A/N: Alright, while it's a bit later than I intended, here is the first chapter for this brand-new story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sing or any of the characters, Illumination does.
…
Johnny could feel his heart beating wildly as he and the rest of his theater family stepped toward the curtain as it rose and revealed then to the roaring applause of the crowd.
The young mountain gorilla grinned as he and the others took their bows before he gestured to the great Clay Calloway who had joined them.
It may be the only night of their performance in the show, but Johnny couldn't help but feel proud. They had done what they set out to do in Redshore City and could now return to Calatonia with no regrets.
Nothing could ruin this night.
At least not until that conniving Jimmy Crystal somehow managed to worm his way onstage and try to take credit for the show, going so far as to claim a close friendship with Calloway.
As the narcissistic wolf continued to stroke his own ego, Mr. Moon looked to each of the other animals. A sly smile that Johnny had never seen before appeared on the koala showman's face as he nodded to the curtain.
Everyone glanced to one another. Suddenly, Calloway winked at Mr. Moon and it all clicked.
Fighting back snickers, the nine animals quickly and quietly made their getaway, leaving behind only a blustering Arctic wolf. And moments later, they heard the entire theater erupt into laughter they all knew came at Crystal's expense.
"Mate, that was awesome!" Nooshy beamed as she appeared beside Johnny. "You were amazin' out there! 'Specially when you taught that tippy-toed tosser a lesson!"
"Thanks to you," Johnny shrugged, rubbing the back of his head. "Once he knocked me down like that, I thought that was it for me. Then I heard you start up and...I dunno...it just sorta sparked somethin'."
"You were incredible, Johnny," came a new voice.
Johnny and Nooshy turned to see Ryan making his way over.
Nooshy snickered and Johnny shushed her. Ryan was still in his underwear, but Johnny couldn't find any amusement.
Despite the euphoria of a successful show, Despite the knowledge that even his dad and uncles had turned up to protect him and the others, getting to watch him perform in the process, something within Johnny felt entirely wrong.
"Oi, Johnny," Nooshy's smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of concern. "What's the matter?"
Johnny held a hand to the back of his head, though that did nothing to quell the feeling within his head.
"I dunno...but I think somethin's off..."
…
Nooshy immediately felt worried when she saw Johnny's face go pale and he swayed slightly.
"Whoa. Easy there, Big Guy," she said, her tone laced with concern.
Ryan's eyes widened slightly and his expression mirrored Nooshy's as the two felines quickly took hold of Johnny's arms and attempted to steady the gorilla lest he fall and take the pair of them down with him.
"Here, let's get you onto the floor," Ryan suggested.
Normally the floor wouldn't be ideal, but it was better that Johnny be there, or lying against the wall than hitting the floor anyway when he lost his footing, which from what Ryan could see was inevitable.
…
Johnny groaned as everything around him began spinning. His stomach churned and the back of his head felt numb and yet the sides felt like they were pounding. As though someone were inside of his head and hitting his skull with a hammer, trying to get out.
His throat felt dry, and though he occasionally shook his head and blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear his vision, it was like spots were forming in parts of his vision, while there seemed to be black holes in other parts, obscuring anything in that line of his sight.
It was all very troubling for the teenage gorilla.
What was happening to him?
His breath began to become heavier and shorter. As though his lungs couldn't absorb the air around them. He felt hot and he felt heavy, like his body could barely even hold itself up.
He could hear Ryan saying something about getting him on the floor. And as he and Nooshy propped Johnny against the wall while he was lowered to the floor, Johnny could see that both the lynx and tiger looked extremely worried.
Johnny tried to smile to reassure his two friends, trying to ignore the pang of guilt that he felt for making them worry for him, but he couldn't bring his face to manage even that.
It was as if some kind of signal had gone off in his body and now he couldn't control anything.
"Johnny?"
He couldn't tell who said that. All he knew was he was going to be sick.
The nausea crept from his abdomen all the way to his head.
"My head feels…I don't…wha's goin…?"
His speech was slurring, even in his foggy state of mind, he could tell.
The nausea finally found its release point and Johnny could almost feel himself swaying, almost like pitching forward.
And then…the world went black.
…
…
And that was the first chapter, ladies and gentlemen. Little not so fun fact, I've based Johnny's experience here with my own experience of a concussion some time ago. Yeah, they're definitely very painful and very unsettling. Just wait until you see Johnny's experiences in chapter two, which will be out in either this following weekend or the one after it. Either way, it will be soon. In the meantime, do feel free to leave me a comment either here or on Tumbler, I enjoy feedback on my writing. Until the next chapter, all!