a/n - trigger warning for brief mentions of eating disorders
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Autumn asked as she snuck behind the Carmel auditorium with Rachel. She took a bite of the granola bar the diva had given her and looked around to make sure they weren't being watched. "We could get in serious trouble for this. Besides, aren't you still mad at me?"
"I took what you said to heart, and I realized you were right," Rachel said as she rummaged through the dumpster. "I was trying to look like a slut so people would take me seriously, and– oh my god!"
"What is it?" Autumn asked as she walked up next to Rachel.
"This is bad," the diva said, holding up a box. "This is very, very bad. No, this is worse than bad!"
"I don't get it," the cheerleader said as she took another bite of the granola bar. "It's an empty box of Christmas lights."
"No, Autumn, it's not just an empty box of Christmas lights!" Rachel exasperated, throwing the box back into the dumpster. She grabbed Autumn's arm and dragged her out of the ally behind Carmel High School and down the streets of Lima.
"Where are we going?" Autumn asked.
"We're taking a little field trip."
****
After going all over Lima to put the pieces together on what Vocal Adrenaline was doing, Rachel and Autumn knew they had a big problem on their hands.
"Guys, we have a serious problem," Rachel said as she and Autumn rushed into the choir room. "Autumn and I have been doing some deep background on Vocal Adrenaline."
"Isn't that against the rules?" Artie asked.
"No, not at all," said Autumn. "Well, probably. Whatever. Anyway, what we figured out. Rachel rooted the dumpsters behind the Carmel auditorium and she found eighteen empty boxes of Christmas lights."
"Oh no," Tina said with an uneasy look.
"Which led us to Joelle Fabrics," Rachel added. "I asked them about red Chantilly lace, and they were sold out!"
"Oh sweet Jesus," Mercedes gasped.
"Oh my," Kurt breathed. "They're doing Gaga."
"That's it, it's over," Mercedes said, throwing her hands up in defeat.
"Exactly!" Rachel agreed.
"We should have guessed it," said Kurt. "They're going full out theatricality. They know it's the easiest way to beat us. Damn them!"
"What's up with this Gaga dude?" Puck asked. "He dresses weird, right? Like Bowie?"
"Lady Gaga is a woman!" Kurt snapped. "She's only the biggest pop act to come along in decades. She's boundary pushing. The most theatrical performer of our generation. She changes her look faster than Britt changes sexual partners."
"That's true," said Brittany.
"It makes sense that Vocal Adrenaline would pay homage," said Artie. "It's a brilliant move. She's perfect for them."
"Now hold on a second," said Mr. Schue. "We might be able to kill two birds with one stone here. We can help Tina find a new look and find a competitive number for regionals. This week, your assignment... Gaga."
****
While cleaning her room, Autumn came across a notebook she kept last year when her eating disorder was at its worst. Flipping through the pages, she realized she had become an entirely different person. She wasn't happy, and all her thoughts were fixated on food, and not in the healthy way.
Something she had noticed was her mood had undergone a complete change since joining Glee Club and meeting Rachel. As obnoxious as the diva can be at times, she always makes sure she has snacks to give to Autumn on days when she knows she hasn't eaten much, if at all. And because of that, she's happier than she was freshman year when she was in a really dark place and starving her body into oblivion.
Autumn closed the notebook, knowing that reading her dark thoughts would just trigger her into another relapse. She put it away in one of the desk drawers and left her room. She headed downstairs and into the kitchen. She knew she had to eat something.
She opened up the pantry, and her eyes landed on a box of peanut butter crackers. She took one of the packets out and opened it up, bracing herself before taking a small bite.
Peanut butter had become a fear food to Autumn due to how calorie-dense it was, and pairing it with crackers made it even scarier. It took a while, and she had to take several sips of water in between, but she was eventually able to finish half the package. She put the others into a plastic bag to eat later, and went back upstairs feeling better than she did before.
Sometimes it was the smallest victories that felt the best.
****
"Little monsters, take a bow."
Everyone did some poses in their theatricality costumes. Autumn, Brittany, and Santana did their best model faces, posing dramatically with each other before sitting down.
"Ladies, Kurt, I am really, really impressed," Mr. Schue praised. "You know what the best part is? Each one of your costumes shows off a different aspect of your personality."
"Wait, where's Rachel?" Puck asked. "I mean, I only noticed because five minutes have gone by without her saying something totally obnoxious."
"Rachel kind of got some intense news yesterday," said Mercedes.
"We were spying on Vocal Adrenaline–"
"Guys, that's not fair," Mr. Schue interrupted Quinn. "You gotta stop doing that. But, you know, what did you find out?"
"Okay, y'all ready?" Mercedes asked. "Ms. Corcoran, their coach... she's Rachel's mom."
"Are you serious?" Autumn asked, exchanging a look with Santana and Brittany.
"Way to bury the lead, Mercedes," Artie mumbled.
"We're screwed," said Puck. "Rachel's gonna jump ship over to Vocal Adrenaline."
"Never," Rachel said as she came into the choir room wearing a dress with stuffed animals. "I really don't wanna talk about it though. I'm still processing the news. And my dads are moving my therapist to our spare room later this afternoon. All I know is that I'm not going anywhere and I've chosen a Lady Gaga look that expresses the longing for a childhood I was deprived of."
"You look terrible," said Brittany. "I look awesome."
"I think it's the Kermit the Frog look," Mercedes said, cocking her head to the side.
"And we have a jumper," Kurt said as a frog fell off of the diva's dress.
"Well, my dads can't sew, so these are just stapled on," Rachel explained.
"Okay, guys, why don't we worry about this later and focus on the song," said Mr. Schue.
"Couldn't agree more," Rachel agreed. "Hit it!"
****
Naomi stood quietly outside her dad's bedroom door as she listened in on yet another phone call with some mystery person. This conversation didn't seem as heated as some of the others, yet she could hear the frustration growing in her dad's voice.
She heard footsteps approaching the door, and she quickly moved and went downstairs, pretending to be interested in the nutrition facts on the box of Cheerios sitting on the counter.
"Hey, Dad, did you know that Cheerios have 190 milligrams of sodium?" Naomi asked, smiling innocently as her dad came into the kitchen.
"Yeah, it's right there on the label, silly goose," her dad teased, ruffling her hair.
"Who were you talking to?" the brunette asked as she poured herself a bowl of Cheerios.
"No one, Nomi," the man said. "Just someone from my past. It's not important."
It's not important my butt, Naomi thought as she poured some milk onto the dry cereal. She sent her dad a small smile before grabbing a spoon and taking the bowl upstairs to eat in her room, which she was allowed to do as long as she didn't make a mess.
She set the bowl of cereal down on her desk and took a seat. She pulled out her conspiracy notebook and wrote down 'mystery ex' before circling it. All the pieces were slowly coming together...
those of you who don't know anything, do you have any guesses about who naomi is or why she's important? let me know your theories 🤭
those of you who know because i told you are not allowed to say anything 🤬🥰