west coast

𝙄 𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝘽𝙔 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝘼 𝙇𝙄𝙏𝙏𝙇𝙀 𝙃𝙀𝙇𝙋 𝙁𝙍𝙊𝙈 𝙈𝙔 𝙁𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙎 ( leia & lj )

𝚆𝙷𝙾: @evansleia and lj holliday. 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽: thursday morning, september 3rd. 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴: the halls of mckinley.

LJ HOPED WHATEVER SICKO WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT HER IN A  DEBATE CLASS WAS HAPPY NOW.  she wasn’t argumentative by nature, but some teachers were just so fucking insolent with the topics they assigned. it was only the first week and for whatever reason their instructor thought it would be a great idea to warm up to the course with a hot button issue. considering this was a classroom in ohio full stupid high schoolers, the comments were insufferable. luckily throughout the class period, the blonde had unexpected aid in her argumentation from cheerio, leia evans. feeling a minor sense of loyalty for the other girl, when the bell rang, in her relief lj made her way over by they other, “dude, thank fuckin god for you i think i would’ve gone crazy without you in my corner.” she said, making casual conversation as she watched leia collect her things and eventually left the room with her. “what class do you have next? i’m skipping mine if you wanna come smoke one under the bleachers with me.” she offered. even if she was expecting to receive a no, lj was fully prepared to lay on a healthy layer of peer pressure and drag the cheerleader out with her as a thank you. “you can say no, but that’d make you fuckin lame.”

leia was a good student, she did her work and usually excelled in her classes, but there were very few that she genuinely enjoyed, and debate wasn’t one of them. leia did not like confrontation or arguing, which was a lot of what debating is, but today the teacher had picked a particularly controversial topic. when leia saw the topic for the day, she had planned to just sit back and try not to roll her eyes too much. but hearing a voice pipe up against the idiotic comments, leia felt confident enough to join lj holliday, the one girl in the school she didn’t really know anything about. when the bell finally rang, leia was shocked to look up to find lj standing next to her desk. “oh yeah, of course. honestly i’m glad someone else was thinking the same thing i was, i was really about to lose hope for this school otherwise,” she joked, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and walking out with lj next to her. leia didn’t mind though, she loved getting to know people and lj already seemed interesting. “uh, i think i have a free study period today,” she answered, pausing as she processed what lj had asked. leia had never actually been out to the bleachers, let alone smoked out there. she usually drew her line at alcohol when it came to parties, so lj’s offer caught her off guard. she was a people pleaser at heart and hated to say no, especially when she was just getting to know the girl next to her. “i dunno, i’ve never actually done that, especially not during school. i mean, wouldn’t we get caught?”

the cast list had been up for almost a week now and the weekend couldn’t have come sooner for leia. she had managed to keep her mouth shut during school, afraid someone, especially dan, would hear her complaints. and since she hadn’t been able to stay with joey during the week, she was practically dying to talk about it all. so as soon as saturday rolled around she was begging to go to the hummel-anderson residence. finally, after much pestering and promises to finish her work on leia’s end, she was allowed to go. truthfully, she had already packed her bag, knewing she would easily break them down, so not even an hour later she was being dropped off at the familiar house. after so many years of staying at joey’s house, leia had no problem simply walking in without a knock and barging into joey’s room. “joey, we need to talk about that cast list,” she announced as she walked into the boy’s room, tossing her stuff to the side of the room. “i’ve been waiting all week to talk to you about it and it wasn’t safe at cheerios practice,” she explained, finally taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “i mean, i think we were robbed. ivy and julien? they already get every glee solo and duet, did they really need this too?” she groaned, rolling her eyes as she leaned back to fully lay down. “i mean, at least i have my own song, i’m kinda excited for that,”

School was never going to be Cam’s favorite thing. Maybe if he spent the entire day in his physics class or his calculus class, but because he had to go to English and history, and other subjects that he absolutely hated, school was a no for him. He always loved game days. He rocked his practice jersey through the halls and people would throw up their fist with a “go titans” cheer when they passed him. Usually, game day meant there was a huge smile on his face. But currently, his heart was hurting and his head was full of confusion. So, he couldn’t even really enjoy one of his favorite days. He even usually loved the car ride with Leia because it was so damn easy to annoy her. They didn’t spend a crazy amount of time, or really any time, together during the school day. It was nice to have sibling time to annoy her. But he wasn’t even in the mood to do any of that today either. He mostly just wanted to get to school and talk to his boys about the game, and try to forget that his relationship was on the brink of implosion. “What?” He questioned, peeking over at his sister from out of the corner of his eye. He thought he sounded like someone who was excited t play some football later in the day, but she was his sister. She knew him better than most people, so she had to know that he wasn’t acting like himself. He nodded his head once she answered that classes were going well, hoping she would move on and not want to talk about him anymore. Unfortunately, his sister had other plans. “No,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his feelings. He kept his eyes focused on the road, barely listening to her as she started saying something that sounded awfully familiar to him. A smile crept across his face, dimples and all, once she hit the punch line. She really did know how to get him to smile. “First of all, you stole my joke,” he teased, shaking his head. He could tell that she was just worried about him. That was the only thing that could get Leia to tell a dad joke. “Eli and I are… not really together right now.”

UPDATED WHEN: friday, september 18th, before school

cam and leia may not have been the kind of siblings that seemed super close to those on the outside, their constant bickering not exactly helping the case, but truthfully they were probably some of the closest siblings in lima. they always seemed to end up going to each other about everything, so by now leia could practically read her brother like an open book. she could tell he was in no mood to talk to her, or anyone for that matter, but what kind of sister would she be if she didn’t pester him until he opened up. she had almost given up when he simply said he didn’t want to talk about it, but thankfully her awful joke was enough to break cam from his brooding. typical cameron ford evans. “and you probably stole it from dad who probably stole it from the internet so it doesn’t count,” she laughed, sticking her tongue out at her brother. she would’ve been perfectly fine just getting a smile out of him, but as he started to speak up about what was really bothering him, leia turned as much as she could in her seat to give him her full attention. “oh, wow. i mean, i had kinda heard stuff around school but i was afraid to ask about it,” she admitted, sighing softly. “are you okay? i mean, what happened? you don’t have to tell me, but...” she trailed off, for once speechless. eli and cam were the last couple she would have ever expected to break up, especially now. it left her to wonder if it had been mutual, especially with how cam was reacting, but she had to remind herself it wasn’t her place to judge. she just needed to be there for him.

Topher always appreciated who Leia was. Not only was she wicked nice and smart, but she was just cool. She seemed like the kind of girl who would hold onto your secrets until the day she died. “Caramel, huh? And they make those in the frappe things? I normally get vanilla bean, also basic, but hell might switch it up just for you,” he joked, tapping her shoulder jokingly. Iced caramel macchiato, double shot of espresso. He made a mental note to remember that. Leia Evans just wasn’t her without her coffee. He could believe that. “Shit, I feel like if I drank that much coffee I’d be off my rocker,” he said moving up in the line as they spoke. She was just so awesome. How could one person just be this fun to talk to? Even if it was about coffee? “Oh yeah, how’s that been goin’? Haven’t been by there in a while. It’s a little intimidating,” it was not intimidating, he just didn’t want to seem like a weirdo showing up there multiple times a week to mainly see Leia instead of picking up a comic. “C’mon, you can’t let that get you down. You’re seriously more talented than her. I mean it,” and he did mean that. There was no one at McKinley that he thought was more talented than Leia Evans. Even if she did stay in the background more because of other people, he thought she was the best of the best. “Wait, for real?” Topher’s ears perked up in interest as Leia revealed that. “Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled nervously at the thought of Leia watching him play. “I’m really excited and I think we’ll be damn good this year.”

leia’s smile hadn’t left her lips since the moment she spotted topher, an effect he always had on her. she just genuinely enjoyed his company, he was kind and knew how to make her laugh, which was a personality she tended to gravitate towards. “i guess we’re both just those people,” she paused with a laugh, jokingly holding a hand to her chest as she continued. “just for me? i’m honored. i might just try your usual then too. but don’t tell me if you don’t like it, i may just cry,” leia joked, shaking her head lightly and took another step up. honestly, she hoped the line would slow down again so she wouldn’t have to stop talking to him, but maybe she’d get lucky and he’d have a moment to stay. “you know, i said the same thing when i first started drinking coffee but i honestly think i’m becoming immune to caffeine. i may be ordering eight shots of espresso by the time i’m thirty,” despite her laughs, this was truly something she was afraid she was building up to. “it’s good, a lot of kids have started using it as their hang out of choice so it’s definitely, something. but you should come by anytime! if it’s the choices that are intimidating, i can try to give some suggestions? or worst case scenario i can ask cam what he usually goes for,” she nodded, thankful that she was next in line as she stepped up to order only so that he wouldn’t see the small blush that had creeped up at his compliment. no one had complimented her talent like that before, and it was truly something she had needed to hear. she was constantly comparing herself and that resulted in her feeling inadequate, but knowing that topher thought otherwise was enough. after ordering, changing it up and ordering the vanilla bean frapp, leia stepped off to the side while waiting for her drink and topher before continuing the conversation. “but yeah, i love watching baseball. maybe it’s because i’ve been surrounded by football for too long, but i think it’s more interesting than watching guys tackle each other. and i really think you guys have your team made this year. i think this is gonna be the year for a lot of our sports,”

the moment mckinley’s bell rang signaling the end of the school day, the real part of leia’s day was set into motion. she usually had about half an hour of time between her last class and the start of cheerios practice to change, grab a snack, and more importantly, mentally prepare herself for the drill instructor that was coach tanaka. of course she loved the team and enjoyed practice, with the exception of the early morning weekend ones, but coach tanaka was a force to be reckoned with and if you didn’t go in prepared for the hours ahead, it would be rough for everyone present. with a final goodbye to her final teacher for the day, leia made her way down the halls and past the side doors that lead to the student parking lot, planning to stop by her brother’s car to grab her practice bag when a familiar face leaning by the stairs stopped her in her tracks. frankie puckerman. she hadn’t seen or spoken to frankie since the end of summer, and truth be told, she preferred it that way. leia had been doing her very best to avoid the girl and the odd sort of relationship that had blossomed over the summer, made easy by the fact that they didn’t have any classes together. and as guilty as she felt about the whole ordeal, her plan had been proven successful for the past couple of weeks. well, until now at least. as leia’s eyes met frankie’s own, she knew she couldn’t run away from this one. with a quiet, deep breath, leia cautiously walked up to where frankie was perched, a half smile planted on her lips. “frankie, hey. i didn’t know you’d be out here,” a sad attempt at a greeting, but she wasn’t sure what else was appropriate to say in this position. “i feel like i haven’t seen you in weeks, but i guess i have cheerios and glee to thank for that. anything new?” even though leia was trying to be as casual as she could, her nervousness seemed to radiate off of her as she glanced around, unable to let her eyes firmly rest on frankie’s face. she had never been good at lying, and that’s how she knew she was screwed.

Leia Evans. Maybe it was ridiculous and cheesy to have a raging crush on the little sister of Topher’s nemesis, but Leia was different. She was sweet, she wasn’t a total dud like Cam, and she listened. She was like every perfect quality wrapped up into one singular human. She was beautiful, smart, had the voice of an angel, and cared about others. If someone asked him who the nicest person at McKinle was, he’d say Leia Elise Evans in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t even have to think about it. He knew that Leia didn’t really see him the same way and he didn’t need to ask her to know that. He could see it. Topher knew he got flushed when he talked to her and got actively more talkative but also tripped over his words. It was in plain sight that he had feelings for the younger Evans but he was convinced she was totally oblivious. “I don’t know I was feelin’ one of those uh — frappey things,” he pointed at the menu at the few frappe’s that the Lima Bean had. “What’re you gettin’? Maybe I’ll try one of those out instead,” knowing Leia’s coffee order? That would be a major score in his book. “That’s how I feel about it, I just played video games all summer and you know, also watched Netflix,” he chuckled. “You excited for glee and cheer though? I’m sure you’re like at the top of the pyramid and shit.”

if there was one thing leia tried to be, it was a friend of the world. or in this case, mckinley. she was always the one that tried to offer a smile while walking down the hallways or say hi to the new kid at school, so it was no surprise that she had made herself known to topher. despite being in similar groups at school, the pair had never been super close, though much of that due to the silly rivalry he had with her brother. but when the few times they had hung out, leia had always liked it. she felt like topher was similar to her in that they didn’t really care much for the status in school, they just liked to have a good time. so, when leia saw the flash of red hair behind her, her grin was instantaneous. “those are a summer staple, definitely good if you’re not a big coffee fan. the caramel is my favorite, basic but good,” she nodded in approval, her eyes following to glance at the menu. “i dunno, i always tell myself i’ll try something knew but by the time i get to the counter i always just get the usual iced caramel macchiato, but a double shot of espresso. i’m not me without caffeine,” she joked, laughing softly as the line finally moved up a bit. “see, i’d like to say i did something productive but even when i was at dad’s shop i just did the same things i did at home. honestly don’t know how i haven’t gotten kicked from the job yet,” it was nice catching up with topher, he was always so easy to talk and leia loved that about him. “i don’t know if i’d say top of the pyramid, if only because ivy st. james would be after me in mere minutes, but i am super excited for this year. i feel like i’ve worked a lot over the past two years and now that i’m finally an upperclassman i can hopefully start showcasing that. but what about you? any big plans? i can’t wait for baseball season to start up, don’t tell my dad i said this but it’s always been my favorite to watch,”

Sometimes Cameron was a morning person. Usually, if it was a game day, he was excited from the moment he woke up. But it really wasn’t his day. Well, it really wasn’t his week. After his conversation with Eli the night before, he just really wasn’t feeling going to school or playing football or participating as a functioning member of society. He knew his dad was going to be pumped the moment he made it downstairs, so Cam decided to stall upstairs as long as he could. He spent some extra time fixing the curls in his hair even decided to do some stupid moisturizing treatment that he really didn’t care about. He figured if he was going to be a bummer and look sad all day, he might as well look good while doing it. He stopped picking at the curls in his hair once he heard his sister call for him to hurry up. Thankfully, he’d been able to skip any family breakfasts or conversations he’d be forced into it. He made his way into his room and grabbed his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. The second day of school meant actual work and learning that he wanted no part of, but he figured Leia was excited. That’s the type of nerd she was. But he didn’t even feel like making fun of her. It didn’t take long for him to make it downstairs and head to the car. “Yeah, excited I guess. It should be a good game,” he replied, focusing his eyes on the road. They usually talked about nonsense on the way to school, Cam and Leia were both pretty good at giving each other a hard time. “How was the first day yesterday? You happy with your classes?”

to say the evans’ household was abuzz that morning would be an understatement. by the time leia was full awake, bright-eyed, and making her way downstairs, she could tell excitement was in the air. with school officially starting, the new directions finall meeting, and the football season kicking off for both cam and the cheerios, leia was practically bouncing with anticipation. while she of course loved summer and having the time off, leia truly felt like she thrived during the school year. she was the definition of a social butterfly and she had missed that time spent with her friends and teammates over the past few months. but leia was convinced anyone would miss school after two months spent with sam evans practically every day. one could only take so many horrible jokes in a day. which is one of the reasons she had begged for her own car, saving her from a ride full of similar content from her brother. from the moment she had climbed into the passenger seat, she had braced herself for the morning jokes, but they didn’t come. “a good game? cam, it’s the first game of the season, you’ve gotta be more excited than that,” leia replied, an eyebrow raising as she turning to face him. “it was good, classes are good,” her words came out slowly, the girl being more focusing on eyeing her brother. something was off, she knew that much by the lack of his usual cheery self. “what’s wrong? do you want to talk about it?” she asked, despite knowing the probable answer to it already. if it was any other day, or any other person, leia might have just left him to his own devices, but she knew her brother. this wasn’t his usual self and even if she didn’t know what was up, she could at least try to cheer him up, even if that meant she had to do what she despised. “hey cam, did you hear about that cheese factory that exploded in france yesterday?” though it almost pained her to say it, a smile still cracked as she finished out the joke. “da brie was everywhere,” she just hoped it would make him smile too.

it would be an understatement to say mornings didn’t always run the smoothest in the evans’ household. with half of the family not falling under the name of a ‘morning person’ and sam seemingly being in a constant state of an ‘anytime type of person’, it took all leia had to offer a halfhearted smile and plug in her headphones until she was fully awake and had a cup of coffee in hand. usually by the time she had finished getting ready and made her way downstairs, leia was awake and her usual smiling self, but a cup of her favorite iced coffee was the icing on top. “cam, hurry up! the second day of school is like the first real day of school and i can’t be late,” she called to wherever her brother was, tossing her backpack over her shoulder with a sigh as she waited by the door. they were in no way running late, leia was just too antsy to stand around for too long. what she said was true, the first day was usually spent going over the syllabus or even doing get to know you games, the second day was the real start to it all. thankfully, leia and cam were heading out the door within five minutes, leia easily sliding into the passenger seat with her backpack and coffee in hand. “oh, good morning to you too, brother dearest,” she said sarcastically with a playful roll of the eyes, trying to get some sort of conversation going for the sake of the car ride. normally starting a conversation with cam was easy, either they’d tease each other or talk about anything from their plans for the day to dad’s latest jokes. but today was different. leia knew something was off when her greeting didn’t immediately earn her back some comment about a demon. “so, tonight’s the first game! are you excited? nervous? what’s up?” honestly she wasn’t sure what was off about cam, but the only thing she could think of off the top of her head was the game that would kick off the season that night. maybe his nerves had just gotten the best of him? 

Theo and Leia were no strangers to the 24-hour waffle house on Neubrecht Road. Like the bonfire after the Thanksgiving football game or hikes with his dad on Christmas morning, opening his school schedule with her was one of his favorite traditions. Theo was a simple guy through and through and he found joy in the little things, including this friendship ritual they’d developed over the years. As he stared at the menu pretending to be indecisive about he was going to get, he laughed at the groan he earned from across the table. “Patience,” he insisted, slowly and mindlessly scanning the menu before flipping the page as the waiter stood idly by waiting for him to make a decision. Theo knew he only had a little bit more time before Leia put her foot down, so as soon as she picked up the manila envelope, he put down the menu. “Okay,” he sighed, crossing his arms over the table and smiling up at the waiter, “I’m ready.” He eyed the envelope in Leia’s hands, wordlessly telling her to wait. He let her go first and then ordered a stack of pancakes with home fries, eggs, bacon and hash browns for himself…plus french toast to share. Theo’s stomach was so bottomless it was almost comical, which he definitely got from his father. “Alright, now we can open them,” Theo declared, snatching Leia’s envelope and sliding his towards her so that they could get a glimpse of each other’s schedules before they saw their own. The envelope contained several pieces of paper with information he wasn’t looking for, so he had to flip through it for a second before he found what he was looking for. He held the paper in his hands and quickly looked it over, grimacing as if he’d just seen something terrible, only to smile again to show he was kidding. “Damn, lucky,” he breathed out, shaking his head, “you better tell me I have english with Miss Figgins for third period, because you do.” Everyone knew Figgins had the best english class and Theo had yet to have her as a teacher—this was his last chance. “Give me the bad news first, Evans,” he told her, closing his eyes as he waited for her to drop any bad news about his schedule on him.

the fluorescent lighting that flickered on occasion and the constant smell of pancakes wafting from the open kitchen were only a few things leia had grown to love about the small waffle house over the years. it was another one of those places that would always have a special place in her heart, just for the memories that had been born there at practically every visit. “i hate you,” leia said with a roll of her eyes, leaning back into the cushion of the booth they were in. thankfully her tactics worked and he was soon rattling off his order. by the time he had finished ordering what seemed like half of the menu, leia followed up with her own order of eggs, hash browns, and sausage, which she knew she wouldn’t be able to finish with the french toast to go along with it. after handing back their menus and thanking the waiter with a smile, leia turned back to face theo with raised brows, placing her chin on her folded hands to show she was waiting. her grin returned as theo snatched her envelope, her following in suit as she reached for his and hastily opened the clasp on the folder before pulling out the papers from inside. while leia shifted through theo’s papers, she made sure to keep one eye on him, hoping his reaction would tell her some good news before she saw it herself. “oh no, what?” she asked quickly, only to lightly kick his shin as he showed he was kidding, leia finally running her eyes down the schedule in hand. “oh my god, i do? amazing, i’ve loved every class i’ve had with her. as for you, theo james, drumroll please,” a pause and she drummed her fingers along the table, dragging out the answer as much as she could get away with. “bad news first? well... i’m so sorry, but you don’t have miss figgins third period,” she told him, giving him a half-hearted smile before continuing. “but you do finally have your dream english class with miss figgins in the next class period! i know, i know, it won’t be the same without me there, but i think you’ll find some way to go on,” she teased, laughing at the reaction she got out of him from her stunt. “c’mon, tell me what else i’ve got. is there anything bad? i don’t know if i can handle another math class from mr. snore again this year, math is already boring enough but he just brings it to a new level,”

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Topher McCarthy & @crhqstarters​

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Wednesday, August 26th. Noon.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: The Lima Bean

Topher typically wouldn’t call himself a coffee guy. Or even a tea guy. But every now and again he’d get a hankering for Lima Bean coffee. Every resident in Lima was practically raised on the coffee and Topher was no exception and since he had spent most of his summer either practicing or playing video games, he figured he might as well get out of the house for a little bit. After finishing up a round of Rainbow Six Siege, he grabbed his wallet and keys, and stuffed them into his pockets and made his way out of the house. He opted for walking to the coffee shop, it wasn’t a far walk from his house and he probably needed to see the sun for a bit. He was sure he was lacking some sort of Vitamin D since he spent most of his summer cooped up. Stepping into the Lima Bean, he walked over to where the line was, it always tended to hit its peak spots either early in the morning or during lunch rush. Noticing a familiar face in front of him, he tapped them on the shoulder. “Hey, hey, hey, fancy spottin’ your ass here,” he greeted, nudging the person’s shoulder playfully. “What’ve you been up to? Excited to get back to seeing those beautiful red colors next week?” He asked, attempting to make some sort of small talk with the other.

the lima bean was a place leia frequented more than she’d like to admit. but with its close proximity to her dad’s comic shop and the iced coffee being a staple she couldn’t pass, she found herself there at least a couple times a week. whether it be a quick trip before a shift or hanging out there for a bit, the lima bean had been the main driver for her to leave the house over the past couple of months, and today was no exception. she had just got done watching the comic and trinkets shop while her dad was at practice, the idea of an iced caramel coffee being one she couldn’t pass up as she pushed open the doors, finding herself practically already in line. she knew the place was usually packed around this time, but she couldn’t deny she had been hoping to find it a bit less busy. but nevertheless, she was prepared to wait in the line as she didn’t have anything planned until practice later that day. she had just pulled her phone out to pass the time when she felt a tap on her shoulder, a smile instantly appearing as she turned and saw the red head standing behind her. “hey there, cowboy. i could say the same for you, since when are you a coffee kinda guy?” she teased, only turning the the side slightly to make sure the line hadn’t moved while she was talking, which it hadn’t. “honestly? this summer has been kinda bland, but it was a nice break. much needed time to catch up on my netflix watching. but i am so stoked to get back. not really for the school aspect of it, but i’ve missed my friends and clubs, you know? and as much as i hate to say it, i kinda miss the uniform. what about you? do anything fun this summer?”

after so many years of friendship, you start to develop traditions and routines that become your thing, the thing that you do together without fault. when it came to theo and leia, their thing was simple. every year before school started, usually after the first practice of the season, they would make sure to meet up at the local waffle house. leia couldn’t remember exactly how the waffle house tradition had started, but the yearly meets in the small restaurant had become one of her favorites. the fact that after so many years they were still sitting in the same small booth with the same cheesy smiles as they anxiously clutched their unopened schedules was something that always warmed her heart. “quit stalling, i want to open this already! we both know you’re going to order the same thing you always do,” leia groaned as she impatiently thrummed her fingers on the unopened schedule, though the smile on her face betrayed her attempts to seem annoyed. the pair had been sitting there for about ten minutes already, having already ordered their drinks but the other deciding to take his sweet time figuring out what to eat. every year the same thing happened, leia would show up already impatient and ready to open the schedule she had picked up earlier in the day, if she hadn’t already peeked, and theo would find some way to stall just mess with her. but it was nice to know that things between them wouldn’t change.  “fine, i guess i’ll just open it myself,” she threatened, picking up the manila folder, starting to flip it open in hopes that he would hurry things along. 

LEIA: hey..

LEIA: i hope things aren't awk now or anything but, i was thinking maybe we shouldn't say anything ab it?? at least to our friends?

It was no wonder everyone was on edge and nervous. Coach Tanaka was not an easy coach by any means and she had no problem cutting anyone. Upperclassmen could easily be replaced by more agile underclassmen coming in which meant that the upperclassmen couldn’t take the easy way out and relax on the hard conditioning days. By this point in the day, girls had already puked and some had been sent home crying because they were already cut for not keeping up. The Cheerios were a ruthless team and it shocked Lemon that she had somehow managed to stay on the team on talent alone. Most of the girls on the team were just as ruthless as Coach Tanaka and it was a miracle she was still standing by her senior year. “No, you’re doing so great!” She reassured with a heavy breath. She was still catching her breath. Slowly, but surely. “God, I don’t know how I’m still so nervous after four years of doing this,” and by this point Lemon had improved significantly especially when it came to the conditioning days. Freshmen Lemon had nearly got cut on her running alone, but her last name was what really kept her in and now she had proved to be a great asset to the team. “It’ll be more enjoyable after hell week, and I can’t wait for the pep rallies!” She spoke excitedly, taking another gulp from her water bottle. “By the way,” a small pause. “New Directions auditions are coming up, right? Do you know what you’re gonna sing yet?”

to say the atmosphere in the gym was tense was an understatement. the cheerios were a close bonded team, which you had to be with all the extra time spent together almost every part of the year, but until tryouts were over and the team was official? that was all out the window. everywhere you looked, girls glared at each other, many of them showing no sympathy when someone got sick or cut. in fact, leia could’ve sworn she saw a few of them smile, but didn’t dare laugh with coach tanaka around. so when lemon turned to speak to leia during the break, it was kind of a relief to know not everyone was hoping she, along with everyone else, wouldn’t make it. “thanks, that’s actually nice to hear instead of the muttering under people’s breath,” she spoke, sparing a glance towards the parties responsible who had definitely heard. “i wonder the same thing, but i have a feeling if everyone wasn’t out for each other this would be a whole lot better. some of them act like they forget that they’re not going to be the only ones on the team,” it was nice to be able to vent to someone about the stresses of the week ahead. of course leia was too nice to call out names or anything, but getting it off her chest was a relief. “oh my god, i know! i’ve missed the feeling during the pep rallies and game nights, it’s just so fun,” she agreed, pulling out a granola bar of her own to get something on her stomach. “oh yeah, they’re starting this weekend but i’m oddly ready for it? i haven’t totally decided on a song yet, i’m stuck between so many but i’m thinking  ‘grow as we go’ by ben platt for one? i’m not sure on the other, maybe something a bit older? ugh, i don’t know. i don’t want to pick any basic songs but i also want to make sure it’s something i know. you know, sometimes i think picking an audition song is harder than hell week,” a pause as the girl glanced around her. “and then i come back to reality and remember where i’m at,”

“Oh, that’s probably his name, I think. And you’re right, he was cute but I’m pretty sure he was gay because I made out with him that one time.” Joey said with a shrug, smiling at Leia as he nodded while she explained what chivalry really meant, but deciding to drop that topic, at least for now. As he heard Leia talk about the glee club, Joey had a lot to think about. He wanted to do more in the New Directions than he had done during his sophomore year, but he didn’t want to upset Julien or Ivy because the two of them were still his friends – but they had to know that Joey was pretty good at singing, so of course he wanted to do more than sway in the background. “Listen, I agree with you, I think we should do more than just sing behind Ivy and Julien because we are pretty good at what we do. And Dan Schuester can’t just always pick his brother for all of the solos, that’s not fair.” He said with a shrug, smiling when Leia mentioned that the two of them should do a solo. “That’s a great idea! We’ll totally win whatever it is if the two of us are singing, we should totally talk to Dan about that! That would be fun.” He said with a nod, starting to think about duets that the two of them could do – even if Joey spent his sophomore year just singing in the background at competitions, he was excited to do a duet with Leia in one of the competitions, knowing that they sounded great together. “That’s sweet of you, but apparently we need two songs now… I guess Vienna is one of them, I just need to find another.” Joey said with a nod, smiling at the other’s idea of them spending a night just picking out songs for the auditions. “That’s actually a great idea! Let’s do that! You can spend the night over at my place!”

“wait, seriously? you didn’t tell me that! how was it? do french people actually kiss better?” this kind of talk was part of what leia loved about being friends with joey, they could just simply talk about any and every thing with no judgement arising. she especially appreciated this when it came to talking about glee club, considering they had a few conflicting friends, but that didn’t seem to bother the younger hummel-anderson across from her who seemed to feel the same as she did. “exactly! and i don’t want to complain and get a song, that’s not how i want to do things. i want to earn it because i’m good a what i do,” she explained, her smile beaming as she leaned forward, excitement evident on her features. “right? i mean, it would be the biggest power duo they didn’t know they had. and if dan says no, maybe we can just, you know, mention how it’s a shame he’s constantly picking the straight, white couple to be front and center.” a pause. “kidding, honestly i don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to find a spot for us if we give a good audition. even if it’s sectionals, it would just be nice to have something,” it was true, leia wasn’t necessarily going after nationals or anything, she just wanted to have one moment and all in all, she wanted to have fun with it. last year, glee had almost felt like a chore as she was always battling for vocal highlights and numbers, practicing day and night to better herself and it took all the fun out of it. this year she just wanted to enjoy it. “thank god, i was hoping you’d say that because i really need the help with song choices. plus, a sleepover at the hummel-anderson’s is always a good time. i’ll just text my dad, he should be fine with it,” she spoke, already pulling out her phone. “thank you, by the way. for being willing to help out. by the end of tonight, with both of our brains at work, we’ll have songs figured out for both of us,” 

CAM: Delusionally awesome... Is that a word? Not awesome. I know that's a word.

CAM: It's nice she gives you the option??? Because I only get super long prayers. She thinks I'm a heathen.

CAM: They're not all jerks. They can be nice sometimes. Even Theo has his moments.

LEIA: u make my head hurt sometimes

LEIA: because i'm already an ANGEL. and i don't sneak eli st. james in the house at night

CAM: Okay. So you admit that you're the demon???

CAM: Mom gives the best pep talks. Get her to say a full prayer for you. It'll last like 45 minutes.

CAM: The only food I had before was a smoothie because I knew I couldn't eat a lot. I mean, I was nice to the kid. The rest of the guys? Not so much.

LEIA: i can admit ur delusional

LEIA: she does but as much i love her & her prayers, i'd like to actually go 2 bed @ a decent hour tn so may just settle for a quick pep talk in the am