What Now?
On the evening of October 16, 2008, Annie Bullen, Kitty Howard, and their respective boyfriends, Harry Percy and Tom Culpepper, met at the Bullen house to discuss a very important matter: Their plans on how to continue their relationships. Tom was a freshman at UMass Amherst, and wanted to make sure that distance would not end their relationship. The main reason behind this was that Kitty's previous relationship with Frank Dereham had ended soon after he had started college at NYU, and Kitty was afraid that distance would affect her relationship with Tom also. Tom understood her feelings completely, and he wanted to make sure that they had a plan set in stone just in case their relationship was to end due to the distance between them. Even though Anne and Harry planned to attend schools in Massachusetts, Harry was nervous about what would happen to their relationship since he was in a punk rock band called The Most Happy with Annie's younger brother, George, and twin brothers Josh and Mark Pritchard. Harry was concerned what would happen if the band landed a record deal and became famous. He knew that if fame came around during his college years, the band would be on the road quite frequently. Annie, although she had some worry of how their relationship would be affected should The Most Happy become famous, was determined to not let those thoughts take over her mind. She was more worried about how Harry's overthinking of the future was consuming him. Since the anxiety of what the future held was taking over the minds of all four for of them for months, Annie suggested that it was time for them to discuss their fears together and to create a game plan from there.
Annie, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved jersey, and black ankle socks, was reading the latest issue of Rolling Stone in her bedroom when she received a text message reading, "I'm here babe." She then excitedly ran down the stairs to open the front door as she knew Harry had arrived. As she opened the door, Harry, who was dressed in his signature black skinny jeans, Green Day t-shirt, and black Converse sneakers, happily hugged and kissed Annie as they greeted each other. "Babe, you're missing something," Annie said to Harry in a teasing way. "Hahaha it was too warm for a coat," Harry joked. "Get inside before you catch a cold, goofball! Mom would kill you if she saw you without a coat or at least something with long sleeves in this cool weather," Annie said. A few minutes later, Kitty arrived dressed in a black figure-hugging pencil skirt, shear black tights, her favorite faux-leather boots, and a pastel pink cardigan sweater. "Hey, lovebirds! Tom's on his way. He's, like, ten minutes away," she said as she gave Annie and Harry hugs. "Sweet," Annie said with much excitement.
After chatting up about how their days had gone and what they had planned for the weekend, Tom finally arrived and gave everyone a huge hug. He and Kitty then shared a quick kiss. He then asked her, "So, what did I miss?" "Not too much, really. Harry was sharing some lyrics he plans to share with the band. They are super awesome! Annie was basically saying how she cannot deal with Mr. Hart and his repulsive attitude anymore. She's so done with him! Heck, aren't we all? On a lighter note, I talked about all the funny shenanigans that happened at dress rehearsal for Macbeth this afternoon," Kitty said. "Cool, cool. I don't know about you guys, but I am starving," Tom said. "YES! Let's call in for some grub from Pie in the Sky," Harry said with a huge smile on his face. "On it," Annie said as she called in for the order. She ordered one large pepperoni pizza for her and Harry, one large extra cheese pizza for Kitty and Tom, two small Diet Cokes for her and Kitty, a large Sprite for Tom, a medium Pepsi for Harry, and four sides of mozzarella sticks.
Twenty minutes later, Annie answered the front door, grabbed the food, and paid the delivery man with a generous 25% tip. She always tipped generously with people in the restaurant business as she knew how hard they all worked from personal experience. She herself spent the last two summers as a waitress for the nearby Friendly's, so she deeply empathized with restaurant workers. When Annie closed the door, she yelled, "Piping hot pizza coming up!" "YAY," yelled Kitty, Harry, and Tom. As the four very hungry teenagers munched on their food and sipped their drinks, they all felt their eyes roll to the backs of their heads like they usually did when they ate food from Pie in the Sky, especially the pizza. The local pizza joint was always a favorite for everyone in Whitehall since its opening in 1933. "Mmmmm mmmmm! Divine as always," said Harry, who was bound to win the senior class superlative for biggest appetite. He was one of those people who could eat and eat and eat and never gain a pound. Annie was always envious of her boyfriend for this ability, and so was just about everyone else in the senior class at Whitehall High.
After they finished eating their food, Tom said, "Let's cut to the chase. We've all been super edgy over how we are going to continue our relationships from this point forward." "Tell me about it, baby! My anxiety has been through the roof lately. I am constantly worried about distance affecting our relationship," Kitty said in a somber tone. "Kitty, I feel ya, girl! I have been having nightmares of The Most Happy becoming world famous, but at the cost of mine and Annie's relationship. Beyond scary," Harry chimed in. "Babe, that is why I am so worried about you. The whole 'what if' is consuming you, and it hurts to see you feel this way," Annie said as she wrapped her arms around him. She then added, "We can make our relationship work if fame strikes the band. There is always Skype, texting, phone calls, Facebook, MySpace, yada yada yada. We can do it! Plus, nobody said that The Most Happy will become a multi-platinum band overnight. There is time to figure out a plan. We've got this, babe. We've got this." She then hugged him tighter to help calm his nerves and anxiety. After reflecting on what Annie said for a few seconds, Harry felt himself become more at ease about the future, and said, "You know what? You're probably right about that, babe. I also doubt that we could accept a record deal right away anyway. I want to see what Berklee has to offer if I get accepted there. Also, you of all people know that George wants to make sure he completes high school before landing a record deal. Josh and Mark feel the same way, too. Balancing fame and academics would be way too much for everyone in the band." Annie, happily surprised that her argument convinced Harry to look at the status of their relationship in a new light, let go of her grip on him, and clapped after hearing what he had to say to it. Kitty and Tom then started clapping with Annie. After the three of them finished clapping, Tom said, "You two will be just fine, bro! I just know it." "Thanks, bud. Appreciate it. Now let's brainstorm about how you and Kitty are going to face the future," Harry said as he patted Tom on the back.
As Tom wrapped his arms around Kitty, he said, "Sweetheart, we are doing great now even though I am miles away from you almost every day." Kitty nodded in agreement. Tom then added, "Is that going to change if you get accepted into Juilliard? I don't think it will. Our love for each other is so strong. I know that Juilliard is your top choice, and I would be so thrilled for you if you got in. It would be a huge boost for your acting career, and I totally want you to pursue your dreams." "But what if one or both of us fall in love with other people? We should have a game plan if that happens. Frank was in love with Megan for months before telling me how he felt about her, and he broke up with me to date her. Thankfully he didn't cheat on me. I just can't go through that pain again, though, and I would not be able to hide my feelings from you if I felt feelings for someone new. I just couldn't hurt you like that," Kitty said with tears in her eyes. Wiping her tears, Tom said, "I know, baby. I know. If one of us does fall for someone, we should meet in person right away and talk about it as soon as possible. Figure out if we should continue or relationship from there. How does that sound? I want what is best for you, and I always will, even if it meant you were to move on with someone else." With tears of joy in her eyes after hearing Tom's suggestion, Kitty responded, "Babe, that's perfect! I like it. It's honest and fair. Sure, I think there will be a moment of hurt and sadness, but it will be quick and rapid. Like the pain you feel after ripping off a Band-Aid. You're the best! I feel so much better now, and I am so lucky to have you." "Me too, sweetie. Me too," Tom said as he hugged Kitty tighter and ran his fingers through her hair. "Awwwww! You two are so adorable! I pray that you guys stay together no matter what," Harry said. "Thanks, man. We wish the same for you guys, too," Kitty said. Annie then replied, "Thank you, Cous. That means a lot to us. Now that we have talked about our fears about the future, how about we focus on the present and watch a funny movie?" "That sounds great to me! We could use a laugh after that deep convo," Harry said. "Here, here," Kitty and Tom said in unison. The four teens debated for about five minutes over what movie to watch before choosing The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which was a favorite for the four of them. It was a perfect ending to a successful meeting, and they were extremely proud of themselves for facing their fears so well.
A/N: I have many things I have to point out to make this chapter clearer for you all:
1.) Harry is based on the real-life Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, who was engaged to Anne Boleyn before she married Henry VIII. I will be basing Harry's appearance on Oliver Coleman's portrayal of the historical Henry Percy in The Other Boleyn Girl.
2.) Tom is based on Thomas Culpepper, one of Catherine Howard's lovers while she was married to Henry VIII. As for Tom's appearance, I decided to base it off Torrance Coombs' portrayal of the Thomas Culpepper on The Tudors because I could not find a painting of the historical Thomas Culpepper. I chose my character Tom to be Kitty's lover because there is a popular legend that Catherine Howard's last words before being beheaded were, "I die a queen, but I would rather die the wife of Culpepper." However, there is no verified record of Catherine ever saying this.
3.) Frank is based off Catherine Howard's other lover, Francis Dereham. Although Frank will not make any appearances in my Tudor Six series, I will note here that his appearance will be based off Allan Leech's portrayal of Francis Dereham in The Tudors as I could not find any paintings or portraits of the real-life Francis Dereham either.
4.) The name of Harry's band is based off Anne Boleyn's motto as Queen of England, which was "The Most Happy."
5.) Annie's younger brother George is based off Anne Boleyn's younger brother, also named George. My character George will be a sophomore at Whitehall High.
6.) Harry and George's bandmates, Josh and Mark Pritchard, are OCs in the Tudor Six series. They will be juniors at Whitehall High. Their last name is the real last name of Green Day's bassist Mike Dirnt.
7.) Like the town of Whitehall, Pie in the Sky is made up by me. The year in which the fictitious pizza joint opened falls on the 400th anniversary of Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII.