Fic: Seize The Day
Nov. 7th, 2010 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psocopteraThis was written for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
abc_las, a challenge community, and originally posted there as a round 1 entry.
Title: Seize The Day
Author: psocoptera
Fandom: Huge
Characters/Pairings: Amber/Ian, Will/Ian
Rating: PG
Wordcount: about 1000
Warnings: none
Will isn't going to say anything, she isn't, she's lying in her bunk trying very hard not to listen to Amber and Chloe giggle (wincing every time one of them says "Ian"), until Chloe starts making kissing noises at Amber and Will loses it and snaps "Have you told him you're using him?"
The giggling stops; sudden quiet in the cabin. Amber isn't quite meeting her gaze.
"Maybe I like him," Amber says unconvincingly.
Will raises her eyebrows.
"You could have told him any time," Amber says, sounding more sure of herself. "It's not my fault if you blew your chance."
Will sinks back, tongue-tied.
She's sure Amber's wrong, she has to be. Ian's never thought of her like that, he's been too hung up on Amber, so telling him wouldn't have done anything but messed things up.
But, after lights-off, staring into the dark, she can't help but think about the milkshake again.
She can picture it perfectly: she's sitting there in Ernie's Diner, sticking gently to the dark-green pleather, still a little sweaty from walking down the long dirt road from the camp. The waitress sets it down without comment, the full tall glass, and it's right there in front of her, frosty and delicious, all she has to do is reach out and take it and slurp.
But Dr. Rand is there across the table, pitying her, like she's less of a person because she wants that milkshake. She can't let her see just how much she does want it, just how much she would savor every sweet drop... a milkshake like that, she would close her eyes drinking it. She might make noise.
And so she doesn't reach for it; she lets Rand her drag her back to camp, milkshake untasted.
No! Will wants to yell at that past self. Grab it! In the diner of life, there was always going to be some asshole who didn't want to let a fat girl have a milkshake, and screw them. Maybe she wouldn't have been able to enjoy it, with Rand staring down at her; maybe she would have, maybe it was the best milkshake ever.
And maybe Ian was like the milkshake, maybe camp was like the diner. Maybe it would have been too awkward to work, or maybe, if she had just made a move...
"Just don't hurt him," she whispers to Amber in the top bunk.
***
Will dodges Ian at breakfast but he catches her at lunch, still over the moon and eager to share. She mutters something vague; he burbles along obliviously. "So I just took a deep breath and blurted it out," he says, now on his second time through the epic tale of Amber, "I can't believe she kissed me!"
Okay, world, Will thinks, I get it already, good things come to those who seize the damn milkshake. She gives Ian a thumbs-up and lets him keep twisting the knife.
***
The first few days of Amber-and-Ian are hard - between Ian's daily bulletin from Ambertopia and the nightly cabin gigglefest, she knows way more than she wants to about what they're up to. After that it gets worse; tensions develop, and they both start coming to her for advice about each other. Will starts to wonder why she'd stopped at all, running away; stupid diner.
Maybe if I could just get over him, she thinks, but - no. That's too much like what they want her to do with food - bury her love of it so deep that she could have a milkshake in front of her and not even be tempted. They want to gut me, Will thinks. Screw that. Better to be hungry every minute and know what I want…
She's indulging in some private moping when she sees Ian heading for her. Oh great, yenta time, she thinks, but he looks strange, hesitant.
"Hey!" she says, and he nods at her silently. "What's up?"
"Amber dumped me," he says, and Will feels a flash of excited panic before sympathy kicks in and she reaches out an arm inviting him to sit.
He stays standing. "She said she felt bad for leading me on," he continues, "I guess I was, like, a pity date? She said I deserved better."
"Oof," Will says. "But I don't think it was pity, I think - " She wonders quickly how much to tell him about Amber without giving away her secrets.
"I'm not done," Ian says. "She said that you like me, she said she owed you one and you would never tell me so she was going to do it."
No I don't, Will almost blurts, automatically, and bites it back just in time. Milkshake! she thinks. She can't read Ian at all; he's upset, obviously, about Amber, but the intent look he's giving her, that could be betrayal, skepticism, anything. Hope?
Grab that milkshake, she tells herself, and shuts her eyes. "This whole summer," she says. "The way you feel about Amber? That's... that's how I feel about you."
She risks peeking at him to see how he's taking this. He looks... stunned.
"You never said anything," Ian says softly.
"It's not a big deal," Will shrugs. "No... wait." She sighs. She's doing it again, trying to hide how much she wants something. "I was so jealous of Amber," she admits. "She never seemed to get how lucky she was. To be with you."
"Forget Amber," Ian says, and Will thinks ohmygod ohmygod and Ian steps closer and Will thinks no way and Ian leans down and Will thinks yes! and surges up off the bench and meets him mid-lean and kisses him for all she's worth.
Carpe Ian, she thinks a little while later, giddily, and pulls him closer.
abc_las, a challenge community, and originally posted there as a round 1 entry.Title: Seize The Day
Author: psocoptera
Fandom: Huge
Characters/Pairings: Amber/Ian, Will/Ian
Rating: PG
Wordcount: about 1000
Warnings: none
Will isn't going to say anything, she isn't, she's lying in her bunk trying very hard not to listen to Amber and Chloe giggle (wincing every time one of them says "Ian"), until Chloe starts making kissing noises at Amber and Will loses it and snaps "Have you told him you're using him?"
The giggling stops; sudden quiet in the cabin. Amber isn't quite meeting her gaze.
"Maybe I like him," Amber says unconvincingly.
Will raises her eyebrows.
"You could have told him any time," Amber says, sounding more sure of herself. "It's not my fault if you blew your chance."
Will sinks back, tongue-tied.
She's sure Amber's wrong, she has to be. Ian's never thought of her like that, he's been too hung up on Amber, so telling him wouldn't have done anything but messed things up.
But, after lights-off, staring into the dark, she can't help but think about the milkshake again.
She can picture it perfectly: she's sitting there in Ernie's Diner, sticking gently to the dark-green pleather, still a little sweaty from walking down the long dirt road from the camp. The waitress sets it down without comment, the full tall glass, and it's right there in front of her, frosty and delicious, all she has to do is reach out and take it and slurp.
But Dr. Rand is there across the table, pitying her, like she's less of a person because she wants that milkshake. She can't let her see just how much she does want it, just how much she would savor every sweet drop... a milkshake like that, she would close her eyes drinking it. She might make noise.
And so she doesn't reach for it; she lets Rand her drag her back to camp, milkshake untasted.
No! Will wants to yell at that past self. Grab it! In the diner of life, there was always going to be some asshole who didn't want to let a fat girl have a milkshake, and screw them. Maybe she wouldn't have been able to enjoy it, with Rand staring down at her; maybe she would have, maybe it was the best milkshake ever.
And maybe Ian was like the milkshake, maybe camp was like the diner. Maybe it would have been too awkward to work, or maybe, if she had just made a move...
"Just don't hurt him," she whispers to Amber in the top bunk.
***
Will dodges Ian at breakfast but he catches her at lunch, still over the moon and eager to share. She mutters something vague; he burbles along obliviously. "So I just took a deep breath and blurted it out," he says, now on his second time through the epic tale of Amber, "I can't believe she kissed me!"
Okay, world, Will thinks, I get it already, good things come to those who seize the damn milkshake. She gives Ian a thumbs-up and lets him keep twisting the knife.
***
The first few days of Amber-and-Ian are hard - between Ian's daily bulletin from Ambertopia and the nightly cabin gigglefest, she knows way more than she wants to about what they're up to. After that it gets worse; tensions develop, and they both start coming to her for advice about each other. Will starts to wonder why she'd stopped at all, running away; stupid diner.
Maybe if I could just get over him, she thinks, but - no. That's too much like what they want her to do with food - bury her love of it so deep that she could have a milkshake in front of her and not even be tempted. They want to gut me, Will thinks. Screw that. Better to be hungry every minute and know what I want…
She's indulging in some private moping when she sees Ian heading for her. Oh great, yenta time, she thinks, but he looks strange, hesitant.
"Hey!" she says, and he nods at her silently. "What's up?"
"Amber dumped me," he says, and Will feels a flash of excited panic before sympathy kicks in and she reaches out an arm inviting him to sit.
He stays standing. "She said she felt bad for leading me on," he continues, "I guess I was, like, a pity date? She said I deserved better."
"Oof," Will says. "But I don't think it was pity, I think - " She wonders quickly how much to tell him about Amber without giving away her secrets.
"I'm not done," Ian says. "She said that you like me, she said she owed you one and you would never tell me so she was going to do it."
No I don't, Will almost blurts, automatically, and bites it back just in time. Milkshake! she thinks. She can't read Ian at all; he's upset, obviously, about Amber, but the intent look he's giving her, that could be betrayal, skepticism, anything. Hope?
Grab that milkshake, she tells herself, and shuts her eyes. "This whole summer," she says. "The way you feel about Amber? That's... that's how I feel about you."
She risks peeking at him to see how he's taking this. He looks... stunned.
"You never said anything," Ian says softly.
"It's not a big deal," Will shrugs. "No... wait." She sighs. She's doing it again, trying to hide how much she wants something. "I was so jealous of Amber," she admits. "She never seemed to get how lucky she was. To be with you."
"Forget Amber," Ian says, and Will thinks ohmygod ohmygod and Ian steps closer and Will thinks no way and Ian leans down and Will thinks yes! and surges up off the bench and meets him mid-lean and kisses him for all she's worth.
Carpe Ian, she thinks a little while later, giddily, and pulls him closer.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-08 04:29 am (UTC)I love the milkshake metaphor especially:
In the diner of life, there was always going to be some asshole who didn't want to let a fat girl have a milkshake, and screw them. ...
That's too much like what they want her to do with food - bury her love of it so deep that she could have a milkshake in front of her and not even be tempted. They want to gut me, Will thinks. Screw that. Better to be hungry every minute and know what I want…
Thank you for writing this and sharing it!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-08 07:33 am (UTC)I can picture this so well, I love the characters' voices, you absolutely nailed them. They're all so open to everything and you captured that beautifully.
Thanks for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 03:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-08 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 03:53 am (UTC)