Here it is, everyone! Part one of the final chapter of The Newcomer! I've never imagined that up until now, The Newcomer would be coming to an end! One whole year and several hundred reviews later, it all leads up to this! I'm quite sad that it came to this, but like I always say: "Every story has a beginning, but every story needs an ending." and The Newcomer is no exception. So sit back, relax and enjoy part one of the final chapter of this story!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 75-The Dance: Part 1
It's Monday inside the school cafeteria. Normally everyone would be just be chatting about things, but today everyone is filled with excitement, mainly due to the upcoming school dance that was coming up in four days. For four certain boys, each of them had similar reasons to be nervous for the upcoming dance. Three of them already had set dates and even had similar objectives that they weren't sure they would be able to complete. One was still trying to figure out who he was going with and how he was going to help his two friends with their dates.
"Mike, have you decided on your date yet?" Brian whispered in the maroon badger's ear.
"No. Each second makes me feel more unsure," Mike admitted as he put his head down in shame.
"Don't worry too much. Just pick one and get it over with. Also, how's progress with Gumball and Darwin?"
"It's not that simple and you know it." Mike ranted. "And as for those two, it's like I'm training rocks to sing in an opera. They're clueless!"
"Are you sure you're not exaggerating that last line?" Brian asked the maroon badger. Mike started to chuckle insanely.
"Not a chance. If anything, I'm putting it lightly."
"Hey Mike!" Gumball called out to his friends, as he and his brother heard their friend's rants. "We're doing our best to remember what you taught us."
"Yeah, you're being too rough on us!" Darwin added.
"You still managed to screw up opening a door! You hit your "date" with it!" Mike reminded the two.
"We said we were sorry like several dozen times!" Gumball insisted.
"Tell that to the bruise forming on Darwin's forehead," Mike pointed out. Curious by this claim, Brian turned to see the large bruise on the two-legged fish's head, something that Darwin didn't seem to notice right away.
"Wow, how hard did he hit him?" Brian asked in awe.
"He fell down the porch stairs right after it hit him." Mike calmly replied, as he sampled his corn.
"He didn't look like he was in pain. Besides, his entire body is made out of blubber." Gumball commented.
"That would explain a lot." Mike mumbled.
"What?" Darwin asked, noticing his friends looking at him weirdly.
"What?" Mike asked back. "Are you telling me that you're not even aware of that big blotch on your forehead just now?"
"Where?!" Darwin shouted, surprised as he tried to look at the spot.
"Did it give him short term memory loss?" Brian asked.
"I think so." Mike replied. "It's like he forgot half of the conversation."
"You guys shouldn't be that worried. Darwin wasn't good with memorizing things to begin with." Gumball admitted to his friends.
"What do they say about "ignorance is bliss"?" Mike joked.
"What does it even mean?" the blue feline asked in confusion.
"Hey, why don't we talk about our goals for the dance?" Brian interrupted, hoping to prevent a disaster.
"Sure, let's do that!" Gumball replied, with Darwin nodding his head in agreement. "As all of you should know by now, I'm finally going to ask Penny out this week." Gumball said with pride
"Hallelujah! Took you long enough!" Mike joked. Gumball wasn't amused.
"I really wish you didn't have to steal my thunder."
"Darwin, what are your plans for the dance?" Brian asked.
"Have fun with my date, Rachel!" Darwin gleefully replied.
"That shouldn't be a surprise, but how did you manage to get Rachel to be your date?" Mike asked out of curiosity.
"I just walked up to her and asked her to go with me. She said "yes" right away." Darwin joyfully replied, causing Mike to just flipped his spoon, as it landed safely back onto his tray and shrugged in disbelief that it was that easy.
"At least you took the direct approach, unlike a certain blue cat." Brian casually commented.
"Hey!" Gumball objected. "And what about you, Mike?!" Gumball wanted revenge. Mike stopped eating and put his spoon down slowly.
"Don't you even dare," the maroon badger warned the blue feline with darkness in his voice. Gumball immediately backed off as he saw that Mike was going through some bad spots and wasn't in a conversational mood. "I won't just leave you all on your own at the dance. You might not be able to even show up on your own two feet."
"I-I don't know w-what you're t-talking about." he muttered nervously.
"Gumball! We still need his help!" Darwin reminded him. "I'd also suggest not pushing him too far." the blue feline shuddered as he realized that pushing Mike's buttons wasn't a good idea.
"I thought you would see things my way." Mike said with a smirk. Suddenly, a ringtone started playing. "Who's calling me at school?!" Mike asked, clearly annoyed, before he picked up his cell phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey there, Stripes!" a voice all too familiar came through the other end.
"A-Ally?!" Mike shouted in surprise. "Why are you calling me at school?!" the maroon badger then shook his head and changed his question. "Forget that, how do you even have my number?!"
"I just wanted to talk and how I got your number is a secret!" Ally cheerfully replied from the other end. "After all; I got out of school last week and I'm spending a good portion of my summer here in Elmore!"
"You got of school last week?" Mike was surprised to hear this from the green gerbil.
"Yeah I guess it slipped my mind to tell you that." Ally admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, just a slip." the maroon badger commented. "Anyway, why are you really calling me?"
"Well I think you know the reason for that by now." Ally said slyly.
"...You're planning to drop by my house, aren't you?" Mike finally responded.
"I'm already there!" Ally calmly replied.
"What?!" Mike nearly screamed. "What are you doing in my house?!" The moment he shouted, everyone in the cafeteria stopped what they were doing and stared at him, much to his discomfort. "If someone broke into your house and then called to tell you, how would you react?!" Mike asked his fellow students.
"You worried too much, Stripes. All I did was knock on the front door and get permission from your folks." Ally nonchalantly explained to the irate maroon badger.
"How on earth did you get my mother's approval?! I can't even get her to loan me money to buy a twenty dollar game!" Mike asked in bewilderment.
"Oh, that's simple..." the green gerbil began. "I just simply said that I got your permission, that's all."
"...I give up." Mike said, as he moved his tray just so he could bang his head on the table.
"Wow, I feel really bad for Mike." Gumball whispered to Darwin.
"I know." Darwin agreed. "I hope this won't get any-"
"Don't say it!" Brian suddenly shouted, covering the two-legged fish's mouth.
"I'll talk to you soon, kay?" Ally asked with joy. Mike just sighed.
"Like I have a choice?" Mike remarked as he hung up and rubbed his face. "What is wrong with my life?!"
The school bell rang for the last time, as everyone left the building and made their way back home. But for a certain maroon badger, home was the last place he wanted to be, as he hung his head with disappointment, Brian and the Watterson brothers following behind him.
"So Ally showed up out of the blue." said Brian. "Just relax and go with the flow."
"You're not helping." Mike told Brian. "Also, why are you following me? I thought you got everything ready for the dance." The purple fox didn't respond right away, as he rubbed his head sheepishly, before sighing and giving him an explanation to the maroon badger.
"To be honest...I could use some help."
"Not you too?!" Mike asked in shock. He looked like he was going to collapse from the stress he was under.
"Look, Rhonda and I have been dating for quite some time. What I really want is advice on how not to screw up at the dance so that I can finally get my first kiss with her."
"Okay, after we deal with Ally, you can join the love trooper battalion. I need to go over that with these two anyway," Mike proposed.
"Alright, if you say so." the purple fox accepted the maroon badger's offer.
In the midst of their conversation, the four realized that they have finally arrived at the Badgero residence; for Mike, he just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Mike opened the door and immediately made a beeline for his room...and found who he was looking for chilling on his bed.
"Nice place you got here, Stripes!" Ally complimented, as she waved hello.
"Ally..." Mike began, the tone in his voice increased with anger. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick you out of here."
"Because I know how you feel about me." Ally said in a sweet tone.
"Oh, really?" the maroon badger asked sarcastically, as Ally came up and ran a finger lightly across Mike's cheek, teasing him before walking and taking a look around his room.
"Lighten up Stripes, just be glad that I left everything intact." the gerbil casually explained to Mike.
"I guess I should count the small victories." Mike mumbled.
"Hey Mike, if you need us, we'll be downstairs." Gumball explained as he and Darwin left, with Brian following them shortly afterwards.
"Thanks for ditching me!" Mike shouted.
"Don't be ashamed, Stripes. I'm sure they have their reasons." Ally said as she snuck up behind Mike and rubbed his shoulders, causing him to yelp in surprise. But he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good. "You feel really tense." Ally noticed. "What have you been doing all day?"
"Trying to help Gumball, Darwin and Brian out." Mike replied, feeling somewhat less tense, as the gerbil continued to rub his shoulders. A smile crossed his face as Ally continued to give his shoulders a massage.
"That feels good, doesn't it?" Ally said in Mike's ear.
"Y-yeah, I guess." the maroon badger nervously admitted. It was then that something came up in Mike's mind. "What are you up to?" Mike asked, suspicious of Ally's actions.
"I'm just trying to help you! Brian told Rhonda and me that you were going to try and help Gumball and Darwin. I figured you must have been really stressed out from everything going on!" Ally defended. "But if you don't want my help then hmph!" Ally walked out the room and walked down the stairs in fake anger, hoping to guilt trip Mike. Amazingly, it worked, as Mike did try to think of an apology, but he was too late as Ally walked out.
"Why me?" Mike called out to no one in particular.
Brian, Gumball and Darwin walked outside, leaving Mike upstairs with Ally. The three sat down on the porch and decided to converse with each other on lighter topics.
"So..." Brian began. "What do you two plan to do this summer?"
"I don't know. Probably what we normally do; try not to fry." Darwin admitted.
"Literally or figuratively?" Brian asked, arching his eyebrow.
"Literally for him, figuratively for everyone else." Gumball stated.
"Makes sense." Brian remarked, before turning his attention to the blue feline. "So how are you planning to ask Penny out?"
"Now that he mentions it, you never told us how you're going to ask her out." Darwin pointed out.
"That's simple, you guys..." Gumball began. "Tomorrow, I'm going to walk right in front of her, be all cool and smooth and flat out ask her if she wants to be my date. The moment she says yes will be music to my ears."
"Or it might end up as one big epic failure." Brian retorted, while Darwin couldn't help but chuckle.
"I have to agree with Brian on this one. Every time you have that one opportunity to ask Penny out, you end up getting hurt in more than one way. You really can't ask her out to save your life."
"Ouch!" Brian said through his chuckling. "You want some cream for that burn?!" he jokingly asked, before the two burst into laughter.
"Oh, c'mon you guys!" Gumball complained. "Believe me just this once! I know I can do this!"
"Oh, we'll believe you when Darwin and I actually see you with Penny." the purple fox informed the dismayed blue feline.
"Until that happens, we're going to remain skeptical." Darwin added.
Suddenly and without warning, Ally opened the door and headed home, looking like she was angry about something.
"Gee, I wonder how that went." Brian spoke sarcastically.
"Like a train wreck on a cruise ship," Mike said as he opened the door, with a sad look on his face.
"Mike..." was all Darwin could say, speechless to see the maroon badger so down.
Mike remained silent, not saying another word, as he sighed before finally saying under his breath. "She's good."
"How good?" asked Gumball, arching his eyebrow in curiosity.
"She's got me thinking about her...and all she did was give me a shoulder massage and play mind games with me." Mike admitted.
"What did we miss?!" Brian asked in shock.
"And why did she give a shoulder massage?" Darwin added, just as shocked as his friends are.
"I think she was trying to butter him up." Gumball reasoned.
"And boy did she." Mike looked at the ground, ashamed of himself.
"I'm beginning to see why you fear Ally so much." the purple fox stated.
"...That's not the problem." said Mike, as he scratched his head.
"What is?" Darwin asked.
"I think I'm starting to actually like her." Mike admitted, as he rubbed his face.
"...WHAT?!" Brian shouted, as he, as well as Gumball and Darwin, couldn't believe what they just heard. "How much like are we talking about here?!"
"Scale from 1-10!" Gumball demanded.
"...7." Mike replied in shame.
"That high." Darwin remarked. Then Brian suddenly remembered something else.
"What about Carrie?" the purple fox asked suddenly and it caught Mike off guard the most.
"...7 again." Mike admitted.
"Talk about a tie breaker." Gumball deadpanned.
"So you do like them?!" Brian asked in surprise. After Mike first denying their advances to him and now admitting he liked them both back, it felt like even he himself didn't know what to make of all this.
"But here's another question: which one will you take out to the dance?" Darwin's question did little to help the maroon badger in the slightest.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Mike shouted back in pure frustration, startling the trio. "The last thing I need is you three asking me that!"
"Sorry Mike, we didn't mean to get you upset." Brian apologized.
"I know that..." Mike began, as he collapsed on his knees and held the sides of his head. "But you don't know how much stress I'm being put under! You three, Ally, and Carrie; all of you are putting pressure on me to make a choice that I shouldn't have to make at the age of twelve!" Mike sounded for the first time since the three had met him like he was on the verge of tears. "And to add to that, you're so incompetent and lacking anything resembling confidence that you require ME to backpack you SCRUBS through your own dates!"
For a while, there was a long and eerie silence, as none of the boys said a single word. Eventually, after a few minutes, Brian finally took a deep breath and spoke to the stressed out maroon badger.
"Mike..." the purple fox began, as he approached his friend. "I...we didn't know that you were this upset. If we had known sooner, we would have done something to help you out."
"We're really sorry for what we've been putting you through." said Gumball, as he slowly put his paw on Mike's shoulder.
"Since you've been helping us, we want to return the favor by helping you out as well." Darwin suggested. Mike was silent for the longest time that the three started to feel as if their friend had just entered his own world and shut out everyone else. Until...
"...How?" Mike finally spoke, sounding more calm thanks to his friends' words.
"We'll find a way, but we'll take it slow and steady," Brian calmly replied.
"After all, we're your friends..." Gumball began.
"...And friends stick together, no matter what." Darwin added. Mike stood up and took a deep breath before facing his friends.
"Where do we start?"
After a long discussion on what to do, the four finally agreed that the only way to resolve this dilemma is get inside Mike's head and get him to envision which girl he likes more. Inside Mike's house, they set up the couch like a therapy couch and wrapped their heads in tin foil, connecting to each other, as well as a glass of warm milk. Unfortunately for Darwin, they insisted on not wearing capes this time, deeming it unnecessary for this attempt.
"Whenever you guys are ready." Mike reluctantly said to his friends.
"We were born ready for this." Gumball said to the maroon badger.
"Ditto," Darwin exclaimed.
"Gumball's right. It's now or never." Brian added.
"Brian, make sure we put those two on a leash when we get there," Mike told his friend.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they'll stay in line." the purple fox assured the maroon badger.
With that said, the four drank their warm milk and before long, they felt their bodies becoming heavy, before all of them fell fast asleep, their consciousness slowly drifting away.
The four all woke up in a dark room under a spotlight. They all sat up and looked around but saw nothing but darkness.
"Is this how it is whenever Carrie takes over your body?" Brian asked Mike.
"Minus the spotlight, yes." Mike answered as he stood up. "There would also be a screen right here showing everything Carrie was seeing." the maroon badger said as he pointed into the darkness.
"I was expecting a bit more creativity around here." the purple fox muttered, before turning to Gumball and Darwin. "How are you guys feeling?"
In response, the blue feline attempted to say something to Brian, but all he got was silence, much to Gumball's confusion. Darwin, on the other hand, responded in a manner that Brian wasn't used to.
"Well you see, Brian my good lad, we are fine and very dandy, thank you very much."
"...Mike, is there a reason why Darwin is suddenly British?" Brian whispered to the maroon badger, baffled by the two-legged fish's reaction.
"I thought I'd give him a slight intelligence boost. Too much?" Mike asked.
"No, it's fine. Just a bit weirded out, that's all. But, why is Gumball not talking at all? Last time, he spoke in gibberish."
"I know. He annoyed me so much I just muted the guy," Mike said as he pretended to hit the mute button on an invisible remote. In response, Gumball concentrated hard enough to form a pen and paper, before writing down his thoughts.
"I hate you." Mike read the paper aloud, before looking at the blue feline with a smirk. "I know"
"Well, that's what you get for causing one too many problems around town." Brian pointed out to the blue feline. Suddenly, behind Mike, another spotlight turned on in the distance, revealing a certain figure that Mike had become accustomed to.
"Carrie?" Mike asked confused.
"Not really. I'm just part of your consciousness." 'Carrie' replied to the maroon badger. Suddenly, another light came on behind them to show another figure.
"Ally too?" Brian asked the fake Carrie.
"She's also another part of Mike's consciousness." the young ghost responded, before turning her attention to the maroon badger. "You're wondering why Ally and I are in the same room."
"A little," Mike answered, as he honestly doesn't have the slightest clue at all.
"If you must know, we represent your desires..." 'Carrie' began to explain. "We are the ones that you started developing feelings for. But due to recent events, you are now at a fork in the road, undecided on what your next action will be."
"It's here that you have to make a choice. ONLY one choice. Whoever you choose, you may be with her for the rest of your life." 'Ally' added, causing Mike to jump in surprise.
"I don't think I want that kind of commitment!" Mike objected, as he began to feel even more uncomfortable making a choice.
"But Michael, my boy, she has a point." Darwin spoke out. "You need to stop being indecisive and choose who you want to be with."
"You think it's that easy?!" Mike shouted back, angered that Darwin could think something like that. "I'm right now being told to make a decision between two girls and from the way they made it sound, it's like I'm already at the wedding altar!" the maroon badger exclaimed, as wedding bells rung for a couple seconds, seemingly cementing his claims.
"Mike, this is your head we're in right now." Brian reminded the maroon badger. "We can't make the decisions for you here. As 'Carrie' pointed out, you're at a fork in the road. Whatever choice you make, it has to be your own."
"...I can't make it here." said Mike. "I need something else to help convince myself of what I should do." The maroon badger sat down and looked off into the darkness.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a beacon of light appeared out of nowhere, facing in Mike's direction, as it shone a bright light right in front of the maroon badger. Startled by this, but sensing something within, Mike took a deep breath before heading right towards it.
"Mike, where are you going?" a surprised Brian asked, as he and his friends attempted to follow him, only to run into an invisible force field instead. Mike continued to run as the light got brighter before he was completely enveloped in it. Before the trio knew what happened next, their friend was no longer in sight.
'Where did he go?' Gumball wrote down, concerned for the maroon badger's well-being.
"I don't know, Gumball. But wherever he is, he's on his own now." Brian sadly replied.
When the light died down, Mike took a look around to see he was on an island and he was in his blue swimming trunks. Mike's feet were in the warm ocean water and he could see the pure white sand for a mile in both directions.
"Not what I had in mind." Mike mumbled, before something hit the maroon badger. "Wait a minute, where's Brian, Gumball and Darwin?" Mike looked in all directions but saw nothing. "Guys?! Where are you?!"
"Keep it down there! You're ruining the mood!" Mike turned around and saw a humanoid of sorts, with orange skin, wearing a green Hawaiian shirt, straw hat, a pair of sunglasses, brown shorts and black sandals. He was sitting in a folding chair made perfectly for a beach.
"Uh...sorry." Mike apologized as he rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Apology accepted, kiddo. By the way, my name's Emo and no, I'm not depressed. It's short for Emotions."
"E-Emotions?" Mike asked, as he tilted his head in confusion.
"I'm surprise you haven't figured it out already,." Emo said to the confused maroon badger, before he took a deep breath and gave him an explanation. "I'm part of your subconscious, the one who appears in what behavior you're in and believe me when I say this, your feisty mood burns my skin. Seriously, do you know how long it took for me to get used to your stubbornness?" asked Emo, as he lay back in his chair.
"If you're in my head, can't you just make yourself a shelter?" Mike asked.
"I would love to, but I prefer this setting better." Emo replied. "I wish the same can be said for you."
"What do you mean?" Mike asked the orange humanoid.
"Lately, this place has been a storm." Emo stated as he looked towards the sky. "The weather here is also dictated by your emotional state and I can't remember the last time the weather has been this unstable," Mike took a look around and saw downed trees every few feet.
"I caused all of this?" asked Mike, as he couldn't believe what Emo just told him just now.
"Yes." Emo confirmed Mike's induction. "And I believe we both know exactly why."
"...You're talking about Carrie and Ally, are you?" Mike asked the orange humanoid.
"DUH, Stripes!" Emo said in a way that reminded him of Carrie and Ally. "Ever since you got those two in your head, this place doesn't feel like paradise anymore. You've been so stressed out, I had to relocate to another area."
"So what do I do? I can't make the choice they want me to make." Mike explained.
"So that explains the recent changes in this place," Emo muttered under his breath, as the orange humanoid rubbed his chin, trying to think of some kind of solution for the maroon badger. Eventually a thought came to mind. "Kiddo, I'm going to ask you a few questions and be honest about it. Clear your mind and tell me: Do you genuinely love both girls?"
The question stumped Mike as the doubt rolled into his mind, so the maroon badger closed his eyes and thought about it as hard as he could. As he thought, a figure he recognized showed itself and smiled at him. "...No. Not both." Mike finally replied.
"Fair enough." said Emo, accepting the maroon badger's answer. "So tell me this: who do you love more: Ally or Carrie?" Mike looked out to see and closed his eyes again. The same figure showed itself and this time the maroon badger smiled back at her; he now knew his answer.
"I don't think I should tell you." Mike said as he looked back at Emo with a smile. "I think I should tell her." Emo nodded as he smiled back, understanding Mike's decision.
"I'm glad to hear that, kiddo. Just do me this one favor: try to relax every now and then." Emo implored.
"Done!" Mike agreed.
"Alright!" Emo pointed down the beach towards a door, "There's the way out. Go tell her how you feel."
Nodding his head in agreement, Mike made his way to the door, his mind cleared up and knowing full well what to do now.
Mike woke up on his couch and at the same time, Brian, Gumball, and Darwin all awoke as well.
"Mike, where did you go?" Brian asked the maroon badger. "We couldn't follow you back there."
"It doesn't matter." Mike replied, as he sat up and got off the couch. "I know what I must do," he said, as he made his way to the front door.
"What was that about?" asked Gumball.
"Beats me." Darwin replied. "But he did seem rather upbeat for a change."
"Mike, where are you going?" Brian asked.
"To make my choice, preferably alone," Mike answered, as he closed the front door behind him.
It was just a typical evening at the Krueger residence, as Carrie floated over the couch, flipping through the channels on the television, trying to find at least one decent program to watch. Then suddenly, the young ghost heard somebody knocking on the front door, much to her curiosity.
'Who's at the door at this time of night?" Carrie thought, as she floated from the living room and made her way to the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw a certain maroon badger standing right in front of her.
"Mike, w-what are you doing here this late?" the young ghost asked, as her face started to gain just a slight bit of red that was very hard to not notice.
"I just thought I'd come by for a bit." Mike simply replied, as he tried not to fumble over his own words. "Besides it's only seven."
"Um, sure. C-come inside." Carrie nervously said, as she allowed the maroon badger inside her home. Mike walked into the living room and looked at the television.
"Anything good on?" Mike asked, trying to be cool. The house was normally a bit chilly, but it seemed to have a nice smell that the maroon badger couldn't quite identify.
"So far, I found nothing." the young ghost replied, trying to remain as calm as she could. "I was about to turn the TV off until you showed up."
"Well why don't I have a look?" Mike asked. "I might find something you missed," the maroon badger then walked over to the couch with Carrie floating next to him.
'What are you up to, Mike?' Carrie thought, but even if Mike wasn't up to anything, just being in his company made her feel good.
"So..." Mike began. "How was your day?"
"Same things, different days." Carrie responded in a bored tone. "Nothing to really make it memorable."
"How about I fix that?" Mike asked, surprising the young ghost.
"W-what do you mean?" Carrie nervously asked. Mike's heart began to race as he tried to put his sentence together. With a sigh, he began to ask the most important question of his life.
"Any plans for Friday?"
"F-Friday?" asked a shocked Carrie, before it dawned on her what the maroon badger was talking about. "M-Mike, you aren't-"
"I am." Mike replied with a calming smile. "Carrie, would you like to go to the dance with me?" If Carrie had a beating heart, it would have exploded out of her chest in excitement.
"Yes Mike, I would love to!" the young ghost excitedly exclaimed. She had never felt this ecstatic in her entire afterlife. She floated happily around his head before landing on it in pure joy. The scent was back again and this time Mike could tell where it was coming from: It was coming from the giggling ghost on his head and smelled like peppermint.
"What time do you want me to pick you up this Friday?" Mike asked the happy ghost.
"Hmm...how about seven?" Carrie suggested.
"Sure, I'm perfectly fine with that." the maroon badger replied, as he sat back on the couch, with Carrie floating down next to him. She didn't care about what was on TV anymore. She had Mike.
It was Tuesday at Elmore Junior High and for one certain blue feline, it was now or never to ask his crush to the school dance, if only just so he can prove to his friends that he really wasn't going to back out on this one. With Brian and Darwin watching from afar, Gumball summoned up the courage to go to her locker when she was alone.
"Ten bucks says he gets hurt along the way." Brian said to Darwin.
"Make it twenty and you got yourself a deal." the two-legged fish informed the purple fox.
"Done." Brian responded, as he shook Darwin's flipper to seal the deal. Gumball walked down the hallway before having a runaway mop bucket run into him.
"Pay up." Brian demanded, as Darwin begrudgingly handed him twenty bucks.
'Alright, you can do this' Gumball thought to himself, as he got up and resumed walking towards Penny. Unfortunately for him, a certain t-rex showed up in his presence, squashing the unfortunate blue feline with her foot.
"Watch where you're going." Tina mockingly said to Gumball, before the carnivore resumed walking down the hall, laughing at his misfortune, as the blue feline got up once more and picked up where he left off.
"This pain…won't stop...me." Gumball said as he limped on. Just then, a fist flew into his face, knocking him down and leaving a black eye in the process.
"Oops, my bad." Jamie sarcastically informed the blue feline, before walking away from Gumball like it was nothing.
Undaunted by this, he got up once more, ignoring the pain; halfway to his destination, however, Gumball suddenly fell face first on to the floor, before he heard a certain jock speaking behind him.
"Looks like I gave you the slip." Tobias said nonchalantly.
As much as Gumball wanted to punch him, he decided to ignore him for the moment and continued on, unaware that a discarded banana peel was in his direction, much to Banana Joe's surprise.
"Gumball, watch out for that-" but it was too late, as the blue feline stepped on it and before long, Gumball found himself slipping right towards Penny's locker. Unfortunately for him, however, he couldn't find a way to slow himself down.
'This is going to be painful.' Gumball thought, before slamming right into Penny, knocking them both down, with him on top of her.
"Ow! Gumball, what was that...?" Penny trailed off the moment she saw the blue feline in his injured state. "Oh my goodness! Gumball, are you alright?!"
"I…went through…the worst hallway walk…in the world…to do this." Gumball managed to get out without stuttering. All the pain he was in seemed to override his nervousness. "P-Penny...would you like to go...to the dance with me?"
"...Sure, I would love to go!" Penny replied with a smile, despite remaining in shock about what the blue feline went through, but was nevertheless touched by his effort. "But first, let me take you to the nurse's office!"
"That would...be nice." Gumball painfully uttered.
"We'll help!" Brian called out, as he and Darwin walked up to the new couple, before helping them get to the nurse's office. Gumball, for his part, couldn't help but smile; despite suffering the worst beating he ever had, he did what they thought he couldn't do: ask Penny out without backing out at the last minute.
"I'm sure Mike's going to be shocked when he hears this." said Darwin, as he helped Brian get Gumball to the Nurse's Office.
"He actually asked Penny out?!" Mike shouted, shocked to hear that Gumball, of all people, actually asked her. "Took him long enough!"
"What about you? Who did you ask out?" Darwin asked.
"Hello!" Carrie joyfully greeted, as she exploded into the fray, scaring the daylights out of Brian and Darwin, with Mike laughing at their frightened reactions. It was then that the answer became quite apparent to the duo.
"You asked Carrie out?!" Brian and Darwin asked simultaneously in disbelief.
"Yep!" Mike replied with a wide smile, something his friends hadn't seen in a while.
"And you're smiling too?!" Brian asked the maroon badger.
"Who are you and what have you done with Mike?" asked Darwin, causing Mike and Carrie to laugh at their silliness.
"I'm the real Michael Badgero." Mike humored them.
"And one of a kind, if I say so myself." Carrie slyly added. Brian and Darwin both started to chuckle, as Mike was finally back to himself. But something was nagging at the back of Brian's head, before he realized that Carrie was still there, prompting him to put aside his thoughts for the moment.
"I'm glad to see that you finally made up your mind." the purple fox congratulated his friend. Suddenly the bell rang, signaling it was time to get to class.
"Let's get to class right away before Miss Simian gives us another hour of detention." Darwin informed his friends.
Nodding their heads in agreement, the four made a mad dash to their class.
It was lunch time and the whole school was abuzz with talk of the dance coming up. Though for Brian, he wanted to discuss with Mike about an entirely different subject, mainly about a certain green gerbil.
"So Mike, have you told Ally about your choice of date yet?" Brian asked the maroon badger. Mike was caught off-guard but knew the question would pop up eventually.
"...N-no." Mike admitted. "I was going to after school."
"I just hope she won't go ballistic." Gumball commented.
"Last time she did that, she ended up beating us up back at the park." Darwin stated, having not forgotten about that incident.
"If you don't want to be there when I break the news, that's fine." Mike explained. "If anything, I don't blame any of you for being afraid." the maroon badger looked down at his food, as he knew that it probably wasn't going to be pretty. If it ended in anything less than a slap, then something wasn't right about the whole thing.
"She might as well hear it from you, Mike. I just hope that Ally would understand why you choose Carrie over her." Brian informed his friend.
"Speaking of which." Gumball suddenly said, as they too were curious of their friend's choice. "Why did you choose her?"
"Did she make you feel all warm on the inside?" asked Darwin. Mike had never heard a more naive statement about how he felt than that, though privately, he wouldn't deny it.
"Sort of." he answered. "If that's what you want to call it. I choose her because I just felt better connected with her."
"Fair enough," said Brian, accepting the maroon badger's answer for what it was.
"So how do think she'll take it?" Darwin asked
"A lot better than I thought." Darwin commented, as he and his friends stood in front of the Paxton residence. After Mike broke the news to Ally, her face turned sour but after Rhonda reminded her that it was Mike's choice, she took it well...until they suddenly heard her crying from upstairs. Mike felt bad as he was the one who hurt Ally.
"She must have been devastated." said Gumball.
"Can't say I really blame her,." Mike said, ashamed of himself.
"I'll go see if I can comfort her." said Rhonda, as she made her way to the stairs. "I think you guys might want to leave for a bit. I'll see you later, Brian, if you still want to talk?"
"That'd be fine with me." Brian assured his girlfriend as she went upstairs.
"So, what now?" Darwin asked his friends, wanting to change the subject.
"We should probably take Rhonda up on her suggestion," Gumball figured.
"It's for the best." Mike admitted. "I don't feel right being here."
"Let's just give them some time and space." said Brian.
"What are you gonna do, Mike?" Darwin asked.
"I'm gonna head home." Mike gloomily replied, as he walked away with his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and a somber look on his face.
"Is Mike going to be okay?" Gumball asked Brian.
"He...just needs to be alone for now." the purple fox replied. "Anyway, we need to get back home as well."
"Oh, Brian." Darwin spoke suddenly, prompting the purple fox to stop dead in his tracks and turned to face his friends. "Since Mike can't help us with our date training right now, do you think you could fill in for him?"
Brian didn't respond right away, with a look of disbelief forming on his face and his head sweating like mad. It was the last thing he expected to hear.
'Oh boy.' the purple fox thought, all the while hoping that his friends wouldn't be that much of a problem to handle with their dating situations.
"Okay, so let's start with just your dance move..." Brian began, as Gumball and Darwin were in his backyard. "You want to impress your date, let's see some impressive dance moves!"
Nodding their heads in agreement, Gumball and Darwin showed off their best dance moves to the purple fox; much to Brian's dismay, however, their dance routine proved to be both ridiculous and childish: all Gumball was do some pathetic farce of a break dance, while Darwin twirled around like some ballet dancer.
'This is going to be more difficult than I imagined.' Brian thought, as he face palmed in annoyance. "Okay, do you two know how to slow dance?"
"Slow...dance?" a confused Darwin asked.
"Yes! I actually know how to do this!" Gumball exclaimed.
"Okay, why don't you teach Darwin how to slow dance?" Brian offered.
"You mean, right now?" the blue feline asked, surprised to hear this from the purple fox.
"Of course I mean right now! You said you know how to slow dance." Brian responded in annoyance, before he grumbled in frustration.
"Come on, Gumball..." Darwin began "Let's get this over with."
"Fine! I'm just glad no one else is around to see this." Gumball reluctantly complied. The two then started to slow dance and to Brian's surprise, they actually did it quite well. Their movements were fluent and they were able to do it without stepping on each other's feet.
"That was really good." the purple fox said to the Watterson brothers. "I have to admit, you guys actually impressed me."
"So are we ready for the dance?" Gumball asked.
"Well, we still have to see how you guys handle other things, like opening doors for your dates," Brian hadn't forgotten what Mike told him about the door incident.
"Again?! We tried that multiple times and all we did was annoy Mike." Gumball complained.
"Not to mention I ended up getting a large bruise on my forehead, or something like that." Darwin somewhat noted, his memory still foggy of the experience.
"Have you considered to actually try opening the door before your date gets to it?" Brian suggested.
"Oh yeah." Gumball realized as he slapped his head.
'What is wrong with these two? Are they that nervous they can't even open doors?' Brian thought as the two went to work opening doors.
Mike was lying down on his bed in silence, trying to convince himself that he did the right thing. His house was empty and it was just him all alone but at a time like this, it was perfect for the maroon badger.
'I knew Ally would be upset when I told her I choose Carrie as my date, but I didn't expect her to be that grim. I just hope we could at least remain friends.'
As much as Mike wanted to think more about how the green gerbil is doing, he decided it was best to put it in the back of his mind. Right now, all he wanted was some peace and quiet at the moment. Unfortunately for him, his wish was not granted, as he suddenly heard someone ringing his doorbell.
"Seriously?!" Mike whined, before he got up from his bed and made his way to the front door. Upon reaching his destination, the maroon badger opened the door and saw Carrie in front of the porch. She seemed to be an in uncharacteristically cheerful mood.
"Hey, Mike!" Carrie greeted the maroon badger, before she noticed his gloomy face. "What's wrong? You look like I did before I met you." This brought a smile to Mike's face, though Carrie's appearance wasn't something he was sure he needed. Whether he was right about that, it was too early for him to tell.
"I'm...a bit tired. I was just resting for a bit." the maroon badger claimed to his date.
"Alright, if you say so," Carrie reluctantly accepted Mike's answer. Although she planned to get the truth out of him, it brought back bad feelings that she was glad to do away with when she saw him like this.
"So how are you?" Mike nonchalantly asked, hiding his feelings.
"I'm doing pretty good, Mike. Thanks for asking." the young ghost happily replied. Mike was astonished by the change that he supposedly caused for Carrie. She was smiling so much more often and even after what Mike just got through doing, even he could find the will to smile.
"Where are my manners?!" Mike suddenly exclaimed. "Come inside, Carrie." the maroon badger offered with a smile, to which the young ghost obliged.
"Hard to believe that it's been several months since we met. Time sure does fly pretty fast." Carrie commented, as she made her way inside. Olivia loved to keep the house clean as she was such a neat freak so the house could be called one step below spotless. It even had a fresh air scent to it.
"You seem a lot more cheerful since then." Mike noticed, causing the young ghost to blush.
"I guess I have you to thank for that." Carrie's words seemed to help lift the chains off of Mike's heart and reassure him that he did indeed make the right choice.
"I'm happy to hear that, Carrie. It means a lot to me."
"You're welcome Mike." said Carrie, glad to hear she made Mike happy, before deciding to prod the maroon badger. "So what's wrong?" Mike let loose a sigh before walking over to the couch and laying on it.
"I told Ally about me choosing you for the dance and she didn't take the news very well. I knew she was going to get upset, but thankfully, Rhonda stepped in to make sure the situation didn't get worse. Even so, I couldn't help but feel bad for upsetting her. Last I heard, she was still upstairs crying." Carrie didn't need to be told any more than that to understand Mike's plight. His guilt and unsureness of himself was what made him feel down. She almost felt a little jealous that Mike was caring about Ally so much until Mike continued. "But I'm sure now that I made the right choice." Carrie was surprised but was also extremely happy. "I know that Ally will probably hate me, but she can get in line with everyone else," the maroon badger sat up to look at Carrie, who had a smile on her face, as she looked at Mike.
"I don't hate you, Mike." Carrie sweetly said, as she landed on top of his head again. "And I'm sure that in time, Ally will find someone else to love out there. She just hasn't found that person yet."
"I hope Ally does find her one true love." Mike muttered under his breath, as he and Carrie lay like they were for quite some time, just happy to be with each other. Mike wasn't sure about dating anyone before, but now, he was content with the idea.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 76-The Dance: Part 2
The day of the dance has finally arrived and for Brian and the gang, they want make sure that it's one night they'll never forget.
Tidbits
-Sal and I discussed on who Mike's going to choose to take to the school year-end dance; after a long while, we eventually settled down with Carrie, so I apologize for those who were expecting Mike to be with Ally. As for whether Ally will find true love, well, that's for another time.
-I want to thank Sal for his help and coming up with The Dance.
I hope everyone enjoyed part 1 of The Dance and I hope everyone looks forward to the next and final chapter of The Newcomer. So until then, see ya!