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Post by tonilous on Jun 5, 2014 15:59:16 GMT -5
Hi, I'm tonilous and I'm your author for this fic. Just a few notes: I am aware that Damian is in his twenties but for the sake of this story, I edited his age just a little bit. I hope you enjoy it or read it as something to kill time. I don't really require reviews (although some would be nice). For the most part, I'm letting the characters go on by themselves as I write them down.
I hope you enjoy it.
Hawthorne Jefferson House
"... and so I told Mrs. Lowell that I really didn't care if I stayed in a dorm; it's long enough a commute for gas money and I just can't stand the thought of asking Mom pay any more than she and Henry already have..." Charlotte hugged her books close to her chest and kept her head down.
Damian considered this posture. Charlotte held herself ramrod straight with good bearing as usual, but the way she kept her head down and refused to look most Hawthorne students in the eye made it clear that she had yet to become truly comfortable in the new environment.
Damian glanced at Diana, who was looking up from where she had been previously studying sheet music, also glancing at Charlotte. The two exchanged a glance that acknowledged what they had both noticed, and the taller of the two choir members turned to the prospective one: "Well, we would be more than happy to have you at our dorm, of course."
"Oh, you board?" Charlotte blinked up at him.
"Jefferson." Damian nodded, averting his gaze with as much of a casual air as he could adopt - whenever Charlotte bestowed the full power of her green eyes (and it didn't help that the floods of sunlight from the bay windows amplified them even more) towards him, thinking rationally became a bit difficult.
Diana pretended not to notice the steep drop in Damian's general intellect and simply rolled her eyes. But she said, "There are still a few rooms free at Jefferson, you know." Jefferson House in the East wing was one of the three dormitories of Hawthorne, the others being Washington, farther in the West wing, and Adams in the North wing. The South and Main was where all the major classrooms and facilities were housed.
Damian nodded - just slightly too enthusiastically to be noticed. "We can talk to Ms. Burkhart for you. She's the head of Jefferson House."
"Are you sure that's all right..." Charlotte asked carefully. She had only been to Hawthorne for a few hours and was still getting her bearings, but even she understood that there were certain societal standings in the school. Each dormitory was protective of its own fraternal pride and the students often segregated accordingly when traveling in packs. Charlotte marveled at the amount of gossip she'd heard about all this in under a day and concluded that boys talk generally as much as girls do.
"Of course it's all right," Diana smiled kindly. "Besides, even though the group is a big hodgepodge, there are more choir members in Jefferson than there are in Washington and Adams. We're pressed for rehearsal time as it is - it'll be easier for you to catch up if you were practicing with us. Assuming you get accepted, of course." Diana looked almost apologetic as she amended that last part.
Charlotte swallowed and let out her breath. "Right." She nodded, "I get to finally try out."
"Hey, don't worry too much," Damian smiled. "You'll get in, I'm sure."
Charlotte smiled faintly at him. "Thanks, but since you've actually never heard me sing, I'll take your prophecy with a grain of salt." She smirked and lifted one charming eyebrow.
"There's Patrick," Damian then waved his friend over in an attempt to not get snagged by another Charlotte-gives-me-an-adorable-expression trap. "And he's still alive! He dodged Madame Baudin's bullet."
Catching sight of the other three, Patrick jogged up to them, breaking free from the mass of students that just came out of the French professor's forum. Diana greeted him with a grin. "And how did it go? Was there blood? Your brain seems to be intact."
"I refuse to study any more French," Patrick sighed with a little melodrama as propriety allowed - he had manifestly determined to help Damian rein in the madness in Hawthorne so as not to scare the new girl too much just yet. "It I promise to refuse my parents' yearly trip to Paris, I won't need it anymore, right?"
The others laughed. "I'll help you, if you like," Charlotte offered with a grin.
"You?" Patrick raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the other two before turning back to Charlotte, "No offense but... do public schools drill juniors that hard on Advanced French?"
"Trust me - I can help," Charlotte said confidently. "I've over-exaggeratedly given emphasis on French." The red and white uniform that was still hidden in the depths of her wardrobe was a testament to that. "If you don't pass next week's oral, I'll buy you coffee for a week."
"Well, what do you know - we are just too lucky to have you." Patrick's expression flashed to Damian, implying something that the other boy might have previously said. Damian colored up just slightly - but he did "accidentally" jab Patrick in the ribs as he cleared his throat and moved forward to keep his place next to Charlotte as they walked. The two behind them looked at each other and bumped fists with barely disguised snickers.
Damian looked at Charlotte and gave her a smile. Charlotte returned it, still anxious, but felt better.
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
If you don't know, I just transferred here in order to avoid some... difficulties back in my old school. Don't get me wrong: I love the choir back at Huntington's - but the truth is, push came to shove and now... here I am. I'm officially a student at Hawthorne.
My problem is that my plans got as far as actually going to Hawthorne. Now that I'm actually here, I realize that I've made absolutely no plans as to what I intend to happen to me here.
Fortunately, I have Damian, Diana, and Patrick to, for better or worse, lead me to some direction.
"Come on!" Diana called as she jogged ahead down the steps. "If we want to catch Burkhart, we've got to get in early into the Dining Hall!"
"What are you talking to Burkhart for?" Patrick asked as he followed.
"Getting the newbie into Jefferson."
Patrick's smothered burst of derisive laughter was checked by Damian's glower. Patrick backpedaled. "Whoa, I mean, sure. Hey, maybe Burkhart won't kill us if we ask this time. Gee, good luck getting up to the professor's table, Diana, I won't be joining you, but I'll be sending flowers to your grave."
"Is there something about Ms. Burkhart I should know about?" Charlotte asked, blanching just a little. "I am to meet the woman and I think I'd like to remain intact after I do."
"It's not you, it's us," Damian sighed. "This isn't the first time we've tried to get someone into Jefferson."
"Or the second," chipped in Diana.
"Or third," added Patrick.
"Or fifth."
"Or sixth."
"What is going on here?" Charlotte stared.
"New people don't last long at Jefferson..." Patrick smiled faintly. "And when they do, it doesn't really help Jefferson's case."
"Why?"
The other three paused, looking at each other. Charlotte looked at them and gestured expectantly. "Well?"
Diana grinned. "We're not supposed to scare you this early, Damian said so."
The boy at hand lunged at her - Diana ducked, tucked, rolled, and sprang up again - but Damian turned back to Charlotte and responded, "Don't listen to her. It's just that it takes a special kind of person to tolerate some of the crazy that goes on in Jefferson. Not just in the common room. It's... everywhere."
Charlotte, a veteran of madness who had survived over a year of incredible wild performance numbers, psychopathic teachers and counselors, hallucinations, a choir teacher stuck in the 60's, and had a step-brother that had been both a football player and a cheerleader, now lifted an eyebrow.
"Crazy?"
-8-
"No."
Damian turned up the wattage of his smile. "Come on, Ms. Burkhart, seriously. You're not going to have a problem with Charlotte."
"That's what you said when you brought in Noel."
"And Noel is still in Jefferson!" Diana exclaimed happily. "Unfortunately, he still is," the petite, blonde-haired woman glowered at them. "When you told me that he had off habits, you didn't say it was that he was even more superstitious than an old homemaker in the 1800's."
"So he likes to hang cloves of garlic at his windows..." Patrick, who, despite his better judgement, decided to participate in getting the new one into Jefferson to spare them Damian's promise of undying vengeance should she not, tried to adopt a nonchalant tone. "We've already convinced him to stop lining his doorways with salt!"
"And we told him to stop 'ghost hunting' at the old cathedral!" Diana supplied. "... how's the caretaker doing, by the way?"
"I don't know what kind of food coloring Noel used, but as I understand that 'brand' on Mr. Terry's arm is still there!" Burkhart all but roared. Damian winced, grateful that they'd caught the house head while she was still in the hall. They were given a few odd looks by some passing Washington students who may have known what was up. Charlotte remained at one side, quiet, seemingly intent on trying to ignore what she was hearing.
"And seriously, Charlotte is more normal than some of us," Damian said with a smile. "She was a part of her old school's choir - that's about it. We were hoping she'll join ours."
"If you want her to join your group, that's fine, but she'll be complaining to me in a week, I'm sure," Burkhart crossed her arms over her chest.
"Actually," Charlotte finally said, and they looked at her, "I've put up with quite a lot of strange things at my old school, I'm sure this is... fine."
Burkhart seemed to be taken aback by this and moved past the other three students. She looked Charlotte over through her spectacles. Charlotte looked at the woman's small height and did the same.
Ann Burkhart had been the head of Jefferson house for nearly twenty years. Having been given that position allowed her to watch the nation's future leaders come and go from Jefferson House, some of them returning to visit on occasion. In recent years, things often did not go as peacefully as she liked. Sometimes even less. Jefferson may be a very popular house, but if there was anything about it that was notable, it would be that life is never (for better or for worse) boring. Making a living out of refereeing all this at the very least allowed her to read a student's bearings early on. She gave Charlotte a look over.
"What's your name?"
"Charlotte Summers, ma'am," Charlotte smiled.
Burkhart considered the equally petite girl with the dainty features. "So you sing?"
"Yes."
"Is that all?"
"Well... I like to write."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Unusual sleeping habits? Food allergies? Odd hobbies? Tendencies to destroy property? Uproot magnolias out of compulsion? Walk backwards? Release lab animals? Recite the entire Summa Theologica? In Latin?"
Charlotte was barely able to stop giving her an "are you crazy" expression. She instead looked at the corner of her eyes to Damian. Damian just shrugged, trying not to smile. Burkhart saw where she was looking and glanced back to Damian, who immediately put on another charming grin. Diana and Patrick were veritable twin angels who looked like they had no idea what Burkhart was talking about.
Burkhart turned back to Charlotte. "Are you positive that you would like to board at Jefferson?"
"I don't see why I shouldn't."
The coughing fit from Diana and Patrick nearly gave it all away, but even Burkhart seemed to understand. She sighed and looked at Charlotte. "Fine. Jefferson it is." She turned to the other three. "I'll be keeping an eye on this one, make sure you don't scar her too much. After Marcus Holland fled Jefferson for Adams -"
"His loss!" Diana scoffed.
"- Gemma thought he was sick and was just trying to help -" Patrick added.
"Which is why she threw twenty-two comforters on top of him while he slept?"
"Guys!" Damian snapped.
Silence. The three students looked at Ms. Burkhart expectantly, and Burkhart looked at the new girl, cogitating. Charlotte took this opportunity to give Ms. Burkhart her best "I-really-don't-care" expression.
"So when do I move in?"
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Post by barbt on Jun 5, 2014 18:16:20 GMT -5
OK, this promises to be interesting :-)
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Post by tonilous on Jun 5, 2014 23:21:33 GMT -5
Charlotte had read all about the school's housing in the pamphlet she ended up reading during the truly awkward one and a half hour ride to Northampton with her mother on this first day of school. As far as background went, it seemed as though all of the dormitories were desirable and extravagant in ordinary standards as majority of Hawthorne's elite student body resided in them. As it stood, Jefferson House was by far the most desirable house, with a great deal of accomplished alumni graduating from it and all but being hand-delivered to Ivy League schools.
That was how it looked like from the black-and-white. When Damian, Diana, and Patrick brought Charlotte to Jefferson for the first time, that massive manor-style building with ancient columns could put some of the nation's best collegiate fraternity houses to shame, it looked as though it would live up to everything it had acclaimed to be. And it did, in one way or another.
"You... all live here?" Charlotte asked, watching some students go into the dormitories. Inside, past the oak doors, a vaulted entrance hall greeted them. The floor was marble and across the great wooden beams overhead that broke the sunlight, a massive drop-down banner in deep royal blue cut through with a golden ray, Jefferson's colors.
The architecture was exquisite; from the rich tints of the wood to the elegant hues of the walls and the tasteful decor, Jefferson might as well have been an exhibit at a museum depicting old world elegance.
"Yes, well... Patrick used to be in Washington," Damian smiled.
"Really?" asked Charlotte, following the others down the hall. "Why did you switch?"
"It was more exciting here."
"All right, I might be starting to get a little nervous," Charlotte said, frowning at them.
Damian laughed. "Okay, look, those things that we talked about with Burkhart - they're extreme cases. The students here are rational - mostly. Don't worry. We wouldn't actually put you in danger."
Something upstairs exploded, making Charlotte jump. Everyone in the hall barely batted an eye. Without so much as breaking his stride, Patrick pulled out a fire extinguisher standing at nearby and handed it to a girl who seemed to have arrived in the hall for that very reason. Everyone carried on.
Before Charlotte could marvel at this, her phone rang. She pulled it out and read the text. It was from Austin, one of her very good friends at her old school.
Hey Charlie! You at Hawthorne? What are you up to? - A
She smiled and quickly replied. Thinking of boarding. - C
So... you'll only be around on weekends? - A
Charlotte felt a twinge. She'd seen the look on Austin's face when she had announced her intention to leave. He was the first person who she should have talked to about it and in the end, he had been one of the last. Even she had to admit that after all that she and Austin had been through together, he deserved more than a last minute announcement without even consulting his prior to her decision.
Sorry, A. I just thought it would help Mom and Henry if I stopped commuting so much. - C
I get that. Don't worry about it. - A
You know I'll be right over in a heartbeat if you need me, right? - C
Charlotte, relax. We understand. And don't worry, we'll catch up on everything on weekends. - A
"Charlotte?"
She looked up and saw the other three starting at her in concern. She blinked. "What?"
Patrick glanced at Damian, who had been trying to catch Charlotte's attention twice and had now only succeeded. As he expected, Damian looked apprehensive. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah," Charlotte breathed, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "Fine. Why?"
Diana raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at Patrick. Patrick looked back and then looked at Damian. Damian kept his eyes on Charlotte as he moved forward. "You sure...?" he asked.
"Yeah," Charlotte nodded and smiled for good measure.
The problem with having so much in common with Charlotte was knowing when she wasn't telling the whole story. But for now, Damian decided to overlook this while giving Charlotte a charming smile. "Come on, I'll show you the rooms."
Charlotte, blindsided by the grin, could do no more than smile and follow him up the hand-carved staircase. Patrick and Diana looked at each other and just shook their heads with a laugh.
"I seriously wish they'd get a move on," Diana complained, unbuttoning her blazer. "If I hear Damian pine over her one more time..."
"I don't know, the last time Damian had a crush on someone, it took him two months to actually say something to her..." Patrick said doubtfully.
"Let's not talk about that, it pains me to remember what we had to go through," Diana winced. "I remember when he heard this song and decided that it was perfect for their situation and it was the only thing playing in his room for a week. I avoided his room like the plague."
"I actually had to live with that; we shared a room, Di. WE SHARED A ROOM. I kept earmuffs next to my bed!"
"And yet here we are... again," Diana sighed, waving to the stairs where Damian and Charlotte had disappeared to. Patrick made the same long-suffering sigh. "What we do for the sake of friendship..."
-8-
Charlotte was pretty sure that Damian went this way down the halls, but after the taller boy had stopped talking for a moment to talk to a choir member in one of the rooms, she found herself lost. Surely she couldn't be that hopeless in navigation, but Jefferson's corridors not only looked identical but they looked similar in every floor. Charlotte had simply wandered away for a moment, staring at the art that hung on the walls, the furnishings, the fact that the floors were carpeted and that the wood furniture looked as though antique dealers would have heart attacks upon seeing them.
And now she had no idea where she was.
And she had the feeling she was being watched.
She thought she heard movement behind her, but there was nothing there when he looked. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned back in front of her and found that a blonde boy was standing there with a Cheshire Cat grin.
"Hello, Alice," he said, ice blue eyes sparkling.
"Pardon?" Charlotte stared.
"Welcome to Wonderland," spoke an identical voice behind her. She quickly turned and found the same boy, with the same grin, standing the same way. Or... at least that was what it looked like.
"Okay..." Charlotte stared back and forth at the two of them.
The twin behind her made one smooth step with his long leg and was now standing next to his brother. The pair of handsome twins were grinning.
"You look lost, Alice," said one. "Did you fall down the rabbit hole and hit your head?"
"Because if you're lost, we can point you to the right way," said the other.
Charlotte decided that all of her hallucinations added together might have made more sense than this, but she shook it off and just flashed them a rather nervous grin. "I'm Charlotte. I'm -"
"New," the twins chorused. "We know."
"And... you are...?"
The twin on the left raised a hand. "I'm Logan."
"I'm Lucas," said the other twin.
And in unison, they both grabbed each of Charlotte's hands. "Come on, Alice!" they chorused. "We'll give you orientation!"
Not really having the strength to protest and not really able to hold back the twin dynamos who were currently pulling at her arms with enough force to amputate, Charlotte said, "Actually I was here with Damian...?"
"Damian?"
"We know where he is."
"He's downstairs!"
"He's looking for you!"
"He won't mind if we borrow you for a bit."
And Charlotte was unceremoniously swept into a Jefferson room for the first time.
The hallways only prepared her partially for what a room in Hawthorne actually looked like. It was like stepping into the set of the Tudors. It didn't look like much from the outside, but inside was the size of a large apartment, with no walls to separate the common area from the beds. There was a central area where comfortable furniture lay. In the twins' case, there was a lush white couch, a glass coffee table, with a large television screen. The coffee table was occupied by some massive Nerf guns that looked out of place amidst thick schoolbooks.
Beyond this living circle were the beds, one on each side of the room, each standing on a wooden dais that served to separate it form the common area. The beds were well-kept antique four posters with sheer drapes. One bed was made, the other was not (But it had school clothes all over it). There was a third dais, directly across the doors, that could serve to hold another bed, but in this case, it just served as an extension of the common area.
"Okay!" said one twin, probably Lucas, plopping Charlotte down unceremoniously onto the sinfully luxurious white couch in the common area. "This is what a Jefferson room looks like."
"Actually, it's what every dorm room looks like," said the one who was probably Logan.
"We've seen the others."
"But Jefferson is still the best."
"Of course."
"Um... I don't mean to be rude, but could you guys possible talk in one straight go one at a time?" Charlotte asked, confused.
Logan laughed. "Damian says it helps if you just think of us as just one person. If you're new, that is. You'll get used to it."
"Thank you," Charlotte grinned.
Lucas continued, "Here at Jefferson, there are two to three people in a room. Unless you're special, you can request for your own room. Like if you're a captain of a sports team. Or if you've always broken the ninety-eighth percentile in class."
"But that's difficult," Logan said blandly. "Because everyone gets amazing grades here."
"Everyone."
"Yep."
"Excellent is average here."
Charlotte wavered slightly, trying to take all this information in. While she looked for "challenging" back at Huntington, this wasn't quite what she expected. "Everyone. All right..."
"There are three dorms - Jefferson, Washington, and Adams, and we like Adams the least." The other twin made a thumbs-down gesture and a grimace. "Why?" He continued before Charlotte could even open her mouth to ask, "because they're brown-nosers and that's basically all you need to know."
"And you'll protect your fellow Jefferson students from them to the the death, and we'll do the same for you," nodded the other twin sagely. "Jefferson is, without a doubt, the best house - don't mind Washington, they're harmless - but Adams is looking to trip us up with every step. Do not trust them."
After that statement, the manic gleam in their eyes died away to Charlotte's relief.
"Curfew is ten on weekdays, eleven on weekends," said Logan. "Until then, you can run around doing basically whatever you like. But if you don't make it, you'll get locked out."
"Which is why it's useful to have us as friends," grinned Lucas. "Because we can get you back inside and Burkhart would be none the wiser!"
Logan looked proud. "We can unlock any door, any window, on campus. Both literally and figuratively."
"This must be your thing," Charlotte raised an eyebrow, wondering if these two were for real. They seemed like the type who might be pulling her leg. "They said that everyone in here has something off about them."
"Well... not only," Lucas smiled sweetly and then offered Charlotte a Nerf gun.
Charlotte considered, then smiled and took the gun.
"Good choice," grinned Logan. And he pulled out his own Nerf gun and shot Charlotte right at the forehead.
-8-
When Damian walked out from the twins' room not more than ten minutes later, he was livid for a few reasons: one, after yelling at the twins for grabbing Charlotte without letting the rest of them know where she was, two, for getting Charlotte mixed up in their twice-a-week Nerf battle, and three, for assaulting him with said Nerf guns the moment he walked in. Leaving the new girl alone in Jefferson House was never a good idea, but at least Charlotte was breathing when he pulled her out of the Nerf war going on. Barely, anyway.
Charlotte was laughing so hard that she was stumbling in her walk, Damian's hand clutching hers firmly, and she looked at the older boy and choked, "What are those guys on?"
"We wish we knew," Damian smiled, amused nevertheless at how Charlotte seemed to be enjoying herself. He leaned a bit closer to inspect Charlotte's scarlet forehead. "They got you there, all right."
"It was worth it watching Lucas manage a perfect matrix backbend after my first clear shot at him," Charlotte swallowed, smile turning rather awkward at Damian's close proximity. Damian, however, looked intrigued. "How do you know that one was Lucas?"
"I don't," Charlotte admitted. "He just... felt like Lucas?"
"That was actually Logan," Damian grinned. "He's the springier one."
"Oh so they do have differences," Charlotte laughed.
"Very few." Damian stopped at one door and opened it. "This is my room."
Charlotte looked inside and saw that though it may have been completely alike the twins' in architecture, it was all very... Damian. The furnishings in the middle common were different, made of warm comfortable colors and material. There was a thick rug under the middle common, and only one bed looked in use. Since it was surrounded by a study area heaped with books, pens, papers, and a sleek laptop and had a cork board full of photos with friends, Charlotte assumed that this bed was Damian's. The other dais had a bed, but it was pushed to the side and the space left was full of pillows large enough to sit in. The middle dais, to Charlotte's utter fascination, had been set up as a small theater with a cinema screen.
"How... did you even get the screen in?" Charlotte gaped.
"It's actually pretty old - it used to be in one of the AV rooms, but when they upgraded, I asked if I could have it."
"And they let you?"
Damian grinned. It's not for me entirely. A lot of the students here come to hang out. So we pulled strings."
Huntington's Choir couldn't even afford transportation, let alone a whole cinema screen, Charlotte marveled. She walked around the room, looking at Damian's collection of movie posters and stopped at the at the cork board full of photos of his friends and others who weren't in the Hawthorne uniform. It suddenly struck her that the room was very quiet. And then she looked up. "Wait - you room alone?"
"If a person had as much as ten other students crashing in at every given hour to harmonize, make noise, and generally cause confusion, roommates don't last long."
Charlotte smiled and sat down onto the couch with a sigh, looking around. "So you're here, by yourself..." She looked around the largeness of it all.
"Helps me appreciate the quiet time better, when the guys don't come by," Damian admitted, sitting next to her.
A silence fell that was neither awkward or tense. They both looked tired without really acknowledging what it was they were tired about. Both seemed lost in though for a moment. Damian roused himself first, and saw Charlotte staring into her phone. There was nothing on the screen.
Damian nudged her gently. "Hey."
For an instant, Charlotte glanced to him in response before she leaned against his shoulder, not even trying to smile this time. Damian looked at her, a bit surprised, but welcomed it while it lasted. He put a strong arm around Charlotte's shoulders, not sure if he was trying to soak up warmth or impart it to the girl. In spite of of herself, Charlotte turned her face to Damian's shoulder and let out a shuddering sigh, and Damian clasped her free hand in his.
"... it gets easier," he murmured.
Charlotte nodded and suddenly realized her current position. She shyly took her hand away and smoothed down her skirt while Damian cleared his throat and suddenly became interested in a speck of dust on the floor.
-8-
"It's like something out of a Julia Roberts movie," Patrick grumbled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly from the hall, having seen the whole scene play out.
Diana grinned at him and then looked back at the two in Damian's room. "I'm going to have to agree. But they're almost disgustingly adorable."
"Damian actually looks happy," Lucas smirked, and Logan added, "which is better than watching him stare at his Blackberry waiting for a text from his pretty pretty princess."
"Is it officially his pretty pretty princess yet?" Diana asked.
"Not yet. If the way they're being so fidgety around each other is any indication. And you know as well as I do that if Damian were ever officially 'with' anyone, well..." Patrick rolled his eyes. "He'd be struggling a lot less." He gestured to the two chatting amicably inside the room.
"Can she sing?" asked Logan curiously. "You did mention she was from the choir group."
"The only Huntington tape we've got has that skinny dude with the major pipes up front," Lucas commented. "And Damian's little princess was chorus vocal."
"Well, Damian insists that she can sing - I don't know how he knows when Charlotte says that he's never heard her," Diana shrugged.
"We'll find out soon enough," Patrick nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes on the couple on the couch. "She'll have to sing for Pentland and Gregor. They'll decide."
"She'll be fine," chorused the twins.
"And how would you know?" Diana raised an eyebrow.
Lucas - or was it Logan? - smiled as he studied Charlotte's bright smile as she looked up at Damian. "Just a feeling."
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Hawthorne
Jun 6, 2014 0:58:05 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 6, 2014 0:58:05 GMT -5
Wow, this is an incredible start!! I love it
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Post by tonilous on Jun 6, 2014 18:39:51 GMT -5
Hawthorne The Piper
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
If you don't know, I just transferred here in order to avoid some... difficulties back in my old school. Don't get me wrong: I love the choir back at Huntington's - but the truth is, push came to shove and now... here I am. I'm officially a student at Hawthorne.
Damian, Diana, and Patrick are helping me get used to things here, but after meeting the twins and seeing Jefferson, I'm starting to get a little bit... concerned. And from the looks of things, this was only the beginning.
I just hope I know what I just got myself into.
Damian, looking down at the book he had just pulled out from the stacks, turned a corner of the shelves and collided with a figure that was waiting for the opportunity to catch him in private. He looked up, startled, and then immediately rolled his eyes. "Noel! I told you a million times to stop lurking in the shelves."
"Damian," hissed the slightly taller, skinnier male, so pale that he was almost translucent, the only color on him being his lips (red from perpetual nervous biting), and the crop of black hair contrasting powerfully against his pallor. He was hugging a large tome with a pentagram on the cover. "I need to talk to you!"
"I thought you weren't allowed into the library anymore," Damian blinked. He imagined that someone throwing rock salt onto the shelves was one incident that the library staff was not going to overlook.
Noel waved it away, irritated. "Whatever, I need my research material. I am this close to exorcising the church bell tower once and for all."
"Look, Noel, intriguing as all this is..." Damian rolled his eyes and glanced to the librarian who was starting to wonder where the noise was coming from, "... I need to get back to my geography assignment."
"I need to talk to you about that new kid."
"Charlotte?" Damian glanced at him as he headed back to the desk he had claimed. "What about her?"
"She's moving into Jefferson, right? Shouldn't you consult me first before all this? What if there's something malignant in one of the empty rooms? Do you remember that time Grace went into one of the closets in an empty room and she came running out screaming?"
"One, Grace has a tendency to go extremely over the top with everything as she is terribly danger-prone," Damian responded calmly, noting in great detail the tropical areas as detailed in the book. "And two, Grace didn't go into a closet - she went into one of the bathrooms to get some cleaning supplies left there, tripped, and the shower curtain collapsed on her. Of course she would run out screaming."
"I'm still convinced it was a poltergeist," Noel grumbled.
"This still doesn't explain to me anything you wanted to talk about in regards to Charlotte."
"She's strange..." Noel finally said. "It's worrisome. It could be dangerous. Almost suspicious."
Damian graced him with his attention now, though he raised an eyebrow. "Really. How? Did you see her emitting a bright magenta aura?"
Noel fidgeted, scratching at the corner of his book with his fingernails. "... no, she seemed terribly unhappy."
Damian finally lowered the book at this. "What do you mean unhappy?"
"Fine, not completely 'unhappy'. More... lost." Noel took a pause, then looked up with big dark eyes filled with horror. "She's not possessed, is she? We don't need any more spirits wandering the halls!"
Damian waved the accusation away almost irritably, summoning superhuman practice. "What makes you say she's lost?"
"I was in her Ecology and Environmental Studies class. She kept staring at floating dust specks. She wasn't paying attention to Mr. Dewitt. And only the truly suicidal do not pay attention to Mr. Dewitt when he's outlining the exam coverage!"
"Boys!"
The two jumped as the librarian materialized at their elbows, frowning disapprovingly. "If you must carry on this way, you'll have to step outside and stop disturbing the other students!"
Damian decided not to tell her that the only other two students in the library were solidly asleep in their cubicles. "Sorry, Mrs. Baker."
"And Mr. Montgomery, what are you doing in here? And with that book again!"
Eyes wide, Noel fled instantly, bounding away like an antelope, his open blazer flapping behind him like a cape and still taking the book with him. Damian picked up his own bag and left at a less hasty pace, pulling out his Blackberry. An emergency mini-meeting was needed.
-8-
"Damian, she's been here one day," Diana said, almost exasperated over the tall black coffee that she was attempting to down. "It's natural for her to be... confused."
"And after getting assaulted by these two earlier..." Patrick jerked his thumb to the twins, who were sitting at the same table. They pretended as though Patrick had mortally wounded them with the accusation. "And why, oh why would you listen to Noel? This is the guy who carries a spritz bottle full of holy water everywhere he goes 'just in case'."
"Noel is observant, if anything," Damian protested. "Because until she's boarded, she can repeal the transfer, so I don't want Charlotte second-guessing her move here within twenty-four hours of doing so."
"She'll be doing that all day and tomorrow, until she finally gets used to it," said Diana sensibly, yanking out some tissues and wiping down her part of the table. "When you transferred here -"
"Shh!" coloring a deep crimson, Damian all but threw his coffee at her, not wanting the subject broached again.
Patrick swatted him off Diana. "I considered it a defining moment when we finally got you to start talking. Only to find out that you had a die-hard crush on Emma Watson." He sighed deeply, long-sufferingly, like a reminiscing war veteran. "It was like we had opened a dam and we couldn't get it to stop..."
The twins were choking on their frappes by now, laughing too hard to be coherent, having to hold onto each other to remain upright. Damian glared with all the force he could muster in his current riot of emotions (anxiety, embarrassment, and the utter urge to decapitate one of his so-called "friends") and said, "We've got to do something to at least make her feel better."
"How about a few games..." Patrick asked, humoring their clearly enamored lead singer. "We can break out RockBand again."
"We're not allowed to play RockBand in the common room anymore," Diana reminded him. "The incident with the mop and Mr. Jones' pet duck?" Everyone on the table winced.
"How about paintball?" chorused the twins.
"No. Also no longer allowed indoors. Brandon isn't even out of the hospital yet."
"Bake her a cake?"
"The kitchen ceiling is still scorched."
"There's got to be something we can do that won't do property damage," Damian grumbled in one of those moments where he wished he lived in a quieter dormitory.
Everyone was silent for a moment, either thinking of what they could do for Charlotte, or what they could do at all seeing as how their pastimes were being banned one by one. This was when the twins sat up, as though getting twin light bulbs on their heads. They blinked at each other and nodded. They both looked at Damian.
"We have an idea," said Logan.
Lucas nodded. "But we'll have to get started now, if we want to make it in time later for the choir meeting."
-8-
Charlotte had earlier received a message from one of the student runners that a Mr. William Pentland and a Ms. Arabele Gregor were requesting her to come to the second music room early so that they would be able to formally meet her for the first time. Her throat going dry, she recognized their names as the choir director and music teacher in charge of the group, and that the second music room was also semi-officially "the Pipers' Hall".
As if that was not enough, a message had appeared on her iPhone during her last period:
Charlotte, something important came up in the dorms. But I'll definitely be at the choir meeting with you. Meet you there. - Damian
This left Charlotte standing outside the hall feeling rather anxious and staring at her phone as though she willed it to somehow convey her need for Damian to come as soon as humanly possible. She had never been one to be anxious or nervous about such a thing but she had seen the Pipers perform and if anything, they looked like a solid unit that worked seamlessly with one another. Their style was definitely different from her old group's.
Her phone started to vibrate in her pocket, and she pulled it out to find that it was a call.
From Austin Conn.
Charlotte looked around and ducked to a nearby hallway near the open arches that overlooked the gardens. She answered the call, lifting it to her ear, not really sure what to expect. "Austin?"
"A-hem," Austin cleared his throat, seeming to come from a slight distance. When he spoke, he wasn't speaking to her. She heard him say, "All right, she's on! All of you, look alive! Come on!"
That same imperious tone as always, and she heard, in the background, sound of minor grumbling - "She can't really see us, Austin..." - from the boys, and giggling from the girls, and the sound of shuffling feet. Charlotte's heart jumped to her throat. The call was on speaker phone in Austin's end and the whole Huntington choir was there.
"Charlie!" Austin called from wherever he was standing, sounding immensely pleased with himself. "I -" Someone coughed at this, and Austin made an impatient noise, "I mean - we have something for you."
"What?" Charlotte almost laughed, unable to believe her ears.
"We hope you like it!" Mark said happily, and she could hear the smile from his voice.
She could hardly believe this. "What are you guys -?"
The music started. Charlotte listened, gripping the phone to her ear. The flash of recognition came when she recognized the strings, and the group began to sing.
I know this pain
Why do lock yourself up in these chains?
No one can change your life except for you
Don't ever let anyone step all over you
Just open your heart and your mind
Is it really fair to feel this way inside?
They were singing a modified group rendition of Wilson Phillips "Hold On." Charlotte tried to restrain herself from chuckling at the song choice. She could hear Austin's powerful voice soaring above the others, taking fine control, Evelyn's ardent vocals, Mark's pure tones, Kassie, Natasha, and Fiona lifting up their voices. Each girl had a turn at a solo line, and to her surprise, the boys supplied the backing vocals with Alex's notes holding clear distinction.
Some day somebody's gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know?
Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can you hold on for one more day
Things'll go your way
Hold on for one more day
Just like that, Charlotte could already find herself sitting on the stools in the choir room, watching as her friends stood in front of her, singing to her. She could practically see them smiling up affectionately at her, their voices enveloping her with a single clear message:
No matter what, after all they had been through, Charlotte and the choir had changed each other for good, and with hands held tight, they will be together, helping each other, in one way or another. Leaving did not mean forgetting, and it did not mean real parting. They all still had each other.
Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day,
If you hold on
Can you hold on
Hold on baby
Won't you tell me now
Hold on for one more day 'Cause
It's gonna go your way
Charlotte didn't know when she had started crying, but tears were flowing down her cheeks so much that she struggled to wipe them away. Assaulted by one hundred memories of each moment in the choir room - through the frustrating, through the bright - Charlotte clutched onto their support at this moment.
Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can't you change it this time
Make up your mind
Hold on
Hold on
Baby hold on
When the song faded away, with Austin and Kassie holding the last notes to fade and the strains quieting, Charlotte could barely speak, feeling as though her heart was liable to explode.
"Uh, you still there, Charlie?" she heard Andrew ask after nearly a minute of silence from her end.
Charlotte lifted her head, stifling a sob that she was sure they could hear (because the girls made soft exclamations of dismay), and finally managed to laugh to assuage their concerns. "You guys - what was that? You actually - you actually bypassed singing a Top 40 song?"
There was delighted laughter at the other end, sounding relieved. "We just put this together today... sort of behind Mr. Hayes' back since he wants all the focus on competition," Alex admitted, sounding sheepish. "Kind of a sudden thing."
"Whose idea was this?" Charlotte demanded, grinning from ear to ear. "Austin?"
"Actually it was all of us," Austin said, laughing a bit. "We wanted to do something for you, but Mark wanted to use a really cheesy song - because you'd never accept anything otherwise. We just wanted to let you know that we're all here for you, Charlie." A pause. "Oh, and don't you dare hold back during competitions! I don't want any of your punches pulled - bring it."
"Oh, it's on," Charlotte preened a bit, smirking. "Once I join them officially, you all can expect to be steamrolled. Please, you'll be crying all the way back to Huntington."
There was a scoff from the male soloist, but he sounded amused. There was a pause, then Mark said in a low, almost guilty tone, "Hey, Charlie. If anybody gives you problems, you tell me, all right? They don't mess with you, you got that?"
"Yeah," Austin agreed, as Alex and Justin chimed in similarly.
"Don't you try and back out now," Austin declared threateningly. "Don't you dare. We're expecting to see you on the other side. And..." his tone softened just slightly, "We're proud of you. I mean, we'll crush you for sure, of course, but we're proud of you."
Charlotte smiled. She remembered when Austin first asked her to duet with him, and felt that this was so much like that time, and it was their way of telling each other it was going to be okay. She figured that if Austin Conn would put this together, she had better not let any of them down.
"I wish I could sing you guys something back," Charlotte admitted. "Right now I can barely think of one."
"Come on, sure you can!" exclaimed Kassie. "Something! Anything!"
"Like Happy Birthday..." Fiona said softly. Charlotte heard her murmur to someone, possibly Natasha. "We're doing this because it's Charlie's birthday, right...?" And just received a sigh in answer.
"Uh, something you really really wanted to sing before that you couldn't," Mark suggested, possibly after a sidelong glance at Fiona.
But Charlotte could only think of one. She looked around, found she was still alone, and smiled. "Fine."
And she did.
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Hawthorne
Jun 8, 2014 1:37:17 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 8, 2014 1:37:17 GMT -5
Love it~
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Post by tonilous on Jun 8, 2014 2:55:49 GMT -5
"... and Damian says that she would make a fine addition," said a tall, beautiful woman in a well cut black blouse contrasted by a long long flowing skirt that flipped around her ankles as she walked, her footfalls echoing in the hall. She was carrying a sheaf of music, and her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a low, curly side ponytail, and she wore silver-rimmed glasses. "Huntington did win their choir competition last year and moved on to the next round."
"Hm..." the taller man with her, wearing a trim three-piece suit and wearing glasses rimmed in black, looked down at the student file in his hands. He scratched his head for a moment, pen resting between his fingers, and said, "She certainly seems promising enough... if she's from another club, then her repertoire should be expansive, but we'll see. Do the other students have any opinions, Arabele?"
Arabele Gregor shrugged gently. "They all seem quite curious. They don't know very much about her. I understand from Nathan that she's to board in Jefferson, though."
"Ah..." William Pentland now smiled both knowingly and almost affectionately, his brown eyes warm with understanding. "Another Jefferson student. If we draft this girl, the Adams members might start to protest favoritism." And he stopped abruptly, looking up.
"They won't if she earns it rightfully," Arabele said sensibly, looking down at her sheet music. "I honestly have no clue as to what this girl's range might be, that tape from last year is just about - What? Will, what is it?" She stared as the older man started urgently shushing her.
"Shh..." Will stood at the corner of the wall where two halls met, listening intently.
The hall where they stood was where the Pipers' Hall was and for a moment, Arabele thought that someone was playing music inside. But as she listened, she realized that the song she was hearing was pouring out from the adjoining hall where the open arches were.
And it was a voice the likes of which they had never heard in Hawthorne halls before.
I've heard it said, That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.The two music teachers looked at each other in surprise and peered into the next hall. A girl with a small build stood there, holding a phone to her ear, wet green eyes staring into the open sunlight of the garden, and that voice - that impossible voice! - was coming from her. She was singing a song from Wicked into the phone. And we are lead to those Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you. Arabele stood staring, fascinated, just vaguely wondering if it was one of those apparitions that Noel Montgomery kept going on about. Will looked down at the student file in his hands, then back up at the girl. Immediately, he began to smile and he stepped out into the hall.
-8-
"Are you Charlotte Summers?"
Charlotte nearly jumped a foot into the air, abruptly stopping mid-line, turning to the deep brown voice that suddenly called her by name. A male teacher stood there, smiling kindly in an unimposing way.
"Charlie?" asked Austin over the phone, worried. "What happened?"
Flustered, Charlotte stammered to the teacher, "Yes - I'm - I'm Charlotte Summers."
"Charlie, who are you talking to?" Mark asked out of the phone.
The teacher held up his hands as though to show Charlotte that it was okay. His every movement was quiet and calculated. He said clearly, for the benefit of those overhearing. "Ms. Summers, I think that song would go quite a lot better with some musical accompaniment... Won't you join me and Ms. Gregor into the Hall, so she may play it on the piano for you?" He gestured to the phone. "I'm sure whoever's listening to you would enjoy it better that way."
Charlotte stared, stunned by this completely unexpected reaction. She looked to the phone and back to the smiling teacher. Standing a little further away was a lady in elegant dress - that skirt had to be Valentino, said the fashionable part of her brain - and she was smiling as well.
"Say yes, Charlie," Fiona supplied helpfully, probably without being aware of what was happening.
Charlotte swallowed and nodded. "S-sure. Guys... give me a sec..."
-8-
"Oh man, I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees!" exclaimed Diana as she and the other Pipers came running down the corridor, headed to the Hall. "That's got to be a record, even for us."
"There's nothing Jefferson can't do if it's for one of their own," grinned Patrick, jogging next to her. "Well, even a one of their own to-be. But credit where credit is due..." he looked to the twins. "I had no idea we even had all that stuff in Jefferson.
"Wasn't exactly ours..." grinned Logan. "It may have been from last year..."
"Or before that..." Lucas considered.
"Or it could all be ancient," Logan shrugged.
"But they say there's charm in antiques!"
"Definitely."
"If Noel hears that you both took down things from the 'haunted' attic storeroom, he will maim and exorcise you two," Damian replied, "and I don't want to imagine in what order he would do so."
"Hey look," Patrick pulled the other students to a stop, pointing down the hall. "What's that all about?
There was a small crowd of Pipers around the doorway of their Hall, not actually entering. They were all crushed to the slightly opened doors, listening intently and not making a sound. They barely noticed as the other Pipers approached.
"What's going on?" Damian asked as they arrived, and in unison, all the students hissed or held out their hands to him in the universal, "Shut up!" gesture, listening.
"What is it?" Patrick asked, looking at them incredulously.
"Shh..." said Lucas, looking up.
"Listen..." Logan, being rather tall, was able to peer up higher from the door.
Like a comet pulled from orbit As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.Music was coming from the Hall, the sound of musical accompaniment to a song that was all too-familiar, yet no one had been capable to sing it. And yet as the music swelled, a voice rose from within the room, filling it with soaring notes and seeping out the door, causing them to stand transfixed. And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done,
You blamed me for.
But then,
I guess,
We know there's blame to share.
And none of it seems to matter anymore."Who is that?" hissed Patrick, staring. "We don't know," muttered one of the other Pipers. "When we got here, Gregor and Pentland were already in there with her." "Mm..." Lucas, on tiptoes, agreed from where he was peering into the room. "Yeah, I can see the jacket. It's definitely not a recording." Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good. As the music and the voice swelled further, Damian looked up in sheer realization, eyes widening and backing from the door like he was shot. "Whoa, I think - is that - ?"
"Guys! Guys!" hissed Logan, jumping up and down on his toes, wild with excitement. "It's Alice! It's Alice singing in there!"
"I thought you said her name was Charlotte? Who the heck is Alice?" demanded another Piper.
"No - not Alice," snapped Damian, pushing his way through the others to get a better look. "Charlotte! That's Charlotte Summers singing in there."
"No way! The new girl?" the students crowded further onto the door, their weight pushing the door open just a little bit more.
Will, from where he was standing by the side of the door from the inside, was most amused, watching the door creak further open as more students piled on their weight. As Diana's head popped into the room, he leaned down to the crowd and said calmly, "Would you like to come inside?"
The Pipers looked up in surprise at their choir director, who was smiling broadly at them. Embarrassed, the group straightened up, brushing down their jackets and feigning composure. They carefully opened the door, coming in and jostling each other for room.
From the far end of the room, Arabele was playing the piano, barely able to stop the grin on her face as Charlotte, her back turned to the others, continued to sing. She appeared happy to receive her obvious spoken praise, and was singing with everything she had, oblivious of the watching eyes. Lying on top of the piano was her iPhone.
As the song slowly faded out, a burst of happy applause came from the iPhone.
"You go, Charlie! Yeah!" hooting and whistles accompanied the clapping from the Huntington Choir.
Charlotte laughed in relief and pure joy, the likes of which she had not felt in a long time. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. She scooped up her phone and smiled to it. "... thanks, guys. And don't worry. I can take it from here."
A mix of happiness and confusion now came from the phone. "You were great! It was - geez, you guys, Haye's coming! - crap! - quick, put it away! - Charlie, you were great! - Mark, move, come on! - Hurry up! - We love you, Charlie! See you at competition! Bye! Bye, Charlie!"
"Bye," Charlotte laughed, hanging up. As she did, she heaved a great sigh of relief.
And the entire Pipers' Hall erupted into applause and cheering.
Charlotte whirled around with wide eyes to see the Pipers grinning and clapping at her. "Yes!" Diana yelled, grinning. "That was great!"
"I cannot believe that was you!" Patrick said, clapping while shaking his head in disbelief. The twins were clapping as well, the latecomer Pipers who had only managed to catch the last of the song applauding behind them.
Charlotte looked at them, shocked and somehow delighted. Her eyes locked on Damian's bright ones, and she smiled as Damian grinned at her, clapping with a knowing look, as though he knew all along that Charlotte would win the Pipers over.
Over the din, Will raised his voice to call for attention. "All right, all right now..." he was grinning at the members. "Settle down, settle down..."
"I must say, that was quite refreshing," said Arabele, shaking Charlotte's hand with a smile as the students now came further into the room, taking their places on the armchairs and divans. "There haven't been a lot of students that could hit that high D6 in Piper history, Ms. Summers - the last one was from twenty years ago. I was just about to stop hoping to be able to come across one with such a high range, much less one with a voice like yours."
"W-wait..." Charlotte looked from her to Will and back again, "Do you mean... this was my audition?"
"We would gladly like to hear another one, if it wasn't yet," quipped a girl from the back, earning laughing agreement from a majority of the group.
"Now, I don't think there's need for that..." Will smiled over at the group as he brought Charlotte, looking at the group in amazement, next to him. "Clearly you've heard Charlotte's capabilities..."
"Boy, did we!" said another boy - hoots followed, checked by the director's warning hand. Will continued, "Settle, settle. This is serious now." But his eyes sparkled. "We have to come to a vote. All those in favor of having Charlotte join us, raise a hand."
A forest of hands - the twins held up both of theirs - went up. Arabele laughed. "And as decreed by the group..." she looked at Charlotte and smiled. "Welcome to the Pipers, Ms. Summers."
And in a single cheering wave, the students ran from their seats and up to Charlotte, giving her pats and cuffs on the shoulders before draping all of their jackets on top of her, as was unofficial tradition. Charlotte, laughing harder than she'd done in weeks, could barely keep standing, both at the weight of their attentions and the clothing being heaped on her.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up to meet Damian's eyes again.
"Feeling better?" Damian asked her with a smirk.
She grinned. "You have no idea."
-8-
"It's a shame you can't sing a solo for the competition," said Diana, looking deeply disappointed as the group trooped back to Jefferson House. "But when Pentland sets down the song, it's down. It's etched in stone."
"I don't mind, really," Charlotte sighed, smiling as she clutched onto her bag strap. "I mean, the competition is in a week. It'll be a miracle if I learn how to do whatever military drill it is you do to have you all synchronizing perfectly with each other like that."
"Yes, fear Pentland," Patrick grinned.
"He seemed nice though," Charlotte said.
"Sure he is," Patrick agreed. "But he's led show choirs to Finals for years straight for a reason. Hawthorne booked him for us to launch as to Finals, too."
"But he'll definitely be thinking about giving you some spotlight," said Damian, nodding. "I mean... we've never had someone with that wide of a range before this. Possibilities are endless."
"Sure Damo," snickered Patrick. "For you they are. If Charlotte will stand out, you'll be the one who'll most likely end up singing with her." He shot him an added, and you like that idea... look.
Damian shot him back an I hate you look before looking at Charlotte with a grin that promised mischief. "Say Charlotte - you're definitely boarding at Jefferson, right?"
Puzzled, Charlotte nodded. "Yeah, that's what I told Burkhart, and I will. And besides, all of you there - someone needs to keep an eye on all of you." Then she sighed, "Getting my entire wardrobe to Hawthorne is going to be like Atlas carrying the globe. I suppose I could just take a few things... but I can't stand the thought of leaving Mom, Henry, and Alex with them. They probably don't even know which ones are meant to be dry-cleaned."
Damian looked as though he sympathized. But then he looked up and said, "Hey before you go for the day, come by Jefferson for a bit. Pick out which room you want."
"Now?" Charlotte blinked.
"No time like the present," Diana grinned and grabbed Charlotte's hand before Damian had the chance to. She pulled the newest Piper towards Jefferson, running, leaving a slightly scandalized Damian to follow after them, Patrick snickering as he did the same.
"What's this?" Diana laughed as she picked up an envelope on the floor. She looked at it and tutted. "Ugh, that time of year again." She passed it to Damian, who just sighed and scratched his head.
"What is?" asked Charlotte.
"Ah - the Fall Music Festival," Damian explained. "School event, like a talent show. Like most school events, the houses will be sending out their best. If a day student wins it, the day students get extra holidays or stuff. If a boarder wins, he or she and their entire house gets special privileges, like extra curfew hours and trips outside campus or whatever."
"Oh..." Charlotte blinked, looking at the envelope. "You all don't look happy."
"It's a Music Festival. All of the houses will be sending out their Pipers who stay there," Diana grimaced. "Add working that out to actual choir practice where the whole group performs for the whole school - it's a lot of work. That's while we're expecting exams and deadlines before Christmas break."
"I guess being rock stars have downsides," Charlotte flashed Damian a catty grin. It earned her a playful punch to the arm and Damian's arm around her shoulders again as they headed to the common room.
She barely had time to enjoy this as the moment they stepped in, the twins materialized in front of them, smiling their Cheshire grins once again.
"Hello, Alice!" they chirruped. "Congratulations on becoming a Piper."
"Uh, thanks?" Charlotte looked at them suspiciously - she did not trust those smiles, and the fact that Damian, Patrick, and Diana had the same ones.
"We have something to show you," said Lucas.
"And we're almost positive you'll like it," said Logan.
"I'm unarmed with Nerf guns, just so you know," Charlotte supplied.
The twins laughed. "No, no," said Lucas. "Nothing like that. Come with us."
"Come on," Patrick clipped Charlotte's elbow and followed the pair of blondes upstairs. With Damian's reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, Charlotte followed suit.
The dormitories looked surprisingly empty for this time of day, Charlotte wondered as she followed them up the stairs to the hallways where Damian's room was. In fact, they went right up to the room across Damian's and stopped at the door. "Here we are!"
"I get this room?" Charlotte asked, looking at them.
"You put it across mine?" Damian turned to his friends, seemingly baffled now. When they had made plans, he left them at it as he went to fetch some things needed - he did not take part in choosing the room.
"Call it a bargain," Diana whispered to him. "We'll be eternally grateful if you stopped trying to describe how amazing her eyes are, thanks."
Damian bit back his retort and turned back to the twins who now looked at Charlotte with affectionate smiles. "Welcome to Jefferson."
They threw open the doors.
Charlotte walked in and stared, gaping in shock. The old world finery of Jefferson was even more amplified now by the rich antique furnishings of the room. Charlotte's new room had been decked out in both old and contemporary style: the gilded frames held blown up posters of musicals and not canvas paintings, and the jet black sound system that was in the room was clearly modern, but all the furnishings were chosen in such a way that they did not disrupt the harmony of the old room.
Even the carpet and the bed were made of fine materials, and Charlotte had never in her life lain on sheets and pillowcases that had this kind of thread count. The cherry wood study desk was already fitted with a charming lamp,next to which were brand new glossy fashion magazines stacked nearly as tall as the lamp. The shelves held Charlotte's schoolbooks.
Logan followed Charlotte's gaze and said, "Sure, we had to break into your old school's locker to take them, but we promise we didn't touch anything else."
"You're ruining the mood," his twin admonished. He looked at Charlotte. "We also didn't notice that you have a photo of Damian. Is it some kind of code, by the way?"
Charlotte dropped her face into her hand, wanting the polished wood floor to open up and eat her. Damian just smiled and said, "Come on, everyone has photos of their friends on their lockers. I have a whole bunch of them on the board next to my desk."
"How come you never gave us single pictures of you, Damo?" Diana pretended to whine. She looked at Charlotte. "Can you photocopy that for us too, Charlotte?"
"That's enough from you," Damian made a face at her before asking Charlotte, "What do you think?"
"You guys... did all this..." Charlotte asked, looking around.
"Just a little thing from us," said Patrick, smiling. "Damian said you looked as though you had trouble earlier... and I guess the only way we could make you feel at home was to make you a little bit of one."
Charlotte looked at them, struggling with words. "I... I don't even know what to say."
"Your wide-eyed expression of pure shock is gratitude enough - we'll want to see it again," said Lucas. Logan pushed Damian onto him and added, "Now be a good little Alice and play with Damian while Lucas and I destroy Patrick and Diana in a game of Halo."
Charlotte and Damian collided and turned red, glancing away from each other. The twins looked pleased and trooped out with Patrick and Diana.
"We're leaving them together?" asked Diana.
"Sadly, I don't expect anything to happen," Patrick rolled his eyes. "At best, they'll end up in Damian's room watching some Disney on the widescreen before our gentleman takes 'Alice' home."
Diana rolled his eyes. But Patrick grinned, "Hey, on the bright side - we won't have to hear Damo playing Puppy Love on infinite loop anymore."
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Post by barbt on Jun 8, 2014 7:32:29 GMT -5
I am loving this! Got a lot of stress right now and the light-heartedness of this is really refereshing.
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Hawthorne
Jun 8, 2014 10:50:45 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 8, 2014 10:50:45 GMT -5
Ah, the song, the room, it's a great story all around
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Post by tonilous on Jun 9, 2014 0:42:34 GMT -5
Hawthorne Voices
The fact that she could seal up her life in a few boxes was somewhat depressing. At least her friends had been there. Patrick and Diana were looking for a reason, any reason to leave Advanced Chemistry and the twins never needed a reason, while Damian had steadfastly insisted on being there. Alex also insisted upon helping - bewildered as he was with the troop of blazer-clad students invading the Geraghty-Summers home - but seeing him lift and load the boxes that contained the mass of "essentials" that Charlotte apparently required to live only made the transition from home to boarding school all the more awkward. But the fact that Alex gave her an encouraging smile helped.
With that smile, Charlotte remembered them singing to her, and nodded back at her brand new stepbrother, as though assuring her she'd be all right.
Alex's whisper of "Seriously, what Mark said, all right? Don't forget to let us know what you're up to over there..." to her as she left just made her laugh.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're anxious to get rid of me," Charlotte had responded.
"What - no, dude, I mean - why would we -"
Charlotte let Alex flounder in confusion one last time before she grinned and told him she was joking, and that she'll visit on the weekends. She gave her parents a hug - her mom gave her a warm, affectionate one, already looking as though she would miss her dearly; Henry's hug was stronger, more solid, that asked if she would be fine. Charlotte nodded to him and without having to say anything, Henry knew his step-daughter would be all right for the time being. Then Charlotte was ready to go.
Alex had carefully watched each of the Pipers with Charlotte as they loaded things into Patrick's Hummer - "You're not trying to help, you're trying to show off," he'd told the twins when they suggested to take Charlotte's things using their personal limo - and noted how each of them behaved towards his stepsister.
His eyes lingered longer on Damian and Charlotte, which was why on the way to Northampton, Charlotte received a text message from Alex: You watch yourself out there - don't let any of them do anything funny.
Charlotte was confused, but when Damian saw the text over her shoulder, he understood and just smiled faintly to himself. He didn't need Alex's silent threat of death - as of yet, he had no intention of advancing on Charlotte no matter how much every inch of him screamed to.
He hoped he could hold out.
When they arrived back at Jefferson, Charlotte (who had been allowed one full day to settle in Hawthorne before resuming class) insisted on kicking the entire mass of students out -"You cut enough class yesterday, go back to class and stop digging through my wardrobe!" "We can't help it - it's so... amplified!" - so she had time alone.
When she placed the last coat into her closet, she pushed the whole mass to one side and held up her new set of uniforms. She gave the blazer a long look before sighing. Her mass of designer wear would be officially consigned to obscurity until the weekends. She thanks small mercies - at least she could still accessorize as within school limitations.
After the whirlwind of the past day - the classes, learning about Hawthorne, seeing Jefferson, meeting its mildly unhinged occupants, being sung to over the phone, auditioning for the Pipers and being drafted the same day, and being given her own room - Charlotte had run out of emotions and reactions.
She had no idea what happened, but all she remembered was that once she finally finished putting up the photos of her old friends onto her own cork board by the desk, she flopped down onto her downy bed, sinking into the ridiculously soft comforter the twins had given her, and promptly passed out...
... before she woke up - with the entire room black as the nightfall and freezing- to a strong hand covering her mouth and hands grabbing her wrists and ankles. Her sharp cry was stifled by the hands as she got dragged off the bed and into the darkness.
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
And I think... I am currently being kidnapped.
Yep.
... I totally did not see that one coming.
When she was unceremoniously dropped into what felt like earth and grass, the blindfold that got placed around her eyes finally got removed, and she found herself blinking and squinting as her eyes adjusted from totally darkness to the firelight.
And just as she had somehow expected, a mass of students (in interesting variations of sleep wear) were standing across her on the other side of a bonfire, grinning broadly. They all cheered when they saw her reaction.
"Charlotte Summers, you have officially been a Jefferson student for twenty-four hours!" chirruped Lucas far too perkily for the hour, wearing bright white pajamas.
"And because you have and therefore can no longer repeal you move, we have officially decided to initiate you!" Logan said happily, in pajamas that matched his brother's.
"You know my mother keeps telling me never to sleep without changing?" Diana said thoughtfully as she looked at Charlotte's day clothes which the shell-shocked girl was still wearing. "She says it's unsanitary."
"What the heck, guys?" Charlotte finally demanded, heart still thudding heavily in her chest as she stared at them, trying to catch her breath. "I thought I was going to die!"
"Sorry, we're sorry..." Damian moved forward to try and calm her. Even in Charlotte's fright-hazed state, she wondered why in blessed's sake Damian had to wear that - a short-sleeved cotton sleeping shirt that fit him far too well - and completely derail her train of thought. "It's just something we do to all the newcomers. Right, Noel?" Damian glanced back to the crowd.
Patrick snickered, "Noel was screaming all the way down to the grounds."
The pale boy, shorter than the rest of the crowd, gave him a highly-defined hand gesture before clutching back at one of the many medallions that hung from his neck. Patrick just shook his head, "He was convinced we were going to burn him at the stake."
Charlotte swallowed and turned away from the firelight in Damian's eyes and his adorably tousled hair. "Yeah. Fine. What's this... um, initiation?"
The twins, while deeply, deeply wishing that these two would hurry up and get a room soon, said, "It's your welcome party!"
There was a cheer from the students as they dragged out a massive cooler and a huge sack filled with snacks from the bushes. The bonfire crackled as soda cans popped open and goodies emerged, the students handing them out. Damian grinned at Charlotte. "We really didn't mean to frighten you."
"Yes, you did," Charlotte managed to smile.
"All right, maybe," Damian smirked, sitting next to her. "But for the record, I was against scaring you. I wasn't sure how your nerves were doing after Huntington. But it was tradition, so..."
"For Hawthorne or just for Jefferson?"
"Ah... just for Jefferson," Damian admitted. "The other houses usually hold day parties."
"Did they do it to you, too?"
"Yes, they did." Damian paused before giving Charlotte an adorable grin. "And unlike you, who relatively retained dignity, I put up a fight in my dorm room and ended up concussing Patrick with a lacrosse stick."
"I will still get you back for that," Patrick retorted from one side of the campfire. Damian laughed and added, "They had to turn all the lights on and hold the party in the clinic after that."
"Damo!" the twins called, gesturing wildly, calling for him to where they were huddled with Diana and some other students.
"Duty calls..." Damian rolled his eyes but he smiled charmingly at Charlotte, effectively ruining the last of the other girl's brain cells. "Be right back." He got up and went to the others.
Charlotte followed him as he went and watched him laugh. Then she had the overwhelming urge to smack herself. She was being ridiculous. Clearly Damian only saw her as a friend, and with her amazing record of being shot down by every seemingly perfect guy she'd gone for - Alex? Tom? - she was not quite prepared to handle rejection from Damian.
Friendship is good... Charlotte tried to tell herself. I mean, this is good for now. Sure, Alex ended up becoming my step-brother and Tom... well, I'm still on the fence with him, but he is with Natasha...but Damian is... amazing and we're actually close. And we get along so well... If I ruined this now...
"Hi Charlotte!"
She looked up as a small girl with a mass of downy strawberry-blonde curls sat down next to her, offering her a diet coke. The smaller girl looked like an older, awkward, version of a cherub out of a renaissance painting. Charlotte took the soda gratefully and the girl said, with a bright smile, "I'm Grace. I live a few doors down from you."
"Hey," Charlotte smiled, then blinked. She looked closely at Grace's attire. "... are those... the Dolce pajamas...?"
"Oh, you noticed?" she looked pleased. "Yeah, I really like them - they're comfortable and if I walk around in wearing these pants, no one notices. And I like your Chanel brooch." She pointed to the one on Charlotte's collar. "I used to have one, a different design of course, but you know pins are dangerous and I might jab my collarbone with one, so I settled for some Harry Winston cuff links - otherwise my uniform looks a bit plain. To me, anyway. Oh, that reminds me!"
She pulled out a velvet box, opened it, and took out a pin - a shield of royal blue crossed by a golden ray. She clipped it onto Charlotte's collar. "There," she said. "It's the Jefferson crest. You're one of us now. Isn't the pin nice? We had it customized at De Beers."
Charlotte stared with her mouth hanging open at her. Grace looked abashed. "Sorry, it's a habit. I talk too much, right?"
"No, I mean... thank you for this and... you... know your baubles," Charlotte said with a curious smile.
"Oh, that comes from hanging around my mom," Grace answered. She took a sip of soda and gave a small jerk of pain. "Ow! Man, I don't believe it; I've cut my lip again."
"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked when she saw her bleeding.
"I'm fine - always happens to me," Grace answered almost casually in spite of her obvious distress. She got up. "I'll go put something on this, see you in a bit!" And she hurried off. She passed Damian, who saw her and then looked to the other students, saying, "All right, who gave Grace a soda can? I told you people, just give her a juice box or something where she can't hurt herself!"
He sat down next to Charlotte and grinned. "What's with the fish face?"
"I think I found my new best friend!" Charlotte grinned.
"Grace?" Damian laughed. "Yes, I knew you two might get along... seeing as you both have this insane passion for fashion. Just... try to steer her away from anything sharp, pointy, or otherwise dangerous to meet infants. She's..." he glanced back to where Damian was and winced when the short girl tripped over a tree root and almost dived face-first, "... a little danger-prone."
"At least she looks good," Charlotte mumbled.
Damian nodded. "Yeah, she gets the fashion sense because she's Van Kamp's daughter and -"
Charlotte choked on her soda ungracefully. "Hilde Van Kamp? The fashion magazine editor?"
"That's the one. She's the only other person on campus I've seen with a wardrobe that looks remotely like yours. It's almost appalling." He looked at Charlotte's starry eyes and added with a smirk, "... and now you're in love with her?"
Charlotte playfully shoved him with a shoulder and laughed. "Well, I'm glad someone at least shares my uniform sentiments. Why, are you worried I'll fall in love with little Grace?"
"I don't know; I might get terribly jealous if you do," Damian said with a playful smirk that made Charlotte flush.
-8-
"For the sake of all our sanities, when are they going to get a move on?" Patrick grumbled as their small group watched Damian and Charlotte flirt without realizing they were being watched. "I think I'm going to hurl up my s'mores if they keep this up."
"I think they're really cute," Grace, with a piece of tape on her lip, grinned.
"It's took early, I think," Noel commented, looking a tad bit displeased at being away from the safety of his salt circle. "Charlotte just got here. Bringing whatever spirits and bad auras are tailing her from Huntington."
"Have you any idea how long we suffered through Damian's dramatic when she wasn't here?" Logan grumbled at him.
Lucas sighed. "I swear, getting our little Alice here was a relief. Of course we'll still have to suffer through Damo's daydreaming, but it's better than before..."
"I don't know, Damian didn't look that happy whenever he waits for a text from Summers before," remarked Noel. "Like he was waiting for the worst news - seemed relieved when everything was okay. And that Summers has a whole lot of some dark aura from back where she came from."
"Oh, we're seeing auras now?" Patrick said sarcastically.
"I'm serious! Why did she move here anyway? Do any of you know?"
Silence. Diana looked contemplative. "Damian didn't say... he didn't actually tell us much in between talking about how wonderful Charlotte was." She tolled her eyes.
"I always thought that he thought that Charlotte was adorable during her failed spying and just decided to... I don't know, go for her," Patrick remarked. "I don't know what was happening back when Damian kept disappearing to Huntington, but I just figured he was convincing her to switch schools so he may worship her at his leisure."
"There," Noel nodded with a maddeningly knowing look. "I knew it. I called it."
"Called what?"
"That Summers' been cursed. Cursed, I'm telling you. Back in her old town, she must have infuriated some ecto-secreting nightmare and now she's brought the curse to us. And she's got like...like... Damian under her spell." Noel flailed from under her flimsy black robe. "Under a spell. Like in Jennifer's Body or something. That was a creepy movie, man."
"Wha - Jennifer's - dude, you have got to lay off all that rock salt," Patrick narrowed his eyes at him.
"I'll agree with the spell part, I'll give you that," Diana smirked at the oblivious pair by the campfire. "Come on, they'll subtly flirt forever and get nowhere. Let's go annoy Damian and break it up."
The twins happily trooped after her and proceeded to throw themselves between the two and be gargantuan distractions, culminating in the twins grabbing Damian and Charlotte each and twirling them around in some crazed puppet form of a waltz that sent more than a few boys tumbling into the dead autumn leaves.
When the entire party eventually started pelting each other with half-toasted marshmallows - the twins pulling out twin marshmallow guns and rapid firing every student in their radius - the elderly groundskeeper, Mr. Terry arrived. The students, with Charlotte in tow, fled like mad back to the dorm before any of them could come within reach of his cane - or worse, his eyesight - and would earn them a whole new round of sanctions from House head Burkhart.
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Hawthorne
Jun 9, 2014 1:53:59 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 9, 2014 1:53:59 GMT -5
So funny. I love this story
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Post by tonilous on Jun 9, 2014 23:57:16 GMT -5
That party had gone on late, and everyone in Jefferson ended up sleeping far later than was advisable for people who had school the next day. Charlotte was sure, as she fell back to sleep, that she would never get up, but she woke up the next morning to someone screaming the whole dorm down from the foyer. Someone female, who was extremely unhappy.
"—AND I KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE, PATRICK! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! GET DOWN THIS MINUTE OR I'LL—!"
Blearily, she poked her head out the door to see Damian doing the same from across the hall, eyes still heavy with sleep and looking truly annoyed. The screaming downstairs persisted, more students down the hall started to peer out.
Damian walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes, and pounded on Patrick's and Louis' room. "PATRICK. Patrick, open the door!" After a groan of disgust from the other side, Louis did open the door, and he looked unlike his usual trim self and he also looked exasperated. Damian grumbled, "Wake Patrick and tell him Tabitha's here before the rest of us hurl her out."
"He's got a hangover," Louis muttered, gesturing tiredly to the other bed in the room.
Patrick was buried under one ridiculously over-sized pillow, which was so thick that it probably was why he could not hear the screaming. Grumbling was starting to come from the other students, complaints rising. Damian narrowed his eyes at the prostrate figure on the bed. "Right. I'll wake him…you get her to be quiet."
"I thought they already broke up last week…?" Louis complained, rubbing his face and clearly not relishing the assignment.
"They did. But it seems she's only found out now."
"—I SWEAR YOU AND I ARE GOING TO TALK WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! PATRICK!—"
"I'll get her to be quiet," Charlotte suddenly said, tightening the cord of her robe and flouncing down the halls, dark rims under her eyes.
"Whoa! Whoa!" overhearing, the twins bolted down the hall and went running to stop her, barring her way and holding out their hands. "Wait! Hold it, Alice—don't be a hero! Tabitha, she—she's crazy! Absolutely psycho!"
"I have to live with you two, how crazy can she be?" Charlotte snapped as she moved past them.
Lucas turned to his brother with wide eyes. "Ouch."
"But true," Logan admitted with a smirk.
Then they realized Charlotte was still headed downstairs and quickly chased after her. Noel was hanging over the banisters that looked down to the foyer, holding a medallion up defensively to combat the wrath of the furious girl in the black leggings, ugg boots, sweater and vest downstairs. She was strikingly beautiful, with perfectly tanned skin, and floods of wavy brown hair coming out of her beanie. But she looked furious, screaming and stamping her feet.
Charlotte passed him as he headed down the stairs—the twins hurtling after her —and Noel followed, alarmed, hand cocked on the trigger of his holy water sprayer. He was sensing some serious dark aura coming out of Charlotte right now.
"PATRICK JONATHAN HUGHES, YOU COME DOWN RIGHT THIS MINUTE OR I'LL—!" and she then unleashed an earsplitting scream at an impossibly shrill pitch that could have brought the entrance hall chandelier crashing down right on her head. The twins and Noel winced at this performance, their nails scraping at the wooden banisters as the scream lasted a full ten seconds.
Charlotte did not bat an eye from where she stood, looking truly malevolent.
Tabitha, breathing hard with her exertion, finally noticed the petite girl by the stairs and glowered. "What are you looking at?" And she turned back upstairs and screamed, "PATRICK! DOWNSTAIRS, NOW!"
"All right, that's it!" Charlotte finally screamed.
Tabitha looked at her and pointed a perfectly manicured finger. "Stay out of this!"
"All right, look you little spoiled last season Prada princess," Charlotte strode right up to her, swatting her hand away and eyes blazing. "I have had just about e-freaking-nough of your banshee screaming this early in the morning! Were you raised in a barn? I have met troglodytes with more social capacity than you! Now you listen here—"
She advanced at shell-shocked Tabitha who was rendered speechless by her rage, and she jabbed a finger at her chest, "—I have been hurled around, stripped of my designer clothes, stuffed into a uniform, thrown a week's worth of homework in a single day, kidnapped in the dead of night, pelted with half-roasted marshmallows, have had just three hours of sleep, and I have not even done my moisturizing regime! You will calm your iron-fried hair down, you will patiently wait for Patrick to come downstairs, you will be quiet, and you will stop screaming with your nails-on-a-chalkboard voice before you break my perfect pitch hearing and that of every Piper in this House! Do you understand?"
Utter silence in the entire house.
Tabitha gaped at her, mouth open with no sound coming out. The twins and Noel, already on the landing, were paralyzed in shock. From the mezzanine, the students of Jefferson were staring in varying degrees of amazement and utter fear. Charlotte, breathing hard, now turned her heel and strode towards the common room, past the three boys on the landing. Noel quickly stumbled backwards onto the twins, turning his defensive medallion against Charlotte in terror.
The twins scrambled after Charlotte, who was holding a hand to her temple. "Are you…okay…?" Lucas asked in a soft, frightened whisper.
Charlotte, who had stopped in the middle of the area, groaned silently as she leaned her head into her hand, face flushed. "…I need coffee. Lots and lots of coffee, please."
Logan ran past her immediately to go get it from the kitchen.
"Tabitha!" Patrick gasped from the top of the stairs, running down and his robe haphazardly tied on him. He ran to the girl on the foyer who was still staring, white as a sheet, at Charlotte. "Baby, what are you doing here? Geez, I told you you can't come in the dorm—go, just go, okay? Come on—"
"She—she—she just—!" Tabitha managed to say shakily, pointing at Charlotte.
"Yes, yes I know—and if you value your life, you will never ever do this again…" said Patrick in a low tone, steering her away and towards the door as Diana clutched onto one of the banisters, entire body shaking in repressed peals of laughter.
Damian watched the two go before cautiously going up to Charlotte as Logan gingerly handed her the coffee, making sure not to touch her as he did so. The drink might have been searing hot but Charlotte took two long sips and groaned in relief. "Well that was…was…uh, effective."
Damian stared. "Are you okay?"
"…what in the name of Marc Jacobs just happened?" Charlotte murmured, disoriented, closing her eyes.
"…you slew the Jabberwocky?" Lucas suggested, eyes wide.
"You scared Tabitha Williams out of Jefferson," Damian supplied with a faint smile. "Hopefully for good. But her on-off relationship with Patrick might say otherwise. This happens about once a month."
Charlotte just moaned again in reply, taking another inhale of coffee and almost draining it. "…I've barely been here a week and I'm already turning into one of you…" she fell and slumped completely against Damian who put his arms around her and made soothing sounds.
Before he could lead Charlotte to sit down, Noel grabbed his arm and pleaded in a whisper to him, "…please don't ever make her angry, Damo. I'm scared. I—I don't think I can exorcise that."
"Duly noted," Damian said, trying hard not to smile as he went to go sit with Charlotte on the couch.
-8-
"I am so so sorry about this morning," Patrick apologized repeatedly as he caught up to Charlotte during lunch period. "I swear, she's not all that bad—"
"You are not helping your case," Damian remarked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"Fine, she can be a little demented, but she's still—"
"It's fine, Patrick," Charlotte murmured, waving it away and trying to concentrate on her notes for Theoretical Physics. "I can barely even remember what I said or did—my brain sort of shut off on me and then went on autopilot. I guess I'm sorry for yelling at your…uh…what is she now?"
"Still my ex," Patrick said with a deep sigh. "On the upside, you reading her the riot act made our talk outside a whole lot less ugly than it might have been."
"Cheer up, buddy," Diana put an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "Your ex was the original pain in the butt anyway. You'll live. And world war three doesn't have to happen as long as Tabitha stays far away from Charlotte." She laughed. "Noel said that if Charlotte had died with all that rage right then, Jefferson would totally become the next house on The Grudge."
Charlotte groaned, embarrassed. "I don't want to talk about this—I don't know what came over me."
"Kind of impressive, actually," Damian smiled at her playfully. "I didn't know you could be that forceful. And I'll remember to supply you with coffee immediately on your bad days."
Charlotte flushed and just ducked back down on her notes, trying to memorize the formula and forcing herself to stop enjoying Damian's arm brushing against hers.
"Hey Charlotte!" called some of the students as they passed by. "Congratulations on making it into the Pipers!"
Surprised and pleased, Charlotte smiled as she received their greetings, handshakes, high-fives and pats on the shoulder. It was only now that she realized what Damian meant about the Pipers being rock stars—everyone in the hall seemed to know who she was. It was rather surprising.
Damian watched Charlotte marveling at all the attention and smiled to himself. The school seemed to be warming up to her well enough. Students would openly stop and chat with her in the halls, ask her questions about school and Pipers, or even just to say hi. He could tell Charlotte wasn't used to this kind of attention, but it seemed to make her transition easier.
"That reminds me," Charlotte said, looking up. "I'm supposed to get my own copy of our set list for competition and the sheet music for the other songs you guys are working on."
"Gregor said she'll leave your folio in the Hall," Damian answered. He looked around and saw that they were passing by the corridor leading to the Hall. "Want to go grab it before going to the cafeteria?"
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up," Charlotte replied, hurrying down the corridor, elated.
Patrick laughed as he watched her go. "She's enthusiastic, I'll give her that."
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Hawthorne
Jun 10, 2014 0:28:09 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 10, 2014 0:28:09 GMT -5
I applaud her. Good show! Haha
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Post by tonilous on Jun 10, 2014 12:23:41 GMT -5
Hi, the author here again. :)
I just wanted to let you know that I won't be updating this story again until the late of tomorrow, as is the same with my other stories. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this installment.
Take care! Charlotte hurried to the Pipers' Hall and quietly opened the door. Somewhat familiar music greeted her as she entered, coming from the piano.
There was a handsome boy sitting at the piano, fingers moving smoothly and easily over the keys, playing a melodious harmony. With a captivating color in his voice, he was vocalizing along with it casually. "…I realize…it was only just a dream…oh…"
Charlotte stared in spite of herself. The long-legged Adonis on the piano bench was playing on, seemingly not to notice her.
"I open my eyes…it was only just a dream…"
And as he turned his head, he saw Charlotte. Paralyzed by the pale hazel eyes that now looked at her in surprise, Charlotte stammered with an awkward gesture, "I—sorry, I didn't mean to run in."
But the boy just smiled and gestured her in. "It's fine. I was just trying it out anyway."
It was Charlotte's turn to smile, relaxing. She walked up to him, dropping her bag down on one of the chairs as she did. "Are you a Piper too?"
"That I am," he answered, looking up as Charlotte stepped into the light of the windows. He gazed at her with an appreciative eye and a smile. "And you are, of course, our new member." His smile widened as he extended a hand. "I'm Darren Wright."
"Charlotte," Charlotte breathed as she shook hands with him. Darren was unsettlingly good looking. His fine blond hair was styled back and his eyes were intensely piercing as they seemed to appraise her. "Charlotte Summers."
"I know." Darren laughed. "I saw you and heard you sing yesterday. There was no way Pentland wouldn't adopt you. You're something else." It was one thing to find herself in a school where everyone was friendly and liked her, but Charlotte had never experienced being with a boy who openly gazed admiringly at her without even trying to hide it. She felt herself color up in spite of himself, feeling awkward.
"Jefferson?" Darren asked, gesturing to the pin on Charlotte's lapel.
"Yeah." Charlotte looked and saw that Darren had a pin too—but it was a red shield with two crossed white rays.
Darren saw her looking at it and grinned. "Adams," he explained.
"Ah," Charlotte nodded with a smile.
"What brought you here?"
"Ms. Gregor said that my folio—" she stopped as Darren immediately held out a black and blue music folio with another devastating smile. It all started to make Charlotte feel a little uncomfortable. She took it from him. "Thanks…"
"Saw it on the piano when I sat here."
Charlotte looked at him curiously. "You just come in here and play?"
"Like I said—I was trying out a song, maybe for the Fall Music Festival," Darren's hands ghosted over the keys again, playing that same harmony. He trailed it softly with his own voice moving up the scales.
He really had a voice, Charlotte had to give him that. "You're going to sing Just a Dream?"
Now Darren looked immensely pleased. "The Sam Tsui version? Yes. Didn't expect you to know that, though."
"I go to Youtube too, you know," Charlotte smirked.
Darren smirked. "You sang and grand-slammed "For Good" for your audition. I wasn't expecting his music to be your style."
"I like him. He's good."
"Then help me out a bit?" Darren looked almost embarrassed. He held out a lyric sheet to her. "I was thinking of doing that song, but I wasn't sure how I'd sound."
Charlotte, surprised, looked down at the sheet now in her hand and looked back to him. "…you need a duet partner for this. To sing Christina Grimmie's part."
"That's why I was thinking of nixing it," Darren admitted. "Heck, I don't even know if I could sing it." He prodded a few keys.
Charlotte watched him and then carefully said, "Well…you know you sounded really good. For practice."
"Really." Darren looked amused. Charlotte still wasn't sure if she was comfortable about the way Darren just seemed to look at her like he was trying to see through her. But the smile was friendly. "Want to sing it with me?" He straightened up and put his hands on the keys, starting the opening melody. "Just the first part. I just need someone to harmonize with me. If I totally suck, feel free to stop me at any time and throw the sheets in my face."
Charlotte laughed, but stopped when she realized that he was serious. Darren played well, with barely any effort, on the piano. Charlotte shifted a little. "I haven't really tried this kind of song before…"
"Wing it," Darren shrugged carelessly with a lazy smile. "What's wrong with doing something a little different?" It made sense, and Charlotte smiled a little.
The taller boy glanced at her. "You don't mind singing Christina's part?"
"Not much of a choice there," Charlotte made a bit of a face at him, and Darren laughed.
Darren eyed her as he played, and began to sing.
I was thinkin about you, thinkin about me. Thinkin about us what we gonna be?
Open my eyes…
Charlotte was stunned in spite of herself. Darren's vocal sounded even better when he really meant to sing and not just practice tentatively. She almost forgot her place, but joined in. "…it was only just a dream." At Darren's encouraging nod, body swaying slightly to the beat, Charlotte took up the line.
I travel back, down that road.
Will you come back? No one knows.
I realize, it was only just a dream…
In spite of it not being her usual style, she found herself moving along to the music and getting into it. Darren smiled and sang again—his voice sure and seamless to the music:
I was at the top and I was like I'm in the basement.
Number one spot and now you found your own replacement.
I swear now that I can't take it, knowing somebody's got my baby.
He's…really good, Charlotte marveled. And the song was the type of music that suited his kind of voice. Darren leaned to her as he sang, singing to her, his body grooving a little bit to the music.
And now you ain't around, baby I can't think.
I shoulda put it down. Shoulda got that ring.
'Cause I can still feel it in the air.
See your pretty face run my fingers through your hair.
My lover, my life. My baby, my wife.
You left me, I'm tied.
'Cause I know that it just ain't right…
Charlotte rejoined him now, their voices harmonizing for the chorus.
I was thinkin about you, thinkin about me.
Thinkin about us, what we gonna be?
Open my eyes; it was only just a dream.
So I travel back, down that road.
Will you come back? No one knows.
I realize, it was only just a dream…
Darren let the music trail away, throwing in a couple of soft adlibs before letting silence take over. His hands came to rest on the keyboard, and he looked up at Charlotte with a strange smile. It was the kind Charlotte had seen once before—on Alex when Natasha sang "The Only Exception" to him. And she didn't know what to make of it.
"So much for not being your style," Darren teased. "You're not so bad at it yourself."
"I still don't think it fits me all that much, but…it was all right," Charlotte shrugged, avoiding Darren's pale hazel gaze.
"Oh really…" Darren leaned forward a bit, amused.
The door to the Hall practically slammed open.
The two looked up to see five students standing there. Patrick had been the one to open that door, hand still resting on it. Diana stood at the other side, arms akimbo. Damian stood in the middle of them up front, with Logan and Lucas behind him.
All of the them had some form of smile on their face, but Charlotte saw something hard behind the smiles. Damian's was almost a smirk, and a cold one. "Hello, Darren."
"Hello, Damian," Darren's smile was cool and composed.
"Charlotte," Damian said with a gentler smile to the somewhat startled girl, "We better get some lunch in you before your Physics class—you'll want it."
"Right," Charlotte laughed, feeling rather relieved. She picked up her folio and her bag and looked at Darren with a brief smile. "Thanks again."
"No…thank you." Darren smiled kindly. "I don't think I'll use the song, but it was good. For practice."
"Let's go, Charlotte," Diana said, with an edge to her voice that Charlotte had never heard before, and so slight that she thought she was imagining it. Diana didn't even look at her as she said this, she was looking intently at Darren.
Damian took Charlotte's hand and led her out. Damian's touch was warm and gentle as ever, and Charlotte wondered if the expressions on their faces earlier were just tricks of the light. It was Patrick who closed the door and as they walked down the hall, he said with too much enthusiasm, "So! Lunch?"
"Yeah," Charlotte nodded. She eyed her fellow Jeffersons. "…are you guys alright?"
"Absolutely," Damian replied, smiling at her.
Charlotte blushed. She now understood the difference between Damian's smile and Darren's. Darren's smile was the kind that hit you full force and looked like an airbrushed magazine ad. Damian's smile on the other hand…was just his own —and perfect.
Charlotte tightened her hold on his hand and smiled back. "…glad you came when you did."
"Sure…" Damian nodded, looking back ahead. He didn't want to tell Charlotte how relieved he was to hear that.
-8-
From Pipers' Hall, Darren leaned on the spot where Charlotte had been resting against the piano. He was looking out the window, deep in thought.
Presently, a voice sounded at the door. A boy carrying a satchel was leaning there. He was shorter than Darren, but his body looked lean and strong, like an athlete. On his lapel was a red shield crossed with white rays.
"First time I've heard you sing with anyone in a long time."
Darren smiled without turning. "I know… I got too interested."
"The Jefferson guys didn't look happy," said the other boy coolly. "Especially Damian. I thought he was going to throw a fit when I saw them listening in on you two."
"Really." Darren said, looking out the window to the faraway trees in the field that reminded him of Charlotte's eye color. "…that's so interesting."
And Grace, who had been passing by, heard all of this, marked it, and fled down the hall.
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Hawthorne
Jun 10, 2014 16:41:53 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 10, 2014 16:41:53 GMT -5
Ahhhhh no.
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