Because I'm off work and feeling super productive today - another small part! I'm particularly proud of two parts of this scene - I hope you like it too - please let me know!
Saturday evening, McKinley High School gym
"Why are we here?" Kurt said as he gazed around the gym, once again decorated like the Jurassic period in honor of their senior prom theme.
"You're gonna have to be more specific, Kurt," Mercedes replied. "Why are we here at this party? Or like, why are we here in general, like existentially speaking?"
He gave her a withering look. "Are you drunk? Is that punch spiked?"
"I wish," Mercedes muttered.
"Obviously," Kurt continued, "why are we at this party with people we don't like and who don't like us, except the small handful who pretend they like us because we have some fame? At least at the park it was easy to keep to our group and avoid everyone else. Why are we not with our actual friends and our husbands who love us?"
"We like you guys," Rachel said as she and Jesse joined them in the corner of the room. "And we're your actual friends. Although I'm also not entirely sure why we are here either."
"Personally," Jesse declared, "I never went back to visit Carmel after graduation."
Kurt stared at him. "Jesse, you coached Vocal Adrenaline after you graduated."
"Did I? Hmm," Jesse thought for a minute and then shrugged. "I've done a lot of things, I can't remember them all."
"Anyway," Rachel said, changing the subject with a skill that suggested this wasn't the first time she'd had to rescue a conversation from her husband and also ignoring Kurt's patented WTF look, "Where are your husbands?" She giggled. "Husbands – plural. That is such a fun new thing to get to say!" she said, squeezing Mercedes's arm, who couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "Anyway, I didn't realize they weren't coming - why aren't they here?"
"They're at Burt and Carole's house," Mercedes explained.
"Oh, a Blam bro night?" Rachel asked and Mercedes shook her head.
"No, the 2013 version of the New Directions is having their own reunion tonight. Jake and Sugar both still live here, Ryder's driving down from Toledo, Marley's coming out from Columbus and Kitty and Unique are Zoom-calling from New York. Oh and Tina and Artie got in late this afternoon, I think."
"Oh, that does sound like way more fun than this. Why aren't we there instead?"
Mercedes considered this question. "I don't really know, actually. I guess because we weren't invited?"
"So, then, we should just crash it," Rachel said with a dismissive shrug.
"It wouldn't even be crashing!" Kurt pointed out. "It's my house!" A pause as they all looked at him. "Okay, it's my dad's house." Another pause as they continued to look at him. "And Carole's house," he added in exasperation. "Whatever, it's my family's house. It's not crashing."
"Well, then let's go," Mercedes said, deciding it for them.
"Where are we going?" Quinn asked as she and Ty joined the group. "Because anywhere is better than here." Mercedes explained and Quinn nodded. "I'm in. 'Cause you know what's not smart? Having a baby in your sophomore year of high school, long enough before graduation that a lot of people forget about it and then you come to your ten-year reunion pregnant and instead of people seeing you as a real adult with a husband and a planned pregnancy, instead, all they remember is that you're 'that girl that had the baby with that guy that died'." She said this sarcastically and with a touch of defiance, but Mercedes could see the hurt and pain lurking under the surface and the rest of the group looked as horrified as she felt. Ty stood next to her, his arm protectively around her shoulder.
"Did someone say that to you?" Mercedes asked, outraged, and Quinn shook her head.
"Not directly to me, but I heard it. Ty wanted to say something to them, but the last thing I want to do is be part of yet another scene in this damn gym," she said tiredly.
"I gotta say, guys, I know I don't know these people, but it really seems like you went to school with a bunch of assholes," Ty commented.
There was silence for a moment from all of the McKinley alumni. Then -
"Well – yes," Rachel agreed.
"Accurate." That was from Kurt.
"Truth." Mercedes.
"And sometimes, some of us were the assholes," Quinn admitted quietly. Then she grinned at Rachel. "At least when I slapped you at junior prom that wasn't actually in the gym."
Rachel laughed at the memory. "Drama in the girls' room. I did enjoy that."
"Well, I, for one, did not enjoy the drama at that particular event," Kurt said, impatient to leave. "So, are we getting the hell out of here or not?"
"Where's Mike?" Mercedes asked. "Has anyone seen where he went? We can't abandon him here."
They all turned to scan the dance floor, knowing that Mike would be one of the few people who would just go ahead and dance whether he had a partner or not.
Kurt spotted him first. "I see him," he said, already halfway to the dance floor to drag him back to the group, explaining as they walked.
"So we're crashing a party at the Hudson-Hummel house?" Mike said happily.
"That is the plan. Operation Party Crash is a go!" Mercedes declared and they exited the gym.
