Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 35th cycle. Now cycle 36!
Had the idea for this cycle back in July or August where I thought it'd be interesting to do a set inspired by tarot cards. My initial research then directed me to the cards of the Major Arcana, of which there were 22, so I combined two, which got me to 21, making this a cycle-long set of stories. Then I did more research, to find out about each of those cards, and what they can represent. Now I need to point out that it's a more or less basic approach. I don't go into the reverse meaning or other things, just this part. ** If you would like the document of info I've collected and based myself on, let me know and I'll send it, since it covers the next three weeks' worth of stories. ** Lastly, in connection to the first card, 'The Fool', and the journey through those other cards, this entire cycle will feature, in lead or supporting form, one Brittany S. Pierce...
"The Girl Who Loved"
or 'The Fool'
Brittany, Brittana, Bartie, etc
She wasn't ever scared of people. She didn't feel the need to doubt someone for one reason or another, somehow… She didn't know how to explain, didn't really even feel like she had to explain, so she just didn't… and it had always been that way.
She'd been the kind of child who talked to people… anyone, anytime, anywhere… so long as they attracted her curiosity in some way, she would speak to them, giving the same open sort of voice, ready to talk about anything. This wasn't a particularly good trait for her to have, according to most of the adults in her life, who always wanted her to be more cautious, more closed… and she never understood why.
Why shouldn't she talk to people? What was so bad about people? She didn't know them, she didn't know who they were and for all she knew they could be good people, future friends… She'd made friends over the years, and she wouldn't trade them for the world, and she knew there were some of them that others had problem with. It didn't affect her in the least. They were her friends.
And then there was the other part, the people she got closer to… people she kissed, and people she…
It wasn't as though she just threw herself around, and she knew some people might see it that way, but she had her own perspective. It wasn't a choice; it was just how she felt, how she was. She made no distinction, didn't even know that was expected of her until they'd almost… demanded it. Up to that point she hadn't really seen what the big deal was, why she should categorize herself, or anyone really…
It was the same as it had always been for her; she liked to connect with people. Even if she didn't mean for it to last, accepted it for a fleeting moment, she liked to remember… scratch a notch to her bed posts… The distinction she would make, the one she would always make, was not whether it was a boy, or a girl… She'd been with both, liked being with both… She would always remember her first kisses – in both cases… They'd happened on the same day.
She was six years old. She lived across the street from the Huffman twins, Henry & Helena, also six. When they'd started school, her mother had made it so Mrs. Huffman would drive her to school along with the twins, so they'd started to become friends. Then came the day in the school yard when, after a particularly harrowing game of tag where Brittany and Helena had dominated the field, the girls had gone and hid from anyone who might want to get them back, just until they could catch their breaths, and then they'd be back in action. And then it just sort of happened… Brittany had initiated it, almost as a victory thing, and the whole thing had lasted all of two seconds. Helena had blinked, sort of confused, but hadn't reacted in one way or another. The whole thing had never been brought up, not for a good seven or eight years, at which point Helena had denied the whole thing, no matter how much Brittany tried to help her remember, she refused to acknowledge it. The Huffman family had moved away the next summer anyway, so it had gone away.
But back on that day, that afternoon, after Mrs. Huffman had picked them up and taken the kids back to her house, Brittany had noticed Henry hadn't said a word to her the whole ride home, and any time she caught his gaze, he just looked… angry. When they got to the house, they all had a snack, everything was sort of… flat… Then Henry had gone to play alone in his room. She couldn't just let it go, so she'd gone to see him. The moment she'd walked into his room and found his frown was in fact aimed at her, he'd spilled. He'd seen her, earlier, with Helena, saw the kiss. Brittany didn't know what the problem was and, to prove it, she'd come to stand in front of him, put her hands on his shoulders, and planted a kiss on his lips. That, apparently, was the wrong thing to do. He'd shouted at her that he wasn't her friend anymore, and he didn't want to see her. She'd gone home on the verge of tears.
She'd remember those, and she'd remember the first people she'd slept with, but whether they were boys, or girls, that wasn't the part she'd retain… She remembered her first kiss with the Huffman twins… but she cherished her first kiss… with Santana… and, yes, with Artie, too. Because they had meant more, still did, and maybe always would. So yes, she had quite the record at McKinley High, but it didn't mean what they might think it meant to her. She didn't put it into words for herself, so why should she do it for them.
She had a trusting heart. It had never led her wrong. It carried her through this world and hardly ever misguided her. She would find her way, to where she needed to be. And if she wasn't sure, well there were those there to anchor her, in one way or another… people like Santana, and Artie, who on their own would manage to steer her. It wasn't without its difficulties, and her spirit had taken some battle scars, but it wasn't stopping her. She liked who she was, always had… She had grown over the years, yes, and an environment like high school was bound to try and fit her into its mold. She would bend in some places, but she would never stop being herself, never stop being Brittany S. Pierce, the little girl who could strike up a conversation with just about anyone, with curiosity in her blue eyes and a whole world to discover.
THE END
A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!
