RENTAL MOVIES (3/6)
Title: Rental Movies (3/6)
Author: fairchristabel
Rating: PG
Summary: Chenzel (Kristin/Idina)
A/N: My first RPF, and , I think, my first attempt at any kind of fanfic. I wrote this back in 2006, but just posted it to the comm, and not my journal, so I’m rectifying that now. Kind of angsty, but it ends up happy, so that’s something.
March 2007
New York City
Blockbuster Movie Store
The buzzer sounded, shattering Idina’s train of thought. She looked up and saw a woman returning a movie. She buzzed again when she departed. Idina turned back to the movies in front of her.
“Attention, all customers,” came the loudspeakers. “The store will be closing in ten minutes. Please make your final selections and bring them to the check-out.”
Idina turned and glared at Star Wars boy. She was the only customer in the store. He stared back at her insolently, then turned and picked up the DVD the woman had returned. Idina looked down at the movies in her hand. She just needed one more. She headed to the other side of the store, her eyes scanning the titles.
“Excuse me.” Star Wars boy stepped past her and slid a movie back into its spot. “Are you almost finished, ma’am?”
Idina resisted an urge to whack him in the side of the head with her movies. “Almost,” she said, trying not to grit her teeth. “I’ll be up there in a minute.”
Star Wars boy looked at her, nodded, and walked back to the counter. Idina stuck her tongue out at his back. “Punk,” she muttered. Idina turned back to the movies, her eyes settling on the carton he had just reshelved. Pretty Woman. She froze, then reached out hesitantly, and with one finger stroked the spine of the DVD.
* * * * * *
Idina knocked on the door to Kristin’s apartment. “Kris? Kris? It’s me.” She waited a moment, then dug her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Idina stepped inside. “Kris, you here?”
The hallway was dark, but there was a faint glow coming from the kitchen. Idina fumbled for the light switch, but couldn’t find it. She shut the door behind her and locked it. “Kris? You got a flashlight or something? I think your bulb’s blown.”
Idina cautiously moved down the hall, cursing softly when her elbow banged into the corner of a wall. She rubbed her elbow and squinted down at it, looking for the bruise she knew was there. “So, I got a movie. It’s your favorite.”
Idina walked into the kitchen, still absorbed with the state of her arm. “Well, one of your favorites, anyway. Everything we watch you say is your favorite, but this is one of your extra-favorites, I think. And it wasn’t easy, either. I had to go to two different places to find it. The first place only had one copy, and of course, it was out. So then I had to-”
“Dee?”
Idina looked up, startled. “Yeah?” She gaped as she looked around the kitchen. She could see now where the glow was coming from. Dozens of candles, large and small, were sprinkled around the room, lending an unearthly glow to the appliances. On the small table where Idina and Kristin usually ate breakfast sat the two tallest candles in the room. As she moved closer to the table, Idina could see their colors. One pink, one green. Idina grinned, then looked over at Kristin, who was standing behind the table. She appeared to be glowing as well. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she had a white apron on over her t-shirt and jeans. Idina walked over to Kristin and swept her up in a hug.
“This looks beautiful, sweetie,” Idina said as she twirled Kristin around. She set her gently back on the ground. “What’s the special occasion?”
Kristin shrugged, her eyes not meeting Idina’s, and walked over to the stove. Idina, slightly puzzled, followed Kristin. “What are you making, babe?” She stood behind Kristin and wrapped her arms around Kristin’s waist. Kristin kept stirring.
“It smells great,” she added, nestling her chin on Kristin’s shoulder and taking a deep breath. Idina caught a whiff of Kristin’s strawberry-scented shampoo. “And so do you,” she murmured, nuzzling the nape of Kristin’s neck and inhaling deeply. Kristin’s hands faltered, and stopped.
“Dee, I-” The timer on the oven rang. “Could you grab that for me?”
“Sure.” Idina picked up a towel and opened the oven door. She reached in and grabbed a pan of chicken.
“Ow!” Idina dropped the pan on the floor. She stuck her index finger in her mouth.
Kristin turned around, worry in her eyes. “Dee, are you okay? Let me see.” She tried to grab Idina’s hand, but Idina backed away from her.
“No, I am not okay. Look at this!” She thrust her finger in Kristin’s face. Kristin smiled as she looked at the tiny red blemish on Idina’s finger.
“Come here,” Kristin said, grabbing Idina’s hand and pulling her over to the sink. She turned on the cold water and stuck Idina’s finger under the faucet. “Better?” she asked.
“Umm-hmm.” Idina stared at her finger through the curtain of water. “What do you suppose Elphie does when she burns her finger? I mean, she can’t stick it under the water. I guess she uses oil or something?”
Kristin smiled. “Well, I suppose, if Elphie was real, and she burned her finger, then she’d have to use some kind of oil or something. Of course, Elphie’d probably be smart enough not to touch a burning pan with her bare finger.”
“It’s not my fault. I used a towel. I just think your apartment has something against me.”
“Really?”
“Don’t act like you haven’t noticed. That time the recliner kicked out and tripped
me up, and just last week, when the refrigerator slammed shut on my hand. And tonight, your wall jumps out and hits my elbow, and your stupid oven tries to burn me. Something or someone here is trying to get rid of me.” Idina took a deep breath. “Kris,” she said seriously, “I think you may have a ghost.”
Kristin giggled. “A ghost? Really?” She took Idina’s hand out from under the water and looked at her finger. It was still red, but not as angry looking as it was before. Kristin pulled Idina over to a drawer and took out some cream and a band-aid. “You don’t think that maybe you’re just clumsy?” she asked, as she finished doctoring Idina’s finger.
“Clumsy?” Idina pretended to be offended. “Ha. I’ll have you know that I’m one of the most graceful people you’ll ever meet. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten about-” Idina planted her feet and held her hands in front of her chest, “the Elphie dance.”
Idina’s hands began swirling around each other as she rotated her head. She reached out and grabbed Kristin and pulled her in close. “Dance with me.”
“The Elphie dance really isn’t a partner dance, Dina.”
Idina slowly started swaying, her arms wrapped around Kristin and her cheek resting on Kristin’s head. “We’ll make up our own dance,” she murmured as they glided across the linoleum floor. Kristin sighed and rested her head on Idina’s chest, her eyes closed. Idina smiled and began directing their steps towards the hallway, to Kristin’s bedroom. As she reached the doorway of the kitchen her foot clanged against something.
“What the-?” Idina stepped away and looked down.
Kristin opened dazed eyes. “Oh, the chicken.” Then, more aware, “My pasta!” She hurried over to the stove as Idina bent down to retrieve the pan she had kicked under the table. “It looks okay,” she heard Kristin say.
Idina carried the chicken over to the sink, where Kristin was draining the noodles. She held out the pan. “It looks okay. None of it touched the floor, I think.” Kristin nodded, but didn’t say anything as she turned and stirred some sauce. Idina stuck her hands in her front pockets. “Anything I can do?”
Kristin shook her head, not looking at Idina. “Just go wait. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Idina sat down at the table, puzzled by the swift change that had come over Kristin. She stared at Kristin’s back for a few moments, then shrugged and turned her attention to the table. It really was quite beautiful. Kristin had obviously put a lot of time and effort into it.
A white linen tablecloth covered the table. Sitting on the table, along with the two candles, were two place settings of Kristin’s finest china. And, Idina noticed for the first time, a bottle of wine. Idina frowned, trying to remember what the date was, and if it had any special significance. A small hand holding a basket of bread darted through her line of sight, breaking her concentration. Kristin set the basket down and turned back to the stove. Idina half-stood. “Kris, are you sure you don’t want some help?”
Kristin waved her off without turning around. Idina slowly lowered herself back to the chair. Kristin picked up the two plates she had already made up and slowly walked back to the table. She carefully set one plate down in front of Idina, then took the other to her chair. Idina looked down at the plate in front of her. It was her favorite meal, penne pasta with chicken and broccoli, covered in white alfredo sauce. She looked up, and found Kristin staring at her. Idina reached across the table and clasped one of Kristin’s hands.
“This looks great, Kris, the whole thing. The candles, the wine, the fancy dinnerware, my favorite food-it’s perfect.”
Kristin squeezed Idina’s hand, then pulled away and looked down at her plate, her hands in her lap.
Idina picked up her fork and speared a piece of pasta. Halfway to her mouth the fork stopped, and she looked at Kristin with narrowed eyes. “You know, Chenoweth, if I was a suspicious person, I might think that there’s some ulterior motive behind all this,” she said, waving her fork around at the room. Idina bit the end off of her pasta and chewed it slowly. “Hmm, now what could it possibly be? Let’s see, we’ve got candlelight, a dinner for two, and wine. Could it be, Miss Chenoweth, that you are trying to seduce me? Do you think I’m that easy? Do you think I’ll be so overcome with gratitude that I’ll let you have your way with me?”
Idina waited, expecting giggles, or at the very least an indignant response, but all she got was silence, and a tear rolling down Kristin’s face. Idina immediately went over and crouched beside Kristin’s chair. She took both of Kristin’s hands in her own and gazed up at her earnestly.
“Kris, baby, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin this. You know me and my big mouth. Sometimes stupid things come out. I’m sorry. Please, let’s start over, okay?”
Kristin shook her head. “It’s not that.”
“What is it then?” Idina asked in a concerned voice. “Tell me, baby. I can make it better.”
“No, no one can make it better.” She sniffled, and seemed to regain some composure. “We’ll talk later. Eat first.”
“Okay, babe. Whatever you want.” Idina stood up and walked back to her seat. After a few minutes of watching Kristin play with her food, Idina decided to try again.
“I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong, babe. I wanna help.”
“It’s just-there’s something I have to do, something I’m afraid of, and I keep putting it off and putting it off, and I know I gotta do it, but I’m scared.”
“It’s okay, sweetie, I’m here. I’ll help you.” Idina reached across the table to hold Kristin’s hand. Kristin jerked her hand away as though it had been scalded by hot water.
“Stop it, Dee,” she said roughly. “You’re not helping. You’re just making it harder.” Kristin took a deep breath. “There’s something I’ve gotta tell you Dee. Something I’ve been putting off, because I’ve been trying to find the right way to say it, but I still haven’t found it, and I just need to tell you.”
“It’s all right, Kris,” Idina said soothingly. “You can tell me anything.”
“Stop!” Kristin cried, pushing her chair back and standing up. “Just stop, Dee, okay? Just listen, please.”
Idina nodded and leaned back in her chair, arms folded across her chest, eyes watching Kristin warily.
“I’m leaving the show, Dee.” It came out in a whisper. Idina shook her head, thinking she had misheard. “They want me to come out to L.A., do a T.V. show. The West Wing. And I’ve had several offers for films. And you know I’ve been wanting to do some movies. And with my neck and everything, you know, I just thought that now was the best time.” Kristin was pacing, looking anywhere but at Idina. “It’s just, it’s such a good opportunity, I just couldn’t let it pass by-”
“When?” The flat voice cut through her rambling.
Kristin turned towards Idina, her hands trembling. She clasped them behind her back. “Two weeks,” she whispered.
Idina stared. Kristin was still talking, but all she heard was ‘two weeks,’ over and over again in her mind, like some sort of twisted mantra. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Idina looked up into watery blue eyes.
“Dee?” Kristin said softly.
Idina shrugged off the tiny hand and stood.
“What is it, Dee? Please, say something,” she pleaded.
Idina just stared at her, and, without a word, turned and walked toward the front door. Kristin ran after her, begging her to stop and talk. Idina kept walking. She rubbed her arms. She didn’t know where the sudden coldness had come from. Dimly she was aware of a voice calling to her, but she was unable and unwilling to respond. Idina reached the front door. She turned the knob. The door didn’t budge. Idina stared at it, confused. She rattled the knob again, harder this time. A low sound, like a small animal crying, broke her concentration. Idina turned around and saw a dim shape huddled on the ground behind her. The sounds were coming from it. It reached out to touch Idina, and she quickly turned back to the door, desperate to get away. Luckily, her fingers remembered what her brain could not and unlocked the door for her. Idina stumbled out into the hallway, kicking the door shut. As she walked down the hall she heard the sound of despair start up again. She whirled around, thinking that the creature had somehow followed her, but the hall was empty. She could still hear it, though. A sound so forlorn and broken and alone that she wanted to die, just to escape it. But she couldn’t escape it. The sound was coming from her own throat.