A/N

Hi! I'm not dead; and neither is this fanfic. Enjoy the next chapter! :D


Three days had passed since Mike had seen the bears (or at least, what he was pretty damn sure were those bears!) but the fear was still fresh in his mind. Too scared and too exhausted to go outside, all he could muster since then was laying in bed, playing a sad, somber tune on his saxophone.

"Mike?" Nancy came into the room. "I've brought grilled cheese, your favorite," she said, setting the plate on the nightstand.

"Not hungry," he murmured.

"Mike, honey, I'm worried about you." Taking the bottom bunk bed opposite to him, she continued, "you haven't left the house...or even bathed these last few days. Yes, what happened that night after you played at the theatre was scary, but it's over now. We're safe: you don't need to worry anymore."

Ignoring her, Mike resumed his song.

"Hey...that reminds me: there's a party I'm going to tonight, and there's a band that's going to be playing. Maybe if I talk to them, they'll let you be their opening act."

Mike stopped, his ear twitching with slight interest.

"You like performing, right? I mean, sure, it's not a huge audience but you have such a lovely voice...it'd be a shame if we left and the town never got to hear you sing."

Gently lowering the saxophone to his belly, his vision crossed a bit as he focused on an old dirt stain in the ceiling. If it were three things Mike loved, it were being the center of attention, playing jazz music, and being the center of attention while playing music. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yeah...okay."


Later that night, Mike found himself offstage, adjusting his hat and straightening the collar on his shirt, and taking a breath as he brushed himself off.

"You're not nervous, are you?" Nancy teased.

"Please," Mike rolled his eyes. "I'm just getting into my element here."

A gopher on stage stepped up to the microphone. "Good evenin'. Y'all ready to hear some music?"

The response he had gotten was some whoops, cheers, and clapping from the small crowd.

"Good, cuz me and my boys are ready to play some good ones for y'all. But first, we have a special openin' act: put your hands together for Mike!"

Mike could feel his self-esteem being reinflated as their clapping of approval was there to welcome him on stage.

The gopher lowering the microphone, he whispered, "all yours."

Mike waited for the applause to die a bit before speaking. "This one's for Nancy:" he said, casting his lover a quick glance. "She's that special kind of girl we could all use in our lives."


Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the small town, three bears climbed out of a van and stretched their legs.

"Что заставляет вас так уверен, что он даже там?" ("What makes you so sure he's even here?") a particularly husky one in a brown leather jacket asked the leader of the group.

"Потому что я его чую," ("Because I smell him,") he replied.

"Но мы искали дни, и это нигде не найти!" ("But we've been searching for days, and he's nowhere to be found!")

"Он здесь. Я это знаю!" ("He's here! I know it!")

"Тихий!" ("Quiet!") the third bear snapped. "Слушай…" ("Listen...")

The three of them focusing their ears towards the horizon, an upbeat*, jazzy tune was there to meet them:

"Wise men say...that only fools rush in...but I, can't help, falling in love, with you..."

"Я знаю, что голос в любом месте..." ("I know that voice anywhere...") the leader said. "Поехали!" ("Let's go!")

At his command, the other two scrambled into the car, and they sped off towards the sound of the music.


Mike felt right at home in the spotlight, showing these hillbillies what real music sounded like. "Like a river flows, that's the way it goes. I can't help falling in love with you. I can't help falling in love with you. I can't help falling in love with you. Fallin in love...with...you!"*

He took a moment to soak up all of the cheering and applause from the audience.

"Thank you, thank you," the mouse grinned, bowing. "You're too kind, really."

Vrrr...

What the...? Nancy's ears perked.

SCREEEEECH!

The noise of the tires squealing against the old pavement was startling enough, but what had really scared Nancy was the sight of a familiar bear poking his head out the window.

"THERE!" he bellowed, pointing at Mike. "I SEE HIM!"

As if his brain had stopped working completely, he stood there, helpless on that stage, unable to move, or even think!

But before the bears could reach them, Ursa made her way through the crowd and blocked them. "Listen, I dunno who you fellas think you are or what your problem with Mike is, but-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the leader knocked her down, only to find that Mike wasn't there!

"What?!" one asked.

"Where'd he go?!" the other cried.

The leader growled and turned. "FIND HIM!" he barked.

What followed was a scene of chaos. Some had tried to fight the bears (as clearly, they were dangerous,) while others tried to flee.

Mike, who had taken the opportunity to run and hide while Ursa was his cover, found Nancy backing off of the lower stairstep to the stage.

"M-Mike?" she whimpered. "Mike!" she called again, daring to raise her voice a bit. "Gah!" she gasped as Mike grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, just me," he assured her. "Come on, we need to get outta here, now."

Without question or argument, she fled from the scene with him.

"I KNOW YOU ARE HIDING, MIKE!" the leader roared. "COME OUT AND FACE US, COWARD!"


Running through the field across from Ursa's house, Mike and Nancy hide themselves in the long grass, their tiny rustles barely noticeable.

"Where did you park the car?" Mike whispered, anxiously following her around the front.

"Just around the front. Let me pack our bags," Nancy went to the back entrance to the mouse house.

"No! There's no time for that!"

"But you have your saxophone," Nancy protested.

"I was already carrying it on my way out. Look, we have there, we can replace later, but we don't have time. Now that the bears know where we are, we're as good as dead unless we leave now."

Mike running around the side, Nancy took one last glance at the door before reluctantly following him.

Whir-r-r-r...

"Come on, come on!" Mike's hands shook as the car had trouble starting.

Whirrr-vroooom!

Mike gave a small triumphant laugh as Nancy fastened her seatbelt.

And off they went: speeding down the road and out of the town.


At the first stoplight leading to a busier road, Mike gave Nancy a smug smirk.

"...What's that for?"

"May I just be the first to say 'I told you so'?"

"Oh, shut up, Mike."


A/N

*Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley) is typically a more mellow song, but the cover Mike did was more upbeat. I know I also only have the first and last lines because I skipped most of the song, but the original document accidentally got overwritten, (I tried to put a horizontal line in, but apparently, trying to type a letter in-between two of them can delete all the text you've written) so what took me over six months to come up with a plot and write for I did all over again in a day, and I'm just too tired to add much else.