A Cappella; Part 3: Couples
Part 1: Slushied
Part 2: Pinkies
Part 3: Couples
Note: The story "Monster without a name" is not mine! I took it (and shortened/slightly altered it) from a wonderful manga called "Monster" by Naoki Urasawa (he also drew 20th Century Boys). Read it. It's awesome!
Also, prepare for what has the potential to be one of the most awkward dates in history.
---------
"A long, long time ago in a land far away, there was a monster without a name. It wanted a name so badly it finally decided to search for one.
But the world was so large that it split into two to make its journey.
One half went to the west and the other went towards the east.
The monster who went to the east found a village.
At the entrance of the village there was a blacksmith. "Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name," said the monster. "You can't give away your name," the blacksmith replied.
"If you give me your name, I'll enter you and give you strength."
"Really? If you can make me stronger, then I'll give you my name."
The monster entered the blacksmith and became Otto, the strongest man in the village. But one day he said, "Look at me. Look at me. Look at how large the monster inside me has become."
Crunch Crunch! Munch Munch! Chomp Chomp! Gulp!
The hungry monster ate Otto from the inside out and returned to being a nameless monster.
So it continued traveling until it reached a castle in which it found a sick boy. "If you give me your name, I'll give you strength."
"If you can cure this illness and make me strong, I'll give you my name." The monster entered the boy. The boy became well. The king was so pleased!
"The prince is well! The prince is well!"
The monster liked the boy's name. He also liked living in the castle. So even though he was hungry, he endured. Every day his stomach growled, but he endured it. However, he was so hungry that one day he said, "Look at me. Look at me. Look at how large the monster inside me has become." The boy ate the king and even his servants.
Crunch Crunch! Munch Munch! Chomp Chomp! Gulp!
Being alone yet again the monster, who was now a boy, continued his journey until he met his other half.
"I have a name. It's a wonderful name, too."
The monster who went to the west said, "I don't need a name. I'm happy even without a name." We just have to accept that we are monsters without a name. But the boy shook his head and ate the monster who went to the west.
The monster finally had a name, but all the people who could call him by that name had disappeared. And Johan was such a wonderful name, too."
With a pensive expression on her face Santana slowly closed the book and turned it in her hands to look at its cover.
"Monster without a name"
What an awful gift to a child, she thought. What had her dad been thinking?
And what an awful prospect for her. Was this the rest of her life?
---------
Just another awesome day. Tess had invited Kay over for tea- time. She always had a thing for old- fashioned stuff like that. Plus: Who would ever say no to an at-home-date?
When she rang the doorbell and the blonde opened Kay was sure she blushed immediately. Hoping Tess hadn't seen it she glanced up, trying to seem as casual as possible. The smirk on Tess' face, though indicated her attempt had failed horribly.
Tess led her up to her room. Her parents were at some conference and apparently wouldn't be home for a couple of days and Kay couldn't help but feel relieved. Although she had come out to her aunt three years ago she still found the interaction with other people's parents (both dates and friends) challenging. If it was hard to find the right words in every day talk, finding out when and how to address her identity in a conversation with parents and be prepared for any kind of reaction was a topic worth at least a huge headache.
But without this hurdle in the way Kay at least managed to smile and not to break out into weird spasms or something like that.
There was just enough space for a double bed in one corner of the room, a black glass desk right beneath the window, a closet and a small beige couch that matched the dark laminate perfectly. The centre of the floor was covered by a small red carpet.
Tess closed the semi-see-through beige curtains and switched on the lights, just to dim them. It was cozy in here.
They sat down on Tess's couch, each of them holding a cup of hot mint tea.
"Did you ever get slushied?" The question had just popped out to break the silence.
Tess smiled. "Yes, I have. It was tough the first time. Very humiliating."
A couple of seconds passed and Kay realized she hadn't said anything. She had been busy admiring Tess's beautiful face instead.
"Why would they do that to you? You don't seem… "
The rest of the words got stuck in Kay's throat. She couldn't just give herself away by complimenting the other girl. The blonde looked at her with a certain level of expectation, but Kay could only shrug slowly while her eyes were staring a hole into the floor.
"…you know…"
Thankfully the blonde got the message and answered: "It's not really about who you are, you know. These guys bully everyone except for the football team and the Cheerios. Although the latter don't exist anymore. They just want to show everyone they are on top. Therefore everyone else gets the crap."
"That's just stupid." Kay examined her cup of tea. It smelled nice.
"Yea it is."
Kay felt Tess's eyes constantly on her. Concentrating on the scent of mint that filled her nose was all she could do not to blush. Not again.
"I can sing, too, you know." Tess had giggled this and Kay felt embarrassed for not asking anything personal about her.
"You do? How come you're not in Glee?"
The other girl shook her head. "I'm not into competition. Kevin and I have founded a co-ed a cappella group. We perform on events and even make some money nowadays. We have a wicked soprano."
Kay was amazed. Out of all instruments there were she loved the human voice the most. When used correctly it could sound like pretty much everything else as if the whole universe was secretly stored within our bodies and unleashed through song. Her face lit up. "I would love to hear you sing someday."
"I would love for you to come see us rehearse sometime." Tess lowered her voice as she said this.
Kay was still wondering why Tess's expression had changed, too and why her heart wouldn't quit racing when the blonde girl put her cup aside, bit her lip and leaned forward to steal a kiss. It was hardly more than a small nibble. Their lips touched just long enough to make Kay melt.
"I thought you were wondering." Tess had barely pulled back from the kiss and kept staring at Kay's lips.
"I'm always wondering about something." That was definitely the most stupid thing Kay could have come up with, but, there, she said it. And with a gasp as a cherry on top of her humiliation.
The blonde smirked. "Figured."
Kay had just enough time to put her cup aside before Tess leaned over again, now pressing her whole body against the slightly smaller girl.
She could feel Tess' physical strength beneath her fingertips, but also against her chest and hips and felt weak and safe at the same time. It was surprisingly easy to just let go.
Their second kiss was slow and lingering. The other girl's lips tasted a little like mint and a little like nothing else Kay had ever tasted. They tasted like Tess.
Her tongue felt soft on her own and made Kay want more. Although the blonde had proven to be cheeky by going in for a kiss so quickly and without prelude, she now seemed surprisingly shy. She had asked permission to deepen the kiss by only slightly using the tip of her tongue, just to back off again and let Kay take charge. Her hands rested on Kay's hips, not showing any intention of touching anything without invitation.
She made a noise that was more than a sigh and less than a moan and Kay's heart responded with a back flip. Tess was so sweet, so gentle. When the blonde finally pulled away their lips were slightly swollen and both girls had a natural blush on their cheeks. Nothing to be embarrassed about anymore, though.
"I thought you were wondering if you could kiss me." Tess continued, her hands still resting on Kay's hips. It took a while before the brunette realized that it was a continuation, though.
"Right." She paused. "I was wondering about that."
She gazed at her own fingers which remained on Tess' waist as well. Her eyes drew an invisible line from her fingertips, down Tess' slim sides, back up her muscular yet dainty arms to her face. They smiled at each other with a mixture of shyness and endorsement.
Their tea had become cold in the meantime, but Kay didn't feel like flushing away this sweet taste on her lips with mint anyhow. She bend forward into a hug.
"Figured." Tess smirked once again.
---------
That hadn't gone the way Brittany had planned it. She loved Santana. She didn't want to hurt her the way she obviously had. She wanted her best friend back. It was all so unfair. Why couldn't Santana just have confessed her love back when they were both single? It would have been a lot easier then. Instead Brittany found herself trapped between two people she didn't want to live without. And on top of that she was now covered in soil.
I can see him dying
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Everytime I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be a murderer
She stuck her tongue out and tasted the corner of her mouth. Yep, definitely soil.
Was she singing about Artie?
Santana and she had been hooking up on a regular basis. That was before Santana's love confession, but after Artie and Brittany had started dating. She kept telling herself that it wasn't cheating, because it wasn't another guy she'd been making out with. But if that was true, then why couldn't she bring herself to tell her boyfriend about it? If it wasn't cheating she had nothing to worry about. She couldn't tell him about Santana's confession, though. That would just be mean considering the Latina had never poured her heart out to anyone before.
Santana.
Maybe the song wasn't about Artie at all. Being with Artie made her happy. No one before him had ever expressed they really wanted to be with her. No one had ever wanted anything more than just sex. Even Santana had always insisted on them being just a fling to kill time. Of course, now they both knew better. Everything was different. Everything sucked.
Thinking about it, Brittany wasn't really sure whether she was cheating on Artie with Santana or whether she had been cheating on Santana with Artie. Why couldn't people just quit fucking with brains?
Emotions had always been simple to Brittany. You had them, you felt them, you lived them. No formulas, no vocabulary, no analysis. Emotions were nothing more than just that. They were there and they were good.
That had now changed as well. Thanks to Santana and her love confession. Being loved by two people at the same time was slightly more difficult than being loved by no one. Somehow it was even lonelier.
Who was she murdering? Artie? Santana?
No. This crime she was commiting to herself. If heart attacks were from loving too much, then Brittany was definitely going to die soon.
Her first decision was therefore to write a testament. Just in case.
Her second decision was to make a decision.
Part 2: Pinkies
Part 3: Couples
Note: The story "Monster without a name" is not mine! I took it (and shortened/slightly altered it) from a wonderful manga called "Monster" by Naoki Urasawa (he also drew 20th Century Boys). Read it. It's awesome!
Also, prepare for what has the potential to be one of the most awkward dates in history.
---------
"A long, long time ago in a land far away, there was a monster without a name. It wanted a name so badly it finally decided to search for one.
But the world was so large that it split into two to make its journey.
One half went to the west and the other went towards the east.
The monster who went to the east found a village.
At the entrance of the village there was a blacksmith. "Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name," said the monster. "You can't give away your name," the blacksmith replied.
"If you give me your name, I'll enter you and give you strength."
"Really? If you can make me stronger, then I'll give you my name."
The monster entered the blacksmith and became Otto, the strongest man in the village. But one day he said, "Look at me. Look at me. Look at how large the monster inside me has become."
Crunch Crunch! Munch Munch! Chomp Chomp! Gulp!
The hungry monster ate Otto from the inside out and returned to being a nameless monster.
So it continued traveling until it reached a castle in which it found a sick boy. "If you give me your name, I'll give you strength."
"If you can cure this illness and make me strong, I'll give you my name." The monster entered the boy. The boy became well. The king was so pleased!
"The prince is well! The prince is well!"
The monster liked the boy's name. He also liked living in the castle. So even though he was hungry, he endured. Every day his stomach growled, but he endured it. However, he was so hungry that one day he said, "Look at me. Look at me. Look at how large the monster inside me has become." The boy ate the king and even his servants.
Crunch Crunch! Munch Munch! Chomp Chomp! Gulp!
Being alone yet again the monster, who was now a boy, continued his journey until he met his other half.
"I have a name. It's a wonderful name, too."
The monster who went to the west said, "I don't need a name. I'm happy even without a name." We just have to accept that we are monsters without a name. But the boy shook his head and ate the monster who went to the west.
The monster finally had a name, but all the people who could call him by that name had disappeared. And Johan was such a wonderful name, too."
With a pensive expression on her face Santana slowly closed the book and turned it in her hands to look at its cover.
"Monster without a name"
What an awful gift to a child, she thought. What had her dad been thinking?
And what an awful prospect for her. Was this the rest of her life?
---------
Just another awesome day. Tess had invited Kay over for tea- time. She always had a thing for old- fashioned stuff like that. Plus: Who would ever say no to an at-home-date?
When she rang the doorbell and the blonde opened Kay was sure she blushed immediately. Hoping Tess hadn't seen it she glanced up, trying to seem as casual as possible. The smirk on Tess' face, though indicated her attempt had failed horribly.
Tess led her up to her room. Her parents were at some conference and apparently wouldn't be home for a couple of days and Kay couldn't help but feel relieved. Although she had come out to her aunt three years ago she still found the interaction with other people's parents (both dates and friends) challenging. If it was hard to find the right words in every day talk, finding out when and how to address her identity in a conversation with parents and be prepared for any kind of reaction was a topic worth at least a huge headache.
But without this hurdle in the way Kay at least managed to smile and not to break out into weird spasms or something like that.
There was just enough space for a double bed in one corner of the room, a black glass desk right beneath the window, a closet and a small beige couch that matched the dark laminate perfectly. The centre of the floor was covered by a small red carpet.
Tess closed the semi-see-through beige curtains and switched on the lights, just to dim them. It was cozy in here.
They sat down on Tess's couch, each of them holding a cup of hot mint tea.
"Did you ever get slushied?" The question had just popped out to break the silence.
Tess smiled. "Yes, I have. It was tough the first time. Very humiliating."
A couple of seconds passed and Kay realized she hadn't said anything. She had been busy admiring Tess's beautiful face instead.
"Why would they do that to you? You don't seem… "
The rest of the words got stuck in Kay's throat. She couldn't just give herself away by complimenting the other girl. The blonde looked at her with a certain level of expectation, but Kay could only shrug slowly while her eyes were staring a hole into the floor.
"…you know…"
Thankfully the blonde got the message and answered: "It's not really about who you are, you know. These guys bully everyone except for the football team and the Cheerios. Although the latter don't exist anymore. They just want to show everyone they are on top. Therefore everyone else gets the crap."
"That's just stupid." Kay examined her cup of tea. It smelled nice.
"Yea it is."
Kay felt Tess's eyes constantly on her. Concentrating on the scent of mint that filled her nose was all she could do not to blush. Not again.
"I can sing, too, you know." Tess had giggled this and Kay felt embarrassed for not asking anything personal about her.
"You do? How come you're not in Glee?"
The other girl shook her head. "I'm not into competition. Kevin and I have founded a co-ed a cappella group. We perform on events and even make some money nowadays. We have a wicked soprano."
Kay was amazed. Out of all instruments there were she loved the human voice the most. When used correctly it could sound like pretty much everything else as if the whole universe was secretly stored within our bodies and unleashed through song. Her face lit up. "I would love to hear you sing someday."
"I would love for you to come see us rehearse sometime." Tess lowered her voice as she said this.
Kay was still wondering why Tess's expression had changed, too and why her heart wouldn't quit racing when the blonde girl put her cup aside, bit her lip and leaned forward to steal a kiss. It was hardly more than a small nibble. Their lips touched just long enough to make Kay melt.
"I thought you were wondering." Tess had barely pulled back from the kiss and kept staring at Kay's lips.
"I'm always wondering about something." That was definitely the most stupid thing Kay could have come up with, but, there, she said it. And with a gasp as a cherry on top of her humiliation.
The blonde smirked. "Figured."
Kay had just enough time to put her cup aside before Tess leaned over again, now pressing her whole body against the slightly smaller girl.
She could feel Tess' physical strength beneath her fingertips, but also against her chest and hips and felt weak and safe at the same time. It was surprisingly easy to just let go.
Their second kiss was slow and lingering. The other girl's lips tasted a little like mint and a little like nothing else Kay had ever tasted. They tasted like Tess.
Her tongue felt soft on her own and made Kay want more. Although the blonde had proven to be cheeky by going in for a kiss so quickly and without prelude, she now seemed surprisingly shy. She had asked permission to deepen the kiss by only slightly using the tip of her tongue, just to back off again and let Kay take charge. Her hands rested on Kay's hips, not showing any intention of touching anything without invitation.
She made a noise that was more than a sigh and less than a moan and Kay's heart responded with a back flip. Tess was so sweet, so gentle. When the blonde finally pulled away their lips were slightly swollen and both girls had a natural blush on their cheeks. Nothing to be embarrassed about anymore, though.
"I thought you were wondering if you could kiss me." Tess continued, her hands still resting on Kay's hips. It took a while before the brunette realized that it was a continuation, though.
"Right." She paused. "I was wondering about that."
She gazed at her own fingers which remained on Tess' waist as well. Her eyes drew an invisible line from her fingertips, down Tess' slim sides, back up her muscular yet dainty arms to her face. They smiled at each other with a mixture of shyness and endorsement.
Their tea had become cold in the meantime, but Kay didn't feel like flushing away this sweet taste on her lips with mint anyhow. She bend forward into a hug.
"Figured." Tess smirked once again.
---------
That hadn't gone the way Brittany had planned it. She loved Santana. She didn't want to hurt her the way she obviously had. She wanted her best friend back. It was all so unfair. Why couldn't Santana just have confessed her love back when they were both single? It would have been a lot easier then. Instead Brittany found herself trapped between two people she didn't want to live without. And on top of that she was now covered in soil.
I can see him dying
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Everytime I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be a murderer
She stuck her tongue out and tasted the corner of her mouth. Yep, definitely soil.
Was she singing about Artie?
Santana and she had been hooking up on a regular basis. That was before Santana's love confession, but after Artie and Brittany had started dating. She kept telling herself that it wasn't cheating, because it wasn't another guy she'd been making out with. But if that was true, then why couldn't she bring herself to tell her boyfriend about it? If it wasn't cheating she had nothing to worry about. She couldn't tell him about Santana's confession, though. That would just be mean considering the Latina had never poured her heart out to anyone before.
Santana.
Maybe the song wasn't about Artie at all. Being with Artie made her happy. No one before him had ever expressed they really wanted to be with her. No one had ever wanted anything more than just sex. Even Santana had always insisted on them being just a fling to kill time. Of course, now they both knew better. Everything was different. Everything sucked.
Thinking about it, Brittany wasn't really sure whether she was cheating on Artie with Santana or whether she had been cheating on Santana with Artie. Why couldn't people just quit fucking with brains?
Emotions had always been simple to Brittany. You had them, you felt them, you lived them. No formulas, no vocabulary, no analysis. Emotions were nothing more than just that. They were there and they were good.
That had now changed as well. Thanks to Santana and her love confession. Being loved by two people at the same time was slightly more difficult than being loved by no one. Somehow it was even lonelier.
Who was she murdering? Artie? Santana?
No. This crime she was commiting to herself. If heart attacks were from loving too much, then Brittany was definitely going to die soon.
Her first decision was therefore to write a testament. Just in case.
Her second decision was to make a decision.