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Hawthorne
Jun 30, 2014 2:41:46 GMT -5
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 30, 2014 2:41:46 GMT -5
Ahhhhh!!! Incredible
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Post by tonilous on Jun 30, 2014 17:44:59 GMT -5
Hawthorne The Wild One
"No!" a huffy plop onto a plush bed.
"Grace, stop being ridiculous. You just sang and danced for both Hawthorne and St. Patrick." Charlotte glowered at her, starting to get incredibly annoyed.
"Yes, but when I did, I wasn't in front of the alums. And not in front of my mother! I nearly broke my neck when those girls threw me—what if I fall onstage?" Grace was biting her nails again and Charlotte smacked her hand away. "Stop that. We've got two hours until performance. Stop psyching yourself out and let loose! You did all right at it earlier."
The countdown was two hours before the Winter fest. The students, after the great St. Patrick victory, had all retreated back to their dormitories and began to pack. The fest marked the last day they were to be in school, and many of them would be leaving school with their parents when it ended.
Grace had spent her time fretting in her room, her things utterly unpacked. As far as she was concerned, she only needed to bring home books for the vacation homework—the Van Kamp heiress would be the last person who would need to pack clothes or necessities. She wasn't even moving into Charlotte's room until they returned next year.
Charlotte had pulled her massive suitcase of things into Grace's room to try to talk some sense into the second lead, who seemed to be having even more stage fright than she had earlier in the field, mainly due to self-inflicted pressure. "You know, you just need to get back into the zone?" she suggested. "You said it yourself, you had fun out there. This time isn't going to be different. Call it a warm up." She got up and headed for Grace's gleaming Bose sound system.
"What are you doing?" Grace blinked as Charlotte pushed some buttons. The drums pounded in, and at the first electric guitar riff, Grace's eyes widened.
"Oh no…oh no no no no—" she backed away as the Rent song continued to blast through the room.
"Yes, yes, yes—come on!" Charlotte pulled her into the middle common of the room.
"But—"
"If you're not going to sing it, I'll start for you!"
What's the time?
Well it's gotta be close to midnight
My body's talking to me
It says, 'Time for danger' Charlotte was dancing circles around Grace, whose resolve seem to be breaking at the urge to laugh at Charlotte's exaggeratedly flirty dancing. The first lead was barely able to control her laughter either, playing air guitar with the music. She pushed Grace forward, who was barely able to sing as she laughed, urging her to go crazy.
Grace threw clothes all over the room, shaking out her curls. "Sing already!" Charlotte yelled, throwing a Chanel hat into her friend's face. Grace, smothering giggles, acquiesced:
I've had a knack from way back
At breaking the rules once I learn the game
Get-up life's too quick
I know someplace sick
Where this chick'll dance it the flames Dancing wildly around the room, the two were starting to make quite a mess, and quite a ruckus, as the music continued to blast. Charlotte swung around Grace's bedpost as the latter continued to headbang, hair whipping. The two sung loudly, hardly caring if they were heard.
We don't need any money
I always get in for free
You can get in too
If you get in with me…
Let's go out tonight!
I have to go out tonight
You wanna play? Let's run away
We won't be back before it's New Years Day
Take me out tonight!
The two burst out of the room with clothes flying everywhere, scaring the living daylights out of Noel, who was in the hall carrying clean laundry. He stared as the twosome continued flailing down the hall.
Grace did a hammerslide down the hall and nearly would have crashed into one of the decorative vases if Charlotte hadn't grabbed onto her arm with a laugh. Patrick poked his head out of his room to watch the spectacle unfold.
"What the heck?" Diana stared from where she was coming up the stairs—the two charging past and music still tearing from Grace's open room.
The two continued to sing:
When I get a wink from the doorman
Do you know how lucky you'll be?
That you're on line with the feline of Avenue B
Let's go—! The twins, coming out of the common room, saw them dancing down the stairs and heartily joined in, each one grabbing a lead singer and joined in their dancing in exaggerated near-perverse gestures. Damian came out of the common room and stared in surprise.
Let's go out tonight
I have to go out tonight
You wanna prowl, be my night owl!
Well take my hand, we're gonna howl
Out tonight—! Logan, who had Charlotte, flung her off to Damian, who caught her in his arms, startled. Charlotte only grinned, drunk with adrenaline. Amidst hoots from up above from the other Hawthorne students, she sidled daringly up to Damian and danced as she sang:
Let's find a bar
So dark we forget who we are
And all the scars from the 'never's and 'maybe's die—! Damian burst into laughter and grinned as he let her dance close, before releasing her and letting her join Grace and the twins again. This time nearly the whole crowd on the first floor was joining in on the dance—
Let's go out tonight
Have to go out tonight
You're sweet—wanna hit the street?
Wanna wail at the moon like a cat in heat?
Just take me—out tonight!
Tonight!
Tonight! As the song ended, all of Jefferson house burst into laughter and applause. Charlotte had ended up against Damian again, and the two laughed at each other, fingers lacing through their held hands. The twins and Grace were making exaggerated bows and throwing kisses at their "adoring" crowd.
"She's definitely one of us now," Diana smirked as she watched Charlotte gesture towards Grace again, causing the crowd to applaud further. "You're only a real Jefferson when you end up doing something like that on a whim."
"I'm so proud!" Patrick exclaimed, pretending to be choked up in tears. "I can't wait until she makes her first case of destruction of property!"
The people downstairs were still laughing and bowing when there was the sound of someone clearing her throat loudly. They all turned to find that the doors to Jefferson were open, and standing there was House Head Burkhart, looking at them with a frown. Next to her, completely overpowering her with height, was a very expensively-dressed woman from whose neck and ears dripped jewels and wore a pair of Chanel sunglasses in spite of the darkness of the night.
The students froze. The clothes that Charlotte and Grace were flinging around were still everywhere. The toilet paper rolls that the students upstairs had thrown were bouncing down from the stairs and some fell from the overhead rails.
"Um…"
Ann frowned at them. "Don't most of you have packing to do?"
Charlotte's eyes were magnetized to the woman. Her blonde hair was almost white with all the levels of platinum on her, severely pulled back from an incredible pair of cheekbones modeled with expensive makeup. Her mental bauble department informed her that she was wearing no less than four designer labels on her size zero frame. When she took off her glasses to scan the mess, she recognized the brown eyes.
"Mom…" Grace murmured, turning shock white.
Hilde Van Kamp smiled tightly. "Hello, darling."
I'm Charlotte and this is Hawthorne Academy.
This is it. The last day before we all get out. I can't say I'll miss their antics, but I think I feel a twinge at the idea that I won't be seeing all the guys until next year.
…and Damian. I won't see Damian again until next year.
So now is all we've all got.
One night to close the year.
"Mrs. Van Kamp—" Ann began.
"Hilde, please." The woman said shortly.
"Hilde has come to see Grace," Ann nodded. She gave the students an "I'm-watching-you" glower and stepped out.
"Mom, hi…" Grace breathed as she moved over to her mother, giving her a quick hug. She was received warmly by the towering woman—Grace inherited nothing of her height, but she had her eyes and her curls—who patted her back.
"Darling," said Hilde in a tone that only the truly chic were able to cultivate. She gingerly picked a piece of lint off her daughter's uniform lapel and then smiled brightly. "You look…well." She studied the band aids on the hands and the one on her arm. "You look well." She may have expected to find Grace injured more seriously. She tutted. "Grace, I told you not to fold up your sleeves." She tugged them down, and frowned at the wrinkles that resulted on the sleeves.
Supremely uncomfortable at the attention, Grace pried away from her a moment and gestured to the others. "I was just, um…"
"Hey, Ms. Hilde!" the twins chorused from where they stood, smiling, already very familiar with her.
"Hello boys," Hilde smiled and nodded to the others as well, "Damian…" The prefect smiled gallantly. She looked up at the rail. "Patrick, Diana…" the two cracked grins and nodded at her, heading downstairs. "and Noel…" spiritualist awkwardly gave her a wave. And then her eyes landed on Charlotte. She smiled even more broadly, if not tightly, now. "And this must be Charlotte."
"Yes, I told you about her!" Grace said, elated. "She and I get along pretty well."
"I can tell," Hilde said, walking up to the rather starstruck girl. The woman was, after all, a famous, if not fearsome, fashion magazine editor who regularly shipped clothes that weren't even in stores yet to her daughter. "Grace tells me you have fine taste in clothing as well."
"Well, I try," Charlotte preened, smiling.
"What were you and Grace doing just now?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious. "It sounded quite lively."
Seeing the look on Grace's face, Damian quickly said, "They were singing. Just warming up for the performance later. Grace here had just been made one of the two leads in the Pipers' performance for tonight."
"She's really amazing," Charlotte added.
The mother looked nonplussed for a moment, and Grace squirmed desperately, sensing danger. "Guys, you don't have to—"
"Sing? Lead?" Hilde looked confused. She frowned and looked down at Grace. "This is news to me. Is this a requirement? What about your painting for the big exhibit? Did you forget you're to have a gala exhibit by next week?"
"No…" Grace said softly. "It's—extracurricular. I'm…I'm a member of our school choir."
"Oh."
Charlotte knew what that "oh" meant. It was something fashion editors did when they looked at a piece that they didn't particularly love nor particularly hated. Steeling herself, she quickly said, "The Pipers won their competition this year. Grace was one of us."
"So you're one too…" Hilde murmured, giving Charlotte a thorough appraisal with her eyes. Charlotte found it odd how she could look so frigid when she had the same warm brown eyes Grace had. She seemed to deem her harmless when she just shrugged slightly in her fur stole and looked at her daughter. "Now, darling, this is nice and all, but hadn't you called me over for something else?"
"What do you mean?" Grace asked awkwardly.
"I assumed you've completed your paintings, of course," Hilde said bluntly. "You have a gala in a few days. I still must ask you to consider photography, dear—you might do so much better with it. And if you want to get cracking on design, I imagined you would've also completed your portfolio by now. I'm to give it to Tim Gunn next week?"
The expression on Grace's face made everyone in the entrance hall look positively uncomfortable. Some of the students had already left to give them privacy, and not willing to watch this. The Jefferson conspirators stayed watching silently.
Grace flustered, "I wanted you to come and watch me! That's why I called you! You heard me singing just now, right? What—what did you think?"
Hilde looked at her daughter with boundless affection—and what may have been sympathy. "That's really very nice, darling. Mommy is very happy for you. Just as long as you don't forget what's really important." She patted her cheek. "Don't forget, you're on the verge of becoming a household name. Don't you worry, I'll handle everything and make sure you get what you deserve."
"So…you're not going to watch me sing…?" Grace asked softly as her mother started digging into her bag, pulling out what was unmistakably the solid gold D&G phone. Hilde seemed to sigh, "Of course I'll watch, dear… But you won't mind if we don't stay for cocktails? Our flight will leave for New York in a few hours and I haven't yet contacted the rep at Monique Lhullier about that gown they want to make for the princess-to-be…"
"Ms. Hilde?" the twins spoke up. Lucas said, "If you like…you can go ahead. We're also flying to the East Coast, we'll take Grace in our jet."
Jet…? If Charlotte hadn't been so startled at Hilde's inability to detect her daughter's discomfort, she would've gaped at the twins.
"Really." Hilde blinked.
"Yes, she'll be fine with us," said Logan with a smile. "We'll…keep her busy."
"That's fine, then," Hilde waved it on and put the phone to her ear. She gave Grace a short hug. "Talk to you later at the ballroom, sweetie. Yes, hello? Patricia! I saw those photos from the show…" she walked out of Jefferson without another word.
Silence fell over the hall.
Grace was staring at the floor. Charlotte walked up to her, not knowing exactly what to say. She put a hand on her shoulder. "…Grace?"
The shorter girl looked up, smiling a little. "Yeah, that's mom. She's…pretty awesome, huh? She's got everyone at her feet."
Damian looked at her, almost apologetic in his expression. "She'll come around, Grace. She loves you to bits, she just…" he shook his head, as though realizing how the earlier exhibition did not entirely support those words. "I know if she hears you sing onstage tonight, she'll get it. There's just no way she wouldn't."
"It's not a big deal," Grace said firmly. She held her head up, blinking. "This had always been the plan for me. I paint, I design—I take over. I like painting anyway, so it makes sense. She's only looking out for me anyway… Being a Piper is…" she trailed off.
"…something you just really want to do…?" Charlotte finished.
Patrick crossed his arms over his chest. "Was that on a whim, Grace? When you joined? Because when I saw you audition, you were scared to death but you fought for it."
"Gregor saw that you gave it everything—that's why she let you join, right? And for the lead for this performance?" Diana added, raising an eyebrow. "You fought for that too. You were sure you were outclassed, but you ran into it anyway."
"Doesn't sound like anything you would do just because you felt like it…" the twins tilted their heads at her.
"Guys…" Grace shook her head, as though trying to convince herself. "Mom isn't…shutting me down or anything! She looks out for me. If she saw that I really had potential, she would…support me. Maybe all she's saying is that I…I just don't have a future in singing." She shrugged with a laugh that had no conviction. "I have the rest of high school to sing with you guys. I have that at least, right? So when I stop…I could look back at this and see that I had a great time."
The others looked at each other. From above, Noel looked displeased, openly glowering. Grace smiled a little. "I…got to go upstairs. Change uniforms. Mom hates wrinkles." She motioned to her sleeves and went upstairs, picking her way through the mess.
As soon as she was gone, Charlotte looked at the others with a frown. "How long has she been like that?" she demanded. "I knew her mom didn't approve, but you didn't tell me she's gone into that frame of thinking."
"There's nothing you can actually do about her mother," Damian said haltingly, not approving of the situation. "Grace's her only child. She's placed her fashion empire on her shoulders. She'd been doing that since she was eleven."
"But she really wants to sing!" Charlotte protested.
"And we really want her to keep doing it," Diana said patiently. "We know Grace can sing, we know she's amazing. But did you hear what she said? What will happen to her after that?"
"A lot of the kids here…they've got the same deal," explained Patrick. "They go to boarding school, get excellent marks, then go on to take over their parents' businesses. It's been like that from generation to generation. …even with us."
"Hasn't anyone here ever asked what Grace actually wants to do with her life?" Charlotte exploded, making them all wince. She turned and stomped upstairs. "Charlotte…" Damian began, but he thought better of it and let her go.
Noel gave the furious one room as he came down to the others. He sighed and looked at them. "This is what they call culture shock, I imagine."
"I take it Charlotte has no plans on inheriting her step dad's garage…?" Lucas said, trying to see the situation from the other girl's point of view.
"Like neither of you ever complained about how things are," grumbled Noel. He threw up his arms. "I want to go out into the open road! Saving people, hunting things! I want to be something more than Noel Montgomery, theme park-owner-to-be! I don't even get to go on the rides anytime I want!"
"Noel—"
Damian glared at them. "He has a point. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think Grace needs to have a say in all this. She looked like her mother just shot her when she said that she didn't even come to hear her sing originally." He sighed. "If Grace really wants what her mom wants, then there's nothing we can do. But if, for the barest chance, she wanted to do something else with her life—the same way the rest of us do—we have to at least help her fight to be heard."
"Her mother scares me," Noel muttered. "We're going up against that? She'll eat us alive."
"It's not going to be done in one night," Diana warned. "It'll take progressively breaking down her resolve."
There was a moment of consideration. Then the twins smiled.
"Challenge accepted."
-8-
Contrary to popular opinion, the Orion Ballroom was not named for the great glass and gold skydome it had that was dotted with lights, that revealed the night sky outside. It was a clear Massachusetts evening, and stars twinkled overhead, slightly overpowered by the mass of candles and lights that decorated the entire ballroom itself. The selection of flowers were so white and pale that the place almost began to look as though it were a wedding.
Students, alumni and parents were already entering the hall in their cocktail wear. The Pipers were the only students there dressed in uniforms. They opened and closed the Music Fest as they did every year, performing before and after all the individual competitors from each house made their move.
"Mom!" Charlotte ran down the entrance hall over to her mother and gave her a big hug. Ellen laughed and hugged her daughter. Charlotte sighed happily. "I missed you guys so much."
"Oh, we missed you too, Charlotte," Henry said warmly, smiling and giving her a hug. Charlotte hugged him back and smiled at her two parents. Alex was not in attendance—the cheerleaders had told Charlotte earlier that the choir club were invading Hayes' home for the night, and Charlotte had asked them to greet him a Merry Christmas in her stead.
"Gotta say, we were worried about you," Henry admitted, wearing what was unmistakably the same tux suit he had worn to the wedding, without the tie. "Especially after you got snowed in that one time. You're all right here, right? No problems?"
"Yeah," Charlotte said, smiling. "They guys are…well, they're not really problems. They're very…excitable."
Ellen gave her a look that made it seem that she didn't really understand what that meant, and Henry said, "Well that's good to hear. You know, Alex might not show it very much, but he's trying very hard to be there for you. He seemed a bit worried even after he met all your friends."
"I know he is—and while he as some good reason to, he doesn't need to," Charlotte said with a small smile, remembering how this time last year, she would have killed to have Alex Geraghty worrying about her. "In fact, I need him to stop being neurotic. He's got his own problems." She smiled at her mother and hugged her again. After earlier's events, she just realized even more how fortunate she was to have a mother like her. "Really missed you."
"You miss us that much, then you oughta come home," Ellen said, smiling a bit, half-joking. "You had to go to boarding school just when we found a house that'd give everyone their own rooms…"
Charlotte just laughed.
-8-
From down the hall, Darren leaned by one of the columns, watching Charlotte talk to her family. Derek hovered near him, still not looking pleased. Unlike Darren, Derek was not in uniform and looked clean cut in pleated pants and a high-necked shirt with a jacket.
"What are you going to do now?" he asked the taller boy, who never took his eyes off Charlotte. Darren just shook his head. "I don't know either."
Derek gave him a long look, then shook his head and glanced at his watch. "Whatever, I'm going to go pick up my date. You're gonna manage being by yourself for ten minutes?" he asked sarcastically.
"Get out of here, Derek," said Darren, straightening up and brushing his collar off.
Derek took two steps, stopped and turned. "…did you take your medication?"
"Yes," Darren said in an ingratiatingly polite voice. But he forced a smile at him. "I'm fine, man. I love my haze of gray nothing. Get out of here, go get your date. I'm to pick up mine." He smiled and backed from his friend. Derek just rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he went down the hall.
Darren waited for him to go and turned back to where Charlotte stood, without any of the other Jeffersons. Just her and her parents.
Of course he didn't take them. He liked how he felt when he was near Charlotte. If he was numbed down, he wouldn't have that. It was the only thing that made him smile anymore. And the others just didn't seem to understand that.
As he approached, he saw Charlotte look up. To his vast surprise, Charlotte smiled when she saw him. For a moment, he wondered if Damian was behind him. He glanced around and saw no one. He turned back and saw Charlotte laughing a little.
Charlotte felt too happy at the sight of her parents to be angry at anyone anymore tonight. She turned to her parents and said, "And speaking of the Pipers…" she gestured to Darren. "This is Darren. He's one of the lead singers."
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Geraghty," Darren smiled, genuinely, for the first time days. "Pleased to meet you."
"This one we haven't met before," Ellen said, smiling appreciatively at the tall boy as Darren shook hands with Henry. "We saw some of the others when you moved your stuff out, right Charlotte?"
"No, Darren's from another dormitory," Charlotte explained. "Damian and the others are from the same one I'm in."
At the mention of his rival's name, Darren felt somewhat jilted, but he pushed it aside with ease when Charlotte glanced at him again with those eyes of her. He said to Henry, "I heard you worked on cars, Mr. Geraghty."
"You can call me Henry," said the older man with a nod. "And yes, I do."
"Is Charlotte any good at that too? Because so far, all I've ever seen her do is sing and put together some really crazy outfits." Darren grinned. Charlotte gaped at him and punched him lightly in the arm.
Henry laughed. "Boy, you should see her when I ask her to work in those clothes of hers—"
"Calling the attention of the Pipers…" came the voice of Ms. Gregor over the sound system. "Please gather in the green room in five minutes. Thank you."
"Ah…isn't that always the way…" Darren smiled, glancing to the stage. He looked at Charlotte. "It's your big debut."
"So it is…" Charlotte sighed, smiling broadly. "Finally. It only took a couple of weeks to put me in my right spot." To which Darren laughed.
"You'll do great," Ellen said encouragingly. "Break a leg out there."
"Let's go?" Darren asked Charlotte with a smile, and the girl nodded. He looked to the parents. "Catch you guys later."
"See you, mom," said Charlotte, as she left with the taller boy.
As they left, Ellen had a knowing smile on her face as she watched them head off towards the green room. Henry saw her expression, and frowned a bit. "What?"
"You didn't notice?" she asked.
"Notice what?"
"The way Darren smiled at Charlotte. He looked…really happy."
"Then maybe he's just really happy," Henry harrumphed. In his private opinion, he found Darren a little intense. And that his stepdaughter was getting a little too popular. And for no apparent reason, he suddenly wondered where his shotgun was.
"I know that look…" laughed Ellen when she saw his expression. It was endearing that she found a man who cared about her daughter just as much as she did. "Don't you think it's nice that people here like Charlotte? It's certainly better than back in Huntington…"
"As long as it's all platonic…" Henry grumbled under his breath. "I'm just not prepared to have any conversations with Charlotte right now about—"
"Hey, Mrs. Geraghty!" the parents looked up to see Damian approaching them with a smile. He too was already impeccably dressed in his school uniform. Ellen immediately brightened up, recognizing him. "Hello, Damian."
Henry just nodded, spotting another 'potential' and wondering where these boys were coming from. At least this one he kind of liked. Damian just smiled. "Glad you could make it. Have you seen Charlotte yet?"
"Yeah, we just saw her," Henry answered, nodding again. "She just headed for the, uh, green room. With that other boy—what's his name?—Darren."
Ellen caught that flicker of alarm flashed through Damian's eyes and felt a little concerned. She carefully pointed to where the two went. "You can still catch up to them. They went down there."
"Thanks, Mrs. Geraghty." Damian nodded at Henry with a smile. "See you later, Mr. Geraghty." And barely able to remain composed, he fled their presence. Henry, watching him go and rather aghast at his exodus, now turned to Ellen. "What was that all about?"
"Now Henry…" Ellen put a comforting hand on his arm and smiled. "I think Damian has it under control."
"What? How do you know?" he glanced back to where Damian went and then back at his new wife. "You actually trust those kids?"
"Not a bit—but I trust Damian enough to know that he'll look after Charlotte," she answered with a smile. "You saw them back when they visited. He's practically attached to her hip—"
"Can we not have that kind of discussion right now, Ellen…?" Henry looked like he was having a migraine. Ellen laughed and led him towards the main area, where the cocktail tables crowded, wreathed in light.
-8-
Damian hurried down the hallway, for the first time cursing the size of Hawthorne's largest event hall. He had never been comfortable in leaving any of the Jeffersons alone with Darren—though how the Twins stood to be borderline friendly with the Adams prefect eluded him—much less leaving him alone with Charlotte. He could help remembering that time in competition when Charlotte came back shaken and Darren had cut knuckles.
Something had happened then, and something was going to happen now.
"Damian—Damo!"
He stopped at a familiar voice and turned around. Someone was hurrying to him, his pearl gray jacket undone again and his shirt barely completely closed. Damian stared in surprise and confusion at someone he had not quite expected to be present. "Shane?"
"Hey, big brother!" grinned the boy who actually stood taller than his brother, but had the same crop of dark hair and blue eyes. Damian's was tamed down with product, but this newcomers' curls hung free and around his head. He was Damian's contrast—where Damian looked utterly tidy, Shane was the appearance of haste and flighty expression. But they both shared a notable resemblance to each other. He reached him, panting, and clapped a hand on his older brother's shoulder. "Found you!"
"Aren't you supposed to be in Colorado?" Damian asked, confused, staring at him and helping him stand.
"Was," shrugged the newcomer with a grin, his blue-gray eyes sparkling in mischief. "Back early for the holidays! Boarding school blows. Mine, I mean, not yours. Seen mom and dad yet?"
Damian paused with only the slightest widening of his eyes. "…dad came?"
"Yeah," Shane sighed. "They're taking us all off to the West Coast for the holidays."
The older's smile tightened. "I never go anywhere with dad for the holidays, Shane."
"Please?" Shane begged, staring at him, immediately losing his smile. "Come on, Damian, you can at least try. Don't you think it's time that you and dad—"
Damian pushed away Shane's hand on his shoulder, shaking his head briefly. "No. I think what happened over last year's Thanksgiving party was enough."
"Dad was just—"
"He insisted on setting me up with that girl! Does that tell you anything?"
"All right—so he did." The younger boy sighed deeply. "And yes, I do admit that was colossal mess in dad's part. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't had that much second hand embarrassment since Jessica Simpson asked if buffalo wings were from buffaloes."
Damian smiled a little and patted his brother's shoulder. "Look at us. I haven't seen you in forever and this is what we're talking about. You all right?"
"Eh…same. Bored. Studying. Bored. Sports. Bored." He paused. "Started dating again."
Damian raised an eyebrow. Shane turned crimson. "Don't look at me like that, Damian. You took the bullet for me, I might as well keep up good behavior."
"And you wonder why I don't want to come home."
"Don't do this, Damian, come on, please?" the younger brother looked at a loss. "I know dad's been…well he's been hard on you. But think about mom! Think about me! We want to see you, man—you can't run away for the holidays again. See, we all came to see you today." He gave him a big smile, opening his arms, preparatory to engulfing him in a gargantuan hug. "Don't do this. Come home."
Damian started to explain, but then thought better of it and sighed. "People have been telling me not to do things all week…" he stopped and remembered his original errand. "Ah—dang it! Shane, you made me forget what I was running around for!" he bolted down the hall.
"Hey you're not getting away from me!" his brother exclaimed, chasing him. "What's the matter with you—you forget how to properly end a conversation?"
"I have to find Darren and Charlotte!" Damian shot back.
"Darren—? Darren's here again? I thought you said your best friend got kicked out?"
Damian nearly killed him, lunging at him and just missing him. "He's not my best friend anymore!"
"What? Why?" Shane stared. "You two acted more like brothers than we did! And that other girl, what's her name—"
Damian sometimes wondered why he liked his brother so much when he seemed incapable of being quiet. They were already being given odd looks by the people in the hall that they raced past. Patrick, who was getting a drink of water, straightened up to see the two of them charging towards him.
Patrick blinked. "Hey Damian. And…Shane? What the heck, man, when'd you get back?"
"Oh, just this morning!" was the answer with a friendly grin, giving the still confused Patrick a high five.
"Have you seen Charlotte?" Damian asked desperately.
"Who's Charlotte again?" Shane blinked. "Is she your new girlfriend? Man, bro—how many'd you have while I was gone?"
Patrick waved Shane's question away—it was too complicated a query. "Haven't seen her. Medel's looking for her. Pentland prepared to issue sanction if she's late!"
"Her parents told me she was with Darren," Damian said.
Patrick's eyes widened and he blanched so fast that Shane grabbed the water cup and threw it into his face. Spluttering, Patrick snatched the cup back from Shane with a glare. "What's the matter with you?"
"You totally phased out, man."
"Shane, not now, please—" Damian pushed his brother away for a moment. Shane threw up his hands dramatically, turning on his heel. "They were supposed to be in the green room—"
"Hey!" Grace came skidding towards them. "You guys—woah!" she tripped over her own feet, for what must have been the third time that day—and landed ungracefully onto the floor.
Patrick bent down and helped her up, rolling his eyes. "How you managed to do the entire cheer performance without a hitch is beyond my understanding."
"No, actually, that was just lucky—and those girls were really strong," Grace hastily brushed off her skirt. "We're on in a bit! I'm not going out there by myself—where's Charlotte?"
"Why is everyone looking for that girl?" Shane asked, wide-eyed, turning back to them, waving his arms.
"Who is he?" Grace asked, blinking up at Shane.
"Someone who's just leaving?" Damian said emphatically at his brother, looking to get him out of his hair for five seconds. But Shane slid past him smoothly—in a manner disturbingly reminiscent of Damian's twirling dance steps—and grinned his most winning smile. "Hi, I'm—" he stopped instantly, staring. "…oh."
Grace blinked up at him, a little confused at his abrupt stop. "Um, I'm Grace…are you okay?"
After a beat, Shane blinked and came to. "Pardon me for five seconds." He grabbed Damian by the jacket and hauled him to the side in spite of the older one's struggles. "Whoisthat."
"What?" Damian stared.
"Whoisthat!" Shane lost his pauses when unnerved, he flailed towards Grace's direction.
"Didn't she just introduce herself to you?"
"Whatiswrongwithher? Whydidyounotmentionher?"
"I did—you never listen to me. Shane, this is really not the time—!"
It was at this point that Darren and Charlotte reappeared into the hallway, stopping short at the small crowd in the way. Simultaneously, at the other end of the hall, Diana materialized with Derek—who had with him Tabitha Adams—both looking deeply unhappy. They stopped upon seeing the assembled.
At the same moment, Will and Arabele came through an adjoining hall—the former looking furious, the latter looking worried. They were flanked by Hilde and a man in impeccable clothing that they didn't at once recognize.
The entire mass stared at each other.
Diana's eyes widened. "Patrick?"
"Di?" his best friend blinked, and looked at the two with him. "Tabitha?"
"Derek?" Grace stared at the pair with Diana.
"Grace!" Hilde gasped at the sight of her once again rumpled daughter.
"Shane?" Darren stared, confused, at the sight of Damian's brother.
"Charlotte?" Damian looked, also confused.
"Darren!" the man in the suit looked as though he would explode.
"What is going on here?" Will finally boomed, causing every student in the hall to wince at his uncommon wrath. "You're all on in five minutes! What are you doing here? Charlotte! Grace! Let's go!"
"My goodness…" Hilde swooped down and grabbed her daughter's wrist, looking annoyed. She pulled her daughter to her and quickly tried to straighten her up.
But the man in the suit crossed the hall and straight up to Darren, who looked up at him without batting an eye. The man looked distinguished, with dark blond hair that grayed slightly at the sides. And he had Darren's eyes. He grabbed Darren's elbow.
"You're coming with me, right now, I've had enough of this."
"No, I'm not!" Darren shot back, tearing himself free, looking furious. "Why are you even here?"
"Darren!" Arabele said, scandalized. She looked up at the man. "Mr. Wright, please—this isn't the place—"
"What's this I hear that you haven't been taking your medication?" the man snarled to his son. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
Every student that wasn't an Adams now looked confused. Damian looked from him to Darren, brow furrowed. "Medication?"
Charlotte looked startled. "What do you mean he takes medication? For what?"
Darren, stunned, turned to Derek, who turned white. "I didn't tell him, Darren, I swear!"
"It doesn't matter who told me!" Julian Darren Wright, exploded onto his son, the second. "You can't be doing this to yourself anymore, Darren! I'm taking you back to New York right now!"
Darren stepped back, his whole body vibrating in rage. "You're not taking me anywhere! You left me here when you couldn't take the heat! When you knew I'd ruin you trying to run for office!" Breathing hard, he grabbed Charlotte's wrist. Charlotte looked startled and Damian moved to peel her off, but Charlotte stopped him. She was looking up at Darren as though analyzing him.
Darren glanced around frantically and pointed to his father. "And you know what? I like it here. It might totally suck and it might be in the middle of fricking nowhere, and maybe everyone in here hates my guts, but I'm not going anywhere! I want to be someplace for once! I'm sick of you dropping me whenever it's inconvenient to you!"
"Stop it—STOP!" Will finally exploded. "All of you!"
Silence.
The entire hall looked deeply awkward. Will glowered at them all. He turned to Diana and Patrick. "Find the Dean. Tell her we're going to be a little late."
"But—"
"GO!" and the two fled, throwing confused looks at the others. Patrick dragged the frightened Tabitha along with him.
Hilde grabbed Grace's wrist and pulled her away from the scene. "Mom!" Grace cried.
"Let's go, Grace," she said with blunt finality. Grace pulled her to a stop and tore her wrist away from her. "No." she said shakily. "I've got to be with my friends." And she ran back to the others. Hilde stood staring at her daughter's suddenness.
Will glanced at Darren, seeing the look in his eyes. He seemed to be completely aware of Darren's condition. He carefully said, "Darren. Please let go of Charlotte."
Darren shook. He glanced at Charlotte, and saw that she looked a little shaken. This made him let go immediately, realizing what he was doing. "I…"
His father now made to move forward to charge at him again, but to everyone's surprise, Damian leapt between them, blocking his way. Mr. Wright loomed down at him, but Damian didn't move. "I think Darren said he wanted to stay," he said quietly.
Derek glanced at them and crossed the room, standing next to Damian. "Darren's doing all right, Mr. Wright," Derek said formally. "While it's true he stopped taking his medication, I can make sure he doesn't forget again."
"He didn't forget," Mr. Wright snarled, glowering at his now shaken-looking son. "It had been intentional."
"We know that," Will said, looking up at him as he joined the two boys. "But Darren really is improving here. I've never seen him try so hard to control himself before. If you make him leave here now…I can't tell you that it'll make things better."
Darren was sitting down against the wall now, Charlotte next to him. She held his hand tightly, green eyes looking determined. "Calm down," she commanded.
"I'm trying…" Darren muttered. He glanced at her. "Why are you even here?"
"Because I can be." Charlotte looked intently at him. "I want the guy I met in Piper's Hall back. The one who sang because he wanted to and played piano. I don't want this angry thing you've turned yourself into. Come on and change back, Darren. I don't know what's happening to you or why, but we've got you." She nodded towards the others.. "Look over there."
Darren raised his eyes and saw Damian, Grace, and Derek standing in his father's path. His eyes rested on Damian longest. Charlotte saw this and smiled a little. "If you've got even Damian fighting for you, you better not disappoint."
The taller boy swallowed, looking calmer now. Charlotte released him and got up, joining the others. She stood next to Damian and both looked up to Darren's father.
Arabele looked at the boys, then up at Senator Wright. "Sir, with all due respect, I'd like to remind you of the conversation we had last year. …we'd like to keep Darren for one more year."
Mr. Wright snorted like a bull. "He doesn't need a choir club—he needs therapy."
"We are his therapy," Derek said quietly. "We've got Darren all right here. Sure some of us…" he didn't look at Damian, "…may not like him all that much… But we need him here, I think, more than you do back at New York."
The man stood, not prepared to accept this. He glanced at his son, slumped next to the wall, looking up at him with clear hazel eyes. On either side of him, from nowhere, it seemed, he recognized Lucas and Logan Brightman. The twin boys, who had witnessed the whole spectacle, now chose for the first time to show themselves. But unlike the others, they were completely unafraid of the Senator.
"Hello, Mr. Wright," said Lucas.
"Long time no see," nodded Logan.
"We'll take Darren from here."
"You know you can trust us."
Julian Wright recognized the two strange twins that had once befriended his son during Junior High. He looked at the crowd that stood between him and his son and shook his head slowly. He turned to Will. "I'm holding you personally responsible for all of this."
"Oh, I sure hope so," Will said, looking intently.
"I still can't allow this so easily."
Suddenly, Lucas said, "Mr. Wright? Have you heard Darren sing?"
The strange question made everyone look at him. Logan smiled. "Yes, have you?"
"Darren doesn't sing," the senator looked bewildered.
Charlotte almost smiled. "Are you sure about that?"
The man glanced to the boy at the wall. Darren smiled faintly to himself, and all the Pipers slowly smiled. Even Damian, and he said, "I really think you should."
A/N - This is actually quite a lengthy chapter so bear with me. Also, I updated the character list found on Page 4 with Ellen, Henry, Felix, and Shane!
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Post by tonilous on Jun 30, 2014 19:00:36 GMT -5
In the grand ballroom, there were no distinctions in Jeffersons, Adams, or Washingtons. There was only black and white and gray—everyone was dressed according to the color themes on the invitations. The sea of onlookers, comprised of the school's biggest donors, alums, professors and students with their guests, were watching the stage as Darren stood alone in the spotlight.
In that ocean, Mr. Wright watched, his new wife Michelle standing next to him and holding onto his arm. Behind Darren, Derek and several students from his dorm began to play music. The other Pipers, robbed of the opening performance due to their lateness in getting it all together, now peered from the wings, watching him.
As When I Die Young now began to close upon his cue, Darren looked at his father once—the only time the entire performance—before he began.
If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song…
Oh…
The audience began to smile. From where he stood, the Mr. Wright gave a barely perceptible start, while his rather adorable new young wife smiled largely. Darren didn't even notice them anymore.
Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
ain't even grey, but she buries her baby
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time…
The Pipers looked at each other, grinning and jostling each other's elbows. Darren had always been distant and somehow icy, but for the first time, they heard him sing with vulnerability. Regardless of what they thought of him, he really was good.
If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
The sharp knife of a short life, well…
I've had just enough time…
Charlotte and Damian stood at the wings, with Charlotte standing by the curtain rope, and Damian leaning on a table. Damian watched Darren without expression. Charlotte glanced at him, and with a brief smile. "…are you proud of him?"
Darren glanced at her. "…not particularly."
"Is that why you didn't tell me that you and he…were involved with someone else before?" Charlotte asked carefully.
"I didn't tell you…because I didn't want to remember," Damian answered. "Darren was absolutely crazy last year. …I don't think I'm able to forgive him. Or even consider it."
This edge to Damian was something of a marvel to Charlotte. "But you protected him from his father."
Damian sighed, still watching Darren. "…he and I have that in common. Fathers. With issues." He looked at Charlotte now and smiled. "You're lucky to have Henry."
"You have no idea how much I know that," Charlotte smiled, spotting her stepfather and mother out in the audience, listening to Darren as well. She looked back to Damian. "You two must have been close last year, huh? To hate him this much now?"
"I thought we were," Damian admitted. "Then I just…it left me. When he dropped everything for the same person I thought I had feelings for."
"Let me guess. The last second soloist?"
"…yeah. Her, Darren and me…we were friends. At first, Darren was okay and he didn't mind all of that stuff. When he started getting, you know…angry, things began to change. I distanced myself from him, because when he's angry, he just…" he exhaled. "It got messy."
"Where does the ex-soloist come in?"
"She took care of me, because I was new. We got close. I thought I loved her—I guess I just wanted someone to hold onto. I was still fresh from my old school. It turns out, it was Darren that she liked. And vice versa. I was pretty much just in the middle of them both. So I let them both go."
"And then…?"
"Darren knows he can sing well…but when our friend became popular and started to get taken in for leads… he got jealous. He started to become abusive to her too. Our friend ended up hanging around with me, because we both fell victim to Darren's anger, and it was weirdly something we could talk about. And when Darren found that out…that she preferred staying with me over him, well…" he trailed off.
Charlotte shook her head, not really able to take in everything she was hearing. "You have one of the most convoluted love issues I've ever heard. You'd fit in beautifully in Huntington."
She paused. "…is that why you tried to keep him away from me? You're worried he'll crush me?"
"People don't change overnight," Damian said, studying Darren. "You saw how he can get. He's trying, and I can give him that, but…I'm not ready to let him come near anyone important to me again."
Charlotte flushed slightly, looking at him. Important…to him. "Mm…I can see what you mean." She smirked and turned back to Darren, lifting her head higher a bit. "I'll be fine. You have to stop protecting me. It's tiring." Yes, the mentor-student thing is kind of old. And I know that everything flies out the window if I'm reading this all wrong. But I want to give this a shot so badly, you have no idea.
Damian's hand closed on hers. Charlotte looked up. Damian glanced at her and smiled briefly. "Separation anxiety. What do I do now that I don't have to look after you?"
-8-
"Kiss her?"
"Be her boyfriend?"
"Toss her onto a bed and let us all lock your door and escape the house?"
The Jeffersons glowered as they listened to the pair at the wings. Diana was glowering. "I mean, nothing is happening. Where are the emergency maneuvers?"
"We did them," the twins blinked. "We would've gotten a move on, but the Darren issue in the hall—"
Diana cursed.
Patrick came into the room, looking depressed. Diana turned sympathetic. "Sorry, man. But you know Derek hasn't met a hot cheerleader that he didn't eventually get his hands on."
"I really liked Tabitha!" Patrick protested. "I can't believe she's dating him now! Captain Crackpot! It's annoying when the person you like is such a pain but after you see her running off with someone else, it just feels like you're the pain."
Noel, who had just peered in backstage, now frowned. "I'm sorry, did I just step into a teen movie?"
"Shh!" the others hissed, gesturing to Charlotte and Damian.
"You'll get her back…" Diana said, patting his shoulder. "She'll realize Derek is a jerk. Then she'll be back with you."
"No, I don't want her to "realize" he's a jerk, I want to do something that'll make her see me as the better choice," Patrick mumbled. He sighed. "Like you do with Jordan."
Diana fidgeted. "Between us, Jordan is the saint, not me." She looked to the twins. "What are they doing now?"
"Darren's almost done. Which means Damian is coming on. Which means it's time for him to hit it and blow Charlotte's mind so she'll fall madly for our favorite acting prefect. Which would subsequently lead to the improvement of all our lives when Damian stops whining to Diana and Patrick, and Charlotte stops skirting around the topic when she talks to Grace."
-8-
When Darren finished, the applause that rose from the crowd solidified his position as one of Hawthorne's strongest leads, and far more than was even he was usually given. He smiled a little bit, took his bows, and nodded to the Adams band that accompanied him. He glanced to the wings. Damian was standing there with Charlotte, who was the only one clapping between them.
Darren turned away. In the crowd, he could no longer spot his father. He wondered if he stayed to the end, or if he just left. He exited through the wing opposite of where the Jefferson leads were. That was when Arabele, smiling warmly, gave him a hug and showed him a note.
"Your father had to leave. But he told me to give you this."
Darren took the note and opened it.
"You can have one more year. Michelle wants you home for Christmas and New Year." The note crumpled into his hand as he closed it. He exhaled, closing his eyes, and nodded to himself. He turned back to where Charlotte and Damian were. They were talking again, and Damian was holding Charlotte's hand. Darren felt a twinge, a hot surge that he swallowed down.
He walked backstage, and out the door. He found Derek waiting outside. "Your old man bailed," he informed him.
"I know." Darren extended a hand. "I owe you."
Derek looked at the hand and slapped a pill container into it instead. He glowered at him. "If you want to thank me, get your act together. I'm not saying I want you to feel nothing all the time. …but it would help if you didn't go aggro all the time."
Darren stared at the bottle that promised numbness. He glanced back to where he had seen Charlotte and Damian, then back at the container.
If it gets me closer to her…I can try. I have to try.
-8-
Charlotte watched as Grace talked to Shane, who she'd been told was Damian's younger brother. They had their similarities, but Shane was an open book of expressions. And right now the expression he was giving Grace was priceless.
"Your brother has something in his eye," Charlotte smiled at Damian, gesturing over to where the two were talking. "It appears to be madness. And it's wonderful how flustered Grace is. Her emotional capacity can't handle this kind of attention. Your brother is always like this?"
"Please don't make me explain—I'd love to, but I can't." Damian sighed as he brushed his uniform free of dust from backstage. "He's beyond me. My only gratitude is that he is only here for the holidays and will return to his own school in Colorado."
He smiled at her. "Do me a favor when I get out there, though?"
"What?"
"Listen." Damian gave her the kind of smile that reduced mere mortals to putty. "Listen carefully." And he walked onto the stage.
Charlotte stared after him, stunned and wondering what he had in mind. She stood for a moment in the wings, wondering if she should stay or go out into the crowd and get a better vantage point.
-8-
From the other side of the backstage, near the door, Derek looked at Darren. "Don't, man. It's not going to be good."
"I'll take the meds, but before that, I just want to tell her while I can say it with conviction," Darren uttered.
"You're not blind, right? You see her looking at Damian right now, right?" Derek stared. "You're still going to go for it?"
"I have to beat him to the punch—that's all it takes."
"You can't do that in front of all these people!" Derek hissed, motioning to the other Pipers backstage who were gathering to watch Damian's performance, representing Jefferson. Darren glanced at him. "Watch me." And he headed straight for Charlotte. Derek groaned and came in tensely, closing the door to backstage.
Darren took a breath. I'll regret it if I don't get a word in…not after today when she stood by me.
-8-
Charlotte looked up when she felt someone move next to her. She nearly jumped when she saw Darren standing there. He was holding a container, tucked away in his hand. He looked at her with a smile.
"Can I…talk to you for a minute?"
As this caught the attention of the rest of the students waiting backstage, Charlotte hesitated. Damian was already getting ready to play, and she didn't want to miss it. "Uh…"
"You just have to listen. Don't talk. Just listen."
Charlotte looked up at the taller boy, a little apprehensive. "What?"
Darren's breath shivered as he exhaled. He reached out and took Charlotte's hands. They were warm, while his own remained cold. At his action, Derek stopped where he was right next to the Jeffersons. "He's seriously going to do this? Now? Here?"
"What the—!" Patrick stepped forward, but Diana pulled him back. "Don't make a mess now—we're in the middle of a performance!"
"I'll perform with my fist on his face!"
"Patrick—shh!"
"What is it?" Charlotte asked, frowning a little in confusion and feeling awkward.
"Charlotte…"
Damian, after being introduced formally and taking his first bow, sat at the piano, oblivious. He was smiling a little as he sat.
"Don't say it…" Derek whispered. "Don't say it…"
Darren looked into Charlotte's eyes. "You don't have to answer me, or believe me. I just wanted to tell you…"
The music began to start as Damian began to play.
"…I'm in love with you."
Charlotte's eyes widened in shock, mouth falling open slightly.
Derek sank his head into his hand. "...he said it."
"We're all dead if Damian finds out!" Noel hissed. Patrick turned purple and the twins stood staring, eyes starting out of their heads. But Darren simply smiled a little bit at Charlotte, who couldn't speak. He released her hands, and just walked away. He took the pill bottle into his hand, pulled two out, and swallowed them as he left the area.
And Damian started to sing.
It's a little bit funny
This feeling inside me.
I'm not one of those who can
Easily hide.
In the haze of so much confusion, pounding blood through her body, Charlotte was awoken from the haze of shock by Damian's voice. She could hear him singing—and she heard his words. He had told her to listen, just like Darren just did.
Damian raised his eyes to her, looking as though he only saw her. And Charlotte, hardly able to dare, thought she already knew what she was going to say.
So excuse me forgetting
But these things I do.
See I've forgotten if
They're green or they're blue.
Anyway the thing is...
What I really mean...
Yours are the sweetest eyes
I've ever seen.
Charlotte watched and heard, and a flush crept to her face. Damian noticed. He smiled.
And you can tell everybody
This is your song.
It maybe quite simple but
Now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is
Now you're in the world… "Ah, she's getting a little choked up," said Diana, grinning. The twins made to happily go and bother her, but Patrick pulled them back. "Oh no, you're not interrupting this one."
Charlotte crept as close to the stage as she dared, watching Damian. She knew she was supposed to be worrying about what Darren said—he had meant it and she knew it—but her eyes and Damian's remained locked onto each other, and for that second, she knew he meant it too.
If I was a sculptor
But then again no.
Or a guy who makes potions in
A travelling show.
I know it's not much but
It's the best I can do.
My gift is my song and
This one's for you…
Henry glanced to the side and caught sight of Charlotte almost out at the stage. He saw her expression, and then happily nudged Ellen, nodding to Charlotte's direction. Ellen looked up and saw her daughter, and saw what looked like the first truly happy, bedazzled look on her face since the wedding.
She had never seen Charlotte look so happy. She and the boy on the piano just looked at each other, as though they had forgotten everyone and everything.
Henry looked at her and smiled, and Ellen only smiled faintly back before looking back at Charlotte.
Her daughter was happy here.
And you can tell everybody
This is your song.
It maybe quite simple but
Now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is
Now you're in the world…
The song came to a close, and the entire audience erupted into applause. From where he stood by the side, Shane was smiling broadly, clapping for his brother. He turned to the people next to him. "He's good, mom! He's great!"
"Yes he is…" smiled the tall woman in an elegant white dress. Her hair was thick and black and fell in waves over her shoulder as she looked to her husband. "What did you think, dear?"
But the man with Damian's build who stood near one of the tables, looking as though wasn't listening. He saw that his son wasn't listening either, seemingly to ignore the applause. He bowed to the crowd, but he kept glancing to the wings. He watched, in silence, as Damian finished the most cursory bows politeness required, he made a straight line towards the wings.
Charlotte was waiting, staring at him and looking as though she immediately wanted to say something—Damian was sure he'd end up interrupting her—but their hands barely held before Arabele appeared, beaming. "Well done, Damian. That was wonderful."
"Oh…thank you, Ms. Gregor," Damian smiled back.
"We should think about adding it…" Arabele nodded, and then took Charlotte's hand. "Come on now, dear. Let's get ready for the big Piper finale, and find out who wins the contest."
"I…all right…" Charlotte looked at Damian helplessly and just shrugged. Damian, ever the gentleman, just smiled and motioned for her to go ahead with a single smooth movement. Charlotte smiled and followed Gregor as Grace came running in, jittery and excited. Shane followed after her, but saw Damian and stopped, grinning.
"Very nice," Shane grinned.
"And the verdict?"
"You know we love hearing you sing," Shane shrugged. "I mean, dad expression was as nonexistent as if he's had botox done on him within the past few hours, but he liked it, I'm sure. Mom was thrilled, says that you were amazing. Dad says if you come home, he'll get you a gig to sing on the King's Island Christmas Spectacular."
"Oh really. Awful giving of him. Singing what, exactly?"
"Baby, It's Cold Outside, I think."
Damian rolled his eyes. "Figured it'd be a duet."
"It's not as bad as it sounds…" said Shane hopefully. "Maybe you can get that Charlotte girl to practice with you." He smirked. "That song you just sang was for her, I imagine. She's hot though, good for you."
"And I imagine you need to stop trailing after Grace like a puppy," Damian said, turning a bit red and walking past him. "You're scaring her. She can barely handle herself, let alone all of your…personality."
Shane chased after him, gesturing wildly. "What? Am I not allowed to stare and have some mild degree of fascination? Have you seen her? She looks like someone threw pixie dust onto a Botticelli and she came to life!"
Damian almost looked disgusted and only now was able to sympathize with all of Jefferson when they complained about him. "Wow, Shane, you have truly out-glitter-ed yourself. That's mild to you…?"
-8-
"And now…" smiled Dean Lowell to the assembled congregation, "to officially close the performances for the Winter Festival, I would like to call upon our school's most decorated and most talented group—the Hawthorne Academy Pipers."
The audience began to applaud and cheer for the students as the curtain lifted. The Hawthorne Pipers, dressed neatly and perfectly, stood prepared to make their final performance of the year. Patrick and Diana looked at each other, then grinned at Damian, who smiled back. He looked down to Charlotte, who nodded with a smile, who then turned to Grace, who gave a nervous laugh.She looked up at the twins above her, and they too grinned. They gave Darren a smile too—but Darren was only able to smile tightly back, eyes cloudy.
Will had told them backstage, "Sing with everything you've got. It could be your last chance. It ends tonight, guys. Next year, we're all going to be something else."
And for some of them, they really would come away with something else. They were all wildly excited for this performance—Will had been convinced with vociferous begging to be allowed to perform something as daring as this one in the Winter Fest. It was certainly not the usual Piper music. And Will made sure that the choreography matched. After seeing the two leads dance for cheerleading, he made full use of them.
In fine style, the Pipers began the opening melody, from drums to strums. The beat caught the attention of the students, looking up and already grooving along as they began. The singers started to move to the beat.
When the spotlight came on one side and Charlotte appeared, they burst into cheers. Charlotte strode down to the center, beginning to sing as she danced to the music.
Everybody's looking for love…oh…
Ain't that the reason you're at this club…oh…
You ain't gonna find a dance with him. …oh…
Got a better solution for you girl. …oh…
Just stay with me now—Say the word and well go.
I'll be your teacher. I'll show you the ropes.
You'll see a side of love you've never known.
I can see it going down, going down…
All the Pipers leapt to action as the chorus came, earning cheers from their schoolmates as they split apart into a mass, moving to the music with such perfect precision that when they moved back a few steps, they were in perfect lines again. When Grace broke ranks to stand next to Charlotte, the room burst into applause again.
The two leads began to sing in chorus with the others.
In my head, I see you all over me.
In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.
You'll be screaming no.
In my head, it's going down.
In my head, it's going down.
In my head. Yeah. In my head…
The people down at the audience were dancing to the music, with most of the students and their dates dancing with one another across the floor, seeming to not mind the amused looks that the older members and the alums were giving them as they did.
Henry and Ellen joined in, dancing happily amidst the couples. Ellen caught Charlotte's eye, and her daughter winked at her from the stage, grinning as she sang and moved with great energy. Ellen winked back at her and turned her eyes back to Henry, dancing with him and not quite minding that his dancing wasn't up to speed.
Just leave with me now. Say the word and well go.
I'll be your teacher. I'll show you the ropes.
You'll see a side of love you've never known.
I can see it going down, going down.
In my head, I see you all over me.
In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.
Youll be screaming no.
In my head, its going down.
In my head, its going down.
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Hawthorne
Jun 30, 2014 20:24:01 GMT -5
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 30, 2014 20:24:01 GMT -5
Grinning like an idiot. This is so good! And I can sense the climax coming. I loved the episode with Darren's dad. And I like Henry and Shane a lot haha. Can't wait for the next update!
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 0:00:46 GMT -5
The night was such a success and so exhausting that most of the Pipers were more than ready to get out of campus almost immediately. After the announcement of the winner, the Jeffersons' spirits were dampened only somewhat; Darren had won the competition for Adams, which earned the dormitory the bragging rights and extra curfew hours for the next month.
Damian didn't mind—he had made his move at last, and that was all that counted to him. He had seen the look on Charlotte's face and he felt that it was enough. The students left the ballroom with their families, but the others headed toward the dormitories to retrieve their bags and other items.
"Damian," said his mother, "You're coming with us, aren't you?"
Shane glanced to his brother. Damian glanced to his mother, then to the silence his father always gave him only when he had done something to merit disapproval. Almost immediately, he sensed that he must have known who he was singing for.
He turned away, and saw Charlotte climbing up towards Jefferson, with her family. Henry and Anne were laughing at something that Charlotte was explaining to them. After a moment, she gave them hugs—"I'll catch up, I promise. I just have to say goodbye to the others."—and began to climb alone.
Damian gazed at her, and realized that an entire break without her would be too much. He turned to his parents. "Yes, I'll be going for Christmas."
Before his mother could exclaim in delight, Damian added, "But right after, I'd like to fly to the East Coast and see my friends. And spend New Year's there."
"Oh…" his mother looked doubtful, then looked at her husband. His father then glowered at him for a moment, but Damian, who was so used to this, barely even batted an eye.
"You spend too much time with your friends," his father muttered gruffly.
"I know I'm fortunate that I have quite a few so I would like to spend as much time with them as possible."
"There is no "them", is there, Damian? Have you taken interest in one of them and—"
Damian quickly hugged his mother and sighed. "I'll catch up. I'll get my things." He glanced at his dad. "Happy Holidays, dad." He turned, heading towards Jefferson. Shane, glancing at his parents, said, "I'll go with him. You guys go ahead. We'll take my car."
He followed after him. Damian glanced at his brother, who grinned at him. He felt he had someone on his side from his real family, at least. But as he looked up at Jefferson, watching Charlotte walk into the brightness of the house, he realized that he had family in there as well.
-8-
"What did your mom say?" Charlotte asked the moment she found Grace in the second floor hallway. "You killed the song. If that doesn't make an impact…"
Grace just laughed, carrying barely anything but a large pillow and a small bag. "She's settled on "maybe" you'll do fine. I feel like standing up to her again. It felt a little bad, but…I think it did make her listen a little bit."
Noel, carrying a massive rucksack full of "weapons" and ingredients, came down the hall. He said to Grace, "Shane's waiting for you downstairs, trying to get people to get you to talk to him. I swear to Castiel, he's morphosed into some kind of demon and it's not boding well for the team when it's working even for me."
Grace turned scarlet. "Noel! Stop saying things like that!"
"Just saying…" Noel shrugged. He looked at Charlotte. "Have you seen the twins yet? They wanted to talk to you about visiting."
"Uh…"
"Grace!" came Diana's yell from downstairs. "Can you come down here and say good night to Shane before we toss him out the dormitory?"
"Oh for goodnessake…" still red in the face, Grace evaded Charlotte's smirk and headed for the staircase. Noel gave Charlotte a wave. "If you agree to visit, you all are welcome to come to my family's theme park."
"You have your own theme park?"
"Alice!" the twins popped out of their room and promptly tackled her to the ground. "We're going to miss you so much!"
"It'd be so lonely without our adventures," Lucas said wistfully, not quite allowing Logan to get up off the floor yet.
"Who would we nerf? Who would we shoot at? Who would make us magic chocolate chip cookies?" Logan said dramatically.
"Each other maybe…" Charlotte grunted, pushing the twins off her. "What was Noel saying about visiting?"
Lucas sat up, looking excited. "Well every year, we gather at someone's house after Christmas. And then spend the New Year there."
"We're hosting this year. And seeing as you're such a Broadway freak…" Logan jumped up and helped his brother up. "We would like to invite you to join us in Manhattan."
Charlotte's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Call it a preview-of-coming-attraction," Lucas said, grinning. "For when we go to Nationals, of course."
"We'll tour you!"
"And feed you!"
"And toss you into a nice spa!"
"Did I mention that Grace is your best guide to fifth avenue?"
"Now, don't worry about transport and accommodations," said Lucas when he saw Charlotte about to protest. He grinned, leaning on his twin. "You don't seem to realize who we are."
"And you don't seem to realize what kind of leverage we have." Logan nodded. "We'll take care of your air transport and lodgings. Private jet and suite sound good to you?"
This definitely had to be a massive Christmas present. "I'm definitely asking my parents about it. And even if they say no, I'll likely smuggle away into a suitcase or something."
The twins happily tackled her again. Patrick, used to this spectacle, passed by the heap of bodies on the floor and said, "Char? Damian's looking for you in his room."
Charlotte got up quickly, turning red. "What for?"
"I don't know… I think he wants to say goodbye?"
Charlotte's stomach did a flip. She wouldn't be able to see Damian for a while. A nice goodbye would be appropriate. She glanced at them and then headed off to Damian's room. She didn't see the twin smirks given to her by the Tweedles and Patrick.
The past weeks had been a dance around the subject, but she felt that tonight, they'd managed to make some kind of progress. Charlotte stood outside Damian's room, took a deep breath, and stepped in. Inside still had the Christmas decorations, and Damian's things were neatly packed into trunks waiting by the door. The prefect looked up as soon as she stepped in. Damian was looking at something and was still wearing reading glasses. It was unbelievably becoming.
"Hi," Charlotte said with a smile as she came in, closing the door. She didn't hear someone jam the handles outside.
"Hey," Damian smiled as he motioned for her to come in. "What did you want to see me for?"
Charlotte blinked. "What? Patrick told me you wanted to see me for something."
They fell silent, and then both turned to the door. In two seconds, they had strode up to it, and realized that it was locked. The crowd outside stood snickering.
"Very funny guys," Damian grumbled.
Charlotte glowered. "We can hear you snickering you kno—"
Music started playing into the room. Damian looked around and saw that his stereo had switched on via remote. And it was playing a familiar Christmas song.
Baby, It's Cold Outside.
Damian laughed as he recognized it. Charlotte, who had been trying to pull open the door with force, let go at least. She too sighed and looked up at the sound of the music. "Oh…a personal favorite…" she smiled a little.
"Is it?" Damian smiled. "Well in that case…" He stepped down to the common area and made a bow. "Charlotte? May I have this dance?"
"What?" Charlotte laughed.
Damian gestured expectantly. Charlotte just shook her head with a smirk, but walked up to him. Clearing her throat, she gave her hands to Damian. "I've seen how you dance onstage. You get as overexcited as your brother. Don't step on my feet?"
"No promises," Damian grinned as he swept her around to dance. As the music played, they also found themselves singing to it.
I really can't stay - But baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - But baby it's cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry?
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Put some records on while I pour
The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink? - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight
To break the spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move in closer?
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride?
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out
Ahhh, but it's cold outside
I've got to go home - But, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your coat - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - I thrill when you touch my hand
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me?
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Think of my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that hold out
Ohhh, baby it's cold outside…
They were standing rather close as the song ended. Smiling, they were looking at each other, and both laughed awkwardly at the situation. But their hands remained together. Damian smiled at her, and Charlotte flushed only slightly.
From the doorway, there was an explosion of cheering and catcalls, making them both jump. The others had removed whatever they used to jam the door and had been watching them, now applauding and cheering at the top of their lungs.
The two looked at each other—and immediately ran for the door.
The entire group bolted like mad, the hallways in chaos, running down the hall and away from their furious reach as Charlotte and Damian lunged for them. Charlotte was panting when she got to the door. She glowered at them. "Those guys are just…"
"They grow on you, though," Damian grinned.
Charlotte smiled back, but felt her phone vibrate.
You done packing? – Mom
"I have to go," Charlotte sighed. "For real this time." She looked at Damian. "See you soon?"
The prefect nodded and smiled. "Of course."
The two of them exchanged one last, long look before Charlotte finally moved away from the door. Damian suddenly grabbed her hand back. "Wait."
Heart pounding, Charlotte turned back to him. "What?" Damian stepped forward and stood close to her, as close as they had been when they danced. His eyes looked serious in spite of the slight twinkle of amusement in them.
"Hey...look." pointed upward, over the door.
"What?" Charlotte looked up. And the sight of one single ornament caused her to flush harder than she had ever done in her life. "...mistletoe."
Damian was holding her hands, standing very close and careful. He seemed to be waiting for permission as he looked at her. After the events at Huntington, he would be the last person to take advantage of this kind of situation.
Charlotte clutched onto Damian's hands, looking at him in silent response. They always did this; simply looking and never speaking. But as she squeezed Damian's hands lightly, she was sure that she had sent her permission across.
And very carefully, Damian leaned close—so close that their breaths ghosted each other's cool skin, lashes on the verge of touching, tremulous with anticipation—and gave Charlotte a gentle kiss on the corner of the lips. Charlotte, flushed from head to toe, was only barely able to return it as lightly.
It was the briefest touch, but it was the most gratuitous thing they had ever had. It put them both in that position where they could have just that moment—more than what they were, less than where they had to get to.
But it was enough for now.
"See you." Damian whispered.
"See you." Charlotte agreed, smiling.
End of first 13 chapters.
Stay tuned for the upcoming chapters! They will be coming very soon ;)
I think there should be a nice change in scenery soon, don't you think?
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 0:49:10 GMT -5
Hawthorne Bad Things...
Charlotte was confused. She had no idea how a single song practice back in her room got them to where they were, but she had the suspicion that what was being done to her was intentionally made so she would not want it to stop.
The body beneath her was warm and firm. So much warm breath, soft murmurs in her ear, and all the touches that set fire to every inch of her skin that connected to the other's.
So unbelievably close that their eyelashes nearly touched as the warm strong hands brought her closer.
"Wait…" she breathed as other concerns pressed, unwelcome, into her mind.
"Shh…" that mouth was distracting her again.
"We—have to get to—" rational thought was becoming impossible. "—the Hall… Pentland and Gregor…"
"Later…" The voice was almost desperate. "We have time…"
"…right…" Charlotte didn't have the strength anymore. Why was she even protesting? A fire hot weight was pressing against her. She breathed in deep, hands bringing the other's face to her again, feverish foreheads pressed and lips brushing with each breath.
Charlotte gazed through her lashes to see heat in the other's eyes.
"Charl…" he breathed. Charlotte all but grabbed at him and kissed him deeply, as though she wanted to drink him in. In that heady atmosphere of heat and scent and touch, Charlotte let herself be taken over, pushed down onto the couch, her lover leaning over her.
-8-
"Charlie? Are you all right?"
From where she was sitting at the food court table, Charlotte raised heavy-lidded eyes with dark circles. Natasha was looking down at her in concern. It had not been a good morning after that dream. It was one thing to have that kind of a dream—that had been jarring enough—but she had the suspicion that she actually had no idea who the other person even was.
Natasha saw her expression and gave her an incredulous look, handing her the latte cup. "What's the matter?"
"My life is getting complicated," Charlotte grumbled, gratefully taking the cup.
"Those guys giving you a hard time?" she raised an eyebrow as she sat down.
"No, they're…it's my…um…guys."
Mia looked up from where she was texting Andrew and grinned. "That problem you were talking about before Christmas?" She immediately put the phone down and gave Charlotte her full attention. Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"I still don't understand how you just had a harmless kiss," Natasha snorted, shaking her head. "If you like the guy, no kiss is actually harmless."
"Trust me, Natasha, compared to what the cheerleaders get on a daily basis, it's pretty harmless. And now I've been…" Charlotte gestured in the air, looking for the right word, "…poisoned. Hormone poisoned. I haven't been this worked up over a kiss since—"" she stopped herself, remembering that particular locker room moment, waved it away quickly and said, "—since…Modern Family. This morning I forgot to put hairspray in my bag—I was that distracted."
"And now you want more?" Natasha said, still smirking.
"God yes," Charlotte dropped her forehead down onto the table. "And at the same time no. I felt like I was having cardiac arrest while it was happening. I had no idea human contact can cause such a substantial IQ drop in seconds."
"Can I just say that I like this flustered side of you?" Mia laughed. She received a trademarked glare from Charlotte, but this just made her laugh even harder.
Charlotte was staring into empty space, mumbling, "Darren told me he was in love with me…"
Natasha choked on her drink. "What? We were talking about Damian—who's Darren?"
"I think he means that tall guy—remember when we crashed their party when we thought Fitzpatrick was going to kill her? The one with the hazel eyes and looks like, uh, a model or something."
"Him?" Natasha didn't look particularly pleased as she remembered the tall one who looked at Charlotte with eyes that smoldered. "Yeah, he's pretty hot but…" she glanced at Charlotte with a sparkle in her eye. "…he is so not the one you're thinking of right now."
Charlotte sighed deeply. "What did Damian do to me…?" She put her head in her arms on the table. The girls looked at each other and grinned.
I'm Charlotte.
I recently transferred to Hawthorne Academy.
Holidays are in, and I'm back in Huntington with my friends, and I can't tell you how happy I am.
I think about the Hawthorne students sometimes.
…all right, all the time.
…but just a particular one.
"Hi, Mr. Geraghty!" Natasha said brightly as they arrived at the front door. "We've brought Charlotte back! Barely alive, but there."
The three finished their shopping that resulted from the post-Christmas sales, talking about everything that had happened over the time Charlotte had not been around. The girls had also wanted to hear about Charlotte's time in Hawthorne, but whenever Charlotte would describe some of the things that went on, they always laughed. They had probably thought he wasn't serious. It had gotten late, and they decided to go over to the new Summers-Geraghty home.
Henry looked up from the living room. "Back so soon?"
Natasha grinned, "Yes, she's already given us all our Christmas gifts! She can get off our custody."
Charlotte shot her a look and then rolled her eyes. "Hey Henry." She gave her stepfather a hug and saw Alex also on the couch, watching a rerun of a football game. "Alex, I told you, you can't wear that sweater in the house. I'd have to charge you with a serious crime against clothing. Or taste in general."
Alex, who rather liked his heinous sweater—it really was cozy and in spite of Charlotte's protests, he just liked it—grumbled as he said, "It's a statement…"
"Yes, it says "shoot me"," Charlotte remarked as she shed her coat. Natasha walked towards Alex and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.
"Welcome back!" said Ellen brightly. And she was wearing something similar to Alex's sweater, only slightly less hideous. Charlotte's face fell at the sight of it. Mia just laughed, "It's still technically the holidays, Charlotte. It's part of the joy."
"Yes, joy. So much joy at the twenty-sixth. Hi…" Charlotte just gave Ellen a hug and a smile. "There's hope for you yet. But Alex, I've given up on."
"Be nice, now…" Henry warned from the couch with only an affectionate glance back at his stepdaughter. "You're not going to be here that long, after all."
Natasha blinked from her spot beside Alex, "Yeah, Charlie, I thought you said your Hawthorne friends invited you to go on vacation with them." She looked at Ellen. "They wanted her to come to New York with them—did she tell you?"
"She told us all about it, and we said it was all right as long as it was after Christmas…" Ellen blinked at her daughter. "Did you change your mind about going?"
"No, it looks like they did," Charlotte shrugged a little. "I sent them a text saying that you let me go, but they've yet to answer it. The only messages I've gotten for them are the customary "Merry Christmas" greetings." She couldn't help but sound slightly disappointed. She did want to see New York.
…and she had heard nothing from Damian.
A package had arrived that morning, addressed to her—it had come straight from Paris. When she took it out, it was a long, luxurious winter coat in blinding white mink, with a note wishing her Merry Christmas. It had been from Darren. He was the only Hawthorne student she'd heard from post-Christmas. Ellen had gotten terribly excited when she saw it and started asking questions.
As her mother handed out hot cocoa to everyone—Mia shooting Alex a disturbed look as she saw the amount of marshmallows the quarterback subsequently heaped in—Charlotte stared into the brown liquid and wondered where everyone was.
Happy as she was back to be with Huntington—she had spent every waking second with her family and with the choir—she couldn't help but miss them. It was so quiet back at home, especially now that she and Alex didn't squabble quite as much anymore.
…and after the mistletoe kiss, she had to admit that she wish she'd heard something, anything from Damian. Just to see where they stood now, of course. She was dreadfully in love with Damian, and Damian clearly liked her right back. And she just wanted some actual confirmation of what they were. She didn't want to think that Damian simply kissed her because she was under mistletoe.
But Natasha had said, "He didn't have to kiss you then. He could've let you go. But he made you stop, right? Means he likes you enough to want to kiss you. Good sign."
"I sure hope you're right, Tasha," Charlotte sighed as she saw her friends to the door later on. Mia looked sympathetic. "You'll hear from them. Him. It'll be fine. Besides, you'll see them all again at school!"
Natasha gave her a big, warm hug, which Charlotte returned with a smile. "Hey, if you do get to New York, you better tell us. And we want documentation. We want photos. Lots of them."
"If I do, you'll be the first to know," Charlotte agreed. "My incoherent texts will inform you."
After they had gone, Charlotte headed upstairs to her room. It wasn't as large as the basement, but it was her own space and she had already begun decorating it heavily. It was now white and dark blue, splashes of colorful patterns here and there, with plenty of pillows lying around. She was inspired by Jean Paul Gaultier's minimalist design.
She looked at her phone. No messages. A glance at her laptop revealed an email. She clicked it open.
Hi Charlotte!
Merry After-Christmas! Where are you right now? Let me know soon, can't wait to see you again!
Grace PS. What was that cream you told me about that's good for getting rid of scars? I totally tripped into the fireplace—it was not lit, thankfully—when I took down my Christmas stocking.
Charlotte smiled and gave her a response that both greeted her a Merry Christmas and scolded her for not being more careful before adding the name of the skin cream. She preferred to have her friend intact upon their next meeting. She also told her that she was at home, about the trials of her step-brother's fashion sense, and how she missed the Jeffersons.
Then she lay down on her bed and stared, thinking about her last dream. Hanging at her closet door was the mink coat from Darren. She felt a guilty twinge. She still couldn't, for the life of her, remember who it had been that she was kissing in a Hawthorne room. She wasn't sure she ever knew to begin with.
Even my subconscious is getting more than I am… was Charlotte's last thoughts before she fell asleep.
-8-
Her subconscious granted her a truce. She didn't dream at all that night. It was as though she simply blacked out. But it was frigid in her room in the morning, and she buried further into the comforter she'd brought home from Hawthorne.
Odd. It was really warm under there.
She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw another body next to her. She popped her head out of the covers, wide eyed, and found one smiling Tweedle twin lying there, wearing pajamas. "Good morning, Alice!" Lucas said brightly.
Charlotte stared, aghast and scandalized, mouth open but no sound coming out. Lucas continued to beam happily, hair trussed up with sleep. Charlotte jerked backwards only to hit another warm body. She turned around to find the other twin, in the mirror image of his brother. "Rise and shine!" Logan said happily.
"What are you both doing in my bed?" Charlotte burst out. No matter how weird and hormonal her dreams had become, none of them had involved waking up in bed with the twins.
"We brought coffee." They said this as though it explained everything. Charlotte looked around her room and found that, yes, dozens of coffee cups were everywhere. And that wasn't all. On the carpet on the floor, snoring on her many pillows, slept Diana and Patrick, who looked so asleep, an earthquake wouldn't have woken them.
Charlotte stared at them. "What the—"
"Get used to it, this'll happen after every major party," Lucas said kindly, holding out a coffee cup to her.
"How did you get in here?" Charlotte demanded, but nevertheless taking the cup. Logan just shrugged, gesturing, "Took a ride from the airport, headed here. Climbed tree. Window was open."
"…I'm on the second floor."
"And…this is a problem, why?"
"And I locked my windows!"
"Your window's lame—I opened it on the first try," Lucas smirked as he sat up. He looked around. "Interesting room, by the way…"
"Nice interior decorating."
"And the interesting size…"
"…approximately the size of Grace's Jefferson closet."
Charlotte's caffeine-deprived glower checked the Twins. Lucas threw pillows down onto the pair on the floor. "Up! Up! Time to go! Or we'll be late for a very important date!"
"Late how?" grumbled Patrick from under a pillow, sounding annoyed. "It's your plane."
"Time waits for no one," said Logan sensibly, getting up. "Neither do our attention spans. Let's go! Alice, get dressed!" he picked up the mink coat and tossed it to Charlotte.
Charlotte caught it and asked, "How long have you guys been in here?"
"Two, three hours?" Diana mumbled, yawning as she sat up. "You sleep like the dead, did you know? This is exactly why we managed to kidnap you, that first day."
Charlotte sank her head into her hands. "And you slept here…?"
"Couldn't help it, Tweedles flew in late from San Diego…" Patrick explained, yawning hugely. "I came in from Hawaii."
"I've been up all night with Jordan," Diana explained, rubbing her eyes. Patrick nodded, "Anyway, I met the Tweedles in Florida—to pick up Noel…"
"Where is Noel?" Charlotte asked blearily.
As if in response, a powerful honk sounded outside. Charlotte jumped, but Diana stuck her head out the window. "Yep. He got the car. Let's get going!"
"Wait—wait—!" Charlotte stopped the twins, who were dragging her off. "I haven't even packed!"
"You don't need to pack," said the twins sensibly. "Everything you need'll be there."
"Clothes? Skin care products? Toiletries? Underwear, maybe? Ring any bells to you?"
"You're making this more complicated than it is, Alice—if we couldn't already give you those things, Grace could," Lucas said patiently.
"Just—just let go for a second!" Charlotte flicked them both off, and they did oblige. Still rumpled and a bit in shock,Charlotte tried to get her thoughts together. "You're taking me to New York—now? I hadn't heard from any of you about it at all!"
"I'm sorry, did you make other plans?" Logan asked, looking worried.
"Because if your plans involve other people, we can take them too," Lucas said helpfully.
Charlotte dropped her face into her hand. And then Alex burst into the room. "Hey Charlie, outside, there's—" He stopped abruptly when he saw all the sleepwear-clad teenagers within the room, half of them getting dressed. It was not the best sight to greet him if he was to walk into his sister's bedroom. "Whoa." He looked at them all in confusion and alarm. "Uh…Charlotte, you mind catching me up a bit…?"
"Breaking and entering, apparently," Charlotte grumbled. "Also, that neat little maneuver humans do before they come into a room, is called knocking." She looked to the others. "Come on, guys, downstairs. Out, please? Let me manage to look human again, and I'll join you."
"Make it quick!" said Lucas hopefully, clearly very excited.
"Yes, jet's waiting!" added Logan.
"Wait—jet?" Alex looked back and forth to them and to Charlotte. "Jet? You're going to New York?"
"Apparently," Charlotte sighed, ushering Diana and Patrick out, Diana scooping up one of the coffee cups as she left. "I'll be out in a minute, Alex. Please tell Henry and mom? Are they awake?"
"Uh, yeah…"
"Hey, Mrs. G!" exclaimed the twins happily, voices echoing downstairs. Charlotte leaned out the door and yelled, "It's all right mom! They're harmless and they've had all their shots—just don't let them near anything flammable! I'll be down in a minute!" She looked at her stepbrother. "You too, Alex."
"Charlotte?"
"Yes?" Charlotte asked with great patience evident in her voice.
Alex smiled and picked up one of the nearby coffee cups. "Have fun in New York, all right?"
Charlotte grinned. "Thanks, I plan to."
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Hawthorne
Jul 1, 2014 0:50:14 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2014 0:50:14 GMT -5
So beautiful <3 I cannot wait for the rest! Really incredible writing!
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Hawthorne
Jul 1, 2014 0:55:59 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2014 0:55:59 GMT -5
And for this last update... Oh my gosh! I laughed so hard! The twins are my favorite characters
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 1:22:17 GMT -5
It took Charlotte only a few moments to get everything she presumably needed, packed into an overnight bag. By the time she came downstairs, the others were dressed and Patrick was engaged in a debate with her stepfather about The Longest Yard.
"All I'm saying is, it's unrealistic!" Henry said, almost laughing. "Half the guys there were wrestlers!"
"But that doesn't mean they can't play decent football," Patrick was saying as he looked up and spotted Charlotte. "Ah! Finally! Let's get going before the twins freak out your mom."
The twins were happily regaling Ellen with the story of how the Pipers were first introduced to Charlotte's voice. Ellen looked amused, but asked Charlotte, "Is there a particular reason they call you "Alice"?"
Charlotte just rolled her eyes. "They have weird nicknames for everyone. For some reason, they called me Alice. Because I went into…PiperLand." But she smiled and gave her a big hug, and then her dad. "I'm going now. I'll be back right after New Year's."
"You look after Charlotte, then," Henry said gruffly to the batch of teenagers heading out the door. Outside, Noel was honking the horn for them to get going. "Don't worry, we will, Mr. Geraghty," Diana assured him.
"That kid Damian going to be there?"
Charlotte froze to her fingertips, looking at her dad. Henry had his arms crossed over his chest. Diana and Patrick looked at each other. "Yes, sir, he will be," said Patrick.
"Well, tell him that nothing better happen to my daughter while under her watch."
Charlotte had never realized that so much secondhand embarrassment could be gleaned from a single sentence. And if she thought that had been bad enough—
Henry suddenly said, "What about the Darren kid? Going to be there too?"
This time all the Jeffersons looked up. Charlotte was looking at her stepdad, begging him to stop talking with wide eyes. Lucas said, "No, I don't believe he'll be joining us…"
"We doubt it…" said Logan. "We haven't heard a word. Why do you mention, sir?"
Henry nodded to what was around Charlotte's shoulders. "He sent that coat, didn't he? Figured he'd come along too."
Patrick looked like he wanted to set fire to the mink, with the way he looked at it. Charlotte stepped away from him, holding onto her coat protectively. She rather liked this coat.
Diana gave Henry a wonderfully well-made polite smile and said, "Well, don't worry, Mr. Geraghty. We'll look after her."
"See you, Henry," Charlotte waved as she exited the door, Henry calling a "take care of yourself" after her. Charlotte, hitching her bag strap up over her shoulders, followed the others out and into the driveway where Noel was waiting inside the car, which had actually flown with him. Charlotte, who had her fair share of car knowledge, took one look at what she was in and had to smirk.
"A 1967 Chevy Impala. Why am I not surprised…?"
Noel's ears turned red. "I like them vintage!"
"Sure, you bought it because it was vintage…" Patrick rolled his eyes as he got in.
"I didn't buy it—my uncle gave it to me for Christmas." He added in a mutter, "At my request, maybe…but still…"
It was a tight fit: Patrick, the twins and Charlotte sat at the back, Diana called shotgun before she and Patrick even stepped out of the house. Noel adjusted and looked at the rearview mirror and said, "I don't think I need to tell you, if any of you so much as damage an inch of the leather, I will literally set you on righteous fire. And I'm good at setting things on fire!"
"To the airfield now, please?" Lucas said patiently.
"Before we set you on righteous fire?" Logan added with a smile.
"Fine, but I'm the pilot of this clown car—I'll be boss until we get to the airfield." He flipped a switch, and music started to blast from the speakers. Everybody else in the car groaned as, predictably, AC/DC started playing.
Noel, clearly in the zone again, ignored them all and began driving.
-8-
When they got to the private airfield—"Why do you have even have a private airfield?" Charlotte demanded—the first thing they did was get out right next to a large white Boeing sitting on the runway. It looked brand new, everything gleaming.
The twins looked deeply excited. "Do you like it?" Lucas asked, giddy, jumping up and down as he got out of the car. "It's our Christmas present for the next three years!"
"Including the pilot and the gas!" Logan said happily, looking up at it.
"Who wouldn't like it…?" Noel said, grumbling.
Stunned as Charlotte was, she walked with them to the ramp. Before she could truly take it all in, the door on top of the stairs opened and Grace stepped out, wrapped warmly in fur and boots. She grinned brightly, pink-cheeked in the wind, and she waved wildly at them. "Hey, guys! You brought Charlotte!"
"Grace!" Charlotte laughed, glad to see her.
Grace happily jogged down the stairs, and proceeded to trip over her own bootlaces. She tumbled down quite a few steps before Charlotte managed to reach her and stop her. "Oh, Grace…" she half scolded, half worried.
"Sorry, sorry—" Grace gasped, looking shaken. "Got a bit carried away." She hugged Charlotte. "Glad to see you! I got your mail! When I found out you were at home, I told the Twins to go get you." She beamed.
"Oh, they got me," Charlotte smiled wryly at her. "Where's—"
A pair of bodies came out of the plane. Charlotte looked up and her heart rate skipped up a tad faster than normal. Damian was on top of the stairs, smiling at her, with Shane next to him, grinning.
"Get in, losers, we're going shopping!" Shane yelled. The Twins laughed. Damian rolled his eyes and gave him a light shove before he came down.
"Merry After-Christmas," he smiled, giving Charlotte a tight hug. Charlotte sighed and happily returned it. It was good to know that things weren't awkward, at the very least. It was a good sign. "I missed you."
"Merry After-Christmas," Charlotte answered. "And I did miss you too." When Damian released the embrace, he remained holding her hand. Patrick finally complained, loudly, "Can we please have this chick flick moment inside the plane? May we all get out of the cold now? Geez, it doesn't take that long to fly to New York from here, let's get to it!"
Damian cleared his throat, looking a bit embarrassed. But he led Charlotte up the plane, the others following. Charlotte got into the plane, and her jaw dropped. The inside of the plane looked more like a very large den. It even had wood paneling, and the seats were beautifully upholstered. If she wasn't mistaken, that was a Jacuzzi sitting near massive television screen that presided over several gaming consoles. The place was still decorated according to the holidays, including a pile of brightly-wrapped presents in the middle of the area.
Patrick and the Twins made a beeline for the gaming system, with Patrick popping in a fighting game, while Diana plopped down on one of the chairs and started to send a few texts before the plane officially got going. Noel threw himself onto the couch pillows and passed out with frightening speed. When Charlotte gave him the odd look, Damian explained, "He's afraid of flying. He has to sleep it off."
Shane and Grace came in, with Grace keeping a healthy distance from Damian's excitable brother by sitting next to Charlotte. Shane was completely unsympathetic to Damian's glares—he sat between Charlotte and Damian and gave his brother an innocent smile.
Charlotte now looked at her friend. "I thought I wouldn't get to go—I didn't hear from any of you all that much before and after Christmas."
"Christmas is family time—we don't mess with each other," Grace said. "Of course, there's also the chance one of us is in a different time zone, so calling is awkward. But midnight of the twenty-fifth, I already had the Twins ringing me. Asked me to ask you where you were so they could get you."
"And I had a communications blackout," said Damian, shaking his head.
"Had to," Shane nodded. "Damian was home for Christmas for once—and I can tell you, it was so tense up in California that if any of you had called, the room would have blown up."
"So much forced cheer…" Damian sighed. Charlotte reached right over Shane and took Damian's hand, giving it a sympathetic squeeze. This surprised both brothers. Shane sighed at them smiling at each other and finally got off the couch to let them sit together.
When they were flying at last, Noel might as well have been dead, for all they knew; he didn't stir once even as Patrick started complaining that the twins may be cheating as they kept beating him in the game. Diana was next to him, tying to help strategize, but Lucas and Logan were incorrigible—they didn't even have to talk to each other.
"Ow!" Grace, standing with the presents, was now glaring at a brightly wrapped box she was holding onto, clearly getting a paper cut. She looked up at Charlotte and smiled. "Hey Char! Here!" She held out the package. "Your present!"
Charlotte brightened up and said, "Really? Great, I brought yours." She dug into her bag and exchanged gifts with her. Charlotte took her package and ripped it open. It was a Kate Spade tote—crammed with Shu Uemura. Her eyes widened to their fullest extent. "Grace! What—"
"You got me sheet music and new paintbrushes!" Grace said happily hugging the present. "This perfect for my new concept! I can't wait to try them out and finish my last painting!" She glomped Charlotte and happily ran off to get her art things from another part of the plane. She nearly tripped on Diana, but she was clearly very happy.
Charlotte was speechless—she looked down at her present and back at her friend, who she didn't even have the chance to thank yet. Patrick saw his shock and grinned. "Aren't you going to open the rest?"
"The rest…?"
"Those are all yours," said the twins without taking their eyes off the game. "We've already exchanged presents."
Charlotte stared at the gleaming pile. "You cannot be serious."
"Please—those are definitely not our presents," Diana snorted. "We wouldn't know what to do with half of them."
"Why?"
"See for yourself."
An hour later, Charlotte was surrounded by wrapping paper, opening what had to be her third package from Grace. It was a Prada bag that she was sure could literally not be found anywhere. Inside were two ounces of Clé de Peau and she nearly had a heart attack. Around Charlotte sat the rest of the loot—stuff that, collectively, downright blew her mind. On top of the new Alienware laptop Diana had given her, an Alexander McQueen trench from the Twins was draped. The Louboutins from Patrick had tumbled down on the carpet, half hidden by a box of Chanel scarves from Noel. The shoes were the third pair of shoes she received—the Jimmy Choos and the Fendi suede boots were the first two.
There were clearly multiple gifts from one person. She even got one from Shane—"It's nice to meet you and I look forward to your forthcoming threats of bodily harm," the note inside the Dior Homme jacket said—but she didn't get anything from Damian.
Damian said, "It would appear that none of them knew what things to give you—other than Diana, but she usually gives out tech—so they had to turn to Grace for ideas." He turned a little red. "My…present isn't tangible. But I can tell you that it's waiting for you in New York."
Charlotte raised her eyebrows in surprise, but was incredibly pleased. "Interesting."
"I sure hope so," Damian smiled.
"This is too much," Charlotte protested to the others now, mainly out of shock, secondly out of formality, but not without that small part of her that was screaming madly at the sight of all the loot. "Seriously, Grace? You're giving me this?" She waved the Clé de Peau.
"Charlotte, when my mom gets presents, she gets presents," Grace said patiently, already happily trying out her paintbrushes. She frowned as a giant drop of green splashed into her coat by accident. She sighed. "Delivery men keep asking if she's stocking a department store when all the gifts come. And she has a lot of them already. So she sends them to me. You are basically a godsend, I can just give the stuff to you—consider yourself my couture disposal chute. Damian was getting tired of them all too."
"There had come a point when I had nearly an entire fashion show's worth of clothes in my room," Damian recalled. "The show must've been a disaster for Grace's mom if she sent them all away."
Patrick was wearing a Roosterteeth beanie that Charlotte had given him—he had not taken it off the moment he unwrapped it. "We almost there yet?" he asked as he continued to play.
The twins, who were devouring massive amounts of beans out of the tub of Every Flavor Beans that Charlotte had given them, simultaneously pointed to the intercom. As if on cue, the pilot's voice sounded.
"Attention, we will be landing at our private airfield at New York momentarily…"
"That timing…is just creepy," Shane blinked. "And you have yet another private airfield in New York?"
Diana was scribbling something on the beautifully covered moleskine notebook that Charlotte had given her as her present. "Alright guys. I just got through to Sherry-Lehmann. We're good for New Years. We'll probably have enough to keep going until daylight."
Charlotte blinked, not sure. "That kind of sounds familiar…who's Sherry Lehmann?"
The Twins looked at each other with a Cheshire smile and then looked at Charlotte. "Oh. They're delivery people."
Grace rolled her eyes and shook her head from behind the canvas, grumbling about "bad influences". Damian just patted Charlotte's arm. "I…think you should stick with me."
"Yes, please…" Charlotte shot the twins a suspicious glance, but her fingers twined around Damian's. Shane, reading a sports mag, glanced at his brother and smirked at the obvious look of happiness that he never had all Christmas.
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Hawthorne
Jul 1, 2014 1:35:17 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2014 1:35:17 GMT -5
Aw, so sweet of them all! (Supernatural? Roosterteeth? Mean Girls? You are an awesome person.)
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 2:15:58 GMT -5
Noel came to life the moment the plane came to a full stop on the runway. "Oh, we're here already?" he blinked blearily.
"Yup!" said Patrick, getting up from his seat. "Didn't take that long, did it?" He grinned when he saw Charlotte with her nose pressed to the glass window. "Hey Damian? Hang onto her before she has an aneurism—we're not even in the city yet."
Damian laughed and led Charlotte away from the window. "There's a better view outside. Come on, let's go. The crew will put your things in the car."
"Right…" Charlotte looked flushed and animated and let Damian lead her to the exit. She was actually in New York. She had come to New York! It was beyond expectations. Outside into the crisp air, it was a bright morning. Below the stairs waited a long black limousine, with the chauffeur waiting with the door open. He nodded to the twins. "Mr. Lucas, Mr. Logan," he nodded.
"Hello, Simon!" the twins said cheerily. "Everything's ready back at the pad?"
"Yes, sir, the condominium at Park Avenue has been prepared for all of your friends. I've also just confirmed that you will have lunch waiting for you."
"Food!" Patrick exclaimed in relief. "Yes!"
Going down the steps with Damian, she stared at the limousine. She grinned and pulled out her phone.
Made it to New York with the guys. Just got off the private jet. Limo to take us to Upper East Side. I feel like a star already.
And then sent it to the members of the Huntington Choir. Damian, who looked over his shoulder, laughed a little, almost to her ear. To have him—and his lips—so close to her skin again nearly paralyzed Charlotte as she turned slightly to look at him. Their eyes met for only a quick moment before Patrick and Diana came up behind them and shoved them happily forward.
"Now, now—be patient, we're in public," Diana smirked.
"Into the car—let's head to the condo and we promise the twins will give you a room," Was said in the tone teachers took when explaining to kindergartners.
"You two need to be quiet now, please…" Damian grimaced at them. "You're being completely unhelpful."
"We were helpful?" Patrick blinked in mock surprise. "When, pray tell?"
As Charlotte laughingly entered the car, fielding the excited replies of her Huntington friends—and the indignant responses of one Austin Conn—Shane helped Grace take her unfinished painting down the steps. He grinned at her as he took the canvas. "I hear you paint like a master. What are you painting?"
Flustered and turning a bit red, Grace ducked her head. "Just…a last minute thing." She immediately hurried ahead, not turning back to look at him. Shane, far from being deterred by her obvious reluctance to be near him all that much, just smiled and followed after her.
"You guys go ahead!" Noel called, jittery while on the bottom of the steps. "They're unloading my car! I don't want to get in yours—it doesn't have the proper protective countermeasures against my enemies!"
"Noel! You are not taking that Impala to Fifth and Park, I swear, you are not—" Patrick yelled from the window.
"No, no," grinned Lucas. "Let him. He can park it at the garage."
"I want to see it be the combo breaker amidst those European sportscars," Logan added with a nod.
Noel quickly ran off. The door to the limousine closed and they were on their way, heading for Manhattan Island. Charlotte, magnetized as she was by all the sights, finally looked at the twins, staring. "Who are you two?"
The people in the limousine laughed. The Twins looked at her with boundless affection. "We're perfect."
Damian rolled his eyes but smiled. "They're very very wealthy."
"Their parents manufacture aircraft for a number of companies, and their products have quite percentage of the market," Diana explained. "They're ridiculously rich."
"What are you doing in Massachusetts, then?" Charlotte asked disbelievingly. "Shouldn't you be in some European boarding school or something?"
"We're very troublesome to keep anywhere too high profile," Lucas admitted.
"We've been horribly spoiled by our parents and sister," Logan explained.
"And so to keep us in check…"
"They sent us to Hawthorne—"
"—Which is dad's alma mater!—"
"Where we can't make any trouble."
Everyone in the limo gave them a stare that clearly questioned if they (or their parents) were of sound mind and judgment. The Twins only looked at each other pretended to blush. Patrick just shook his head. He glanced behind them through the tinted screens and saw Noel following in the Impala. From the way he was head-banging, it had to be another "mullet rock" classic that was playing in there.
No one had the time to get very impatient before before they made it through Queens, and at which point, the Twins said, "Look out the window, Alice."
Charlotte turned, and stared.
There was Manhattan. Right outside her window. The Empire State building soared beyond the rest, and from where she was, she could also see that iconic Chrysler building. That spiraling cityscape full of bustling people, one of the most famous cities in the world and the hotbed of sophistication, arts, and bohemian life, most of all, the home of Broadway—she was going to it. She was having sensory overload.
Grace was grinning as she pretended to fan her friend. "We could've taken the chopper, couldn't we?"
"Yes, but she wouldn't be this flustered if it went by that fast," grinned Diana. Lucas happily snapped a photo, his twin snatching out the Polaroid.
"Aww. Alice's first trip to New York," he said.
"And it won't be the last."
-8-
Park Avenue was overwhelming to someone who had never really quite gotten used to a whole lot of luxury. In itself, it was picturesque, with all those old buildings that retain their air of conservative sophistication. Charlotte, who was still reeling at the close-up sight of the Chrysler building, the Grand Central Station and the Met-Life building, stared as they stopped before a large building with gleaming gold and glass doors. Noel pulled up right behind them.
"Yay! New York home sweet home!" chorused the identical ones.
The doorman walked over and opened the limo door. The twins hopped out first—crushing the usual fifty to his hand as they shook hands with him—and nodded to the others. "Let's go."
Damian helped Charlotte, whose eyes looked so big as they looked around, that he nearly laughed. He let the others go ahead and squeezed Charlotte's hand to get her attention. Charlotte rained her green eyes at him and for a moment, Damian just had to smile, before saying, "I'm afraid I can't give you your Christmas gift until tonight. Is that all right?"
"Of course it is," Charlotte said sensibly. She nodded to Damian's hands and smiled. "You're wearing them already?" She had given Damian suede gloves—and had prepared something else that she planned on giving him later. Damian smiled and held up the gloves. "I like them." And he used those warmly gloved hands to take Charlotte's, leading her into the building.
They followed the twins through the brilliant lobby of sumptuous décor, and to the elevators. But they did not use any of the others in the gleaming banks. They headed towards the sole elevator around a corner. It was one that needed a thumb-scan. Only one of them had to do it—and then the doors opened, and everyone rushed in.
In the cramped space, as they shot upwards steadily, the others kept "accidentally" shoving Charlotte onto Damian. At one point, Diana and Patrick were trying to wrestle each other in the elevator and Patrick was successfully pinning Charlotte against Damian.
Damian was completely unfazed about it—or at least, it looked that way—and he held Charlotte quietly without a sign of discomfort. Far more impressive than Charlotte's own inability to think past being pressed close enough to feel the other boy's heartbeat.
When the elevator doors opened, Charlotte realized why the twins had their own elevator. They owned the entire floor. The place itself was massive, almost to the very top of the building, with a spectacular view that could look out over Central Park and beyond. The condominium was elaborately decorated and had incredible furnishings—the interior trend was black, white and blue—that made it look comfortable and sophisticated at the same time.
There was already lunch waiting for them at the dining hall, and the others ran towards it with the single-mindedness of the ravenous. As they consumed their meal of angus beef steaks—the only thing that could apparently tame their voracious adolescent hungers—the Twins finally spoke.
"About that party…" Lucas blinked.
"Do we have to explain to Alice?" Logan asked.
"Explain to me what?" Charlotte asked, looking up.
The Jeffersons looked at each other. Damian put his fork down. "I think we shouldn't do that this year. This wouldn't bode well for Charlotte."
"Which is why we have to tell her," said Lucas with a smile.
"It's a pretty wild one," said Logan.
"If it's anything like we have at Jefferson—" Charlotte began, but Diana shook her head with a bit of forced smile. "No, no…they means lots of guests, pounding music, girls, epilepsy-inducing lights, some serious drinks, and the fact that…" She glanced at Damian.
Damian looked at Charlotte, and Charlotte looked at him, and then glanced to how everyone else in the room looked very awkward.
"Well of course we'd get you out of it, if anything went awry…" said Grace quickly.
"If you stay close to one of us, I mean," added Patrick.
The Twins cleared their throats. Lucas leaned forward. "What he means to say is that on midnight…"
"When the ball drops at Times Square…" Logan did the same.
"Everyone…"
"Everyone…"
"Gets to kiss someone."
Charlotte blinked. "But, isn't that what everyone already does…?"
"But that's not all—"
"Not quite—"
"Because by that time, everyone will be dizzy, disoriented—"
"—and drunk on music, or drinks, or hormones—"
"And so when the ball drops…"
"The lights go out."
Damian sat up. Charlotte frowned.
The Twins smiled.
"And then you get to kiss anyone. Anyone you like. And you will never know who it is."
-8-
"You don't have to go," Damian said, following Charlotte into her room later on that day, when everybody finally finished settling in. He looked more upset about the issue than Charlotte was. "It's ridiculous, it's just something that they like to do when it's their turn to host. I figured they wouldn't do it to you after…after you got kissed without consent."
Charlotte sat down on the bed and smiled up at him. "If you don't mind my saying, it's starting to sound a lot like Gossip Girl up here?"
"Doesn't it just?" Damian smiled now and sat next to her. He sighed. "So far, though, is it all that bad?"
"No," Charlotte said nonchalantly. "You all have been nothing but overly hospitable. I don't know much by way of wild parties held by hormone-driven teens, but I do know that I have a few more days until the ball drops. Until then, I think I can decide if I even want to participate in the depravity."
She flopped backwards onto the waterbed, which rippled beneath her. "I'm in New York, for crying out loud. I think I'd like to make the most of it."
Damian tried very hard not to look at her so much as she lay there, supple, looking up at the ceiling with those incredible eyes of hers that seemed to take in the light in the room. Damian turned to the window, then glanced at his watch.
He nudged Charlotte's hand. "It's almost time anyway. Come on. I'm giving you your Christmas present."
Intrigued, Charlotte sat up. "Oh really."
"Yeah." Damian stood, held out his hand to her. "Might be a good way to end the day."
Charlotte looked down a moment and smiled. She took his hand. "Let's go. We'll have to get out before any of them suspect we're going to escape."
"No, they're occupied with selecting party food. That'll take at least four hours."
-8-
The days were short. The light was dying over New York already. With daylight fading away, the city that never slept began to fire up its lights. One building to the next—a carpet of light that steadily grew in intensity as more joined it in the late afternoon.
Charlotte and Damian, carrying his trusty boombox again, walked down Avenue of the Americas. Damian kept his hand securely on Charlotte's as they pushed moved past the people on the street. It didn't take Charlotte very long to realize where Damian was actually taking her. And so when she stopped in front of the building…
Charlotte stared up at the edifice and then to Damian. "Radio City Music Hall…?"
"That's right," Damian smiled. "I figured if we're going to be huge stars, we might as well get used to seeing it." He laughed. "Let's go." He pulled Charlotte along, going all the way around to the back entrance.
"Are you supposed to be doing that?" Charlotte asked as Damian pushed the door open, looking around. "If the place was open, we could use the front door."
"So technically, we're borrowing the place a moment," Damian answered with a grin, pulling her in. The door slammed shut. Everything turned to darkness, and she saw nothing. She only had Damian's voice and his hand leading her. "What are we doing here?"
Damian just smiled to himself, not answering Charlotte. He pulled her through the labyrinth of dimly lit backstage halls, where their footsteps echoed through the emptiness. At first, Charlotte wasn't sure if they were even going anywhere until finally—into light.
Charlotte stopped short as Damian continued to walk, his footsteps sounding onto the stage. After the dim passages, to suddenly move past the curtains and be exposed to the vast grandness of the entire stage, and to the arch of the ceiling, the seats lit and after that—it was no longer all that difficult to imagine standing in front of a crowd that roared the moment you stepped out into the lights.
Damian set the boombox down on the stage and turned around carefully on his heel to look at Charlotte, smiling. "…what do you think?"
Charlotte stepped out into open stage, looking around herself. This massive location housed some of the most incredible artistic performances the world has seen, and now here she was, Charlotte Summers, right beneath the house lights, looking out to it.
At the expression on Charlotte's face and inability to speak, Damian smiled and decided that his present seemed to be a success. It was worth seeing that in her eyes.
"How…" Charlotte stammered, looking around, adjusting to the shock that even her inner diva had not been prepared for. She had always lived for the stage, that much was certain, but to see it from this side, in this place, in New York City, for the first time…
"I pulled some strings…" Damian murmured, looking around and admiring it as well. "Actually, my mother did, at my request. They have…some leverage in stage matters. Besides… I only asked for an extension on a period of time when no one was actually using it, or preparing to set up, just yet. So…it's all ours for the next thirty minutes."
Damian walked to the edge of the stage and leapt into the orchestra pit. Charlotte looked up. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"Where else? To get a good seat." He headed up the aisles, and unceremoniously plopped down on one of the cushioned seats. He smirked at her. "So I can watch you sing."
Charlotte's eyebrows went up. "Sing. Now?"
"No day but today," Damian said offhandedly.
"Huh…" Charlotte seemed to think about it, and a gleam of an idea came into her eyes as she gave Damian a smirk. "No…I don't think so. You're coming up here to sing with me."
"You've got to be kidding. I thought holiday miracles ended at Christmas—Charlotte Summers gets the Radio City Music Hall Stage to herself for the first time…and she wants to share?"
Charlotte answered with the same offhand way, crossing her arms. "Well you did bring me here… And just because it's my first time doesn't mean it's going to be my last, I can assure you that." She smirked. "And a song doesn't last thirty minutes. I think I'll have time to further regale you with my talents after you give in to this request?"
Damian had to laugh. He got up with a sigh, shedding his coat onto the seat. "And what did you have in mind?"
"Something worthy of the occasion…" Charlotte seemed to consider. She then gracefully walked up to the boombox, quickly selected a song, and hit play. And the moment the opening drum beats sounded, Damian recognized the song and smiled.
Charlotte grinned and gestured for him to come hither.
Live in my house,
I'll be your shelter,
Just pay me back
With one thousand kisses
Be my lover and I'll cover you… Damian, smiling in amusement, carefully walked down the aisle towards her as he sang:
Open your door,
I'll be your tenant
Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet
But sweet kisses I've got to spare
I'll be there and I'll cover you… As Damian reached the edge of the stage looking up expectantly at her with eyes bright, Charlotte knelt down on the edge, leaning to him, smirking as they continued together:
I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are my love, on life
Be my life… As Damian mounted the stage again, the doors to the audience entrance slowly opened. Grace's head peeked in first, and upon seeing the pair onstage, grinned immediately. She turned and gestured for the others to come in.
The rest of the others quickly came in, tiptoeing down the aisle—Shane romping ahead, with a video camera— watching as the two danced around the stage to the music. Charlotte took off her scarf and placed it around Damian's neck, using it to pull him close.
Just slip me on,
I'll be your blanket
Wherever, whatever, I'll be your coat… "You'll be my King, and I'll be your castle," Charlotte sang, grinning as she moved around him, and Damian shook his head with a cheeky grin, singing, "No, you'll be my Queen, and I'll be your moat…"
The teenagers in the audience nearly laughed out loud. The pair continued to sing, looking wonderfully alive:
I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are my love, on life
All my life…
As the two of them swirled on stage around each other, singing with everything they had, looking intently at each other as they exchanged lines in perfect time:
I've longed to discover
Something as true as this is…
So with a thousand sweet kisses
(If you're cold and you're lonely)
I'll cover you—
With a thousand sweet kisses
(You've got one nickel only) I'll cover you—
With a thousand sweet kisses
(When you're worn out and tired)
I'll cover you—
With a thousand sweet kisses,
(When your heart has expired)
I'll cover you— Their hands touched again, pulling each other close, Charlotte moving her hands over the scarf that dangled down Damian's chest.
Oh, lover,
I'll cover you,
Yeah…
Oh, lover,
I'll cover you... The music faded away, leaving them both leaning close, foreheads just brushing each other's. Charlotte glanced upwards a moment, smiling a little, and it made Damian grin.
The others in the audience burst into applause and cheers, making the two look up immediately. As the others clapped as hard as they could, Patrick was catcalling and Shane was laughing out loud, making sure to take the memory card out of the camera quickly.
Damian and Charlotte laughed from onstage, both flushed red, both abashed and still taken in by the moment. "Encore!" Grace called. "Encore, encore!"
"Just you then," Damian said, as he released Charlotte. "This is your present, after all. The stage is all yours."
"Best Christmas present I've received yet," Charlotte smirked back. Other than you. Damian just laughed and went down to the others as Charlotte blew kisses to them, preparing to make her second performance.
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Hawthorne
Jul 1, 2014 14:53:53 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2014 14:53:53 GMT -5
That was adorable. Seriously very cute
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 16:13:23 GMT -5
Hi!
I am tonilous and I am your author for this fic.
This chapter is the calm before the storm. The next one is the big one.
Happy reading!
Hawthorne
Come In...
I'm Charlotte.
I recently transferred to Hawthorne Academy.
I recently got flown to New York by the obscenely wealthy Twins. That can't be good—their evil and all that money puts them a few steps away from mounting world domination.
I found out what Jeffersons did on New Year's parties. I can't say I'm that worried…
But it certainly won't bode well for everyone if they hit the wrong lips.
When Charlotte opened her eyes the morning of the 29th, looked through the window and saw the sky, the skyscrapers and Central Park, she smirked to herself. It wasn't a dream this time—she was really still in New York. It was a heady sensation; or perhaps that was just the effect of the height the condo was in. It didn't seem all too real, but her Christmas present from Damian—her own little debut on Radio City Music Hall—was so vivid in her mind that it simply had to be real.
She just finished getting dressed and was fixing her hair when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."
Grace's fluffy strawberry-blond hair peeked in. "Hey, you're up! Great! Ow…" she crushed her toe under the door as she came in. But she grinned and hopped over to Charlotte. "So!"
"So…?" Charlotte glanced at her at the corner of her eyes.
"Plans?" Grace queried.
"Aren't we supposed to go to your exhibit tonight in the Upper West Side?" Charlotte asked as she lowered her hairspray. "Or did you mean for this morning?"
"Well I was just thinking that if you didn't have anything else on your plate…" Grace casually took out two gleaming platinum cards from her pocket and fanned herself with them, smiling up at her friend.
Charlotte stared at the cards, then at her and back again. "You are not. You are not."
"Yes, I am," Grace answered. "The staff at Bergdorf have been forewarned to expect my presence and that of a…VIP. Some aspiring Broadway Diva named Summers. Would you know her?"
"Grace…" Charlotte turned fully to her. "This is too much. Not only have the Tweedles already flown me here, let me live in their Park Avenue condominium and give me full use of their chauffeur to go sightseeing in the past two days, but you've dumped an entire wardrobe of clothes onto me—worth thousands of dollars—including products…" She threw up her hands. "You can't keep doing this—I feel like a charity case!"
"Oh please, Charlotte…" Grace's expression of irritation was almost frighteningly like her mother's. She got up and sat across her on the bed. "Why can't you just let us spoil you? It's not like we do this all the time."
"The first day I moved in, you guys fully furnished my room." Charlotte said, eyes narrowed.
"That's different, it's a special occasion," Grace sighed. "Look at it this way. We're not doing this because we pity you or anything—why should we? You're a Jefferson, so that doesn't make you any different from us. If you notice, we all kind of do this to each other, and not just you. Remember how the Twins pulled out Noel's party? Was Noel a charity case? No—his family has major shares in theme parks in Florida and some in the West Coast. Which is an added bonus for everyone else when we feel like going on a few rollercoasters. If you had as much money I bet you'd do the same for your Huntington friends, right?"
Charlotte leaned back on her vanity chair and sighed, shrugging. "I suppose, I don't know—maybe, if I was particularly giving…" She smiled a little.
"Now in my case," and here Grace performed her best impression of a wounded bunny begging for help, "I've never had anyone to talk to about fashion and stuff like this, Charlotte! Damian's the only one who never minded in the group and he's all right, but he is a boy and it's pathetic watching him try to keep up with whatever I'm saying. Plus, he can get kind of serious and he's always wound up with dealing with everyone else. Please, please, please go shopping with me to Bergdorf? You don't even have to get anything, you just have to put up with my company. Please?"
Charlotte dropped her face into her hand with a deep sigh of surrender. "…well someone has to make sure you don't knock over the mannequins…"
"Yes!" Grace leapt off the bed—and fell face-first onto the carpet.
-8-
Diana was staring out of the window, her cell to her ear. "…but he's all right?"
"We're not sure yet, Diana," said the woman's voice gently from the other end of the phone call. "He's still in surgery… We won't know until a couple of hours."
"I understand…" Diana sat down at the bay window. "…I really wanted to be there."
"Diana, you couldn't have known," answered the woman. "And he didn't want you to know. You spent most of Christmas with him already when you should have been with your family."
"I don't spend enough time with him, I think. With school…choir…soccer…"
"You spend too much," the woman said. "Even he thinks so."
"It doesn't count. …I know there's a chance that I might not have that long with him."
Silence on the other end. "Oh, Diana," the woman finally said softly. "You shouldn't give up like that. He wouldn't be happy to hear that coming from you. We'll know how it turns out by end of today."
Diana sighed deeply, leaning back on the wall. "Please call me when Jordan gets out, Mrs. Rivers? I…I kind of want to be with him for New Years. Even if it's just over the phone."
"Of course, you'll be my first call the moment he gets out."
"Thank you, Mrs. Rivers. I'll talk to you later."
Diana hung up and let the hand holding the phone fall limp to her side as she looked out to the cityscape from the window, chewing on the thumbnail of her free hand. Her body remained still, but her eyes flickered through the scene as though she were searching.
Patrick came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking it a little in reassurance. "Hey. You going to be all right?"
Diana patted her friend's hand. "I will once he gets off the table."
"Hey, if there's anything we can do, we told you—"
"I know." Diana said, looking up at him with a small smile. "Right now I've still got it under control. Whatever he needs, I've got it."
Damian finally lowered the paper he was reading and walked over. He looked a little worried. "Wait—Diana… You taking care of Jordan like this is fine by us and all…but this better not be out of guilt. We talked about this, right?"
Diana got up. "Okay. All right. Let's not go back to this. Bottom line—I've got this. Jordan's going to be all right. All right? End discussion, guys."
Patrick looked at Damian, who just nodded slowly. Patrick went to Diana and gave her a quick hug. "All right. If you say so. You're doing a great job."
"Yeah, thanks…"
Happily shattering the somewhat awkward air, a pair of wildly colorful blurs came tearing through the hall, putting on boots. "Let's go, let's go!" Grace cried, nearly tripping over her Fendis.
"And where do you think you two are going?" asked Damian, raising an eyebrow, trying not to stare at how those black jeans were clinging to Charlotte's legs as she put on her leather boots. This was the problem with going ahead and kissing someone. Now that he'd had one, he had to keep wondering about more.
"Bergdorf's," Grace answered, struggling with the zipper of her boots. "We're going to go do retail therapy."
"Just the two of you?" asked Patrick.
"Yeah," Charlotte answered.
"Whoa, you two are not going out by yourselves," said Diana, walking up to them, looking at them as though they were crazy. "At least let me and Patrick go with you."
"We're not five," Charlotte said sensibly, raising an eyebrow as she put on her coat—the white mink that everyone in the condo was secretly planning on destroying.
Patrick shook his head. "Not exactly like that. It'll be like someone blind leading someone lame. Grace knows her way around, but you're keeping her from maiming herself and you don't know your way around New York all that well yet."
Charlotte gave them a disbelieving stare. "You two are acting…odder than usual."
"No we are not," the two chorused, staring at them.
Perhaps they were. But it had mostly to do with something the twins had sent them over phone earlier. The Tweedles had fled bright and early that morning—possibly heading out to see decorators for the massive party that seemed to be attracting every Jefferson and Hawthorne student who had time to fly from wherever they were. Especially after the twins hinted that a couple of Victoria's Secret supermodels might make an appearance.
But when the twins sent this message from wherever they may be lurking:
AMBER ALERT—Saw the Knave in Le Pain Quotidien. Looks sobered down, don't know if good or bad. Keep tabs on Alice.
Diana and Patrick started to get a little worried. Darren lived somewhere in the Upper East Side as well, but they had heard he was in Paris for Christmas with his severe father and the trophy wife. Him coming back within days of the party was something to worry about.
They had talked about this with the twins, about any Anti-Darren contingency plans as they tried to all but cuff Charlotte and Damian together. "What do you mean you can't just bar him from coming?" Patrick had asked. "It's your house!"
"But it's technically not our party," Lucas had explained. "You guys know it, we know it—the New Year party pass-around is a tradition and every Hawthorne tradition comes with annoying rules, such as…"
"The hosts have the option to kill the lights…" Logan said, counting with his fingers.
"…thou shalt give all Pipers VIP…"
"…thou shalt not puke over the balcony…"
"…thou shalt not answer the phone if it's your parents—"
"…And every Legacy immediately has access into the party." Logan crossed his arms over his chest. "And Darren's family has had Legacy for four generations, and in Adams for two. And he's a Piper. So he has triple the automatic invite."
This was impressive, seeing as how only a few Hawthorne students can claim Legacy of this magnitude—the Twins included. Diana just barely made the upper echelons with two generations. Noel had one generation fallback, while Damian, Patrick, and Grace didn't even have Legacy to boast of.
So whether they liked it or not, if Darren so chose to arrive at the 31st, he would have to be admitted in. Damian was actually that close to being official with Charlotte, so Patrick and Diana could take no chances. They had seen the confession backstage. And while they have good headway so far between the Rabbit and Alice, the Knave had every ability to step in.
"I have to buy Jordan something for New Year's anyway," Diana said casually. "Might as well go with you. I don't even know what to get him."
Charlotte and Grace looked at each other. Charlotte then said to them, "I suppose we could help you out in that direction…"
"Are you sure you want to go with us?" Grace blinked. "Because you're going to have to help me deal with holding Charlotte back once she sees all the Marc Jacobs." She ducked Charlotte's swat at her.
"It'll be fine," Patrick said, already picking up his phone and putting it into his pocket.
"I won't be joining you, unfortunately," said Damian, glancing at them, looking apologetically at Charlotte. "Shane's disappeared and I have to go see where he'd gotten to. I'm only hoping that he didn't go out with Noel—the Impala's also gone—who seems to have gone out hunting at the Morris-Jumel Mansion. And I refuse to have him contaminate my excitable brother." He rolled his eyes, exasperated. He wondered why they were hundreds of miles from school and yet he still had to babysit everyone else.
"We'll be fine without you, then," Charlotte said, suddenly giving him a rather affectionate hug. Damian was surprised, but held Charlotte by the waist and smiled. "Have fun," he said.
"It's Bergdorf, Damian. Your problem is prying me out."
"Then, I'll pick you all up later and I'll help them peel you off the door." He grinned.
Patrick and Diana pretended to gag from the door, Grace kicking them as they did. But Damian and Charlotte had made some progress at least. They weren't shying away from each other anymore. But they've yet to make the Armageddon-style impact everyone had been waiting for. And they had to make sure no one suddenly decides to go out and be a hero before that happens.
-8-
"Dear god, Charlotte, stop!" Grace begged. "I can't take it anymore!"
"Just a bit more—stop moving so much! " Charlotte snapped.
"It won't fit!"
"Yes it will!"
"Well if you just let me—"
"No, not until I say so!"
"Just let me—"
"—shh!"
Patrick and Diana glanced at each other with deeply disturbed expressions at the noises in the dressing room. They were not quite prepared to board the actual train of thought that the sounds entailed, so Diana gingerly knocked. "Pardon me, but what is going on in there?"
There was a brief squabble inside and Grace whined, "Charlotte won't leave me alone! I told him that the pants won't fit! And I'm pretty sure that I'm losing my circulation!"
"They do fit and you just don't know how to zip them up right!" Charlotte shot back.
"There's five different zippers!"
Patrick pressed a hand into his temple. "I think I'll let you handle this," he said to Diana. To the two in the dressing room, he said with extended patience, "Are we positive that after this, we are finally leaving this place? It's been five hours and I'm pretty sure that dragon living in my stomach just ate my appendix."
"You were the ones who wanted to come with us…" muttered Charlotte.
There was a sound of something zipping up so fast that fabric could have torn. "Yes!" Grace gasped from inside the dressing room. "Let's leave before Charlotte shovels me into another coat!"
"You were the one who wanted me to come with you!" Charlotte also shot at her.
Patrick looked at Diana. "I'll go tell Damian to come get us and tell some people to…pick all this up." He motioned to the plethora of shopping bags that were waiting at the counter.
To say that the twosome went overboard was an understatement. The number could rival corporate giveaways and it had come to the point that not even all four of them could carry it all. While Charlotte steadfastly maintained that most if not all of them were Grace's, she was sure that a good number will be going back to Huntington with Charlotte—who was determined to indoctrinate her mother and new step father to couture in the hopes that some of it rubs off on his son.
Patrick left, leaving Diana to listen to the two in the dressing room.
"So…" Charlotte said almost successfully offhand, brushing down her clothes, "…we have to talk about Shane."
Grace froze. "What about Shane?"
Charlotte raised her eyebrow at her. "Grace you can't be serious. He is following you around staring at you. He's worshipping you. He's probably the High Priest of Grace-ism right now."
"Charlotte, please don't say those things, they really make me uncomfortable," Grace said tightly, looking down at the floor.
"Well they're true." Charlotte said. She studied her friend. "Does it really make you feel that bad? Because if it does, we'll tell him to leave you alone."
"Shane's…really great, he's a nice guy, but…I just don't know how to feel about him being interested in me. That way."
Charlotte stared, then let out her breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "All right, Grace. I'm about to make a breach of privacy here and you're going to have to forgive me but at this point it has to be asked: why are you so cautious?"
Silence. Diana felt she should step away from this and gave the two their privacy by following after Patrick.
Finally, Grace let out her breath. "…I don't know."
Charlotte sat on the cushioned chair in the large dressing room. "You don't know," she repeated, stared up questioningly at Grace.
"I'm in high school—aren't I allowed to be a little…confused sometimes?" Grace mumbled, picking at the belt she was wearing. "I mean… I haven't ever really fallen in love with a guy before, but I always thought that it was because I just haven't found one I liked…? And I'm surrounded by all these people who pretty much think that I do like him and it just makes me think that I should, but at the same time I don't think that's right either—to like someone… just because everyone expects me to…" She looked at Charlotte. "Does this make sense at all?"
"Surprisingly, yes." Charlotte smiled a bit.
"But Shane… I met him and seriously, I didn't think I was…you know, struck by lightning or anything. The way Damian was with you—"
"Pardon?" Charlotte interrupted, narrowing her eyes at her.
"He got hit hard, Charlotte—they tell me Damian looked like he got hit by a freight train—just own it," Grace waved it away. "My point is…I didn't see Shane like that. He just looked like, well…a friend. New person. Damian's younger brother. And then he started following me and you all started telling me that he was in love with me—"
"He is over the moon. Own that."
"—right, well—it's semi-not-mutual right now... I think."
"Semi?" Charlotte smiled a bit more.
Grace rolled her eyes awkwardly. "…No one's actually ever been in love with me. And to hear that Shane is, well…it…kind of…sounded nice. And I found him…really sweet, creepy as it is." She sighed. "But I don't want to keep Shane trailing along like this either—it sounds cruel." Grace smiled. "You're actually the first person to ask about this, did you know?
Charlotte nodded slowly, considering. She looked around the room a moment, then said, "Can I ask another one? The way you are with us Jeffersons, Pipers… right now? You're just being you, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Are you happy when you're just…winging it with us?"
"You have no idea." Grace smiled.
"Then the label is unnecessary," Charlotte declared, standing. She shrugged. "Not one of us is rushing you to figure it out—or they would've said so. You just keep being fabulous and we'll all get along. And whatever you decide, I'm sure that if Shane really does like you, he'll support. Or we'll make him. Whichever."
Grace laughed and shook her head. "Right. I'm sure."
"…and in response to this breach of privacy, I'll tell you a secret that if you tell anyone in Hawthorne, I will set fire to your McQueens." She leaned over and whispered in Grace's ear.
Grace listened, and then her eyes widened to their fullest extent, jaw dropping. She stared at Charlotte. "No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"It was plaid." Charlotte nodded somberly.
"…and the hat…" Grace stared in shock, eyes bright.
"Okay, the topic is now over!" Charlotte exclaimed, bright red in the face, walking out of the dressing room rapidly, Grace trailing after her, wildly excited as she chased her across the floor. "You can't just drop it like that! Details! When was this? And the accent! What did people say?"
"Conversation is over, Grace, and I swear if you tell anyone, especially Patrick, Diana, and the Tweedles, I will—"
"Wait," Grace looked around. "Where are Patrick and Diana?"
The department store continued on in its bustle, but with no sign of their companions. They searched the floor, looking for them until they reached the store entrance, rushing outside. There was no car waiting for them either, and there was no sign of the twosome. "Didn't Patrick say he was going to call the others?" Charlotte said, looking around.
"Yes…even the bags are gone…" Grace found no sign of their bags. "Where did Diana go?"
"Maybe she followed him."
"I'll go check with the staff, stay here," Grace hurried off to find one of the attendants, nearly hitting glass in her haste. Charlotte, who just pulled out her cell phone and do the rational thing—call them—made to go after her friend. "Grace, wait—!"
She stopped. She stood staring at someone she recognized, walking towards the direction of Central Park. She thought she was seeing things, but it had to be right—the blond head that moved through the crowd was still the same, but the hazel eyes looked dull with haze.
"…Darren…?" Charlotte narrowed her eyes a little.
He looked different, the very appearance of someone who had gone through some holiday stress. He appeared paler than usual, his pallor contrasting too much against his jet black coat. Hands in his pockets, mist coming from his lips, he headed to the park.
Charlotte glanced back to the door. She looked down at the coat she was wearing and sighed. She remembered what Darren said backstage and shook her head. If she had the chance to do it, she'll have to now, before the other Jeffersons could swoop down. She made a quick text, sending it to Grace.
Be right back. –C
And she ran after Darren before she could lose him in the crowd. She pierced through the people, somehow glad that Darren was so tall—she could still see him. As Charlotte flew off, someone who was just heading to Bergdorf looked up and stopped in surprise at the sight of her.
Shane blinked. Where's she going…? She'll get lost— He quickly began to follow, crossing the street and going after her. A quick glance to where Charlotte was looking helped him spot a tall blond heading to Central Park. Shane felt startled.
Darren Wright…? What the...? His eyes darkened a little, and he walked faster, determined to catch up to them. He pulled out his Sidekick and sent a cryptic message to his brother.
SOS, Central Park! Follow my GPS! – S
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Post by tonilous on Jul 1, 2014 16:50:18 GMT -5
Darren sat at one of the benches, folding his gloved hands together and looking up at the trees, exhaling a cloud as he did. There were always people in Central Park, but right now he could barely hear any of them. He was still fighting through his own fog. He rested his elbows onto his knees, leaning over.
A pair of beautifully-booted feet stopped in front of him topped by a swirl of white mink. He raised his eyes blearily and saw Charlotte Summers, flushed with exertion, looking at him. He stared a moment, not sure if this was what he was actually seeing. "…Charlotte?"
"Hi," Charlotte said shortly.
"Uh, hi." Darren sat up, blinking in confusion. "Why are you—" he stopped then remembered. "Ah… Twins must have taken you to visit for the New Year party…"
"Yeah," Charlotte nodded. "I…saw you head here."
"And you followed me?"
Charlotte colored bright red. "…maybe."
Darren nodded, just seeming to take this information without being able to feel anything about it. "Okay." He looked at the coat. "…it looks good on you."
"Everything does," Charlotte shrugged.
There was a most awkward pause that followed. Darren seemed to look past Charlotte and just look completely out of himself than was normal.
Finally, Charlotte said, "About the coat… thank you."
Darren smiled slightly and shrugged, almost disinterested. "Not a big deal. I figure the rest of the Jeffersons buried you in more anyway."
Charlotte finally just cut to the chase. "…look, seriously now—are you all right? Because you don't look—"
"Venomous? Intense? Dangerous? Weapons-Grade Psychotic?"
The girl pursed her lips. So Darren was self-aware, and aware of what everyone else thought of him. She had to give him that. "…healthy, was the word. I know they're trying to make you better, in some degree, but what have they been giving you?"
"I decided not to ask…but half the time I feel like I'm going to go full stop altogether—I'm that hazy. I just wanted to get out and get some fresh air." He waved absently. "Clear my head. Right now, I'm just… I feel like I'm going to disappear."
Charlotte didn't know what to make of that. She sat carefully next to him, remaining a prudent distance. "…but you're going to be all right?"
"Yes, I think so. Once I leave my father's spyglass, I'll be all right," Darren smiled a little.
Charlotte remembered Mr. Wright very vividly. "…yeah, your dad really knows how to roast."
"That was the best Parisian Christmas ever…" Darren said sarcastically. "I loved sharing a room with the old man and Michelle, pretending to be proper and shaking hands with politicians."
Charlotte almost smiled. Darren looked at her and added, "How long will you be in New York?"
"Until New Year…"
"Oh so I'll see you at the party?"
Charlotte stared. "The party?"
"Every Hawthorne Legacy is automatically invited to the New Year party tradition… I know that much. I didn't think I was going to go, but now…" he smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll be good. As much as the drugs will allow anyway."
Charlotte felt awkward and stood. "The party. Do the Twins know? They didn't—"
"Shh!" Darren suddenly said, looking up. He seemed like he was listening. "…do you hear that?"
Charlotte listened. She heard a lot of laughter and talk from a crowd not too far from where they were, but she hadn't been consciously listening to them. It was only now that she noticed that there was something else.
Music.
Darren got up and looked to where it was coming from. After a moment's craning, he suddenly smirked, looking a bit more like his old self. "Ah. I get it. Come on."
"Why?"
"You'll want to see this." And he grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her along over the path. Her eyes widened, staring at the sudden contact. Only Damian had ever held her hand so casually before.
It was at this point that Shane ran out of hiding and chased them. "Hey! Darren!" he yelled.
Darren appeared as though he knew he was there the whole time. He casually released Charlotte's hand and said, "Hey Shane. Nice to see you again. Good timing. You'll want to see this too, so you can tell the others."
Shane, startled and confused at his casual attitude, only managed to say, "What? See what?"
"Our competition for Nationals."
The crowd in the park a way off from them was still growing, mainly because of startled onlookers. They looked like a group of students, most of them, clapping their hands to the beat. They were wearing ordinary clothes and looking excited. They formed a semicircle around a group of girls dancing and singing. There was a group of girls in rows, singing in chorus, while there was a primary group out front that was singing and dancing to "Do Somethin'".
Darren being the tallest, pushed through the crowd for a better look and helped Shane and Charlotte get nearer. The girls were particularly good—the ones in the ranks were singing in perfect chorus, having arranged the song into a show choir version that sounded clear in the air.
They backed up the main singers up front, who were shameless. They had the voices and they were unbelievable dancers, perfectly synchronized.
I see you looking at me
Like I was some kind of freak—
Get up out of your seat—
Why don't you do somethin'? Sadly, it was the tail end of the song that the three caught up to. The girls made their finale, the lead three making a solid finish of their harmonization and high notes, and the crowd burst into applause and cheering, especially from the students.
"What the…?" Charlotte stared at the girls, who were jumping up and down, waving and blowing flirty grins at everyone.
"Harold Kramer High School," Darren explained. "I've seen them before. They like to do public exhibitions. Sometimes with good and bad results because of the police shooing them off—I hear they invaded Grand Central once—but they don't care. These are just their girls. You're going to want to see what happens next."
The beautiful black girl with long braids that reached to her hips, one of the lead singers, was getting the crowd riled up. "You want some more of this?" she yelled, and the crowd cheered.
"Yeah!" the redhead among the lead singers waved to them. She made a come-hither gesture. "Hey boys! Let them have it!"
And from the crowd, rushing past everyone else, a mass of boys poured. They were all dressed in casual clothing and they gave each other high fives as the music from their stereo started to blast. They were all playing around, but the had the same formation as the girls—a solid vocal group behind the main singers.
A tall, slightly built boy with close-cropped brown hair moved to front and grinned, "Come on, boys—let's get them!"
They began to dance—and they were even better than the girls had been. The boys in front could really move, the likes of which Charlotte hadn't seen since Justin Richards. It was like a whole group of Justin Richards.
Shane stared. "…wow."
Charlotte swallowed. Their vocals at the back did not dance as wildly as they did, but their voices melded in perfect harmony, like the Pipers'. And even in their dance, they energy was higher than the Pipers', each movement fluid and voices clear. Their music drove everyone to dance.
I've got the magic in me
Everytime I touch that track it turns into gold
Everybody knows I've got the magic in me
When I hit the floor the girls come snappin' at me
Now everybody wants some presto magic
If that hadn't been bad enough, their lead singers were also their lead dancers. Their show choir rendition of Magic was positively infectious and the grown was moving along to the beat already. The three boys in front were taking the lead.
Magic, magic, magic
Magic, magic, magic
Magic, magic, magic(ahoo)
I've got the magic in me! They broke ranks, the chorus behind them dancing and just clearly having fun with what they were doing, grinning to each other. A dark haired boy slid forward on his knees and began to sing as he danced like a professional:
These tricks that I'll attempt will blow your mind
Pick a verse, any verse, I'll hypnotize you with every line
I'll need a volunteer, how about you, with the eyes?
Come on down to the front, and stand right here and don't be shy
And they could rap. How this was even happening was beyond comprehension. Each of the lead three had their turn at a line.
I'll have you time-travellin', have your mind babblin'
People tryna inherit the skill so they askin' me
Even David Blaine had to go and take some classes, and
I see Mindfreak like, "What's up man, what's happenin'?"
So come one, come all, and see the show tonight
Prepare to be astounded, no Ghost or Poltergeist
You know I'm no Pinocchio, I've never told a lie
So call me Mr. Magic Man, I float on Cloud 9
Charlotte's heart was in her throat. This was bad. This was really really bad. The Kramer team had every synchronized order of the Pipers and all the energy and bright movements of Huntington. She hadn't seen this level of performance since Westhampton—but the Kramer students had nothing robotic about them. They were just…
"Pure Energy," said Darren, eyeing them. "They're the Kramer High School Pure Energy."
The crowd cheered as the girls tore out of the crowd again and joined the boys—forming one massive sound, voices seamlessly blending as they danced.
I've got the magic in me (I got the magic, baby)
Everytime I touch that track it turns into gold (Yes it turns to gold)
Everybody knows I've got the magic in me (I got the magic, baby)
When I hit the flow the girls come snappin' at me (They be snappin' baby)
Now everybody wants some presto magic
Magic, magic, magic
Magic, magic, magic
Magic, magic, magic(ahoo)
I've got the magic in me!
At the end of their performance, the crowd—mostly comprised to Kramer students—stared to cheer wildly for the team, who were all cuffing each other, giving high fives and brofists. They bowed to their crowd, wacing and pointing. "Say it, Kramer!"
"Nationals!" the school cheered.
"Say what?"
"Nationals!"
"Where we going?"
"That's right! Yeah!" the lead singers pumped their fists into the air, earning more cheers.
Charlotte felt sick. They were insane. That team was insane. Shane wasn't a Piper but even he looked ill. They were ferocious—and it wasn't even a stage performance. There was just no way that this team wouldn't actually make their Regionals and subsequently step into Nationals. Darren looked a bit concerned but he just shook his head. "Let's go. Come on."
They were headed out of the crowd when they heard a voice. "Hey! Hey, Pipers!"
Charlotte's eyes widened and she turned. One of the lead singers, the boy with the brown hair who was Alex's height and just as built, was pushing his way towards them. He had a big smile. "Hey there—you liked the show?"
"You…know who we are?" Charlotte asked incredulously.
"Who doesn't know you?" he answered with a grin. "We keep our tabs, man. Saw your competition. You tied with Huntington." He extended a hand. "I'm Tom, I'm the captain."
Darren shook his hand. "Darren. This is Charlotte…and Shane."
"Hey." Shane shook hands with him.
"So we be seeing you at Nationals, yeah?" grinned Tom. "I sure hope so. This was all preview-of-coming-attraction. We're going all out for Nationals. We're coming after you guys."
"Sure…" Darren nodded, almost irritated. "Then, we'll be going."
"Don't be strangers!" Tom called to them as he grinned and ran back to his group. He seemed to wait until the Hawthorne students subsequently left. And his teammates, the other leads, gathered around him. "S'that all about, Tom? Softening up the competition?" asked one of the other boys
"Sort of, yeah," Tom smirked.
"Please," said one girl, the one with the blonde highlights. "We can take them. They tied with the team that didn't make it past Regionals."
"Come on, now," said the good-looking black boy who rapped the best among them. He had his arm around the girl with the long braids. "They might make it this year."
"But they're so serious," grumbled another boy.
"Yeah they are," grinned Tom. "Let's go get out of here, guys. Check up on them Pipers later."
"You got that right."
-8-
"So I'll leave you here," said Darren on the street, looking at Charlotte and Shane. "Don't let the Energies bother you. We don't have to deal with them until Nationals."
Charlotte just nodded, mind racing. If the Pipers didn't get cracking, they won't make it past Westhampton, let alone those monsters in the park. What was New York feeding its students? She had to go talk to Pentland and Gregor the moment she set foot back at Hawthorne.
Darren put a hand on her shoulder. "See you, then? At the party?"
Charlotte shifted a little and nodded. "Yeah."
Shane, behind the taller boy, looked up, frowning. He's coming to the… He grit his teeth. This guy had already broken his brother's heart once, and now he was going to do it again. In front of him.
Don't tell me you're planning on kissing her in that party. He stepped carefully past Darren, taking his hand out of his pocket. He held the memory card of the song in the Radio City Hall. He had another copy—so this one will go to good use. Glaring with barely any veils, he surreptitiously dropped the card into Darren's coat pocket.
I hope it gives you a fright. Shane turned and grabbed Charlotte's hand. "Let's go, Charlotte—they're looking for us."
Shane wasn't the calm brother. He wasn't composed, he acted at will. He was the one who moved before thinking. He wasn't patient either, like Damian. And Darren had just used up what little patience he had. So what if he was on medication and he was trying? Shane wasn't forgiving him. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
"See you!" Darren smiled, before he walked off.
Charlotte only glanced back as Shane pulled her along. She looked at Shane and saw the look on his face. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded.
"Just stay away from him, all right?" Shane snapped. "You know what he did to Damian!"
Charlotte pulled her hand away, but strode alongside him. "So you knew—"
"Knew? I had to listen to everything Damian went through when Darren did all that stuff him!" Shane snapped. "He got jealous, he got angry, he got violent, he stole the girl Damian cared about, and when that other girl realized what a jerk Darren was and started to hang out with Damian for safety, he slammed them both! If I wasn't in Colorado, I would've—" He snarled. "I just hate that guy."
Charlotte shook her head. She didn't even know what to think of Darren anymore. He was begging for a chance but the story keeps unraveling and telling her that it wasn't going to be good. That story between Damian, Darren, and the soloist was still not complete and it wasn't boding well.
"Charlotte! Shane!"
They looked up and saw the other Jeffersons running towards them. "Geez, you freaked us out!" Patrick almost yelled when he ran up to them. "I go call Damian and I come back and Grace's freaking out because you're gone!"
"Darren's in New York," Shane said without preamble.
"What?" Damian pushed past Patrick and Diana and went to Shane. He had received his brother's SOS and thought there was something bad that happened, and in a way, something had. "Where did you see him?"
"The park," Charlotte said, shaking her head. "I…followed him. He looked bad. He said he was on a lot of medication."
"He's coming to the party!" Shane interjected.
"He is not!" Grace gasped. "He can't!"
"He can," said Damian, shaking his head. "He's a Legacy. He gets to go." He looked at Charlotte. "Are you all right? You look a bit shaken."
Charlotte, for once, wasn't worried about Darren. He looked at the other Pipers. "I think…for Regionals and Nationals…we may be in a little bit of trouble."
So the next chapter is the big one. :)
I'm so excited to upload it! I've added Jordan Rivers to my character list found on Page 4, if you are interested!
See you in the next one!
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Hawthorne
Jul 1, 2014 18:39:13 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2014 18:39:13 GMT -5
That's so exciting.. I wish I could have seen a performance like that
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