Yaaaay! So I finally got around to posting this compilation of one-shots. They're all challenges I did for my livejournal community Rent for Bastards. I'll post the link to the community in my profile. Go check it out!
Anyways, these are all stand-alone stories, and hopefully I'll be adding to them as time goes on. Hoorah.
Role of a Lifetime
A Maureen Introspection
By Baka-Sensei
Everything in Maureen's life is like a play. She's acted her whole life. It comes as naturally as breathing.
"Maureen, what am I going to do with you?" her mother moans when she's twelve years old and has just been caught making out with a sixteen year old boy behind the bleachers. The woman is all concern, the worry tightening her frame to the point Maureen's afraid she'll break. She's just threatened to ground her daughter until she turns eighteen.
Cue watery eyes. The next lines are said in a remorseful tone.
"I'm sorry…I… it wasn't my fault!"
Within five minutes, Mom is convinced Maureen had no idea that she was doing something wrong. She's blaming Jason for everything. Making an angry call to his mother. That's talent, Maureen thinks.
"You're dropping out of high school… to act?" Dad on the phone. Maureen is perched on the stained sheets of a creaky bed in a seedy hotel on the outskirts of New York. She's only seventeen years old. He's nearly hysterical and has said he'll call the police if she doesn't come home.
Cue breathy, hopeful voice. Turn on the charm.
"Daddy, this is my dream. My friend Amanda, you know her aunt lives here. I'm staying with her. If you don't believe me, let me give you the address. You can come anytime you want to visit."
By the end of the conversation, Maureen's father believes that she's safe in a home with the loving family of her friend Amanda, a girl who doesn't exist. Sure, it helped that her father never took a real interest in her, never really cared about her, always wished she'd been a boy, but still, that took talent.
"Where were you last night?" Mark, eyes weary, knowing the real answer, but too tired or stupid or in love to call her on it. She knows she'll get away with the cheating no matter what she does. At twenty-one, Maureen is no idiot.
She ignores the regret, the guilt, even anger at herself when she sees that vulnerable look in those blue eyes. She knows she doesn't deserve Mark. She knows he's too good for her. She knows the reason she's cheating is that she doesn't want to face the fact that someone could love her as much as Mark does, that she can't love him back in spite of that. Knows that that scares her more than anything has ever scared her in her life.
Stop. Breathe. That's not in character. Bat the eyelashes. Cross right. Kiss.
"I was out with my new friend, Patty. She's a great girl. I told her all about you. I was thinking about bringing her around today. What do you think, Pookie?"
Mark even fucking smiles at that. It doesn't matter that 'Patty' is actually 'Patrick'. She's gotten even better at this over the past few years. Act innocent. Oblivious. Loud. Obnoxious. Never let the smile slip. That's talent.
"For God's sake, Maureen, could you be serious for one second? You're worse than a little kid." Joanne's exasperated grumble. Maureen ignores the sting she feels at the words. The feeling is muted, anyway. It's always like that when she's in character. Nothing can touch her, because it isn't really her there.
It's been two months since she finally left Mark. Since she admitted to herself that she might really feel something for this woman, something beyond the camaraderie she feels for her friends, beyond the slight affection she's felt for the other people she's slept with before. It'd been the most gut-wrenching admittance Maureen had ever made to herself. No one had noticed. To everyone else, it had seemed to be a decision made on a whim. Because that's who Maureen is. Silly. Spontaneous. A fickle, colorful creature, flitting from one flower to the next like a humming bird. She's that good at her act.
Cue pouting lips. Sweep the love interest into a hug. Pause.
"Awww, Pookie! You think I'm funny! Being serious is no fun!"
Joanne still looks slightly suspicious. It was Maureen's first clue that the woman was different. She can see through her a little. With practice, Maureen thinks she could see past the character entirely. That scares her more than Mark ever did.
"I love you." Joanne again. This time, they're curled up on their couch. It's a month since they found Mimi, and the family is whole again. Maureen and Joanne have decided to take a quiet night off to spend together.
Maureen smiles. For the first time in her life, she feels like it's okay to just… be. And she can't believe that the woman in her arms right now has lead her here, helped her come to this beautiful place in which she exists now. She can't believe it, but she won't question it. It's important to be thankful for what she has right now. The last year has taught her that.
Curtain closes. Step off stage.
"I love you, too."