God, yeah. I miss the weather so much. And all the parks. But Ohio’s not all bad, I like how it’s a lot less busy here and the road’s are less backed-up.
if you could have a break out role in any movie what would it be?
Oh, well I think it’s always been a dream of mine to play some kind of leading lady in a rom-com. But, like, a supernatural rom-com. Like Twilight! I love Bella Swan.
“hi, my name is alice anderson. today i will be singing dead girl walking from the musical heathers then performing a monologue from shakespeare’s ‘antony & cleopatra’. i would like to be considered for the role of the witch. thank you.”
Alice had originally no interest in auditioning for Into the Woods. She loved the show, sure, but with the year coming to a close she had to start thinking of where her priorities were. This time next year, Alice planned on being back in Los Angeles. She should be looking at apartments and jobs and seeing if national parks were taking volunteers.
Yet, she had still found herself at the theatre, sheet music in hand and monologue memorized. She just couldn’t keep away. There had to be plenty of community theatre companies up in L.A, right? Alice had spent so many years pouring all of herself into performing, it just wasn’t realistic to just stop it all...
Jolted from her thoughts by the call of her name, Alice gave a polite smile and made her way into the audition room.
“Hi, my name is Alice Anderson. Today I will be singing Dead Girl Walking from the musical Heathers then I will be performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s ‘Antony & Cleopatra’. I would like to be considered for the role of the Witch. Thank you.”
Alice knew she was hardly ‘witch’ material. She had planned to audition for the baker’s wife and had prepared her piece accordingly, but Dad had stepped in at the last minute, telling her that playing it safe was an actors greatest mistake. There was a chance this could be Alice’s last time on stage in Lima, the last thing she wanted was to let her dad down. So, she was dug through her song book and found the edgiest song in her repertoire and prayed she was able to sell the character.
As she gave a nod to the pianist and began her song, Alice did the best she could to act like she had some sort of authoritarian bone in her body. She had spent most of her eighteen years doing cutesy tap routines and singing Gershwin songs so it was safe to say she was a little rusty, but she powered through, hoping her vocal could over-power any lack-luster acting choices.
Once she had belted out the final riff of the song, Alice closed and eyes and took and deep, preparing herself for her monologue. This was piece she knew like the back of her hand, there was no way she was going to let herself mess this up.
She went through the words as if it were second-nature, finishing her monologue with a polite bow and a small smile. Everything had happened so quickly, all Alice was left to do was thank the panel for their time and then she headed for the door.
It wasn’t her best audition, in fact it was the least confident she had been in a while. Who was Alice to be playing a villain in a Sondheim show of all things? She had to have faith in the casting process but, God, she just had to hope she had done the right thing in not playing it safe...
“I really cannot believe I totally forgot about it. I’ll make sure next time we schedule one, to write it in my planner and circle it three times in bright orange pen!” she exclaimed with a chuckle. Normally, Serenity was such an organized person who had her life scheduled a bit too perfectly. Clearly she needed to relax for an afternoon, if that was even possible. “What are you in the mood for? The bean just came out with their holiday drinks and I’m determined to try all of them before Christmas!”
“No problem! I love orange so I’m happy that I get the honor of being remembered with an orange pen!” Alice had tried all that bullet journaling stuff a while back and it was safe to say it was not for her. Her chicken scratch handwriting didn’t lend well to any kind of pretty aesthetic diary layout. Turning her attention to all of the festive-themed drinks on The Lima Bean’s menu board, Alice hummed in thought. She wasn’t exactly an adventurous drinker, considering how adverse she was to coffee. “Well, they have a new peppermint that sound nice. I’m not too much of a coffee gal if I’m honest but I do love a hot drink.”
Serenity had decided to stop by the Lima Bean really quick to grab a coffee before she headed over to help one of her fellow students she tutored study for a big test. The young girl had just received her iced peppermint mocha flavored coffee and was just about to leave when she was approached by somebody. Ren immediately recognized this person. Some boy who went to McKinley, she was pretty positive. The jet haired nerd only could tell who this was because this dude would not leave her alone while she worked at the bakery. He constantly was trying to ask her out and she just….wasn’t interested. In fact, she was pretty positive it was just some stupid game some of his buddies had put him up to for some laughs. He had been trying to talk to her and she needed out of this uncomfortable conversation. That’s when she turned to see the first person she noticed.
“Oh my gosh, hello! I totally forgot we had planned a coffee date this week. I’m so sorry,” she admitted, lying through her teeth.
*
Alice had been attempting to catch up on her English homework at home to no avail. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she’d end up typing out one sentence, re-reading it, and then deleting it and started from square one. What she needed was a nice, hot cup of green tea. Which she’d typically make in her own house if it wasn’t for the fact that she had totally forgotten to remind her dad to pick up some more tea bags. Figures. Her bookbag slung over her shoulder, Alice decided that sitting around in her room was doing no one any good. She’d head down to the Lima Bean, drink her tea and try and get some work done as she did. At least that was her plan. Her paper cup in hand, Alice headed up to the front counter to pick up some napkins, only to look up and be face-to-face with one Serenity Gillenkerk.
Blinking in confusion for a beat, Alice eventually was able to catch a glimpse of another family face from school over the other girl’s shoulder. Ah, she was trying to escape unwanted attention. Catching on, Alice nodded rapidly. While she liked to consider herself a half-descent actress, she usually had more time to prepare than now. “Yes! A coffee date! The two of us! A thing we do often!”
who?: alice anderson & male oc (with a special appearance from lincoln clarington-smythe)
where?: dan & nia’s wedding reception / mckinley choir room
when?: saturday, november 7th / monday, november 9th
about?: alice has a revelation of sorts while hiding in the bathroom at the wedding and decides to bring her new found confidence to the glee club just in time for dolly vs. taylor week. set to dolly parton’s two doors down.
Alice couldn’t help the niggling feeling of regret that sat in her gut. Yes, the wedding had been beautiful and she had enjoyed watching the married couple’s first dance and it gave Alice an excuse to wear the dress she had been given for Christmas last year, but it became pretty clear pretty quickly that most of Alice’s night was going to spent standing against the wall.
As Jaz & Serenity continued their Wedding Party Opener, Alice felt her stomach twist and turn with anxiety. Wiping her sweaty palms on the skirt section of her dress, Alice did her best to discreetly get up so that she could head to the bathrooms. Head down and shoulder slumped, the brunette felt someone grab her by the elbow and spin her around. It was Lincoln, making his way to the side of stage for his duet, dressed it what Alice had to assume was a recreation of a Doja Cat look from her knowledge of the song she new Bodhi and Link were going to performing. His face was pulled into a look of disapproval and Alice felt herself shrink under his glare. “You’re really going to dip right before I go on? I’ll remember that, bitch,” he stage whispered to her, as if to not disturb the other wedding guests around her. While Alice knew there was more likely than not no actual malice behind his words, it certainly didn’t help with her sudden and intense episode of anxiety and the second he let go of her arm, she dashed out of the hall and into a bathroom stall.
Locking the stall door and sitting on the closed seat of the toilet, Alice put her head in her hands. This was a mistake. She just didn’t know how to be a person in social situations where she wasn’t playing a character. Alice was a nobody, she didn’t have the private school experience that her brother did, she didn’t have the popularity and social circles that some of the other girls in Glee did. And every day she had to deal with the fact she was planning to pack her bags and leave her family behind and run back to L.A. She didn’t belong here but how the Hell was she supposed to belong in L - fucking - A?
“ two doors down they're laughing and drinking and having a party.
and two doors down they're not aware that I'm around.”
Alice choked out a sob, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, not caring if her makeup ended up smudged of if she had just ended up with a total snot rocket on her face. She had no plans on going back to the reception. But the last thing she was going to do was call her dad to pick her up.
“ but here i am crying my heart out, feeling sorry
but they're having a party just two doors down. ”
Pulling a wad of toilet paper out of the roll and giving her face a quick wipe-over before flushing it, Alice took a deep breath and unlocked the stall, only to be staring at the face of a total stranger through the mirror, who was washing his hands and looked just as emotionally fucked over as she felt. Alice gave the boy, who appeared to around her age, although she assumed he must’ve been from NIa’s side of the family considering she had never seen him around McKinley, a empathetic smile and went up to the sink next to him.
“i think i'll dry these useless tears and get myself together.
i think i’ll wander down the hall and have a look around
'cause i can't stay inside this lonely room and cry forever.
i think I'd really rather join 'em two doors down. ”
She nudged the other teen’s shoulder with her own, trying to get him smile. Alice hated seeing people sad, it was the last thing she wanted. He let out a breath through his nose, corners of his mouth twitching up. “I’m Alice,” she said as she turned off the faucet, and as she pulled out a few sheets of paper towel from the dispenser, she heard him answer; “Pleasure’s all mine. I’m Coop.”
Alice turned around, nose scrunched up. “Coop? Like Cooper? I wish you didn’t tell me that, that’s my dads name!” she exclaimed playfully, faking a look of disgust that got a proper laugh out of him. God, he had a really nice smile...
“So, you from Dan’s side of the family?
“Kinda, he coaches one of the Glee club’s at my school and my uncle’s were his dad’s students because dad also coached the same glee club, like, a billion years ago. It’s a weird family dynamic,” she explained with a shrug. She tried not to over think how everyone she knew was connected in some way or another. “Enough about me though, Coop, what’s got you so sad for?” She quickly changed the subject, handing the boy some paper towel of his own.
“I’m...not great at parties. Even back in New York, I’m much a mess at them. Big social events with people I don’t know? With two white boys singing Tia Tamera no less? It was just too much for me, I needed to step out for a second.”
Alice nodded in understanding, looking down at her feet. She knew exactly how he felt.
“Come here, lemme fix your face up real quick,” he said softly, holding up a piece of the paper towel he had been given, the corner wetted.
Tucking a section of her hair behind her ear in nervous habit, Alice took a few steps forward until the two were only a few inches away. Coop took the extra step, closing the gap, and carefully wiped away some of the smudged mascara from under her eyes. Alice’s mouth grew dry, breath becoming shallow. She’d never been this close to a pretty show off-stage before...She swiped her tongue over her now-dry bottom lip and watched as Coop’s eyes followed down to her lips.
Oh my God...Was what Alice thought was going to happen...about to happen?!
Coop slowly pulled his hand away, resting the paper towel on the sink bench before bringing it back up and placing it on Alice’s cheek. Her face red, Alice felt something in the back on her mind click and she placed her own hand over Coop’s, his skin warm against hers. Slowly, the two leant close into a kiss.
This was it, Alice’s first ever off-stage kiss with a boy and she didn’t even know his last name. She fucking loved it!
When Coop eventually pulled himself away, a smile curving up across his face that Alice couldn’t help but copy, the two stood, frozen for a few more moments.
“So...my folks were able to get me a room with a double bed, so they could be with my baby sister...if you wanted to, I dunno, stay the night or something.” Coop’s voice was quiet and his tone hesitant, not knowing where things were going to go from here.
Alice reached out and straightened out Coop’s bowtie before letting a smirk sneak upon her mouth.
“‘Or something’ sounds like it could be nice.”
“ two doors down we're laughing and drinking and having a party.
and two doors down they're all aware that i'm around.
'cause here i am no longer crying and feeling sorry.
we're having a party just two doors down! ”
The two teens ran down the hall of the Inn, hand-in-hand and Alice’s heel clutched in her free hand, past the ballroom and into the elevator.
It felt like a dream. A hot boy from New York City had just kissed her at wedding and now they were going to his hotel room to do...it! Alice had read this trope a thousand times in her books - although they usually ended with the boy revealing he had fangs or something - and never in her eighteen years did she ever think it would happen to her.
“ i can't believe I'm standing here dry-eyed, all smiles and talkin',
making conversation with the new love i've found.
i ask him if he'd like to be alone and we start walkin'
down the hall to his place waiting two doors down, yeah. ”
The two continued to kiss, pressed against the corner of the elevator, until the universally familiar ‘ding’ of them reaching their desire floor sounded. As they stumbled out into the hall, giggling and laughing just like the movies, Coop fished his room key out of her pants pocket as he did, Alice’s face dropped into a serious expression and she quickly placed her hand over the door knob as he went to unlock the door.
“Just so you know, I’m not prepared for the emotional commitment of a long distance relationship and once I graduate I plan on going to California. But I will happily give you my number and social media and if I ever find myself in New York one day...”
Coop laughed, warm and sweet, and took Alice’s hand in his once again.
“Understood. No strings attached. Just two new friends getting to know each other and having some fun.
“Exactly.”
“ two doors down they're laughing and drinking and having a party
and two doors down we're not aware that they're around.
'cause here i am feeling everything but sorry.
we're having our own party two doors down! ”
Alice felt like a new woman. Well, not literally. Nothing had physically changed and she wasn’t a strong supporter of virginity as a concept in the first place...
But, boy, it just felt so right! She had gotten the ‘talk’ from her dad, about how she only have sex when she was certain it was the right time, right place and with the right person.
And it felt really right.
It was Monday, the start of a new week at school and she had gotten a text from Coop first thing in the morning, saying he was about to board his plane back to New York and she had sent back a ‘have a great flight!! text me when you land!’ in return.
She had a friend from New York now. Wow.
It seemed perfect timing that the women of pop month for Glee was in full swing because she sure felt empowered. So much so that she had dug through her wardrobe until she found something at least slightly reminiscent of a cowgirl inspired look. A lacy maxi dress and a pair of old cowboy boots were all she could find, but with the braids she had done the night before, it got the message across.
Alice strolled into the choir room, head held high and gave a nod to the band who she had spoke to earlier than morning in terms of preparing her song of choice. Dolly had a song for every occasion and this one in particular really spoke to...recent events.
“ oh, oh, ooh, two doors down!
two doors down they're laughing and drinking and having a party
and two doors down we're not aware that they're around.
'cause here we end feeling everything but sorry.
we're having our own party two doors down!
Jumping up on the piano on the key change and throwing in some simple boot-scootin’ choreography during the choruses, Alice let herself act the fool. It was the most herself she had felt performing in a while. Because she wasn’t ‘performing’ for anyone, just singing a song in a room with some friends.
Yeah, maybe Alice did belong in the Glee club after all.
“ two doors down they're laughing and drinking and having a party
and two doors down we're not aware that they're around
here we end, feeling everything but sorry.
we're having our own party two doors down! ”
another day, another one of lorenzo’s slightly pathetic attempts to cheat his way through his scholastic experience. could you blame him? it felt like everything was different at WHMS, from the way they wrote essays to the way they did math. it was all super confusing. all renzo knew was that he had to graduate no matter what. so he typically peeked around the classroom to get the answers he needed on assignments. his class was currently dismissed for free time for the last ten minutes of class. some kids were getting a headstart on homework and others were just bullshitting on their phone. he popped a bubble with his gum and gently shoved his nearby classmate. “what do i gotta do to get the answers for tonight’s worksheet from you?” he asked with an suggestive grin. “i don’t fucking understand anything in this class.”
alice had let herself get caught up in her own thoughts during this class. she’d been doing pretty average in all of her classes so far and while she knew her dad wouldn’t really care what kind of gpa she pulled in at the end of the year - nor would he care about nico’s -, alice felt like she had something to prove. if she wasn’t going to be performer after graduation and just back her bags and head back to california, would she have sort of qualifications? her mind racing, alice’s head snapped up at the subtle nudge for the person sitting next to her. looking down at her worksheet and then back up at the boy, eyes wide, alice took a moment to fully come back to reality before awkwardly giving a stiff nod. “oh, uh, nothing! you can just -” flustered, alice held out her paper with a forced smile. “i’m pretty sure most of them are right but, ya’know, you might need to double check.”
Grace really did not want to show up to the party alone. But she didn’t want to show up with Nico either, and all of her friends seemed to be pretty booked with their own dramas and romances, so once again Grace was left being dropped off at a party on her own. Instead of her mom, this time it was Nico, who insisted they had to enter separately to preserve the illusion of Grace’s new image. Really, she was pretty sure he was just embarrassed to be seen with her.
He had no reason to be. After bankrolling a dye job and dressing her in head to toe Juicy Couture for her “Paris Hilton” costume, Grace was looking pretty hot. In a really conventional, girly, blonde way. But still, the crop top she was wearing under the track suit showed more skin that she ever had in her life. She hadn’t felt this way since, well, ever. Even when she was a Cheerio, she felt more like background filler than a supermodel like some of the other girls were.
Nico had told her that her strategy for the night was to “think of what she would normally do, and then do the opposite.” Normally, she’d go straight to the corner and wait until one of her friends dragged her into a bathroom to complain about some drama. She figured the opposite of that was finding someone to talk to, but she couldn’t spot a familiar face underneath all the makeup and masks. So, she figured she’d try the second least likely thing for her to do at a party: drink. She headed towards a counter covered in booze, not really knowing which to try first. She grabbed a bottle that she was pretty sure was gin and filled her cup halfway with it. Then, she grabbed a bottle of Sprite and filled the rest with that. She figured that’d be a good place to start, not really knowing much about bartending. After downing a few rough sips of the drink, she looked around, finding a familiar face alone by a couch in the living room. While normally her party rules would include sticking to herself, tonight she was gonna approach people first, even if it was embarrassing as hell.
“Happy Halloween!”
Alice had spent the majority of her night so far sipping on a single cup of what tasted like orange juice and something she couldn’t place. She hoped whatever it was wouldn’t get her drunk, she still had to drive herself home after this. Most of the people she had talked too hadn’t even realized she was wearing a costume, a few people even asking why she hadn’t bothered to dress up, which led to a lot of awkward; “I’m Bella. Bella Swan. From Twilight,” and making the best Kristen Stewart-esque blank, doe-eyed stare she could muster. Her costume was simple, just jeans, boots, an early 2000′s graphic tee and some flannel, but Alice though that the headband and the copy of Twilight she had been carrying around all night would’ve cleared things up. But, then again, it wasn’t 2008 anymore and most teenagers didn’t give a shit about vampire romance anymore.
Sat in the living room, nursing her drink carefully, Alice looked up when she a voice in her direction. “Happy Halloween! Wow, I love your costume! It’s so...not what I expected! In a good way!” The blonde hair threw Alice off at first, Grace never seemed like the type to embrace the y2k bubblegum pink look but then again, Halloween was a day for disguises and Alice certainly hadn’t noticed her at first. “We both went for the early 2000′s look I guess, just different versions,” Alice said, holding up her book so that it would hopefully make the comparison make more sense.
It was in that moment that he knew he had fucked up, “Yeah, I’m gonna have to redeem myself,” He couldn’t have her thinking this was how he actually baked. “It’s just that sometimes I try to spice up the recipe so it’s not the same thing all the time,” He then put his hand out and offered her a napkin, “Here, you don’t have to swallow that. Or chew it any longer. That’s not fair to you.”
Alice shook her head, hand raised to turn down the offered napkin. She didn’t want to insult him, she knew how embarrassed she would be in a situation like this. But then again, Alice over-thought everything. “No, no, it’s fine,” she said, her tone edging on stubborn. “It’s just...a new flavor I’ve never experience before, ya’know?” She took a deep breath and gave a swallow, finishing off the brownie. “Okay, I think I’m good now.”
WHERE?: somewhere he can carry brownies around without getting told no food’s allowed.
“I’ve got some brownies to try!” Bodhi exclaimed, showing the container of homemade brownies that he made. “Oh wow, that’s uh, interesting,” He said, spitting the brownie out of his mouth. “That doesn’t taste good, I wouldn’t even try it. I mean unless you want to, but I think I added too must sugar. So do you wanna try ‘em?”
Alice blinked, frozen like a deer in the headlights for a moments as Bodhi presented the brownies to her so suddenly. “O-oh...sure, yeah.” Alice gave a polite smile, taking a brownie from the top of the container. As she watched the other teen’s negative reaction to the taste of his own food, Alice felt a sudden urge to prove him wrong. “No, I’m sure they can’t be th-,” mouth full of brownie - way too sweet, Alice’s eye widened, stuck in fight-or-flight. “Geez, nope, these are pretty bad...,” she agreed quietly.
Wren should have learned not to play Spin the Bottle after the last party she went to. The last time she had kissed her sister’s ex-boyfriend but surely nothing that bad would happen again. If it did then that would just be fate being cruel as shit. Even though dances weren’t Wren’s thing, in fact she’d skip it altogether if it weren’t for playing Vince’s fake girlfriend so his parents would stay off his case or if she weren’t grounded. Wren wasn’t suspended anymore, but she was still grounded and the only reason she was even allowed out of the house was because she had told her parents that she had a date and couldn’t bail and it wasn’t like the redhead ever asked to go to school functions. She had certainly been looking forward to the after party more because drinking and smoking, of course! After smoking a joint outside, she ended up in a game of Spin the Bottle. After a couple of turns, it was finally her turn and she picked up the bottle and spun it as hard as she could. Once the bottle stopped, she looked up to see who her victim was only to see her co-worker, Alice on the receieving end. This definitely wasn’t the worst person she could kiss so Wren was all into it. She scooched a little closer, inches away from Alice. “Promise you won’t tell everyone if I’m a bad kisser?” She jokingly asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Alice had quite literally fallen into this game of Spin the Bottle. She had never been a party person, and in her four years of high school, she’d never attended a party with any of the popular kids before tonight. Her dad had been so excited when he brought it up, so she couldn’t turn down the invitation. Saying that, Alice hadn’t exactly been a party animal. She’d been nursing the same drink since she got here and while wandering around the house - impressive as it was - Alice ha stumbled into a room with a group of people gathered around a bottle and next thing she knew, she was a part of the game. There were a few familiar faces in the circle, but if was just her luck that the only time the bottle landed on her was when Wren’s turn rolled around. It wasn’t weird. Why would that be weird? Wren was nice enough, Alice had no issues with her. Alice didn’t need to make something weird when it wasn't. Awkwardly clearing her throat as Wren moved in closer, Alice gave a nod. “Will do. As long as you promise you won’t tell anyone that I’ve, uh, well...” Alice tucked a section of hair behind her ear, giving the redhead a small, nervous smile. “I’ve never kissed a girl before,” she admitted quietly with a laugh. She hadn’t kissed anyone off stage before, but Alice saw nothing wrong with not including that piece of information to a group of strangers and her co-worker.
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
ellievsbear
prguitarman
