nothing rhymes with 'circus'. chapter 1.
Title: Nothing Rhymes with Circus. Chapter 1.
Author: xonthefloor
Pairing: Dave Karofsky/Kurt Hummel.
Rating: PG for this chapter.
Warnings: None.
Beta: Ella!
Word Count: 8ooo this chapter.
Genre: Supernatural/Superpowers/Romance/Angst/Drama.
Disclaimer: Pfht, if I owned Glee, Blaine wouldn't be on it.
Summary: Dave is just a humble young man whose only expectation from life is having somewhere to sleep at night. Everything changes when he's invited to join a very unique travelling circus where he'll meet a group of very peculiar people, discovering that he's not what you could call a regular guy.
A/N: This is a complete AU and time fic, that takes place in the late 30s. I’m trying to be as accurate as I can with things the way they were back then, but I apologize if something is not exactly the way it was back in the late 30s. Also, you'll notice that this is unbetaed, so I apologize in advance. English is not my first language. Any offers? I have to warn that the later chapters are quite long, since I can't never manage to write short chapters.
Chapter 1
Dave taps his foot in time to the rhythm of the swing music. The radio is playing Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing and Dave loves that song.
Working at the gas station may be boring as hell, but he can't complain much. It's the first job he's ever kept for more than three months. He usually doesn't last over two weeks, either because stores file for bankruptcy, firing everyone, or because Dave talks back to his bosses. This is definitely not the best job in the world, but it's better than having to get up early to see if he can pick up some construction work or some other temporary day job, or being completely unemployed like so many people are these days.
His boss is a greasy bastard who's never around, but it's not that bad since for the first time in ages, Dave doesn't have to sleep in his truck. So far Mr. Cameron hasn't noticed that Dave is sleeping in the store, on some blankets behind the bar. Dave thinks he'll be able to keep doing that, mostly because his boss will never consider getting up that early in the morning just to pick up the gas station's meager profits.
Dave has hardly any money, so he eats and drinks what the store sells. He actually drinks more than he eats; most of the food and snacks that the store sells have expired long ago. But it's not like Dave has anywhere else to go at night, and the station is several miles away from the nearest town. It's pointless to waste gas to go somewhere to buy something he can get from this store. So that's what he uses his small salary for - pouring money back into the store he manages and sleeps in, because he pays for everything he eats and drinks. The radio is his only companion, since he doesn't really get to talk to anyone.
It doesn't matter, really; life has taught Dave not to ask for much.
Trying to kill the time until closing, Dave grabs the broom, sweeping the dust on the floor into a small pile, then out the door. In spite of its ruined look, the place is clean, since Dave often sweeps, mops and dusts in order to pass the time. Nothing exciting tends to happen at a gas station with hardly any customers located in the middle of a deserted road that connects two incredibly boring towns. The most exciting thing that happened to Dave since he started working here was yesterday when the the owner of a circus dropped by; well, that and the day he found a nest of spiders behind the ice box. Scary, but definitely something Dave hadn't seen before.
William Schuester seemed strangely normal for someone working at a circus, but Dave supposes he isn't one to judge. And the circus owner broke the store's four day streak going without a single customer; Dave should be celebrating.
Sing, Sing, Sing ends and is followed by some song by Fletcher Henderson that Dave can't remember the name of. The sound of a car approaching interrupts his thoughts and Dave walks outside hoping for a customer. He sticks his hands inside the pockets of his trousers; grinning to himself he sees that the car is slowing down as it gets close to the station.
Definitely a customer.
Second later, Dave realizes that it's not just a customer. He spots William Schuester driving a dirty but well cared for Chevrolet 36' Master Deluxe. Owning a circus must have its benefits if he can afford a car that has only been on the market for two years. Dave nods to himself at that thought. It's impressive how much he has learned about cars within the past few months, considering how few customers he got. He blames the car magazines Mr. Cameron had in the store. Before that, the most Dave knew was how to tell the obvious differences between a car and a truck.
Dave can't help noticing as the car draws closer that Schuester is not alone. Sitting in the passenger seat is the same girl who acted so strangely the previous day. Dave assumes Schuester is going to buy some gas. Otherwise, he would have come on his own to tow his truck.
The dusty black car parks in front of the station, and Schuester and the girl get out. Schuester looks just like he did yesterday and while Dave can't remember what the girl was wearing the day before, he notices that today she has her hair fixed in perfect curls. She's also wearing a black hat and white gloves, and a nice looking blue dress that goes to her knees. She's holding a small purse. Very expensive looking considering she's a girl who works in a circus. If Dave didn't know she’s part of a circus, he would think she's just a girl from a big city. The girl smiles strangely at him as they approach, and Dave frowns to himself, but decides not to pay any attention to her weirdness.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Schuester." Dave says politely. He's not the most educated guy in the world, but he does know how to show respect and greet people properly.
The other man smiles. "Please, call me William or Will. I see my truck is here safe and sound."
Dave nods. "Yup, just like I told you it would be." He catches the girl giving William a knowing smile at which Dave grows puzzled. This girl is really weird.
"Hi! My name is Rachel Berry," she introduces herself, extending her hand to him. Dave frowns slightly, but shakes her hand.
"David Karofsky."
"We met yesterday but I didn't have time to introduce myself, I'm sorry."
"It’s fine," Dave mumbles. Considering how strangely she was acting yesterday, she likely forgot to introduce herself, but Dave forces himself to not ask any questions. After all, they are strangers to him, and you don't usually ask people questions if you don't know them.
"So you're filling your tank?" Dave inquires.
"Yes. That's right," William replies with a kind smile in his face.
Dave nods, and goes back inside the store to look for a gas can, since they won't be able to park William's truck near to the pumps. He picks up the first one he finds, and when he walks outside, William and Rachel seem to be having a suspicious conversation. Or at least Dave thinks so, since they are talking in whispers and they shut their mouths as soon as they see him coming back. They're suddenly smiling widely.
"I'll fill this up," Dave says cautiously.
He doesn't believe they are going to rob him or something, but they're definitely acting odd. Dave starts filling the gas can and no one says a word, even though William and Rachel are still smiling at him like they want to say something.
Dave doesn't ask, though. He finishes filling the can and then walks over to William's truck and fills the tank.
"So David… do you like working in here?" Rachel asks, out of nowhere.
It's a weird question to ask, or at least Dave thinks so, since they hardly know each other, but it's a conversation at least. "I've worked in worst places. Could be better, but I'm not complaining. I could have no job at all."
He turns around, and catches Rachel nudging William. "See, I was talking with the guys from the circus, and we kind of need some extra help."
Dave quirks an eyebrow, slightly interested. Are they actually offering him a job in the circus?
"Is that so?" Dave asks.
"We all tend to pitch in," Rachel says. "Putting up the tent and carrying stuff around. It's hard work, but there are enough of us to get it done. But we could seriously use an extra pair of hands. This seems like quite a lonely job, but in the circus you'd have plenty of people around, and probably have more fun."
Dave processes her words in his head. He has never been a people person, having himself a more reticent nature. But after working three months at this station, he's started missing human interaction. He's not sure how many people work in William's circus, but Dave saw quite a few trailers parked in their camp.
It didn't seem to be much fun, probably because they weren't performing or doing anything out of ordinary, but it could definitely be better than spending his days all alone in the station.
For starters, there are people.
"We couldn't pay much," William says, chuckling a bit. "As you could see yesterday, we don't really have much money. We spend most of it to run the circus: feeding everyone, buying gas for all of our cars. We even have a tiger to feed." Dave raises his eyebrows. Working close to a tiger sounds like something that can never get boring. "We do pay, though," William continues, "even if it's only a little. But we can offer a place to stay every night. Your own trailer, although it's pretty small, almost like a traveling room. Food every day, traveling all around the country, new friends…"
Dave finds himself actually considering it as William's voice trails off. William and Rachel don't look like they are conning him. And the offer doesn't sound bad at all. He already gets almost no money from his current job, and it all goes to pay for his food and for a place to sleep at night, albeit secretly. William spoke of the trailer like it was something unappealing but Dave has been sleeping in his truck ever since when he won it in a bet a couple of years ago. Now he sleeps in the store. Neither is a comfortable place, considering he's too big to lay down in car and the floor of the store is too damn hard.
A trailer of his own would definitely be the closest thing to a proper room that he's had in a very long time.
He also wouldn't go days without seeing another soul, plus there's the traveling to consider. Dave has never stuck around one place for long, going from town to town to get a job and then moving on, so this actually sounded appealing.
"So I'd be like, the handyman or something?"
William tilts his head. "You could say so. Later you may have the chance to perform if you want. We usually end up doing that. Even if people don't have any apparent talents, if they're interested we always find a place for them in our acts. It usually just takes time to get used to performing in front of an audience."
Dave has never considered being in a show; he doesn't like being the center of attention. But William said that he'd be in the show if he wants to perform, so he won't necessarily have to do it.
And Dave has worked as a handyman lots of times, since he's quite big and strong. Being a handyman for a circus, or even fetching food for the tiger, can't be any worse than the construction jobs he's had over the years.
"If you can and want to, of course," Rachel points out. "We don't want to get you in trouble with your boss."
"Pfft, I doubt he'll even notice I'm gone until next week. I could leave a note or something," Dave says. "He'll just be mad about having to hire someone new. Or working himself. The guy is unbelievably lazy."
"That means you'll join us?" William asks hopefully.
"Yeah, I think I'll do it," Dave says, nodding, and he's surprised to realize that he feels almost happy for the first time in a long time.
Rachel claps her hands together, squealing, and Dave stares at her. Do they make this much fuss every time they get a new handyman? If so, they probably need help very badly…
"You're tank is filled," Dave announces. "When do you want me at the campsite?"
"Oh, whenever it's best for you. We don't want to cause any problems for you," William replies. "If you have to let your family know you're leaving or if you need to go to your place to pick your stuff. You might need to make some kind of arrangement with your landlord. We're heading to Aurora tomorrow, and-"
"I don't have to do that much," Dave cuts him off. The sooner he can abandon this depressing job to join the circus, the better. "I have no family to inform, and no place to stay, therefore I have no landlord, either. I actually sleep in the store. All my stuff is in my truck."
Rachel and William's enthusiastic faces fall, and Dave doesn't know if they suddenly distrust him or pity him. Hopefully his orphan/homeless state won't mean losing of his brand new job.
"Well, I guess that means you could join us today or tomorrow?" Rachel asks, smiling again and trying to break the tension.
Dave shrugs. "If it's not a problem for you. I only have to leave a note to my boss and close the store, since all my belongings are in the truck. If Mr. Cameron gets mad at me, it's not like he'll be able to find me to yell at me."
William grins. "That's sooner than I expected, but it's fine because I was hoping you could join us as soon as possible. Rachel, why don't you go ahead and tell the guys I'm coming back with a new member?"
Rachel's eyes go wide but then she nods knowingly. "I'd better do that. You won't regret this, David. Our circus is actually the best place in the world for people like us."
Dave frowns in confusion. 'People like us?' He doesn't even have time to ask what she means since she's already turning on her heels and getting into her car.
"I'll go to grab my stuff."
"Oh, here's the money of the gas," William hands him the money. Dave takes it and goes back to the store.
He doesn't have much inside, since he didn't want to leave any hint for Mr. Cameron that he's been living in there. The greasy bastard would have probably made him pay rent if he found out. So Dave gets a paper and a pen, and writes a simple note: 'I quit. The money is in the cash register.'
He puts the money Will gave him into the register, along with the rest of the store's meager profits. Then he grabs his blankets and his jacket. Lastly, he collects the chain and lock on his way out. William's still waiting for him, standing by the side of his truck. Dave puts all his stuff in the back of his truck, and then he closes the store.
"That's it?"
Dave nods. "That's it."
"You follow my truck. Once we're there, I'll introduce you to everyone and we should probably talk about your arrangements. Is that alright?"
"That sounds good to me."
William gets in his truck, and Dave pulls out of the parking lot behind him, heading back to the camp site. It's been a long time since he felt excited about something. He hasn't had the easiest life, and he's gotten very used to not expecting good things to happen to him. Dave's version of 'luck' pretty much amounted to someone mistaking him for an old drinking buddy and buying him a beer, or getting lucky with a random girl at some bar. Or, if he is really, really lucky, he may even get to hook up with a guy. Unfortunately, his job at the isolated gas station has kind of dampened his social life as of late.
But this actually sounds really promising.
Dave smiles to himself as he drives behind William's truck, marveling slightly at the unusual anxiousness he feels. He's always going from one place to the other, never having time to bond with anyone or make friends, and here he's about to be introduced to a bunch of people he's going to see every day. He hasn't had real friends since he escaped from the orphanage six years ago. The people he's going to meet are going to be his friends? Dave can't even remember what having friends feels like, and he can't help being a little uneasy. What if he's lost his ability to be a social person? But this could be good. They are circus people, so Dave assumes they're fun. Circus people are supposed to embrace bizarre and weird things, since they have such peculiar lives. They should be open to everything, so surely a socially awkward guy is not the worst thing they are going to see.
Yet he grows even more anxious when they finally arrive to the camp. It's sometime in the afternoon, the sun is shining above and Dave spots a group of people gathered in the middle of the circle that the parked trailers form. He also notices two trailers that are located far away from the rest. Dave wonders what they keep in there. Probably something weird, since this is a circus; maybe snakes for an act, or some deformed guy.
William parks his truck and Dave does the same. They get out from their respective vehicles and William motions him to follow and they end up in front of the circus people. Although they are wearing what seem to be worn out costumes from old shows, they all look young like him and pretty much normal, not at all like freaks or gypsies; Dave notices one guy is in a wheelchair but that's not something particularly odd. But how does just a small group of people put up a whole circus?
"There's not that many of you," Dave blurts out. "Is it a small circus? Or are there others but not everyone is here right now."
William laughs and a few people smile.
"Well, we're not Moscow Circus. This is actually all of us and our shows are not huge. But we have our own ways of getting everything done," a tall guy tells him in a good humored voice. "Well, except Kurt. He's… resting right now. You'd be our fifteenth member. I'm Finn, by the way," the guy introduces himself, extending his hand for Dave to shake.
"Guys, this is David Karofsky. The newest member of New Directions," William tells them all. Dave shakes hands with everyone, learning names that he will no doubt take some time to really remember. Some of the members look a bit wary of him, like he was the freak, even if they are the ones who work in a circus. But luckily most simply give him kind smiles. Overall they act nicely toward him, so Dave is quite pleased with how things are going so far.
"Care to join me in my trailer, David? There are a few things we should discuss first and then if everything goes well, we'll give you your trailer and everything you need to settle down."
"Alright."
"Follow me," William says and then he turns around, addressing the circus guys. "Remember, be careful from now on."
Dave frowns at William's words, but everyone is nodding. William invites him into his trailer and when Dave climbs the steps, he sees there is a bed to one side, also a small table with two chairs, a counter, a couple of trunks and lots of books, papers and stuff scattered here and there.
"Sorry about the mess," William says. "Please, have a sit."
"Nothing is wrong, I hope?" Dave asks, growing a bit worried but sitting at the table.
"Oh, not at all. It's just... there are a few things you should know about us," William says, sitting down across from him. "Nothing bad, just a few things we need to go over for you to feel comfortable around us. Just a few rules of coexistence, you might say."
"Alright."
"So the first part is the easiest. You're joining a very good group of people," William starts. "We travel all around the country, and we spend most of our time together, so we pretty much consider ourselves a family."
"That's good," Dave says, really meaning it. They did indeed look like a nice group of people.
William smiles. "We're also very supportive of one another. When I first thought about pulling this circus together, my intention was mostly to give these special kids a place where they can feel safe. Where they can feel comfortable with whom they are."
Dave narrows his eyes, trying to figure out this part. "Who they are… do you mean young people?"
The older man snorts, like he's amused. "The first part is always the easiest," he repeats. "Well, as I'm sure you noticed, Mercedes is black, for example. Or Tina and Mike, they are Asians. Artie is in a wheelchair."
"Yes, I noticed," Dave replies warily. Is William asking him what he thinks about black people? Or the handicapped, or immigrants?
"It's easier to start with the things you can see right away," William says softly; Dave frowns, feeling like he wasn't supposed to hear that last part. "We're all equals. We don't judge anyone."
"I don't, either," Dave states solemnly. He's not someone who thinks black people should only be servants, and he hates segregation, like the way blacks can't use the same stupid door as whites at a movie theater or drink from the same water fountain. It's ridiculous and degrading. Dave doesn't have a problem with people who are disabled, either, and even less with immigrants considered that his parents were Russians. People should mind in their own business and let others be.
William nods quietly. "So you won't mind that Mercedes is Sam's girlfriend."
"Um… sorry, I can't remember who Sam is."
"The blond guy? He's our only blond male member."
Dave snaps his eyes open in surprise, and then he snorts, amused. William suddenly looks defensive, but Dave hurries to say: "I'm sorry. It's not that I have a problem with that, it's just that a black girl dating the blondest guy on earth is not something you get to see every day."
William sighs, like he's relieved. "Exactly my point; outside this circus, they wouldn't be allowed to be together. But among us-"
"Hey, I think it's great," Dave assures to him. "They should be able to be with whomever they want. They aren't harming anyone." Dave starts feeling luckier. People who have the ability to accept something like this Mercedes girl and this Sam guy dating are really unique; these circus people are really amazing.
William shows a wide smile. "I'm really glad you think that way, Dave. I wish more people were as understanding as you."
"Man, I wish there were more people like you all."
"Indeed. Now, we need to get back to us and our… accepting nature. Once again, I'm telling you this so you'll be comfortable around us, and my kids will be comfortable with you."
Dave nods. "It's alright. If I didn't know and I caught Sam and Mercedes, I don't know, kissing, I would probably shown some surprise. And I'd be just surprised, not upset or… disgusted or something, but it might make them uncomfortable. So I'm glad you're telling me this. This way I won't offend anyone."
"Exactly, but there's another thing," William says quietly. "We also don't judge anyone by their sexual orientation."
Dave's eyes light up. It's hard for him to consider himself a “queer.” He finds women somewhat attractive and he has slept with a few. Yet, even if he doesn't like to admit it, if he's with a women, it's mostly because getting to be with men is not that easy. Honestly speaking, he usually finds men loads more attractive than women and he desires them more. The sex is better, too. But that's not something you can let people know.
"That's really great. So you have homosexual couples as well?" Dave asks, unable to conceal his grin.
William laughs once again, sounding relieved at Dave's acceptance. "Currently, we have just one; Santana and Brittany have been together forever. We had a couple of boys, but one of them has left the circus."
Dave nods. "That's really good. I mean, not that they had to split but that you accept them," he corrects himself. “This circus is really something.”
"There's something else you should know.” But after that, William looks like he's having trouble figuring out how to phrase what he's about to say next. “I've done this plenty of times, and every time it's as awkward as the last."
"Recruiting people?"
"You could say so, yes."
Dave snorts. "There's nothing you could say that could upset me. I mean, I've just found out that you all accept interracial couples and homosexuals. Seriously, I think at this point nothing could surprise me."
William scratches the back of his neck uneasily. "Actually, I think this could surprise you. See, there's something that you probably don't know, but in this world there are what I call… special people."
Dave nods, not really knowing what that means. "Circus people?"
"Special. There are some people who have… certain extraordinary abilities."
Dave narrows his eyes. "Circus people?" He asks again. "Not everyone can spit fire, right?"
William laughs "I guess not. But not everyone can create fire out of nowhere in order to spit it. In a regular circus, a very well-trained guy takes a mouthful of gasoline and spits it against a torch. Our fire guy can actually create fire out of nowhere. We still use the torch in order to conceal the fact that he manipulates fire."
Dave's definitely not following this guy. "I'm sorry, what?"
William fidgets in place. "In this circus, all the people you've just met have special talents, Dave. And you have one as well. You probably don't even know you have it, but you do."
Dave snorts. "Me? A talent?" he asks skeptically.
"Yes, Dave. For example our tiger tamer, Brittany, she can communicate with animals. That's why she can stick her head inside the tiger's mouth. She asks and Lily lets her to do it. Our strong man, Noah, he actually has super strength and could lift this trailer without trying. Mercedes can breathe under water, so she has an escape artist act. She gets a little help of Artie, our magician who can move things with his mind. She gets chained down inside a tank full of water. While she breathes under the water, Artie unlocks her from her chains."
Dave gives William a long glare, processing all the things the older man just said. Girls who talk to animals and breathe under water? Super strong men and people who can move things with their minds? Dave bursts out laughing.
"Are you playing with me? Or are you simply insane? Man, I don't know if I still want to work here," Dave says, actually meaning it.
Sure, they have to be crazy - accepting homosexuals, blacks, handicapped people and immigrants, to work and live all together as equals. That doesn't happen anywhere. Dave wishes there was more people like them, but people who are not out of their minds. But he really doesn't want to be surrounded by crazy people; that leads to a lot of complications that Dave just doesn't need. What the hell did he just do? He quit a so-so job, but the best one he's had in years, to join a bunch of people who were out of their minds? Dave should have known better. Good things just never happen to him. It sounded amazing at first, so of course there had to be something bad about the whole thing.
"Maybe it's better if I showed it to you?"
Dave doesn't know if he should trust in this guy's judgment anymore, but he nods, not knowing what else to say or do. He should get in his truck and drive back to the station before Mr. Cameron sees his note. Knowing his luck, Dave wouldn't be surprised if his boss decided to drop by the station twice in the same week, at the very moment Dave decided to quit.
William gets up. "Follow me outside."
Dave does, and he notices that there are a lot of people between him and his truck. Almost all the people he just met are standing together in the middle of the circle of trailers, talking to each other. Dave won't be able to get to his truck if he runs towards it without someone trying to stop him.
"Santana!" William calls out. "Can you come with us?"
The brunette girl nods in the distance and then after a few steps she blinks, shaking her head in disbelief like she's suddenly upset, but she continues walking towards them anyway. She glares at Dave and Dave glares back. What's with the attitude! She was smiling just moments ago when they were introduced to each other!
"Yes?" the girl asks flatly.
"I think we should show David what we can do. He's a little... skeptical and we can't blame him, right?"
She crosses her arms over her chest. "And how are we supposed to do that?" She inquires, almost
snapping.
"I have an idea. Come with us," William says, walking away from the trailers.
"Lord, I hate walking, Will," the girl tells him, annoyed.
Dave and Santana glare at each other one last time, and follow William deep into the field. Then William stops and speaks to her: "You keep on walking forwards and try to vanish. Eventually, when you're far enough away from us, you'll be able to do that. Then reappear somewhere near so David can see you. "
"What?" Dave asks, because this is getting really ridiculous.
Yet the girl, Santana, starts walking away from them, deeper into the field. Dave really thinks this whole thing is crazy and ridiculous, but keeps his eyes fixed on the brunette girl. He is actually staring straight at her when she suddenly vanishes in front of his eyes and reappears a few feet away from where she was just standing.
"What the hell?" Dave asks, blinking rapidly.
Did he just see what he thinks he saw? He's definitely not drunk, and he always considered himself a sane person, but that girl just disappeared and appeared right in front of his eyes!
"Do it again, Santana!" William calls loudly, since the girl is quite a ways away from them.
Dave gapes as Santana appears and disappears over and over, each time just a couple of feet from the place she was standing before. This cannot be real. Maybe some kind of poisonous spider bit him and he's hallucinating in the solitude of the gas station. People cannot disappear like that. Eventually, Santana stops disappearing and starts walking back towards them with a pleased grin on her face.
"Was that proof enough for you, Karofsky?" She asks defiantly and Dave can't even form a coherent thought.
"Santana, don't be mean to David. It's not his fault and you know it," William says to her with a slightly stern tone of voice.
"Did you just disappear for real?" Dave mumbles. "What's the trick? There is one, right?"
Santana just laughs and shakes her head like she pities him, while William only grins. "No trick, big boy. Can I go back to the guys? We were about to play cards."
"Sure. Thank you, Santana," William tells her as she goes back toward the trailers.
Dave turns around to face William, expecting to get some explanations.
"They're all special like her, Dave. Her ability or gift, as we also call it, is to disappear from where she is, and reappear at some other place she can picture in her mind. It's usually somewhere she can either see, or a place she's been to or previously saw."
Dave's still consternated. "That makes no sense."
William chuckles. "You've just seen it. I'm aware it could be a little surprising-"
"A little?"
"I can't really show you all the things my kids can do. Santana's handy, since you can actually see her in the distance. If I used Finn, you might assume he had some way to make fire hidden in his clothes. Sam would have been the best, if it wasn't day time. He's not allowed to fly unless it's night; otherwise someone could see him."
Dave exhales abruptly. "He flies? People don't fly."
"Not regular people. But special people…"
Dave tries to put his thoughts in order. He massages his temple with the tip of his fingers, wondering if he suddenly went insane or something. He was just an average and ordinary guy with a pretty lousy life. He's not really ready to cope with something like this, presuming this is even happening for real.
"If you feel up to it, we can walk away from the trailers a bit. I could ask Noah to lift something really heavy, or maybe Artie could move some stuff in the air-"
"Why do we have to walk away?" Dave suddenly blurts out, out of nowhere. He's not even sure why he's asking this but it's the first thing that comes out of his mouth, instead of 'Has the world gone crazy?'
William presses his lips together in a tight smile. "You have a pretty impressive ability, Dave. Santana had to walk quite a long distance from you to be able to disappear. We should take more accurate measures before making any accommodations, if you decide to stay with us."
Dave blinks. "Ability? I have no abilities," he states. He would have noticed if he could fly or something, for Christ's sake!
William sighs, offering him a sympathetic smile. "You cancel other people's abilities. Well, we call it 'cancel.' Once I talked with someone who heard about people with abilities like yours, and she called it 'power negation.'"
"I do what? People like me? I'm just a damn homeless orphan who works at a gas station," Dave spits out, growing nervous. What the hell is going on? His life had flipped over within less than an hour!
"You're special like us, David. And when you're around people like us, we can't use our special abilities."
Dave crosses his arms on his chest. "Alright, what can you do then? Or better yet, what is it you can't do since I'm around."
William smiles again, patiently. At least the guy is not getting angry at Dave's skepticism. "I can persuade people. Mind control, to be more accurate. There are a few… different ways to do it. I haven't met other people who can do what I do, but I have heard about them. Some of them can make you do something only by… putting that thought in your head. Others need to say out loud what they want you to do. In my case, I have tactile mind control ability. If you couldn't do… what you can do, I would only have to touch you; placing my hand in your arm or back or shoulder and tell you to… I don't know, run a mile none stop, and you would. You'd do whatever I asked you to do, immediately and without question."
Dave's about to tell William to go hell, until he remembers what happened yesterday afternoon. He did find very odd when William approached him out of nowhere, held his arm and told him to give him his Coke with a gloomy tone of voice. You're not that touchy with strangers; it's just weird. But then Dave thinks about how broke and thirsty William was… He actually ordered him to give him a drink and free gas, and Dave refused to do it. Well, he later felt bad for William and gave him the drink.
"Yesterday…" Dave starts, slowly. "Yesterday you… tried to persuade me for the Coke and some gas?"
William smiles, apologetically. "I apologize for that. I try to never take advantage of people, unless it's really necessary. But I did try to persuade you yesterday, and it didn't work. At first, I thought something was wrong with me, until you drove me here. Rachel and Noah approached us, and Rachel couldn't read your mind-"
"She reads people's minds?"
"She does. Not yours, though. She almost had a fit when she realized she couldn't read you, and Noah had to make a little effort to lift Rachel in the air. But then you drove away, and our abilities were back."
Dave's head starts spinning. Is this happening for real? As farfetched as it sounds, it seems to be real. Santana did disappear in front of his eyes, and what William's telling him, along with what happened yesterday, including Rachel's weird behavior, makes sense in some sort of very strange way, but this is quite a bizarre situation so…
Dave's head clears a bit, the spinning lessening. Instead, he feels incredibly sad. He has an extraordinary gift, as William called it; he lived with something like this for all his life and he never knew? His parents sent him away to some aunts when he was six giving no explanation. He went to an orphanage when his aunts died when he was nine. Ever since then, his life has been erratic; he grew up alone, without anything or anyone. Yet, for some reason, this is the first time in his life that he actually feels vulnerable.
Sure, he has no family, no home or money, but he knows all that, so he's always done what he could with the little he has. Yet, apparently there's a part of him he never knew was there…What does it mean? What does he do now, how does he cope with missing out on all the things he never tried to do because he never knew there was something special about him? William places his hand on Dave's shoulder, squeezing it and Dave looks up. For a second, he had forgotten that William was still there.
"I know this can be shocking, David. But everything is alright."
Dave snorts lamely. "Alright!? You call this alright? I don't know who I am anymore! And this... this is not normal! I can't be fine with seeing someone disappear in front of my eyes, or knowing that the girl I just met reads people's minds!"
"You're the same person you've always been. This is overwhelming, I understand. Most of the guys you've met have had a hard time to cope with this," William tells him quietly. "And that's actually the reason I run this circus, David. In here, no one will ever make any of you feel that you're a freak, or an outcast. You'll be with people who are just like you; you'll be able to relate to them and they'll relate to you."
Dave suddenly feels tired and drained. This is way too confusing. "But you say I make you all lose your abilities? Why would you want me here? Everyone is going to hate me," he realizes. If he can do what William tells him he can do, then he's going to mess with everyone in here…
"I've already talked to them," William says, showing yet another smile. "I hope that after this, you still want to stay with us. We can make some arrangements at first so no one is in danger."
"Oh, that's great. I'm also dangerous," Dave snorts, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It is dangerous, Dave. Imagine that Sam is flying in the air, and you go near to him. He won't be able to keep on flying; he'd fall to the ground and break his neck."
"I have to go. You can all forget about me," Dave says; he's so done with this. He starts walking away in the direction to his truck.
He can hear William following him. The most of the circus people are sitting at a table in the middle of the circle that the trailers create, playing cards. They all look up as he walks by, sending him quizzical and even worried glances. Dave does his best to ignore them, speeding up towards his truck.
"Hey, man," Finn calls out, standing up. "Where you going?"
Dave keeps on walking faster, but then he looks back over his shoulder, and sees that they are all standing up to come after him.
Shit.
"Just stay away from me!" Dave snaps at them all, turning around to face them. "Can't you see I could get you all killed?"
Dear Lord, the last thing that Dave wants to have on his conscience is the death of some circus guy, just because he happened to be around. Dave doesn't think he has great expectations from life. He always wanted to become something better than he was; maybe have some more money or a steady job where he could feel good. Not have to worry about where he's going to sleep tomorrow or if he's going to have money to buy food next weekend.
Being someone with an apparent ability -Dave still refuses to believe this is actually real, he's expecting to wake up sometime soon after a bad hangover- when that ability could potentially get others killed is something that Dave doesn't want to be.
Being homeless implies a lot fewer complications.
"David, please wait!" Rachel shouts at him, sounding upset.
Actually, when Dave gets a better look, even Santana, who just gave him a nasty attitude, seems concerned. They all should be happy to see him leaving. Why are they all looking so… worried? Dave stops where he is, halfway between his truck and the circus people; they are all in front of him now. There's a small moment of silence, then Dave decides to break.
"Look, I get that you're all special or something. But if I'm supposedly special as well and if all I can do is make you all lose the ability to do your stuff, then I think it's better for you all if I take off. You don't have to worry, I'm not saying a word about it," Dave assures them. "I have no one to tell, and even if I did, no one would believe me."
"But we don't want you to leave," the guy in the wheel chair says.
Dave groans. "Don't you know what I can apparently do?"
"First of all, the 'apparently' is not necessary," Rachel says with a bossy tone of voice. "You do cancel our abilities, David. We already discussed this, all together last night, and we all agreed that we want to have you here, because no matter what your ability is, you're one of us."
"I put you all in danger," Dave growls out between gritted teeth.
William steps through an opening in the group, getting closer to Dave. "I believe we can help you master your ability, control it so you decide when and who to cancel."
"I don't even know how I do this! I didn't even know I could do this, or that people like you existed!"
"People like us. You're one of us. And all abilities can be mastered," Santana points out. "Believe me. Until that happens, we'll take precautions. We've all discussed this already. None of us has to get harmed, and you can still be with us."
"Just stay with us," a blond girl standing by Santana's side tells him. Dave can't recall her name. Bethany? Britney? Brittany? Yes, Brittany. Dave remembers William's words. She's Santana's girlfriend. "Rachel told us you have no family, or home. I wouldn't want you to be alone. That's sad. You could be with all of us. The circus is really fun."
Dave can see Rachel blushing, looking away, and he takes that as a sign that she regrets having a big mouth. Apparently everyone knows already that he's homeless, even though he only met them an hour ago.
Dave swallows hard. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
He really means it. They're good guys, and in this circus they had the luck to be surrounded by people who won't judge them; and they can be at peace with themselves and be with the ones they want to be with. You don't find a place like this often, and Dave doesn't want to put any of them at risk.
"No one will get hurt if we organize ourselves well," William assures him. "Please, stay with us. We're all very much aware of what you can do, and that hasn't stopped us from trying to recruit you, since we want to have you with us. I really think you belong here, David."
Belong.
That's such a foreign word to Dave. He belonged to a nice family that sent him away one day without explanation. When he got to believe he could belong to another family, his aunts, they died. You can't belong to an orphanage; even less when you grow up being transferred from institution to institution.
His sense of belonging is quite beaten down, but for some reason, these people want him to belong to them, even if they know the risks that entails. He can't really turn that down, so he nods slowly and the circus people smile and clap at him. Dave walks towards them and they even pat his back, offering kind words of welcoming. He still has a lot to ask, to understand and to accept, but right now there's a bunch of people who seems happy about his presence, so Dave guess that he'll have to ask and understand later, and accept whatever happens.
Author: xonthefloor
Pairing: Dave Karofsky/Kurt Hummel.
Rating: PG for this chapter.
Warnings: None.
Beta: Ella!
Word Count: 8ooo this chapter.
Genre: Supernatural/Superpowers/Romance/Angst/Drama.
Disclaimer: Pfht, if I owned Glee, Blaine wouldn't be on it.
Summary: Dave is just a humble young man whose only expectation from life is having somewhere to sleep at night. Everything changes when he's invited to join a very unique travelling circus where he'll meet a group of very peculiar people, discovering that he's not what you could call a regular guy.
A/N: This is a complete AU and time fic, that takes place in the late 30s. I’m trying to be as accurate as I can with things the way they were back then, but I apologize if something is not exactly the way it was back in the late 30s. Also, you'll notice that this is unbetaed, so I apologize in advance. English is not my first language. Any offers? I have to warn that the later chapters are quite long, since I can't never manage to write short chapters.
Chapter 1
Dave taps his foot in time to the rhythm of the swing music. The radio is playing Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing and Dave loves that song.
Working at the gas station may be boring as hell, but he can't complain much. It's the first job he's ever kept for more than three months. He usually doesn't last over two weeks, either because stores file for bankruptcy, firing everyone, or because Dave talks back to his bosses. This is definitely not the best job in the world, but it's better than having to get up early to see if he can pick up some construction work or some other temporary day job, or being completely unemployed like so many people are these days.
His boss is a greasy bastard who's never around, but it's not that bad since for the first time in ages, Dave doesn't have to sleep in his truck. So far Mr. Cameron hasn't noticed that Dave is sleeping in the store, on some blankets behind the bar. Dave thinks he'll be able to keep doing that, mostly because his boss will never consider getting up that early in the morning just to pick up the gas station's meager profits.
Dave has hardly any money, so he eats and drinks what the store sells. He actually drinks more than he eats; most of the food and snacks that the store sells have expired long ago. But it's not like Dave has anywhere else to go at night, and the station is several miles away from the nearest town. It's pointless to waste gas to go somewhere to buy something he can get from this store. So that's what he uses his small salary for - pouring money back into the store he manages and sleeps in, because he pays for everything he eats and drinks. The radio is his only companion, since he doesn't really get to talk to anyone.
It doesn't matter, really; life has taught Dave not to ask for much.
Trying to kill the time until closing, Dave grabs the broom, sweeping the dust on the floor into a small pile, then out the door. In spite of its ruined look, the place is clean, since Dave often sweeps, mops and dusts in order to pass the time. Nothing exciting tends to happen at a gas station with hardly any customers located in the middle of a deserted road that connects two incredibly boring towns. The most exciting thing that happened to Dave since he started working here was yesterday when the the owner of a circus dropped by; well, that and the day he found a nest of spiders behind the ice box. Scary, but definitely something Dave hadn't seen before.
William Schuester seemed strangely normal for someone working at a circus, but Dave supposes he isn't one to judge. And the circus owner broke the store's four day streak going without a single customer; Dave should be celebrating.
Sing, Sing, Sing ends and is followed by some song by Fletcher Henderson that Dave can't remember the name of. The sound of a car approaching interrupts his thoughts and Dave walks outside hoping for a customer. He sticks his hands inside the pockets of his trousers; grinning to himself he sees that the car is slowing down as it gets close to the station.
Definitely a customer.
Second later, Dave realizes that it's not just a customer. He spots William Schuester driving a dirty but well cared for Chevrolet 36' Master Deluxe. Owning a circus must have its benefits if he can afford a car that has only been on the market for two years. Dave nods to himself at that thought. It's impressive how much he has learned about cars within the past few months, considering how few customers he got. He blames the car magazines Mr. Cameron had in the store. Before that, the most Dave knew was how to tell the obvious differences between a car and a truck.
Dave can't help noticing as the car draws closer that Schuester is not alone. Sitting in the passenger seat is the same girl who acted so strangely the previous day. Dave assumes Schuester is going to buy some gas. Otherwise, he would have come on his own to tow his truck.
The dusty black car parks in front of the station, and Schuester and the girl get out. Schuester looks just like he did yesterday and while Dave can't remember what the girl was wearing the day before, he notices that today she has her hair fixed in perfect curls. She's also wearing a black hat and white gloves, and a nice looking blue dress that goes to her knees. She's holding a small purse. Very expensive looking considering she's a girl who works in a circus. If Dave didn't know she’s part of a circus, he would think she's just a girl from a big city. The girl smiles strangely at him as they approach, and Dave frowns to himself, but decides not to pay any attention to her weirdness.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Schuester." Dave says politely. He's not the most educated guy in the world, but he does know how to show respect and greet people properly.
The other man smiles. "Please, call me William or Will. I see my truck is here safe and sound."
Dave nods. "Yup, just like I told you it would be." He catches the girl giving William a knowing smile at which Dave grows puzzled. This girl is really weird.
"Hi! My name is Rachel Berry," she introduces herself, extending her hand to him. Dave frowns slightly, but shakes her hand.
"David Karofsky."
"We met yesterday but I didn't have time to introduce myself, I'm sorry."
"It’s fine," Dave mumbles. Considering how strangely she was acting yesterday, she likely forgot to introduce herself, but Dave forces himself to not ask any questions. After all, they are strangers to him, and you don't usually ask people questions if you don't know them.
"So you're filling your tank?" Dave inquires.
"Yes. That's right," William replies with a kind smile in his face.
Dave nods, and goes back inside the store to look for a gas can, since they won't be able to park William's truck near to the pumps. He picks up the first one he finds, and when he walks outside, William and Rachel seem to be having a suspicious conversation. Or at least Dave thinks so, since they are talking in whispers and they shut their mouths as soon as they see him coming back. They're suddenly smiling widely.
"I'll fill this up," Dave says cautiously.
He doesn't believe they are going to rob him or something, but they're definitely acting odd. Dave starts filling the gas can and no one says a word, even though William and Rachel are still smiling at him like they want to say something.
Dave doesn't ask, though. He finishes filling the can and then walks over to William's truck and fills the tank.
"So David… do you like working in here?" Rachel asks, out of nowhere.
It's a weird question to ask, or at least Dave thinks so, since they hardly know each other, but it's a conversation at least. "I've worked in worst places. Could be better, but I'm not complaining. I could have no job at all."
He turns around, and catches Rachel nudging William. "See, I was talking with the guys from the circus, and we kind of need some extra help."
Dave quirks an eyebrow, slightly interested. Are they actually offering him a job in the circus?
"Is that so?" Dave asks.
"We all tend to pitch in," Rachel says. "Putting up the tent and carrying stuff around. It's hard work, but there are enough of us to get it done. But we could seriously use an extra pair of hands. This seems like quite a lonely job, but in the circus you'd have plenty of people around, and probably have more fun."
Dave processes her words in his head. He has never been a people person, having himself a more reticent nature. But after working three months at this station, he's started missing human interaction. He's not sure how many people work in William's circus, but Dave saw quite a few trailers parked in their camp.
It didn't seem to be much fun, probably because they weren't performing or doing anything out of ordinary, but it could definitely be better than spending his days all alone in the station.
For starters, there are people.
"We couldn't pay much," William says, chuckling a bit. "As you could see yesterday, we don't really have much money. We spend most of it to run the circus: feeding everyone, buying gas for all of our cars. We even have a tiger to feed." Dave raises his eyebrows. Working close to a tiger sounds like something that can never get boring. "We do pay, though," William continues, "even if it's only a little. But we can offer a place to stay every night. Your own trailer, although it's pretty small, almost like a traveling room. Food every day, traveling all around the country, new friends…"
Dave finds himself actually considering it as William's voice trails off. William and Rachel don't look like they are conning him. And the offer doesn't sound bad at all. He already gets almost no money from his current job, and it all goes to pay for his food and for a place to sleep at night, albeit secretly. William spoke of the trailer like it was something unappealing but Dave has been sleeping in his truck ever since when he won it in a bet a couple of years ago. Now he sleeps in the store. Neither is a comfortable place, considering he's too big to lay down in car and the floor of the store is too damn hard.
A trailer of his own would definitely be the closest thing to a proper room that he's had in a very long time.
He also wouldn't go days without seeing another soul, plus there's the traveling to consider. Dave has never stuck around one place for long, going from town to town to get a job and then moving on, so this actually sounded appealing.
"So I'd be like, the handyman or something?"
William tilts his head. "You could say so. Later you may have the chance to perform if you want. We usually end up doing that. Even if people don't have any apparent talents, if they're interested we always find a place for them in our acts. It usually just takes time to get used to performing in front of an audience."
Dave has never considered being in a show; he doesn't like being the center of attention. But William said that he'd be in the show if he wants to perform, so he won't necessarily have to do it.
And Dave has worked as a handyman lots of times, since he's quite big and strong. Being a handyman for a circus, or even fetching food for the tiger, can't be any worse than the construction jobs he's had over the years.
"If you can and want to, of course," Rachel points out. "We don't want to get you in trouble with your boss."
"Pfft, I doubt he'll even notice I'm gone until next week. I could leave a note or something," Dave says. "He'll just be mad about having to hire someone new. Or working himself. The guy is unbelievably lazy."
"That means you'll join us?" William asks hopefully.
"Yeah, I think I'll do it," Dave says, nodding, and he's surprised to realize that he feels almost happy for the first time in a long time.
Rachel claps her hands together, squealing, and Dave stares at her. Do they make this much fuss every time they get a new handyman? If so, they probably need help very badly…
"You're tank is filled," Dave announces. "When do you want me at the campsite?"
"Oh, whenever it's best for you. We don't want to cause any problems for you," William replies. "If you have to let your family know you're leaving or if you need to go to your place to pick your stuff. You might need to make some kind of arrangement with your landlord. We're heading to Aurora tomorrow, and-"
"I don't have to do that much," Dave cuts him off. The sooner he can abandon this depressing job to join the circus, the better. "I have no family to inform, and no place to stay, therefore I have no landlord, either. I actually sleep in the store. All my stuff is in my truck."
Rachel and William's enthusiastic faces fall, and Dave doesn't know if they suddenly distrust him or pity him. Hopefully his orphan/homeless state won't mean losing of his brand new job.
"Well, I guess that means you could join us today or tomorrow?" Rachel asks, smiling again and trying to break the tension.
Dave shrugs. "If it's not a problem for you. I only have to leave a note to my boss and close the store, since all my belongings are in the truck. If Mr. Cameron gets mad at me, it's not like he'll be able to find me to yell at me."
William grins. "That's sooner than I expected, but it's fine because I was hoping you could join us as soon as possible. Rachel, why don't you go ahead and tell the guys I'm coming back with a new member?"
Rachel's eyes go wide but then she nods knowingly. "I'd better do that. You won't regret this, David. Our circus is actually the best place in the world for people like us."
Dave frowns in confusion. 'People like us?' He doesn't even have time to ask what she means since she's already turning on her heels and getting into her car.
"I'll go to grab my stuff."
"Oh, here's the money of the gas," William hands him the money. Dave takes it and goes back to the store.
He doesn't have much inside, since he didn't want to leave any hint for Mr. Cameron that he's been living in there. The greasy bastard would have probably made him pay rent if he found out. So Dave gets a paper and a pen, and writes a simple note: 'I quit. The money is in the cash register.'
He puts the money Will gave him into the register, along with the rest of the store's meager profits. Then he grabs his blankets and his jacket. Lastly, he collects the chain and lock on his way out. William's still waiting for him, standing by the side of his truck. Dave puts all his stuff in the back of his truck, and then he closes the store.
"That's it?"
Dave nods. "That's it."
"You follow my truck. Once we're there, I'll introduce you to everyone and we should probably talk about your arrangements. Is that alright?"
"That sounds good to me."
William gets in his truck, and Dave pulls out of the parking lot behind him, heading back to the camp site. It's been a long time since he felt excited about something. He hasn't had the easiest life, and he's gotten very used to not expecting good things to happen to him. Dave's version of 'luck' pretty much amounted to someone mistaking him for an old drinking buddy and buying him a beer, or getting lucky with a random girl at some bar. Or, if he is really, really lucky, he may even get to hook up with a guy. Unfortunately, his job at the isolated gas station has kind of dampened his social life as of late.
But this actually sounds really promising.
Dave smiles to himself as he drives behind William's truck, marveling slightly at the unusual anxiousness he feels. He's always going from one place to the other, never having time to bond with anyone or make friends, and here he's about to be introduced to a bunch of people he's going to see every day. He hasn't had real friends since he escaped from the orphanage six years ago. The people he's going to meet are going to be his friends? Dave can't even remember what having friends feels like, and he can't help being a little uneasy. What if he's lost his ability to be a social person? But this could be good. They are circus people, so Dave assumes they're fun. Circus people are supposed to embrace bizarre and weird things, since they have such peculiar lives. They should be open to everything, so surely a socially awkward guy is not the worst thing they are going to see.
Yet he grows even more anxious when they finally arrive to the camp. It's sometime in the afternoon, the sun is shining above and Dave spots a group of people gathered in the middle of the circle that the parked trailers form. He also notices two trailers that are located far away from the rest. Dave wonders what they keep in there. Probably something weird, since this is a circus; maybe snakes for an act, or some deformed guy.
William parks his truck and Dave does the same. They get out from their respective vehicles and William motions him to follow and they end up in front of the circus people. Although they are wearing what seem to be worn out costumes from old shows, they all look young like him and pretty much normal, not at all like freaks or gypsies; Dave notices one guy is in a wheelchair but that's not something particularly odd. But how does just a small group of people put up a whole circus?
"There's not that many of you," Dave blurts out. "Is it a small circus? Or are there others but not everyone is here right now."
William laughs and a few people smile.
"Well, we're not Moscow Circus. This is actually all of us and our shows are not huge. But we have our own ways of getting everything done," a tall guy tells him in a good humored voice. "Well, except Kurt. He's… resting right now. You'd be our fifteenth member. I'm Finn, by the way," the guy introduces himself, extending his hand for Dave to shake.
"Guys, this is David Karofsky. The newest member of New Directions," William tells them all. Dave shakes hands with everyone, learning names that he will no doubt take some time to really remember. Some of the members look a bit wary of him, like he was the freak, even if they are the ones who work in a circus. But luckily most simply give him kind smiles. Overall they act nicely toward him, so Dave is quite pleased with how things are going so far.
"Care to join me in my trailer, David? There are a few things we should discuss first and then if everything goes well, we'll give you your trailer and everything you need to settle down."
"Alright."
"Follow me," William says and then he turns around, addressing the circus guys. "Remember, be careful from now on."
Dave frowns at William's words, but everyone is nodding. William invites him into his trailer and when Dave climbs the steps, he sees there is a bed to one side, also a small table with two chairs, a counter, a couple of trunks and lots of books, papers and stuff scattered here and there.
"Sorry about the mess," William says. "Please, have a sit."
"Nothing is wrong, I hope?" Dave asks, growing a bit worried but sitting at the table.
"Oh, not at all. It's just... there are a few things you should know about us," William says, sitting down across from him. "Nothing bad, just a few things we need to go over for you to feel comfortable around us. Just a few rules of coexistence, you might say."
"Alright."
"So the first part is the easiest. You're joining a very good group of people," William starts. "We travel all around the country, and we spend most of our time together, so we pretty much consider ourselves a family."
"That's good," Dave says, really meaning it. They did indeed look like a nice group of people.
William smiles. "We're also very supportive of one another. When I first thought about pulling this circus together, my intention was mostly to give these special kids a place where they can feel safe. Where they can feel comfortable with whom they are."
Dave narrows his eyes, trying to figure out this part. "Who they are… do you mean young people?"
The older man snorts, like he's amused. "The first part is always the easiest," he repeats. "Well, as I'm sure you noticed, Mercedes is black, for example. Or Tina and Mike, they are Asians. Artie is in a wheelchair."
"Yes, I noticed," Dave replies warily. Is William asking him what he thinks about black people? Or the handicapped, or immigrants?
"It's easier to start with the things you can see right away," William says softly; Dave frowns, feeling like he wasn't supposed to hear that last part. "We're all equals. We don't judge anyone."
"I don't, either," Dave states solemnly. He's not someone who thinks black people should only be servants, and he hates segregation, like the way blacks can't use the same stupid door as whites at a movie theater or drink from the same water fountain. It's ridiculous and degrading. Dave doesn't have a problem with people who are disabled, either, and even less with immigrants considered that his parents were Russians. People should mind in their own business and let others be.
William nods quietly. "So you won't mind that Mercedes is Sam's girlfriend."
"Um… sorry, I can't remember who Sam is."
"The blond guy? He's our only blond male member."
Dave snaps his eyes open in surprise, and then he snorts, amused. William suddenly looks defensive, but Dave hurries to say: "I'm sorry. It's not that I have a problem with that, it's just that a black girl dating the blondest guy on earth is not something you get to see every day."
William sighs, like he's relieved. "Exactly my point; outside this circus, they wouldn't be allowed to be together. But among us-"
"Hey, I think it's great," Dave assures to him. "They should be able to be with whomever they want. They aren't harming anyone." Dave starts feeling luckier. People who have the ability to accept something like this Mercedes girl and this Sam guy dating are really unique; these circus people are really amazing.
William shows a wide smile. "I'm really glad you think that way, Dave. I wish more people were as understanding as you."
"Man, I wish there were more people like you all."
"Indeed. Now, we need to get back to us and our… accepting nature. Once again, I'm telling you this so you'll be comfortable around us, and my kids will be comfortable with you."
Dave nods. "It's alright. If I didn't know and I caught Sam and Mercedes, I don't know, kissing, I would probably shown some surprise. And I'd be just surprised, not upset or… disgusted or something, but it might make them uncomfortable. So I'm glad you're telling me this. This way I won't offend anyone."
"Exactly, but there's another thing," William says quietly. "We also don't judge anyone by their sexual orientation."
Dave's eyes light up. It's hard for him to consider himself a “queer.” He finds women somewhat attractive and he has slept with a few. Yet, even if he doesn't like to admit it, if he's with a women, it's mostly because getting to be with men is not that easy. Honestly speaking, he usually finds men loads more attractive than women and he desires them more. The sex is better, too. But that's not something you can let people know.
"That's really great. So you have homosexual couples as well?" Dave asks, unable to conceal his grin.
William laughs once again, sounding relieved at Dave's acceptance. "Currently, we have just one; Santana and Brittany have been together forever. We had a couple of boys, but one of them has left the circus."
Dave nods. "That's really good. I mean, not that they had to split but that you accept them," he corrects himself. “This circus is really something.”
"There's something else you should know.” But after that, William looks like he's having trouble figuring out how to phrase what he's about to say next. “I've done this plenty of times, and every time it's as awkward as the last."
"Recruiting people?"
"You could say so, yes."
Dave snorts. "There's nothing you could say that could upset me. I mean, I've just found out that you all accept interracial couples and homosexuals. Seriously, I think at this point nothing could surprise me."
William scratches the back of his neck uneasily. "Actually, I think this could surprise you. See, there's something that you probably don't know, but in this world there are what I call… special people."
Dave nods, not really knowing what that means. "Circus people?"
"Special. There are some people who have… certain extraordinary abilities."
Dave narrows his eyes. "Circus people?" He asks again. "Not everyone can spit fire, right?"
William laughs "I guess not. But not everyone can create fire out of nowhere in order to spit it. In a regular circus, a very well-trained guy takes a mouthful of gasoline and spits it against a torch. Our fire guy can actually create fire out of nowhere. We still use the torch in order to conceal the fact that he manipulates fire."
Dave's definitely not following this guy. "I'm sorry, what?"
William fidgets in place. "In this circus, all the people you've just met have special talents, Dave. And you have one as well. You probably don't even know you have it, but you do."
Dave snorts. "Me? A talent?" he asks skeptically.
"Yes, Dave. For example our tiger tamer, Brittany, she can communicate with animals. That's why she can stick her head inside the tiger's mouth. She asks and Lily lets her to do it. Our strong man, Noah, he actually has super strength and could lift this trailer without trying. Mercedes can breathe under water, so she has an escape artist act. She gets a little help of Artie, our magician who can move things with his mind. She gets chained down inside a tank full of water. While she breathes under the water, Artie unlocks her from her chains."
Dave gives William a long glare, processing all the things the older man just said. Girls who talk to animals and breathe under water? Super strong men and people who can move things with their minds? Dave bursts out laughing.
"Are you playing with me? Or are you simply insane? Man, I don't know if I still want to work here," Dave says, actually meaning it.
Sure, they have to be crazy - accepting homosexuals, blacks, handicapped people and immigrants, to work and live all together as equals. That doesn't happen anywhere. Dave wishes there was more people like them, but people who are not out of their minds. But he really doesn't want to be surrounded by crazy people; that leads to a lot of complications that Dave just doesn't need. What the hell did he just do? He quit a so-so job, but the best one he's had in years, to join a bunch of people who were out of their minds? Dave should have known better. Good things just never happen to him. It sounded amazing at first, so of course there had to be something bad about the whole thing.
"Maybe it's better if I showed it to you?"
Dave doesn't know if he should trust in this guy's judgment anymore, but he nods, not knowing what else to say or do. He should get in his truck and drive back to the station before Mr. Cameron sees his note. Knowing his luck, Dave wouldn't be surprised if his boss decided to drop by the station twice in the same week, at the very moment Dave decided to quit.
William gets up. "Follow me outside."
Dave does, and he notices that there are a lot of people between him and his truck. Almost all the people he just met are standing together in the middle of the circle of trailers, talking to each other. Dave won't be able to get to his truck if he runs towards it without someone trying to stop him.
"Santana!" William calls out. "Can you come with us?"
The brunette girl nods in the distance and then after a few steps she blinks, shaking her head in disbelief like she's suddenly upset, but she continues walking towards them anyway. She glares at Dave and Dave glares back. What's with the attitude! She was smiling just moments ago when they were introduced to each other!
"Yes?" the girl asks flatly.
"I think we should show David what we can do. He's a little... skeptical and we can't blame him, right?"
She crosses her arms over her chest. "And how are we supposed to do that?" She inquires, almost
snapping.
"I have an idea. Come with us," William says, walking away from the trailers.
"Lord, I hate walking, Will," the girl tells him, annoyed.
Dave and Santana glare at each other one last time, and follow William deep into the field. Then William stops and speaks to her: "You keep on walking forwards and try to vanish. Eventually, when you're far enough away from us, you'll be able to do that. Then reappear somewhere near so David can see you. "
"What?" Dave asks, because this is getting really ridiculous.
Yet the girl, Santana, starts walking away from them, deeper into the field. Dave really thinks this whole thing is crazy and ridiculous, but keeps his eyes fixed on the brunette girl. He is actually staring straight at her when she suddenly vanishes in front of his eyes and reappears a few feet away from where she was just standing.
"What the hell?" Dave asks, blinking rapidly.
Did he just see what he thinks he saw? He's definitely not drunk, and he always considered himself a sane person, but that girl just disappeared and appeared right in front of his eyes!
"Do it again, Santana!" William calls loudly, since the girl is quite a ways away from them.
Dave gapes as Santana appears and disappears over and over, each time just a couple of feet from the place she was standing before. This cannot be real. Maybe some kind of poisonous spider bit him and he's hallucinating in the solitude of the gas station. People cannot disappear like that. Eventually, Santana stops disappearing and starts walking back towards them with a pleased grin on her face.
"Was that proof enough for you, Karofsky?" She asks defiantly and Dave can't even form a coherent thought.
"Santana, don't be mean to David. It's not his fault and you know it," William says to her with a slightly stern tone of voice.
"Did you just disappear for real?" Dave mumbles. "What's the trick? There is one, right?"
Santana just laughs and shakes her head like she pities him, while William only grins. "No trick, big boy. Can I go back to the guys? We were about to play cards."
"Sure. Thank you, Santana," William tells her as she goes back toward the trailers.
Dave turns around to face William, expecting to get some explanations.
"They're all special like her, Dave. Her ability or gift, as we also call it, is to disappear from where she is, and reappear at some other place she can picture in her mind. It's usually somewhere she can either see, or a place she's been to or previously saw."
Dave's still consternated. "That makes no sense."
William chuckles. "You've just seen it. I'm aware it could be a little surprising-"
"A little?"
"I can't really show you all the things my kids can do. Santana's handy, since you can actually see her in the distance. If I used Finn, you might assume he had some way to make fire hidden in his clothes. Sam would have been the best, if it wasn't day time. He's not allowed to fly unless it's night; otherwise someone could see him."
Dave exhales abruptly. "He flies? People don't fly."
"Not regular people. But special people…"
Dave tries to put his thoughts in order. He massages his temple with the tip of his fingers, wondering if he suddenly went insane or something. He was just an average and ordinary guy with a pretty lousy life. He's not really ready to cope with something like this, presuming this is even happening for real.
"If you feel up to it, we can walk away from the trailers a bit. I could ask Noah to lift something really heavy, or maybe Artie could move some stuff in the air-"
"Why do we have to walk away?" Dave suddenly blurts out, out of nowhere. He's not even sure why he's asking this but it's the first thing that comes out of his mouth, instead of 'Has the world gone crazy?'
William presses his lips together in a tight smile. "You have a pretty impressive ability, Dave. Santana had to walk quite a long distance from you to be able to disappear. We should take more accurate measures before making any accommodations, if you decide to stay with us."
Dave blinks. "Ability? I have no abilities," he states. He would have noticed if he could fly or something, for Christ's sake!
William sighs, offering him a sympathetic smile. "You cancel other people's abilities. Well, we call it 'cancel.' Once I talked with someone who heard about people with abilities like yours, and she called it 'power negation.'"
"I do what? People like me? I'm just a damn homeless orphan who works at a gas station," Dave spits out, growing nervous. What the hell is going on? His life had flipped over within less than an hour!
"You're special like us, David. And when you're around people like us, we can't use our special abilities."
Dave crosses his arms on his chest. "Alright, what can you do then? Or better yet, what is it you can't do since I'm around."
William smiles again, patiently. At least the guy is not getting angry at Dave's skepticism. "I can persuade people. Mind control, to be more accurate. There are a few… different ways to do it. I haven't met other people who can do what I do, but I have heard about them. Some of them can make you do something only by… putting that thought in your head. Others need to say out loud what they want you to do. In my case, I have tactile mind control ability. If you couldn't do… what you can do, I would only have to touch you; placing my hand in your arm or back or shoulder and tell you to… I don't know, run a mile none stop, and you would. You'd do whatever I asked you to do, immediately and without question."
Dave's about to tell William to go hell, until he remembers what happened yesterday afternoon. He did find very odd when William approached him out of nowhere, held his arm and told him to give him his Coke with a gloomy tone of voice. You're not that touchy with strangers; it's just weird. But then Dave thinks about how broke and thirsty William was… He actually ordered him to give him a drink and free gas, and Dave refused to do it. Well, he later felt bad for William and gave him the drink.
"Yesterday…" Dave starts, slowly. "Yesterday you… tried to persuade me for the Coke and some gas?"
William smiles, apologetically. "I apologize for that. I try to never take advantage of people, unless it's really necessary. But I did try to persuade you yesterday, and it didn't work. At first, I thought something was wrong with me, until you drove me here. Rachel and Noah approached us, and Rachel couldn't read your mind-"
"She reads people's minds?"
"She does. Not yours, though. She almost had a fit when she realized she couldn't read you, and Noah had to make a little effort to lift Rachel in the air. But then you drove away, and our abilities were back."
Dave's head starts spinning. Is this happening for real? As farfetched as it sounds, it seems to be real. Santana did disappear in front of his eyes, and what William's telling him, along with what happened yesterday, including Rachel's weird behavior, makes sense in some sort of very strange way, but this is quite a bizarre situation so…
Dave's head clears a bit, the spinning lessening. Instead, he feels incredibly sad. He has an extraordinary gift, as William called it; he lived with something like this for all his life and he never knew? His parents sent him away to some aunts when he was six giving no explanation. He went to an orphanage when his aunts died when he was nine. Ever since then, his life has been erratic; he grew up alone, without anything or anyone. Yet, for some reason, this is the first time in his life that he actually feels vulnerable.
Sure, he has no family, no home or money, but he knows all that, so he's always done what he could with the little he has. Yet, apparently there's a part of him he never knew was there…What does it mean? What does he do now, how does he cope with missing out on all the things he never tried to do because he never knew there was something special about him? William places his hand on Dave's shoulder, squeezing it and Dave looks up. For a second, he had forgotten that William was still there.
"I know this can be shocking, David. But everything is alright."
Dave snorts lamely. "Alright!? You call this alright? I don't know who I am anymore! And this... this is not normal! I can't be fine with seeing someone disappear in front of my eyes, or knowing that the girl I just met reads people's minds!"
"You're the same person you've always been. This is overwhelming, I understand. Most of the guys you've met have had a hard time to cope with this," William tells him quietly. "And that's actually the reason I run this circus, David. In here, no one will ever make any of you feel that you're a freak, or an outcast. You'll be with people who are just like you; you'll be able to relate to them and they'll relate to you."
Dave suddenly feels tired and drained. This is way too confusing. "But you say I make you all lose your abilities? Why would you want me here? Everyone is going to hate me," he realizes. If he can do what William tells him he can do, then he's going to mess with everyone in here…
"I've already talked to them," William says, showing yet another smile. "I hope that after this, you still want to stay with us. We can make some arrangements at first so no one is in danger."
"Oh, that's great. I'm also dangerous," Dave snorts, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It is dangerous, Dave. Imagine that Sam is flying in the air, and you go near to him. He won't be able to keep on flying; he'd fall to the ground and break his neck."
"I have to go. You can all forget about me," Dave says; he's so done with this. He starts walking away in the direction to his truck.
He can hear William following him. The most of the circus people are sitting at a table in the middle of the circle that the trailers create, playing cards. They all look up as he walks by, sending him quizzical and even worried glances. Dave does his best to ignore them, speeding up towards his truck.
"Hey, man," Finn calls out, standing up. "Where you going?"
Dave keeps on walking faster, but then he looks back over his shoulder, and sees that they are all standing up to come after him.
Shit.
"Just stay away from me!" Dave snaps at them all, turning around to face them. "Can't you see I could get you all killed?"
Dear Lord, the last thing that Dave wants to have on his conscience is the death of some circus guy, just because he happened to be around. Dave doesn't think he has great expectations from life. He always wanted to become something better than he was; maybe have some more money or a steady job where he could feel good. Not have to worry about where he's going to sleep tomorrow or if he's going to have money to buy food next weekend.
Being someone with an apparent ability -Dave still refuses to believe this is actually real, he's expecting to wake up sometime soon after a bad hangover- when that ability could potentially get others killed is something that Dave doesn't want to be.
Being homeless implies a lot fewer complications.
"David, please wait!" Rachel shouts at him, sounding upset.
Actually, when Dave gets a better look, even Santana, who just gave him a nasty attitude, seems concerned. They all should be happy to see him leaving. Why are they all looking so… worried? Dave stops where he is, halfway between his truck and the circus people; they are all in front of him now. There's a small moment of silence, then Dave decides to break.
"Look, I get that you're all special or something. But if I'm supposedly special as well and if all I can do is make you all lose the ability to do your stuff, then I think it's better for you all if I take off. You don't have to worry, I'm not saying a word about it," Dave assures them. "I have no one to tell, and even if I did, no one would believe me."
"But we don't want you to leave," the guy in the wheel chair says.
Dave groans. "Don't you know what I can apparently do?"
"First of all, the 'apparently' is not necessary," Rachel says with a bossy tone of voice. "You do cancel our abilities, David. We already discussed this, all together last night, and we all agreed that we want to have you here, because no matter what your ability is, you're one of us."
"I put you all in danger," Dave growls out between gritted teeth.
William steps through an opening in the group, getting closer to Dave. "I believe we can help you master your ability, control it so you decide when and who to cancel."
"I don't even know how I do this! I didn't even know I could do this, or that people like you existed!"
"People like us. You're one of us. And all abilities can be mastered," Santana points out. "Believe me. Until that happens, we'll take precautions. We've all discussed this already. None of us has to get harmed, and you can still be with us."
"Just stay with us," a blond girl standing by Santana's side tells him. Dave can't recall her name. Bethany? Britney? Brittany? Yes, Brittany. Dave remembers William's words. She's Santana's girlfriend. "Rachel told us you have no family, or home. I wouldn't want you to be alone. That's sad. You could be with all of us. The circus is really fun."
Dave can see Rachel blushing, looking away, and he takes that as a sign that she regrets having a big mouth. Apparently everyone knows already that he's homeless, even though he only met them an hour ago.
Dave swallows hard. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
He really means it. They're good guys, and in this circus they had the luck to be surrounded by people who won't judge them; and they can be at peace with themselves and be with the ones they want to be with. You don't find a place like this often, and Dave doesn't want to put any of them at risk.
"No one will get hurt if we organize ourselves well," William assures him. "Please, stay with us. We're all very much aware of what you can do, and that hasn't stopped us from trying to recruit you, since we want to have you with us. I really think you belong here, David."
Belong.
That's such a foreign word to Dave. He belonged to a nice family that sent him away one day without explanation. When he got to believe he could belong to another family, his aunts, they died. You can't belong to an orphanage; even less when you grow up being transferred from institution to institution.
His sense of belonging is quite beaten down, but for some reason, these people want him to belong to them, even if they know the risks that entails. He can't really turn that down, so he nods slowly and the circus people smile and clap at him. Dave walks towards them and they even pat his back, offering kind words of welcoming. He still has a lot to ask, to understand and to accept, but right now there's a bunch of people who seems happy about his presence, so Dave guess that he'll have to ask and understand later, and accept whatever happens.