Work Text:
This part of the story takes place in a series of vignettes from different ages of the protagonists, Sophie and Frank. I hope you all enjoy!
Ages 7&9
“Give it back!” I say, feeling the tears pricking in the corner of my eyes. The bully looks at me and sneers.
“Aww, is the little baby going to cry?” He laughs derisively at me looking at his friends. I am one of the only kids at this school who didn’t have parents, or a family. I am usually the target of bullying and the teachers have better things to do then deal with it. Today, Danny and his mean friends had stolen my bunny toy. It is one of the only things I had left after the fire that took my parents and my baby sister last year. Ever since they passed, I barely speak to anyone at all. I miss them so much. I start crying.
“Aww come on, this is less fun if you’re crying.” I look at him through my teary eyes and see him smirking.
“Give that back to her. NOW.” Danny whips his head around to look at the newest kid at the school. He was taller than me, and had dark brown eyes and hair. His hair looked like he had cut it himself.
“Oh? And what are you going to do about it, new kid?” Danny laughs hard, walking over to him and straightening to his full height. The two of them were about the same height. The new kid was a little stockier, where Danny was skinny and not very muscular. In the blink of an eye, Danny was sprawled on the ground and the new kid was rubbing his knuckles. Before Danny could recover, the new kid stalks over to him and takes my toy.
“Do not bother this girl again, or you will have to answer to me.” The new kid growls at him, before coming over to me and kneeling on the ground in front of me.
Danny gets back on his feet and shakes his head.
“Come on guys, she's not worth it. There are plenty of other twerps here.” He turns on his heel and stomps away, his friends following close behind.
“Hey, are you okay?” The new kid says to me with a gentle smile that is the complete opposite of what I just saw him do. I nod. “He is such a butthead, huh?” I smile a little and giggle.
“My name is Frank. What's yours?” I frown and look down at the ground. Ever since I stopped talking, people stopped trying to talk to me. He smiles.
“You don’t like to talk, huh?” I look at him and shake my head. “Well that's good, because I can talk enough for both of us.” I pause, and he grins.
“Come on Girly, let's go.” I made a face at him because of the new nickname he gave me.
“What, you don’t like that name? Well I’m sure we can find a nickname that works until I can figure it out.” He winks at me. He holds out his hand and I take it as he helps me up to my feet.
“Oh, this is yours.” He hands me my bunny, and I hug it tight to my chest. He starts to walk away, and I grab his hand. He turns around and looks at me, confused. I muster all of the courage I have.
“Sophie. I'm Sophie.” He cracks a smile so ridiculously big and bright.
“Well it's nice to meet you Sophie! I was going to go hang out at the jungle gym, want to join me?” I nod my head and we run over to it. From that day on, Frank and I were inseparable.
Ages 13&15
“Okay Sophie, you can do this. It's only a cast list. If anything, you got an ensemble role, which is still good, right?” Frank says to me as we walk through my school and I nod. He left it a few years ago when he started high school.
I had taken a chance and auditioned for this year's musical, which was one of my favorite shows. I always loved the story behind Beauty and the Beast. It was one I used to watch with my parents all the time when I was younger, so it held a special place in my heart; and Frank knew this. He had skipped school that day to make sure he could pick me up from class and walk with me to the theater wing of the school. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a role at all. The other theater kids were really competitive, and I figured they’d probably stick me in the back of scenes like they always did. As we approached the theater, I could see quite a few kids gathered around the bulletin board where the cast list was posted. I could see the familiar blonde head of Julie Kotsenko, the girl who seemed to get all the leads, and her friends Susie and Joey who were always her supporting actors. Suddenly, Frank grabs my hand and turns to me.
“Soph, whatever happens, you’ll be okay.” He says and I smile. Before I can respond though, I hear Julie squeal.
“Yes!! I got Belle!” Susie and Joey cheer and they turn around. Julie makes a beeline straight for me.
“Well look who it is! Better luck next year, Sophie!” I can feel myself starting to tear up, and she turns to Frank.
“Hi Frank. Whenever you want to ditch the kiddie train, let me know.” She winks at him and walks away. He rolls his eyes.
“I swear, she needs to give up. I have no interest in her.” I smirk and he guides me to the cast list. I hesitate.
“Frank, can you check it for me?” He nods and approaches the list. It felt like hours that he was looking at it, and eventually he turned around with a sad expression. Oh man, I guess it's not in the cards for me to have a part. He approaches me and his sad look breaks into a grin.
“You should really look at the list yourself, Mrs. Potts.” I was confused for a second, then it dawned on me. I rushed over to the list, and sure enough next to the name Mrs. Potts, was my name. I broke into a huge grin and ran back to Frank, wrapping my arms around his neck as he grabbed my waist and spun me around while laughing.
“I’m so proud of you Soph!! You did it!” I can’t help but smile like an idiot. I’m so happy. I’ve always wanted to play her. She has my favorite song in the whole show.
The next few months of rehearsals fly by, and its opening night. “Frank, I'm scared.” I say while in the middle of a panic attack. We’re standing outside the back of the theater waiting for my first cue, which won’t come for a while. Frank rubs my arms in an attempt to comfort me. He looks like he wants to hug me, but my costume is in the way.
“Sophie, when I met you, you were so shy you couldn’t speak. It took you years of therapy and me annoying you for you to talk regularly. And even then, it was really only to me, Kate and Evan. Now, you are going onstage to perform for people in a role you’ve wanted since you could walk. You are beautiful, capable, and a badass. You can do this. I’m going to be right in the front row the whole time. If you want to, you can do your whole performance while staring at me.” I smiled at him and he pulled me in for a hug, costume be damned. He knows just what to say to make me feel better. The show goes on without a hitch, and when it comes to my song, I stand upstage right, and scan the crowd.
As promised, Frank is in the front row, center stage; and he's staring at me and smiling. I start my song, and I see Frank's face change to a look I don’t recognize. Little does Sophie know, this is the moment that Frank fell head over heels in love with her. Seeing her perform a role she had wanted forever made his heart fill with inexplicable joy.
She deserves this moment. He thought to himself, smiling.
Ages 14&16
“I wish I could take you to the end of the year dance, Frank.” He busted out laughing, and I turned red.
“Soph, you know dances aren’t really my thing.” I frowned.
“Well at least I don’t think I'm too cool for things we’re supposed to be doing at our age, Frank.” I snap at him, staring down at the floor of the tiny red Camry that he had borrowed from his parents for the night. I can feel the anger rolling off him as we keep driving. After a few minutes, he takes a deep breath and sighs.
“You’re right. But you know I don’t dance.” I ignore him and keep staring at my feet. He sighs again, and takes a turn down a dirt road in our town.
“Where are we going?” I question turning my head to face him and he just shakes his head and keeps driving.
I roll my eyes and shift my gaze to the window, watching the familiar corn and bean fields pass until we get to an open lot, where he pulls in and parks the car.
“Get out, please.” I look at him and freeze.
“You can’t leave me out here.” I say in a panicked tone. He smirks.
“ I won’t. Trust me.” I roll my eyes again and get out of the car and close the door behind me. I glance in the car, and see that he is fiddling with his iPod, connecting it to the speakers of his car. After a few minutes, he turns the brights on and gestures for me to come around the front of the car. Crossing my arms across my stomach and clutching the sides of my cardigan I come over to the driver's side of the car and stop at his door. He stands up, still holding the iPod with the extra long cord attached. After a few seconds of silence, he hits play and the familiar opening chords of Future Days by Pearl Jam play. He reaches out a hand, and after a few seconds, I take it. He leads me out in front of the car where the headlights are shining. He gently takes my arms and places them around his neck, while he settles his hands on my hips and he starts swaying. For a bit, I'm stunned.
“I thought you couldn’t dance?” I said to him, looking him in the eyes. He smiles shyly and looks at me.
“For you, I'll try.” I nod, looking away from his eyes and staring at a spot on his shoulder, trying not to blush. After a few minutes I lean my forehead onto his shoulder and he stiffens.
Eventually he tightens his hold so there is barely any space between us. I snuggle into his embrace. I can feel him move his right hand from my waist and before I know it, he's guiding my head up with his pointer finger hooked under my chin so I look him in the face. He looks me dead in the eyes and moves his hand so he is gently cupping my jaw with it. My eyes flutter closed, and I start leaning in. I love you. I think to myself, and for the first time that thought doesn't scare me.
As soon as the moment starts though, it's over. The opening notes of We Can’t Stop start playing and I hear Frank mutter something under his breath.
“I didn’t know you liked Miley, Frank.” I say taking my arms off his shoulders and stepping away from him, grinning. His face turns red.
“Julie must have put this on my iPod. Damnit.” I smirk.
“Sure Frank. It’s okay, you don’t have to admit it. I know you listen to her.” He rolls his eyes.
“You caught me watching Hannah Montana ONCE. I was only watching it because….” I interrupt, laughing and start walking back to the car.
“It’s okay. No need to explain. Can you take me home though? It’s late and my parents might worry.” He nods and gets back into the car.
Ages 16&18
“ Frank, why are guys the worst?” I say to him and he shrugs, “I mean, Adam and Dwight were okay, but most guys just suck.” He nods at me.
“Yeah, I mean to be fair though, you do tend to date losers though Sophie, so it's only a product of your choices.” I scoff in fake offense.
“Wow Frank. Thanks. Some best friend you are.” He laughs.
“Well you came to me for advice instead of Kate so it’s your fault that you made the possibly worst choice you could have.” I start laughing and lightly punch his shoulder. I had just found my most recent boyfriend cheating on me with some girl from the next town over.
“Well, It's not like your choices in girls are any better than mine. I mean, remember Julie? Total psycho.” He laughs and shakes his head.
“Oh man, I almost forgot about her.”
“I might as well swear off dating till I'm older; there's no point.” I expect him to laugh at what I say, but there's silence instead. I turn my head to look at him and I can see that he is thinking hard about something. He takes a deep breath and looks me dead in the eyes.
“You could date me?” He says barely above a whisper.
“What?” I replied, not quite understanding what he was saying. His face turns red and he looks down at the ground.
“Never mind Sophie, forget it.”
“Wait, no. Are you asking me out, Frank?” He pauses and slowly nods his head, still looking at the floor , shoving his hands into the pockets of his worn leather jacket. I reach to cradle his face with my hand, and gently tilt his head so he’s looking at me. He’s still trying to look anywhere but at me, embarrassed.
“Yes.” I simply say. His face lights up and he wraps me up in a bear hug, swinging me around before gently placing a kiss on my lips.
“My girl.” he whispers as I smile, looking into his chocolate brown eyes. I could get used to this. I think to myself.