Passing -- Spring Awakening (o8.o4.o9)
Title: Passing
Fandom: Spring Awakening (musical.)
Characters: Anna, Georg, Boys
Prompt: Fanfiction 100 prompt #65: Passing.
Rating: PG
Summary: Sure, it was said that Lars Ettelburg "left town," but Georg knew better.
Georg knew that not all suicides were recorded. He remembered vividly a time when Lars Ettelburg mysteriously 'left town.' Lars' parents had said he'd gotten ill and had gone to stay with his grandmother, but his sister Brigitta had told the truth. Hänschen was the one who had eventually told all the boys. Melchior had closed his eyes and rested a hand on Moritz' shoulder- who, in turn, was shaking… more than usual, anyway. Otto just shook his head with a solemn look on his face. Ernst bit his lip, his eyes wide; they silently asked, "Why?" Even Hänschen's trademark smirk had slipped off his face. The girls weren't allowed to know.
But really, all Georg wanted to know was the reason Lars' parents had lied to everyone in town. He made a decision and asked his father, who- after fumbling around in search of the right words- had settled on simply, "It is not the way things are done. I regret their secrecy, but it is just not the way things ought to be done."
And then Moritz had made the same decision as Lars, and the question still stood. And then Wendla died. What was at the root of it all? Lies. Lies, and withholding the entire truth. Which in essence were the same thing to Georg. He now sat on the steps leading up to his house. It was sunny and cloudless, somewhat inappropriate a climate for the topic he was thinking about. "At least they gave them proper funerals."
Anna had agreed. Kicking her heels back and forth, she thought for a moment. "With Lars there was no blame. He was happy, I remember, until… you know. I think, with Moritz, and Wendla, for that matter… I think they tried to ease their guilt by giving it all to Melchior. It's rare that he is so vulnerable, and that made him an easy scapegoat. But really, all they did was almost create another de- de- passing." She lowered her eyes. "Mama still thinks it's Melchior's fault. I know it's not. In a roundabout way, it's sort of hers. The parents, at least."
"My father knows that."
"But does everyone else?"
"I think they do. They just choose not to because they'd rather leave that guilt to someone else, and let them feel it instead of living with their own mistakes like we have to."
They both were silent. Anna turned her face up to look at the house across from Georg's steps, and Georg followed her gaze. There were lacy curtains decorating the open windows across the way. A breeze made them flutter, the lack of glass in the windows allowing air to rush in. The scent of new spring leaves lingered as she leaned closer to Georg. "Have we made a mistake?"
Georg started and looked at Anna with startled eyes. "Beg your pardon?" He couldn't possibly mean what he had heard.
"Melchior and Wendla… I can't imagine… If you and I…" The worry on her face was evident in her eyes, which were tearing up. Tears began to slide down her cheeks, coming faster and faster with each passing moment.
"Do you remember the time when your mama chased all of us out of the kitchen? Every single one of us, all ten. I looked back and it seemed that the parade would never end… of course, that was before Thea moved here. We were six, do you remember?"
Anna sniffled and laughed at the same time. "We all marched out with a biscuit in our hand. I remember." Her hands went up to wipe her tear-red face.
His hand moving to capture hers, Georg's thumb traced the contours of her cheekbone, wiping away the tears before she had a chance to. Answering her earlier question, he murmured, "We won't."
"But they didn't even-" Her eyes closed as she grew quiet, her mouth otherwise occupied. Georg rested one hand on the side of her face, the other at her neck. After what appeared to be moments but felt like several sunlit days, he pulled away.
"We won't," he repeated. And this time he knew Anna believed him.
Fandom: Spring Awakening (musical.)
Characters: Anna, Georg, Boys
Prompt: Fanfiction 100 prompt #65: Passing.
Rating: PG
Summary: Sure, it was said that Lars Ettelburg "left town," but Georg knew better.
Georg knew that not all suicides were recorded. He remembered vividly a time when Lars Ettelburg mysteriously 'left town.' Lars' parents had said he'd gotten ill and had gone to stay with his grandmother, but his sister Brigitta had told the truth. Hänschen was the one who had eventually told all the boys. Melchior had closed his eyes and rested a hand on Moritz' shoulder- who, in turn, was shaking… more than usual, anyway. Otto just shook his head with a solemn look on his face. Ernst bit his lip, his eyes wide; they silently asked, "Why?" Even Hänschen's trademark smirk had slipped off his face. The girls weren't allowed to know.
But really, all Georg wanted to know was the reason Lars' parents had lied to everyone in town. He made a decision and asked his father, who- after fumbling around in search of the right words- had settled on simply, "It is not the way things are done. I regret their secrecy, but it is just not the way things ought to be done."
And then Moritz had made the same decision as Lars, and the question still stood. And then Wendla died. What was at the root of it all? Lies. Lies, and withholding the entire truth. Which in essence were the same thing to Georg. He now sat on the steps leading up to his house. It was sunny and cloudless, somewhat inappropriate a climate for the topic he was thinking about. "At least they gave them proper funerals."
Anna had agreed. Kicking her heels back and forth, she thought for a moment. "With Lars there was no blame. He was happy, I remember, until… you know. I think, with Moritz, and Wendla, for that matter… I think they tried to ease their guilt by giving it all to Melchior. It's rare that he is so vulnerable, and that made him an easy scapegoat. But really, all they did was almost create another de- de- passing." She lowered her eyes. "Mama still thinks it's Melchior's fault. I know it's not. In a roundabout way, it's sort of hers. The parents, at least."
"My father knows that."
"But does everyone else?"
"I think they do. They just choose not to because they'd rather leave that guilt to someone else, and let them feel it instead of living with their own mistakes like we have to."
They both were silent. Anna turned her face up to look at the house across from Georg's steps, and Georg followed her gaze. There were lacy curtains decorating the open windows across the way. A breeze made them flutter, the lack of glass in the windows allowing air to rush in. The scent of new spring leaves lingered as she leaned closer to Georg. "Have we made a mistake?"
Georg started and looked at Anna with startled eyes. "Beg your pardon?" He couldn't possibly mean what he had heard.
"Melchior and Wendla… I can't imagine… If you and I…" The worry on her face was evident in her eyes, which were tearing up. Tears began to slide down her cheeks, coming faster and faster with each passing moment.
"Do you remember the time when your mama chased all of us out of the kitchen? Every single one of us, all ten. I looked back and it seemed that the parade would never end… of course, that was before Thea moved here. We were six, do you remember?"
Anna sniffled and laughed at the same time. "We all marched out with a biscuit in our hand. I remember." Her hands went up to wipe her tear-red face.
His hand moving to capture hers, Georg's thumb traced the contours of her cheekbone, wiping away the tears before she had a chance to. Answering her earlier question, he murmured, "We won't."
"But they didn't even-" Her eyes closed as she grew quiet, her mouth otherwise occupied. Georg rested one hand on the side of her face, the other at her neck. After what appeared to be moments but felt like several sunlit days, he pulled away.
"We won't," he repeated. And this time he knew Anna believed him.