#and then santana graduates and everything falls apart again…
Text
Medically Inevitable
Chapter 11:- Beloved Birthdays
Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Ethan Ramsey, Mark Raines, Liam Mercado, Sienna Trinh, Elijah Greene, Landry Olsen, Jackie Varma, Bryce Lahela, Rafael Aveiro, Kyra Santana, Danny Cardinal, Phoebe Reznik
Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine
Warnings:- Alcohol, Swearing
Arielle’s PoV:-
You wake up around 3:30, not being able to sleep. After tossing and turning in your bed with no avail, you step into your bathroom and decide to start your morning routine. After brushing your teeth and a series of skincare steps, you slip on your robe and head out to your balcony.
Sliding the glass door shut, to make sure no one wakes up, you step outside and lean against the railing. The cool breeze makes you shiver as your med school memories come rushing inside your mind, against your will. You forcefully shut your eyes, trying to make it stop, but it doesn’t...everything comes crashing down. You remember everything...from the moment you met him, to the platonic hang-outs which evolved into romantic dates, the sweet Valentine’s Day activities you would do every year, meeting each other’s families and the day when he said ‘I Love You’ and you said it back….and finally the moment when your heart was ripped apart. You sink to your knees, head between your knees, and let everything out. All the emotions swirling inside of you finally pour out of you as tears, completely soaking the front of the robe. It’s been about 10 minutes when you hear, “Arielle?” Looking up, you see Elijah right outside the threshold. You quickly wipe your tears and quickly stand up.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. An eyelash fell into my eye.”
He looks at you. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.”
You sigh. “It’s a long story.”
“Okay then, short version.”, he says.
“I was in a six-year relationship during med school and it came crashing down a few months before residency. So, he ended up cheating on me...with my best friend.”
He gives you a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry Arielle.” He wheels his chair towards you as you slump back into your plush armchair.
“I’m fine. I’ve dealt with it. It just came back to me, reopened some old wounds.”, you say tears well up once again. He wordlessly envelops you in a hug, letting you sit there for some time. “Thanks, Elijah. You’re an amazing friend.” He’s about to reply when a yawn cuts him off.
“Looks like I’m a little sleepy.”, he smiles sheepishly.
“I completely forgot it’s so early. How did you even hear me?”, you ask.
“I heard sobbing from the side of my bed. It’s right next to your balcony remember?”
“Oh yeah. You should get some sleep.” He slowly wheels away but turns around, “Will you be okay?” You nod. He exits the room as you walk into your bathroom and decide to make yourself a nice hot bubble bath. Turning the hot water tap, you survey your bubble bath mixtures until deciding on a jasmine and coconut scented one. Pouring a generous amount in, you slip off your clothes and sink into the tub and let yourself relax.
After a long soak, you dry yourself off and go to the kitchen to get something to eat.
“Hey.” Startled, you look up to find Landry at the front door.
“You’re up this early?”, you ask.
“Yeah, I always leave this early. Even Dr. Ramsey gets in this early. I mean, he’s the example you want to follow right?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean that you have to follow his schedule.”, you reply teasingly.
“So are you coming or not? It definitely will help you in the competition, it gives you time to study your charts.”
“Alright. Just give me a sec.” You head into your room and pull on a pair of scrubs. You quickly pull your hair into a high ponytail and grab your backpack as you head out the door with Landry.
“We’ll take my car.” You slide into Landry’s car and drive to Edenbrook. You both grab your stuff and after dropping off your stuff, you both head out to the near-empty atrium. “Hey, want to see if Dr. Ramsey posted the new rankings earlier?”, he asks.
“That’s today?”, you ask.
“Yeah. You don’t remember?!”, he asks.
“Well, my mind slipped. I’m focused on my patients. Let’s go see.” Both of you walk towards the notice board and Landry slowly reads the list from the top. His face falls as he notices his rank.
“What!? How did I slip to eighth?”
“Well...did you make any mistakes recently?”, you ask.
“Well, I almost misdiagnosed a case the other day.” You look at him ridiculously.
“It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know that she had changed her daily routine!”, he defends.
“Didn’t you talk to the patient?”, you ask.
“Why should I? We’re supposed to figure out what’s wrong with them, not listen to all their life stories.”, he shrugs.
“Learning about the patients and their stories is the best part! Anyways, it’s part of the job.”, you answer.
He nods. “Ok, I have to go.” He heads towards the nurses’ station. You notice your ranking, right above Landry’s. A small beam of pride washes over you. Taking advantage of the very empty atrium, you decide to visit Naveen when you notice Dr. Emery coming your way. Crap!
“Good morning, Chief Emery.”
“Good morning, Dr. Valentine.”, she nods in response. Quickly, you head back to the nurses’ station and go to pick up your charts when you hear someone call you.
“Valentine.” You turn around and see Zaid.
“Yes?…”
"Valentine, new admission in room 712. Dr.Ramsey wants you to handle it," Zaid states.
"Dr. Ramsey… asked for me?" You ask shocked.
"By name," Zaid says in a plain voice.
"Really? Why?" By now you can't help your smile.
"Gee, I dunno Valentine. I didn't ask. Maybe I should be more like you and badger my superiors with incessant questions," Zaid returns your smile sarcastically making you drop yours.
"Fineee," you raise your hand in mock surrender. "I'll go and attend the patient."
You make your way to the seventh floor. Entering the room with a smile on your face, you find a man in his late 50's laying on the bed.
"Good morning Mr.Platt. What can I do for you today?" You say nicely with a bright smile on your face.
"You can start by-" before the man can complete his sentence, he burps loudly scaring you with the sudden action. You compose yourself quickly. "turning down the A/C in this godawful hospital! I'm not a polar bear. And then you can send my doctor." He says rudely which annoys you but don't say anything rather play nice. "Enough nurses. Show me some-" he burps again -"respect."
"Mr.Platt I am your doctor-" he interrupts you." Like hell-" he burps loudly again," Like hell you are."
By this time your anger rises at this man's audacity. "Excuse me?" Your voice comes out louder and angrier than you expected.
"You look like a little teenager. You don't even look qualified to wipe my ass. Go and call an actual doctor."
“Oh, that’s it! How dare he question your qualification!” You’re about to rip him off when you remember he’s your patient. Taking a few deep breaths, you grit your teeth and calm yourself.
"I'm highly qualified. Mr.Platt, I assure you that I am older than I look," you decide to play the nice card one last time, "I graduated top of my class from-"
"Anyone can be certified for anything now-" he burps- "thanks to the internet."
“Oh my god!!!”, you think. “ Luckily Edenbrook has an extremely rigorous standard for its staff. I'm one of the best doctors of my year, nationwide. You are in good hands."
"Hrm. We'll see about that," he says, his voice filled with arrogance.
"Now why don't you tell me what brings you here today," you pick up his chart ignoring the wish to tear him apart. "Your chart says you have been experiencing chest pain."
"That's what I have been saying-" he burps again, "My chest hurts."
“When on Earth did he say that? All along he was just trying to question my qualification!”, you inwardly scoff.
"Okay. Anything else out of the ordinary?"
"Tingling in my arms like pins and needles." His expression turns into a horrified one when he says the next lines. "I read online that it means I'm having a heart attack."
"Well, that certainly can be a symptom. Have you been experiencing something else? Any jaw pain or maybe lightheadedness?"
"My damned hair has been falling out. Clumps of it in the pillow every morning when I wake up."
"Interesting," you note the point down "Definitely not a symptom of heart-" but you are again being cut off by him.
"But that's what-" he burps loudly for the hundredth time now, "-the internet said."
"The internet can be misleading, sir. Still, we'll send you down for an E.C.G to rule out the heart attack. But first I'll-"
"What the hell is an A.B.C.? You're making up this garbage as you go. Send me a real doctor now." You pinch the bridge of your nose as you make your way to the ER to get a head start on your shift before lunch.
Ethan’s PoV:-
You’re just finishing up your shift in the ER when a scent of coconut and some kind of flower wafts through the air. Turning around, you find none other than Dr. Valentine. You can tell she’s livid but trying to be calm.
“Dr. Valentine. How is Mr. Platt’s case going?” She weighs her options on what to say.
“He’s…quite difficult. But nothing I can’t handle.” You allow yourself a small smile regarding her response. “Dr. Ramsey, I have a question.” You nod. “Is there perhaps a certain reason you assigned me this case?” You were wondering when she was going to ask.
“There is.”
“Why?”, she asks clearly eager to know.
“Figure it out.”, you say swiftly leaving the ER. You can hear a groan escape her lips as you leave.
Arielle’s PoV:-
“What the hell does he mean, ‘Figure it out’?! Ugh!...”
“Dr. Valentine. There are no patients right now here. You can go.” You turn to see Sarah gesture to the empty beds.
“Well at least people aren’t sick.”, you think as you head back to the nurses’ station.
After rounds, you grab a light salad and a strawberry smoothie and spot some of your friends at a table.”Hey guys! What’s up?”
“What’s up is that’s it’s Jackie’s birthday today, but she thinks nobody knows.”, Elijah says.
“Wait what!? Why didn’t anybody tell me?!”, you ask.
“Well that’s why we’re telling you now!”, a voice says from behind. You turn around to find Bryce flashing you his signature smirk. You roll your eyes.
“So...what are we going to do?!”, you ask.
“How do you guys know?”, you ask.
“I saw a text from one of her friends.”, Sienna says.
“So, I and Bryce came up with this plan….”, Elijah explains the plan (with Bryce chiming in with (‘This was my idea!’) every once in a while as you chow down on lunch.
“Sounds awesome! Everyone on board?!”, Si asks. Everyone nods.
“I can snag us a reservation downtown.”, you offer.
“Those places have to be reserved months in advance!”, Sienna says.
You smirk, “I have friends in high places.”
“Of course you do.”, Bryce says. Just then your pager beeps.
“Time for my ER shift.”, you dispose of your tray and head to the ER after trading your pumps for a pair of sandals.
“Dr. Valentine!” You twirl around and see Danny waving.
“Hey, Danny.”
“Here’s the test results you asked for.”
“Thanks! By the way, we’re planning a surprise birthday party for Jackie today. You should come, Sienna would want you to.”
“...okay. I’ll try. And I won’t say a word to Jackie.”, he responds.
“I’ll send you the address later.” Thanking him, you look through the results for some clue...but find nothing.
You groan as you enter the ER. “Why did Dr. Ramsey even assign me this case?!”
“Having a bad day?” You turn around to find Rafael standing at the door of the E.R.
He gives you a sympathetic smile, "You sound like you could use someone to vent to. And not to toot my own horn," he smiles," but I have been told that I am a great listener."
"I don't doubt it," you smile back.
He pauses for a moment then adds, " Want to grab dinner after work today."
"I would have loved to, but I have got plans with some other interns tonight," you reply feeling guilty for denying such a sweet offer. However, you smile brightly as an idea strikes your mind, "Rafael, why don't you join us for dinner tonight?" You ask excitedly.
"Me and a bunch of hotshot doctors? I'm not sure that's my scene," he nods his head still smiling.
"C'mon! It's Jackie's birthday, so we are throwing her a surprise party. It would be fun," you say hoping he'd agree, " Also you could meet my friends. They are awesome."
He laughs at your excitement, "I am sure I have met them a couple of times. I bring a lot of emergency patients."
"Meeting them in the emergency ward don't count, Raf." You playfully roll your eyes. "They are a great group of people, they'll love you. And so will you..." Making a puppy face you request him in the cutest way possible," Please!"
Rafael bites his lips thinking and then shakes his head smiling.
"You can be very persuasive, you know?"
You grin at the comment. "So does that mean that you'll join us?"
He nods before laughing at your childish excitement. Your pager beeps.
“Incoming patient.” The pager should be known as the universal interrupter for doctors! I swear it just loves to interrupt people!”, you exclaim as you wave back to him.
“Well, It also does make sure that none of your patients are dead.”, he calls out. You laugh as you head to the emergency bay.
After your shift in the ER, you quickly update Dr. Tanaka on the scheduled surgeries and head to the 5th floor to find Ines.
“Ines! I need a favor.”
“Of course! What can I do for my favorite intern?”
“You probably shouldn’t say that out loud,...but I don’t mind.”, you reply with a cheeky smile. “I need you to keep Jackie busy with patients until I text you a heart.” She gives you a look. “Today’s her birthday and we want to surprise her.”, you explain.
Her face brightens, “Of course! I’ll make sure she doesn’t suspect anything.”
“Thank you!” You throw your arms around her for a quick minute and head off to the parking lot after grabbing your stuff. After a quick drive, you enter your apartment to see everyone except Jackie getting dressed.
Bryce notices you and walks towards you. “So, have you made the reservation yet?”
“Just about to call.” You head inside your room and scroll through your contact list until you find Mark, hitting dial. He picks up almost immediately.
“If it isn’t my favorite doctor cousin.”
“I’m your only cousin who’s a doctor.”, you laugh.
“So, how’s residency going? The last time we talked, you told me you were in a competition.”
“It’s...a learning experience. How’s Blair?”
“She’s amazing. She’s at the firm right now with Adrian.”
“Awesome. So, I need a favor from my favorite chef.”, you say.
“Ask away.”
“So, it’s a friend’s birthday and a need to make a reservation somewhere downtown. I would have made one before but I only got to know today. Do you know any restaurants in Boston that can squeeze a group of around...uh…10 people? Please?!”
“I’ll need more than that. Tell me what kind of place.”
“Hmm...let’s see. She would appreciate some a bit fancy but something where everyone can still be themselves and enjoy the night. The place would be nice if it was private, secluded. Definitely with like an open bar or something like that.”
He doesn’t respond. “Mark? Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Sorry if it’s too much to ask. I’ll find something.”
“Woah, wait a sec Cherry! I was just thinking.”, he responds.
“Yeah, I know. It’s a lot to ask.”
”Luckily, I know just the place.”
“Thank you, Mark. So much.”
His voice softens, “Who else would I do this for? I’ll text you the address and any other details you need to know.”
“Ok bye!”
“Love you too Cherry!” He sarcastically says after he ends the call. You come out of your room to find everyone dressed and ready.
“Ahh! You guys all look amazing!”, you exclaim.
“And so will you, once you get ready.”, Sienna exclaims as she pushes you back into your room. “Okay, let’s see what you have.” She rifles through the evening wear section of your closet and pulls out a black lace dress. “This is perfect! Now get dressed while I pick out some accessories to match.”, she says as she goes through your jewelry drawer. You step into your closet and pulling on the dress, you pair it with a pair of gold stilettos.
“Are you done yet?!”
“Geez Sienna! Just a minute.” You walk out of your closet to find Sienna holding a pair of gold hoops and a gold wristwatch. Taking the earrings and clasping them on, you slide onto the stool and touch up your morning makeup. Sienna pulls out a baby pink liquid lipstick and applies a coat to your lips.
“All done!”
“Thanks for your help!”, you reply as you pull a matching gold crossbody purse and fill it with all your things. “Hey, I meant to ask. Is Wayne coming?”
Her face falls, “No, he said he’s busy.” You look at her, knowing she’s hiding something. “...I told him that I need a break.”
“Oh Sienna, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know...he’s changed Ari. It’s like he doesn’t even care about me or what I do. You saw how he acted at the housewarming party.”
“I think you should talk to him. And if things don’t work out…”, you give her a pointed look. “Look Sienna, I get it. But you deserve better.” She nods as she takes your phone from you. “What are you doing?”
“You’re an influencer! And you need to post about how amazing you look right now! Now, pose like this…right by your armchair.” She snaps a pic and posts it on Insta for you.
“I think we look amazing, don’t you?”, you ask as you turn to her.
“Nope…I know we look amazing!” You both giggle.
After one final look in the mirror, you and Sienna head outside and join your friends. “Okay, I’ve told Ines to keep Jackie busy so…she’s probably at the hospital. I’ll tell Ines to let her go so she’ll have just enough time to get ready as I text her.” Everyone nods in agreement as you pull out your phone and text Ines.
“Okay, Jackie’s on her way home. Now I’ll text her.”
You show everyone the series of texts. “Mission Birthday Surprise is a go!”
“Awesome! This is going to be amazing! Arielle, where’s the reservation?”, Sienna asks. You’re about to reply when Mark calls.
“Just on time.”You slip on a Bluetooth and answer.
“Hey, Mark. We’re all in the living room right now. Did you get a reservation?”, you ask.
“Let‘s just say I pulled a few strings. I’ll send you the address. We’ve already been here before but at a different part of the restaurant. I booked you guys a rooftop, so you guys should have privacy and instructed a few other things. The head chef will greet you there, and he’ll explain everything.”
“That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”
“Anything for you.”, you laugh.
“Okay, talk to you later.”
“Have a nice time. Love you.”
“Love you too.” You cut the call and turn to everyone to break the good news when everyone stares at you. “What?!”, you ask.
“You never told us you had a boyfriend!”, Elijah says. You stare at them in confusion until it hits you. You burst out in laughter as everyone stares at you.
“Oh my god guys, he’s my cousin! I’m currently single as a pringle. Now, seeing that you guys heard everything Mark said, let’s go!”
Everyone cheers as they all pile up in your car.
“I call shotgun!”, Bryce yells as he slides in the front seat. “Kyra, Phoebe, Danny, and Raf said that they’ll meet us there.”
“Awesome! I’ll send them the address.” After a quick text to all four, you start to drive.
Blasting and singing to music all the way, you reach the place in 20 minutes.
“You have reached your destination.” Everyone cheers.
“Come on! All of you out!” All of you grab your things and walk up to the swanky restaurant. You enter the restaurant and walk up to the person.
“Ah! You must be the group Chef Raines has personally reserved. Please, follow me.” He leads you up an elevator to reveal a beautifully decorated rooftop with tables set up and an open bar.
“Damn! This is nice! Way to go, Arielle!”, Elijah says. You turn around as you hear someone call your name.
“Well if it isn’t the one and only Arielle Valentine! Or should I say, Dr. Valentine?”
“Liam! What are you doing here?”, you shout as you hug him.
“I’m now head chef of this restaurant.”
“That’s amazing!” You turn to everyone. “Guys, meet Liam Mercado, an amazing chef, and my childhood bestie.” As you introduce everyone to each other, you notice Phoebe, Raf, Kyra, and Danny coming out from the elevator. “Elijah, Sienna! Look who’s here!” The four of them start talking as they constantly blush, leaving you to giggle.
“Arielle!” You walk towards Liam. “So I’ve done a birthday cake and everything and food prep will be done in about an hour. So, it’ll be perfect for you to surprise your friend and play some games right before dinner. Just tell me once you guys are ready for dinner and we’ll bring everything out.”
“Thank you, we have to catch up sometime. The last time I saw you, I was still in med school.”
He nods, “And the last time I saw you, I wasn’t engaged either.”
“What!? Why didn’t you tell me!?”
“Because in a few weeks, I was going to invite you to Lara’s baby shower.”
“Oh my god! Congratulations! If you keep dropping bombs on me like this, you’re going to give me a heart attack.”, you shriek.
“Trust me, I wasn’t planning to tell you like this either. But I’m really excited.”, he says with a fond smile.
“You’re going to be an amazing dad.” He smiles as his phone rings.
“Excuse me, but I have to take this. It’s Mark. Probably to see if I’ve met the expectations of his favorite sister.”, he sarcastically replies. Laughing, you walk back towards the group when you hear Sienna shout. “Oh my god! We forgot about presents!” Shit! You completely forgot about presents. Quickly calling everyone over, all of you decide that you and Kyra will go and get the presents with the money everyone pitches in. “Let’s go!”, you quickly drive to the nearest mall with Kyra.
“Do you have any idea about what we should get? We don’t have much time either!”
“I know Kyra. I think we’ll buy multiple small items and make them into like a huge gift basket.”
“Awesome idea! That should work.” You both quickly rush to the mall’s directory and skim the list of stores. “Hey Ari, there’s a Sephora on the ground floor. We should start there.” You nod and head to Sephora.
“Okay, we’ll split up and just pick out a few of our favorite products. Then we’ll meet up and decide what to keep.” You quickly scan all the aisles, picking out products as you go. Knowing that every female doctor’s biggest struggle is dark circles, you pick out a tube of concealer, primer, and light-weight foundation from your favorite brand as you try to match her skin tone. Then you pick out a few different types of eyeliner and mascara, knowing that pretty much no one can spot Jackie without her signature cat-eye.
“Ari!” You spot Kyra holding a bag of her own. You go over and put all your products together. She’s picked out a perfectly sized eyeshadow palette and a few different liquid lipstick and glosses.”This is perfect! We’ll go buy a basket and some ribbons later on.” After finishing the purchase at Sephora in a record time of 12 minutes, you rush out of the store.
“Ooh! What about some products from Lush?! She loved the spa day!”, you say.
“Great idea!” After browsing around Lush, you both come up with the idea to make the color of the products themed. Kyra picks out a few soaps and bath bombs as you decide to go to Bath & Body Works. Ending up with a bottle of hairspray, perfume, and a few candles, you meet Kyra back at the second-floor lounge.
“You’re back! I found this amazing scarlet pink basket that matched our theme! Then I bought some tissue paper and ribbons and a bunch of extra stuff!”
“Amazing! I also stopped by the card shop and found this savage birthday card. We’ll get everyone to sign it. Let’s get to work!” After a tedious discussion of placement, you and Kyra manage to arrange everything in the basket neatly. She wraps the basket in a clear wrapper and ties it up with a matching ribbon and bow.
“I think we make a great team.”, you say.
“We do, don’t we!” Both of you quickly drive back to the restaurant and rush up to the rooftop. You step out of the elevator to find the place fully decorated by your friends.
“They’re back!”, Bryce shouts. “And come bearing a huge gift basket!” You and Kyra explain to everyone about the gift, then pass the card around for everyone to sign. After you sign, Si helps you tie the card with the gift basket.
“I think we’re all set.”, Landry says.
“Yeah, this was some great work! I can’t believe you guys came up with this today!”, says Phoebe.
“That’s cause it was a team effort.”, Elijah says.
“And one which will be wasted if the birthday queen isn’t here. Where is she?”, Bryce asks.
“She’ll be here in 20, Bryce. Meanwhile, we need to set up the gifts and set up the tables.
You help your friends set up the tables and gifts that you bought, with the restaurant’s staff’s help. After a while, your phone rings. You shout, “Guys, be quiet! It’s Jackie!”
You answer the call. “Hey, Jackie! Are you here yet?”
“Yeah, I just parked. What do I do now?”, she asks.
“Tell the receptionist that you’re here for the dinner that the Raines’ reserved. We’re up on the rooftop. Bye!” You shove your phone in your purse and shout, “Okay guys! The moment we’ve been all waiting for! Places everyone! I’ll switch off the lights. Once I switch on the lights, everyone yells! Understood?! Everyone nods as they take their places. You kill the lights, and a few minutes later Jackie enters from the elevator. “Arielle? Sienna? Elijah? Guys, I swear if this is some kind of prank-“ You stifle your laughter as you switch on the lights.
“Surprise!!!!” Everyone runs up and hugs her as she stands there like a deer in headlights. Bryce takes a picture of her wide-eyed face.
“Happy birthday Jackie!” You exclaim as you trap her in a hug. “You look amazing!”
“Let me guess, this was all you?”, she responds with a knowing smirk.
“Noooooo!... It was all Bryce!”, you sarcastically say.
“Hey! Offense taken!”, Bryce shouts as both of you laugh.
“You guys did all this for me?”
“I don’t know, do you know anyone else named Jackie?”, Kyra teases. All of you laugh.
“Well then, what are we waiting for?! Let’s get this party started!”, you yell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Authors’ Note:- Hey lovelies! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and make sure to comment/reblog below! Also, make sure to turn on your notifications for the next chapter, where the gang gets involved in....let’s just say a quite adventurous dare. Let us know if you want to be added to the taglist!
And a special thank you to @nikki-2406, this a-ma-zing human being saved my ass from editing pics! Love you girl!🥰
Part 1 of taglist:- @kaavyaethanramsey @rookie-ramsey @ohramsey @caseyvalentineramsey @hopelessromantics4life @realmrsramsey @binny1985 @maurine07 @alina-yol-ramsey @helloitsthiv @tsrookie @arcticlumineer @mary-c92 @sad-satan-herself @whippedforethanfreakingramsey @archxxronrookie @ethansrookie02 @semanticsandsea-lemons @mrandmrsramsey @starrystarrytrouble @deepikakkannan @siaramsey @katkart122 @openheartthot @imonlybibecauseofethanramsey @luvevelynclaire @literaryexpress @miss-smrxtiee @nadeen-ahmed11 @mrsalanrickman394 @drstellavalentine @ethandaddyramseyx @annekebbphotography @custaroonie @ladyrileybrooks @robbies-sutcliffe @cralinedp @bladesofopenheart @ezekielbhandarivalleros @daddyethanramsey @aquirkychica @romewritingshop @lilyvalentine @xpandabeardontcarex @in-love-with-a-trans-girl @coastalengineer @starrystarrytrouble @clowneryme @natureblooms24
58 notes
·
View notes
Text
Cautionary Tail (Glee)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except an overactive imagination and way too many plotbunnies.
A ficlet that’s been lying around in my outlines in need of some editing and a paragraph or three - perfect to deal with on a grey and dreary Sunday.
Cautionary Tail
The tale of Mister Whiskers is one warning sign after the other, from start to finish – from before the start even. It's just that Kurt doesn't see them, or doesn't recognize them, or connect the warnings to the correct things.
It starts like this. First day at NYADA – NYADA! – Kurt meets Annie. Annie who's from Dallas, and who is almost embarrassingly welcoming, and who tells Kurt way too much about herself.
Still. Except for Rachel she's the only one who even tries, while everyone else is gleefully whispering about how Kurt's only there because someone else dropped in, and how Madame Tibideaux took pity on him.
(That's...not quite how it went, with the truth being that yes, someone dropped out three and a half weeks in, and yes, NYADA prefers full classes so they looked for someone to fill the empty spot. But Kurt didn't get it because of pity, he got it because out of all the candidates that the Mme found acceptable he was the only one willing and able to show up in class the next morning. Anyway, the important thing is that he's here now, and he's going to make the most of it.)
So. Annie it is, when it comes to hanging out with classmates-who-aren't-Rachel. And that means listening to her stories, and trying not to judge. Just, it's not always easy.
Take her boyfriend, for one. David, who's super-cute, and who she's going to be with forever, and who didn't get accepted to college this fall but came with her to New York anyway and got a job just so they wouldn't be separated. Yeah. That...doesn't sound too healthy. In fact, it sounds a bit like Rachel and Finn, back before Finn started thinking for himself.
(And yes, Kurt knows how mean that sounds, just, Finn? When it comes to girls he really doesn't have a history of thinking for himself. He really, really doesn't. Just like Kurt maybe doesn't have a history of thinking clearly when it comes to boys, and ignoring how maybe it also sounds a little like him and Blaine.)
Anyway. That's Annie, with her super-cute boyfriend, and their super-cute apartment, and their super-cute plans, and Kurt's impending diabetes from all the sugar, and then the next super-cute thing. Which so happens to be Mister Whiskers.
Mister Whiskers is an eight week old kitten, who's the cutest ever, and Annie's baby, and Kurt's being bombarded with so many warning signs he can barely breathe. Two nineteen year olds, who have barely left home, who are still adjusting to living together (and no, Annie, three weeks alone in David's family's summer home does not count) and might implode any day now from adult life, and they're bringing a helpless living being into it.
(Kurt's just happy it's not an actual baby, which, yeah. Good thing Annie's almost as eager for a Broadway career as Rachel is or it might have been.)
This is never going to end well, Kurt thinks, as he listens to Annie bubble on about one cute thing after the other. Because everything is cute with Annie, until one day it's not.
Their apartment is too claustrophobic, and David's too boring, and doesn't understand her ambition, or her classes, and doesn't like her classmates, and he's holding her back. And just like that Annie's moving into the dorms, and David's never mentioned again.
(Kurt thinks, but never even hints at it out loud, that this is what would have happened to Rachel and Finn.)
That should be it, but of course it's never that easy. Because there's one thing left to stop being cute.
Mister Whiskers.
Because as cute as kittens are, the truth is that kittens always become cats, and cats are many things, but Annie-cute isn't one of them. Of course, that's not how she sells it to Kurt. Oh no. It's that cats aren't allowed in the dorms, and it doesn't feel right for David to take him alone, because it's their cat, and well, Kurt's the only one who isn't living either in a no-pets building, or with an allergic roommate, so can he please adopt Mister Whiskers?
He says yes, obviously, because it's not the cat's fault that Annie's not nearly as mature as she thinks. David walked into this eyes open, but Mister Whiskers? Had no choice.
And so Kurt has a purring, loving bedmate.
Over the months that come Mister Whiskers becomes Kurt's steady ground.
Mister Whiskers is the one getting cried on when Kurt breaks up with Blaine for cheating. He's the one listening to quiet confessions about not being able to truly let go of Blaine even when the option of Adam and all his sunshine becomes available. His fur is damp with tears when Adam tells Kurt that he's moving to LA after graduation.
Mister Whiskers is also the one listening to Kurt's worries about having gotten back together with Blaine too easily, and his guilt about telling Blaine to halt his proposal – because shouldn't he have been willing to go there too, if he really loves Blaine?
Maybe it isn't so strange that Mister Whiskers is also the one giving Blaine a haughty look before walking away and refusing even treats from him?
O---o--o---O
As June becomes July Blaine starts talking about how amazing it'll be with the two of them in New York, together all the time, with references to the loft, and Kurt starts getting flashbacks to Annie and her super-cute life. (Annie who just so happened to be dating one of their classmates two months after breaking up with David, and whose last email to Kurt talked about – you guessed it – the apartment the two of them are going to share with another couple this year, and how cute it'll all be.)
He agonizes about it, but in the end there's only one thing to do. Set things straight – and isn't that a joke – before it's too late.
“So you never told me where you are going to live,” Kurt breaks off another one of Blaine's soliloquys about fall in the City.
He listens to Blaine's verbal version of stomping the breaks, followed by a more than fair amount of spluttering.
“What do you mean?”
“I'm sorry, did you tell me and I missed it? Because if so, I apologize. I wanted to know where you're going to live. I wanted to check up subway lines and such.”
“I'm going to live at the loft, obviously.”
There's an incredulous tone in Blaine's voice, with a darker undertone Kurt doesn't like, and together it reads as a warning sign. “Don't continue this line of thinking” it says. It is where Kurt's supposed to back away, with an apologetic line or three about of course Blaine's going to live there, Kurt was just being silly. Except Kurt can't take that easy out. He's got a lap-full of reminder why exactly he can't.
“No, you're not. No, listen to me. You can talk all you want about how we've been fine in the loft together, but that's never been for more than 3 days, and quite frankly that's not the same. That's been you being a guest in my home, where I've had all the responsibility.
“Blaine, you're 19. You've never lived alone. You've never been responsible for bills and food and cleaning, and you need to learn that before you move in with someone else. Because I don't have the time, or the energy, or quite frankly the desire to do it for you. If I'm going to be in a relationship I want to be so as a partner, not as a mom-replacement.”
He gets enough of that from Rachel, thank you very much. (Interestingly enough Santana, with all her bitchiness, is the easier person to live with. Even counting her complete disregard for privacy.)
Blaine starts talking again, and the longer he talks without Kurt backing down, the angrier he gets.
Finally Kurt sets his foot down.
“If you can't respect my desire for you to become a somewhat functioning adult without me holding your hand, then how am I supposed to trust that you'll respect anything else? Am I supposed to be the one to tell you what needs to be done, and how to do it, and keep track of you actually doing it – and doing it properly – and dealing with you not wanting to do it right then?
“If you live on your own and decide it's more important to go to Callbacks than to clean the bathroom,” something Blaine had done on his last visit, cheered on by Rachel, “then you're the only one dealing with a disgusting mess. If you live here then not only do I get to deal with it too, but I'm most likely the one having to clean it instead. I'm not doing that. Show me you can live on your own and we can talk about living together. Or don't. It's up to you.”
It's harsh, he knows it, but it's also necessary. Kurt's already responsible for taking care of himself and Mister Whiskers. He's not going to add another person to that. And he's definitely not going to let Blaine's dreams about “super-cute” steamroll over reality and back him into a corner.
Not even if it means being single again.
Yes, chances are Rachel and Santana will take Blaine's side in this and things will become very uncomfortable at the loft. But if so Kurt can take his own advice. He's never lived completely on his own after all, which might be a nice change.
He knows he'll do well on his own though – him and Mister Whiskers.
~The End ~
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
“What if I remember?” - #SeblaineWeek2020
Written for Seblaine Week 2020 – Hurt/ comfort
Sebastian had proposed. A week later, he was in an accident, Blaine not knowing if he’d make it and remembering the day he went back to Dalton, met Sebastian again and – in the end – fell in love. This hurt so much when I was even just writing it but I love how it turned out.
He remembers. He knows it happened, yet he can barely believe it. Why is he silently sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to beeping machines when he wants to scream at Sebastian to finally wake up? The hand that’s holding his boyfriend’s for dear life is sweaty. No, wait, not his boyfriend’s – his fiancé’s. It can’t be, it’s only been a week since Sebastian went down on one knee during their vacation in Paris.
Paris, where Sebastian had lived as a child and where he spent six months as an intern in college. Paris, where they wanted to go together after graduation, then after getting their first jobs, then after Blaine’s first show closed on Broadway.
Finally, 2 years after Sebastian had returned home to San Francisco, they finally went there and it was everything Blaine had dreamed about. They were strolling down the Seine late at night, eating crêpes and kissing under the Eiffel Tower, just like Sebastian had promised. And then, on their last night, Sebastian had insisted they’d go to this little restaurant in Montmartre that’s a cute café by day and a funky bar by night, even though they were both tired, so why exactly couldn’t they just order room service and go to bed?
Blaine knew why when Sebastian took his hand, his palms sweaty and shaking a little. “Blaine Anderson”, he said, “you are the most ridiculous person and a pain in my ass. But every day I wake up next to you and for a moment I am so in awe that you are still with me.”
His voice trembled a little and Blaine’s eyes started to fill with tears because, no, he couldn’t mean that, this couldn’t be… “You are stubborn and you drive me insane when I know there’s something bothering you but you brush me off like it’s fine. I hate it when you sing in the shower before I had my morning coffee and hate even more how I could never ever hate it when you’re singing because it’s beautiful. You have this smug smile when you know my arguments are better but your puppy eyes will make me give in anyways and we really need to talk about you not using them for evil purposes like having dinner with your strange public school friends you insist you like.”
Blaine gasps half-mockingly, half self-conscious (Sebastian might have a point about him using that method to get his way).
“All of this should have me running for my life as fast as I can, yet, you are in every way said puppy – one look, one smile and I’m done, Anderson. Actually, thinking about leaving you kind of leaves me shaking with fear because I might be able to survive without you but I would hardly call that living, so I’d really rather not.” Sebastian actually blushed and Blaine was about to yell “yes, I do!” before he even heard the question.
However, Sebastian got down on one knee, holding out a small velvet box with a beautiful simple silver ring with a row of very small black diamonds and asked Blaine to marry him right there in a little restaurant in Paris. It sounds cliché and cheesy but Blaine likes cheesy and he likes Paris and he likes the ring and, hell, yes, he wants to marry Sebastian! For a fraction of a second there’s an image in his head of the boy he used to love, the boy he thought he would marry one day and in another lifetime or universe maybe he would, would have proposed with a big romantic gesture and a moving speech, but here and now, he kissed Sebastian as he slid his finger through the ring.
At home, they threw a little get-together a few days later to break the news to their families and closest friends, both of them still basking in actually doing this, taking this next step together. They wanted to officially tell their fellow ex-Warblers, Blaine’s public school friends Sebastian pretends to dislike (although he knows Sebastian has a soft spot for Marley, likes playing video games with Sam and Sebastian’s relationship with Santana, founded on a deep respect for each other’s wit and snarky banter, Blaine will never understand) and a few other friends on a bigger party next saturday.
Next saturday seems so far away right now. He doesn’t really know what happened, couldn’t listen to what the doctor told him a few hours ago when he stormed into the hospital after a call that began with “Mr. Blaine Anderson? You are the emergency contact for a Mr. Sebastian Smythe. I’m sorry to inform you that there was an accident…”
Everything is a blur now. He went where they told him to go. He moved when the nurses needed some space to change Sebastian’s IV-drip. He laid his head in the crook between Sebastian’s head and his shoulder, held his hand carefully, unable to say anything but “Please don’t leave me…”. He’s been like that for hours.
It’s getting late and visiting hours are long over, one of the nurses obviously feels sorry for him, that’s the only explanation he has why he’s still allowed to be here. He really must look as awful as he feels. His whole body hurts when he moves to get up, not wanting to go but not wanting to cause any trouble for the lovely nurse who let him sit with Sebastian a little longer. He kisses Sebastian’s forehead. He knows, Sebastian doesn’t like this, feels like a little kid when he does it, and maybe Blaine does it on purpose to make Sebastian finally wake up. He remembers fragments now, that the doctor said something about “potential brain damage” and “we just need to give him a few hours, maybe a day or two” and Sebastian “being lucky”. He really wants to believe her, has a deep respect for doctors after seeing some of his friends like Wes and Jeff suffer through med school. So, he hopes she’s right and reluctantly let’s go off Sebastian’s hand.
Turns out, going back to their apartment was not a good idea. Everything around him is Sebastian and when he’s finally in bed, the only thing he can think about is What if?
What if Sebastian doesn’t wake up tomorrow?
What if he wakes up at night, now knowing where he is, what happened and looking for Blaine?
Or what if he wakes up not even knowing who Blaine is? What if what they had is gone now?
Something in Blaine’s stomach doesn’t feel right and he needs to get it out one way or the other. He runs towards the bathroom and makes it just in time before he throws up his breakfast and some of the shitty coffee he had at the hospital. For the first time since the call, he allows himself to break down into tears. He sits on the cold tiles of their bathroom floor, grabbing his curls when the sob’s ripple through his body.
What if Blaine goes back tomorrow and they tell him, Seb will never wake up?
What if they ask him to decide to turn off the machines or believe in wonders?
Oh dear god, what if he actually dies?
Usually, when Blaine is upset, he finds comfort in Seb’s arms and a solution for whatever problem in his analyzing way of thinking. Blaine gets up, washes out his mouth to get rid of the sour taste and makes his way back to the bedroom. He falls down on the mattress and curls up into a ball. He reaches for Sebastian’s pillow and hugs it tight, smelling the faint smell of the cologne he knows Blaine likes, and why? Why did it have to be Seb? Why now? Why doesn’t he wake up already?
Silent tears stream down Blaine’s face, memories flooding his brain: Sebastian laughing because Blaine’s very small mom was hugging him so tight when they told her about the engagement. Sebastian in Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the parks, the ring and his smile. Tears he tries to hide every time they watch “Moulin Rouge” or a Disney classic. Date nights in the park for the 4th July, sitting on a blanket watching the fire works explode over the Golden Gate Bridge. Little moments like them holding hands all the way back to the hotel with their National’s trophy. Their first kiss a few days later when Blaine burned his tongue on scalding hot coffee, Sebastian being there to soothe the ache. All the way back, Blaine’s first day back at Dalton, not officially attending classes yet but in his uniform anyway to try how it would feel. He remembers. He remembers Sebastian starstruck-expression and the hand on his back. He remembers the warmth that was partly because he was so excited to be back and partly because something stirred in his belly he didn’t dare name yet, not back then.
It’s that warmth he craves now. That warmth he wishes he could give Sebastian. He falls asleep with tears drying on his lashes, his body on Sebastian’s side of the bed. He sleeps restlessly but when he does, he dreams about that day at Dalton that changed everything.
It’s 7 a.m. when he slowly wakes up, feeling even more exhausted than when he fell asleep. He just wants to shower and go back to the hospital. Before getting up, he looks at his phone, a little anxious to see a message from the hospital there telling him bad news although it’s a ridiculous thought. They would’ve called if something was wrong, right? Yeah. But they would’ve also called if Seb had woken up, a bitter voice in his head tells him.
After the shower and getting dressed he dials the hospitals number where they tell him visitors were not allowed sooner than 8:30 which leaves Blaine with one more hour to ki– to spend. What he wanted to say is a bad, bad word. A bad, bad word he purposely doesn’t use, afraid he might jinx something. Blaine huffs. Sebastian would so make fun of this, of how Blaine behaves when the doctor’s prognosis was that he would be fine and Blaine wishes more than anything for Sebastian to come home and make fun of him. He’d gladly take a life full of rolling eyes, half-smiles and shaking heads if it meant that Sebastian would just be fine. He loves this man and no God would be cruel enough to take him from him, right?
Blaine sits down on the couch, completely ready with his shoes on and watches to clock on the wall on the left side of their TV tick. He unlocks his phone and scrolls through his pictures.
There are a lot from Paris, one of them in front of the Louvre – it didn’t stop raining this whole day. One of Sebastian in a small café with a French newspaper and an espresso. One of him kissing Sebastian’s cheek out of a sudden and Sebastian’s eyes wide in surprise from when they finally made it up the hill to Sacré-Cœur and enjoyed the view.
Then there are other pictures. Sebastian with his arms slung over Hunter’s and Beat’s shoulder on the night of their housewarming party for their offices of the advertisement agency the founded together. Sebastian, Kitty and Marley dancing on Sam’s birthday party last year, his boyfr– his fiancé’s tie undone and probably too many buttons of his shirt open to be appropriate. Yet, they seemed like they didn’t have a care in the world. A picture of Sebastian and him hugging in front of a huge poster of Blaine’s face on Blaine’s opening night on Broadway. It’s the look in Seb’s face, so proud, so in love, so excited that has Blaine’s heart breaking a little and makes tears sting in his eyes. His thumb brushes over their faces. “Seb, you can’t leave me now…”, he whispers although no one’s there that could hear him.
How he made it to the hospital, he has no idea. His whole body aches and it’s getting worse the closer he gets to the room door. When Blaine opens it, he actually stops breathing, only to let it out in a deep sigh when he finds Sebastian in exactly the same position as he was yesterday. “He looks so fragile”, Blaine thinks and he wants to do nothing but hold his boy in his arms. Maybe that’s why he dismisses the chair and lays down next to Sebastian, curled into his body, careful not to accidently pull out the IV-drip. How often he had found himself in almost exactly this position when they were cuddling in bed after an orgasm or when Blaine’s had this awful cold last winter. Blaine cups Sebastian’s cheek and stroked lightly. During the 5 days of the cold when he thought he might actually die, Sebastian kept him company in bed when he could, took a few days off of work to take care of him, brought him soup and water and tea and advil. And he sang to him, Blaine remembers, the memory might be a little fuzzy but he remembers his soft voice in his ear grounding him. So Blaine starts singing softly, if only to help Sebastian ground himself:
“I still love you
I still want you
I still need you
After all.
For better or worse
Sickness and health
Till death do us part
After all.
Please don’t leave me…”
It must be hours since Blaine has arrived. His voice is starting to get hoarse, his face is wet from tears Blaine couldn’t stop from falling and he feels exhausted. When the song is over, he burries his face in Sebastian’s neck and breathes in before getting up. He needs to go to the bathroom and even though he’s not hungry, he knows he should get something to eat. Before he turns to leave the room he leaves a lingering kiss against Sebastian’s forehead and mumbles “I’ll be right back…”. He walks towards the door.
“You know I hate it when you do that, B.”
Blaine stops in his tracks. He’s afraid to turn back around. What if his brain is playing tricks on him? What if he’s sleep-deprieved and going crazy?
“Makes me feel like a child.”
Blaine turns. Deep green is looking at him. There’s a crocked smile on a beautiful face and Blaine rushes back to the bed and grabs this handsome face. He doesn’t feel the tears of relief but he feels the chains that suffocated him burst in his chest, suddenly it’s easier to breath again. He doesn’t hear himself whisper his name again and again in awe. But he does feel it when Sebastian turns his head a little and winces but kisses his palms.
“Hey…”
Blaine blinks. “Hi… oh my god, Seb, you scared me so much!” He launches himself into his fiancé’s arms with an “I love you” but scrambles to his feet when he hears him groan in pain. “Shit, I’m sorry, Seb, I’m so, so sorry. Wait, let me get a nurse or a doctor, fuck, you must be in so much pain and I– I’m just so glad, you’re awake…” He wipes tears and snot away with the back of his right hand. Sebastian is awake. He’s awake.
Sebastian just smiles at him. “It’s okay, B, I’m okay, I’m fine. I don’t need a doctor, not right now.” He grab’s Blaine’s hand. “Why don’t you lay down again?” He scoots over and Blaine obliges, raveling in the feeling of Seb’s finger’s lacing through his curls. He’s awake.
“Oh, Blaine?” – “Mhm?” – “We have to postpone the party. I am so not giving Hunter the satisfaction of showing up with bruises on this usually perfect mark of beauty…”
Blaine just rolls his eyes and hugs Sebastian tighter even though he hears him hissing in obvious discomfort. Good. That’ll teach Sebastian to never, ever scare Blaine like that again. “I swear to God, Seb, if you ever scare me like that again, I’ll burn your French vintage-writing desk without batting an eye.”
#seblaine week 2020#seblaine#2020#blaine anderson#sebastian smythe#sebastian x blaine#hurt#hurt/ comfort
17 notes
·
View notes
Note
“I promise after this time, I’ll never try again.”
———————————
Quinn always thought she knew the answers to everything in the universe. She was one of those obnoxious kids; one who believed she was always right no matter what anyone else said. Her parents could tell her that the sky was blue, and if she had decided that it was purple that day, it was purple and there was no convincing her otherwise. She would argue until she exhausted the other person — until they gave up with nothing more than a sigh of defeat and a wave of their hand and said, “whatever you say, Quinn.” It wasn’t that she wanted to argue, it was just that she was always right and nobody ever wanted to respect that.
When she was fourteen, Quinn had decided that underneath her skin, she was made of glass. It was just under the surface, deep enough so you couldn’t feel it if she touched someone, but close enough to the surface to break. She knew this because something in her hand shattered. Nowhere else, just her hand.
She walked down the hallway of her new school with her hair newly bleached blonde, a white dress swaying from side to side with each stride. She kept her head down, blinders held close to her body. She didn’t know it, but she held her breath when she walked. She held her breath, full of the familiar dread and anxiety that always accompanied her to school. This time, though, she wanted it to be different. She lost the weight, spent half the morning poking her eyeball to get the contacts in just right. High school was going to be the dawn of a new beginning, she was damn determined.
She finally found her locker and started twisting it to the correct numbers when she felt the rubber tip of a brown penny loafer nudge the heel of her foot. She looked up immediately, met with a curtain of luscious, deep brown hair clouding her vision as a small, petite body crashed into the locker beside her.
If she had been paying attention to her surroundings, it’s very possible — perhaps even likely — that Quinn would have heard the thunderous laughter erupting in the hallway around her. But more pressing than the sound of bullies giggling from their newest target was the sound of the glass.
It shattered in her hand, and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple. It wasn’t a bone, it didn’t hurt… it just bubbled. Underneath the surface, even when she sat still in chemistry ten minutes later. Her hand shook. It shook and shook and shook and shook and she couldn’t do anything about it except think about the pretty brunette that almost collided with her.
Her eyes roamed the room, then settled on her. Caramel skin, smooth, shiny brown hair. Quinn decided in that moment that she had never met someone quite like her, and took it upon herself to slip her a note.
In hindsight, maybe she came off a little strong. Maybe a piece of ripped notebook paper and loopy, cursive writing saying, “I’m Quinn. You’re very pretty!” etched across it in green highlighter pen wasn’t exactly what girls at McKinley High School wanted to hear. Maybe, just maybe, she should have toned it down a little on her first day. Because maybe being gay wasn’t the first thing people in her new school should have known about her.
She wasn’t surprised when the girl — Rachel, she learned her name was — didn’t send a note back. Her hand just shook as she watched Rachel glance over it, offer a smile in her direction, then throw it away. She wasn’t surprised, and she wasn’t offended.
She just decided to tone it down for a while and try again some other time.
She broke the glass in her hand, she’d decided. It wasn’t a bone that broke and made the anxiety shake her hand, it was the glass. It was the layer between her body and whatever lay on the outside.
———————————
Quinn was a sophomore when she decided that she wanted to be an actress, and she was very serious about her future plans. In fact, she’d even researched good drama schools on the east coast that she could get into, just to make sure she perfected her craft.
It was the only thing that made sense to her, and something she knew she should work hard to hone. She already knew she was good at it and she figured her talent shouldn’t go to waste. After all, she’d been pretending to hate Rachel for a little over one full year. Everybody believed it, too. She had been so convincing, so damning in her role, that everybody in McKinley High School had accepted it as fact. Two plus two is four, water is wet, the square root of sixteen is four, Pluto is no longer a planet, and Quinn Fabray hates Rachel Berry. It was common knowledge at that point, something everyone just knew was true. Quinn thought that maybe they’d hand her an Oscar on the spot if they knew she’d been faking it.
She was pregnant when she first let the mask slip.
She was pregnant, sitting on a bench with tears dribbling down her chin when she forgot to put on her best facade and keep up her charade. Rachel approached her gently, apologizing for telling Quinn’s secret before she even sat down. Quinn stopped her, though. She looked at Rachel with tears in her eyes and told her not to apologize for something that she was too much of a coward to say on her own.
They sat in silence for a while, just listening to the sound of each other breathing. Neither of them felt the need to speak, the silence wasn’t awkward. Quinn’s thoughts were racing, too fast to make sense of anything there buzzing. She was able to grab a hold of one thought, able to make sense of it, process it, and put it into action. She thought it was the perfect time to try again.
The glass broke again. All of it, everywhere, not just in her hand that time. She reached over to hold Rachel’s hand — to send her a signal that maybe she likes her in a special kind of way — but Rachel pulled away. How could she be so wrong? She thought she felt it, that sticky hot connection between them. It felt like static electricity running through both their bodies, the same current hitting them both simultaneously. She thought Rachel felt it, too. How could she miss the mark so completely?
Whatever that was between her body and the outside, it completely shattered and she couldn’t breathe. Rachel pulled her hand away and Quinn didn’t quite know how to pick up the pieces.
Maybe someday, though, she’d have the strength to try again.
———————————
Everyone kept telling her that she was too young to know what love is. She’d laugh in their faces and tell them that loving someone has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with the kind of person you fall in love with. The only time she thought that maybe everyone else was right for a change was when Rachel came into the choir room and said that she was getting married to Finn.
What do they know about love? Quinn thought to herself as she watched Rachel nestle her hand deeper into Finn’s. They’re barely eighteen years old, they haven’t even graduated high school yet! They’re too young to know about love, she decided. Way, way too young.
They were in the hallway when she asked. Something about being stuffed inside of a too-tight vest and a skirt that barely covered her butt made her feel as confident as she needed to be to ask Rachel the important questions. There was no anxiety, no feeling of hopelessness or dread. She stood in front of Rachel, hands on her hips, and stared into her chocolate brown eyes that made her feel warm.
She wanted to try again right then, she wanted to try again while she wasn’t nervous.
But as soon as the question fell between her lips, she immediately wished she never asked. She didn’t think she really wanted to know the answer.
“You were singing to Finn… and only Finn… right?”
She winced as she watched Rachel’s lips quiver, her brain forming a response. She didn’t need an answer at that point, Rachel’s face said it all.
“He really does make you so happy,” Quinn managed to give another one of her Oscar-winning performances and held back tears.
It wasn’t until Rachel hugged her that she felt the glass in her chest break. The glass over her ribcage shattered into sharp, jagged pieces. She knew because one poked through, pierced her heart straight through and left a hole. A huge, gaping hole that used to be filled with so much love that it amazed her that she could care about another human being that way… and now, it had nowhere to go.
Where did all that love go? Did it disintegrate into thin air? Did Rachel take it with her when she decided to walk down the aisle and marry him and not her? Whatever happened to it, Quinn knew it wasn’t hers anymore. The glass over her heart had broken and she decided that love wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
And she decided that she never wanted to try again.
———————————
Her feet crunched through the fresh blanket of New York snow as she walked up to the bricked building. For once, Quinn had no idea what she was going to say. She wanted to start with an apology because she felt like she owed one, but the word “sorry” just didn’t seem to cut it. How could she apologize for not being there when she probably needed her the absolute most?
She didn’t know what she was going to walk into, either. She heard from Santana that Rachel never got out of the bed anymore, heard from Kurt that she goes days without eating. She wondered if she was going to walk into their apartment and see Rachel, a lifeless shell of who she used to be. Quinn doubted that she could pull her out of it, but she was damn well going to try.
Her fist rapped against the door twice before she pulled it away, stuffing her hands back into her pockets to keep them warm. She called Santana as soon as her train got to the station, but Santana warned her that neither she nor Kurt would be home. That’s fine, Quinn thought to herself when Santana told her. I came to see Rachel anyway.
The words she wanted to say danced in her brain, but she couldn’t find the right way to string them together. They flowed through her train of thought, chugging along and sputtering out smoke in jumbled up forms of “sorry” and “I wanted to come home for his funeral but I just couldn’t.” Rachel would understand, Quinn knew she would.
She brought her hand up to the door for the second time and prepared to knock, but the doorknob rattled and turned and the wood swung open.
As soon as she saw her, Quinn felt something different. It was like the glass had shattered when she saw Rachel’s messy hair, clothes hanging off her body, eyes puffy. It felt exactly like the glass shattering, except maybe a little different this time.
They looked at each other, Rachel’s eyes low and Quinn’s apologetic. Everything that Quinn wanted to say just flew out of the window and her heart melted. She wanted to try again after all… and maybe it wasn’t the right time since he’d only died a month ago, but if she didn’t say it now while she had the courage, she’d never say it ever.
“I promise,” Quinn started, voice thick and heavy with emotion. “After this time, I’ll never try again.”
Rachel closed her eyes and rested her head against the door because somehow… somehow, she knew exactly what Quinn was talking about.
“I love you, Rachel,” Quinn cleared her throat. “I… I always have.”
“I know,” Rachel whispered. “I’ve always known.”
“Can I come in?” Quinn asked.
And she couldn’t explain just how it felt that time. It was like the glass shattered again, but not as intense. She noticed that everything felt so much better. She felt like maybe it would never shatter again.
“I love you, too.” Rachel mumbled and stepped aside to let her in.
The words fell out like a secret. Brushed up against her lips, keeping them slightly parted as soon as they left them. Quinn stared at her for a long time, so sure she’d heard them wrong. What else could she have said? It had to be something else, anything else besides I love you too.
Quinn walked into the crowded apartment and felt different as Rachel closed the door.
She loved her with something deeper than anything she’d ever known. Even deeper than the broken layers of glass that she spent years trying to fix. She loved Rachel with every single piece, every single shard that she put back together inside of her.
She loved her so much that it made her whole. ——————————— just in case you’ve never followed my blog and never saw me do a writing blitz, it’s just this thing i do where my followers send me a word or a phrase that they want me to create an entire mini fic around, and i pick some of the best ones and i do it. the words can be really random and i have to incorporate it into my fic somehow, and the phrases can be random too!
if anyone has any words or phrases like the one i just wrote about, feel free to leave them in my ask :)
24 notes
·
View notes
Note
Any klaine fics based off rom-coms, I've read a good chunk of them like 27 suits and ever after. Maybe like newer ones like to all the boys I've loved before?
There are a surprising number for Klaine fics based upon rom-coms. Under the cut, there are 21 Klaine fics based upon Rom Coms. I add the link to 27 suits for other followers.
Here is a link to our previous post that sets out three Pretty Woman AUs.
Here is a link to our previous post that sets out three The Holiday AUs.
Happy Reading!
HKVoyage
The Proposal by drunkonwriting
Based on The Proposal. Kurt is a super uptight music producer from Canada whose work visa has been revoked. Cue Blaine, all-American poster boy from Alaska, who has been Kurt’s assistant (or indentured servant, depending on who you ask) for three years and counting. They pretend to get married so that Kurt doesn’t have to leave the country, and end up falling in love instead.
~~~~~
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days by glitterandpaws
Kurt is an up-and-coming fashion designer on the brink of hitting it big, when he’s presented with the possibility of having his newest collection showcased during fashion week. The committee is torn between Kurt and Sebastian for the slot, and Kurt must make someone fall in love with him in ten days order to be in the show, but that’s not the only deal he makes. Meanwhile, Blaine is a successful journalist, writing under the pseudonym Blair for a women’s magazine as their resident how-to “girl” when he’s roped into writing a piece on “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”. When Kurt and Blaine find each other, both of their tasks prove harder than they first appeared.~~~~~
Here is one where Blaine makes a list, and one of the items is to try and date cheerio!Kurt.
~~~~~
Mr Congeniality by ifinallyfoundsomeone
Miss. Congeniality!AU
Bomb threats are being sent to the newly made Mr. America pageant and FBI Agent Blaine Anderson has taken up the position of being an undercover agent to save the pageant. With some extreme grooming and guidance from his pageant consultant, Blaine infiltrates the world of Men’s pageants. Making some interesting friends, and maybe he even winning the heart of his slave driver pageant consultant, the gorgeous and fascinating, Kurt Hummel.
~~~~~
The Lake House by inkinmyheartandonthepage
Tumblr Prompt: Kurt has lost everything but this house. His father died of cancer, never married Carol, he has lost his friends when things became rough. So he moved out of Lima and started living there. Blaine is a young artist/painter who loses his way one night and ends up in front of the house. Cue epic love story where Kurt becomes Blaine’s muse. Rated T at the moment.
~~~~~
Roses and Bluebells by wynniethepooh
Blaine and Kurt work for rival florists in this “Gnomeo and Juliet” retelling.
~~~~~
But I’m Sure You’ve Thought About Me Naked by icantwritebutimmastilltry
The 10 Things I Hate About You AU!
Kurt and Finn are brothers, and Finn can’t date until his bitchy brother does–but who would be brave enough to try and conquer that task? Enter Blaine Anderson. Resident Badboy of McKinley High. Now all that’s needed is the incentive…
~~~~~
Eighteen Going on Extinct by @klaineanummel (62K Complete)
Kurt Fabray just wants to relax after a tough week at school, but that is shown to be impossible when he realizes that his absent father has once again blown into town. Not wanting to spend more time around him than necessary, Kurt goes to his old babysitters house, the one place he feels safe when his father is in town. While there, he stumbles upon a secret he knows he was never meant to find out - one that could change the entire course of his life.
An AU very loosely based on Mamma Mia.
~~~~~
What I Know Now by @quizasvivamos
13 Going on 30 AU: Tired of being bullied and taken advantage of, Kurt wishes he could skip past his dreary adolescent years to a time in his life where he is respected, successful, and happy. He might just get what he wishes for, but will it come at a cost?
~~~~~
I Do by pulling-the-puzzles-apart
Glee crossover with My Best Friend’s Wedding. Kurt realises he is in love with his best friend as Blaine prepares to marry someone else. Can Kurt stop the wedding? Will Blaine realise he still loves Kurt? Loosely based on the film.
~~~~~
Kurt In Manhattan by lemonwhiskers
Based on the film Maid in Manhattan. Kurt is a single parent working in a hotel in New York. He meets politician Blaine Anderson and his life instantly changes. Sparks fly but will Kurt’s lies about his job ultimately destroy any connection they had?
~~~~~
Daddies Girls by BeautyHeldWithin
It has been ten years since Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson broke up and split their family apart. Now, the two girls meet for the first time and scheme to get the happy family they never knew back. Based LOOSELY on The Parent Trap. AU
~~~~~
Wake Up To Me by A-Simple-Rainbow
It’s one am on a Tuesday and Kurt is pulled out of a soulful interpretation of Bootylicious by the door ringing and announcing a costumer. Kurt tosses the yellow cloth away and readjusts the knot on his apron before he makes his way towards the stranger. As the man looks up, Kurt finds himself face to face with Blaine Anderson. Blaine Fucking Anderson. NOTTING HILL AU
~~~~~
Swing the Spinning Step by aspiringtoeloquence
A Klaine AU version of the move ‘Never Been Kissed’ (1999). Kurt Hummel, a copy-editor at The New York Sentinel, just got his big break: the chance to become a reporter, go undercover at a local high school and write an expose. He learns a lot from the people he meets - including a young English teacher with a penchant for bowties - both about high school and about himself.
~~~~~
50 First Dates by Aki_Aiko
Blaine Anderson meets Kurt Hummel in a little coffee shop and they immediately click. The only problem? Kurt forgets who Blaine is every single day. Based on the movie 50 First Dates.
~~~~~
Always the Best Man by Water_Nix
It sometimes feels as though Kurt spends every weekend being dragged out to yet another wedding, although he himself has vowed to never tie the knot. A string of failed relationships have taught him that true love is a fantasy, and just when he’s managed to stop that particular type of daydream, he meets a man who seems to have stepped right out of all his favourite ones. With that complication and then the drunken confession of a good friend, Kurt is sent into a tailspin. He’s got his single friends finding love at every turn—and hell, even people’s dogs are getting hitched for God’s sake—the last thing he needs is to discover that he hasn’t lost hope for a special day of his own. A romantic comedy told over the course of five weddings. Kurt/past OCs. Kurt/Blaine endgame. (Also background Mercedes/Sam, Santana/Brittany, Rachel/Jesse, Cooper/anyone who’s ready and willing.)
~~~~~
Mi Casa Es Su Casa by GoddamnWrite
Kurt Hummel is trying to make a fast buck by renting out his apartment to those who need a little privacy. What could possibly go wrong? Based on the The Apartment.
~~~~~
Nothing’s So Loud by GlassParade
Blaine Anderson is the easy going skateboarding slacker who’s carried a torch for sheltered class Valedictorian Kurt Hummel for the last year. On the day they graduate from high school, he decides to do something about it. There’s no way they should work. Everything will conspire against them. Can this unlikely pairing prevail? A very loose adaptation of the movie 'Say Anything’, set in 1998.
~~~~~
Recipe For Love by blackrose1002
Kurt Hummel is one of the best chefs in New York City. Working in a prestigious restaurant, he had himself convinced that he has everything he had ever wanted, but, suddenly, the life he had built for himself completely falls apart when his brother dies in the car accident, leaving his eight year old daughter behind. On top of everything, there’s a newly hired chef in the restaurant that gets on Kurt’s nerves more than anyone in his life.
~~~~~
Secret Language of Blooms and Love by etextraordinary
Blaine is a florist in New York City. His shop specializes in the Victorian art of floriography, the language of flowers. Blane makes sure that each of his arrangements is both beautiful and portrays the correct meaning. Kurt has Blaine do his wedding flowers, but he is not expecting his entire life to change. Based on the movie Imagine Me and You.
~~~~~
So Much Better by Justsweeneytodd
Blaine (Elle) is in love with Warner, his boyfriend, who broke up with him right before they left for college. Blaine decides to transfer to his school to try to win him back. Along his quest to win back Warner, he meets an upperclassman named Kurt (Emmett) who completely turns his world around.
~~~~~
27 Suits by SurprisinglySuaveKoala
Kurt Hummel loves weddings. So when his best friend comes back into town and wants to marry the man he loves, the last thing he needs is Blaine Anderson following him around.
35 notes
·
View notes
Text
Songs that remind me of Pokeshipping
This is a list of 90s and early 2000’s songs that remind me of Ash and Misty’s love, prepare for nostalgia! Broke it down in 3 sections
Pop/ Rock/Rap section:
Summertime Summertime Corina
Summertime the Sundays
Do You know (what it takes) Robyn
Every Morning Sugar Ray
All star Smash Mouth
Semi- charmed kind of life Third eye blind
Me Myself and I Jive Jones
Reason Mest
Steal my Sunshine Len
Better Days (and the bottom drops) Citizen King
I Want you Savage Garden
Unpretty TLC
Closing Time by Semisonic
Take a Picture Fliter
If you could only see Tonic
Higher Creed
Iris Goo goo dolls
Yellow Coldplay
You make me wanna Usher
Try again Aaliyah
I wanna know Joe
Jumpin Jumpin Destiny’s Child
What’s the Dillio Mest
Save tonight Eagle eye Cherry
Hey Leonardo Blessid Union Of Souls
I’ll be Edwin McCain
Slide Goo goo dolls
Bent Matchbox 20
Kryptonite 3 doors down
Bad touch bloodhound gang
Wonderfull Everclear
One Week Bare naked ladies
Absolute (Story of a girl) Nine days
I wanna be with you Mandy Moore
Back here BBMack
Show me Love Robyn
Candy Mandy Moore
Come on over Chirstina Aguilera
Doesn’t really matter Janet Jackson
Ever Other Time LFO
Edge of the Ocean IVY
Bring it on to me Blaque
Believe Cher
Falling for the first time Bare naked ladies
I Try Macy grey
Your Women White Town
Just a girl No Doubt
Genie in a bottle Christina Aguilera
If you had my love Jennifer Lopez
Kiss me Sixpences none the richer
Truly Madly Deeply Savage Garden
Bye Bye Bye Nsync
Say my name Destiny’s Child
Thong Sisqo
I Think I’m in love Jessica Simpson
Breathe Faith Hill
Music Madonna
Crazy for this girl Evan and Jaron
Spiderwebs No Doubt
If I am Nine days
Could not ask for more Edwin McCain
Stronger Britney Spears
It’s Gonna be me Nsync
Inside out Eve 6
Slim Shady Eminem
The way you love me Faith Hill
He loves you not Dream
Opps I did it again Britney Spears
Gotta tell ya Samantha Mumba
Wasn’t man enough Toni Baxton
So in love with two Mikaila
Itch Vitamin C
What’s my age again Blink 182
Real World Matchbox 20
Falls apart Sugar Ray
Lucky Britney Spears
Everything you want Vertical Horzion
Feels so good Sonique
Graduation Vitamin C
Small things Blink 182
Who let the dogs out Baha men
Party up DMX
Got your money Ol' Dirty Bastard
Country Grammar Nelly
Waiting for tonight Jennifer Lopez
That’s the way it is Celine Dion
I will love again Lara Fabian
The Latin inspired songs:
Waiting for tonight Jennifer Lopez
Be with you Enrique Iglesias
One night 98 degree
Dance with me Debelah Morgan
Smooth Rob Thomas Santana
Lets get Loud Jennifer Lopez
Rhythm Divine Enrique Iglesias
Maria Maria Santana Project G&B
Missing Everything but the girl
Where do you go No mercy
Bailamos Enrique Iglesias
Desert Rose Sting
Nobody wants to be loney Christina Aguilera Ricky Martin
Eurodance/techno section:
This is your night Amber
Another night Real Mccoy
Above the Clouds Amber
I’m outta love Anastacia
Rhythm is a dancer Snap
What’s up 2000 remix Dj Miko
Tubthumping Chumbawamba
Blue Eiffel 65
Till I come ATB
When I get close to you Jocelyn Enriquez
Move your Body Eiffel 65
Mr vain Culture beat
Don’t stop movin Livin Joy
Show me love robin s
Don’t stop Freestylers
Better off Alone Alice deejay
Sexual Amber
Little bit of ecstasy Jocelyn Enriquez
I Do Both Jay and jane dj Irene
Rhythm of the night Corona
Sweet Dreams La bouche
Runaway Real Mccoy
Sandstorm Darude
Kernkraft 400 zombie nation
Toca’s Miracle Fragma
#90s#throwback#nostagia#nostagic#2000s#00s#music#pokeshipping#90s music#00s music#summertime#old skool#techno#dance#eurodance#pop music#rock music#rap music#pokemon
43 notes
·
View notes
Text
i have cast every character that currently has a speaking role in my novel
Freddy Rodriguez (circa early 2000s) as Andy Medina
Andy left a tiny town in Ohio for ungrad at NYU, bringing along mostly personal baggage, and graduates with a best friend and roommate, a fresh break-up, an English Lit degree and an acceptance to Columbia Law.
Three years later and he’s a law school drop-out who can barely make rent and has thirty pages of a novel he’ll never finish writing and no idea what he’s doing with his life. Some mix of a terrible radiator, a misdemeanor and pure fate leads him into a relationship that introduces him to BDSM and a world that makes him want to tell stories.
A few moments later, Laurel steps into the room, makes a considering noise, then promptly crawls under the covers with him, curled up facing him like she’s going to say something but she shuts her eyes after he frowns at her. They lie together in silence for awhile before she says, “How’s your brain?”
Andy thinks about it for a second. He doesn’t feel good, but that’s kind of been his level for a while.
“Not pleased with me,” he says.
“Embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed,” he echoes. “Rejected. Depressed. Nothing new, honestly.”
“Oh, honey bear,” Laurel croons.
“Oh my god, don’t call me that,” he says, laughing, rolling away from her when she tries to kiss him on the face. “I’m fine, I just need to hermit away for a couple of days and lick my wounds. And—jerk off, probably.”
“That’s your right as an American,” Laurel says, seriously, basically climbing on top of him to press a wet kiss to his forehead. “I’ll leave you to your sad masturbation.”
“Thanks,” Andy says, waiting until she’s back in her room before he buries his face in a pillow and screams.
He’s been pretty sure that his life’s not moving in the right direction for a while but this feels like a big glaring sign from the universe that he’s doing something really wrong here.
Alfred Enoch as James Graham
James left behind a position at his father’s prestigious law firm in Nashville to go to Columbia Law and become a public defender in New York, making him, despite Andy’s belief that he is pretty much perfect in every way, the family disappointment. He only goes to Tennessee for major holidays, where he gets sighed at a lot.
He just got out of a bad, intense relationship and he doesn’t want to get into another one and go through all that pain again. He’s worried that he’s getting into a loop of falling asleep alone watching Doctor Who, though, so. . .something casual might be okay.
“Oh my god.” James looks up at the ceiling for a long moment before sighing heavily. “I normally don’t sleep with criminals, so I don’t have anything to go on for this. Can you—be cool?”
Andy cannot promise that. Based on everything that he knows about himself, it’s completely unlikely that he can be cool. Practically impossible.
“Yeah,” he says, scoffing. “I can be cool. Lawyer me up.”
James looks at him for a long moment before he sighs loudly. Overdramatically, really. He’s got a job to do, and it’s not Andy’s fault that they’ve seen each other’s orgasm faces.
(James’ wasn’t even embarrassing. He looked like Barack Obama at a particularly tender moment of a speech. He’s a ridiculous person and Andy is currently in a room with him and, despite being simultaneously still drunk and hungover, still kind of can’t stop himself from spinning a problematic jailbird fantasy in his head. If his hands were handcuffed to the table, he could probably still bend over it.)
“Let’s just pretend that—what happened never happened,” James says, sitting a folder down and sliding neatly down onto the chair in front of Andy before raising his eyebrows at him expectantly.
“Of course,” Andy says. “I can definitely pretend like you never rocked my world.”
Lana Condor (aged up a few years) as Laurel Reyes
Laurel self-identifies as a manic pixie dreamgirl but she’s reclaiming it. She teaches art to rich little kids at a fancy private school which isn’t exactly her dream job but you make a lot more money doing that then inspiring plucky misfits. She’s the Mom Friend with varying results but, to be fair, Andy’s her only real friend and he self-identifies as A Problem Child.
“I’ve got hours to go before I sleep,” he says, “but it’s kind of like it was written by a very worldly child.”
She snorts, unpeeling the wrapper to bite down into it and coming up with frosting on her nose and a wry smile that he returns over his shoulder as he goes to the bathroom. She yells from where she’s sitting, “Is your sexy lawyer friend a fan of 50 Shades?”
“No, he’s classy!” he yells back.
“Nothing classier than whips and chains,” she says, muffled by a mouth full of cupcake, laughing loudly.
When he comes back out, she’s eating Stef’s cupcake, too.
“Dude,” he says.
“I’ll make it up to her,” she says, humming happily. “This is soothing the voices inside me yelling at me to have a baby.”
“They’re back?” he asks.
“Literal clockwork,” she says, darkly, finishing the cupcake off and balling the wrapper up to toss it in the direction of the kitchen. “Doesn’t matter that about half my kids are spoiled monsters who could bring an end to the human race entirely if all people capable of birthing someone were exposed to their bullshit.”
“Wow,” he says, sitting down next to her and letting her throw her legs over his lap, squirming until her back is against the arm of the couch. “I mean, babies are cool.”
“Babies are cool. And also terrible,” she says, making a long noise that’s somewhere between a sigh and a groan. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Tell me about your garbage book.”
He’s describing what he’s read so far in as much lurid detail as possible when his phone buzzes on the kitchen counter, and he gets up to grab it, laughing when Laurel says, “She sounds like she’s a deeply closeted lesbian. Can we talk about that? How she needs help and to get properly eaten out by someone who knows what she’s doing?”
Mara Wilson as Stef Klein
Laurel boldly marched up to the cute student librarian in the NYU library that her and Andy always studied in, said, “Is that a hardcover or are you just happy to see me?” and Stef, despites her best efforts, falls in love instantly.
Stef has a BS in Political Science but politics raise her blood pressure so she uses it to yell informative insults at C-SPAN and uses her MIS to make the biggest difference she can as a reference librarian at a NYPL branch.
“Laurel said you might be coming,” she says.
He’s pretty sure that Stef doesn’t actually hate him, and he knows that he doesn’t hate her so much as he’s scared of her and jealous of her for taking so much of Laurel’s time, but sometimes it’s really hard to tell.
“I need a book,” he says. “It’s of—a disreputable nature.”
“50 Shades,” she says, sounding entirely unimpressed.
“—how the fuck do you people know everything?” he says, voice dropping to a whisper as he glances around.
“I’ve seen that look on a lot of anxious straight women,” she says. “I’m professionally obligated to provide you with that book, but, as someone who secondhand cares about you, can I recommend something else? Please?”
“You care about me?” Andy asks, leaning on the desk and grinning up at her. She types something into her computer and makes an unimpressed noise before she acknowledges him again with a pointed eye roll.
Harmony Santana as Sara Medina
After their dad killed himself when she was fifteen and Andy was ten and their mom kind of went off the rails, Sara took on as much responsibility as she could and dragged Andy out of some of his darker times and sat with him every night to fill out the scholarships that helped him get to college. She felt left behind but their mom and grandma were both doing bad and somebody had to stay.
She came out as transgender after she graduated high school. Rural Ohio wasn’t a great place to transition but Sara is fierce and firm and the coolest, best person that Andy knows.
“I’m going to say this for the tenth—oh, I’ve been counting—time,” he says, making a grabby hand at Laurel who passes the carton. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“He basically lives at his apartment,” Laurel says, nudging Sara and raising her eyebrows. “I never see him anymore, I’m having empty nest syndrome.”
“Why the hell isn’t he your boyfriend?” Sara asks, taking the ice cream from him.
“Because he—doesn’t want a relationship,” Andy says, because he doesn’t know much more than that, just a shadowy terrible breakup. “And neither do I.”
Sara and Laurel both silently turn to look at him and he rolls his eyes.
“I don’t!” he says. “What we have works.”
“Sure it does,” Sara says. “I want to meet him.”
“. . .sex friends don’t have to meet your family,” Andy says. “It’s, like, rule number three behind don’t fall in love and--use a safe word.”
“Rules don’t apply to me,” Sara says, which has actually been pretty true for most of her life, but—
“I haven’t even met him yet,” Laurel says.
“And you gave birth to him!” Sara says. “It’s happening. Tell him he has to come over.”
Aimee Carrero as Tasha
Tasha is Andy’s favorite coworker and one of a series of terrifying, amazing women in his life. She’s going to school for hospitality and is definitely going to own this hotel someday and possibly also take over the world.
She once had a boyfriend who liked to get pegged. It’s not really relevant to her character but she really loves to share that story.
He’s practically whistling at work, so he can’t blame the fact that Tasha rolls her chair backwards and sits there with her legs crossed, glaring at him until he says something.
“I can be happy,” he says, defensively. “I’m happy all the time. This isn’t weird.”
“You’re always staring wistfully into the distance like a Gothic heroine,” she says, suspiciously. “Is this about your hot lawyer boyfriend?”
“Not my boyfriend,” he says.
“Keep telling yourself that,” she says. “Is this the fresh-faced glow of someone who just got—”
“We’re not talking about sex,” he says, cutting her off, shaking his head violently. “It’s official. I made a contract and everything.”
It was just a piece of hotel stationary with I will not say anything about anybody’s sex life while on the clock; if I do otherwise, may God strike me down written on it and Tasha’s incredibly sarcastic signature below it.
“That wasn’t binding,” she says. “Do you really not want to tell me?”
“. . .no, I really do,” he says, after a grueling five seconds.
Hale Appleman as Gabe
Gabe doesn’t have a last name that he owns up to because he had a rocky end with his family and he wants to be a lot more mysterious than he actually is. He left home when he was seventeen and moved in with an abusive older guy who introduced him to kink; luckily, Eileen and Margaret, the owners of one of the first bars that he took Gabe to, recognized what was going on immediately and basically adopted him to get him away from the guy. They kept him away from the scene, too, until he was old enough to make his own choices and understand what he was getting into.
He helps with the business even after he moves out to his own place and he keeps an eye out to make sure everything is safe when he’s there.
“Hey, kid!” Gabe says, approaching them. “Good show.”
Andy’s in no state to talk to anyone right now, anyway, nevertheless someone who just watched him get spanked and clearly love it, so he just smiles at the way James holds him closer and says, “Thanks. We’re headed out.”
“I’m giving you my number,” Gabe says, holding out a receipt with a number scrawled out on it. “I was going to do it just to make your friend jealous because he’s cute when he looks like he’s about to kill someone but I also try to make friends with all the baby kinksters.”
“Friends?” James asks, raising his eyebrows.
“Friends,” Gabe repeats, seriously. “I’ve been around the block and I’m actually not a creep, so—hit me up if you have questions about the scene or whatever.”
“You don’t look that much older than me,” Andy says.
“Started young,” Gabe says, winking. “Have fun, boys.”
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as Margaret and Eileen Smith
Margaret and Eileen got married in the 60s because laws are for other people and they were (and sometimes still are) convinced that nobody’s ever been in love like they are. After a series of unfulfilling careers and a well-timed inheritance from one of the only family members that still spoke to them, they bought a bar that, with time, transitioned into one of the few sex clubs to make it through crackdowns in NYC in the 80s.
“Shit,” Eileen says, laughing, leaning back in her chair. “You wrote him a book?”
“No,” Andy says, shaking his head. “I just—finished it for him.”
“And wrote it about him,” Gabe says, grinning into his coffee mug.
“You wrote him a book,” Eileen repeats, sounding delighted. “That’s a lot, kid.”
Gabe made him come to the munch group meeting today, to keep him from lying in bed and staring at this ceiling and quietly having a meltdown because what the fuck did he even do? He wrote James a book. That’s what he did.
(“I know I’m not your dom,” Gabe had said, gently, “but if you don’t do what I say, I’m gonna come drag you out of bed.”
“Hot,” Andy had said, with no feeling.)
“I wrote it for myself, too,” he says, picking at the muffin in front of him. “He’s just—inspirational.”
“Love often is,” Margaret says, turning to look at Eileen with exaggerated sentiment, who snorts and shoves her lightly.
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 17
17: Trio
Written by: Rivka Sophia Rossi
Directed by: Ian Brennan
Overall Thoughts: This episode has one weak spot, but otherwise it’s awesome. It’s hilarious, it’s entertaining, and manages to feel like it’s actually accomplishing something, even if it’s part of the eternal filler that the first ten episodes of season five comprised of. Plus, Blaine, Sam, and Tina are my favourite friendship on the show, so obviously I’m going to love an episode all about that.
What I Like:
How every time Tina cries Sam and Blaine are instantly comforting her, and how they each have a different style of comfort (Blaine instantly reassures her, whereas Sam tries to stop her from fully giving in, but when that fails he just hugs her)
The whole scene where Sam and Blaine are trying on their graduation robes (particularly Sam suggesting they sneak a cow into school)
Tina sobbing on the floor when they cancel the lock-in
Blaine’s adorable smile when he’s like “it’s the last time I get to wear it! Unless I join some creepy fetish club!” what a fucking dork
Blaine’s ridiculous overreaction to finding Sam and Tina making out. He’s such a fucking drama queen oh my god
Becky saying they have to drink an 11-hour energy every time they fall over and Sam going “Becky, we’ll die”
Elliott telling Rachel he doesn’t like being called “best gay” and also refusing to listen to her entire set
When Santana is like “you’re such a traitor!” and Elliott literally says “well I barely know you”
The entirety of “Gloria”
Kurt kicking Rachel and Santana out of the band and forming a trio with Elliott and Dani
Sidenote on that, the flyer for their gig cracks me up – Kurt Hummel, Elliott Gilbert, and Dani
The guy shouting “WHAT” and “Shut up and sing” when Kurt is on stage
Rachel and Santana actually getting to have a decent, mature conversation that doesn’t totally fall apart within seconds, even if it doesn’t end up solving anything
Blaine at the end saying how the year they’ve had has been so hard and weird, like damn that hits in the feels
What I Don’t Like:
Essentially everything about the Will and Emma story. I think it’s cool they want to have children, but like dear lord why did their conception attempts take up so much episode time oh my god. Also, there is like zero scientific basis for the whole “relax or you can’t get pregnant” bullshit like you think the semen and the egg are like “NOPE SHE TENSE ABORT MISSION” like okay.
Going a little off of that, why can’t Emma come to LA? She’s gotta be like a month pregnant MAX at this point. I think you can fly until you’re about eight months or so?
And on that note, is the Will and Emma story happening on a different timeline than the rest of the episode? Or do the men writing Glee really have that little knowledge about reproduction and women’s bodies that they assume you can have sex and that very day know that you’re pregnant? Taking biology into account, you have to assume the first test that Emma took was a false-negative, because there is no way she could have had sex on day 1, taken the pregnancy test and seen it was negative based on that same-day sex session, then had sex again on day 3 and found out she was pregnant from the day 3 sex session on day 4. Give me a break.
Becky’s casually racist comments. Ew.
Becky in general in this episode just feels like, I don’t know. She didn’t really need to be there.
The whole “a trio is 25% less powerful than a quartet” is so fucking incorrect like I’m terrible at math and even I know that how did that get on the air.
Songs:
Jumpin’, Jumpin’: This is such a fun number and such a fun song. A great way to start off the episode!
Barracuda: This song is good, but feels a little unnecessary, especially considering how awesome “Gloria” is.
Don’t You (Forget About Me): I love the scene and all the shenanigans, but to be honest I’m not that big a fan of this song.
Danny’s Song: I forget about this song every time I watch this episode, and every time it’s an unpleasant surprise like yes hello why
Gloria: I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG. One of my all time fave Glee covers, and the scene is hilarious. For some reason I much prefer Spotlight Diner performances to choir room/auditorium performances
The Happening: Look at Kurt Hummel, in a fucking band with Demi Lovato and Adam Lambert. Actually getting to sing part of the song. Interesting how as soon as Santana and Rachel are out he is now allowed to sing in his own band.
Hold On: Such a good closing number, and I freaking love the outfits that Blaine, Tina, Sam and Artie are wearing! And those weird flowy things that they didn’t make nearly enough use of.
Final Thoughts: This episode is pretty funny, and one that I enjoy watching as a one-off. I love the Blamtina combo, and Elliott is a babe. If they cut the whole Will and Emma thing and subbed in literally anything else, it would be perfect. (Seriously. If they cut out that whole story and instead just filled the time with clips of Marley and Kitty painting each others fingernails I would be so fucking happy).
1 note
·
View note
Text
She’s Having My Baby: Part 6/9
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
Month 6:
Although Santana’s mother has insisted that she’s going to throw her a baby shower, Santana decides that she’s going to decorate the nursery herself. Whenever she has a free minute at work, she looks at ideas on the internet and she finally, after doing weeks of research, settles on black and white. One Saturday morning she gets up early and she goes to the hardware store to pick up painting supplies. She decides that instead of hiring someone to do the painting, she’s going to do it herself and she clears out the whole of the room that she’ll put the baby in and lays tarps down all over the hardwood floors.
She figures that the light is good in the morning to paint and she pours the grey paint in the tray. Putting her headphones in, she finds a rhythm and starts painting the walls. She’s really excited about the fact that she’s going to have a little baby girl in this room in a few months and she just wants it painted so she can buy the furniture and bedding that she picked out. After about an hour of painting, she sees Brittany out of the corner of her eye standing in the doorway and she turns around, seeing her in pajama pants and a tank top.
“You’re painting yourself?” Brittany asks as Santana pulls out her headphones. “I’m shocked. You even get your groceries delivered.”
“Hey, I can do things myself.”
“Okay, but what’s with the grey? Didn’t you want to do like, pink or something?”
“Absolutely not, I’m doing a black and white nursery, it’s good for a newborn’s senses.”
“Ew, for real? That sounds so boring.”
“It’s going to be beautiful, I’ve done a lot of research on this.”
“Of course you have.” Brittany laughs, not maliciously. “Want help?”
“You’re pregnant, you don’t have to paint.”
“Please, I was just going to lay around in my pajamas and eat Fritos, you should be begging me to paint.”
Santana laughs a little and keeps painting while Brittany goes to change. When she comes back, she grabs a new roller and dips it in the paint. She’s definitely a lot less…methodical than Santana, but she manages to get it on the walls and Santana can’t really complain. It’s nice to have the help and she feels less like she’s in this alone and even though she knows that Brittany is going to be gone in a few months and she might never see her again, it feels like they’ve become sort of friends.
“It feels so good to move my body.” Brittany arches her back and touches the floor with her hands. “I’ve been sitting at my computer working on my finals for two weeks.”
“How did you do this semester?”
“I think good. Last semester was really bad because I kept fighting with Quinn and it distracted me from everything I had to do.”
“No offense, I don’t know her or anything, but it feels you were really awful together.”
“We started dating in high school so we pretty much grew apart in the nine years we were together. We were basically just together because it was easier than finding someone else, but then she kinda hated that I was trying to get my life together, even though she said she’d support me through it at first. She liked that I was dependent on her.”
“What did you do before you went back to school?”
“I was the assistant manager at Aldo. I still get a discount there if you ever need shoes.”
“Thanks, uh, I’ll keep that in mind.” Santana smiled a little. “Okay so I might be breaking my own rules about not asking really personal questions to you, but why did you decide to become a surrogate? When I first met you, you seemed like you really hated the idea of someone paying someone else to carry their baby.”
“I’m telling you, I was just in a really bad mood that day. I started looking into it because I figured it would be a way for me to make some money while I was in school, I wasn’t using my uterus or anything and then I started to feel like it would be kind of cool, giving someone a baby who couldn’t have one.”
“You changed my life.” Santana says earnestly, painting a stripe on the wall. “I didn’t even know I wanted kids until I found out I couldn’t have them.”
“I don’t really get why you’re single. You’re gorgeous, you have a good job…”
“I’ve told you already. I have a job that I’ve been married to since I graduated law school. I made partner so quickly because I was always there. Everyone I dated had a problem with the fact that I worked so much. Nothing even really worked out for me romantically.”
“Do you think that now you’re going to work less? Or are you going to stick the kid in daycare forever and work into the night.”
“That’s a little judgmental.”
“Sorry, I was a daycare kid. My parents worked like crazy to make money because they had no choice. You have boatloads of money, you could probably work a little less.”
“I’m going to. I want to do the mom thing right. And if I meet someone along the way, that would be great.”
“I think you will.” Brittany breathes. “You’re so not what I thought you were when we met.”
“What about you? What are you going to do when you’re done with this?”
“Well, I graduate in May, so hopefully I can just start my life over again. Date someone who doesn’t suck, have a real job, get an apartment, you know…”
“You must be excited for that. Especially to be done being pregnant.”
“I actually don’t mind it that much. I’m living in the lap of luxury over here, how could I?”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Santana pays really close attention to the wall she’s painting, not looking at Brittany. “I got to be a part of so many things I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
“You got to witness me eat Cheez-Doodles mixed in melted ice cream. That’s an awesome experience you’ll never forget.”
“The most disgusting experience I’ve ever had.”
“Hey, your kid wanted it. Just wait, her first word is going to be Ding-Dong.”
“Or kale, I think it’s more likely to be kale.”
“Hey Santana.” Brittany holds up the roller to her face. “Duck.”
Santana doesn’t duck fast enough and Brittany ends up painting a stripe down the whole front of her body. She screams, but she doesn’t let Brittany win. Instead, she chases her with her own roller, flinging paint at her. They run around the room like that, Santana only pausing long enough to remember that the floors are covered, a moment that Brittany exploits and paints her hair grey. Finally, when Santana slips on the tarp and falls on her butt, she holds up her hands begging for mercy.
Both of them were covered in paint and neither of them could stop laughing. Santana can’t remember the last time she’d had as much fun as running around her empty nursery with a paint roller from Brittany. From the floor, she breaks out in a big grin and Brittany offers her a hand up, putting down her roller to show that they’ve really reached a truce. Santana assesses the situation and runs her hand through her painted hair.
“I can’t believe you painted me!” She gasps for air, making Brittany laugh harder.
“Who even paints without having a paint fight?”
“Normal people.”
“Absolutely not, normal people throw paint at each other. It’s the only thing that’s fun about it.”
“Brittany, I’m forty years old.”
“So what? All the fun died when you were thirty-five? Nah, it’s you, so probably like nineteen.”
“I have to admit, that was really fun.”
“Hey.” Brittany leans in, stroking Santana’s cheek with her thumb. “You’ve got a little paint right here.”
50 notes
·
View notes
Note
meta: santana + school/academics
always accepting // send me meta to talk about !
again, talking about a topic that glee unfortunate never tackled correctly is difficult . in the show, they make santana seem more driven towards her future as a hollywood star than in her academic performance , however contradictory her approach towards both ends of the career spectrum was. in 3x12 the spanish teacher, santana is very clear to will about her view of her academic life: “this is my education and its not a joke to me although it seems to be one for you”, before she criticizes him for perpetuating stereotypes not actually knowing enough spanish to teach a class properly. later, in 3x16, schue and sue team up to lead santana, mercedes, and finn in the right direction. santana makes her peers believe that she “wants to be a star” and doesn’t wanna go to college, though later she receives an acceptance letter to the university of kentucky with a cheerleading scholarship. she’s happy to accept, naturally.
unfortunately, this blog is canon divergent, and as someone who has played santana for so long, i refuse to believe she’s anything but ambitious and fierce. that girl always has a plan. if she can craft schemes with multiple steps, angles, and possible outcomes to mess with the heads of her peers, she definitely has a plan to get out of lima, and its not just an envelope full of cash her mother could’ve used to buy a lexus convertible.
one : general academics
no one’s academic performance except mike and quinn’s are really talked about in depth in the show. we know mike is an A+ student and quinn has a 4.0 GPA, but what about santana? clearly she needs at least a B average to be in the cheerios, especially captain of the cheer leading squad. though, i’m not gonna pander to my preferences and say santana was top of her class, i will say she was probably somewhere in the top five, perhaps third, after mike or quinn. she’s smart, she’s cunning, she goes after what she wants, and she’s always known that her best bet to get out of lima is her education.
she was always good at almost everything, she liked to read (though not always things from her high school reading list), but like any other high school student, she excelled in some areas and struggled in others.
math was her strong suit. she was taking advanced math classes with mike and quinn since the 10th grade. it always came easy to her. literature, she enjoyed, so it wasn’t hard for her, it came naturally. in the sciences, it would depend on the subject in hand. physics she could handle, it was just a bunch of math applied in a different field. chemistry and biology were a little harder, probably because of her general disinterest in the subject. her dad always encouraged her to like science, it was only natural from a father who practiced medicine for a living, but it was never her forte. she got A’s, but she only took honors physics and settled for regular chemistry and biology classes.
spanish classes were a joke. she could sleep through mr. schuester trying to conjugate verbs and form sentences, she knew more spanish than him anyway. she never had to study for that class. it was the easiest A+ she ever received in high school. if she could’ve taken advanced spanish classes in william mckinley, she probably would have, just to boost her GPA.
the times she didn’t study (like when she stayed up past curfew after attending a party or school events, or putting cheerleading competitions over her tests) she would get B’s. she wasn’t a perfect student, no. not pristine like quinn, who probably got A’s in everything she ever did, but she was good. smart. thriving.
two : extracurricular activities
in primary school and middle school it was ballet and gymnastics. it was fine to play soccer when she was a little girl, because when children are young they don’t make fun of each other for the sports they play. she kicked ass at it, but never wanted to be a varsity soccer player. she wanted kickboxing, but her dad never offered to enroll her in a martial arts class until she was already signed up for the cheerios, at which point, she was far too busy running drills in cheer camp to care about it anymore. besides, cheer leading was as good as any other sport, sometimes even more exhausting.
it wasn’t just about core strength (holding the other team members up in a lift) or balance (trying not to fall from the top of the cheer pyramid), it was about flexibility and mobility, about committing to something that would not only bring her the popularity she wanted, but being a part of something, even if it meant serving the tyrant sue sylvester. the fact that she was never clumsy also helped. it was almost like gymnastics with the volume turned up.
glee club didn’t come until sophomore year, obviously. she never thought about joining it, especially not with sandy ryerson as the vocal coach, who not only was a little too touchy and inappropriate with the students, but he always smelled like pot and was never interested in the club in the first place. she’s pretty sure puck used to get his chronic lady from him under the bleachers once a week. he never said anything when he found them sharing a pipe after hours, and she never said anything about him selling medicinal marijuana to the students, but it wasn’t a surprise when he was fired either. he was weird and glee club was for losers, burnouts, and wannabes, and santana was on top of the social food chain.
during her senior year, she contemplated starting a GSA, knowing her fellow glee clubbers and some of the cheerios would be down for joining, but putting that amount of pressure on herself withdrew her from trying to take that huge step. brittany was president, which was a step in the right direction, but knowing the town they lived in and the school she went to, there was no way a gay straight alliance was gonna fly in mckinley.
three : college applications, requirements, and college life
santana has always wanted to be powerful, she likes the spotlight and she likes the attention. most importantly, she wanted to go somewhere in life, she wanted to prove to everybody that she wasn’t all bark and no bite. she applied for three universities to enroll in the fall after her senior year: cornell, nyu, and pace university (her safety school). she thought about checking out west, ucla and san diego, but ultimately she saw a brighter future in new york than she did in california. what really wowed was her essay, on a life changing experience -- she poured her soul and heart into talking about coming out in a midwestern town with the pressure of being socially accepted among homophobes and racists. she talked about glee club, and how it changed her life (that would also cater to show her other talents apart from her good grades), how she became a better person because of it. of course, a 1950 on her SAT’s and a 3.9 GPA never hurt anyone.
college was always a big thing in her family -- her dad was a stanford graduate, and although realistically, doctor lopez would’ve loved for santana to pursue med school as well, santana never saw her future behind the boring, white walls of a hospital. she wanted to live, and sacrificing her life for the sleepless hours of med school and internships and residencies would never fulfill her. she took the public relations program as her major with a minor in communications to become a publicist and crisis manager.
despite the amount of time it required for her to graduate top of her class, she took a small job on the side, singing in lounge bars and weddings to pay for extra commodities aside from the money her dad sent her every month to cover rent and general expenses.
#♫| LEGEND HAS IT THAT WHEN I CAME OUT OF MY MOTHER I TOLD THE NURSE SHE WAS FAT (about)#♫| I KEEP IT REAL & I'M HILARIOUS (memes)#headcanon tag later#this literally is content of yEARS of playing santana and deciding where her main verse was going and yes its canon divergent#bc i refuse to accept she went to kentucky to cheer eye roll
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Para: Being an Adult Sucks
Who: Sam and Mercedes
When: Thursday April 4, 2013 (Spring Break)
Where: Finn’s Aunt’s Lakehouse
What: Samcedes talk about their future
Mercedes wanted to get out of the lakehouse. As much as she loved being around all her friends, she really wanted to just walk hand in hand with her boyfriend for awhile and explore the area. Plus, they needed to talk about how they were going to work on their relationship once they graduated and moved 900 miles apart from each other.
The sun was out, but it was still chilly outside, so she had on her jacket and hat. She brought her gloves, but didn’t put them on, she knew Sam’s hand would be warm enough, they always were. It hit her all of a sudden, as her hand was encompassed by his, that it would probably be Christmas break before she got to hold his hand again once they left Lima. She squeezed his hand a little tighter and spoke softly. “I wish everything didn’t have to change.”
After Finn’s announcement two days before, the house hadn’t imploded, much to Sam’s relief. He knew Mercedes had had to talk to Santana, but he hadn’t asked her what was said. It was probably better that he didn’t know. But it had given him a lot of time to think, think about the future. Finn was going to be risking his life for his country. Sam was almost jealous in a way. He didn’t want to enlist, but it made him think about the things he wanted out of life. And it also forced him to admit to himself that they weren’t the same things that Mercedes wanted.
It didn’t even upset him more than it just made him sad to think that she was this great girl that he loved a lot, but he didn’t want to stand in her way. She wanted a singing career and to like be famous. It was awesome because she was so talented, and he totally supported her and all of that, but he wanted a girlfriend he could grow with over the next four years. He wasn’t ready to get married tomorrow, but he’d want to after he was done college. Mercedes didn’t even want marriage and kids for a long time, and Sam believed she needed to focus on her career just as much she did. So that’d mean traveling a lot while he was in Tennessee, and no matter how they wanted to pretend long distance worked out, he didn’t think it would work out for them.
He thought it sucked a lot to love a girl and know it wasn’t gonna work out for them, but he knew he could talk to her about it because really he could talk to Mercedes about anything, and she never judged him or got too upset. He didn’t feel like he had to keep stuff from her or try to not hurt her feelings. Not that he’d ever say anything that hurt her feelings. It was just gonna be so hard to give it all up when he felt like he’d just gotten her. He glanced at her as they walked into the woods, looking down at their joined hands, and felt something inside of him crack a little, but he wasn’t going to be sad. This was for the best, and they were almost adults, right? Being adults was about making the tough decisions, and he could do this.
“What do you mean?” he forced himself to ask.
“We’ve all been lucky, to be with each other as friends, getting to help each other, and some of us even fell in love,” she smiled and nudged his shoulder gently with her own. “But in a few months, we’re all going to be spread out, and then we’re going to get busy with school, jobs, and freaking basic training. I’ll have to facetime you when I want to see you instead of just having you come over. No more babysitting movie nights with the twins. When our parents have their joint Labor Day cookout this year, we won’t be there. We won’t get to judge which dad grilled the best burger or watch our moms tell them both to be quiet.”
There were so many memories in this town, this was where she grew up. It was why she understood why Sam wanted to go to school in Tennessee, so much of what made him who he was today was there. “I can’t believe that it’s actually happening. When I was little, I couldn’t wait to get older so I could be the next Beyonce or Mariah, and now I just wish time would slow down some so I could treasure every moment I have now, you know?”
The memories she spoke of made Sam smile, but they also made him sad. He gave her another look then looked off into the distance. “Yeah, we’re all growing up, and like that’s cool, but it’s also really sad,” he agreed, clearing his throat. “I know you’re gonna be the next Beyonce or Mariah, even better because you’re way better than both,” he told her not for the first time. “But...don’t you think it’s gonna be really hard to...keep in touch? I mean not just all of us,” he said heavily. “I’ve been thinking about all of it since Finn said he was enlisting. This is all...really real. He’s gonna be fighting for our freedoms. That’s like...real, you know?”
She nodded her head as she listened to him, her eyes looking over at him and laughing softly at his comment. “My first single will be how awesome my boyfriend is and how he inflates my ego with his support.” As they kept walking, she noticed the change in tone of his voice. Sam always sounded more like his dad when he was talking about serious things. “Of course it’s going to be hard, but if it’s something we both want, we’ll work for it, right? We may have to get by on texts and emails during classes when things get really hectic, but that’s okay.” Something didn’t feel right, and she couldn’t figure it out. “You’re not thinking of enlisting too are you?” She asked him worriedly, a slight sense of panic welled up inside her as she stopped in her tracks.
Sam frowned a little when she stopped, looking over at her. “What? Noooo, I'm still going to Tennessee. I've just been thinking about the long distance thing. I'm just not...sure it's the right thing anymore,” he said in a rush, not looking at her.
Mercedes didn’t move, mainly because she felt like if she tried her legs wouldn’t work and she’d faceplant right there, and she really didn’t want to be that girl. “Oh.” She squeaked the word out softly, not really sure what to think. After nearly a minute of silence, she took a deep breath. “So you want to break up?” She felt really cold all of a sudden and began to fish out her gloves from her jacket pocket.
Sam was already shaking his head before she even finished the question. “Do I want to break up? No. Do I think we should break up? Yeah, I think...maybe we should.” He took a deep breath, mustering the courage to continue when this was kind of killing him inside. “You wanna be a big star and have a successful career. I think you're gonna do it. If anyone can do it, it's you because you're just...so dang talented. But I know that's gonna take a lot of sacrifice, and I'd rather sacrifice us now than in four or five years when I wanna get married and settle down and you wanna tour the world. I want a girlfriend I can see all of the time. I realized that on this trip. We've had...so much time together, and it's not just about the sex. It's like...what it'd be like if we lived together, and we’re not gonna get to live together ever because I don't wanna move to New York or L.A., and you're just too big for Tennessee.”
It was surreal. This was supposed to be all about bringing the Romantics together one last time, and this was about the most unromantic thing that could happen. She wanted to fight him on this, tell him he was wrong and that he was just being crazy, but she wouldn’t do that to him. He did deserve to have a girlfriend that could be with him, and it would be selfish of her to say otherwise. She turned her head to look towards the lake to keep the tears from spilling over. “So that’s it? We’re just...over?” What else could she say? He had given valid reasons, and even though she felt like her heart was slowly cracking inside her chest, he was probably right. He was always going to be the guy that got married and had a family first out of their group, it just wasn’t going to be with her. Two different trajectories.
“No, I don't want to just...be over. I love you. I want to keep being with you. I just think that...maybe we should just agree that when we leave home for good, then we’re broken up.” Sam didn't want to just break up right now. He wanted them to enjoy the rest of their time together. They had a good thing. It was the best thing he'd ever had. It just wasn't gonna last forever like he'd thought. “I mean, if that's not what you wanna do, I get it. I just...don't wanna ruin the time we have left together. I want prom and graduation with you...you're the only girl I wanna do those things with.” He reached out and turned her face towards him. “I love you, Mercedes. You're like my best friend and my girlfriend all wrapped up in one. I want you to have everything you wanna have. I just don't want to hold you back, and I don't want to be left waiting.”
Looking at him made her break, tears falling the minute she blinked. “You want me to have everything except you,” she whispered. “I know you’re doing this for the right reasons. I know this is probably the best thing for both of us, I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.” Why couldn’t she be something else, anything else? It almost felt like she was being punished for wanting a singing career. “I love you, you know that, right? Because I really want to be selfish and fight every single thing you said. I don’t want to lose you and I don’t want to give up on us. But I don’t want to keep you from being happy, ever.”
Sam felt awful when he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. He really didn’t want to have to say the things he was saying, but he’d been avoiding talking about the future for like a month, and now there wasn’t any running away from it. He reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “I don’t want you to ‘not have me.’ That isn’t what this is about. You’re right that I want you to have the best things, and I really think this is the best thing for both of us. I won’t be able to be there to go to every show you have when you want me there and I want to be there. You won’t be able to come to my art showcases and stuff. Those are the moments we’re supposed to be together for, and it’s just not gonna happen. I don’t wanna be upset and I don’t want you upset when one of us keeps not being able to make it. It’s not that you’d keep me from being happy because I’m always the happiest when I’m with you, but I just know it would just get harder and harder…”
Part of her really wanted him to stop talking, to stop making valid points and reasonable arguments as to why their relationship should end. She had been stupidly optimistic about how they would stay together and make it work, but reality was punching her in the gut at the moment. “This is really hard,” she hated saying that. Mercedes wanted to be as strong and confident as Sam was right now, but this really hurt, like nothing she had ever felt before. “What do we do now? I don't know if I'll always be able to pretend that we're not going to break up soon. I may be sad sometimes, and I don't want to upset you.” She hiccupped softly, which made her pout at herself, crying always gave her the hiccups, which only made her more pouty. She probably looked like a toddler that had just thrown a tantrum.
Sam nodded slowly. “I’m gonna be sad too, you know? But we can just...I don’t know, be happy that we’re still together for a while. If it’s too hard, we can always just...not be together, but I really don’t want that,” he said quietly. It was hard to stand here and keep talking when she was crying. He’d rarely seen her cry since they’d become friends, and now he was the reason. It made him feel like an asshole, but he wasn’t trying to be. He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back to soothe her. “I’m sorry it’s like this. I wish it wasn’t.”
“I don’t want that either,” she murmured into his chest as she held onto him. She didn’t want any of it, but Sam was 100 percent right. “But I don’t want to break us, our friendship is very special to me, and I don’t want to have that fall apart because we couldn’t make the relationship stay together.” She loved him, that would never change. “I’m sure there’s some really sappy song out there about this situation, if you love something let it go or something like that.” She took in a shaky breath, wiping her eyes, glad she didn’t wear any eyeliner or mascara today. She leaned back slightly so she could look up at him. “We’re going to do our best to make these last few months ones we will never forget?” She asked him, biting on the corner of her bottom lip.
“Yeah, look at what happened with Santana and Finn. Like I know you said Santana really cares about Finn, but like she’s spent the whole year pretty much hating his and Quinn’s guts over them dating even though Finn said she dumped him. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I don’t care. Like it would really suck if you dated someone that was my friend, but if you were happy, I love you enough to...let you be happy.” Sam knew he’d be upset, but after watching his friend group split in half over two people, it was just emotionally exhausting to watch. He couldn’t imagine being so upset he couldn’t get past it to be friends with Mercedes. He’d want something over nothing. “I plan on making them amazing. Dates and prom...and prom night,” he teased, nudging her a little. He leaned in and kissed her softly. “I love you so much, you know that, right?”
Her nose wrinkled up at the idea that they’d ever become like Finn and Santana. Sam would've said something to her long before things became a relationship if he was going to get with a close friend, she knew that like she knew her name. “It's going to suck when I see who you're with on social media, but knowing you're happy will help. But you better let them know that one of your best friends will come down to Tennessee and kick their butt if they do you dirty.” She closed her eyes and nodded her head. “I know. If we didn't love each other, this wouldn't be so hard or hurt so much.” She stood on her toes and kissed him tenderly. “You'll always be my first love.”
Sam chuckled, a slightly pained laugh because he didn’t want to think about Mercedes not being that girl anymore. “I will, but I wouldn’t worry about that for a long time…” he said quietly. He wasn’t really looking to hop back into a relationship. He’d need some time. “Yeah, you’ll always be my first love too. No girl’s ever gonna measure up probably. You know that…”
It didn’t take Finn anytime to get over Santana it seemed, but Sam wasn’t Finn. “Me too. I already know that no one is going to make me laugh or smile the way you do. Maybe I’ll become a musical nun or something.” She was joking, but just barely. Sam might not get in a relationship right away, but it wouldn’t be because girls weren’t after him. “Don’t say that, I’m special, yes, but I’m far from perfect. Eventually someone will make you forget about me, and that’s...,” she had to pause and catch herself, coughing softly to clear her throat, “that’s okay. First love, yes, but not your only one.” She wrapped her arm around his so they could continue their walk. She felt like she had aged 5 years since they started. “Can we not tell anyone? At least, not right now?” She still needed time to be okay with what was happening.
He wanted to argue that she’d be his only for a long time, but he didn’t want to make promises and then break them. So he just kissed her again before he pulled away. “I think you’re just perfect for me is all. That’s why this isn’t gonna mess everything up. You’re my best friend.” Things would sucked, but then they’d be fine. He had faith in that. “I don’t want to tell anyone either. I don’t want them to ruin the rest of our time together.”
They really were a living, breathing, horribly sad Lifetime movie. Girl meets boy. They become friends. Eventually fall in love, then circumstances happen and they can’t be together. Sam would go on, become a famous artist and marry a cute southern girl, buy a house in the country with horses and labradors. But they would still be friends, because that was how the universe worked sometimes. “I’ll still write songs about you. I mean, I already have a notebook full of them, but in like...say 5 years from now, they might be on the radio. But they won’t be mean songs, I could never write a mean song about you. Even when we have debates over who is the best Batman.”
The walking helped distract him from the feeling of dread that was starting to settle over him. They were quiet for a long moment, each lost in their own thoughts until she mentioned that she’d still write songs about him. “Pfft...you’ll find someone else to write songs about.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Then I’ll just be that skinny white boy from Tennessee you once knew.”
“Nope,” she replied, nudging him a little. “I’m going to do a reverse Taylor Swift, and only write good boyfriend songs, and you Sam Evans, are the best boyfriend. I’ve got at least 6 or 7 albums of quality material just about you. And I’m never telling anyone who they’re about, only you will know.” Her heart still hurt, but she wanted to try and get herself back in happy couple mode before they got back to the lakehouse. If she looked like she had been crying and Santana saw her, it would not be an enjoyable evening for either of them. “You really are the best boyfriend I could’ve ever wished for, Sam.”
“Then I’m looking forward to hearing every single one…” He was curious what she’d written about him and their relationship. He wondered if she really had enough material to fill albums, but he’d have to wait to find out. “I’ll be the first in line to buy every album to you make,” he promised, knowing he’d do anything in his power to do that. “You are really the best girlfriend I could’ve ever wished for too.” He pressed one last kiss to her lips and looked back towards the house. “You ready to go back?”
“Like you’d have to buy them. You and Santana will get to hear the songs before anyone else. Santana will be blisteringly honest, and you’ll tell me the truth a little softer and sweeter,” she laughed softly. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. “My eyes aren’t all puffy and red are they?” Santana was like Spider-Man sometimes, and her spidey senses could pick up on stuff even when people were trying to hide it. She could always blame it on the cold, or say Sam said something that had her laugh-crying.
He stepped back and really looked at her. He eyes were a little puffy, but not enough that anyone would be able to tell so he shook his head. “No, you look so beautiful...with some hot and sexy thrown in like a gumbo,” he joked gently.
She couldn’t help but laugh softly. “I can’t with you! C’mon, let’s get back and hang out by the fireplace, this sexy bowl of gumbo is cold.” They’d get through this, they had to. Growing up officially sucked.
3 notes
·
View notes
Photo
I just finished watching Glee series once again! 😩 It still breaks my heart like the first time I saw the ending 💔 back in 2009 the first time I saw Glee on ETC I got hooked instantly especially the first episode I saw was the whole group New Direction singing "Keep Holding On" for Quinn, at first I really didn't understand the story behind their singing it but I fell in love with the show with that song I felt the emotions Years went by it became a hit ! So every week I always looked forward to its new episode and new songs! I felt I was growing with the cast especially at the time some of the members I love was also in sophomore year when the show started. 2012, I graduated high school and so are QUINN, PUCK, RACHEL, FINN, KURT, MIKE, MERCEDES and SANTANA. I cannot believed it I am actually going to college with the rest of the characters. When they aired the GOODBYE episode which was the last episode of season 3 I also felt saying goodbye to my high school years and I was freaking out about my college but helped Glee to make it through! The New Directions had a rough college freshman year and so did I. They barely saw eachother. Sadly, that was also happening to me and my high school friends. Then everything in Glee was falling apart. Rachel Berry failed her debut show, Klaine cancelled their Engagement, Finn died, and the New Directions was over. So did my college life because I failed miserably in my major subject not once but twice. I don't know what to do with my life then. Then Rachel started singing "Wake Me Up" which became my soundtrack at that time. I don't know what else to do so my parents decided to let me stop schooling for atleast a year. Because I was really in a deep depression. Then the final episode started, The Glee Club was trying to regain their glory days! So did I. While Rachel and Kurt was trying to fix their club, I was also tryin to get back on my feet by returning back to college and pursuing different course. Their final episode entitled "Dreams Do Come True" became my motivation and I remembered Quinn' speech during season 3 she said"You can't change your past, but you can let go and start your future." When I finished watching Glee ending on 2015, I promised myself that I'll finished my college degree and after my graduation I will have a marathon of Glee! Flash Forward to today, Almost a month after I graduated college! and I just finished watching Glee again. I am very thankful for this show because it helped me grew as a person and it helped me to accept my flaws. I'm having separation anxiety with the show and my college. So in order for me to cope up with it I'll start re-reading GLEE NOVELS! Rachel was right "Being part of something special doesn't make it special - something is special because you're part of it" I will always be gratitude and proud to be part of this series as A Gleek! I AM FOREVER GLEEK
1 note
·
View note
Text
why should I fall apart? → solo para.
WHO → Madison ft. Mason.
WHEN → Friday night.
WHERE → A small dive bar in Manhattan.
WHAT → Madison’s a fucking idiot AKA the time she ditched her friends to make a bad decision because that’s just kind of what she does. It’s probably not worth reading but I enjoyed the word vomit anyway.
Madison has lived her entire life for the moment when she got her first glimpse at the New York skyline; it’s not the way she imagined it, because it’s without Mason and Jake and both of them had played key parts in her fantasies building to this day, but it’s with Rachel and Sugar and even Kitty, and she can adapt. After all, the core concept is still the same: she’s in New York City, she’s seeing the city in style, and God, she almost feels like she can breathe for the first time in a month.
Except she can’t quite get there.
Because there’s the ghost of all of her problems, five years of pent up insecurities that she’s buried so well, and when she made the mistake of visiting Mason’s Instagram, it dredged everything up. It’s her own fault. But suddenly, it’s becoming more and more difficult for her to ignore. Suddenly, she’s feeling a distance from the one person in her life and she’s not sure if she’s imagining it but she’s certain that her paranoia is only making it worse. She can’t even bring herself to enjoy Santana’s company without having that knowledge in the back of her mind that, at the end of the day, she’s nothing significant--and for once, maybe she cares, just a little. Madison’s previously unwavering confidence is now shaken, and it’s been this snowball effect and it’s all lead to--
--well.
She’s not entirely sure how she’s escaped the likes of Sugar and Rachel without being questioned (“I need to do something on my own, something for my bucket list,” Madison had skirted, though she’s certain it won’t be that easy later on) but it’s dark and she’s in New York City alone, and although she has a destination in mind, she at least feels at home. At least, it’s more home than anywhere else she’s been, and Madison’s not quite sure she can consider home to be a person anymore, because she doesn’t think she can get through losing her best friend five years ago. Even considering losing Jake has prompted panic attacks in the Piggly Wiggly bathroom which is incredibly pathetic, she knows, and she has to get it together, because Madison McCarthy needs to be strong, peppy, emotionally unavailable. She needs to get herself back.
But she’s not herself, and tonight she’s not strong, so she finds herself in a dive bar not far from Juilliard’s campus, where Mason has already graduated from but still has strong ties to--and she hates that she knows that, but she’s there nevertheless, and it’s dark, and she pounds back three shots of vodka because she knows that’s the only way she’s ever going to get through this night.
The Reader’s Digest version of this whole story is that Madison McCarthy is a fucking idiot.
She positions herself on the left hand side of the stage, because if she knows Mason at all anymore, she knows that his attention drifts primarily to the right. It’s odd; although Mason is essentially a stranger now, Madison still has all this useless information in her head about who he is and what he likes and what his habits are, and she’d give anything to have that taken away, to be given a fresh start. To make it worse, Madison finds that she can still feel him. There’s always been a connection, ever since they were born. They shared a womb, after all. And, for the first time since they were eighteen, she can already sense his presence, knows he’s in the building, and she’s about to see her brother and best friend and biggest betrayal and what the fuck is she doing, she’s smarter than this--
One, two, three.
Her fingers wrap tight around her glass to keep her hands steady, and the current act exits the stage and, after a brief reprieve, there’s Mason and his guitar on a stool and she thinks about those nights when they’d stay up late and write songs together and she can’t help but imagine an alternate universe where he hadn’t tossed her aside and she’d be standing up there, too, maybe singing to a boy or girl that she could allow herself to love without being afraid that they’d deem her worthless, too. Why did Mason deem her worthless?
He starts to perform, and for a moment, there’s conflict. This is her brother. She does love him. And she wants to support him, and maybe there’s been some misunderstanding, maybe she wrote the phone number down wrong in the letter she left, maybe their parents had ripped it up, maybe he’d spent the past five years wondering why she’d left him. She imagines staying until after the show is over and finding him and there’d be a few moments of tension and maybe some tears and then he’d hug her and tell her that he thought he’d never see his best friend again and they’d realize it was some big misunderstanding and she’d get to text Jake and tell him she’d be home a few days later than expected because there’s so much to catch up on.
But then the second song starts and it’s played in D-minor and the change in the music’s tone seems to shift her own fantasies. Madison remembers reading over that letter fifteen times just to make sure she didn’t miss a single detail or miswrite a single digit. She remembers the time she Googled herself to see how easily she could be found on social media and she knows that if Mason wanted to find her, he could have. She’s never made it a priority to be discrete. And as the reality of it all settles in, she can feel the anger bubbling inside of her, because he’s ruined her sense of self worth, and he’s happy and without a care in the fucking world and it doesn’t matter if she’s there or not. He can’t sense her anymore.
Five years later and they’re strangers.
It’s at that ill-timed moment that his head turns in her direction, and she can’t rationalize whether he can or can’t see her because she doesn’t know how much the light is shining in his eyes or if she’s obstructed by another patron but it appears to her that eye contact is made, just briefly, and that’s all she can take. Madison grabs her purse and leaves, and that’s when she realizes that she’s a fucking idiot, but it’s too late and the damage is done and she can’t breathe and she definitely can’t go back to the group in this state so, as one does, she ends up in another bar.
Madison’s always been free with her sexuality but she’s always felt some kind of connection to whoever she’s been with, even if it’s brief, even if it stems from a conversation about their hometowns or mutual love of carbs or something that makes her laugh. That night she gets drunk and ends up being fucked in a bathroom by someone who’s name she’s not entirely sure of (she thinks it started with an ‘S’, maybe) and it does more damage than anything else, but that’s okay. The panic itself had stopped and left pure exhaustion in its place--defeat.
Pathetically, Madison leaves her phone on in case Jake decides he misses her or Mason did see her and wants to try and get in contact with her and tries to sleep, but can’t.
Tomorrow will be another day. Everyone will wake up. They’ll go see Hamilton and the city and enjoy each other’s company and Madison will revel in Sugar’s affection (and return the sentiment) and get to know New York the Rachel Berry way and even, maybe, repair whatever issues she and Kitty may have and she’ll laugh like all she’d done the night before was see the Statue of Liberty or something corny and touristy and that’s probably what she’ll tell them, anyway, because she even regrets telling Santana her plans. She’s humiliated and, essentially, alone. But tomorrow will be another day, and maybe she’s hit rock bottom, so maybe she’ll finally start to pick herself up and lock herself away again, just like she’s always done.
Tomorrow will be another day.
1 note
·
View note
Note
I'm really enjoying the nyu!au! Maybe 106 for it? If you are still taking prompts
A continuation of this.
After her week in Akron, Santana goes back home and gets ready to start camp. It’s always an odd sort of experience for her, since the counselors form a tight knit group, and she always exists on the outside, but she loves the kids, and that’s why she goes back every summer. It’s a better job than most have, and she’s glad her dad was able to get it for her from someone he knew through the hospital. More than that, she’s glad she has some kind of long lasting work experience to put on her resume, when she starts applying to graduate school in just a few short years.
On the first day of camp, Santana sends Brittany one of those cheesy mirror shots of her in her khaki shorts and bright blue t-shirt. Brittany had been begging for it all week, and Santana figured she’d oblige by getting it to her before she even left the house. She doesn’t really have time to be on her phone all day—there are kids to watch in the pool, after all—and she knows it’s going to feel weird after weeks of talking constantly on the phone while they’re doing the most mundane tasks. She’s going to miss her, that’s for sure, but the summer will go a lot faster when she’s actually doing something, rather than sitting around the house waiting to go back to school.
Looking good hot stuff. Have fun at camp!
I’ll talk to you later on. I love you!
Love you too :*
Getting the kids into their first day is always an adventure. Some of the little ones cry, and Santana always ends up with someone or another on her lap, calming them down in between baseball and swimming. She has the five year old group this year, and she working mostly with this guy Ryder and a girl Jane. Jane is going to NYU at the end of the summer, so she asks Santana about forty-thousand questions about it. It’s weird, and maybe it’s because she’s one of the older counselors, but she feels more...friendly than she’s ever been in the past.
The day goes by quickly, and she’s surprised at the end of it when Ryder invites her to come to the diner with a bunch of the others. Normally she’s anxious to get home and get in the shower, but she feels like maybe she should try to be sociable. She calls her mom to let her know that she won’t be home for dinner, and then she goes to her car to Skype Brittany, knowing that she’s waiting for her to get home so that they can talk.
“Hi gorgeous.” Brittany grins through the phone. “How was your first day?”
“It was...a little hectic. We’ll get into the groove though. Hopefully by next week, I’ll actually be able to read my book at lunchtime without ten kids crying for their moms.”
“Oh, man. I never went to camp, so I can’t even imagine how sucky it is when you’re tiny.”
“I actually went every summer. With both of my parents working, and my grandmother not really feeling having me all day every single day, camp was the only choice.”
“Did you like it?”
“Eh...I mean, it was fine. As you know, outdoor activities aren’t exactly my favorite.”
“Which is why I think it’s so cute that you’re a counselor.”
“I’d mostly pack a bunch of books in my backpack and read them everywhere I could. I’d do everything in my power to get benched whenever we played sports. I had more imaginary ankle injuries than any other person on the planet.”
“That’s really adorable actually.”
“How was your day?”
“I’ve kept up my totally uninterrupted schedule of laying on the pool deck, and Kitty and I had margaritas before.”
“In the middle of the day?”
“It’s summer.” Brittany laughs. “I had to find something to do all day, while I didn’t have anyone to narrate shopping in the grocery store for me.”
“I wish I could narrate my whole camp day for you. I missed you a lot today.”
“I missed you too. What are you doing now?”
“I, um actually got invited out with some of the counselors for camp. Which I know is super weird, since that basically never happens. But there’s this kid Ryder who’s kinda decent, and this girl Jane who’s going to NYU in the fall, so I guess they just figured they’d invite me.”
“Aww Babes, that sounds fun.”
“Yeah, I guess so...I mean I probably have absolutely nothing in common with them besides camp, but we’ll see how it goes.”
“Call me after then?”
“Of course. How am I supposed to fall asleep without you on the phone?”
“Since you always pass out early, probably pretty easy.”
“You know I need my beauty sleep.”
“No, you definitely don’t. You’re beautiful enough without it.”
“Britt...”
“Love you, bye!”
Smiling at the home screen on her phone after Brittany hangs up, Santana plugs the phone into the stereo, and drives to the diner. She really does feel gross and sweaty after a long day of camp, but since no one else was going home to change first, she didn’t want to be the only one. She pulls her hair up in a tighter ponytail and wipes residue from her glasses before she goes inside. Everyone beat her there, given her phone conversation, and she finds a big, loud group at a table in the back.
“Uh, hey everyone.” She takes an empty seat, and picks at her cuticles.
“Santana!” Ryder cheers. “You came! Guys, you all know Santana Lopez?”
There’s sort of a half-hearted acknowledgement around the table, and Santana flushes. She thinks part of it is that she’s always been a virulent rule follower, and she’s never snuck off to make out with someone in the middle of the day, and some of it might just be her personality. But either way, she bristles a little at the lukewarm welcome, and she buries her face in a menu, trying to decide what she should order, and trying to not feel hurt that no one is exactly excited she came. She’s been an outcast her whole life, but maybe it stings more now that she’s found someone to fit in with, she’s not sure.
Most of dinner is painful for Santana. She talks to Ryder and Jane, she tells them about Brittany when they ask if she’s dating anyone, but she doesn’t really engage with anyone else, and she feels like she can hear whispers whenever her back is turned. When she finally gets back out to her car, she feels a deep sense of relief, and she takes a few breaths, trying not to get upset that it didn’t go that well. She won’t go again, she knows that, but maybe part of her had hoped that this year would be different. Part of her had hoped that college would have changed things for her. Sighing heavily, she plugs her phone in, and she calls Brittany.
“Hey Babes, how was dinner?”
“I miss you so much.” Santana feels a single tear roll down her cheek. “I miss New York.”
“Oh no! Was it bad? Do I have to figure out the way to commit the perfect murder when I get to Lima?”
“No...it wasn’t...no one did anything. It’s just like...I don’t know.”
“Hey, are you driving?”
“Not yet.” She shakes her head, though Brittany can’t see her. “Why?”
“You’re just upset, and I don’t want you to drive when you’re upset.”
“I’m fine, I’m just being stupid.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid to be upset if you had a crappy night. Do you want to talk about it?”
“It was just...really clear that almost everyone didn’t want me there. I miss what it feels like to go out where people don’t know me, but it’s still fun. I hate that you’re far away, I want a hug from you.”
“Do you want me to get in the car? Because seriously, I’ve got nothing going on, I could be to Lima in a few hours.”
“No. That’s crazy. I have work all week, and I’m going to see you next weekend. I just need to hear your voice right now. I need to feel like I’m not a total loser.”“You’re absolutely not a total loser.” Brittany soothes. “I’d tell you if you were.”“Do you ever feel like you have all of these things inside that you want to lash out and say? I went to high school with almost all of these people, and that’s what it felt like tonight. Dorky Santana Lopez sitting at the cool kids table, and the cool kids think she’s kind of a dip shit.”
“I just don’t really get it. You’re the most awesomest person I’ve ever met. I’m not really sure how people think you’re uncool.”
“I think you can figure it out, Britt.” Santana finds herself snapping a little, just because she feels so crappy about herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”
“It’s fine, Babes. You’re upset.”
“I don’t know, I guess I just feel like an alien dropped from another planet sometimes.”
“Do you believe in aliens?”
“I don’t even know, that’s beside the point. I just know that I feel like one half time time. This is why I spend so much time on the computer. People get me there.” Santana starts her car, and puts it in reverse to get the hell out of the diner parking lot.
“I get that. I think you’re just too special for a place like ignorant Lima.”
“It’s just dumb. I’m nineteen, I shouldn’t even be worried about stuff like this. It’s not like when I was fifteen and it felt like the world was against me. I like who I am, I shouldn’t care.”
“I’m glad you like who you are.” Brittany says softly. “Because I’d hate for these losers to make you any less than the amazing you are.”
“At least I don’t have to work with them, I guess. The kindergartners are pretty isolated from the bigger kids, and...Ryder and Jane are fine.”
“I’m glad you get to work with them then. I really wish I was there to make you feel better tonight, this is the suckiest thing about being apart.”
“But next week you’ll be here, and I promise, I won’t be all mopey.”
“I’ll be there whether you are, or you aren’t. That’s love.”
“Yeah. Yeah it is.”
53 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
hikaruery
Hikaru
thefreshprinceofjunes
welcum 2 PAIN
hijabicalligraphy-blog
Hijabi Calligraphy Boutique
happyhoursyachts
Untitled
magnum-atl
Untitled