when her high school career starts at william mckinley high school, eleanor madigan has no idea just how much her life is about to change over the next few years, for better and for worse. all she really knows is that getting slushied does not sound...
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"rumours, a classic record by fleetwood mac, one of the greatest albums of all time. written as the band was breaking apart, to keep it together."
elle smiled at april took a seat beside her and subconsciously slid her arm through hers.
"now this week; we are done with the backstabbing, and the gossip, and were channeling all that energy into working together. so pick a song from the album and put your own spin on it."
for once, elle thought she was done with boy drama but alas, the next day a school paper was shoved into her hands by none other than mike chang.
"what the hell?" she asked, adjusting her grip while mike watched her impatiently.
"read it," he urged, watching as her eyes scanned the front page and then widened in shock at one of the titles.
"ex-cheerleader caught canoodling with football player ex-boyfriend?" she read aloud before flipping to page three, making her eyes widen even more at the full article.
"where the hell did they get these pictures?" elle asked mike quickly, while her eyes were glued to the three full size photo's on the page.
the first photo was from the football game and showed elle and mike wrapped in a tight hug, the second was from sectionals and showed elle in mike's arms with her legs around his waist, and the third showed them embracing in the choir room after elle's performance at the benefit.
"i have no clue," mike sighed.
"does tina know?" elle asked him quietly before her attention was drawn behind her by a loud cough.
"what the hell is this?" tina spat, thrusting another paper into elle's hand. "mike's with me now, you know that!"
"there's nothing going on." elle replied. "mike and i are friends, that's it."
tina rolled her eyes. "oh i'm sure. why wouldn't you do the same thing to me that i did to you?"
elle chuckled. "because i know how much it hurt and i'm not a two faced bitch?" elle suggested before earning a slap to the face from tina. "you can't hit me!"
"why not? did you follow in your bestie's footsteps and let one of your many boyfriends get you knocked up?" tina asked with a smug grin that was wiped off when elle shoved her backwards.
"oh wait, that can't be the case 'cause none of the guys you've dated have actually been interested in you." tina continued.
"you're one to talk, co-chang! you couldn't get a boy to like you so you had to grab one that was already in a relationship!" elle fired back.
"you're just mad that mike chose me over you," tina laughed.
"would you stop it?" mike interrupted, stepping between the girls and holding them an arms length apart. "you're both being ridiculous!"
"am i?" tina asked. "you know how much she hates me, mike, who's to say that she didn't put this article together herself to try and break us up?"
"are you stupid?" elle asked, trying her best to get back in tina's face. "i know this may be a strange concept to you, but i don't need a man to determine my worth for me."
"cut the crap, elle!" tina argued. "we all know you partook in one of sam's midnight hotel rendezvous'!"
"one of my what?" sam asked rounding the corner and stopping in his tracks once he heard his name.
"what quinn wasn't enough for you, huh?" tina asked him, her tone pointed. "or kurt for that matter?"
"what are you talking about?" sam asked, already exasperated.
"leave sam out of this, alright? whatever issues you have are between you and me." elle defended, motioning for sam to get out of there.
tina looked back at elle before huffing and storming down the hallway.
elle sighed and leaned back against her locker before mike grabbed her by the arm and forced her stand straight and face him.
"tell me you didn't write that article."
"what?" elle's eyes widened in shock that mike would actually think so low of her.
"tell me you didn't write it."
elle sighed exasperatedly. "i didn't write it and you know it." she told him sternly. "she's just trying to get in your head and make you choose."
"choose what?" mike asked.
"between me and her."
mike swallowed harshly before finally speak up. "well, then i chose her." he explained before he walked away, presumably after tina.
elle watched him go until her vision became blurred with tears and she was forced to look away to stop anyone else in the hall from seeing her cry.
"ellie?" sam's soft voice from behind her made her squeezed her eyes shut as the first of many tears began rolling down her face.
"i didn't write that article, sam." she told him, though the expression on his face told her that he already knew. "you have to believe me; i didn't write it, i-,"
"i know." sam nodded before swiftly pulling elle into a hug to help her hide her tears from the students around them.
at the next glee club meeting, mike was still refusing to talk to elle, much to her dismay, which made it all the more difficult for her to perform 'the chain'.
sam had graciously offered to accompany her singing with his guitar, but he, and the rest of the new directions soon noticed how elle's singing was being over taken by her need to cry.
by the second verse, all that could be heard was sam's uncertain guitar playing while elle had stopped singing and was hiding her face in her hands to try and force herself not to cry.
"elle?" sam stopped playing and dropped the guitar next to him before cautiously approaching the crying girl and putting his hands on each of her shoulders, that she quickly shrugged off before rushing out of the room.
elle managed to avoid the rest of her teammates for a good while before she had to come face to face with someone but luckily, that someone was brittany.
"ellie?" brittany's voice was quiet as she walked with eleanor to home ec. "i have to tell you something, but you need to promise that you won't get mad."
"why would i get mad?" elle asked with a nervous chuckle.
"just promise?" brittany asked urgently.
"okay," elle nodded. "i promise."
brittany sighed and nervously chewed on her lip. "i wrote the article about you and mike." she admitted.
elle felt her heart drop as she cast her gaze at the floor . "why would you-,"
"i didn't mean to do anything bad," brittany explained. "i just remembered how happy you were when you and mike were together.. i just wanted you to be happy again."
elle looked at brittany again, taking note of how she looked close to tears herself. "oh britt," elle cooed, stopping the pair in their tracks to hug brittany.
"i just want everything to go back to the way it was." brittany explained, wiping at her stray tears. "you and mike are my friends, i love you guys and i wanted to make you happy."
elle sighed softly and took brittany's hands. "you do that by just being you, britt." she smiled.
