BSC/Heroes Fic: Stacey Loves the Invisible Man (9/14) + Fanvid
Title: Stacey Loves the Invisible Man (9/14)
Author: nutmeg610 & toxic_corn
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: BSC/Heroes crossover
Disclaimer: Neither The Baby-sitter's Club books, nor Heroes belong to us. They belong to Scholastic Books, Ann M. Martin, and NBC.
Summary: Stacey McGill leads a pretty mundane life in NYC. She works as a temp after a failed attempt at a modeling career, but at least she lives with her best friend, Claudia Kishi. Still, that's not enough to make Stacey think there isn't something missing in her life. She's calmed down over the years, now not nearly as boy-crazy as she once was, but thinks perhaps it's time to find her own hero. She finds more than she expected when her path crosses that of the Invisible Man.
Author's Note: The next series in a long line of crackfic, my friends! Follows Your Boyfriend Snorts Cocaine, Mary Anne, Wanna Get It On, Dawn?, and Kristy and the Doctor.
Round Up Post
But first: A Clacey fanvid I made! Enjoy!
*************************************
It wasn't a big deal. I mean, he's not the first boyfriend to forget my birthday. And he tried to make up for it, which was sweet. Maybe next year I'll drop some not-so-subtle hints a week prior. Sound like a plan?
~ snippet of an email from Stacey McGill to Mallory Pike
Claude knocked on Stacey's door and stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was no longer strange to him that he could knock on someone's door and stand there completely visible to the world around him. It was like old times, back before his power manifested and he was just an ordinary guy. He and Stacey had been together for quite awhile now; he wasn't sure how long exactly, but he bet she knew, and he was finally comfortable being visible when he was out with her. Maybe they'd go out for a walk in the park or something.
Claudia answered the door and gave a nod. "Hey." she said, moving back to let him in. The two of them still really didn't get along, but they were at least civil to each other.
"Is she here?" Claude asked as Claudia started gathering papers together and stuffed them into a messenger bag she had decorated herself.
"In the shower." she answered, shutting her bag and looking up at him. "So, did you plan something special for her today?"
He merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Special...?"
Claudia's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't forget that today's her birthday, did you?"
"What? No! It's-- It's next week, isn't it?" Claude asked, growing nervous.
With a shake of her head, Claudia went over to the calendar on the fridge and pointed at the date where she had drawn a party hat and a gift. "It's today, April 3rd."
"Oh," he answered, staring dumbly at the calendar. "I thought it was the 13th."
"Nope." Claudia said, moving past him. "Maybe you should go out and get her something before--" The sound of the bathroom door opening cut her off, and as Stacey came out, she rushed to add, "Uh, nevermind. Well, I'm out. Later." She waved at Stacey and hurried out the door before she could be caught in an awkward scene.
Sighing, Claude focused his attention on Stacey, wet hair slicked back and towel wrapped around her. He walked towards her, deciding it was just best to come out with it and tell her he forgot. "Listen, petal..."
But before he could finish, Stacey moved forward and leapt up onto the ottoman, taking his face in both hands and giving him a great big kiss. Pulling back, she grinned down at him, but he merely looked away.
"Now I feel bad for forgetting your birthday."
"Oh." she replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "Well, that's okay."
"No it's not." he said, looking up at her with an ashamed expression.
Stacey forced a smile. It was disappointing, but it wasn't like it was the end of the world. "It's okay. I'm sure you're not the only one." She placed a kiss on his nose. "Plus you're here for my birthday. What other present do I need?"
"Look, I-- I'll go figure something out." Tilting his head up, he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Bye for now."
"Oh, really, it's okay..." she began, but trailed off as he headed out the door. With a sigh, she stepped down and went into her bedroom to dry her hair and get dressed.
*************************************
Almost two hours later, Stacey was sitting on the couch reading when there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she was met with what was essentially an entire garden's worth of roses. Claude's face suddenly appeared behind them all, and she saw that he'd dressed up and shaved like he had for her mom's wedding.
He handed her the huge bouquet of flowers, and she saw he had even more gifts. He handed her the special edition of Mary Poppins because it was her favorite movie, and he also carried a long flat box. "Happy Birthday, petal!"
Stacey was so shocked, she could only breath out, "Ohhh..."
"Annnnd there's this!" He opened the long box that contained a beautiful, fancy dress that she'd been drooling over for weeks whenever she passed the department store window.
Her mouth gaped like a fish at it, unable to speak.
"Well? Go try it on. We're going to that restaurant you've been wanting me to take you to since we first got together."
Stacey finally got her mouth to close, and then bit her lip, looking a little worried. Claude couldn't have a real job, because that meant paperwork and taxes, which meant one of his enemies could follow the paper trail right to him. So Claude stole whatever he needed to survive. It was easy; who would even notice an invisible man stealing something? But it felt wrong to Stacey that he'd get her birthday presents that way.
"....What is it?"
"Oh, nothing, it's... it's lovely. But you didn't have to do all this... I do appreciate it, really, it's just... so much..."
He looked down at all of it. "Oh."
"It's just... I-I know how you go about getting things for yourself, a-and I understand you have to do it that way because you can't have a job, but I don't feel right accepting this dress, knowing how you got it."
"Right." he replied flatly, closing the box and taking the bouquet from her hands.
"Please don't be mad. It's so sweet you thought of me."
He avoided her gaze as he spoke. "I'll just take this back, then."
Afraid she'd upset him, she touched his arm gingerly. "Just knowing you'd go to all this trouble for me is a wonderful birthday gift."
He nodded, holding his hand out for the DVD. Looking down at it, she said, "You know what? I'm sure the movie only cost, what, ten bucks? So I wouldn't feel too bad about keeping it, and it'd be nice to sit and watch it with you." She forced a laugh as she added, "I could treat you to my horrible singing."
Drawing his hand back, he nodded again, still not looking at her. "Okay. I'll be right back, then."
"Okay." she answered softly, feeling guilty, but knowing she'd feel worse if she'd worn the dress.
He disappeared out the door, both figuratively and physically, and Stacey returned to the couch and tried to pick up where she'd left off in her reading, but her mind kept wandering, as she worried that she'd really hurt his feelings. But obviously he had to have understood her side of things; it just didn't feel right.
Not long after, Claudia returned with her boyfriend, Steve, who was wearing a flowy white shirt with a leather vest on top, in what was his 'standard' pirate outfit. There was a kerchief tied around his head, but he wasn't sporting the eyepatch at the moment.
"Hey, Stace." Claudia said, breezing past and calling over her shoulder, "Just gimme a few to clean up in here," to Steve, as she headed into the disaster area that was her bedroom.
Steve chuckled, since he really didn't care if her room was a mess, but he obediently stayed out in the living room to wait, smiling at Stacey. "Happy birthday!"
Smiling, she replied, "Thank you!"
"When are you and your invisible man going out?" he asked with a wink, hoping he and Claudia could have the apartment to themselves for a little bit.
Her smile faded. "Oh, I-I dunno. I think I upset him." She looked away sadly.
"Oh? Did you not like the dress he bought?" Steve asked, scratching his head in confusion, and setting his kerchief askew. "He said you'd had your eye on it for awhile and he was sorry to ask for his salary up front so fast, so I thought it'd be okay to--"
"Wait, what?" Stacey interrupted. "Salary?"
Steve nodded. "He's been doing some under the table work for Average Joe's Gym. He didn't tell you?"
Now there were about eighty different emotions running through her, but most of all, she was ashamed that she'd judged Claude so quickly. "N-No, sometimes he doesn't tell me things..."
"Ohhhhhhh." Steve said slowly, understanding what must have happened. He pressed a hand up to his forehand. "So you thought he stole it and... oh this be a world class clusterfuck."
Her lip quivered for an instant as she tried to hold her feelings in check, but then a second later the floodgates opened and she started bawling, putting her head in her hands. "I'm the worst girlfriend ever!"
"What?!" Steve exclaimed, shocked and waving his hands around her, not knowing what to do. "No! No, you're not! You didn't know!"
She lifted her head and gasped for breath. "I thought-- I was doing-- the-- the right thing... not accepting it..." She paused to take two quick gasps of breath. "He earned m-money-- on his own-- and he didn't j-just set me straight..." Another set of gasps followed. "Why didn't he just tell m-me?! I hurt his f-feelings!"
"Who knows why he does things?" Steve replied, sitting down on the arm of the couch beside her, looking miserable and like he regretted ever saying anything in the first place.
She was still crying, but was wiping her face and sniffling, trying to stop. "I don't know. M-Maybe he was waiting to tell me, after I accepted the dress." She looked down sadly, tears dripping down her cheeks.
"Maybe?" Steve said encouragingly, patting her shoulder in an awkward manner.
There was knock on the door then, and Steve jumped up. "I'll get it for you. That's probably him."
He answered the door and Claude came in, looking rather downtrodden, but he froze in horror when he saw that Stacey had been crying. "Petal, what's wrong?!"
Holding her arms out for a hug, her tears started again. "I'm sorrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyy!"
Rushing over to the couch, Claude wrapped her up tight in his arms. "Shhhhhhhh, don't cry."
"Why didn't you tell me you had a job?!"
"I was going to." he replied gently, stroking her hair and glaring over at Steve who took the hint and dashed into Claudia's room, convincing her that she'd tidied up enough. With a sigh, Claude continued, "But I guess I-- it hurt a little that you assumed right away that I must've stolen it so I didn't..."
"I know. I didn't mean to hurt you." She pulled back a little and sniffled, feeling like a dope for crying in front of him yet again. "Shouldn't have assumed."
"Well, it's not that difficult of an assumption to make." He paused to wipe a tear away with his thumb. "You didn't know I've been doing odd jobs for Steve the Pirate."
She nodded, trying her best to smile up at him.
"Oh, petal," he said sadly, kissing her forehead. "It's your birthday and I've made you so miserable."
"N-No, I'm fine. Really." She forced a grin across her face. "See?"
Claude wasn't fooled by the false attempt, but he didn't want to keep pressing her, so instead he asked, "So what do you want to do now? This is your day."
"Yeah, but, you had stuff planned for us, right? What's on the agenda?"
"Well, we can still make our reservations if we hurry..."
With a bright smile, she replied, "Okay."
He looked her up and down carefully. "Is that what you're going to wear?"
She looked down at her casual wear. "No, I'll go change." Jumping up, she rushed to assure him, "Won't take long, I promise!"
He settled back on the couch and chuckled as she raced into her bedroom. She went through the contents of her closet at light speed, pulling out all the dresses and skirts she owned because she didn't want to keep him waiting. Finally selecting a pretty pink dress, she put it on, then fixed her hair and grabbed a pair of high heels, running back out into living room breathlessly. "Just gotta put my shoes on."
Sitting up, he couldn't help but gawk at her. "You look lovely."
"Oh." she answered with a soft blush, looking down at herself. "Thank you."
"Come here." he said, holding his hand out to her. She took his hand and sat on the arm of the couch.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier what was going on. It was stupid, petal. I just love you dearly and I wanted everything to be a surprise for you that I didn't think everything through the way I should have."
One side of her mouth went up in a smile. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry too."
He smiled back and stood up. "Right. We have a dinner to get to."
"Okay." she replied, putting her shoes on and standing up, taking his hand. As they headed for the front door, she added, "And afterwards, we can come back here and have hot birthday sex."
Immediately spinning in a circle, he started pulling her towards her bedroom. "Actually I'm not that hungry. Perhaps we could skip the dinner and--"
With a giggle, she tugged on his hand and he stopped. "No way, mister. Dinner first. Beside, we're not doing that while they're here."
Claude grumbled, but turned back and led her out the front door. "Right, dinner first." He wrapped an arm around her and winked. "And a big present later."
Stacey perked up and excitedly asked, "Mary Poppins?"
With a groan, he whined, "You're going to be the death of me, petal."
"Nahhh..." Stacey replied. "We'll do hot birthday sex first, and watch Mary Poppins later."
"Now you're thinking." Claude replied, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Previous: Interlude 2 :: Next: Interlude 3
Author: nutmeg610 & toxic_corn
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: BSC/Heroes crossover
Disclaimer: Neither The Baby-sitter's Club books, nor Heroes belong to us. They belong to Scholastic Books, Ann M. Martin, and NBC.
Summary: Stacey McGill leads a pretty mundane life in NYC. She works as a temp after a failed attempt at a modeling career, but at least she lives with her best friend, Claudia Kishi. Still, that's not enough to make Stacey think there isn't something missing in her life. She's calmed down over the years, now not nearly as boy-crazy as she once was, but thinks perhaps it's time to find her own hero. She finds more than she expected when her path crosses that of the Invisible Man.
Author's Note: The next series in a long line of crackfic, my friends! Follows Your Boyfriend Snorts Cocaine, Mary Anne, Wanna Get It On, Dawn?, and Kristy and the Doctor.
Round Up Post
But first: A Clacey fanvid I made! Enjoy!
Click to view*************************************
It wasn't a big deal. I mean, he's not the first boyfriend to forget my birthday. And he tried to make up for it, which was sweet. Maybe next year I'll drop some not-so-subtle hints a week prior. Sound like a plan?
~ snippet of an email from Stacey McGill to Mallory Pike
Claude knocked on Stacey's door and stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was no longer strange to him that he could knock on someone's door and stand there completely visible to the world around him. It was like old times, back before his power manifested and he was just an ordinary guy. He and Stacey had been together for quite awhile now; he wasn't sure how long exactly, but he bet she knew, and he was finally comfortable being visible when he was out with her. Maybe they'd go out for a walk in the park or something.
Claudia answered the door and gave a nod. "Hey." she said, moving back to let him in. The two of them still really didn't get along, but they were at least civil to each other.
"Is she here?" Claude asked as Claudia started gathering papers together and stuffed them into a messenger bag she had decorated herself.
"In the shower." she answered, shutting her bag and looking up at him. "So, did you plan something special for her today?"
He merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Special...?"
Claudia's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't forget that today's her birthday, did you?"
"What? No! It's-- It's next week, isn't it?" Claude asked, growing nervous.
With a shake of her head, Claudia went over to the calendar on the fridge and pointed at the date where she had drawn a party hat and a gift. "It's today, April 3rd."
"Oh," he answered, staring dumbly at the calendar. "I thought it was the 13th."
"Nope." Claudia said, moving past him. "Maybe you should go out and get her something before--" The sound of the bathroom door opening cut her off, and as Stacey came out, she rushed to add, "Uh, nevermind. Well, I'm out. Later." She waved at Stacey and hurried out the door before she could be caught in an awkward scene.
Sighing, Claude focused his attention on Stacey, wet hair slicked back and towel wrapped around her. He walked towards her, deciding it was just best to come out with it and tell her he forgot. "Listen, petal..."
But before he could finish, Stacey moved forward and leapt up onto the ottoman, taking his face in both hands and giving him a great big kiss. Pulling back, she grinned down at him, but he merely looked away.
"Now I feel bad for forgetting your birthday."
"Oh." she replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "Well, that's okay."
"No it's not." he said, looking up at her with an ashamed expression.
Stacey forced a smile. It was disappointing, but it wasn't like it was the end of the world. "It's okay. I'm sure you're not the only one." She placed a kiss on his nose. "Plus you're here for my birthday. What other present do I need?"
"Look, I-- I'll go figure something out." Tilting his head up, he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Bye for now."
"Oh, really, it's okay..." she began, but trailed off as he headed out the door. With a sigh, she stepped down and went into her bedroom to dry her hair and get dressed.
*************************************
Almost two hours later, Stacey was sitting on the couch reading when there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she was met with what was essentially an entire garden's worth of roses. Claude's face suddenly appeared behind them all, and she saw that he'd dressed up and shaved like he had for her mom's wedding.
He handed her the huge bouquet of flowers, and she saw he had even more gifts. He handed her the special edition of Mary Poppins because it was her favorite movie, and he also carried a long flat box. "Happy Birthday, petal!"
Stacey was so shocked, she could only breath out, "Ohhh..."
"Annnnd there's this!" He opened the long box that contained a beautiful, fancy dress that she'd been drooling over for weeks whenever she passed the department store window.
Her mouth gaped like a fish at it, unable to speak.
"Well? Go try it on. We're going to that restaurant you've been wanting me to take you to since we first got together."
Stacey finally got her mouth to close, and then bit her lip, looking a little worried. Claude couldn't have a real job, because that meant paperwork and taxes, which meant one of his enemies could follow the paper trail right to him. So Claude stole whatever he needed to survive. It was easy; who would even notice an invisible man stealing something? But it felt wrong to Stacey that he'd get her birthday presents that way.
"....What is it?"
"Oh, nothing, it's... it's lovely. But you didn't have to do all this... I do appreciate it, really, it's just... so much..."
He looked down at all of it. "Oh."
"It's just... I-I know how you go about getting things for yourself, a-and I understand you have to do it that way because you can't have a job, but I don't feel right accepting this dress, knowing how you got it."
"Right." he replied flatly, closing the box and taking the bouquet from her hands.
"Please don't be mad. It's so sweet you thought of me."
He avoided her gaze as he spoke. "I'll just take this back, then."
Afraid she'd upset him, she touched his arm gingerly. "Just knowing you'd go to all this trouble for me is a wonderful birthday gift."
He nodded, holding his hand out for the DVD. Looking down at it, she said, "You know what? I'm sure the movie only cost, what, ten bucks? So I wouldn't feel too bad about keeping it, and it'd be nice to sit and watch it with you." She forced a laugh as she added, "I could treat you to my horrible singing."
Drawing his hand back, he nodded again, still not looking at her. "Okay. I'll be right back, then."
"Okay." she answered softly, feeling guilty, but knowing she'd feel worse if she'd worn the dress.
He disappeared out the door, both figuratively and physically, and Stacey returned to the couch and tried to pick up where she'd left off in her reading, but her mind kept wandering, as she worried that she'd really hurt his feelings. But obviously he had to have understood her side of things; it just didn't feel right.
Not long after, Claudia returned with her boyfriend, Steve, who was wearing a flowy white shirt with a leather vest on top, in what was his 'standard' pirate outfit. There was a kerchief tied around his head, but he wasn't sporting the eyepatch at the moment.
"Hey, Stace." Claudia said, breezing past and calling over her shoulder, "Just gimme a few to clean up in here," to Steve, as she headed into the disaster area that was her bedroom.
Steve chuckled, since he really didn't care if her room was a mess, but he obediently stayed out in the living room to wait, smiling at Stacey. "Happy birthday!"
Smiling, she replied, "Thank you!"
"When are you and your invisible man going out?" he asked with a wink, hoping he and Claudia could have the apartment to themselves for a little bit.
Her smile faded. "Oh, I-I dunno. I think I upset him." She looked away sadly.
"Oh? Did you not like the dress he bought?" Steve asked, scratching his head in confusion, and setting his kerchief askew. "He said you'd had your eye on it for awhile and he was sorry to ask for his salary up front so fast, so I thought it'd be okay to--"
"Wait, what?" Stacey interrupted. "Salary?"
Steve nodded. "He's been doing some under the table work for Average Joe's Gym. He didn't tell you?"
Now there were about eighty different emotions running through her, but most of all, she was ashamed that she'd judged Claude so quickly. "N-No, sometimes he doesn't tell me things..."
"Ohhhhhhh." Steve said slowly, understanding what must have happened. He pressed a hand up to his forehand. "So you thought he stole it and... oh this be a world class clusterfuck."
Her lip quivered for an instant as she tried to hold her feelings in check, but then a second later the floodgates opened and she started bawling, putting her head in her hands. "I'm the worst girlfriend ever!"
"What?!" Steve exclaimed, shocked and waving his hands around her, not knowing what to do. "No! No, you're not! You didn't know!"
She lifted her head and gasped for breath. "I thought-- I was doing-- the-- the right thing... not accepting it..." She paused to take two quick gasps of breath. "He earned m-money-- on his own-- and he didn't j-just set me straight..." Another set of gasps followed. "Why didn't he just tell m-me?! I hurt his f-feelings!"
"Who knows why he does things?" Steve replied, sitting down on the arm of the couch beside her, looking miserable and like he regretted ever saying anything in the first place.
She was still crying, but was wiping her face and sniffling, trying to stop. "I don't know. M-Maybe he was waiting to tell me, after I accepted the dress." She looked down sadly, tears dripping down her cheeks.
"Maybe?" Steve said encouragingly, patting her shoulder in an awkward manner.
There was knock on the door then, and Steve jumped up. "I'll get it for you. That's probably him."
He answered the door and Claude came in, looking rather downtrodden, but he froze in horror when he saw that Stacey had been crying. "Petal, what's wrong?!"
Holding her arms out for a hug, her tears started again. "I'm sorrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyy!"
Rushing over to the couch, Claude wrapped her up tight in his arms. "Shhhhhhhh, don't cry."
"Why didn't you tell me you had a job?!"
"I was going to." he replied gently, stroking her hair and glaring over at Steve who took the hint and dashed into Claudia's room, convincing her that she'd tidied up enough. With a sigh, Claude continued, "But I guess I-- it hurt a little that you assumed right away that I must've stolen it so I didn't..."
"I know. I didn't mean to hurt you." She pulled back a little and sniffled, feeling like a dope for crying in front of him yet again. "Shouldn't have assumed."
"Well, it's not that difficult of an assumption to make." He paused to wipe a tear away with his thumb. "You didn't know I've been doing odd jobs for Steve the Pirate."
She nodded, trying her best to smile up at him.
"Oh, petal," he said sadly, kissing her forehead. "It's your birthday and I've made you so miserable."
"N-No, I'm fine. Really." She forced a grin across her face. "See?"
Claude wasn't fooled by the false attempt, but he didn't want to keep pressing her, so instead he asked, "So what do you want to do now? This is your day."
"Yeah, but, you had stuff planned for us, right? What's on the agenda?"
"Well, we can still make our reservations if we hurry..."
With a bright smile, she replied, "Okay."
He looked her up and down carefully. "Is that what you're going to wear?"
She looked down at her casual wear. "No, I'll go change." Jumping up, she rushed to assure him, "Won't take long, I promise!"
He settled back on the couch and chuckled as she raced into her bedroom. She went through the contents of her closet at light speed, pulling out all the dresses and skirts she owned because she didn't want to keep him waiting. Finally selecting a pretty pink dress, she put it on, then fixed her hair and grabbed a pair of high heels, running back out into living room breathlessly. "Just gotta put my shoes on."
Sitting up, he couldn't help but gawk at her. "You look lovely."
"Oh." she answered with a soft blush, looking down at herself. "Thank you."
"Come here." he said, holding his hand out to her. She took his hand and sat on the arm of the couch.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier what was going on. It was stupid, petal. I just love you dearly and I wanted everything to be a surprise for you that I didn't think everything through the way I should have."
One side of her mouth went up in a smile. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry too."
He smiled back and stood up. "Right. We have a dinner to get to."
"Okay." she replied, putting her shoes on and standing up, taking his hand. As they headed for the front door, she added, "And afterwards, we can come back here and have hot birthday sex."
Immediately spinning in a circle, he started pulling her towards her bedroom. "Actually I'm not that hungry. Perhaps we could skip the dinner and--"
With a giggle, she tugged on his hand and he stopped. "No way, mister. Dinner first. Beside, we're not doing that while they're here."
Claude grumbled, but turned back and led her out the front door. "Right, dinner first." He wrapped an arm around her and winked. "And a big present later."
Stacey perked up and excitedly asked, "Mary Poppins?"
With a groan, he whined, "You're going to be the death of me, petal."
"Nahhh..." Stacey replied. "We'll do hot birthday sex first, and watch Mary Poppins later."
"Now you're thinking." Claude replied, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Previous: Interlude 2 :: Next: Interlude 3