( chapter eight! )
season 1 episode 8
sister from the same mister
𝗔 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬-𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗞𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗦 𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗙𝗨𝗟. Every morning was the same, each day the Fabray would prepare a well-thought-out meal for each one of her family members. Their preferences were practically ingrained into her brain; Beck liked waffles coated in the richest maple syrup, Puck preferred to go old school with a classic 'English' breakfast. And Beth (whenever she came around) always enjoyed muesli mixed with yogurt and a variety of different dried fruits.
She had also baked a couple dozen blueberry muffins for the school's bake sale which Mr. Schue had somehow managed to rope her into. It was to raise more money to fund repairment for the gym roof. Apparently, after years of it never being tended to the steel scaffolding had started to cave in on itself. However, Quinn thought it was unfair for them to focus more on a tattered school roof when the Glee Club could potentially suffer more. Sam was the one with no funds, 3 members, and props that were practically on life support.
Kurt, Blaine, and some of the other alumni had planned to secretly wire the money made from their treats over to Sam without Mr. Schue ever finding out. Since there were a lot of kids who attended McKinley High School for the Arts it would be very easy to divide the profit. Mike had suggested giving about 30% to the Raise the Roof fund, out of generosity, then transmitting the rest of the 80% over to the New New Directions.
Santana proposed splitting the cash 50/50, that way, everyone could be happy and nobody would be penniless. And Kitty, being the sweet soul that she was, decided that they could just lie through their teeth about every giving the money since each donation was anonymous, and pocket the rest of it for their own personal use.
Quinn had no idea how they were going to pull this off, but she prayed that it would go successfully for the sake of Sam.
" Sheesh, what's the special occasion, did something happen ?" Beth asked inquisitively, practically gawping once she saw the mounds of bacon that filled one of the center plates. "Is it Grandma Judy? Please tell me that she's okay-"
" Grandma Judy is fine," Quinn reassured as she sat at the head of the table with a cup of espresso that had just finished brewing.
"Why wouldn't she be ?"
Beth moved to sit on the countertop with ease, it was probably one of her favourite places to weirdly cozy up on beside her dad's recliner chair. " Don't you remember? The last time you served us up a big breakfast was to break the news that she had fallen down the stairs and was practically in a dazed coma, by the tone of your voice I thought she would...you know.."
" Well she didn't and we should be very thankful for that," Quinn sighed as a grin tugged at her lips. Having Beth over to stay made the hazel-eyed girl very happy, her daughter led a very busy life and whenever she actually came back to Lima it was always to visit Shelby or to crash on Rachel's perfect polyester couch. It never really bothered Quinn, Shelby was her mother after all and Rachel was kind-off her daughter's older sister. They were family, and to the Fabray, family always came first. "Anyways, how's the job hunting going? A little birdie told me that you're applying to become a waiter at Breadstix's."
" Well, Rachel obviously got her facts wrong," Beth emphasized as she reached for an apple."I applied to become a barista at the Bean, there was a long waiting list but I somehow managed to snag myself an interview."
Quinn quickly put down her coffee mug whilst her hand still lingered on the rim of the cup. "So, how did you do then ?"
"I got the job," Beth replied rather rapidly as she raised her free hand to scratch a non-existent itch, "But then I turned it down, I told the manager that another establishment had offered me a better one with more pay and less working hours."
Both of Quinn's eyebrows shot up at that moment, a disappointed frown settled on her cherry chapstick coated lips, whilst Beth's hands began to clam once she gazed upon her mother's dismayed expression.
"Why would you do that? You know how difficult it is to get jobs around here these days, especially with most of the small business going redundant," the blonde paused in between breaths to pinch the bridge of her nose out of mere confusion, her head raced to find a solution. " Maybe I could ask Santana if there's an opening for an assistant at the local Lawyer firm... I mean, she hasn't worked there for like 5 years but I bet she could sweet-talk Don Brosco into letting you work as his assistant."
Beth's eyes nervously darted to the floor, the lies were starting to eat away at her like a jarring chokehold. She had never applied for the barista position at the Lima Bean, and she had most certainly never gone in for a formal interview with anyone.
It was all just a web of sticky, tangled white lies that had slowly started to grow worse as the months went by. The only reason Beth had ever come back to this claustrophobic town, from her humble abode in Fort Wayne was to dish some breaking news of her own.
" I don't want to be Don Brosco's lapdog, Quinn, I'm much better than that," Beth responded in a stern but slightly timorous tone, eyes still peeled to the glossy Italian marble that was slowly cracking from old age.
Quinn was subtly taken aback by Beth calling her by her first name instead of going with Mom, it wasn't in her nature to be so rude. If the roles were swapped with the hazel-eyed woman's youngest, Beck, then she would've definitely not been as surprised.
Something felt off, strange, like an underlying secret was stirring within the girl. Quinn could instantly tell that something wasn't right once Beth's eye contact began to falter immensely, and her body language was super tense without any reason. That was the exact same way the Fabray used to act whenever she was trying to hide something, bury a secret, punch back the truth.
" I know you Beth Cocoran, even if I didn't have the joys of raising you to be the wonderful young adult you've turned out to be, I still was the one who had to carry you inside of me for 9 painstaking months whilst my whole teenhood essentially fell apart," Quinn began, biting back tears once hot flashes of her teen pregnancy replayed in her mind like a broken record. "I know how it feels to be lost, wandering in circles with no direction in life. It sucks, but you'll get out of it...trust me."
Beth's nerves only deteriorated, even more, the knot in the pit of her stomach grew in size from the pressure, " I'm not lost, or wandering in circles, in fact, I've never seen things more clearly before."
" Then why are you holding yourself back? What are you hiding?"
" I-I'm-"
Just before Beth could reveal her 'secret' a sudden bang came from the other side of the door, with fast foot's steps following it soon after. Quinn immediately rolled her eyes as she slumped in her chair, chin gently rested over her palm. An eruption of shouting trumped the kitchen area once the kitchen door swung open, revealing the source of all the racket to be coming from Beck and Puck.
" God, you are such a pain in the ass, dude !" Beck hissed as she leaned up against the fridge, which ultimately caused all the fridge magnets to fall or even break into two, " How many times do I have to tell you, old man, I never vandalized the library on 34th Street. They simply framed me because I'm a free spirit who isn't afraid to express my essence and pure badassery."
Beth's nose scrunched as the platinum blonde let out a dry chuckle. " You really had me there until you said badassery," she then hopped off the kitchen counter and slowly made her way towards her younger sister, who had somehow doubled in height over the past couple of months. " What are you two fighting about this time ? Last week it was the Bathroom, Last month it was that whole Billy Joe vs Kurt Cobain debate which ended horribly, and just the other day we all had to eat on different sides of the house because of dad not wanting to let Valerie stay over."
" I still don't forgive you for that by the way," Beck jabbed, her piercing blue eyes narrowing in Puck's direction. Noah looked to Quinn for help, but all she could do was shrug her shoulders and drink her coffee. The blonde knew that battling with Beck always started and ended in the same way, hostility.
" Are you trying to land yourself in Juvie? because that's where you'll end up if you don't quit being such a..such a brat, you brat !" Puck interjected as sat on the chair next to Quinn's. " I've been there and trust me when I tell you that it wasn't as badass as the tv makes it out to be."
Peels of sarcastic laughter suddenly burst from deep within as she moved to the mirror to apply more black eyeliner, " Oh no! I'm so scared, I'm literally shaking to my core."
Beth felt like this the perfect opportunity to tell them the news, the secret that she had been holding back. Everyone was annoyed to all measures so hearing some good news would probably make them happier. "Guys, I have something to tell you-"
" You're really starting to get on my nerves Beckster," Puck growled as he pointed his fork in the direction of his daughter, cutting off Beth without thought. "I mean, we do everything for you, put a roof over your head, send you to one of the best Arts schools in Lima, and what do give us in return? A damn headache !"
Beck sharply turned to Puck whilst she stuck her eyeliner in the crook of her pocket. "My mom did all those things for me whilst you were off hiding in the Canadian Alps when I needed you the most. That's probably why I'm such a wreck! You turned me into a wreck! Yep, this is all on you big guy !"
Beth's fists began to clench, her lower lip tucked to form a smoldering purse, once it parted again she tried to choke out her big news, "Guys, I'm mo-"
"God, why can't we just be normal, and civilized for once in our lives!" Quinn shouted angrily, cutting off Beth, yet again. The blonde quickly rose from her chair as she began to collect all wasted bacon and pancakes that had taken her hours to prepare, anger bubbled within the young woman like molten lava. " Six hours of busting my chops off to make this perfect breakfast, and the only thank you I get is this! If you people didn't want anything, you could've just given me a head's up."
Before anybody could entertain the thought of replying to Quinn's question, the blonde swiftly dumped every single piece of her once perfectly sizzled bacon and honey-doused pancakes. Puck's jaw practically unhinged from itself, he couldn't believe it, the young man rose to his feet out of shock, "You just wasted all the goods, what gives babe ?"
"Guys," Beth repeated, her tone getting a little bit shakier.
" No appreciation, No food !" Quinn hissed as her jaw slightly clenched. "You can get your goods at the Gas station, I hear that you can buy 1 Twinkie and get another free one there, maybe that will fill you up, babe."
" Guys"
Puck scoffed inwardly to himself as he moved to get his car keys to the Pick-Up. "Whatever, I'm totally cool with that, Q. I actually happen to like Twinkies, and so do some of the guys down at the station. They're fluffy delightfulness with a sweet surprise on the inside, I would survive off a whole batch of them if I could," he insisted, only angering Quinn further.
A sudden twinge of fury spike within Beth, the pale blonde was sick of keeping it in, sick of trying to hide her huge announcement from the people who she loved. They needed to know before it was too late, 10 more days remained in August, but for the young Cocoran girl, it was slowly shrinking to 3.
" Shut Up, Shut Up, SHUT UP !" Beth bellowed from the pit of her stomach, cheeks flared with bright crimson, everyone's attention immediately went to the girl.
" Wow, she's finally snapped," Beck smirked as she swung her school bag over her shoulder. " Quick, somebody throw a bucket of water over Beth before she melts from rag-"
" I'm moving to Los Angeles and I'm never coming back," Beth finally coughed up as the tension that was swelling inside her stomach finally eased. She gasped a breath of relief, all those webs untangled in an instant. The girl couldn't be more relieved, however, her family didn't seem to be reciprocating the same feelings.
Beck's cocky smirk turned sour and was replaced with a broken frown. She ran a hand through her nicely combed hair as her grip slightly firmed on the side of her back. Beth was the only person who could keep her grounded, the only one who actually understood her. The two had been close since their childhood and they had never grown apart since, even when Beth was in Fort Wayne the young Fabray girl would make sure to Facetime her at least once a day.
Quinn and Puck glanced at one another, then back at their oldest child. A stifled silence feel amongst the family of 4, nobody knew what to say, how to react.
Beth could sense their confusion from their plausibly dazed confusion. Moving towards her father, and nearer to her younger sister the Cocoran girl began to explain her unanimous decision to leave Lima behind for the blue City of Angels. " I've always wanted to make it big, and staying in this desolate town won't help me achieve that goal. I like the theater, and I want to act...maybe if this goes well I might even get my own sitcom. But I can't leave without knowing if you guys will help me in my journey too, support me through thick and thin."
Quinn couldn't bear the thought of losing her baby girl for the third time again, their mother-daughter relationship had blossomed over these past few weeks, and was currently thriving better than it ever had since Beth's conception. But, at the same time, she didn't want to stop the pearl blonde from making something out of her life, Lima could only do so much for one person.
"We'll be with you every single step of the way, Beth, I couldn't be prouder of you for making this decision," Quinn smiled as she dropped her pile of plates and moved towards the girl to give her a hug.
The small-statured Cocoran nuzzled herself into Quinn's embrace, her eyes began to well with tears and soon enough a couple broke free and slowly cascaded down her pale cheeks," If it wasn't for Mercedes's words of wisdom then I wouldn't have pushed myself to get those tickets. When you see her can you tell her that I'm grateful...for everything."
Puck set down his keys on the countertop with a smile laced on his lips. Slyly, the young man wrapped his arms around Quinn and Beth as he rested the top of his chin on Beth's head. " My little girl's going to be a movie star...why wouldn't I support that? You're one in a million kid, one in a damn million."
Beck felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach as a bodacious, almost ugly mix of sadness, jealously and anger swirled within her like a gut-wrenching stomach ache. She didn't understand how they could just let her go so easily, everyone knew Los Angeles was home to the biggest fame-hungry crackheads and influencer junkies. Bowing her head down, the Fabray slipped out the back door without a thought.
Life Sucked
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♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 !
new chapter purr how do you guys feel about Beth moving to LA ?
y'all...so I know that I said that I was going to stop then release the whole book, but this chapter (and the other one) are just too good, I couldn't wait to post them.
the next chapter will be a continuation of this one, meaning it happens on the same day ( ex. you'll get to see the 'raise the roof fund bake sale' and the unofficial new directions perform ) I wanted to fit it all in here but this chapter was already too long for my liking
ANYWAYS I hope you enjoyed this ! next one might be out tomorrow, or fri but we'll see :)