A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for all the fabulous reviews! I love you all! I'm
working, slowly but surely, on this thing, so I apologize for the lack of
updates. Finals and all is VERY stressful, so I trust you'll all be nice,
loyal readers and bear with me! I also realized I had a few "plotholes" in
my story, and I really need to fix that. I'm just not sure how to edit the
chapters. yes, I'm completely inept when it comes to this. I can WRITE the
story, I just can't post it. I'm in awe of my own stupidity haha ( so if
any of you are willing to help me out with this, feel free to email. That
would be great. And, once again, enjoy this chapter. The last one I wrote
was def. not my best, so I tried to make up for it here. Love it? Hate it?
Whatever, review anyways. Now, on with the story.
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Chapter 16: It wasn't supposed to be this way.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present our newest and youngest performer, the fabulous Miz Angel Schunard!" Fred's deep voice boomed into the microphone.
Backstage, Angel smoothed out the wrinkles in his dangerously-short, red- sequined dress, fluffed his wig one last time, and sauntered onto stage, the bright lights blinding his eyes.
The cheers and hollers from the crowd brought a smile onto the young drag queen's red sparkling lips. The music began to start up, and his eyes closed, the tops and bottoms of his false eyelashes lacing within one another. The bass of the music engulfed his body, as he began to movie his hips and twirl around. Touching himself, he began, "Humidity's rising, barometer's getting low."
This was Angel's first full week of performance. He'd been living with Queenie and Fred at the club for three weeks now, tonight being his three-week anniversary. He had wandered into the club, cold and scared, three weeks ago just needing a bathroom. Before he knew it, a cheerful Chinese-immigrant transvestite and her fabulous boyfriend had adopted him into their family, treating his as if he were their own offspring. Since that day, he'd been practicing It's Raining Men in various sparkling dresses and high heels. Queenie had taught him the basics of performing, and dressing in drag, and, finally, they both knew that Angel was ready to be a full-time performer.
Tonight was a Saturday night, the busiest night of the club. As the song progressed, and Angel's wild dance continued, he gazed around the club, in awe of the sheer size of the audience. Gay men from all walks of life watched the young boy dance, provocatively, on stage, cheering him on all the way.
"Hallelujah, it's raining men. Amen!" Angel belted, continuing to engross himself in the song even more. He was able to do amazing riffs on the high notes, due to his naturally high tenor voice. A break in the song occurred, and Angel's dancing exploded. He put his leg up on a pole, and began to caress it, much to the pleasure of the rowdy audience. Twirling in circles, the vocals began again, and Angel finished the song, belting at the top of his lungs and clinging to pole.
"AMEN!" he wailed as the song ended.
As soon as the music stopped, the crowd erupted into deafening cheers. The hoots and hollers of all the people at the club brought a large smile onto Angel's face, making his eyes light up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Angel Schunard! Let's give her another round of applause. This is her first Saturday night performance, show her some love!"
"YEAH BABY!" another drag queen yelled up to the lit stage. Angel beamed as his face turned a bright crimson. Putting his arm around the young boy's shoulders, Fred hugged him, whispering, "Good job, baby," as he began to introduce the next performer and Angel retreated backstage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel walked back to his dressing room with a dazzling smile on his face. Nearly knocking him over, Queenie hugged him, squeezing his tiny body so hard that he thought he'd break.
"You were amazing, Angel baby! They loved you!" she squealed as she continued to hug him.
"That was SO much fun. Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Angel told her sincerely, air-kissing her cheek.
"Oh, it's no problem doll, really. I'm so proud of you. I know it's only been three weeks, but you're changed so much since you first came here. You're so open now. I thought it was gonna take me FOREVER to break down that little wall of sadness you had built up inside your young heart. But you're a sweetie, I always knew you were, and I'm glad you're here," Queenie told him, as tears welled up in both their eyes.
"Oh my god, that is the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. I don't even know how to thank you!"
"Well." she began, "You could just go around and mingle with the clubbers. You were a big hit, they'll all want to meet you."
"So I'm like a celebrity, huh?" he asked, beaming with pride.
"Well, sort of. As close to a celebrity as you're gonna get while you're here, at least. But, dear, I do need to warn you: be careful. There's some creepy people who come here, and I don't want anything bad happening to you. This used to be a strip club, and we've still got a lot of the old club-goers that show up on the weekends. Most of them are sweet, but you need to watch out for the sleazy ones. Enjoy yourself, though, babe."
"Will do. Thanks again Queenie, I love you," Angel told her, hugging her and kissing her cheek again.
"Love you too, babe," Queenie replied, returning the affection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel walked out from behind the stage door, greeted by the faces of a pleased audience. He knew that there would be people waiting to talk to him, but he didn't expect all of this.
"Woo baby! You're a hot one!" an older drag queen whistled at him.
"Like that pole action, Ang. TAKE IT OFF!" another yelled.
Appalled by their suggestive comments, Angel continued to walk to the bar to get some soda, or something, from Enrico.
The emptiness of the bar was beckoning to him, as an escape from the sleazy audience, crowing around him speaking obnoxious comments to the young performer.
"Coke," Angel told Enrico, as he sat on the stool, crossing one thin leg over another.
"Right away, darling. You were amazing tonight, Ang, the best I've seen ya. Congratulations." At least Enrico wasn't hitting on him.
Accepting the drink from him, Angel replied, with a bewildered expression on his face, "Thanks."
There was only one other person at the bar. A man, young looking, dressed in a tight white tank top and a pair of flared jeans that sparkled from the light of the disco balls.
"Oh, hey, you just performed, didn't you?" Mystery Man asked him.
"Uh yeah. I'm Angel, nice to you meet you," Angel said, politely, pleased that the man was carrying on a decent conversation, rather than a weak and failed attempt to get in his pants.
"Name's Gary. I don't come here too often, but I've never seen you before. You're new, I assume."
"Yeah, this is actually my first Saturday performance. It's nuts here on the weekends, I didn't know how bad it is."
"I usually only come here on the weekends, so I wouldn't know any other way, but the crowd seems particularly rowdy tonight," Gary admitted, stirring the straw around the ice in his liquor.
"I hope they aren't always this bad," Angel said, watching the smooth, stirring motions of Gary's straw.
"Naw, they're usually alright. Were they giving you a hard time tonight?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned in the drag queen's well- being.
"Just a little. They were just saying some things that. well, you know. I didn't really expect them to be so-"
"Rude," he cut in, "I know exactly what you're talking about."
"Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not alone," Angel said, staring deep into the eyes of the friendly stranger.
"You know what? It's kinda hot in here. You wanna get out and go somewhere? You know, just you and me?" He asked.
"Uh, sure," Angel replied, thinking to himself, "He's trying to pick me up!" and blushing.
"Cool," Gary said, as he stood up and took Angel's hand.
He didn't realize how strong Gary was until his slender hand was being gripped tightly by his companion's. Gary was one of the few men he'd met that hadn't been significantly taller than he. Winking at Angel, Gary began to lead him out of the stuffy, dimly-lit club.
Feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach, Angel looked into Gary's kind, gray eyes: The kind eyes shut as Gary wrapped his arms around Angel and began to kiss him. Staring at the blank eyes of the stranger, he placed his arms around the stranger's neck, out of force of habit. He couldn't feel that this was the way each and every night would be at this club: Looking at the blank and faceless men who he would soon be sharing intimacies with. Just as every anonymous man would do, Gary found Angel's hand, carrying the young boy away from the familiarity of the pounding techno beats.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Angel whispered, quiet enough so that noone, not even the anonymous companion, would hear his cries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 16: It wasn't supposed to be this way.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present our newest and youngest performer, the fabulous Miz Angel Schunard!" Fred's deep voice boomed into the microphone.
Backstage, Angel smoothed out the wrinkles in his dangerously-short, red- sequined dress, fluffed his wig one last time, and sauntered onto stage, the bright lights blinding his eyes.
The cheers and hollers from the crowd brought a smile onto the young drag queen's red sparkling lips. The music began to start up, and his eyes closed, the tops and bottoms of his false eyelashes lacing within one another. The bass of the music engulfed his body, as he began to movie his hips and twirl around. Touching himself, he began, "Humidity's rising, barometer's getting low."
This was Angel's first full week of performance. He'd been living with Queenie and Fred at the club for three weeks now, tonight being his three-week anniversary. He had wandered into the club, cold and scared, three weeks ago just needing a bathroom. Before he knew it, a cheerful Chinese-immigrant transvestite and her fabulous boyfriend had adopted him into their family, treating his as if he were their own offspring. Since that day, he'd been practicing It's Raining Men in various sparkling dresses and high heels. Queenie had taught him the basics of performing, and dressing in drag, and, finally, they both knew that Angel was ready to be a full-time performer.
Tonight was a Saturday night, the busiest night of the club. As the song progressed, and Angel's wild dance continued, he gazed around the club, in awe of the sheer size of the audience. Gay men from all walks of life watched the young boy dance, provocatively, on stage, cheering him on all the way.
"Hallelujah, it's raining men. Amen!" Angel belted, continuing to engross himself in the song even more. He was able to do amazing riffs on the high notes, due to his naturally high tenor voice. A break in the song occurred, and Angel's dancing exploded. He put his leg up on a pole, and began to caress it, much to the pleasure of the rowdy audience. Twirling in circles, the vocals began again, and Angel finished the song, belting at the top of his lungs and clinging to pole.
"AMEN!" he wailed as the song ended.
As soon as the music stopped, the crowd erupted into deafening cheers. The hoots and hollers of all the people at the club brought a large smile onto Angel's face, making his eyes light up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Angel Schunard! Let's give her another round of applause. This is her first Saturday night performance, show her some love!"
"YEAH BABY!" another drag queen yelled up to the lit stage. Angel beamed as his face turned a bright crimson. Putting his arm around the young boy's shoulders, Fred hugged him, whispering, "Good job, baby," as he began to introduce the next performer and Angel retreated backstage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel walked back to his dressing room with a dazzling smile on his face. Nearly knocking him over, Queenie hugged him, squeezing his tiny body so hard that he thought he'd break.
"You were amazing, Angel baby! They loved you!" she squealed as she continued to hug him.
"That was SO much fun. Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Angel told her sincerely, air-kissing her cheek.
"Oh, it's no problem doll, really. I'm so proud of you. I know it's only been three weeks, but you're changed so much since you first came here. You're so open now. I thought it was gonna take me FOREVER to break down that little wall of sadness you had built up inside your young heart. But you're a sweetie, I always knew you were, and I'm glad you're here," Queenie told him, as tears welled up in both their eyes.
"Oh my god, that is the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. I don't even know how to thank you!"
"Well." she began, "You could just go around and mingle with the clubbers. You were a big hit, they'll all want to meet you."
"So I'm like a celebrity, huh?" he asked, beaming with pride.
"Well, sort of. As close to a celebrity as you're gonna get while you're here, at least. But, dear, I do need to warn you: be careful. There's some creepy people who come here, and I don't want anything bad happening to you. This used to be a strip club, and we've still got a lot of the old club-goers that show up on the weekends. Most of them are sweet, but you need to watch out for the sleazy ones. Enjoy yourself, though, babe."
"Will do. Thanks again Queenie, I love you," Angel told her, hugging her and kissing her cheek again.
"Love you too, babe," Queenie replied, returning the affection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel walked out from behind the stage door, greeted by the faces of a pleased audience. He knew that there would be people waiting to talk to him, but he didn't expect all of this.
"Woo baby! You're a hot one!" an older drag queen whistled at him.
"Like that pole action, Ang. TAKE IT OFF!" another yelled.
Appalled by their suggestive comments, Angel continued to walk to the bar to get some soda, or something, from Enrico.
The emptiness of the bar was beckoning to him, as an escape from the sleazy audience, crowing around him speaking obnoxious comments to the young performer.
"Coke," Angel told Enrico, as he sat on the stool, crossing one thin leg over another.
"Right away, darling. You were amazing tonight, Ang, the best I've seen ya. Congratulations." At least Enrico wasn't hitting on him.
Accepting the drink from him, Angel replied, with a bewildered expression on his face, "Thanks."
There was only one other person at the bar. A man, young looking, dressed in a tight white tank top and a pair of flared jeans that sparkled from the light of the disco balls.
"Oh, hey, you just performed, didn't you?" Mystery Man asked him.
"Uh yeah. I'm Angel, nice to you meet you," Angel said, politely, pleased that the man was carrying on a decent conversation, rather than a weak and failed attempt to get in his pants.
"Name's Gary. I don't come here too often, but I've never seen you before. You're new, I assume."
"Yeah, this is actually my first Saturday performance. It's nuts here on the weekends, I didn't know how bad it is."
"I usually only come here on the weekends, so I wouldn't know any other way, but the crowd seems particularly rowdy tonight," Gary admitted, stirring the straw around the ice in his liquor.
"I hope they aren't always this bad," Angel said, watching the smooth, stirring motions of Gary's straw.
"Naw, they're usually alright. Were they giving you a hard time tonight?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned in the drag queen's well- being.
"Just a little. They were just saying some things that. well, you know. I didn't really expect them to be so-"
"Rude," he cut in, "I know exactly what you're talking about."
"Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not alone," Angel said, staring deep into the eyes of the friendly stranger.
"You know what? It's kinda hot in here. You wanna get out and go somewhere? You know, just you and me?" He asked.
"Uh, sure," Angel replied, thinking to himself, "He's trying to pick me up!" and blushing.
"Cool," Gary said, as he stood up and took Angel's hand.
He didn't realize how strong Gary was until his slender hand was being gripped tightly by his companion's. Gary was one of the few men he'd met that hadn't been significantly taller than he. Winking at Angel, Gary began to lead him out of the stuffy, dimly-lit club.
Feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach, Angel looked into Gary's kind, gray eyes: The kind eyes shut as Gary wrapped his arms around Angel and began to kiss him. Staring at the blank eyes of the stranger, he placed his arms around the stranger's neck, out of force of habit. He couldn't feel that this was the way each and every night would be at this club: Looking at the blank and faceless men who he would soon be sharing intimacies with. Just as every anonymous man would do, Gary found Angel's hand, carrying the young boy away from the familiarity of the pounding techno beats.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Angel whispered, quiet enough so that noone, not even the anonymous companion, would hear his cries.