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the_water_clockAuthor: Clio
Title: Goodbye, Mr. Seacrest, or, To Simon, with Love: Rymon Missing Scenes from the Fast Times at Idol High 80s AU
Pairing: American Idol: Ryan Seacrest/Simon Cowell
Rating: PG
Summary: Taking their leave.
Length: 1300 words
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, clearly, as no one loves a camera like Ryan Seacrest.
Notes: Fast Times at Idol High,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lillijulianne's 80s high school AU, can be read by friending stepintomyocean.
Special thanks to Juli for writing this awesome AU, letting me be a part of it, encouraging me get my teacher kink on, and of course being an amazing beta. Oh, and for writing Ryan and Simon into her story in the first place.
Prologue: September 1981 | 1: September 1984 | 2: October 1984 | 3: November 1984 | 4: December 1984 | 5: January 1985 | 6: February 1985 | 7: March 1985 | 8: April 1985 | 9: May 1985
june 1985
The day the yearbooks come in, Ryan waits for Leslie's free period to crack open the first box. They won't get distributed until the next day; the staff has to go through the manifest, make sure all the embossed copies are correct first. Leslie takes the first one out of the box, opens to an early page, and hands it to Ryan, shyly.
"Oh," Ryan says, seeing a rather large picture of himself, "in action" as Simon would say, and by its angle taken from the courtyard, through the window. It's odd, as usually when he looks at photos of himself all he can see is a nerdy little kid, short and round like a ball, teeth full of metal, trying desperately to look anywhere but the camera. Or, when Jason takes various snaps, he can hear Giuliana's technical advice to keep his chin down, favor his "good" side, avoid his rather lumpy profile, take off his glasses so his eyes "read." But this—in an instant, suddenly, he can see what the kids see, what Simon sees when Ryan catches him staring from the smoking platform, maybe even what the Harvey Milk people saw, because he fucking loves this job. Leslie's dedication makes him blush as he thanks her.
"You should know," he says, "and don't tell anyone yet—Lythgoe doesn't even know—but I'm leaving. So this was very prescient of you. I'll actually—I'll be in New York, teaching in the East Village, a new school. So goodbye to all this, but not to you, as it happens."
"Oh! So that's great, I can still see you, and you say we should always be looking for new challenges."
"Yeah, taking my own advice."
"A new special school? Is that the challenge?"
He looks at her, takes his glasses off, fiddles with them, makes up his mind. "It's a school for gay youth, the Harvey Milk School."
"Oh." Leslie bites her lip, and then: "Mr. Seacrest?"
"Yes."
"Are—does that mean you're gay?"
Ryan cleans his glasses with his pocket square. "Does teaching at the Harvey Milk School mean I'm gay? No. Am I gay?" He puts his glasses back on. "Yes."
"Should I keep that under my hat, too?" she asked.
"Probably."
She nodded. "Can I ask another question?"
"Sure."
"Are you dating someone?"
He blinked. "Yes," he said, hoping this wasn't going anywhere uncomfortable.
"Is he going with you to New York?"
"Yes," Ryan said, and couldn't help but smile a little.
Leslie smiled back. "Good. I'm glad."
"As am I," Ryan replied.
Commencement comes with a minimum of incident—or as Simon says, "just the right sort." Tamyra introduces Simon to her family, and they insist that he come for Sunday dinner that very weekend, which he accepts with alacrity. Ryan wanders by at that moment, and Tamyra's Aunt Fantasia calls out, "Mr. Seacrest, you should come, too." Ryan cocks his head at her, oddly, but agrees. Simon is relieved not only not to have to navigate these tricky social waters without a guide, but also that to these nice people he and Ryan are just two bachelor teachers in need of some home cooking. This, he'll miss; few private school parents invited him to dinner. Then again, private school parents berated their children if they didn't manage to get into good schools, rather than celebrating them when they did. At dinner Simon insists that he had little to do with Tamyra getting into Spelman, but Ryan rats him out in a way that makes Simon look good but doesn't diminish Tamyra's accomplishment in the least.
When Tamyra walks them out, full of sweet potato pie and carrying foil containers of leftovers, Simon says, "Tamyra, I just want you to know, it's been an honor, watching you mature. You should be very proud of yourself."
She smiles, sweetly. "Thank you, Mr. Cowell. Now you'll have to break in a new girl to use paper clips and never staples."
Simon laughs—he can see Ryan rolling his eyes, just off to the side near the passenger door. "Yes, about that. Don't tell anyone, but I'm leaving Hughes, actually, at the end of the year, to take a position in New York."
She shakes her head. "I have to say, I'm not surprised," she says. "There were a lot of significantly closed doors this spring."
"That's one way to put it," Simon says. "Very diplomatic."
"Oh, and Mr. Seacrest?" she asks. "Thank you, you know, for what you did for us."
"How—" Simon begins, but Ryan holds up a hand, saying, "Miss Barrino—Aunt Fantasia—she works for Mayor Davis. Tamyra, I was happy to do it. Miss Doolittle is a friend."
"See," Simon says, wagging his finger, "nothing gets past this one." He hands her a slip of paper, on which he's written the address of the Harvey Milk School. "Now, do write, let me know how you're doing?"
"I will." Tamyra hesitates, and then launches herself at Simon, giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Well!" Simon says. "Good luck, Miss Gray."
"I think I've already got that," she replies.
The resignations land on Lythgoe's desk at the end of the last day of school. They don't mention where Ryan and Simon are headed.
Simon invites Randy, Sabrina Sloan, Phil Stacey, Melinda, and a few other teachers he or Ryan hold in particular regard over to Ryan's house to talk about some of the underclassmen Simon has had his eye on. He even includes Paula, because so much happens in that girls locker room. He's left a detailed folder for his replacement, but he doesn't trust Lythgoe to find an adequate one (after all, he didn't find Simon on his own) and he wants to make sure Randy has adequate support. Their story is that the same agency that placed Simon at Hughes has given him a spot back in New York, and Simon plays up the little-known fact that he was never supposed to be permanently at Hughes; that Lythgoe grew complacent, really, is Lythgoe's problem. The staff all know that Ryan and Simon are good friends, so that Simon is bringing Ryan along as a colleague isn't surprising; everyone's been waiting for Ryan to find greener pastures for a while now, after the awards started coming. Simon wouldn't have minded telling more of the truth, or even announcing their resignations earlier, but Ryan, who has already quietly sold his house to one of the landlords who owns other houses on the street, doesn't want even the chance of trouble before they leave.
Phil and Sabrina, though, aren't fooled, and they stay after most of the other teachers have left, when it's just Randy and Melinda and Paula, and demand the truth. Sabrina smiles triumphantly, and Ryan winks, tells her he expects her to visit them once they're settled in New York. Paula bursts into tears and hugs them both, and makes a heartfelt speech that Simon isn't sure is entirely in English, let alone makes any sense, but includes the words "brave" and "love" and something about the colors of the rainbow. Phil is quiet, thinking, and then says, "You know, you could have told me, man."
Ryan smiles sadly. "You never know. Not around here. And you are too good a friend to lose."
Phil looks about to say something, but instead pulls Ryan into a hug. "Hey," he says, as they pull apart, "I've been sending you carnations for five years. Shouldn't I get a little action out of that?"
"No," Simon says, very sternly, but Ryan just laughs.
11: July 1985
Title: Goodbye, Mr. Seacrest, or, To Simon, with Love: Rymon Missing Scenes from the Fast Times at Idol High 80s AU
Pairing: American Idol: Ryan Seacrest/Simon Cowell
Rating: PG
Summary: Taking their leave.
Length: 1300 words
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, clearly, as no one loves a camera like Ryan Seacrest.
Notes: Fast Times at Idol High,
lillijulianne's 80s high school AU, can be read by friending stepintomyocean.Special thanks to Juli for writing this awesome AU, letting me be a part of it, encouraging me get my teacher kink on, and of course being an amazing beta. Oh, and for writing Ryan and Simon into her story in the first place.
Prologue: September 1981 | 1: September 1984 | 2: October 1984 | 3: November 1984 | 4: December 1984 | 5: January 1985 | 6: February 1985 | 7: March 1985 | 8: April 1985 | 9: May 1985
june 1985
The day the yearbooks come in, Ryan waits for Leslie's free period to crack open the first box. They won't get distributed until the next day; the staff has to go through the manifest, make sure all the embossed copies are correct first. Leslie takes the first one out of the box, opens to an early page, and hands it to Ryan, shyly.
"Oh," Ryan says, seeing a rather large picture of himself, "in action" as Simon would say, and by its angle taken from the courtyard, through the window. It's odd, as usually when he looks at photos of himself all he can see is a nerdy little kid, short and round like a ball, teeth full of metal, trying desperately to look anywhere but the camera. Or, when Jason takes various snaps, he can hear Giuliana's technical advice to keep his chin down, favor his "good" side, avoid his rather lumpy profile, take off his glasses so his eyes "read." But this—in an instant, suddenly, he can see what the kids see, what Simon sees when Ryan catches him staring from the smoking platform, maybe even what the Harvey Milk people saw, because he fucking loves this job. Leslie's dedication makes him blush as he thanks her.
"You should know," he says, "and don't tell anyone yet—Lythgoe doesn't even know—but I'm leaving. So this was very prescient of you. I'll actually—I'll be in New York, teaching in the East Village, a new school. So goodbye to all this, but not to you, as it happens."
"Oh! So that's great, I can still see you, and you say we should always be looking for new challenges."
"Yeah, taking my own advice."
"A new special school? Is that the challenge?"
He looks at her, takes his glasses off, fiddles with them, makes up his mind. "It's a school for gay youth, the Harvey Milk School."
"Oh." Leslie bites her lip, and then: "Mr. Seacrest?"
"Yes."
"Are—does that mean you're gay?"
Ryan cleans his glasses with his pocket square. "Does teaching at the Harvey Milk School mean I'm gay? No. Am I gay?" He puts his glasses back on. "Yes."
"Should I keep that under my hat, too?" she asked.
"Probably."
She nodded. "Can I ask another question?"
"Sure."
"Are you dating someone?"
He blinked. "Yes," he said, hoping this wasn't going anywhere uncomfortable.
"Is he going with you to New York?"
"Yes," Ryan said, and couldn't help but smile a little.
Leslie smiled back. "Good. I'm glad."
"As am I," Ryan replied.
Commencement comes with a minimum of incident—or as Simon says, "just the right sort." Tamyra introduces Simon to her family, and they insist that he come for Sunday dinner that very weekend, which he accepts with alacrity. Ryan wanders by at that moment, and Tamyra's Aunt Fantasia calls out, "Mr. Seacrest, you should come, too." Ryan cocks his head at her, oddly, but agrees. Simon is relieved not only not to have to navigate these tricky social waters without a guide, but also that to these nice people he and Ryan are just two bachelor teachers in need of some home cooking. This, he'll miss; few private school parents invited him to dinner. Then again, private school parents berated their children if they didn't manage to get into good schools, rather than celebrating them when they did. At dinner Simon insists that he had little to do with Tamyra getting into Spelman, but Ryan rats him out in a way that makes Simon look good but doesn't diminish Tamyra's accomplishment in the least.
When Tamyra walks them out, full of sweet potato pie and carrying foil containers of leftovers, Simon says, "Tamyra, I just want you to know, it's been an honor, watching you mature. You should be very proud of yourself."
She smiles, sweetly. "Thank you, Mr. Cowell. Now you'll have to break in a new girl to use paper clips and never staples."
Simon laughs—he can see Ryan rolling his eyes, just off to the side near the passenger door. "Yes, about that. Don't tell anyone, but I'm leaving Hughes, actually, at the end of the year, to take a position in New York."
She shakes her head. "I have to say, I'm not surprised," she says. "There were a lot of significantly closed doors this spring."
"That's one way to put it," Simon says. "Very diplomatic."
"Oh, and Mr. Seacrest?" she asks. "Thank you, you know, for what you did for us."
"How—" Simon begins, but Ryan holds up a hand, saying, "Miss Barrino—Aunt Fantasia—she works for Mayor Davis. Tamyra, I was happy to do it. Miss Doolittle is a friend."
"See," Simon says, wagging his finger, "nothing gets past this one." He hands her a slip of paper, on which he's written the address of the Harvey Milk School. "Now, do write, let me know how you're doing?"
"I will." Tamyra hesitates, and then launches herself at Simon, giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Well!" Simon says. "Good luck, Miss Gray."
"I think I've already got that," she replies.
The resignations land on Lythgoe's desk at the end of the last day of school. They don't mention where Ryan and Simon are headed.
Simon invites Randy, Sabrina Sloan, Phil Stacey, Melinda, and a few other teachers he or Ryan hold in particular regard over to Ryan's house to talk about some of the underclassmen Simon has had his eye on. He even includes Paula, because so much happens in that girls locker room. He's left a detailed folder for his replacement, but he doesn't trust Lythgoe to find an adequate one (after all, he didn't find Simon on his own) and he wants to make sure Randy has adequate support. Their story is that the same agency that placed Simon at Hughes has given him a spot back in New York, and Simon plays up the little-known fact that he was never supposed to be permanently at Hughes; that Lythgoe grew complacent, really, is Lythgoe's problem. The staff all know that Ryan and Simon are good friends, so that Simon is bringing Ryan along as a colleague isn't surprising; everyone's been waiting for Ryan to find greener pastures for a while now, after the awards started coming. Simon wouldn't have minded telling more of the truth, or even announcing their resignations earlier, but Ryan, who has already quietly sold his house to one of the landlords who owns other houses on the street, doesn't want even the chance of trouble before they leave.
Phil and Sabrina, though, aren't fooled, and they stay after most of the other teachers have left, when it's just Randy and Melinda and Paula, and demand the truth. Sabrina smiles triumphantly, and Ryan winks, tells her he expects her to visit them once they're settled in New York. Paula bursts into tears and hugs them both, and makes a heartfelt speech that Simon isn't sure is entirely in English, let alone makes any sense, but includes the words "brave" and "love" and something about the colors of the rainbow. Phil is quiet, thinking, and then says, "You know, you could have told me, man."
Ryan smiles sadly. "You never know. Not around here. And you are too good a friend to lose."
Phil looks about to say something, but instead pulls Ryan into a hug. "Hey," he says, as they pull apart, "I've been sending you carnations for five years. Shouldn't I get a little action out of that?"
"No," Simon says, very sternly, but Ryan just laughs.
11: July 1985
