Glee | The Home Wall: 1. Homecoming | Brittany (1 of 6)
Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th , 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th cycle. Now cycle 29!
if you have things you would like to see get written, pleeease drop by the suggestion box. The link is further down!
TOP 16, TAKE 2: Okay so a couple cycles back, I did my second 'top of Glee at the moment' cycle. Now since I was still in university and such at the time, those were planned a while back, before the second half of the season every started. This made it that by the time that cycle rolled around I realized that some things had changed... Things were added, removed, bumped up... Point is it didn't really reflect where I was anymore. So I decided 'what the heck, I'll do another one ASAP!' And so here we are :) This is my revised Top 16 (of course I HAD to plan before the finale, so there are still a couple things missing like Samcedes, Unholy Trinity, etc, but let's assume they're there ;) They'll get some love in coming cycles ;)) So off we go!
Coming in at number one... (like last time, I'm splitting the number one's chapter story throughout the cycle, five normal days then two chapters from number one, five days, two chapters, five days, two chapters)
"THE HOME WALL: 1. HOMECOMING"
Brittany
Sequel to Got Dancing Shoes to Fly Away
There were still mornings where she would wake up and expect to open her eyes to find her room… the one back in Lima. But then she would see the walls were not the same color, the air felt different… and then she’d come back down to reality. Finally, a new day would begin for her.
She would get ready, and then she’d go for breakfast. The old Cheerios cleanse meal had been abandoned the minute she saw the kind of food they had in this cafeteria… this was no McKinley food. She did do her best to balance it all out, but… oh, those oatmeal cookies… Huge circles, still soft and warm if you knew to show up early enough… She could easily inhale a half dozen of them if she wasn’t careful. She had associated her taking up of going on morning runs to be yet another attempt at balancing. Between those and her dancing, she was keeping herself exactly where she needed to be, and she still had some new… freedoms.
After the breakfast and the run though, that was when her day really started. And so long as she had her classes, the ones where she got to dance, anyway, then she was perfectly fine. But even if she was trying to just concentrate, to think about where she was and how good it could make her feel, when she stopped… when the day slowed from its frenzied pace, then her mind would take that slow trot back down Ohio.
She couldn’t not think about them, and it wasn’t even anything she would want… that was why she had her keepsakes. Twelve items, each given by a different member of Glee Club plus one from Mr. Schuester… she’d received them at her going away party, and not one day went by that it didn’t help her in some way to have them there. There were only three of the items she could have on her at almost all times, because their nature allowed it. There was the chain from which hung a silver key, around her neck, as a present from Tina. And on her wrist there was the yellow pick she had gotten from Puck, which was strung up on Mike’s lucky laces, wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. Then there were those items she would rotate as much as possible, as they could be worn - Mercedes’ hat, Artie’s gloves, Schuester’s vest, Sam’s hoodie… There were those she held, like Quinn’s porcelain ballerina, Kurt’s ‘do not disturb’ sign, Finn’s drumsticks… and then there were those, when she needed comforting, she could snuggle to… Rachel’s gold star cushion and, most of all, Santana’s knit blanket. She imagined the day when she felt the need to wear, and hold, and rest on all twelve items at once would be the one where she knew she was really in trouble…
So far her life there was… small. Get up, get ready, eat, run, dance, rest, sleep… She had roommates, but she didn’t know what to do with them. Back home, she could make friends with anyone, it was easy… She didn’t know what it was that kept her from letting herself befriend them, but until she could figure it out then she wasn’t going to question it. She already had friends anyway, good friends, better friends, family, by blood or by song. She was reminded of this every so often, when she got hold of her mail.
When she’d left, she’d told them to write her, never thinking that the response would be this strong, but they wrote… so many of them did. After a while, she had started sticking them to the wall by her bed. Sometimes they’d include pictures, too, so she put them up, too. And she called it the Home Wall.
That day when she looked in her mailbox, she felt her heart leap - Lima postage; they always made sure she knew it was from one of them, and this one… She knew it was her grandfather, right away. She ran back up to her room and she sat on her bed. She had the room to herself for the moment, which was better off. She didn’t reply by hand. Santana had showed her how to record and send video replies by e-mail. It had occurred to her that they could have just sent e-mails, too, but that they chose to write only made her happier. She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, smelled it… Smelled like him.
Dear Bug,
First I wanted to thank you for the video you sent after my last letter. Seeing your face again made your old Grampy happy. Now that Matthew next door has shown me how to play them, I expect many more videos from you, just like you can expect many more letters from me.
I’m also including some pictures from your sisters and your father. They promise to write, too, so until then, they hope these will make you smile.
She had found the pictures before reading the letter, as they’d tumbled into her lap. The first one had Cat and Izzy blowing kisses at her, and the second had the two of them huddled around Lord Tubbington. They’d promised to take care of him in her absence, and seeing how those two were the only ones he listened to, except for her, then who better? Plus, their father was a vet, so if he was ever sick, then he’d be in good hands. Speaking of their father, the third was the best image, showing Joe and the girls in a decidedly ‘dramatic’ dance pose. It made her laugh instantly.
I’ve been going to the center, like you insisted. Can you imagine me doing exercises in the swimming pool? I’m going three times a week now, and I have to admit it does get easier after a while. I’ve been told I have a new bounce in my step. The ladies in my class do seem to think so. Now I know you never knew your grandmother, but you know how much I’ve spoken of her, and how much I miss her. I still do, but for the first time in many years I’ve started to wonder if I could use some company.
I’ve also been looking after your mother. She won’t say it, and she mostly just acts like her usual snappy self when I go to see her, but I think she’s glad to see me nowadays. We never saw completely eye to eye, me and her, you know that, but I think we might just be able to make things work.
She had to pause reading, as she looked to the wall, where she had a picture from her sixth birthday, with her mother on one side and her grandfather on the other. She’d always hoped that they could like each other a little more, and knowing that all it took was for her not to be there for it to happen…
The letter went on with him telling her about this and that, stories of home, and she kept on smiling. And then there was the last part.
I hope everything is going well for you. Before you left, I made you a promise, and it stands. But I know you won’t need it. You’re a fighter, whether you can see it or not. You show them what you’re made of.
Love, hugs, and kisses,
Your Grampy Joseph
She breathed out, reaching for tape to fix the letters and pictures to the wall. The promise… that if things ever came to the point where she wanted to go home, all she had to do was call and he’d come get her… She hadn’t forgotten it, and some days she wished he hadn’t made it… It felt like someone had given her an out, and if she didn’t have it then it wouldn’t feel like a ready-made weakness. But at the same time she was just thankful that he knew her enough to put the option out there, just in case.
She turned on the computer, and she got the video to start recording, sitting within frame. The first couple of times she hadn’t realized she wasn’t in that frame and they had gotten some odd angles. She fixed her hair, let out a breath, and addressed the camera with a smile.
“Hey, Grampy,” she waved. “Thanks for the letter, and the pictures,” she smiled. “See I told you the pool would be good for you,” she jumped right into it. “And you should totally ask out that Mrs. Wilson from there, she keeps making eyes at you behind your back, and she’s tall like us, so it won’t be weird. Thanks for visiting Mom. Just make sure she doesn’t start yelling at the neighbors with the bullhorn, she does that sometimes when she’s upset. And…” she paused, trying to think of the words. “I’m okay, I swear. All the classes are great, and I kick a… butt, in all of them,” she spoke confidently, after a quick edit. Still, her face softened before she went on. “I miss you so much, all of you. No one here gets me the way you guys do. But I’m fine, okay?” she nodded. “I’ll send you more videos. Right now I have to go before my roommates show up. I love you,” she blew kisses at the camera, waved again, and she stopped recording. She wasn’t crying, but she knew if she’d kept going even a few seconds more, that might have changed. She could tell herself and the others that she was fine all she wanted, but it didn’t change how she could feel something in her like it wouldn’t last.
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)
* IN CONSTRUCTION! *
PREVIOUS DAYS
[Cycle 01] [Cycle 02] [Cycle 03] [Cycle 04] [Cycle 05]
[Cycle 06] [Cycle 07] [Cycle 08] [Cycle 09] [Cycle 10]
[Cycle 11] [Cycle 12] [Cycle 13] [Cycle 14] [Cycle 15]
[Cycle 16] [Cycle 17] [Cycle 18] [Cycle 19] [Cycle 20]
[Cycle 21] [Cycle 22] [Cycle 23] [Cycle 24] [Cycle 25]
[Cycle 26] [Cycle 27] [Cycle 28]
[Cycle 29]
[589] [590] [591] [592] [593]
Suggestion Drop Off
Title: "The Home Wall: 1. Homecoming"
Pairing: Brittany
Rating: G
Summary: Now that she's in Boston, she can't wait to get letters from home and reply to them.
Spoilers: None really, AU-ish
if you have things you would like to see get written, pleeease drop by the suggestion box. The link is further down!
TOP 16, TAKE 2: Okay so a couple cycles back, I did my second 'top of Glee at the moment' cycle. Now since I was still in university and such at the time, those were planned a while back, before the second half of the season every started. This made it that by the time that cycle rolled around I realized that some things had changed... Things were added, removed, bumped up... Point is it didn't really reflect where I was anymore. So I decided 'what the heck, I'll do another one ASAP!' And so here we are :) This is my revised Top 16 (of course I HAD to plan before the finale, so there are still a couple things missing like Samcedes, Unholy Trinity, etc, but let's assume they're there ;) They'll get some love in coming cycles ;)) So off we go!
Coming in at number one... (like last time, I'm splitting the number one's chapter story throughout the cycle, five normal days then two chapters from number one, five days, two chapters, five days, two chapters)
"THE HOME WALL: 1. HOMECOMING"
Brittany
Sequel to Got Dancing Shoes to Fly Away
There were still mornings where she would wake up and expect to open her eyes to find her room… the one back in Lima. But then she would see the walls were not the same color, the air felt different… and then she’d come back down to reality. Finally, a new day would begin for her.
She would get ready, and then she’d go for breakfast. The old Cheerios cleanse meal had been abandoned the minute she saw the kind of food they had in this cafeteria… this was no McKinley food. She did do her best to balance it all out, but… oh, those oatmeal cookies… Huge circles, still soft and warm if you knew to show up early enough… She could easily inhale a half dozen of them if she wasn’t careful. She had associated her taking up of going on morning runs to be yet another attempt at balancing. Between those and her dancing, she was keeping herself exactly where she needed to be, and she still had some new… freedoms.
After the breakfast and the run though, that was when her day really started. And so long as she had her classes, the ones where she got to dance, anyway, then she was perfectly fine. But even if she was trying to just concentrate, to think about where she was and how good it could make her feel, when she stopped… when the day slowed from its frenzied pace, then her mind would take that slow trot back down Ohio.
She couldn’t not think about them, and it wasn’t even anything she would want… that was why she had her keepsakes. Twelve items, each given by a different member of Glee Club plus one from Mr. Schuester… she’d received them at her going away party, and not one day went by that it didn’t help her in some way to have them there. There were only three of the items she could have on her at almost all times, because their nature allowed it. There was the chain from which hung a silver key, around her neck, as a present from Tina. And on her wrist there was the yellow pick she had gotten from Puck, which was strung up on Mike’s lucky laces, wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. Then there were those items she would rotate as much as possible, as they could be worn - Mercedes’ hat, Artie’s gloves, Schuester’s vest, Sam’s hoodie… There were those she held, like Quinn’s porcelain ballerina, Kurt’s ‘do not disturb’ sign, Finn’s drumsticks… and then there were those, when she needed comforting, she could snuggle to… Rachel’s gold star cushion and, most of all, Santana’s knit blanket. She imagined the day when she felt the need to wear, and hold, and rest on all twelve items at once would be the one where she knew she was really in trouble…
So far her life there was… small. Get up, get ready, eat, run, dance, rest, sleep… She had roommates, but she didn’t know what to do with them. Back home, she could make friends with anyone, it was easy… She didn’t know what it was that kept her from letting herself befriend them, but until she could figure it out then she wasn’t going to question it. She already had friends anyway, good friends, better friends, family, by blood or by song. She was reminded of this every so often, when she got hold of her mail.
When she’d left, she’d told them to write her, never thinking that the response would be this strong, but they wrote… so many of them did. After a while, she had started sticking them to the wall by her bed. Sometimes they’d include pictures, too, so she put them up, too. And she called it the Home Wall.
That day when she looked in her mailbox, she felt her heart leap - Lima postage; they always made sure she knew it was from one of them, and this one… She knew it was her grandfather, right away. She ran back up to her room and she sat on her bed. She had the room to herself for the moment, which was better off. She didn’t reply by hand. Santana had showed her how to record and send video replies by e-mail. It had occurred to her that they could have just sent e-mails, too, but that they chose to write only made her happier. She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, smelled it… Smelled like him.
Dear Bug,
First I wanted to thank you for the video you sent after my last letter. Seeing your face again made your old Grampy happy. Now that Matthew next door has shown me how to play them, I expect many more videos from you, just like you can expect many more letters from me.
I’m also including some pictures from your sisters and your father. They promise to write, too, so until then, they hope these will make you smile.
She had found the pictures before reading the letter, as they’d tumbled into her lap. The first one had Cat and Izzy blowing kisses at her, and the second had the two of them huddled around Lord Tubbington. They’d promised to take care of him in her absence, and seeing how those two were the only ones he listened to, except for her, then who better? Plus, their father was a vet, so if he was ever sick, then he’d be in good hands. Speaking of their father, the third was the best image, showing Joe and the girls in a decidedly ‘dramatic’ dance pose. It made her laugh instantly.
I’ve been going to the center, like you insisted. Can you imagine me doing exercises in the swimming pool? I’m going three times a week now, and I have to admit it does get easier after a while. I’ve been told I have a new bounce in my step. The ladies in my class do seem to think so. Now I know you never knew your grandmother, but you know how much I’ve spoken of her, and how much I miss her. I still do, but for the first time in many years I’ve started to wonder if I could use some company.
I’ve also been looking after your mother. She won’t say it, and she mostly just acts like her usual snappy self when I go to see her, but I think she’s glad to see me nowadays. We never saw completely eye to eye, me and her, you know that, but I think we might just be able to make things work.
She had to pause reading, as she looked to the wall, where she had a picture from her sixth birthday, with her mother on one side and her grandfather on the other. She’d always hoped that they could like each other a little more, and knowing that all it took was for her not to be there for it to happen…
The letter went on with him telling her about this and that, stories of home, and she kept on smiling. And then there was the last part.
I hope everything is going well for you. Before you left, I made you a promise, and it stands. But I know you won’t need it. You’re a fighter, whether you can see it or not. You show them what you’re made of.
Love, hugs, and kisses,
Your Grampy Joseph
She breathed out, reaching for tape to fix the letters and pictures to the wall. The promise… that if things ever came to the point where she wanted to go home, all she had to do was call and he’d come get her… She hadn’t forgotten it, and some days she wished he hadn’t made it… It felt like someone had given her an out, and if she didn’t have it then it wouldn’t feel like a ready-made weakness. But at the same time she was just thankful that he knew her enough to put the option out there, just in case.
She turned on the computer, and she got the video to start recording, sitting within frame. The first couple of times she hadn’t realized she wasn’t in that frame and they had gotten some odd angles. She fixed her hair, let out a breath, and addressed the camera with a smile.
“Hey, Grampy,” she waved. “Thanks for the letter, and the pictures,” she smiled. “See I told you the pool would be good for you,” she jumped right into it. “And you should totally ask out that Mrs. Wilson from there, she keeps making eyes at you behind your back, and she’s tall like us, so it won’t be weird. Thanks for visiting Mom. Just make sure she doesn’t start yelling at the neighbors with the bullhorn, she does that sometimes when she’s upset. And…” she paused, trying to think of the words. “I’m okay, I swear. All the classes are great, and I kick a… butt, in all of them,” she spoke confidently, after a quick edit. Still, her face softened before she went on. “I miss you so much, all of you. No one here gets me the way you guys do. But I’m fine, okay?” she nodded. “I’ll send you more videos. Right now I have to go before my roommates show up. I love you,” she blew kisses at the camera, waved again, and she stopped recording. She wasn’t crying, but she knew if she’d kept going even a few seconds more, that might have changed. She could tell herself and the others that she was fine all she wanted, but it didn’t change how she could feel something in her like it wouldn’t last.
TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)
* IN CONSTRUCTION! *
PREVIOUS DAYS
[Cycle 01] [Cycle 02] [Cycle 03] [Cycle 04] [Cycle 05]
[Cycle 06] [Cycle 07] [Cycle 08] [Cycle 09] [Cycle 10]
[Cycle 11] [Cycle 12] [Cycle 13] [Cycle 14] [Cycle 15]
[Cycle 16] [Cycle 17] [Cycle 18] [Cycle 19] [Cycle 20]
[Cycle 21] [Cycle 22] [Cycle 23] [Cycle 24] [Cycle 25]
[Cycle 26] [Cycle 27] [Cycle 28]
[Cycle 29]
[589] [590] [591] [592] [593]
Suggestion Drop Off
Title: "The Home Wall: 1. Homecoming"
Pairing: Brittany
Rating: G
Summary: Now that she's in Boston, she can't wait to get letters from home and reply to them.
Spoilers: None really, AU-ish