Janis Sarkisian x Cady Heron Oneshots

Titanium

Me? Publishing something? What? I've had an overload of schoolwork in preparation for a big, week-long NYC trip and I'm about to fail English so I put fanfiction on the back burner. There's no guarantee that I'll be able to write again until late October so I hope you enjoy this even though it's short! TW for homophobic slurs.

***

"Hey dad!" Janis's dad opens the door to the Sarkisian's jet black jeep, allowing Janis to drive home from her art class. Tuesday at 8:00, just like usual. Sitting behind the wheel, Janis sucks in a breath as she closes the doors and gingerly shifts the car out of park. Her dad has been acting weird for the past few weeks, so with every interaction she treads lightly.

"How was art class, Jay?" her dad asks, using a nickname only he and Damian can.

"Uneventful. I'm painting a portrait and the hair color is all off, I spent a long time trying to match all of the different shades," Janis exhales. He seems okay.

"Ah, the eternal struggle of human features," Mr. Sarkisian chuckles, his soft eyes crinkling. "Who are you painting?" Janis tenses up. She's painting her girlfriend. Her dad knows Cady, of course, but she has no reason to paint Cady like this. Her dad knows that she rarely paints realistic people, she finds it boring. But before she can stop herself, the words pours out.

"Um. Cady, I'm painting Cady," she mumbles, focusing intently on the car in front of her so that she doesn't have to look at him. He takes in a sharp breath.

"Janis," he says. Her full name. Janis's pulse quickens with every passing mailbox, her breathing becoming sharp.

"Y-yeah?" she squeaks, her voice cracking as her hands wrap around the wheel so hard that her knuckles hurt.

"I'm going to go on a limb here but I need to have you say no to this question," Janis's dad says. Janis turns into their neighborhood. "Because as much as I love you, I cannot have a homosexual in my house. You two have been spending a lot of time at our house without Damian and now you're painting her. You don't paint portraits, Jay! What's going on here? Are you... a... a lesbian?!" He says as if every word is a struggle, slamming his hand on the dashboard. Janis flinches. All of the color drains from her face. Lie. Lie about it. That's all she can think to do while sounds of cracking concrete, snapping trees, and shattering glass fill her head. Julie. Mom. No, come back, answer him. Cady. Tell the truth. Dad. Alive. No, but how can she disappoint her dad when she's all he has? Lie. Cars flipping, screaming for help- no. Mixing paint, an excuse to think about Cady for two hours.

"Caddie help me" Janis whispers, her mouth filling with saliva, asking for her girlfriend on instinct. She stops the car. They're two houses down from their own.

"Janis!" Crap. Too long of a pause. And she said Caddie. "I've been suspicious for weeks but I was sure it wasn't true," Janis's dad growls, anger with a touch disappointment practically dripping from his words. "I'd say I'm sorry if I was, Jay, but I'm not. Get out. Leave. If you're old enough to be a dyke, you are old enough to fend for yourself! Don't even think for a second about coming back here unless I tell you!" He yells, pushing Janis into the jeep door. She's speechless, breathing quickly. His eyes have lost all softness, now piercing into Janis's brain and taking every bit of hope she had for acceptance away slowly. His greying hair falls below his eyes and he leans away from Janis, pushing it back.

"Dad-"

"Out,"

"Can I at least-" Janis says in desperation. She only has her phone and some paint brushes on her.

"OUT!" He yells one last time before opening the door that Janis is leaning on, causing her to tumble out in a heap onto the asphalt. He hops into the driver's seat and Janis hears the door slam as he speeds down the street, missing their house entirely. Janis knew that he may act out or yell when he found out but she didn't imagine it going this badly. She's laying in the street, technically homeless, with the car crash playing in her head on a loop. The cold street below her numbs her ear and hurts her back to lay on. Her dad can't stay mad forever, can he? He may just be reacting in the heat of the moment, maybe? He's reacted dramatically before, broke things before, but he always calms down and he hasn't been that way in awhile. Janis hits her cheek with the palm of her hand.

"Wake up Janis! Cady would be very upset if you got run over," she says to herself, sitting up and scooting to the curb. First step: get away from here. Janis realizes this when she sees a pair of headlights down the street and her heart jumps into her throat. She sprints to the end of the street and around the nearest corner towards Cady's house, only stopping when she crumples onto the Heron's doorstep and relief floods through her when she doesn't see the car in the driveway. Now that she's safe, she begins to cry, no, sob. Her tears are for her mom and Julie, then she cries about how the memories of them dim more every day. She cries for the home that she's lost. She cries for her own stupid self, and how she's ruined her dad's love for her. The door flings open and before she knows it, Janis is being scooped into Cady's arms and wrapped in blankets. She's made little spoon without a second thought.

"What happened, Jan?" Cady asks, her soft voice washing over Janis. She's pulled her close, wiggling her neck over Janis's shoulder and kissing her cheek softly.

"I don't want to talk about it yet. But I'm technically homeless. On the bright side, my flashbacks to the car crash weren't so bad because I was overwhelmed by being kicked out of my house. I'm a little confused and very much in shock" Janis mumbles, sniffling and starting to cry again.

"Oh. I understand," Cady's face darkens. "Stay here, we can explain to my parents in the morning," she says, turning Janis towards her and kissing her slowly, lips gently parting.

"Thank you," Janis sighs, wiggling into Cady's arms again and staring at the wall. Cady starts to sing Titanium softly.

I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose

Fire away, fire away

Ricochet, you take your aim

Fire away, fire away

You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium

You shoot me down, but I won't fall

I am titanium

Janis's eyes flutter closed.

***

Again, didn't turn out like I wanted it to but that's okay! I can and will improve. Thanks for reading!