Legal: I do not own DeGrassi nor am I associated with it in any way and wouldn't want to be at this point.
This story is dedicated to RED2012 for suggesting the idea!
Important things to know before reading:
*This story is 100% A/U
*Clare is 15, from and extremely wealthy family and she's been blind since birth.
*I am not blind (obviously) nor do I know anyone who is blind so it's all guessing on my part and what I imagine being blind to be like.
*Owen is 17 a junior at DeGrassi and from a lower middle class family but he's fairly popular and while he used to be a bit of a bully he was never a jerk or homophobic.
*Drew and Adam have gone to DeGrassi since each was a freshman. Everyone knows Adam is FTM already.
That should pretty much do it the rest will be in the story.
Ch.1 All My Life Waiting for Somebody
(OWEN)
"I gotta run, have to get to my job interview," I comment as I walk out of school Friday afternoon with my friends and my arm around my girlfriend.
"Yeah at the Edwards estate, are they going to make you wear a uniform," Drew teases.
"To take care of horses I doubt it just t-shirts and jeans," I reply.
"I bet you'd look hot in cowboy boots," my girlfriend Anya grins kissing me softly.
"I really have to go my interview is in forty minutes, see you guys tomorrow," I say waving to Drew, Adam, Bianca and Fitz then kissing Anya again. I walk to my car, getting in and pulling out of the parking lot.
The Edwards estate is actually thirty minutes away in Oakville, the reason I'm traveling so far for a job is that it's a few evenings a week and the weekends. I'll be working with horses which I have a lot of experience with and the pay can't be beat, assuming I get the job of course. I'm just going to an interview with the stable master and I was hoping I would get the job because it would be perfect and I wanted to start saving for college, living expenses in particular but I want to travel too. I make the drive and find the massive estate. After being buzzed in at the gate I follow the winding driveway to the front of the house. The sprawling mansion looks like Cinderella's castle at Disneyworld to me but about a million times bigger. I ring the bell and hear it echo in the estate, the door opens a moment later and a butler, in a suit and everything, opens the door.
"You are Mr. Milligan I presume; Charles the stable master will be conducting your interview in the stables. Follow the garden path to the dreadful smell of the horses," the butler tells me and then closes the door in my face.
"Friendly," I mutter as I start walking down the path, I see the stables at the bottom of the hill. The gardens are immaculate and huge; the stables alone look like they could nearly hold my entire house inside. "Hello," I call into the stables looking at all of the stalls and the few horses I can see.
"Are you Owen?" A voice asks and then a guy comes around the corner. He's husky, about an inch shorter than me, clean shaven with longer light brown hair. He wears jeans, boots and a long sleeve plaid shirt, along with gloves.
"Yes you must be Charles," I nod walking over and extending my hand.
"Charlie is fine, only Niels the butler and Madam Edwards call me Charles," he informs me taking off his glove to shake my hand.
"Madam Edwards?" I question.
"The lady of the house, she prefers to be called Madam but she never goes riding or even comes to the stables so you will probably never meet her, if I give the job of course. According to your resume you've been around horses since you were four?" Charlie asks me.
"Yes Sir took my first riding lesson at four; my aunt and uncle in Gold Bridge B.C. own a ranch. I spent every summer out there from the time I was seven to fourteen. My family and I go riding a lot; trail riding is about the only thing that my whole family likes," I tell him.
"Good, let's see how the horses like you; know how to clean the hooves?" Charlie questions and I nod. "Okay everything you need is in the tack room out back," he tells me. I follow him to the tack room getting a leather apron, and a grab a pick, trimmers, hoof knife and rasp. "This is Lollipop," Charlie says taking me into the stall of a French Trotter horse.
"Hi Lollipop," I introduce myself to the horse putting out my hand and petting his muzzle.
I set down the tools, and put on the apron letting the horse get comfortable with me and when he is he lets me clean out his hoof. I get out the dirt and trim the hoof, check the shoes, then repeat the process for all four legs.
"Good job, if you can handle Lollipop then you can handle the other horses here. You're hired, you can start tomorrow but I have some forms for you to fill out," he says. I follow him back to a little office by the tack room, he has me sit at a desk and I fill out a few forms.
"So if Madam Edwards doesn't go riding then why all the horses?" I inquire when I'm done.
"The horses are her parents, her mother passed away but her father still rides on occasion; most of them are breeders or racers however. You will address Madam's father as Sir or Master Alfred, he is nothing like his daughter he can saddle his own horse and prefers to do it all himself, let him address you before you say anything. Madam's daughter goes riding quite often, you will address her as Miss Clare," Charlie informs me but doesn't say anything else about her.
"Okay," I nod.
"You'll come tomorrow morning, be here by nine and dress in clothes that can get dirty," Charlie tells me.
I leave the stables and walk back to my car driving home, it's kind of a long ride home but it gives me time to think. When I get home I tell my parents I got the job and they're happy, tell me that they're proud of me and stuff. I call Anya to tell her I got the job but get her voicemail and then I take a shower. I eat dinner in my room since my families already eaten, then I l play video games until Anya calls me back.
"Hey Baby congrats on the job, so you'll have lots of money to take me places me now," she giggles.
"Anya are you high?" I question hearing it in her voice.
She used to be really straight laced, even kind of a nerd but recently she's been clubbing and getting high. Everyone thought I was crazy for going after Anya, aside from the fact that she's a cheerleader and I'm on the football team we had nothing in common, we don't even have any of the same friends. She's a year older than me and we really share no interests other than each other. We've been dating since October; right after Thanksgiving and next weekend will be our two month anniversary.
"I went with Chloe to Mercury Club, we had some fun it's Friday night and I was without you. You can't be mad at me for going out, especially when you were out doing other things," Anya responds.
"I was at a job interview Anya, you can go out but stop getting high, even I was never that stupid. When you're high you're not thinking and I'll bet you were dancing with other guys," I respond feeling my teeth grind.
"So I danced a little, it meant nothing Baby. You want me to come over and show you how much I care about you?" Anya coos but it doesn't sound attractive when she's high.
"No I don't I have to get to work by nine tomorrow and it's a 30 minute drive, I'll talk to you tomorrow," I tell her.
"Owen Baby don't be mad, I just wanted to have some fun," Anya says.
"Yeah talk to you tomorrow," I reply and hang up.
Switching off the game console I watch TV for another hour and then get to bed. My alarm wakes me up at seven; I get up and eat breakfast, dressing in boots, jeans, a long sleeve shirt and my thick winter coat since it's snowing this morning. Mom makes me a big breakfast and I eat all of it while she packs me a lunch, I have no idea when I'll get a lunch break. I spend most of my drive to work thinking about me and Anya, I park my car and walk down to the stables. Charlie says he's taking one of the horses out and gives me a list of things to do that day. I work for a couple of hours, first feeding all the horses and then cleaning hooves and then mucking out the stalls. I'm still doing that when I hear someone calling into the stables.
"Hello? Who's here?"
It's a teenage female voice; I come around the corner and see a girl of 15 or 16 in riding pants and boots, blouse, riding jacket and helmet. Very properly dressed to go riding, I didn't think people did that anymore. She's much too young to be Madam Edwards so she must be Clare. From the way Charlie talked I thought she was younger, ten or so but apparently not, because what is I see is a rather attractive girl that's about my age.
"I know you aren't Charlie I don't smell his after shave who are you?" She calls. I should be visible now but she doesn't seem to see me so I take some steps toward her.
"I'm Owen, Charlie hired me yesterday as the stable hand, you must be Miss Clare," I say extending my hand to her but she doesn't take it, she doesn't even seem to see me. "Are you blind?" I question because Charlie said nothing about Clare being blind.
"Yes and it's just Clare, only the house staff calls me Miss and only because my mother insists on it. Can I see you?" She requests and I pinch my eyebrows together.
"I thought you just said you were blind?" I query and she giggles softly.
"I am, if you'll let me feel your face I can form a picture of you in my mind, it's how I see things," she tells me.
"Oh uh sure okay," I shrug.
She reaches her hand up somewhat slowly, either to not startle me or just to find my face I'm not sure. She finds my face and reaches up her other hand, starting with my cheeks she feels around my face, gently feeling over my features, I only close my eyes when her soft fingers approach. After a minute she pulls her hands away and smiles, it's a very sweet smile that lights her face making her bright blue eyes sparkle.
"Thank you, you're very handsome," she says and I get a proud smile on my lips.
"Thanks, I always thought so. How old are you? Charlie didn't tell me much about you or your family," I comment.
"Fifteen, I'll be sixteen in February, how old are you?" She questions.
"I just turned seventeen three weeks ago, my friends and girlfriend threw me this great surprise party," I tell her with a smile as I remember the party.
"What's it like?" She inquires.
"What's what like?" I question back.
"All of it, going to school, having friends, a relationship?" She asks.
My mouth drops open, not that she can see me, I'm shocked by what I hear, her family has more money than most people will ever see but Clare's never had friends or been to school!?
"You mean you've never been to school or had any friends?" I inquire.
"Mother doesn't allow me off the estate grounds hardly at all, we go to a Christmas gala every year but that's it. We used to go to the winter house in Naples, I love it there," she tells me with a sentimental smile. "It's so different there, the smell of the salt air, the feel of the marble and limestone in our villa. You can taste the olives as they're freshly pressed into olive oil, it wafts through the air and there is nothing like freshly made pasta and marinara sauce they practically melt on your tongue. The way my shoes click on the cobblestone streets is musical," she says with a happy and yet sad smile.
"From the way you describe it I feel like I've been there, how come you don't go anymore?" I query.
She looks down and walks to a horse stall, it's a Ranger Breed, black everything but the rump which is white with black spots. The name on the stall says Storm, the horse puts its head down to greet Clare, it must be her horse the way it nuzzles her.
"When Grandmother became sick we stopped going, Mother would let me walk around Naples with my grandparents and we could go out on the boat, we even sailed to Greece one year," Clare smiles petting the horse.
"What about school? Why haven't you ever been to school?" I ask her.
"Mother says I don't need to go, she says I don't need to go because I'm blind and useless," Clare responds.
"You're mother told you that you're useless?!" I exclaim aghast.
"I'm blind, she says there's no reason for me to be educated and that this deformity will keep me from every doing anything. So I don't need to go to school and she hides me away because I'm ugly," Clare informs me.
"Your Mom is a crazy bitch Clare, you are not ugly you're cute, pretty actually very pretty. Being blind isn't a deformity it's a disability but blind people can do practically anything these days. Haven't you ever read a book in braille or anything?" I question.
"No, Mother won't let me learn braille; she says there's no point because I'll never become anything. I'm not an idiot though I listen to the radio and television, Grandfather and some of the house staff sneak me audio books. I do know things and I hunger to learn all I can but Mother doesn't allow it, she insists there's no point. My grandmother used to read me stories, all kinds of things, I could disappear into the story," Clare tells me.
I'm just dumbfounded, how could her mom call her ugly and keep her from being educated, she's blind not brain dead and she's in no way ugly. All the money they have they could provide Clare with every braille book in the universe, teach her to write and everything. Hire her tutors or send her to a private school for the blind, I'm sure they exist. Yet from what Clare just told me her mom treats her like the elephant man, like she's a deformed freak of nature that should be locked away in a tower.
"What about your father?" I question but then realize it's probably a stupid one since Charlie said nothing about her father only her grandfather.
"I never knew him, Mother says he was a terrible person and I'm blind because of it," Clare answers sounding very sad and now I feel awful for ever bringing it up. "Tell me about your school? What's it like? Do you have many friends?" She asks.
"It's just a normal high school, lots of drama. I'm on the football team but the season's over so I could take this job. I guess I have a lot of friends, I have a few very close friends they're great, been friends with them forever. They're all my best friends I guess and there's my girlfriend Anya, we don't have any of the same friends and she's a popular cheerleader," I'm saying when Clare speaks.
"She must be beautiful," Clare remarks.
"Yeah she is," I nod but don't feel like talking about Anya anymore, besides I have to get back to work. "I take it you were going riding? Should I saddle your horse?"
"No I can saddle Storm if you'll grab what I need from the tack room and put it on the rail. My saddle blanket is purple, or so Charlie tells me and the saddle is marked with my name," she responds.
"I'll go grab them, can you ride by yourself?" I inquire.
"Yes, Storm knows every inch of this property and he's my eyes," Clare smiles.
I grin and walk to the tack room; I find Clare's saddle blanket, saddle, bridle and halter. I take them to Clare and put them on the rail, she asks me to get the horse's boots so I go back to the tack room. I put on the boots while she saddles up Storm, I watch her intently, if you didn't know she was blind you couldn't tell. She saddles the horse better than most people that can see, how can her mother treat her like she's a deformed and helpless she's neither of those things. Clare gets on Storm and I open the stall door, she smiles at me and walks the horse out. I watch them trot through the few inches of snow and then take off in a gallop, she looks like she's flying and she looks incredibly happy.
She disappears down the hill and I get back to work, I work for three hours before I see Clare again. It's almost dark and nearly time for me to go home, she comes riding in and dismounts. She turns her head and smiles in my direction as she starts walking Storm to his stall.
"How'd you know I was here?" I query.
"I can smell your deodorant, even under the horse smell. Without my eyes my other senses paint the world for me," she says.
I smile and follow her to the stall helping her get the rest of the saddle and tack off of Storm. I take them back to the tack room and grab the grooming brushes. I bring them back, Clare is patting the horse and I tell her I'll brush Storm for her. She smiles and walks out of the stall; I watch her greeting the other horses.
"Do you know them all? Don't tell me they have different scents," I remark as I finish brushing Storm.
"No but we've had most of these horses all my life, I know which stalls they're in. Storm is mine, he was a gift from my grandparents on my sixth birthday and we got him when he was just a one year old foal. The rest are my grandfather's, my mother doesn't ride she detests horses but it's how my family made their fortune, breeding and racing horses. This is Powder Keg," she tells me walking down a couple stalls to a black thoroughbred, "he's our best champion. He won seven races last year and took the triple crown."
"Wow that's impressive," I smile patting the horse.
"He's going to retire after this year, Sundowner is a champion too but I love Powder Keg he's such a strong horse," Clare says climbing up the rails on the stall door. She strokes his muzzle and kisses him, she starts to climb down but I take her by the waist and help her down.
"Just who the hell are you and what are you doing with your hands on my daughter?!"
The shrill voice of an older woman startles me; I release Clare and look up. The woman is skinny; she has short brown hair cut to her jaw, perfectly parted down the middle and not a hair of out place. She wears heels despite having to trudge through the snow to get to the stables. She has on a long teal colored dress that is peaking out of her fox fur coat. She looks more dressed to be going to an opera than walking through her yard to the stables, presumably to find her daughter.
"This is Owen; Charlie hired him as a stable hand. He was helping me off the door that's all," Clare informs her mother but I can tell by her voice she's afraid of her mom, not that I can blame her.
"Bring out the tack and put it away for my daughter but otherwise stay away from her," Helen snaps at me grabbing Clare by the hand she violently tugs her toward the stable door.
Clare turns her head as she's being roughly dragged away, I could almost swear she can see as he looks straight at me. She has an apologetic look on her face, she also looks slightly scared. I'm just shocked but it's not like Clare can see my face anyway. I don't know how her mom could treat her the way she does, Clare's a nice girl and while I've never known another blind person I know she can do more than be locked away and hidden from the world.
They vanish from sight and I finish my work, Charlie returns just as I'm ready to leave and he says he'll see me tomorrow. I almost ask him about the way Helen treats Clare but I decide not to and just drive home. My family isn't home but Mom left dinner for me and I eat in my room but I can't stop thinking about Clare and her mom.
(CLARE)
My fingers brush over the cold of our dining room table while we wait to be served. After mother dragged me from the stables she told me to change for dinner. Now I sit in the middle of one side of our large dining table in my place, I wear heels now, tights and a long sleeve dress, that I'm told is green but as I've never seen the color green I don't know what that's like.
"Clare sit up," Mother admonishes from her end of the table.
I once walked around our dining room table counting all the chairs, twelve people can sit around our table including one on each end. Twelve people can fit, we eat every meal here and yet only three of us dine at the table since Grandma died. Mom sits at the head and Grandfather all the way down from her at the other end; I sit in the middle chair on the side that's closest to the kitchen. We rarely talk and you almost have to yell for other people to hear you.
"Father were you aware that Charles hired a new stable boy?" Mom asks and then I hear her sip at her wine.
"Stable hand Mother this is not the 1800's," I correct her.
"No one was speaking to you Clare," she snaps at me.
"We have ten horses Dear and I'm looking at buying two more Charles needs the help I'm surprised he waited so long. I approved it; you never go to the stables how did you find out?" Grandfather inquires.
"Francis told me Clare went for a ride and when she wasn't back in time to dress for dinner I went looking for her," Mom is saying but stops talking when the kitchen door opens and the kitchen staff begins to bring out our first course.
Mother never talks around the staff she doesn't want them to know our business; she doesn't realize they know everything anyway. Our first course is tomato basil bisque and fresh sourdough bread, I can smell it when they set it in front of me, the sweet soft smell of the hot bread, the sweet basil, tangy tomato and heavy cream in the soup. I hear the kitchen door again, Mother waits a few seconds and I take a bite of the soup.
"I went into the stables and found that boy with his hands all over her," Mother says in venomous tone.
"He was helping me down Mother that was it, he's very sweet," I speak up with a firmer tone.
"Stay away from him Clare, people are cruel I've done my best to shield you from it. They see an ugly, crippled, deformed girl like you and they make fun of you, be mean to you simply because they can. Don't think that he hasn't gone home and told all his friends about the pathetic blind girl, you just keep away from him," Mother orders in an angry cold voice.
After that there's no more dinner talk, there seldom is but I spend my dinner thinking about Owen. He was sweet to me, he told me I was pretty and encouraged me that I could do almost anything. No one's ever done that before or treated me that way before, my grandparents and the staff are kind to me but all of them are much too afraid of my mother to do anymore. Even if Owen goes home and talks about me unkindly he was more kind to me than anyone has ever been.
I even dream of him that night and I wake up happy, after breakfast I intend to go riding again but Mother prevents it. She keeps me in the house not letting me from her sight and tells me Owen is a lower class boy and he'll only hurt me. She tells me so all day and I've always took everything Mother told me as truth but not this time, in spite of all she says I know Owen is a good guy and maybe he is right and she's wrong. I've spent my whole life believing everything she told me but now I'm beginning to question it all.
(OWEN)
I didn't see Clare at all on Sunday, I did try to ask Charlie about Clare and Helen but he told me it's better to just stay out of the family drama and do my job. Today is Monday and I pick up Anya to drive us both to school, she came over last night apologizing again for going out and we made up and then had makeup sex which was my favorite part.
"I have to get to cheerleading practice I'll see you at lunch," Anya says kissing my cheek and skipping up the stairs.
Holly J glares at me as she greets Anya, we've been dating two months and Holly J still stares at me like I'm the devil. I'm not even sure why she hates me other than I used to be a bit of a bully.
"So how was your first day?" Drew questions walking up with his younger brother Adam.
Drew and Adam Torres are the only two brothers I've seen that are as vastly different as me and Tris. Adam's only a year younger than Drew but he's a cool guy, I couldn't believe it when I found out he was FTM but Tris is gay so I just shrugged and said cool.
"Good, the family's kind of weird though," I reply.
"All people with money, especially old money, are weird," Adam remarks.
"I haven't met the grandfather yet but the Mom is a real bitch. Clare, the daughter, she's sweet though, I feel bad for her. She's blind and the mom treats it like it's some terrible deformity. She doesn't let Clare off the grounds, hasn't let her go to school or even have friends. She tells Clare that because she's blind she'll never be able to do anything. She's kept poor girl locked away in a gilded prison, she's even told Clare that she's ugly," I inform them.
"Is she?" Drew asks earning him a smack from his brother.
"That's child abuse she can't do that, you can't keep a child from getting an education and not letting them socialize," Adam speaks up.
"Yeah I know but I don't know what to do about it, the family has a ton of money and the staff must know how Clare is treated. If I see her this afternoon I'll ask her and she's not ugly she's very pretty actually," I tell them.
"Yeah how old is she?" Drew questions.
"Fifteen, she'll be sixteen in a couple of months but you have a girlfriend," I respond.
"I was thinking of Adam, a girl who can't see could be just what he needs," Drew teases.
Adam growls and chases after his brother, I laugh and go to my locker, Fitz and Bianca are at their lockers. They ask about my job too and I tell them the same thing, they say pretty much the same thing as Drew and Adam. The morning goes by pretty quickly and I meet Anya for lunch, we eat alone in the memorial garden since we don't have the same friends. As soon as afternoon classes are done I change my clothes, kiss Anya goodbye and head to work.
"Afternoon Owen, Miss Clare is out for a ride and should be returning in an hour or two. I'm going to take two of the horses down to the corral, I'll be back this evening by the time you're off," Charlie says and I nod.
He has a list of things for me to do and I get to work, after about an hour Clare comes riding in. She smiles when she's in the stables and turns her head to me, I still can't get over that I could swear she could see me.
"Owen, I was hoping you were working today," she says stopping storm and dismounting.
"I was here all day yesterday and never saw you," I comment taking the reins from her.
"Sorry my mom wouldn't let go riding or out of her sight at all for that matter. She told me you were bad, that you would tell all your friends how ugly and deformed I am," Clare tells me.
"You are neither ugly nor deformed, your mother is crazy. I did tell my friends about you though, I told them that you're sweet and very pretty," I enlighten her and she smiles. "I also told them that I don't like the way your mother treats you. Keeping you locked up and from getting an education is child abuse, you should call Children's Aide," I assert.
"What's Children's Aide?" She asks getting Storm back in the stall. I tie the bridle and start taking off the saddle.
"An organization that helps abused and neglected children," I reply setting the saddle down and taking off Storms blanket.
"Even if I knew how to work a phone it wouldn't do any good. The house staff, even my grandfather knows what Mother is like, they are too afraid of her to do anything. They wouldn't dare say a word against her; if anyone comes to the house they wouldn't see me as an abused child. I have expensive clothes, the finest fashions from all over the world. I have my own horse; I'm a blind bird in a marble and stone cage. Mother will tell them I'm educated at home, give them some reason that I don't have friends and they'll leave. There's nothing you can do and even if you did I have nowhere to go. Who's going to take in a blind girl? I can't do anything with my life because I'm blind, I'll have to live here with mother," Clare tells me in a sad tone as I take the horses boots off.
"Your Mom told you that didn't she? She's lying Clare, blind people can do lots of things and they lead independent lives. You don't have to stay here under your mother's rule, you are worth so much more than she's made you to believe," I beseech her.
"I've never known any other life, I've never had friends or anyone tell me different from Mother," Clare says.
"Because she's never let you, she keeps you locked away and won't let you have friends but I'd like to be your friend, if you'll let me," I offer.
"I'd like that but my mother told me to stay away from you," Clare says and bites her lip.
"Then she won't find out, part of my job is take the horses out I can go riding with you," I tell her.
"That would be nice, can we go tomorrow? Will you tell me all about your school and your friends and the world outside my house?" Clare asks me.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know," I reply and she smiles. "I'll go get the brushes to brush him down," I tell her and turn to walk out of the stall but she catches my shirt and I look back at her.
"Owen I'm really glad you came to work here," she says.
"So am I Clare," I grin back, "maybe one day I can sneak you out of here and show you Toronto, in a manner of speaking."
Update Wednesday December 10th starting probably the next day with their ride.