Popular (tv series) Fic: Clarity: Chapter 1/13 - Crush
Title: Clarity
Chapter 1: Crush
Author: emotionsovrflow
Rating: T
Feedback: Always welcome
Disclaimer: I do not own Popular or it's characters. I do not own Jimmy Eat World or their music. The only thing to which I can lay claim is the arrangement of the words herewithin.
Author's Notes:
Chapter 1 - Crush
Link to Chapter 2 - Table for Glasses
Link to Chapter 3 - A Sunday
Link to Chapter 4 - Lucky Denver Mint
Link to Chapter 5 - 12.23.95
Link to Chapter 6 - Your New Aesthetic
Clarity: Chapter 1 - Crush
It hadn't been obvious at first. Sam likened the realization to a snowball rolling downhill. A melting smile here, an intoxicating laugh there with a few sleepy morning encounters in their shared bathroom thrown into the mix. It was all too much, and it had resulted in Sam having her tiny snowball of a crush on Brooke McQueen turn into an outright avalanche.
After driving herself half insane with speculation and wonder for weeks, Sam decided it was time to take a chance. She took a few steadying breaths and knocked on the door to Brooke's bedroom. After a bit of a shuffle the door opened. Brooke smiled at her and said, "Hey Sam, what's up?"
"Uh…" She was at a loss. Brooke's smile had turned her knees to jelly, and apparently her brain as well. "What was our Bio homework?"
"We're supposed to read and outline Chapter 6."
"Thanks."
"Anytime." And with that Brooke flashed her smile again and closed the door. For a moment Sam just stood there, looking bewildered and becoming more and more disappointed in herself. She was about to turn and go back to her own room to sulk over her failure, but instead she knocked again.
Brooke opened the door, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Yeah?"
"Uh…" Oh no, not again. Sam shook her head to try to clear the cobwebs. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Ok," she said, drawing out the word in a mixture of confusion and apprehension. "Come in then."
Sam walked in and stood in the middle of the room, internally going over what she was going to say, cursing herself for not having done this prior to coming in here. "So what's up?" Brooke asked, shaking Sam out of her concentration.
"Well," she cleared her throat purely out of nervousness. "You see, for a while now… I mean… Well," She was pacing now, and Brooke was watching her with a faint smile on her lips. "I've kinda had these feelings for you. At first I just brushed it off. But now, I don't know. It seems like you might feel the same way. And I guess I was just wondering if this was all in my imagination, or if you really do have feelings for me."
"Oh boy," Brooke breathed. Her smile was gone now. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to have this conversation."
Sam felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Protectively, she crossed her arms in front of herself. "Why's that?"
Brooke bowed her head. "Sam, come sit down," she asked softly.
"I'd rather stand." She wasn't sure she could have moved if she wanted to.
"Ok." Brooke took a deep breath. "Look, I've known about all of this for a while. And yes, I do have feelings for you. But come on. It's not like we could ever have a relationship. So why even…"
"This isn't because of our parents is it?" Sam interrupted. "Cause we aren't really sisters and it doesn't make any sense to not see where this could go because they're together."
"It's not that. But in a way, yes, it is because of our parents. And our friends and everyone else that we know. 'Hey everybody, I'm dating a girl.' I think we both know how that would go over. I can't risk everything that I know because I have a little crush. I hope you understand." The sadness written across Brooke's face wasn't completely lost on Sam, but at the moment, she didn't care.
"Yeah, I understand," Sam said in a calm tone. "You don't have the balls to be yourself." Brooke flinched. "Come to think of it, I don't know why I expected any different from you anyway." She turned to leave.
"I'm sorry, Sammy," Brooke said quietly.
Sam stopped, looked back at her and said, "Don't call me that," before walking out the door and back to her own room.
The calmness that she had displayed after Brooke's rejection vanished as soon as she closed her bedroom door. She wasn't sure what sounded most appealing, breaking everything in her room, screaming at Brooke until her voice was gone or punching herself in the face for being so stupid. She opted for choice D and lay face down on her bed and cried until she couldn't anymore, occasionally pounding her frustration into one of her pillows.
Over an hour of this behavior had done nothing but given Sam a headache. She got up and walked into the bathroom. After splashing some cold water on her face, logic and reason seemed to return to her. The conversation with Brooke hadn't been a complete bust. After all, she now knew that it wasn't just her imagination, Brooke actually did have feelings for her. All hope was not yet lost. She just needed a plan, a little confidence and, at the moment, some Tylenol.
Chapter 1: Crush
Author: emotionsovrflow
Rating: T
Feedback: Always welcome
Disclaimer: I do not own Popular or it's characters. I do not own Jimmy Eat World or their music. The only thing to which I can lay claim is the arrangement of the words herewithin.
Author's Notes:
- I started writing this sometime around late 2001/early 2002. I stalled on it, but never fully gave up on it and have finally decided to finish what I started. Being over ten years removed, it reads almost like a period piece. I'm not even sure if there's an audience for this fandom anymore, but I'm putting it out there in the world. If you're reading, I hope you enjoy.
- Another thing I'd like to mention is that I've only ever seen two episodes of this show, and all of my knowledge comes from having read fanfic.
- Title taken from the Jimmy Eat World album Clarity. Each chapter is named after a song on the album.
Chapter 1 - Crush
Link to Chapter 2 - Table for Glasses
Link to Chapter 3 - A Sunday
Link to Chapter 4 - Lucky Denver Mint
Link to Chapter 5 - 12.23.95
Link to Chapter 6 - Your New Aesthetic
Clarity: Chapter 1 - Crush
It hadn't been obvious at first. Sam likened the realization to a snowball rolling downhill. A melting smile here, an intoxicating laugh there with a few sleepy morning encounters in their shared bathroom thrown into the mix. It was all too much, and it had resulted in Sam having her tiny snowball of a crush on Brooke McQueen turn into an outright avalanche.
After driving herself half insane with speculation and wonder for weeks, Sam decided it was time to take a chance. She took a few steadying breaths and knocked on the door to Brooke's bedroom. After a bit of a shuffle the door opened. Brooke smiled at her and said, "Hey Sam, what's up?"
"Uh…" She was at a loss. Brooke's smile had turned her knees to jelly, and apparently her brain as well. "What was our Bio homework?"
"We're supposed to read and outline Chapter 6."
"Thanks."
"Anytime." And with that Brooke flashed her smile again and closed the door. For a moment Sam just stood there, looking bewildered and becoming more and more disappointed in herself. She was about to turn and go back to her own room to sulk over her failure, but instead she knocked again.
Brooke opened the door, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Yeah?"
"Uh…" Oh no, not again. Sam shook her head to try to clear the cobwebs. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Ok," she said, drawing out the word in a mixture of confusion and apprehension. "Come in then."
Sam walked in and stood in the middle of the room, internally going over what she was going to say, cursing herself for not having done this prior to coming in here. "So what's up?" Brooke asked, shaking Sam out of her concentration.
"Well," she cleared her throat purely out of nervousness. "You see, for a while now… I mean… Well," She was pacing now, and Brooke was watching her with a faint smile on her lips. "I've kinda had these feelings for you. At first I just brushed it off. But now, I don't know. It seems like you might feel the same way. And I guess I was just wondering if this was all in my imagination, or if you really do have feelings for me."
"Oh boy," Brooke breathed. Her smile was gone now. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to have this conversation."
Sam felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Protectively, she crossed her arms in front of herself. "Why's that?"
Brooke bowed her head. "Sam, come sit down," she asked softly.
"I'd rather stand." She wasn't sure she could have moved if she wanted to.
"Ok." Brooke took a deep breath. "Look, I've known about all of this for a while. And yes, I do have feelings for you. But come on. It's not like we could ever have a relationship. So why even…"
"This isn't because of our parents is it?" Sam interrupted. "Cause we aren't really sisters and it doesn't make any sense to not see where this could go because they're together."
"It's not that. But in a way, yes, it is because of our parents. And our friends and everyone else that we know. 'Hey everybody, I'm dating a girl.' I think we both know how that would go over. I can't risk everything that I know because I have a little crush. I hope you understand." The sadness written across Brooke's face wasn't completely lost on Sam, but at the moment, she didn't care.
"Yeah, I understand," Sam said in a calm tone. "You don't have the balls to be yourself." Brooke flinched. "Come to think of it, I don't know why I expected any different from you anyway." She turned to leave.
"I'm sorry, Sammy," Brooke said quietly.
Sam stopped, looked back at her and said, "Don't call me that," before walking out the door and back to her own room.
The calmness that she had displayed after Brooke's rejection vanished as soon as she closed her bedroom door. She wasn't sure what sounded most appealing, breaking everything in her room, screaming at Brooke until her voice was gone or punching herself in the face for being so stupid. She opted for choice D and lay face down on her bed and cried until she couldn't anymore, occasionally pounding her frustration into one of her pillows.
Over an hour of this behavior had done nothing but given Sam a headache. She got up and walked into the bathroom. After splashing some cold water on her face, logic and reason seemed to return to her. The conversation with Brooke hadn't been a complete bust. After all, she now knew that it wasn't just her imagination, Brooke actually did have feelings for her. All hope was not yet lost. She just needed a plan, a little confidence and, at the moment, some Tylenol.