#sma writes

[originaljerseygirl]

Well, it's been about a year and a half since I've written anything for this fic but I guess the writing bug just bit be so ... here you go. I present to you CHAPTER 18 of WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN IN THE CITY.

[originaljerseygirl]

Can I Have This Dance? (A Finchel Drabble, Rated G)

“This is such a bad idea,” Finn mumbled to himself as he stood in the middle of the busy sidewalk. It was really the only part he hated about living in New York – the business. He could deal with the noise and the crime and the cursing and the smell and, you know, Queens, but the sheer volume of people with pissed off looks on their faces running to get their next wheat grass smoothie or whatever nasty stuff they drank here just really bothered him. Sure, he knew he could move somewhere else but his brother was here, some of his best friends were here, and so was Brooklyn College. Therefore, New York it was.

He thought he might have found it more irritating today, though, because he was doing one of the stupidest things he’s ever done in his life: take a dance class. He promised himself he would only come today and he had to pay Tina in coffee and dinners to go with him, but Kurt was only getting married once (he hoped) and there was just no way in hell he, as the Best Man, could be a crappy dancer. He needed to at least know a couple of steps so he didn’t embarrass his family.

“Can you move you giant butt into the studio please?” the testy voice of his best friend called out. “Because I have dinner plans tonight and I’m losing some prime waxing time by standing out here with you. At least take me inside and spin me around the dance floor.”

“First, we agreed that we don’t talk about the things you wax. Second, I’m just really nervous. I’m a bad dancer and I don’t want to step on you.” Tina stared at him for a minute before pointing down to her feet. Finn’s eyes widened as he looked down and saw that she was wearing platform shoes. “What the hell are those?”

“The cheapest insurance policy I’ll ever have,” she answered before grabbing his hand and tugging him inside.

And, now, Finn was pretty cool with most stuff. He considered himself to be pretty laid back and could tolerate most things but when he and Tina made it inside, everyone turned and looked at them because, of course, he’d made them late. Tina stepped on his foot in her monster shoes and stomped (literally because those shoes were crazy loud) over to a clear space on the floor. She told him to get into position and he had no idea what the hell she was talking about so she, of course, tugged him the way she wanted him.

He hadn’t seen the instructor yet, just heard her talking calmly to other couples. He wished she would come over to him and Tine because he knew he wasn’t doing it right and she wasn’t helping – she could be super bossy when she wanted to be – and he just needed to learn one dance. He didn’t think it was too much to ask.

Then a whole bunch of things happened at once and really, he had no idea where it started. Maybe with the instructor calling out a new way to step. And then Tina got a text. And then she let go of him and twisted so she could pull her phone from her pocket. And then he fell over her giant shoes. And then he hit the floor pretty hard.

The music stopped and he rolled onto his back, eyes closed, and groaned. He heard heels clicking against the floor as someone rushed over to him, a sweet, musical voice asking if he was alright, and then a small hand on his cheek. When he opened his eyes, he was pretty out of it so he said the first thing that came to his mind. “Aw, man. I can’t believe I died before Kurt’s wedding. He’s gonna kill me.” He heard someone snort and he blinked before his eyes focused on probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen before in his life. “Hi.”

The woman, so beautiful, smiled and asked if he was okay. At his nod, she smiled wider. “I can see I should have made a greater effort to get to you and your partner earlier. Can you get up?” He nodded and with the help of a couple of guys, he was on his feet again. “Can you stay up?” He thought about it for a minute before nodding again. She gave him another gorgeous smile and said, “I’m Rachel Berry, your instructor. And it appears as if your partner’s abandoned you for her phone and someone named Sam. Would you like to dance with me?”

He nodded, a smile on his face, and decided dance lessons weren’t the worst idea in the world after all.

[originaljerseygirl]

Does anyone want to send me prompts? I feel like writing.

[originaljerseygirl]

Do you still write?

Ugh. I should and I know it but I've gotten so into RPing that I find it hard to write more than one perspective in the same story. Maybe if I get some prompts I'll be able to get back into it.

And yes, I still have the cheerio!Rachel, nerd!Finn prompt. I just haven't written it yet.

[originaljerseygirl]

I got a ficlet request from two very good friends of mine and I think it's time to write it. :D

[originaljerseygirl]

I'm going to write for Lights tonight. What would you like to read?

Finn & Rachel's first night in their apartment

Finn engagement ring shopping

Rachel finding out she's pregnant with Sadie

Other (and then you have to tell me what)

[originaljerseygirl]

It's Not a Fear! [Finchel - Rated: G]

It's Halloween Night and time for Trick or Treating with the Hudson Family. [For A-Rach]

He used to love Halloween as a kid. He would dress up as a cowboy (five years in a row, okay?) and go out with Puck and get a ton of candy and stuff and bring it home and, okay, so his mom would take most of it and only give it to him when he did his chores and homework and stuff but whatever. It was there and his for the earning. He was the smartest and cleanest between Halloween and Christmas break, no joke. They even went out in high school too, but most of the families in Lima sent them away because they said they were too old. Well, hell, he didn’t think so but whatever. And it sucked that he was too tall to pass off as a little kid anymore too.

College changed his mind though because he was in New York with Rachel and they would go to parties and Rachel would dress all sexy and guys would hit on her so that was, like, the least cool thing ever. But she had his ring on her finger (returned to its rightful place her junior year at NYADA) and she went home with him every single night so the complaining was kept to a minimum. Mostly. (Sometimes he got super possessive or super whiny when he got super drunk. Rachel didn’t like it but it kept the other dudes away so he thought she could deal with it one night of the year.)

But now that he was a dad with his two little girls, Halloween was the best holiday ever. Aside from Christmas. But anyway. This year was the best yet because Anna (5) decided to be Belle and her sister Jackie (3), decided to be Cinderella because when they went to Disney over the summer, it looked like Belle and Cinderella were best friends. Anna was still at the stage that she loved Jackie and wanted to do everything with her. He kinda hoped that didn’t change.

This Halloween, since the girls had chosen to be Princesses, Rachel decided that Disney would be their theme. That’s how he found himself in a Prince Florian costume while Rachel was dressed as Snow White. They grabbed their custom-made (by Kurt) Halloween baskets and headed out into the night. Or, well, late afternoon because the girls had a bedtime and Anna had preschool tomorrow.

They were finishing up the loop of their neighborhood when it happened. Anna squealed and took off and he had a heart attack and chased after her. He was relieved when he saw her stopped in front of two smaller bodies. They must have been her school mates. “Anna, baby, you can’t …” But the words died on his lips when he saw she was talking to two little vampires. “Anna, take a step back for me. Please.”

“Hi, Anna’s Dad!” one of the creepy little kids said and Finn couldn’t stop himself from taking a step back. His daughter could fend for herself. But then two bigger vampires came over with a tiny vampire and he was pretty sure he was about to take his last breaths. This couldn’t be happening. They were everywhere.

“Excuse my husband,” Rachel (his savior) said as she approached with a sleepy Jackie in her arms. “He’s got some odd fear of vampires.” And then she giggled, the traitor.

“It’s not a fear,” he shot back. “And I’m not scared of you,” he directed to the terrifying children’s even more terrifying parents. “Just for the record.”

Rachel giggled again and handed their little girl over before placing a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Honey, can you said goodnight to Adam and Alex and see them tomorrow? Jackie’s super tired and we haven’t been to see Uncle Noah yet.” Crap. He forgot they were swinging by Puck’s bar. Not that the girls would go in but Puck would meet them outside and give the girls way more candy than Rachel thought was appropriate. It was awesome.

Anna said goodbye and took Rachel’s hand and he kept his eyes down (and away from the kids) and said goodbye as well, heading towards Puck’s bar as quickly as possible. They saw a couple more vampires along the way which made him cringe and Rachel giggle and then, of course, when they got to the bar, Puck was outside in a vampire costume.

He hated his best friend so much. Almost as much as he hated freaking vampires.

[originaljerseygirl]

An open letter to those who love Cory Monteith. [This is my contribution to the A Star for Cory book.]

Dear Ann, Shaun, Lea, family, friends and fans,

I've been sitting here (quite frankly for longer than I care to admit) trying to think of something to say.  I wanted to be inspiring; I wanted to make at least one person feel better, maybe elicit a smile.  It's hard to do that, though, when I'm finding it difficult to smile myself.  I'm sure there's not a single person reading this that hasn't felt the same and my heart goes out to all of you, especially those who knew him personally.

I'm not going to inspire you and I'm not going to make you feel better.  I can only hope that time will heal the wounds that have been left behind by this tragedy.  Nothing I can say or do will change what happened and, despite wishing for the contrary, I've come to accept that as a truth.  I think it will be a long time before any of us are truly comfortable with the fact that this has happened, if we ever are.  The path to healing is going to be long and hard and I'd like to extend my deepest condolences to everyone he touched in one way or another.  

They say time heals all wounds but time is a fickle, fickle beast.  Some feel as if they've had too much time and others too little.  Sometimes time will linger, be drawn out, seem endless; sometimes time will fly by so fast you can't remember anything between Point A and Point B.  I think I speak for the majority when I say I feel as if our time with Cory was very much the latter. It seems like only yesterday we were hearing about him putting Lea in time out or flying across the country to visit an ill child.  How is it that it's been years that he's been gracing our television screens and stages?  How is it months since we've seen him cheering for the Canucks?  No, it seems like minutes, seconds.  I can still remember what his voice sounds like without having to watch or listen to anything so surely I've just heard it.  But no, I have not.  You have not.  We have not.

Time stole Cory before any of us were ready to let him go.  Whether we knew him for 31 years or 31 seconds, Cory has undoubtedly been a major impact on all of us.  His generosity, fun-loving nature, hilarity, sense of humor, big heart, endless talent and wide smile have touched each of us in some way.  And now, losing that comfort is like an unexpected punch in the stomach, leaving us breathless and gasping for air.  All of us are feeling like we've lost someone close and personal and, whether we knew him or not, it's true.  We've opened up our hearts to Cory and I think when we lost him, we lost that.

I don't know when it's going to start getting better.  I don't know if it will be today, tomorrow, a year from now, ten years from now.  For some, it may never get better.  But to everyone, I extend my deepest and most heartfelt condolences.  Cory was a star in both his professional and, more importantly, his personal life.  He outshone every around him despite trying very hard to blend into the background.  His humbleness will never fail to make me smile.  (Neither will his inability to show up for large events on time but that's a thought for another time.)

I am keeping each and every one of you close in my heart.  If you ever need someone, I will be there for you.  I know we will probably never meet, never know each other, but I will carry each of you with me every day.  It is in times of great tragedy that you find yourself seeking answers, seeking solace.  I have no answers; all I have is the promise to always be willing to lend an ear.  

It is our turn to take what Cory has taught us and apply it in our everyday lives.  Smile.  Be kind.  Stop and smell the roses.  Never stop hustlin'.

Cory Monteith has been an inspiration to me and, I'm sure, all of you.  May his heart and soul rest in peace, free of all of the hurt and pain this world has brought down upon him.  May he be the newest and most revered drummer in the band playing for the choir of angels above us.  May the comfort he once provided us here on earth now blanket us and shelter us in times of need now that he is gone.

Cory is up there looking down on us.  We must make sure to honor him as best we can. 

Stay strong.

All my love and affection,

S