Memories of lazy Saturday mornings and a younger-not to mention chubbier-Eak flooded back to the Mexican as Bon started hitting a familiar pair of notes on his guitar strings. Eak took a quick breath, and tried to keep his attention focused on his microphone instead of the crowd in front of him.

https://youtu.be/sOTq3LvAKx8

See no evil, hear no evil~

Eak felt weird, hearing himself sing like that. How long has it been since he last sung this song? Or any song at all, to be honest. As Eak had stated before, he sounded pretty decent. Well, he hadn't compared himself to Meg's singing voice yet so of course he could only say he was okay at singing. He would probably break free from the 'decent' label once he reached the chorus. The chorus of this song had always been his strong point.

Speak no evil, you can't win~

Eak found himself getting a little distracted at the multi-colored lights dancing around in the dark room. They were all very different shades of colors, but somehow managed to blend in perfectly with each other. Toddy clearly knew what she was doing. Bon was most likely enjoying himself a whole lot on his guitar. It was pretty easy to tell, even though Eak couldn't see him that well in the dark.

What's made up and what seems real? Feel it seeping through my skin~

The audience was a bit quiet, Eak could only hear a few people whispering something to each other. Shit, why did that make him nervous? Would they start cheering at the chorus? Was he a sucky replacement? Ugh, he had to stop worrying about that...... He was doing this for The Toys, so no way he was just gonna walk out in the middle of a song.

Done with the rumors, for I have discovered~ The path of good humor, in praying for others~

Dang, Toddy's special effects were a real banger with the audience. The colorful lights made Eak a bit more comfortable with singing. Eak had to admit, he felt a bit happy about singing this theme song again after so many years.

Cut out your gossip, cuz this may be shocking~ I'm keeping my mouth shut, my hands do the talking~

Oooh it was almost time for the swearing part! Eak started feeling more pumped as Joy gave him a thumbs-up and a bright smile. Man, she was pretty cute.......

Fuck their dumb opinions, don't be a poser~ Dive into nirvana, and take it slower~

Eak's voice grew louder with each verse he sang. Fuck, he forgot about how much fun singing was throughout the years....... This was really nice. No way he was gonna admit that, though.

Down, down baby, down down that roller-coaster~ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

He wondered what the gang was doing right now....... He'd have to ask Towntrap to share the other member's phone numbers with him, since there was no way Golden would give Eak his number. The Mexican frowned at that. He still hadn't figured out why Golden disliked him.......

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil....... What's made up and what seems real? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Bon was completely rocking out on his guitar, and Eak couldn't help but gawk in amazement. Damn, that kid could rock! Finally, time for the chorus....... Eak braced himself. He couldn't fuck this up....... No, he wouldn't fuck this up!

Tell me where I left my mind, I lost my courage and my heart!~

The crowd started cheering, making another wave of energy wash over Eak. Oooh, baby, he was killin' it! All the insecurity and awkwardness from earlier had left Eak's head. He wondered if Meg could sing as well as he did? Haha, she could probably kill him with a single high note.

Got me wandering in circles, dancing drunken in the dark~

Joy was happy to see Eak became more confident as the song went on. His voice was totally made for this song, and even though Joy absolutely adored Meg's singing, it was nice to hear something different for once. Still, though...... That Eak was willing to just sing in front of an entire crowd to help out a bunch of strangers was......odd. Very sweet and amazing, of course, but......a bit shady, to be honest. Joy wondered what Golden thought of Eak. She hoped the Mexican didn't accidentally trigger bad memories for him........

Now I've got to find myself will someone help me, baby please?

Huh......those lyrics kinda hit Eak. He wasn't sure why....... Why did he suddenly feel so weird? He didn't feel bad or anything, but suddenly kinda empty. Maybe he was just hungry. If he was lucky, he'd still be able to devour some tacos at home.

If they say that love is blind, then help me out 'cause I can't see~

..........that hit him. Eak wildly shook his head as an image of her crossed his thoughts. Don't think about her now........ He had to focus, damn it!

Whoa, uh-oh, whoa, uh-oh, and when I make it~

Bon raised an eyebrow at Eak. Why did he suddenly look so disturbed earlier? Was he feeling sick? Did Bon and his gang ask too much of him? Did he have asthma, and was he feeling exhausted from singing for so long?? Was he-ugh. He had to stop worrying so damn much.......

Whoa, uh-oh, whoa, uh-oh, I'm gonna take it back~

Bon played the final few riffs as the song ended. Just one second after Bon hit his final note, the crowd emerged in cheers and whistles. Eak's eyes lit up, and so did the room. Eak could now see Joy and Bon's proud expressions, and Eak couldn't help but share that emotion with them. This went better than he thought it would go!

"So that was Headhunt! I hope y'all enjoyed this performance! We'll be back with another song after a short break!" Joy cheerfully announced.

As more and more people went to get a drink at the mini-bar, Eak was lightly pulled behind the curtains by Toddy.

"That was actually pretty decent....... Good job, Mexican." Toddy looked at Eak in satisfaction.

"Thanks, M'lady. Your special effect skills aren't too shabby either!" Eak grinned down at the shorter girl.

"Again, thanks so much for wanting to help us....... That's really awesome of you!" Bon gave Eak a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's cool, man. Anytime!" Eak grinned back at the blue-head.

"So what song should we play nex-" Just as Joy was about to ask the question, Eak heard the backdoor open.

"...........who is that?"

A short-and very beautiful-girl with white hair came through the door. She looked at Eak with an ice-cold stare, that nearly managed to send shivers down Eak's spine. Phew, he hadn't been looked at that way in a while.......

"Meg! What're you doing here?!" Toddy's eyebrows went up in absolute shock.

The black-skinned girl looked kinda funny with that face.

"I'm coming to perform.......but who the hell is he?" Meg started walking towards Eak, not even once taking her eyes off of his in the process.

Scary lady.......

"I'm Eak Mendez. Who the hell are you?" Eak nonchalantly put his hands in his jeans' pockets as he stared down at the girl.

"Meg." What a hostile tone.......

"Oooh so you're The Meg Fox's been talkin' about." Okay, maybe Eak was being kinda rude, but Meg started it!

"What the fuck did he say about me to you??" Meg's hostile demeanor quickly turned into an irritated one, and suddenly, she didn't look all that intimidating anymore.

"I thought you were sick, Meg! Why're you here?" Bon came to stand next to Meg, a concerned expression on his face.

Eak could see Bon reached out to grab Meg's hand, but the latter pulled away and narrowed her eyes. Eak felt pity for the blue-haired boy as he awkwardly stuffed his hand inside his jacket's pocket.

"I was feeling better, so I thought I might as well show up, anyways....... I still don't know what Eak's doing here, though." Meg's coldness was slowly being replaced by curiosity.

"I came to take your place during the concert so your gang wouldn't have to cancel the concert minutes before the performance....." Eak casually replied.

"Oh......thanks for that." It sounded half-hearted, but Eak decided to just go with it.

"Well, since you're here now, anyways, I might as well go home and leave the rest to y'all." Eak cursed under his breath as he noticed his shoe-lace being loose once again.

"Well, thanks again for helping us out! People these days usually aren't that kind....." Joy smiled and gave Eak a high-five.

Soft hands.......

"See ya!" Eak was surprised at Bon's sudden bro-hug.

"Yeah, see you mates later!" Eak was gonna say something else, when Toddy interrupted him.

"You'd better get outta here right now.....that guard's looking for you inside." Toddy peeked behind the red curtain with Eak joining her in less than two seconds.

Indeed the guard from earlier was there, glancing around the room as he slowly made his way towards where The Toys were standing. Toddy quickly closed the curtain.

"Shit, he's gonna find you!" Toddy looked at Eak alarmed.

"What? Why's it bad if Jerry finds you?" Bon raised an eyebrow at Eak.

"Oh his name's Jerry....." Eak heard Toddy mutter.

"Well he......kinda didn't wanna let me in cuz I ain't got a ticket so I just.....y'know...." Eak struggled to find a way to say he climbed over the fence without sounding like a criminal.

"You did what?" While Bon and Meg looked like they expected Eak killed a guy, Joy was merely curious.

"I climbed over the fence."

"You climbed over the fence?!" Eak thought Meg would get mad, but instead she snickered and tried to hide her obvious grin.

"Yea-"

"Guys, Janny's seriously getting close now!" Toddy whisper-yelled.

"Jerry." Joy wasn't stressed enough to keep the correction to herself.

"Quick, go through the backdoor!" Meg pushed Eak towards the grey door she went through earlier.

Eak grabbed onto the door handle and tried to turn it. Big-ass surprise it didn't butch.

"What's wrong??" Bon went to pull at the door himself.

"The son of a bitch won't open up!" Eak had trouble keeping his voice down because of his irritation.

"Meg, isn't that the door that often gets stuck 'cause it's so rusty?!" Joy spoke up.

"Oh shi-you're saying that now??" Meg started walking in circles out of frustration.

"Jerry's coming!" 

Eak's panicked eyes shot from Bon's to Meg's. As soon as he made eye contact with the short girl, her yellow eyes filled with determination. 

"Joy, can you hand me the microphone, please?" Joy didn't need to hear it twice and handed her friend the microphone.

"What're you gonna do??" Toddy hissed at Meg.

"Eak, I'm gonna scream into this microphone so as soon people turn their heads away, run. Don't hesitate, just go for the exit.

"Alright??" Wait, if Meg screamed into the microphone, wouldn't everyone just stare at the podium??

Meg got on stage, and Eak could see Jerry and the rest of the audience being distracted for a moment and looking up at Meg in surprise.

"Hey, guys, sorry for being absent the first song but-OH MY GOD LOOK OVER THERE AAAAAHH!" Meg screamed loud enough to make a person deaf as she pointed at somewhere in the back.

As pretty much everyone-including Jerry-looked backwards, Eak took this opportunity to bolt away from behind the curtain and towards the entrance. And just as soon as people looked back at the stage, he was gone. Eak ran out of the building and onto the streets.

Damn......he came there to help The Toys with an entire concert but he was there for, like, 7 minutes! That was pretty lame......oh well. The Toys seemed happy, and Eak was pretty sure they'd become his allies if he just patiently waited! Too bad he didn't have all that much patience......

Meg snickered to herself as Joy sheepishly apologized for her friend's 'prank'.

"Anyways, now that I'm back here, what song should I sing?" Meg was surprised by her own cheerfulness.

Pretending not to be fucking stressed out has been easy lately......

"Sleepless!" Some kid in the front yelled.

"I got'cha! Let's roll, guys!" Meg didn't have the courage to look Bon in the eye as she turned back to her microphone.

https://youtu.be/2OKWOwBKlxg

I worry a lot~ And I'm never sure~

Joy was playing her keyboard majestically as usual. Meg found it hard to concentrate on the song. She felt guilty for rejecting Bon like that when he was just trying to comfort her. Things......had been complicated between Bon and Meg lately........

It's hard to choose, so much to lose, I want things I can't afford~

All of them have been really stressed out lately. With all the concerts they've been doing, with all the family drama going on....... Meg wasn't really sure why she always took out her frustrations on Bon specifically....... 

I cannot sleep, I cannot dream~

She loved him with all her heart, but each time Bon walked away from her instead of trying to talk to her, Meg couldn't help but feel betrayed....... Maybe it wasn't fair of Meg to get mad at Bon for that. He also had his own personal struggles with his dad.......

Even when I'm counting sheep, tonight is way too long~

But sometimes Meg just wanted to talk about her feelings too...... And it seemed as though Bon was afraid of that confrontation. Meg considered taking a break with her band soon, but they were so goddamn busy.........

Sleepless nights, exhausted too uptight~

Ironic that Meg was also having trouble sleeping lately...... She considered taking sleeping pills, but then again, those weren't exactly trust-worthy. Not to mention Toddy would kick her ass if she did.

I don't think, before I speak~

The lyrics to Sleepless really reminded Meg of Fox, if she thought about it..... Sure, she and Fox fight a whole lot, and lately Meg's relationship with almost everyone has grown kinda strained, but she really did care for the freckled redhead.

It makes me lose sight~

And poor Spring....... Every time Meg and Fox had a heated argument, Spring would be caught in between. And then they'd make Spring choose a side, and if he didn't they would get mad at him.

I cannot sleep, I cannot dream~

God, Meg really was a shitty friend and girlfriend....... Why did she suck so damn much? Being stressed out and having to keep remembering her childhood traumas each time she saw fire-which recently happened a lot-wasn't an excuse for her being such a bitch.....

The night is way too long~

Meg glanced at Joy and Bon through the dark blue lights dancing around the room. They were smiling, but Meg could literally sense the amount of stress surrounding them.

Even when I'm counting sheep, the night is way too long~

They were all so tired...... Is this what Fox had to endure every day? Meg should really talk more with Spring and Fox...... It's been a while since she last talked to them.

The ceiling is all I see~ With darkness between you and me~

The white-haired girl swiftly turned around to face Bon. Around this part of the song, Meg would always have kind of a staring contest with Bon.

I'm counting every hour~ Completely overpowered~

Bon's lively green eyes flashed to Meg's for a few seconds. His eyes were filled with desperation...... He was desperate for any kind of positive interaction with Meg, and she knew that.......

It makes me wonder why~

The air between Bon and Meg became even more tense as they noticed the audience's singing had grown quieter. Meg tried to catch Bon's eye, but the blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes from the girl's in a bitter way.

I cannot sleep, I cannot dream~

Ouch...... Meg turned back to the audience, with a stinging feeling of sadness in her chest. How the fuck was she supposed to perform at least five more songs with this amount of tension between her and Bon?

Even when I'm counting sheep, tonight is way too deep~

As Meg's voice and the music started fading, so did Toddy's distracting light show. The room lightened up and cheers and claps came from the crowd. With that terribly fake smile on her face, Meg made a small bow to the audience.

"So that was-"

"You're short!" A guy in the back yelled.

Judging by Joy's amused expression, that guy probably said that kinda thing before.

"So are you, random guy in the back!" Meg nonchalantly pointed at where she assumed the guy stood.

Oooh's emerged from the concert-goers as drunken laughter could be heard.

"Nice job, Meg!" Joy high-fived her friend.

"Same to you!" Meg offered Joy an energetic grin, ignoring her own exhaustion.

Meg began heading towards the backroom, when Bon's soft voice made her stop.

"Hey, Meg?" Meg turned her head to see Bon awkwardly standing a few feet away from her.

"Yeah?" Meg tilted her head at her boyfriend.

Bon chewed at his bottom lip, considering what to say.

Please talk, please talk......

"Uh.....nothing. Never mind....." Bon swiftly walked past the short girl.

Meg could see the look of guilt on Bon's face as he walked past.

Damn it......

https://youtu.be/CO04RZXEkqM

Eak's eyes snapped open as he was shaken awake by his familair ringtone. He grunted and lazily moved his hand around until he found his vibrating phone.

"Y'hello?" His voice sounded cranky and deep.

"Eak, where are you? I've been trying to contact you since last night! Me and the gang are at the skating park waiting for you!" Towntrap's voice sounded too lively for Eak's taste.

"I'm at home, sleeping cuz I got home late last night." Eak stiffly replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry...... Can you come over or nah?" Eak looked at his alarm clock with half-lidded eyes.

9:30.....his parents probably weren't awake yet.

"Sure, be right there." Eak casually replied.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the back!" Town hung up.

The back.....? Oh, right. The back of the skating park. Eak overdramatically yawned and stretched. He didn't even bother to put on a shirt and just zipped up his gang's jacket.

Breakfast? Nah. He'd return home later for that. The grey-haired Mexican jogged all the way to the skating park, barely having the time to look at the pretty colors in the sky.

"He's here, lads! He's here!" Freddy's head poked out from through the entrance.

"Yo." Eak stuck up his hand and got to the other side.

"Hey, Eak! How was last night?" Towntrap, who was oddly enough shakily standing on Fox's skateboard, asked.

Golden slightly waved as Eak entered the park.

"Oh my Jesus, so busy, you have no idea-"

"Toddy told me you only had to stick around for one song." Chica cheerfully interrupted him.

"Okay, but still! I had to climb over a really high fence, plus I ran away from the entrance guard twice! I think that's a pretty big deal." In an attempt to look cool, Eak put up his jacket's collar.

"Sure, sure! But anyways, Toddy told me The Toys, even Meg, were really grateful for your help. She said they might wanna hang out later!" Chica happily announced.

"Does that mean they're our.....?" Eak looked at Chica to finish his question.

"Allies? I think so!" Chica send Eak a friendly wink.

"Aww yiss!" Eak did a fist-pump in the air and laughed.

"By the way, Bonnie had a pretty neat idea." Fox quietly spoke up.

"Hmm? What's up?" Eak turned to the purple-haired gitarist.

"We haven't really hung out as a group of friends yet, so I thought, maybe we could have a sleepover at my house!" Bonnie suggested, putting his hair in a ponytail.

"Sleepover?? What for?" Eak was pretty sure Bonnie just told him that, but his mind was still pretty hazy.

Bonnie thankfully didn't seem annoyed by Eak's slow thinking.

"Friends who run away from guards together, sleep together."

.........Eak liked that sentence a lot.

"That sounds kinda dirty!" Golden commented with a snort.

"I know, right?" Fox nodded in agreement.

"Y'all find something dirty in every sentence, huh?" Despite the dry-sounding question, a smile played at Town's lips.

"Dirty jokes aside, I like that idea! I'm usually not really for sleepovers, but this actually sounds fun!" Eak could feel his mouth slowly twisting into a grin.

"So you're all up for it?" Bonnie looked around with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, sure! When's the sleepover, anyways?" Golden asked his friend.

"Tonight, around 8 PM!" Bonnie proudly announced.

"Geez, tonight already? You're all always so rushed to do stuff......" Eak raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Well, life's short. So we'd better make the best of it while we still can." Chica answered, shrugging.

"Good point! So we got any transportation planned already or.....?" Towntrap chimed in.

"There fit about 5 other people in my dad's car! So that means two other peeps gotta take care of their own transportation......." Bonnie said, trailing off towards the end.

"Hat on for who gets to be in the car!" Chica suddenly yelled.

Almost everyone made a triangle shape with their hands over their head. Golden was one of the two people who reacted too slow. The other one was Eak, who had no idea what the fuck Hat On was.

"Dang it, no!" Golden whined distraught.

"Ahaha! Sucks for you, Lamp!" Fox stuck out his tongue as he wildly pointed at the blonde teen.

"That's settled, then!" Towntrap looked proud to be one of the car-peeps.

"Aww, man...... My house is so far away from Bonnie's......." Golden moped around.

Oh, that gave Eak an idea! He hated cars, and since Golden's house was apparently far away from Bonnie's.......

"I could bring you!" Eak told Golden.

He saw the blonde's face lightly shift in awkwardness.

"That's not necessary, thank yo-" Eak didn't give Golden the chance to refuse.

"No, it's fine! I've got a big-ass bicycle I can bring you with! Then you don't gotta walk all the way to Bonnie's house!"

"I can always take the bus......" Golden didn't look very keen on the idea.

"Aww, come on, dude! Just let Eak get you there! It's better for the climat, plus you can bond with our leader!" At least Freddy thought it was a good idea.

"I dunno......riding with two people on a bike is kinda dangerous......." Golden continued protesting.

"Nonsense! My bike can easily carry two people!" Eak comfortingly patted Golden's shoulder.

The blonde"s eye briefly twitched at the touch.

"Please?" Chica looked at Golden with puppy dog eyes.

Golden let out a tired sigh.

"Fine.....you can pick me up." Golden put up his hands, showing he gave up.

"Alright! I just gotta know your address and Bonnie's and I'll pick you up at 7 PM." Eak shoved his hands inside his pockets with a proud huff.

"Oh, sure! I'll give you my number real quick! Golden, you want me to give your number as well?" Bonnie asked, looking at Golden.

"Sure......" Golden absently replied.

Fuck yeah, gang bonding!