Headphones Chapter 1: Headphones, a cat returns fanfic

Dedicated to samuraistar, who helped me find my own personal totally awesome e-pal in the epic TCR writer Yarningchick.

No, I don't own The Cat Returns or Headphones by Britt Nicole; don't bother asking.

Haru groaned and flopped down on her bed, finally allowing the tears to flow. She had had a surprisingly rough day, what with Hiromi being sick that day, Machida constantly badgering her and asking her to go out with him, being chased by a dog to and from school, and missing Muta at the Crossroads because of the dog chasing her. She glanced at her laptop and smiled slightly. 'I'll write to Mandy; she always knows what to say.'

Mandy White, Haru's pen pal since first grade

She turned on to the computer and logged into her email account, surprised that her e-pal had beaten her to the punch. She opened the email and began reading:

"My e-pal senses are tingling! Something is wrong with Mon amant de chat préféré!* Well, my senses and the fact that your mother emailed me a couple of seconds ago saying that you looked like a cracking dam waiting to unleash a flood of tears. My words, not hers. She worded it differently; less dramatically. So, to cheer you up, I have gone through my vast music library and provided you with what we Americans call 'a feel good song'. These are used to, again, as we say in America, 'heal your feels'. Hope you enjoy!

Your totally amazing e-pal and music doctor,

Raven"

'That Mandy', she thought as she smiled. 'She does despise her name.' She put on her ear buds and clicked on the song.

Oo-woah-oh

Uh-oh-oo-woah-oh

She gave it her best
She tried to fit in
She tried to be cool
But she never could win
Her mom says she's great
The kids think she's weird
Honestly she wish she could disappear

Haru's eyes snapped open. The song had barely even started, and it was already hitting a little too close to home!

Why you try, try to be like the rest of them
When you know there's so much more within
There's only one you
Here's what ya' gotta do

Whoa, whoa...
Anytime you feel alone, put on your headphones
Love, love's coming through your headphones
Anytime you feel alone, put on your headphones
Love, love's coming through your headphones
L-o-o-ove is coming through your headphones
L-o-o-ove is coming through your headphones

'That could be true', thought Haru. 'If you really like love songs'.

He gets in his car
He falls apart
It came to an end
And now it's breaking his heart
He wants to give up
Wants to try again
Honestly he doesn't know what he's feeling

'Sounds like me all the time', thought Haru. 'One minute, I have a huge crush on Machida; the next, a smaller one on Baron. The one on Baron seems to be growing though.'

Haru was steadily getting into the song, tapping her feet and bobbing her head to the rhythm.

Hey, you might not see it with your eyes
But keep your head up to the sky
The sun is coming through
Here's what you gotta do

So keep your head up high and dust off your shoulders
It's alright, no, it's not over
Love is here, it came to dry up all your tears
Oh, can you feel it
Gotta believe it, gotta see it
By your side in the middle of the night
So keep your head up high and the dust off your shoulders
It's alright, no it's not over

'Kinda sounds like something Hiromi or Baron would say', the lovable brunette thought, blushing a bit at the thought of the dapper orange feline.

Whoa, whoa...
Anytime you feel alone, put on your headphones
Love, love's coming through your headphones
Anytime you feel alone, put on your headphones
Love, love's coming through your headphones
L-o-o-ove is coming through your headphones
L-o-o-ove is coming through your headphones

So keep your head up high and dust off your shoulders
Coming through your headphones
So keep your head up high and dust off your shoulders
Coming through your headphones

Haru unplugged her ear buds and turned up the volume, dancing to the music while tidying up her room as the song began to wind down.

Twinkle, twinkle in your eye
Listen to this lullaby
The sun is shining in the sky
I see love it's in your eyes

This aint' the first time you felt like this
This ain't the first time, this aitn' the first time
This ain't the last time you'll feel like this
But it'll be fine
If you can just, smile

Haru smiled like a Jack 'o' lantern when the song ended. 'Good old Mandy. She always knows what to do.' Then she noticed a post script underneath the download.

"P.S.; guess who's going to Japan as part of an exchange student program!"

Haru's heart skipped a beat, and redoubled its speed.

She couldn't believe it. After three years of emailing each other and only having pictures to go by, they would finally get to meet face-to-face. It was almost too good to be true.

Smiling so hard and wide she thought her face would split in half, Haru raced out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door, eager to tell her friends at The Bureau the fantastic news.

As she raced out the door, her mother grinned in triumph.

'Score one for the mom.'

Ok, how many of you caught the Ice Age reference? "Score one for the sloth." (thud) (weakly) "And the score's all tied up."

I might extend this into a chapter fic; we shall see what The Angel of Inspiration says.

The song is "Headphones", by Britt Nicole. I totally recommend giving it a listen-to.

* I do not know how to speak French. This is a very rough translation from an online translator. And I think we all know how reliable those thing-majiggers are.

Stay nerdy my friends.

~Tie-Dyed Broadway