Uhm... I didn't mean to start a new one. I just... did. What is it with me and wanting Edd to have a secret. I dunno... I think it's the hat. Hopefully it's a good one anyway. I'll be posting the next chapter of Neurochemistry at some point too but i've hit a bit of a wall.
"I'm so glad tonight is finally over." Tatiana said as she stretched out her long limbs back stage.
"You were great out there tonight." A large black woman to her left said, squeezing the smaller girls shoulder before moving to her station.
"Yeah? I've not been doing this long. I'm glad I'm finally getting the hang of it." The lanky girl said. She removed the thigh heigh boots that encased her legs and rolled the sheer stockings off to set her feet free.
"All you had to do was memorize the dance. And that was easy on you, right sugar?" The sparkling dark woman asked as she removed her flamboyant make-up.
"Yes, though I still don't care for the music. I don't understand some of the more… interesting lines." Tatiana shrugged off the feather head-dress and shimmering beaded shawl.
"You zip that pretty little mouth of yours. Don't you dare insult the elder goddess of music. You best go pray to Cher for your sins."
Tatiana chuckled before silence took over, even as the pounding music of the stage reverberated through the dressing room. The two expertly removed the make-up and lashes, the sequin gowns and padding hidden under. And soon they were no longer women.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ashleighia."
"Call me Andy out of dress Edd." Andy's deep southern accent drawled.
"Oh yes, My apologies It's hard to shake the name I was introduced to you by, Andrew."
The large black man chuckled and rolled his eyes as he clapped a hand on the smaller man's back. "Still having trouble with nicknames?"
"I'm sorry!" Edd gasped. "Andy." Edd smiled his gap-toothed smile.
Edd sighed as he left the bright building.
A white sign hung in the window below the large lit letters of the bar. 'DRAG SHOW' was all it read. It wasn't a huge establishment but it was happy, friendlily, and it felt like home.
He went around the back of the building to the parking lot and into his small white corolla, climbing into the drivers seat and taking the wheel to head to his own empty house. After this he was to add the finishing touches to his AP Government paper and head to bed. The lights and sounds of the old brick building left behind until tomorrow.
Edd was a drag queen. Though it was an accident, it was a happy one. He had always been a little on the curious side about drag but he didn't start in the boots and dresses, he began as a scheduling manager. It was a strange place to start as a high-schooler but he showed amazing talent no one else had in memorizing the girls schedules, plans, and just about everything else. What they ate, what size shoes they wore in mens, women's, and european sizing, what color and brand make-up they preferred, and he was also skilled in accounting and bookkeeping. He quickly became a valuable resource to the little place. Even now as a side-line drag girl he took care of most of those activities.
It all started when his parents told him he should get experience in the world before he set off to college. (In sticky note format of course.) He was, after all, going to be in his last year of high school and he would have a shortened schedule of all AP classes. The summer also left him with a lot of free time to spare with Ed being in summer school and Eddy helping out his father at the dealership for extra spending money. So he started applying for jobs he found interesting.
He had only applied at the 'Blue Dressage' because he found the culture fascinating. He liked the idea of the support the community offered. He never expected the job but he was given a chance, a 17 year old with no work experience nor knowledge of pop or drag culture.
The moment he walked in though he knew he wanted to be a part of this place. He was easily able to be himself with the queens. He had been hired on the spot. (Though it was mostly because 'Matilda' the Drag Mother and owner of the little place thought he was a cutie.)
Then there was 'Marina.' She had been a side-liner for years and would occasionally take over center-stage if someone was sick or hurt. Marina was amazing at quickly learning the dances and steps but was known as a bit of an addict. Then one day, a little over two months after Edd had started working there, they had found her back stage passed out.
She had overdosed. Lucky for Marina, Matilda knew what to do and kept her alive until paramedics arrived. She had lived but not without major repercussions. Rehab was necessary, and in the end she decided it was best not to go back. She hung up her wig and title and went back to being Rikki. Last they heard from him he moved in with his boyfriend of three years in Colorado and were happy with their two little dogs.
That night was his first performance as Tatiana. He'd been shoved in a dress and make-up with a 'the show must go on' from Matilda. Luckily he had memorized the dance (out of both boredom and neurosis.) He didn't have a major role but he had made a wonderful woman. His long lanky figure took to dresses and heels easily. He had small feet and a delicate frame so most woman's clothing fit like a dream, of course padding was necessary to perfect the illusion. As a present to the Tatiana Rikki left her his clothes and wigs. He wasn't going to need them anymore. The clothes needed to be re-fitted but he had a deep love for a particular long black wig, Marina never wore it much but it quickly became part of Tatiana's look and he took great care of it.
Ashleighia and all the other queens wholeheartedly loved Edd. They treated him like family, they gave him the strength to come out and just be himself.
Speaking of coming out he hadn't told everyone yet but Ed and Eddy knew and they were the only ones that mattered outside of The Blue Dressage.
When classes started up again he still had plenty of free time. His homework, he found, was best done in between shows, back stage, as he shimmied on the tight lace and sparkling fabrics.
Edd pulled into his drive way and entered his dark house.
Sometimes he wished he could bring his drag persona home. Be the ever confident Tatiana, with her long dark hair and confident attitude. The aloof nature of costume-wear made Edd a much more daring person, with wigs and platforms and face-conturing make-up nobody knew who he was. He could be whoever he wanted. And Tatiana was all of it. She was smart but sexy. Bright yet mysterious. She made women want to be her and men want to be with her. She mingled with the bar-goers and got plenty of numbers, most of which she never called but still kept as Edd, as reminders that somebody thought him attractive enough to flirt with, even if it was as someone else.
He didn't necessarily want to become a woman. It was uncomfortable to be in those shoes for so long and dresses rode up too often for him to feel anything less then embarrassed in outside of the club. He just wished that he could act that way. Feel confident as just himself. However no one thought him attractive as a man. He was pale and scrawny. Lanky and boney. Tender and anything but masculine, not once did he get even a fraction of the sexual attention he got as Tatiana. People thought him cute. He was like a small animal. You want to play with it and scratch it behind the ears but of course you'd never want to have sex with it or be in a relationship with it. With him. He had dated sure, and even felt loved at one point but the illusion of Tatiana was so much more desired then just... Edd.
He laid in his bed when he couldn't focus on the paper. 'Oh well' he thought. 'I'll just do it tomorrow.'
He drifted off thinking of the flashing lights and thumping music, reciting the lines to popular songs in his head, mouthing the words in time and wondering what they could mean.
So I have a few chapters of this in progress but... Tell me what you think.