Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The wind cut through Johnny’s fur like knives as he zoomed down the sidewalk on his skateboard. Picking up uncomfortable rates of speed as he zipped by walking pedestrians. 

‘I’m gonna be so late for Ash’s show! I knew I shoulda taken my dads truck instead!’ 

The club was fairly small, sandwiched between two closed, unlit stores, their presence insignificant in comparison to the bright, colorful lights that beamed across the entrance of the club. Despite the club being on the cheaper end, it was packed with people, most likely due to it being the only club in town.

After an ungraceful halt to a stop, Johnny propped his skateboard in his arms, rushing towards the crowded doors of the clubs where Ash was supposed to be playing at, frequently apologizing to the patrons that he’d repeatedly bump into as he shuffled his way inside. 

It didn’t take long for Johnny to spot Ash on stage, she seemed to half way through her song and given the hint of hoarseness in her voice as she sang, Johnny assumed that this must have been her last song of the night. Johnny hesitately waved an arm to get Ash’s attention amongst the crowd, which was luckily noticed by her, giving him a sly nod and a wink in acknowledgment. 

“Johnny! Over here!” A high-pitched voice caught Johnny’s attention amongst the overlapping sea of conversations in the club.

Johnny whipped his head around to see Meena, Buster and Ms. Crawly sitting at a table across the room from him.

“Hey guys!” Johnny waved as he walked past heaps of people in order to reach his theatre crew, as he got closer however, he noticed that the table seemed to be missing a few people.

“We thought you weren’t gonna make it!” Meena commented, sounding relieved. 

Embarrassment flushed across Johnny’s cheeks, ‘Don’t remind me…’ He sheepishly craned his arm to scratch the back of his neck.

 “Yeah, Sorry, I just kinda lost track of time, I’ve been trying to clean up the garage after uh…Y'know, My dad and his gang’s been in prison.” Johnny explained.  Although Johnny was living on his own at this point, it felt like he had to work double the amount of time it took to actually take care of his own living space, especially now that he had to take care of the garage and his own house, which was right behind it. It was easier when he was living with other people, where teamwork was necessary in basic household chores, now all Johnny had to rely on was himself. 

 “Aww that’s okay, I’m sure Ash won’t mind!” Ms. Crawly reassured him.

 Johnny let out a soft chuckle “Yeah, I hope so…Where’s Rosita, Gunter and Mr. Moon?”

“Rosita is out on a date with her husband, So Gunter’s babysitting, and Mr. Moon is out to dinner with some guy..Uhh..Eddie Noodleman if I remember?” Meena explained

“Ahhh..Well, I guess it’s just us then righ’?” Johnny cracked a smile.

The sound of erupting applause caught Johnny’s attention, turning his head around to see Ash walking off the stage, taking the guitar sling off of her as she left.

Ash soon popped up amongst the crowd, waving to the group once she was in view. 

“Ash, You were amazing!” Meena complimented her.

“Yeah! You were great!” Johnny nodded in agreement. 

Ash scoffed. “Honestly? I’ve done better. I think I need to take a break from performing, my voice has been killing me this past week.” 

Johnny could tell.

“I’m not surprised given how often you’ve been performing, you’ve had a show practically every night of this week!” Johnny added.

The lights suddenly grew dim, then dimmer, until the whole club was practically pitch black, except for the stage that stayed fully lit. Some of the overlapping conversations came to a stop as a few curious observers peered to the stage, and Johnny couldn’t help but follow.

“Oooo, Is there another performance going on?” Ms. Crawly asked

 Ash sat down next to Meena. “I guess so? They told me that my show was the last performance of the night.”

 Johnny’s eyes narrowed as he waited for the arrival of this seemingly mystery performer. “Maybe they changed the schedule last minute?” He speculated.

A figure walked across the vacant stage, a white-tailed stag, seeming to be around Johnny’s and Ash’s age, but he couldn’t quite tell with the..wild make-up this guy had on.

The deer’s face was painted pure white, with dark, dramatic black markings over his eyes and mouth, similar to the face markings of a badger.

 The man’s outfit was just as striking and loud, adorned with a leather jacket that seemed a size too big on him, with spikes dappled along the tops of his shoulders, and a pair of wide, black jeans, accessorized with a shining wallet chain over it and high top combat boots. The stag stood in the middle of the stage, making the last fine-tunings on his guitar.

Johnny didn’t know what kind of music to expect from this guy.

The quiet conversations amongst the crowd were soon interrupted, as a loud, distorted howl rang out from the man’s guitar, its sound reaching each corner of the club. 

Johnny quickly had an idea of the kind of music this guy was gonna play.

And it was going to be loud.

Chapter Text

`The blood history from the past’

The young deer’s distorted guitar played fast and rhythmic- or well, as rhythmic as it could be. 

‘Deceased animals now forgotten’

‘An age of legends and fear’

‘A time now so distant’

The stag’s singing…or, screeching more like it, sounded just as warbled as his guitar, and his voice was guttural and raspy, like he was playing a character. Johnny was already somewhat familiar with metal and rock music (mainly from Ash), but this was a kind of metal he’s never even heard of before.

He hated it.

Or- no. Hate is a strong word, he more so just disliked it…or maybe he did like it? Or at least it sounded..tolerable? 

Johnny didn’t know anymore.

‘Less numbered as they were’

‘Their lives so primitive and pagan’

‘Superstitions were a part of the life’

‘So unprotected in the dark nights’

Johnny turned to look at his group of friends. Meena looked..not exactly pleased with the performance, similarly to most of the other people in the club, faces of discomfort or distaste showered across the club, Johnny’s face instinctively wanted to join in, but his heart couldn’t help but feel bad for the young buck, his music wasn’t necessarily bad (albeit inexperienced), but it just wasn’t reaching the right audience. Empathy seeped into Johnny’s chest as he watched the performance, he knew what it felt like to have his talent undermined.

but on the contrary, Ash and Ms. Crawly were headbanging away, clearly enjoying the music.

 At least someone enjoyed the stag’s performance

‘Pagan fears’

‘The past is alive’

‘The past is alive!’

Johnny had noticed throughout the song that the bucks song seemed to be missing something…like an instrument. 

‘Does he not have band members to play music with?’ Johnny theorized.

He knew that in most rock or metal songs, it was usually played by a band, not a singular person.

Johnny's attention soon caught onto a loud, banging sound- almost like drums…but there weren't any drums to be found..perhaps it was just an audio recording?

Johnny rose up a bit from his seat to get a better view of the stage, and there he noticed that the rapids drumming-like beat was coming from the man’s boot. 

‘He didn’t have access to drums, so he used his boot as a replacement instead…’ Johnny admired the performer’s creativity.

It definitely wasn’t a complete replacement, but it was a decent enough stand-by for actual drums during certain parts of the song.

‘Woeful people with pale faces’

‘Staring obsessed at the moon’

‘Some memories will never go away’

‘And they will forever be here’

Ash called out to Johnny against the blaring screeches of the deer’s guitar.

“He’s great right?” Ash smirked, expecting him to disagree due to the music being..not Johnny’s usual taste.

“Uh…Yeah! He’s pretty good!” He responded, his tone genuine, which caught Ash off guard. Metal, especially the kind the deer was playing wasn’t something Johnny was super familiar with, but he couldn’t help but grow into it as the song went on, as aggressive and unchoreographed as it was, it was almost like a guilty pleasure.

“Really?” Ash replied in disbelief.

“Yeah! Honestly! I mean- it’s like-“ he stammered to find the right words “It’s not really something I’m super into, but I can appreciate it for what it is, y'know?”

Ash chuckled “Yeah, I get that…”  she stopped raising her voice as the song began to come to an end. “Now I know why he wasn’t on the schedule, that guy- uh..Finn I think his name is? He comes in here spontaneously to play, how they allow him to do that is beyond me..”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, sometimes he’ll come in here like- three times a week, or once a week, sometimes he won’t show up at all for a while. Honestly? The only reason I think he hasn’t gotten in trouble for it is because he lets our boss walk all over him, he hardly gets paid anything!”

Johnny nodded in response, zoning out.

There was a mixed reception of applause scattered around the room, the only prominent clapping coming from Johnny, Ash, and Ms. Crawly. Sudden disapproving ‘boos’ and groans of disapproval began to mix in with the applause, its negativity infecting the crowd like a disease.

Pain struck into Johnny’s heart like a thousand arrows as he watched the stag’s face plummet into sorrow, ears pinned back like airplanes.

Johnny couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy.

‘All of this AND a measly pay?’

Ash got up from her seat. “I’m gonna go back there and cheer him up, his audience are all a bunch of pop-ridden lame-o’s anyways, they don’t know what they’re missing.” 

As Ash began to walk towards the backstage door, Johnny soon quickly got up as well. 

“Wait! Can I- uh- Can I come with you? I wanna tip him- er- uh- Finn for his performance.” Johnny asked.

‘And hopefully reassure him that he’s not a total failure. The last thing I’d want to see is someone losing their passion for something because they feel like they aren’t good enough.’

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Uhhh sure, that’s cool, but make sure to be quick please? I don’t wanna get in too much trouble for bringing someone backstage.”

Johnny exhaled in relief. “Thank you, I appreciate it a lot.”

Once Ash and Johnny made it backstage, it didn’t take long for them to find Finn, hunched over a full-body mirror with a pile of used make-up remover wipes beside him.

“Hey dude! I’m glad you came here again, I haven’t seen you in a while!”

Finn got up and stood straight, setting down the make-up remover wipe he was using, his drooped ears slowly raising.

“Hey Ash! Yeah, I’m glad to be here again..I’ve just had some stuff come up I guess.” Finn shrugged. “Although maybe I shouldn’t have, It was kinda a rough crowd tonight, huh?” Finn laughed, self-deprecation poking through his joke.

Ash rolled her eyes “Don’t listen to the crowd Finn, they’re a bunch of losers, you wouldn’t believe how much I’ve had to tone down my songs for these people!” Ash reached up to rub Finn’s back reassuringly.

Finn chuckled half-heartedly, like he didn’t believe a word Ash said. “Yeah…Thanks Ash, that means a lot to me. Maybe one day I’ll be as good as you, yeah?” Finn smiled

Ash giggled “Oh, definitely if you just follow my lead!” She moved over to give Johnny some room to talk with Finn.

Finn’s gaze turned to Johnny, and then back to Ash, confusion on his face.

“Oh- uh- I’m one of Ash’s friends, but I uh- wanted to tip you! For your performance out there, it was really great! I-I mean I’m not usually into like…”

“Black metal?”

“Black metal! Yeah, but uh- your show really persuaded me,” Johnny laughed, handing him some cash as a tip. “When’s your next performance?”

“My..next performance? Uh..whenever I have the time I guess?” He chuckled hesitantly 

“Honestly?…” Finn looked over at Ash, the porcupine didn’t seem to be paying too much attention, as she was practically across the room from them now looking over her song sheets while they talked.

The deer’s gaze went back to Johnny, lowering his voice so Ash couldn’t hear. “I don’t think I’m gonna be performing for much longer…” he muttered solemnly.

Johnny’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

Finn groaned, his chest as heavy as an anvil. “I just- I don’t think I’m good enough for this kind of thing…Sometimes I don’t even know why I bother at all.” 

Johnny felt disappointment and sorrow sink into his heart, like pressure was squeezed onto the essential organ from the inside. He couldn’t help but see a past version of himself inside Finn’s eyes, the version of himself that had to hide his love, his passion, his need for singing in order to keep his dad happy, because he didn’t think he could be good enough, that his dreams were just that.

 Dreams.

 Nothing more.

“What? No, No! Don’t say that, you were good! You-You just need to find the right audience, the right medium, maybe try performing somewhere new—“

Finn sharply interrupted the gorilla. “Tch, and go where? This is the only club in town. I don’t- I-I really shouldn’t be just bringing the mood down like this, I’m sorry.” Guilt seeped into his voice.

“I really should just be going.”

Finn got up and started cleaning up the last bits of make-up that was on his face, before packing up his guitar, which seemed to have his jacket and wallet chain stacked into his guitar case as well.

Johnny felt hopeless to protest, watching the stag leave right in front of his eyes.

Memories crawled into the back of Johnny’s mind, his life before he had joined the theatre. Before, he didn’t think he had any chance of making a name for himself as a singer, no way to make his dreams flourish. At that point he was on the verge of giving up on trying to reach his chance of a singing career at all. It was all thanks to that fateful advertisement poster that he had managed to get a career at the theatre at all. If it weren’t for the theatre, his dreams would have been only dreams.

‘The theatre…’

Johnny didn’t know what took over him. He felt a rush of adrenaline and emotion take over as he sprung to his feet and went over to Ash.

Ash’s eyes were snapped away from the music sheets she was preoccupied with, looking around the room for Finn.

“Did he..leave already?” 

Johnny ignored her question.

“Ash, do you have a pen and a piece of paper on you by chance?” He asked urgently.

Ash searched through her jacket pockets. 

“Uhhh, I have a marker and…does a receipt paper work?” 

“That’s perfect, thank you Ash!” Johnny grabbed the two items and sprinted out the door without another word, hoping to reach Finn before it was too late.

As Johnny rushed out the back door, he turned to his right to see that Finn was heading out towards the sidewalk across the parking lot. 

Johnny immediately started jogging towards Finn, trying to reach him before he was out of sight.

“Hey! Wait!”

Finn turned his head, slowing down to a stop once he saw who it was.

Johnny had caught up to him, huffing and puffing until he said:

“I-I can get you a position! At the New Moon Theatre! We’re always looking for new performers! Here, just-“ Johnny began writing down the address of the theatre, along with Mr. Moon’s number. “Just call this number, he’s my boss, he’s a real chill lad, I’m sure he’ll be able to take you in for an audition.”

Finn looked up at the gorilla wide-eyed and perplexed, taking the receipt paper hesitantly. “I…I don’t know…”

“Listen.”

Johnny tried finding the right words to say, words that would have meaning, have some impact in this situation.

“I know, this is probably a lot, but I really don’t want you to give up on your dream. Music, singing and performing are all beautiful works of art that I think need more people each day, that person could- no, no, should be you. In my opinion, there’s probably like- ten office workers for every one musician. Don’t you want to be that one musician, rather than be a part of another ten office workers?”

“I….uh…”

Johnny could see the gears shifting in Finn’s head, maybe this was a bit too much for him so suddenly, especially by somebody he hardly even knew.

“Look, You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I’m not at all forcing you to. But…If you ever need somewhere new to perform, just give him a call alright? I-If you want, I’ll even go to the audition with you if you need a familiar face, alright?” 

A small smile slowly bloomed onto Finn’s face.

“Al..alright, thank you, uh..What’s your name?”

“Johnny.”

“Ah, Johnny.” He nodded before turning back “I’ll try to remember that!”

Johnny chuckled at his joke. “Yeah, hopefully!”

As Johnny watched Finn go, the adrenaline soon began to wear down, and his mind was on rewind looking back at what had just happened.

‘As much as I want to respect whatever choice he makes, I can’t help but hope that he gets to reach his dream, just like I did.’