"It's beautiful," Brittany sighed out dreamily, gazing out at the rides and stores that awaited New Directions from where they stood in a group just past the entrance to Disney World. "Santana, I'm mad at you but we have to go find the princesses together."
"Not yet," Will cut in quickly before Brittany could start off with Santana in tow. "Has everyone programmed my phone number into their phone?" A chorus of "yes"es was the response. "Okay. If you need Emma or myself, just call me. I'll be available all day. We're all meeting in the center of the park at noon to discuss performance times, but until then, you guys are free to roam around together. Just make sure you at least stay in groups of two or more; I want everyone using the buddy system. And don't lose your VIP passes. Those will give you access to behind-the-scenes areas of the park. For example, where the princesses go when they're not out working."
He smiled over at Brittany, and, having been given the go-ahead, she immediately dragged Santana away, with Puck and Sam setting off not far behind them in search of a princess willing to make out with Puck.
Kurt paired off with Artie and Mike next, who agreed to go check out some of the scarier rides to get Kurt's mind off of Blaine. After Tina and Mercedes chose to drag away a reluctant Quinn for some quality girl time away from Rachel, that left the diva herself alone with Finn, standing together awkwardly in the middle of a crowd of other visitors to the park.
"So…" Finn started hesitantly. "I guess we could explore the park together?"
"Well, it'd be against Mr. Schue's rules for us to split up at this point," Rachel pointed out quietly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Finn shoved his hands into his pockets. "We could… go check out Splash Mountain? It's like a fifty-foot drop so it's something I wanted to do before lunch, and you're probably the only girl cool enough to go on something scary anyway. Quinn would chicken out."
Rachel smiled at that, nodding her agreement. "Okay."
"Great!" Finn grinned at her and grabbed her hand to pull her away, and Rachel stared down at their joined hands in surprise as they went.
"Look," Puck whispered, elbowing Sam as they stared out across the expansive area ahead of them. In the distance was a small, barely noticeable building amongst the flashy stores and advertisements around it. "That's totally the place for the princess staff. And thanks to my VIP pass…"
He stuck his hand into his pocket and rummaged around for a moment, then frowned when he came up short.
"Don't tell me you lost it already," Sam questioned, surprised.
"Shit," Puck cursed. "Oh well, looks like I'm just gonna have to sneak in instead."
"Are you kidding? You'll get thrown out of the park!"
"I'd rather get thrown out then lose a hundred dollars," Puck commented, before hurrying ahead in the direction of the building.
"Wait," Sam pleaded, following behind him. "I mean, are you even sure this is the right building? Brittany went a different way and it really seemed like she knew where she was going."
"Brittany's an idiot," Puck dismissed. "This is the right place. Look." He pointed to a sign on the front door, which read "Employees Only".
Sam sighed, then pulled his pass out of his pocket, defeated. "Alright, if you're sure."
"I'll sneak in around the back," Puck told him. "You go in through the front and try to keep them distracted."
"How?"
"I don't know, just… talk to a lot of people or something," Puck insisted, before hurrying away in a different direction. Sam sighed again and reached for the door.
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know, I think it's super unfair how the evil stepmother and your stepsisters treated you," Brittany informed Cinderella seriously, who looked somewhat amused to see a seventeen year old girl telling her this. Beside her, Santana was subtly checking the Disney Princess out. "Also, it's cool how you can talk to mice. And you're really pretty. Do you know where Tinkerbell is? My BFF Santana and I have these cards that mean we can go see her."
"She should be in the princess building still," Cinderella told her kindly. "That's where all the girls go to get into cos-" She caught the warning look Santana gave her and quickly amended, "To get ready for all the kids. It's hard work being famous, after all."
"Oh, totally. I dressed up as Britney Spears once and people kept asking me to sign their babies."
Brittany moved away without another word and Cinderella watched her go with confusion, then turned to Santana. "So, your friend…"
"She's a little overexcited," Santana explained. "It's been her dream to come to Disney World and meet Tinkerbell for a while."
"And you don't want to tell her it's not real?"
"Of course I don't… but I'll tell her soon. Maybe when we go back home. She had this ex-boyfriend who wouldn't tell her Santa wasn't real and the whole thing was just kind of a train wreck. He babied her and I'd never do that to someone I l-"
Cinderella raised an eyebrow as Santana cut herself off to blush. Then she smiled. "Well, she certainly does seem special." She looked over Santana's shoulder and her smile faded a little. "Did she tell you which way she was going?"
Santana turned around hastily only to see that Brittany was nowhere to be found. "Shit. Um, nice to meet you; I have to go." She hurried away frantically in what she thought might be the right direction, calling, "Brittany!"
Brittany turned a corner and found herself at a large circle of buildings, one of which stood in the very center and had "Employees Only" emblazoned on the door. Several princesses were already beginning to edge out through it to be greeted by young children and their parents. She saw Snow White, Rapunzel, and Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty", but there were still no signs of Tinkerbell.
Sighing aloud as she watched them all smile and take pictures, she lamented, "I wish I could be a Disney Princess. I'd be super pretty and Santana would have to date me." She watched them all for a moment longer, then stepped forward, taking a breath and looking around.
BRITTANY: Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
The girl who has everything?
Look at this trove, treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here, you'd think
Sure, she's got everything
She passed an outdoor display and walked through the hats and scarves and other products, trying them on and examining them one by one. A few people nearby heard her singing quietly and watched her happily, clearly entertained.
I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty
I've got who's-its and what's-its galore
You want thing-a-mabobs? I've got twenty
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more
I wanna be where the people are
I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancin'
Walkin' around on those
Whaddya call 'em? Oh, feet
Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far
Legs are required for jumpin', dancin'
Strollin' along down the
What's that word again? Street
Up where they walk
Up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wanderin' free
Wish I could be
Part of that world
Snow White took a break from photos with the younger kids and noticed Brittany watching them, then grinned and quickly waved her over. "Would you like a picture with us?" she questioned. Brittany smiled slightly and nodded, then stepped forward to gather in a group with most of the princesses for a picture and an autograph.
Rachel and Finn were laughing as they came out of Splash Mountain together, Finn's arm around Rachel's shoulders and Rachel stumbling slightly, her legs clearly wobbly. "Oh my God, that was scary!"
"You did better than I thought you would," Finn admitted. "No vomit!"
"Yes, which means now we're in the clear to eat lunch," Rachel pointed out as her stomach grumbled. "Are you hungry?"
"A little. But we should probably eat a little early anyway since we have no idea when we'll have to perform, and we don't want to do it on an empty stomach. I hear there's a Lady and the Tramp-themed Italian restaurant somewhere around here; want to check it out?"
Although it was suggested innocently, Rachel stared at him for a moment, obviously stunned, and then quickly nodded her head. "Yeah. Absolutely; I love Italian. But are you sure Quinn would be okay with that?"
Finn hesitated for a moment, before swallowing and nodding back. "Uh…yeah. I'm sure she would. I mean, she knows I have a big appetite, and besides, she's probably having a lot of fun with Mercedes and Tina right now."
"This sucks."
Mercedes sighed to punctuate her statement, staring out at the large group of princes that had been signing autographs around them for the past half-hour. The three girls were perched on the edge of a large fountain, and beside her, Quinn was bored out of her mind and Tina looked curious. "What's wrong, Mercedes?"
"I mean, look at them," Mercedes replied, gesturing towards the princes. "I'm never going to find anyone as handsome as any of them, if I even ever find a man at all. At this rate, I'll never have a boyfriend."
"Don't say that," Tina argued while Quinn silently rolled her eyes at their exchange. "There's someone out there for everyone. You could meet him tomorrow, for all you know. Or even today. He could be…" She trailed off for a moment, then grinned, almost mischievously. "…Just around the river bend."
"Oh no," Quinn mumbled quietly as Tina stood up and Mercedes looked on with the hint of an amused smile forming on her lips.
TINA: What I love most about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice.
The water's always changing, always flowing
But people I guess can't live like that
We all must pay a price
To be safe we lose our chance of ever knowing
She let one foot hang down into the fountain, kicking her toe at the water lightly, then leapt off the edge of the fountain and onto the ground, catching Quinn by surprise so much that she nearly fell backwards into the water.
What's around the river bend
Waiting just around the river bend
I look once more just around the river bend
Beyond the shore where the gulls fly free
Don't know what for
What I dream the day might send just around the river bend
For me, coming for me
Just around the river bend
Just around the river bend
I look once more just around the river bend
Beyond the shore, somewhere past the sea
Don't know what for
Why do all my dreams extend just around the river bend
Just around the river bend
She finished with a flourish as a group of onlookers clapped loudly, Mercedes grinned at her, and Quinn scowled her disapproval. "That was great, girl! Thanks for cheering me up."
"Are we really going to be breaking out into song all day?" Quinn questioned as Mercedes and Tina forced her onto her feet to move to their next location after Tina had finished taking a bow.
"Why not? It's Disney World; we might as well enjoy it to the fullest," Tina insisted as they left the fountain. "Now come on; let's go see if anyone's found the princesses yet."
"Even if Puck did, I know he's not getting access to any of them," Quinn replied, holding up a card in her hand with his name and picture on it. "I found this lying on the ground a couple of minutes ago."
Puck ducked inside of the building and then into a nearby room, just in time to avoid a man speaking into a radio who was clearly part of the building's security. He tucked the paperclip he'd used to pick the locked door into his pocket, and when he was sure the coast was clear, he hurried back into the hallway and crept down the length of it, peeking around the corner to see another man speaking to Sam. The man's back was to him but Sam caught sight of Puck quickly and gave him a look Puck couldn't decipher.
"So you said this is where the princes stay?" he asked the man loudly when it was clear he couldn't communicate a message to Puck through facial descriptions, interrupting the description he'd been getting of the dressing rooms down the next hallway. Puck shot him a disgusted and disappointed look and Sam received a weird look from the man.
"Yes, I explained that when you came in."
"Sorry. Bad memory. So can I see one of the dressing rooms?"
"Of course. Let me just go get the keys to unlock them. Stay right here." The man left in a direction that luckily wasn't toward Puck, and Puck immediately left his hiding place, straightening up in front of Sam.
"Dude, we got the wrong one," Sam told him. "Unless you wanna make out with some dudes in prince outfits-"
"Shut up. We'll just have to find a way out of here and look for the princesses again. They've gotta be close by if this is the prince building."
"Well the front door's got guys watching it. Let's just go back the way you came."
"We can't. I had to sneak by someone to get here."
"Then how-?"
They heard footsteps coming and abruptly ducked into a random room down another hallway, then shut the door behind them and turned around to face the rest of the room. Puck's eyes widened. "Dude."
An entire buffet table of food sat before them, lining an entire wall of the room. A bowl of punch and a cake rested in the very center, and two long tables with chairs pushed in ran down the length of the room perpendicular to the table. "That's a lot of food," Sam commented, in awe. "I bet this is where they come to eat every day."
"A feast for a prince," Puck confirmed, already heading towards the table. "Start filling up, dude, and maybe we'll at least get something out of this."
