Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Author: Payton Tyler
Email: darkserene@glitterbomb.com
Pairing: What do you think?
Rating: PG-13
Spoiler: State of Grace and everything before it
Disclaimer: I'm only in junior high, I clearly don't own the show. I do however own Christopher Marquette. I mean.. I own the story line. Yes, the story line. Nothing else.
Summary: That dreaded day is here again. February 14th. And you know what that means..
Author's Notes: I wrote this around midnight by light of white Christmas lights to indie punk music. Needless to say, it's gonna be a little weird.
-Chapter One: The Chain Reaction-
Grace sat the book she was reading down on the stone wall she was sitting on and re-adjusted her headphones. As she went to pick the book up again, she felt someone looking down at her. She glanced up and saw Joan.
"Hey," Joan said. Grace took her headphones off.
"Hi," she said in a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. The volume didn't change. Joan took a seat next to her friend on the wall.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Grace nodded.
"Losing my voice," she said. Joan was barely able to hear her. Grace Polk without her voice. The day was going to be a lot quieter.
"So... What are you listening to?" Joan asked in attempt to make conversation. Ever since the debate a few days earlier, things had been a little awkward between the two. Grace opened her CD player, revealing a burned CD titled 'Coheed -n- Cambria 2'. After Joan had read it, Grace closed her CD player and put her headphones back on and the girls sat in silence until the bell rang.
Adam adjusted the beanie under his hoodie and picked up his pen. Ms. Lischak began class, and Joan and Adam began taking notes. Ten minutes later, Grace walked in.
"Miss Polk, you're late, again. Do you have a pass?" Ms. Lischak asked.
"Do I look like I have a pass?"Grace asked quietly. She took her seat and pulled a notebook out of her backpack.
At the table in front of Joan, Adam and Grace, Glynis was staring at the side of Luke's head with a spacy dreamy expression. Freidman looked from Glynis to Luke.
"Dude, Glynis is making eyes at you and don't even notice," Freidman said.
"I'm taking notes," Luke said.
"You kissed her. Of course she's going to be paying attention to you. But if you're just going to sit there and take notes there must be something wrong with you." Luke looked at Freidman.
"I know what I did but.." Luke said, trailing off.
"But what?" Freidman asked as Ms. Lischak told the class what chemicals they would need to get. Glynis left the table to get them, and behind them, Grace left.
"So you dropped out of debate team?" Adam asked Joan.
"Yeah. I didn't think it was for me. I mean, you saw my debate," Joan told him.
"I thought you did good, yo," Adam told her.
"We interrupt this teen love moment to bring you," Grace said dropping some bottles on the table. "Whatever this stuff is." She coughed and sat down.
"You know, I've probably got a cough drop somewhere if you want it," Joan offered. Grace shook her head.
"She doesn't believe in medicine," Adam told her.
"Okay..." Joan said, picking up a bottle of reddish liquid. "What's this?" Grace shrugged.
"Um.." Adam said, looking down at the notes. Luke spun around.
"Iodine," he told them.
"Iodine. Right.." Joan said, putting down the bottle. As Luke went to turn back around, he and Grace made eye contact. He felt his face growing warm and quickly turned back around, breaking the stare.
Joan wrote something down on the lab sheet, then glanced up at the white board in the front of the room to see the date. The ninth.
"Hey, did you guys know there are only five days left until Valentines Day?" she asked. Grace and Adam exchanged a look.
"Why do people even celebrate Valentine's Day? It's not even a real holiday. It's something Halmark invented to get money from the hopeless romantics of the world. Like you, Girardi," Grace said, her voice cracking in and out.
"You sure you don't want that cough drop? Sounds like your voice is about to go," Joan said. Grace glared at her. "What about you Adam? You celebrate it?"
"Never saw the point, yo," Adam told her.
Freidman, who of course had been listening to Joan, Adam and Grace, decided to bring up that very day himself.
"Did you two hear about the Valentine's Day Dance?" he asked.
"It's saturday night, right?" Glynis asked. Freidman nodded.
"You two going?"
"Why?" Luke asked.
"Well, because it's the Valentine's Day Dance and you two are a thing, right?" Freidman asked.
"I've got to.. get another test tube," Luke said, jumping up and running to the front of the room.
"Okay, so, we have to pour the blue stuff into the orange stuff.." Joan said, while pouring the blue liquid into the orange, making it turn green. "Now we have to add the iodine," she told them as Grace fillen an eyedropper up with iodine and added it in. A few minutes later, the bell rang and the students filtered out of the room. Grace put her backpack on.
"I'm going home," she said, heading for the backdoors.
"What are the chances whatever she's got is contagious?" Joan asked Adam.
"Probably pretty good, yo," he told her as they headed for the lunch room.
"So we're probably both going to get sick tomorrow huh?" she asked.
"Unchallenged."
"Ask her," Freidman said, standing at Luke's locker as he put his books away.
"Why?"
"We already talked about this. You said you weren't afraid of going through the opened gate, so go, ask Glynis to the dance."
"I don't go to dances," Luke told him.
"You went to the semi-formal. With Grace Polk noless. Now you've got a shot to go to a dance with an accual date and you're turning it down?" Freidman asked in shock. Luke opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then closed it again and started walking down the hall.
"You're still hung up on her," Freidman said, following Luke down the hall.
"Freidman, go away."
"Luke, what's going on in your head? I think the choice is obvious."
"Well you aren't me! I don't know what's going on in my head, and I don't need you to tell me!"
Author: Payton Tyler
Email: darkserene@glitterbomb.com
Pairing: What do you think?
Rating: PG-13
Spoiler: State of Grace and everything before it
Disclaimer: I'm only in junior high, I clearly don't own the show. I do however own Christopher Marquette. I mean.. I own the story line. Yes, the story line. Nothing else.
Summary: That dreaded day is here again. February 14th. And you know what that means..
Author's Notes: I wrote this around midnight by light of white Christmas lights to indie punk music. Needless to say, it's gonna be a little weird.
-Chapter One: The Chain Reaction-
Grace sat the book she was reading down on the stone wall she was sitting on and re-adjusted her headphones. As she went to pick the book up again, she felt someone looking down at her. She glanced up and saw Joan.
"Hey," Joan said. Grace took her headphones off.
"Hi," she said in a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. The volume didn't change. Joan took a seat next to her friend on the wall.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Grace nodded.
"Losing my voice," she said. Joan was barely able to hear her. Grace Polk without her voice. The day was going to be a lot quieter.
"So... What are you listening to?" Joan asked in attempt to make conversation. Ever since the debate a few days earlier, things had been a little awkward between the two. Grace opened her CD player, revealing a burned CD titled 'Coheed -n- Cambria 2'. After Joan had read it, Grace closed her CD player and put her headphones back on and the girls sat in silence until the bell rang.
Adam adjusted the beanie under his hoodie and picked up his pen. Ms. Lischak began class, and Joan and Adam began taking notes. Ten minutes later, Grace walked in.
"Miss Polk, you're late, again. Do you have a pass?" Ms. Lischak asked.
"Do I look like I have a pass?"Grace asked quietly. She took her seat and pulled a notebook out of her backpack.
At the table in front of Joan, Adam and Grace, Glynis was staring at the side of Luke's head with a spacy dreamy expression. Freidman looked from Glynis to Luke.
"Dude, Glynis is making eyes at you and don't even notice," Freidman said.
"I'm taking notes," Luke said.
"You kissed her. Of course she's going to be paying attention to you. But if you're just going to sit there and take notes there must be something wrong with you." Luke looked at Freidman.
"I know what I did but.." Luke said, trailing off.
"But what?" Freidman asked as Ms. Lischak told the class what chemicals they would need to get. Glynis left the table to get them, and behind them, Grace left.
"So you dropped out of debate team?" Adam asked Joan.
"Yeah. I didn't think it was for me. I mean, you saw my debate," Joan told him.
"I thought you did good, yo," Adam told her.
"We interrupt this teen love moment to bring you," Grace said dropping some bottles on the table. "Whatever this stuff is." She coughed and sat down.
"You know, I've probably got a cough drop somewhere if you want it," Joan offered. Grace shook her head.
"She doesn't believe in medicine," Adam told her.
"Okay..." Joan said, picking up a bottle of reddish liquid. "What's this?" Grace shrugged.
"Um.." Adam said, looking down at the notes. Luke spun around.
"Iodine," he told them.
"Iodine. Right.." Joan said, putting down the bottle. As Luke went to turn back around, he and Grace made eye contact. He felt his face growing warm and quickly turned back around, breaking the stare.
Joan wrote something down on the lab sheet, then glanced up at the white board in the front of the room to see the date. The ninth.
"Hey, did you guys know there are only five days left until Valentines Day?" she asked. Grace and Adam exchanged a look.
"Why do people even celebrate Valentine's Day? It's not even a real holiday. It's something Halmark invented to get money from the hopeless romantics of the world. Like you, Girardi," Grace said, her voice cracking in and out.
"You sure you don't want that cough drop? Sounds like your voice is about to go," Joan said. Grace glared at her. "What about you Adam? You celebrate it?"
"Never saw the point, yo," Adam told her.
Freidman, who of course had been listening to Joan, Adam and Grace, decided to bring up that very day himself.
"Did you two hear about the Valentine's Day Dance?" he asked.
"It's saturday night, right?" Glynis asked. Freidman nodded.
"You two going?"
"Why?" Luke asked.
"Well, because it's the Valentine's Day Dance and you two are a thing, right?" Freidman asked.
"I've got to.. get another test tube," Luke said, jumping up and running to the front of the room.
"Okay, so, we have to pour the blue stuff into the orange stuff.." Joan said, while pouring the blue liquid into the orange, making it turn green. "Now we have to add the iodine," she told them as Grace fillen an eyedropper up with iodine and added it in. A few minutes later, the bell rang and the students filtered out of the room. Grace put her backpack on.
"I'm going home," she said, heading for the backdoors.
"What are the chances whatever she's got is contagious?" Joan asked Adam.
"Probably pretty good, yo," he told her as they headed for the lunch room.
"So we're probably both going to get sick tomorrow huh?" she asked.
"Unchallenged."
"Ask her," Freidman said, standing at Luke's locker as he put his books away.
"Why?"
"We already talked about this. You said you weren't afraid of going through the opened gate, so go, ask Glynis to the dance."
"I don't go to dances," Luke told him.
"You went to the semi-formal. With Grace Polk noless. Now you've got a shot to go to a dance with an accual date and you're turning it down?" Freidman asked in shock. Luke opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then closed it again and started walking down the hall.
"You're still hung up on her," Freidman said, following Luke down the hall.
"Freidman, go away."
"Luke, what's going on in your head? I think the choice is obvious."
"Well you aren't me! I don't know what's going on in my head, and I don't need you to tell me!"