Between Two Loves
A/N: Huey is modeled after Bryan Fenkart, because that's the Huey I saw and the Huey I absolutely adore.
When I saw the show for the first time, THIS is what I thought the ending was going to be during that reunion scene – the second to last scene of the entire show, when Felicia stops in during her tour. I honestly thought this was going to happen…how wrong I was.
Huey reclined a little in his seat, feeling his heart screech to a halt in his chest. He was silent for a few beats before he swallowed hard and asked, "Y-You're gettin' married?" There was genuine surprise in his voice, along with traces of hurt.
Felicia nodded, smiling wide, showing off her pristine teeth. "Yes, I am."
Huey tried not to show any kind of sadness on his face, but it was excruciatingly hard. Here she was, the woman he had fallen in love with over the past several years…the woman he got on the radio, the woman he lost his television gig for…getting married off to another man. Was he supposed to feel happy for her? He kind of felt like he should. She had found someone who could take care of her, give her what she deserved. But all he could feel was this overpowering sorrow that just wouldn't go away. He wished he could just…shake it off or something. Brush it away like it was just some dust on one of the records he spun. But, of course, that wasn't possible, as much as he wished it could be. How he wanted to be happy. Be so, so happy for her. But he couldn't get that ache in his chest to fade away, no matter how hard he tried.
The rock n' roll deejay straightened up in his chair. "Well…" He ran a hand through his spiky brown hair, his chocolate-colored eyes drifting to the floor. "I'm, uh…mighty happy for you."
Felicia nodded again, watching him. "Thank you, sugar."
They lapsed into silence – a choking silence that Huey found horribly awkward. After a few beats more, he forced himself to break it with what he thought was a simple question; "What's he, um, like?" His eyes remained on the floor, for he did not trust himself to look at Felicia without betraying how upset he was.
Felicia's big smile grew even bigger, and she began to paint a picture: "Well, he's a big success. Or, at least, he used to be." She chuckled airily, looking around the small studio for a moment. "He's really sweet, but kind of silly. I met him a couple years ago."
Huey's brow furrowed. A couple years ago? But…she met him a couple years ago! He tried to think of someone…anyone she had spoken of back when she lived in Memphis. Anyone who stuck out…
…It hurt to think this hard.
"When I first met him, we weren't really that close. He was just some stranger who came into my life without warning, shockin' both me and the people who love me." The singer continued. "But, after a while, he kinda grew on me. We've been real close since then."
The deejay finally met her eyes, face still twisted up in confusion. This guy sounded real familiar…but who was it?
"He was, and still is, unique. Some might say he's…" She laughed once more, this one louder than the last. "…a little bit crazy."
This person…did he know him? Huey couldn't shake the feeling that he knew whoever Felicia was talking about.
"He's not the smartest of guys, either. A little slow. And he hates suits. Or normal clothes, for that matter. I swear, it's going to be really difficult for him when we pick out the wardrobe for the wedding."
Huey cocked his head to the side. He recalled a time when he refused to wear a suit on his television show, and when he was all but physically forced into it, he stripped it off on stage. He smiled inwardly at the memory of tying that blasted tie around his head and dancing about without a care, refusing to do as he was told if he had to sacrifice his friends – all those African American dancers – in the process. No matter what Mama said, no matter what Mr. Simmons said…he loved those guys! The whole purpose of that television program, of that radio station, had been to introduce them white folk to the music of the soul. The music that broke down all his senses, yet made him feel so whole…
"See, I was lost, until I found the music of my soul!"
He wanted to laugh at the memory. How upset all of them had been when he walked into that bar…how oblivious he had been. He didn't understand it back then, and he only just understood it now. 'It' being the hatred between whites and blacks. Sure, he knew what it was and that pretty much every white person alivethought that every African American person alive was lesser than him or her, but he didn't understand why.
"When I was a young boy, my daddy sat me down…
He said, 'Son, don't you never go to the dark side of town!
I'm talkin' 'bout downtown Memphis; ya see, that's where the black folk play!'.
And I said, 'Yessir, daddy!'...
Then I snuck down anyway!"
His father definitely had been one of those living white people. He still wondered, after all these years, how he had turned out like he was when he had two parents who both despised anyone with dark skin like Felicia's.
"The name's Huey, and I just like the music."
The urge to laugh was greater now. The look on Delray's face…it had been priceless. Really and truly priceless. But that kind of explained everything; it wasn't the people themselves that had swayed him initially. When all of this started, back when he ventured into downtown Memphis, it had just been the music; the soulful tunes he heard floating through the alleyways. Once he saw the people, though, a big question mark had formed in his mind. How could people be so bad that made me feel so good?
…Back on topic, though.
"I love him for who he is, though. For both his looks and his personality." Felicia gave Huey a look that he couldn't discern. She continued when he said nothing; "His personality…ha, it's kind of strange. Oh, and he's got this word he says a whole lot…now, what was it?" She looked thoughtful, rubbing her chin with a finger and thumb. "Hickapoo? Hackashoo? Hoc-"
"Hockadoo?" Huey offered.
The singer lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah, I think that's it!"
"Somebody stole my word?" He suddenly looked rather angry. "That's my word! Nobody else can use it!" His hands balled into fists, and all his previous confusion faded away into rage. He quickly got to his feet, eyes burning with fire. He was mere inches from the dark-skinned woman he had come to love. "What's this guys' name? And why does he think he can take other peoples' words?"
Felicia appeared to be frightened for a brief moment, eyes wide…
…and then, she burst out laughing.
Huey was extremely confused. Why was she laughing? Her fiancé had stolen 'hockadoo'! Who in the right mind could do that?
When she managed to calm herself, she locked eyes with the deejay, a warm smile on her face.
"His name is Huey Calhoun."
Huey's own eyes were the size of saucers, and he ceased to breathe. He scrambled for words to say, but found none in his, admittedly, small vocabulary. There was just nothing that fit what he felt right now…nothing at all.
Felicia's smile warped into a frown all of a sudden. "Huey? Did…Did I upset you?"
"No, no, not at all, Felicia!" He assured her hurriedly. "I just-just…"
Tired with all of this confusion and thinking, he placed his hands on either side of Felicia's face and crashed his lips to hers, feeling the oh-so-familiar sparks flow between the two of them as soon as they made contact. Felicia melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Huey pulled her close via her waist, which he had secured with two of his strong arms. How he loved holding her again! How he loved the taste of her lips, the smell of her hair! How he had missed her!
The kiss ended all too soon, for human beings need air in order to survive. They still held each other, however, relishing in the closeness they both had longed for these years apart.
"Huey…"
"Felicia."
She smiled that golden smile again and pecked him on the lips, this kiss quick. "I have something for you."
"Oooh, presents!"
She laughed, the sound almost musical. "A gift you'll keep for maybe ten seconds before giving back to me."
Huey's brow knitted for what felt like the hundredth time. "What do'ya mean?"
Felicia smiled, backed away from him just a bit, and produced a little white box. It fit in her hand, and when she handed it to Huey, who had taken one arm from around her to accept it, he found he could close his fist around it.
It hit him like a train.
"…You kept it all this time?" He looked at her with pure, unadulterated astonishment.
"Of course I did, Huey." She answered like he should have known she would never get rid of it.
He gave her a toothy grin, released her from their tight embrace, and got down on one knee. Knowing any kind of gushy stuff would just turn into mush, seeing as he was having a really bad time with the English language today, he opened the ring box and skipped to the point; "Felicia Farrell…will you marry me?"
Instead of frowning like she had the first time he proposed, she echoed his grin and nodded fervently. "Yes, Huey Calhoun. I will marry you."
Huey could have cried.
He jumped to his feet, took Felicia's hand in his and slid the engagement ring he had bought her two years into their relationship onto her ring finger. She stared at it like it was the most precious thing in the world, save the person who gave it to her. The deejay resumed holding her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling into his shirt.
"But…Felicia?" Huey asked out of the blue.
"Yes, sugar?" She chirped, kissing at his neck gently.
"Mmm." He had missed her kisses. A lot. "What about the laws?"
Here came the part that she really had been trying to avoid, no matter how much it had to be brought up. She lifted her head from his shoulder and their equally dark eyes met. Her smile had disappeared and a pleading look replaced it. "Huey, there's laws here in Tennessee, but…as I've told you before…" She paused, then gave him a squeeze, hoping he wouldn't react too badly. "…there aren't any laws in New York."
The deejay drew away like he had been slapped, tearing himself from her embrace.
After taking a moment to absorb all of this, he spoke; "So…that means…" He looked anywhere but her face. His eyes ended up settling on the record that still spun beside him, watching the needle's slow progression towards the inside of the black disc.
"Yes." She nodded once, her own eyes downcast. "We'd have to leave Memphis." He would want to be with her, though…right?
Silence reigned for the second time, this one longer and even more tense.
"Like a friend who always stands by me,
Memphis knows me,
Memphis shows me how this life just has to be!"
He wrung his hands, torn. The woman he loved, or his home? He had given her up before over this place called Memphis…but could he do it again, after she finally accepted his proposal? After she came back, all these years later, because she loved him? Honestly loved him, will all her being? And he loved her back…loved her more than he loved himself. But was he ready to leave the place he had put all of his effort into changing for the better with the power of music? The buildings, the streets…those streets were paved with soul, you know. Especially Beale Street.
"I couldn't even try to run away, say goodbye…
Here I was born, and here is where I'll die!"
Felicia's eyes turned to him again, her expression somber. "Huey…?"
"Just a man from Tennessee…can't be what I can't be!
All I know is…"
Huey took a deep breath and looked up at her. The record had almost finished playing. "Felicia…I…"
"I will see you through! I'll be there for you!
We will endure what life has in store!
Have faith and believe, like the air that you breathe…
Love will stand when all else falls!"
Tears began to well up in those chocolate brown eyes. "Felicia, I love you."
"Love will stand when all else falls!"
He strode up to her and, without another word, kissed her with as much passion and tenderness he could. The tears slid down his cheeks then, the floodgates having opened.
He didn't even notice that Felicia's own salty tears had joined his.
When the sweet kiss finally drew to a close, they just held each other, both of them clinging to the other like they were a cure for cancer. Felicia shook the tiniest bit with repressed sobs, and Huey's tears just fell silently. He rubbed gentle circles into her back with a calloused hand, rough on smooth.
"I love you, Huey." The singer whispered.
"I love you, too, Felicia." Huey replied, voice equally soft.
There was a sudden blow of a bus horn outside, shattering the moment. Felicia pulled away slowly, then looked him in the eyes, trying to convey what she felt with that single gaze. She took his hands in hers, intertwining their fingers, glad to hold them one more time. However silly it sounded, she had missed just feeling the warmth of those hands, the slickness of his hair…seeing the way he danced when he got excited, hearing the sound of his voice after a long day, when his tone would be all soft and gentle...all of the little things she had, quite frankly, taken for granted when they were together. Four years apart was enough to make her realize just how much she loved this man…how much she loved everything about him. How she wanted him to come with her…how she desperately wished he would roam the States with her, carefree and happy. Oh, they'd be so, so happy!
Huey carefully removed his hands from hers and held up a finger to signal that he needed a moment. Now it was time for Felicia to be confused.
Wiping his face off on his arm, he stepped over to the microphone he had been blabbering into for the past several years and placed a hand on top of it.
The record stopped.
Felicia held her breath.
The deejay lifted his hand, grabbed the mic and spoke into it:
"Hey there, one listener. The lovely song you just heard was 'Someday' by the even lovelier Miss Felicia Farrell." He gave said woman a little smile before continuing. "I hope you liked it, 'cause…" He inhaled deeply. "That will be the last song I ever play on the end of your radio dial."
Felicia's face broke out into a smile, and she released a big huff of air. She knew this must be very, very hard for him, but she couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He was giving all of this up for her…his real passion. He had been a deejay for quite some time, and now…just for her…he was letting it all go.
"The name's Huey Calhoun." He nodded once. "Goodbye…and hockadoo!"
He set the microphone down for the last time, strolled over to Felicia, and took her hand again. He gave it a soft squeeze, then opened the door of the studio for the both of them with his free one. They walked on through without a second thought.
"Hey, Felicia?"
"Yeah, sugar?"
"…Do I have to wear a suit for the wedding?"
Felicia just laughed.
"All I know is, Memphis lives in me!"
A/N: There you go! ^^ I hope you guys liked that.
P.S. Never let ANYONE steal your rock n' roll!
Review, pleeeease. 3
~Muse
