A muffled giggle disturbs the stuffy silence in Hanna's room. Spencer, Hanna and Aria peer over their textbooks at the form curled on the fluffy bed. Emily glances up to see three pairs of eyes quickly darting away from her direction. She blushes, rolls over and curls into her blankets.
It's been several weeks since Emily's mysterious disappearance to and from WMHS. The girls suspect A had something to do with the mid semester transfer, but Emily won't say anything about her experience or the cheerleader she "befriended". Since the Summer's Ball Banquet was cancelled the WMHS Glee club never got to visit Rosewood. The dance committee realized they only had enough money to have either the Summer's Ball banquet or a Halloween dance, and since a senior year Halloween Dance was an excuse to have an in school lingerie party, the male student population all voted for the Halloween Dance.
"Who is she talking to?" Aria whispers to Hanna.
"I don't know. Maya?" Hanna flips a page of her biology textbook and groans into the cushion under her chin. "She only gets weird and hedgehoggy when she's on the phone with a female of interest." At this Spencer raises an eyebrow and closes her textbook. Truth be told, Ms. Hastings studied for this particular pre Halloween exam weeks ago. She only showed up tonight to help her friends stay above the class average.
"So does she often get hedgehoggy? With different girls?" Spencer asks.
"Sometimes...And I don't know!" Hanna huffs and sits up to fluff her cushion. "I'm not her mom!" She adds in a loud whisper. Spencer and Aria both widen their eyes. "Sorry. I had a triple iced espresso after school..." Hanna takes a breath and looks to make sure Emily's not listening before she continues. "I know she talks to Maya now that she's back, but she gets extra hedgehoggy sometimes. And I'm pretty sure it's not Maya."
"I know our girl was player, but please. Do go on..." Spencer says, leaning in over her closed book. A squeal of delight from Emily's form stops Hanna.
"Are you serious? I love Michelle Branch!" Emily says. The tall swimmer rolls over and sits up. A face splitting smile is plastered on her face. "She totally does have that half asian hottie thing going for her..." Emily repositions herself on the bed and picks up a pen. She listens intently and scrawls a few lines on a planner. "Yeah. Spencer, Hanna, Maya and maybe Aria. Great, I'll talk to them and get back to you. Bye." Emily hangs up, smiled still plastered on face. She stares at her planner for a moment before looking up at her friends.
"Guys, since we don't have any real plans for Halloween, I was wondering if you guys would want to go to a party," Emily says.
"Who-" Aria shuts up when Spencer's sharp elbow jabs into her side.
"Of course we'd like to go!" Spencer says. "I mean, Hanna and I would love to go, and I'm sure Aria would too, that is, if she doesn't have any plans with Ezra," Spencer says.
"Nope, no plans," Aria says, burying a wince under a tight smile.
"Great. Now what are we wearing?" Hanna asks, finally shoving her textbook off her bed completely.
"Em! You promised us a party! You didn't tell us you signed us up to be chaperones for the Halloween dance!" Hanna whines as Emily pulls into the Rosewood High parking lot. "Did you know about this?" Hanna asks, craning her neck to glare at Spencer in the backseat.
"We're not chaperones, we're going to be photographers for the yearbook." Spencer holds up a small digital camera. "It'll look good on your apps!" Spencer says. "Come on, we'll take a few pictures and that's it," Spencer says and she offers a hand to help Hanna out of the car.
"Why are we here so early? I am not dressed to be around underclassmen!" Hanna glares at the 7th and 8th graders filing out of the auditorium. Hanna opens her door to sound of cat calls and whistles.
The halls are dark. Music thuds loudly through the walls. Preteens exiting the school mill around the girls, a few of their gazes linger a bit too long on Hanna's short skirt. Hanna glares at Spencer and Emily from the corner of her eyes as she clacks down the hall in her black pumps. She's so busy giving the stink eye she doesn't see the blood covered cheerleader a few steps in front of her until it's too late. Hanna collides squarely with the dark haired girl. When she looks up her vision is filled with dripping blood and wounds. Hanna shrieks loudly and stumbles back. Her heels slip on a stray streamer and she crashes to the floor.
"Damn Santana, that fake blood really does look good," a tall blonde in an identical bloody cheerleading uniform says. She bends over and helps Hanna to her feet. "Cool costume," she says. Hanna blushes as the girls' eyes rake up and down her body. Hanna quickly pats her skirt down and completes a visible pantie check. "Suckerpunch girl right?" Brittany says, readjusting the sailor tie at Hanna's neck. Quinn picks up the dropped prop katana and hands it back to Hanna.
"Santana!" Emily says. She pulls Santana in a hug.
"Emily Fields, look at you, all dressed up for Halloween," Santana says. Emily blushes as she pulls away from the gorgeous zombie cheerleader. Santana holds out a finger and motions for Emily to spin. "Hot. Resident Evil chick? Or bond girl?" Santana asks as she takes in the torn tank top, skimpy leather vest, booty shorts, thigh holsters and stiletto heels.
"Both, I couldn't decide." Emily smiles sheepishly.
"We're not really going as undead cheerios tonight. We just have to rep William McKinley on stage. We're changing after the dance for the party," Santana says.
"But the cheerios uniforms are hot," Emily blushes. She looks up when she notices Quinn and Brittany. "Quinn! You cut your hair! It's cute," Emily says with a genuine smile.
"Em, aren't you going to introduce us to your undead cheerleader friends?" Spencer asks, recognizing their faces from the set of incriminating pictures online.
"Spencer, Hanna, this is Brittany, Santana and Quinn," Emily says as she glances between the three bloody cheerleaders.
"No way. It's Xena!" Brittany squeals when she notices Spencer's costume. She quickly loops an arm through Spencer's as their group heads towards the gym. "I know it took you years to master it, but could you show me how to throw your Chakram, please?"
"So, what are you guys performing tonight?" Emily asks Santana as they make their way through the sea of grinding students towards the punch bowl.
"It's a surprise," Santana says. She looks up when a girl taps on Emily's shoulder. Emily turns to find Maya staring at her.
"Maya. This is Santana, Brit and Quinn." Emily says. The two blonde cheerleaders wave before turning back to chatting with Hanna and Spencer about their costumes and what they have in plan for after the dance. "They're visiting from Lima. Santana's the one who got her Glee club to perform at the dance tonight. They're amazing," Emily gushes before she can stop herself.
"Hi," Maya says, extending a hand. Santana immediately notices the shift in dynamics. Something just changed but she can't quite place it. Santana pulls on her deviously charming smile and takes Maya's hand.
"Nice to meet you." Santana smiles. In the distance, a microphone clicks on and earsplitting feedback echoes over the music. Santana winces.
"That's our cue to get ready before that idiot screws all the audio up," Santana sighs. Santana pauses mid step. Emily's eyes widen when Santana reaches into her skirt. Before she knows, it, Santana has plucked a flask from a garter belt and slipped it into Emily's back pocket. "Don't have too much fun without us. We still have our grownup party later." Santana leaves Emily and Maya with a wink. Emily watches as Santana's high pony disappears in the crowd.
"Wow, she's certainly different from your friends here," Maya says delicately. Emily looks at Maya and smiles.
"She's sweet!" Emily says. "Are you jealous?" Emily laughs. "Come on. They're going on soon." Emily takes Maya's hand and drags her to where Hanna and Spencer are standing right in front of the stage. Emily discreetly drinks from the flask before offering it to Maya. When Maya's done, Emily slips Hanna the flask.
"Santana says we can't have too much fun without them, but this is a thank you for not running when you realized we actually have to stay here till the end of the dance," Emily says, waiting for Hanna to crack a smile.
"Fine, but this party better be amazing," Hanna says. "Who's that burning hunk of man love?" Hanna whispers when Puck starts waving at her from the stage. Emily turns and smiles at the mohawked boy. She waves back, catching Mike and Artie's attention.
"That's Puck, he'll be at the party later," Emily says.
"You're forgiven," Hanna says.
"Good evening Rosewood, my name is Rachel Berry and I am the captain of the William Mckinley Glee club. Officially, we're two separate groups, the kids on my left are the New Directions and these ladies are the Troubletones, but in the spirit of Halloween, we're performing as one group tonight," Rachel says. Mercedes pushes her way to front stage and wrestles the mike away from Rachel.
"Sorry about that boys and girls." Mercedes glares Rachel before continuing. "What she meant was, are you ready to dance?" Mercedes' smile almost drops when she gets a good look at the audience. Awkward teens shuffle about the dance floor, unsure of what to do. "Okay then. We'll start with something everyone can do. Hit it!" Mercedes tosses the mike to the A/V club member at the edge of the stage as the music starts. The girls fall into a line at the rear of the stage. Mike jogs to the front with Artie, Finn and Puck flanking him.
"Come on everybody, clap your hands, aw you're looking good, I'm gonna sing my song, it won't take long, we're going to do the twist and it goes like this!" Mike breaks into a lively rendition of the twist as the glee clubbers start singing Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again".
Emily takes Maya's hand and starts dancing to the song. Hanna knocks back a huge swig from the flask and hoots loudly before breaking out into a twist of her own. The kids around her watch for a few moments before throwing caution to the wind and following suite. Spencer's eyes widen at the sight of Hanna letting loose with the flask visibly clutched in one hand. She quickly takes the contraband item away from the dancing girl and hides it in the waist of her leather skirt. Spencer pauses and turns her back to the crowd. She pulls the flask out and knocks back a shot of her own before joining her friends in the dance.
Halfway through the song, Toby finally arrives at the dance and takes Spencer's hand before joining in the dance. Spencer laughs when she sees Toby's outfit. The boy is wearing a loose pair of cloth trousers tied up with a piece of rope. His chest is bare under a large leather vest. His motorcycle boots complete the outfit of Xena henchmen number one.
"You look like Aladdin," Spencer laughs.
"I tried! I've never watched an episode of Xena before this morning!" Toby says.
After a long medley, right when Spencer thinks she's going to pass out from exhaustion in her leathers, the music stops for a moment. Puck and Artie pickup electric guitars. Santana walks to the front of stage and takes the mike.
"So, this is going to be one of our last songs tonight. This song is for my friend Emily Fields, she's awesome, smoking hot and she's the one who helped us set this up tonight." The spotlight follows Santana's pointing finger and lands on a blushing Emily. "Also, we're donating part of the proceeds of tonight's ticket sales to both the Lima and Rosewood House for Wayward Kittens." Santana smiles at Brittany. "Take it away Noah," Santana says. Puck starts playing the intro to Santana and Michelle Branch's 'Game of Love'.
"I love this song!" Emily yells over the music. Spencer, Hanna and Maya watch as Emily beam at the girl on stage. Santana smiles down at Emily and takes the mike firmly in her hand.
"Tell me, just what you want me to be. One kiss, and boom, you're the only one for me. So please tell me why don't you come around no more, cause right now I'm crying, outside the door, of your candy store." Santana falls back as the other girls start singing the chorus. Mike swoops in and pulls Santana into a lazy swing/salsa dance.
"Oww owww!" Spencer shrieks. "Emily! You didn't tell me she was so good!"
Maya excuses herself from the dance and heads to the punch bowl. She slowly pours two cups of punch. As she watches Santana sing on stage, the strange feeling in her gut intensifies as she places the emotion she's feeling. Emily was right. Maya is jealous. Everything from Santana's confidence on stage to the way Emily's eating it up with her eyes, starts to make sense. The twinge in her gut turns to a stab when Santana, Brittany and Quinn lean forward and pull Emily, Spencer and Hanna up on stage. Of course Santana takes Emily's hand. Spencer holds back a smile as Brittany twirls around her gracefully. The girls all switch partners as the Glee clubbers continue singing. Puck finds his way up to Hanna as he starts a guitar solo.
"So please tell me why don't you come around no more, cause right now I'm dying, outside the door, of your loving store..." Santana sings to Emily before spinning away to twirl Brittany. The instruments quiet down and the girls start clapping. Santana's right in front of Emily again. "...It started with a kiss, now we're up to bat, a little bit of laughs, a little bit of pain I'm telling you my baby it's all in the game of love...Roll me, control me, please hold me..."
"Make me feel good, yeah!" Mike, Artie and Finn sing as they grab the girls and spin them across the stage.
A loud roar of applause fills the gym when the song finally ends. The stage plunges into darkness and a heavy metal songs blasts through the speakers. Frightening images flash against the walls. Suddenly Spencer, Hanna and Emily are back at the botched fashion show. One screen flashes the words 'Die Liars Die. A large, bloody A appears on the wall. Fear fills Emily's face. Santana quickly pulls Emily to the emergency exit backstage.
"Are you ok?" Santana asks. She pulls Emily into a tight hug when she fails to respond. "Well, good thing we decided not to go to the haunted house party at the old train station," Santana jokes quietly. She glances around the empty lot and spots a bench nearby. She walks Emily over the bench.
"Sorry, I'm not usually afraid of spooky things," Emily says. She sighs. "I've just had some things happen to me recently," Emily says. She's not sure sure if it's the booze, but she feels like she can trust Santana. Emily's mouth opens and words just start pouring out. Surprisingly, the aggressive cheerleader is an amazing listener.
"So let me get this straight. Some psycho bitch is stalking you and your friends. And this bitch is making your lives a living hell?" Santana says.
"Shh!"
"Sorry." Santana looks around the empty lot. She studies Emily's frazzled expression and realizes this person must really have tormented the poor girl if she's convince the parking lot is bugged. "Is that why you transferred back again without saying goodbye?" Santana asks. Emily nods quietly. Santana covers Emily's hands with her own and squeezes gently. "Look, if you don't want to go out tonight, I get it. But I want you to know, if you're with us, I'll keep you safe. I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent and shit gets real there every single day and night. I got your back girl." Santana smiles gently.
"Thanks Santana," Emily says. "I do want to go out. I don't want this bitch to run my life."
"That's the spirit girl." Santana reaches into her bra and pulls a tiny flask out. "You want Selenita or this?" Santana asks, holding up the flask in one hand and a perfectly rolled joint in the other.
"Both."
"Where are they?" Hanna bites a nail nervously as she checks her phone again for missed calls.
"I saw them go out the emergency exit. Maybe they got locked out?" Spencer says.
"Don't worry, they'll be ok. Santana can handle herself," Puck says. He follows Spencer to the exit door anyways. They peer into the empty back lot.
"Come on, they're probably walking around to the front. The dance is over soon anyways. I'll text them and tell them to meet us at the cars," Hanna says.
"Spence! Hanna!" Aria yells. She jogs to catch up with her friends as they near the main entrance of the school.
"Aria. When did you get here? You missed the dance!" Hanna says.
"I had a flat tire. Sorry. I got here before the last song. You guys were amazing by the way. I couldn't get to the front in time. Sorry. Where's Emily? You guys were on stage, then you weren't." Aria stares at Spencer and Hanna. Suddenly all three of the girls' phones buzz and ring in unison. The girls all turn their backs to the Glee kids and check their phones.
Two pictures appear. The photobooth pictures of Maya and Emily kissing fill their screens. The picture of Emily and Santana making out next to the bong appears. Another message appears. It's a picture of Maya in her cheerleader costume sitting alone on the main entrance steps. The girls gasp and look up to see Maya sitting three feet away from them on the steps to the main entrance. Another buzz. As they scroll down, they see a picture of Emily and Santana practically sitting in each other's laps, holding hands on the bench in the back lot. A final message, this time it's a text. 'Who's going to win this game of love? Pretty little Emily's a real team player who loves her cheerleaders, but she only gets one. The other one's mine. It started with a kiss. Now you're up to bat. -A'
"Does this mean what I think it means?" Hanna whispers.
"A wants us to choose who Emily ends up with." Spencer almost chokes on the words. "And who dies."