It's the last chapter before I run away from you! Enjoy it, you won't be getting more in a while.
Isabella felt as if the sky had crash-landed on top of her. Her arm felt like it had been cut off, chopped into a thousand little pieces, then reattached with a knife inside instead of bones. She felt like she had a nuclear explosion going on in her head, but all was held together by a piece of paper. To top it off, she also felt like she had been hanging from the ceiling for hours, by a rope attached to her right shoulder. When she tried opening her eyes she was blinded by the light, and closed her eyes a little fast, causing her to faint again.
She heard voices all around her, incomprehensible mutters. Her head still felt like it was about to explode, sometimes she wished it would, just so it would stop hurting. She felt hands all over her, tugging her in different directions, some more carefully than others, but most seemed to be more concerned with getting her the heck away, than making it comfortable. Her arm was the worst, whenever someone touched it, she felt like they threw boiling water at it, sending sparks up her arm. Again everything faded to black.
"Then she just got all up in my face telling me I shouldn't be friendly toward Melody!" Kevin finished telling Jasper about his fight with Paige. They were sitting in the older boy's bedroom, which was a pretty regular room for a 17-year-old boy. It was sort of messy, due to it being the room of a teenager, and had text books spread all over the desk. The boys were doing their homework, Jasper sitting at the desk, and Kevin on the floor, leaning toward the wall. After about an hour of solving mathematical problems and reading history, they had decided to take a break. "I don't even know what she means!"
"Maybe she's jealous," Jasper suggested, shrugging. Maybe Kevin didn't see the way Melody looked at him, or the way Paige had looked at him last time in Glee club, but Jasper had. He always tried to look out for his curly-haired friend.
"What? No! Paige can't be jealous, she doesn't like me in that way," Kevin finished on quite a sad note. He had told Paige he liked her, but she had obviously not reciprocated. Looking at the floor Kevin thought about the option that Paige might like him back. Did he still like her? He thought he did, but then there was Melody. She was just very sweet, and they had a lot in common. Besides, the things Paige had said had really hurt him.
"Well, the way she looked at you and Melody said otherwise." Jasper reasoned, looking down at his short friend. Melody was obviously in love with Kevin, and from what Jasper could tell, Kevin didn't exactly hate her. Then again, Kevin had liked Paige for a long time, and she finally seemed to see that she was in love with him too.
"Then what do I do?" Kevin was at a loss, he had never had a girl, much less two girls, like him. Chuckling a bit at the irony of it all, Kevin looked up at Jasper. Earlier everyone had thought he was gay, most still did, and now he had two girls fighting over him. The irony was striking.
"I think you should just take it easy and find out who you get along the best with," Jasper stated simply. Even if he hadn't had a serious girlfriend ever, he still knew what to do in case of girl-problems, it kind of amazed Kevin.
Casually walking to his next class, Tyler wasn't really paying attention. He was thinking about his football team's win the previous weekend. The football team had never been good, so winning for once felt great. Not to mention knowing there was someone in the crowd who was cheering just for him. It was the first time Tony had gone to see one of his football-games, and if he knew the tenor right, it was probably one of the only football-games he had ever been to.
Suddenly, he felt the coldest thing he had ever felt in his entire life, hit his face. He didn't even have enough time to react and close his eyes. The thing that hit him was sticky, wet and incredibly cold, not to mention that it stung his eyes like nothing he had ever encountered. Being to shocked at the slushy he hardly even noticed that he had been pushed into a locker too. No one had ever given him a slushy-facial before. Sure, he had seen other kids get them all the time, but he had never been the victim of one before. He knew he should have seen it coming, but he hadn't. Hurrying into the boys' room to clean up, Tyler felt his eyes sting with something other than strawberry slushy.
"Kids, I have some bad news for you," Will announced with a serious look on his face as he entered the choir room. The twins exchanged scared looks, thinking they might not be going to Regionals after all, a thought that shook them to the core. Will sat down on a stool, looking over his glee club. He had two cheerios, one ex-cheerio, five football-players, and eight others, all looking at him anxiously. "Yesterday, Isabella was in a car-crash, with he brother."
"What? Luke!" Chrystal's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open in disbelief. She couldn't have heard correctly, of mr. Schue wasn't talking about her Luke. But Isabella didn't have any other brothers. Will nodded, confirming her fears.
"After what I heard, they're both stable, but critical. They're waiting for them to wake up. Are you okay, Chrystal?" The teacher's voice filled with concern, seeing the terrified spread itself over Chrystal's even paler than usual face. The girl hugged herself, and didn't meet anyone eyes, looking to the floor instead. She hadn't even heard Will explaining the siblings' status, she was too spaced out. If Luke was in a car crash, then why hadn't anyone told her? Didn't she have the right to know?
"Chrystal?" Liberty gently shook the shoulder of her fellow cheerio, trying to get her attention and failing. She shook a little more violently, but didn't get any results. Chrystal sat as frozen. "I'll take her to the nurse."
As Will nodded Liberty got Chrystal on her feet and gently guided her to the door. It wasn't that she liked Chrystal any more than the others, Chrystal was a real bitch after all, but Liberty knew she knew Chrystal better than the others, and she knew she was the only one who would have to deal with Chrystal's fury if no one helped her. With one arm around the redhead, the brunette made her way to the school nurse.
As Isabella slowly opened her eyes, light flooded into her vision, making everything blurry, before her eyes adjusted. Most of the room was white, but there were some paintings on the walls, images of bright summer days and puppies. At first she wondered why she was there, before everything came streaming back to her. The crash, the pain, the hands. The same way her sight began to come back, so did the pain. Her head still felt like world war III had happened there, her arm still felt destroyed and her shoulder wasn't much better. Looking down at her left arm she saw it was in a cast. Wonderful. Freakin' wonderful. If her arm was in a cast she couldn't do cartwheels, and who would kill her if she couldn't do cartwheels, Coach Sylvester. Of course she had to be involved in a car crash two weeks before Regionals, of course.
But where was Luke, she couldn't find him in the room. In fact, she couldn't find anyone else in the room. When she found him she was going to kill him, how could he managed to get them into a crash like that, just before Regionals. She felt her anger rising, but then remembered Luke's head colliding with the steering wheel. Her anger faded at once, thinking of how much worse that had to hurt. Her heart picked up the pace as she thought about the car crash, sending all her blood rushing to her head, causing her to faint once again.
Lazily playing with Tyler's hair, Tony laid in his bed looking up at his boyfriend. They had been dating since after Sectionals, and Tony still felt his heart swell at the thought. Tony was laying on his back, one hand twirling a strand of Tony's black hair between his fingers, occasionally caressing the older boy's cheek. Tyler was laying on his stomach, resting on his elbows and looking down lovingly at the petite boy. They laid in comfortable silence, only broken by Tony's stereo quietly playing show-tunes. After spending so much time in Tony's room, Tyler was used to the constant music. The entire room had taken some time getting used to. The walls were painted white, but they were covered in posters from different musicals, most of the posters were from plays Tony had seen, while a few were from the ones he had starred in. There were trophies from different singing, dancing and acting-competitions, and quite a few from talent shows. Somehow, Tony had managed to make his entire room seem like something from a musical, or at least something musical theater related. The family's black British Bombay cat, Elphaba, who lay sleeping by the foot of the bed, was a nice finishing touch.
"So how are they handling it?" Tony asked cautiously, referring to how Tyler's family was handling him coming out. The violet-eyed boy was trying to be gentle, and not push the issue, but he needed to know how the family was taking it. The junior took a deep breath and thought for a moment before answering.
"Some better than others," he said, which didn't really help Tony much. Tyler could tell by the pale boy's expression that it wasn't a good enough answer. Looking down at his hands, Tyler elaborated. "Well, Mom's taking it okay, she doesn't seem to mind. She seemed a bit disappointed that she would be getting one less girl into the family, though." Tyler laughed a little at his mother's statement, before he continued more seriously. "Dad is... Awkward. I don't think he knows what to think. Sean, and the kids don't even know yet. I don't think I'll tell them for a while, Donald is only four, you know. Calvin was surprisingly accepting though, he said it was awesome. Jacob, on the other hand," Tyler swallowed as he thought back at his older brother's reaction. "Was less than happy. He didn't say much, he just looked at me like... like... I don't know."
It felt like an invisible hand was taking hold of his heart and squeezing it when he thought of his 19-year-old brother's reaction. The look of hate and shame in his eyes. The way he kept his distance, and when he wasn't looking at Tyler with that disgust, he was pretending he wasn't there.
"It's okay," Tony wiped the single tear that had fallen down from Tyler's cheek. Tyler hadn't even realized he was crying. It felt really good to have someone like Tony there for him, though, someone to wipe away his tears and tell him it was okay. Burying his face in the nook where Tony's neck met his shoulder, Tyler let the tears fall silently, as Tony wrapped his arms around him and sang softly into his hair.
There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere.
There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to look, time to care,
Some day!
Tony's voice was soft and comforting, making Tyler feel safe. For a split second Tyler thought about joining in, but figured the song was all too high for him, as it was written for a tenor and a soprano. He settled for listening to Tony.
Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere . . .
As the song neared Tony's voice grew in volume, but was still very soothing. Tyler's tears had stopped falling, but he stayed putt, relishing the sweet lavender smell of Tony. It was one of his favorite things about Tony, the way he always smelled like lavender. Tyler didn't even know why, but he loved that smell.
There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!
When he finished the song, Tony placed a comforting kiss on Tyler's forehead, still holding the boy close.
As Will went on about the importance of chemistry when performing, or something, Paige occasionally glared at Melody, who sat staring longingly at Kevin, who again was trying not to pay attention to the two girls. He tried to focus on Will's lecture instead, but it was very hard as this particular lecture was exhaustively boring.
Melody could feel Paige's gaze bore into the back or her head, but decided not to put to much into it. It was probably nothing anyway, why would Paige look at her with a look that could kill? She didn't have any reason to, did she? Melody at least couldn't remember doing anything that could have upset the other girl.
Paige's near-black eyes were filled with something that wasn't quite hate, but not all too far away. She felt stupid, if she had only realized her feelings earlier, then she wouldn't have had to deal with little miss Britain over there. Had she realized earlier she wouldn't have hurt Kevin either, because they wouldn't have had the discussion.
Seth and Nicole sat beside each other, sometimes stealing shy glances every now and then. Tyler and Tony were just as annoyingly sweet, sharing small smiles and glances. Felix had an arm around Liberty's shoulders, and generally the couples looked very happy. It was weird how seeing happy couples could make you so pissed when your own love life was going down the drain.
"It's up! It's up!" was the optimistic cry that met Sandy as she entered the theater. The sound came from a very energetic Hannah, who stood looking at a board, full of sheets. Curious as to what had a grown woman nearly jumping up and down with glee like a toddler, Sandy made her way over to the board. Most of the other actors were there already, studying a sheet of paper.
"What's she so excited about?" Sandy asked River, who was standing a bit outside of the group, naturally not letting Hannah's excitement get to him.
"The play, we just found out which musical we'll be doing." He explained in an indifferent manner, like it didn't really matter all that much to him. His clothes had the same neatly-pressed look, and somehow he managed to look like he stepped straight out of a clothing-commercial. Or maybe a commercial for some hair product, or for something against acne. He generally looked like he could belong to most commercials.
Standing on her toes to see, Sandy tried to get a look at the sheet. As she was 5'3, and most of the others were almost 6', this proved to be a near-impossible task. It really sucked sometimes, being that short. Most of the time it wasn't a problem, but it could really be a pain in the rear when she was trying to look over people's shoulders or reaching for something. She couldn't even count how many times she had had to ask someone to take something down for her at the supermarket. Sighing in defeat she asked River which musical it was.
"Zanna, don't!" River replied politely in a quite matter-of-factly way. Sandy felt like she had heard of it before, but she couldn't quite place it. She could vaguely remember seeing a poster from it somewhere, as she tried to remember how the poster looked, she began remembering what it was about.
"It's about that alternate world where everyone is gay, right? Or, almost everyone," Sandy said more to herself than anyone else. None-the-less River courtly nodded. "So, does it say when the auditions are?"
"Auditions?" River questioned, looking down at her like she had just suggested setting fire to the building. "We don't audition, Micheal decides who gets which part. If he can't decide between two people, then those two will sing a duet and whoever does the best, will get the part."
Sandy didn't really she how that could be more fair than having normal auditions, but she supposed that was the way they did it here. Figuring that going along with the way the ones in charge wanted to do things, was probably better than going against them. At least, if she wanted to stay.
"So who got who?"
"Zanna is either Meryll, or me. The one of us that loses gets Steve, you're Kate. Evangelina is Roberta, Timmy got Mike. Tank will be Lance, Hannah is Candy. Buck will be either Damien or Kipp, the other one will be part of the chorus." River squinted his eyes every now and then to see who played who, but kept his indifferent tone. He even seemed indifferent to whether he got the lead or not. It was weird seeing someone who was so different from herself, she would always try to get the best part possible, which quite often meant the lead.
Just as River was done listing the parts for Sandy, Micheal Gornette walked down a flight of stairs. He saw the heads of eight young actors turn quickly toward him, as he approached them.
"So, are you kids ready for our competition?" The balding man smiled at the group. The four competitors nodded, River courtly, Meryll with a bright smile. As Mr. Gornette told the boys what they would be singing everyone headed into one of the auditoriums. Shuffling into their seats the rest of the group waited, as Kipp and Damien took the stage. It was the same auditorium where Sandy had met River for the first time, and a figure Sandy felt like she recognized sat by the piano. He had strawberry-blond hair and seemed to be about as old as Micheal, in his forties that was.
Even when faced with such a challenge both boys looked rather calm, they'd probably done it before. Readjusting his Yankees cap, Kipp signaled for the piano player to begin playing. He began singing, his baritone fitting the song perfectly.
(This is Kipp, this is Damien, This is when they both sing.)
She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart
While I'm drinking Jack all alone in my local bar and we don't know how
How we got into this mad situation, only doing things out of frustration
Trying to make it work, but, man, these times are hard
She needs me now but I can't seem to find the time
I got a new job now on the unemployment line and we don't know how
How we got into this mess, is it God's test? Someone help us 'cause we're doing our best
Trying to make things work, but, man, these times are hard
They didn't have any choreography, but stood holding unto their microphones. It wasn't really a disadvantage as the lack of movement allowed the others to truly just focus on the boys' voices. There weren't all too many differences between them, which made picking a favorite very hard.
But we're gonna start by drinking our cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while, a while, yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
She's in line at the dole with her head held high
While I just lost my job but didn't lose my pride, and we both now how
How we're going to make it work when it hurts, when you pick yourself up you get kicked to the dirt
Tryin' to make it work, but, man, these times are hard
The main problem was that they were so alike, and yet very different. They even looked a lot like each other. Both were about 6' tall, and as Damien was African American, and Kipp had very chocolate-y skin, they looked like they could be cousins, or something. It made choosing very hard.
But we're gonna start by drinking our cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night, doing things we haven't for a while, a while, yeah
We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
Drinking our cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night,
saying things we haven't for a while
We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time
They were both so damn charming! Smiling, and enjoying themselves, both boys made you want to choose him. Sandy felt sorry for Micheal, who would have to choose between them. At least he knew both would do good.
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
(For the first time)
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo ooo
(Oh, for the first time)
Ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo
(Yeah, for the first time)
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time
Oh, these times are hard, yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
Oh, these times are hard, yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
Oh, these times are hard,
yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
Oh, these times are hard,
yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
To the sound of cat-calls and clapping the two boys bowed and went to sit down, as River and Meryll made their way to the stage. The difference wasn't much bigger between these two, as they were both tan, blond and handsome.
The piano player, who Sandy now recognized as Brad, began playing another song, as the next pair stood in the middle of the stage. River sang first, and even if the part written for a baritone, he did very well. Then again being a baritenor he wasn't that far away.
Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game
You're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
River and Meryll weren't as alike as Kipp and Damien. Meryll's voice was for example higher than River's, and his hair had a kind of wind-swept look about it, a sharp contrast to River's neat hairstyle. These boys had obviously not bothered with choreography either, not that they would have had time for it anyway. Sandy wasn't used to winging it, as the plays she was in were always well-rehearsed. She could wing it for rehearsals, but she would have felt very unprofessional if she had been improvising in front of an audience, especially if it was a performance without her brother. The twins were well aware of how creepy their communication was, but it wasn't like they read each others' minds or anything. They just knew each other well enough to read the other's body language.
The filmmaker cannot see
And the songwriter cannot hear
Yet I see Mimi everywhere
Angel's voice is in my ear
Just tighten those shoulders
Just clench your jaw til you frown
Just don't let go
Their voices melted together beautifully, sometimes making it sound as if there was only one person singing, because their voices blended together so well. The problem this time was that they were both so talented. Zanna wasn't all about solos either, the one who got him would have to be able to do a duet with Tank. Then again, the one who got Mike would have to sing with both Sandy and Timmy.
Or you may drown
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Where it's like the twilight zone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're what you own
So I own not a notion
I escape an ape content
I don't own emotion- I rent
What was it about that night
What was it about that night
Connection- In an isolatiing age
For once the shadows gave way to light
For once the shadows gave way to light
For once I didn't disengage
Even when they were to sing two different things, at almost the exact same time, both boys managed. They didn't even seem to question the timing, or lyrics. River looked absolutely ridiculous when they made it to the second part of it. At least, he would have looked ridiculous to the others, had they not been so used to imagining objects. He was talking into an imaginary phone, which naturally didn't bother the other actors.
Angel- I hear you- I hear it
I see it- I see it my film!
Mimi-I see you- I hear it-
I hear it-
I hear it my song
Alexi-Mark
Call me a hypocrite
I need to finish my
Own film
I quit!
One song glory
Mimi your eyes
As River shut his imaginary cellphone, they sang together again. They also began actually paying attention to each other, turning and then walking toward each other. At the very end they shared a very emotional hug as the applause exploded.
Dying in America
At the end of the millenium
We're dying in America
To come into our own
And when you're dying in America
At the end of the millenium
You're not alone
I'm not alone
I'm not alone
Isabella sat by her brother's bed. The room looked a lot like her own, it had the same white walls, and "happy" paintings. Somehow the paintings managed to make the situation even more depressing. The cheerio figured she had been lucky, escaping with just a broken arm, while her brother lay there in a coma. While she had a broken arm and a huge bruise where her seat-belt had held her back, Luke looked much worse. The blond boy had the same bruise from the seat-belt, but his nose was clearly broken, he had a twisted ankle from stepping on the brake awkwardly, and he probably had some sort of bruises on his back from slamming back into his seat. Just to top it off his shoulder was broken. He wasn't exactly a pretty sight.
Chrystal sat beside her, holding her hand. They hadn't said a word after Chrystal arrived, because neither had anything to say. They simply sat their, staring at the unmoving form of a boy they both cared for. The girls had never felt closer.
Okay, so this is the last chapter of the summer. Sorry guys, but you won't be getting another chapter in like a month, because I'm going to the states! Watch out, New York, here I come!
Songs:
"Somewhere" - West Side Story
"For the First Time" - the Script
"What You Own" - RENT
I figured I'd leave you with some fluff, because I'm nice. And some angst, because I'm evil.
Well, tell me what you think, as usual. And remember to vote to tell me who you think Kevin should be with :D I do have a plan for him, but I want to know what you guys think :)
And I have made another fanfic, "Of Warblers and Chickadees". You probably remember who the Chickadees are, and I do hope some of you will submit a character, or two. I need mostly warblers for it though, as they're the main characters. The deadline for submitting characters is the 20th, but I might accept characters I get on the 21th too, but only if I'm feeling up to it(insert evil little laugh).
Klainebows and Klisses
Laiquahen