My G.U.I.D.E

• Cliche •

"So... You're painting yourself green for this entire show?" BJ looked at me with a confused look.

"Yes, BJ, I'm playing Elphaba, the wicked witch of the West. She's supposed to be green." I rolled my eyes, eating the last of my pudding.

"But you have the choice not to wear the makeup, right?"

"No. I really don't mind, all I have to wear is the green paint."

"What about the warts and other stuff like that?"

"What?! Ew, no. Elphaba is not your traditional witch you'd see on  Halloween, she's... Different."

"Oh..." BJ looked at the table in thought, then nodded slowly, before getting up, "okay. I'll be back." He started walking away, towards the dorms.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'll be back!" He disappeared with green smoke.

I sighed and looked around. His absence made me notice just how lonely I was, though talking to a demon was like talking to thin air to these people. But no one was looking in my direction or even paying attention to me. I shrugged and continued eating.

After a few minutes, I saw another student coming my direction. His skin was dark and his curly hair was put into a bun. His clothes were pretty formal, but looked comfortable.

I kept my eyes down, looking at my food when he stopped beside me.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle, do you mind if I sit here?" He asked, his voice thick with a French accent.

"Oh, not at all." I moved my bag and smiled at him.

He set his tray down as he sat, then he looked at me with a soft smile.

"Merci. I'm Marquis de Lafayette, but you can call me Lafayette."

"Hi, I'm (Y/N). Nice to meet you."

"I'm a new student and new to America. My english peut être assez mauvais." He looked down in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay. I only know a bit of French, but I can help you with your English?"

He looked up in excitement, a wide smile on his face, "Tu ferais ça?"

"Oui." I smiled at him, nodding once.

"Okay, I did a bit of research and it turns out that Elphaba is-" BJ was walking towards the table, but stopped when he saw Lafayette.

I looked up, confused.

"Who's this?" BJ asked, looking between me and Lafayette.

"Oh, Bonjour, I'm Marquis de Lafayette. But S'il vous plaît, call me Lafayette." He held his hand out for BJ to shake, but slowly put it down when he saw our shocked expressions. "Did I say something wrong?"

I looked at BJ who looked at me.

"You can see him?!"

"You can see me?!"

We spoke at the same time, making Lafayette jump.

"Why shouldn't I? Est-ce que ça va?" He looked scared and very confused.

"You can see him!"

"He can see me!"

Me and BJ jumped up and down excitedly, getting weird looks from everyone around us.

"Can I talk to you two? En privé?"

I nodded as Lafayette stood up. We grabbed our trays and walked to a bench hidden by some cherry trees near the Arts Building.

"Quoi is going on?" Lafayette asked calmly, looking between me and BJ.

"Promise you won't freak out? Or laugh? Or anything in between?" I asked him, a worried tone audible in my voice.

"Depends on how the story is."

I inhaled then hesitated. Lafayette looked at me eagerly, so I forced my words out.

"BJisactuallyademonwhomImet3weeksagoandhecannotbeseenbyanyoneotherthanyouormesowemustkeepeverythingonthedownloworelsewewillbeinserioustroubleandpeoplewillthinkwearecrazy." I said everything in one breath, visibly confusing Laf and even BJ.

"So... You're dead?" Laf looked at BJ with a shocked look and BJ just smirked, nodding. "Okay... That wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it's something."

"So... Welcome to the Club." I held my hand out for him to shake.

Laf smiled softly, taking my hand. "Club what?"

I paused, letting go of his hand abruptly as if he'd burned me. "Oh shit... I don't know. Nothing specific?"

"Freaks?"

"What? No- well I mean I have been called a freak once... No one really ever liked me... Anyway, there's no specific name for us; we're just... Strange and unusual." I shrugged, smiling proudly.

"Oui. I am a proud member of this club, actuellement. Merci mes amis." Lafayette looked up when Adam walked over.

"Hey, (Y/N/N). And... Hi, I don't think we've met before, I'm Adam." Adam held his hand out, smiling.

"Oui, marquis de Lafayette. Nice to meet you." Laf took his hand firmly, shaking it.

"Oh, you're French? Im prenant un cours de français le semestre prochain. Ça a toujours été mon rêve d'aller en France. Finalement." Adam said excitedly, making Lafayette smile brightly.

"I have no fucking clue what they're saying." BJ watched them with a confused expression.

"Im taking a French course next semester. It's always been my dream to go to France. Eventually." I whispered to him, making sure the duo didn't hear me.

"You are?" BJ looked at me, surprised.

"No. I'm- I'm translating." I sighed, getting Adam's attention.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just... Sleepy." I smiled softly, nodding.

"Welcome, Laf. We're all trying to fight the stereotypes here, like everyone is trying to do. So we're all cliche, but we four make it cool. I'm going to go back to my dorm, but maybe we can all do to dinner somewhere?" I nodded, smiling.

"Of course. We can go to the Waffle House." Adam looked at Lafayette for confirmation.

"Oui, oui. Waffles." Lafayette said goodbye then walked to his next class.

I said bye to Adam and left with BJ, who stayed quiet the entire walk back to the dorm.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked, opening the door to the building.

"Is fighting stereotypes and people who are assholes really considered cliche?" His expression was a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"Well... In this century, yes. You can't always be who people want you to be. But you can be yourself. Though some people would call you a loser constantly if you express yourself too much." We made it to my dorm and surprisingly, Delia wasn't there.

"Now. Set my alarm like you did earlier, because I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, BJ." I came out of the bathroom with my pj's on, laying on my bed.

"Goodnight, babes. I'll keep watch." BJ winked at me, sitting at the edge of my bed, grabbing the book again.

I blushed, but laughed it off, "right. Goodnight, then." Once I laid down and closed my eyes, I drifted off to sleep immediately.