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Post by tonilous on Jun 11, 2014 15:00:16 GMT -5
Hawthorne Crossed Swords
For the first time since she moved to Jefferson, Charlotte woke one morning to her actual alarm clock and not for any mad reason - and it felt fantastic. She yawned and shoved off the comforter and sat up in bed, blinking into the early light. Speckles of dust glimmered through the sunbeams that filtered through the windows. She sighed and rubbed her face, then got up and turned to her room properly...
... to heave a deep, exasperated sigh.
Like yesterday, her room was, once again, overrun by what must be dozens and dozens of coffee cups resting on top of every surface - from mugs and teacups to thermos cups and Styrofoam ones.
Charlotte glowered at the mess of it all (which took forever to get rid of yesterday) then turned to her closed door and called, "You guys can stop doing this every morning!"
There was an eruption of barely restrained chortling and snickering from the other side of the door as the mass of Jefferson students immediately fled for their lives, running to their respective rooms, feet pounding on the wood floors and slamming of doors echoing down the hall.
Charlotte glared at them and turned back to the mess.She looked to her bedside table and saw that, like yesterday, one particularly dainty latte cup was sitting there with a post-it (while all others remained unidentified).
Look at it this way: we clearly must really like you. - DTorn between wanting to laugh and wanting to strangle the sender, Charlotte just smiled and scooped up the coffee cup, determined to find a lock for her doors that the twins couldn't possibly crack.
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
After a few days, I did end up getting a bit more used to the strange things inside Jefferson. They all mean well, but they're also clearly insane.
I've also started to get used to the daily grind at Hawthorne. But somehow I still have this feeling that I've only scratched the surface, and that there was something more I should be aware of.
Today was Friday and everyone was looking forward to going home for the weekend - except for the Pipers. With competition scheduled on Tuesday, Mr. Pentland decreed that each and every Piper was to stay in campus for rehearsal over the weekend. As much as Charlotte wanted to return home, she knew she had to stay as she only had this little time to be ready for competition. And besides, Austin's texts told her that there was trouble in paradise (as usual) back in Huntington. At best, she should stay out of the crossfire for now. "A whole weekend of practice," Patrick groaned, leaning against the wall as he, Diana, and Damian waited for Charlotte to get out of Art History. "That should be fun." "What else are you going to do all weekend? Marathon Mythbusters for the fifteenth time?" Diana raised an eyebrow. "And it's not like you've got to look after Tabitha this weekend." "I miss Tabitha," Patrick admitted. Diana stared. "WHY?" "She's never boring, at least." "Patrick, you'll be stuck all weekend with us, including the twins, inside Jefferson," Damian raised an eyebrow, looking up from his Blackberry. "I would hardly think that a group of cabin-fevered Pipers will be boring all weekend." " You'll be boring," Patrick protested. "You'll just be looking to flirt and rehearse-" air quotation marks, "- with Charlotte all weekend." An Earth Sciences book hit his face in the next instant. Diana considered. "May have a point there." "I hate you both." "You might want to think about doing something," Patrick reminded him. "I can pretty much see a bright red laser dot on Charlotte coming from Darren's sniper rifle. I mean did you see the way Darren was looking at her yesterday? He looked like he wanted to grab her or something." "Don't remind me," Damian said, expression changing for only a brief instant. "I've already planned on doing... something." Diana blinked in surprise. "So you do have plans to flirt with Charlotte? Seduce? Throw her in your room and perform a song so loudly to the point that it will have the entire dorm evacuated within fourteen seconds?" "Why are we evacuating the dorm?" asked Charlotte as she now came out of the classroom. Damian, deep scarlet, jumped up and subtly proceeded to crush Diana's foot with his heel as he did so. "Nothing. Well, I just thought that since you wouldn't want to be stuck in there with the twins while they have cabin fever, you can watch the fencing meet later after class." "Dang it, Damian - I think you just hacked off my big toe!" Diana howled, hopping on one foot. "She needs her toes to dance for competition, Damo..." Patrick warned. Charlotte looked in confusion at the two and then back to Damian, who was giving them a " would you be quiet" look. He lead Charlotte away. "What's wrong with her foot and what fencing meet?" Charlotte asked him. "We're playing host to a fencing meet with St. Patrick's Academy later today," Damian answered. "It's the only thing happening in school other than choir practice. ...And there's nothing wrong with Diana's foot, she's overreacting." "Over reacting?" Diana demanded, aghast, having somehow taken off her shoes and sock as they stopped in the hall. "The nail's turning gross!" Charlotte found it all highly entertaining, especially since it was Diana, who was usually a little primmer in appearance, and had to stifle a burp of laughter. Diana just made a face at her and Damian and sat down on a nearby cushioned bench, putting her sock and shoe back on as she mumbled about "repressed hormones" or something like it. Charlotte glanced away for a moment, trying to stop shaking with laughter, and though she spotted a familiar face at the other end of the corridor. She was right - along with a small band of Adams, Darren was walking into another corridor and met her eyes just for a brief moment. The taller boy smiled briefly before he disappeared. Turning back to the other three, she tried to stop her pounding chest, swallowing hard. She didn't know if it was just her imagination all over again, but she felt as though she had been seeing an awful lot of Darren in the halls in the past few days. Or maybe he had simply always been around, she only noticed now as she'd actually met him. It was starting to get somewhat unnerving. The other three didn't notice a thing. Patrick rolled his eyes and look to Charlotte. "Look, whatever- go to the meet and cheer for Damian, Charlotte, that's what he's asking you." Now Charlotte stared in surprise. "You fence...?" "A little," Damian coughed. "You don't have to cheer. I just thought you might want to go if you've got nothing else to do before choir practice." "Of course I'll go," Charlotte grinned, in spite of the fact that she had about a million miles of homework to get to. "I want to see you. And besides, I heard that school sports meets allow students to come in casual clothing." She of course did not add that she wanted to see Damian in one of those fencing suits. "Great," Damian smiled. "Looking forward to it." Diana and Patrick looked at each other with knowing expressions, smirking. -8- It wasn't often that the twins separated from their usual compatriots, but when they did it was usually for a good reason. Sitting in the cafeteria, they both looked at Grace, concerned. "Say that again?" Logan said, tilting his head. "I don't know, it just... it didn't sound really nice," Grace said uncomfortably, holding a hot cup of chai in her hands. "I'm probably overthinking. But you know as well as I do that Darren... he's not that much of a team player. And he gets his way." "Of course we know," Lucas muttered. "They didn't actually say anything about Charlotte? Darren and Derek?" Logan prompted. "Just... that Derek said he hadn't heard Darren sing with anyone - suppose he meant just one person - in a long time. And that Darren said he was "too interested"." Grace looked up and flailed somewhat. "I just thought the way they said it was worrisome." The twins looked at each other, then back to Grace. "Anything else?" "Not really," Grace sighed. "I'm just really worried." She paused and added, "I mean, Damian really likes Charlotte, right? And Darren... he... I just thought that he might be trying to ruin that." She fidgeted. "But I'm not sure. Don't quote me. Whatever." "We did see Darren watching Charlotte and Damian during Pipers' meetings," Lucas murmured, but Logan shook his head and continued for him, "... but it might be that he just really does like our little Alice, and nothing personal about Damian at all." "Pfft. Right. Sure." "But I wouldn't want to try and figure out what goes on in his head." "Of course you don't." "Who would?" "Must be like walking into an HP Lovecraft novel." Grace flailed. "Guys!" The twins looked at her. Grace hesitated for one moment, and then blurted out, "There's something else." They looked at her expectantly. Grace ducked her head and whispered, "...Derek... said that he saw how.... upset you guys looked when you saw them in the room together. And Darren... said that was interesting." The twins slowly leaned back. "Well..." "That's..." "...rather different." A pair of odd twin smiles appeared. Grace looked up quickly. "Please don't tell Damian, Diana, and Patrick. I saw the looks on your faces when they came out of the room with you two and Charlotte. We can't have problems now, I mean, we're almost to competition and we need everybody - and everybody includes Darren and Derek. I told you, I'm just telling you what I heard, I don't know anything. I just thought it was something to be cautious about!" "You know the problem with nice people is that you can't tell whether one of them has a temper or not..." Lucas began. "...and I'm not sure where to classify Damian in that," Logan nodded. "They'll be fencing on the team together later, though," Grace said thoughtfully. "Perfect." The twins now smiled at Grace. "Keep Alice busy, little Dormouse - keep her away from our dear Rabbit and that tart-stealer until the meet. We'll be doing a little field research in the meantime."
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Hawthorne
Jun 11, 2014 17:37:41 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 11, 2014 17:37:41 GMT -5
Oh, dear. This looks like trouble. Haha
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Hawthorne
Jun 12, 2014 17:26:21 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by daisyfields on Jun 12, 2014 17:26:21 GMT -5
I would love to see what happens next!
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Post by tonilous on Jun 14, 2014 2:05:07 GMT -5
All right, universe, you can take it back now, Charlotte thought inwardly as she returned, alone, to Jefferson carrying a bulging satchel full of homework. Challenging is great, but not this challenging! There were too many things now to worry about, homework being a major one. If she didn't keep up her academics, it would be doing disservice to the fact that her parents did sacrifice their entire honeymoon just to send her here.
She was just about to start on her arts assignment when the knock came. She got up, opened the door and saw Grace standing there with a nice hopeful smile. "Hi, Alice—I mean Charlotte." She laughed.
"You've been hanging out with the twins, I'm sure," Charlotte smiled. "Come in."
Grace came in, holding a box in her hands, looking around. "Your room's a normal one… Mine is the only odd one, I suppose. All that padding, and I can't have a roommate." She laughed embarrassingly. "And Noel's room too. A whole lot of creepy things. I don't know how his roommate manages it."
"I kind of like your room," Charlotte remarked, smiling as she remembered the white softness of everything in Grace's room. "It's incredibly plush. And heaven forbid anyone spill anything into it. Getting stains out of that gorgeous sofa must be a pain."
"Speaking of spills, all the coffee is still here?" Grace chortled as she saw the cups everywhere—a few having been emptied. Charlotte rolled eyes. "It was one outburst, it's not going to happen again."
"And we're just making sure of that!" Grace exclaimed with a grin. She laughed and thrust the box to Charlotte's hands. "Here. A welcome present from me."
"Oh…" Charlotte looked stunned. "You didn't have to…" But Grace, after checking the sofa carefully for foreign things, plopped down into it and gestured for her to open it.
Charlotte undid the ribbon, and it revealed the maker's imprint on the box. Her eyes widened to their full limit and she tore the box lid off to lift out a soft Hermés stole in printed cashmere. "Oh…" she stared, at a loss for words.
"Do you like it?" Grace said, a bit worried.
"Are you insane—this is amazing!" Charlotte hugged the stole and then hugged Grace for good measure. Owing to the financial situation back in Huntington, she had never actually been gifted anything quite so luxurious. "Thank you, thank you!"
Grace burst out laughing and hugged back. "Don't be ridiculous—I'm relieved you like it. You realize you're the first person other than Damian to have that kind of reaction out of everyone I've given welcome gifts to?" She looked at Charlotte seriously. "When Noel came here, I gave him a Versace belt. He's currently using its notches as places to hang mini glow-in-the-dark skeletons over his bed."
Charlotte burst out laughing in amazement and horror. Grace smiled. "So you're watching Damian today, right?" Her smile broadened as she observed Charlotte's instant slight reddening. "Have you figured out what to wear yet?"
Charlotte, busy trying on the stole, gestured to her closet door where an outfit was hanging. Grace considered it with an expert's gaze. "…hmm…it's nice…"
"But…?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"The pants are good but the top… You could do much better. Especially since it's for Damian?" Grace grinned. Before a deep scarlet Charlotte could even protest, Grace was running to her closet and started looking through it. She tutted soundly, and Charlotte protested, "It's all I could bring from my stuff at home!"
"An impressive collection, but it really won't do!" Grace struggled in mini-panic for a moment after getting snagged on a dry-cleaning bag, but popped out safely with tousled curls and plastic shreds in her hair before Charlotte could help her. She was grinning. "Mom sends me things every week. Would you object to rooting through my closet?"
Charlotte's astonished expression was all she needed.
-8-
"Where's Damian?" Patrick muttered sideways to Diana, who was working on a project proposal in the common room. Without looking up, Diana answered, "Already off to the gymnasium. Why?"
Patrick's expression was dark, watching blazer-wearing students with red shields approaching from the outside. "We're being invaded by Adams."
"Whoa!" Diana threw off her book and leapt up, joining Patrick in running to the foyer. From the upper banisters, Noel looked down, yelling, "I sense evil!"
"You sure do," Diana muttered. "Where are the twins and their paintball guns when you need them…?" She arrived at the door and opened it just as the three Adams students were beginning to knock. Diana frowned. "Hello, Derek."
"Hello, Diana," smiled the tall boy, the athlete from the Pipers' Hall. "We were wondering where Summers was."
Patrick stepped up next to Diana. "Upstairs, in her room. Why?"
"Darren wanted us to give her this," he held out a plain brown envelope.
"What's in this that you need a color guard with you?" asked Patrick, taking it gingerly. "Anthrax? To ensure the complete knockout of our entire in-house Piper lineup? You already did get everyone when you put laxatives in our drinks before we could perform last year, but with Charlotte here…"
Derek's smirk hardened. "No, actually, it's chunk of C4 to get back at you people for replacing our centennial sculpture's head with the head of the Pillsbury Dough Boy." He snorted. "No, I'm afraid it's a present. Why Darren would have any more interest in someone from Jefferson, though…"
"You jealous, Derek?" Patrick smiled now. "No, honest question. Worried about competition after having Darren all to yourself since he chased away his last Jefferson conquest? Thanks for breaking her heart, by the way—we were so happy when second lead soloist moved away—"
"Wow, you really think you're funny—"
"Woah!" Noel ran in between the two boys when Derek took a step forward. "Now, now. Everyone keep calm and I won't have to spray you." He looked back and forth between them. "Past is past, what's done is done. And nothing was ever proved. As far as we're concerned, we're all innocent. Let's not throw accusations all over again. Nothing's happened this school year, right? It's a giant clean slate. We're still all good?"
"Nothing's happened…yet." Patrick said with a hard smile.
"I'm sure if anything does, it's from you pranksters," Derek remarked. "Seriously? A bonfire in the middle of the night for the newbie, with all the dry leaves everywhere? Her voice is fantastic, but I don't think it's worth setting fire to campus for. This is not an episode on MTV."
"Why can't you all get along outside of Pipers' Hall the way you do inside?" Noel practically whined.
"Derek's not even a Piper, Noel," Patrick snapped.
"Whatever," the cloaked boy snapped back. "Can we not do this? I'd like to pass midterms with a clean student record."
"You may leave now," Diana declared with a cold polite smile. "We'll give Darren's regards to Charlotte."
"Why thank you, Diana." Derek returned the smile and left.
Patrick slammed the door shut and all three Jefferson students leaned back on the door, sliding down in relief. "Could you guys maybe not start anything while Damian and Charlie aren't here?" Noel begged, clutching his chest.
"Like Charlie would've stopped us," snorted Patrick.
"He might," Diana reminded him. "He did say he'd had enough of this…fight or whatever it is we've got against Adams. He doesn't want any of us suspended and tarnish our immaculate records while he's away."
"Diana, it's being going on for twenty-five freaking years; we don't even know who started it! I bet not even our parents know. I don't think it's going to stop just because Charles Amos, our poor injured House prefect, says so."
"It might if our Acting House Prefect says so."
Patrick snorted. "Like ol' lovestruck Damian wouldn't get pissed off if he finds out Darren's going for Charlotte. He saw her first."
"Wait a minute—they're after Summers now?" Noel demanded. "What did she do to them?"
"Apparently? Catch Darren's attention." Diana stood, holding the envelope. "For either being his type or too good at singing, or both—I don't know, whatever it is, I don't trust him."
Patrick brushed off his pants as he stood and gestured to the envelope. "Are you going to look in it?"
"S'not mine to look into," Diana sighed. "As long as it doesn't feel like there are wires in it, I hear no ticking and it doesn't leak gas, I think it's safe to give it to her."
Patrick followed Diana up the stairs and Noel tailed, grumbling something about being cursed again.
-8-
"All right," said the coach as the fencers gathered around him. The crowd murmur was echoing to the roof of the gymnasium. "You've all taken these guys before and they can barely keep up with your footwork. Bring it home for the third year in a row, all right? I want the final to be two Hawthorne fencers, you got that?"
"Yes sir," the students chorused, nodding and the coach ushered them on out into the open area.
There was an explosion of cheering from the supporters of both Hawthorne and St. Patrick's in attendance, majority of which were Hawthorne students, as it was their home turf. They were waving flags with the Hawthorne crest on them as their fencers entered the arena with its mass of mats and towering scoring columns.
"Just in time!" Grace breathed as she and Charlotte arrived into the gymnasium with the rest of the Jefferson students. Patrick couldn't take his eyes off of Charlotte's outfit and he was sure that it would drive Damian to distraction.
Charlotte was wearing tight black pants and some highly expensive-looking boots with heels. The light blue flowy blouse she was wearing was hugging her distractingly well-placed locations, and her black coat had to have been something from Grace's reserves. The shade of the shirt amplified her eye color.
The twins smirked at each other as they looked at the outfit and said, "And in three…two…one…"
"Charlotte!" Damian was running towards them as they stood behind the barricade, smiling. He was wearing his white fencing suit that had the Jefferson crest on one shoulder, and the Hawthorne crest on the other.
"Like clockwork," Lucas sighed, pleased at predictability.
"Like a moth to a flame," Logan agreed.
"Hello to you too, Damo," Diana gave a sickly sweet smile to him when he got to the group. "Don't mind us or anything. We're just your best friends. Willing to throw ourselves in harm's way for you…"
"Willing to listen to Puppy Love on loop for you…" added Patrick.
"Willing to sacrifice sanity for you…"
"Willing to give you our share of Gregor's post-performance brownies?"
"No, I'm not giving him my share of those brownies!"
"Hello, Diana, hello Patrick," Damian said in monotone, humoring them with a grimace. It seemed to satisfy them. He looked at Charlotte, who was smiling a little. "Hey."
"Hi," Charlotte breathed, smile getting a bit bigger. "Good luck. Rooting for you."
"So you'll be really mad if I lose, right?" Damian grinned. He stared at Charlotte's outfit as though he just noticed it and was already sure that Charlotte must've broken the necks of the Hawthorne boys, who must have never seen anyone arrive in that level of dress. The most they had given themselves to were waistcoats and tails. "Wow, you look… Well you're out of the uniform." He laughed. "You got all dressed up for this."
"It was my idea," Grace said, grinning. "She looks really good in that. I was thinking of giving it to her. Too big for me anyway."
Charlotte turned to Grace with huge "what are you doing?" eyes before looking back to Damian. "Just go win it, I'll cheer for you guys. By cheering I mean like just waving this little flag, not cheering cheering—like with the cartwheels and basket tosses and…" she trailed away looking awkward.
Damian decided to pry into that little tidbit a little bit more later on.
"So does that mean you're cheering for me too?"
All the Jefferson students froze as Darren walked up to them. Charlotte met the full force of Darren's pale hazel eyes and didn't waver. "Hey, Darren. I didn't know you were on the team too."
"Did you get the present I sent you?" Darren asked coolly, ignoring the stare that Damian was giving him.
At the inquiry, Patrick and Diana pushed their way to the front, the twins pulling Charlotte a little back to make a somewhat protective cocoon. "Yes, we gave it to her," Diana said with another polite smile that somehow looked utterly forced. "But you should send the next one yourself, because your fellow Adams are a real pain in the butt."
Instead of getting angry, Darren just laughed. "I apologize about Derek, then. You know how testy he gets."
Damian tore his eyes away from Darren and looked at Charlotte and found their eyes meeting. Without prompting of any kind, Charlotte's hand closed over his from on top of the barricade—she was just looking at him. Damian was rather surprised but he smiled. Charlotte just smiled back—and it was a conversation in itself.
"Good luck. I mean it."
"Thank you."
Darren, who did not miss the action, smiled at Charlotte, who now looked at him and also nodded. "Yes, I got your present, that original vinyl record of Broadway music. Thank you—you really didn't have to."
"Just thought it suited you," Darren shrugged.
"Good luck. Hope you guys win." Charlotte gave him a quick somewhat awkward wave.
Darren nodded and gave Damian another glance—which was returned steadily—before he left to join the others onto the benches. Looking utterly triumphant, Patrick now swept between the two and lifted Charlotte's hand from Damian's. "Now get lost!" Patrick told the fencer kindly. "Go fence and win, please."
Damian made a face at him but nodded to his friends, who waved their flags in reply as he ran back to the rest of the team.
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Post by tonilous on Jun 14, 2014 22:27:48 GMT -5
The meet went down to two—both Hawthorne students as the coach wanted. But every Hawthorne student was hanging on the edge of their seats, blue Jefferson flags and red Adams flags flailing, as Damian and Darren walked to the Hawthorne bench and began to put on their gear.
"I've never ever seen him fence like this before," said Lucas, rather amazed as Logan clapped wildly. "Are you our new good luck charm, Alice?"
"Please—that's all him," said Charlotte, who can't help but feel a swell of pride. "He's just that good."
"Get him, Damo!" Patrick hooted, thumping his flaglet against the barricade.
"Man, Darren has yet to lose, though," Diana admitted, looking at the scores. "If he beats Damian, he'll be on an all-kill for the second year in a row."
"Then I hope to old Herman Hawthorne that Damian kicks his butt," Patrick replied.
"Patrick, come on," Charlotte looked at him disapprovingly. "He's from Hawthorne and he's also a Piper. Why are you all so on his case?"
"We'll tell you later," Grace whispered. And more loudly, "For now, cheer for who you want to win!"
Charlotte turned to the floor, where the two were now headed towards the central mat, the Hawthorne students cheering and their flags fluttering like flocks of red and blue birds.
"Want to tell me what all that was about with Charlotte, Adams Prefect?" Damian muttered from alongside Darren.
"I'm not sure now's a good time to discuss this, Acting Jefferson Prefect," replied Darren, and Damian could hear the smile on his face. "Tell you what—you beat me and I'll tell you."
"Are we going to do this again, Darren?" Damian asked coldly as he stopped at his en garde line.
"Only if you want to, Damian," Darren answered casually, going to the other end. "You did lose last year."
Damian gripped his sabre tight. Don't let him get to your head, don't let him get to your head. That's what he did last year.
The crowd cheered and started to fall silent as the umpires now signaled preparation. There was a salute with respect measured to the most exact levels. "En garde!" The marks were on, sabres were raised, the two combatants tense. "Prêt!"
The Hawthorne students held bated breath as Jefferson and Adams came down to a final five-point match.
"Allez!"
As soon as the signal went off, the metal clangs of the sabres filled the air. Between the two of them, Darren was the stronger one, but Damian was faster. Though he could outstep Darren, the taller boy began bearing down on him.
Grace was biting her nails so much that they were starting to bleed—Charlotte pulled them away from her mouth without taking her eyes off the match.
"Come on Damian…" hissed Diana, watching their every move.
There was a thwip through the air and a sudden jab—and the bell went off.
"Point!" A green block appeared on Darren's score column.
The Adams exploded into cheers, red flags waving. The Jeffersons looked frantic, yelling for Damian to get him back for it. Patrick cursed soundly under his breath but he yelled, "Come on, Damian! Get him!"
The battle resumed—and Damian, seemingly fueled by the taken point, now started to become a little less cautious in his movements and started his attack. The Jeffersons cheered on their support, Charlotte clutching onto the rail so hard she was sure that her nails were going to chip.
Darren dodged the quick assaults and made to take his second point—until Damian made a sudden forward maneuver with his weapon—swatting the other sabre away just enough to jab forward and land a clean hit directly to the chest.
"Point!" Damian's green block lit and Jefferson erupted into cheers amidst Adams howls.
"Oh man!" Diana slammed her fist onto the barricade in excitement. The twins were jumping up and down like mad.
Blows were exchanged again, with Darren forcing Damian back to his en garde line. By far, the bout was the most aggressive one that either Damian or Darren had participated in and their exertion was obvious. There were a few calls of "Halt!" as they kept maximizing their eight sabre touches.
"Clock's ticking…" Grace bit her nails again.
At one point, Darren made a misstep and Damian saw it—he dived forward and struck the taller boy in the shoulder. When his score block lit, Jefferson went crazy. "I think I'm going to have a heart attack," Charlotte muttered. "I haven't felt this scared since being a kicker."
The twins gave her an odd look, shrugged, then resumed cheering Damian on.
Darren looked incredibly tense, and it had to be with rage. That was all his body language was saying. He had won his previous bouts cleanly, receiving only one hit at a time. Damian had scored two. It was his turn to return the favor.
The clock continued to tick. Before the boys even knew what was happening, there was the smack of the sabres—Damian's nearly went flying out of his hand—and Darren struck him full on the right side of the chest. The green block lit and Adams erupted into cheers.
Panting, both combatants were standing apart again. "Last one, Damo…" Darren whispered, not caring if Damian could hear it or not.
"It's on, Darren," Damian muttered as he flexed his wrist. Cheering reached a fever pitch and Charlotte, leaning out, saw that if they didn't end it soon, it would go into a draw. And those two looked as though they would rather receive injury.
"Last one, Damian, last one!" the twins called, clapping hard.
Adams' cheer block was chanting in unison, overpowering the scattered Jefferson cheers. Charlotte felt a bit disoriented, but turned back to the pair.
The sabres went up again carefully, perfectly still. "Allez!"
One blow—two—three—four… Darren was forcing Damian back again, moving faster now.
Damian was pushing back, forcing them to the center again. Grace ducked under the barricade, not prepared to see this. In spite of all bounds of propriety, the Hawthorne gymnasium was going to blow with all the cheering.
The clock continued to tick as the two stopped for an instant—and then resumed with great speed.
Five—six—
"Come on, Damian!" Charlotte yelled from the stands, her voice drowned down by the crowd, but she didn't care—she couldn't watch him lose. Damian's focus made a single flicker.
And Darren dived for the kill.
The hall screamed. Damian saw the sabre coming at him and in a sheer moment of pure divine intervention, made the one half inch back that made the miss. He moved without thinking the next instant.
The bell sounded.
Jefferson exploded, pouring out of the barricades in a single mass, followed by Washington supporters and day students. In a single body, the victorious Jeffersons launched themselves onto Damian, knocking him clear onto the floor pinned mainly by Patrick and Diana.
Charlotte stood to the side, not willing to take part of the hysteria, with Grace next to her. Grace was elated, pumping a fist into the air in delight. Charlotte was smiling broadly, clapping hard as she watched her friends struggle to help Damian up from the ground.
Next to Charlotte, Darren materialized, laughing softly and shaking his head. His hair was damp with sweat. He held out a hand to Charlotte. "Congratulations on the win."
Puzzled, Charlotte nodded and gave him her hand—which Darren squeezed for a moment and held onto for a full second longer than protocol allowed—before he walked to the rather disappointed Adams.
Charlotte turned back to the others and saw Damian standing free of the crowd going crazy in the middle of the fencing area. He had just been given his medal. Damian laughed and walked to her, and he gave her a tight hug.
"Congratulations," Charlotte grinned, patting his shoulder before releasing him. "That was quite a match."
"You nearly distracted me back there," Damian admonished with a huge grin. "I heard you scream and it was so shrill I thought you were trying to hit a high F."
Charlotte punched him on the shoulder, mouth open in shock, unable to believe he just said that, but he was too happy to really care. "Whatever, you won. You were lucky I saw that. Darren totally had you."
"Yeah, I can't even remember how I did that," Damian agreed with a grin.
"PARTY!" The twins were yelling from on top of the judges table. "PARTY AT JEFFERSON, NOW!"
"Party?" Charlotte demanded as the Jeffersons pulled her and Damian apart and started pulling them along. "Don't we have practice? Competition?" These went unheeded as the triumphant students, all but carrying Damian, made their way across campus back to their House.
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Hawthorne
Jun 14, 2014 22:30:18 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 14, 2014 22:30:18 GMT -5
Haha love it. Go Hawthorne, and especially, Damo
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Post by tonilous on Jun 15, 2014 1:02:14 GMT -5
Hi!
I'm actually really excited about where this story is going so I might tend to update this one more than the others. I've fallen in love with the characters more than I originally planned. Woops.
I hope you like it!
Hawthorne Cookies
Friday afternoon, late.
Scene: Dean of Student Affairs Elizabeth Lowell's office.
Cast: Charlotte, Damian, Patrick, Diana, Lucas, Logan, Noel, Grace, House Head Burkhart…and Dean Lowell.
Situation: The declaration of an after party at Jefferson came to effect shortly after arriving.
Party.
Jefferson.
Doesn't usually end well.
-8-
"So…"
When the dean finally chose to speak, the students fidgeted—Damian leaned back on his seat with a sigh, Charlotte sank her head into a hand—as she walked behind her desk in front of them, seeming to take this into consideration.
Charlotte could read teachers' vibes, but while Dean Lowell was registering absolute calm in her sensors, something was definitely brewing there. Her things were all packed up and she looked as though she were about to leave for the weekend, so if she took her time to gather them here right before leaving, then there was definitely a blip.
Finally she looked at them and sat down on her cushioned chair which barely made a sound as she did. She was a trim woman in her forties, married (the massive Tiffany on her finger was the indication), slightly on the heavy side with watery gray eyes and severely tied red hair.
Charlotte had only ever been in her office once before—and it was on her first day of school, discussing her transfer, and living adjustments—and her impression of her was that she was absolutely unremarkable. Or so it appeared.
Dean Lowell folded her hands on the table, looking at them with an amazing poker face. "You had a party."
Diana pursed her lips and looked to the sky in silent appeal. The students looked awkward.
The dean continued. "And it, from all student accounts, seemed to have gone "pretty awesome"." She emphasized the last two words. She pursed her lips in a tight smile. "Well, Jefferson House is rather popular for that, isn't it?"
Patrick fought back a smile with great effort. Burkhart was a silent witness—she might as well have been a Christmas Island head with a body standing like décor on one corner of the office. Her arms were folded, watching like a vulture waiting for dead bodies.
"And the party, I understand…was to celebrate Hawthorne's win on the fencing meet today." She smiled a bit more. "Oh, I'm sorry—it would appear that it was for Jefferson's win, for Hawthorne, today."
All eyes flashed to Damian for a moment. It was not lost on him, and he coughed slightly and straightened up a little, with the barest eyebrow raise at the insinuation.
Dean Lowell was still smiling.
"Campus arrest."
Gasps of horror.
"For a school week."
"What?" Noel choked—Diana elbowed him sharply to shut up.
"You may not go out of campus, you may not go anywhere other than school facilities, and your House."
The twins rolled their eyes and looked bored.
Dean Lowell looked at them very calmly. "Any comments?"
"But—" Grace flustered.
"Why don't we go over this list that Ms. Burkhart has carefully prepared?" Dean Lowell said with the same kind smile. She slipped on her spectacles and looked down at the sheet. "You apparently managed to bring to your House, enough punch to "float a speedboat", as the quantification is."
"It was not spiked," Diana said clearly, knowing that liquor of any kind was taboo on campus.
Lowell nodded and moved on. "There was severe celebratory littering in and on the House, which include but are not limited to, confetti, silly string, peanut butter, cake icing, feathers from your house cushions and Mr. Terry's pet duck, tissue paper, glitter, paper airplanes, and what appears to be printed copies of the Adams House class photograph with "in your face!" scrawled on them with permanent marker."
Charlotte groaned softly and leaned her forehead into her palm. When you hear it like that, maybe the party was not as awesome as it appeared compared to when you were participating in it.
"Piñatas, coconuts, sparklers, shooting roman candles (outside, at least), general revelry… Also, your sound system was blasting music that was heard all the way to the other side of campus."
Patrick bristled. The "other side of campus" meant Adams House, and no one doubted that, stinging after their champion's defeat, it was they who made the Lowell call. "I'm not even going to go into what kind of destruction of property went on within the house."
"We didn't destroy anything," Damian reported, mentally adding, That wasn't already broken…or about to be replaced.
"The fact remains that this is not the way Hawthorne Academy students should be behaving." Lowell studied him. "We are a formal and distinguished learning environment and students should not be having parties with a decibel level a few degrees lighter than a NASA space shuttle launch."
She watched sat back on her seat, her folded hands still linked together. "And I am to understand that every Piper in the House had conveniently forgotten that Mr. Pentland and Ms. Gregor had a scheduled rehearsal at the second music hall."
Charlotte closed her eyes in pain. She hadn't forgotten—no one had. It was that the mass of students, wild with adrenaline, had simply chosen to "overlook" it. She had only been a Piper and a Hawthorne student for a week and here she was getting the axe.
"But since Mr. Pentland says that it can be glossed over for now owing to Damian's splendid victory, it will not be counted as a strike against you."
Sighs of relief and heaving gratitude towards whatever higher power gave them their choir director and Damian's fencing skills.
"Speaking of Damian…" Lowell turned her sights on him again. "You may be only the Acting House Prefect until Charles returns, but until then I expect you to perform your duties as that prefect and make sure that this does not happen again. This should not have gotten out of hand at all. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mrs. Lowell," Damian replied in a calm tone.
Lowell looked at Charlotte and Grace, the two least likely to have been responsible for any serious damage—Noel already had a history, but it was for odder, generally harmless superstitious antics—and told them, "Charlotte, you have only been here less than a week. I would like to not see you again for at least a month. Or at least that is how long it apparently takes Jefferson to convert someone."
I was converted since the morning after of the initiation, Charlotte just gazed nonchalantly in response.
"And Grace—you know how…awkward…you are sometimes. You should not be involving yourself in this and harming yourself any more than you already do daily, as the school nurse reports."
Grace stopped biting her nails. "…yes, Mrs. Lowell."
"The sentence applies to all of you. Campus arrest. You may now leave."
The students stood up with very minor mumbling. "Thank you for your time, Dean Lowell," Burkhart said as she ushered them out.
As they exited into the hall, Charlotte noted that none of them looked particularly distressed—except for Noel and Grace, who were generally easily distressed—as this likely happened quite often.
"Well?" asked Burkhart sternly as they reached the entrance doors of the building. "Are there any further statements you would like to make?"
A terse pause.
"…that was a great party, wasn't it?" Noel finally said.
Charlotte bit her lip to stop from smiling.
I'm Charlotte. And this is Hawthorne Academy. Just earlier this week, I became a Hawthorne student, a Jefferson House boarder, I discovered the people in Jefferson were incredibly restless, but incredibly big-hearted as well. They've endeared themselves to me in spite of the fact that I want to strangle them sometimes. I wonder if anyone else ever got that feeling.
"Charlotte…? What are you doing?" asked Grace as she walked into the large sunny kitchen the next Saturday morning. She had followed the smell of something nice baking.
Staring into empty space but hands still moving as she kept the wooden spoon stirring the mixture in the bowl, Charlotte responded, "I tried to do homework it felt like trying to part the Red Sea. I only got through half before I felt like turning the table over… And since I can't occupy myself with planning and coordinating outfits for school anymore, I decided to bake cookies."
"You bake?" Grace blinked, carefully remaining on the other side of the counter and far away from all the utensils that might give her injury. She was being particularly careful today, Charlotte noted, as the other girl was wearing suede gloves.
"Sometimes, when I feel like it," Charlotte sighed. She put down the spoon for a moment as she threw in some more ingredients. "What happened to your ceiling here, by the way?" She gestured with a spatula to the huge jagged scorch above the stove and the over.
"Um…a little mishap when some people tried to bake a birthday cake…" Grace looked embarrassed. "Fortunately, the administration replaced the stove and the oven. If you're bored, why don't you hang upstairs in my room? We can look through some prints of the Armani show."
"Tempting, but—"
There was the sound of something heavy and wet falling upstairs with a flash and a deafening howl of anguish as feet started pounding down the halls, laughter ringing through the corridor. "Dang it Lucas!" yelled someone—who might have been Diana—spluttering.
There was a second splash and it was Patrick who yelled incredibly colorful curse words that would make a pirate blush. The twins chorused, "Clear for this room!" before they ran off in search of more victims.
Grace saw Charlotte giving her a highly-expressive raised eyebrow, and Grace finally understood why it wasn't a good idea to be upstairs. "Cabin fever and the twins, huh?"
"Water balloons," Charlotte nodded. "They're hitting everyone in the hall. Noel has taken to barricading his door. I don't know what he's blocked the door with, but it smells dead."
Grace looked ill. "So I decided to cover up the smell with some baking," sighed Charlotte. She looked and felt tired. "I don't know how you manage all this schoolwork and Pipers, Grace."
"You just need to get the hang of things," Grace smiled kindly. "Don't be so hard on yourself." She looked to the side of the counter and saw a plastic bowl full of fresh chocolate-chip cookies. "Are those the finished ones?"
"Yeah," Charlotte nodded as she finished placing a batch onto a tray.
"Ooh, chocolate chip!"
"Just trying it out. It was my dad's recipe."
Grace very carefully picked one up and inspected it with a grin, "You going to send some to him?"
"No, he's dead."
Grace turned shock white, whether it was from the news, the absolute bluntness or both. With her eyes wide, she dropped the cookie into the bowl. "Oh—I—I'm so sorry, Charlotte, I didn't—"
"It's fine," Charlotte popped up after she took the last batch out and the new one in. She gave Grace a quick smile. "It was a long time ago." She took off her mitts and motioned to the bowl as she began to clean up. "Have one."
"Are you sure…?"
"Go on, Grace, goodnessake have one." Charlotte began to wash the mixing bowl with a sigh. She was going to be stuck here all weekend with a house that was like a bomb that could go off any time. She had told Austin that she was being kept in school for Pipers' practice and school issues, but she didn't go into detail and worried that he might have gotten upset.
Grace pulled the bowl close and took the cookie she first dropped and said to Charlotte, "…what was your old school like, Charlotte?"
Charlotte froze. "…why do you ask?"
"Just curious," Grace said, remembering the conversation at the bonfire, biting into the cookie carefully.
Charlotte had so many flashbacks that she nearly overloaded. She just shook her head and smiled, scrubbing diligently. "I spent my time planning what to wear to school next and hanging out with my old choir club. They're really great. Of course our director needed to get out of this time pocket he's in—it's still the 80s in there—and let loose a little, but that's how he is…"
She realized that Grace was quiet. She turned around and saw Grace standing there, a bite of cookie in her mouth, staring at the one in her hand. "You okay, Grace?" Charlotte asked. She didn't receive a response for a moment. Finally, the smaller girl raised her eyes. "Charlotte…how many of these did you make?"
Charlotte blinked and gestured to the other countertop—which had quite a few bowls of cookies—and then back to her and said, "Last batch is in the oven…" She looked at Grace staring at her and the way she was gripping onto the bowl she had. "…you can have that one if you want…"
Grace pulled the bowl close, staring at her with big eyes. "Could you excuse me for a second…?"
"Sure…"
And the girl tore out of the kitchen with the bowl, and she could hear her feet pounding up the stairs. Charlotte stared, wondering what in the world just happened. She picked up a cookie and bit into it, and as she expected, everything seemed to be fine. Was Grace allergic?
She glanced up to the window. Everything looked bright in spite of it being rather cold. Maybe she just had to get out of Jefferson and take in some air.
She went around putting the cookies into a large Tupperware container. Everything outside Jefferson was caught in the transition of Fall and Winter.
Weird, Charlotte frowned as she thought she saw a speck of color fluttering past some bushes in the distance.
It looked an awful lot like one of Austin's coats.
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Hawthorne
Jun 15, 2014 1:40:14 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 15, 2014 1:40:14 GMT -5
I love this story!! A lot. the party sounds awesome.
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Post by tonilous on Jun 15, 2014 16:30:57 GMT -5
Hi!
Just a quick update! Also, if you're interested, I wrote another Damian story called Within a Heartbeat! Feel free to check it out!
Thanks!
The knocking on Diana's door was so rapid and unceasing that she furrowed her brow and got up, hair still dripping. "If it's those two again, you better let me kill them, Diana!" Patrick yelled from Diana's bathroom.
“If I leave any pieces for you, you can…" grumbled Diana as she reached the door and opened it. "What do you guys want this time?" And she found Grace standing there, holding a plastic bowl and eyes huge. "Oh. What's the matter, Grace, did they get you too?"
"Eat this." And she all but shoved a whole chocolate-chip cookie into Diana's mouth.
"What are you—?" Diana choked and then stopped. She chewed and then looked at Grace, staring in shock. "…oh my—(swallow)—whoa—Grace…what is this?"
Grace just widened her eyes at her in an, "I know, right?" manner. Diana grabbed the bowl. "Give me that for a sec!"
"Hey!" the smaller girl protested, chasing her into the room.
"Who is it, Diana?" Patrick came out of the bathroom in fresh clothes. Diana drew a cookie from the bowl and threw it to him. Patrick caught it easily, looking at her as though she were crazy, said, "What?"
Both Grace and Diana gestured to him urgently to eat it. Patrick, looking at them suspiciously, now glanced to the cookie and said, "…you didn't make this, did you…?"
"Charlotte did," Grace said breathlessly.
"Charlotte?" Diana turned to Grace in surprise, and the smaller girl nodded as Patrick took a bite of cookie.
There was a pause. "Whoa, holy—," Patrick choked. He stared at the other two and saw Diana holding the bowl. "Hey, give me that!"
"No!" Diana ran out of the room with Grace and Patrick following her.
-8-
"Lead Man to Streaks, can you hear me, Streaks?"
“Austin…I'm right next to you." Natasha made a face from where she was crouched next to her behind a large rhododendron bush. Fiona rolled her eyes, "We're going to get into trouble for this."
"You guys just made me do a basket toss over that rail fence," Kassie snapped from where she crept near them. "A few inches higher, and I'd be trussed like a dead chicken. If I landed the wrong way, I would've broken my ankle and Coach would've eviscerated me. You better be grateful I got you in here."
Rose just sighed deeply and shook her head. "Why are we doing this again? Hayes is not going to be happy."
"We just want to make sure that Charlotte's okay," Austin answered, shaking his head. "She sounded excited to be back home, and then out of nowhere she can't. And she wouldn't tell me why she's been campus-grounded. She says Piper practice but there was something awkward in her voice. And she always has to get off the phone because someone's bothering her or something."
Natasha looked confused. "But I thought this school had a zero-tolerance on bullying?"
Austin looked suspiciously around grounds. "We won't know unless we see for ourselves." A pause. "And if by chance we happen to watch the Pipers practice—"
"Mr. Hayes doesn't want us to do that anymore…" Fiona blinked.
"And we might get caught," Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Which makes me ask—why didn't we just send the other boys in? Say they're students?"
"Like Alex would be able to keep up an act like that—besides he wouldn't want to go," Austin rolled his eyes. "And I don't think Hawthorne likes boys with mohawks so Mark can't either."
"Andrew is out with his mom to some family reunion and won't be back for another eight hours," Mia sighed.
Rose nodded slowly, "And Justin isn't around either, unfortunately. He might blend in. He did say he came from a private school…"
"What about Hunter?" Fiona asked.
"Couldn't get away fast enough if he got busted," said Kassie.
"Whatever," Austin waved it way, looking irritated as he crept down the bush. "This mission needs delicacy and finesse, and that's what we have." He peered over the corner and saw no one but the Hawthorne gardens. He frowned. "This place has a serious obsession with perennial flowers."
"Actually, I think it's because the gardens are prize-winning," Charlotte said loudly as she came up behind them, raising an eyebrow. The intruders all jumped and turned around. She was still wearing an apron and a Tupperware full of cookies. The others stared at her.
Charlotte looked at them, eyebrow still arched. "What are you all doing here?"
"Um…" they stared at her.
Finally, Charlotte rolled her eyes with a sigh and smiled. She held out the Tupperware. "Cookies?"
-8-
"Okay…what the heck are in these things…and why are they this good?" Patrick asked while sitting in the common room, staring at his last cookie fragment.
"I have no idea," Damian admitted, having consumed all of his. "I didn't even know Charlotte could bake."
"Wow, for the first time, Jefferson actually has someone with competence in the kitchen," Diana looked fascinated. "Her Home Economics class must go by in a blur of As."
The twins just nodded, eating their own cookies with glazed expressions.
This was the aftermath of the cookie battle. While Diana, Patrick, and Grace were trying to take possession of the cookie bowl, Damian had come out of his room to check if the coast was clear of water-ballooning twins. Diana had taken out a fistful of cookies and then threw the bowl at him. Damian, not nearly as frazzled by this than most people would have been, managed to get a cookie out before Patrick grabbed it from him, and then Grace grabbed it back, and then the twins materialized out of nowhere (probably attracted by any confusion that they themselves were not causes of). They took the bowl and each got a piece before the nearly empty bowl ended up with Noel.
Who had still not moved from where he was eating by the bay window.
"How can you not know that she makes magic chocolate chip cookies?" Patrick demanded at Damian. "I thought you would've known nearly everything about her by now since you kept going back to Huntington before she got here."
"I don't know everything about her," Damian answered irritably. "I wish I did, but I'm not a stalker and I don't intend on making her tell me things."
"Did you know her dad's dead?" Grace asked softly. "She said this was his recipe."
Silence.
"…I'm eating haunted cookies?" Noel asked in soft horror from the bay window. He ended up getting assaulted by a mass of sofa pillows from all the students in the common room.
"Damian, why did Charlotte move here?" Logan finally asked.
"Yeah, I mean…nothing against her or whatever, but you saw her house," Lucas agreed. "She's not…uh…in the same tax bracket as us."
"And she was in her old school's Glee club," said Diana, raising an eyebrow. "They were those guys on the phone during her audition. She was singing to them, Damian. And all that stuff you said about her looking lonely and unhappy the first days. It means she misses them."
"So…if she really likes them…why would she just up and move here, costing her parents all that money?" Grace asked, brow furrowing. "I know the Pipers are amazing, but she doesn't look like the type to ditch her own team for a 'better' one." When Damian remained silent, Grace added, "…is she in some kind of trouble, Damian?"
All eyes turned to the Acting Prefect. Damian closed his eyes and let out his breath, leaning forward from where he sat, resting his elbows on his knees. "Charlotte, she…" he began, and then stopped. He shook his head. "…I don't know if she'd want me to tell you this."
"Dang it, Damian, just tell us," Patrick snapped. "Hey look, we're her friends too. We live with the girl, we like her, she's an amazing singer, she's one of us Pipers and she's put up with our crazy for nearly a week and practically enjoys it! Far as I'm concerned, she's our new little sister. If she has problems, man, I want to know about it!"
"She moved here to get away from those problems, Patrick," Damian said, looking hard at him.
"Then there should be nothing to worry about if you tell us, right?" Diana raised an eyebrow.
The twins turned identical pairs of piercing ice blue eyes at Damian, silently requesting the same information. Damian looked around at the common room, saw all of them staring at him and sighed deeply. "As long as you swear this does not leave Jefferson House. This common room. This is between all of us. Because more than anything, I want to protect Charlotte. I can't have her hurt again. Do you understand?"
The twins looked at each other out the corner of their eyes. They were pretty sure that Damian meant that statement, and that he also wanted something a little more than that, but they decided now would not be the right time to point that out.
"Now tell us."
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Hawthorne
Jun 15, 2014 19:12:15 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 15, 2014 19:12:15 GMT -5
And us. Tell us too.
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Post by tonilous on Jun 16, 2014 1:38:34 GMT -5
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in?" Charlotte demanded as they walked up towards Jefferson, feet trampling the damp earth. "Kassie—seriously? A basket toss without a catcher? You could've died."
“So I told them," the brunette smirked, swallowing the last of her cookie.
"Well I'm not prepared to have one of you maimed while you're in here!" Charlotte stopped and turned to them. "Look, I really really appreciate you coming to see me, but I'm really all right here."
"Then how come someone's always yelling to you when we talk on the phone?" Natasha demanded, raising an eyebrow. "You better tell me what the heck is going on here—do I have to cut someone or something?"
"I just live in a really weird house, that's all," Charlotte answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Charlotte, you're baking," Austin said, raising an eyebrow. "You're trying to avoid something when you resort to baking."
"When I try to avoid something I stand in a corner…" Fiona murmured.
Charlotte gave her a confused look, then said, "No, I'm avoiding the Mount Everest of homework sitting on my bedroom table."
Natasha put a hand on Charlotte's arm. "Are you sure that there is nothing going on in here that you want to tell us about? Alex told me that you told your mom and Henry that you were really looking forward to coming back home for the weekends and then right on Friday, you say you can't because of school issues. Is it really just Pipers' practice?"
Charlotte looked at them all for a moment. "…yes."
"You're lying, I can tell," Kassie smirked. "Is the reason you're not coming home is because you already found a boyfriend?"
Charlotte colored to her scalp as Damian's smile flashed into her head. And then the nagging thought of Darren's advances in the back of her mind. "I do not have a boyfriend."
"Wow, Charlie, I have never seen you so red before," Rose remarked, smirking.
"Is it that guy Damian, like I've always asked you?" Natasha blinked.
"Who's Damian?" Fiona asked.
"Cute guy she keeps hanging out with."
"Oh…" the other girls began to grin.
"Look, you guys, just stop—okay?" Charlotte said, flustered. "One, no, I don't have a boyfriend, it's not Damian, two, no one is bothering me in this school, and three, I really do just live in a crazy house. Those are my school issues."
"How crazy are we talking about here?" asked Austin suspiciously, arms crossed over his chest.
Kassie scoffed, looking impatient and irritated. "It can't be that bad—are you saying you can't handle a house full of girls and boys dressed up in fancy suits? I could."
"Okay look—they nearly got us all suspended, all right? Happy?" Charlotte threw up her hands, pacing in surrender. "They threw a gargantuan party that went overboard and we all landed in the Dean's office and I'm officially under campus arrest for the next school week. There."
She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged with a sideways glance. "And for the record, no, there is no force on this planet that can control those nut jobs in there from what I've seen. You came all the way from Huntington just to hear about me going overboard at a party, whoopee doo." She rolled her eyes.
"They don't do anything to you, do they?" asked Austin worriedly. "Is that why you didn't say that to us—or your parents?"
"No," Charlotte said, holding his hands and smiling a little. "I didn't tell my parents because I didn't want them to think I was…well…with the wrong crowd. We just barely escaped by the skin of our teeth this time. But the truth is, while they may be borderline delinquent, they're all really nice guys. A lot of Pipers are in there, and they're all my friends—they seem to really like me. We look out for each other because we're Jeffersons and that's what we do. Apparently." She smiled. "And I'm kind of happy."
"Jeffersons?" Mia grinned. "That's what you call yourselves?"
"It's the name of the House," Charlotte mumbled.
"Aww…" Natasha gave her a big hug and a smile. "Our Charlotte's a Jefferson." Charlotte laughed and hugged her back tightly.
"So do we get to meet these amazing guys while we're here?" Kassie asked with a smirk. Rose shot her a look and added, "Just so we know who they are."
"You all turned into such weird mother hens, did you know?" Charlotte remarked, rolling her eyes. But she smiled and turned back to Jefferson House, gesturing for them to follow her. "Come on but keep a low profile. It'll have to be really quick—we're not allowed visitors in there that don't have a pass. There aren't a lot of people here today, so maybe it's okay."
The girls giggled—except Austin, who just grinned and crossed his arms—and trailed after her towards the large manor-like Jefferson House. Natasha made a gasp of awe when she saw it. "Whoa…"
"Wow, nice pile of bricks you got there!" Rose laughed.
"…you live in a castle?" asked Fiona, marveling. "Do you get to be the princess…?"
"I think that if they were given a chance, they would crown me as that," Charlotte grumbled as she reached the door. She held her container of cookies under one arm and pushed open the doors. "Guys…?" she called as she stepped into the foyer, girls and Austin following, "Guys, are you in here?"
"Wow, this is a big dorm," Mia laughed, noting the Jefferson banner over the hall.
Charlotte frowned at the silence which was, in all respects, incredibly unusual at Jefferson. "Hey, where are you guys?" she called.
She heard the sound of people acknowledging her call and then the common room doors burst open and the students came flooding out, running to her, all talking at the same time.
"Charlotte!" Patrick ran up to her, a contorted expression on her face. "Charlotte - what the —why didn't you tell us?"
Diana looked livid and concerned. "—if we'd known it was that bad, we would've gone over to Huntington with Damian and—"
"We want you to know that we are fully prepared to sniper down each and every dumb Neanderthal in that school that has ever bullied you—" the twins said fervently.
"—and what they said about your clothes!" Grace looked like she was almost at tears.
Noel was the only one who noticed the girls staring stunned as this crowd of varied students surrounded a very stunned Charlotte. The self-styled spiritualist cleared his throat and said, "GUYS! Guests in the hall."
Silence. The group looked up. Rose blinked at the crowd almost nonchalantly and said, "…wow, Kassie was so wrong, she's totally got them."
"Pardon?" Diana stared.
"They were just here to see who my new friends are," said Charlotte, smiling a bit, still generally confused. "Um, guys, this is Austin, Mia, Rose, Kassie, Fiona, and—"
"—Natasha," Damian finished, smiling as he took Natasha's hands. "Good to see you again."
"Hi, Damian," Natasha greeted him with a knowing grin. She looked to the others. "This is the guy I mentioned."
They immediately brightened up and Charlotte gave them a glare that threatened death if they decided to say anything. Charlotte said to them, "Guys, this is Noel, Grace, Diana, Patrick, and the twins Lucas and Logan."
"Wow…" said the twins, looking at the girls in wide-eyed wonder like they had not seen any outside of Hawthorne for years. "…talking flowers."
"That's so sweet…" smiled Fiona while Kassie gave her a confused look. Kassie caught Noel's eye, grinned and gave him a saucy wink.
Eyes wide, Noel backed up and raised his medallion defensively to Kassie—"Whoa!"—who gave him a look that was both annoyed and downright grossed out.
Austin stepped forward to Damian importantly and extended his hand. "I'm Austin Conn, I'm the lead soloist from Huntington. You must be my Piper counterpart." Damian raised an eyebrow and shook his hand as he continued, "I'd like you to know that we didn't come here to spy on whatever you may have planned for competition—"
"You failed the first time," Patrick grinned, glancing at Charlotte, who just shook her head.
"—and that we were only here to make sure Charlotte was all right." He looked at them and said, "Well it seems like it's all under control."
"I understand," Damian nodded with a winning smile. "Don't worry, we'll take care of Charlotte for you."
"Good." Austin was smiling now.
Charlotte stepped forward to the visitors. "Well now that's done, you should all go before the House head comes by to check on us and finds you here. Then we'll really get suspended."
"They can't stay?" The twins and Patrick nearly whined to her. Diana elbowed Patrick hard and muttered, "Shut up, do as she says, look at what she's got under her arm." She nodded to the large Tupperware of goodies.
"The rest of the cookies…" Grace breathed, eyes wide.
Charlotte gave them her best disbelieving "what is wrong with you people?" look but just turned back to the others, ushering them out of Jefferson's doors. "You guys have got to promise me never to do this again," said Charlotte, firmly. "It's moronic and completely ridiculous. And if anything happened to any of you—"
"We got it, we know," Austin smirked. The girls went out, going down the terrace steps and walking to the direction of the gate they had unlatched.
Going last, Austin stepped out into the terrace and gave Charlotte a quick hug. "Next time, just please tell me what is going on with you? Because I told you, we still really care. We tell each other everything. And besides…" He nodded back indoors where the Jeffersons were, " …they look like they want you to do the same."
Charlotte glanced back and saw the others staring at her looking a little concerned. She smiled a little, unsure, then looked back to her best friend, hugging him. "Right. I'll do that."
She kissed Austin on the cheek goodbye and waited until they were all definitely gone in the direction of the gate. She turned back indoors and closed the doors behind her, sighing in relief as she turned around.
They were still looking at her that way. Charlotte's brow furrowed. "What?"
"Charlotte—I know it doesn't count for much right now, but we really, really wish you told us how you were being treated in your last school," Diana remarked. "If at any point we had known sooner, we would've throttled Damian for letting it go on so long, but we also would've done something to get you the heck out of there."
"You told them?" Charlotte looked at Damian, who quickly walked up to her, saying, "They wanted to know, Charlotte. They really did. They just wanted to know why you came here and why you fled your last school."
"And we wanted to know so that we could keep that crap from happening again," Patrick said, frowning. "If we'd have known you have been advanced upon by force, we would never have let Darren near you—he's the likeliest candidate for a do over of that."
"And we also would give you a little more space," said Lucas.
"We do get too close to you," admitted Logan.
Grace nodded. "We have to remember that you've gone through something and that we—"
"But that's just it, you guys," Charlotte finally said, looking up at them, wondering what was wrong with them. "Don't you get it? You guys make me forget. Everything you do around me, it makes me forget all those things. I don't care if I want to strangle you afterwards, but the thing is, you guys would do a lot more help if you just keep being the way you are. I like you that way, believe it or not." She grinned. "I'm one of you now, remember?"
Damian started to laugh, shaking his head. "If you like us the way we are… then yes, you definitely must be one of us."
The twins now cracked huge grins. "And this sappy moment now calls for—!"
And they both gathered up all the other students and sandwiched them into a very tight, uncomfortable and truly awkward hug that no one really liked but put up with for the sake of the moment.
"Right…" Charlotte, getting crushed against Damian, didn't seem to really mind all that much.
A long pause followed.
And then someone says, "Hey Charlotte?"
"What?"
"…can I have the rest of these cookies?"
The burst of fighting and squabbling afterward just made Charlotte jump back in surprise, and then she decided that she didn't even want to try and make sense of the hysteria any longer. With a sigh, she tossed the whole container of cookies at them—beginning another fight of proportions that could have eclipsed Lord of the Rings—and sighed as she went up the stairs to fathom her now truly weird life. And she had the rest of her homework to do anyway.
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Hawthorne
Jun 16, 2014 13:02:56 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 16, 2014 13:02:56 GMT -5
Aww so cute!!!
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Post by tonilous on Jun 16, 2014 14:42:10 GMT -5
Hawthorne Duels
"Charlotte." Damian jogged his elbow with hers. She was sitting next to him at the central area of Charlotte's room.
Charlotte only mumbled a faint reply of acknowledgement from where she was trying to copy down some text into her notebook.
"Charlotte, come on, are you still made at me?" Damian was starting to sound genuinely worried, prodding her arm. "You haven't spoken to me since yesterday."
Charlotte tsked in annoyance as she pushed off Damian's hands from her notes, trying to focus.
"Is this because I told Patrick and Diana and the others about what happened in Huntington?" Damian said, brow furrowed. "Look, I'm really sorry, I am. I shouldn't have told them, I know you wanted to keep it a secret. I get why you're mad, but they swore to not let it get out, and they were all just so worried about you - and quite frankly, so am I. And I would rather have the rest of them looking out for you in at least that direction, than -"
"Damian!" Charlotte finally said, forcing herself to remain absolutely calm even when her hair was about to stand on end. She grabbed Damian's hands tightly and gave him a very painful smile and a forced laugh. "Damian... I want you to look very carefully around my room... and then tell me why you think I'm not talking to you."
Damian stared, trying to not marvel at Charlotte's soft hands, and then looked around the room. There were papers everywhere. A fresh printout was coming out of the printer on her desk. The laptop was still on and it clearly displayed a half-finished term paper. Calculus notes covered the coffee table and a huge world map was hanging over the edge of her bed. No less than four books were open on the coffee table. Charlotte's lap was loaded with a heavy book and then her notebook. And nearly all of the mercifully fewer coffee cups that had raided the room that morning were now standing empty.
Damian turned back to Charlotte, who was still giving him a pained smile. "Did it give you a hint yet?" She asked, in a way one would say to a five-year-old.
"Oh." Damian nodded, pursing his lips together, finally understanding and feeling rather ridiculous. "Right."
"Good." Charlotte rolled her eyes and turned back to her notes. After a beat, she said, "To be honest, I should be mad at you, and I very much want to be mad at you... and because of pure distraction and interference, I should also be mad at the entire house for making all this catching up on academics even more difficult... but I cannot. ... as long as you really did mean well for it and don't intend on telling the world, I'm just too busy to actually have any emotion other than contempt for whoever designed this devastating curriculum."
"I can help you if you want..." Damian said, smiling. "Get most of this out of the way before Pipers meeting."
"Don't smile at me like that, you're not winning me over that easily either."
Damian just smiled even more. Without warning, he gave Charlotte a tight hug that lasted several seconds in silence. He leaned down to her ear for a moment, and murmured, "I have to go do something for Pentland, but I'll tell Grace to come help you and I'll catch up. Don't stress too much." Damian smiled as he released her, rose and left the room, leaving Charlotte staring wide-eyed at his wake.
What the -? she sat aghast, hands rumpling her notes. What kind of hug was that...? Friendly? Something else? And why?
After a pause she shook herself out of it, groaning as she sank her head into her hands. Damian's behavior (and just generally Damian himself) had to be one of the things that distracted her the most in that house.
Concentrate, Charl... concentrate. He's your friend. He says so. YOU say so. Just because he has the ability to unleash an Eden of butterflies in your gut by hugging you doesn't mean he should be distracting you.
The most chilling, high-pitched rendition of the Joker's laugh suddenly echoed throughout the House, causing Charlotte to break out of her thoughts and, possibly, sending Noel diving for the safety of his salt ring in terror.
Snarling, Charlotte threw down her schoolwork and got up, stomping to the door and opening it just in time to see the twins screeching loudly down the hall with that chilling laughter, in highly detailed Joker costumes (one was the animated, one was the Dark Knight version). Patrick and Diana were chasing after them as Batman and Nightwing respectively, pitching cranberry-juice loaded balloons with the respective insignia scrawled on them.
Charlotte didn't even want to ask what was going on. Raising her voice to an angle calculated distance, she yelled, "If you guys don't pipe down for at least the next two hours, so help me, I'm going to give all the cookies to Adams House!"
Instant silence.
With a satisfied smile, Charlotte slammed her door shut and returned to her school work.
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
I've been boarding in Jefferson House with Damian, Patrick, and Diana. And it's been anything but uneventful. Recently we had a party that nearly got us suspended. And I also discovered that Jefferson had some serious problems with Adams, one of the other Houses.
Especially Darren, who keeps sending me all these signals. I know almost nothing about him other than that he's really handsome, talented, and interested in me.
My problem: Damian is also all those things.
Except that last part.
Everyone ended up in Charlotte's room trying to help her get through her catch-up work. It was both welcome and unwelcome.
"You're getting it all wrong!" Diana snapped at Patrick, who was trying to make out the theorem to be applied to one of the problems in Charlotte's book. Both of them were still wearing pieces of their costumes. "You're not going to get the derivative that way! Give me that." She grabbed it and scrawled something in.
Grace glanced over her shoulder from where she was helping Charlotte with her Arts assignment. She frowned at Diana. "Well that's not right either - it's the wrong formula altogether. It's that one." She pointed to a mind-blowingly complex formula on the other page.
The twins, who were looking at the massive coverage of Literature term paper that Charlotte was expected to complete, looked at each other and slammed the book shut at the same time. "We give up - who's your professor here?"
Charlotte sighed, exasperated. "Murdoch is."
There was a hiss of pain from the whole room. "Why would Murdoch give her all of this?" Diana demanded, looking at the nearly inch-thick section of the book that Charlotte was expected to look into.
"He would hang a Jefferson student onto the rafters by the tie and belt them if he could," Patrick snorted, erasing his previous calculation.
"Why would he do that?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
"He's got a bias for Adams, since he's the House Head," Diana muttered. "He's always had this chip on his shoulder for us since we accidentally set fire to the chemistry lab." She saw Charlotte's narrow-eyed expression and quickly added, "It was a complete accident, that time. We were almost absolutely sure that we had nothing to do with it."
The twins smiled that discomforting Cheshire smile again. "We may have measured out too much potassium nitrate for the assignment."
Charlotte just rolled her eyes and turned back to her Art assignment. "Well, whatever he's got for you guys, he's giving it to me now. I guess I'll just have to show him I'm not intimidated." She turned the canvas to Grace. "What do you think?"
Grace grinned, observing the manner by which Charlotte had water-colored the people in her assignment. They looked like design samples. "You are going to be a great fashion designer one day, if that whole Broadway diva thing doesn't work out for you."
"Coming from you, that's quite the compliment," Charlotte preened, grinning at her.
"No seriously, Murdoch can be intimidating," Diana warned, looking up from where she was editing one of Charlotte's papers. "He's like a freaking male Agatha Trunchbull. I heard he once threw a boy out of the second floor window and into Terry's hydrangea bushes."
"He didn't do anything of the sort," Grace replied, sniffing. "At best he threatened to, and the boy had been disrupting his class unnecessarily by getting overly freaked out because they were being told to perform Macbeth."
"... who was this boy?" Charlotte asked, with a sneaking suspicion.
"Noel," they all replied.
"I knew it."
"See?" Patrick burst out. "Proves Murdoch's Anti-Jefferson campaign. Right there."
"All of us cause anti-Jefferson campaigns," Charlotte grumbled, drying her paintbrushes. "We haven't exactly had an excellent track record when it comes to behavior. Well... at least I still have some of mine. The rest of you, however..." She glanced at them briefly before carefully wrapping her art assignment.
"Don't worry, we'll fix that," the twins cracked evil grins at Charlotte, who cringed away from them. "Give us a few more days."
Charlotte pushed away from them on the couch and went to sit next to Grace as though looking to stay with someone safer. "Yeah, she won't be good for you either," grinned Patrick, making Grace look up. "Did Grace ever tell you about the incident with the cuckoo clock --"
"Patrick!" Grace turned red, flailing at him.
"-- or the time in the cafeteria with the diorama --"
"Shh!"
"-- or that she accidentally hit one of the Washington boys in the nether regions with a cricket bat?"
Every boy in the room winced and hissed at that memory, and Charlotte gave Grace a disbelieving look. Grace looked terribly scarlet, huffily prodding her own art assignment with a brush. "Well I can't help it if I'm just rather clumsy."
Charlotte grinned at her and gave her a kind of nudge. "We know that. Besides, you kind of make up for that by being so incredibly generous to me and being such a martyr to these guys." She nodded to the others. She threw a notebook at Patrick's extended legs resting on the tabletop. "Feet off my coffee table, please."
Patrick groaned and sat up properly. "I swear, you're like Damian when he's being such a priss..."
"Where is he anyway?" asked Charlotte, looking around. "He said he'd be back to help me."
"Well he told me to come up here and help you for a bit, but he didn't tell me when he'd be back," Grace blinked. "He said he had to see Pentland."
"Probably about competition," shrugged Logan. Lucas gave Charlotte's head a gentle pat. "Don't you worry, little Alice. Your White Rabbit will be back soon."
Charlotte swatted his hand away from her immaculate hair and said, "White Rabbit? What?"
"Isn't he?" Lucas grinned. "When our White Rabbit appeared to you and showed you a glimpse of Wonderland, you followed and fell all the way down here with the rest of us."
Charlotte rolled her eyes as the rest of them laughed, the others being used to whatever went into the twins' minds. She glanced to the clock and wondered if Damian would be back soon.
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Hawthorne
Jun 16, 2014 17:52:44 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 16, 2014 17:52:44 GMT -5
Haha their friendships are all so cute
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Post by tonilous on Jun 17, 2014 18:34:13 GMT -5
The "White Rabbit" was late for that important date for good reasons, which the rest of the merry Jefferson crew found out later that afternoon in the dining hall during lunch. The Hall was quieter since it was a weekend and everyone had gone home, but it was stocked with Pipers and the few scattering of students who chose not to go home that weekend for whatever reason.
Diana looked as though she wanted to just tear off her tie and toss it. Patrick looked like he wanted to flip the table. The twins, sitting across from them, were glaring malevolently at the gang of Adams on the other side of the cafeteria, and Charlotte decided that she didn't ever want to be on the receiving end of those twin ice blue glares. She looked at Damian and stated the only thing she understood. "What do you mean, duel?"
"Round two with Darren, that's what?" Patrick grumbled.
"What does that have to do with Pipers?" Charlotte stared, confused.
Damian sighed and lifted his head from his hands. "Every performance, a singer who wants to take one of the spots for a solo -- or lead singer -- will have to prepare a piece to perform in front of the rest of the group. It will be assessed by Pentland and Gregor on whether it's acceptable or not. When there's ore than one applicant for the lead, they will each perform first in private in front of the professors. They choose the two best. Then the two will "duel" performances, one after the other, in the Hall. Then the rest of the Pipers will have to vote."
"Well if it comes down to a vote, you would win, won't you?" Charlotte smiled a little uncertainly at him. "Since they like you."
"It's not that easy," Damian responded. "For one thing, I've been singing lead for quite a few performances now. No matter how much the Pipers like me, some of them might want to see someone else sing."
"Pfft..." Lucas rolled his eyes. Logan nodded sagely, "Ditto. If they wanted to replace you, someone would've dueled with you before this."
"Secondly," Damian continued, "Choosing the lead in the Pipers isn't about popularity. They all really will select whoever had the most vocally superior performance. And to be quite frank, Darren is really good. Even Patrick and Diana have voted to make him lead back then during duels." The two glared at him, as though never wishing to ever speak of such travesties outside Pipers Hall.
"Then why has he never competed with you for solo?" Charlotte asked.
Damian shifted in his seat, leaning back with a sigh. "Because before I got my sets of leads, Darren had the lead for eight straight performances. Then... I guess he got bored and stopped asking for them."
"The immensity of his ego is equidistant to the dimensions of Jupiter," Diana grumbled, once again wiping down her side of the table -- she cleaned when she was anxious."It didn't matter to him that he was out strongest vocal competition -- if her didn't feel like it, he won't do a single thing."
"Patrick and Diana told me to go try duel the other students for the lead after that," continued Damian. "I beat them and Pentland was sufficient. And since then I've been singing lead."
Charlotte looked over to the table at the other side of the hall, where Darren sat holding court with other Adams students. Darren glanced at her for a moment, threw her a small barely noticeable smile, and resumed talking with the other students. Charlotte turned back to the others. "...I had no idea he was like that."
"You can ask the other Pipers," Patrick said seriously. "Darren really did just suddenly stop going for lead. And you know when we found out that that he just felt like not going? This time last year. Left us hanging at competition. We couldn't compete, no lead soloist could replace him at the last minute because the last second soloist --"
"Patrick," Damian's tone had a warning in it. Charlotte blinked, looking from him to Patrick, not understanding.
Patrick's eyes flickered to him for a moment, then he just seemed to shrug and shake his head. "Whatever. Anyway, no one could replace him at the last minute. End of competition, end of going to Nationals. Pentland was furious. I thought he was going to expel Darren out of Pipers."
"But he didn't," Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "He's still one."
"Yes, he is," Diana nodded. "Because we needed his pipes, maybe? I don't know. But he hasn't asked for a solo ever since. He didn't say anything either so we just stopped talking about it - because we might throttle him if we brought it up again."
"He's got quite a pair to suddenly duel Damian for one now at competition," muttered Logan.
"Especially since after he ditched, it was Damian who saved our butts for the very next performance - the Fall Festival - he took over in days what was supposed to be Darren's part," nodded Lucas. "And since then, our dear White Rabbit just led the charge." He grinned.
Damian squinted at him in a why-are-you-calling-me-that-again type of expression. He looked at Charlotte. "Well anyway... that's the history of it... Now Darren's challenged me to a duel. I've a preparing for my performance with these guys, but... I didn't know he was going to duel. I only found out this morning when Pentland called for us both in the Hall. It was just him and me going for the lead, so we both duel in front of the others this afternoon."
Charlotte considered all of this and leaned back, crossing her legs elegantly with a sigh. "I guess it's not all sunshine and rainbows in Piper Land, isn't it...? I didn't know you guys were so competitive."
"We can be, on certain things..." shrugged Damian. He glanced over at Charlotte with his eyes lingering over her more than he had thought he would allow himself to.
There was a crash at the food area -- Grace had tripped, over her own feet, it would appear, and was on the ground with a whole lot of food in her clothes and on the floor, hugging her knee which must have gotten hurt. Charlotte quickly got up and ran to help her.
As soon as Charlotte left, Patrick leaned forward, eyes flashing. "Tell me that colossal bighead isn't doing this because he thinks it'll get Charlotte's attention. Tell me that, Damian, I'm begging you, because I'll have to kill him otherwise."
Before Damian could speak, Diana added, "We all knew you were going to lead. We've been practicing like crazy this time, and we have it down perfect when you sing the lead. And then a mere two days before performance day, Darren challenges? He can't be that crazy."
"I don't know what's going on in his head," Damian answered. But he glanced at Charlotte, helping wipe Grace's clothes down. "... I don't know if it's about Charlotte. It wouldn't make sense to make himself the enemy."
Oddly enough, the twins glanced at each other at this, a knowing look that meant volumes of information, but they remained quiet. Damian was oblivious. He continued, "But you know the rules. Lead isn't placed down in stone until the day before performance."
"Forget the rules!" Patrick snapped. "We're talking about our first competition in two years!"
"Patrick, shh," Diana hissed as Charlotte and Grace approached. Diana looked at Damian. "Let's just kick his butt later today, all right?"
"Yeah," the twins nodded, grinning at Damian. "We've got your back."
When Grace and Charlotte sat down, Grace look distressed, but not about her fairly common injury. "Damian. I heard from one of the other Pipers that you're dueling with Darren. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Damian nodded, folding his hands on the table. He glanced at Charlotte, who just smiled at him and said, "Go get him, then."
-8-
"All right, everyone..." said Arabele the moment all the Pipers had sat back down onto their places among the couches when they finished the normal rehearsal. Everything had gone flawlessly (Grace didn't fall off the ledge a single time) - which now only left the battle for the lead. They had practiced this routine so many times that everyone knew what the lead was supposed to do or sound like, but there were few who could stand in the light among their unit.
Arabele looked at everyone. She knew they knew what was coming up, because they were not talking excitedly about competition or other things. She herself knew that this was quite the critical battle, between two of the Pipers' best, who also happened to be the two most high-profile.
She smiled a little and said, "Now… We have two candidates to duel for the lead. As is our rules, they will each perform a song before you. After which, we would take an anonymous vote. Mr. Pentland and I will count the votes, and announce who takes the lead."
The two teachers never reveal how many votes each got, mainly so there would not be any conflicts between the Pipers about who the group seemed to "favor" more. But the teachers were held in such high regard that there was no Piper who believed they would ever rig a vote to choose someone who they wanted instead.
"Our two duelers are Damian…" Arabele gestured to Damian, who stood amidst clapping, "…and Darren." Darren rose and was also received with the same amount of applause.
Arabele pushed up her glasses and held out a velvet bag to Damian and Darren, who came forward. The two each drew a marble out of the bag. Darren's was red. He would go first. Damian nodded to Arabele and Darren and returned to his seat with Diana, Patrick, and Charlotte.
"Let's see what he's got after all this time," Diana muttered.
Charlotte said nothing. In spite of herself, she was worried. She had sung with Darren before that time in the Hall, and there was no indication that Darren's talent had diminished in spite of his inactivity as a soloist. Damian sat next to Charlotte with no decipherable expression, watching Darren carefully as he approached the piano. As was allowed, Darren had three other students for backup with him, two Adams boys, and one Washington girl.
After a moment, Darren began to play. The melody was familiar, but mellowed out by the piano. It took the other students a moment, but Charlotte—with her ears still heavily tuned in to her old choir teacher's music preferences—immediately recognized what was happening.
Darren, in a clear tone that magnetized attention, began to sing with no urgency:
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming…
The Pipers watched in polite silence, carefully listening. Mentally, however, the Jefferson students reactions were varied, with only hints of the emotions on their faces:
Grace: (Impressed) …Wow, I didn't know you could sing Aerosmith like that. *leans forward a bit*
Diana: (Bothered) Oh crap, I can't believe he can still actually sing like that. *splays fingers on face*
Twins: (Confused) *glance at each other* He's good all right, really good but…why Aerosmith? Was Armageddon on cable yesterday?
Damian: (Stunned-White) He's not singing that to Charlotte, is he?
Charlotte: (Stunned-Red) He's not singing that to me, is he?
Patrick: (Disturbed) *shifts in seat* Oh man, if he's singing that to Charlotte, those are some truly creepy lyrics.
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure…
Everyone else seemed to be having no problems with this. Quite a few Pipers looked at each other with small rather impressed smiles, nodding slightly.
Darren glanced briefly to them with a small smile.
Don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you baby and I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you the sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you baby and I don't want to miss a thing
Damian sank his head into his hand for a moment, cogitating about this whole performance. The Pipers were all about turning a song into something else with their vocals, and Darren fit the bill entirely by changing the rock song to something tamer and more ballad-like. The smallest sigh of contemplation left his lips for an instant.
And then he felt a warm hand close over his from under the table where they sat.
Damian froze and very slightly looked to his right. Charlotte wasn't looking at him, she was steadily watching Darren without batting an eye, but it was her hand that held his. No one could see—they sat near the back and so the backs of the chairs and the other students obscured it from sight—and Charlotte was simply holding his hand.
A silent encouragement.
Charlotte glanced to him a little, and gave him a faint smile, before turning back front.
I don't wanna miss one smile, I don't wanna miss one kiss
I just wanna be with you, right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close, feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time…
That was it. Darren had looked directly at Charlotte that time. To all the others it was in passing, but Charlotte knew that glance when she saw it. Charlotte lowered her eyes, heat spreading into her face. Her heart was in her throat and she wasn't sure of what to do or even feel and it was even worse now than ever.
This was different and somehow more intimate than screaming it down the hall. When someone sings a song like this, it meant something. Something that Charlotte was not prepared for. Especially with when she had certain person right next to her.
Damian squeezed her hand slightly. Charlotte looked up at him. He just nodded, as though telling her to just breathe. It was going to be all right. The song was ending, and Damian and Charlotte let go of their hands at the same time.
At the last chorus, the song ended. The Pipers applauded, many of them smiling at Darren. The tall boy at the piano rose and smiled slightly, looking for the whole room as though he was vindicated. His eyes located and met Charlotte's. Charlotte was smiling at him a little, clapping along with the rest of them.
By the tint of red on her face, he knew his message had reached her.
She saw Damian standing next to him. But Damian was just smiling with nothing behind it. There was something he had that Darren didn't.
"And now," said Arabele with a smile. "We have Damian."
Grace and Charlotte nodded good luck as Damian, the twins, Patrick and Diana then went up to the front. There were some cheers and catcalls from the Pipers as their current lead singer now made it to the front. "Let's go for it," Diana smirked.
To Charlotte's surprise, while the others took positions, Damian picked up a guitar. "He can play guitar…?" Charlotte said, surprised.
"Yes, guitar," grinned Grace.
Charlotte colored scarlet, leaning forward a little in her seat. Grace looked at her friend and laughed to herself—Charlotte was clearly smitten and it would do everyone in Jefferson a big favor if she and Damian just came out with it. And then she looked up and saw Darren not even watching Damian. He was looking at Charlotte. Grace fidgeted, uncomfortable at the sight, hooked her elbow onto Charlotte's in a show of protective camaraderie and just grinned with her as they watched.
Damian stood before them and started playing with a gentle strum. The others looked interested, sitting forward. Damian started to sing his own spin on a song, starting out slow in acoustic rhythm:
I shouldn't love you but I want to
I just can't turn away
I shouldn't see you but I can't move
I can't look away… Grace's mouth dropped in amazement, stifling back a laugh. She knew that song, and from the way Damian glanced twice at Charlotte while he played, he was singing to her too.
Damian's acoustic manner took the song over, the lyrics taking strong prominence with his expressive voice. He made it his own, that song. Charlotte sat listening, surprised as Damian continued growing stronger but never quite losing his own even way:
And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not
'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop… In a noted strum, the others accompanied him in the chorus.
Just so you know
This feeling's taking control of me and I can't help it
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now
Thought you should know, I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all before I go
Just so you know…
The Pipers were grinning. They had heard Damian strum the guitar before, mainly while they weren't practicing, but he had never quite performed like this. It didn't sound like the old song—Damian made it completely his own. Darren was leaning back on his chair and watching with immense interest, almost proud, the way a combatant would when finding a worthy opponent.
Damian sang with no inhibitions, letting the music do its work and his voice express everything he wanted to pour out into the words.
This emptiness is killing me
And I'm wondering why I've waited so long
Looking back I realize
It was always there just never spoken
I'm waiting here...been waiting here…
Charlotte sat shell-shocked, scarlet all over her face. If she hadn't already been so sure before, she was now positive that the song couldn't be meant for her. …or was it?
That was just it with Damian, wasn't it? She never knew. But even as she listened, leaning forward, hearing the words, she wished. She wished really really hard—that it was for her.
Damian's warm eyes met hers for a fraction of a moment. It made Charlotte smile.
I can't believe it, she thought, almost in dismay. …I think I just fell for him.
It was the most unusual feeling in the world, Charlotte realized. Everything and nothing made sense for a minute, going everywhere, and then suddenly, gone. One blown out match. She looked down at her hands feeling as though on the inside, everything had gone dead quiet. After all this time, she finally realized that she had truly fallen for someone. When she admitted it to herself, the locks flew open and let all the other awkward, unsure, emotions out, leaving that admission inside. She finally had that room breathe, in that small moment. She let out her breath.
She looked up at Damian, who had finished his song. The Pipers burst into applause, smiling at him.
Charlotte also smiled, clapping. But she couldn't look Damian in the eye anymore. She kept her eyes down, afraid of that the realization was so fresh that Damian would see with just one look.
"Charlotte, are you okay?" Grace laughed. "Were you that moved?"
Charlotte glanced at her friend and smiled. She didn't know what would happen later, or tomorrow, but right now at least, she knew one absolutely true thing, and that was all that mattered. "…I think so."
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