresser drawer
Count the number of tears displaced
On lonely bedroom floors

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you
Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Do you still feel him
Calling in the air tonight
Do you still feel it
Seems like you've done this before

You make breaking hearts look so easy (seems like you've done this before)
You've got breaking hearts all but down (and you've done this, you've done this before)

You make stealing hearts look so easy (where is the girl I adore?)
You've got breaking up all but down (and I can't love a thief anymore)
You make breaking hearts look so easy You've got breaking hearts all but down
You make breaking hearts look so easy (seems like you've done this before)

The best you could hope to be is now just a bittersweet memory
And you make breaking hearts look so easy.

Crash looked down as the band finished the song. As he looked back up, the audience cheered. It brought a small smile to the bandicoot, and he just gave a wave before walking back behind the curtain. Pasadena was the only one in the crowd who knew how Crash really felt. Without even telling her a word, the orange hero made it clear that his heart was broken before. Pasadena felt pity for her friend, and if she could, she would try to comfort Crash. Alas, she could not, but perhaps her friend would talk about it later. Feeling a bit thirsty, the possum made her way to the bar where she ordered a water. As she waited, she saw someone who looked familiar. A tall, blonde, female bandicoot was the only description she could get from her view. Trying to remember where she had seen this person before, Pasadena walked back to her table and waited for the band to come out again. Remembering that Josh had said they were playing three, Pasadena wondered how Crash would end the night.

He seemed happy at first, then he was sad. I hope Crash feels better this time...

Behind the curtains, Crash waited patiently for the others. He took the time to think about how he could wish he could just easily tell his feelings to Pasadena. However, he kept imaging some scenario to which Pasadena rejected his feelings, or that she would be mad at him for not accepting hers when they were younger. But as every scenario ran through his head, only one thought kept popping in his head. They were together, in each other's arms. Crash didn't care about the outcome, as long as he held her when he said what his heart desired most, that was the only thing that mattered. Soon, Josh tapped the bandicoot's shoulder and Crash walked foward. Instead of picking up the electric guitar, Crash picked up the acoustic and proceeded foward to the microphone. The crowd waited silently, and Crash spoke into the mic.z
"I like to dedicate this one to a friend of mine..."

Talkin to the songbird yesterday
Flew me to a place not far away
She's a little pilot in my mind
Singin songs of love to pass the time
Gonna write a song so she can see
Give her all the love she gives to me
Talk of better days that have yet to come
Never felt this love from anyone

She's not anyone
She's not anyone
She's not anyone

A man can never dream these kind of things
Especially when she came and spread her wings
Whisper in my ear the things I'd like
Then she flew away into the night
Gonna write a song so she can see
Give her all the love she gives to me
Talk of better days that have yet to come
Never felt this love from anyone

She's not anyone
She's not anyone
She's not anyone

As the audience clapped and whistled once more, Crash gave a bow before heading back with his friends. Pasadena sat at her table, amazed. She couldn't help but smile. I think he's in love with me, and I think I'm in love with him as well.

Crash returned from the curtains and hopped off the stage to meet Pasadena. As he walked up to his friend, he asked, "So ready to go?"

"Yeah. Crash, the show was amazing," Pasadena spoke and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for the song," she whispered as she left the building. Crash followed behind while touching his cheek and smiled to himself. "See ya, Louie," Crash said to the old bartender while giving him a wave. "Goodnight, hero," Louie responded, followed by a laugh. Crash walked to his car where Pasadena was waiting for him. After getting into the vehicle, Crash and Pasadena both drove off back to the Bandicoot home, where the love between them grew stronger, and neither one of them couldn't hold their feelings for each other back any longer.

Author's Note: Another one down. The songs in order are "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World, "Breaking" by Anberlin, and "Songbird" by Oasis.