So, so, so, so, so so so so so sorry I abandoned you, Ficcy. Mommy's never leaving you again, never never never. Oh, hello, readers! I've been working on a lot of things lately in other parts of my life, mostly school. I'm currently working my arse off doing an endless amount of essays, I'm also doing rehearsals for our production of "Oliver!" and I've been sorting out things for my upcoming university interview/audition (wish me luck, I've decided to perform an original song!) And I also got a boyfriend too who I've been shipped with at school for months now, and we're very happy together! J
So, about this fic. From how far we're into season 4 now, I thought this fic would be pointless to carry on with, since I don't want to adapt anything in it to the events of season 4, so I've just changed the summary making it clear that it's set in ancient times and nobody will ever want to read it now. But this fic is like a long-neglected child I wish to reconnect with and don't want to give up on, so here I am - back, bitchesssss!
So if you're possibly someone who's dedicated enough to carry on reading, please be a nice Gleek and leave a review and reassure me that I'm not about to waste my time writing more J
Lastly, and like always, my A/N: "Disney Week" takes place after the events of the Season 3 finale, so technically it's a Season 4 "episode". I call it an episode because even though I write it like a story, I try to describe everything how I imagine it'll look on screen if Glee ever did a Disney theme. Therefore, they'll be quite a few different storylines going on at once, like a real episode. I also try my absolute best to write as close to canon as I can, so when people read it, they can imagine it's actually happening.
-Sami
Later that day the New Directions did as they had planned: the graduates went out for lunch at Breadstix and coffee at the Lima Bean, while they waited for the end of the school day. When three o'clock finally arrived, they went back to McKinley and met the Seniors in the school courtyard, and together they all caught a bus back into the city and headed for the middle of the North Hills Mall.
They ran up the escalator (except Artie, who went in the elevator with Puck for company) as fast as they could, and sped through the top floor of the mall, desperate to get to the store that many of them had not been in since their childhood. They seemed to have lost all their inhibitions; Tina and Mike were waltzing and humming "When You Wish Upon a Star" to themselves, while Rachel, Blaine, Joe and Sugar had taken off their shoes and were skidding on the floor on their socks, bursting out laughing when they almost lost their balances trying to make it round a corner. Anyone watching the group would have thought they'd all taken some kind of illegal drug.
Finally, they arrived. They halted in their steps once they saw it. The store didn't have a sign with its name on over the doorway; instead was a large blue castle-shaped archway around the entrance, resembling the logo shown at the beginning of the classic movies. They squealed in delight at the sight of it. One or two of them clapped and jumped around. The skidders quickly put their shoes back on, and together everyone entered the Disney Superstore.
The Disney Superstore certainly lived up to its name; it was so big, it took up the entire top floor of the mall. It was basically a giant one-off department store - like a Wal-Mart without the food - where everything they sold had some sort of connection to Disney. At the front of the store was the children's department, where hundreds of Disney toys were displayed on shelves: prince and princess dolls, plush toys, even remote-controlled cars of various vehicles from the films. Exploring this area were parents who had been dragged to the store by their eager children. In the centre of the children's department was a small ball pit where a few little girls were playing. Songs from the films were playing on the speakers, echoing throughout the store.
Together, the Glee Club passed the aisles of bathroom supplies, hair and beauty products, games, books, DVDs and soundtracks, and taking no notice to the everyday clothes and accessories, they finally reached the costume section of the clothing department. Because they were only for hire, the costumes were each wrapped in plastic covering, as if they were ready to be picked up from a dry-cleaners'. They were clearly divided into men's, women's and children's, so everyone began searching through the adults' rails for their characters' outfits, except Brittany, who had no idea she was looking on the children's rails, and had to be pulled away from them by Santana.
"Yes!" Rachel cried, who had found her costume within seconds of looking. She took it off the rail and said to the others, "I will be back momentarily," and with a skip in her step, she went to the changing rooms.
Once she was out of earshot of their voices, Quinn, who was standing with Joe at a rail while he was looking for his Tarzan costume, said to him, "I don't even have to be here, I already have my costume, it's at home."
Joe let out a light chuckle and said "I know, but hey, come on, looking through all these costumes might be fun for you. It's kinda like a fantasy coming to life right before your eyes."
"Yeah, it's not like there's another place you can go where they actually wear the costumes and you can even go on rides and stuff. Oh, wait..." she replied sarcastically.
Joe stopped flicking through the hangers on the rail and turned to Quinn. "Alright, something's up. What's on your mind?"
She groaned at him. "You sound like Facebook."
Joe glanced at her. With hesitation, she told him.
"I thought I still had my tiara for my costume, and last night I remembered I threw it out after Junior Prom. Bad memories. Anyway, it won't be the same wearing that dress without my tiara."
"You don't need one, you're already beautiful. I've seen you smile, you look gorgeous. And I know that if you have fun at the wedding, you'll smile. Therefore you will look beautiful..."
Quinn gazed up at him, in awe of what he just said. She knew Joe had liked her for a while now, it was obvious, and they were used to acting so smitten with each other, but this made it all feel real.
"Besides, Cinderella didn't wear a tiara, so don't worry about it, ok?"
Quinn quickly took Joe's hand, which was still holding the clothes rail in front of them. "You're amazing, you know that?" she said.
The voice in Joe's head was making a scream crossed between panicking and cheering, and apart from a smile slowly growing on his face, his exterior remained cool. With her free hand, Quinn began flicking through the rails, and within a minute -
"A-ha!" - she had found a Tarzan costume in Joe's size.
"You're amazing too," he said, and he went into a changing room with it. As he entered, Santana and Brittany came out and twirled in front of the mirrors, Santana dressed as Esmeralda, and Brittany as... Dory.
"I love it! I just have to get used to going barefoot in public places. I should ask Joe how he manages to never step in gum or dog crap," Santana said to herself.
"I feel like a real fish!" she exclaimed. The 'head' of the costume as a hood, flopped over her head covering her eyes; her arms as fins coming out like batwing sleeves; her legs in dark blue tights; a massive tail fin behind her. Santana simply rolled her eyes and smiled at her girlfriend having fun.
Rachel had gotten changed and quickly raced out of the changing area towards Finn, still looking for a costume. She was wearing a blue dress and white apron over a white blouse, and she had put her wavy hair into a quick, messy plait.
"So... what do you think?" she asked him excitedly.
"Wow, you look just like her!" he replied, "and it's great that you chose the blue dress cause anyone who dresses up as Belle always goes for the yellow dress."
"My thoughts exactly! You still haven't picked a character yet, have you? You know, it's not the worst thing in the world to go as Prince Charming."
"But I wanna go as someone nobody dresses up as. God, this is so hard... Oh, hang on," he said, and he approached a sales assistant. "Excuse me?"
The young man turned around. He had a kind face and long shaggy sandy hair. If he were a god, he'd have been a Golden Retriever for sure. "Yes?" he asked.
"Hi, we're all going to a Disney wedding on Saturday and I'm looking for a character to dress as that nobody ever picks, have you got any ideas?"
"Umm, that is a toughie. Hmm..." he thought, studying Finn's build and general appearance. Then his face lit up as the brainwave hit him. He gasped and snapped his fingers. "The Genie! Come with me!" The man led Finn to the counter and showed him a shelf on the wall full of thin round tins of body paint stacked on top of one another, next to another that was simply rows and rows of aerosol spray cans. The salesman took down two tubs of sky blue body paint and a spray can of the same colour, and presented them in front of Finn on the counter.
"I'll take them!" Finn exclaimed, "And could you show me where you keep the Genie outfits?"
The assistant smiled at him and chuckled slightly to himself as he scanned the paint and put them in a plastic bag. Finn paid him and took the bag from him, and followed him to the costume rail Blaine was looking through.
"Hey, man," Finn greeted him.
"Hey," Blaine replied. He turned back to the clothes, but took a double glance to the assistant. "Jeremiah?"
"Oh my God, Blaine, hey!" he said. Finn was momentarily frazzled. He looked at the salesman's nametag, and indeed - below the small Disney Store logo were the printed words, 'Hello, my name is Jeremiah'.
They greeted each other with a fist pump. "It's been a while, hasn't it? How have you been?" Blaine asked.
"Well I've been working here since I got fired from the Gap -"
"Oh my God, I'm still so sorry about doing that. I only realised how much of a mistake it was until I'd already done it," said Blaine, reminiscing to the embarrassing time when he and the Warblers performed a number to a large number of customers in the Gap, and to a red-faced Jeremiah, on his work shift, and in the closet - and not the one in the store.
"No, really, if anything I should be thanking you!" Jeremiah exclaimed, "I met my boyfriend at this job, we got married in the spring and now we're looking to adopt!"
"Wow, that's great, congratulations!"
"I know, we're so happy! Enough about me though, what costume are you getting?"
"Prince Eric from 'The Little Mermaid'. My favourite Disney character ever."
"Oh wow, good choice. Oh crap, I should get back to the counter, there's an Asian couple waiting to buy Mulan and Shang. And... yep, those guys are going Toy Story. See you around."
"Yeah, see you," he called after him as he walked back to the counter. "I'm glad he's happy," he said to Finn, who had found a Genie costume in his size, and were making their own way to the queue.
"Yeah, me too. That'll be you and Kurt one day."
"I miss him sooo mu-hu-huuuch!" Blaine cried, feeling the indescribable pain of his heart wrenching in his chest. "I miss him so much, Finn, I don't know what to do anymore!"
"Hey, come here, man," he said, bringing him into a brotherly hug.
"Dude, you'll see him soon, I know it," said a voice behind them. They both turned around to see Puck had joined the queue, carrying by the hanger his Aladdin costume in its plastic wrapping. Seeing him wearing a red fez on his head made the sides of Blaine's mouth creep upwards slightly, only to be pushed back down by the sadness his tears brought him.
"How do you know?" he asked, still sniffling.
"Because you're Kurt and Blaine," he replied simply, "If something happens to you guys, you know how to make it through."
Blaine pondered over Puck's words. It's true, they'd been through a lot together regarding Sebastian and Chandler, but they always managed to come out stronger in the end. Was this just one of those things they'd learn from? Being apart from each other only to grow stronger when they next met again? Blaine longed for this to be the truth. No - he knew this was the truth. Blaine didn't even notice his tears and sadness had melted away until he was smiling to himself at his thoughts.
Meanwhile, still looking on the clothes rails were Mercedes and Sam. Mercedes had looked through every rail in the department and couldn't find a Rafiki costume. Even with Sam helping her, it was no use.
"Maybe you should change characters," he suggested.
"No, I'm singing lead on 'Circle of Life', I have to be Rafiki. I'm sure I can make my own outfit at home," she replied determinedly.
"But nobody else singing at the wedding is dressing up as the characters that sing them. It all adds up to the fun, you know?"
"OK, Sam, just tell me why you don't want me to be Rafiki."
Sam's excuse was obviously not very convincing, Mercedes saw right through him. It just gave Sam another reason to like her. He didn't know how to explain it to her, though he wanted to so badly.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Because I want you to go to the wedding with me. As my date, not just a friend. And I want you to be the Megara to my Hercules."
There, he'd said it. Now she'd have to say yes. But... she didn't. Instead she took his hand and led him into one of the changing rooms. She closed the curtain as he sat down on the small bench in the cubicle.
"You still like me?"
"Of course I do, I missed you all summer. I just kept thinking 'Ironic, isn't it? That last year we had an amazing summer together and this year it's the exact opposite.' I've never felt this way about a girl before, I really care about you, Merce." Sam got up off his seat and leaned into Mercedes to kiss her softly. But before his lips could reach hers, she pulled away from him, backing away from him until she felt the curtain against her back.
"I know you think the same about me too!"
"OK, fine, I do!" she shouted in frustration. "It's true, I do still like you. You're... amazing. You have this... something... about you... and it just draws me in. You gave me the faith I needed in myself to go to LA and work towards my dream. You've made me a better person, and I don't think I could ever thank you enough. But does any of it really matter, Sam? I've told myself this again and again, we still couldn't work out even if we wanted to try. You're gonna be here in Lima, and I'll be thousands of miles away in LA. We'd just be fooling ourselves."
"No, don't say that, you're being silly." Sam moved in closer towards her. He gazed into her eyes. Those beautiful, brown eyes. He even tried stroking her hair, he couldn't resist. She let him, forgetting for a moment what she'd just said to him. But realising everything at once, she sighed and pushed his hand out of her hair.
"Surely you're not saying you honestly see us happening?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I really do. We'll find some way to make it work. I'll get a job, I'll save up some money. With that and everything on my MasterCard, I'll move to LA when I graduate."
What was he thinking, planning his whole life to be with her? She wasn't worth it.
"Sam..."
"Listen, Merce. I am prepared to do anything for you. Do this one thing for me. Be my Meg, Mercedes. Go to the wedding with me, as Meg, and let me show you how much I care."
He'd really left her speechless. He desperately wanted her to change her mind. "Please?"
"OK."
Mercedes could see in his eyes that he was relieved she said yes. He smiled at her. That smile she'd missed seeing at school every day last year when he moved to Kentucky. The smile she counted herself lucky to see smiling just for her. She couldn't help but smile back. She moved into him for a hug. He took her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek.
As they were in the midst of their moment, the silence they were enjoying had been broken by a familiar voice singing. They pulled the curtain open and came out of the changing room to see Quinn, Santana and Brittany dancing around the costume department to the cheesy-sounding Aly & AJ version of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" coming through the store speakers. The rest of the Glee Club were watching the trio, Quinn beginning the song:
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay"
Brittany took over the song from Quinn for the refrain:
"Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Everything is satisfactual"
Quinn and Brittany, who had been weaving through the many clothes rails in the department, met each other in their paths, gave one another a quick hi-five, and sang together:
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day
Yeah"
Out of the corner of her eye, Santana could have sworn she saw Jeremiah in a small mains cupboard in the wall near the counter, his hand twisting behind the door. As she looked at him, she heard the music get louder, and she sang the next chorus as she spun along a clothing rail like it was a ballet bar.
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay"
Brittany also couldn't help but dance; she approached some of the other Glee kids watching them and did the mashed potato and the twist in front of them as she sang:
"Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Everything is satisfactual"
Then the three best friends met together again, holding hands and singing in unison.
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day
Oh yeah"
When the song got to the instrumental break, the girls encouraged the Glee Club to join them in the centre of the store to learn a quick dance. Though some of them were hesitant because there were other customers looking at them, they took the girls' hands and moved into the open space in the costume department.
While Quinn started singing the lead again, with Santana and Brittany doing harmonies, the three girls quickly improvised a side-step and clap move to the slowed-down beat.
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dahhhhh
Zip-a-dee-zip-a-dee-dooooo
Zip-a-dee-doo-dahhhhh"
As the song sped up to its normal pace, they modified the dance too, changing it to a grapevine step to the side and a spin back. Brittany sang her verse once more:
"Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual"
Then the entire group took a stomp with their left feet as Quinn sang,
"Everything is satisfactual"
a stomp to the right on Santana's line,
"Everything is satisfactual"
and finally eight huge stomps on the beats as the three of them cried, "Everything is satisfactual!"
By this point the girls didn't have a care in the world and just did their own things - Santana with her bend-and-booty-shake, Brittany doing the Dougie, and Quinn keeping it simple with a hand jive.
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay"
Still dancing, Brittany carried on singing the next part of the song, with Quinn harmonising with her, and Santana riffing over the top:
"What a wonderful feeling, what a wonderful day
What a wonderful feeling, what a wonderful day
What a wonderful feeling, what a wonderful day
What a wonderful feeling, what a wonderful day
Zip-a-dee-doo-dahhhhh
Zip-a-dee-ayyyyy"
They got quieter as the song over the speakers faded, and when they finished, the Glee kids and the other customers in the store watching applauded and whooped for them. The girls took each other's' hands and modestly took a bow together. They joined in with the cheering and high-fived each other, Santana declaring, "And that's how it's done! The Unholy Trinity is back, bitches!"