Adalynn's audition had gone great, or at least she thought it had gone great. She had no idea what was going on in the casting directors minds, so all she could do was hope and pray to whatever was out there that they saw the potential in her that Quinn did.
Bailey had a meeting with the producers, who loved her song This Love. They got her signed to a record label, and she was busy spending everyday working on her debut album, BAILEY. The album would feature Adalynn's song You Are In Love, which they would be singing as a duet with Tina and Quinn singing back-up vocals.
But, most importantly, Rachel was getting ready for her opening night on Broadway. Unfortunately, she was completely freaking out.
"Guys, it's bad," said Finn. "Rachel has been cyber cutting all night. She read, like, every negative comment ever written about her in the span of an hour."
"No way," Adalynn shook her head in disbelief as she exchanged a look with Tina.
"Are you serious?" Bailey frowned.
"Yeah," Kurt nodded. "She's taken to her bed. She says she's too psyched to go on tonight and that her confidence is shot. We have to fill her with love and validation so she gets it back, otherwise, everything she's ever worked for her entire life is gonna be ruined."
"Or, we could just speed this whole process up and let me handle it with some good old-fashioned tough love," Adalynn shrugged.
"If all else fails, then yes," said Kurt. "But right now, she needs us to be here and support her."
One by one, everyone took turns going in to talk to Rachel, except for Adalynn, who was forced to stay in the living room since no one trusted her not to psych the diva out even more. However, she couldn't help but smirk and think 'I told you so' when their gentle approach to this situation failed.
"I've never seen her like this," Quinn said as she came out of Rachel's room with wide eyes.
"I know," Blaine agreed. "She's usually pushing people away to get onstage."
"She threatened to shove me down a flight of stairs once so that she could play the lead in a summer musical," Adalynn said as she ate a gummy bear.
"It's not fair that anyone can send a hateful tweet to anyone and have access to artists," Bailey said as she scrolled through her Instagram DM's, which had been flooded with messages from new fans after she released This Love as her debut single.
"You know, I don't think that it's the criticism that's gotten to her," said Mercedes. "I think it's, like, the volume of it."
"It's Twitter," Sam nodded.
"I can't believe my note didn't work," Tina frowned.
"I know, it was so good," Bailey agreed.
"Can I please try my tough love strategy now?" Adalynn asked. "This is hopeless."
Before anyone could say anything, the loft door opened.
"Hello, losers," Sue Sylvester said as she welcomed herself in. "Well, you live in the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn, and there isn't even a lock on your door. You might wanna look into that. Unless, of course, you think the rapist is gonna move on to the next apartment filled with nubile 19-year-olds and three-year-old twin babies simply because your door is so damn annoying to open."
"Thank god the twins are at the preschool right now," Bailey mumbled as she rubbed her temple.
"What are you doing here?" Tina asked.
"Oh, Asian Number One, that is totally something you would say," Sue smiled. "I have come to watch Rachel Berry choke on her opening night."
"Hey, I'm the only one allowed to get in her head like that," Adalynn scoffed.
"I heard that!" Rachel yelled from her room. "I'm right in here!"
"Sue, please, Rachel is freaking out," said Kurt.
"She should be," said Sue. "She's going to choke."
"I can hear you in here!" Rachel yelled.
"Oh, and to answer your question, Cheech and Chang, I'm staying here overnight because I realized when we arrived at the hotel that Will Schuester is a big old perv and has been trying to sleep with me this whole time."
"I've been telling you guys that man is a pedophile, but did anyone believe me?" Adalynn mumbled, shrugging as she ate another gummy bear.
"You are not staying here," said Finn. "I can't have you anywhere near Rachel."
"No, that's fine," said Sue. "I'll go stay in Pretty Pink Pony's apartment."
"Second door on the left," Adalynn smirked as she tossed Sue the key. "Torture him a bit for me."
"Will do," Sue grinned, winking at the brunette before turning and leaving the Kurtcheltana loft.
"So, can I go give Rachel some tough love now?" Adalynn asked.
"Fine," Kurt sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Perfect," Adalynn smirked as she stood up. "Give me five minutes."
She stood up and went to Rachel's room, yanking open the curtain. The diva pulled the blanket up over her head and muttered something underneath her breath.
"Alright, this pity party is over," Adalynn said as she pulled the blanket off of Rachel. "In two minutes, you are gonna be out of this bed ready to fistfight the Taliban and offering to buy me the largest coffee size ever to exist, without ratting me out to Quinn, who would totally kill me if she found out I drank a settanta."
"What's a settanta?" Rachel frowned.
"70 ounces of espresso," Adalynn smiled mischievously.
"Didn't Quinn put you on a coffee ban your junior year?"
"Not the point," Adalynn shook her head and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you give up on something you've been working so hard for. This is your night. This is it. You've made it. You can't give up now, because this is your chance to finally get it right. This is your dream, Rachel."
"No. No, you haven't seen the things that people are posting online," Rachel shook her head. "It...It's awful."
"Rachel, have you checked the dates on those reviews?" Adalynn asked, raising a brow. "Those were written in 1964 about Barbra Streisand when she played Fanny."
"...Oh."
"Yeah," Adalynn nodded.
"What, no snarky comment?" Rachel raised a brow.
"Well, as much as I want to say that you're a fucking idiot and an illiterate diva, I know that's not gonna give you a confidence boost," Adalynn shrugged, smiling a little when Rachel chuckled softly. "Sorry. I guess I kinda did just call you both of those things. Anyway, who care's what any of those fucking idiots online think? You're a star, Rachel. You know that, and I know you know deep down that you're worrying for nothing. You're gonna go up on that stage, and blow the audience away with your amazing singing and incredible acting. I believe in you, and there's an entire room of your friends right out there who believe in you too. That's why we're here." She stood up, sighing. "I can't stand you 90 percent of the time, but I know for a fact that when you step out on that stage, you're gonna murder that crowd. Metaphorically, of course."
And with that, Adalynn left Rachel's room, hoping that she was able to get through to her. She sat down on the couch in between Quinn and Santana.
A few moments later, the curtain to Rachel's room opened, and she came out.
"What are you all moping around for?" she asked. "It's my opening night!"
"There's our girl!" Bailey smiled as everyone cheered and ran over to hug Rachel.
****
Funny Girl had been amazing. As expected, Rachel owned the stage, and everyone loved it. Sue did walk out halfway through, but that wasn't really much of a surprise. Even though it was probably part of her plan to psych Rachel out, it only seemed to motivate her more.
They went to a bar afterwards to celebrate. They were out all night, and by the time they got back to the loft, Adalynn was out cold, and Finn had to carry her inside.
"Who wants to rub my feet?" Santana whined as they walked into the loft. "I haven't danced that hard since nationals two years ago."
"I mean, you're wearing heels, so that doesn't help," Bailey shrugged.
"Don't be a smart ass, Little B," Santana scoffed.
"Would you all shut the fuck up?" Adalynn groaned from where Finn had laid her down on the couch. "I'm tryna sleep."
"What am I gonna do with you?" Quinn sighed, chuckling as she brushed Adalynn's long locks out of her face.
"I'm gonna make some coffee, you guys," Rachel said as she went into the kitchen.
"Coffee?!" Adalynn gasped, all of a sudden wide awake as she sat up. "Did you just say coffee? You're making coffee? Can you make me some? I love coffee. I wanna marry coffee. Oh my god, coffee."
"How drunk are you?" Tina chuckled.
"I'm not drunk, I'm Adalynn."
"I'll take my coffee black, thanks," said a guy that walked out of Kurt and Blaine's room. "Who are all you people?"
"Who are we?" Bailey scoffed. "Who are you?"
"Oh my god," Rachel gasped. "You are the guy. The guy that walked out of my show last night. What are you doing in my apartment?"
"In my robe!" Kurt gasped.
"Well, aren't you all so very, very rude," Sue said as she walked out and kissed the guy on the lips.
"Oh my god, Sue had sex in your bed," Tina said, her nose scrunched in disgust.
"Actually, we did it all over your apartment," Sue said as Quinn's eyes widened in horror. "And if I were you, I'd put something down on that couch before I sit on it."
Adalynn instantly got up off the couch and exchanged a disgusted look with Santana.
"I'm gonna throw up," Quinn mumbled, shaking her head.
"So, how'd the rest of the show go?" Sue asked as she looked through the fridge. "I considered coming back for act two just so I could walk out again."
"Okay, you know what?" Santana scoffed. "I am not–"
"San, don't," Bailey said as she grabbed Santana's arm and held her back.
"It's okay. I got this," said Rachel. "You know what, Sue? You made my life in high school a living hell."
"Why, thank you," Sue smirked.
"And it's like you had a mission to keep us underwater, never coming up, even for a breath of air," Rachel continued. "And you said that it was to push us, but I really don't think that's what you wanted, because if we actually felt how wonderful and amazing and loved we really were, then we would know that you knew all along, which is that you are a rotten and awful person who only finds joy in people's misery. Well, let me tell you something. Something amazing happened tonight. A group of friends rallied together and made a dream come true. And never, ever in your empty, sad life will you feel the kind of love that I felt tonight. And I would feel so sad for you, but I don't, because I just want you to get the hell out of my apartment because I wanna be with my friends."
Silence. Everyone was stunned. Adalynn smirked, cocking her head to the side as Sue Sylvester struggled to find the words.
"Wow," the cheer coach sighed. "Well, Mario, I'm sorry you had to see that. Let's go. I suddenly don't feel very welcome here anymore."
"There's the door," Quinn shrugged as she nodded to the front door.
"Well, it was super meeting all of you," the guy – Mario – said. "Hey, where'd you get this robe?" he asked Kurt.
"Just keep it," Kurt shook his head, his brows furrowed in disgust.
"Thanks, bro," Mario grinned before leaving the apartment with Sue.
Santana started clapping, and everyone else did too.
"You told her," Adalynn said with an approving nod towards the older girl
"Poetry," Santana smiled. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
****
Adalynn was beginning to lose any hope of getting a callback for the TV show she auditioned for. She sat at the kitchen table in the Kurtcheltana loft, her head laying on the hard wood surface.
"Why so glum, little me?" Kurt asked as he sat down across from her.
"Is this about your audition?" Quinn asked as she got a water bottle from the fridge.
"Yeah," Adalynn sighed, checking her phone for the millionth time. "I really love the character, and the show sounded like it would be so much fun to film. I guess I'm just sad because...you know...I really wanted it, but it's looking like I did all that preparing for nothing."
"You can't lose faith, Adalynn," Rachel said as she rubbed her back. "It's not gonna happen overnight."
"There will be other roles," said Kurt. "And I'm sure there's a casting director out there waiting for a girl like you to bring a character to life."
"But I–"
Adalynn's sentence was cut off as her phone rang. She reached for it, instantly answering it when she saw the caller ID.
"Hello?" she answered as she stood up to pace, nervously biting her nail. "Yes, this is her...Really? Are-Are you serious? ...Friday at 10:30? ...Alright, I'll be there. Thank you."
"Who was it?" Kurt asked, exchanging a look with Rachel. "What did they say?"
"That was the casting director for Dynasty," Adalynn said, a smile spreading across her face. "They loved my audition and they're bringing me in for a chemistry read with the other actors."
"Oh my god, that's amazing!" Quinn exclaimed as hugged her fiancé. "I'm so proud of you."
"This is incredible," Kurt smiled, hugging his sister as soon as Quinn let go.
"Okay, okay, I need to start getting ready, like, right now–"
"Adalynn Emilia Hummel," Quinn said, placing her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "You've been working so hard. You deserve a break. Take the afternoon off."
"But–"
"No buts," Rachel said as she put her jacket on. "Grab you things. We're going out tonight."
"Do I get any say in this?" Adalynn asked.
"Nope," Quinn said, kissing her on the lips before taking her hand and dragging her out the door.
"You guys owe me."
"You'll thank us later, grumpy," Kurt chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they left the building.