Bebe in LaLa Land: 10

 

The moment of truth has arrived. What will John tell Blaine? How will Blaine react?
What will happen to Miss Stephanie? And the girls arrive from New Hampshire! How much can
one twenty-one-year-old-man-living-as-a-fourteen-year-old-girl take?
A lot happens in one day! I hope you all enjoy the story!

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Author's Note: As always, thank you to everyone who has written comments and emails. I am so glad that you enjoy Bebe's exploits as much as I do! Please leave comments if you can. They really inspire me! ~Clara.
 
This version of Bebe in LaLa Land: 10 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS -or- NOTHING WOULD BE WHAT IT IS, BECAUSE EVERYTHING WOULD BE WHAT IT ISN'T
 

"LAPD is ready to make their move," Hank told Ed as they ate their breakfast in a luxurious restaurant near the studio. "If they just had the video from the other night, she'd be getting arrested. With the evidence we sent them, she's facing a long, long sentence."

Ed nodded. "Good. Maybe the girls at that school will be safe now." Ed used his fork to separate a section of his egg white Denver omelette. "When do they plan on arresting her? I hope they're not planning on doing it at the school. That could be upsetting to a lot of the girls."

"No, they won't do that." Hank bit into his steak and eggs. "My guess is that it'll happen sometime today. I know that the teachers have a professional development day till one o'clock. They'll probably wait until after that, then do it when she gets home."

Don took a swig of a very vile looking breakfast drink. Despite his insistence that it tasted good, he winced at the flavor. "I have to say, I've played a cop at least a dozen times, but this is the first time that I've ever been involved in an actual arrest. To tell you the truth, I don't like it all that much. The thought of someone losing their freedom is... sobering, I guess. I mean, I'm glad that she's being taken away from her victims, but can you imagine what actually being locked up for years and years is really and truly like? It must be terrible."

"It is," Hank laughed, "and that's the point."

"Yeah, I know." Don laughed, too. "But I'm not usually part of the process."

"Me neither," Ed swallowed a mouthful, "but since she targeted Bebe, I'm having a hard time finding any sympathy for her."

"Yeah... agreed," Don took another swig of the drink and, once again, winced at the taste.

"Good stuff?" Ed teased.

"Ok, I admit, it's terrible, but I'm a middle aged action star. I have to stay in shape. Have you looked at Tom Cruise lately? He's ten years older than me and he looks fifteen years younger. I hate to sound vain, but..." He held up the glass filled with brownish-greenish gunk and said, "... cheers!"

John breathed a very deep breath, then let it out before beginning. "Ok... Blaine..., I know you're concerned about my health, but you really don't need to be. There's nothing 'wrong' with me. I mean - nothing like a disease or anything."

"Oh, thank God." Blaine gave a nervous laugh and he held his hand to his heart. "I mean, all week I've been thinking about the worst possible reasons that you couldn't have a baby. I've been reading things online and everything seemed so serious. I kept thinking that it must be cancer or something and that I was going to lose you. Oh, man, that sounded so creepy, didn't it? I didn't mean that..."

"Blaine, Blaine," John interrupted Blaine's monologue. "I'm not going to die - Well, not for a long time, I hope - but... like so many things in my life... there are complications."

"Such as?"

John inhaled again. "Ok, look... when I was born, I had a condition that wasn't diagnosed until, like, six or seven months ago. See, I was always smaller than other people in my classes and... well, there were other things, too, that we really never noticed, but I just thought that I was, I don't know, normal, but small."

Blaine, again nervous, nodded. "You're not THAT small, Bebe. I mean, it's not like you're a little-person of anything."

John thought for a moment, then continued. "Yeah. I know, but I didn't... develop... the way that other kids did. So, I just went on with my life. I was just sort of... stupid about it because I didn't know about it. My mom kept saying that I'd get a growth spurt and that I'd catch up."

"Anyway... remember how I told you that my sister is a doctor?" John said.

Blaine nodded.

"Well, last summer she noticed something about me that made her concerned and, even though I didn't want to, she talked my mother into taking me to this specialist doctor to get checked out. He's an endocrinologist. Do you know what that kind of a doctor does?"

Blaine shook his head.

"Well, he deals with things like hormones and stuff."

"Oh, I get it!" Blaine breathed a sigh of relief. "So, your body didn't produce enough hormones, so you didn't grow as much as your friends and your puberty was delayed. See, I'm not dumb!" He smiled, sure that he'd figured out the whole thing.

"Kinda, but, like I said... it's complicated. See..." he took a deep breath, then said, "... Blaine... there's more than just two kinds of people in the world. You know? I mean, there's men and there's women and there's people in-between. People who are called 'intersexed.' Like... they're bodies develop... wrong, I guess."

Blaine grew nervous. "Soooo.... You didn't develop a uterus?"

John nodded. "I didn't."

"I see." Blaine shifted a bit uncomfortably. "And... is there more?"

John looked away as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Yeah. There's more..."

Blaine waited.

"See... when they took blood tests and all that, they realized that I wasn't developing the way that they expected me to because I was not what they had always told me I was."

Blaine tried to figure this all out. "Well... what did they tell you you were?"

John's shoulders slumped. How could he say what needed to be said? "They said I was..."

"Wait..." Blaine stopped him. "When she was here... you're mom... she called you John."

John nodded.

"So.... What? They thought that you were... a guy?" Blaine made a face of incredulity and he let out a scoffing laugh as he waited for John to deny the remark. That was ridiculous.

John just nodded.

"Why? I mean, look at you! You're..." Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Wait a minute... you're not saying that you have... a dick, are you?"

John's tears flowed freely, but he didn't even notice. "I wish you hadn't used that word," he said sadly.

"What!? You do!? You actually have a dick!? A cock!? How is that possible!? Look at you!"

"I don't have a 'cock,'" John couldn't look at him. "But, yes, I do have a penis."

"Oh, Jesus!" Blaine turned away from John and leaned back against the bench. After a few moments, he looked at him as if John were nonhuman. Like he was a monster. A horrible, disgusting... thing. "So you're a guy?"

"No, Blaine." John shook his head, but still looked away. "I'm not a guy."

"Oh, really." Blaine folded his arms and shook his head. "Well, how can you have a dick and not be a guy?"

Finally, John faced him. "How can I have breasts and not be a girl?"

"Implants?"

John shook his head. "No. They're mine."

"Hormone shots, then."

John nodded. "I have had some shots, but not because I am a transgendered person, or anything like that. I'm intersexed, Blaine. I have aspects of both sexes. My body fooled me, and the doctors, into think I was a boy, but then it made it clear that I was meant to be a girl. I didn't ask for this. I didn't want this! I never even tried on girls' clothes until I had to. This isn't a choice! This is who I am!"

Blaine sat silently for at least a minute. "Wow," he muttered, at last.

"I know." John looked away.

"I... I don't even know what to say... I mean... look at you! You don't look anything like a guy!"

"Because I am not A GUY, Blaine. I am... a girl, but I'm kinda still in the process of becoming a girl."

"None of this makes sense!"

"I KNOW! Believe me... I know..."

They were both silent for a few moments, until Blaine asked, "So... who knows about this? I mean, your cousin and uncle must know, right, but how about Ella and MaryKate? Did they know that they were setting me up with... a guy?"

John's head hung lower. He turned his sight in Blaine's direction, but he looked no higher than Blaine's feet. "Uncle Ed and Rose know, of course. So do Don and a few people in the production company. When I auditioned for the show, I was just finding all of this out, so some of them were introduced to me as a boy. Ella and MK don't know anything about this."

"Why?"

"Why!? Because I'm not playing a game, Blaine. I didn't wake up one day and decide that I was going to give up the life and knew and become a girl. This is a physical condition. I never discussed it with anyone outside of my family before. It's a deeply personal and very embarrassing thing for me to talk about at all. The only reason I told you is because..." he slumped again.

"'Because...' why?"

Finally, John made eye contact, but only briefly. "Because I... Because you mean a lot to me, Blaine. An awful lot, and I wanted to be honest with you."

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "A little late for that, don't you think? I mean, Christ almighty, I really liked you. You should have told me that first night!" Suddenly, Blaine seemed a lot more angry.

"Blaine, this isn't the type of thing you discuss right off the bat. I don't get introduced to people and say, 'Hi. My name is Bianca. I like old movies, Broadway shows and, although my primary sexual identifiers are those of a male, my secondary sexual identifiers are those of a female.' I'm sorry, but I needed to get to know you before I could say anything. Before I knew I could trust you. As things are, Rose and Uncle Ed are going to kill me when they find out that I did this!"

"Well, maybe that would be appropriate, huh?"

"What?"

"If they killed you." Blaine stood and paced for a moment. "Part of me would like for me to kill you myself!" He was letting his emotions take over. He was hurt and the only recourse he could muster was to lash out and hurt someone else. Maybe not physically, but he could damned well hurt her emotionally! "You really are a great actor, aren't you?"

John's focus had been on the sidewalk as Blaine's anger rose. Now, it snapped back to Blaine. "What?"

"I mean... you fooled me, didn't you. You're probably pretty proud of that, aren't you? The great actor fooled the big dummy into saying that he loved you. That's pretty shitty, you know."

"Blaine..." What could John say to make him see the truth? "Blaine, I never lied about anything, I just didn't... I mean... how could I tell you right from the beginning that I was... complicated?"

"Just like that, John! You say, 'I'm complicated, and by the way, I have a dick as big as yours under this dress!'" Blaine was obviously hurt and angry.

"Please, stop calling it that..."

"Why? Am I in the presence of a lady, JOHN?"

"My names not 'John.' My name is 'Bebe.' I never thought that I would end up as a girl named Bebe, but that's who I am, Blaine... I'm Bebe... now and forever."

Silence.

Pacing.

Silence.

Pacing.

Silence.

Pacing.

Blaine took out his phone and fiddled with it for a moment or two.

"I'm still the same person I was an hour ago, Blaine." John said, quietly. "Can you... live with this?"

Blaine nodded. "Live with this!?!?!? I can live with the fact that I made a HUGE mistake, I guess. Believe me, I'll never make that mistake, again. I can live with the fact that I fell for a lying, scheming tranny..."

"Blaine!"

"... who didn't care how many people she hurt as long as she had her fun in her pretty dresses!"

"Blaine! Please sit and let me..."

"I can even live with the fact that I was attracted to a guy, but what I can't live with is you, JOHN! I can't live with YOU!"

John nodded, too sad to speak, too sad to sob, but with the tears still flowing. He reached behind his neck to undo the clasp on the necklace Blaine had given him.

"Oh, for crying out loud, don't bother," Blaine said when he realized what John was doing. "I have no use for it. You can keep it... or throw it out... whatever. I don't care."

John nodded and started shaking with disappointment. It was over. It was all over. Blaine was over and he was going to tell people, so Ella was over. MK was over. The show was over - for him, anyway. It was all over. Ed would be furious and never speak to him again. Rose... same thing. Ed was over. Rose was over. It was all over because John had become Bebe and Bebe was a stupid, love sick, little girl.

All over.

All gone.

As he shook and tried to keep himself from completely falling apart, a late model, black Acura sedan pulled up to the curb. The passenger side window rolled down and the driver shouted out, "Hey! Did one of you hail an Uber?"

Blaine waved his hand. "Yeah. I did."

Blaine opened the back seat, passenger side door, but stopped and looked at John once more. "I thought... I thought that I knew you. I thought that I loved you. Now, I don't know what to think."

"Blaine... I'm...really, really sorry. I never meant to..."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I can care about that, right now." Blaine was nearly as close to tears as John was. He was holding it together, but not for long. He needed to get away from Bebe before he cried himself. There was one lingering concern though. Leaving her alone. He wanted to swear at her and call her more horrible things, but it just wasn't in him to do it. He knew he should be a gentleman, like his mother had taught him, but he just couldn't do that either. Instead he said, "You know your way home, right?"

John nodded and Blaine climbed into the back seat.

"Hey! Hey! Girl!" The driver called to John, who's face was contorting to keep from crumbling into girlish sobs. "Hey! You ok!?"

John held up a hand and nodded.

"Hey! Do I know you?"

John shook his head.

"Yeah! Yeah, I do! You're on that show! That new one!"

John hung his head, his elbows on his knees, he laced his fingers behind his head and used his hair to hide himself from the rest of the world.

"That's you, right!?"

"Just go," Blaine said, desperately from the back seat. If he stayed he'd cry or forgive her or something else weak and unmanly. He needed to go home and to go home now.

"Hey! That's who she is, right? The girl from the show, right?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, Looking out of the street-side window, unable to look at the love of his life any more.

"Hey, is she ok?"

Blaine looked once more at the person who'd just broken his heart. "She's fine. Just go." He buried his face in his hands to avoid the driver's gaze.

"Ok. You're the boss." The confused driver shrugged.

The window rode up in its track until it closed tightly, then the car slipped into gear and the driver pulled out, leaving John alone on a city bench.

He stayed as he was until the shaking became unbearable and then he burst into uncontrollable, desperate sobs that lasted for more than twenty minutes.

No one stopped to help.

No asked if he was ok.

No one cared.

No one.

Not even Blaine.

Ed went to pay for the breakfast, but Don stopped him. "I'll take care of that, buddy," he smiled. "After all, you're out one-hundred-thousand dollars until they don't need it for evidence anymore."

Ed smirked and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, about that, Hank. How long do you think they'll be holding onto to that?"

Hank shrugged. "If she cops a plea, maybe a month. If it goes to trial, it could be a couple of years."

Ed shook his head. "I guess I need to find a part time job for a while. I wonder if Walmart is looking for greeters?"

Don laughed. "You're a little young for that, pal."

"I know, but I don't have any other skills. I quit college before I finished, so, I can't get a real job! Walmart greeter may be the best I'll ever do!"

Hank laughed, too. "If you need help, I can talk to the courts. They might be able to help out if we ask."

Ed shook his head. "No. As long as I'm working, I'm fine. Thanks."

"No problem. Let me know if you need it, though. I know a lot of people."

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT!?" Rose was irate. "Are you out of your mind!? After all the planning, the conversations, the legal paperwork... how the hell could you have told anyone? Especially a teenaged boy!? How long do you think that he'll keep his mouth shut, Bebe!? He's probably already told your friends! Jesus Christ! How could you do something so absolutely stupid!? What about the show!? What about your career!? Did it ever occur to you that you may have just put, like, a hundred people out of work!? What about Don!? What about Marion!? What about Ed and Me!? We've killed ourselves for you!? Did you even think about us!? How could you be so selfish!? How could you be so stupid!?"

John sat on the end of the couch, his forehead in his hands, muttering, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Over and over and over.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God!" Rose was pacing, now. "I need to talk to Ed."

She grabbed her phone and saw the texts from Oscar. The first one read, 'I'M HERE WHENEVER YOU'RE READY."

The second was sent twelve minutes late, five minutes before she saw it. "DO YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING? I CAN COME UP, IF YOU DO."

"Oh, well, that's just goddamned wonderful," she spat at the phone. "Oscar's here. Look at you. You're a mess and you've just destroyed everything and what are we going to do instead of deal with this matter? We're going to the airport to pick up your little friends from New Hampshire. What perfect, freaking, timing!! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! I'll text Oscar that we need ten minutes. You get your ass into that bathroom and wash your face. We'll deal with makeup at the airport."

"Can't we just..." John started, but then realized that they couldn't cancel the girls' visit because they were already in the air and would be arriving at LAX in a few hours. He got up and headed to the lavatory while Rose sent Oscar a text. 'SORRY. RUNNING LATE. BE DOWN IN TEN.'

"Goddamnit, Bebe... or I suppose that calling you Bebe is stupid at this point... I can't believe you did this! Hurry up in there, for crying out loud! Oh, God, this is going to be a long, rough weekend. You have great timing!!"

John came out of the lavatory, keeping his eyes diverted from Rose. "I said I'm sorry."

"Well, that's not much help right now, now is it? You're hair looks terrible. Give me a brush."

John reached into his purse and handed Rose a brush.

She went to work with a bit too much force. "You are a piece of work, I have to say. Honest to God, I have no idea where this will end, now. Ed is going to flip his lid when we tell him. You certainly have complicated our lives."

"I'm sorry, Rose," his voice was weak and sad, "I really am."

"That'll have to do," she said, stepping back and looking at John's hair and face. "Come on. Let's go."

They both grabbed their purses. John was closing his as Rose opened the door and said, "Oh, God."

John looked up, shocked to see Blaine standing in the doorway. "Hi," he said quietly. "Um, a lady was leaving and let me into the lobby. I'm, Umm... is Bebe here?"

"I'm right here." John's voice was equally sad and quiet.

"Oh, hi, Umm... Yeah, sorry, Rose," he stepped in past her and walked over to John. "I, umm... look, I thought about it and I'm... well, my mom called me an ass and asked me if I loved you before I knew everything and... I said I did... and she said, 'Then get your but over to her place and tell her.' So, Umm... here I am."

"Blaine," John had not looked Blaine directly in the eye, yet, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, sorry. I just needed to tell..." He began weeping, again.

"Oh, Lord," Rose mumbled, Looking at her watch.

"No, I know... I mean... well, like my mom pointed out, we've really only gone out a few times and I should have realized how hard it was for you to tell me everything."

John nodded.

"If it helps at all," Rose said, "she actually violated her legally binding contract with the studio by telling you about her condition. Even if you and your mom don't tell anyone, she could still lose her job."

Blaine squinted as he considered this. "Why would you take a chance like that?"

"Because... I needed to say something to you and I needed to tell you everything before I said it."

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Well, the other day, it kind of slipped out, but I wanted to say it for real. So that you knew that I meant it."

"Say what?"

Finally, John looked up and looked directly into Blaine’s eyes. “I love you, Blaine. I really... really... love you. I never thought that I’d feel this way about a boy, but I do.”

Blaine smiled as his eyes filled with water. “I’m sorry Bebe. I was such a dick before.”

John smiled and teared up, too, “Blaine you’ve got to stop using that word.” He laughed at himself.

Blaine laughed, too.

“I’m sorry, anyway, though,” Blaine shook his head as he spoke. “Can you forgive me?”

John took three quick steps and threw his arms around Blaine and buried his head in the boy’s chest. “I’m so sorry, Blaine. Can you forgive ME?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. Like you said, you just are who and what you are. I love you, too, Bebe.” He bent and rested his cheek on John’s head. “My Mom was right. I am an ass.”

Rose sighed. “Guys, as much as I hate to interrupt, there are going to be two teenaged girls stranded at LAX if we don’t get going, RIGHT NOW! Blaine, I am thrilled that you’ve decided to stick around, I really am, but I think that the studio may ask both you and your mom to sign a nondisclosure contact or something along those lines, we’ll have to find out. Will your mom keep Bebe’s secret?”

“Are you kidding? She told me that, even if I didn’t accept Bebe for who she is, if I told anyone about her, that I should find someplace else to live. I think she loves Bebe as much as I do!” He smiled then looked back at the girl who was still wrapped around his torso. “Well, nearly as much as I do.”

“Well, that is certainly a relief, but we still have to get going. There’s room in the limo of you want to come with us, but we need to leave, NOW. Oscar’s been waiting for nearly a half hour, as is.”

Blaine looked at John. “Do you mind if I come?”

John stood on his tiptoes and kissed Blaine – just a peck on the lips. “I would love, love, love you to come.”

“Ok, then,” Rose clapped her hands and made motions to guide them into the hall. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!!!”

They hustled into the elevator and rushed out on the ground level, then hurried to the limo.

Rose opened the front seat, passenger door and said, “Oscar, I’m so sorry! Bebe has had a tough morning.”

Oscar turned and looked over the back of his seat. “What’s the matter, princess?”

John smiled. “Nothing, Oscar. Everything is fine, now.”

“Was it this guy?” Oscar teased, assuming that this was Bebe’s boyfriend. “Do I need to have a word with him?”

“Actually...” Rose teased.

“Oscar, this is Blaine. My boyfriend.” John smiled and blushed, just a bit.

“Boyfriend, Huh?” Oscar played the tough-guy-Father role, very well. “Then we’re going to need to have a little talk.” He winked at Rose.

“Geez,” Blaine said. “I’ve already had ‘the talk’ with your Uncle Ed and your TV dad. How many times am I going to have to have this ‘talk?’”

“Beebs,” Rose said from the front seat of the limo, which was parked in the limousine waiting area at Terminal One at LAX Airport, “how long is this going to take? The plane has landed. It should be at the terminal in a minute of two. We need to get to baggage claim.”

Having just finished doing his eyes in the vanity mirror in the back of the limo, John was working on his lips. “I ave ooo ake e-ery ing erect, ” he replied as he carefully spread lipstick across his lips.

“Did you get any of that?” Rose asked Blaine.

He laughed. “I think she said, ‘I have to make everything perfect,’ but I’m not sure because she seems to have given up on using consonances.”

That made John laugh. He pulled the lipstick away from his lips and looked at Blaine, then slapped his thigh. “Hey! I’m doing this to look pretty for you, so don’t make me laugh.”

“Bebe!” Rose was getting frustrated with her little cousin, “The girls! We have to get going!”

“One sec,” he returned to the mirror, finished spreading the lips stick, blotted them against each other, checked the result and smiled as he closed the mirror, raised the visor and said, “All set!”

Oscar looked into the review mirror and said, “And well worth the wait, princess. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr Blaine?”

“I do,” Blaine nodded. “And you don’t need to call me ‘Mister,’ Oscar. Just ‘Blaine’ is fine.”

John thought for a moment about the number of times in the course of a day he was called ‘Miss,’ now. It was odd.

“Thank you Mr. Blaine,” Oscar smiled. “That’s very nice of you.”

Blaine shook his head.

“Don’t they call you ‘Mister’ at school?” John asked.

“Nope. Just last names.”

“Oh, how rude.” John smiled.

“BEBE! NOW!” Rose opened her door and stood outside the car, then bent and looked back in at the kids in the backseat. “Now, you little brat! Let’s go!”

Blaine opened the door and got out, then turned and offered his hand to John who scooted across the seat, took his hand and got out.

“Blaine,” Rose said, “would you mind just running ahead and checking the arrivals board to see what carousel the flight from Boston will be using? I need a minute with Beebs.”

“Oh, Yeah, sure.” He ran ahead.

Rose checked John’s face. “Well, you did clean up pretty well. An hour ago, I would have thought that you’d look like a mugging victim when the girls arrived.”

John smiled and let Rose fuss with him for a few moments.

“I’m glad that you and Blaine are still together. He’s a good boy.”

“Me too,” John glanced in the direction Blaine had gone. “I didn’t think he’d come back.”

Rose nodded. “You know that there’s still going to be Hell to pay when your Uncle Ed gets home, right?”

“I know.”

Rose nodded. “I’ll talk to him in the hall and then, maybe, you could ‘run an errand’ with him, or something. That way, you could talk in private. Maybe in the car or something.”

“Ok.”

“But you can’t come back in looking like you’ve been crying, so toughen up and be a big girl, ok?”

He nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go see the girls.”

“BEBE!!!!” Annie shouted as she ran past the luggage carousels and threw her arms around her friend. Slightly taller and much for womanly than John, she pulled him into a hug so tight that John actually could not breathe.

Cassie was right behind her, but she was running more to keep up with her sister than due to excitement. When she reached John and Annie, she threw her arms around John from the back.

They both squeezed until John thought he’d pass out.

When they released him, John took a big breath and rolled his eyes. “Wow! Hey, guys! Oh, man, it’s good to see you! Annie, you highlighted your hair! It looks cute! I love it. Cassie, you’ve cut your hair since we Skyped the other day! It’s perfect!”

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, Beebs.” Cassie kissed his cheek. “We’ve been watching the show and you’re amazing! We wanted so much to watch it with you and hear all about how it was made and what it’s like to be on camera.”

“Hi, girls,” Rose interrupted.

The girls replied with big greetings and thank-yous and hugs.

“We should probably get to the luggage carousel and grab your bags, ok?”

“Oh, we just have these,” Cassie said, indicating the large Dooney and Bourke weekender bags they’d dropped when they’d greeted John.

“I’ll grab those for you.” Blaine stepped forward and picked up the luggage.

Both Cassie and Annie, stopped and stared at Blaine.

“Wow!” Annie whispered.

“Is that him? The guy who... you know... the one you told me about?” Cassie said, too loudly.

“Oh, Yeah, that’s Him. I mean... Blaine, this is Annie and Cassie.”

Blaine nodded as he stood straight with the heavily packed weekender bags in each of his hands. “Hi. Nice to meet you.” He smiled and nodded at the sisters.

“Hubba, hubba, hubba,” Annie said under her breath. “He’s even more gorgeous than his picture.”

Blaine laughed. “Thanks, I guess.” He turned and walked towards the exit next to Rose.

“That’s the guy that you ‘accidentally’ said ‘I love you’ to?” Cassie asked.

John smiled and nodded.

“You wanted to take things slowly with HIM?”

John nodded again.

“You’re nuts, Bebe. I take back everything I said. Go fast. Tell him you love him. Ask him to marry you.”

John laughed. “I’m definitely not ready for that,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “but I did tell him I loved him – just a couple of hours ago.”

Cassie’s mouth opened in shock before she burst into laughter.

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice interrupted their conversation. John turned and saw a middle aged woman with an odd look on her face.

“Yes?” John didn’t recognize the woman and wasn’t sure if she was speaking to him.

“I’m sorry, but aren’t you that girl? The one from Don Ferry’s TV show?”

John was taken aback. This was still new to him. “Umm, yes, I am.”

“See, Veronica,” the woman shouted over John’s head, “I told you it was her! Oh, honey, you are SO GOOD on that show! We’ve watched every episode so far!”

“Oh, well, thank you, so much.” John smiled at the woman, genuinely delighted that she enjoyed the show.

By now, Rose and Blaine had stopped and saw a small, but growing group of people assembling around John. “What’s going on?” Blaine asked.

“I don’t know.” Rose hurried back to see if anyone had fallen or passed out or gotten sick. Why else would a crowd be forming around the girls.

When she finally pushed her way into the center, she heard the first woman saying, “Would you mind if I just took a couple of pictures? Here, Veronica, take one of me with my arm around her.”

John was smiling, but it was a pasted on smile and Rose could see that the growing crowd was becoming a threat to him.

“Excuse me.” Rose pushed her way all the way to John’s side. “Are you ok, Beebs?”

“I guess.” John took her hand. “These people just want pictures, but they’re pushing in pretty close.”

Rose stood tall and spoke in a loud voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’d be delighted to let you have your picture taken with Bebe, but, please, everyone PLEASE TAKE A STEP BACK so that she has room to breathe.”

“Hey,” the woman answering to Veronica said, “you’re on that show, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am, and I’m very happy to accommodate all of you, but please, take a step back.”

Annie and Cassie stepped to the side and stood by Blaine as Rose moved John to a more suitable picture taking location. Now he had a wall to his back so he couldn’t be approached from that direction. Within moments, police assigned to the airport had come to see what the commotion was. They were used to celebrity sightings and the crowds those created, so they were able to organize people so as to not pose a threat to the celebrity and allow airport business to be conducted as usual.

Cassie looked at Blaine and asked, “Is this a common thing? Being mobbed like this.” In fact, calling it a mob was a bit of a stretch. There were, perhaps, forty people in total and they were now moving quickly and in an orderly manner.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen it!” Blaine shook his head in amazement. “I doubt it’ll be the last, though.”

Don and Ed were seated in director’s chairs on the set, mumbling through their lines for the next scene, when one of the three production assistants assigned to Don, a small, dark skinned girl from Argentina, hurried over to them.

“Excuse me, Mr Ferry.”

“Hmm? What is it, Tillie?”

“I’m sorry to bother you on the set, but a Mr Hank Miller called your cell phone. He says it’s very important.”

“That’s ok, Tillie. I’ll take it.” He glanced at Ed and raised his eyebrows in a questioning method.

The girl handed Don his cell phone. “Hi, Hank. What’s going on?”

He sat silently while he listened to the phone for several minutes and his expression turned serious. Ed watched with growing concern.

“Really?” Don finally said into the phone. “I thought you said that they’d do it at her home.”

He listened some more.

“Yeah, I understand, Hank, thanks. Let me know if you hear anything. Yeah, thanks, pal. Talk to you soon.” He pushed the ‘end’ button, then turned to the assistant and said, “Thank you, Tillie,” and he handed her the phone, then he sat quietly until Tillie had walked away.

He looked at Ed.

“So?” Ed asked calmly.

“Well,” Don stayed as cool as a cucumber. No one would have suspected that anything was wrong. “LAPD is ready to make the arrest, but there’s been a change of plans.”

“They’re not arresting her at the school, are they?”

Don sighed. “They are, but... they have a reason.”

“So if we incorporate the data from the PARCC Test,” Miss Karen was finishing her PowerPoint presentation to the other teachers, “we can extrapolate an expected academic achievement for the student.”

The teachers applauded the work of their colleague. Some, like Miss Karen, were very data-driven educators, while others were having a hard time staying awake. There were twenty-seven women and three men in the large cafeteria space, drinking coffee and nibbling on donuts and muffins.

“Thank you, Karen.” Miss Gabriella returned to the microphone at the podium. “Ok, well, it looks like we are nearly done for today. I’d just like to take the time to thank you all for the hard work and dedication that you have brought to your classrooms, this year. As always, I am impressed by the high level of achievement our girls display. This year has been an unusually productive year for our girls with the success of the basketball team and the math-letics championship...”

Her voice trailed off as four men in suits entered the cafeteria from the main entrance. They were accompanied by four uniformed police officers as well.

When the men said nothing, but just stood there, Miss Gabriella finally asked, “May I help you, gentlemen?”

One man stepped forward and held up a badge. “Yes, ma’m. My name is Detective Lieutenant Dan Fugleman and I am here about a very serious matter.”

There was a concerned murmur in the room.

“I see.” Miss Gabriella shifted uncomfortably at the podium. “Perhaps we should speak in my office first.”

She started to move to the men, but Detective Lieutenant Fugleman interrupted. “No thank you, ma’m.” He glanced around the cafeteria and moved to a table with three women and one man. He circled the table until he stood behind the prettiest woman of the group. “Miss Stephanie Wallace?” He asked.

“Yes?” the woman replied.

The Detective summoned a female police officer who joined him. “Please stand up.”

She did, while asking, “What is this all about?”

The officer pulled her arms behind her back and locked a pair of handcuffs on the pretty woman. “You are under arrest.”

“For what!?” she screamed as the woman all let out shocked vocal expressions.

“We will discuss that in the foyer, Miss Wallace,” the Detective said.

The man seated at the table wore a blue, sleeveless tee shirt with a Led Zeppelin logo on the front. He stood and tried to intervene on behalf of his colleague. “Wait a minute, Detective, this is absolutely ridiculous. I’m sure you’ve got the wrong person.” The man tried to sound level headed and reasonable, but the detective just smiled.

“Mr William Crawford?” the Detective asked.

“Yes?” The man said, confused.

In a second, a male officer was behind the sleeveless man, locking his hands into handcuffs, too.”

“Officer?” Miss Gabriella stormed across the room to the Detective who had dared to invade her school. “What is going on, here?”

The man grinned confidently. “Detective, ma’m. Perhaps this would be a good time for us to step into your office.”

Nearly an hour later, John and Rose and Blaine and Cassie and Annie and Oscar were on their way out of LAX and the back seat of the limo was as noisy as it could possibly be. John and the girls were singing along to Broadway show tunes at the top of their lungs. Oscar had allowed John to plug his phone into the sound system. He had a pretty extensive show tunes playlist.

“I don’t have the time to waste on you, anymore,” they sang. “I don’t think that you even know what you’re looking for.
For my own sanity, I’ve got to close the door and walk away Oh oh.”

Just as they finish the bridge from the song from ‘Avenue Q,’ John’s phone rang. Rose looked at the screen. “Beebs, it’s Rita. Want me to answer it?”

“I can put it through the sound system, if you want,” Oscar said.

“That’ll be good, Oscar. Thanks.”

Rose tried to intervene to stop that, but Oscar pushed the button too quickly. Rose just prayed that this wasn’t about John revealing his secret to Blaine. If Rita found out, Rita would be angry!

“Shh, Shh, Shh,” John said to everyone. “Hi, Rita. Just so you know, you’re on speaker phone and I have some friends with me.”

“Hi, sweetie,” Rita said in her sickly-sweet, ‘I’m your best friend’ voice. “I have news, angel!” As always, she half-spoke, half-sang when she had good things to talk about.

“Oh! What kind of news, Rita?” Blaine looked interested. Annie and Cassie were very excited. Imagine! An actual Hollywood agent! How cool!

“You have an audition, my dear! Ten days from now, at Disney Studios in Burbank, and it’s big, Bebe. Really big.”

John felt a rush of excitement course through his body. “What do you mean, Rita?”

“How about an audition for a live action musical written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez?”

Annie and Cassie gasped.

John glanced at them, surprised by their reaction. “Is that a big deal?” he asked Rita.

“You’re kidding me? You never heard of Robert Lopez?”

Cassie whispered, “Beebs...” but John shook his head and held up a finger.

“Oh, Wait,” John said. “Robert Lopez! We were just singing one of his songs from ‘Avenue Q!’ Now I know who you’re talking about. ‘Avenue Q’ and ‘Book of Mormon.’ I know who he is.”

“Beebs...” Cassie and Annie hissed together.

“Is Kristen his wife?”

Rita laughed. “Bebe, baby, yes, she is his wife, but think about those names for a minute. You must have heard of them!”

“Beebs...” the girls said slightly louder.

“What?” he mouthed to them.

“Frozen,” they said.

John shook his head, not realizing what they were saying. He looked to Blaine who shrugged. Then he looked to Rose who nodded and mouthed the same word. “Frozen.”

John shook his head again, still not getting it, but then the lights came on in his brain. “Frozen!? They wrote FROZEN!?!?” His heart felt as if it stopped beating for a moment.

“Bingo!” Rita laughed through the phone. “Pretty big deal, huh?”

“Oh, my God, Rita!!! This is unbelievable!!!”

“I know, baby, now listen. I’m going to email you all the information, then I want you to call me on Monday morning. By then, I will have set up a good vocal coach for you. You can sing, I assume. We’ll get a good coach and she’ll help you get ready for the singing part of the audition. Sound good?”

“Sounds... amazing... and frightening. Rita, I’m... overwhelmed!”

“I know, sweetie. Call me Monday. Bye, bye.” And the call was disengaged before John could say ‘Goodbye.’

“Holy shit!” Cassie shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Language,” Rose said, more out of maternal instinct than any real concern. Frankly, she wanted to yell the same thing and do it even louder.

“This seems really big,” Blaine said.

John smiled at him. “It is. It’s really big. But it’s just an audition.”

“For the Lopez’s!!!” Cassie scream. “The mother-f-ing Lopez’s!!”

That made Rose Actually laugh, until she realized she needed to say something. “Cassie!” It was no good, though. Rose was laughing too hard to sound like a disciplinarian.

“Congratulations, princess!” Oscar called back.

“Thanks, Oscar.” John was nearly numb with excitement. Blaine put his arm around John’s shoulder and gave him a congratulatory hug. Everyone was riding high, when John’s phone rang again.

“It’s Ella,” Rose said. “Speaker phone?”

John nodded.

“Hi, Ella...” John said, ready to give her the same warning about the speaker phone he’d given Rita, but Ella was too quick.

“Bebe, you’re never going to believe it! It’s unbelievable!”

For just a moment, John thought that Ella had, somehow, heard about his audition, but then he realized how concerned she sounded. “Ella... what’s wrong?”

The whole car got quiet.

“You know Rachel Quint? She’s a junior. She’s Miss Karen’s daughter. You know who I mean?”

“Yeah,” John said. “Is she ok?”

“She’s fine, but she was at the school today during the teachers’ meeting. She was helping out her mother with some kind of a presentation and all of a sudden the police showed up.”

“The police?” John sat up straight and looked at Rose. She was as shocked as John was.

“Yeah! You’re not going to believe it! They arrested Miss Stephanie! They pulled her out of the meeting and arrested her in front of everyone.”

“Oh my God!” John said in shock.

“But then,” Ella continued and John felt the skin crawl all over his body, “they arrested Mr Crawford, the track coach, and, this is the weirdest part, they arrested Miss Gabriella, too!!!”

John and Rose stared at each other in shock. Neither of them knew for sure, but they both had a feeling that Ed had made this happen.

“Bebe? Are you there?” Ella asked.

“I’m here,” John whispered, “but I don’t know what to say.”

“I know. It’s weird, right?” Ella was slowing down, now that she’d delivered her news.

“Yeah. Really weird.”

There was a stunned silence from Blaine, Rose and John. Cassie and Annie were just confused. They had no idea who any of the people were who’d been arrested.

Finally Ella said, “Hey, I gotta call a few more girls, ok?”

“Yeah, ok...” John didn’t know what to say. He was a little relieved and a he felt a little guilt, too. One way or another, this probably had to do with him.

“So, we’ll be at your place by 8:00, ok?”

“Yeah. Yeah. See you guys at 8:00 tonight.”

“Ok. Love you.”

John paused. “Ella...”

“Yeah?”

“Ella... I’m sorry that this happened. I know you like Miss Stephanie.”

Oh, umm... thanks, but... well, I’ve seen a different side of her lately, you know, I think that she might have actually done something. Something really bad.”

John nodded and looked at Rose. He wanted to shed a tear for his teachers and his friends, but he couldn’t. Besides being all cried out, he was having a hard time feeling any sympathy for the teachers involved.

“Ok...” he just couldn’t think of anything else to say. “See you at eight. Love you.”

Ella hung up.

The weekend long slumber party was well underway when Ed got home at a little after 8:30. He’d had a long and stressful day. He’d been distracted since Hank’s call and it made the work they did that afternoon difficult.

Rose had been waiting for him to return, anxious about how to tell him about John’s I’ll advised confession to Blaine. She was nervous. She knew he wouldn’t hurt John, but she wanted to handle it delicately. Ed could handle anything, but he did have a temper.

Ella, MK and Kylie had arrived just before 8:00. Blaine was still at the condo, hanging out with the girls. They were watching ‘The Princess Bride’ and the girls were reciting all of the lines in sync with the movie, which shocked Blaine, since he’d never even heard of it.

Rose was in the kitchen making popcorn when Ed walked through the door. He put his courier-bag-satchel by the coat rack and was about to go find Rose when Blaine was suddenly next to him.

“Good evening, sir,” Blaine said and offered Ed his hand to shake.

Ed was momentarily confused by the boy’s formality, but shook his hand. “Hi, Blaine. How are you doing?” He sounded a little confused.

“I’m fine, sir, but could I have a word with you in the hallway?” Blaine was acting... oddly. He was being very formal, almost like a soldier about to deliver bad news to a family.

“Umm,” Ed shook off his confusion. “Maybe in a few minutes, ok? I’d like to get something to drink and maybe have a sandwich...”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Blaine persisted, “but it’s very important.”

Ed shrugged and shook his head. “Well, ok. If it’s that important...” and he opened the door so that he and Blaine could speak in private. “What can I do for you, Blaine?” Ed asked as brightly as he could. Blaine cleared his throat, “Well, sir,” he considered his words carefully. His goals were (1) to inform Ed without upsetting him, (2) to make sure that Ed didn’t get mad at Bebe and (3) to make sure that Ed didn’t hit him. Ok, these were all, more or less the same goal, but Blaine was going to do his very best.

“You see,” he continued, “Bebe and I had a long talk after breakfast this morning and, well, I just wanted to let you know that I know all about her condition and, even though I was shocked at first, I have come to terms with everything she told me and I will never, under any circumstances, tell anyone, other than my mother, what she told me.”

Ed just stared at Blaine while he processed what the boy had said. When it had all worked it’s way into his consciousness, Ed crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, thinking before he spoke. Blaine could tell that the man was upset, which, since Ed was very, very fit, scared him, a lot.

“Blaine... you’re a good kid, I know that, but there’s a lot more to Bebe’s ‘condition’ than you may understand – from a legal stand point, I mean.” Ed thought for another moment before he continued, “Suppose you tell me what Bebe told you.”

“Well,” Blaine spoke as confidently as he could as he recapped the conversation.

“And you’re ok with all of this?” Ed was tense. He couldn’t believe that John had been this reckless with information.

“I am, sir. I mean, I was pretty upset at first, but after I spoke to my mom, I realized that I really loved her and I came right back here.”

Ed nodded and considered everything. “Alright,” he muttered as his posture relaxed a bit. “I’m not quite sure how this will all play out, Blaine, but you and your mom may be asked to sign some forms. Do you think your mom would agree to that?”

“Oh, yes, sir, I know she would. She worked in the medical field for a long time. She understands about all of these things.”

Ed nodded, then gave Blaine a pat on the shoulder. “Like I said, you’re a good kid, Blaine. I’m sorry that life with Bebe is so complicated. You’ll get used to it, I’m sure, but the thing to remember is – She’s really worth it.”

“I know she is, sir. Thank you.”

They reentered the apartment, Blaine showing relief and Ed a bit more stressed than he had been when he’d first come in. This time, John spotted them coming in and he saw Ed hold up his right index finger and indicate that John should come join him – immediately.

“I’ll be right back,” he told the girls and headed for the door where Ed waited.

When they were alone in the hallway, Ed, once again folded his arms and leaned against the wall. John stood in front of him, his head down.

“Well?” Ed finally said.

John looked up, still avoiding eye contact, went to speak, but could not find the words, so he hung his head, again.

“You know,” Ed took over, “when I left here this morning, I knew that something was up. For a few minutes, I thought you were thinking about leaving. You really had me scared.”

“I’m sorry,” John whispered.

“But I never, not in a million years, would have guessed that you would do something like this. I am in awe of how selfish and careless you can be.”

“I’m sorry, Ed...”

“Uncle,” Ed interrupted, rather loudly and rather firmly. “Uncle, damnit, Bebe, I don’t know why you took this huge step backwards today, but damnit all to Hell, you are getting all your ducks in a row now, or so help me God, I will not allow you to take Rosie and me down with you. I know that we owe you a lot, but, Jesus, Bebe, you have made this process so much harder than it should be that I am about to give up on you completely. I swear, I’ll love you forever, but if you’re not going to keep your life in order, I’m not going to let you ruin mine and Rosie’s. Are you understanding me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, then tell me why? Why did you feel the need to jeopardize everything we’ve accomplished and tell Blaine about your... ‘condition?’”

John stared at the floor and mumbled something.

“What!?”

John spoke a bit louder, but is was still a sad whisper. “Because I love him and I couldn’t tell him that without him knowing who... what... I am.”

Ed scoffed. “You ‘love’ him? Bebe, how on earth do you even know what love is? He’s your first boyfriend, for crying out loud, and now he knows something that he can hold over your head for the rest of your life.”

John’s eyes never met Ed’s. “I may look like a child, and people may treat me like a child, but I’m not a child. I know how I feel. I love Blaine and I love him differently than loved Rose. I want to be with him. I miss him something awful when he’s gone and, even more than a career or the show, I want to have a life with him. That’s why I took a risk – for love. I’m sorry if I put you or Rose in jeopardy, but I had to, and I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d forbid me from doing it... and I had to do it. I’m sorry.”

Ed exhaled his frustration. ‘I did it for love,’ Bebe had said. How the heck could he condemn her for that? “Alright, but this has got to be the end, Bebe. No one else – ever! Understood?”

John gave a sad nod.

“Did you hear about Miss Stephanie?”

John nodded, “And Miss Gabriella and Mr Crawford, the coach.”

Ed nodded. “Yeah. I wish it hadn’t happened the way that it did, but it looks like they were all in it together. Do the girls know?”

“Yeah. Ella called me and told me.”

Ed nodded again. “Tough day, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, at least things worked out with Blaine.”

John nodded. “Oh, and I have an audition at Disney studios for a live action musical written by the people who wrote ‘Frozen.’” This was the first time that John made eye contact with Ed.

“Wow.” Ed blinked at John. “That’s... awesome.”

John smiled.

“Ok, new rule - You start acting like a good kid who knows right from wrong. Agreed?”

John nodded and smiled.

“Ok. Back to your friends.”

When they walked back in, Rose was giving the girls and Blaine a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn. She saw Ed and hustled over to him. “We need to talk in the hall.”

“Geez.” Ed shook his head. “I’ve tried to get into this place three times and I haven’t made it past the entrance, yet.”

Rose looked confused. “Sorry, But I need to talk to you about something Bebe did this morning.”

“You mean that she told Blaine everything? I’ve already spoken to Blaine and then to Bebe. Please, can I go into the kitchen and have something to eat and a drink?”

It took a moment for Rose to realize that the huge conflict she’d anticipated had been resolved without her involvement at all. She looked at Bebe hanging out with her friends, Looking so happy, cuddled up next to her boyfriend, then back to Ed. How had it all gone so smoothly? How? Well, obviously - Ed. Ed was a good guy and a good uncle. “Come on.” She smiled as she took his hand. “I’ll make you an omelet.”

Ed glanced back at the girls and Blaine watching the movie. “Is Blaine spending the night, too?”

Rose shook her head. “No. He’s leaving when the movie’s over, but he’ll be back by 7:30 tomorrow morning so they can all go to Disneyland together for Bebe’s birthday celebration.”
 
 
To Be Continued...