We interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfiction...
...to bring you the first chapter in a new story. Oh, I haven't forgotten about my other one, but the muse insisted I work on this first. It's another crossover, this time D.E.B.S./She's The Man.
Yes, you read that right.
It's hardly the strangest crossover I've ever had, believe me, and I really think I can pull this off... but don't be afraid to let me know what you think. (And I should tell you that this is going to be more of a sequel to D.E.B.S. then the AU kind of fic that I usually write, so there won't be quite as many familiar faces around. But hopefully, the OCs that will be there will be given a fair chance. ^_^
So, without further ado...
Title: Parallax (part 1/?)
Author: That'd be me. *grins* Andrew, Obsidian, call me what you want. But only if it's nice. ;)
Rating: This will definitely be R-rated. I know myself well enough to decide that now. ;)
Comments: Well, here's hoping my second crossover D.E.B.S. fic will be as good as my first one. ^_^ This is a continuation of the Christmas Wishes series of short 'She's The Man' stories I've written, but you don't really need to have read those to understand this. This is also going to be the first actual sequel to 'D.E.B.S.' that I've written, as opposed to an AU fic. (Well, I guess all fic, by its very nature, is AU, but you know what I mean. *winks*)
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own 'D.E.B.S.', as I am most definitely NOT Angela Robinson. Likewise, I also do not own 'She's The Man', which belongs to... Well, it was written by Ewan Leslie, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, directed by Andy Fickman, based on the work of William Shakespeare, and distributed by Dreamworks. So whoever 'owns' it, it isn't me. ;)
Parallax, or more accurately motion parallax (Greek: παραλλαγή (parallagé) = alteration) is the change of angular position of two stationary points relative to each other as seen by an observer, due to the motion of an observer. Simply put, it is the apparent shift of an object against a background due to a change in observer position.
For as long as she cared to remember, there had only ever been one college that Viola Hastings really wanted to attend: the University of North Carolina.
It had never been a question, really. She'd known that she was destined to wear the Carolina Blue. To that end, everything she'd done in school had been in furtherance of that goal: she'd studied hard, she'd looked into whatever extracurricular activities they liked seeing students participate in, and, naturally, she'd joined the soccer team. Not that she wouldn't have wanted to, anyway, as soccer was, if not her life, then at least a huge part of it.
Which had lead to that tiny little matter of crossdressing and pretending to be her twin brother for two weeks at her old high school's rival, Illyria.
That had been one of the best decisions in her life... and, simultaneously, one of the worst. As far as most anyone could tell, everything had worked out for the best in the end, but it hadn't been easy getting there. As "Sebastian", she'd fallen for her roommate, Duke Orsino. Duke, in turn, had enlisted her help in getting the attention of one Olivia Lennox, whom he had been sporting a serious crush on. Olivia, unfortunately, had fallen hard for "Sebastian", who tried to ignore that and set Duke up with, well, herself, pretending to be her own sister...
Well, it was all very complicated.
In the end, though, she had ended up with Duke, Olivia had enjoyed a brief romance with the real Sebastian, which ended in a harmonious split, and Viola transfered to Illyria for real, with no one holding her brief stint as "Sebastian" against her (except for Monique Valentine and Viola's own ex-boyfriend, Justin, perhaps, but they hardly counted, and she'd had nothing to do with either since).
As far as most anyone could tell.
What most people did not know, however, was that Olivia had fallen a lot harder for "Sebastian" then she'd let on... and that the feelings did not go away once "he" was revealed to really be Viola. She'd managed to suppress her feelings until Christmas Eve, when, at a party at the Hastings house, she'd gotten stuck under the mistletoe with Viola.
The kiss had gone on for several minutes, and introduced the first seeds of doubt about her relationship with Duke into Viola's mind. Her confusion had only gotten worse over the next seven days, until the New Year's Eve party, where Olivia found her on a balcony, after she'd slipped out of the party for some air. After a slightly awkward moment, Olivia had been about to go back inside, when Viola had stopped her. Viola had stopped her.
Then Viola had kissed her.
It had taken her - both of them, really - by surprise, but she'd never, ever been kissed like that in her entire life before. And before she could have stopped it - if she could have stopped it - things had continued to escalate, and, out of sight of the party raging inside, they'd made love.
It hadn't been the last time, either. Despite the fact that they'd resolved to just be nothing more then friends. Good friends - best friends, even - but friends.
Or, as Paul had commented when he'd found out, best friends with benefits, because it seemed like no matter what she did, she kept being drawn back to Olivia. They would do their best to stay apart, but that only had the result of making their passion all the more volcanic when one of them would succumb to temptation and go to the other.
She'd thought college would offer her a way out of that. Olivia had decided to head UCLA - to major in chemistry, of all things; remembering their dissection of a frog back when she'd been "Sebastian", Viola hadn't thought Olivia had been all that into the subject, but it seemed to have grown on her - while Duke would be accepting a scholarship to Princeton, to play on their men's team.
If she wasn't near either of them, she'd rationalized, surely she'd be able to sort through her feelings and finally figure out who she was really supposed to be with... right?
Right.
At long last, she finally thought she saw a way out of the mess of confusion she'd managed to land herself in. So she wasn't about to let herself get distracted by any other sources of confusion.
Like the rather... odd... event that had happened two days prior.
**********************************************
"Well, there you are!" Viola said with a grin as she caught sight of Toby heading down the hall towards the group. "Where the heck have you been lately? The SATs were last week."
Despite his dark complexion, Toby visibly blushed. "I was with Eunice, and-"
"Ah," Viola interrupted, grinning. "Say no more." Chuckles spread throughout the group, but good naturedly enough that Toby took no offense, merely shrugging and offering a little smile of his own. However... unusual... people might have found his relationship with Eunice in the beginning, after almost an entire school year no one even really batted an eye anymore.
But then, students at Illyria seemed to have a higher natural threshold for weirdness then most.
Viola drifted along with the group as they headed for the dorms, half-listening to the conversation as she fidgeted with her uniform. That, she'd decided at the start of the year, was the main drawback to private schools: having to wear a uniform. College will be soon, she reminded herself. Then the only uniform you'll have to wear will be for soccer.
She was going to miss seeing her friends every day. They'd keep in touch, naturally, but it would hardly be the same. And how long would it be until they simply began to drift apart?
She frowned and gave her head a quick shake. Huh. What was with her today? Her thoughts weren't usually so heavy or serious. Likely it was the knowledge that her interview with the North Carolina rep was only a few days away that was weighing on her mind. Maybe-
"Viola Hastings?"
Startled back to reality by the polite inquiry from behind her, she - along with Duke, Olivia, Toby, Andrew, and Maria - turned around to find a man in a dark suit and opaque black sunglasses standing there holding a mailing envelope.
That alone would have been enough to catch her attention. Sure, given that Illyria was a prep school, it was hardly a casual dress environment, but a formal black suit? In this weather? Had he come here straight from a funeral? Oh, maybe he had some kind of inheritance for her from some long lost relative she'd never even heard of!
Or maybe he was just crazy.
Confident that her friends would have her back in the event that he tried to start something, she held up a hand and said, "Present." She felt a little proud of herself for keeping her mouth under control.
For once.
He handed her the envelope. "Contact information is enclosed, should you have any questions," he told her, then turned and walked away.
She made a face. "Uh, thanks," she replied, only half meaning it. "Questions about what?" she muttered.
"Open it and find out," Duke urged.
"I don't know," Olivia said uncertainly. "I mean, creepy guy shows up, gives you a package of some kind, and leaves?"
Viola was already opening it. "It's not just a package, it's a Top Secret package!" she said, amused, as she showed the others the only two words typed on the outside of the envelope. Once she had it open, she peered inside, frowned, and partially withdrew a piece of paper. "'Dear Miss Hastings, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Jameson University...'"
"That's 'top secret'?" Toby asked.
Viola, still frowning, countered with, "Where the hell is Jameson University?"
That earned her a few confused reactions. "How did you apply to there without even knowing where it is?" Duke asked.
"I didn't," she replied, eyes wide.
"Maybe they got the wrong Viola Hastings," Maria suggested with a shrug.
"Maybe," Viola mused, gently biting her lip as she thought things over.
Then, without warning, she spun on her heel and dashed off in the direction the man in the suit had gone.
She was aware of a few surprised exclamations behind her, and that she was being followed, but she paid them no real mind. She ran down the hall, around a corner, and headed for the exit. Bursting through the doors, she found...
...nothing.
Oh, there were students milling about the parking lot, heading this way and that as classes let out for the day, but there was no sign of the man in the suit.
Addressing a blonde Junior she vaguely remembered seeing around before, even if she was blanking on his name, she called, "Hey, where'd that guy go?" The stampede that was her friends slowed to a halt at the door as they waited to hear the answer.
He blinked at her in surprise. "What guy?"
"The guy in the black suit," she replied, barely resisting the urge to add 'duh!'.
He gave her an odd look. "Nobody in a suit's come through here."
"But he came this way!" she protested.
He shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you, Hastings, but I've been out here for about six or seven minutes, now, and whoever you're talking about did not come through that door."
Extremely disconcerted, she mumbled a thanks and rejoined her friends. Duke reflexively pulled her into an embrace, not seeming to read anything into Olivia also putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you will want to think twice before you look into that anymore," Duke said almost apologetically, nodding to the manila envelope Viola still clutched tightly.
"Believe me, I plan to," she lied with a smile. In fact, she didn't even plan on thinking once about it, as she didn't intend on having anything more to do with this 'Jameson University', or anyone connected with it.
She was already creeped out enough as it was.
**********************************************
And that, as far as she'd been concerned, had been that. She'd tossed the envelope on her desk back in her dorm room - since she'd transfered in a couple weeks after school had started, she'd wound up getting a small single - and thought no more about it.
She wasn't sure why she hadn't thrown it away, beyond the vague worry that a college that would accept her without her ever applying and send a mysterious man to inform her of that fact who could vanish into thin air might just find out if she did, and might not appreciate it.
She was not, however, even a tiny bit intrigued by it. She knew that because she told herself so very firmly.
Besides, it didn't matter. She was going to North Carolina.
There was just one little problem that she hadn't anticipated.
**********************************************
"I'm sorry, Miss Hastings, but I'm afraid we can't accept your application at this time."
For almost an entire minute, Viola simply stared at the North Carolina representative seated behind Principal Gold's desk. Gold himself wasn't there, having allowed them to borrow his office for the meeting.
His words hadn't seemed to make any kind of sense. "I-I'm sorry?" she stammered. "What... what do you mean?"
He sighed and folded his hands on the desk in front of him. He wasn't a bad looking man, she supposed, for someone in their mid-to-late thirties, but his prematurely thinning sandy hair hanging limply (it vaguely occurred to her to recommend he go visit Paul's salon, as if anyone could salvage that mess on his head, it was Paul) above his tightly pinched face reminded her of a weasel or ferret, and she'd felt instinctively wary of him ever since she'd first laid eyes on him. She'd done what she could to set aside such feelings, obviously, as she hadn't wanted to screw up her interview, but it was beginning to seem like that didn't even matter. "May I be frank with you, Miss Hastings?"
"Can I still be Viola?" she asked reflexively.
He nodded, either to say that yes, she could, or to indicate that that sort of thing was part of the problem. "As you may be aware, our scout was present at the first game of this year's soccer season, when you played against Cornwall."
Her stomach twisted. That? After all this time, that was the problem? "I remember," she said softly.
"Then I'm sure you also remember what else happened at that game," he continued. He wasn't being malicious about it, either. He was just calmly and logically explaining his reasoning. "At that game, you, while still enrolled at Cornwall yourself, impersonated your brother to play for Illyria. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how many rules you broke at both schools with that little stunt. Furthermore, your actions, directly or indirectly, lead to a brawl that just fell short of developing into a riot. Not to mention the little matter of public indecency."
She winced at that. Both she and Sebastian, at separate times, had been forced to prove just which gender they were, and had both chosen the most expedient route. She supposed it had been just a bit too much to hope for that the scout for the Tar Heels would have overlooked it. "I can explain..." she began.
He cut her off. "I'm certain you felt you had a very good reason for your actions, Miss Hastings, and I have heard only good things about you from your principal, your coach, and even two or three of the students I interviewed at Cornwall, but I have also-"
This time she interrupted him. "Wait," she said, holding up a hand for his silence. He agreeably sat back to wait while she thought furiously. Of all her friends at Cornwall, she could only think of maybe one or two of them that had ever shown any real interest in going to North Carolina, except for... She sucked in a shocked breath. "Justin?" she choked out incredulously. He was going to be going there, too?
Wait... He'd said something nice about her? After... everything?
Frank - or whatever his name actually was - just nodded. "He was one of them, yes."
Why the hell...? What was his game? Had he just not wanted to come across as the jealous ex, or had he actually meant... whatever it was that he'd said? Or was it some kind of attempt at reverse psychology, in order to get them to turn her down?
No, Justin wasn't smart enough for that.
Damn it, he couldn't even let her hate him, could he? She'd firmly put him into the category of 'human scum', and then he had to go and... be nice.
"As I was saying," 'Frank' continued, "while I may have gotten fairly good reviews of you all around, we can't quite ignore your conduct on and off the soccer field. Also, your grades are generally average at best, and not quite good enough to qualify for the scholarship you applied for." He took a deep breath and held up his empty hands as if asking for peace. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, Miss Hastings, but I'm not going to lie to you. Perhaps if you waited a year or so, until things have settled down a bit more..."
Her jaw fell open in shock. First he tells her that the school of her dreams didn't want her, then he mentions that her (semi-) hated ex will be there, and now he was seriously suggesting that she wait a year before heading off to college? "Are you... kidding me?" she demanded. Keep calm, Vi, she told herself. You have better control then that, no matter what this guy thinks. Prove him wrong. "I am not going to just sit around for a year or two until you decide that maybe you want me!" Besides, the socialites in the Junior League would drive her crazy long before an entire year had passed. "Maybe my grades aren't the best ever, but if you think I'm going to not continue my education because you don't want to take me, you're crazy," she told him firmly.
More firmly then she ever would have thought she'd feel, given that she'd always considered classes at school as something of a side effect of being able to play on the soccer team. Where was all this coming from?
Guess Olivia's rubbing off on me, she decided. Well, that was hardly the worst thing ever.
"No one said you had to," he said in that same maddeningly calm voice. "Perhaps you might have more luck at a local school."
"What, because no one else will take me?" she asked, losing the battle to keep her temper in check.
"That isn't what I-"
"Because I'll have you know you're wrong! I've already been accepted into Jameson University." Where the hell that had come from, she had no idea. What happened next distracted from the thought, though.
He flinched.
It was subtle, and could easily have been mistaken for a reaction of surprise, if not for the brief flash of concern and what might have been fear in his eyes. Clearly, he, at least, recognized the name.
Well, that made one of them.
"Jameson?" he repeated slowly. "With all respect, Miss Hastings, I don't think you've clearly thought through-"
"No, you just don't think!" she burst out, all but propelling herself out of her chair as it finally began to sink in that she really wasn't going to be allowed to wear the Carolina Blue. "They offered me a damn scholarship!" Which might have been a complete lie, for all she knew. Uselessly, she wished she'd read more then just part of the cover letter, now, but it didn't matter. This time, his flinch was much more pronounced, and he tensed as if he expected to have to repel some kind of physical attack.
Jesus, who were these people?
"I think we're done here," she said, struggling to keep the aggravated look on her face as she turned and left the office.
"Miss Hastings, is everything all right?" Principal Gold asked as she passed him in the hall. She realized he'd probably been hanging around, either to congratulate her or offer his condolences and assure her that one rejection was far from the end of the world.
She felt a surge of affection for the school's somewhat odd Principal, but it only served to hasten the collapse of her emotional defenses. "I'm fine," she said. Calm, stay calm... At least until you get back to your room. "We decided that North Carolina wasn't the school for me."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he began. "But you have to remember-"
Whatever it was she was supposed to remember would remain unknown, as she excused herself and, with a tight smile, swept down the hall, out the door, and back to her dorm.
Technically, she did have other classes to go to that day, but there was no way she could have focused enough to actually pay attention to what the teachers were saying, or face her friends.
She managed to shut and lock her door, then stagger to her bed before the first tears began to fall. Unable to hold it in any longer, she began to cry in earnest.
Her dream had just been murdered.
**********************************************
It took Viola three days to work up the courage - or, perhaps, simply come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to redefine her plans for the future - to open the envelope from Jameson that had remained on her desk.
Her friends had been nothing but sympathetic, and respected her right to privacy... which wasn't to say that she hadn't been dragged out for a night out or two. They understood she had a lot to work through, but they weren't about to let her wallow, or forget they were there for her.
It helped.
Somewhat less helpful was the information contained in the envelope. Oh, it gave her an idea of what the Jameson campus looked like, as well as some of the available majors - not everything, though, and the subjects tended to be stubbornly vague, like she wasn't allowed to know exactly what they taught until she decided to enroll - but the one thing that she wanted to know more then anything else, the thing that would capture her attention faster then anything, wasn't mentioned once.
Did they or did they not have a soccer team?
It was something that she needed to know before she could make any kind of decision. Politics and history weren't exactly her strong suit, but somehow the course list managed to make them sound interesting. If they did have a soccer team she could play on - and a college, at least, wouldn't cut their girls team... would they? - she might just have found her school.
Maybe.
She'd refrained from going around and asking her teachers if they knew anything about Jameson, as the somewhat limited information contained in the information packet convinced her that they might not like her bandying their name all over the place. But she was willing to make one exception.
Because if anyone would know about the status of their sports teams, it was Coach Dinklage.
She managed to catch the Coach in his office during her free period. Knocking on the doorframe, she called, "Hey, Coach?"
He looked up and acknowledged her with a gruff, "Hastings." Coach Dinklage was a no nonsense kind of man, tough but fair, and so much better then her old coach at Cornwall that she'd occasionally been tempted to hug him. It had been such a change, having a coach that she could really respect, and she'd listened to what he said because he deserved to be listened to.
"Got a minute?" she asked as she edged into the office.
He indicated the chair opposite his desk as he continued filling out paperwork. What kind of paperwork a coach had to do, she had no idea, and didn't really feel like asking. "What's on your mind?"
She took a deep breath as she sat down, steeling herself. "Have you ever heard of Jameson University?"
He paused with pen in mid-stroke, all of his attention suddenly on her. "Yes, I have. Why?"
She let out the breath she'd been holding. Okay, if the Coach knew who they were, and didn't react like the NC Rep had, maybe they were okay, after all. "They sent me an acceptance letter. Um, without my actually applying or anything."
"They're like that," he agreed, but his eyes looked troubled. "I've known of one or two girls in my time who got similar letters. From what I've heard, the DEBS recruit heavily from that school."
Viola sat back, taking that in. She knew who the DEBS were, of course. It would be hard not to, especially after that whole... thing... with Lucy Diamond. (Honestly, she had no idea what the hell had been happening there at the end, but her name had popped up enough prior to that to stick in most people's minds.) If Jameson had ties with the DEBS...
Well, that might just help explain how that guy had just vanished, if he was some kind of spy. "So, they're... on the level?"
He seemed to be thinking that over, which she definitely appreciated. "As far as I know, yes," he finally said.
"You're probably wondering why I'm asking you about this, instead of, say, Principal Gold," she began.
One side of his mouth pulling up into what might have been a smile, he cut in, "Two reasons, I'd imagine. Firstly, because you wanted a coherent answer sometime this century..." She choked on a laugh. "...and secondly, because you want to know about their team."
She supposed that had been a bit obvious. "Well... yeah." She paused. "So? Do they have a team?"
"They have, some years, been a bit inconsistent about playing, but yes, there is a team."
Mentally crossing her fingers, she added hopefully, "A girls' team?"
One eyebrow edged upward infinitesimally. "It is an all-girls school."
"Oh," she said intelligently. "I don't remember reading anything about that."
"They do like their secrets," he agreed. "When they do play, though... Whoever they have coaching them definitely knows their stuff." His eyes grew a bit distant as he gazed off into the past. "I remember this one striker named Brewer. A bit aggressive, but absolutely could not be stopped on the field."
Viola smiled a bit, in spite of herself. If they could affect the coach like that... Well, maybe they really were the school for her.
Just maybe. "So... what do you think?" she asked nervously. "Should I say yes?"
His attention instantly snapped back to the present as he refocused on her. "I can't tell you what to do with this, Hastings. But I think you've got what it takes to go there, if that's what you decide to do."
And that vote of confidence meant a lot to her. "Thank you," she said, then let out a soft sigh. "Guess I have some thinking to do."
"If you intend on going to college, I should hope you don't stop thinking," he said dryly.
She snorted in amusement as she rose from her chair. "Thanks for..." she said, waving a hand around vaguely to try and convey the whole situation. He nodded, and she left his office.
**********************************************
And think she did.
The due date for her response was swiftly approaching as she weighed her various options.
Not that there were really all that many of them, but the last time she'd made an impulsive decision regarding her education, she'd ended up cross-dressing as her twin brother. And this was even more serious.
She would have liked to talk it over with her friends, but she knew this was her decision, and that it was one she was going to have to decide alone.
When she'd finally read all the way through the material they'd provided her, she'd been relieved to find that they in fact had offered her a scholarship - and a better one then she could ever have gotten from North Carolina.
Her family was hardly hurting for money, but if she barely had to ask them for anything for school... Well, it would definitely serve to limit any control they had over her future, which was definitely a good thing.
The school's evident connection - however one-sided it may have been - with the DEBS had given her pause, though. That had never been a career path she'd even considered following before, but then again, there was nothing that said she had to join up, was there?
But then again... Well, she'd never considered it. And, yeah, she still wanted nothing more then to play soccer - she knew she could make it in the pro league - but it was always a good thing to have options, right? In case of injuries, or whatever?
Right.
Moving to Los Angeles would definitely be an adjustment, but she thought it was one that she could handle. It was the prospect of being there all on her own that made her feel a bit uncertain.
Except you won't be, her mind piped up helpfully. Olivia will be there, too.
She perked up a bit as she sat at her desk, facing her computer. That was true, wasn't it? And she knew she'd probably make new friends, but having someone to talk to that she already knew, that already knew her, would definitely help. Sure, it would kind of screw up her plan of getting away from Duke and Olivia to try and figure out who she really wanted to be with... But who knew? Maybe this would work better.
And maybe you'll be able to have a lot more "alone time" with Olivia with Duke in another time zone, a part of her mind that sounded far too happy about that prospect added with something that sounded suspiciously like glee.
"Stop that," she told herself firmly. She was going to be fair about this. And it also wasn't the decision she was trying to make right that second.
Except it sounds like you've already made it, now, doesn't it?
She stared at the computer screen. A blank email message waited there for her to write something. Yes or no, Viola, not a difficult question. Except that it was, because she knew so little about Jameson. They'll have to tell you more before you actually begin attending classes, and you know they won't kidnap you and force you to attend them. Which was true enough, she supposed.
There had, indeed, been contact information enclosed, including an email address to which she was supposed to send her decision. She'd been staring at the blank message body for about ten minutes, thinking.
Did she really want to do this?
Well... if nothing else, it promised to be interesting. And if there was soccer, she could handle anything.
She typed two words, then hit send. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, no turning back now. Her response had been simple, but to the point - and, frankly, if it was a bit mysterious, then it served them right. But she suspected they could figure it out. She opened her sent mail folder and stared at the two words that were going to completely change her life.
I'm in.
And away we go! Man, this took a little longer to write then I expected it would. Oh, and don't worry, the crossover aspect of the story will be much more evident by the next chapter - and the story itself may be a bit slow right now, but it will eventually pick up. It will probably be closer to Pantheon then Sensory Pleasure in terms of tone, which is just as well, since I'm still writing SP. ;)
So stick with me, and hopefully enjoy future chapters. (And yes, I'll also be getting back to SP, now, all of those of you who kept asking when the next chapter would be out. ;))
Yes, you read that right.
It's hardly the strangest crossover I've ever had, believe me, and I really think I can pull this off... but don't be afraid to let me know what you think. (And I should tell you that this is going to be more of a sequel to D.E.B.S. then the AU kind of fic that I usually write, so there won't be quite as many familiar faces around. But hopefully, the OCs that will be there will be given a fair chance. ^_^
So, without further ado...
Title: Parallax (part 1/?)
Author: That'd be me. *grins* Andrew, Obsidian, call me what you want. But only if it's nice. ;)
Rating: This will definitely be R-rated. I know myself well enough to decide that now. ;)
Comments: Well, here's hoping my second crossover D.E.B.S. fic will be as good as my first one. ^_^ This is a continuation of the Christmas Wishes series of short 'She's The Man' stories I've written, but you don't really need to have read those to understand this. This is also going to be the first actual sequel to 'D.E.B.S.' that I've written, as opposed to an AU fic. (Well, I guess all fic, by its very nature, is AU, but you know what I mean. *winks*)
Legal Disclaimer: I do not own 'D.E.B.S.', as I am most definitely NOT Angela Robinson. Likewise, I also do not own 'She's The Man', which belongs to... Well, it was written by Ewan Leslie, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, directed by Andy Fickman, based on the work of William Shakespeare, and distributed by Dreamworks. So whoever 'owns' it, it isn't me. ;)
Parallax, or more accurately motion parallax (Greek: παραλλαγή (parallagé) = alteration) is the change of angular position of two stationary points relative to each other as seen by an observer, due to the motion of an observer. Simply put, it is the apparent shift of an object against a background due to a change in observer position.
For as long as she cared to remember, there had only ever been one college that Viola Hastings really wanted to attend: the University of North Carolina.
It had never been a question, really. She'd known that she was destined to wear the Carolina Blue. To that end, everything she'd done in school had been in furtherance of that goal: she'd studied hard, she'd looked into whatever extracurricular activities they liked seeing students participate in, and, naturally, she'd joined the soccer team. Not that she wouldn't have wanted to, anyway, as soccer was, if not her life, then at least a huge part of it.
Which had lead to that tiny little matter of crossdressing and pretending to be her twin brother for two weeks at her old high school's rival, Illyria.
That had been one of the best decisions in her life... and, simultaneously, one of the worst. As far as most anyone could tell, everything had worked out for the best in the end, but it hadn't been easy getting there. As "Sebastian", she'd fallen for her roommate, Duke Orsino. Duke, in turn, had enlisted her help in getting the attention of one Olivia Lennox, whom he had been sporting a serious crush on. Olivia, unfortunately, had fallen hard for "Sebastian", who tried to ignore that and set Duke up with, well, herself, pretending to be her own sister...
Well, it was all very complicated.
In the end, though, she had ended up with Duke, Olivia had enjoyed a brief romance with the real Sebastian, which ended in a harmonious split, and Viola transfered to Illyria for real, with no one holding her brief stint as "Sebastian" against her (except for Monique Valentine and Viola's own ex-boyfriend, Justin, perhaps, but they hardly counted, and she'd had nothing to do with either since).
As far as most anyone could tell.
What most people did not know, however, was that Olivia had fallen a lot harder for "Sebastian" then she'd let on... and that the feelings did not go away once "he" was revealed to really be Viola. She'd managed to suppress her feelings until Christmas Eve, when, at a party at the Hastings house, she'd gotten stuck under the mistletoe with Viola.
The kiss had gone on for several minutes, and introduced the first seeds of doubt about her relationship with Duke into Viola's mind. Her confusion had only gotten worse over the next seven days, until the New Year's Eve party, where Olivia found her on a balcony, after she'd slipped out of the party for some air. After a slightly awkward moment, Olivia had been about to go back inside, when Viola had stopped her. Viola had stopped her.
Then Viola had kissed her.
It had taken her - both of them, really - by surprise, but she'd never, ever been kissed like that in her entire life before. And before she could have stopped it - if she could have stopped it - things had continued to escalate, and, out of sight of the party raging inside, they'd made love.
It hadn't been the last time, either. Despite the fact that they'd resolved to just be nothing more then friends. Good friends - best friends, even - but friends.
Or, as Paul had commented when he'd found out, best friends with benefits, because it seemed like no matter what she did, she kept being drawn back to Olivia. They would do their best to stay apart, but that only had the result of making their passion all the more volcanic when one of them would succumb to temptation and go to the other.
She'd thought college would offer her a way out of that. Olivia had decided to head UCLA - to major in chemistry, of all things; remembering their dissection of a frog back when she'd been "Sebastian", Viola hadn't thought Olivia had been all that into the subject, but it seemed to have grown on her - while Duke would be accepting a scholarship to Princeton, to play on their men's team.
If she wasn't near either of them, she'd rationalized, surely she'd be able to sort through her feelings and finally figure out who she was really supposed to be with... right?
Right.
At long last, she finally thought she saw a way out of the mess of confusion she'd managed to land herself in. So she wasn't about to let herself get distracted by any other sources of confusion.
Like the rather... odd... event that had happened two days prior.
**********************************************
"Well, there you are!" Viola said with a grin as she caught sight of Toby heading down the hall towards the group. "Where the heck have you been lately? The SATs were last week."
Despite his dark complexion, Toby visibly blushed. "I was with Eunice, and-"
"Ah," Viola interrupted, grinning. "Say no more." Chuckles spread throughout the group, but good naturedly enough that Toby took no offense, merely shrugging and offering a little smile of his own. However... unusual... people might have found his relationship with Eunice in the beginning, after almost an entire school year no one even really batted an eye anymore.
But then, students at Illyria seemed to have a higher natural threshold for weirdness then most.
Viola drifted along with the group as they headed for the dorms, half-listening to the conversation as she fidgeted with her uniform. That, she'd decided at the start of the year, was the main drawback to private schools: having to wear a uniform. College will be soon, she reminded herself. Then the only uniform you'll have to wear will be for soccer.
She was going to miss seeing her friends every day. They'd keep in touch, naturally, but it would hardly be the same. And how long would it be until they simply began to drift apart?
She frowned and gave her head a quick shake. Huh. What was with her today? Her thoughts weren't usually so heavy or serious. Likely it was the knowledge that her interview with the North Carolina rep was only a few days away that was weighing on her mind. Maybe-
"Viola Hastings?"
Startled back to reality by the polite inquiry from behind her, she - along with Duke, Olivia, Toby, Andrew, and Maria - turned around to find a man in a dark suit and opaque black sunglasses standing there holding a mailing envelope.
That alone would have been enough to catch her attention. Sure, given that Illyria was a prep school, it was hardly a casual dress environment, but a formal black suit? In this weather? Had he come here straight from a funeral? Oh, maybe he had some kind of inheritance for her from some long lost relative she'd never even heard of!
Or maybe he was just crazy.
Confident that her friends would have her back in the event that he tried to start something, she held up a hand and said, "Present." She felt a little proud of herself for keeping her mouth under control.
For once.
He handed her the envelope. "Contact information is enclosed, should you have any questions," he told her, then turned and walked away.
She made a face. "Uh, thanks," she replied, only half meaning it. "Questions about what?" she muttered.
"Open it and find out," Duke urged.
"I don't know," Olivia said uncertainly. "I mean, creepy guy shows up, gives you a package of some kind, and leaves?"
Viola was already opening it. "It's not just a package, it's a Top Secret package!" she said, amused, as she showed the others the only two words typed on the outside of the envelope. Once she had it open, she peered inside, frowned, and partially withdrew a piece of paper. "'Dear Miss Hastings, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Jameson University...'"
"That's 'top secret'?" Toby asked.
Viola, still frowning, countered with, "Where the hell is Jameson University?"
That earned her a few confused reactions. "How did you apply to there without even knowing where it is?" Duke asked.
"I didn't," she replied, eyes wide.
"Maybe they got the wrong Viola Hastings," Maria suggested with a shrug.
"Maybe," Viola mused, gently biting her lip as she thought things over.
Then, without warning, she spun on her heel and dashed off in the direction the man in the suit had gone.
She was aware of a few surprised exclamations behind her, and that she was being followed, but she paid them no real mind. She ran down the hall, around a corner, and headed for the exit. Bursting through the doors, she found...
...nothing.
Oh, there were students milling about the parking lot, heading this way and that as classes let out for the day, but there was no sign of the man in the suit.
Addressing a blonde Junior she vaguely remembered seeing around before, even if she was blanking on his name, she called, "Hey, where'd that guy go?" The stampede that was her friends slowed to a halt at the door as they waited to hear the answer.
He blinked at her in surprise. "What guy?"
"The guy in the black suit," she replied, barely resisting the urge to add 'duh!'.
He gave her an odd look. "Nobody in a suit's come through here."
"But he came this way!" she protested.
He shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you, Hastings, but I've been out here for about six or seven minutes, now, and whoever you're talking about did not come through that door."
Extremely disconcerted, she mumbled a thanks and rejoined her friends. Duke reflexively pulled her into an embrace, not seeming to read anything into Olivia also putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you will want to think twice before you look into that anymore," Duke said almost apologetically, nodding to the manila envelope Viola still clutched tightly.
"Believe me, I plan to," she lied with a smile. In fact, she didn't even plan on thinking once about it, as she didn't intend on having anything more to do with this 'Jameson University', or anyone connected with it.
She was already creeped out enough as it was.
**********************************************
And that, as far as she'd been concerned, had been that. She'd tossed the envelope on her desk back in her dorm room - since she'd transfered in a couple weeks after school had started, she'd wound up getting a small single - and thought no more about it.
She wasn't sure why she hadn't thrown it away, beyond the vague worry that a college that would accept her without her ever applying and send a mysterious man to inform her of that fact who could vanish into thin air might just find out if she did, and might not appreciate it.
She was not, however, even a tiny bit intrigued by it. She knew that because she told herself so very firmly.
Besides, it didn't matter. She was going to North Carolina.
There was just one little problem that she hadn't anticipated.
**********************************************
"I'm sorry, Miss Hastings, but I'm afraid we can't accept your application at this time."
For almost an entire minute, Viola simply stared at the North Carolina representative seated behind Principal Gold's desk. Gold himself wasn't there, having allowed them to borrow his office for the meeting.
His words hadn't seemed to make any kind of sense. "I-I'm sorry?" she stammered. "What... what do you mean?"
He sighed and folded his hands on the desk in front of him. He wasn't a bad looking man, she supposed, for someone in their mid-to-late thirties, but his prematurely thinning sandy hair hanging limply (it vaguely occurred to her to recommend he go visit Paul's salon, as if anyone could salvage that mess on his head, it was Paul) above his tightly pinched face reminded her of a weasel or ferret, and she'd felt instinctively wary of him ever since she'd first laid eyes on him. She'd done what she could to set aside such feelings, obviously, as she hadn't wanted to screw up her interview, but it was beginning to seem like that didn't even matter. "May I be frank with you, Miss Hastings?"
"Can I still be Viola?" she asked reflexively.
He nodded, either to say that yes, she could, or to indicate that that sort of thing was part of the problem. "As you may be aware, our scout was present at the first game of this year's soccer season, when you played against Cornwall."
Her stomach twisted. That? After all this time, that was the problem? "I remember," she said softly.
"Then I'm sure you also remember what else happened at that game," he continued. He wasn't being malicious about it, either. He was just calmly and logically explaining his reasoning. "At that game, you, while still enrolled at Cornwall yourself, impersonated your brother to play for Illyria. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how many rules you broke at both schools with that little stunt. Furthermore, your actions, directly or indirectly, lead to a brawl that just fell short of developing into a riot. Not to mention the little matter of public indecency."
She winced at that. Both she and Sebastian, at separate times, had been forced to prove just which gender they were, and had both chosen the most expedient route. She supposed it had been just a bit too much to hope for that the scout for the Tar Heels would have overlooked it. "I can explain..." she began.
He cut her off. "I'm certain you felt you had a very good reason for your actions, Miss Hastings, and I have heard only good things about you from your principal, your coach, and even two or three of the students I interviewed at Cornwall, but I have also-"
This time she interrupted him. "Wait," she said, holding up a hand for his silence. He agreeably sat back to wait while she thought furiously. Of all her friends at Cornwall, she could only think of maybe one or two of them that had ever shown any real interest in going to North Carolina, except for... She sucked in a shocked breath. "Justin?" she choked out incredulously. He was going to be going there, too?
Wait... He'd said something nice about her? After... everything?
Frank - or whatever his name actually was - just nodded. "He was one of them, yes."
Why the hell...? What was his game? Had he just not wanted to come across as the jealous ex, or had he actually meant... whatever it was that he'd said? Or was it some kind of attempt at reverse psychology, in order to get them to turn her down?
No, Justin wasn't smart enough for that.
Damn it, he couldn't even let her hate him, could he? She'd firmly put him into the category of 'human scum', and then he had to go and... be nice.
"As I was saying," 'Frank' continued, "while I may have gotten fairly good reviews of you all around, we can't quite ignore your conduct on and off the soccer field. Also, your grades are generally average at best, and not quite good enough to qualify for the scholarship you applied for." He took a deep breath and held up his empty hands as if asking for peace. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, Miss Hastings, but I'm not going to lie to you. Perhaps if you waited a year or so, until things have settled down a bit more..."
Her jaw fell open in shock. First he tells her that the school of her dreams didn't want her, then he mentions that her (semi-) hated ex will be there, and now he was seriously suggesting that she wait a year before heading off to college? "Are you... kidding me?" she demanded. Keep calm, Vi, she told herself. You have better control then that, no matter what this guy thinks. Prove him wrong. "I am not going to just sit around for a year or two until you decide that maybe you want me!" Besides, the socialites in the Junior League would drive her crazy long before an entire year had passed. "Maybe my grades aren't the best ever, but if you think I'm going to not continue my education because you don't want to take me, you're crazy," she told him firmly.
More firmly then she ever would have thought she'd feel, given that she'd always considered classes at school as something of a side effect of being able to play on the soccer team. Where was all this coming from?
Guess Olivia's rubbing off on me, she decided. Well, that was hardly the worst thing ever.
"No one said you had to," he said in that same maddeningly calm voice. "Perhaps you might have more luck at a local school."
"What, because no one else will take me?" she asked, losing the battle to keep her temper in check.
"That isn't what I-"
"Because I'll have you know you're wrong! I've already been accepted into Jameson University." Where the hell that had come from, she had no idea. What happened next distracted from the thought, though.
He flinched.
It was subtle, and could easily have been mistaken for a reaction of surprise, if not for the brief flash of concern and what might have been fear in his eyes. Clearly, he, at least, recognized the name.
Well, that made one of them.
"Jameson?" he repeated slowly. "With all respect, Miss Hastings, I don't think you've clearly thought through-"
"No, you just don't think!" she burst out, all but propelling herself out of her chair as it finally began to sink in that she really wasn't going to be allowed to wear the Carolina Blue. "They offered me a damn scholarship!" Which might have been a complete lie, for all she knew. Uselessly, she wished she'd read more then just part of the cover letter, now, but it didn't matter. This time, his flinch was much more pronounced, and he tensed as if he expected to have to repel some kind of physical attack.
Jesus, who were these people?
"I think we're done here," she said, struggling to keep the aggravated look on her face as she turned and left the office.
"Miss Hastings, is everything all right?" Principal Gold asked as she passed him in the hall. She realized he'd probably been hanging around, either to congratulate her or offer his condolences and assure her that one rejection was far from the end of the world.
She felt a surge of affection for the school's somewhat odd Principal, but it only served to hasten the collapse of her emotional defenses. "I'm fine," she said. Calm, stay calm... At least until you get back to your room. "We decided that North Carolina wasn't the school for me."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he began. "But you have to remember-"
Whatever it was she was supposed to remember would remain unknown, as she excused herself and, with a tight smile, swept down the hall, out the door, and back to her dorm.
Technically, she did have other classes to go to that day, but there was no way she could have focused enough to actually pay attention to what the teachers were saying, or face her friends.
She managed to shut and lock her door, then stagger to her bed before the first tears began to fall. Unable to hold it in any longer, she began to cry in earnest.
Her dream had just been murdered.
**********************************************
It took Viola three days to work up the courage - or, perhaps, simply come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to redefine her plans for the future - to open the envelope from Jameson that had remained on her desk.
Her friends had been nothing but sympathetic, and respected her right to privacy... which wasn't to say that she hadn't been dragged out for a night out or two. They understood she had a lot to work through, but they weren't about to let her wallow, or forget they were there for her.
It helped.
Somewhat less helpful was the information contained in the envelope. Oh, it gave her an idea of what the Jameson campus looked like, as well as some of the available majors - not everything, though, and the subjects tended to be stubbornly vague, like she wasn't allowed to know exactly what they taught until she decided to enroll - but the one thing that she wanted to know more then anything else, the thing that would capture her attention faster then anything, wasn't mentioned once.
Did they or did they not have a soccer team?
It was something that she needed to know before she could make any kind of decision. Politics and history weren't exactly her strong suit, but somehow the course list managed to make them sound interesting. If they did have a soccer team she could play on - and a college, at least, wouldn't cut their girls team... would they? - she might just have found her school.
Maybe.
She'd refrained from going around and asking her teachers if they knew anything about Jameson, as the somewhat limited information contained in the information packet convinced her that they might not like her bandying their name all over the place. But she was willing to make one exception.
Because if anyone would know about the status of their sports teams, it was Coach Dinklage.
She managed to catch the Coach in his office during her free period. Knocking on the doorframe, she called, "Hey, Coach?"
He looked up and acknowledged her with a gruff, "Hastings." Coach Dinklage was a no nonsense kind of man, tough but fair, and so much better then her old coach at Cornwall that she'd occasionally been tempted to hug him. It had been such a change, having a coach that she could really respect, and she'd listened to what he said because he deserved to be listened to.
"Got a minute?" she asked as she edged into the office.
He indicated the chair opposite his desk as he continued filling out paperwork. What kind of paperwork a coach had to do, she had no idea, and didn't really feel like asking. "What's on your mind?"
She took a deep breath as she sat down, steeling herself. "Have you ever heard of Jameson University?"
He paused with pen in mid-stroke, all of his attention suddenly on her. "Yes, I have. Why?"
She let out the breath she'd been holding. Okay, if the Coach knew who they were, and didn't react like the NC Rep had, maybe they were okay, after all. "They sent me an acceptance letter. Um, without my actually applying or anything."
"They're like that," he agreed, but his eyes looked troubled. "I've known of one or two girls in my time who got similar letters. From what I've heard, the DEBS recruit heavily from that school."
Viola sat back, taking that in. She knew who the DEBS were, of course. It would be hard not to, especially after that whole... thing... with Lucy Diamond. (Honestly, she had no idea what the hell had been happening there at the end, but her name had popped up enough prior to that to stick in most people's minds.) If Jameson had ties with the DEBS...
Well, that might just help explain how that guy had just vanished, if he was some kind of spy. "So, they're... on the level?"
He seemed to be thinking that over, which she definitely appreciated. "As far as I know, yes," he finally said.
"You're probably wondering why I'm asking you about this, instead of, say, Principal Gold," she began.
One side of his mouth pulling up into what might have been a smile, he cut in, "Two reasons, I'd imagine. Firstly, because you wanted a coherent answer sometime this century..." She choked on a laugh. "...and secondly, because you want to know about their team."
She supposed that had been a bit obvious. "Well... yeah." She paused. "So? Do they have a team?"
"They have, some years, been a bit inconsistent about playing, but yes, there is a team."
Mentally crossing her fingers, she added hopefully, "A girls' team?"
One eyebrow edged upward infinitesimally. "It is an all-girls school."
"Oh," she said intelligently. "I don't remember reading anything about that."
"They do like their secrets," he agreed. "When they do play, though... Whoever they have coaching them definitely knows their stuff." His eyes grew a bit distant as he gazed off into the past. "I remember this one striker named Brewer. A bit aggressive, but absolutely could not be stopped on the field."
Viola smiled a bit, in spite of herself. If they could affect the coach like that... Well, maybe they really were the school for her.
Just maybe. "So... what do you think?" she asked nervously. "Should I say yes?"
His attention instantly snapped back to the present as he refocused on her. "I can't tell you what to do with this, Hastings. But I think you've got what it takes to go there, if that's what you decide to do."
And that vote of confidence meant a lot to her. "Thank you," she said, then let out a soft sigh. "Guess I have some thinking to do."
"If you intend on going to college, I should hope you don't stop thinking," he said dryly.
She snorted in amusement as she rose from her chair. "Thanks for..." she said, waving a hand around vaguely to try and convey the whole situation. He nodded, and she left his office.
**********************************************
And think she did.
The due date for her response was swiftly approaching as she weighed her various options.
Not that there were really all that many of them, but the last time she'd made an impulsive decision regarding her education, she'd ended up cross-dressing as her twin brother. And this was even more serious.
She would have liked to talk it over with her friends, but she knew this was her decision, and that it was one she was going to have to decide alone.
When she'd finally read all the way through the material they'd provided her, she'd been relieved to find that they in fact had offered her a scholarship - and a better one then she could ever have gotten from North Carolina.
Her family was hardly hurting for money, but if she barely had to ask them for anything for school... Well, it would definitely serve to limit any control they had over her future, which was definitely a good thing.
The school's evident connection - however one-sided it may have been - with the DEBS had given her pause, though. That had never been a career path she'd even considered following before, but then again, there was nothing that said she had to join up, was there?
But then again... Well, she'd never considered it. And, yeah, she still wanted nothing more then to play soccer - she knew she could make it in the pro league - but it was always a good thing to have options, right? In case of injuries, or whatever?
Right.
Moving to Los Angeles would definitely be an adjustment, but she thought it was one that she could handle. It was the prospect of being there all on her own that made her feel a bit uncertain.
Except you won't be, her mind piped up helpfully. Olivia will be there, too.
She perked up a bit as she sat at her desk, facing her computer. That was true, wasn't it? And she knew she'd probably make new friends, but having someone to talk to that she already knew, that already knew her, would definitely help. Sure, it would kind of screw up her plan of getting away from Duke and Olivia to try and figure out who she really wanted to be with... But who knew? Maybe this would work better.
And maybe you'll be able to have a lot more "alone time" with Olivia with Duke in another time zone, a part of her mind that sounded far too happy about that prospect added with something that sounded suspiciously like glee.
"Stop that," she told herself firmly. She was going to be fair about this. And it also wasn't the decision she was trying to make right that second.
Except it sounds like you've already made it, now, doesn't it?
She stared at the computer screen. A blank email message waited there for her to write something. Yes or no, Viola, not a difficult question. Except that it was, because she knew so little about Jameson. They'll have to tell you more before you actually begin attending classes, and you know they won't kidnap you and force you to attend them. Which was true enough, she supposed.
There had, indeed, been contact information enclosed, including an email address to which she was supposed to send her decision. She'd been staring at the blank message body for about ten minutes, thinking.
Did she really want to do this?
Well... if nothing else, it promised to be interesting. And if there was soccer, she could handle anything.
She typed two words, then hit send. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, no turning back now. Her response had been simple, but to the point - and, frankly, if it was a bit mysterious, then it served them right. But she suspected they could figure it out. She opened her sent mail folder and stared at the two words that were going to completely change her life.
I'm in.
And away we go! Man, this took a little longer to write then I expected it would. Oh, and don't worry, the crossover aspect of the story will be much more evident by the next chapter - and the story itself may be a bit slow right now, but it will eventually pick up. It will probably be closer to Pantheon then Sensory Pleasure in terms of tone, which is just as well, since I'm still writing SP. ;)
So stick with me, and hopefully enjoy future chapters. (And yes, I'll also be getting back to SP, now, all of those of you who kept asking when the next chapter would be out. ;))