Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and its characters.
Four years ago:
Judy sighed in relief when she finally reached the front door. Nine o'clock. Right on time, she thought as her hand reached into her purse.
Working late is a non-issue for her seeing that she has been doing it all throughout her career. But since Russell is away for work and Quinn is away for a 'cheer-over' in a lake cabin (It was a tradition, apparently. She was even asked to sign a permission slip), she has to hire a babysitter for Charlotte.
After a full minute of rummaging—her purse has a lot of knick-knacks that she dares not to throw away, her hand finally settled on the house keys.
Blurting out a soft "Yes!" in mock triumph, she immediately inserted the right key into the doorknob. With a few jiggling, she hurriedly opened the door and stepped inside.
"Rachel?" she called out as soon as the door opened. She looked left and right, confused at the lack of hurried footsteps that's suppose to greet her.
"Rachel?" she called again as she padded onwards, suspicious. It was quiet. And the lack of Broadway musicals and enthusiastic singing as background noises is enough for Judy to worry.
She padded towards the only logical place to be: the living room. And as came closer to the area—her stilettos clicking at the floorboard with each step, hazel eyes widened at the scene.
The living room is a mess, the floor littered with unidentified parts from what she realized—in horror because it was expensive—as the collective parts of the entire entertainment system. Everything is butchered and is scattered on the floor: the speakers, the DVD player, and even the HD, 60" flatscreen television that Russell adores.
And right in the middle of the living floor is a twelve year-old Charlotte, her long, curly tresses collected in a messy bun. She has a pinched, determined expression as her hand busied themselves with unscrewing busy looking at the butchered parts.
"Charlie!" Judy screeched, her eyes still wide in shock. The girl in question jumped in surprise, dropping her screwdriver, as her own light blues widened beneath the spectacles.
"You're home," the girl simply said with a sweet smile after the initial surprise before turning her attention back to her work.
When the blonde didn't look up again, Judy decided to exercise her will-strengthening mantra—like what her therapist ordered years ago—and closed her eyes.
Breath in, breath out... she thought, inhaling and exhaling in tune of her mantra. She always do this especially when it's a stressful situation involving her youngest.
So let's just say it has become a regular thing.
"Honey, what are you doing?" Judy finally inquired as calmly as she could, although she could feel one eye twitching when Charlotte nonchalantly threw a silver-like thing on the floor.
The blonde girl looked up. "I was bored and and there's nothing to do," she replied—as if butchering appliances is a sensible cure for boredom—and Judy just sighed tiredly.
The family knew of the young girl's unparalleled curiosity and propensity for taking apart things when left to her own devices. That's why she and Russell—like any responsible parent—hired a babysitter so that Charlie could be monitored.
Although they could've just asked—or bribed—their oldest to babysit, they couldn't even do that. Leaving Quinn in charge of Charlotte when she and Russell are away is like dropping a boxful of mentol candy into a vat of 7-up: there'll be messy explosions that'll end in a sticky, difficult situation.
"Are you planning on cleaning up this mess?"
The blonde girl shrugged. "I can fix this all in one hour. I just need a little more time to observe the mechanism of each that will allow me to recreate the system through cheap, easily accessible materials."
Judy just sighed and nodded, hoping that there won't be any damages to the TV or Russell will incessantly whine at her. "Where is Rachel?" she remembered, looking around.
"Uhmm, she's asleep in my room."
The blonde woman arched an eyebrow at that. Rachel is the daughter of an old friend from college, Leroy. Although the brunette can be loud, bossy, and eccentric (one time, she talked Judy's ear off about musicals and proper breathing), she is a responsible girl. So responsible, in fact, that she knew Charlotte is lying when she said that she's sleeping on the job.
"Charlotte," she repeated with a firm voice and she noticed how the girl pursed her lips. "Is Rachel really sleeping?"
"Yes."
Skeptical, Judy left her daughter to check on Rachel. Surprisingly, the brunette really is sleeping as soft snores filled the room.
Huh, she mused, observing the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. Maybe she's just tired, she concluded although she found it strange.
She walked back to the living room intent on questioning Charlotte further when she caught a flicker of something in her expression.
Guilt.
Judy groaned; she should've known that something is fishy. Those light blues, while calculative, can be as transparent as a flamboyant gay man pretending to be a straight, macho man.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled loudly, mentally counting to ten per her therapist's suggestion—that woman really is a blessing to her sanity. "Charlie, fix this mess and go to bed. And if you don't tell me the real reason why Rachel is currently passed out right now, you'll be grounded for an entire month."
The blonde girl squealed in indignation but one look from Judy is enough for her to realize that she's definitely in trouble. Panicked, she immediately confessed on how she used her new 'insta-nap' formula on Rachel without her consent. And without Rachel's distractions, she got bored and tinkered with the appliances.
"The effect is just for a couple of hours," Charlotte reassured her mortified mother. "She'll wake up in," she glanced at her wristwatch, "approximately fifteen minutes, I promise."
"She better be, or I'll ground you for a year," the older woman threatened, remembering Leroy's stories about Hiram's overprotectiveness. He won't be thrilled that her daughter was used as an experimental subject without consent.
"Mom..."
"Clean up now. I'll just change out from this," she said, gesturing at her scrub suit—she hasn't had the time to change out earlier.
Charlotte just grudgingly nodded and Judy saw the disappointed expression before the older blonde turned around and walked away. She padded towards the master bedroom, thinking of what to explain to Leroy if Rachel decided to share her experience.
She sighed tiredly, hoping that the Berry men can be dissuaded with her award-winning pies.
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"We're here."
Charlie looked up from her gadget—a homemade tracking device—when the car finally stopped in front of a large house; larger than the Fabrays, in fact. She squinted her eyes as her light blues surveyed the door, expectant.
Jacob nudged the blonde beside him. "Go and get her."
The blonde nudged back. "She's got working legs, Jake."
The boy chuckled. "Aren't you the romantic type," he teased before barely dodging a playful punch from the blonde.
"Shut up," Charlie grumbled as she refocused her attention on her gizmo. She busied herself with checking and re-checking the modified system that she installed, unaware of the tall, leggy girl currently sauntering their way.
"Hey, Char," Alexis greeted as soon as she opened the door to the blonde's side. As usual when the other girl is busy, the raven-haired girl firmly captured the blonde's face and gave her a kiss on the lips, holding her in place as she deepened it.
As usual, Charlie will be surprised—no matter how regularly it happens—at Alexis action, and yet the blonde will always yield when those soft lips moved to coax her into a deeper kiss.
"C'mon, girls. We'll be late," Jake reminded them, not bothered by the display. With a loud smack, Alexis finally let go but not without giving a sweet, final peck before climbing into the back of the car.
"What happened to the mission?" the tanned girl asked as she carefully placed her purse beside her and elegantly crossing her legs in the process.
Charlie grinned, looking at the other girl through the rear-view mirror. "It was a success."
The tanned girl chuckled. "So she'll be walking in school later with a cotton candy hair?"
The blonde girl nodded with a smile before launching in an explanation about the chemical properties of the special hair dye. Alexis just cocked her head and listened patiently, her dark eyes observing the other girl as she prattled on about the impossibility of getting rid of the dye.
"How's Rachel, though?" the tanned girl inquired after a few seconds.
Charlie sighed, pushing her glasses further. "She's okay now, I guess. Mr. Lee said that she'll be back tomorrow."
"Did you visit her again?"
A crease formed between her eyebrows as the blonde thought back. "Not since the last time. Why?"
Alexis shrugged. "No reason," she simply said, lying through her teeth as she crossed her arms.
But Charlie—as dense as she could be sometimes when it comes to social cues—sighed, aware of what the tanned girl is not voicing out. "You know it's not like that."
The tanned girl just shrugged again. "It's not like I have a say."
The blonde girl groaned. "You're such a-" she paused and groaned again, closing her eyes in frustration. This conversation has been too repetitive for her liking. Beside her, Jacob just looked straight ahead, aware that he shouldn't interfere. "You know I don't like Rachel that way."
"Do I?" Alexis retorted, her dark eyebrow raising in question. "As much as I'm supportive of your... hobbies, I'm still confused on why you're doing all of these for her."
"She's a friend. You know that."
"Like me?"
Charlie scoffed. "Of course not."
"Then why are you doing all these for her?"
The blonde girl sighed, pursing her lips. She has her reasons although she doesn't know if she should divulge what she knows. Besides, it wasn't her secret to tell in the first place. "Just trust me, okay? I'll explain when the time comes."
Alexis narrowed her eyes at the blonde. Moments later, the dark, hardened orbs softened at the Charlie's puppy expression before the tanned girl chuckled; no matter how hard she tried, she could never get mad at the other girl.
"Fine," the tanned girl conceded before scooting forward on the leather seat. Tanned hand reached for the blonde's neck and pulled as she leaned forward, capturing the other girl's lips for a quick kiss.
"I just hate sharing you..." Alexis mumbled, her eyes slowly opening as her hand combed through the blonde tresses.
Charlie grinned, her light blue eyes twinkling and the tanned girl's heart skipped a beat at the familiar, lovely smile. "You know you don't have any competition, Alex."
The raven-haired girl just huffed but didn't say another word. If only you knew... she thought, remembering how many times she fought some of their classmate's advances, both girls and boys.
Oblivious, Charlie isn't really aware on how many students of McKinley High will grab the opportunity of being with the blonde genius. Only the fear of Lopez name—or Santana's reputation for being overly aggressive, rather—kept the suitors away and Alexis made sure to use it to her full advantage every time.
But then there's Rachel Berry. The Rachel Berry who has spent years with Charlie even before Alexis knew the blonde girl even existed. It was unnerving how close they are and the Latina is unreasonably jealous especially when the she doesn't even know where she stands with the blonde.
Shouldn't have agreed with this waiting-to-graduate-before-becoming-official thing, the tanned girl mumbled to herself. But she knows she loves the blonde to much to not agree with the way they are dating.
I won't lose you, she thought while staring longingly at the blonde who started sharing about her new invention.
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