Outside, the air was filled with moisture from the previous night's rain, humidity harboring in the highways of Parappa Town. Birds tweeted salutations of sunlight, sounding swiftly to such sleepy sentient sirs and ma'ams.
Parappa woke up to a very pleasant scene. He found his head rested against Sunny's shoulder from the previous evening. He had his arms wrapped around her torso, and her arms around his torso, snuggling sleepily in the past storm. The warmth of her body pressed against his was most pleasing to him. He nuzzled her face a little.
"Uh? Where am I?" Sunny asked sleepily. The nuzzling caused her to wake up. After looking around, she remembered that she stayed the night at Parappa's house. She blinked a little to help herself gain full consciousness.
"You're in my residence, don't you remember?" Parappa said with another nuzzle. Sunny smiled as she felt Parappa's furry face brush up against hers.
"Oh yeah. And, I'm really sorry about your mom," Sunny empathized again.
"It's all right." Parappa stretched from his slumber and stood up in front of her. "I guess now I should take you home?"
"Yeah, I feel icky in these clothes. I need to bathe as soon as possible."
After a quick change of clothes, Parappa drove Sunny to her house and dropped her off. On this day, they relaxed and accompanied their friends, Sunny with MilkCan at Katy's house, and Parappa with PJ and Matt at the park's basketball court. Neither Sunny nor Parappa could have helped telling their friends about their new relationship. Both groups acted surprised
"Well, I don't want to brag or anything, but, it all started two nights ago. I knew that if I wanted to date her, the time was now. I was getting all these mixed feelings all of a sudden, some of them telling me not to date her, but I shook those feelings out. The next morning, I asked her if she would meet me in the park, and she said yes. I walked into that park that morning, feeling as confident as ever," Parappa boasted to PJ and Matt.
"...I could tell his nerves were racked when he saw me. I saw it in his face and could tell it in his voice. Don't get me wrong, I was just as nervous as he was, but I somehow can conceal my anxiety better than most people. So, when we finally sat down on the bench, I saw him blush when I sat down very close to him. And, keep in mind that, like today, I wasn't wearing a dress, but a regular T-shirt and short shorts. With me showing this much skin, he nearly had a nervous breakdown, it seemed like! But, he regained his composure and we talked," Sunny said to MilkCan.
"...I started throwing baritone, she threw back soprano, and we found out a lot about each other. She seemed very interested in everything I had to say, and her statements were very diverting. Then, the conversation got a little mushy, so I'll spare you that, and then that's when I told her about my feelings and I asked her out..."
"...I was waiting for this for quite a while, but was afraid of doing anything because I would have been judged by my dad, and you know how I'd feel about that. My heart almost came out of my chest when I hugged him tightly. When our chests were touching, our heartbeats were synchronized. I just wanted to stay in that position forever, holding him in my arms and having our chests drumming together in rhythm. I wondered if he felt the goosebumps all over me..."
"...And then the fun part finally came. After she accepted going on a date with me, she told me she then knew that I was 'the one.' I asked her if we were boyfriend and girlfriend. 'I guess you could say that,' she said, then she locked eyes with me..."
"...I put my hands on his shoulders..."
"...pulled me closer to her..."
"...closed my eyes..."
"...and we kissed for the first time ever. I somehow knew that was her first time kissing anybody, as she did for me," Parappa concluded.
"Uh, correction, Parappa. Remember the second game? Second stage?" PJ replied. Parappa's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered when he accidentally kissed his best friend when he watched Romantic Love for the first time. At the moment, he didn't think anything of it. He was just very involved in the TV show's instructions. That didn't make him gay for kissing his best friend, right? Well, obviously he wasn't gay, since he now had a girlfriend, and that wasn't merely to cover up potential homosexuality. Maybe Parappa was bisexual all this time and he didn't even know it.
"Shhh...I thought we stopped talking about that," Parappa answered. Matt looked confused. "What happened in the second game?"
"Uh, nothing," Parappa quickly said, his eyes shifting. Matt's eyebrow raised while PJ squinted.
. . .
"Somebody give me barf bag, this is nauseating," Ma-San joked.
"Wow, sounds like you two have really hit it off! Did you go on a date that night?" Katy said.
"Of course! We went to see Jet Baby and went for a walk in the park until it started raining. We ran to his car and I went to his house, and-" Sunny was about to mention Parappa talking about his past with her in secret, but then she remembered Parappa's words: "Well, look at me now. I'm practically sniveling just by thinking about it. And you know I'm not one to cry in front of all my friends no matter what the circumstance. I'm supposed to be the guy who people look to in order to cheer them up. I guess I would have failed at that if I went into much detail of the event..." It was an ego-booster for her, since she was informed information that Parappa wouldn't have told anybody else, not even his best friend PJ. He trusted her so much that he was willing to shed tears in front of her. "...I spent the night at his place."
"Oh, you spent the night with Parappa? Guys, I think that Sunny has finally become a woman! Wait," Ma-San suddenly thought, "he DID use protection, right?"
Sunny then knew what Ma-San thought and quickly denied it. "Relax, we never hooked up. I don't think we'll get THAT serious unless if we get married. But that seems a long time away, so," she shrugged.
"Anyway, are we all set for tomorrow night? It's your first performance, Sunny, so you're probably getting more nervous as time goes on," Katy assumed.
"Not exactly. These songs are part of me now, all of them I could sing in my sleep. You got the instrumentals down?"
"Oh, honey, we got that down pat. This will be an awesome night for us!" Sunny and Katy high-fived each other.
. . .
Friday morning came, and everybody in the gang felt euphoric for the performance held tonight. Sunny's first album was named "Sunny Side Up," an affectionate named invented by Katy. It had a grand total of twelve songs, which was a humble amount for a debut album. The performance was set up at Club Fun and would begin at 8:00. After that, there was a party celebrating the release of the album.
Before all of this, though, PJ and Parappa joined Sunny and MilkCan to help them practice. Katy was right; MilkCan had the instrumentals down pat. Her preferred genre was R&B/hip hop, slightly inspired by Parappa's rapping success. The group performed the songs perfectly during their practice. Quickly, they went through nearly all of the songs on the album, with around a thousand CD's produced so far. Most of the songs had an upbeat feel to them, promoting positive messages about following dreams and spreading love, etc. But, the last song on the album, named "Come a Long Way," had more of a neo soul feel to it. This song's lyrical content was originally based on Sunny's fantasy about Parappa wanting to court with her. She used past experiences and emotions to write the lyrics. Now that those fantasies became reality, it was even more of a pleasure to sing the song.
In the middle of the song, Sunny said, "Stop the instrumentals." Reluctantly, MilkCan did, provoking a question from Ma-San. "Why the heck did you have us stop? We were playing perfectly!"
"I know, but, I have an idea. This is a neo soul song, yes, but since this song was made with Parappa in mind, and now that we're dating, I think that Parappa should have a rap part in this song."
Parappa's eyes lit up when he heard this. He had no idea he would be featured in one of Sunny's songs so quickly. The gang all looked at him, awaiting his answer.
"Yeah, that might work! Parappa, see if you can bust some lyrics right now," Katy said before playing a chord and starting the beat of the song again. Parappa was surprised even more since he was asked to freestyle. Usually, he rapped with lyrics already written or, like in the games, used the teacher's lyrics and repeated them. But, he could still try this.
Like birds of a feather, we flock together,
Let's rock together, wants to stop, yes, forever,
Just only really buiding this fate, teens forever,
Seasons change, you know you can't change the weather,
One by one, side by side we stand,
Forever in your arms, together in hands,
Life's like a rollercoaster ride: the second you're high,
Yeah, you really try, you get down with your pride...
Everybody seemed impressed.
"Nice! Let's put that in the final product," Sunny said.
They finished practicing the song and became prepared for the night's performance. Still before it, though, Parappa had a question to ask his girlfriend. While everyone was relaxing in Katy's living room, Parappa motioned for her to meet with him privately in the kitchen. She eventually walked in and sat down in a seat near Parappa's. The two reached for the other person's hand and held it to start the conversation.
"So, you said that 'Come a Long Way' was made with me in mind?" Parappa beamed.
"Yes, it was. I started writing the lyrics by the end of senior year. I put a lot of different moments in our history together back then. Let's see, the first few lyrics are:
It was cold that night
When you came into my troublesome life.
And it seemed as though
everything's gonna be alright, for the moment.
I remember when I first met you. It was in the middle of winter, and you came across me during recess in elementary school. After school that day, we met at Chunky Burger when we both ordered kids' meals. I wanted to talk to you at that time, but my dad forbade it since he got one look at you and knew you were from the north side of town. Despite that, when I was much younger, I didn't think that anything bad could happen to any of us.
Since then here and there,
My life's become like a roller coaster ride.
Up and down, 'round and 'round,
Bad times and good times were on hand.
We tried to live up to our feelings.
Just like any of us, I had good and bad times throughout my life. Some good times included going to dances and visiting friends' houses virtually every day. But, bad times were still present, especially in high school. Apparently, I caught the eye of many a male student in freshman year, and I would be publicly harassed by a bunch of them, almost every day, it seemed. Those two bullies that harassed me in the beginning of the first game were usually the leaders of my public embarrassment.
But then soon, we overcame them all,
one by one, side by side we gave each other,
Love that's real, an everlasting one,
real love.
We've come a, come a long way.
After dark, you were sweet.
So emotional, holding me in your warm arms.
But the very next day, you were gone.
Didn't care how I felt, I couldn't act the way I wanted.
That first paragraph was just my imagination taking over, about us eventually forgetting our fears and taking on our difficulties together as a couple, which might just turn into reality," Sunny smiled. "And that second paragraph was based more on emotion. It would feel like you really liked me one day, but the next, you didn't find me special anymore. I really liked you since I first saw you, so whenever I felt like this, I'd sometimes soak my pillow with tears. However, more recently, I moved on from the waterworks stage and looked for another medium to convey my emotions, and that was music.
It was cold that night
When you came into my troublesome life.
Everything's alright,
Now that we have each other,
Together and forever.
I don't believe that I have to really further explain that, do I?" Sunny finished with a chuckle. Parappa laughed as well. He had no idea that the song would have so much meaning to it. It wasn't like many other songs being released just talking about casual sexual encounters at a nightclub, or having enough money for it to be stacked to the ceiling, or even giving your phone number to a random stranger you see on the street.
"That's awesome! I think you'll do well in this concert. You just gotta believe!" Parappa couldn't help using one of his catchphrases at the moment. But, it evoked a grin from Sunny.
. . .
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, with her debut in live concerts, I present Sunny Funny!" King Kong Mushi announced at Club Fun. The entire place was packed with citizens, about as packed as one of Parappa's concerts. Everybody came, from the masters of all three games, like Chop Chop Master Onion, Fussenpepper and the the Guru Ant (still bigger than his normal size).
Parappa sat at a lone table, enjoying the show and eating the refreshments provided. He waited until the last song that would be performed to move, which was, of course, "Come a Long Way." Before the song started, King Kong Mushi gave an introduction: "If you thought any of the previous songs were hot, you ain't seen nothing yet! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the piece de resistance for tonight, give it up for the neo soul song, 'Come a Long Way!'"
The crowd cheered before the group began. Sunny was dressed in her signature dress again, since she was in a formal event.
It was cold that night
When you came into my troublesome life.
And it seemed as though
everything's gonna be alright, for the moment...
...after dark, you were sweet.
So emotional, holding me in your warm arms.
But the very next day, you were gone.
Didn't care how I felt, I couldn't act the way I wanted.
What the crowd didn't know was that Parappa hid a microphone under the table and started speaking as Sunny vocalized without lyrics while the instruments were still playing:
(Yeah, yeah yeah.
Caress you in my arms.
But we're always fighting, y'all.
Yeah, yeah.
Constant struggle,
Meaningless fights,
Irritation.)
Everybody heard this and recognized it as Parappa's voice. The crowd found him and showed faces of amazement. They had no idea that he would be performing yet. He walked up to the stage, ignoring negative comments from Joe Chin and Captain Fussenpepper sitting together as he made his trip. He continued speaking from the dome as Sunny and MilkCan kept vocalizing to build up the rap part.
(Yeah, yeah, side to side.
Yeah.)
You know we have been together. (We've been together, y'all.)
(Side we gave each other.) (Yeah, yeah.)
We have come a long way. (Long way.)
(Long way, girl.
Yeah, yeah.)
Everlasting love.
Like birds of a feather, we flock together,
Let's rock together, wants to stop, yes, forever,
Just only really buiding this fate, teens forever,
Seasons change, you know you can't change the weather,
One by one, side by side we stand,
Forever in your arms, together in hands,
Life's like a rollercoaster ride: the second you're high,
Yeah, you really try, you get down with your pride...
The crowd's faces lit up, as the rap part took them all completely by surprise. Parappa grinned as he saw the look of approval from the crowd and from Sunny. When Parappa finished his rap part on stage, Sunny faced him and held both of his hands and continued the rest of the song.
It was cold that night
When you came into my troublesome life.
Everything's alright,
Now that we have each other,
Together and forever.
When the song finished, Parappa and Sunny gave each other a look of admiration and slight seduction. The crowd went crazy, with a neo soul song by a brand new voice that was phenomenal, and it even featured one of the ten most famous performers in Parappa Town. And, not everybody there would admit it, but their one true pairing had been Sunny and Parappa. When it became apparent that Sunny was courting Parappa, the crowd went into a standing ovation.
"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" the crowd chanted. It looked as though they would, since their faces were so close to each other. Parappa looked in the crowd, then back at Sunny.
"Should we?" he asked her. Sunny laughed and leaned in to hug and kiss him, nearly making Parappa fall and his back with her force. As if the crowd couldn't get any louder, the sound barrier nearly broke with the crowd's cheers with this public display of affection.
. . .
"Now, that was awesome! You should be in more concerts with performances like those, Sunny!" PJ praised. Everybody sat in Club Fun and enjoyed the refreshments served there during the album release party. Almost everybody ate a humble slice of pizza or one piece of cake at a time, while PJ at over half the cake in one sitting.
"Yeah, start writing more material ASAP, I can't wait to drum in some more songs," Ma-San added. Sunny smiled in the midst of all this praise. Like many artists, she didn't know that her pieces of art were THAT good. But, that's the thing about close friends. They will be some of the only people who will support you whether you sell two albums or two thousand albums.
"Thanks, guys! I appreciate your acclaim! I didn't think that so many people would come to my first performance, yet here we are," Sunny replied.
"And to think, even MORE people will be coming to future concerts involving you! I always knew that you had a lot of potential for music, Sunny! All I ask is that, can I be involved in more of your songs, and vice versa? That last song was pretty fun," Parappa asked. He was, of course, sitting beside his girlfriend, and he awaited her reply.
"Oh, you better believe it. If people loved the song so much with a small rap section, imagine how reception will be with more equally split verses for us!" Sunny exclaimed while she reached for Parappa's hand that lay on the table. She placed hers on the back of his hand, causing him to turn his over and hold hers, causing them both to blush.
"So, where shall we go from here, music-wise?" Katy asked. Since Sunny was now making music, there might be even more ambitious endeavors in music. The group could even mix three genres: rock, rap, and R&B, in the same song!
"I don't know. But, if we play our cards right, we'll be reaching for the stars. I doubt that we'll be involved with much crime or anything, right?" Parappa stated. The entire group laughed, completely unaware for the future that lay ahead of them.