365 pt 2

aug.9.22

James McKay hadn't seen Penny Lover all night; actually, for the past week, he'd seen less and less of her. The queens hadn't let him backstage at all for the past week, saying they needed to focus. That was strange; James was allowed backstage usually. He got the gowns ready, he helped zip their dresses up, he made sure the queens were ready for the stage.

The show was long over. James had cleaned the show room: he wiped the tables, put up the chairs, and swept and mopped the floor. As he mopped, Mama Ruby Diamond had appeared; she was counting the cash they'd made that night in her office in the back, and was finished for the night. She'd given James the keys to lock up, and said that she wasn't sure if all the queens were gone. When James had asked what she meant, she flashed one of her signature sly smiles before leaving him alone in the middle of the main floor.

James turned the lights off as he made his way to the queens' dressing room. It was an open space, with a wall of mirrors illuminated by bright bulbs, above their vanity table, with their makeup organized for the queens' efficiency. The queens' dresses hung on their own racks in their own changing area, each one belonging to a different queen. The room felt homey and welcome. James loved how it felt.

One mirror on the far side was illuminated; sitting at the vanity was a slumped figure, with their head in their hands. James immediately saw that it was Penny, and she was crying. She was still dressed in the rose gold dress she'd worn on stage.

He rushed over to her side, kneeling beside her. "Penny, what's wrong?" Worry was clear as day in his voice, his eyes looking her over. His hands held Penny's arms.

She turned to him. Eyeliner ran down her cheeks from her tears. Her pale blonde hair was a mess, as if she had been constantly tugging on it. "Oh, James...."

His blue eyes held hers. "Penny, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone softer.

"I love you...." She sounded defeated.

James' eyes widened. He didn't think she reciprocated the same way he felt about her. "And is that wrong?"

Penny exhaled shakily. "You deserve a better girl, James...."

James frowned at Penny's words. "What are you saying?"

"A girl, James! You deserve a girl!" She wiped at her eyes, makeup staining them. "Not some fag like me...."

James was quiet a long moment. Meeting Penny's eyes, he took her hands in his. "You are a beautiful, gorgeous, sweet, talented girl, Penny."

"I'm not really a girl, though, am I?" She sounded mocking, but not of James. "All those people who hate on our show call us fags or queers or whatever."

"You're a queen, Penny. You're my queen."

Penny was quiet a long moment. James' words melted her heart.

"I have been fighting the urge to tell you, that I love you too." James smiled at Penny; he brushed away her tears using his thumb. "I've loved you since the first time I saw you. When I came wandering in off the street, and you were on stage practicing with the other queens. And I asked Mama Ruby for a job. But, seeing you, under the stage lights, singing and dancing.... Penny, it was like I was looking at an angel." He exhaled then, still smiling at her. "I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you how I feel. When the queens didn't let me see you, I thought you hated me, like I did something bad to upset you."

Penny smiled; she held his hands. "I love you so much."

Before James could say anything, she leaned down and kissed him as deeply as she could. James melted against her.

And, left alone in the back of a drag club, were two young people in love.