"Julian! Quit hogging the bathroom!" Adalynn yelled as she pounded on the bathroom door. "I have an audition in two hours!"
"Go cry about it!" Julian shouted from the other side of the door. "I'm exfoliating!"
"You're the worst!"
"No, you are!"
Adalynn groaned in frustration and stomped her foot hard on the wood floor before turning and making her way to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee.
The twins were sitting at the table eating breakfast, Bailey was stretching in the living room, and Tina was putting up the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Quinn had left early for her classes at NYU, and Julian had invited himself over to use their shower.
"You okay, Ada?" Tina asked as she put a bowl in the pantry.
"Why did we agree to get this joint apartment with Julian and Lucas?" Adalynn asked as she took a sip of coffee. "I mean, there are already so many people in here, and the last thing we need is Julian waltzing in here whenever he pleases because his boyfriend is in the bathroom taking a shi–"
Tina clapped a hand over Adalynn's mouth as the twins giggled.
"Ada say no no word," Maya said as she took a sip from her juice box.
Adalynn checked the time on the microwave, cursing under her breath when she saw how late she was running. Being late to an audition was not a good first impression to make when trying to break into the acting biz.
She rushed to the section of the loft that was curtained off for her and Quinn. She grabbed her make-up bag and her outfit for the day and ran to the front door.
"Where are you going?" Bailey asked.
"I'm gonna go use Rachel's shower," Adalynn said as she unlocked the door. "Tell Julian he can pay our water bill if he's gonna use ours."
With that, she threw open the door and speed-walked 10 feet over to the Kurtcheltana apartment. She didn't even bother to knock. She didn't need to. She walked in, said a quick hello to her brother and a 'fuck you' to Santana when she made a joke about joining her in the shower.
"I mean it, Adalynn!" Santana called after the younger girl as she made her way to the bathroom. "If you and Quinn are ever down for a fourth, Britt and I will gladly join you!"
"Quit trying to bang my baby sister," Kurt said as he sent the Latina a stern look.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Santana mumbled under her breath.
Adalynn shook her head as she stepped into the shower, the warm water helping to relax her anxiety a little.
It had been two months since graduation, and life in New York couldn't be more amazing. She got to live with her two best friends, favorite twins, and the best girlfriend in the world. She loved that she was never more than a few feet away from her brother and cousin, even if that fucking idiot drove her crazy sometimes.
Sure, she would get homesick. She missed her dad a lot, but she always called him and Carole at least once or twice a week to keep them updated on her new life. She loved the freedom that came with living away from her parents, especially since it meant she could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She didn't have to worry about being home in time for curfew or getting in trouble for doing a stupid teenage thing.
But Quinn was always there to stop her whenever she was gonna do something a little too stupid.
Adalynn had been worried about how the stress of auditions and being away from home would affect her mental health, but after the first week, she realized she had nothing to worry about. Yes, she had bad days where she wanted to use something – anything – to make her thoughts shut up, but her friends were always there to keep her distracted until those thoughts went away.
She had been clean for five months, and she didn't want to mess it up.
She turned the water off and wrapped up in a towel before carefully stepping out of the shower. She drew a little smiley face on the fogged-up mirror and began to get ready.
She had a little more than an hour. It would be a miracle if she made it on time.
****
Bailey groaned and erased the line she had just written. It was wrong. Everything was wrong. She tried to rewrite it, but got frustrated and erased it again.
"Ugh, this is hopeless," she groaned as she banged her head on the table. "Ow."
"You okay, Bailey Bay?" Brittany asked as she sat down next to her sister at the table.
"Nooooo," the younger Pierce whined. "I can't write this stupid song."
"Don be sad, Mommy," Ava said as she climbed up onto a chair.
"I'm more frustrated than sad," Bailey sighed as she ran a hand through her blonde locks. "I used to be able to write songs like it was nothing, but now I can't do it. It's like...it's like all my creativity was just...drained right out of me."
The door to the loft opened, and Adalynn came in with Quinn, who was trying to calm her down.
"Addie, I'm sure they thought you were wonderful," the blonde said.
"No, they didn't!" Adalynn cried as she tossed her bag aside. "This is all Julian's fault. They hated me because I was late!"
"How was your audition?" Brittany asked, not at all getting the obvious hint that it didn't go well.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Adalynn mumbled as she picked Oreo up off the floor and held him close to her, smiling sadly when he licked the tears off of her cheeks. "Ava, where's your other half?"
"May-May out with Mama," Ava said as Bailey whipped her head in her youngest daughter's direction.
"Did she just...you heard that too, right?" Quinn asked as she exchanged a look with Adalynn.
"Ohhhh, Julian's been replaced," Adalynn chuckled. "Serves him right."
"Sweetie, did you just call Titi your mama?" Bailey asked.
"Mhm," Ava nodded as she ate a goldfish. "I have two. You mommy, and Titi mama."
"What about Julian?" Brittany asked.
"He my daddy."
"Do you think it's confusing for them?" Adalynn asked Quinn in a hushed voice. "I mean, both of their parents are dating other people. Does this mean that they're gonna start calling Lucas 'dad' or something?"
"I don't think they've been around him enough to start calling him that," Quinn whispered. "But Tina's definitely become like a second mom to them."
"Forget it," Bailey sighed as she closed her notebook. "I'm never gonna get this song finished in time to show it to those producers."
"Bay, you can't give up that quickly," Brittany frowned as she rubbed her sister's back.
"You've never had trouble writing a song before," Quinn said as she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
"I know!" Bailey cried as she buried her face in her hands. "I feel like such a failure!"
"Quit being mean to my best friend," Adalynn said as she put Oreo down. "Do you remember the last time we were all here?"
"No," Bailey frowned as she sat up. "I went into labor like a week before, so I chose to stay home with the twins."
"Oh, that's right," Adalynn gasped. "Anyways, we were trying to write our set-list, but our only inspiration was mattresses and bathroom cups."
"My cup, my cup. Sayin' what's up to my cup, my cup," Brittany sang as Ava giggled.
"What helped us was getting out of the hotel," the brunette continued. "Maybe the reason why you can't write a good song is because you've been trapped in this apartment ever since we got here."
"Adalynn has a point," Quinn agreed. "It was only after we explored the city that our creativity came to us. Maybe you need to get out of here and see it."
"After all," Brittany said as she stood up, pulling Bailey with her, "this is New York. It's the city where dreams come true."
"I don't know," Bailey sighed. "I really need to stay here with Ava."
"Hello? Julian's right next door," Adalynn said as she pointed to the door that connected the two apartments. "Let him take care of her for a little while. You have to get out of here."
"Besides, you don't need to write a song for the producers," Quinn said as she exchanged a smile with Adalynn. "New York's gonna write them for you."
****
Bailey and Adalynn felt themselves forgetting about all their frustrations as they explored the city with Quinn and Brittany. Getting out of that stuffy apartment was just what they needed.
Whether it was a pretzel stand, a Broadway billboard, or the dirty subways, everywhere they looked, there was magic and inspiration to be found. You never knew what you might find, unlike growing up in the small town of Lima, Ohio, where everything seemed to be the same each and every day.
Everything was different here. The rhythm, the speed, the people, the food. You were destined to meet or try something new no matter which street you turned down, and a new song played every time a car honked or angry pedestrians would yell at each other "hey, I'm walkin' here!"
And as Bailey walked through the crowded streets, inspiration hit.
"I've got it!" she gasped.
"You've got it?" Brittany asked.
"Yeah," Bailey nodded. "We have to get back to the loft, like, now. Right now."
The four girls rushed back in the direction of the apartment. Adalynn snatched a napkin from a hot-dog stand and handed it to Bailey, who took a pen out of her pocket and began writing down lyrics as they came to her.
Welcome to New York. It's been waitin' for you.