#GIGIGOODE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

neonweeknds · 3 years ago

Text

enchanted - PART ONE

*u can read here or on ao3*

PART ONE

summary - Jan arrives in NYC with way too much baggage and too many feelings.

The dorms were small.

Much smaller than Jan anticipated when moving in. She was in the center of New York City, so when applying for the residency, she wasn’t expecting these cute picture-perfect university dorms as she had seen all over Pinterest, but the two single twin beds and desks pushed up against the wall crushed all her hopes of ever having that.

Thank god she got her own bathroom to share with her roommate instead of the communal one she had heard so many horror stories about.

As Jan looked around the room, she wasn’t sure how she was going to fit everything with the four suitcases she lugged with her from home. Plus she had to share this space with a roommate! It was going to take some time getting used to, she knew that much.

“Jesus Jan! Did you really need to bring every fucking CD you owned!” her sister, Lagoona, said with a huff as she placed down a heavy box, her oldest sister Rosé quickly following suit.

“Let her be Goon, her roommates going to be the one to deal with her daily Ariana concerts. Be thankful we’re free for the semester,”

“You know you’ll miss me” Jan teased back, nudging Lagoona’s shoulder. “Was that the last box?” she asked to which her sister nodded.

Jan looked around at her empty room and then back towards her sisters, “Guess this is it then, huh,” she huffed out. She felt herself getting emotional, even though she promised she wouldn’t on the ride up here.

Why was this so hard? Her sisters were only a phone call away, an eight-hour bus ride in case of an emergency.

She could do this. She wasn’t a baby.

She was a strong, independent woman.

Rosé scoffed, rolling her eyes, “Stop acting like you’re never gonna see us again. You’re going to be fine, Jannie! University is all about discovering yourself and all that bullshit! Enjoy it!”

Jan knew her sister was right.

“Besides, I have a few conferences in the city…I’m gonna be up here pretty often! And Rosie has her gigs! We’ll make this work, okay?” Lagoona reassured, her hand coming up to rub Jan’s arm in a comforting manner.

“Can we get some fro-yo before you drive back?” Jan looked at her sisters with puppy dog eyes she knew they couldn't resist.

“Do you even need to ask?” Rosé chuckled.

After some delicious frozen yogurt, courtesy of Lagoona, Jan hugged her sisters tight and teary-eyed. As she watched their shared black Toyota pull out of the campus parking lot, she couldn’t help but feel her anxiety creep back up again.

How was she going to do this on her own?

She had never lived alone before, especially in a big city where she knew nobody. Jan wasn’t used to being the newbie, and albeit there were thousands of students just like her, it didn’t help.

She was always the popular, bubbly and charismatic head cheerleader turned prom queen at her old school. Everybody liked her…she didn’t necessarily have to try but now in university, all that meant nothing.

Back home in her small little slice of Maine, she was comfortable with her life. She had everything she could’ve ever wanted. Her friends, sisters, a job, good grades and even her boyfriend, who coincidentally, was also the captain of the football team.

Well, ex-boyfriend.

And then without warning, Jan’s life went from perfect to disaster. Her whole world was turned upside down and was torn to shreds until the girl she once was, disappeared.

Rosé and Goona didn’t know what to do. It was unlike their baby sister to be locked in her room, only coming out to eat every so often. Their bubbly energetic sister had suddenly become quiet, reserved and shy. Everything got so bad one night, Rosé burst into her room crying her eyes out, practically begging her to let them help.

And Rosé never cried.

That was when Jan knew things needed to change.

She needed to get far away.

She wasn’t the same person she was last year.

And she didn’t want to be.

So although university was scary and anxiety-inducing for her, she knew she needed to be here. Not only for her sisters but deep down, Jan knew she needed this for herself.

By the grace of God, she was able to obtain a full-ride scholarship for a university, far, far away from anyone in her hometown. Her graduating class was small, and she knew for a fact none of them would ever be in New York, let alone NYU.

So Jan walked back to her dorm, taking steady breaths with each step.

She could do this. She needed to do this.

It was her chance to start over and she wasn’t letting anything get in her way this time around.

Heading up the stairs to her dorm building, the hallways were full of students and their families saying goodbye to one another. Her room was on the third floor, at the very end stretch of the hallway. Once she spotted her dorm, she saw there was a small sign hung up on the door that she hadn’t placed there.

Jan’s nerves crept back up as soon as she realized her roommate must’ve arrived. Taking a deep breath, her palm shakily grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. As quickly as Jan opened the door to her room, she slammed it back shut, not expecting to be met with the sight of two people making out heavily on the bed, one of which she assumed to be her new roommate.

Great start, Jan told herself.

She wasn’t sure what to do. Did she knock? Maybe she should walk around campus for a bit to give them some more time?

Before she could mentally deliberate for any longer, the door swung open, revealing a short girl with wild red curly hair and bright makeup that was now, well, slightly smudged.

The girl coughed awkwardly as she looked at Jan, “Sorry bout that,” and then she was skipping down the hallway, leaving Jan standing dumbfounded at her door.

“You can come in, you know. I don’t bite,” a voice from the inside called out.

Jan cringed as if this interaction wasn’t already awkward. She slowly entered the room, once again being taken aback by the sight, but this time it was of a tall blonde who was sitting on her bed shirtless, clad in just a bra.

Jan immediately turned around, her face turning beet red. “What—? Oh! Whoops, sorry! Forgot I wasn’t wearing a shirt!” she heard the blonde speak, “Okay, you can turn around now, although that’s probably not the last time that’s going to happen— for future reference,” the girl laughed when she saw the look on Jan’s face.

When Jan turned back around, the girl was now in a simple black cropped t-shirt. “I’m Gigi,“

“Is that your real name?” Jan immediately asked before clamping her mouth shut, realizing that that wasn’t very nice to ask someone you just met.

Gigi chuckled, “It’s not— Georgina is my full name but we don’t talk about that. I prefer Gigi,”

Jan nodded slowly and looked around their room. Gigi’s side was mostly decorated completely, aside from an opened suitcase on the ground that was spewing out clothes. Her eyes averted back to her roommate who was already staring at her, an expectant look on her face, “What?” Jan asked cluelessly.

“Are you gonna tell me your name or am I just gonna have to keep calling you ‘Girl who almost got a free show of my girlfriend and I’,” she smiled, teasingly.

Jan laughed, more out of embarrassment, “Uh I’m Jan…just Jan,” she spluttered, “Sorry, I’m really nervous right now. This is my first time away from home,” she admitted.

“Where are you from?” Gigi asked.

“Rockland…it’s a really small town in Maine,” she said, “Are you from New York?” Jan asked, walking over to her unmade bed and sitting down.

“Nope,” Gigi said, popping the ‘P’, “I’m from Los Angeles actually. Transferred here this year because of my girlfriend,” she said, smiling at the mention of her.

“Oh! So you’re a sophomore?” Jan questioned.

Gigi shook her head, her pin-straight hair following her movements effortlessly. “I switched majors completely so I’m back to square one. I’m doing fashion design now! It’s a win-win for me since New York has all the best fashion inspo plus my girlfriend is here…it all worked out,” she shrugged, “What about you?”

“I’m doing musical theatre!” Jan smiled brightly.

“Oh really? Crystals roommate is double majoring in musical theatre!” Gigi said.

Jan nodded, “Crystal is…?” she trailed off.

“My girlfriend…red hair, super short, you ran into her in the hallway,”

Jan stayed silently as she thought back to the girl, Crystal, happy to put a name to the face, “That’s not a problem is it?” Gigi eyed Jan curiously.

“What?”

“The fact that I have a girlfriend…because I will switch roommates so fast—”

“What— I’m not—“ she shook her head, “That doesn’t bother me, why would it?” Jan stuttered.

She wasn’t lying.

Her sister, Rosé, was a lesbian and she was never shy about it. Her town was small and pretty conservative so she didn’t grow up around any queer people besides her sister. She had seen first-hand what it was like for Rosé to get ridiculed for years simply for who she was and she wouldn’t want anyone in the world to ever feel how her sister felt.

Love was love.

It was that simple.

“Good,” Gigi presser, “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a bitch about it, I just can’t deal with any more homophobic pieces of shit! It’s 2021 for christ’s sake…so then are you…?” Gigi trailed off, giving Jan a look that could only read as one thing.

Her cheeks turned red, “Oh! Um no I’m straight…yep. I like boys,” she laughed awkwardly.

Jans battle with sexuality was long…and confusing. If she thought about it too much she would spiral. Saying she was straight was just an easy way out because it was true.

At least that’s what she told herself.

“Cool, well…Crystal and I are going to get some food right now, you can come with us if you want?”

Jan smiled at the offer, “Thanks for the offer…I really need to unpack though. Next time?” she told her roommate hopefully.

Gigi nodded, picking up her phone from her bed, leaning over and handing it to Jan. “Put in your number, I promise I’ll let you know when Crystals coming over so we don’t have a repeat of earlier, okay?” she teased and Jan felt her cheeks heating up once again while she typed her number in the phone.

“Great,” she chuckled.

Gigi left a few minutes later, saying she would be back later on in the night.

So Jan was left alone again. She stared at her four suitcases and a couple of boxes, glancing around the room and huffed, not sure where to start with unpacking.

She grabbed her small little cd player from a box and rummaged through her CDs until she found her favourite Spice Girls album. Popping it into the player, the sound of Spice Up Your Life filled the room softly and Jan got to work.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as she made it out to be.

It was close to nine o’clock when Jan got a text from Gigi stating she was going to be spending the night at Crystal’s dorm, along with a string of suggestive emojis.

Jan had spent the last few hours unpacking and she was surprised at how everything was coming together. She had managed to fit all four suitcases of her clothes and shoes in her closet, perfectly. Her CDs were on display on a shelf she had bought and spent way too long building. On her desk, she had a few framed photos of her and her sisters and of course, one of Lady Gaga.

It was starting to feel more and more like her old bedroom back in Maine.

Jumping on her bed softly, she let her body sink into the pillows as exhaustion finally took over her. But that was quickly interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling. Jan thought of the last time she ate a proper meal which would have had to be yesterday, back at home. She and her sisters had left so early this morning the only thing she ate was junk food from various gas stations and that delicious chocolate frozen yogurt a few hours ago.

Jan sighed to herself as she slowly pulled herself up from her bed and searched the room for her wallet.

Maybe there was a fast-food restaurant somewhere close by. The dining halls were already closed by now and she regretted not getting something to eat earlier. Not bothering to check the weather, she grabbed her phone and credit card, shutting the door to her dorm behind her. It was pretty quiet at this time, only seeing a few people as she went down the stairs of the building.

The second she stepped outside, the cold chilly air met Jan’s bare shoulders. She cursed herself for not grabbing a sweater or a jacket but instead of turning back around, she shrugged and went along with her quest of finding some food.

After ten minutes of walking up and down different streets, Jan had yet to spot any place that were open. She walked and walked for what seemed like hours and was getting nowhere but more and more lost in a city she knew nothing about.

This was definitely a bad idea.

Jan tried to remember which way she came from but it was no use. Every street sign was starting to look the same and it was getting darker and darker by the minute. Reaching into her pant pocket, she pulled out her phone, opening her Maps app and trying to figure out her whereabouts, while also trying to figure out a way to get back to her building. Just as she was about to allow access to her location, her screen turned black and her heart sank to her gut.

Her phone had died.

Perfect.

Af if things couldn’t get worse, a sudden rumble of thunder erupted. “Fan-fucking-tastic” she mumbled.

This was exactly why Jan couldn’t be on her own. In less than an hour, she had managed to get lost in one of the biggest cities in the world, with her dead phone and a thunderstorm on its way. As she continued to walk around, probably worsening things for her, her blonde hair was suddenly being drenched by the rainfall. Jan sped up her walking, trying to find an open store of some sort to take shelter but for some reason, everything seemed to be closed. She took a left down a particular street and that was when she saw it. A small little building tucked away at the very end of this street, the small open sign visible right above another light-up sign that pictured a cup of coffee. Letting out a sigh of relief, she headed straight for the shop, Brita’s.

Some of the lights were still on the inside, but it seemed to be fairly empty of customers. She pulled open the door, a little chime going off when she entered.

“Sorry, but we’re closing in two minutes-” an unknown female voice spoke, coming out from behind a bookshelf. It was at this moment that Jan actually looked around the palace she had stumbled upon. Bookshelves lined the walls from front to back. But then as she looked to her right, there was a small little bakery display shelf with a seating area.

Cute, she thought.

The light flickered on above her and that was when Jan remembered someone else was here. Her attention turned back to the stranger, who was now nowhere near the bookshelf but instead standing directly in front of her. “I’m really really sorry,” Jan said, “I just got lost trying to find some food around here...and I’m new to the city so I have no clue where I’m going and so then I tried to look at the maps on my phone but then my phone died so naturally, I started panicking slightly because if my sister found out I went out alone she would kill me and then it started raining and I was just trying to find some shelter but it doesn’t really matter because I’m still lost and-” a chocked sob left the distressed blonde’s lips as all the overwhelming emotions she had kept bottled up all day, finally came out to play.

A gentle hand gripped Jan’s forearm and pulled her slowly towards the seating area, gently sitting her down once they reached the couch. “Take deep breaths,”

Jan tried listening to the girl but her breathing pattern was just coming out shaky as her cries were making it difficult for her to think properly as her head rested in her hands. “I’m s-sorry,” she managed to say.

“You don’t need to apologize...do you want me to call someone for you?” the girl asked and that was when Jan finally took her head out of her hands and looked up. She had dark brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail, the curls peeking out from behind. She wore a pair of dark-rimmed glasses that framed her face perfectly. Jan couldn’t help but zero in on the tiny little earring she was wearing, the flag was one she had seen many times in her own house.

In conclusion, Jan thought she was so incredibly pretty.

So pretty.

And she was sat here looking like a wet chihuahua, crying her eyes out to a complete stranger.

Jan stood up abruptly, sniffling as she looked back outside, “N-no, I’m okay...yeah. I’m sorry for just crashing in here, you probably want to go home. I’ll find my way back, thank you,” Jan stumbled backwards, almost tripping over a chair as she headed straight for the door once again.

The rain was falling harder than before and she sighed, about to continue her disastrous journey home before the door opened behind her again, revealing the same girl who was just inside comforting her, “Come back inside, please. I can help get you back home once this storm dies out,” the girl sounded desperate and Jan just felt embarrassed.

Another rumble of thunder sounded throughout the area and soon after a strike of lightning, so Jan turned back around to look at the girl who still held the door open. Jan looked down and mumbled a quiet ‘okay’ as she headed back inside just in time for another strike of lighting to hit.

“You’re shivering, hang on…” the girl left Jan standing alone in the front of the store, disappearing behind the bookshelves before coming back out a few moments later with a sweater, “Here, put this on,” she handed Jan the black sweater as she accepted it hesitantly.

“Thank you,” she told the girl as she slipped the fabric on, her nose immediately being engulfed with an earthy scent, “Can I get you some tea, coffee, water? Something to eat?” the girl asked and Jan just shook her head.

“Are you sure? It won’t take long,” she insisted but Jan shrugged, “Thank you, I appreciate it but I’m okay, I don’t want to cause any more trouble...can you just- how far away am I from the NYU campus, specifically Gramercy Green…” she asked shyly.

“You go to NYU?” the girl said, a smile on her face, “Me too! I’m just up in the Broome Residence...Gramercy is about a half-hour walk from here, ten-minute train ride...do you wanna call your roommate, maybe?” the girl asked gently.

Jan laughed to herself, “I don’t have her number...well I do, but my phone died and she’s at her girlfriend’s right now, it wouldn’t be much help,”

The girl nodded, “Are you okay with waiting here till the rain clears up? It’s not really safe to leave till then but once it does, we can take the subway back to Gramercy?” she asked.

Jan bit her lip nervously and picked at her fingernails, a nervous habit of hers, “Are you sure? You don’t have to come with me--”

“No, but I want to! We can just hang here for now...I have music and card games, I’m not sure how long this storm will last but it would make me feel better knowing you got home safe…” the girl trailed off before smiling, offering her hand out to Jan, “I’m Jackie,”

“Jan,”

“So what are you studying?” Jackie asked as she and Jan walked side by side through the subway station.

The storm lasted for about an hour and so the two girls kept busy playing UNO while blasting some y2k throwbacks.

Jan had to admit, it was nice.

Jackie was nice and she was glad she’d stumbled upon her even if it wasn’t in the most pleasant way at first.

“Musical theatre, got a scholarship,” Jan said, taking a sip of tea that Jackie insisted she made them.

“You’re kidding me? Right?” Jackie stopped the two of them in the middle of the subway station, looking at Jan with wide eyes and a smile plastered onto her face. Jan chuckled, “I’m not…” she trailed off, unsure of where this conversation was going.

“Me too! I double major in music theatre and gender studies! I could’ve spent all that time teaching you about all my wisdom and knowledge of the program but I usually refrain from letting my obsession with West Side Story shine until further into the friendship” she laughed. “What year are you in?” Jan asked, finding Jackie’s amusement hilarious and adorable all at the same time. “Last year, I’m a senior, finally,” she said, using an exasperated tone, walking up the stairs out of the station and back into the streets of New York.

“Oh! So what are you gonna do once you’re done?” Jan asked out of curiosity.

Jackie shrugged, “I really wanna go into directing for broadway...write my own plays and focus on making a difference in the broadway LGBTQ community...the dream is to have my own show on a stage. I’m applying for a few internships working around some producers and stuff for the end of the year but what about you? What are you gonna do?” she asked, the same curiosity in her tone as Jan when she had asked.

“Hopefully to just be on broadway...performing is what I like best. We didn’t have a musical theatre program at my high school, so I went to a community theatre in the next town over,” Jan laughed at the memory, “It was fun. I mean, it’s how I decided I wanted to do it for the rest of my life, you know,” Jan shrugged.

To some, it may seem silly. Few people ever made it big on Broadway and a lot of people had reminded her of that. But the last thing Jan was going to do was be stuck at some dead-end corporate job, hating her life for the next fifty years.

“You know, there’s a theatre nearby NYU, they’re always putting on productions, you should check it out and maybe audition. They’re doing Into The Woods this semester,”

Jan couldn’t help but squeal internally at the news Jackie just shared, but she wanted to seem cool in front of her possible new friend who was a lot cooler and smarter and better than her.

Who was also very pretty.

“Really? That’d be fun, maybe I will!” she smiled.

“You’d be great Cinderella,” Jackie pointed out and Jan could feel yet another, blush rise to her cheeks. Jan was thankful that it was dark out and that Jackie couldn’t see how much her face had turned into a tomato.

Why did that make her feel weird? A good weird, though.

She chuckled, “Oh I don’t-” she started but was cut off as Jackie stopped abruptly and only did Jan realize they were in front of her building.

“Voilà, you’re home!” she laughed, “The door’s definitely locked so you’re gonna need your key,” she told Jan.

Jan nodded, reaching in her pant pocket, feeling around for the small metal object she was gifted when first arriving here. When she couldn’t find it in her first pocket she reached into her other one, hoping and praying to was there, but she came out empty-handed.

“Fuck me,” she groaned, “I think I left it in my room,” she sighed, “I’m so sorry, Jackie. You’ve been so nice to me after I’ve been an emotional wreck and you had the decency to walk me home and I can’t even remember something as simple as charging my phone or bringing my key,”

Jackie didn’t even look fazed, she just shrugged and grabbed her phone from her bag, “All good, Jan. I’ll just call Widow, she’s usually up still around this time,” and suddenly she was on the phone, speaking with this ‘Widow’ girl.

After a few minutes, she hung up the phone and looked back over to Jan, “She’s on her way. Perks of being friends with RA’s” Jackie wiggled her eyebrows.

Jan stared at Jackie, “Thank you...seriously. I’m usually more organized and less...well a mess, but thanks for tonight,”

“Of course! Don’t even worry about it! I’m just glad I have another person I can talk to about musical theatre! Wait! Here” she said, giving Jan her phone, “Put your number in and I’ll text you the details about the Into The Woods production...and if you ever need someone to call or talk to,” Jan entered her digits into the phone, handing it back to Jackie with a smile.

The sound of a door opening interrupted the two of them, revealing a girl Jan presumed to be Widow. Her big afro bounced as she walked towards the two girls with a cheeky smile, “Jackie, you found another stray hmm,” Widow eyed her jokingly before looking at Jan, “I’m Widow, your RA,”

She smiled, “I’m Jan...sorry for leaving my key inside like an idiot, won’t happen again,” she assured.

“Well you were right about her apologizing Jacks...it’s all good. Honest mistake, you’d be surprised at how many freshmen do exactly what you do,”

Jan chuckled, “That makes me feel a little better than,”

Widow nodded, “Here’s a spare key to your room, just drop it back off to me next week. I’ll put a puck in the door, just be warned it locks automatically and I’m not interrupting my Real Housewives again...I’ll see you on Monday, Jackie. Nice meeting you Jan,”

Jan watched as Widow retreated inside, leaving her and Jackie standing alone once again. Jan sighed, “Thanks again, Jackie. I’ll uh see you around, I guess,”

Jackie smiled and nodded, “Have a good night, Jan,”

As Jan trudged back up to her room, she took a much-needed shower. She changed into some comfy clothes and as she hopped into her bed, plugin in her phone. As she was trying to make herself comfortable, she realized she was laying on some sort of lump that was making the task impossible. Leaning upwards, she pulled the lump from underneath her only to be engulfed with the newfound familiar earthy scent and recognized Jackie’s sweater.

Shit.

The sweater she forgot to give back.

Her phone lit up and was surprised to be met with a few notifications, one from Gigi, some from her sisters and one from an unknown number, but as soon as she read the text, she smiled

Unknown - Hope you got in safely Jan :)

Jan - I did! Thank you again for everything tonight! ps. forgot to give u ur sweater back lol

Jackie - ‘It’s okay, it looked better on you anyways’

How many times was she going to blush tonight? The answer is too many. Why did the words coming from Jackie seem more appealing than coming from anyone else? If this were one of her sisters, she would scoff and make a sarcastic joke, but with Jackie, she felt giddy.

Jan - ‘Ok’

Jan mentally scolded herself for the response

Jackie - ‘Goodnight, Jan’

Jan - ‘Night, Jackie,’

To new beginnings.

7 notes · View notes