RPF Fic: Take It With You (1/1)
Title: Take It With You
Author: cellochick92
Rating: PG13?
Words: 1502
Disclaimer: Not mine. They're real people, this has never actually happened, etc. etc.! PLEASE don't repost without my permission!
Summary: For the monthly challenge. But angsty. Also with second person =P
A/N: OH MY GOSH. LJ IS WORKING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This makes my heart so happy I have no words. NO WORDS. I'm going to break down if it crashes for me again...
*edit* It's still sort of failing...I hate my life
A/N2: So I don't know if any of you watch the Glee project, but...*SPOILER ALERT* I pretty much died when Marissa got sent home. I despise Ryan Murphy with a fiery, burning passion which knows no bounds. Ergo, I wrote angry-at-Ryan Murphy-fanfic in which he is a bad guy. Yep. It's not very well thought through, for which I apologize, but I was just SO ANGRY. The end =)
___________________
You never thought something as simple as a photograph would be the demise of the world as you know it.
That one moment, captured forever, mocking you with its dual nature- the happiness within the frame, and the destruction that it caused beyond the pixeled edges.
It was such a quiet moment- so entirely understated that you're still not sure how someone was able to catch it. You and Lea had been walking hand in hand, which wasn't unusual enough to arouse suspicion, and you had been wandering down what you thought was a deserted bike path. It meandered through some trees that sat a couple miles outside the edges of the city, and it had become a safe haven for the both of you. Sometimes, when Lea would slide her hand into yours and rest her head on your shoulder for the briefest of moments, you could almost make yourself believe you were really alone in a forest somewhere, far from prying eyes.
Lea had slowed, tugging you to a stop with her. She had pulled you back into a small grove of trees that provided some shelter and had pressed you up against one of the trees. The bark had dug roughly into your back, but you hadn't been able to help your smile even as you murmured, “What if someone sees?”
She had kissed you sweetly then, her tongue swiping across your bottom lip once, twice before your mouth opened. She tasted so perfect, and she pulled away far too quickly for your liking. Looking down at her, you could see the love radiating out of her eyes, and you had been unable to help dipping your head for another brief kiss. It was short and chaste, and when you pulled back for the second time she had reached on tiptoe to kiss the tip of your nose before smiling softly and gently pulling you back out into the open.
The rest of your walk had been uneventful, and when you had driven back into the city later that night and were curled up next to Lea on the couch, you had thought that this was all you really needed in your life- if you could just have these little moments with Lea, you would be happy.
You had fallen asleep with Lea's head nestled into your chest, the soft scent of her shampoo wafting through the air. If anyone had asked, you would have said your life was pretty darn close to perfect.
The next morning, everything had changed.
Your manager called at exactly 7:52am, demanding that you call Ryan and speak with him as soon as possible. You had stalled, not wanting to talk to him any more than was absolutely necessary. After he had told you that the cost of you and Lea ever becoming public knowledge would be your jobs, you had lost all respect for the man.
Your stalling tactics only worked for so long, though, because his assistant called and “politely requested” that you be present for an appointment at 11:00 sharp. The first spike of fear had bloomed in your stomach at the thinly-veiled order, but you had just kissed Lea on the forehead and told her you had to run out but you would be back later. She had mumbled an adorably sleepy response as you walked out the door, something that sounded like “I love you,” mixed with, “Come back soon.”
You got the Ryan's office with ten minutes to spare, but his assistant ushered you in the moment she saw you. The look she gave you seemed like one of pity, but you shook it off and told yourself you were being paranoid and it was all in your imagination.
The moment you sat down across from Ryan, however, you knew it was definitely not just your imagination. He practically threw a sheet of glossy photo paper across the desk at you, and you felt your world shrink to the size of that single sheet of paper.
It was a single image, but that one photo was more than enough. It showed you and Lea, your body pressed intimately between her and the tree, as you leaned down to kiss her. She was stretching up to meet you, and it was abundantly clear that it was a very mutual action.
You feel sick when you realize, somewhere in the back of your brain, that this is a photo of the second kiss, and if you had just stopped yourself then maybe...
You dared to glance up at Ryan and immediately felt sick when you saw his face. His brow was knit in a dark frown, but his voice was steady when he spoke.
“I trust you remember our discussion the first time word of your little...tryst came to my attention?”
You want to yell, to scream at him that it's not a tryst it's love, but instead you just nod mutely.
“Well, then. It seems pointless to remind you. Lea can't go, naturally, not with the show as successful as it is, but you...We'll give Quinn a proper send off, but I can assure you she will no longer be a regular presence on the show.”
Your mouth opens, and you start to protest, but his calm exterior cracks and his voice is dangerously close to yelling as he sharply cuts you off.
“Don't. I don't think you fully appreciate how much this is going to take to keep quiet, Dianna. We discussed this months ago, that you and Lea together would be too much bad press, that it couldn't happen. I told you that it was your responsibility to prevent any slip-ups like this, it's not my fault you weren't able to handle that.”
“But-”
There's a slight curl to his upper lip as he snaps, “You have only yourself to blame.”
Whatever retort or protest you might have been planning dies on your lips, because in some sick way, he's right. If you hadn't gone back for that second kiss, then you would still be curled up with Lea, sleeping peacefully. If you had just been a little more careful...
Ryan starts talking again, excuses and reasons why he's justified in cutting you from the show, but you can't seem to pay attention. The words seem to float somewhere above your head. It's like you're hearing them but...not.
It just doesn't seem real. After everything you and Lea have done, after everything you've sacrificed, this can't be happening.
When Ryan first told you he couldn't have two of his female leads come out as gay, you had wanted to beat him over the head for the hypocrisy of it. Instead, you and Lea had bought separate apartments to maintain an elaborate facade of friendship and nothing more. You had both gotten beards for the press, and you had tried to stop hanging all over each other at red carpet events.
You had hidden who you really were, and you had done it willingly, because if it meant that you got to stay close to Lea? Then it was worth it.
Never in a million years did you imagine things would play out like this. You two were supposed to be able to stick it out through the remainder of the show, and then you would be able to come out on your own terms without the constant threat of Ryan Murphy hanging over your head. You weren't supposed to be backed into a corner like this, not because of a single photograph.
This...after everything, this was not how it was going to happen. Not because of some stupid fucking photo taken by the paparazzi.
The next few minutes are a blur in your memory as you're ushered out of his office and find yourself sitting in your car clutching that damn photograph in your hands. You don't know what to do. You have to go home and face Lea and...oh god, how are you going to tell her?
The world feels like it's been flipped on its axis, and you have no idea what to do. It seems wrong that one photograph could do so much damage in less than 24 hours, but somehow it's happened, and now...now, you don't know what you're going to do.
Author: cellochick92
Rating: PG13?
Words: 1502
Disclaimer: Not mine. They're real people, this has never actually happened, etc. etc.! PLEASE don't repost without my permission!
Summary: For the monthly challenge. But angsty. Also with second person =P
A/N: OH MY GOSH. LJ IS WORKING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This makes my heart so happy I have no words. NO WORDS. I'm going to break down if it crashes for me again...
*edit* It's still sort of failing...I hate my life
A/N2: So I don't know if any of you watch the Glee project, but...*SPOILER ALERT* I pretty much died when Marissa got sent home. I despise Ryan Murphy with a fiery, burning passion which knows no bounds. Ergo, I wrote angry-at-Ryan Murphy-fanfic in which he is a bad guy. Yep. It's not very well thought through, for which I apologize, but I was just SO ANGRY. The end =)
___________________
You never thought something as simple as a photograph would be the demise of the world as you know it.
That one moment, captured forever, mocking you with its dual nature- the happiness within the frame, and the destruction that it caused beyond the pixeled edges.
It was such a quiet moment- so entirely understated that you're still not sure how someone was able to catch it. You and Lea had been walking hand in hand, which wasn't unusual enough to arouse suspicion, and you had been wandering down what you thought was a deserted bike path. It meandered through some trees that sat a couple miles outside the edges of the city, and it had become a safe haven for the both of you. Sometimes, when Lea would slide her hand into yours and rest her head on your shoulder for the briefest of moments, you could almost make yourself believe you were really alone in a forest somewhere, far from prying eyes.
Lea had slowed, tugging you to a stop with her. She had pulled you back into a small grove of trees that provided some shelter and had pressed you up against one of the trees. The bark had dug roughly into your back, but you hadn't been able to help your smile even as you murmured, “What if someone sees?”
She had kissed you sweetly then, her tongue swiping across your bottom lip once, twice before your mouth opened. She tasted so perfect, and she pulled away far too quickly for your liking. Looking down at her, you could see the love radiating out of her eyes, and you had been unable to help dipping your head for another brief kiss. It was short and chaste, and when you pulled back for the second time she had reached on tiptoe to kiss the tip of your nose before smiling softly and gently pulling you back out into the open.
The rest of your walk had been uneventful, and when you had driven back into the city later that night and were curled up next to Lea on the couch, you had thought that this was all you really needed in your life- if you could just have these little moments with Lea, you would be happy.
You had fallen asleep with Lea's head nestled into your chest, the soft scent of her shampoo wafting through the air. If anyone had asked, you would have said your life was pretty darn close to perfect.
The next morning, everything had changed.
Your manager called at exactly 7:52am, demanding that you call Ryan and speak with him as soon as possible. You had stalled, not wanting to talk to him any more than was absolutely necessary. After he had told you that the cost of you and Lea ever becoming public knowledge would be your jobs, you had lost all respect for the man.
Your stalling tactics only worked for so long, though, because his assistant called and “politely requested” that you be present for an appointment at 11:00 sharp. The first spike of fear had bloomed in your stomach at the thinly-veiled order, but you had just kissed Lea on the forehead and told her you had to run out but you would be back later. She had mumbled an adorably sleepy response as you walked out the door, something that sounded like “I love you,” mixed with, “Come back soon.”
You got the Ryan's office with ten minutes to spare, but his assistant ushered you in the moment she saw you. The look she gave you seemed like one of pity, but you shook it off and told yourself you were being paranoid and it was all in your imagination.
The moment you sat down across from Ryan, however, you knew it was definitely not just your imagination. He practically threw a sheet of glossy photo paper across the desk at you, and you felt your world shrink to the size of that single sheet of paper.
It was a single image, but that one photo was more than enough. It showed you and Lea, your body pressed intimately between her and the tree, as you leaned down to kiss her. She was stretching up to meet you, and it was abundantly clear that it was a very mutual action.
You feel sick when you realize, somewhere in the back of your brain, that this is a photo of the second kiss, and if you had just stopped yourself then maybe...
You dared to glance up at Ryan and immediately felt sick when you saw his face. His brow was knit in a dark frown, but his voice was steady when he spoke.
“I trust you remember our discussion the first time word of your little...tryst came to my attention?”
You want to yell, to scream at him that it's not a tryst it's love, but instead you just nod mutely.
“Well, then. It seems pointless to remind you. Lea can't go, naturally, not with the show as successful as it is, but you...We'll give Quinn a proper send off, but I can assure you she will no longer be a regular presence on the show.”
Your mouth opens, and you start to protest, but his calm exterior cracks and his voice is dangerously close to yelling as he sharply cuts you off.
“Don't. I don't think you fully appreciate how much this is going to take to keep quiet, Dianna. We discussed this months ago, that you and Lea together would be too much bad press, that it couldn't happen. I told you that it was your responsibility to prevent any slip-ups like this, it's not my fault you weren't able to handle that.”
“But-”
There's a slight curl to his upper lip as he snaps, “You have only yourself to blame.”
Whatever retort or protest you might have been planning dies on your lips, because in some sick way, he's right. If you hadn't gone back for that second kiss, then you would still be curled up with Lea, sleeping peacefully. If you had just been a little more careful...
Ryan starts talking again, excuses and reasons why he's justified in cutting you from the show, but you can't seem to pay attention. The words seem to float somewhere above your head. It's like you're hearing them but...not.
It just doesn't seem real. After everything you and Lea have done, after everything you've sacrificed, this can't be happening.
When Ryan first told you he couldn't have two of his female leads come out as gay, you had wanted to beat him over the head for the hypocrisy of it. Instead, you and Lea had bought separate apartments to maintain an elaborate facade of friendship and nothing more. You had both gotten beards for the press, and you had tried to stop hanging all over each other at red carpet events.
You had hidden who you really were, and you had done it willingly, because if it meant that you got to stay close to Lea? Then it was worth it.
Never in a million years did you imagine things would play out like this. You two were supposed to be able to stick it out through the remainder of the show, and then you would be able to come out on your own terms without the constant threat of Ryan Murphy hanging over your head. You weren't supposed to be backed into a corner like this, not because of a single photograph.
This...after everything, this was not how it was going to happen. Not because of some stupid fucking photo taken by the paparazzi.
The next few minutes are a blur in your memory as you're ushered out of his office and find yourself sitting in your car clutching that damn photograph in your hands. You don't know what to do. You have to go home and face Lea and...oh god, how are you going to tell her?
The world feels like it's been flipped on its axis, and you have no idea what to do. It seems wrong that one photograph could do so much damage in less than 24 hours, but somehow it's happened, and now...now, you don't know what you're going to do.