Chapter Sixteen: The One Where Brittany has an Announcement and The Show Opens.
XVI: There's only two types of people in this world; the ones that entertain, and the ones that observe. Well, baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl.
December 10th.
There's something one should know about this group of friends – if one did not already – and that's that they are all vastly different. This applies to a range of topics, such as sports, religion, politics, food, nacho dip, Puck's hair and so on. It comes as no surprise then that they're attitude to the most celebrated holiday also differs from person to person. There are those that are ecstatically excited for it; Brittany, Sam, Finn and Rachel. The ones who only feel the excitement on Christmas Eve and the actual day; Quinn, Puck and Blaine. Finally, there are those who deem it an overhyped and cheesy holiday, and could very easily be compared to a Grinch; Santana and Kurt.
Most find it a shock to discover that the flamboyant and lover of all things flashy Kurt Hummel rejects the hype of Christmas, but it's true. He rejects Christianity, but believes the holiday isn't even primarily associated with Christianity anymore or it's original purpose – this also often leads to arguments with the Jews, Rachel and Puck. He hates having to buy people he doesn't like gifts, and he detests being forced into a bright, red, hideous sweater. (Ok, the last one may have something to do with Rachel.)
Santana comes as no surprise. She hates the sentimentality of a day that should have no meaning to her; it's not her birthday, or her friends, and it's no one death – it's nothing that should have a meaning to her. Yet, her friends make her buy them presents, be happy – how dare they – and act like the Messiah has arrived.
All in all, this conflict of opinions always leads to a round of groans from just about everyone when Rachel announces it's Kris Kindle time. Every year, they gather in the sitting room, with a hat and everyone's names written delicately by Rachel on perfectly rectangle pieces of 2x2 cm of paper. Of course, it's all very precise – could you believe anything else?
Usually, there is a boyfriend or girlfriend included if they're close enough to the group, and this year Rachel has accepted both Sam and Blaine. This is unusual to anyone who knows Rachel, as she doesn't often let people into her elite Christmas group. Especially in such a short space of time, but the two men fit in seamlessly with the rest. Perhaps they aren't equally close to everyone, but for the most part, they both get along very well with some members and well enough with the others.
Rachel stands at the top of the room, a bright Hollywood smile on her face. She's practically shaking in her shoes with anticipation as she reeks a sense of that jovial spirit. It comes off of her in waves once it hits December, and one can often find her humming Christmas tunes as she works, cleans or walks anywhere. Her eyes are as bright as her smile – and just as wide. She shakes the hat theatrically, "Are we ready?"
"What if I'm not?" Santana counters, eyeing the woman.
"You don't count." Rachel promptly tells her happily.
Kurt raises his hand, "Do I?" The girl shakes her head, her expression telling how silly she thinks he is. Puck sighs loudly and dramatically to draw her attention, but it fails. He then clears his throat and begins a coughing fit, which eventually causes Rachel to huff and turn to him in the middle of.
"Puck, you cannot spend less than fifty dollars on your kindle."
"But I spend so much time with you guys, surely you know how I feel!"
"It's not about feelings, it's about getting someone something they deserve after a long year." Brittany tells him wisely, which knocks him for two. He falls back into the couch quietly, all the while keeping his eyes on Brittany, thinking her to be suspicious.
She speaks again then, "I just hope I don't get Blaine. That could be awkward."
The man in question laughs, "I think it'd be fine, Brittany." There seems to be a collective feeling of relief at those words, and Kurt starts to think on why Blaine is so accepted by them. His response to Brittany is a perfect example though; he takes everything in his stride, and does it all with incredible integrity. He doesn't condescend, he doesn't judge and most of all, he listens. Kurt was, at first, very surprised that everyone still invited Blaine out and asked him over, given that he isn't with Santana anymore. (To be fair, Kurt started it. The others probably followed example.) Now, seeing him interact with everyone so effortlessly, he's surprised that he ever thought it would be different.
The hat is thrust in front of him first, causing him to raise his eyes to meet a very eager Rachel Berry. "You can be first, Kurt."
He glances at Blaine, who smiles back at him encouragingly (naïve boy.), and Kurt wishes silently that he gets the man. Reaching into the hat, he roots around fruitlessly for a moment before withdrawing one that he's sure he touched first. Rachel moves onto Mike beside him, and Kurt unwraps his carefully.
There, in her wonderfully cursive and legible writing,very clearly read: Santana.
Kurt struggles to keep the grimace off of his face, because god knows she's probably the last person he wants. He supposes they have to get over this bump in their friendship eventually though, and they are both delightfully catty – he'll just get her something to remind her of that. Inconspicuously, he tries to catch onto everyone's expressions as they receive theirs. Some of them are easy to read, like Rachel, Finn and so on while others are more difficult – Santana, Quinn, and so on. He resigns himself to not knowing who is getting him his present, figuring he'll just have to drop hints in front of everyone.
He's startled as he hears a loud clapping, and turns to see Brittany standing at the top of the room. Leaning back against the table holding the TV, much to the distress of Rachel and Quinn, she calls for everyone's attention. Excitedly, she announces, "I have big news guys, so listen to my announcement."
Kurt sends a puzzled look to Mike, who shrugs. "No idea what this is about either, man."
"I'm sure if you stopped talking for two seconds, you'd find out." Santana bites. Kurt and Mike exchange identical looks; they had forgotten she is sitting on the floor, leaning against their legs.
"We're entering phase two of Kurt's campaign!" She says with great enthusiasm, glancing around in anticipation at the occupants of the room. Everyone continues to appear confused, including Santana, and finally Puck speaks.
"Brit, we have no idea what this means."
She sighs exasperatedly, "Of course you don't—"
"How come I don't know what this means?" Kurt asks, affronted.
"That's why I'm telling you now," Brittany responds, as if he is the slowest person she's ever known. Kurt decides then that it's fruitless to attempt to argue with Brittany, and quits on trying to understand. "Now, all this entails guys, is an interactive, animated campaign to get Kurt really popular."
Finn, having never heard Brittany use such words as interactive and animated, is automatically suspicious, "Brittany… what are you asking us to do?"
"Well, you have to do it. It's for Kurt." She says simply, and then produces a bag that Kurt had previously not noticed. Of course, he may have been a little distracted with Brittany's revolutionary plan that he had no part in conniving. No one speaks as she takes out something he can't quite make out, but it doesn't take long for realisation to dawn as she fiddles with the contraption to place it on her head.
It's a stuffed unicorn horn. The one on her head is pink, with glitter lining at the stitching while an elastic black band reaches around to her chin to hold it in place. Kurt can't even begin to think of words, and gapes like a fish for a few minutes. He looks around to the others, to find some – that aren't still staring at Brittany – gawking accusingly at him. Kurt shrugs, shaking his head afterwards. He has no part in this.
"Um, Brittany… I don't think that's a good idea." Puck says to her, his eyebrow quirked with a look of horror deigning his features.
Her face darkens in sadness for a minute, then she pulls out a green unicorn horn, complete with glitter, and a little bit of fur at the bottom, "But I got you a green one! I know you like it 'cause it matches your eyes."
Finn, wanting to escape the situation, tells her sorrowfully, "I don't think they'd fit around my head, sorry. I really wanted to though."
"Oh, don't worry. I got you an adults one!" He gulps, not wanting to know what that means, and sits back into the chair. After that, an array of protests and excuses come from the audience and Brittany argues back with them with nonsensical logic. Problem is, none of them are adept at arguing with nonsensical logic.
In the middle of Rachel's proclamation of how she can't reduce her star quality, Brittany cuts her off. "Oh, and by the way guys, my sister's coming over for Christmas break."
That silences them all.
While she isn't the most collected of people all of the time, Rachel is always calm, cool and ready before going on stage. Their opening night is no different, even though there's been several issues and she doesn't have the time to help solve anything. She's standing backstage, practicing her breathing and gathering her star quality when he comes over. They've come to some sort of understanding, perhaps formed a pseudo-kinship. Maybe that's just her, but she's sure they've made a connection now.
She no longer wants to stuff soap down his throat every time he talks, and he no longer mocks her (failing) dreams. They both want the same things out of life, they both feel the same passion for music and receive a thrill from acting; the adrenalin rush of the stage affects them both. Something worries Rachel though... and it's not to do with the fact that she enjoys spending time with him, or that her heart beats a little faster when they touch or even that she's going to be sad when they're not working together anymore.
It's the way he looks at her when it's just the two of them – not acting on stage, not surrounded by a crowd, but when they're completely alone. She's afraid she looks at him the same way; it scares more than she ever thought possible. Rachel's number one rule is not falling for a co-star, and she's been brilliant in complying so far. (Except for her teen years, of course. The glee club and Finn is a special exception.)
Furthermore, she's sure that Finn has noticed. There's a shift in their relationship, too. She's less receptive to his jokes, he's more inclined to leave without her after rehearsal, and together, they don't spend as much time together anymore. Rachel's not entirely certain how she feels about that – how she feels about any of this.
Jesse nudges her, "C'mon Berry, don't tell me you're nervous,"
She outright laughs at him, "Do you know who you're talking to, rookie?" He chuckles with her before mentioning something about an understudy falling sick, and that Artie is going crazy looking for an understudy for the understudy. As much as she should be panicking, Rachel's not even fully listening. His smile is that of Hollywood, and his body is one of a dancer. She can't concentrate. She needs to.
"Are you ready, guys? Not long now!" Brittany announces, flouncing over to them excitedly.
Rachel nods, "Of course. A star is always ready for their debut; tonight is no exception, Brit. I know, one would easily think I never get nervous but I have my moments, like everyone else. However, tonight, I am ready for this. Let's hope everyone else cares about this as much as we do, or else this will fall. I can't carry every performance – which, I know, is a bit unbelievable.. So, really, my question is, is everyone else ready?"
"Um.." She stands there, staring at her friend dumbfounded, brow creased in concentration, as Rachel stands waiting expectantly. Jesse is amused by the scene and leans back on the wall to watch it unfold. Rachel is about to open her mouth to talk again, when there's a call for everyone to get ready.
She looks at Brit and smiles, "Showtime. I sure hope our friends are good enough to have made it..."
"They did," Brittany nods fervently. "I saw them, and Finn was talking to them. He's preparing now though."
"Well, looks like it's time. Let's show them all how brilliant I am," At Rachel's glance, Jesse amends, "we are. I suppose."
Brittany can easily say that she's thrilled with how their opening went; it was flawless. Each and every of her dance routines went off without a hitch, and they had all looked so beautiful in every twist and turn. Truth be told, that is mostly down to her and her own dancing skills. She can see raw talent in those just falling short, she can predict the shortcomings of the less than great and she can further and improve the few that possess something grand. She's not going to be humble or modest about it, Brittany is damn good at what she does.
Can she really do this forever though? Live in a so-so apartment, often struggling to pay rent and meet deadlines. If she put her mind to something else, maybe Brittany would have more money? Is it worth it? Of course, her mind drifts to a raven beauty, who will eventually make enough money to buy a more than comfortable house. A large part of Brittany doubts that she'll ever truly commit to Santana, because the other woman is unable. They've danced for years – and not the kind that Brittany likes. Nothing has ever come of their tango's, only shuffles in the dark and ecstasy in the corner of an empty room.
As she sits alone in the front row, listening to people move out of the building, chatting about the production, Brittany searches out for her friends. She doesn't move, of course, being much too comfortable where she is. She spots Rachel, Finn and Jesse, to her utmost surprise, talking to the side of the stage. Rachel's face is bright with the success of the night, and Brittany suspects with the fact that the men are getting along.
"Brittany Pierce?" Hearing her name, she turns to meet the voice. Confusion clouds her thoughts.
"Yes, that's me. Is everything okay?" She surveys the woman quite blatantly, taking in her obvious Asian roots, long and silky black hair as well as her dark clothes. Brittany is less than impressed with the girls unflattering clothes and the manner in which they swallow her whole, but she doesn't reflect it because she believes in being nice to people.
The woman smiles, quite oblivious to Brittany's critical gaze, "Great, actually. I was quite impressed with what you managed to do here, given there is so little choreography to be done. Before watching the show," she takes a seat, gesturing for the blonde to join her. She complies dumbly, staring at her as she waits for her to continue. "I recognised your name in the programme, but couldn't pinpoint where. Then I realised you were the star of The Academy a few years back before it went out of business. You were amazing," She says, her eyes bright. She fails to hold Brittany's gaze though, and her eyes flicker away almost instantaneously. Brittany frowns at this.
However, the frown is soon turned upside down, "Thanks! I loved working there, it was always so much fun and I was one of the better ones."
"I usually don't come to greet the potentials, but I simply had to with you. Have you ever heard of the Cohen Concert?"
She tilts her head, recalling having heard the name before. "I think so, but I'm not familiar with it."
"We tour around the world, putting on extraordinary shows showcasing dancing abilities from all genres. However, I'm lacking people in your area at the moment. I have plenty more details to discuss, of course, but would you be interested?" Before she can reply, the Asian ploughs on, "I'm Tina Cohen-Chang, by the way, and it's really nice to meet you."
They shake hands, but all Brittany can think about is the flashing neon lights.
A/N: Heeey.. so I know it's not he longest or quickest of updates, but it's gotta count for something, right? I'll try and update again asap because after I post this I'm going to try and write some more. Hopefully, I get somewhere. Writing hasn't been coming as easily lately!
Thank you for reading, and to those who have reviewed :) You make the story! Apologies for not replying to reviews of the last chapter, I got wrapped up in everything else and forgot. Unforgivable and will not happen again!
Disclaimer: Don't own Glee, Friends or "Circus" By Ms. Britney Spears.
Much love,
CN.