Darkness

Chapter 9

I DON'T OWN THE ARTWORK!

"Gazelle, we can't keep doing this." Eben sighed, peeling himself off of the couch. This was a conversation they had had time and time again.

"Eben, wait." She reached out her hoof and grabbed his paw.

He looked over his shoulder at her, his piercing green eyes searching her dark chocolate colored ones. Strands of her curly blonde hair hung lazily in front of her right eye. Eben knew he was doomed. He sat back down next to her.

"Gazelle, I'm tired of sneaking around because you're worried what the fans will think." He said bluntly.

"I know. I know." She said, looking into the tiger's eyes. "I'm tired of it too, Eben."

"Clarissa." He purred, calling her by her real name.

Gazelle was just her stage name, not to mention her species. She wasn't always the most beloved pop star in Zootopia. Once upon a time, she was just another young gazelle, one of many.

Before she was Gazelle, she was Clarissa Glider, only daughter of a District Attorney and an Accountant. Though her parents loved  her, they were strict, and narrow minded. Nudging her to excel in math and science when she was still in Elementary school. She was never any good at the subjects, she managed to pass though. She always felt out of place, stifled by a stale life.

One day she accidentally stumbled into the school's music room. Mammals of all species sang and danced around with fervor. One mammal in particular left his spot to greet her. Eben Clawson.

Eben approached her, "You want sing too?" He asked, his English choppy. He used to have a speech problem.

"Oh, no." Clarissa objected. "I really should be studying."

"Come, you try sing." He grabbed her hoof and pulled her over to a microphone. The students were singing karaoke, reading lyrics off an old projector.

The song was Break Away by Nelly Hawkson. She was nervous, everybody was watching her. Oh, how she used to be so shy. The music started to play, but she was frozen in place.

"Sing." Eben encouraged her.

He was so warm and patient with her. It helped her shake away her nerves. She began to sing, hitting every note with raw perfection. Even the teacher was awestruck by her voice.

When the song ended, everyone cheered, and for the first time in her life, Clarissa felt at home in her skin.

When the class was over, Eben stopped her to introduce himself. "I'm Eben. What your name?"

"I'm Clarissa." She said.

That was when it all started. Her parents were upset when she wanted to join the choir, they thought it would screw up her future. Only the lucky few became famous after all. But she wasn't surpassing at anything else, so they decided to let her do her own thing.

Right after they graduated High School, she and her tiger companion went to celebrate at the local Karaoke Palace. A place amateurs could sing for fun. That night, music producer Renee Howler, just happened to be in the audience.

Before Clarissa knew it, she was writing songs, and being booked for gigs. But there was still one little problem, her name. Renee didn't think the name Clarissa Glider would market well. She figured, I'm a gazelle, and our name alone sounds pretty, so that could work.

Renee loved the idea, and it stuck. That day, Clarissa Glider ceased existence, and Gazelle took her place. She was assigned background dancers, tigers, Alec, Dylan, and Wesley. As lovely as it all was, she found her career separating her from her beloved best friend Eben. They didn't get to hang out much anymore. Gazelle managed to convince Renee to hire Eben as a fourth background dancer. Problem was, Eben couldn't dance very well, but, that didn't stop him from trying.

He took lessons. Practiced night and day, until he was able to keep up with the other dancers. Once again, the two were together all the time again. It always seemed so natural and effortless for them to be friends, that it didn't surprise Eben when Gazelle told him that she was in love with him. He had loved her from the moment he met her.

They started dating after that, and their three year anniversary was coming up, but nobody knew about it but them. With their anniversary coming up, Eben wanted to propose to her, to get married. For years now though, he'd abided by her wishes. She worried fans would abandon her, if they knew she was in love with a tiger.

"Clarissa, I love you, and I want to be with you." He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"I know." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

"Show time!" Renee shouted, walking through the door.

Eben pulled away, and walked out the door to join the other tigers. Gazelle picked up the microphone and walked out onto the stage. Adoring fans cheered her name.

"Good evening, Zootopia!" She greeted. "I have a special announcement to make!" She looked at Eben, then back to the audience.

The audience fell silent.

"My name isn't really Gazelle, it's Clarissa Glider." She continued. "For the past three years I've been dating someone."

The audience let out a collective "Aww."

"I've never said anything before, because I was afraid of judgement, but you see today is our three year anniversary." She paused, thinking over her words. "I realize now, that love is more powerful, more important than fear." She turned to face her dancers. "Eben, come here please."

He walked over to her, embarrassment pricking at him. She put her hoof into his massive paw. They stood like that for what seemed like decades, waiting for the audience to put two and two together. When it all finally clicked together, most of the audience cheered. Those that didn't left in disgust.

Once the remaining audience settled down, Gazelle did something she'd never done on stage before. She sang a duet, with Eben. They sang her hit song together.

Eben finally had something to sing about, even if it came with a high cost.