Job Well Done
It's been five years since they were all in the same room, having fled to the four corners of America, to find their fame Santana, Mercy, Quinn and Tina attend a reunion celebration the task of the night to be the biggest, best and most popular star in the room
This reunion had been threatening to happen for a long time, they'd met up separately with some of their not so popular school friends over the years, mainly through their work, and participated in talks of a school reunion, but it had never happened until now, they'd been busy, climbing that ladder called fame. The competition between the four women had started at school, they'd always been at each others throats for songs, stage presence and fame, now they were adults, the competition was real, Santana, Mercy, Quinn and Tina didn't even refer to each other by name any more. In the early days of the split there'd been the odd slanderous jibe at interviews, songs thrown around blasting each other, heated public arguments and newspaper articles that showed there was no love lost between the one time girl group.
They'd come a far cry away from sitting in the auditorium singing a heartfelt romantic harmony to their music teacher, there was no harmony left there. The music had been what originally brought them together, but within three years of breaking into the music industry, it was what pushed them so far apart, there was no way back. In all truth, there had always been a struggle for lead between them, at first Brad; their manager, had that figured out, giving them equal front line time, but within three months Quinn got greedy about it. At first everyone thought she'd see the error of her ways and fall back into line, but after a month of the same thing, Santana couldn't hold it she reacted
"What's with you, virgin slapper?" she stepped up to her then friend asking
"What?" Quinn stood wondering why that old name had found it's way back to her "What am I doing now?" her hands held her hips
"You're taking over again, we've given you three songs up front for over a month now, and you seem to think it's your spot, there are four of us here"
"If you want it take it from me" she snapped
"Are we still in fucking school?" Santana stepped back at the childishness that had took over the conversation "Don't even think I won't just do that if you keep coming at us with your shit" she waved her finger at the girl "All I'm saying is, you've had your time, you need to step back"
After that there was obvious competition between the two as Santana took what she wanted from the show, and Quinn fought back, Mercy and Tina stood watching these two squabbling in front of their audience about being up front. It carried on for another two months before Mercy finally decided to have a conversation with Brad, who seemed to be sitting back, watching the whole thing fall apart
"Brad" she sat on the couch in his spacious third floor office "I know you can see what's going on with those two, why aren't you doing anything about it?"
"You know how Quinn is" Brad sat back in his chair "I've spoken to her several times about it, she keeps coming back with this 'They'll take it from me' shit" he huffed "You guys came to me as a group, sort your shit out or I'll take you off my books"
"This shouldn't affect me, I'm towing the damn line, how does my career come into question?" she asked shocked at his response
"Look Mercy" he sat forward "I'm not going to lie to you, you're good enough to go solo, all of you are actually, and I really don't think that would be a bad thing, especially with how things are going right now"
"Really?" she smiled taking the complement
"Really" Brad smile back
"Hold up" she held her finger up at him, embracing her lightbulb moment "You've had this conversation with Quinn and Santana haven't you?" she told him rather than asked "That's why they're acting up, they want to leave and they don't know how to"
"No" Brad looked around the room "Well... Quinn wants to leave, she came to me actually"
"Well she can go" Mercy told him instantly angry
"No she can't, there'll be no Barbette's if any of you leave, that would be the end of it, that's the contract"
"Oh" she sat back in her chair trying to picture what that would mean
Of course the first person she spoke to about all of it was Tina, they sat thinking about what their next move could be, how they were going to carry on doing something they loved as much as life itself. There was a time of unrest between all four, the catty comments started to come thick and fast, no one would have thought that they'd started this thing with people they called best friends. The hurt had generated from the fact that Quinn had decided that she wanted out, and not been a big enough person to have the conversation with them. Their performances went on for another six months, nobody saying anything as the relationships became bitter, then out the blue one day, Tina joined in with the front spot war, hurting Mercy's feelings because now she knew her best friend wanted out too.
Eventually the air was so thick with resentment, dishonesty and regret, Mercy caved in and admitted things weren't right, of course in true Barbette style everything exploded publicly. They were on stage after they'd had a blow out back stage, everyone had made their feelings clear, if they ever had to sing with each other again after that night, it would be a cold day in hell. Santana had slapped Tina across the face, Quinn had spat on the ground in front of Mercy's feet, Tina had called them all trashy bitches, and Mercy held Santana by her neck against the stone wall trying to squeeze her breath out of her.
Things had reached that pitch they were all scared of reaching, Brad calling them to stage just ten seconds before Santana took her very last breath, they'd all frozen, then straightened their clothes, fixed their hair and put on their smiles, before going out on stage. It didn't take long before the cracks started showing as the reality of what they'd just done sunk in, before the second interval, Tina and Quinn broke down, they nodded at each other and told their fans they were splitting up before they walked off stage, deleted each others contact details and left separately
Quinn went off to Texas, everyone thought that was a strange move for the girl who'd dreamt New York all her young life, but she was in need of respite, even for someone like her being a total bitch twenty four hours a day for nearly a year was exhausting. Mercy went to California she knew what she was going to do, nothing was waiting for her, she needed to get it done fast, she was on the phone trying to get work while she was travelling, because no matter what, she was going to make it. Tina went to New York she'd always been destined to be there, they'd done a few gigs in that part of the world, so she was familiar with the life and craved it, plus there was work to be had in those parts, she'd already made a call and secured somewhere to stay. Santana found herself in Minnesota, there was some well earned rest she needed, she'd spent so much time focusing on what Quinn was doing she hadn't decided anything about her own life outside the group, now she was taking time out, to find a focus
Just three months after that night they were all stood in Brad's office, seeing each other again for the first time, nothing had changed, feelings were still very raw as they signed to liquidate the contract they'd signed four years earlier as The Barbette's. There were no tears in front of each other, but once they were on their own, they cried for the loss of those friendships before getting on with this competition they'd unconsciously started, the aim, to be better than their counterparts.
Mercy was an R&B diva, her hits were rocking the world and had been for the past 3 years, she knew there was potential not to have a long life in the business so she was making the most of her time at the top. Santana was making her way in the Pop world, she was holding her audience too, she'd tried to venture into the R&B world with some collaborations that just hadn't work out, she swore Mercy was behind those flops, and hated her and everything she did to her core.
Quinn was a renowned model everywhere you looked there was some promotional picture of the face of Prada, Tina, well known in the world of theatre, was always being asked about the group's past in her interviews, one day, on getting fed up of that line of questioning, she blarted out "Those bitches are fowl" before she could stop herself, bringing their already over-extended argument further into the limelight. Of course Santana, Mercy and Quinn fired back, with what could only be termed as absolute bitch, and from then on nothing but slander had been thrown between the four of them, in the worst way, attacking each other professionally was a must at every live interview
So now after five years of bitching and fierce competition they were about to meet up again, Kurt; a mutual friend, had tricked them into accepting an invitation to a special school reunion, celebrating the life of their old music teacher who had passed a year ago on her birthday, in a freak accident, the woman had been so good to them, they couldn't refuse, they'd been part of her second year of glee club, and that time in their lives played a pivotal part in her life story, she'd schooled them to brilliance. It wasn't something they were going to be able to fly in and out of either, they had to get to Lima two days before the actual memorial reunion, they had a day to learn a routine they were performing as part of their dedication to her, the only problem being, they were having to do it together, and they really hadn't gotten any better at sharing that front spot on stage.
Tina
"I really don't want to do this" Tina snapped at her boyfriend "We could just stay in bed for the weekend, I'd make it worth your while" she grinned laying on their bed with everything except her head under the white sheets, "And you know I'm good for that"
"I know" he laughed, "But you can't let these people dictate your life, where you go, when you go, how you..."
"They're not, I choose to hate them"
"Plus, we literally just got the first weekend off together in years, I'm not staying where they can call me back any minute"
"I guess you have a point" she moaned giving him her puppy eyes
Tina had been going out with Mike for nearly 2 years now, they'd met on set, he was a dancer in the play she'd been lucky enough to grab the lead female role in. They'd danced together for a few seconds on his first day and she couldn't help but fantasise on the man every time he graced the stage with his presence. She must have been fantasying too hard one day, and grunted as he walked past
"Excuse me?" he smiled stopping abruptly in front of her
"Sorry?" she looked at him wondering what conversation she'd missed "Did you say something?"
"You grunted and I wondered what I'd done to offend you" he laughed
"Nothing, sorry, I didn't even know I'd done that" she laughed touching his bicep in a frenzy
"Alex said you were fickle" he laughed
"Fickle, me?" she pointed at herself "Alex knows me well" she laughed "I'm really sorry Mike" she touched his bicep again, the feel of it making her shudder
"You know my name?" he asked surprised "I heard you don't really mix with the minions, am I to class myself as honoured?"
"How honoured are you willing to be?" she asked cheekily, the lift of her eyebrow letting him know she was interested
"I could shout to drinks after the show" he told her cheekily "Am I stepping over the mark?"
"No" she laughed "Very much under it"
"Dinner then, and a drink, after the show of course"
It was a cheap date, they walked to the restaurant, shared a starter and dessert and shared a cab home, but there was no way she was letting the night end there, she was attracted to him, had freely and easily talked about her life to him, she hadn't done that with many people. Of course coffee was mentioned but it wasn't delivered until the next morning when she woke up to him sitting in the edge of her bed, naked with a tray of breakfast in his hands. They had their own places, and did their own thing workwise, but home was always were the other got to first, and for them life had been busy but fun for two short years.
Now he was asking her to face her demons in facing those three, she didn't have a kind word to say about them, he'd been coaching her to let it go, so she'd just go blank at the thought, smiling, at hearing him in her head, telling her she was better than that "Okay you win" she jumped off the bed and made for the bathroom "Plane's in three hours right?"
"That gives you thirty minutes to get dressed" he shouted after her, knowing she wasn't listening
Santana
"Is this big enough?" Santana spun round in the large wall mounted mirror asking her wife of four years "It's got to be the loudest thing about me, I want people to gasp when they feel my presence in the room"
"Babe it's fine" she replied sincerely, knowing any other response would send her off to the dressing room to put on alternative number four and she'd already had enough
Santana had met Dani in peculiar circumstances, in any other universe they wouldn't have worked, she was in the car business and not the clean side of it, she literally fixed cars for a living. Dani had made a bid to service Santana's fleet of cars in her popular Dallas wet T-shirt garage and somehow won it, she couldn't believe her luck, everyone had heard of the talented Santana Lopez she was so hot, of course Dani, like any other red blooded woman, had dreamed of meeting her one day.
There meeting wasn't something that was expected, Santana's Limo driver had dropped her coupe off for a service and of course Dani had gotten straight onto it, the lady was her priority customer. It was ready for 3pm as requested, and she was finally sitting down to her late lunch when the shop floor fell silent, she came out to see what was happening and found no other than Santana Lopez standing on the forecourt dangling her keys
"Miss Lopez" she threw her half eaten sandwich on the desk and shut the door behind her as she walked towards her "Dani, your Mechanic" she made to hold her hand out, remembering her nails weren't ready to touch such a creature, she moved her hand quickly "Sorry, cars and stuff" she waved her hand towards the office "Come this way" she stuttered "Your cars ready I just need to give you the paperwork" opening the door to her messy office before she realised what she'd done "Oh" she closed the door again quickly "Maybe you want to wait in our reception" she told her looking at the small framed woman stood directly in front of her
"I'm alright in there" Santana smiled still walking towards her, Dani could feel her breath on her face
"Excuse the mess" she backed into the office rolling her eyes as she opened the door "Lunch time" she stepped in after her before running around shuffling paperwork around and moving her half eaten sandwich off the top of the pile
"Everyone needs to eat" Santana smiled looking around, not knowing what to make of the place
"It's not usually like this" Dani threw some paperwork off a chair onto the top of a nearby cabinet "Actually" she smiled "It is, we're busy"
"So this is how business looks when it's good?" Santana nodded looking around the office
"Yeah" she laughed offering her the now vacant seat before sitting down herself
The next thing she knew they was ordering coffee, fresh sandwiches and their conversation went seamlessly from one topic to the next, eventually interrupted by a phone call Santana got some hours later "I won't be back for now, someone's taking me to dinner" she told whoever was on the other side of the call, smiling at Dani as she spoke "So where are we eating tonight?" she asked when the call closed
They went easily into a relationship from there, Dani couldn't run around and be at every gig, but when Santana got the time off, it was spent in some local hotel together, they stayed their little secret, until they got engaged some two years later, after secretly telling her agent, they were quietly married within the week. They respected each others jobs and worked hard to make the relationship work, now they was taking a weekend out to visit her old school, spend some time together and meet these bitch ass friends she never got over.
"Come on then" Santana suddenly grabbed her purse and made for the door "Grab the bags" she turned to remind Dani, like she was grabbing a shopping bag, she'd packed enough to last a month, and then some "We're going to miss our flight" she rushed out the door and sat in the car watching Dani struggle with the bags and the door
Quinn
"Get the fuck off me" Quinn pushed the stylists hand off her head, she'd been sitting there for nearly two hours listening to what this bitch thought was best for her hair, the woman was totally ignoring the fact that she'd told her to tie it back and make the sides slick, if there was going to be a fight she needed to tuck it away fast. "Why can't anyone in here follow instructions?" she looked at the bewildered stylist
"I thought you were asking for suggestions"
"I specifically told you.." she looked at the girl "Get Unique out here now"
"Yes Miss..."
"Now" she snapped after her, watching the girl run off upset
"Quinn" Unique came walking fast towards her within seconds "What do you need?"
"Someone who can follow instructions, I asked her to put my hair up and slick the sides nearly two hours ago"
"Lexie, you heard the customer up and slicked, now" Unique turned to talk to one of her other stylists "Sorry about Lydia she's still learning" she fanned the upset girl away
Quinn sat staring attentively at the stylist, waiting to pounce for a wrong move, smiling when she finally stood back and smiled at her "Thanks" she turned from left to right looking at her simple do "Just what I ordered" she tipped the stylist before getting up and grabbing her phone out her purse "Noah" she called smiling wider "I've finished, is everything packed?"
"Yep" he snapped throwing the last case in the car "Timed that right, I'm on my way" he closed the call
They'd literally just come back from a sailing trip, Quinn had been seeing Noah for just over a year, he was a famous drummer, they'd gone with some friends on a four week Island hoping trip and when they got half way through it, he'd let her know it was all about a proposal. Of course she got the romantic evening, the rock, the bubbles, then they'd done all the snorkelling, deep sea diving, food tasting, safari and sight seeing they could take, before spending the last three days in bed, neglecting their friends. Getting home less than forty eight hours ago, and now she was ready for this face off, with these bitches she once found the time to call enemies.
She sat in view of the window watching out for him to arrive, she was on hot bricks, rubbing her legs together at the thought of him calming her right down, jumping up with a grin on her face fifteen minutes later when he turned up "Do we have time for a stop?" she asked watching him come round to open the car door for her
"Two hours to fight time tells me no"
"Damn" she hissed slamming herself into the seat
"Your fault, you want to spend three hours getting a... bun done" he looked at her hair "Really?" he asked at the simple do
"In case I have to fight" she giggled
"And you really think that's going to happen?"
"I know them, it's going to happen" she laughed as the car sped off "And don't get involved"
"It's not my fight" he laughed turning the radio up as the wind blew through their hair
Mercy
"Fuck babe" Sam whispered in her ear "Our shit just gets better and better" he grabbed her hand entwining their fingers kissing her hard on the lips "I'm empty" he rolled off her smiling
"Is that supposed to last me till we get there?" Mercy looked at him frowning
"Babe you are killing me" he laughed "Your greedy Mrs Evans" he turned to her stroking her stomach
"You made me that way Mr Evans" she giggled
Sam was the model Mercy had used on the cover of her first album, many moons ago, they'd struck up a professional relationship after working together for nearly a week, and maybe both of them thought there was something there. But their intentions were dashed when Sam's girlfriend walked on set and gave him the most passionate kiss Mercy had ever seen, so the relationship stayed professional for a while. Two years later he turned up at an audition for another cover and she snapped him up, they sat talking about the concept, Mercy constantly looking over her shoulder until he put her at ease
"There's no girlfriend coming out the woodwork this time" he laughed, catching on with what she was doing
"Are you sure?" she looked around again
"Yeah, I made sure of that when I knew I was auditioning" he smiled
"What, you mean you finished with your girlfriend for this audition?"
"No, I mean I finished with my ex because I was seeing you again" he told her "Because I need you to get out of my damn dreams and into my bed"
"Does that chat up line usually work for you?" she chuckled
"It's not a chat up line, it's a fact"
"You're sure of yourself" she rolled her eyes intrigued
"I'm sure we'd be good together"
"You are?" she giggled nervously, she was actually enjoying the challenging conversation, getting aroused even "Say you were to chat me up what would be your get in my panties line" she decided to play this game
The Five F's probably" he smiled
"Seriously" she gasped shocked "Surely that's four F's?"
"No it's five" he smiled
"I'm sure it's four, you got me, I'm intrigued, please tell" she crossed her legs and leaned forward to listen
"Well…. Friendship, first and foremost, we have to be friends don't you think, secondly feelings, I mean what's a relationship without them, we have to be able to feel each other" he wiggled his eyebrows at her smiling "Thirdly foundation, it can't be built on lies and mistrust, it has to be solid, rock solid" his eyes suggesting he meant something else "Fourthly we get to the scary, sloppy, mushy stuff you know family, meeting them, making them being them and finally, it has to be forever, I mean the real long haul, once you've poured your soul into it, it has to, don't you think?"
"Smooth, romantic, I think I like your five as opposed to my four theory" she laughed "It's deep" she nodded she could get into that
"So what do you say we get this friendship thing going then?"
"You had me at number one, dinner would be good" she smiled, he'd already reeled her in
That was eighteen months ago, their relationship was more than solid, there were no children as yet, but it was all on the cards, and having just got married three weeks ago everything was still very fresh for them, the honeymoon was far from over. They'd returned home to Kurt's message and somehow Sam had talked her into going back to that damn school, she was convinced the others wouldn't turn up so she replied, booked the flight and rearranged her schedule around the event. There was nothing but total shock a few days ago when Kurt told her everyone had confirmed, he didn't say their names but he said everyone and if that was the case, they'd be there, and to add insult to injury he sent a message demanding that they perform together, that was a tall order, she needed to be ready for
"You promised to get the fight out of me, it's still in there" she giggled
"I'll hold you back" he laughed
"What?" she looked at him wondering what he actually meant by that
"You're on a promise, behave and it's your night" he laughed "For every night you behave"
"That's not fair" she moaned
"Starting with getting those bags packed" he got up smiling, he was serious and she knew it
Thursday
"God nothing's changed" Quinn stepped off the plane and onto Lima soil for the first time in nearly five years. One of the first things she'd done when she found stardom was move her parents out of that hell hole. They'd retired and sold the dress shop they'd run for nearly 35 years, they were at a loose end, when the opportunity came around so it was easy to convince them to move. At first she had her Mom making costumes and stuff but when the travelling got too much for her she'd brought them a nice little two bed apartment in a retirement village and they were loving it "I feel like a weights just landed" she grabbed hold of Noah's arm
"I got you" he smiled "They'll have to get through me first"
"I knew there was a reason I loved you" the screaming crowd coming towards them grabbing their attention, she let go of his arm to greet their audience. Spending a few minutes to sign autographs and chat with these people that were there to see them. Eventually they walked off when Quinn heard someone commenting on the fact that she looked older in real life than her picture, she couldn't help but snarl at them, before grabbing her man's arm, leaving the airport to find their waiting car
They knew where they were staying, there weren't that many places to hide in little old Lima, so they weren't surprised to meet the press "Miss Fabray" a reporter was suddenly standing in between the entrance and her car door "Could you give us your first reactions to Santana, Mercy and Tina also being in Lima this weekend, are we about to see a comeback of the Barbette's?"
"I believe it's a one night only affair" she replied pushing past her to make her way into the hotel
"Enjoy the cocktails party later" the reporter shouted over to her
"They must already be here" she looked up at Noah with panic in her eyes
"I've got you" he put his arm around her and made their way to reception
Cocktails
"You have got to be kidding me" Santana looked around the room, her eyes searching for Kurt at seeing a very yellow clad Tina and some man sitting at their table, she stood in her pastel blue figure hugging cocktail dress with Dani next to her, her gaze shifting from Tina as Dani pulling out the chair, hit her foot, she stood checked their seating ticket
"No this is the table" Dani told her totally ignoring her reaction to the woman sitting there "Good evening" she smiled watching Santana sit down, stretching her hand across to shake the man's hand "Dani" she smiled, the man stood up and grabbed her hand
"Mike" he smiled at the dark haired woman "Santana yeah?" he nodding in Santana's direction
"Yeah" Dani smiled watching her wife messing with something she didn't need to "Tina" she nodded at Mike's wife doing something equally distracting, they rolled their eyes and sat down, both couples making their own conversation, Tina and Santana attempting to forget the other was there
"Oh no you fucking didn't" Mercy shouted looking across the room at Kurt, stood at the table where Santana and Tina were already sitting and Quinn stood facing her, with the same fuck this look on their faces
"Great look, fucking disgusting mouth" Quinn looked at Mercy cutting her eye
"When you stop sucking dick for a living, come back to me bitch" Mercy snapped at her
"Please" Santana flicked her hair back at the crass conversation
"And you can shut the fuck up, my hand still craves the feel of being around your damn throat" Mercy told her
"Mike, I'm with the quiet one" Mike got up and stretched his hand across the table to greet Sam
"Sam, I own the one with the unforgettable table manners" he pointed at Mercy
"Noah" he got up joining in the conversation while the girls threw looks "The beauty with the attitude, belongs to me" he pointed at Quinn
"And I'm Dani, Santana's mine, no apologies" she held her hand out shaking the guys hand
"We've got a night ahead" Mike warned them
"A weekend" Sam corrected him
"Hey" Kurt finally made his way to their table "Remember this is televised, that you guys will be singing together, and, it's not about you" he walked around the table kissing his friends and shaking hands. Mike and Sam smiled at each other, someone had said something that none of them had argued with for once
"Drinks?" Noah got up asking, breaking the wall of silence
"Yeah" Sam jumped up to follow him
"I'll get ours" Mike followed them
"This is going to be a hell of a weekend" Noah rolled his eyes at the two men, holding his hand out to order drinks for Quinn and him
"I think they're just being pig headed, Tina talks about them so much I think she's just still very hurt about the whole thing"
"I think that too" Dani walked into the conversation, calling across the bar for two slammers, and gulping them down before ordering two glasses of wine "Dutch courage" she smiled looking at the three men looking back at her
"Wooow" Mike leaned up off the counter at seeing Tina get up and take her shoes off, "Shit's hit" he warned, making his way back to their table "Babe" he grabbed her hand "You're better than this" he whispered in her ear, it was hard but she threw her shoes back on the floor and stepped into them before sitting back down
Mercy had provoked the move, but she wasn't even flinching, Sam was about and she was being a good girl "Your drink" Sam walked up to her smiling, as if nothing had just happened "Did you have anything to do with that?" he asked moving her hair off her shoulder
"No" she grabbed the glass of wine he'd brought her, and threw it down her throat, watching Santana do the same with hers, whatever it was, they were keeping it to themselves "Can we just eat this damn dinner and get the hell out of here?"
"You can, I'm socialising" Sam replied, she looked at him for a second before rolling her eyes, he was mad with her now, for lying to him "So Noah" he turned his attention away from her quickly "What do you do?"
"I used to be in a band, but I do freelance now, wherever I'm needed basically" Noah told everyone "And you?"
"I model" he smiled
"I knew you were that Sam, Sam Evans right?" Dani asking
"Yeah" he looked at Mercy for a second "And what do you do?"
"I own my own car repair shop, it's actually a wet T-shirt factory for freaks to lure, but one of it's kind" she laughed "And you?" she looked at Mike
"I dance" he smiled "Theatre, music video's you name it"
"Married, single, thinking about it?" Noah asked
"None of their damn business" Tina told Mike
"Excuse me" he looked at her shocked "We're having a conversation here, trying to make the best of a bad situation" he looked back at Noah "We've been dating for two years, looking at next base soon I guess, you?"
"We recently got engaged, hopefully within the next year we'll be a Mr and Mrs" Noah smiled hugging Quinn
"We've been married for nearly two years now, it just works for us" Dani told them
"Three weeks, newly weds" Sam grinned showing his wedding ring off "Food" his eyes widened at the waiter coming towards them
The four spouse's sat having conversation, getting up to go to the bar together, everything that people showing each other a common courtesy would do, while the girls stayed quiet, with exclusion of the odd silent conversation with their partners. When the dancing started it came as a form of relief, they all got up and made for the dancefloor, and stayed there for the remainder of the night avoiding each other
"I'm sorry I lied" Mercy told Sam as they moved slowly around the dancefloor "I just wanted to win the promise"
"Foundation remember" he looked into her eyes before pulling her closer to him
"Tell me you still love me" she looked up at him with teary eyes
"I'll always love you" he kissed her lips lightly before her head dropped on his chest and stayed there
"Still needing validation" Tina swung by her, eavesdropping on their conversation, she just had to comment, Mercy bit her bottom lip and looked up at her husband
"I love you too" she told him resting her head back down, like Tina didn't even exist
Friday
"Right" Noah slapped Quinn's butt "Best behaviour" he watched her walk into the dance studio
The girls had a day of being in each others pockets ahead, somehow they had to quickly learn how to feel comfortable enough to perform together. "Morning" Dani walked up to them with Santana's hand in hers "Anything planned for today?"
"No" Mike replied kissing Tina before she walked past Santana and into the dance studio, turning to see the guys walking off together
"I'll see you later, have a great day and, remember what you promised" Dani told her wife before going off to catch up with the guys
"Morning" Sam looked at them all walking in the opposite direct "Looks like a fun day, room for one more?" he asked nodding as they acknowledged him
"Sure" Noah looked at him, then Mercy, he couldn't help noticing she had a nice smile, when her face wasn't twisted "Morning" he smiled at her
"Morning" she replied grabbing hold of Sam's arm with both hands, her smile getting wider "I'll see you this evening" she looked up at her husband "I miss you already"
"Miss you too" he kissed her lightly on the lips "Get to work" he nodded her off, watching her walk towards the studio "Hey" he called after her
"I know, behave" she held her hand up at him, without even turning around
The Studio
"Okay" Kurt clapped his hands at Mercy walking in the room "We can get started" he looked at the Choreographer "As I said in the messages, I have an idea of what we want, the songs being played by Blaine" he pointed over to the dark haired guy sitting at the piano, he started playing their first ever group song
"No we can't do that one" Mercy snapped
"There's no negotiations, it's all about Mrs Pillsbury" Kurt reminded her "They've requested two songs that her pride and joys sang, the first melted her heart and the second broke you guys into the industry, we've gone one better, getting you to actually sing them for her, and if it kills me, you will" he warned
"I know at least two of us ain't got the capacity anymore" Santana told him laughing
"Bitch has got to be talking about her fucking self" Quinn looked at Kurt but told everyone
"Well I know she ain't talking about me" Mercy added, looking at Kurt, her huff dripping sarcasm, the conversation quickly halted by Blaine playing the piano loudly
"Let's get to work" Kurt clapped his hands "You guys are in the middle of Mrs Pillsbury's life story, it's got to be perfect" he told them excitedly "Focus" he looked at Santana "The singing isn't a problem, getting you guys to move together and look like your enjoying your damn selves is" he snapped walking off into the middle of the room
They all fumbled around for the morning, smiling at the memory of coming together for the first time, presenting themselves to Mrs Pillsbury as The Barbette's. A group of friends, Santana and Quinn had been best friends since kindergarten and met up on Tina and Mercy had also been best friends since kindergarten. Mercy was stood in the girls bathroom singing, she did a lot back then, still did, Santana came and joined in, they were smiling at each other for getting such a good harmony when Quinn and Tina got in on the party, by the time they left the bathroom the Barbette's were born.
It took them nearly two weeks to talk Mrs Pillsbury into listening to them, and when she eventually did, they did their harmonic rendition of the number one song back then, showing off their voices individually and as a group, it made her cry, she was so happy.
"This isn't working" Quinn shouted when Tina stood in front of her on the second step instead of the third for the fourth time "Bitch has two hooves" she looked at Tina hissing
"I'll show you hooves bitch" Tina stepped in the face, Mercy and Santana stood watching
"I dare you" Quinn hissed, barely getting the last word out before Tina grabbed her by the hair and started punching her face, to the amusement of Santana and Mercy
"Stop" Kurt yelled signalling for Blaine to help him, both men sprung into action, at one point it seemed like all four where fighting as they fell to the floor, eventually Tina was pinned down and huffing hard, with Blaine sat on her, while Quinn was nursing minor cuts, a thick lip and messy hair "That's enough" he shouted
"Okay" Tina turned to look at Blaine sat on her "I've calmed down" she told him "Get the fuck off me"
"No need for profanities" Blaine told her getting up as requested
"Any more of that and I'll press charges for assault" Kurt told them, straightening his waistcoat
"I'm Switzerland" Mercy told him, holding her hands up, she'd told Sam she was going to behave and after the lie yesterday she really couldn't do anything else
"Let's just get this thing done so we can get the hell out of here" Santana told everyone
"That's the best idea I've ever heard come out your fucking mouth" Quinn told her
"Don't even go there with me bitch, I will thicken that fucking lip more and ask questions after" Santana snapped back
"Ladies" Kurt hissed, they looked at each other, because of the anger in his voice, "Please, stop fucking about, and get this done" they all felt messed up for making him swear and buckled down to getting this done. Brittany; the choreographer, worked them into silence, by late aftrnoon there was nothing to be heard, but moans as they stretched, spun, clapped, kicked and sung in unison, reminding them of how painstaking being a group had been back then.
"Sorry" Quinn crashed to the floor telling everyone "Stitch" she held her side
"I think maybe your ready to eat" Kurt laughed grabbing the bags from the delivery man reading the labels as he handed them out
"How did you know I liked Thai food?" Mercy asked him smiling
"I spoke to your other half" he laughed, watching as they all sat quietly catching up on their social media, nobody even having the time to think about the enemy sitting next to them.
Lunch had been late, practice went on way past 6pm, and just when Tina was about to start protesting again, a welcome face popped around the door "Hi" Mike smiled at her, she wanted to cry, but she just giggled and went towards him
"I guess we can call it a day" Brittany told them watching as they all made for their partners
"Your phone" Dani told Santana looking back at the chair she'd just got up off
The early evening was spent very separate as they sat in their hotel rooms listening to the day their partners had, visiting old schools, parks, lunch at Breadsticks, stamping around in the old auditorium at their old school and beer sounded a lot more fun then they'd been having
"How was it?" Mike asked as they sat on the balcony relaxing
"Rowdy" she smiled
"Did you remember to think the phrase?"
"I'm afraid I wasn't better than that, I beat that bitch Quin down, she's so... trashy" she hissed
"We have dinner with them tonight" he told her "And I'm not cancelling"
"Mike" she moaned, but still got washed and dressed and presented, as he'd expect her to, for a late dinner
It was a strange sight to see, Mike, Noah, Dani and Sam had met because of them but the conversation was very much between their spouses, they felt like the outsiders instead of the reason why they were all there. Jokes were flying as drinks flooded the table, empty bottles leaving just as fast a their replacements arrived, they were smiling, secreting giggling and shaking their heads at the fun of it all, but still no verbal communication between the four girls, the night ending with nods and smiles.
Saturday
Performance day and everyone was feeling a bit hung over, they'd gotten carried away last night, their partners had been trying too hard to get their girls talking again
Quinn
"My heads banging" Quinn held onto Noah rocking
"Maybe if you'd kept your promise yesterday" he pulled his arm from underneath her fast
"What?" she asked unwilling to argue
"You were fighting, you promised" he sat up telling her
"That bitch was all over me with her fucking hooves" she pulled her hair back remembering the conversation last night
"You promised" he looked at her
"So I was just supposed to stand there and let her hit me?"
"How about keeping your mouth shut in the first place?"
"You know me better than that" she sat up staring into his eyes until he laughed
Tina
"I can't believe those girls are as bad as your telling me they are, Sam, Noah and Dani are really cool people" Mike stood in the shower telling Tina
"You think they are"
"No I don't, they're really cool" he huffed "And you girls are grown women now, you need to draw a line"
"Are you telling me what to do?" she stood naked in the shower doorway
"Who me" he pointed at his chest "Never" he smiled "I know..."
"..Better, I guessed you did" she smiled walking into the shower
Santana
"So are you going to admit it, or do I have to tickle it out of you?" Dani sat at the dresser asking her wife
"I'm not saying" Santana giggled
"Okay" Dani got up and walked towards the bed to do just that, grabbing Santana's neck and tickling the hell out of it, laughing at her wife's limp body
"Okay I give in" she finally gasped "I give in stop"
"Say it" she laughed letting go of her neck looking down at her wife, laying in the lap
"I enjoyed last night" she told her "I miss them, it's true I do, but I don't think we can come back from everything we've said, done, thought, it's too much"
"I'm not saying go back to being a girl band, you've passed all that I mean..."
"Friends, yeah I know" she looked up at her "Quinn's still such a bitch"
"She'll always been a bitch, you've been friends since kindergarten, you know that about her"
"I guess" she slumped back into Dani's lap
Mercy
"I'll say one thing about you" Sam laughed, softly hitting Mercy in the face with her pillow
"What?" she giggled
"You really don't let a man hold back on his promises" he laughed "I don't know whether to dread or look forward to baby making with you"
"Definitely look forward" she grabbed his hair and pulled him to her, kissing his lips hard
"See what I mean" he grinned at her demands
"That was a thank you" she smiled "You guys get on right?"
"What you mean Mike, Dani and Noah?"
"Yeah"
"Yeah, is that a problem?"
"No" she looked at him "I guess I was a bit jealous last night"
"Why?" he looked at her puzzled, jealousy wasn't a word associated with their relationship
"I saw you guys getting on, like we used to do and I just felt.. jealous.. I mean we used to have that and more, finish each others sentences, laugh at unspoken jokes, we were tight" she smiled "I just find it hard, I wonder where it all went"
"You want you're friends back" he hugged her smiling
"Something's missing" she hugged him back, considering what it was she was actually trying to say
Afternoon
The morning was theirs to do with as they pleased, of course they'd spent the time with their other halves, there was so much to see together in this place they used to call home, the morning concluded with them all meeting up at Breadsticks for lunch. It wasn't something that was planned, it was a force of habit, that was always where they ended up at the end of every day, rehearsing, school, dates everything always ended up with a catch up at this place. There were looks exchanged, Sam, Noah, Mike and Dani just rolled their eyes and carried on as normal, they were grown ass women and if they couldn't see how stupid they were being, that was on them.
Eventually it was 2pm, everyone made their way back to the studio, in less than five hours time they were going to be up on stage doing a show for Mrs Pillsbury, they had to make it perfect. Rehearsals went quietly, no one could eat when they took a break at 6pm and by 7pm they were ready for the show. They were all stood at side stage at 8.20, waiting to do their first performance, people had been up reciting poems, giving tributes, presenting testimonies, the night had a definite buzz.
"Remember there are four of us up there" Quinn had the cheek to remind her fellow artists
"What did you say?" Tina spun round angry
"I said..."
"There you go again" Santana rolled her eyes "Starting shit up" she looked at Quinn
"What's going on?" Mercy walked up to them asking
"All I said was remember there are four of us up there, and everybody fucking flew at me" Quinn told her
"Seriously?" Mercy asked her mouth dropping open
"What?" Quinn asked at her expression
"Your still so fucking blind to everybody else's needs, how the hell do you do that?" Tina asked
"Oh I'm aware" she looked at Mercy "Of your need to sing louder than everyone else around you" Quinn snapped "And I'm aware of your fucking disgusting habit of clearing your damn throat before every performance" she looked at Tina "Makes my stomach flip" she rolled her eyes "And I don't know how to express my surprise at your constant need to have something warm beneath you, took the fucking form of Dani, is it?" she looked at Santana "I know everybody's fucking ne..." she got out before Santana grabbed hold of her by the throat
"Snap that bitch" Mercy ordered, bursting to do it herself
"Are you talking about my wife?" Santana asked lifting Quinn off her feet, and slamming her against the wall
"Chock the bitch" Tina told her "We can do this without her"
"I could so fucking easily" Santana squeezed harder "Don't ever talk about my wife again, you know nothing about us" she opened her hand and let Quinn's feet hit the ground again
"Santana" Kurt called from side stage "Get ready you guys are on in three"
They stood straightening their hair and fixing their clothes, Mercy started the giggle that moved around the group as they all thought about their last performance "You know we can't do this ever again" she laughed looking at Tina
"I don't want to do this ever again" Tina giggled
"Me neither" Santana giggled as they heard that name from so long ago and walked onto the stage, the music was already playing, they looked at each other tensely, wondering how it was going to pan out, Tina started as was usual as they sang their version of 'Never Ever' by All Saints
Tina: A few questions that I need to know, how you could ever hurt me so, I need to know what I've done wrong, and how long it's been going on
Quinn: Was it that I never paid enough attention, or did I not give enough affection, not only will your answers keep me sane, but I'll know never to make the same mistake again
Mercy: You can tell me to my face, or even on the phone, you can write it in a letter, either way, I have to know
Santana: Did I never treat you right, did I always start the fight, either way, I'm going out of my mind All the answers to my questions I have to find
Mercy (All): My head's spinning, boy, I'm in a daze, I feel isolated, don't wanna communicate, I'll take a shower, I will scour, I will (rub) you find peace of mind, the happy mind I once owned, yeah
Quinn: Flexing vocabulary runs right through me, the alphabet runs right from A to Z, conversations, hesitations in my mind, you got my conscience asking questions that I can't find
Santana: I'm not crazy I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong, no I'm just waiting cause I heard that this feeling won't last that long
Chorus All: Never ever have I ever felt so low when you gonna take me out of this black hole, never ever have I ever felt so sad the way I'm feeling yeah, you got me feeling really bad, never ever have I had to find I've had to dig away to find my own peace of mind, I've never ever had my conscience to fight, the way I'm feeling, yeah, I just don't feel right X 2
They all stood singing the song remembering that very first time they stood in the bathroom becoming a girl group, the excitement of performing for Mrs Pillsbury all knowing in their hearts that was what they wanted to make of their lives. The music had bonded them together forever, they'd made a promise that day to always be together as friends even if the music left, that bond they'd found that day, they foolishly thought would last forever
Tina: I'll keep searching deep within my soul for all the answers don't wanna hurt no more I need peace, gotta feel at ease need to (be), free from pain, going insane My heart aches, yeah
Mercy: Sometimes vocabulary runs through my head, the alphabet runs right from A to Z, conversations, hesitations in my mind, you got my conscience asking questions that I can't find
All (Santana): (I'm not crazy) I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong and now I'm just waiting cause I heard that this feeling won't last that (long)
Chorus X 4
Santana: You can tell me to my face, you can tell me on the phone Uh, you can write it in a letter, babe cause I really need to know
Mercy: You can tell me to my face you can tell me on the phone ooh, you can write it in a letter, babe cause I really need to know
Quinn: You can write it in a letter, babe Tina: You can write it in a letter, babe
When they finally got off stage they were more excited than they'd admit to each other, "Get changed you need to be ready for the dance act" Kurt fanned them away from the side stage "Half an hour" he called after them watching them hurry down the corridor
"That felt good out there" Mercy turned to the mirror telling them, not sure how they'd react
"It did didn't it?" Tina smiled at her
Quinn stood combing her hair wondering what was happening "It was alright as a one off I guess" she looked at herself in the mirror as she spoke "I couldn't go back to that life"
"Me neither" Santana added "I don't want to go back there"
"I don't either" Mercy told her rolling her eyes, wondering what the hell she was doing being civil with these bitches
"Feels like we should be saying something about letting sleeping dogs lay" Tina told her, huffing before carrying on with her hair and make up
"Five minutes" Kurt's head popped round the door telling them
"Coming" Quinn stood up, fed up of the awkward silence
"Hold up" Mercy stopped her "I need to ask everyone something" nobody spoke, just stood waiting to hear what she had to say "Can we meet up tomorrow, have a real conversation, all this hating is exhausting and petty, I need to make a change in my life"
"God, me too" Quinn breathed out with relief "I'll be there"
"Come on time" Kurt called opening the door this time to let them all out
They stood looking at each other expectantly, this was the song that had made them into who they were today, but it felt nothing like how they'd been feeling for these past five years and maybe more if they were to count the years they wasted pretending everything was alright
"Ready?" Tina asked as they left for to the stage
"I'm.." Quinn started
"Let's try something new" Santana looked at Quinn knowing what she was about to say "Let's not argue before a performance"
"Let's not, for Mrs Pillsbury" Mercy suggested, they calmly walked out on stage to sing their version of 'Wasabi ' by Little Mix for their teacher
Chorus Quinn: Stick like toffee, sip like coffee, wake up, change your mind and drop me, love to hate me, crazy, shady, spit me out like hot wasabi
All: Lick me up, I'm sweet and salty, mix it up and down my body, love to hate me, praise me, shame me, either way, you talk about me
Santana (All): (Oh-oh) I love the way you talk about me, (Oh-oh) look at how far it got me (Oh-oh) the shit the papers write about me (Oh-oh) I fold it up like origami (Oh-oh) like, she ain't wearing no clothes (Oh-oh) when she going solo? (Oh-oh) I bet they gonna break up, (Oh-oh) but what the hell do you know?
Mercy {All} (Tina): {Ooh, baby, ooh} (Yes, you) I can feel you hating on me {Ooh, baby, ooh} (Yeah, you) I'm glad to be your inspiration
Who, baby, who's (Guess who) The topic of your conversation, {I am} (I am) all the ugly things you say, come and say them to my face
Chorus Tina (All):
Mercy: (Oh-oh) watching me (Oh-oh) I ain't watching you (I'm watching you) (Oh-oh) what you see (Oh-oh) I hope you like the view (Check it out)
(Oh-oh) best believe (Oh-oh) you'll never get into me (Oh-oh) all these words run through me (Oh-oh)
Quinn {All} (Tina): Ooh, baby, ooh (Yes, you) I can feel you hating on me Ooh, baby, ooh (Yeah you)I'm glad to be your inspiration
Who, baby, who's (Guess who) The topic of your conversation, I am (I am) All the ugly things you say Come and say them to my face
Chorus Mercy (All):
Santana: You know I love the way you talk about me, Look at how far it got me You make up shit to write about me I fold it up like origami
Like, "She ain't wearing no clothes" "When she going solo?" "I bet they gonna break up" But what the hell do you know? (Ah!)
The clapping started before the song finished, followed by cheers bringing a smile to all, "You were great" Sam came running up to Mercy with his arms open at the end of the event "And you behaved yourself, several treats for you tonight" he whispered in her ear as he hugged her "I missed you"
"I missed you too" she held onto him "Can we get out of here?" she teasingly pulled at his jacket
"Sure" he smiled waving at the others then grabbing her hand "Where do you want to go?"
"Get something to eat, I'm suddenly hungry"
"You want to talk" he frowned "Come on"
They ended up at 'The Shack', sat in a booth Mercy having this one sided conversation, there was really nothing for him to say, he was all for her working things out with her friends.
"What?" she giggled watching him holding his laugh in
"I'm just happy"
"About?"
"That I'm that man, you know, the one that gets to fuck the hell out of you at the end of the day"
"Sam Evans" she laughed "That was so random" she slapped after him "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here"
"You just don't see how beautiful you are when you're excited" he laughed "Come on I need to be home"
"We need to be home, but the hotel will do for one more night" she giggled getting up to grab his hand
Sunday
"Morning" Mercy smiled at Quinn and Santana coming towards Tina and her "We took the liberty of ordering breakfast" she looked at the bowls of fruit in the centre of the table surrounded by everything breakfast
"A Barb breakfast" Santana smiled
"It's been a while" Quinn sat down and picked up a muffin "Sad the parents aren't around to eat the left overs"
"Sorry I missed the funeral" Tina started
"Listen" Mercy grabbed their attention, changing the subject "I just needed to say this, get it out there, everyone can feel how they want to feel, but I don't recognise myself anymore because I'm holding all this anger, because I feel you guys gave up on what we had" she huffed "I just need to let it go, so... I asked you here to say, I don't want to hold anything against any of you anymore" she huffed "That's it, that's what I wanted to say"
"I always thought I was better than all of you and after we split I realised I was better because of you, it made me bitter to know that I had it all in my hands and threw it away because Brad told me I could be something else, something better" Quinn looked up at everyone "I'm sorry I knew what I was doing when I split us up, I just didn't know I was taking wrong advice"
"I just wasn't letting anyone jump without thinking I didn't want that too, things were horrible and I just wanted to get away from the toxic mix and find something else" Tina told them "And I guess I'm most sorry about the fact that I didn't speak to my best friend about it before I defected, I could see how that was going to hurt you" she looked at Mercy "I just didn't think you'd let me do it if I told you about it"
"You're right I wouldn't have" Mercy laughed
"I guess if I'm honest I was more hurt that my best friend had gone behind my back and worked all this going solo thing out without me, it was something we'd sworn pinkies on, I couldn't believe she was doing that to me and the hate just grew" Santana laughed at Quinn's face
"I remember the pinkie swear" Quinn told her "I know it's a big ask, and I don't think we can go back to what we were but..."
"I don't want to be what we were" Tina told her
"Me neither" Santana echoed
"I want us to be something different, better, friends even" Mercy smiled
"Hell if our better halves can exchange numbers in a day, I'm sure after everything we've been through, we can at least be civil to each other, Can't we?" Quinn asked
"I'll opt for friends" Santana told her "Pinkie friends?" she put her pinkie across the table
"Pinkie friends" Tina put hers in, laughing as Mercy and Quinn weary of each other put theirs in saying the same thing
"This is our first civil conversation in nearly 5 years you know that right?" Mercy laughed
"Thanks for setting this up" Quinn told her
"You're welcome" Mercy smiled
"Babe are you ready?" Sam's head came round the pillar asking
"Come meet the ladies before we go" Mercy told him smiling as she introduced her friends officially to her husband, the others soon came down and joined in the greetings saying hello as well as goodbye with promises to meet up in the near future, it felt right, good even.
Sam had carefully planned the whole thing from the start, from contacting Kurt to planning the memorial and getting all four of them there, with the help of their spouses. They'd planned to fling their partners together, in the hope of rebuilding what seemed like an important relationship for all four, and now they were reaping the benefits, going home feeling much lighter, happier and healed
"Thanks for forcing me to come" Mercy smiled up at him walking away from her friends
"That's fine, I made friends too" he pulled his phone out at the message
"What does that mean?" she asked looking at the message on his phone
"Oh I helped Noah fix something" he smiled at her, looking again at the message 'Job Well Done'
The End