Five Ball Cha-Cha

[Misskermie]

Squuueeeeeeee!!!

 

[WebMistressGina]

Where to begin...

The only thing that really didn't make sense to me was how you started the chapter, "winter months marked the start of fall"?

You know....I had been thinking about that last night and realized, it need to read spring and not fall, cause that's the season that comes after winter, right?

I think I'll chalk up to the fact that in Tucson, we really only have three seasons: pre-summer, summer, and post-summer.

*Laughs at the people Amanda has to put up with from that other shipping company, from Nick's hitting to Courtney's spaceyness to Albert's wheedling. And these are characters we've only met through incidental mentioning, and already I'm finding they add such a funny dimension to Amanda's workload.

I made these guys much worse than my own invoice issue, but the guy really is nice, just really disorganized maybe.

*Evil grin at the thought of Amanda actually bringing up these people to Kermit to have him take them to the street.

I'm sure Elmo would love the company.

You have learned much from the masters of ushgush here at MC, I'm rully loving the play between Scoot and Mandy.
She's a vonderful addition to the Muppet OC community.
And you get brownie points for adding the oft-used quip from The Graduate.

Another great installment, keep it coming.

I have to admit that I was a bit worried about this and thought maybe I should be a rating of PG-13. I ultimately decided that I probably won't include the idea I had after...well just after.

If you think Scooter and Amanda are getting hot and heavy, we're gonna leave them and see what's up with the pig and frog! That's all coming up!

 

[WebMistressGina]

And here we go! The start of chapter two!


II.


The start of February was met with the same enthusiasm that announced the coming of a round of holidays – already, stores had put out candy and cards (actually, they had started immediately after the new year) and florists and restaurants were hoping to get your money for the gifts that you would bestow on your loved one.

In the entertainment world, the approach of Valentine’s Day met enthralling those who would spent time at home (or hopefully, DVRing their favorite shows) with testaments of love with either comedy, drama, and everything in between. For the Muppets, the special day of love was happening on a Sunday, which was show day and that just meant extra time for them to show love in their own way.

Kermit the Frog, said leader of the troupe, had declared a winter break for the cast and crew of the Muppet Show, a reward for such a great comeback of success. Not only were they back in the limelight with their fans, but their movie had helped reenter them back in the business and quite frankly, the frog was still a bit overwhelmed by it all.

That week had only been the second week that they had been officially back in their beloved theater which sat on their beloved studio lot.

Maybe it was the arrival of his nephew Robin for the rest of his school year or maybe it was the holiday season, but the idea for an hour long Valentine’s Day show had come to him sometime in December; the frog wasn’t sure where the idea came from, but it had been something he had wanted to do for a while. their fans were the best fans ever and short of making movies for them at every chance they could, Kermit wanted to do something to tell them that as much as they loved the Muppets, the Muppets loved them right back.

And what better day than that of Valentine’s to show them that?

The leader and captain of their insanity ship had been riding high on whatever good feeling had suddenly entered his little felt body and that mood seemed to be growing with every passing day. Kermit didn’t know what it was, why he suddenly felt deliriously happy for no apparent reason, but he did and he seemed to be making up the difference in those relationships that he let fall to the wayside.

And the first person, as always, was that of Miss Piggy.

Their relationship had gone from hot, heavy, confrontational, and even a little bit of hatred and contempt thrown in for good measure to that of a settled, although still combative, relationship. Their very lengthy separation had dropped them right back at the beginning of courting, if you considered them to be the types to court; years being apart had proven that Piggy didn’t need Kermit or the Muppets to stand on her own (something she may have known, but hadn’t actively pursued) and it had taught Kermit a lesson when it came to pushing away the person you trusted and loved the most.

Kermit had finally been forced to face the very real possibility that his denials, his distance, and frankly, his reluctance on starting something that he was afraid wouldn’t last had caused the very thing he had feared.

Today, today things were different and Kermit had been humming, whistling, and even singing all day long just for the sake of it; he had to stifle himself before he knocked on the dressing room door that stood at the top of the stairs, his destination for the start of this leg of the day. Hearing that someone was obviously inside, he didn’t bother waiting for the customary call to enter and just entered.

While he couldn’t see the subject of his visit, he could hear sounds coming from behind a changing screen off to his right.

“There you are.”

Miss Piggy, the owner of the dressing room in which Kermit had decided to barge in on, popped her head out from around the screen. “You know,” she huffed. “Most people wait until I’ve said ‘come on’ before they, you know, come in.”

The frog gave a huff of his own as he made his way towards the vanity in the room. “Not like you have anything I haven’t seen before,” he quipped. Wondering if perhaps she was putting on, or taking off, something he hadn’t seen before, he tried his best to get a peek.

“Stop peeking.”

Only slightly annoyed at the command, Kermit none the less was easily distracted by the opened box of chocolates that was sitting on the vanity. It looked like it had just been opened, as only two pieces of chocolate seemed to be missing; the frog obviously didn’t think anything about checking out the little piece of cardboard that stated which chocolate was which.

“I see the gifts have started early,” he commented, trying to match the pictures with the actual alignment of the box. “So which one of your many suitors gave you the sweets?”

“The frog.”

“Oh, I like that guy!” he exclaimed, happily, though it was more about finding the milk chocolate pieces than who actually gave her the candy. “Quite generous.”

“I can be generous,” came her response.

“Oh I know all about your generosity,” he murmured, throwing a piece up in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. It bounced off his lip and he was barely able to catch it without also dropping the box of candy. Ironically, despite being a frog, Kermit could sometimes have hand/eye coordination issues; Gonzo thought he needed glasses.

“That’s the reason we were late this morning.”

Something shimmery barely missed his face as it flew past to land neatly on the nearby bed. “Gotta work on your aim, darlin’,” he told her.

Piggy, who had been changing into a stunning black dress, stepped out from the screen to see the frog happily eating away at her chocolate. While the dreamy look in his eyes upon seeing her was delightful, that was still her candy.

“Aw, sweetheart,” he replied, giving her a once over. “You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me.”

Smirking, she casually leaned against the vanity while doing a not so subtle tossing of her blond locks over her shoulder. “Eyes up here, Frog,” she retorted, when she thought his eyes were lingering a little too long away from her face. “Was there a reason you came in here? Other than to steal the chocolates you gave me?”

 

[newsmanfan]

---------------
Yep. I see we are heading into ushygushland. Okay... *buckles on safety goggles* Ready!

Nice so far. This is the best chunk: "Kermit had finally been forced to face the very real possibility that his denials, his distance, and frankly, his reluctance on starting something that he was afraid wouldn’t last had caused the very thing he had feared." Well put.

Do please watch your word omissions, is my only critical gripe. But I am following happily overall. LOVE the suggestion that Kermit hook up the distributors with some, er, returning educational material? I may have to use that. In real life.

----------------

 

[WebMistressGina]

---------------
Yep. I see we are heading into ushygushland. Okay... *buckles on safety goggles* Ready!

Nice so far. This is the best chunk: "Kermit had finally been forced to face the very real possibility that his denials, his distance, and frankly, his reluctance on starting something that he was afraid wouldn’t last had caused the very thing he had feared." Well put.

Thanks much!

I think it was a good line and probably does sum up the frog's feelings on things. I never got the sense that he didn't care/love Piggy, but he was afraid of commitment, which okay if you go with the guy philosophy of "oh god, commitment!" that could make sense, but at what point does he go, this is kinda ridiculous.

So, I figured Kermit - knowing and seeing those failed relationships in Hollywood - probably wanted to keep his distance because if anything failed between them, they would still need to work together (especially when, let's be honest, they are two of the most known and popular of the Muppets), so Kermit opted for work.

Of course, as self-fulfilling prophesies go, the more you try to avoid something, the more you bring it about.

Do please watch your word omissions, is my only critical gripe. But I am following happily overall. LOVE the suggestion that Kermit hook up the distributors with some, er, returning educational material? I may have to use that. In real life.

That's the only downside to this particular forum, is that I'm unable to go back and change things. Often, I tend to make changes as I'm posting or when I've read what I've posted and I can't do that here. Which sucks, cause whenever I think of something to add, I can't go back and add it or worse, I don't add it to the Word version and then I forget it.

So, I had plans on updating this on Friday, but of course, my desktop refused to cooperate, so I gutted it for parts and made a new one. Optimus Prime (as we've named it) is running well and I'm hoping to have an update for you if not during lunch, later tonight hopefully!

 

[WebMistressGina]

And as promised, here are two new sections, continuing from the above!



Grinning, Kermit offered her one of those chocolates. “As a matter of fact,” he began. “Yes I do have a reason to be in here. Not sure if you knew, but we’re doing this extra long show this weekend.”

“Really?” Piggy began, feigning surprise. She shooed him over some so that she could sit in the vanity’s chair. “No, I hadn’t heard. Gosh, I wish I could go to one of those big ole meetings that happen every week so then I’d know what was going on.”

Kermit just looked at her. “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh the contrary,” she retorted. “It suits me just fine, thank you. What about the show this weekend?”

“Well, I had come up here hoping you’d want to do a song with me,” he replied. “But now that you’re being mean, maybe I’ll just go ask someone else.”

The diva stopped doing her hair in order to look at her visitor. “You wanna do a song with me?” she asked, suspiciously. It was incredibly rare when Kermit wanted to appear in one of the show’s act, mainly because he needed to keep an eye on what was and wasn’t happening on stage.

And off.

“Yes.”

“Which song?”

Throwing his arms in the air, he exclaimed, “Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m gonna let you pick one.”

“Wow,” she said. “Chocolates and I get to pick my own song. If people only knew how very generous you were.”

“I will take your compliment,” he retorted. “However you intended it. Look, I only had enough money to get you presents.”

“I get more presents?”

“Uh, yeah,” the frog said. “I just gave you one.”

“Which was?”

“The opportunity to sing with me,” he said, as though it was the most obvious thing ever. “You know, bask in the presence that is Kermit the Frog.”

Piggy did her best not to roll her eyes or burst out laughing. She had noticed that her frog had been in such great spirits lately and she couldn’t deny that she certainly liked this playful side of his. “Oh boy,” she said, tampering down a giggle. “I was trying to think what was missing from my life and that must’ve been it.”

“I’m gonna need you to curb your enthusiasm there,” he smirked, making his ways towards the door. “Getting a little too rowdy for my tastes.”

“Oh, I’ll show you rowdy…”

“Hey!” Kermit yelped, turning suddenly from the pinch that landed on his backside. He batted one of her hands away, but he wasn’t exactly stopping her approach; in fact, he was laughing, no doubt from the fact that she was trying to tickle him at the same time.

“Cut that out,” he laughed. “I got work to do.”

“Well then,” she replied, poking him in the side. “You shouldn’t have come up here, should you?”

“Hey darlin’, stop,” he giggled, fending off an incoming poke with one of his own, right in her side, which caused her giggle as well. “Seriously, I have stuff to do.”

“Whose fault was it to come up here?”

It was another twenty minutes before Kermit decided to go, or rather that was as long as Piggy could afford until she pushed him out, telling him that he was the biggest distraction she ever knew. Even if he was running behind in his day, Kermit couldn’t say it wasn’t time well spent; time spent with the diva was usually enjoyable, even in the case of an argument.

With a renewed smile on his face, the frog headed downstairs to do some semblance of work.

[hr]

Scooter walked into the Muppet Theater with a thoughtful expression on his face. While he was usually thinking up ideas and quickly putting them in the calendar on his phone or taking notes on his tablet to show Kermit later, today his mind wasn’t on work at all.

A few short months ago, Scooter had come to the realization that he had fallen in love with his girlfriend and as they approached their fourth month anniversary together, the young assistant had been trying to figure out a way of telling her about his feelings. In hindsight, he’d probably remember this as the longest decision he ever had in his life, but this was a pretty big deal; he didn’t just want to blurt out he loved her, he wanted it to be special because she was special.

He had more close calls than he liked to admit – the very day he had made the discovery, he had almost told her, had been on the cusp of doing so. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time, but ever since then, he had to force himself to keep these feelings to himself, least he ruin whatever plans he was hoping to come up with.

After a time, Scooter realized he needed help, guidance and advice on what he should do and what could possibly happen if everything went horribly, horribly wrong. He just needed reassurance that he wasn’t getting in to deep or even going too fast; this was the first very serious relationship that he had ever had and truth be told, he had been a little afraid of his very feelings. Maybe he thought he was in love, but maybe it was just lust. That had happened many a time when he had been a teenager going through the growing pains of puberty.

Maybe four months was too early to be declaring undying love to someone; perhaps he should wait for their six month anniversary instead. Maybe he had waited too long. He didn’t know and that was driving him crazy.

These last two weeks had been a god-send; Scooter did best when he could work his troubles away and with their return back to the studio and their upcoming hour long Valentine’s Day show, the stage manager had been quite busy, setting up acts, designs, working the stage hands, etc. His mind was easily occupied for hours, at least until Amanda showed up for lunch or just to hang out to watch some of the acts that took place.

That’s when Scooter deemed himself a liability.

She distracted him from what he needed to do, even when she just sat in the audience; he would stand at stage right and just watch her instead of watching the acts or the craziness that could be happening around him in the background. Once, a fight broke out behind him between Rizzo the Rat and Pepe the King Prawn and it was only after the circle had formed, bets had been placed, and the two had beat the stuffing out of each other did Scooter realize what happened.

Thankfully, someone – Piggy he guessed – had distracted Kermit long enough that the frog had no clue as to what had happened. He had yet to find out who his savior was, but he owed them lunch or dinner or something.

Even now, he was distracted. Usually walking in through the backstage exit, Scooter had managed to walk the entire length of the building, ending up at the theater entrance where the ticket office was. Thankfully, he remembered his key that morning – he had loaned it to Gonzo, who had lost his in an unfortunate canon incident – so he was at least able to get in this time.

Some classical piece seemed to be coming from the orchestra pit, where Nigel stood at the head, conducting in his normal professional manner. Those who weren’t playing for the moment nodded at him or shouted out greetings, causing Nigel to hiss at them for getting distracted. Hopping up onto the stage, Scooter made his way to backstage, where he figured most of the excitement was.

And he wasn’t disappointed.

Kermit stood near the old wooden desk they called the director’s podium, trying to get people to stop rushing and running around so he could get their attention. Spotting him, the frog motioned him over, saying, “There you are!”

Scooter walked around the apparent chaos, watching as Kermit spent another minute trying to get people to listen until he finally turned an exasperated look to Animal, the Electric Mayhem’s drummer, who quickly shouted, “QUIET!”

Once everyone had heeded the command, and underlining warning, Kermit nodded his thanks. “Gather ‘round, everyone!” he called, waiting until people actually gathered around him. “Guess who’s back?” he asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Popping out from behind him was another frog, though younger and slightly taller than the one he had been hiding behind, dressed in a red sweatshirt and jeans. “Ta-da!” he stated, holding his arms out in showman fashion.

Robin the Frog, Kermit’s nephew, was hardly the little frog the group had known from years past. Nearly halfway through his teen years, Robin had actually managed to put a head of height over his uncle, while seemingly keeping the cheery disposition he had as a child.

The last few months had been rather difficult on the teenaged frog; his parents, who had split apart long before he finished elementary school, had tried a reconciliation, unfortunately a second time around hadn’t worked as well as they may have hoped. Coupled with that, Robin’s mother Leaper had been sick right around this time; her stubbornness had perhaps led to her demise, as she hadn’t thought it anything serious until it turned that way.

Before they knew it, she was gone.

Kermit’s brother and Robin’s father had literally been devastated; while he may not have been able to live with her, Jimmy was very much in love with the girl he had known since childhood and her death had hit him particularly hard. So hard that he felt it would be better for Robin to stay with his uncle and honorary aunt for a while; an undetermined while.

In truthfulness, Kermit had been a bit surprised at his brother’s reaction and he wouldn’t lie if asked if he was worried about him. Though he never wanted or believed in having favorite siblings, as one of the oldest, Kermit had done his best to watch out for his little brother (though there was still some contention as to who was actually the oldest between them), and Leaper’s death had hit Jimmy harder than probably he realized or thought it would.

Robin of course had his own issues to contend with - having always been a sweet soul, probably taking more after his uncle when it came to the hopes and dreams that he had, the loss of literally both of his parents had hit the younger frog deeper than maybe he let on. He held such an earnestness and honesty to him that it was always a surprise to learn he was only a boy and that had always been one of the reasons fans loved him so.

The combination of both going through the loss of his mother, the departure of his father and the teenage motions that everyone goes through, Robin hoped that a familiar location with people who best understood the same dreams and hopes would get him out of the funk he had been feeling lately. The decision to return to the Muppet Show had seemed like an easy one, though the younger frog was adamant that he wanted to do more than just be the ‘kid’ on the show this time around.

After the round of greetings, hugs, and noogies, Kermit went on with, “Robin’s going to be here for the rest of the semester and maybe part of the summer.” The last part was thrown primarily to Piggy, who had come downstairs to see what the commotion was. Of course she was aware that Robin would be staying with them for who knew how long and as she had stated to both Kermit and Jimmy, she held absolutely no qualms about hosting him.

Looking to Scooter, Kermit continued. “I’m giving you a promotion.”

“Excellent,” the assistant replied, rubbing his hands together.

“Mountain stronghold, here we come,” Piggy quipped. It had long been a joke (and a suspicion) that Scooter knew so much in regards to the inner workings of the theater, the studios, and the Muppets in general, he could easily take it over one day.

As a joke, Scooter had once stated that the only reason he hadn't done so was two fold – one, Kermit’s handwriting was so atrocious, even he couldn’t mimic it and two, he already had a mountain stronghold off the coast of who knew where with able bodied minions working on taking over the world for him.

“And with that promotion,” the frog continued, pointing at his nephew. “You get your very own go-fer.”

Lighting up as those Christmas had arrived early, Scooter proclaimed, “Just what I’ve always wanted!” He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye and said, “Dreams really do come true.”

“They do,” Robin added, nodding his head. “They really do. This’ll be cinch, right Scooter?”

“The knowledge is strong in you, young Frog,” Scooter replied, pointing at his new go-fer. “But you are not an assistant yet.”

Never let it be said that Robin hadn’t learned the ropes while working with the Muppets. While he hadn’t learned much about the business side of things, he had been greatly exposed to the comedy, drama, and theatrical lessons that would suit him when he took his turn away from them at school.

Falling to his knees, he held his hands to his chin, pleading, “Help me, Scootie-Wan Kenobi! You’re my only hope…of learning everything that I need to in order to make this process go much smoother.”

“Oh yeah,” Kermit sighed. “I remember why I tried to limit your interactions together.”

“No worries, Chief!” Scooter exclaimed, throwing an arm around the frog’s shoulders. “Think of it – stage. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the MSS Insanity, boldly going nowhere, better than any Muppet before.” Turning to look at his boss, he asked, “Better?”

“No.”

“I got some Dr. Who quotes I’m not using.”

“Robin, let’s go get your paperwork filled out.”

“Sure thing, Uncle Kermit,” the teenager giggled, sending an amused smile at the original go-fer.

“Go ahead, Robin,” Scooter nodded, glancing to his right as he saw someone he needed to speak to. “I’ll meet you on stage in about fifteen. You do remember where the stage is, right?”

For that, he got the teenaged version of a classic Kermit the Frog scowl, causing the page to chuckle harder. Turning from them, Scooter quickly tried to catch up to the brown piano playing dog that he had seen pass in his peripheral vision just seconds ago.

“Hey Rowlf! Got a second?”

 

[WebMistressGina]

Now I present - our conclusion to the above chapter. Also wanted to quickly mention that Jimmy and Leaper - Robin's parents - are not mine and belong to Beauregard. And a reminder that I don't get umlots on my laptop.




“Sure, kid,” the pianist replied. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you for a minute.”

“Step into my office.”

Rowlf’s office, which was technically shared with that of Dr. Teeth, the keyboardist and leader of the Electric Mayhem, was actually on the studio lot along what they had nicknamed ‘office row’. Of course, inside of the theater proper, Rowlf’s ‘office’ so to speak, was that of his beloved piano. Deemed the unofficial therapist and counselor, the dog had had many a conversation around that piano to various Muppets that seemed to seek him out.

“What’s on your mind, Scooter?”

“Well, uh…” Now that Scooter had gotten the person he wanted to talk to, he was griped with the sudden realization that he hadn’t planned on what he was going to say. “Okay, see…I have this friend…”

“A friend, huh?” the dog nodded, recognizing the ploy for what it was. How many of these conversations that started with this line, he couldn’t even begin to count, but after a while he got to know some of the more interesting facts about his friends.

“Yeah.”

“Really.”

Seeing the knowing look on Rowlf’s face clued the assistant in on the fact that no matter what he said, the dog would ultimately know they were probably speaking about him. Unless of course, he could throw out a name of someone they both knew and maybe that would throw suspicion off him.

“It’s Fozzie,” he blurted. “The friend, I mean, it’s Fozzie. So anyway, Fozzie has this problem, see? There’s…there’s this girl and he’s crazy about her and by crazy I mean…he’s in love with her.”

“Not sure how that’s a problem,” Rowlf quipped.

“It’s not!” Scooter exclaimed, quickly looking around. “I mean, he loves being in love with her. She’s great! She’s talented, she’s funny, she’s smart…”

“Pretty?”

“Gorgeous,” Scooter sighed, painting a clear picture of Amanda in his mind. “I’ve never seen or known a more beautiful woman in my life.”

Rowlf couldn’t help but smirk at his young friend. It was clear that Scooter was obviously talking about his own feelings and it didn’t take much to guess that he was clearly hook, line, and sunk by one Amanda Cosgrove. And the dog would try to help his friend as much as possible, but he was going to have a little fun with it as well.

“Better not let Fozzie hear you talking like that,” he replied.

“What?” asked the red head, clearly distracted by visions of another red head, this one with long hair and green eyes. Coming back to himself, Scooter realized that he was not only getting off topic, but he was straying dangerously close to revealing what he knew.

“Oh right!” he chuckled, nervously. “Cause it’s, you know, it’s Fozzie’s girl, because we certainly aren’t talking about anyone else.”

“Certainly.”

“Where was I?” he murmured. “Oh right. Anyway, how do I…I mean, how does Fozzie…that is, how do I tell Fozzie how to tell her how he feels?”

“I guess that all depends on how Fozzie, in this case, wants to do things,” was the dog’s answer. “And how this girl would take to it. Of course, not seeing her or knowing her, I couldn’t really say. But this isn’t about telling her that he loves her, right? This is about whether or not she feels the same way?”

Nodding, Scooter whispered, “What if she doesn’t feel the same way? How do I tell if she feels the same or if I’m in a one sided love affair?”

Patting the younger Muppet on the shoulder, Rowlf said, “You’re barking up the wrong dog for the answer to that.”

“You’ve been in love, haven’t you, Rowlf?”

“Loved and lost, like the best of them,” Rowlf said. “But I think what you need to be doing is maybe asking one of those folks who have loved and kept; the single dog can only give you enough answers on some things.”

“But I thought you and Audra…”

Rowlf sighed at that. Audra had been on the participants in the last Cool Pool pool tournament, the very same tournament that the theater had hosted and the same tournament that had initially introduced Scooter to that of Amanda in the first place. Audra had been a cute, sweet beagle who had gotten down to the semi-finals in the tournament and had been on Rowlf’s radar since seeing her.

The brown dog would of course never admit to just how many relationships he had gotten entangled in, but every once in a while, he would admit to those relationships that he had managed to ruin on stupidity, pride, or just plain jerkiness on his part.

“Yeah,” he said, grimacing a bit. “That’s a…that’s a road not traveled. Probably my fault; definitely my fault. So you see, Scooter, I’m not the best person to be giving you advice.” Looking over the red head’s shoulder, he gave a slight head tilt to the action behind them. “But I think you know the right people who could.”

Turning slightly, Scooter turned his attention to what was happening backstage. Other than poor Walter being pelted in the face with an errant pie and that of the penguins trying to actually rehearse backstage, much to an irate Link Hogthrob, the assistant wasn’t sure what the dog was alluding to.

Until everything else seemed to fade away, leaving him with the very answers he was seeking.

Behind the blurred penguin chorus line, was that of a giggling Camilla Clucks who was walking away from Gonzo the Great, who gave her a saucy wink as she did; off to the side was Janice Bennington, guitarist for the Mayhem, who was giving Robin a big hug and kiss as he started to go past. Sgt. Floyd Pepper, the Mayhem’s bassist, seemed to be cracking a joke or insult at the apparent pie thrower before throwing his arm around the blonde.

And then the seas parted and there was Kermit the Frog, doing his best to stop Miss Piggy from choking Link to death.

And Scooter understood what Rowlf had meant; the answer to his problems stood right in front of him.

As did a long day of soothing or medical attention for the choked pig.

 

[The Count]

Mmm, much improved, you have.
At least know how to talk normal, I do.

Sorry, that hot mess of Lego Star Wars was playing all end of September weekend on CN.
Aside from a few clean-ups here and there, I'm liking the direction this is taking. You've got Kermit and Piggy playful and playing with emotions upstairs. Then Scooter trying to make sense out of his love-adled confusion over the season of smooching and his thoughts on Amanda. And now you go and add in the element of Robin, a slightly older Robin with his own personal family issues he's struggling to resolve into the fray.
Plus, while I'm typing my reply, you go and add a very nice moment of conversation between Scooter and Rowlf. Me likes the scene of chaos taking place behind them... And how easily Scooter got distracted thinking of his lady while Rowlf easily deduced the conversation for what it was.

Thank you for posting. Do so again when possible.

 

[WebMistressGina]

Afternoon, Mups! Here is chapter III for you! And coming up in chapter four, Scooter learns an interesting secret about our blue furry daredevil!


III.


The countdown to showtime was always chaotic and it didn’t matter how many times things were rehearsed or changed or added or subtracted, the heightened intensity of anticipation filled the air and could sometimes bring out the worst in people.

Robin the Frog loved it.

It had been a good ten years since he had last been on stage here at Muppet Theater and being there now felt immensely right. Being the youngest in a sea of performers had been difficult, as any five year old would state; you weren’t old enough for some things, too small for others, and more often than not, it felt as though you didn’t have a voice, no matter how loud you tried to be.

Robin had gone through that, of course, but the upside to it all was that he had been so endeared by some of their guest stars and their fans, that he never truly felt small. It was ironic that, for this return, those same feelings of helplessness seemed to be returning to him. The whole point of coming back was to forget about the troubles he was having at home.

Oh, he loved spending time with his favorite uncle and he had always loved the fact that Piggy had thought of him when she built their house, but to be perfectly honest, the young frog had used those trips and visits to completely erase the problems that were happening down in the swamp. Even as a child of five, Robin knew his parents weren’t happy and he had never been sure if it was because of them or because of him.

The worse their marriage fell apart, the more time Robin spent away from all of that, until the time when he returned home and learned that he was going to be living with his mother and that she preferred if he wasn’t off gallivanting with his famous uncle, his diva girlfriend, and their rowdy troop of crazies. That had been a monumental between his parents – his father, Kermit’s brother, didn’t mind that Robin spent so much time away; in fact, he had blurted that he sometimes wondered if Robin hadn’t been his brother’s son.

It had taken Robin until puberty to understand the concept of that barb.

His mother had of course gone on the defense, rearing up and stating that perhaps if Jimmy had been around more, perhaps their son wouldn’t think his uncle and his pig were his parents.

Needless to say, that had been the end of that – Jimmy and Leaper had split completely after that and Robin didn’t return to Muppet Theater until that very day. If he had thought spending some of his summers with his Uncle Kermit and Miss Piggy would have been better, he was wrong. Like everyone else, he had seen the cracks before their whole world exploded, breaking the entire Muppet group down the middle.

Robin had sworn up and down and to anyone that would listen, that he was never going to fall in love.

Ever.

That was of course before he hit puberty and really began to notice the girls around him. And like the adults in his life, he had his hits and misses, and was at the point where he teetered on what exactly he wanted.

It was that burning question that seemed to be in his mind as he and Scooter worked above the stage on the overhead walkway. This wasn’t the first time that the two had been up here – as the two youngest cast members, there was only so much that both he and Scooter could do that were geared for just them. Neither one of them should’ve been up there in the first place, but what usually happened, the two kids had endeared themselves on just about everyone, which meant certain perks.

Gonzo had been the one to lead Scooter up once, when he had needed up with one of his acts and Sweetums always made sure to keep Robin with him whenever the little frog had nothing to do. And of course, having a teenager and a five year old together in the midst of zany antics was never a good idea in the first place.

Today, Robin was familiarizing himself with the theater that didn’t seem to have changed – oh, the paint had been updated and better safety - thanks to Gonzo - had been put in place, but the theater was the same one he had loved being in and performing in as a child.

“So rumor has it,” the young frog began, as he trailed after his new mentor. “That you have a girlfriend.”

“Rumor has it, that you shouldn’t listen to gossip and rumors,” Scooter countered.

“Then how am I supposed to find out anything?” Robin asked. “I have been gone for a while. Rumors and gossip are the only way I’ll find out what’s been going on.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So when do I get to meet her?”

“Well,” the stage manager replied, stopping to look at his charge. “If you aren’t a complete brat, maybe later today.”

“Brat?” the frog questioned, putting a hand to his chest. “Me? I think you have us confused.”

“Have you been hanging around Piggy?” Scooter quipped. “Next thing I know, you’ll be speaking in the third person. Unless of course you’re housing more than one person in that green body of yours.”

“I see your sense of humor hasn’t improved.”

“And neither has yours,” the manager retorted. “What are they teaching you in that school of yours?”

“Oh horrible things,” the frog countered. “Math, history, you know, all that stuff that’s supposed to teach me about the world. I’d rather be here where I can have a much better education, such as learning the proper dimensions of a tire before I eat it or the precise viewpoint from up here that will give us a peek inside the ladies dressing rooms.”

Scooter stopped once more, turning a surprised grin to his companion. “Touché.”

“Speaking of,” Robin asked. “Do…we still get to see the ladies dressing rooms up here?”

“No,” the manager sighed, stopping to lean against the railing. “A certain someone, whose name won’t be mentioned, ended up getting caught doing that exact same thing. So now, other than the stage, there’s really no overhead glance from up here.”

Robin nodded, before throwing a side-glance to his partner. “Uncle Kermit?”

“Dr. Teeth,” Scooter muttered. “Thank heavens.”

“Good thing it wasn’t Aunt Piggy.”

“I’m still alive because it wasn’t your Aunt Piggy,” the red head replied. “Though that birds and the bees talk with your uncle was the most unpleasant thirty minutes of my life that I’ve ever spent and that includes that weird monologue that Link was trying to pass off as his one man show.”

“I’m hoping I don’t have to go through with that,” Robin said. “I’ve been getting the feeling that he’s just waiting to get me alone one of these days…”

“Didn’t your dad already give you the talk?”

Robin threw him a look.

“Right,” Scooter nodded. “Sorry.” After a beat, he whispered, “Sorry about your mom.”

“Yeah,” the frog whispered, leaning fully over the railing. The vantage point from the walkway allowed for the monsters to pull up or pull down the set designs, as well as being able to see below at the stage and the acts that were going on.

Working backstage in a theater was always an interesting concept, as it allowed those to watch the acts from different viewpoints. At the moment, Walter was performing his operatic piece while the orchestra played below.

“I was hoping coming back would help me forget about stuff for a while,” Robin continued.

“You can never forget your parents, Robin.”

“I know that,” the teen groused. “But I just…I just want to forget about the whole situation for a little while. I just…I just want to be happy for a little bit before everything comes crashing down again.”

The red head nodded. Wasn’t that what he had been doing lately? Trying to push out his own issues in the hopes that this major decision of his wouldn’t break before he put it together?

“Your dad did what he thought was best,” Scooter whispered, the sentence suddenly ringing hollow to his ears. “And really, can you think of a better place to be than here? You know you don’t have to do this by yourself.”

The teenager gathered his thoughts before answering. He could think of a better place to be and that was with his father, but he knew Scooter hadn’t meant it in a malicious way, because ultimately he was right. His father had felt and had known that Robin would be the most comfortable, the happiest, and definitely the most loved being in his current environment than tagging along with him.

Jimmy wasn’t even sure where he was going to go or what he was going to do, but he did know whatever it was, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant place for his teenaged son.

“I know,” he whispered, nodding slightly. He hadn’t meant to start this talk, but if anyone understood where he was, it was probably Scooter. The red head could be incredibly insightful when he needed to be and he had never once refused to listen to the frog, even when there had been a ten year age difference between them.

“What’s her name?”

“Who?”

“Your girlfriend.”

“Amanda,” Scooter replied, his voice taking on a dreamy like quality.

“You really like her, huh?”

Scooter nodded. “Yeah Robbie,” he said. “I really do.”

“And I can meet her later today?”

“Only if I manage to actually have you do work,” the red head said, heading off in the direction they had previously been going. “Come, young padawan, let’s get you to work so I can get to work.”


[hr]


Amanda loved coming by the theater, especially on her days off.

There was something about seeing a show put together that was fascinating, especially when she got the behind the scenes access thanks to her affiliation with the show’s manager. She had become a familiar face backstage at the Muppet Theater, so much so that she had permanent ticket status at the front office should she ever want to come view the show.

She didn’t know what that week’s show would hold, only that Kermit had declared an hour long celebration of love for their fans and to their fans. While she hadn’t said anything to Scooter, she was hoping that maybe he had planned something special; the fourteenth would actually mark their four month anniversary and the fact that it landed on Valentine’s made it even more special.

She had plenty ideas on what she wanted to do to celebrate and what she wanted to give him, but he hadn’t dropped any clues as to what he may have had in mind. Honestly, she had been a bit worried about him lately. It seemed like he was always on the verge of telling her something or saying something before he would clam up and she didn’t think it was her imagination that he seemed to be a little more open to touching than he had been before.

She wasn’t sure if she should be worried or not.

Lunchtime at the theater was always a chaotic affair, sometimes more so than the actual ongoing craziness that was a staple with the building and the people in it. Already, Amanda had seen comic Fozzie Bear rush past, proclaiming that today was Sloppy Joe day, while Link Hogthrob went by, rubbing his neck and complaining to Julius Strangepork that “she’s just waiting to get into my captain’s chair, I just know it!”

From her right, the door to Kermit’s office opened, revealing Miss Piggy and the frog, both of whom seemed to be out of breath. “You gonna behave?” Kermit asked.

Running a satin finger under his chin, the diva sultrily replied, “Yes dearest.” before heading towards the stage.

“Hey, you’re new.”

Turning from one frog, Amanda found herself faced with another, though this one was much younger than that of the company’s director and producer. “So are you,” she retorted. “And I’ve been here before, so I’m not exactly new.”

“Either am I,” the frog countered, smiling at her. Bowing at the waist with a flourish, the frog replied, “Frog, Robin Frog, at your service, m’lady. And what beautiful woman do I have the most humble of pleasures in meeting?”

“My girlfriend.”

Glancing behind him, Robin’s smile got wider at Scooter’s approach. “Ah,” he said, turning once more back to the Whatnot. “The mysterious and beautiful Amanda that I’ve only heard about today.”

“My reputation precedes me,” she quipped. “As does yours, Robin.”

“Whatever you’ve heard, it’s a lie,” Robin said. “Unless of course you’ve heard that I’m adorably sweet. That is true; I am adorable and I am sweet.” That caused Amanda to laugh outright. “And funny!” the frog added, quickly. “Did I also mention I was funny?”

“Run along, Padawan.”

“Righteo, Gov’ner!” the frog replied, saluting. “I’ve got set designs to hang and I’ll be finished lickity split!”

“I’ll lickity split you,” Scooter mock threatened, causing the frog to go off, laughing in his wake. “You know, I liked you better when I couldn’t see you!”

“Why’re you making this a theater of lies, Scooter?” Robin retorted, distracted once Sweetums came into view and heading off with the monster.

“Kermit’s nephew?”

“Yeah,” Scooter said, pulling the Whatnot closer. “And new pain in my behind. Actually, that’s not true; he’s always been a pain.”

“Be nice,” she whispered, swatting him lightly on the arm.

“What do I owe this immense pleasure?”

“I was going to take you to lunch,” she purred. “But when you say it like that, maybe I should just have you for lunch.”

“Don’t tease.”

“Who says I’m teasing?”

The clearing of a throat stopped any sort of reply that either Muppet held at the ready. Turning slightly, they weren’t particularly surprised or amused to see Kermit standing a little to the side. “I hate to interrupt, you know this,” he started. “But could I see you for a second?”

Reluctantly letting go, Scooter nonetheless walked with his boss towards the so-called director’s podium. “Wanted to remind you about that moving stage Gonzo was insistent on installing,” Kermit began.

“Got it all taken care of,” the red head replied. “I told Gonzo I’d meet him downstairs tomorrow or so to make sure that thing is hydraulically safe.”

“I want to finalize the act list by the end of the week, Thursday probably.”

“Okay.”

“One last thing,” the frog said, turning to look at his assistant. “I’m too young to be called ‘grandpa’.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true,” the red head retorted. “How did your ‘meeting’ go? Work out that baby fig situation?”

“Do we need to go over that talk again?”

“Oh dear lord, no,” Scooter groaned. “That first time was enough to scar me for life. We are to never have talks like that again.”

“Oh just go!” Kermit said, exasperated, pushing the red head towards his future intended (he hoped). “Hey, bring me back something.”

“What do you want?”

“Where’re you going?”

Scooter just shrugged.

“Don’t worry, Kermit,” Amanda said, pulling her boyfriend along. “We’ll bring you back something nice.”

“And don’t come home late!” the frog shouted. “You know how we worry!”

 

[Twisted Tails]

Nice! I LOVE Robin!! I didn't know he had a complicated life with his parents and now lives with his mother.
Whoa! Amanda is sure in love with Scooter.

I cannot wait for another chapter to read.