Yes, ladies and gents, two chapters in one night ;)
The idea for this has been bugging me immensely, since it was originally paired up with the previous chapter, but I decided it was time to give Ella some depth. Now, some people say that OC's reflect the author, and I thought, why not let them be right? A bit of myself has been poured into Ella in this chapter, since we suffer from the same mental disorder (haha, I didn't want to give it all away here!). That way I hope to make her as believable as possible in later chapters.
DISCLAIMER (seems like I forgot that one in the last chapter... Oops.): I do not own anything related to Glee or the songs in the chapters unless stated otherwise. All I own is my plot and my OC Ella :)
The next couple of weeks passed quietly. Artie only talked to me if it was absolutely necessary, Mercedes was trying to figure out if she should help me or be mad at me for hurting Artie and Blaine and Kurt had pretty much become my personal therapists on the whole Artie-situation.
October had long rolled around, and the days were getting noticeably shorter. As I had feared, the lack of sunlight was starting to affect me, and I realised I had to talk to the Andersons, who by now had pretty much become like a second family already.
I went into the kitchen to find Mary preparing dinner.
"Hey sweetie," she smiled at me as I entered.
When I only managed half a smile, she looked at me worriedly.
"Are you alright honey?" she asked with a look of concern. I just shook my head no.
"Is it because of that boy at school? What's his name, Arthur?" she asked after putting down her kitchen utensils and sitting down beside me at the kitchen island.
"His name's Artie, and no, it's not something do with him... Well, actually, it sort of is, but that's beside the point. I was wondering if I could talk to you, Jim and Blaine? I have something I should tell you, and I want all of you to know," I told her.
"Of course sweetheart, I'll go get them," she said before standing up to ask Jim and Blaine to come.
When we were all seated in the living room, Mary spoke again.
"What was it you wanted to talk about, dear?" she asked.
"It's more of a warning, I guess... I just want you all to know, since we're living under the same roof, that I..." I trailed off.
Blaine, who was sitting beside me, took my hand in his and squeezed it softly. I took a deep breath.
"I suffer from a clinical depression. The kind I have is somewhat similar to seasonal affective disorder, since it's often being set off by lack of sunlight, but it doesn't go away again when spring comes. I was diagnosed last winter for the second time after I spent a month not leaving my bed. My mum pretty much had to drag me to the doctor to get the diagnosis, and.." I trailed off once again, this time due to the lump in my throat and the stinging feeling of tears welling up in my eyes.
"Anyway, I was diagnosed and have been taking medication since then. Since it's my second time being diagnosed, they recommend a three year treatment. My pills contain a neurotransmitter that's similar to what the brain produces from sunlight, and I'm supposed to double my dose now that the hours of daylight are getting fewer. I'm not asking for your sympathy, don't get me wrong. I just thought you deserved to know," I told them, a single tear sliding down my cheek.
"Oh sweetie," Mary whispered before getting up and pulling me into a motherly hug.
"All I ask of you is to bear with me if I'm having a bad day. I don't expect it to affect my school, since Blaine drives me to and from school, but I might be having a little trouble getting out of bed during weekends," I told them while brushing away the tear.
"Of course," Jim said as Mary sat back down.
"Do you have enough medication?" Mary asked.
"Yes, I made sure to stock up before I came here. I have enough for the year I'm staying here, I couldn't possibly ask you to buy my medication," I said blushing slightly.
"Well, I'm glad you told us. We'll do what we can to help," Jim said with a warm smile.
"Thank you," I smiled back.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get out of bed on weekends," Blaine said nudging me softly.
"Thank you," I said and nudged him back.
"Well, I should get back to making dinner," Mary said standing up.
"Do you want help?" I asked, receiving a smile from her.
"Thank you dear, that would be lovely," she replied.
After telling the family, I decided I should tell my friends as well. The next day I called up Mercedes to ask if she wanted to join me for coffee, since I had something to tell her. She agreed to meet me at the Lima Bean at noon, since it was Saturday and we didn't have school.
"What's up girl?" she said once we had gotten our beverages.
I quickly told her what I had told the family, including that I wasn't looking for pity.
"Damn, that's heavy, sweetie. I'm glad you told me though," she said giving me a warm smile.
"Actually, that's not fully the reason I told you," I said before taking a sip of my coffee.
"That's why you told Artie you couldn't be together, isn't it?" she asked. I nodded.
"I couldn't possibly ask him to be with me without filling him in on everything, and I just wasn't ready for that yet. Cedes, what if I've wasted my chance? He still isn't talking to me," I said.
"Sweetie, I know he still feels the same. He's just hurt, that's all. I'm sure he would understand if you told him," she said. I nodded. I knew I had to tell him, and I was running out of time to do so.
"You look like you have a plan, I can hear your brain working," Mercedes chuckled.
I smiled at her and nodded.
"Oh, this is gonna be good," she laughed, making me laugh along with her.
By Monday, I knew what I had to do. I was walking down the hallway when I spotted just the person I was looking for.
"Puck," I called out to the Mohawk-wearing guy standing by his locker.
"Hey English, what's up?" he said, using the nickname he had come up with.
"I need a favour. Do you know Taylor Swift?" I asked in a hushed tone.
"Sure, she's kinda cool. Why do you ask?" he replied.
"Because I need your help. I need you to learn this song, I'm going to perform it in glee," I told him while handing him a couple of papers with chords on them.
He took a quick look at them before nodding.
"This seems do-able," he said, "it shouldn't take long to learn."
"How long do you think it will take you to learn it?" I asked.
"If I skip math like I always do, we should be able to rehearse this during lunch if you're up for it," he said, taking a book out of his locker.
"Seriously? Puck, that would be great, thank you so much!" I said before hugging him.
"It's cool English, I know why you're doing it," he smiled.
"You do?" I asked giving him a confused look.
"Yeah, it's for Abrams, right? I might not be a genius, but I'm not stupid," he chuckled.
I nodded.
"Guilty as charged," I laughed.
"Alright, well, see you during lunch," he said as the bell rang and we made our way to our classes.
6th period and glee rolled around, and Puck and I were ready to perform. It hadn't taken long to get the song perfect and ready for performing. We sat next to each other when Mr. Schu came in and started talking.
"Alright guys, Invitationals are getting closer, and we should start rehearsing," he said.
I raised my hand.
"Yes, Ella?" he said.
"Puck and I have been working on something," I told him, and he motioned for us to take the floor.
We grabbed a stool each and sat down, Puck with a guitar in his hand.
"This is, um, an apology," I said, shooting Artie a fleeting glance before looking at Mercedes who sat next to him. She gave me a smile and a thumbs up, as Puck started playing the intro.
"Here I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired, lonely place
Walls of insincerity
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Your eyes whispered "have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
The lingering question kept me up
2am, who do you love?
I wonder till I'm wide awake
Now I'm pacing back and forth,
Wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say,
Hey, it was enchanting to meet you
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
This is me praying that this was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again
These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you"
As the song finished, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Of course everyone knew who I was singing to.
Rachel was the first to break the silence.
"Mr. Schu? I would like to nominate this song as our Invitationals ballad."
After school I was making my way to the parking lot to wait for Blaine to pick me up when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Hey Ella, wait up!"
I turned around to see Artie wheeling towards me and felt the butterflies start to flap around in my stomach.
"Artie, hey," I said and couldn't help but smile.
"That song was about me, wasn't it?" he asked.
"I think everybody knows it was," I replied blushing slightly.
"Well, I'm confused," he stated.
"I know, and I wouldn't expect you not to be," I told him.
"Enlighten me," he asked.
"I have something to tell you, but it's kind of a long story," I told him.
"Oh. Well, maybe you could tell me tonight at Breadstix over dinner?" he asked. This time it was his turn to blush, and I couldn't stop the smile from spreading on my face.
"I would like that," I told him and watched as a smile broke out on his face as well.
"Great," he said, "How does 6:30 sound?" he asked.
"Just perfect," I replied, just as Blaine pulled into the parking lot.
"Well, there's Blaine, I'll see you later, then," I told him.
As I turned to leave, he spoke again.
"Ella?"
I turned back to face him.
"Yes?"
"I don't have somebody waiting on me." He simply told me.
I smiled at him before taking his hand and giving it a soft squeeze.
"I'll see you tonight, Artie," I told him before walking to Blaine's car, a huge smile never leaving my face.
Song featured in this chapter: Taylor Swift - "Enchanted".
Reviewers get cookies, as usual :)
