On His Own: A Sing Fanfiction

Mike Holes Up With Johnny

       As Johnny prepared to leave that night, he noticed an apprehensive-looking Mike standing near the door. It looked like he was wringing his hands. Johnny walked up. "Is something wrong, Mike?" he asked. The mouse backed away from the door. "Uh, hey, kid..um," he mumbled. Johnny got on one knee, and when Mike seemed to draw himself in further, the gorilla sat cross-legged on the floor. Mike gave him a sour look. "Hey, buddy, you're gonna get your clothes dirty on the floor, come on."
       "It's a new carpet. The only people who've walked on it are us," Johnny countered. Mike finally gave in, though he spoke as if someone evil were listening. "Look, I gotta ask you a favor. You remember those bears, right? The ones that tried to kill me?"
       "And nearly got all of us killed? You told me about them," he replied sarcastically. He could've sworn he saw the mouse wince. "Yeah, what about them?" he tried to rephrase.
       "Well, uh, I can't go home because they're on the prowl, and I can't risk them finding out the routes I take to my girlfriend's house, so um... Can you do me a huge solid?"
       Johnny had no idea what Mike was asking. "And?" he prodded.
       "Aaaaand let me stay over." Johnny sat up. "You know you're a magnet for trouble, right?"
       "Yes." the mouse hung his head. "I just, really need this. I only need a few days." he looked up at Johnny pleadingly. "Please, Johnny. Just this once."
       The gorilla smiled. "Of course you can. We've just gotta find you a place to sleep." Mike smiled in a way that looked three parts elated, relieved, and disbelieving. "Thank you so much." He ran up as if he wanted to shake hands, give a hug, something. Johnny picked him up and hugged him. Mike acted uncomfortable, but soon settled into the hug. Afterward, Johnny put down the mouse and stood up. "You go where I go, and I'm going to see my father. Is that okay?" he asked. Mike scratched his cheek. "I might as well. I can't really go anywhere without you for a while, so sure." There really was no questioning Johnny in this case. He was quite literally the bigger man.
       Johnny walked into the visiting room and sat down to wait for his father, while Mike jumped out of his pocket and stood on the table. "You know, your jacket smells real strange. You might wanna check that," the mouse remarked, shaking lint out of his hair. Johnny raised an eyebrow. "It's leather. It's supposed to smell like that."
       "No, it smells like smoke, or burnt rubber, or something."
       Johnny understood right away. After a moment of quiet, his father came in. Johnny noticed Mike cast his face down and heard him curse. "You didn't tell me your dad was Marcus Clayton," he murmured aside to Johnny, who smiled down at him. "Well, now you know."
       Johnny's dad sat down with a thump and picked up the phone. "Hey, buddy. How are ya?"
       Johnny couldn't help smiling at the sight of his father. "I'm good. You look tired."
       Dad did look tired. Faintly visible dark rings had begun to form around his eyes, and his eyelids seemed to droop a bit.
       "Eh, I'm fine. How was practice?"
       "Practice was okay. My boss offered what he could, 'cuz he found out you were in jail. And a couple friends are in a bit of trouble, but everything's okay."
       Johnny's dad shifted his gaze over to the fidgeting mouse. "Is this one of those friends?"
       Johnny pushed Mike forward a tad. "Hey!" he snapped under his breath. "Yeah, this is Mike," Johnny continued. "Remember him from the other day?"
       "The one that has a gang of bears after him?"
       Mike seemed whiter than normal. "Yup, that's him. He's hiding out at our house tonight, if that's okay." Johnny's dad planted his chin in his palm and stared at the mouse for a bit. Mike broke into a cold sweat.
       "Sure, I don't mind," his father said finally. "Just don't let him mooch offa you."
       "Of course."
       The conversation lasted a while, the mouse standing uncomfortably the whole way, when visiting time eventually drew to a close. The pair of gorillas said their goodbyes and Johnny and Mike set out on their way. "Is my dad really that scary?" Johnny asked the mouse in his pocket. Mike poked his head out and glanced around for his pursuers before he spoke. "Yes. That guy's part of one of the most notorious gangs in the city!"
       "Well, you aren't on his bad side, so don't act like you have a debt to him when you're with him. It's rude."
       "Easier said than done, kid," Mike replied. "Especially when you're a mouse among gorillACK-" Mike was suddenly shoved into Johnny's pocket. The gorilla kept as natural a face as he could manage as two of the russian bears tromped by. He didn't loosen his grip on Mike until after he couldn't hear their footsteps for several seconds, and even then he glanced around before letting go of the mouse, who came out spluttering.
       "What was that for!?" Mike snapped.
       "Quiet down, I just saved your hide."
       "How?" he snapped again, quieter this time. Then it dawned on him. "Oh." They walked on in silence for awhile before Mike finally mumbled, "Thanks, kid."
       When they entered Johnny's home, Mike jumped out onto a counter and took in a breath of air. He then noticed he was in a garage. "Oh, this explains your jacket's smell. Wait, you live in a garage?" he stared quizzically at Johnny, who was in the pantry, on tiptoe, reaching for a can of something. "Yeah," he called back. "My dad and his gang work out of here." Johnny walked out with a couple cans of chili beans and set them on the table carefully. "Chili tonight," he remarked absently. The mouse slid down from the counter on the handle of a broom and began to explore the garage. "Don't wander too far, I'm afraid you'll get lost or something," Johnny called.
       "Shut yer trap, I'm not gonna get lost."
       "Seriously, Mike." The mouse looked over and saw that the gorilla wore a concerned, serious face. He sighed. "Alright, whatever." Johnny's shoulders relaxed. "Thanks."
       "Oh, spare me."
       Johnny went to work on the food and said, "I'll give you a tour later."
       Mike sat on the ground, drumming his leg impatiently with one hand.
       Eventually, Johnny came to a stopping point. "Alright, sorry for the wait. I'll show you around," he said, stooping down and letting Mike use his hand as a platform. He walked over to what the guys called the living room. It was an unseparated space from the rest of the garage, but was home to the tv, a couch, and a recliner, all worn down by the weights and sizes of the men who frequented them.
       "There's not much to see here, I'm telling you," Johnny murmured before taking the stairs. "This is my Uncle Bob's room," he said, opening a door to his left. It smelled horrible. He closed that door right away and walked one door down to his Uncle Barry's room. It was a mess. "He lowkey steals all our stuff, and hides it in this dump," Johnny chuckled fondly.
       "Guess his job's cut out for him," the mouse chimed in. The pair then made it to Johnny's room across the way. "This is my room," he declared, flipping on the light. The gorilla's room was pretty sparsely decorated, except for a few movie posters and strange stickers on his dresser. "My room isn't much to look at, but it's comfortable. You can sleep in here if you want." Mike didn't respond. He was thinking. Johnny tried to narrow his choices down. "Really, there's my room or the couch. I'm scared of you getting lost in Barry's room and we aren't talking about Bob's room." Mike nodded. "What about your dad's room?"
       "He wouldn't allow it."
       The mouse hmm'd and nodded again. "Well, if you're so worried, I guess I'll stay in here," he stated and walked out. "Hey, I think something's burning out here," he called back nonchalantly. Johnny zipped past him saying, "Oh shoot, oh shoot, oh shoot." Mike chuckled.