A/N: Song featured is "Take A Chance on Me" from Mamma Mia!- it is set up in a fantasy sequence similar to "You're the One That I Want" from Glease (4x06), so the parts won't match up with the character's roles. Fair Warning.
When Michelle opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she registered was the throbbing pulse slamming against her head. She groaned quietly as she felt like someone was bouncing an aluminum bat into her temple. The sound quickly stifled itself as she gagged on the awful aftertaste saturating her mouth that she realized was conflicting liquors that had settled on her throat and tongue.
And then she realized she was still almost naked.
Tiny hands leapt to her torso like they'd been electrocuted into action, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that, though she was down to her bra and panties, at least someone had possessed the decency last night to cover her in a fleece throw while she lay passed out on the floor. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her body and pulled herself upright into a sitting position while she waited for her head to reconcile with being vertical.
When the blood-rush subsided, the freshman glanced around and took stock of her surroundings. She noted Emma and Ashwin snuggled closely on the couch, both fully clothed, with the brown-skinned boy's arms wrapped protectively around his ex, though whether that was still the status remained to be seen. Her brown eyes shifted to the far end of the room where Teddy, chest exposed through his unbuttoned shirt, shared a blanket on the floor next to a snoring Liam whose sweater was wrapped around his hand as he slept in nothing but boxers, then up to Stassi who was curled up in the recliner wearing the former's cardigan and jeans. She leaned around looking for the others, and upon hearing a soft rattling in the kitchen, wriggled to her feet and tiptoed around the various stacks of cups around the room as she grabbed her dress and threw it over her head, making her way to the room where she found Nina mixing ingredients in a bowl in a cleared space on the counter.
"Thanks," Michelle whispered as she gratefully accepted the bottled water and bottle of aspirin the junior handed her upon sight, trying to keep her words from waking Addie sprawled face-down on the kitchen table, Caroline drooling slightly as she twisted her body comfortably in an armchair, or Andrew hunched next to her on the floor as the sleeping two held hands. "What are you making?"
"Hangover food," the Bulgarian girl replied as she returned to mincing her veggies. She grinned, "Breakfast burritos."
"Thank God," the other Cheerio opined, grabbing a tortilla from the pile and nibbling a piece. "How long have you been up?"
"A while," Nina told her. "Let's just say I'm used to making head checks first thing after a binge." Michelle's face lit up, and the brunette preempted, "And no, you can't go snooping around to see how everyone sorted out."
The tiny girl's face fell into a pout. "It's my house," she argued petulantly. "It'd be an outright tragedy not to know how everyone fared."
"I don't care if it's the next Titanic," Nina said as she whisked the eggs and sprinkled some seasonings together. "I will not allow you to peep in on our teammates. It's just tacky."
"Fine," the freshman conceded unconvincingly. "I'm just going to go make sure my brother is alright then…" She was desperate to know how the story of Coby and Hiccup had ended, and if she just happened to look in the wrong rooms on the way to finding out, well, oops.
"Your brother is fine," Nina replied assertively, easily guessing the girl's intentions. "He's down in the basement sleeping it off."
"Alone?" Michelle asked in disappointment.
The junior's kept her poker face set. "Did you expect someone to be with him?" she countered ambiguously.
"Well, it was a pretty wild night," Michelle argued pointedly. Nina remained silent, focusing instead on her batch of eggs scrambling in the pan and the veggies that sautéed next to them. "Fine, if you won't tell me anything good, will you at least tell me if you saw any damage, since this is my house and my parents are coming home in—" she checked the clock on the microwave "—six hours?"
Nina grimaced slightly. "Well," she said unhappily. "There's a broken lamp and some blood in the entry way." Michelle's wrinkled her nose for a moment, but then shrugged. "And...you'll definitely need to take some time for the Master upstairs…"
"Dad and Papa's room?" Her bright brown eyes went wide in shock. "Who went into my dads' room?"
"Don't worry about it," Nina tried to placate her. "I'm sure we'll get the place fixed up before they get home."
"I can't believe someone had sex in my dads' room," Michelle groaned.
"The room could probably use a little change-up from the monotonous Gay Dad Quickies," Stassi commented as she wandered into the kitchen, swiping the freshman's water and chugging it down.
"Ew," Michelle replied making a face. "I don't want to think about my Dads having sex!"
"Can you guys keep it down?" Addie groaned as she rolled onto her back. "I'm already nauseous; I don't need images of Michelle's parents making things worse."
"My parents don't have sex!" Michelle insisted.
"Then it's a good thing the room didn't go to waste," Stassi rejoined casually as she haphazardly buttoned up her borrowed cardigan, causing her teammate to whine and the people around her to groan (which now included Teddy, Liam, Ashwin, and Emma) at the noise.
"Let's just move on to a different topic, huh?" Ashwin suggested, pulling a handful of plates off of the counter and handing one to a rumpled-looking Emma, who took it self-consciously.
"Thank god," Teddy agreed, taking his plate and loading it with eggs and bacon.
"Hey Teddy, can I steal a piece of bacon?" Andrew asked from his place down the line.
The junior glowered at his friend as he held out his plate. "I suppose I should be glad you asked this time before stealing something of mine," he growled lowly, sparing a glance to Caroline before heading to a spot on the table Emma had cleared. Andrew's face widened in shock and guilt, but no one else seemed to notice the confrontation.
Annie shifted slightly in her sleep, frowning. She was dreaming that she was in a Chapstick commercial, but she was late for class. She kept running off set, panting hard, but the director kept chasing after her to demonstrate how he wanted her to do the lip smack at the end. He giggled at her in a strangely girlish tone as he ran beside her, and his breath was hitching as if—
The brunette's eyes flew open as she realized that what she was dreaming was actually sounds coming from behind the corner of the bookcase on the opposite side of the room. She quickly shut her eyes tightly to try to block out whichever couple was making them, and buried her face in the bare chest of the surprisingly-still unconscious Hayden beside her.
After another minute or so, the…act subsided, or at least she thought so, though she didn't hear any of the climactic noises she'd heard on a porn that Puck had given Finn once. However, there was a soft sigh and kiss, followed by the shuffling of clothing being adjusted.
"So, safer in the morning than at night?" the Cheerio just barely made out, causing her to roll over slightly to hear better. Who was that?
"Well, technically, we'll probably die regardless," came the gruff reply, and Annie's eyes opened in surprise as she recognized Dylan's voice. "But at least in the light it's a lot less likely to happen during. Plus," he added with a gentle kiss. "Totally worth it."
Katie giggled and kissed him again. "I love you," she told him.
"I love you too," he replied. "Now come on, before we—"
They had just started emerging from their hiding spot, fully clothed thank God, and Dylan's eyes rested in shock on Annie's, who quickly shut hers tightly a moment later.
"Oh my God," Katie stated in mortification, and the sophomore realized that in their enthusiasm for a stolen moment they may not have searched the room for people very thoroughly (or at all). "Oh my God, I'm so sorry—"
"Just go," the brunette hissed as she burrowed back into the completely comatose boy beside her. "We'll pretend it never happened."
She didn't hear a reply, but two pairs of shoes quickly scurried across the room and down the hall.
Annie groaned as she contemplated her immortal trauma, and was startled as a hand snaked up her back.
"Morning, luv," Hayden greeted, his British accent drifting into his groggy tone. "You alright?"
The youngest Hudson looked at the blonde incredulously before dropping her head back into his chest and groaning even louder.
"Ooh, breakfast," Dalton announced as he and Roxie appeared in the doorway. "Who do we have to thank for the spread?"
"Who do you think?" Nina asked as she handed him a plate with a smirk, and the sophomore extended his appreciation as he carried his and his girlfriend's dishes to the buffet.
The brunette glanced around worriedly. "Oh no," she lamented. "Where did Michelle go?" The group turned their heads this way and that, realizing the tiny busybody had snuck from the room while they were distracted.
"Don't worry," Stassi replied, taking the opportunity to place her empty plate back on the stack. "She probably went upstairs to chew out whoever's conquered her dads' space—let me guess: Walt?" Nina smirked. "I'll go get them."
The Armenian hard-ass made her way toward the staircase, drifting slowly as she glanced in the rooms she passed. She was actually curious about what had happened to Hayley last night—after Dalton had assured her he could take on the resident mute alone, she'd lost track of the rebel as she joined a surprisingly bitter Teddy and Liam in a game of quarters. She was still adamant that hooking up would have been a bad idea (it was the little Chatty Cathy's house, after all, and Stassi was even now wandering around trying to keep her from sticking her nose into someone else's business), but that didn't mean she wanted to stop appreciating the next-to-nothing look the girl had been sporting.
As she began moving down the second-floor corridor, she could already hear low chatter coming from one of the rooms a couple of doors over. She rolled her eyes: she couldn't believe Walt and Rhi were going at it again already—did they really figure the rest of the group wouldn't notice they were gone, or did they just not care?
The junior reached for the handle and pushed the door open. "Okay guys, seriously? Everyone's awake and Michelle's sniffing for gossip already—"
The blanket flew up as multiple hands reached to pull it up for modesty as Rhi and Walt broke free of each other, and Stassi's mouth went dry as she gaped. She hadn't cared that the two sluts of McKinley might be going at it—she'd kind of expected it. What she hadn't expected was to see a third barely-dressed person on the other side of Rhi, and certainly not the person she was seeing.
Stassi grasped for composure as she locked eyes with Hayley for a brief moment. "Nina made breakfast," she finally stated shortly. "Get dressed and get downstairs before the others come looking." And she quickly turned heel and rushed down the hall, flying into the bathroom as all of the emotions boiling inside of her quickly exorcised themselves through her throat.
Everett opened his eyes slowly, taking a moment to appreciate his surroundings. The basement game room wouldn't be his first choice for sleeping spots, since the pinball table had a tendency to make random noises at random times and the fans were set on a timer to keep some of the machines cool. But even drunk he had wanted privacy, especially from his sister, and this was the first place he'd thought of.
It wasn't like he and Coby had done anything. As the Jock had become more inebriated, the smaller boy had decided that he should probably get him to lay down somewhere. Not wanting to draw too much attention to why he didn't just call the sober Nina over, he'd led them to the game room, where he'd let the smashed boy go crazy on the mic, as well as the lights and fog machine (which had made a real visual mess). Everett had finally gotten his castmate to lay down on the fold-out couch, but Coby insisted that his curly-haired friend lay down too. When the junior reluctantly agreed, the husky boy wouldn't even let him get a blanket, instead just pulling off his letterman jacket he'd been wearing over his jumpsuit and draping it over the two of them. It was kind of romantic.
The musical geek smiled as he stared at the ceiling, wondering how long he could lay here until he should go and check in with the others.
Or until Michelle found him, he amended unhappily as a muffled squeak sounded from the staircase.
Everett looked over at his sister, her hands fisted against her lips as she grinned triumphantly and practically danced where she stood. He gave her a pointed look, but she instead silently emoted an even bigger exclamatory gesture. Her brother felt his face burning up sheepishly, and he pulled the jacket closer to his face in an attempt to hide from his nosy little sister.
After a deep breath, the brunette boy reemerged from under the worn leather, and narrowed his eyes at the exuberant Cheerio until she lowered her hands in concession and, giving him an embarrassing thumbs-up, quietly flitted back up the stairs.
Everett watched her go and then smiled as he snuggled back against the football player's arm.
Everyone had dispersed after breakfast and a vague stab at cleaning, and by Sunday afternoon Michelle's Facebook page was saturated with comments and congratulations on a great party. Even more thrilling, the tiny freshman found herself in a popularity boost as multiple friends and top-tier associates approached her wondering if they were going to be invited to her next one.
It was a good feeling to be her right now, and Michelle glanced in the mirror in her locker to admire the glow that had come with her triumph.
She heard a familiar double-slap of worn Braata sneakers striding close, and she looked up to see Walt coming toward her.
"Hey," she greeted cheerily
He considered her warily. "You seem to be in a better mood," he noted. It was true: the entire weekend she had basically snubbed him, despite his offer to make amends for defiling her dads' room—she'd already pulled the bedding to be dry cleaned, and had arranged for the carpet to be steamed while they were at work.
But now bygones were bygones, she'd decided as she fixed him with a grin. "I'm having a good morning," she admitted with a shrug. "I suppose I do owe you a thank you for helping my party reach legendary status. With the right maneuvering, I could replace Jennifer Johnson. So I guess we can call it even." She stuck out her hand.
Walt gave a half smile and took her hand. "Deal," he agreed, chewing his lip for a thoughtful moment. "But, at the risk of pissing you off again, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
Michelle shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Well, I mean, Rhi and me, we've got a sort of history, and we were both drunk, and…I mean, I didn't mean to just ditch you like that."
Michelle arched an eyebrow at him curiously before shrugging. "Well, I didn't think you were declaring yourself to me or anything. I mean, it's a party, you were having a good time. It's not I thought you were purposely avoiding me. "
"You didn't?" His tone outted his surprise. "I just thought, since we were hanging out and co-hosting and everything—"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy yourself," she told him. "Preferably not in my parents room next time, but I mean, it's not like we're dating. We're friends—right?"
Walt chuckled. "Yeah," he replied vaguely. "Just friends…"
She glanced at him curiously, trying to sort out the veiled message she could sense was behind his apology. After another moment, however, she let it go. "So anyways, while you are never allowed upstairs in my house again, you're totally invited to my next bash. After all, I'm the girl you never thought you'd kiss." The brunette gave a teasing smile as she nudged him.
The sophomore bobbed his head with an indecipherable expression. "Yeah; well, thanks."
Michelle opened her mouth to ask him something, but suddenly caught Sunny, Megan, and Ashley attempting to flag her down. "Oh! I've got to go—we'll talk later, right?" and she raced off toward her fellow Cheerios, obliviously leaving a conflicted Walt behind her.
Liam was leaning up against his locker as Hayley stood next to him, staring vacantly at the rows of metal doors as he rubbed his bandaged hand. Both were still out of sorts since the weekend, and so when the rebel approached him and offered a mocha blend, he took it and her willing silence gratefully.
He'd been forcefully thinking of nothing all morning, and was determined to skip English if that meant perpetuating his peace of mind. In fact, he figured he would probably just go to the nurse's office right now and—
His eyes involuntarily honed in on a quick-paced brunette weaving around the current of students between her and her destination as she clung to the books in her hands tightly. "I gotta go," he murmured to Hayley, walking away from the girl before she could even register his departure.
Liam quickly slid alongside the overachiever and took a hold of her arm, quickly steering her into the empty classroom just before theirs. Emma's eyes flashed up at his angrily, though he noted that the flush on her face also expressed some chagrin.
"So I didn't catch the formal announcement," he stated acerbically. "When did the Wonder Twins become official again?" She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his uninjured hand to stop her. "No, you know what? I don't care." He glared incredulously at the girl before him. "I can't believe you would be so afraid of being single that you would pair yourself off with a guy that you have absolutely zero feelings for. A guy that only looks good on paper. You know what? Screw it. You're both complete frauds, and I think you deserve each other. Good luck."
And before Emma could get out a rebuttal, he turned heel and strode angrily down the hall. Now he definitely needed to lay down.
Hayley registered in her mind somewhere that Liam had left, but beyond turning around to lean up against the lockers, she hadn't really reacted. She'd chosen to hang out with the boy this morning because her mind was heavy and conversation was the last thing on it. He'd seemed equally preoccupied, and oddly solitary, so she'd taken up the space next to him.
And now she was alone, still caught up in her thoughts. So much so that she almost missed a certain Cheerio slipping out of the auditorium and down the corridor.
Hayley watched Stassi make her way to class, noting the slight drop in her posture and masked indifference in her expression. She had to admit, if she didn't know the girl better she'd think the junior wasn't acting any different than usual.
The more the sophomore watched the older girl, the more her gut resolved itself, and finally she pushed herself off of the wall and made her way to a janitor's closet, intercepting the cold-hearted bitch just before she passed by and dragging her inside before any of their peers noticed anything.
She watched as Stassi's eyes widened in surprise as she took in her surroundings, then hardened as she focused on her assailant. "What do you want?"
"Wow, someone shoved a bug pretty far up your butt this morning," Hayley retorted. "I just wanted to talk."
"We've got nothing to talk about," the Cheerio told her shortly, reaching for the door.
"You're not mad about the other night, are you?" the sophomore pushed, blocking the other girl's retreat as she eyed her dubiously.
"Why would I be mad?" Stassi shot back, avoiding the rebel's gaze. "If you want to throw slut in with all of the other words that people use to describe you, then Rhi and Walt are your best options—and both at once is master strategy."
"Walt all but passed out before he got to the bed," Hayley countered. "The guy was drunk as a skunk and was pretty much content to sit in a stupor the whole night."
"So just you and Brothel Barbie then," the junior said relentlessly. "That makes it so much better."
"As opposed to you and Russia's Sweetheart?" The Asian girl's hand angrily swept at her streaked locks as she shook her head in disbelief. "You were going on and on about being discreet and then you're practically swallowing tonsils with another Cheerio?"
"Oh like anybody thought for one second that that was anything more than fan-service," the Armenian girl dismissed. "And besides, we didn't hook up last night."
"So that makes you better than me?" Hayley shot back. "Because I got some last night and you abstained? Because last time I checked we were just blowing off steam here. It's not like we're a couple, right?" She stared into the other girls eyes, searching for any sense of hope.
Stassi narrowed her gaze as she exhaled sharply. "That's right: we're not."
The sophomore felt her chest drop, but steeled herself against showing it. "Then why does it matter what I did or who I did it with?"
The older girl's face remained frozen, but Hayley watched as her dark eyes revealed a flurry of emotion, and she found herself desperate for an honest conversation with the Cheerio.
Instead, Stassi's eyes set themselves in stony indifference and she pushed past the rebel toward the door. "It doesn't." And she slipped out into the hallway and quickly away.
Fingers flew across the keyboard of the empty newsroom, stealing away from their position just long enough to tuck a blue streak hanging loose across a pale forehead back behind Addie's ear. She glanced at her finished work once more and then sighed before taking another gulp of coffee.
It was a real quandary of news ethics, she knew. The team had declared everything off the record, and had even confiscated her phone, but if she wanted to make herself a serious reporter, she needed to take risks and put down something real. The Muckraker's offer of an anonymous expose was ridiculously tempting, and there were enough snoops at the party to push the suspicion off of her—I mean, for Pete's sake, it was at Michelle Harrison's house.
She printed out the hard copy and gathered her notes and the tape recorder she'd taped underneath her bra that night, turning off of the monitor as she stood to go. It was just as she reached the door, however, that she glanced down at her work contemplatively.
Out by the bleachers, Ernie checked her compact mirror as she reapplied her lip gloss. Footsteps approached, and she turned with a triumphant grin at the curvy blonde that approached her. "Perfect timing," the spray-tanned freshman observed. "I can probably still make it back to the computer lab before it closes and do a little editing before we go into production." She glanced around the newcomer. "Where's the article?"
"Right here," Addie replied caustically, handing the girl a bag of ripped-up papers. "It may have fallen into the newsroom shredder on the way here. You know Ernie, I do want to be remembered at this school, especially as the person that proves that the elusive top tier of this school isn't nearly as flawless as they seem to think. But I don't want to do it this way—I'm not going to drag myself down with the parasitic tripe that is The Muckrakers in order to make a statement. I'm going to keep working, and when I get my chance to shine, it will be in something credible and worthwhile. So you can get yourself another stooge for your little tabloid, because you're not going to use me anymore."
"Well, if that's how you really feel," Ernie said in an even tone, though her expression belied her neutrality. "It's too bad Addison. You could have really made a name for yourself."
"I think I'd rather retain my integrity," Addie responded, giving the girl one last glance before she nodded and walked away.
The raven-haired girl watched the sophomore leave, her lips twitching slightly as her flared jeans strode out of sight. She opened her phone and pushed a speed-dial before setting the speaker to her ear. "Hey. Yeah- the newsroom, just like you thought...See if she logged out...An audio clip? Yeah, take everything." She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. "Some people really need to be more careful where they leave private pieces laying around," she commented aloud before adjusting her hair and walking smugly back toward the school building, glancing at a message that was sent on her phone just twenty minutes earlier.
Whats ur status? It read ominously.
Lindsay bit her lip and glanced around to make certain she was alone. Phase 2 complete, she replied, pushing send.
Perfect, the new message told her, and Lindsay felt an unpleasant mixture of adrenaline and nausea brewing in the pit of her stomach as she read, Let hell commence.
Coby grinned as the bell rang and he shoved all of his books messily into his bag. He had been listening to Ashwin and Dalton enthusing over their respective relationships (although the former's wasn't really a sure thing) all day, and it honestly had put him in a pretty good mood. He was happy that things were going so well for his friends, and now they were off to Glee Club, which would probably double over as rehearsal for their musical, which was just fine by him. He hoped they had enough time to run through "Waterloo" again…
Suddenly a curly-haired junior appeared in front of him timidly. The jock couldn't help it—he broke out into a brilliant grin at the sight. His gaydar wasn't really that great really, but he'd always found Everett to be a pretty fascinating guy. Finding out he was playing for the same team was a hell of a perk in his mind, because it meant that the husky boy had a snowball's chance in hell. Not now, obviously, as he watched his friend glance around nervously as he brought his bag around to his chest and reached inside; but maybe someday.
"You left this the other night," Everett told him, pulling out Coby's letterman jacket. The tousle-haired boy made an effort to suppress the leap in his chest—he may have been smashed that night, but his mind was a steel trap, and he remembered every minute of his iffy decision-making time. And the thought of the theater geek lying beside him, shirtless and with only Coby's jacket between them and the night air? It definitely left an impression.
"Oh yeah, thanks; I'm always forgetting that thing everywhere," he blatantly lied—that jacket was his shield, his pride and joy; he'd never forget it anywhere. But it'd probably be a little creepy if he'd said, "Actually, I was kind of hoping you'd wear it to school today."
He took back the leather material and slipped it over his arm, waiting for Everett to adjust his bag so they could walk together to the Music Room. "So you making any progress on…talking to people?"
Everett blushed and looked down sheepishly. "Um, no, not really," he mumbled.
"Hey, no judgment," the other boy told him, leaning closer as he lowered his voice. "I mean, I still bring Nina around for dinner with my parents even though everyone at school knows, and telling Crash was, like, a huge deal for me. But I think you'd be surprised how many people are cool about it." Coby couldn't imagine Everett's dads caring that he was gay, since they were themselves, but he could tell that whatever confidence the actor possessed onstage in spades seemed to almost dissolve in the real world, and this would take more self-assurance than ever. "But you know, there are definitely some perks to being out in the world." Like dating, he added to himself.
"Yeah, I guess," Everett agreed, reaching out to open the door for rehearsal. "I'm just not sure I'm ready for that yet."
Coby watched him step inside, waiting until he was out of hearing range before murmuring, If you change your mind, I'm the first in line—honey I'm still free, take a chance on me…
The lights were aglow on the stage, and Coby found himself pacing after Everett as he held up a champagne glass. If you need me, let me know, I'm gonna be around; If you got no place to go, if you're feeling down.
If you're all alone, when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free, take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best, and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
He swept up the curly-haired boy bridal style and cooed, Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me…
Dalton slid across the table to where Roxie was sitting with an amused smirk, We can go dancing, he sang
We can go walking, she replied, trying to slip past him, which he was having none of as he took her hand and followed her.
As long as we're together
He continued as he broke into some silly disco moves, Listen to some music
Roxie rolled her eyes with a smile, Maybe just talking, get to know me better
Dylan twirled Katie in his arms in an uncharacteristic show of agility, 'Cause there's so much that I wanna do, when I dream I'm alone with you, he sang before the two harmonized It's magic.
Ashwin bounded to the wings where he clasped his hands over Emma's arms, You just wanna leave it there, he belted, afraid of a love affair—but I think you know, that I can't let go
The group began bounding in place as they chanted Take a chance, take a chance…, and Coby took Everett's hand, pulling him center stage again.
If you're all alone, when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free, take a chance on me
The husky jock began walking precariously along a table edge, delighted as he heard Everett sing back Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
He was so thrilled as the boy sang If you put me to the test, that he lost his footing and began to fall, only to have the smaller boy catch his hand and balance him before he landed as they duetted If you let me try
Take a chance on me… the group sang as the song dissolved into a dance riff, and they cheered as Caroline and Coby embraced with a kiss.