Yolo.
So I changed the timeline here, making some events that happened later in the show happen much earlier.
ALSO: The Skype incident Marley mentions at the start of the chapter was inspired by RealizeMyRealEyes from her story Finding Refuge and if you have no read that, I suggest you go read it. Its awesome.
Note 2: Finn will still be alive in this story. He's important.
Minor-M.
16. Valentine's Day.
The following days up until Valentine's Day were black and white with little gray horizons.
Ryder and I became an official couple and though Jake still wished he didn't break up with me, he was happy for both Ryder and I. He had Kitty to be with anyways. Glee club was allowed to go to Regional since Dalton Academy used performing drugs to do these tricks that, again, were impossible to do without the help of drugs or lots of years of practice. Mr. Schue had heard me singing one day in the auditorium with Sam, Unique and Blaine singing one of my original songs, More Friends Than You Know. He and Finn both agreed that we should use more of my own songs for the competitions. I had finished my song, Outcast, and we all sang it in the auditorium together as a group. It was a definite. My songs for competitions.
I still hung out with Lark. He got back into the drug scene but is doing online high school classes and still wants to attend a school for college. A real college, not community college. I said it was fine either way. I'll admit I did smoke cigarettes and smoke weed with him from time to time, but as soon as he wanted to try the harder stuff I either left him or I just wouldn't take it and smoke cigarette. It usually got hot in his room so I had to tie my hair up in a bun and go to the bathroom to change into some clothes I got with any money Mom could give me. Nothing too bad but still good for me. Tank tops, short sleeve shirts, a crop top, shorts for warmer seasons, socks and some dresses. Any money I had leftover I gave to Lark to get me cigarette.
When I was at Lark's apartment I had as many as I wanted. Three and a half boxes now. As long as I used breathe mints and perfume, I was safe. Sometimes I showered at Lark's too before I left for home. Lark and I became a lot closer in our friendship to the point where neither of us shut the door for using the toilet, but neither of us went into the bathroom when the other was using the toilet; just to continue the conversation. We just yelled. Oh and when Lark showered he kept the door opened. Both the shower door and the bathroom door. I, however, shut both of them to keep myself private. I wasn't comfortable like that with anyone.
Well, maybe Ryder.
I showered at my house one and I called Ryder on Skype to see where it was we were going to dinner. Like Breadsticks, another restaurant or anything. I wanted him to pick out the outfit since he knew better. Once he did and I was putting my stuff back into my closet my towel around my body became undone and...let's just say Ryder got a full view of a pale moon. He covered his eyes though and we just both laughed about it during the walk around the park that included a picnic near a lake.
I would never lie to Ryder about when I'm with Lark. I told him that I hung out there sometimes, but not as often since we were dating. He wanted to come over sometime just to see what Lark and I did. Lark said he could come anytime and I told Lark that he needed to clean up his act if and when Ryder came over.
Mom hasn't seen a cigarette near me since the day she saw me smoking in my room. She's gotten letters from Dad too, but threw them out just like I did.
Lark showed me one day how to sell drugs with Brett and his friends. He had shown me how to sell them without getting caught and I didn't like the idea of doing so, but he said some guy named Noah managed to sell hundreds of dollars worth of weed in the school. Jake told me that, Puck put them in cupcakes. Not enough to get people high but just enough so that people would keep coming back to buy them. After he had shown me how to sell them without getting caught he had me try it out the next day with Brett Stoner. He gave me a bag, went over with that to say and that was it.
"Brett?"
"Hey, it's Rose!" The high boy said. "What's new, Rosie?"
"I—I've got six grams in here, give me two fifty."
"Whoa Rosie, two fifty dollars for six grams? That's too much man, too much!" Brett said. "How 'bout…fifty?"
"Look Stoner I have three others on the wait and it's now or never. Take it or leave."
"But…shit….I own….what?"
"Two fifty. All or nothing." Marley said, dangling the bag in front of Brett. "Time's wasting. Tick-Tock."
Brett gave in and pulled out two hundred fifty dollars (how he get it was unknown) and handed it to Marley. She tossed the bag to him along with a weed stick and turned back to Lark. He stood there smiling. "Not too bad, wanna go into business?"
"No! That was terrible! I don't want to do that again!"
One day during Glee rehearsal we were singing. Blaine and I were doing a duet to my song, All or Nothing, and everything was going great until something inside of me caused me to stop and cough. I had a coughing attack. Like asthma, bu it wasn't that. I bended over my waist, coughing crazy, and seeing my spit come up from the mouth. Ryder held my hair back while rubbing my back.
"What's going on?" Sugar asked. "Is she breathing incorrectly?"
"Are you okay, Marley?" Finn asked me.
I nodded, still coughing. After I finished I sat up. "Yeah, I don't know what happened...just coughing."
I probably shouldn't of smoked before practice...
After the Valentine's Day Wedding that didn't happen, because Ms. Pillsbury left the building, Mr. Schue told everyone to go party on. Ryder and I arrived and I went to go dance with Mike. I saw Ryder and Jake talking and minutes later Ryder came up with a gift in his hands. First the song in history class? (he remembered from Grease practice) and the peonies at the church, he had another gift? He handed it to me and said, "Happy Valentine's Day, my love."
I opened it and saw it sparkle. It was a heart shaped necklace from the jewelry store at the mall. I pointed it out to Ryder once and said I loved it.
We danced through out the song Blaine and Kurt sang and through Finn and Rachel's song. We ate some of the cake too and it was a delicious french vanilla flavor with a bit of lemon in the frosting. Ryder and I fed one another our food until I put my finger on the frosting and dip it onto the tip of his nose. He laughed, took his finger, dipped it in the frosting and tapped my nose with it. "Back at you."
"Grow up, losers." Kitty called from afar as Jake and her, holding hands, passed by us. "If anyone is looking for us you saw me going to get a drink at the fountain and Black Jew here taking a shit in the toilet."
"Do we have to use that story? Can't we say I was at the bar with Puck?" Jake asked.
"No!" Kitty yelled, grabbing the hotel card in her hands. "I didn't make Senior Puffy Face Puckerman touch my ass for ten seconds just so we can get a hotel room and can say your got drunk at the lesbian bar over there. Featuring Lesbian Gloria Estefan and Baby Mama Whore."
"Harsh." Ryder said.
"Shut it Donkey Kong. Just stay here with your Virgin Mary and eat the crap cake." Kitty said. She then pulled Jake's arm and dragged him out of the room.
Strangely in that moment I felt ready. Ready to do it. I mean after flashing my butt to Ryder on Skype and both of us seemed comfortable with it, I felt okay with being naked with him. But not now, maybe in a little bit. I had to find a way to get a hotel room and apparently Puck had the key to the room. No pun intended.
"I have to use the ladies room, Ryder." I said. He nodded and let go of my hand.
I went off in search off Puck and it didn't take too long for me to find him. He was grinding on one of the bridesmaids and whispering in her ear whilst she whispered in his ear. I hated to stop them but I needed a key card. I tapped him on the shoulder and he stopped, turned and saw that it was me. "Oh good, not Devil or Quinn. What's up?"
"Can you get me a room?" I asked.
He asked why and when I gave him the look, he nodded. He dug into his pocket and handed it to me. I asked how much but he confirmed it was only for people named Quinn and Kitty.
Ryder was still in his spot and finishing the cake. I walked back over to him and sat next to him. He asked if I were okay, saying I looked tired, and I said I was fine. "I have a Valentine's gift for you." He raised an eyebrow up. I pulled the hotel card out. His face was blown away. "I'm ready."
"Marls, are you sure? I can wait." He whispered.
"I'm ready. I've got the confidence to do this." I smiled. Then leaned in and kissed his lips, which he hungrily took in.
The way he held me in his toned arms as we entered the room and our lips, hungry for the other's, deepened as we stepped inside the room and Ryder shut the door. I helped Ryder take his jacket off as he shook it off too and he then lifted me up bridal style and carried me to the bed. He gently placed me down with my head along the pillow before pulling back up and undid his collar tie thingy and throwing it to the side and unbutton his shirt down. I sat up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed and pulled the zipper down, before pulling the dress off. Leaving us in his boxers and my bra and underwear.
I'm not going to lie, it hurt at first. I mean it would hurt anyone who haven't done it before, right? But with Ryder it made everything easier. We took our time getting to know one another physically; what we liked, what the other liked, where being touched made us the happiest and laughing just as much as we kissed. Once we were comfortable with one another, we went for it.
I didn't feel any different once we finished. We just sat there, breathing deeply to catch our breathes, and soon after that Ryder propped his elbow up and asked how I felt. He then asked if I were okay and I said I was fine and was glad he was my first. He admitted then and there I was his first too, which made me feel even more special.
About an hour later Ryder drove me home and walked me to the house. "Is your Mom still out?"
"Yes. She had a friends night out with her other single lady friends." I said. "One of her friends is probably going to jump on a table and go full out Beyonce tonight." I laughed.
"Good night, my beautiful." Ryder kissed my cheek.
"Good night." I said and kissed his lips.
Once we parted and I was inside I made sure Ryder was gone completely before I laid on the couch. Mom wouldn't be home until 1, for the first time ever and since it was a Friday. It was only 11:45. I turned the TV on and pulled out of my bag a cigarette and a lighter, lit up my cigarette and started smoking.