Out of the Blue
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: We don't own CP Coulter's Dalton, Glee or Florence and the Machine. Unfortunately.
Reed was stuck on closing duty. When Mischa had entered the first-aid room and saw Reed on the bed, swiftly burying the purple lollypop in his work uniform, she went on a full-blown rant about how Reed did nothing and how the "actor boy" was constantly distracting her pupils. Apparently, she was so infuriated, that she decided she was no longer capable of putting away equipment or closing the arena that afternoon.
Reed had agreed to do it, of course, recovered from before. Well aside from the obvious jittery feelings elicited from his encounter with Julian. He collected pool items that had been scattered around as he pondered exactly what those feelings were. They were the sort of feelings of admiration Reed would foster when he stumbled upon his favorite designers in a look book. They weren't anything more. Just the admiration of being acknowledged by a celebrity. Reed knew they weren't more. Because no matter how special Julian could make him feel, he loved Shane. At least, he thought he did. If that was what love felt like, which he imagined it did. Whatever it was, he wasn't about to give up on it. However slim the odds might be.
Julian could be…somewhat and probably only outside of school, a friend. In addition, that was fine, wasn't it? What else had he honestly been anticipating? Nothing, he knew, because even though he felt completely alone and betrayed… He didn't, and never would, love Julian Larson. It would always be Shane.
As he tidied, he began to hum softly to himself. He checked around to ensure that no one was about before allowing himself to sing aloud.
Your songs remind me of swimming,
Which I forgot when I started to sink
Drank further away from the shore
And deeper into the drink.
When he got further into the song, uninterrupted he grew more confident. His soft voice began to capture all the emotions he was currently keeping buried inside of him. If it was anything, it was an outlet. He had to tell someone somehow, even if there was no one there to listen.
Sat on the bottom of the ocean, I was sinking, but now I'm sunk
A stern and stubborn rock
Cause your songs remind me of swimming,
But somehow I forgot
And I was drinking, and now I'm drunk
Your songs remind me of swimming
But somehow I forgot
Julian, after finishing his errands, headed back to the room to collect his bag when he was stopped by the sound of a voice singing.
Rotting like a wreck on the ocean floor
Sinking like a siren that can't swim anymore
Your songs remind me of swimming
But I can't swim any more
Julian had heard Reed sing before, but he'd never really heard him sing. His voice wasn't at all like Kurt's beautiful countertenor, or Logan's clear voice. It was so...different from anything he'd ever heard. He wasn't caring about what others were thinking, he wasn't nervous (like the other times Julian had seen him). There was so much raw emotion in this… Sadness. Love. Pain. It really moved him. And he didn't know how anyone could hurt small, sweet Reed.
Pull me out the water, cold and blue
I open my eyes and I see that it's you
So I dive straight back in the ocean
Take a deep breath, suck the water in my chest
And cross my fingers, and hope for the best
Julian was puzzled. How could he be feeling this way about someone he barely knew? He had always thought that after Logan he could never really love again. Certainly not another boy. But, this wasn't love! But.. if it wasn't love… then what was it?
Reed's voice was at its best at this moment, as the song reached the most intense part. Julian could literally feel everything the boy was saying. How was it like this?
Then all of a sudden, I heard a note
It started in my chest and ended in my throat
Then I realized, then I realized, then I realized
I was swimming,
Yes, I was swimming
And now I'm swimming
Yes, I am swimming
Julian found himself edging closer, barely aware of his actions as he neared the strawberry blonde. Reed's voice was so mesmerizing. He truly wasn't holding back at all. He was just singing. It was moments like these that made Julian want to join the Warblers. But that was illogical. After all, Logan, who Julian did love, was in the Warblers. Logan, who he had loved for so long, had never made him want to join the team, well no more than the occasional urge or slight temptation. He barely acknowledged his orientation, let alone acted on it. Let alone acting on it with someone like Reed Van Kamp. Even Jules had to admit that was far-fetched. And he was an actor. He stood behind Reed coolly as his sweet voice continued to harmonize. The song was ending. Reed's voice was lowering, and the bittersweet last lines could elicit tears from the most heartless of people.
Your songs remind me of swimming
Which I forgot when I started . . .
to sink.
When the song ended, Reed cleared his throat as he hastily checked around himself and continued his task. He forgot to look backwards though, because Julian just smirked, unnoticed, and disappeared without the slightest of sounds.
-
Julian gave a short groan as he awoke in his bedroom. Even the weekends weren't fulfilling anymore. He worked most of the day then rocked up to his acting set later. The directors weren't impressed with his lack of time spent filming as of late, but they dealt as the shots were meant to occur mainly at night, anyway. His agent's plan hadn't backfired. The directors were both impressed and baffled when he'd explained his limited availability was due to voluntary work at a local swimming arena. Whatever it was, he supposed that earned him a few brownie points. Despite his ruffled appearance and semi-alert mood, the first thing that came to the young actor's mind was yesterday's occurrences. He was obviously remembering onlybecause his boredom had been cleared up for about an hour when he got to play hero. Oh, and offered to do someone else's work along with his own. He wasn't entirely enlightened as to why he'd offered that yet. He pulled himself off the velvety pillows, disinclined. It was looking like another "interesting" day.
Reed was hard at work. At dawn. This was insanity. On the optimistic side, he'd barely had the chance to remember Shane all morning. He was too busy wondering why on earth they bothered to keep the pool opened during winter. Even in its busiest times, the water remained barely occupied. On top of that, the people who did enjoy the facilities did not realize how much work it was just to clean up after them. Reed didn't want to know what it was like during the summertime. So while Reed's jobs were all laborious, Julian took it upon himself to enter two hours late, lattes in hand.
'So nice of you to show', Mischa chastised as soon as Julian was visible, 'Just because you're famous does not mean you can feel inclined to appear two hours late with no decent excuse while the rest of us work with no recognition!'. Julian concealed an eye-roll. Clearly the poor woman had an inferiority complex. Perhaps she wanted to be legendary too. Well, not everyone could be a star.
"Chill Mischa. Take a break, Reed and I have it covered" Reed blushed at the familiar way in which Julian said his name.
"I will not 'chill' Julian. Now get to work" Mischa snapped, "You can take over lifeguard duty. All I want is one day where Reed doesn't injure himself" Reed blushed darker and Julian thanked his stars for the new pair of sunglasses he found, which allowed him to admire the delicate and yet strangely alluring shade of which Reed's skin had turned. Julian smirked but complied and headed back out to the lifeguard tower. Reed sighed as he watched the movie star leave. He guessed he was doomed to folding towels then..
Julian sat complacently in his tower, checking his phone regularly. The girls in the swimming pool below him splashed about, giggling and squealing over-enthusiastically. It was all so they could get his attention, even for a moment. No such luck. He self-righteously pushed his new Prada sunglasses up. He did miss his Giorgi's…
Reed observed the performance of the girl's from his post in the first-aid room where he was methodically folding towels. It took his mind off things… Before meeting Shane, he had no idea of his orientation. But meeting him made things okay… like it didn't matter. But after colliding with Julian, Reed was more disorderly than ever. It was true that around Julian, Reed had been feeling more flustered than usual. And he had been blushing more. But Julian was a famous actor! And there he was again; his thoughts were a predictable, repetitive circle. It was so frustrating! Reed had no idea how he felt, or how he should feel. This job was supposed to be a distraction- not making him confront more issues! The truth was Julian didn't mean much. It was as simple as this- Reed was lonely, Julian was there… Maybe folding towels didn't quite take his mind off things after all…
Frustrated, Reed dropped the rest of the towels in a less meticulous pile, before unusually storming out of the room in search of a job that would take his mind off the mess that was his life.
"Reed!" Mischa barked. It really was a wonder the woman still had her job. Reed forced himself to face her calmly. He'd actually been heading away from all of them. He was unexplainably close to tears and he hated feeling so listless. Clueless… about everything. He didn't want to face Julian. He worsened the light-headedness; he made Reed feel even more excruciatingly puzzled. And every time the curly-haired boy messed up, Julian probably got a good laugh out of it. Every time his back was turned, he guessed. It wasn't the start of some fairy-tale romance. Heck, it probably wasn't the blossoming of friendship. Reed couldn't even get attached to the actor friendlily. Because that's exactly what Julian Larson was. An actor. And Reed didn't trust him.
"Yes, Mischa?" He said pleasantly. Even in his state-of-mind, Reed remained polite.
"What are you doing?" She called in a ridiculous tone. He was standing right by her for goodness sake!
He blinked, "I've finished the towels."
"Oh, and they didn't bruise you?"
He sighed, "No. I'm fine."
"Well, I wonder if you'll be able to handle-"
"I'm actually not feeling well." He interjected. His voice wavered and he wasn't feigning it at all, "Would I be able to go home?"
She checked her watched, looking extremely irritated, "You've only been here for three hours!"
"Please." He begged, tear droplets were threatening to spill now. Why was he so emotionally fragile? He needed to get a grip, and fast.
"Everything, okay?" Julian asked appearing beside Reed.
"Just, fine." Reed grumbled. Julian gave him a strange look, and peered at Mischa expectantly.
"Stay out of it Larson", Mischa responded, "Or take the boy with you."
Reed hid his face with his hand, to avoid looking aghast. The boy! He and Julian were practically the same age! Julian chuckled to himself, "Sure, Mish."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"I don't want to be a lifeguard." Reed said suddenly, "I don't want to help Julian!"
"Oh, come on." Julian said smugly, "We're friends now, aren't we?"
Reed hesitated. Julian raised an eyebrow in the pause. Reed slowly shook his head, before bolting in the opposite direction. Julian swallowed, his emotions masked by his black shades. Mischa and her students were actually quiet for once. Of course they were.
Julian's phone started buzzing and he muttered, "I've got to take this…"
Mischa just nodded.