Sitting in makeup, Dianna squirmed uneasily in her chair. They were filming smaller scenes that day, the episode's group number coming at the end of the week. At two months she was still making it by in the same uniform she'd been wearing all season, going unnoticed due to the fact that everyone was always busy with something else. The only person who'd found out since Chris was Carlie from wardrobe, but that was Dianna's choice. Having someone like Carlie on the inside was helpful. Not once did Dianna regret her decision of letting the bubbly blonde know, especially since she already knew about her and Chord's relationship.
Carlie Reynolds started working on Glee around the second half of filming the first season. She was the definition of a little fish in a big pond, traveling all the way from small town Nebraska where she'd lived her whole life. She flew though beauty school as a top student, and quickly realized her talents were meant for more than just fixing her friends before they went out on Friday nights.
She was raised for the purpose of raising a family. She knew how much her parents wanted grandchildren, and being the oldest in a family of four she knew how much it would mean to them if she stayed and started a family. It was a big deal for her parents, but not at all for her. There was something else she wanted to do, and she was going to do it.
Her parents weren't supportive at all. They had thought beauty school was just a shortcut for her to start a family early, not the pathway to her dream job. She had to leave and so she did., packing her things and leaving a note by the fridge. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but the feel of the warm California air and the rush of traffic that hit her as she walked from the airport was the best feeling she'd ever experienced.
Originally she'd wanted to work for makeup. It was sort of her thing, rifling through bins for someone's proper color pallet or making the choice between natural or daring to fit a scene properly. She'd always thought it was her main talent, but apparently it was not. The head of the makeup department, upon seeing her for an interview, sent her straight to wardrobe. In their definition she was 'young, hip, and exactly the opinion wardrobe needed.' She settled in and quickly grew to love the job with its quirky costumes and kind-hearted people. Somehow she'd picked up the extra job of maintaining the Cheerio's uniforms, and that's how she'd met Dianna.
Dianna rushed into wardrobe in the middle of a cold winter's afternoon, nodding to the regulars and running over to where Carlie was fixing a dance costume for the week's group number. She tapped her on the shoulder and Carlie turned around, her eyes immediately meeting a giant hole in the shoulder of Dianna's athletic turtleneck.
"How'd you do that?"
"I'm so sorry, I was walking and I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going and I got hooked to something and the next thing I know I feel cold air on my shoulder and I got told to come here to get a new one. I swear this doesn't happen a lot-" She was rambling and Carlie laughed, stopping her mid-sentence and grabbing the shoulder with the bad sleeve.
"Fist off, calm down. It's just a sleeve, we'll get you a new shirt. This actually happens a lot, don't worry about it." She moved to the shelf of extra cheerios clothes and pulled out another turtleneck, handing it to Dianna and then patting her on the back. "It's alright, seriously." Dianna smiled and thanked her before moving to switch shirts, marveling at how Carlie knew she was freaking out about the whole thing. She decided that if she was ever going to rip another costume, she'd go straight to Carlie.
Today was a more difficult scene, another of Quinn getting into a girl fight. She had no idea who she was supposed to fight today, just that her character needed to get some better friends. Somehow, it seemed as though Quinn was becoming more aggressive and defensive this year, and she only expected it to be part of some hidden plot they were planning for her.
She arrived on set even more nervous than she had been when she was sitting in makeup, the extras getting set up in the hallway making her stomach churn. She was met with Chord, who held her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear discreetly.
"Hey, you ok?" She looked up at him and nodded, taking a deep breath and then laughing at her own mediocre attempts to calm her nerves.
"I'm just nervous something's going to go wrong, like what if she gets a little too into it and bumps me like Ashley bumped Naya when they had to fight?"
"You don't have to do it if you're nervous, Di. We could go talk to Ryan right now if you want."
"No, not yet. It's too soon, I just have to suck it up." She squeezed his hand and he pulled her into a quick hug before she moved to the center of the circle of extras. He watched from the sidelines nervously as his girlfriend was tossed about by another cheerio, not able to do anything but stand by and see the flickering looks of distress quickly flashing across her face. The first take went well, but they kept going, insisting on doing take after take. On the fifth take she asked for a break, and Carlie made sure she was the first to see to her. Her hair was tousled and falling across her face, and the shirt of her uniform had begun to ride up. Carlie fixed that first, tugging it down gently before moving to her hair. Chord came over shortly and leaned against a locker, watching as the two interacted with each other.
"How are you feeling?" His girlfriend turned to him and put her hands on her hips, exhausted.
"Just tired, nothing more."
"If you get too tired just tell them you need to stop, I don't want you to overwork yourself." She smiled and moved to lean against him by the locker, lowering her voice although nobody would be able to hear them through the chaos of the scene.
"You're too sweet to me."
"Well I don't deserve you." He grinned and gently patted her back as she was called over to start the scene again.
"I think that's the other way around." She winked and made her way back to the center of the circle, more than motivated to get the scene right this time. Getting it right would mean not having to do it again, and that meant less strain on her already aching body.
As soon as they yelled cut, Dianna made a beeline for her trailer. She had an hour to relax until she was needed again, and she intended to make the most of that hour. She was walking fast, stepping cautiously on her bruised and swelling feet. Lea noticed this and began to follow her, calling her name from a distance. Dianna stopped and internally groaned, hoping the perky brunette didn't have plans for them during break. She put a warm smile on her face and waited for her best friend, walking at a steady pace once she'd caught up with her.
"Hey Di, are you on break?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I want to talk to you." Dianna could tell she was serious, and the look that had formed on Lea's face worried her. She led her to her trailer and invited her in, kicking off her shoes the second she stepped into the box that was like her little home. The hit the wall with a pang and she sighed, letting her bare feet sink into the shag rug she'd bought to make her trailer feel more homey. Dianna sat on the couch next to Lea and there was a tense moment of silence, neither knowing what to say to start the conversation. It was Lea who broke the silence, eyes watering with unshed tears. "You know I'm your best friend right?" Dianna softened at Lea's tears and rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down. She spoke to her in a gentle, nurturing tone.
"Of course I do, LeLe. You've been my best friend for a while now. What's wrong?"
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Dianna's eyes moved down to her lap in guilt and she played with her hands, listening to her friend's sniffling with despondency.
"You know?"
"I know something's wrong with you and you're keeping it a secret, and I'm sorry if this is being too pushy but I can help you if you tell me what's wrong. That's what best friends are for. And I didn't want to believe it but you've been sort of drifting lately and I just wanted to know if it was something I did."
"Oh my god, no. No, it's not your fault, you didn't do anything. If anything it's my fault for not telling you but I've kind of been trying to keep it a secret from everyone, it's not something I'm just ready to announce." She paused and hugged Lea, then, pulling away, took a deep breath and prepared to tell her the truth. "But I think it's time you knew."
"Knew what?"
"I'm pregnant. Chord and I are." Lea's jaw dropped in shock and she hugged her best friend, pulling back to face her stomach.
"Hi little baby! I'm Lea, your favorite aunt." She laughed and then hugged her again. "I'm so sorry, I'm such a jerk. I shouldn't have expected the worst."
"Don't be sorry, it's my fault for not telling you. You're my best friend, you deserve to know."
"You're going to be such a good mom."
"I hope so." She laughed and Lea got up to leave, apologizing and promising she'd let Dianna nap. Dianna got up from the couch too, slipping on some more comfortable shoes before following Lea from her trailer.
"What are you doing?"
"Spending quality time with my best friend on our break." They grinned and linked arms, heading over to get lunch before they had to act as if they were enemies again.