by JS Stephens
Copyright © 1999, revised 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Comments to:
libriscat@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: It's original fiction, although I am borrowing some lyrics and such from The Sound of Music, so apologies in advance. Some f/f, fairly mild. Consider yourself warned.
"I must have had a miserable childhood, I must have had a miserable youth..." Beverly's voice floated out over the empty auditorium, reaching into the shadows where Jeana listened in awe. Beverly was a senior and a very popular girl with golden hair, hazel eyes and a slim body. Jeana was a sophomore, tall and awkward, long dark hair and brown eyes hidden by thick glasses, a nerd to the nth degree. Jeana was drawn to Beverly from the first time she saw her jogging on the track field, which Jeana could see from her back yard, but didn't dare even approach the girl."
After all, Beverly was one of the best and brightest and Jeana was one of the untouchables, an outcast. Still, when she found out that Beverly was playing Maria in the school production of The Sound of Music, she hid in the auditorium after school every day, watching Beverly rehearsing, wishing she had the courage to approach the senior, just to tell her how beautifully she sang.
When the last day of rehearsals was over, Jeana snuck out, following Beverly from a distance, making sure that she made it to her car okay. It was getting dark earlier and Jeana felt it was the least she could do, even if Beverly never knew about her guard service. Besides, if Beverly ever found out, she'd probably make trouble for Jeana, who'd been tossed out of her junior high school for fighting. But wait, who was that creep following her?
"Hey Beverly," a male voice floated lazily across the parking lot, "want to go out with me Saturday night?"
Jeana melted into the shadows, watching as Beverly frowned and answered, "Kenny, we broke up last year, can't you get over it? I've told you a hundred times, I don't want to go out with you again."
"But baby, we're so good together. You know, like that stupid song from your play, 'Sixteen Going On Seventeen', with me playing Rolf to your Liesl. I can take good care of you, baby." He came closer, trying to put his arms around her, but she resisted, trying to push him away. "Hey, bitch, don't fight me, give me a kiss." Kenny tried to force a kiss on Beverly, who started fighting in earnest.
"She said to back off," Jeana said as she grabbed Kenny by the collar and yanking him straight in to the air. "I suggest you listen." Startled, Kenny tried to twist away, but Jeana held firm. He tried to kick her; she slung him on the hood of a car and hissed, "You might make me angry. Besides, you don't want to be compared to Rolf, he tried to betray the van Trapp family to the Nazis. Now, leave Beverly alone, or I will damage you." She yanked him back up until their faces were mere inches apart. "That, young sir, is a promise." Kenny paled, seeing glee dancing in Jeana's eyes, believing that she would do him severe damage. After she released him, he took off like a shot, never looking back.
Beverly took a long, shaky breath. "Thank you for saving me, ah..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to come up with a name for her savior.
"Jeana. I'm a sophomore, you wouldn't know me," the younger girl said sharply.
"Jeana. If I can ever do anything for you-" Beverly offered.
"Believe me, I would not take you up on it," Jeana said quietly. "You are popular, I am a nobody, so let's leave it at that."
Beverly looked up at the tall girl for a few seconds, then said, "I apologize, then." She laid a hand on Jeana's arm, squeezing lightly. "I won't forget your kindness, though." She went up on tiptoes, lightly kissing Jeana's cheek, then turned around and got in her car, taking off while Jeana stared in shock, hand flying up to touch her cheek.
"Beverly, he's at it again, sending roses and long rambling letters." John ran his hands through his thinning sandy hair, frustrated with the stalker who was after his client. "He's very smart, though, never leaves fingerprints, pays cash and uses different names, must use disguises too. I think we need to call a security specialist."
"John, I don't want a big ugly man following me everywhere, it would put off my fans," Beverly protested.
"Bev, my dear, just try the arrangement for one concert. For me, if nothing else," John pleaded earnestly.
Beverly softened, patting her ex-husband's cheek. "I guess since you are so worried and you are my chief of security, I should listen to you. Bring in the brute, then." She leaned back in her chair, envisioning some gorilla of a man coming through the door, but when she heard John come back, she swung around to see a tall, beautiful woman instead. "You're no man," she blurted out, sitting upright.
The woman chuckled as she sat down, crossing one elegant leg over the other. "No, I'm not, you are quite observant, Beverly. I'm JJ, pleased to make your acquaintance. John has already filled me in, now let me throw some plans at you." She leaned forward, brown eyes piercing Beverly's hazel eyes. "I don't think we need to make many changes to your concert itself, just how we get you around before and after. I hope you don't mind a roommate for a while, but this guy sounds like he is escalating and starting to fall apart." She leaned back, pulling a pad out of her briefcase. "Let me ask you some questions about this stalker. Does anything he or she do or say sound familiar, like from your past?"
"No, it doesn't, JJ. I've talked to John, to the police, until I'm blue in the face, but I don't know of anyone it could be." Beverly looked more carefully at the woman, wondering where she had seen her before. She looked familiar, but Beverly couldn't quite place the face. "I can't think of anyone I've dated or turned down in the past few years who could be doing this."
"Okay, I'll leave it for now." JJ make a few notes, then asked Beverly for a narrative of her version of the stalkings. She make a few notes while Beverly poured out her frustrations until she came to a stop. JJ waited to make sure Beverly was through, then promised, "I'll check a few things out, but you look tired. Let me take you home, your car should be secure enough in the garage. The first thing we want to do is to vary your schedule..."
Beverly didn't like the idea of sharing her home with a stranger at first, but JJ was so unobtrusive that she nearly forgot the other woman was around. At least she had a lapse in her tour, no more concerts for a few weeks. One thing JJ did insist on was accompanying her everywhere and was quite serious about varying her schedule. Some days she went to the studio, others she spent going over her music at home. At JJ's insistence, she stopped jogging at the local high school track and started going to a gym under an assumed name instead. Sometimes Beverly wondered why JJ looked familiar, but never could come up with an answer.
It was finally time to go on tour again. Beverly played several towns with no incidents, but it was different when they reached the fourth town on the tour. A spray of white flowers were delivered, with the single word, "Edelweiss". She wordlessly showed it to JJ, whose face went stony as she asked, "isn't this different?"
Beverly frowned as she answered, "Yes, I usually receive roses."
JJ glanced at the set list, then asked, "When did you put in a few selections from The Sound of Music?"
"Oh, a couple of concerts ago, I was thinking about when I played Maria. Senior year of high school and all that." Beverly answered distractedly. She glanced at the clock, then announced, "I have to go on now, JJ. Coming?" JJ nodded abruptly, taking her place just behind Beverly as they approached the stage.
JJ was restless during the concert, prowling the walls around the venue, looking for trouble. She thought she had made the connection, even if Beverly hadn't, Beverly obviously hadn't figured out who her guardian angel was. There, that looked like him, she thought as Beverly started in on a medley of selections from the movie. His hand was slowly snaking into his jacket pocket as Beverly sang and JJ made her way toward the man.
Just as he brought out a blue-black handgun, JJ dropped her hand on his shoulder and shoved him forward, grabbing the gun with her other hand. "I told you not to ever bother her again," she hissed in his ear, "come quietly with me, Kenny."
"No," he howled in protest, "she was my Liesl!"
JJ shoved the gun in her pocket, then yanked him roughly out of his chair, dragging him bodily toward the nearest exit. The commotion was noticed by the audience, then by the crew, who turned the spotlights onto the struggle. Several security officers ran over to assist JJ, who finally managed to snap handcuffs on Kenny. After they hustled him to the exit, the concert went back to normal.
Afterwards, JJ collected Beverly and personally drove her to a different hotel, saying that her luggage had already been forwarded. "I decided to have a contingency plan," she explained as she unlocked the door to the suite, "another room at a different hotel under my name in case I needed to whisk you away."
"Thank you, JJ. So, it was Kenny? I hadn't thought of him since high school..." Her voice trailed off as she really looked at the tall woman lounging on one of the beds, her memory rushing to fill in the blanks. "Wait, you're Jeana, the sophomore who saved me from Kenny before!"
"Guilty as charged," Jeana said, swinging upright. "Truth be known, I've been following your career with great interest, but I never thought I'd save you from Kenny again."
Beverly slowly walked across the floor, then sat beside Jeana. "I owe you my life again," she said quietly. Jeana started to interrupt, but Beverly placed a finger on her lips. "I tried to find you, you know, after you scared Kenny off that first time. Where did you disappear to?"
"I didn't. I just stopped following you like a puppy dog," Jeana said, suddenly bitter. "I decided I was just as bad as Kenny."
"What?" the singer asked, startled.
Jeana turned slightly so she could face Beverly. "I watched you run from my back yard, I watched you rehearse from the shadows, I followed you all around the school. I had a crush on you, Beverly, but when I tangled with Kenny, I realized that I was no better than he was, stalking you like that. I started skipping school and was eventually thrown out, then Dad took a better job somewhere else and I left town." She cocked an eyebrow, adding, "Now I stalk the stalkers."
Beverly frowned, still processing the first statement. "Wait, back up, you had a crush on me?" she asked.
"What about it? Hey, I'm not going to throw you down on the bed or anything, you know, I'm here to protect you!" She angrily jumped up, pacing. "Now that your stalker is in police custody, I guess I'll just pack my bags and move on." She stopped pacing and reached for her suitcase, but Beverly stopped her. "What?" she snapped.
"You really mean that? You had a crush on me?" Beverly asked softly.
"Yes."
Beverly smiled sadly. "The strangest thing, after you stopped Kenny, I dreamed that you were playing the Captain opposite of me in the play. I would stare up into those brown eyes, take off your glasses, then kiss you. Then, I'd usually wake up. It thrilled me and terrified me; I've dated many men, but never women, it woudn't be good for my career, or so my ex-husband tells me. But I've been curious about women..."
Jeana set down her suitcase and put a hand on Beverly's shoulder, her expression serious. "If you're asking for a kiss, just to see what it's like, you'll have to ask someone else. I've been with one woman, but she left me last year after ten years together. I don't do one night stands, I love for keeps. Good night, I'll send you my bill." She picked up the suitcase again, closing the door quietly behind her. Beverly stared at the door, willing the other woman to come back, but it never happened.
JJ was struck by the beauty of the sunset over the water. After nearly twenty years in business for herself, she finally gave herself a vacation by taking an Olivia cruise. She had never hooked up with another woman, but enjoyed watching the beautiful women around her enjoying each other's company.
For some reason, she started thinking about Beverly, whom she had walked out on seven years ago. She still followed her career, watching triumph after triumph, wondering if Beverly ever thought about her. She grinned at her thinking, as if she were still a lowly sophomore to Beverly's sophisticated senior. Actually Beverly was said to be taking a long sabatical right now, not playing concerts or even recording for the next six months.
"I must have had a wicked childhood, I must have had a miserable youth..." floated up behind her. JJ turned around, astonished to find Beverly standing there. "Hey," she said softly.
"Hey yourself," JJ replied, looking at the way the light make an aura around Beverly's golden hair.
"I was thinking," Beverly said as she came closer, "I never thanked you properly for saving my butt so many years ago. May I take you to dinner, perhaps dancing?"
JJ just nodded slowly, wondering when she would wake up from this dream. Certainly it was a dream...no, Beverly's arm around her waist felt warm and real, not like a dream at all, drawing her closer. "I never did get that kiss," she whispered huskily before gently touching her lips to JJ's.
JJ finally broke the kiss several minutes later, blurting out, "But I told you that I don't do one night stands!"
Beverly smiled up at her. "I never said I did one night stands," she answered. "Consider this a start, a new start. After all, the Captain send Maria away, but then pined for her mightily. You sent yourself away, and I've missed you terribly." She lightly kissed JJ again, then broke away, leading her wordlessly to the dining hall.
Climb every mountain,
search high and low
follow every byway,
every path you know...'til you find your dream
The End