"Jeez diva, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd never exercised a day in your life," Kurt teased as he and Rachel exited the gym, both of them panting after an especially strenuous workout.
Rachel gave him a stern look as she wiped a drop of sweat from her brow. "Well excuse me, but I haven't had much motivation to go to the gym recently." She reached up, yanking the rubber band out of her hair and letting her messy waves fall down her back.
"All the more reason for you to get your butt back in motion. You want to look great for your big TV debut."
Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "That's assuming we even make it past the first round of auditions. We'll probably get laughed out of the studio. It's not like the four of us exactly look like rockstars. Well, maybe Will, but the rest of us are as clean cut as you can get."
Kurt stopped, staring at Rachel excitedly.
"What?" she asked. "What did I say?"
"There's an obvious solution to this, you know."
"What?"
"We need to give you a punk rock goddess makeover, of course!" he said, practically leaping in the air with excitement.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. "No. No way. I let you make me over when we were in college, but I am drawing the line now. You probably want to give me ten piercings and a bunch of tattoos. I did not sign up for that, boo."
Kurt gave her a look. "It's like you don't know me at all. I'm talking a new hairstyle with some color streaks and a brand-new wardrobe that may involve some leather. Come on Rachel, this is what I do for a living!"
Rachel continued looking at him skeptically.
"I promise not to make any changes unless you're okay with it. Come on, we haven't done a real makeover in years! Plus, I bet you'll earn some major points with the judges if you show up looking like you are ready to rock and roll."
Rachel let out a reluctant sigh before giving Kurt a small nod. "Okay fine! I'll do it," she said. "Just no tattoos. I think my dads would kill me if I made any permanent modifications to my body. You remember how much they flipped when I let Amy Carson pierce my ears at that slumber party in 7th grade."
Kurt chucked as they headed back to Rachel's building. "Trust me, I remember. I didn't see you for almost a month."
"I know. Plus, they made me take the earrings out so the holes closed up. It was so not fair."
They headed inside Rachel's building and took the elevator up to her floor. They walked into the apartment to the smell of cinnamon rolls and freshly brewed coffee. Rachel spotted Quinn standing in the kitchen, wiping down the last of her counter tops.
"Did you really clean my kitchen for me?" Rachel asked, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and pouring herself a cup of coffee.
Quinn rolled her eyes as she took a bite out of a cinnamon roll. "Of course I did," she said with her mouth full. "Your kitchen was a nightmare. No way was I was going to continue letting you live like that. Besides, it only took me an hour to get everything cleaned up," she said smugly.
"Oh yeah, just rub it in," Rachel teased as she added a little cream to her cup of coffee.
"New day, new Rachel. The first step to getting OG Rachel Berry back is a clean apartment."
"We're not doing OG Rachel Berry. She's gone. Say hello to Rachel Berry 2.0," Kurt said smugly.
"2.0?" Quinn asked. "Are you trying to say your BFF needs an upgrade."
Kurt gave Quinn an exasperated look. "Are you going to look me in the eyes and tell me she doesn't?" he asked.
"You know, it would be nice if my two best friends wouldn't talk about me like I am not even in the room," Rachel said, her voice curt. She took a long sip from her mug, draining the rest of the coffee in it.
"Oh, come off it, Diva," Kurt said, rolling his eyes at Rachel. "You know we do it out of love. And to answer the blonde's question, yes, she most definitely needs an upgrade. I'm thinking new haircut, some neon highlights, and a brand-new wardrobe. I'm going for chic punk princess. We need to make you look the part if you, my brother-in-law, and those other rockstar wannabes want to woo over the judges."
Quinn and Rachel look at one another before letting out a few laughs.
"You two know I'm right," he teased, standing up from the table and putting his mug in the sink. "Now lot's go, we're wasting valuable shopping time sitting around here!"
Rachel grabbed her bag and keys, following Kurt and Quinn out of her apartment. As she locked her front door, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.
"Okay Diva, pink or blue?"
"What are you, the fairies from Sleeping Beauty?"
"Did you know every analogy you make is somehow related to some pop culture reference?" Kurt retorted, leaning back in the styling chair next to Rachel. She had been in the salon for almost three hours as her long, chestnut hair was cut, colored, and completely changed. She hadn't glanced in the mirror because she was terrified about who would be looking back at her. "Besides," Kurt continued, "you didn't answer my question. So, pink or blue?"
"Pink or blue what?" Rachel replied.
"Streaks, Diva. In that gorgeous mane of yours. I said we were going to punk rock your look up, and there's no better way to do that than with streaks!"
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're only recommending adding color to my hair because my dads used to threaten to ground me if I ever dyed my hair an unnatural color," she retorted with a pointed look at Kurt.
Kurt smiled innocently. "That has nothing to do with it. Besides, you're just avoiding the decision," he accused. "So I ask you once again Diva, pink or blue?"
Rachel let out a quick sign before giving him a look. "Pink, I guess," she finally said. The stylist who had been working on her nodded once before reaching in the cabinet below the sink, pulling out a bottle that had a bright pink label on it. She poured the dye into a bowl and started mixing it around.
"Diva, you are going to look so fab once this is all done. I can see it now," he said with a dreamy expression on his face.
The door to the salon swung open and Quinn breezed in, her arms full of shopping bags. "Sorry I took so long," she said as she dumped the bags on the ground and flopped into the next empty salon chair. "You wouldn't believe how many people are out shopping on a Wednesday afternoon," she said with a laugh. "But, thanks to Mr. and Mr. Berry, I was able to get an entirely new wardrobe," she said with a smug smile on her face.
Rachel rolled her eyes at Quinn, ignoring what the stylist was doing to her hair at the moment. She wasn't entirely on board with Kurt's makeover anymore, knowing how drastically different her hair was now going to look. "I cannot believe you two roped my dads into this insane plot," she said, pulling out her phone.
She had two texts from Will, both of which contained details for their upcoming audition. She had one from Cooper, inviting her out to get a drink soon. And she had one from Sam, telling her how excited he was to see her again.
Rachel locked her phone, placing it back in her lap as she half-listened to Kurt talk about Rachel's big debut at the audition. She must had dozed off because suddenly, Kurt was calling her name and shaking her gently, knocking her out of the deep sleep she had been in.
"Diva, wake up! Don't you want to see your new do?" he asked excitedly.
Rachel sighed before opening her eyes, staring into the mirror in front of her.
She gasped slightly as a smile crept onto her face. She was expecting Mohawks and a full head of pink hair, something completely not her. Instead, she was greeted by a reflection that still looked very much like Rachel Berry with a pink-rock twist to it. The hair against her scalp on the left had been buzzed off while the remained was still long with beach waves. Instead of hot pink, the stylist had gone with a softer shade and done streaks on the bottom half of Rachel's hair, giving her more of an ombre look.
"Well?" Kurt asked, practically jumping out of his chair.
"I like it," Rachel whispered, reaching a hand up to her hair. She turned to face Kurt and nodded. "Really, I love it." She turned around to face the stylist who had been working on Rachel's hair for the past few hours. "Thank you so much. It's perfect."
Quinn smiled from ear to ear before pulling Rachel out of the chair. "Come on, time to try on your new wardrobe!"
Rachel spent the rest of the day changing in and out of the various outfits Quinn had picked out for her. Most of the dresses were too short and the heels too high, but Rachel jut kept reminding herself that it was necessary for the performance. At around two in the morning, Kurt and Quinn finally decided they were done playing dress-up with Rachel and the three friends passed out in Rachel's living room, Rachel still wearing the last outfit she had tried on.
Rachel awoke to a knock at the door around ten the next morning, yawning as she sat up from a blanket on the floor. Kurt and Quinn were still sleeping, so she quietly made her way to the door, opening it just a crack.
"Diva!" Sam shouted as he pushed the door open, pulling Rachel into his arms in a tight hug. "Rach, I'm so happy to see you."
Kurt and Quinn both sat up instantly after being thrust out of their dreams thanks to Sam's loud voice.
Rachel let out a quiet laugh as Sam swung her around in his arms. "It's good to see you too, Sam. How's your new girlfriend?"
Sam set her down, a smile still etched across his face. "She's great! She's still out in California. She send her love, though. She said if things go well, she'll join me here in New York. She couldn't come this time because of the dogs," he said with a laugh. "Plus, she'd been crazy busy at work and just couldn't get the time off on such short notice," he explained as he set Rachel down on the ground. He gave her a quick glance before arching an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?" he asked. "And since when did you dye your hair pink?"
"Since yesterday," she explained, pulling on the hem of the dress she was wearing and wishing she had remembered to change back into her sweatpants last night. "And no, I just forgot to change before I passed out last night," she retorted, sticking her tongue out.
"Real mature," he teased, throwing an arm around her and hugging her again. "Who cares though, I'm just so happy to see you guys!"
Quinn leapt to her feet, throwing herself into Sam's arms. "Aw Sammy, we missed you too!" she laughed.
Rachel smiled as she watched Quinn and Kurt both give Sam a hug. It was just like being back in college. Except if this were college, Noah would be right by her side. She looked over towards the door, remembering watching him walk through it after telling Rachel it was over between them. She shook her head slightly. No, she wasn't going to think of that day or let him occupy any more space in her head. He was in the past, she had to let him stay there. She couldn't keep thinking about him if she wanted to move on with her life.
"So, how was your flight?" Rachel asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Oh, not too bad," Sam said, taking a seat at one of Rachel's bar stools. "I slept the whole way. That's the best thing about taking a red-eye," he laughed. "What have you three troublemakers been up to since I saw you last?" he asked.
"Wedding planning, mainly," Quinn said. "Finn and I finally get married in three months. I can't believe it's so soon," she said with a wistful sigh. "It feels like just yesterday we got engaged." She looked down at the large diamond on her finger with a smile.
"Working for me," Kurt said. "And making sure my dad is following the doctor's orders," he added. "He hasn't exactly enjoyed cutting all his favorite foods out of his diet. Though, Carol has definitely been a huge help with that. I think he honestly considered divorce when she told him no more bacon."
They all turned to look at Rachel, who just shrugged. "Nothing. I've just been here, doing the same thing every day," she said with a sad smile.
"Well, who cares," Sam said. "That's the past. In three days, everything's going to be different," he promised. "We're going to rock this audition, and soon you're going to have a line of guys ready to help you smile again," he teased.
Rachel rolled her eyes at him as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Why do you always know what to say to cheer me up?" she asked.
"Because I'm one of your best friends," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Trust me, Rachel. These last six months are soon just going to be a bad dream. I promise. Now come on, we've only got a little more than 96 hours to get the band back in action."