Post by veronicaaaahhhh on Jun 27, 2015 11:47:48 GMT -5
For the first time, in like, a long ass time, Penny had a favorite song again. And it wasn’t just some song she’s liked since before, no. This song had just come out a couple of month’s ago.
And as Penny sat on the Persian carpet spread out across Mary’s floor, she smoked a bowl and looked at her record player as it span around and around and around.
Her brother collects these almost exclusively. Penny had a player of her own, just some hand me down from her mom that she thought was cool enough, but outside of a couple albums, it just always sat on the corner and gathered dust.
But here, in the apartment floor of a girl Penny was just starting to know, she couldn’t take eyes away from the spinning black circle. Spinning around and around as it just filled the room of a sound that just felt…
Perfect.
Before she knew it, she started to close her eyes as she found herself bobbing along to the new melody that just struck something in her she couldn’t place. It was like the song was there her entire life, but somehow, it took like twenty four years before some girl she didn’t know decided to pick up a guitar and finally write this song for her!
Mary walked out of the kitchen, holding up two cups of tea looking like that girl from Beetlejuice because of the clothes she had on, but like, less gothy and more comfy.
“Isn’t it such a pretty song?”
“It is.”, Penny shot out, looking up at Mary now as she came over and handed her a cup of milk tea. “Who’s the singer?”
“Waxahatchee.”, Mary replied, sitting down on the couch now.
“Is that a band?”
“Kind of?”, Mary replied. “It’s more like the solo-project of a girl named Katie Crutchfield.”
“That’s cool.”, Penny nodded, taking a hit. “I really like this.”
“It’s called ‘Under a Rock’.”, Mary said, leaning over as she turned her head to look at Penny. “Do you wanna read the lyrics?”
“Totally.”
“Okay.”, Mary said sheepishly as she got herself off the couch, set her cup of tea on the ground and walked over to her stereo and grabbed the cover, slipped out the jacket out of the cover and passed it over to Penny.
Penny took the album and turned her hand around to look at the front cover. “Is this her?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s pretty!”
“She really is.”
Okay, it always confused the
outta Penny whenever a girl whose orientation she wasn’t sure of, says that another girl’s pretty. She couldn’t tell if she was admiring the way she looked or if she really liked her, liked her.
Penny couldn’t tell and she felt like a jerk whenever she’d try to gauge a girl with her gaydar. Like some girls are obvious enough, yeah. But there are those that could really go either way.
Penny snapped herself out of it and looked at the lyric sheets and read along.
“Should I play it from the start?”, Mary grinned.
“Do it.”, Penny said, looking down at the lyrics now.
Mary took a seat next to Penny and looked over her shoulder, trying to follow Penny as her eyes followed along to the words inside the sweatery blend of garage pop that sounded very 90’s.
“… Woah.”
“Right?”
“… I don’t know if that’s a good ‘woah’.”
“Uhm?”
Penny licked her lips and looked down at the lyric sheet as she finished the song. “I expected the lyrics to be a little happier for some reason, but it totally makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”, Mary asked, sipping her tea.
Penny scratched the back of her head and sighed. “I guess it just hits close to home… It’s kinda like the girl in the song is singing about someone like me.” Penny shook her head and snapped herself out of it. “… Please forget anything you might have heard.”
“It’s fine.”, Mary smiled, holding Penny’s hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Penny grabbed her pipe. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“What?”
Penny took a long hit and coughed. “I love dating, I love meeting new girls, I love having fun with girls that I like… But I think I just have to face the fact that the reason I just haven’t been able to get into anything is because relationships really aren’t my thing.”
Penny closed her eyes and started to breath heavily. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“We can talk about something else.”
“I don’t wanna do that.”, Penny said, turning her head. “I like this song and even though it kinda gets to the more crapty side to my personality, I kinda wanna get passed that so I could sing along to it in the shower instead of thinking of all the girls I dated that I just never really thought of as a serious girlfriend.”
“But you’ve been in a relationship, right? A real one?”
“How is it that random people get to let me open up about crap I don’t even want to talk about?”
“Maybe you just surrounded yourself with people you just knew you could trust without having to worry about what they’re going to think of you. And you just didn’t know that you’ve been doing it all along.”
“I can get that.”, Penny nodded. “That is kinda insightful.”
“How do you feel?”
Penny shrugged. “Like a jerk, but I still really like this song.”
“I get her.”, Mary said, leaning her back against the couch. “It’s really stupid, but I’ve kinda gotten myself into that kind of mess twice before.”
Penny looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Mhm.”, Mary nodded. “But I was young, but this song still gets to the part of me that went through all that.”
“Is it something you sing like an anthem?”
“Yeah.”, Mary nodded. “It’s just incredibly wistful, because you can really feel in that song how great things could have been and for me, the lyrics and the music represent all that wasted effort.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.”, Mary said. “But that’s why this song’s out there, so we can deal with that situation and get over it.”
“I get that.”, Penny said. “That’s what I want to do the most.”
“With what?”
“My whole life.”
Mary got closer to Penny and held her hand. Penny didn’t know what to make of it, but she just went along with it.
It wasn’t that often she found herself in a situation like this, and instead of rushing into conclusions like she always did, she just wanted to take the deepest breath in the world and enjoy the moment for what it was: a lovely evening with a lovely lady, with tea and herb, and a really lush mid-tempo number that also liked.
Mary turned towards Penny and dropped her head a little as she slacked her jaw and said, “Hey.”
Penny turned back to her. “Yeah?”
Mary got up a little and licked her lips. “I just remembered!”
And with that, Mary got up from the floor and walked over to her desk, grabbing something before coming back to Penny. “I made you a little going away present.”
Penny looked up as Mary handed her a CD-R. “I made you a little mix-tape. I dunno, just a few songs I thought you’d might enjoy.”
“Is ‘Under A Rock’ already on here?”
Mary smiled and nodded. “It’s the fourth song on the mix.”
“Nice.”
Mary sat back down next to Penny and smiled. “So, there. Thought it’d keep you entertained.”
“It should.”, Penny smiled, looking back at Mary now as her mind raced at a million times a second, just wondering what the hell was going on with this girl that it was making her heart race a little for no stupid reason. “… Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”, Mary smiled, awkwardly dropping her elbow against the cushion of her couch. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”.
<***>
Under A Rock
A Penny Shannon RP
<***>
It was pretty early in the morning when Penny and Josh left Dean Manor for Cincinnati. Depending on what happened next, they were probably going to stay on the road until the trip to Japan. So, Penny knew there was no going home for the next couple months and she was pretty fine with that.
It was a half past four when Josh pulled the car out of the drive-way. It was still really dark out and because Dean Manor was actually away from the city, Penny looked up and saw starts- totally thankful, she smoked the crap outta that blunt because the sky looked so much closer than it probably was.
Penny strapped on the seatbelt on the passenger’s side and looked at Josh, turned over with his arm leaning against his seat as he pulled the car out of the drive-way.
“Where we’re going…”, Penny grinned. “We don’t need roads.”
“Lucky you.”, Josh chuckled, turning the car left as he made the drive up the block. “One of us still has to stay sober for the first leg.”
“Were you able to get any sleep?”
“Just a couple hours, maybe three?”, Josh replied. “It’s all I need anyway.”
“Lucky you.”, Penny shot out. “I can’t really function without a crap-ton of sleep.”
“Wonder why.”, Josh chuckled.
“ you, dude.”, Penny shot back. “I’m like a little bear. Like the gay aunt the Bernstein Bears had but they just never showed in the books or anything. This bitch needs her beauty sleep.”
Josh’s eyes shot out a little as he smirked. “My point exactly.”
“But hey.”, Penny nodded. “For what it’s worth, I wish I could be a little more like you. Survive on just three hours of sleep at night and get away with.”
“I’ve always been this way.”, Josh said. “The boys now too.”
“I noticed that.”, Penny nodded. “That’s actually pretty chill.”
“It’s having a family.”, Josh said. “It just does that to you.”
“That’s cool, dude.”
“How about you?”, Josh said, rolling down the window as he lit a cig. “Do you ever think you’ll ever settle down? Start a family?”
“Nah.”, Penny sighed. “I just never thought about it, you know? And it just feels way too grown-up for me to wanna deal with.”
“But, you’ve thought about it?”
“A couple times.”, Penny replied. “I mean, mostly when I was little.”
Josh took a drag. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, I’d run around the playground trying to marry all the other girls.”
“That’s sweet.”, Josh smiled. “You were the little groom!”
“ no!”, Penny shot out. “I was the bride, who just wanted to have another bride instead of a groom, because that seemed like a much better idea!”
“I can get that.”, Josh laughed. “I can get that. So- and if you don’t mind me asking?”
“It’s chill, dude.”, Penny shrugged. “Go right ahead.”
“Growing up, knowing that you liked the opposite gender.”
“-Wait, there’s a difference. ‘Sex’ is for what’s between people’s legs. ‘Gender’, on the other hand, is more about what people feel about themselves on the inside.”
“… Okay?”
“It’s like this: I was born a girl, and I feel like a girl on the inside.”
“… Alright.”
“You’re a boy. You were born a boy and on the inside, you feel like a boy.”
“Last I checked.”
“Good. You’re following.”, Penny sighed. “Uhm… Now, there are some people who were born a boy, but on the inside they don’t feel like one. They can either feel like a girl. A bit of both. Or just nothing at all. And the same for people who were born a girl but not feel like one.”
“But how could you not feel like one?”, Josh asked. “I’m sorry again, if that might have come across as insensitive, but I am trying to understand this in the best way I can.”
“At least you’re trying to understand.”, Penny shot out. “A lot of people are just bungholes about this.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded. “So, there are people like us who feel comfortable in the body we were born in- like it matches with our personality. It’s a perfect fit. But there are some people that don’t feel that way?”
“Pretty much.”
“Okay.”, Josh nodded. “And attraction is separate from that?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, I’ll be.”, Josh shrugged. “It’s really a lot more complicated than they explained it when I was growing up.”
“It is, and you know because of stuff like that.”, Penny began. “People’s ideas of what the world should be and how people should behave and all that kinda stuff… And because of that, I just ended up getting used to the idea that it wasn’t for me. Because for the longest time, people weren’t supposed to be that way- that two girls in love can’t get married. It sorta limits your choices and outlook.”
“I’m sorry, Penny.”
“It’s not your fault.”, Penny replied. “It's just all that crap society tried to instill sticking with me.”
“But it's not out of the question. Not anymore.”, Josh smiled. “It could still happen. Didn’t think I’d end up getting married, but I did.”
“You do have a really cute family.”
“Thank you, Penny.”, Josh smiled. “That really means a lot to me.”
Penny smiled at Josh for a second before turning her attention towards the dashboard as they drifted into the interstate.
It was pretty quiet after that. Josh continued smoking out the window, just gazing into the road like there was something big on his mind that Penny might have had a tiny idea of, but could just never really get because she isn’t him.
She knew Josh was playing for keeps here. As far as the man’s concerned, he’s just one good match away from becoming World Champion. It was something that was just so obvious in the promotion right now, and it was impossible to not feel that focus.
“Hey.”, Penny shot out. “You care for some music?”
“What’dya got?”, Josh replied, blowing smoke from his lips.
“I’ve got this mix Mary gave me.”, Penny said, reaching into her purple Jansport with the universe printed on it.
“Mary from the office?”, Josh asked.
“Mhm.”, Penny replied. “She’s pretty cool.”
“That’s cool. You two been hanging out?”
“Just a few times over the last couple weeks.”, Penny replied. “Nothing, really…”
“I didn’t know she also…”, Josh trailed, trying to find the best way to say it.
“… What?”
“Swung that way?”
“Oh.”, Penny said, putting the disc into the stereo. “I don’t know if she does… Why? Does she? Is there something I don’t know?”
Josh opened for his mouth for a second and turned his head. “I don’t know. But- and I don’t mean to burst you’re bubble here or anything, but there was a guy, think it might have been her boyfriend who used to come ‘round to the office for lunch and pick her up.”
“Oh…”, Penny trailed.
“But, I don’t know for sure.”
“I can get that.”
“Can’t you tell?”, Josh asked
“I could.”, Penny said, leaning against her seat as she recognized the first song that came on- it was Liz Phair’s ‘6’1”’ (Penny wasn’t surprised Mary liked Liz Phair). “But… I mean, usually I don’t usually care. I just flirt a little with someone and see where it goes. But from a far, unless she’s just obvious about it, and you can just feel the gay oozing out a mile away, most girls can go either way. So, it’s really hard to tell.” Penny sighed. “Especially with someone I like.”
“So, you like her?”, Josh asked.
“No…”, Penny hissed, squinting her eyes a little. “Yes? Maybe… I don’t know?”
“Well, we’re playing her CD.”
“But that’s only because I thought we could have some road music.”, Penny said. “You can change it if you want, dude.”
“It’s fine.”, Josh said. “I could use something new.”
Penny looked at the cover and tried to read out the track list in the dark. “You sure about that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not that guys don’t like this music.”, Penny began. “Because a lotta them do, but this really is like girl-power stuff, ya know?”
“If it’ll keep me awake and give my mind something different to think about and form an opinion on, I don’t see why not.”
“Okay.”, Penny nodded. “Because the next song is Bratmobile and you’re gonna wanna have to brace yourself for this one.”
“What’s the next one called?”
“’Brat Girl’.”
“Let’s hear it!”
Penny smiled at Josh. “Thanks, dude. Not a lot of people care to hear the stuff I like, so it’s nice to be able to you know, share it?”
“Anytime, Penny.”, Josh smiled back. “Anytime.”.
<***>
The food was taking a lot longer than Penny expected. She figured she passed out sometime after leaving Raven’s place, because before Penny knew it, they had stopped at a dinner somewhere along the side of the interstate and it was sunny as.
So, Penny sat there on booth, right across from Josh, biting her nails as she scrolled through Tumblr.
Josh still had something on his mind, something more than just the match they had coming up. And Penny could just feel the vibes, especially from the way he was looking out the window, but now wasn’t exactly the best time to talk to him about it.
He was going to come around and whatever it was, Penny knew that she was gonna be there.
Penny looked down at her iPhone again… Boobies, cats… Supernatural. Girls… Text post… Ha, a dad joke. Classic!.. Ew, no… A penis!
Penny put down her iPhone and took a look around, saying, “It shouldn’t take this long to get our orders.”
“We came in here at around 10:45.”, Josh said, looking away from the window.
“So?”
“We came in right after the morning rush.”, Josh replied. “They aren’t in as much of a hurry to get our orders as they were a half hour ago.”
“crapty timing.”, Penny hissed.
“I know.”, Josh said, looking up from his seat as he took a gander for any sign of the waitress. “We can’t be waiting here too long.”
Penny nodded.
“So…”, Josh began. “What’s our plan going into Choke Hold?”
Penny crossed her arms together, rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Dunno. Walk in, do what we always do and beat the hell outta Kirkbride and Joe Bishop?”
Josh sipped his Coke and nodded. “Seems about right.”
“I don’t know.”, Penny shrugged again. “We work pretty well together as a tag team.”
Josh leaned against the table and chuckled. “I still think we would have had a hell of a run with the tag team titles.”
“Wouldn’t doubt it, dude.”, Penny said. “It’s like we both know exactly what we have to do.”
“There’s a lot of communication in the mix.”, Josh said. “But it’s hardly ever verbal.”
“I know.”, Penny said. “It feels natural.”
“You gotta understand though.”, Josh began, looking up now. “-Hold that thought.”
“Food’s here?”, Penny shot out, turning head now as she saw the waitress coming her way with Josh’s cheeseburger and her waffles. “Finally!”
The waitress set their order on the table and took off as soon as she could.
Josh grabbed his burger and said, “Now where was I?”
Penny spread the butter down across the soft, steamy, doughy crevices of her waffles and replied, “Well, we were talking about how we don’t have to talk to each other. That we both know what to do on instinct and then there was something I had to understand.”
Josh nodded as he looked up and chewed his burger- obviously savoring the juicy, meaty goodness as it collided with a melted slice of cheddar that layered the bite off with a nice creamy finish.
Obviously, he was taking his time.
Josh held up his hand and started to swallow, reaching out to sip some Coke.
“Got it.”, Josh began, wiping his lips now with a paper napkin as he continued. “Now back to what I was saying before, you gotta understand that we go into every tag team match with our collective experience.”
“I don’t think I’ve been around long enough to call myself a veteran.”, Penny said, looking at Josh’s cheeseburger, wishing she had ordered that instead.
Josh dipped a French fry into a small bowl of ketchup and said, “I’ve been in this business for around eleven years now. How old we’re you when you broke in?”
“Fifteen, I think? But that’s just backyard stuff. I didn’t do anything legit until I was like seventeen-eighteen.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded as he bit into his French fry, covering his mouth with his hand as he asked, “How old are you now?”
“I’ll be twenty-five in September.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded. “Then that means you’ve been in this business for about as long as I have.”
Penny opened a pack of strawberry jam and sighed. “But I haven’t really done anything like you, ya’ know? I just sorta went from place to place, trained people a little. But I wasn’t even that good at that.”
“What are you talking about? You trained Scarlett, she became WFWF Champion!”
Penny looked down at her waffles, and there was just something about the way the butter just melted into them that seemed so perfect. Like it was one of those bites that Penny just knew was going to being perfect; just a little bit of a crisp on the outside, and as soft as crap on the inside.
She couldn’t spread the jam faster as she looked at Josh and said, “… I get what you’re saying, but still.”
“All I’m doing here is just pointing out the facts.”, Josh said, wiping his mouth from another hearty bite. “You may not have accomplished much in your professional career, but you’re part responsible for a lot of big things that have happened in the last couple years. And on top of that, you’re an experienced fighter.”
Penny raised her eyebrow. “Are you saying I have more experience than Daniel Kirkbride and Joe Bishop?”
“Not necessarily.”, Josh said, turning his head. “Daniel Kirkbride has been around the block before- you can just see the experience in the way he moves around the ring. But ever since that incident with Kyzer, he’s hasn’t been the same.”, Josh continued. “It’s like he took a complete one-eighty overnight and that was it. So, that said, you know this guy won’t be in the right frame of mind.”
“It’s kinda messed up they’re actually allowing him to compete…”, Penny shrugged.
Penny pinched her fork into the waffles, holding them in place as she drew her knife and cut against the fork; slicing herself a nice opening bite. The butter had collected into those crevices and the waffle itself was just soaked. And on top of that was a nice heap of strawberry jam, coating it with a chunky, yet syrupy texture.
“Now, Joe Bishop on the other hand.”, Josh began. “This match really is just the start for him. He’s been around the promotion for years, but it’s only now that he’s really starting to make an impact, you know? He’s breaking through, so you’ve got to take into consideration that if his mind is where it should be, he’s going to be walking into this match with the intention of making a strong impact.”
… Penny rolled her eyes. Jesus H. Christ- Penny took it back. Getting the waffles was a good idea!
Josh picked up his burger and smiled. “I’ll give you a moment.”
Penny opened her eyes. “I’m sorry, dude.”
“It’s fine.”, Josh nodded, biting his burger.
“But I get ya’.”, Penny said.
“Good.”, Josh said, wiping his lips. “Because even though I know you’re coming into this tag match with the intention of having my back, I need you to have something at stake in this match too.”
Penny sipped her iced coffee. “What do you mean?”
“Well, ever since you came back.”, Josh began. “And in spite of wrestling with an eye-patch on, you’ve been in a really clean winning streak.”
“Yeah.”, Penny shrugged. “But, I kinda went into those matches knowing I could win.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m better than Lucas Crowe, and Jayson Garrett, and Stan McMann- who, by the way, hasn’t stepped foot into a wrestling ring since I kicked his ass. So, knowing what I can do and knowing who they put me up against, it’s kind of a walk in the park for me.”
Josh smiled and sipped his Coke. “Is that so?”
“ yeah, it is!”, Penny shot back. “Like, I’m not counting out Joe Bishop or Daniel Kirkbride. They’re talented guys, they can work. But, when it comes down to it, I just feel like I can do more than they can. And it gets boring after a while.”
Josh took another napkin and wiped his hand. “Let me ask you another question.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you think you could beat Schneider when you faced him?”
“No.”, Penny said, shaking her head. “But I knew I could put up a fight and hmpm.”, Penny shrugged. “Look at me now.”
“Good.”, Josh nodded. “Because even the both of us make a hell of tag team, we’d be fools to underestimate Bishop and Kirkbride, given what they both have at stake going into this match.”
Penny didn’t know what to say, so she took another delicious bite off her waffles and pouted.
“You’ve got it easy, Penny.”, Josh said. “Like you said awhile ago, you’re here to watch my back and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but I gotta show you the importance of what’s at stake to the majority of the wrestlers in this match.”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t know if they feel it yet, but something big is going to happen real soon. We’re just in the beginning of the transition.”
“And the three of you are deep into that?”
“That’s one way of putting it.”, Josh nodded.
“Got it.”, Penny nodded back.
Josh nodded and took another bite of his burger. He was halfway through and he knew that it wasn’t enough to fill up the tank for the next haul, so he considered ordering another one for the road.
Penny zoned out on her waffles. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with what Josh said, because she did. It was just one of those disappointing slices of wrestling truth that Penny figured that she should have gotten used to hearing by now. And even though she knew that this was something she had to hear for her own good, it wasn’t like she enjoyed the experience of having to listen to it.
Penny’s iPhone buzzed with a Tumblr notification. And since this was Tumblr, Penny had to forget the waffles as she grabbed her iPhone from the surface of the table.
‘Tumblr: mary-t$-snickets tagged you in a post:
@kickingasses_stealinggirlfriends, it’s about time you answered to one of these
@vintagepaleblog 10 randoms! Ok u guys im tagging u in ten random questions abo…’
“Someone’s smiling.”, Josh said, polishing off his fries now.
“It’s nothing.”, Penny shrugged, still looking at her phone. “Mary just tagged me in something on Tumblr.”
“Oh.”, Josh said out, nodding.
“Yeah, it’s kinda like Facebook but better.”
“I’ve taken a look at Tumblr.”, Josh nodded. “It’s interesting, it’s a great social media alternative to Facebook and Twitter, and it’s totally your demographic.”
“But?”
“It’s just not my cup of tea.”
“That’s what I thought.”, Penny shrugged, setting her iPhone back down on the table as she looked over at Josh.
“How’re you holding up?”, Josh asked. “You got quiet for a bit there.”
“Yeah.”, Penny shrugged again. “I was just thinking about what you said. That’s all, and you’re right, I need to put more value into my matches. I just feel like I need something worth fighting for to do that.”
Penny sipped her iced coffee. “Because if I’m not, then what? I’ll just be another wrestler, and even though I try, really hard, to keep my expectations as low as possible these days, I still don’t want to be just another wrestler. I just wanna do something big and scary and great that I can just look back when I’m old and go, ‘ yeah, I did all this by myself!’.”
Josh laughed.
“So there.”, Penny sighed. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out where I fit-in in all this.”
“You’ve got it pretty good, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”, Josh nodded. “At least you’re figuring all this out on a winning streak.”
“That’s true.”, Penny said, perking up a little. “… It’d be a shame if I just got bored now and started losing.”
“It really would.”
“… The Unbeatable Penny Shannon.”, Penny chuckled, looking out the window as she decided to start answering those questions Mary tagged her in the moment they got back into the car. “It has a nice ring to it.”
Josh took another sip of Coke and leaned back on his seat. “Does this mean I can expect you to really put something more than yourself into this match?”
“ yeah!”, Penny nodded. “This bitch has got a streak to keep.”.
And as Penny sat on the Persian carpet spread out across Mary’s floor, she smoked a bowl and looked at her record player as it span around and around and around.
Her brother collects these almost exclusively. Penny had a player of her own, just some hand me down from her mom that she thought was cool enough, but outside of a couple albums, it just always sat on the corner and gathered dust.
But here, in the apartment floor of a girl Penny was just starting to know, she couldn’t take eyes away from the spinning black circle. Spinning around and around as it just filled the room of a sound that just felt…
Perfect.
Before she knew it, she started to close her eyes as she found herself bobbing along to the new melody that just struck something in her she couldn’t place. It was like the song was there her entire life, but somehow, it took like twenty four years before some girl she didn’t know decided to pick up a guitar and finally write this song for her!
Mary walked out of the kitchen, holding up two cups of tea looking like that girl from Beetlejuice because of the clothes she had on, but like, less gothy and more comfy.
“Isn’t it such a pretty song?”
“It is.”, Penny shot out, looking up at Mary now as she came over and handed her a cup of milk tea. “Who’s the singer?”
“Waxahatchee.”, Mary replied, sitting down on the couch now.
“Is that a band?”
“Kind of?”, Mary replied. “It’s more like the solo-project of a girl named Katie Crutchfield.”
“That’s cool.”, Penny nodded, taking a hit. “I really like this.”
“It’s called ‘Under a Rock’.”, Mary said, leaning over as she turned her head to look at Penny. “Do you wanna read the lyrics?”
“Totally.”
“Okay.”, Mary said sheepishly as she got herself off the couch, set her cup of tea on the ground and walked over to her stereo and grabbed the cover, slipped out the jacket out of the cover and passed it over to Penny.
Penny took the album and turned her hand around to look at the front cover. “Is this her?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s pretty!”
“She really is.”
Okay, it always confused the
outta Penny whenever a girl whose orientation she wasn’t sure of, says that another girl’s pretty. She couldn’t tell if she was admiring the way she looked or if she really liked her, liked her. Penny couldn’t tell and she felt like a jerk whenever she’d try to gauge a girl with her gaydar. Like some girls are obvious enough, yeah. But there are those that could really go either way.
Penny snapped herself out of it and looked at the lyric sheets and read along.
“Should I play it from the start?”, Mary grinned.
“Do it.”, Penny said, looking down at the lyrics now.
Mary took a seat next to Penny and looked over her shoulder, trying to follow Penny as her eyes followed along to the words inside the sweatery blend of garage pop that sounded very 90’s.
“… Woah.”
“Right?”
“… I don’t know if that’s a good ‘woah’.”
“Uhm?”
Penny licked her lips and looked down at the lyric sheet as she finished the song. “I expected the lyrics to be a little happier for some reason, but it totally makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”, Mary asked, sipping her tea.
Penny scratched the back of her head and sighed. “I guess it just hits close to home… It’s kinda like the girl in the song is singing about someone like me.” Penny shook her head and snapped herself out of it. “… Please forget anything you might have heard.”
“It’s fine.”, Mary smiled, holding Penny’s hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Penny grabbed her pipe. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“What?”
Penny took a long hit and coughed. “I love dating, I love meeting new girls, I love having fun with girls that I like… But I think I just have to face the fact that the reason I just haven’t been able to get into anything is because relationships really aren’t my thing.”
Penny closed her eyes and started to breath heavily. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“We can talk about something else.”
“I don’t wanna do that.”, Penny said, turning her head. “I like this song and even though it kinda gets to the more crapty side to my personality, I kinda wanna get passed that so I could sing along to it in the shower instead of thinking of all the girls I dated that I just never really thought of as a serious girlfriend.”
“But you’ve been in a relationship, right? A real one?”
“How is it that random people get to let me open up about crap I don’t even want to talk about?”
“Maybe you just surrounded yourself with people you just knew you could trust without having to worry about what they’re going to think of you. And you just didn’t know that you’ve been doing it all along.”
“I can get that.”, Penny nodded. “That is kinda insightful.”
“How do you feel?”
Penny shrugged. “Like a jerk, but I still really like this song.”
“I get her.”, Mary said, leaning her back against the couch. “It’s really stupid, but I’ve kinda gotten myself into that kind of mess twice before.”
Penny looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Mhm.”, Mary nodded. “But I was young, but this song still gets to the part of me that went through all that.”
“Is it something you sing like an anthem?”
“Yeah.”, Mary nodded. “It’s just incredibly wistful, because you can really feel in that song how great things could have been and for me, the lyrics and the music represent all that wasted effort.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.”, Mary said. “But that’s why this song’s out there, so we can deal with that situation and get over it.”
“I get that.”, Penny said. “That’s what I want to do the most.”
“With what?”
“My whole life.”
Mary got closer to Penny and held her hand. Penny didn’t know what to make of it, but she just went along with it.
It wasn’t that often she found herself in a situation like this, and instead of rushing into conclusions like she always did, she just wanted to take the deepest breath in the world and enjoy the moment for what it was: a lovely evening with a lovely lady, with tea and herb, and a really lush mid-tempo number that also liked.
Mary turned towards Penny and dropped her head a little as she slacked her jaw and said, “Hey.”
Penny turned back to her. “Yeah?”
Mary got up a little and licked her lips. “I just remembered!”
And with that, Mary got up from the floor and walked over to her desk, grabbing something before coming back to Penny. “I made you a little going away present.”
Penny looked up as Mary handed her a CD-R. “I made you a little mix-tape. I dunno, just a few songs I thought you’d might enjoy.”
“Is ‘Under A Rock’ already on here?”
Mary smiled and nodded. “It’s the fourth song on the mix.”
“Nice.”
Mary sat back down next to Penny and smiled. “So, there. Thought it’d keep you entertained.”
“It should.”, Penny smiled, looking back at Mary now as her mind raced at a million times a second, just wondering what the hell was going on with this girl that it was making her heart race a little for no stupid reason. “… Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”, Mary smiled, awkwardly dropping her elbow against the cushion of her couch. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”.
<***>
Under A Rock
A Penny Shannon RP
<***>
It was pretty early in the morning when Penny and Josh left Dean Manor for Cincinnati. Depending on what happened next, they were probably going to stay on the road until the trip to Japan. So, Penny knew there was no going home for the next couple months and she was pretty fine with that.
It was a half past four when Josh pulled the car out of the drive-way. It was still really dark out and because Dean Manor was actually away from the city, Penny looked up and saw starts- totally thankful, she smoked the crap outta that blunt because the sky looked so much closer than it probably was.
Penny strapped on the seatbelt on the passenger’s side and looked at Josh, turned over with his arm leaning against his seat as he pulled the car out of the drive-way.
“Where we’re going…”, Penny grinned. “We don’t need roads.”
“Lucky you.”, Josh chuckled, turning the car left as he made the drive up the block. “One of us still has to stay sober for the first leg.”
“Were you able to get any sleep?”
“Just a couple hours, maybe three?”, Josh replied. “It’s all I need anyway.”
“Lucky you.”, Penny shot out. “I can’t really function without a crap-ton of sleep.”
“Wonder why.”, Josh chuckled.
“
you, dude.”, Penny shot back. “I’m like a little bear. Like the gay aunt the Bernstein Bears had but they just never showed in the books or anything. This bitch needs her beauty sleep.”Josh’s eyes shot out a little as he smirked. “My point exactly.”
“But hey.”, Penny nodded. “For what it’s worth, I wish I could be a little more like you. Survive on just three hours of sleep at night and get away with.”
“I’ve always been this way.”, Josh said. “The boys now too.”
“I noticed that.”, Penny nodded. “That’s actually pretty chill.”
“It’s having a family.”, Josh said. “It just does that to you.”
“That’s cool, dude.”
“How about you?”, Josh said, rolling down the window as he lit a cig. “Do you ever think you’ll ever settle down? Start a family?”
“Nah.”, Penny sighed. “I just never thought about it, you know? And it just feels way too grown-up for me to wanna deal with.”
“But, you’ve thought about it?”
“A couple times.”, Penny replied. “I mean, mostly when I was little.”
Josh took a drag. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, I’d run around the playground trying to marry all the other girls.”
“That’s sweet.”, Josh smiled. “You were the little groom!”
“
no!”, Penny shot out. “I was the bride, who just wanted to have another bride instead of a groom, because that seemed like a much better idea!”“I can get that.”, Josh laughed. “I can get that. So- and if you don’t mind me asking?”
“It’s chill, dude.”, Penny shrugged. “Go right ahead.”
“Growing up, knowing that you liked the opposite gender.”
“-Wait, there’s a difference. ‘Sex’ is for what’s between people’s legs. ‘Gender’, on the other hand, is more about what people feel about themselves on the inside.”
“… Okay?”
“It’s like this: I was born a girl, and I feel like a girl on the inside.”
“… Alright.”
“You’re a boy. You were born a boy and on the inside, you feel like a boy.”
“Last I checked.”
“Good. You’re following.”, Penny sighed. “Uhm… Now, there are some people who were born a boy, but on the inside they don’t feel like one. They can either feel like a girl. A bit of both. Or just nothing at all. And the same for people who were born a girl but not feel like one.”
“But how could you not feel like one?”, Josh asked. “I’m sorry again, if that might have come across as insensitive, but I am trying to understand this in the best way I can.”
“At least you’re trying to understand.”, Penny shot out. “A lot of people are just bungholes about this.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded. “So, there are people like us who feel comfortable in the body we were born in- like it matches with our personality. It’s a perfect fit. But there are some people that don’t feel that way?”
“Pretty much.”
“Okay.”, Josh nodded. “And attraction is separate from that?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, I’ll be.”, Josh shrugged. “It’s really a lot more complicated than they explained it when I was growing up.”
“It is, and you know because of stuff like that.”, Penny began. “People’s ideas of what the world should be and how people should behave and all that kinda stuff… And because of that, I just ended up getting used to the idea that it wasn’t for me. Because for the longest time, people weren’t supposed to be that way- that two girls in love can’t get married. It sorta limits your choices and outlook.”
“I’m sorry, Penny.”
“It’s not your fault.”, Penny replied. “It's just all that crap society tried to instill sticking with me.”
“But it's not out of the question. Not anymore.”, Josh smiled. “It could still happen. Didn’t think I’d end up getting married, but I did.”
“You do have a really cute family.”
“Thank you, Penny.”, Josh smiled. “That really means a lot to me.”
Penny smiled at Josh for a second before turning her attention towards the dashboard as they drifted into the interstate.
It was pretty quiet after that. Josh continued smoking out the window, just gazing into the road like there was something big on his mind that Penny might have had a tiny idea of, but could just never really get because she isn’t him.
She knew Josh was playing for keeps here. As far as the man’s concerned, he’s just one good match away from becoming World Champion. It was something that was just so obvious in the promotion right now, and it was impossible to not feel that focus.
“Hey.”, Penny shot out. “You care for some music?”
“What’dya got?”, Josh replied, blowing smoke from his lips.
“I’ve got this mix Mary gave me.”, Penny said, reaching into her purple Jansport with the universe printed on it.
“Mary from the office?”, Josh asked.
“Mhm.”, Penny replied. “She’s pretty cool.”
“That’s cool. You two been hanging out?”
“Just a few times over the last couple weeks.”, Penny replied. “Nothing, really…”
“I didn’t know she also…”, Josh trailed, trying to find the best way to say it.
“… What?”
“Swung that way?”
“Oh.”, Penny said, putting the disc into the stereo. “I don’t know if she does… Why? Does she? Is there something I don’t know?”
Josh opened for his mouth for a second and turned his head. “I don’t know. But- and I don’t mean to burst you’re bubble here or anything, but there was a guy, think it might have been her boyfriend who used to come ‘round to the office for lunch and pick her up.”
“Oh…”, Penny trailed.
“But, I don’t know for sure.”
“I can get that.”
“Can’t you tell?”, Josh asked
“I could.”, Penny said, leaning against her seat as she recognized the first song that came on- it was Liz Phair’s ‘6’1”’ (Penny wasn’t surprised Mary liked Liz Phair). “But… I mean, usually I don’t usually care. I just flirt a little with someone and see where it goes. But from a far, unless she’s just obvious about it, and you can just feel the gay oozing out a mile away, most girls can go either way. So, it’s really hard to tell.” Penny sighed. “Especially with someone I like.”
“So, you like her?”, Josh asked.
“No…”, Penny hissed, squinting her eyes a little. “Yes? Maybe… I don’t know?”
“Well, we’re playing her CD.”
“But that’s only because I thought we could have some road music.”, Penny said. “You can change it if you want, dude.”
“It’s fine.”, Josh said. “I could use something new.”
Penny looked at the cover and tried to read out the track list in the dark. “You sure about that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not that guys don’t like this music.”, Penny began. “Because a lotta them do, but this really is like girl-power stuff, ya know?”
“If it’ll keep me awake and give my mind something different to think about and form an opinion on, I don’t see why not.”
“Okay.”, Penny nodded. “Because the next song is Bratmobile and you’re gonna wanna have to brace yourself for this one.”
“What’s the next one called?”
“’Brat Girl’.”
“Let’s hear it!”
Penny smiled at Josh. “Thanks, dude. Not a lot of people care to hear the stuff I like, so it’s nice to be able to you know, share it?”
“Anytime, Penny.”, Josh smiled back. “Anytime.”.
<***>
The food was taking a lot longer than Penny expected. She figured she passed out sometime after leaving Raven’s place, because before Penny knew it, they had stopped at a dinner somewhere along the side of the interstate and it was sunny as
. So, Penny sat there on booth, right across from Josh, biting her nails as she scrolled through Tumblr.
Josh still had something on his mind, something more than just the match they had coming up. And Penny could just feel the vibes, especially from the way he was looking out the window, but now wasn’t exactly the best time to talk to him about it.
He was going to come around and whatever it was, Penny knew that she was gonna be there.
Penny looked down at her iPhone again… Boobies, cats… Supernatural. Girls… Text post… Ha, a dad joke. Classic!.. Ew, no… A penis!
Penny put down her iPhone and took a look around, saying, “It shouldn’t take this long to get our orders.”
“We came in here at around 10:45.”, Josh said, looking away from the window.
“So?”
“We came in right after the morning rush.”, Josh replied. “They aren’t in as much of a hurry to get our orders as they were a half hour ago.”
“crapty timing.”, Penny hissed.
“I know.”, Josh said, looking up from his seat as he took a gander for any sign of the waitress. “We can’t be waiting here too long.”
Penny nodded.
“So…”, Josh began. “What’s our plan going into Choke Hold?”
Penny crossed her arms together, rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Dunno. Walk in, do what we always do and beat the hell outta Kirkbride and Joe Bishop?”
Josh sipped his Coke and nodded. “Seems about right.”
“I don’t know.”, Penny shrugged again. “We work pretty well together as a tag team.”
Josh leaned against the table and chuckled. “I still think we would have had a hell of a run with the tag team titles.”
“Wouldn’t doubt it, dude.”, Penny said. “It’s like we both know exactly what we have to do.”
“There’s a lot of communication in the mix.”, Josh said. “But it’s hardly ever verbal.”
“I know.”, Penny said. “It feels natural.”
“You gotta understand though.”, Josh began, looking up now. “-Hold that thought.”
“Food’s here?”, Penny shot out, turning head now as she saw the waitress coming her way with Josh’s cheeseburger and her waffles. “Finally!”
The waitress set their order on the table and took off as soon as she could.
Josh grabbed his burger and said, “Now where was I?”
Penny spread the butter down across the soft, steamy, doughy crevices of her waffles and replied, “Well, we were talking about how we don’t have to talk to each other. That we both know what to do on instinct and then there was something I had to understand.”
Josh nodded as he looked up and chewed his burger- obviously savoring the juicy, meaty goodness as it collided with a melted slice of cheddar that layered the bite off with a nice creamy finish.
Obviously, he was taking his time.
Josh held up his hand and started to swallow, reaching out to sip some Coke.
“Got it.”, Josh began, wiping his lips now with a paper napkin as he continued. “Now back to what I was saying before, you gotta understand that we go into every tag team match with our collective experience.”
“I don’t think I’ve been around long enough to call myself a veteran.”, Penny said, looking at Josh’s cheeseburger, wishing she had ordered that instead.
Josh dipped a French fry into a small bowl of ketchup and said, “I’ve been in this business for around eleven years now. How old we’re you when you broke in?”
“Fifteen, I think? But that’s just backyard stuff. I didn’t do anything legit until I was like seventeen-eighteen.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded as he bit into his French fry, covering his mouth with his hand as he asked, “How old are you now?”
“I’ll be twenty-five in September.”
“Alright.”, Josh nodded. “Then that means you’ve been in this business for about as long as I have.”
Penny opened a pack of strawberry jam and sighed. “But I haven’t really done anything like you, ya’ know? I just sorta went from place to place, trained people a little. But I wasn’t even that good at that.”
“What are you talking about? You trained Scarlett, she became WFWF Champion!”
Penny looked down at her waffles, and there was just something about the way the butter just melted into them that seemed so perfect. Like it was one of those bites that Penny just knew was going to be
ing perfect; just a little bit of a crisp on the outside, and as soft as crap on the inside. She couldn’t spread the jam faster as she looked at Josh and said, “… I get what you’re saying, but still.”
“All I’m doing here is just pointing out the facts.”, Josh said, wiping his mouth from another hearty bite. “You may not have accomplished much in your professional career, but you’re part responsible for a lot of big things that have happened in the last couple years. And on top of that, you’re an experienced fighter.”
Penny raised her eyebrow. “Are you saying I have more experience than Daniel Kirkbride and Joe Bishop?”
“Not necessarily.”, Josh said, turning his head. “Daniel Kirkbride has been around the block before- you can just see the experience in the way he moves around the ring. But ever since that incident with Kyzer, he’s hasn’t been the same.”, Josh continued. “It’s like he took a complete one-eighty overnight and that was it. So, that said, you know this guy won’t be in the right frame of mind.”
“It’s kinda messed up they’re actually allowing him to compete…”, Penny shrugged.
Penny pinched her fork into the waffles, holding them in place as she drew her knife and cut against the fork; slicing herself a nice opening bite. The butter had collected into those crevices and the waffle itself was just soaked. And on top of that was a nice heap of strawberry jam, coating it with a chunky, yet syrupy texture.
“Now, Joe Bishop on the other hand.”, Josh began. “This match really is just the start for him. He’s been around the promotion for years, but it’s only now that he’s really starting to make an impact, you know? He’s breaking through, so you’ve got to take into consideration that if his mind is where it should be, he’s going to be walking into this match with the intention of making a strong impact.”
… Penny rolled her eyes. Jesus H. Christ- Penny took it back. Getting the waffles was a good idea!
Josh picked up his burger and smiled. “I’ll give you a moment.”
Penny opened her eyes. “I’m sorry, dude.”
“It’s fine.”, Josh nodded, biting his burger.
“But I get ya’.”, Penny said.
“Good.”, Josh said, wiping his lips. “Because even though I know you’re coming into this tag match with the intention of having my back, I need you to have something at stake in this match too.”
Penny sipped her iced coffee. “What do you mean?”
“Well, ever since you came back.”, Josh began. “And in spite of wrestling with an eye-patch on, you’ve been in a really clean winning streak.”
“Yeah.”, Penny shrugged. “But, I kinda went into those matches knowing I could win.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m better than Lucas Crowe, and Jayson Garrett, and Stan McMann- who, by the way, hasn’t stepped foot into a wrestling ring since I kicked his ass. So, knowing what I can do and knowing who they put me up against, it’s kind of a walk in the park for me.”
Josh smiled and sipped his Coke. “Is that so?”
“
yeah, it is!”, Penny shot back. “Like, I’m not counting out Joe Bishop or Daniel Kirkbride. They’re talented guys, they can work. But, when it comes down to it, I just feel like I can do more than they can. And it gets boring after a while.”Josh took another napkin and wiped his hand. “Let me ask you another question.”
“Shoot.”
“Did you think you could beat Schneider when you faced him?”
“No.”, Penny said, shaking her head. “But I knew I could put up a fight and hmpm.”, Penny shrugged. “Look at me now.”
“Good.”, Josh nodded. “Because even the both of us make a hell of tag team, we’d be fools to underestimate Bishop and Kirkbride, given what they both have at stake going into this match.”
Penny didn’t know what to say, so she took another delicious bite off her waffles and pouted.
“You’ve got it easy, Penny.”, Josh said. “Like you said awhile ago, you’re here to watch my back and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but I gotta show you the importance of what’s at stake to the majority of the wrestlers in this match.”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t know if they feel it yet, but something big is going to happen real soon. We’re just in the beginning of the transition.”
“And the three of you are deep into that?”
“That’s one way of putting it.”, Josh nodded.
“Got it.”, Penny nodded back.
Josh nodded and took another bite of his burger. He was halfway through and he knew that it wasn’t enough to fill up the tank for the next haul, so he considered ordering another one for the road.
Penny zoned out on her waffles. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with what Josh said, because she did. It was just one of those disappointing slices of wrestling truth that Penny figured that she should have gotten used to hearing by now. And even though she knew that this was something she had to hear for her own good, it wasn’t like she enjoyed the experience of having to listen to it.
Penny’s iPhone buzzed with a Tumblr notification. And since this was Tumblr, Penny had to forget the waffles as she grabbed her iPhone from the surface of the table.
‘Tumblr: mary-t$-snickets tagged you in a post:
@kickingasses_stealinggirlfriends, it’s about time you answered to one of these
@vintagepaleblog 10 randoms! Ok u guys im tagging u in ten random questions abo…’
“Someone’s smiling.”, Josh said, polishing off his fries now.
“It’s nothing.”, Penny shrugged, still looking at her phone. “Mary just tagged me in something on Tumblr.”
“Oh.”, Josh said out, nodding.
“Yeah, it’s kinda like Facebook but better.”
“I’ve taken a look at Tumblr.”, Josh nodded. “It’s interesting, it’s a great social media alternative to Facebook and Twitter, and it’s totally your demographic.”
“But?”
“It’s just not my cup of tea.”
“That’s what I thought.”, Penny shrugged, setting her iPhone back down on the table as she looked over at Josh.
“How’re you holding up?”, Josh asked. “You got quiet for a bit there.”
“Yeah.”, Penny shrugged again. “I was just thinking about what you said. That’s all, and you’re right, I need to put more value into my matches. I just feel like I need something worth fighting for to do that.”
Penny sipped her iced coffee. “Because if I’m not, then what? I’ll just be another wrestler, and even though I try, really hard, to keep my expectations as low as possible these days, I still don’t want to be just another wrestler. I just wanna do something big and scary and great that I can just look back when I’m old and go, ‘
yeah, I did all this by myself!’.”Josh laughed.
“So there.”, Penny sighed. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out where I fit-in in all this.”
“You’ve got it pretty good, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”, Josh nodded. “At least you’re figuring all this out on a winning streak.”
“That’s true.”, Penny said, perking up a little. “… It’d be a shame if I just got bored now and started losing.”
“It really would.”
“… The Unbeatable Penny Shannon.”, Penny chuckled, looking out the window as she decided to start answering those questions Mary tagged her in the moment they got back into the car. “It has a nice ring to it.”
Josh took another sip of Coke and leaned back on his seat. “Does this mean I can expect you to really put something more than yourself into this match?”
“
yeah!”, Penny nodded. “This bitch has got a streak to keep.”.
Thanks a bunch for the blurbs.