"That," Emma said, raising her eyebrows as she entered the living room, "is just plain disgusting..." she giggled as she watched her husband and three children chomp on a take-out box of pizza, perched expertly between them on the coffee table.
"Come on, Mom," Maddie teased, easing a greasy, cheese-filled slice from the box and towards her mouth. "It's good..." her voice was singsong-y, and made her twelve-year-old brother erupt in laughter.
"Yeah, Mom," he said between bites. "You have to try it."
"I will do no such thing," Emma giggled, ruffling Andrews strawberry curls and sitting gently down next to Mila on the couch. It was the second official night of summer, and Will and Emma thought it was fit to celebrate. This was the first time all five Schuesters had been home at the same time in quite a while, and now they had two college graduates on their hands.
X
Emma was so proud. Maddie had decided after all to go to Yale. She realized on her own (with a little help from Mila) that some things were worth fighting for. While Jess Larking wasn't, her heart, dreams, love, and respect were. And with that, her daughter had taken off for an ivy league college, thrown herself wholeheartedly into her schoolwork, and graduated second in her class.
Even though Maddie was already bracing herself for the rough years of medical school that went with becoming a world-renound oncologist, she was still her michevious and fun-loving self. The girl dangled her slice of pizza under her mother's nose, laughing as Emma pinched her nose and shoved the cheesy slice away. "Madelyn Allegra, you are twenty-three years old with less maturity of your younger brother!" Emma laughed, turning her nose up at Maddie's second attempt to make her consume the "disgusting" cheese pizza.
Will laughed from beside Emma, wrapping his arm around her and pulling his wife closer to him. She nuzzled gratefully into his shoulder, tired from the day and glad to be as far from the greasy food as possible. Will himself was a child when it came to eating, and he always had a soft spot for some good pizza. Emma, however, was repulsed by the idea of takeout and most of all, pizza delivery. Who knows who packaged that pizza, and who knows who cooked it? She would explain, smoothing her skirt. Since she was eight years old, Emma had eaten all organic and not a morsel of dairy. Will learned soon into the relationship that even the smell of milk could have his wife sick and in tears. I'd much rather make my own pizza, Will... and plus, it's less... messy...
"Alright Mads," he smiled at his oldest child, "that's enough..." She settled back down into the opposite sofa next to her younger brother, sighing contentedly. She was happy that things had turned out the way they did. Maddie was headed towards a successful career, had a loving family supporting her every step, a sister and best friend who would never ever leave her,and a new boyfriend back in Connecticut. Her dreams and possibilities were endless. And she only appreciated small moments like these even more now that she knew just how quickly you could lose them. She quickly pushed the thoughts of her pretty-much disastrous senior year of high school from her mind. Cancer dominated her schoolwork and nightmares- it didn't need to be in her thoughts constantly, too.
She smiled as she poured herself more orange soda, carefully screwing the cap back onto the two-liter bottle of Sunkist much to the appreciation of her mother.
X
"So, what are we watching tonight?" Mila asked from the opposite couch. Tonight was movie night, as every Saturday night in the summertime was in their household. It was a tradition that had been standing forever, beginning when her parents first began dating. Even at twenty-three, Mila still had the habit of playing with the hem of her mother's pencil skirts. She twisted the fabric lightly in her fingers, the pink nail polish contradicting the flush aquamarine color of the skirt.
"Hmm," Andrew wondered out loud, swallowing his pizza. "Armageddon?"
"No." His parents said quickly and simultaneously. Will met Emma's eyes and they both began laughing quietly to themselves. Will pulled her closer to him, and she let her head fall onto his chest. Mila watched the exchange between her parents adoringly as they shared a memory that no one else would ever know. She wanted a love like that (didn't everyone?) where there was always somebody there to share in your thoughts and memories, finish your sentences, and understand the little bits and pieces of you that no one else did.
Like when they would both grin uncontrollably, hold hands, and sing under their breath while looking into each others eyes when that Kelly Clarkson song from forever ago played on the radio.
Or how Neil Diamond CD's had been banned from the house, along with most Bruckheimer movies.
Or how he would sometimes purposely get mustard on his face to make her laugh and wipe it away.
Or the way her face still lit up when her called her names like "Em" or "Cinderella."
Or how whenever they watched My Fair Lady, they would get up and ballroom dance when Eliza began to sing.
Or how her mother would sometimes say, "It's the darn thong song!" making her dad laugh and kiss her and reply, "Just doing what I should've done then."
Mila had met her very own soul mate a long time ago. Douglas had been there for her every step of the way during the rough patch that was senior year of high school, but they had drifted when he went to college in Rhode Island and her at NYU. They had met up again over summers and breaks, but things had never been the same. It was as if they both wanted more than just a friendship, but were still so afraid to initiate it. Mila and Douglas had both dated around, but one look into his striking blue eyes and she knew she belonged to him, still, after all this time.
She wished they hadn't both reluctantly forced themselves to break up, neither wanting the cliché of a complicated, long-distance relationship during their golden years. But Mila realized now, as an older more sophisticated version of her younger self, that it had all been a mistake. Whenever she looked at her parents, still cooing over one another and so very much in love, she saw herself and Douglas after twenty five years or so. She tried to deny it, to smother it, but there was no way.
Because when the red head closed her eyes every night to go to sleep, she wished he was lying there next to her.
"How about we watch My Fair Lady?" she suggested, because that movie always felt homey to her and she secretly loved it when her father swept her mother off of her feet during "I Could Have Danced All Night."
Emma smiled up at her husband, who kissing her hairline and said, "A movie after my own heart," as Emma toyed with the buttons on his shirt mindlessly. Times like these, times with the family she never thought she would have but couldn't ever imagine living without, were the the ones she loved the most.
"Surely," Maddie said, adjusting herself on the sofa. "That one never gets old," she smiled, drawing her knees close to her chest.
"Again?" Andrew groaned, but there was laughter in his still-young voice. "I've seen that movie a million times, and Mila likes it cause it's cheesy and a chick-flick, and Maddie likes it because it's 'classic' or something, and you two," he nodded in the direction of his parents, "just wanna dance."
Will laughed at his son's remarkably accurate accusations as he slipped the DVD into the player. He didn't know how they all grown up so fast, but he was so proud of the people each of his children had become. He knew that even through the ups and the downs, he wouldn't trade this life- these memories, these moments, these faces- for anything. A Broadway career and countless Tony Awards never in a million years could have amounted to this.
X
The morning light shown through the window, blinding Maddie briefly before she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She yawned, stretching out on her twin bed and rolling over to glance at the digital clock on her crisp white nightstand. 7:02 AM it read. She groaned- she'd forgotten how the blinds never really worked on her bedroom window and how she'd always used to rise with farmers.
She took in the fun memories of the previous few days- eating pizza, watching movies, going to the swim club, and meeting up with the Hudsons and the St. James' for dinner.
"My God, Mads, I haven't seen you in forever!" her Aunt Rachel hugged her. Still, in her late thirties, the woman was a drama queen (which eventually paid off—just ask all six of her Tony Awards). "I've gotten to see Mila plenty since she live practically around the block from me at college, but you Maddie need to come and visit us much, much more," she met Maddie's grin. As they took their seats at the restaurant, Rachel whispered in her ear, "Plus I know where all of the A-list, New York clubs are..." she raised her eyebrows almost suggestively, and Maddie couldn't help a giggle.
This is the same Aunt Rachel who still wears cat sweaters on a daily basis...
Candace Hudson, who was thirteen and sitting on the other side of Rachel said, "Hey, Aunt Rachel, you'd better take me out clubbing too!"
"No," came twin answers from both Finn and Quinn from the opposite side of the table, where the couple were struggling to get a six year old William to eat his chicken fingers.
Maddie smiled at the memory of the previous night's dinner at Breadsticks as she turned to see the twin bed opposite her own. The covers had been thrown back and the bed was empty, sans a note propped on the pillow.
Mads-
There's something I've really, really got to do. It's important to me... be back soon, don't worry! See you soon!
Love- Meals
Maddie smiled as she padded to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. She knew exactly where her sister had gone. She knew from years of gossiping with her sister about a few certain boys that Douglas Perch worked the early morning shift at the local diner for the summers. She knew her twin sister had never, ever stopped loving that boy, even though she dated more than a few guys through college. In the words of her Aunt Rachel, "What is a girl to do? After all, New York is bustling with drama, clothes, and men. Stress on the men."
But Douglas had been her sister's constant through times when Maddie herself was unsure, along with the rest of her family. Through that fateful year, both girls had discovered something important. Maddie had discovered that all she needed, really, were her hopes and dreams and self-love to succeed. She certainly didn't need a boy, namely Jess, to live.
And following the pattern of every cliché, indentical twins were very, very different people. Which was true, especially in the fact that Mila realized she was only one half. One half of the perfect picture that she and the mysterious and loving Douglas Perch had created.
Maddie knew Mila had gone to find him.
X
The Silvercrest Diner, right past the park and the high school, was nearly empty when Mila pushed her way through the glass door. The red, fifties-style booths and bar stools reminded her of countless nights talking with Douglas, Maddie, and sometimes Jerky Jess whenever he felt like making an appearance.
It reminded her of kisses and french fries and ketchup, of Loretta, the hilarious old waitress who treated her and Douglas like her own children (long grown up when they were high schoolers) and of Mick, the host who always seemed a little moody.
But when she walked in today, nothing seemed familiar. Maybe because it was six forty five AM, but she knew from working there as a teen that the place opened it's doors at four in the morning every morning, not a second earlier or later. She was usually stuck with the shift after school, but Douglas had it much worse. He had band lessons after school but needed money, so she came with him often for his shift before school began. Before the world was awake.
Now, all of the memories flooded back to her with growing intensity, and tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. What if he turned her away? What if he wanted nothing to do with her after all these years- what if he had moved on? She swallowed the lump in throat.
They were supposed to be together.
"Mila Quinn Schuester, is that you?" a voice startled her from her reverie, and she swiped quickly at her eyes. A short bald man with a high pitched, almost feminine voice asked. She looked up to see Mick Jensen, the very same Mick Jensen from four years ago. Ever since her and Douglas split, she'd avoided the diner like the plague. But now... everything seemed so different. It was like yes, everyone in this diner was the same, (she even recognized some customers) but they had all changed. Like slowly, the place had turned to gray.
"Mick!" she gave him a quick hug. "I missed you, how's everyone? Loretta?"
"Same as ever, Sweetie," he told her. "But business is slow and the new waitress isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. She got fired from her job at Home Goods a few weeks ago and came in begging. And I mean begging for a job. She offered to work mornings and as you know-"
"No one works mornings," Mila let herself laugh, remembering the old diner's saying about the deadly morning shift.
"- so we let her in... Are you, um, eating here?" he asked, tugging at his purple tie and looking down at a sheet of paper that rested on the podium beside him.
"No," she said, more quietly. "I'm, um, I'm here to see... um..." like her mother, when she was nervous, she couldn't get the words out right. She could barely speak, her throat felt clogged. But the small man in front of her, an avid reader of Vogue, Cosmo, and everything Nicholas Sparks new exactly what she was trying to say.
"Douggie's over there, Sweetie," he whispered to her, pointing towards the kitchen. "Costumer's aren't usually, well, ever allowed back there, but since it's you and since, well- lets just say he's never been the same without you. Good luck, doll, tell me how it goes?" he asked, and she managed a nod.
She had only taken a few steps before she heard Mick's voice again. "And Mila?" she whipped her head around, her short red ponytail slapping her neck uncomfortably. With her crazy curls, her hair never looked "just right."
"Yeah?"
"It's really good to see you again."
X
She saw him, sitting on the stool, like he had been the day she told him she was leaving Lima for New York. And that she thought it would be better if they were separate when she did so. The air caught in her throat again as her pink ballet flats hit the linoleum floor of the Silvercrest kitchen. "D-Douglas?" she asked timidly, walking up beside him. He looked up at her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
The boy- the man- that sat in front of her closed his copy of the latest Stephen King novel and said simply, "Mila."
"D-Douglas... I know you probably never want to speak to me again but-"
"Why are you here?" he asked, standing up. Douglas felt anger course through him, but it ended as soon as it had began. Mila had left him, seemingly high and dry, for better things. And now she was coming back here, to his territory, knowing that he was weak. Knowing that he couldn't forget her. He had made that clear last summer. But he could never stay mad at her for long. The way she always fiddled with her curly hair that always looked flawless, or the way she bit her bottom lip and widened her eyes when she was nervous.
"B-because I came to tell you that you're right... I can't forget you either. I can't thank you enough, Douglas, because without you I wouldn't have had the courage to go to New York city. I didn't want to go to college because I didn't want to leave here, leave you, leave my, umm, mom... But being with you showed me that I could. And I told you I didn't love you anymore before I left because I thought 'W-well, nothing lasts forever. And this has to be a new chapter...' But what I-I... what I didn't realize is that new chapters can still have the same characters-"
"I can't do this. I've loved you since the day I met you, and you left, and you expect me to just take you back? After four years? How do you know I haven't been with someone else? How do you know that since last summer, when I tried to win you back like I do every single summer, that I haven't changed?"
"We've both changed," Mila interrupted, responding quicker than she thought she would. "We've both changed- grew up. But... I've never stopped loving you, please, I-I just need you to give me one more chance. If you're already with someone else, or have moved on from this, this whole mess..." she chuckled at that, reminding herself of her mother suddenly. "I'll be done, too. I'll give up, too, Douglas, but right now I can't. I'm back from New York, back from everything and right now... well, right now all I know is that I can't come here and not know. I can't move on from you because I still love you so, so much and I can't want this and not have it, but knowing that you want it, too. Maybe I was too proud to admit it before, but without you I wouldn't have what I have now. If I hadn't met you, I don't know what would've happened..."
Douglas pressed a cool finger to Mila's lips. It made him remember why he never wanted to stop kissing them, why he fought for her every summer for the past four years. He needed her, too. He needed her more than words could express, so he chose simply not to use words. He cupped her tear-stained cheeks with his hands, and leaned down. He kissed each individual tear as it fell. He kissed her lips with so much love and passion that Mila forgot, momentarily, how to breathe.
As she remembered that yes, she had muscles and yes, they could move, her arms slowly snaked around his neck. They kissed with such love and need for one another, wanted to never let go, ever, that it almost hurt to be so close. So much of themselves were touching the other that they had both lost count.
She pulled away, panting, looking him in the eyes with so much question, love, an d uncertainty that she could have crumpled right there. She could not read his expression- he'd always been good at hiding his feelings under a cold, emotionless mask.
"I love you, too," he whispered, pulling her close to him. She let herself melt into his embrace in the back corner of the diner kitchen, among the dirty dishes, cooking hashbrowns, and bags of Eight O'clock Coffee.
X
"Finally," Mick Jensen whispered into the ear of his co-worker and best friend, Loretta James. The elderly woman had her plump hands resting over her heart, "How I wish I knew how to use a camera right about now..." she sighed. "That took much, much to long, Mick."
They leaned against the dishwasher, feeling its hum and watching two of seemingly their own children reconcile after what seemed like forever of angst and need for one another. "Thank God..."
The new waitress tucked a lock of white-blonde hair behind her ear. "Loretta?" she asked, "My pen isn't working..."
Loretta turned around to face the younger woman. "Let me see that..." she looked at Mick, who was trying to stifle laughter as she removed the cap from the waitress's pen. "There. It should work just fine now, Brittany," she said happily, too proud to roll her eyes at the employee.
Brittany looked over at the red headed girl and dark haired boy over in corner, hugging tightly to each other and whispering quietly to themselves. "I think I know her." She stated simply, then took off to find the coffee she needed to make the coffee cake that some old man had been complaining about.
OMG guys so, so sorry about the delay for this one! I know, excuses, excuses but seriously. Between dance, finals, studying, and graduation -from-middle-school activities I have not had a single ounce of free time in weeks! But now it's summer time, so you can expect updates much more frequently till the story is finished! I'm thinking about wrapping it up in the next few chapters, maybe more than a few but... idk haha. So basically if there's anything you really want to see happen, review with general concepts or PM me about it if you have a scene you'd really like to see happen! I might just add it in there! Also, I do have an ending sort of planned out, but am happy to take requests and suggestions being as there's a lot of things you might want to see happen to this family! Also I really wanted this chapter to be about the family and how much they grew, but then my brain made the whole Mila/Douglas thing happen... hmm... I like it but review with anything! Also, sorry for all of the OC but I sort of needed them to make the Douglas thing come full-circle (witnesses almost to their angst, like the glee club to Will and Emma). WEMMA FLUFF IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, PROMISE! Read and review! Love!
Xoxo,
me
