WHEN PROMS COLLIDE
By Bryton4ever71
copyright@ July 7, 2011
Lima, Ohio, 2011
Rachel Barry had a secret. Well, more like a problem. Yes. A secret problem. A deep, dark secret problem that she would never admit to her fellow Gleeks.
Rachel Barry got nervous before every performance. Not just nervous. Stage fright.
Oh, music was her life and singing was a part of her as much as breathing was. And she knew she was destined to be a star as surely as she knew that her two dads were the two most fabulous fags in the world. And she was so brash about it, so outwardly sure of herself that she could never let anybody know about...the problem. Not Mr. Shue, not Jesse, not even Finn.
The solution: A simple prescription, a mild anti anxiety medication, that unknotted her stomach and chased those butterflies away to be taken before every performance (rehearsals not included.)
There was also another reason why she didn't want anyone to know. She wasn`t "addicted" and this wasn't anything like that nasty "Vitamin D" incident a while back. This was just a "calmer" as she liked to call it. But if anybody knew about it they'd just freak and assume she was "Vitamin D" ing again, and worse yet, maybe some of the other Gleeks would want some! And she couldn't afford that.
And so, when she was informed that the Glee Club would be performing for the Junior Prom she went through radical mood swings. Outwardly she rejoiced, planned, insisted on a solo and generally made herself as popular as a cat at a dog convention. Inwardly and all through algebra, she had a screaming, crying panic attack in the bathroom. She wasn't worried, I mean where she was headed, she wasn't going to need math and when she made it big she was going to hire an accountant. Besides, what with the Glee club and practicing, and going on stakeouts with Finn and whatnot, it seemed like she was never really in class anyway.
After school, she went to the pharmacy a town over that took two busses to get to like she always did when she needed a refill. This time, after getting her small bottle of pills, however, she looked around the shelves for something stronger. She still wanted something "over the counter" and non-habit forming but she knew the entire prom including singing and dealing with Finn was going to require major fortitude.
She was idly checking things out when she saw it. In the secluded corner of the shop on the top shelf, at the very back, four bottles deep was a small prescription bottle with a single, giant, bright blue pill inside it. The bottle was dusty and old and forgotten looking.
Looking around carefully, she reached up and took it and wiped off some of the dust. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. On the label was: Rachel Barry....Anti-Anxiety Medication....To be taken just before needed....Side Effects....
Holy Hell! This was labelled to her! It was meant for her! But how was that so? It was in the very back and looked like it hadn't been touched for months, maybe years. But somehow, this was meant for her! This was meant for the Prom, she just knew it!
Now, Rachel wasn't a klepto, or a shoplifter by any means but she knew she had to have it. I mean, it was hers anyway, right? So she closed her hand around the bottle casually and kept browsing and casually picked out a box of antihistamines as well. She walked to the counter, just holding the bottle in her hand, not putting it in her pocket. She knew there that was the first tell-tale sign of guilt, and so she resisted with all her might as she walked to the front and paid for the antihistamines and then got the hell out of there. However, she wasn't able to breathe truly freely and deeply again until she was on the first bus outta there and back to Lima.
It wasn't till then that she pulled the bottle out and looked at it more carefully. The blue pill was huge, like the size of a gumball. There was no way she was going to be able to swallow that in one go. She'd have to slice it in half first.
Side Effects: Light headedness, stomach upset, some inter-dimensional travel.
WHAT!!! Inter-dimensional whatsit?? That had to be some kind of mistake! That was crazy! Wasn't it? Well, whatever. This was Prom. And she'd rather have her fingernails pulled than admit it, but she was scared silly. And she'd do anything to get through it. Anything.
RJRJRJRJRRJRJRJ
Pittsburgh, PA, 2001
Justin Taylor came down the stairs in his black tux with a charcoal-blue bow tie and matching cummerbund. His black shoes shone with a high gloss. His blond hair was brushed into a perfect part and his blue eyes sparkled.
"Holy shit, Sunshine!" squealed Debbie.
Oh sweetheart, you look so handsome," said his mother.
"Our little chick's become cock of the walk," said Vic proudly.
The lesbians made appreciative but untrue statements, but Justin loved them nonetheless.
And although Justin smiled his million-watt smile and thanked everybody graciously and (sigh) waited until his mother had snapped his picture, inside he was melancholy. He was going to pick up his friend Daphne who had agreed to be his date but he really wanted to be going with someone else.
He had asked Brian at Babylon a few nights ago but of course the narcissistic asshole had turned him down He'd told him he'd rather be caught dead in a room full of 18 year olds and to ask someone else. That's when he'd asked Daphne to go as friends and they had decided that there would be no more weirdness between then. The whole ‘lose your virginity' fuck had been a total disaster and had confirmed Justin as being a total homosexual forever.
"However, as he made his way over to her house, he thought of everything she was giving up by going with him. A romantic date. A slow dance, danced cheek-to-cheek, chest to breast with the chance of a kiss after. Feeling like a princess. An after prom fucking/ and/or a good night kiss. Daphne was giving up a lot. Justin resolved to do something special for her in the days to come.
Justin picked her up and after her grand entrance ("You look absolutely beautiful,' he told her honestly) and pictures of them alone and together, they were off.
At the prom, things went swimmingly for a while. Justin felt like a total fraud, looking and acting like a heterosexual. They got punch, chatted inanely, hooked up with others making polite conversation that made bile rise to the back of his throat in boredom. They danced a few times awkwardly. And all the time, a dark haired man with dark, bedroom eyes and a dark, damaged soul haunted his thoughts.
Suddenly, Daphne tapped him on his shoulder and pointed.
Justin turned.
And there he was! He was there! He had come! Justin felt that thrill rush through him that always did when Brian's eyes met his. He smiled his signature smile that lit up the room.
Slowly, Brian walked over to him in that slow, deliberate way he always did.
However, as glad that he was that Brian had come, Justin was a little pissed. These constant let downs and then last minute walk-ins back into his life were starting to be as much as the downers and uppers caused by the drugs they took at Babylon. He wasn't ready to let Brian off the hook that easily.
"What are you doing here?" I thought you wouldn't be caught dead in a room full of eighteen year olds."
"I thought I recapture my lost youth," Brian said in that infuriatingly nonchalant tone of his, "You look hot, Daphne," he said kissing her forehead, "I'd fuck you."
"Uh, thanks Brian. You too," she answered awkwardly.
"Mind if I borrow your date?" he asked but it wasn't really a question.
Brian took his hand and started to pull him onto the dance floor. What could he do? Justin let himself be pulled along. Brian was inexorable, a force of nature, like a riptide.
And that's when he heard it. He stopped, resisting, stopping Brian as well.
"Wait!" he cried, "What's that?'
RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ
A few minutes ago, before she was set to go on, Rachel had taken the blue pill surreptitiously with a glass of punch. She had cut it into thirds at home, but it was still hard to take. It was worth it though; she was terrified. She covered up nicely by talking brashly and confidently, like she always did, and dancing with Jesse. And of course, she had Sam to dance with a little but he and Mercedes seemed to be hitting it off nicely and so she let them gravitate towards another.
But the blue pill seemed to be doing the job and she was starting to feel the confidence she was portraying, her stomach had unknotted and the butterflies had flown away. And then it was time.
Rachel stepped up to the microphone. Her hair was black and sleek and shiny and her dress was pink and layered and airy and it felt and looked like a pink cloud. She began to sing and the music took over as it always did. She had chosen this song especially for Finn and as she sang she kept her eyes on him, looking at him, now unhappily dancing with Quinn.
Rachel was hit with a wave of light-headedness but she ignored it. She knew it was just the big blue pill. Thankfully, it passed and she began to sing. However as she did something weird began to happen. She was hit with an even stronger wave of light-headedness and a large group of other people appeared out of nowhere. They were transparent and sort of superimposed themselves over the regular people at her prom. However the show must go on, right?
She began to sing.
@!@!@!@!@!@!@!@
Whispery and faint, and kind of echo-y at first the song began but it began to get clearer quite quickly. In astonishment, Justin saw a beautiful teenage girl with black hair and a poofy pink dress appear transparently on the stage. She began to sing:
No, I can't take one more step towards you
Cause all that's waiting is regret...
And don't ya know I'm not your ghost any more
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live....half alive
And now you want me one more time...
And who you do think you are?
Running round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart!
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me...
Who do you think you arrrrre?
Justin was astounded. To him, it was as if the girl was singing directly at him, for him, to him. Suddenly, it was as if the inexorable force of nature that was Brian Kinney could be resisted. The pull was not so strong. Instead, Justin fixated on the dark-haired girl. He turned to watch and listen raptly.
Justin loved Brian, he really did. But really, who did he think he was? He'd taken himself in and out of his life at dizzying irregularities, disappointed him countless times and treated his virginity like it was nothing. Just like the girl sang, his soul was ice and it was a wonder he didn't catch a cold. And he'd refused Justin's invitation to come to the prom as his date, disappointed him one more heartbreaking time and then at the 11th hour just showed up out of the blue, like it was nothing, acting as if he'd just dropped by because he was in the neighbourhood. At that, Justin stopped, dug in his heels and turned toward the girl and moved slowly toward her. His hand pulled out of Brian's.
"Justin, what the fuck!" Brian called.
"I want to listen to this. I have to get closer," Justin called back over his shoulder but already it was as if he couldn't care less if Brian heard him or not. He felt pulled, magnetized toward the girl and he walked forward to the stage in slow steps.
As Rachel sang, she looked raptly out over her double audience as they in turn looked back at her. She saw Finn and Quinn of course, dancing slowly, and it was to him she chiefly sang, having picked out this song especially for him. But it seemed the big blue pill had other plans of its own. In the audience of the second party, Rachel`s attention was grabbed by a young man with buttery yellow hair who was almost as blond as Sam and not much older than herself. He was with an older man, about 30 years old. As she sang however, the younger man pulled away and listened to her raptly. Their eyes met. The man began to make his way over and hopped with feline grace onto the stage. His eyes widened and Rachel could tell that he now saw what she saw.
Finn danced with Quinn unhappily and wished things were different. He also heard Rachel`s choice of song and was cut to the heart. But he had made his bed or at least Quinn had made it for him, making plans about future and Prom that seemed to ensnare him more and more as tangled and as groping as tropical vines. He saw Rachel sort of...phase transparent and was astonished. Then, a little way into the song, he saw a blond boy, as old as a senior, appear beside her, also transparently and was even more astonished...and a little jealous.
However, Rachel had rehearsed well, and without breaking stride she started into the second verse and Justin and everyone else listened raptly.
I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strooo-oong!
To ever fall back in your arms!
I've learned to live...half alive
And now you want me one more tiiii--iiime!
And as Rachel began the chorus, Justin began to join in, in his own haunting alto voice, singing his own pain to a certain "all that" Stud.
And who do you think you are!?
Runnin' round leavin' scars!
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart!
You're gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul,
So don't come back for me,
Who do you think you are?
(Here Rachel continued alone: )
It took so long just to feel all right,
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes,
I wish I had missed
The first time that we kissed
Cause you broke all your promises!
And now you're ba-ack...
You don't get to get me baaa-aack!
(And here Justin joined here again: )
And who do you think you are!?
Runnin' round leavin' scars,
Collecting your jar of hearts!
And tearing love apart!
You're gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul!
So don't come back for meeeee!
Don't come back at allllllll!!!!!!
Rachel started in on the next line but she soon found that was totally unnecessary. Before her very eyes, both proms, the entire world as she knew it slowed down and then froze solid. It seemed that wherever she was, whenever she was, she was now...nowhere. Or everywhere. Whatever. As well as travelling through dimensions, time at least for her had stopped. And by the astonished look on the blond boy's face, she could see he was experiencing the same phenomenon.
"This is very weird!" declared Justin, "What happened?"
"I don't quite know," said the apparition, "But I think time has stopped for a little while."
"Time stopped!? Are you sure? And how is that even possible?"
"Well, it sure looks like it. Yes! Look! Look over there, out your window! You can see a bird in midair! And there!" She pointed again. "In my gym, someone was in the middle of pouring punch! Time's stopped all right! Perhaps so we could talk."
"Talk..."Justin sighed wistfully, "The only one I want to talk to is right there but his motto is fucking is for fags, loving is for straights and munchers! He has the listening skills of a jar of mayonnaise!"
"That's too bad," said the girl, "And that's ridiculous by the way! I know quite a few fa - gays where I'm from and they all love the ones they're with! Why, I was given up for adoption and I have two gay Dads! And they love each other...and me...immensely!"
"You! Who are you!? And where are you from? How did you get here?"
"Well, to start...I'm Rachel," said Rachel. "Who are you?"
"I'm Justin," said Justin.
"I'm from Lima, Ohio, and it's 2011. It's my Junior Prom night. And everyone you can see that looks transparent are my schoolmates. As for what happened, well, I'm afraid that's my fault. You see I get stage fright, pretty bad. But no one knows. I'm in the Glee Club at school and I'm so good and confident acting that nobody would ever believe me. So I've been taking some...medication. But when I went to the pharmacy this time..." Rachel gave Justin a quick run down of the run-in with the big blue ball of a pill.
"A warning label for inter-dimensional travel!" Justin hooted in disbelief. "What were you thinking!?"
"I didn't really think. And I didn't really care!" Rachel said defiantly, "I could tell it was supernatural. And it had my name on it. It was...it was like my stardom, which is to come. It was destiny!"
Justin rolled his eyes. Oh, brother!
Besides, it's working marvellously. I have twice the audience and I'm not feeling a thing!" Rachel continued.
"Well, it certainly seemed to work," he said, "You're at my prom too! This is my senior prom at St. James Academy. I'm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it's only 2001! But you're only halfway here! You look like a ghost!"
"From my point of view, you're the ghost," Rachel smiled.
"So what is that song you are singing? I've never heard it before."
"Well, no you wouldn't have, would you? It's called Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri and it's fairly recent...well from my point of view. So for you, it doesn't exist yet."
"It sounded....so specific. Are you singing to someone in particular?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Do you see that curly, dark haired boy, dancing with the blond over there?" She pointed. "That's Finn. He had me...gave me up, wanted me again, but by then I was taken with someone else. Then that person, Jesse, betrayed me and I was alone for a while. And instead of getting back together, he hooked up with her!" Rachel's voice was laced with the venom she could never show to her other Gleeks...they already were jealous enough of her as it was. "But he's shown interest again and I wanted to tell him in the special way we tell each other things in Glee Club; that there's no way!"
"Oh! Well, good for you!" said Justin.
There was a rather awkward pause. They were both sitting by now and were looking over the eerie, frozen scene.
"And you? What's your story?" asked Rachel. ‘What brought you up onto stage? Who are you singing to?"
"Ahhh. Now that's complicated. I was singing...to him!" He pointed to Brian with a flourish, hoping to shock her and was a little disappointed when he didn't. And Brian was unconcerned with everything as usual, frozen in place with his usual pissed off scowl he wore when things weren't going his way.
"Oh yes. I saw you pull away from him when I was singing. He's a bit...older, isn't he?"
"Yes. Well, I like his age...and experience! And when you've got no prospects to seek out in school, you venture forth further away. I did so, went down to the gay district, to Liberty Avenue to seek out...seek out...."
Rachel cocked her head interestedly.
"...Someone! Something! Anything! I found Brian. We found each other. I love him. And he loves me...he never says it...but I know..."
"How do you know?" asked Rachel.
"Sometimes it's hard. But he always does the right thing, even when it's almost too late. Oh! It's so frustrating! He's this self-centered narcissistic asshole nearly all the time! I asked him to come tonight and he shot me down. So I came with a female friend and at the last minute here he is! He came! He couldn't stay away and he did the right thing at the last minute...as usual. A part of me wants to kiss him until he begs for mercy and the other half...."
"Wants to wring his neck?" suggested Rachel.
"YES!" yelled Justin to the silent world and then covered his mouth in horror, as if he'd committed blasphemy, "OH!! Is that horrible? Does that make me horrible?"
"No, Justin. It makes you normal. From what I'm hearing, he's the...well, it seems like you put up with an awful lot. If Finn or Jesse had pulled that, I would have told them to leave me alone for the rest of the night, if not ever."
"I guess it's different for two guys. Especially when one of those guys is Brian Kinney. Honestly, I would have been a little surprised if he hadn't done something like this."
"What do you mean, "especially when one of those guys is Brian Kinney"?"
"Well, he's the Stud of Liberty Avenue. Everybody wants him. But nobody can have him more than once. Except for me. I'm the guy two fucked him more than once." Justin said proudly.
"Justin, don't you see! He's only a "Stud" because he thinks he is. Everyone loves him because he loves himself, doesn't take no for an answer. And because everyone says yes, validates his behaviour, it only feeds his ego, makes him the Stud that you all "think" he is. You know, it's very unfair. If he was a girl, people would be calling him a very different word than "Stud! Trust me, if you stop putting him up on that pedestal and step up on one yourself, he'll have to be the one to look up."
"And Justin," she continued, "You shouldn't sell yourself short. Step up on that pedestal! You're handsome, blond, young. You're a stud too! And, I bet, you're the only one willing to put up with his narcissistic bullshit, I man really put up with it! Am I right? And you just said you're the only one to fu - well, get him more than once. You're piecing the armor he keeps up as part of his disorder. Don't give up!"
Justin thought about what she had just said and was forced to agree. As hot as Brian was, he was hot and studly too. And he deserved a bit more respect. And he would get it. He just wished for a moment that Brian was different. Normal. That he didn't have to fight tooth and nail to get the scraps of Brian's attention. He wished they didn't have to hide and do it in the back alleys and back rooms of Babylon and...whatever. Oh how he wished things were...
And then he looked over at Rachel and realized...realized who she was and where she came from...and what a gift this was.
"Oh wait! Of course! You're from the future! Doesn't anything get better? I mean for queers! Isn't it better? Do we still have to hide and huddle in the darkness for affection!? Do we still have to be in the closet all the time? Ohhhhh!!!" he anguished, " Do you understand what I mean!? Doesn't anything...get better!?"
"Oh, Justin!" Rachel cried in distress because now she realized the responsibility she had. She realized now too late, this was what the magic blue ball had intended, maybe had sought her out for all along. Someone, somewhere, sometime was bound to ask her this type of question. If not Justin then....someone else. And somehow, she knew deep inside her that the little blue ball would not let her go home again until she had answered it.
She thought a bit and looked around the room at all the still life people for inspiration. Then she began to answer.
"Well, Justin, that's a hard question. Things are...a little better. People are a lot more aware of gays now and even if they don't like it they are aware that you're not going away. And it's like...well look over there! That's Kurt! He's in the Glee Club too. He's what you call effeminately gay. He can belt out notes as high as me! And I can go pretty high. And everybody who knows and is friends with him loves him to pieces and accepts him gayness totally. He asked his boyfriend Blaine to the prom and there they are dancing! Well, should be dancing..." she amended.
"I know someone like Kurt too," Justin said, smiling a little at the thought of Emmett, "Wait! He's here with his boyfriend!?" he asked in disbelief, "And he's allowed!? No one cares??" he asked wistfully. Oh, if only Brian had said yes!
"Well, sure he's allowed! He's gay! Who else is he going to go with, a girr - ohhhhh...I see! Sorry, Justin. But you see? That's what I mean! It's a bit more liberal nowadays. Plus, remember, I have two gay dads! And gays adopt all the time now! There are gay ministers and rabbis and in some places...not all but some ...gays can get married."
"Yeah...Canada!" Justin said resentfully.
"And more places in Canada," Rachel enthused, "And now even a few States too."
"Really?"
"Yes Justin! You see, things do get...a little better. That's not to say there's no opposition. Homophobia and Christians are still out there, pulling out that old Leviticus line. You see there...that's a jock Karofsky...He bullied Kurt pretty bad because Kurt was out and for a while Kurt left to go to a private school. That's where he met Blaine. But Kurt told us a while ago that Karofsky kissed him in the locker room once! Karofsky's gay too! But he's so caught up in the jock world he can't come out of the closet. That's why he's dancing with Santana." She indicated the dark Latina girl he was dancing with.
"Actually, I have a similar situation." Justin pointed to Hobbes. "I gave that guys a hand job in a sports closet once. And he liked it! But guess who the ringleader of the bullies is harassing me now!?"
"Hmmm," murmured Rachel in understanding, "Wow, you better watch out for him! He's staring daggers at Brian!"
"Yes, I know. So, things are a little better? But just not much?" he summed up.
"Oh Justin I guess so. But remember, I'm just in a small town. You're in Pittsburgh. Things must be different there even at your time. They could be better or worse in other places, I don't know. I guess homophobia is like racism...or any other ism. There will always be evil people who practice such things. But don't stop believing Justin! Don't stop fighting!"
"I won't. I'll make sure none of us do!" vowed Justin.
And now....are you ready to return?" asked Rachel, "Or..." she giggled, "I guess from your point of view...have me return home?"
"But how do we do that?" asked Justin.
"I think we have to finish the song," said Rachel, "That's what we were doing when everything stopped and I didn't take that blue pill for nothing! Why don't we start at the chorus and go into the reprise where I was headed when everything stopped. That way it'll be seamless and I'll get the rhythm back. They won't realize we've stopped at all."
And so they did. They sung about the scars and tearings in love that heart collectors like Brian and Finn and even Jesse rip apart without even caring staring deep into their unseeing, uncaring eyes. But it didn't matter. They sang to the silent, stopped world, they sang to their loves and they sang to themselves, drawing strength from the knowledge that they loved, had loved and even if their partners couldn't show it yet, they were loved in return.
So don't come back for meeeee!
Don't come back at allllllll!!!!!!
And as Rachel had predicted as they sang that last line, the world burst to life again. People moved in dance, the bird outside the window flew away and the punch pourer got their glass of punch at last. And nobody realized there had been a break in the song at all. And Rachel and Justin sang again in increasing intensity for a good finish:
And who do you think you are!?
Runnin' round leavin' scars,
Collecting your jar of hearts!
And tearing love apart!
You're gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul!
Don't come back for meeeee!
Don't come back at alllllll!
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think...you...are!?
And again, as she had predicted, as she sung the last line, Rachel vanished away, taking her prom with her, back to her own time and space and Justin was left alone on the stage. He stood there for a few second wondering if he'd hallucinated the whole thing and feeling extremely foolish standing up there all by himself.
And then everyone (except Brian, who knew that was for him) stopped dancing and clapped politely. So Justin bowed once politely and then quickly hopped off the stage.
"Justin, what the fuck was that?" Brian asked petulantly, Justin thought now. "Who was that girl? Where did she come from? Where did she go?"
"Her name was Rachel. She was from...another time. And now she's gone back," Justin answered, "I liked her song. It was important to me to sing it with her. To sing it to you."
"To me? What for?" Brian asked.
"Didn't you listen at all? Who do you think you are? I'd really like to know. I asked you to come as my date. But you turned me down, as cold as if there was ice inside your soul. And yet here you are, showing up at the last minute again, like you're throwing me a scrap of your love. Well, I don't want scraps, Brian! I want what I give! All of it! I won't let you collect my heart in a jar like you do those tricks at Babylon! So...who do you think you are? Why are you here? Why, really? None of this lost youth bullshit! Tell me!"
And Brian leaned in close and started swaying to the music that started up for the next song, a faster one this time with acoustic guitar, "Save the Last Dance for Me." And below the music where no-one would have heard him, he gave his answer.
"I think I'm the Stud of Liberty Avenue," he began arrogantly, placing himself on that pedestal as Rachel had predicted, "But I had a talk with Lindsay and she convinced me to come. Besides which, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I should have said yes, Justin. I guess I'm here because I wish I had. I know that will only get me one dance but I'll take it. He spun Justin and Justin turned, his arm straight backed behind him in the masculine fashion. When he was pulled back into Brian's arms he whispered furiously, "Well, Mr. Stud, I think I am the guy you fucked more than once! Plus I'm King of Babylon! So I deserve some respect! I love you Brian Kinney, but if you can't accept that or return the feeling then there will come a day when you will regret it!"
"God, I love it when you're ballsey!" Brian declared and dipped him. Justin was awash in the heady emotions of angry love and at the same time euphoria because he knew he was a part of yet another spectacle. And damn it! He did love this man! This arrogant, sexy man who could sneer and smirk one minute and the tuck his lips under and look like a little boy in trouble the next. He loved his candour and bullshit and loved that he could tell the difference and cut through his bullshit like butter.
And then Brian was lifting him off his feet and before he could resist or pull away, Brian smashed their lips together, right there in the middle of the dance floor, in front of asshole Hobbes, in front of everyone. And he knew that was as good an "I love you" as he was going to get right then and so he took it and opened up for the best tongue fucking of his life.
And he knew from that moment on, he'd love this man forever. He knew this was the most beautiful night of his life. And he knew he'd never forget it.
Never.
RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ
Rachel sang the last line of the song and sighed in relief and a little bit of sadness as Justin and his prom vanished away taking the last note with him. She'd miss her new friend.
Everyone clapped for her and she curtsied in her pink fluffy cloud dress and mingled back into the crowd.
However, it didn't take long for Finn to find her. He came over, dragging Quinn with him. Quinn was silent but you could tell she was jealous.
"Rachel, what happened to you out there!? I saw you! I saw you fade! I saw you fade...like, transparent or something! What happened to you? And who was that boy? I've never seen him before! Who is he?" Finn asked jealously.
"For God's sake Finn! Calm down! He's just a boy! An actor what's his name to help me with my song. What? Didn't you like it?"
"It was OK, I guess. But I thought you were doing a solo. If you wanted help, why didn't you ask me?"
"Please Finn! It looks like you have your hands full as it is! Besides, weren't you listening? You don't get to get me back! Or help me anymore!" She enjoyed the jealous outrage on Quinn's face immensely but before Quinn could say anything, Finn spoke up again.
"But all that other stuff! The fade out and in and him disappearing! What about all that?"
Rachel thought quickly and tried to come up with an answer that was simple, glib, plausible (well, somewhat) and yet totally outrageous. And then she had it.
"Special effects," she declared.
Then she turned on her heel and walked away, in search of Jesse.
THE END