*Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of my version of Sing!!! WHOOO!!!! Finally! This is published on September 11, 2021. If you guys like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and comment! That would be greatly appreciated! The songs used are called "Helpless" by Phillipa Soo and "Maps" by Maroon 5(think of this as a mash-up of some sort). Thank you guys for taking the time to read this and I hope you guys have a blessed day! Enjoy!*

Neon lights flashed everywhere. His body was shaking and trembling on a soft mattress. Buster blinked as he tried to scream for someone to get off of him. His legs were paralyzed. 

When he blinked, he's back at school, sitting in a classroom next to Eddie while looking up at the faceless professor.

"You see, time is key to see how much life passed by. An important essence that can never be rewind or fast-forward."

Those familiar words spoke to Buster while he heard his father's voice through the teacher. He breathed heavily while trying to look down at the notes he took for the semester.

However, when he blinked again, the neon lights were back in his vision as he screamed in pain.

"Mr. Moon...Mr. Moon...Buster!"

Buster gasped while his eyes snapped open, sitting up abruptly. It took a moment to realize that he's been sleeping on the couch in a quaint apartment that belonged to Ms. Crawly. Speaking of Ms. Crawly, she's standing right in front of the koala with a concerned gaze coming from her real eye.

"Are you having those nightmares again?" Ms. Crawly asked as Buster sat up. The iguana sat next to the koala on the couch while they both stared out into the sunrise.

Buster knew that he couldn't hide from Ms. Crawly, even she seemed oblivious to everything. He knew that the old iguana had her own perception of what's going on but she wouldn't give it unless asked. However, he couldn't fool Ms. Crawly by a fake smile and tell her that everything was okay when everything wasn't okay.

Buster sighed heavily while dropping his ears down. "We went into this nightclub yesterday just to help a friend of ours...but...I couldn't be in there for too long. Being in that nightclub just brings back terrible memories. Memories before I bought the theater. Before all of this happened."

Ms. Crawly put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I remember when you refuse to go back into the nightclub. You would avoid it at all cost...but you went back in it last night...even if it's only for a little bit. That's pretty brave, Mr. Moon."

Buster lowered his head down. "I'm trying to forget about it but I can never forget it...it's like yesterday that it happened."

"I know that feeling. But whatever you experienced in that nightclub...it's over now."

Buster chuckled at Ms. Crawly's positivity. "I know...but sometimes it likes to come back and bite me in the butt."

Ms. Crawly smiled fondly at the koala. "Well, I'll make some breakfast for you, the mice, and Mizuki. Then we can go back to the theater to work if you guys are feeling like it." The iguana got up from the couch and slowly ambled her way towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, Ms. Crawly," Buster replied as he watched the iguana finding food to eat for Buster and Mizuki.

Buster turned his head to where he could see into the bedroom to see Mizuki sleeping peacefully. When seeing her sleeping peacefully, Buster softly smiled to watch her sleeping through the early morning.

Buster glanced to see Ms. Crawly making breakfast in the kitchen. He smiled again and hopped off of the couch and headed into the bedroom to wake Mizuki up for breakfast.

Buster entered the bedroom and snuck beside Mizuki, shaking her shoulder gently. "Mizuki."

Mizuki groaned.

Buster grinned and shook her a little more. "Mizuki, wake up, it's time for breakfast."

Mizuki fluttered her hazel eyes opened, causing Buster to stand back away from her so that she has room to get up. The antelope stretched her limbs.

"Good morning, Buster," Mizuki answered with a moan.

"Good morning. Ms. Crawly's making breakfast for us if you want any," Buster uttered.

Mizuki gave a sleepy smile as she sat up and stretched her arm up. "Okay."

Buster tilted his head. "Um...do you want to work today?"

"You know, I need a distraction...I would like to work today."

Buster nodded his head in understanding. "Good. Let's get some breakfast."

Mizuki got up from the bed and followed Buster to get breakfast.

~.~

Rehearsals were back in the theater as Gunter was getting better at his singing voice...only slightly better while Rosita misstep some of the dances they were rehearsing together and collapsed on the floor. She groaned irritably at herself. She saw that Gunter held out his hand to help her up on her feet. She smiled fondly at her dancer friend as he pulled her up on her feet and they continued to dance to the music.

Meena knew most of the stagehand steps with Mizuki guiding her when Nancy was singing on stage in the spotlight. Mike happened to be walking by when he saw Nancy singing beautifully in the spotlight as Mike sat on one of Meena's pink tennis shoes and watched Nancy perform with an adoration shown in his eyes and in his smile at her.

Buster peeked outside from his office to see Johnny playing on the piano keys while Ash nodding her head up and down and strumming the chords. Johnny gaped at how she's able to play guitar as he played along with her on the piano.

Ms. Crawly smiled at the two of them while sorting out paperwork. Buster strolled out of his office and stepped downstairs to check on the rest of the performers. With a bright smile, he heard the songs they were singing and dancing to as he watched Mizuki helped Meena with the stage, to which the elephant was able to absorb new things around her.

Buster couldn't help but stare at Mizuki with adoring blue eyes, watching her talk with Meena with the kindest voice he ever heard. The koala's heart started to pound on his chest. As soon as Mizuki glanced at Buster, Buster blushed like he was caught red-handed and moved on to check on Gunter and Rosita to make sure they're doing okay.

Meanwhile, it's Wednesday, which was normally the day Eddie went to visit Nana. He texted Buster and Mizuki in advance that he's going to visit his nana. Buster and Mizuki didn't mind at all, which was good.

However, Eddie...wouldn't say he liked to visit his nana. His nana was rich beyond what his parents could pull and even the thought of seeing her made him shiver. His nana was a famous actress from the old golden days. She would do broadway plays and even perform at the Moon Theater. However, Moon Theater had a special place in his nana's heart. Eddie thought for a moment as an idea that would maybe help his friend and the theater clicked in his brain.

Eddie approached the front door of a beautiful mansion, nervously sweating at the thought of telling his nana what's going on in the Moon Theater. He remembered knowing that Buster's theater was going through a rough time financially but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing about it. He remembered Buster wanting to work hard for the money and that's completely fine...but...he thought that Buster might need just a tiny little boost to at least do the talent show.

The door opened to reveal the penguin butler answering the door.

"Hi," Eddie said with a wave.

The penguin butler blinked and gestured Eddie to come in. "She'll be with you in a moment."

Eddie walked into the mansion anxiously.

Inside of the beautiful mansion were sparkling tiled floors with the half-circle stairs that led up towards his nana's quarters. Eddie knew he's not allowed to go up those stairs since it's considered rude by his nana's standards. She's old-fashioned in a way.

Eddie waited until he saw an old black sheep, poised and elegant. Her back was straight while her gaze was stern as always. Her purple eyeshadow was almost unnoticeable from her black fur and wool. Her long sparkling purple dress had a small elegant cape that was dragged down the stairs.

Nana reached the bottom of the stairs with squinted eyes. "Oh, goody, it's my useless grandson."

Eddie rolled his eyes since he's used to those harsh words from Nana. "Hi, Nana."

Nana looked to her butler. "Get us some tea and be quick about it."

Eddie followed his nana closely as they approached the grand living room with pictures and posters of Nana in her younger years. Eddie tilted his head as he saw a poster of her doing a play called "Epiphany", which was Nana's first broadway play she ever did as the main character.

"You know, Nana, you still look good despite not being young anymore," Eddie ignited the conversation.

"Well, that's a compliment I can accept," Nana responded while looking out of the window that led to the balcony. From there, one could see the Moon Theater from Nana's mansion as her butler brought their teas. First, the butler gave Eddie his tea and then gave Nana hers.

"Thank you, Aaron," Nana replied while taking the teacup from the tray and sipping it elegantly.

Eddie approached beside her while looking out into the world with a slouch and slurped his tea.

"Don't slouch, Eddie," Nana reminded her grandson while tapping on his back with her fan so that he could stand up straighter. "It'll hurt your back in the future."

Eddie stood up straight, finding it to be harder to do than his normal position. "So...Nana, how's...life?"

Nana sipped her tea while looking at her grandson from the reflection of the window. "You can say my life has been productive somewhat. Do you notice that the theater looks a little dreary?"

Eddie examined the theater. "Yeah...it's not like it was in the good old days, huh?"

"They weren't good old days, Eddie...they were...gold."

"Gold?"

"Yes, that little local theater...is a palace of wonder and magic. I could still see all the ushers in their velvet suits, cues a mile long just to get a ticket, the curtains rising over that glorious stage." With that, Nana sighed wistfully. "It all used to be gold but now look at it...it's dreary, old, and decaying. Just like me."

Eddie frowned at the thought of his nana staring at the theater wistfully, wishing it could be like the old days...back to where she's young. Guess that's part of being old.

Eddie bit his lip while looking at his nana. "What if...that palace could be what you described again?"

Nana arched a brow and turned to Eddie. "What on earth are you on about?"

Eddie smiled a bit. "Just like you said, Nana. The palace of wonder and magic...what if we could make that happen again?"

"With what? It's not the same," Nana responded while looking up at the blue skies. "First, it's those...plays your ghastly theater friend decide to put on and now...it's a talent show. He's missing what made that theater magical."

Eddie gave an unsure frown. "And what was that he missed?"

There's a pause as Nana took another sip of her tea.

"It's missing passion, Eddie. The theater performers and stage crew had a passion to put on a show. The showman performing plays and musicals had passions to make it amazing. Everything is missing passion. Mr. Moon...he didn't seem to have passion."

"What are you talking about? He loves the theater--"

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is that Mr. Moon puts on shows that only attract an audience but no one will ever remember those plays because there wasn't any heart put into them. If you display passion on stage, it may draw in admirers and critiques but it will never be forgotten by those who see it."

Eddie smiled brightly. "Wait, what if the talent show has passion behind it?"

"Then it will be an unforgettable performance. Or...performances."

Eddie widened his smile more. "Then you can help."

"Help? Are you looking to bail your friend out of a financial crisis?"

Eddie shook his head. "No, this is not to bail him out...you can boost him up so that he could at least do the show in a better condition."

"Better condition?" Nana chortled while getting out her fan to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Eddie. I shouldn't be laughing. I didn't think you cared about the theater that much. What made you care so much about the theater all of the sudden?"

"Because there are people that really want to perform and show their talents to the world...and my friend...I don't know if he'll even survive without the theater," Eddie pointed out with a frown. "It's like gold to him."

Nana noticed her grandson's frown. With a long pause, she sighed. "If this theater really means that much to you, I suppose I can see what you guys have up in your sleeves. Maybe I can donate some money to the theater."

Eddie gasped to see Nana's small smirk hidden behind her fan. He smiled brightly again. "Thank you, Nana!"

"I'm not paying Mr. Moon...I'm simply donating to the theater...hopefully, he could find something useful with that money for the decaying building," Nana replied while snapping her fingers and one of her butlers brought her checkbook.

Nana wrote a check and handed it to Eddie that had five thousand dollars. "That should be enough to help with the theater."

"You're the best!" Eddie hugged his nana, who stiffened up with an eye roll.

Nana was not the hugger person and Eddie knew this but she sighed and relented before patting him on the back. "Alright, Eddie, let go."

"Thanks," Eddie broke away from his nana.

"Now...let's skip the subject. I wanna hear your daily life now," Nana replied while skipping the subject.

Eddie smiled and went forward to talk to his nana more about his life.

~.~

In a cloud of dust, Ms. Crawly was sitting on the passenger side, looking at another muscular iguana driving a sportscar while romantic keys from the piano played in the background.

Ms. Crawly smiled fondly at her date driving through the romantic desert. As the sun was setting and the car was parked over the edge. The two iguanas gazed into each other's eyes as they leaned forward just to share a tender kiss.

POUND!!!

Ms. Crawly was snapped out of her thoughts in an instant, falling back against the office chair in the lobby.

"Whoa, Johnny!" Ash shouted while jumping a bit in shock from all the sudden pound too.

"Sorry, I messed that part up," Johnny uttered.

Both Johnny and Ash noticed Ms. Crawly on the floor with gasps in shock.

"Oh gosh! Are you okay, Ms. Crawly?" Ash uttered while Johnny stood up and helped Ms. Crawly up on her feet.

"Oh yes, it's that song you guys were doing...it takes me back to romancing and dancing...ah, to be young again," Ms. Crawly replied with a wistful sigh. "You two are lucky to be young."

"Heh, not really. We wouldn't be older and wiser," Ash replied, earning an 'aww' from Ms. Crawly.

Johnny bent down to meet the same level of eye contact as the iguana. "It's never too late for romance. Have you heard about online dating?"

"What's that?" Ms. Crawly questioned innocently.

"It's like normal dating but you meet people online," Ash replied while hopping down from the piano and standing next to Johnny.

Ms. Crawly gasped. "You can meet people through a computer?"

The young animals glanced at each other while trying to figure out how to explain the complexes of online dating.

Minutes later, Johnny was on Ms. Crawly's computer while finding a website for online dating while Ash was watching from the cabinet diagonally across from the computer. Ms. Crawly was watering her plants with a small content smile.

"Okay, we're going to first set up a profile for you. What are your favorite hobbies?" Johnny asked.

"Well, I like watering the plants...uh, bowling--"

"Bowling. Now I want to go bowling with you," Ash responded with a smile.

Ms. Crawly nodded her head. "That would be a lovely time, dear. I might not be as good as I used to be in my younger years but that would be a lot of fun."

Johnny smiled at the two women while typing down what Ms. Crawly said she liked. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh, I like moon bathing," Ms. Crawly added.

Johnny arched a brow and turned to Ms. Crawly. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's like sunbathing except it's moon bathing. Good for the skin," Ms. Crawly replied while rubbing her wrinkly face.

Ash shivered a bit while Johnny took out his phone.

"Okay, we're going to need a photo of you," Johnny replied while taking a picture of Ms. Crawly and uploaded it into the computer as her profile picture.

Then, they waited.

"Hey, don't worry if it takes a while," Ash replied while noticing Ms. Crawly waiting anxiously now.

"Yeah, sometimes it takes more than a--"

The chirping sound came from the computer as the animals immediately looked to see all the messages popping up.

"Oh, look at that... there are some people attracted to you, Ms. Crawly," Ash pointed out happily.

"Wow, that didn't even take a second," Johnny commented with a laugh.

Ms. Crawly cheered while leaning against the desk. "Looks like this old lady still got it."

Due to Ms. Crawly's clumsiness, she slipped and fell on the floor, earning gasps from the gorilla and the porcupine with concerned gazes at the old iguana.

Buster marched into the lobby. "How are you guys doing on those--?"

The koala noticed Johnny and Ash behind Ms. Crawly's computer while Ms. Crawly jumped up in excitement as if she's young again.

"Mr. Moon, look! I'm online dating!" Ms. Crawly shouted in excitement.

There's more chirping sounds as Ms. Crawly glanced at the computer with a gasp.

"I got three dates tonight!!! I'll go get ready!" Ms. Crawly replied while rushing to put on her best dress.

Johnny and Ash giggled softly at the iguana's happy self.

Buster, on the other hand, had his eyes widened in shock. "Man, even Ms. Crawly's got a romantic life."

"Do you want us to introduce you to online dating too--?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you, Johnny," Buster declined Johnny's offer as he entered his office.

Johnny and Ash exchanged gazes at each other with shrugs.

~.~

Meena was only peeking in when she saw Johnny and Ash playing together with Johnny on the piano keys while Ash's fingers were on the guitar.

Meena smiled to watch her friends play the instrument.

Ash noticed the elephant with a bright smile. "Meena! Come help us!"

Meena tilted her head as she walked into the lobby. "What do you guys need help with?"

Johnny sighed heavily. "We've been debating what song we should rehearse over the last couple of days and we hadn't come up with anything. Ash doesn't like to sing cheesy pop songs and I don't know how to sing rock. So, there has to be a song on this list that should give us some type of a happy medium."

"I'm wondering where Moon gets the idea of pairing us up for the talent show," Ash replied while scratching her chin. "I mean...because Johnny and I are like polar opposites."

"You use to like pop songs--"

"Not since I'm with Lance," Ash replied while messing with her quills. "Anyway, do you have any suggestions?"

Meena pondered for a second as she glanced at Johnny and Ash. "Maybe you guys can co-write a song."

Johnny smiled brightly. "That's a great idea."

"It would've been a great idea if we had Lance to help us with writing the songs," Ash responded lowly.

Johnny tilted his head with a brow raised. "Lance doesn't have to help us in this."

"Well, he's an artist but I wouldn't expect some people to understand," Ash commented.

There's a brief awkward pause.

"You're right, I don't think anyone understands that at all," Johnny responded with a shrug while an idea popped into his head. "Oh, oh! I had an idea for a song. We can do a mashup! Like, combine two songs into one. Just for warm-ups anyway!"

Meena smiled brightly. "Yeah!"

"Okay, but Meena is joining us," Ash pointed out.

"What?" Meena gasped.

"Yeah, join us!" Johnny replied excitedly.

Meena hid in her ears with an embarrassed blush. "But I'm not good--"

"Yes, you are. You joined choir in high school. I heard you in the building," Ash added with a laugh. "Besides, it's not going to be in front of an audience."

"Yeah, it's just us here," Johnny replied while playing the keys of the piano.

Meena sighed deeply. "O-Okay...but just this once."

"Yes!" Johnny and Ash exclaimed as Ash strummed the guitar strings.

"What's the mashup song we're singing, J?" Ash questioned.

Johnny showed Ash and Meena the song mashup he's considering doing with the girls.

"Seriously?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah," Johnny answered excitedly like a little kid beaming at the idea.

Meena nodded her head. "Okay."

"I guess majority votes doing this. Alright, let's go," Ash responded while adjusting the knobs on her guitar to make it sound better.

Ash began to strum the guitar as Johnny let his fingers danced on the piano keys.

https://youtu.be/6frd_dHxPRs

Ash smiled while singing.

"Ooh, I do, I do, I do, I do(hey, hey, hey)

Hey! Ooh, I do, I do, I do."

Johnny played the keys and sang the first verse of a familiar song.

https://youtu.be/Y7ix6RITXM0

"I miss the taste of a sweeter life

I miss the conversation.

I'm searching for a song tonight

I'm changing all of the stations."

Meena was a little hesitant to join as she sang her solo in the most beautiful voice that sounded like an angel.

"I've never been the type to try and grab the spotlight.

We were at a theater with some performers on a hot day.

Laughin' at my friend as she's dazzling in the room.

Then you walked in and my heart went, Boom!"

Johnny gasped at Meena's singing voice while looking at Ash, who held an 'I told you' grin. He brightly smiled and sang his part.

"Oh, I try to catch your eye on the other side of the building.

Everybody's singing and the music's top volume.

Dance to the rhythm as we strum the chords and play the keys."

Ash swayed into the music while smiling at her two friends. That's when she sang her part.

"I like to think I had it all.

So, I drew a map to a better place.

But on that road, I took a fall.

Oh no, why am I feeling helpless?"

Meena began to grow a little more confident it's just Johnny and Ash enjoying her singing voice. She sang more into the mashup song.

"I'm here for you in the darkest times.

I'm here for you in the darkest nights.

But when you look back at me.

I couldn't help but suddenly feel--"

Both Johnny and Ash joined in as the trio sang their parts.

"Helpless!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit.

I'm helpless!

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When I was at my worst down on my knees.

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When all the roads I took came back to me.

So, I'm drawing the map that leads to you!"

Ash strummed the guitar while rocking out on the piano and singing.

"Boy, you got me helpless!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit!

I'm helpless!

Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em."

Johnny closed his eyes and let the notes sing around them as he crooned into the next verse.

"I hear your voice in my sleep at night.

Hard to resist temptation.

Cause something strange has come over me.

Now, I can't get over you.

No, I just can't over you."

Meena sang her heart, not caring whether her voice echoed through the theater or not.

"I'm helpless!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit!

I'm helpless!

Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em."

Johnny and Ash joined Meena while smiling into the song and playing their instruments.

"Helpless!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit.

I'm helpless!

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When I was at my worst down on my knees.

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When all the roads I took came back to me.

So, I'm following the map that leads to you!"

Johnny jumped into the bridge with a passionate display of his fingers dancing on the piano keys with his eyes closed.

"The map that leads to you.

Ain't nothing I can do.

The map that leads to you.

Following, following, following,

The map that leads to you.

Ain't nothing I can do.

The map that leads to you.

Following, following, following."

Johnny, Ash, and Meena began to sing together for the final chorus.

"Helpless!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit.

I'm helpless!

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When I was at my worst down on my knees.

Down for the count and I'm wondering where you've been all my life!

When all the roads I took came back to me.

So, I'm following the map that leads to you!"

Ash softened her notes on the guitar.

Meena smiled and sang out the last part.

"In Catalonia, big dreams will come true.

In Catalonia, big dreams will come true.

In Catalonia, big dreams will come true."

Johnny finished the song with the ending notes and sang.

"Following, Following, Following."

The trio stopped their singing while Johnny looked up at the girls.

"You guys did amazing!" Johnny complimented both of them.

"I told you that Meena's got a good voice," Ash pointed at the elephant.

Meena hid in her ears with a blush. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Holy cow," someone awed as the group turned to see Buster Moon looking up at Meena with his jaw drop.

"You can sing?" Buster gasped.

Ash and Johnny smiled brightly that Buster noticed this while Meena covered her face a lot more with her face redder than a tomato.

"Um...I--I used to be in--choir. Um--I'm sorry if it sounds horrible--"

"Horrible? IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!" Buster shouted excitedly.

Meena jumped back with widened eyes. "Um...I-I--thank you--"

"You know, you should re-audition, Eddie and Mizuki has got to see this--"

"No...um...I'm--you know--uh...well...I--uh." Meena was stuttering, not sure how to process her words out of pure fear. She sighed heavily. "I-I can't. I--I get so scared."

Buster smiled while climbing up on the piano. "Meena, Meena...do you know what to do with that fear?"

"N-No."

Buster smiled grandly. "You just start singing. Once you start singing, you won't be afraid because you're actually singing."

"Or you can pretend that everyone is wearing underwear," Ash added with a laugh.

"I mean...it's not really the stage I'm afraid of," Meena uttered.

"Then what is it that you're afraid of?" Buster asked.

Meena frowned while not knowing how to answer.

Buster skipped the subject. "Look, you know what my dad once told me...don't be afraid to do what you love. Even if it's singing your heart or running a show, don't let it stop you from doing what you love to do."

Meena pondered about the advice, taking it in as she gazed up at the koala.

"Do you think you can re-audition?" Buster inquired Meena gently.

She looked around to see her friends' eager faces, excited to see what she's going to say.

The elephant took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll do it!"

"Yes!" Both Johnny and Ash cheered.

"Great! We can do it tomorrow since Eddie's visiting his nana. I'm going to check around and see if Mizuki needs any help!" Buster determined while running off to check on something.

Meena gave a couple of deep breaths while glancing at her friends, who were giving her a thumbs-up with bright smiles.

She grinned back at them softly.

~.~

Meanwhile, Ms. Crawly was getting ready for her three dates in pure excitement. What dress should she wear? Should she put more or less make-up on? However, she decided to just stick with her original orange dress with red flowers on it with her orange purse. She had only an eyeshadow on that was barely visible with red lipstick. She's ready to go.

Her first date was with a snake, who wanted to watch a romantic comedy movie. She met up with her first date at the movie theater. As they were watching a movie together, she felt the snake's tail while she smiled at him. However, his tail began to slide down on her and slowly wrapping her around his scales. Ms. Crawly was frozen for a second as the snake's lengthy body wrapped around hers tightly as she was pulled to kiss him on the lips. With an angry determination, she bit down the snake's tail, causing him to loosen his hold on her. She stepped out of his scales and slapped him with her purse before he could get wrap his tail around her again. She stormed out of the theater with a huff.

Her second date was a stumpy sheep, who wanted to have a fancy dinner at Les Calamars. The second date seemed to show promise until all the food was ordered. The food was placed on their small table like a feast as he swiveled his tongue and dig into corn and desserts. Ms. Crawly, on the other hand, had crumbs thrown at her face as she's trying to eat the smallest salad she ordered to save up. By the time the check came around, her second date was too full that he had her pay. Ms. Crawly wouldn't mind if--if she even had the money herself to pay. She gasped at the expensive prices while looking up to see that her second date disappeared. She groaned deeply while searching for ways to pay for the dinner.

Her third date was a flexible bull, who wanted to invite her to a bar in the nightclub. He's...a bit too energetic for the old iguana's taste. He pulled her to the dance floor and began to dance with her. It's all fun until she started to get tired. When she moved back to sit down, he wouldn't let her while just dancing with her and threw her up in the air. However, this gave him attention from the animals surrounding him, dancing around him to the point where he forgot that he threw his date up in the chandeliers. Ms. Crawly just hanged there with a saddened look on her face.

Well...she could say that her three dates were a bust. She walked out of the club before it could get chaotic in there. Ms. Crawly ambled down the street while looking around at all the couples nuzzling each other, holding hands throughout the streets. Ms. Crawly frowned as she gave a wistful sigh.

Maybe Johnny and Ash were wrong...it's too late for any kind of romance for me.

Her sad thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into the street pool with an 'oof', causing her glass eye to roll out into the street.

"Oh no!" Ms. Crawly gasped while her vision was a little blurry from bumping into the street pole. However, when she looked up, she saw the muscular iguana that she envisioned herself with. Ms. Crawly smiled brightly as if she found her long-lost love. However, her vision was soon cleared from the light blinking and it turned out that it was an old lizard just fixing the light.

The lizard had a red plaid shirt with brown overalls and pockets of where his tools were. He noticed the glass eye on the ground as he hopped down from the ladder and picked up her glass eye. Ms. Crawly walked over to him with a frown.

The lizard fogged up the glass eye and rubbed it to clean it. His kind green eyes softly gazed up at Ms. Crawly.

"I-I think this belongs to you," the lizard said with a kind voice.

Ms. Crawly nodded her head while receiving the eye and put it back into her eye socket. "Oh, yes. Thank you."

She turned away with a sigh.

"Beautiful night for moon bathing, don't you think?" the lizard asked in a soft tone.

This earned a soft smile from Ms. Crawly as she looked up at the night sky. "Oh, yes. It's wonderful."

She softly gazed at him as the lizard led her towards the small pier over the ocean where the moon was just right for moon bathing. Both of the reptiles sat on the benches together as the lizard offer her the foil reflector. She looked at him in shock that he's being a gentleman as he opened the foil reflector that reflected the moonlight on them as they laid back against the bench and soak in the moonlight. 

To Be Continued...