Okay, so I'm not entirely satisfied with this, but it's what I managed in the happy month of December. Oh, and I'm hosting a sort of contest. See the bottom AN for more info.
By the way, when you get to the Norwegian part, there's a translation in the bottom ND.
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Espen was one of the few Dalton Academy students who got his own room. While the others had started the school year with an assigned roommate, he had started almost half a year after everyone else. He knew that when someone transferred he´d get a roommate. He had heard enough stories of how students often transferred to Dalton in the middle of the school year, due to bullying. He had originally gone to a public school when he had gotten to the states, but he was bullied there and was sent to Dalton instead.
Not sharing a room with someone might have become a bit lonely, if he had not been used to being alone. He was an only child, and it had always been just him and his dad. His mother had gotten a job offer in Africa when he was three, but she couldn´t bring a toddler with her. Still, his mother had gone to Africa, leaving Espen and his dad alone. Sighing softly, Espen looked at the framed photograph on his bedside table. It showed two kids, a boy and a girl. The girl was about six, and the boy was around seven. She had her unruly red curls in messy pigtails, and her white dress was stained with grass and juice from the strawberries she was eating. Her face was full of freckles, and her eyes were big and blue. The boy had the same strawberry stains across his cheeks, and around his mouth. His hair was strawberry blond, and his eyes were hazel. He wore a light green t-shirt and denim dungarees. Both were smiling widely, their eyes shone with joy and they seemed as innocent and happy as all children should be. He hadn´t been that happy in years.
"Hey, mate, you comin'?" Jessie stuck his head in without knocking. Espen had gotten used to the Dalton Academy boys not really knowing how to knock. "The meeting starts in five minutes."
"Yeah, I´m coming," Espen answered, his voice rough. He looked up at the Irish warbler, and faked a smile. Something about it must have seemed off, maybe his eyes were shining, because Jessie stepped inside the room, looking worried.
"Is something wrong?" He asked as he crossed the room, so he stood just beside the bed where Espen was sitting, still looking at the photograph. Espen tried to brush it off with a smile and laugh, but Jessie saw right through it. Sighing, Espen ran a hand through his hair.
"I´m just… I don´t know…" Espen began, but trailed off, trying to find the right words. He didn´t really know what was wrong. It wasn´t like she had left him recently.
"Just missing home? Or is it something… More?" Jessie sat down next to Espen on the bed. The younger boy sent a sad gaze in the direction of the photograph. It wasn´t really a conscious action, but Jessie noticed it. "Can I see that?"
When Espen nodded, the brown-haired boy reached over to take the photograph. He saw the children covered in strawberry juice. He smiled at the adorable smiles on the children´s faces. Somehow it reminded him of Ireland, something about the peaceful feel of it. Or, maybe it was just that it reminded him of his childhood.
"Is that you?" He asked, pointing to the little boy with the messy strawberry blond hair. The younger boy nodded, but seemed a bit surprised Jessie had recognized him. Espen´s hair was darker now, closer to light brown than strawberry blond, but his eyes were just the same. Though they seemed more mature now, sadder. "And the lass, who´s she?"
"She was my best friend."
"Was?"
"She moved. Just after I turned thirteen. She didn´t even tell me she was moving. She was there one day, and gone the next." Espen sounded broken when he said she´d left. Jessie wanted to stroke the other boy´s back, but he didn´t really know how Espen would take it.
"What a bitch," was the only thing he could think of to say. It had obviously not been the right thing to say, for Espen´s eyes gleamed for a second with uncontrolled anger.
"She wasn´t. She was amazing," Espen´s small smile was almost audible. It was rather amazing how quickly Espen had gone from wrecked, to angry, to nearly nostalgic. "She would always smile, and it was that sort of smile that just… Makes everything seem brighter. Better, somehow. We would always sneak away to be together, because we knew we would be bullied if people saw that we were playing together. We hid away in the forest close by, or any other place where we knew no one would see us." He paused, and seemed to swallow some more bitter memories. "I never thought she´d leave me."
This time, Jessie did reach out to pat Espen on the back. It did seem to relax the boy some, but he still had his head in his hands.
"She was the best friend I´ve ever had. I have had other friends, don´t get me wrong, but she was the only one I´ve ever truly been honest with. I realized something just before she left. I realized, I was in love with her." Jessie knew it was selfish, but he still felt a pang of sadness and jealousy, as Espen confessed his feelings for the girl. A small part of him had hoped Espen would be gay. Obviously, he wasn't.
"You know what you need?" Espen looked up at him, a slight hope filled his eyes. Maybe Jessie really had a good suggestion. "A party. Somewhere to let your mind go, and just relax."
Espen still looked up at the Senior. A party was not the suggestion he had expected. Sure, parties were probably great, but he would most likely feel like an outsider, as he didn´t really know people from Dalton that well, let alone someone from outside the school. He assumed Jessie had meant a party that wasn´t exclusively Dalton students. Even if a lot of the students were gay, most would probably want girls around. Still, maybe he did need a break.
"Sure, why not?"
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"Lads, I need you two to throw a party!" Jessie told the twins as he walked up to them after the Warblers meeting. The longhaired freshmen whipped around to look at the other boy, with matching cheshire cat grins.
"What kind of party?" One twin asked, the one to the left. Jessie could honestly say he had given up trying to tell them apart. He knew some people could sometimes tell which one was which, but he could not grasp how.
"I don't know, any kind! Just, make sure there are lots of people, and make it fun."
"Oh, I think we´ll manage." The other twin replied, looking at his brother, their grins growing wider than Jessie thought possible.
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"So, this means we have to dress up, right?" Addy asked as they once again sat at Breadstix. Angel sat between Leon and River, while Addy sat between Theo and Ellen. Leon had his arm casually swung over Angel's shoulders, and her head was on his shoulder. It was quite a normal pose for them, and though it made them seem like a couple, they weren't bothered by it. They were more like brother and sister anyway.
"Yep," Theo confirmed, biting off a piece of a breadstick. All the teens were in the uniforms of their respective schools, not having bothered to change before heading out for dinner.
"So, do we go as a group?" Addy inquired, looking at the others. She assumed they would all dress with a theme, like "Alice in Wonderland", though they would probably end up in something much more musical theatre-related. For example RENT.
"We could, but I suppose you and Sandy will dress as some musical theatre couple?" Leon said, directing the end of his sentence at River, who nodded. He hadn't given much thought to his costume, as he assumed Sandy already had a plan, and a dozen back-ups in case her main plan wasn't as perfect as she originally thought.
"We could dress up as-" Leon began enthusiastically.
"If you say the characters from Grease, I will cut you!" Addy interrupted him. Leon quickly shut his mouth, before Angel broke the silence and they all started discussing what else they could dress up as.
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As Espen stared around the mansion wide-eyed, the first thing he noticed was not the amount of people(about three times as many as the Warblers), the loud and brainless party songs blasting from the multiple speakers in the house, or the expensive looking furniture. It was a huge bookshelf which stood in the living room, barely visible behind all the dancing teens. He really loved reading, especially fantasy novels. It was pretty evident through his costume too, as he was dressed in medieval armor, complete with a sword.
"Ai na vedui Dúnadan! Mae govannen!" Elran greeted the older boy as he entered. Partly surprised by the elven greeting, Epsen looked curiously at Elran. The freshman was dressed like one the elves in the Lord of the Rings, his hair was even done the same way. Come to think of it, Espen supposed his hair was always like that, he just hadn't thought about it before.
"Ni 'lassui," Espen replied, slightly baffled. He had never met anyone as nerdy as him, who actually knew a bit of Sindarin. Heck, he had never met anyone else who understood what he meant by Sindarin. "But actually, I'm Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia."
"Ah, of course," Elran replied, realizing his mistake. "I do not, however, know an Elvish greeting for that."
Moving further into the house, Espen noticed other things, like how many of the people dressed up he actually recognized. He didn't recognize the people wearing the costumes, but he could tell who they were dressed up as. He saw a guy with messy curls, obviously dressed up as Harry Potter, holding hands with a girl, whose ginger hair made her resemble Ginny Weasley suspiciously. Their robes made it even easier to tell. Beside them stood a tall guy with a red wig, and painted-on freckles, who had obviously only dressed up as Ron to fit in with the rest. A girl with bushy auburn hair stood awkwardly next to him. Espen saw two guys he recognized from Dalton, dressed as Angel and Collins from RENT, talking to Leon and Theo. Leon was dressed as Sweeney Todd, the demon Barber of Fleet Street, complete with a barber's knife attached to his belt. Theo was dressed as Edward Scissorhands, he had probably ordered the "scissorhands" online, or maybe they had some kind of freaky costume designer friend at that theatre of theirs. They were both deathly pale, with dark shadows under their eyes. Espen could swear he saw Katrina Von Tassle, along with Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas and Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd. Someone had obviously planned very well.
"He was right, you really are the ghost of Elisabeth Taylor," Jessie, dressed as someone Espen couldn't recognize, said to a petite girl with short black hair. He was wearing a kilt, and a bald cap, and talking to a small girl wore a light purple dress. The girl was standing next to River, who looked even more stiff and proper than usual. Espen didn't think it had anything to do with his costume, a rather simple 1940's suit.
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On the dance floor, people were crowded together, all moving to the beat, and generally not giving a damn about what their dancing looked like. Some were jumping up and down, laughing hysterically and head banging, some couples(and almost couples) were grinding together, and a few who actually knew how to dance were actually managing to dance in such limited space. Loud music blasted from the speakers, and one could see the source was a group of boys up on stage.
I've been working so hard
I'm punching my card
Eight hours for what?
Oh, tell me what I got
Xavier, dressed as a lion, probably trying to match the Scarecrow and Wonderful Wizard of Oz that Sean and Oswynn were dressed as, stood on stage. He was grinning like an idiot through his feline make-up, and sang loudly into the microphone.
I've got this feeling
That time's just holding me down
I'll hit the ceiling or else I'll tear up this town
Tonight I gotta cut
For the chorus the other boys on stage, joined. Jasper, from the New Directions, was playing a bass guitar, with Kevin, another ND boy, on his left on a regular guitar. Joshua, also from ND, was playing the drums in the background, while Xavier and Sing stood a bit in front of them, both clutching microphones.
Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise pull me off a my knees
Jack, get back c'mon before we crack
Lose your blues everybody cut footloose
For the next verse, Sing took over. As he sang he looked at the lead warbler, who was standing stiffly, just outside of the crowd. Tony couldn't help but gaze at his boyfriend, who was clearly not comfortable dancing.
And you're playing so cool
Obeying every rule
I dig a way down in your heart
You're burning, yearning for songs
Somebody to tell you
That life ain't passing you by
I'm trying to tell you
It will if you don't even try
You can fly if you'd only cut
Paige, still dressed as Hermione, was dancing wildly to the beat. It was rather incredible, seeing a girl in that outfit busting dance moves Hermione most likely didn't know. Her hair was just a frizzy blur in the middle of the circle the crowd had made for her. The girl hardly seemed to notice the people around her.
Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes
Oowhee, Marie shake it, shake it for me
Whoa, Milo c'mon, c'mon let's go
Lose your blues everybody cut footloose
Cut footloose
Cut footloose
Cut footloose
We got to turn me around
And put your feet on the ground
Now take a hold of the phone
Whoa, I'm turning it loose
For a split second, Espen thought he saw a familiar flaming mane of red hair. He had to be imagining things, he hadn't seen that firey hair in years.
Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise pull me off a my knees
Jack, get back c'mon before we crack
Lose your blues now everybody cut footloose
No one seemed to notice "Kirk" from Star trek and a Basket ball player sneak off. The same went for Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise pull me off a my knees
Jack, get back c'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut everybody cut
Everybody cut everybody cut
Everybody cut everybody cut
Everybody everybody cut footloose
"Amanda?" Espen asked, because he was now pretty sure the hadn't imagined the thick curls. The girl turned, revealing a face with tons of freckles and big blue eyes. As Espen's mouth fell open in astonishment, Amanda's face split in an extremely bright smile.
"Espen!" She exclaimed as she ran toward him, and crushed herself to him in a hug. Just as she crashed into him, he felt the anger. It came upon him suddenly, gripping around his heart and squeezing, like a cold hand of realization. He hadn't known he was angry until he saw. Espen had always imagined seeing her again as a happy reunion, he had never thought he would be mad at her. Now that the moment was there, though, he realized that he was. Furious, actually. "Espen, eg har sakna deg-"
"Kvifor drog du?" Espen was surprised by how calm he was, it was like when Amanda's mother had been mad at them. She didn't shout or make a fuss, she was always completely calm, which was even scarier. As he spoke Amanda drew away from him, and seemed taken aback by his sudden coldness.
"Eg- Eg kunne ikkje. Espen, eg-"
"Du brydde deg ikkje, gjorde du?" Espen didn't even notice the tears that were gathering in the corners of Amanda's eyes. She seemed truly sorry, but all Espen could feel was his own cold anger.
"Sjølvsagt gjorde eg det! Korleis kan du tru noko anna?"
"Nei, eg veit ikkje. Kanskje fordi du drog?"
"Eg valgte ikkje å dra! Eg måtte-"
"Du kunne fortalt meg det! I staden for å berre dra!"
"Eg ville ikkje såre deg-"
"Åh, du ville ikkje såre meg? Korleis trur du eg har hatt det dei siste åra?"
"Veit du kva? Dette gidder eg ikkje lengre," Amanda said, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. Just before she had stalked out of the room, she turned to him, still mad. "Når du vart klar for å snakke om dette, som ein vaksen, kan du finne meg!"
Espen stood alone, left in shock from the meeting. Around him, the other party attenders stood in silence, all looking at him. Cheeks burning with embarrassment and anger, Espen hurried out of the room.
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"Hello, anyone up for a shave?" Leon, dressed as Sweeney Todd, joked, as he and Theo stood on stage looking out unto the other guests. For some reason Elran and Ellis didn't care to take charge, but let the guests entertain themselves. Leon and Theo were among the few who hadn't had anything to drink. Anything with alcohol, that was.
"I figure you'd prefer a nice, friendly game of spin-the-bottle!" Theo exclaimed, to cheers from the crowd. A few minutes later they were all sitting in a sloppy circle, with a bottle in the centre. Sean, who had been volunteered to begin, spun the bottle first. The bottle spun around, the participants following it with their eyes, until it landed on Oswynn. Catcalls and laughs sounded from the circle, seeing the two straight counsel members in such an awkward position.
"If anyone mentions this to Gabriella, I will cut them!" Sean muttered as he crawled over to where Oswynn was sitting. He supposed kissing another boy was really better for him than having to kiss a girl. Gabriella might be more likely to believe him if he said it was just a game and didn't mean anything if it was a guy. The odds were still slim.
Leaning forward the rest of the way, Sean closed the gap between him and one of his best friends. It was just about the chastest peck you could imagine, but one who looked could still see the look of barely concealed disgust on Joshua's face. As he drew away Sean couldn't help but give his friend an awkward smile and pat on the shoulder. Theodore, who sat next to Sean was the next spinner. Somehow he managed to spin the bottle with his scissorhands, not an easy task. As the bottle spun the audience kept their eyes on it, and all laughed as it stopped just to the right of Theo. Leon fell on his back laughing as it stopped, the thin end pointing to him.
"It's an all boys night, isn't it?" Theo laughed, when the rest of the circle had quieted down. Softly, Leon cupped Theo's cheek with his hand, not breaking eye contact. They only gently brushed their lips together, before they both fell back laughing. It had to be the first time anyone had ever seen Sweeney Todd kiss Edward Scissorhands.
"Oh, my turn!" Leon grinned, reached out and spun the bottle with a mischievous smile. The bottle spun a few times, before it halted, pointing to a girl with long wavy blond hair. For a split second Leon didn't recognize the girl, until he saw her chubby cheeks and baby blue eyes. Angel made a come-hither gesture toward him, wrinkling her nose in amusement. They were like brother and sister, Angel and Leon, having pretty much grown up together. They had never kissed before, but figured it wasn't anything weird about it. It was only a friendly game after all.
Leon winked at Angel, before he leaned forward, slowly. His breath just ghosting over her face, before their lips met. The second they connected, a shock of electricity went through both of them. Instinctively Leon's hand went to Angel's waist pulling her closer, the material of her dress was soft and silky under his hand. Her hands went into his hair by their own accord, it was stiff from hairspray, and felt like a bird's nest.
Someone clearing their throat ripped Leon and Angel out of their little bubble. They jumped about a foot away from each other, both looking flushed, but with embarrassment or something else, no now could tell.
"Hey, why didn't I get a kiss like that?" Theo tried to conquer the awkwardness with humor. He failed miserably. Leon slunk back to his seat, head bowed like a dog's in shame. The game continued, though not as light-heartedly as before.
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Epsen sat alone out in the garden, just by a dove tree. The sky looked down on him, thousands of start twinkling mischievously, as if they knew much more of what lay ahead than he did. The dark mixed with the light from the sky seemed to drain the color from everything, leaving it a much paler shade of it's original color. In the pale moonlight he looked even more like a fairytale prince. His hair looked more blond than brown, his skin looked paler and his armor shone, illuminated by a thousand little dots of light. He had his elbows on his knees, and his head hung.
He was ashamed of himself, he wasn't usually one to be so insensitive. Hadn't he been sitting in his room, lamenting about how miserably he missed her, just earlier that week? He hadn't been that cruel to anyone he could think of. Then again, most people hadn't moved to the other end of the world either, without telling him, their best friend. He felt the anger burning in the pit of his stomach again, just as -
"Mind if I join you?" A high, but not uncomfortably so, voice called out to him. Turning, Epsen saw a tall, blond girl standing behind him, dressed in an old fashioned robe that pretty much looked like she had draped blankets around herself. The blue of the dress seemed to brighten the blue-green of her eyes though, making her look very lively and pretty. Before the Norwegian thought of responding, the girl sat down next to him. "Who are you?"
"Espen," He mumbled and looking away, clearly uncomfortable. The girl light up with amusement.
"You're kidding? You're the hot Norwegian warbler?" She sounded like she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. Espen blushed at her use of the word "hot" when describing him. She stuck out her hand to him. "I'm Veera."
When he took her hand carefully, she was close enough for him to smell the alcohol off her breath. He figured she had gone outside to get some fresh air, but had stumbled upon him. Espen also figured the only responsible thing to do was to sit there and talk to her until she wanted to go in again.
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Liberty was woken the following morning by a ray of harsh sunlight peeking through the curtains. Her head felt like a beehive, and her body was oddly stiff. Rolling over on her side, she felt a jolt of shock run through her. Naked, at least from the waist up, was Felix. His hair was messed up, and the duvet covered him from his waist and up. She didn't dare to lift it to see if he was still wearing clothes. Looking down she realized she wasn't wearing any. She pressed her eyes together while the puzzle pieces were put together in her reluctant mind.
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Nathaniel woke feeling unusually warm. Normally he woke up front he chill, but this morning he felt like warmth was draped around him, like a blanket. A blanket that seemed to be breathing, and very much alive. Turning his head slightly he discovered he was not alone in the bed. A glimpse of those familiar hot pink streaks told him all he needed to know.
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A single thought ran through both Isabelle and Nathaniel's minds.
"F*ck."
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Yeah, so the song was Footloose from Footloose.
The translation:
"I - I couldn't. Espen, I-"
"You didn't care, did you?"
"Of course I did! How could you think anything else?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you left?"
"I didn't decide to move! I had to-"
"You could have told me! I stead of just leaving!"
"I didn't want to hurt you-"
"Oh, you didn't want to hurt me? How do think I've felt the past couple years?"
"You know what? I'm not going to do this anymore," "When you're ready to talk about this, like an adult, come find me!"
I've said before that I would love to know who you would like your characters to be paired with, maybe you've got more ideas now that you've gotten to know the other characters a bit. Also, the characters in New Kids in Glee are also available, only I'll have to make up some kind of weird reason for them to have met. Maybe this party was it, who knows.
So, I'd like to write a christmas-y one-shot(possibly a two-shot), using some characters from this story, or my other story, New Kids in Glee. If you would be so kind as to leave me an idea(or fifty, the more the merrier), in a review. I'll choose the idea I like the best/makes me the most inspired. I will of course credit the person who came up with the idea. The idea might only be a song, or something.
Merry Christmas, too! :D
Klainebows and Klisses
Laiquahen