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So Rudy, Penny, and Snap were visiting the Ha-Ha-Mas to see the rare bird known as the Smooch. They were accompanied by its inhabitants, the Ha-ha men, as they visited. They found the Smooch’s nest, and the bird herself then appeared and chased Snap before picking him up. “Don’t interfere!” Said one of the haha men. Rudy and Penny watched in horror as the Smooch lived up to her name before dropping Snap on the ground. “Ah… haha… hahaha!” Snap started to laugh. “What’s happening?” Penny asked. “This is what happens when we get smooched! We do this every year!” One of the Ha-ha men said. “Penny— those glasses!” Snap said, still laughing. “What’s so funny about my glasses?” Penny mumbled. “How do we make it stop?” Rudy asked.
“He’s gotta smooch someone who hasn’t been smooched before!” Said another haha man. “Not me!” Penny said as she ran off. Snap started to chase after her before stopping. “Wait… haha!” Snap said, laughing. “I’ll go talk to her!” Said a Ha-ha man as he ran off after Penny. Rudy closed his eyes in thought, not noticing Snap approaching him. “Why didn’t Snap continue chasing Pen— MMPH!” Rudy began to think out loud before abruptly being cut off by the answer. Snap had decided to smooch him instead. And it didn’t just feel like a smooch either. A smooch was like something your mom would give to your forehead when you were a kid. This was a kiss. After the initial surprise, Rudy came to a realization. Everything in Chalkzone had always felt a little soft. But here, the softness of… everything, really, felt amazing.
The kiss lasted 3 seconds. When it ended, there was another three seconds of awkward silence. Then Rudy started laughing. “That felt great!” Rudy said as he fell over. “I just did that.” Snap said to himself. When he was under the Smooch’s effect, everything looked hilarious and smooch-able. But when Rudy boarded his train of thought, that’s all he could think about. Now that he was back to normal, he felt embarrassed about what he had just done, but relieved. Not just relieved that the effect was gone, but because a part of him had always wanted to do that. “Great gumballs.” Snap said quietly as he sat next to Rudy.
Meanwhile, Penny stood at the beach. A Ha-ha man walked up to her. “Hey, Penny! Why don’t you wanna get smooched?” He asked. “I don’t wanna get kissed on the mouth.” Penny said. “The smooch doesn’t have to be on the mouth, the cheek will do. Now let’s go!” The Ha-ha man said as he and Penny went back to where the others were. Penny noticed Rudy was on the ground laughing. “Why is Rudy…” Penny said before she saw Snap sitting next to him, smiling. It didn’t take long for her to do the math. “Did you guys figure out a kiss on the cheek would work too?” Penny asked. “That works?” Snap asked. “It wouldn’t feel as good!” Said Rudy, who was still laughing. Penny redid her calculation. “Oh. Anyways, let me demonstrate.” Penny said as she leaned her cheek against Rudy.
He quickly smooched it, causing the effect to transfer. “You’re all now honorary Ha-ha men!” The Ha-ha men said. Penny started to run around laughing, and Rudy got up. Now that the laughing induced by the Smooch’s effect was not on him, he could actually think about those three seconds of pure bliss from earlier. “That was amazing.” Rudy said under his breath while thinking about it. But now there was something else he should focus on: Penny now had the effect, and couldn’t transfer it to anyone else. "Wait, if you guys get smooched every year, how do you stop laughing?” Rudy asked the Ha-ha men. “Simple! We drink the antidote!” One of the Ha-ha men said. “There’s an antidote?” Snap said. “Yep!” The Ha-ha men said in unison. They proceeded to explain, in song form, that the antidote was a simple mixture of lime juice and coconut water.
After Penny drank the mixture, she had a question to ask. “Why didn’t you tell us about the antidote at the start!” She asked. “That’d spoil the fun!” One of the Ha-ha men said. Everyone on the island started partying and dancing because why not partying and dancing is fun. “Hey, uh, sorry.” Snap said to Rudy. “About earlier? I mean, you had to smooch someone. And besides, you’re a good kisser.” Rudy said. “I am? Are you sure it wasn’t because of the Smooch’s laughter effect?” Snap asked. “Wanna find out?” Rudy said. Snap almost froze in place. “That’d be neat.” He managed to say. Rudy smiled before the two boys embraced each other. This kiss felt even better than the first.