i'm an astronaut, you're the moon.

[sing2you]

@sing2you, a multi-muse blog for @campusloser, featuring...

🎭* — stella nasr. 22. the drama queen. musical theatre major.

pinterest. playlist. stella tag. doc. intro post/connections.

🌌* — lorelei "lore" liang. 21. the follower. astrophysics & earth & planetary sciences major.

pinterest. playlist. lore tag. doc. intro post/connections.

[loserspng]

this has to be a goof, carter thinks to himself. “stella, i’ve never heard of people flighting over pianos and choir room space unless you count people glaring when someone sits in the wrong seat.” undoubtedly, he wasn’t playing close enough to truly notice. and in true carter nature, he hadn’t learned his lesson about challenging the diehard members of the new directions. refusing to accept his reality hadn’t worked thus far and was in fact making his life more difficult. but for now, the embarrassment of singing eight bars from a tired, old play takes precedent. a whistle blowing in the near distance draws his attention away for a second. the drills are still paused without him and he holds up a finger with a small sigh. “to level with you,” he begins, making himself even smaller. “i have a lot of places to be on campus and the choir room isn’t really at the top.” it’s the very beginning of a long rejection. fortunately for stella, it starts off with feeding her what she wants to hear. “but since you were nice enough to somehow make your way in here, i’ll sign the sheet, cool? and when you guys win a real trophy, maybe you and julio can work yourselves up to a thank you, carter?” he intentionally leaves out hollow a promise to actually show up.

[sing2you]

"carter, i suppose you'll just have to believe me when i say that they do," stella insisted, her words both a display of her stubbornness and a basic test. if he couldn't just agree with her, there wasn't much hope for their working together in show choir.

the blow of a whistle made it clear that she was being disruptive while carter was kind of in the middle of something, but with her distaste for sports, stella found that she was only too happy to delay him further. because though one battle had seemingly been won with ease (though space booking was not a physical signup!), it appeared there was a much larger war to be waged.

i have a lot of places to be on campus and the choir room isn’t really at the top.

what??

"a couple of things. 1. it's a website. you sign up for space via tinyurl.com/saintriveracr," she clarified, "2. his name is julian. and 3. if you have so many places to be, why bother with the new directions at all?"

her last question was the most important, and she went so far as to grip the seats between them to make it clear that she would be planted right there until he gave an answer.

[dazednconfuseds]

August watched her smile like it had personally insulted him. Which, in some way, as Stella's lips began to flap, it may well have been. "Woooow," he drawled out. "Victim blaming and ambush tactics. Must be a busy day for you."

At her interest in what he was performing, he let out an audible groan. "Didn't realize your last name was Kelmeckis," he pointed out. Why was it any of Stella's business other than being co-captain? As a matter of fact, why did they have co-captains? Other than Stella's obvious high that she got from it.

"I don't know, okay? Haven't thought that far." Lie. He and Carter had already worked up their mash-up, a rendition of Close to Me by The Cure and DJ Khaled's All I Do Is Win. Last thing he needed was Stella ripping him a new one for not doing whatever twinklebop song was rocking the Broadway catalogs these days. "I don't keep a rotating list of performances I want to do like a Singing Robot."

[sing2you]

"has anyone ever told you that you might have a victim complex?" stella asked, head tilted to convey her interest in the matter. "just curious." she offered no further comment on august's victim blaming and ambush tactics accusation, however.

from the way august was moaning and groaning about having to prep for an extracurricular, one might think he hadn't willingly joined. but deep down, stella suspected that he was pulling a the lady doth protest too much methinks. maybe he didn't appreciate her level of involvement as a captain, but he must have liked show choir to have stayed after his first year. she therefore took his every complaint with a grain of salt.

"kelmeckis may be our faculty advisor, but he doesn't run the day to day of the group. and i'm always happy to advise. offer feedback on song selection. guide people towards songs that may better display their vocal range than, say, the song they auditioned with."

it wasn't a surprise to stella that august and carter hadn't gotten that far in their mash-up process yet, but that just meant that there was more time to intervene! perhaps he would see reason and take her up on her generous offer...

"there's nothing robotic about having songs in your repertoire, august. you don't ever listen to a song and realize you like it enough to sing it later?"

[socvereign]

she   blinked   at   the   other   not   really   expecting   something   else   from   the   other   "   that's   what   we   call   politeness   stella   you   know   greeting   someone,   asking   how   they   are.   basic   manners   really   but   i   guess   those   aren't   exactly   the   priority   right   now.   "   she   looked   at   her   watch   before   turning   back. she   could   hear   the   unsaid   words   and   as   always   felt   the   competitive   drive   in   her   bubble   up.   "   well   you   know   what   they   say   right   everyone   is   replaceable.   even   top   singers   in   a   university   glee   club.   like   life   can   always   just   throw   up   something   unexpected.   so   who   knows   the   some   point   might   be   closer   than   you   think.   " at   her   last   comment   she   bit   backa   smile   "   nah   he's   fine   he   can   duck   if   he   needs   to.   when   there's   a   will   there's   a   way.    "

[sing2you]

stella didn't appreciate the lecture on politeness from luciana - not when the clock was ticking. and judging by the way the girl was looking at her watch, she didn't have time to spare either. so why waste any more of it? "this is a professional conversation. not a personal one," she pointed out, ready to simply let her be now that she'd delivered her spiel.

however, luciana's next words rang an alarm bell in stella's head that could not be ignored. the some point might be closer than you think? was that a threat of some sort?

"i think experience has taught the new directions that actually, not everyone is replaceable," she cautioned the other girl. "or the some point could be way further down the line - which does feel more realistic to me. either way, like i said, julian and i are happy to discover talent that could be recognized."

as for her partner ducking to rehearse... "that doesn't seem conducive to a good performance, but if you're okay with taking that risk..."

[lyricaels]

cece's  attention  lifts  from  her  phone  at  the  sound  of  stella's  voice,  glossy  lips  curling  into  the  sort  of  fake  pleasant  smile  reserved  for  people  she  couldn't  care  less  about.  "   you  know,   "  she  begins,  slipping  her  phone  into  her  bag  with  unhurried  precision,  "   i  do  admire  your  commitment.   "  the  compliment  hangs  in  the  air  just  long  enough  to  almost  sound  genuine  before  she  continues.  "   i  just  think  it's  interesting  that  you've  somehow  appointed  yourself  everyone's  personal  rehearsal  coordinator.   "  a  delicate  shrug  rolls  off  one  shoulder.  "   i'm  sure  it  comes  from  a  good  place,  though.   "

she  smooths  an  imaginary  crease  from  the  hem  of  her  skirt  before  looking  back  at  stella.  "   but  i  don't  really  need  managing.   "  her  tone  remains  perfectly  even,  almost  conversational.  "   i've  always  found  that  people  who  take  something  seriously  don't  usually  have  to  remind  everyone  else  that  they  do.   "  another  small  smile  follows,  polished  enough  to  pass  as  friendly.  "   actually,  sydney  and  i  already  booked  it.  you  would've  known  that  if  you'd  checked  the  schedule  in  the  last  fifteen  minutes  instead  of  tracking  me  down.   "

[sing2you]

as the captains of their respective organizations, one might hope that cece and stella could find some common ground and learn to get along. alas, that seemed like an impossible task given that stella detested the institution that was cece's pride and joy and cece clearly didn't hold stella's leadership in high regard. to make matters worse, stella didn't trust a single word that came out of cece's mouth. so, it was already an uphill battle for the pair when stella realized that the girl was responding to her (well meaning!) advice with false praise.

"you say personal rehearsal coordinator, i say captain who is trying to encourage good habits for everyone's individual and collective growth," she smiled, though her general demeanor in that moment was more holier-than-thou.

"i didn't know that you had such a hands off leadership style, cece. i'm so glad you've found what works best for your team! but i've found that new members of the new directions often need some guidance. especially when they're first starting out."

her silent communication? if you're going to stay in my show choir, get used to the presence of active co-captains in your life! but instead of verbalizing that, she went for a more muted approach. "consider it an orientation period. but how thrilling to hear that you've utilized my space reservation system! i'm so looking forward to your performance."

[hcngover]

julian lets out a sigh of relief, knowing that at least one person in glee club always gets him. as expected, stella appears to share his concerns, drawing the same conclusions as he did. the pairings were not random, and their teacher must have purposely set him up with one of the jocks to teach him some kind of lesson or to humble him. "history will eventually vindicate me, as i am on the right side of it. kelmeckis can only sabotage me so long. i know he also wants to win, and he obviously can't do that without me." it was such an utter waste of his time, though. they should be planning for their next competition, going over song selection, coming up with fresh ideas for performances. instead, they were stuck babysitting the cheerios and titans, guiding them through mashup week.

as stella continues listing examples of the club's recent decline, julian's expression grows increasingly more pained. "god, the thong song. the fact that such words were spoken out loud in our choir room... it really cuts to the heart of the problem, does it not? there used to be artistic significance to what we were doing, and now we're expected to lower the bar even more so the jocks can keep up. " no comments on the stacy's mom performance, as he secretly appreciated the campiness of it all, and found it to be annoyingly catchy, but her concerns were still valid, though. " "i have been thinking about that. most of them auditioned because of carter cortez. it's practically his own personal fan club, following him around wherever he goes." if anyone deserved a fanclub at saint rivera, it would obviously be julian, but for whatever reason, the general public finds men chasing after a ball peak entertainment. "so, following that logic, they should all leave when he leaves." he taps his finger against his chin. "but how do we get him to leave, when we don't even know what is keeping him here?" it couldn't be as simple as having a passion for music, because the captain of the titas has been making it very clear that he couldn't care less about anything they do in glee. his actions have been illogical, counter-intuitive, and yet he hasn't missed a single glee club meeting. "what if... what if it's a person? perhaps he's trying to get close to someone. a man in love can do crazy things, stella." julian would know. he entertains the idea further, mentally sorting through possibilities. "it could really be anyone then. a cheerio, a band member, a wallflower we barely pay any mind to, or... or you." his right eye twitches and he can feel his chest tighten at the thought of that untalented hack trying to make a move on stella. "no, that's ridiculous. that... that would require him to actually have taste, which he quite obviously lacks," he says quickly, perhaps more so to talk himself out of it. unfortunately, it doesn't work, as the thought refuses to leave his mind. his eyes narrow, expression darkening. "...but if carter cortez has been hanging around the new directions trying to impress you this entire time, then..." then that's an even bigger problem than he originally thought. "i mean, you would never entertain that, would you?"

[sing2you]

there was no denying that the new directions needed julian to win - it couldn't have been more obvious after the trainwreck that was last year's sectionals, where he'd fallen ill and the unfortunate disaster that was their grandfathered-in female lead hadn't done what was necessary (step aside!) to allow for stella to shine properly. but kelmeckis had to have learned his lesson by that point, no? because he'd given stella her rightful co-chair position, and she and julian were to coordinate the theme for their competition pieces.

so, what was it with these mind games? did he want them to fail? and why was he accepting literally anyone who wanted to be in the group?

"he might be intimidated by your leading man energy. after all, you do command a room. but kelmeckis can be dealt with later. in the meantime, we're about to head into intense sectionals prep. he has to understand that we're not in a place to be adding new members from week to week, so we should be granted a reprieve from the thong song 2.0. and from there, we can insist on some parameters around auditions - 32-bar cuts, meaningful pieces, or at least something that shows one's range."

though just the thought of some of the auditions they'd witnessed as of late had been enough to bring a serious frown to her face and send a shiver down her back, with each moment that passed in julian's presence, stella felt herself relaxing more and more. the fact that they were on the exact same page when it came to the jocks' hostile takeover of the new directions wasn't a surprise, but it was reassuring. she wasn't imagining it. and she wasn't wrong to want them gone - not when julian was wanting the same thing. and julian was right. carter was the key.

but - woah! wait. not like that.

"then he would be severely misguided, as i would rather die," she rejected the notion of carter's interest in her immediately. "and you know i have a lot to live for - originating a role on broadway, a tony, a second tony. even in the next few weeks, the crucible's opening night is on the horizon and we have auditions for the winter musical! but rest assured, based on my conversation with him about booking the choir room for rehearsal, i'm positive that he harbors no secret affection for me. if that's his purpose in being in our show choir, and i can't think of another reason for him to have joined, then it must be another member that he has affections for. i mean, he doesn't exactly strike me as someone with a song in his heart, don't you agree?"

it was a legitimate question, but stella barely gave him the chance to answer before a horrifying thought had her blurting out: "but... you might be the one he's after, and that could be a contributing factor. opposites attract. you also would not entertain that... right?"

[shcwtunes]

"being paired with you wouldn't be so bad. we killed it in grease." it's almost a compliment - not without adding himself into it, of course, but, for sully, that was about about the highest praise he ever cared to give.

he wasn't a complete moron - he knew his vocal skills left... something to be desired, but starring in the school musical with stella had opened up to his eyes to how much he enjoyed being in the spotlight, getting up on stage and doing a fun little number, and, though he might be a part of a team secretly trying to destroy the new directions -- he was actually enjoying himself in the club until then, and, really, he had her to thank for that. ...not that he actually would, thank her, of course.

"why do you want us in there so bad? are you trying to snoop? steal our baller ideas?" he's teasing - mostly, shooting stella a look before dropping a few quarters into the vending machine now that he's decided on his afternoon snack. "or are you just hoping for a free show? 'cause, babe, if you want to watch me move my body, there are easier ways of going about it. you could just ask."

[sing2you]

killed it might've been overselling their high school production - it was still... a high school production, filled to the brim with people who were not (and should not!) be pursuing theatre professionally. but she'd been great and sully hadn't been half bad, so stella gave him the win via a nod of agreement.

"yes, well, we still have a karaoke duet on the horizon. so, though we're not paired this week, there is still that to look forward to at the party," she acknowledged, though she didn't push for more details on that front (yet). "i want everyone in there because it's our space. sure, they use it for choir classes, and we'll be taking it over for music rehearsals once the winter musical rolls around, but the trophies from previous new directions wins residing there means we've formally claimed it. and we've been underutilizing it."

but enough about space (for now), because a delightful topic of conversation had been dangled right in front of her, and stella couldn't help but grab for it. "it's not snooping if you just tell me what it is you plan to perform," she grinned. "my plans are set in stone, and i would never steal another duo's ideas, but i'm curious. please indulge me. in that way only - no free show necessary."

[whimsyhcrts]

"is there even enough people in the furry club to hold meetings somewhere that isn't on the campus greens?" savannah raised a brow to stella's remark. sure, new directions sure wasn't a popularity fest either, but it was a place that she had found herself actually enjoying. it was nice to be part of a group where most people were just as passionate about music and performing. "well, do you have a list going of open slots? i thought i might have saw a sign up sheet outside the main door, but wasn't sure if it was you who put it up," she added on. "if push comes to shove, my door or abrams house is always a good option too. i have my instruments there on stand by," the blonde found herself semi correcting stella. "lo ... that should be interesting. are you keeping your potential song choices hidden under lock and key?"

[sing2you]

"i wouldn't know, as i'm not a member, but even if their numbers are small but mighty, they're entitled to space if saint rivera has deemed them an official club," stella pointed out. "and given the fact that there's a heckling club..."

she let that thought linger in the air, her meaning clear, as she grabbed her phone to pull up the booking site she'd created with the school (and promptly given herself editing powers over). "in person signups are so a thing of the past, but yes, there's a qr code posted on the door that leads to a booking site. tinyurl.com/saintriveracr will take you right there. and oh look!" she gestured towards her phone, pretending to be surprised by what she saw there even though she'd been monitoring things and knew exactly which times were still available. "there are a handful of slots as early as today. i see enough this week that push will likely not come to shove as long as the new directions are early adopters of this system, but we remain at risk of losing out."

stella was very serious about the space booking thing - she hadn't spent all that time researching websites and testing out ways to prioritize the new directions' space requests for nothing!

"i've booked myself a half hour daily, with extra time devoted to my rehearsals with the jazz band. the latter, of course, means that our selections are not under true lock and key, but we'll still have enough of the element of surprise once performances roll around. and you? what do you have planned?"

[onwiththeshcw]

emery was one hundred percent the sort of person with a weaker constitution, and frankly, she nearly jumped out of her skin when stella seemingly appeared out of nowhere. frankly, emery was shocked that stella even knew she was in glee club. had she done something to make herself visible? that was going to have to change, immediately.

"oh!" she supposed that admitting how startled she was would be a terrible idea, but emery clutched the stack of books she was holding and carefully readjusted them against her torso. "i..." oh my god, say something intelligent, emery. "i didn't think i would take up the choir room. i mean, i'm sure there's someone else who needs it more. i was just going to sit in a practice room. if that's okay."

[sing2you]

stella knew every single member of the new directions, whether they thought she did or not. in fact, as a part of her preparation for leadership, she'd put together a file on each new directioner. major, minor, hometown, other extracurriculars of note, vocal range, special skills, and a ranking of their talent on a scale of 1-10 (few were tens, but some might surprise you!). it wasn't much more extensive than a resume, but it was enough to jumpstart a conversation, if needed.

and emery...

though her file may not have been large, as a longtime member of the new directions, she certainly had one. it had only been a matter of time before stella put it to use, and her crusade for monopolizing the choir room was an ideal reason.

"emery," she addressed the girl by name. "i insist. it's great for everyone to get in at least one rehearsal in the actual performance space, just so you can hear how your voice fills the room. a practice room is great to start, but there's still plenty of slots to sign up for a spacing rehearsal in advance of your performance. you have a trio for the mash-ups, yes?"

[scgclden]

her head fell to the side at stella's words, considering all the places she had performed in the past and cross referenced how many practices took place there. "i'll give coach steele that feedback. normally the cheerios just practice on the football field or in the gym, but we cheer in on so many different fields during away games, and so many different gym's during comp's. i wonder if the people who run the competitions would let us practice there before everyone else gets there..."

the blonde's train of thought was stopped (successfully!) when stella began to speak over her, causing goldie to pout in destress and disappointment for the girl. "well that's a bummer. you're freaking hot stella, i would hope someone would be tapping that." she playfully pretended like she was going to lean in to tickle the girl, giggling as she did so. "and what other clubs are trying to steal our practice space?" she really didn't know. at this point the only extracurriculars she really could keep track of (that weren't sports related) was glee. "well, you don't have to worry about me stealing your much needed practice space stells. it looks like my partner for mashup week really hurt her ankle. so i'm sitting this one out." she shrugged, as if it wasn't that big a loss she couldn't perform in this week's assignment. "and everyone seems super excited in their partners that they won't think of switching. oh well, they're loss."

[sing2you]

"that's very kind of you." stella's acknowledgment was genuine, though tempered by the knowledge that the cheer coach was unlikely to actually listen to anyone on her squad. being such a fighter for your own needs was a trait that stella could admire most days, but not so much when it impacted her personally.

"though the gym and football field being a bit more free wouldn't allow the new directions to rehearse in those spaces, it could alleviate some of the stress we're feeling in terms of requests for our space. of course, the real issue at saint rivera is the astounding amount of money dedicated to athletics in comparison to the arts..."

she let that thought drift off, knowing that though goldie may connect the dots in a slightly wonky way, she'd surely get the right picture in the end. that one was a larger war, however, and if she had to pick her battles, getting the furry club far away from the choir room was her first order of business.

unfortunately, nothing good can last, and one attempted tickling completely decimated all of the positive sentiments goldie's previous offerings and recent compliment (she was hot, and it was crazy that no one was tapping that, thank you very much!) had garnered. "yes, well, i'm thankful to have no distractions in my life. i'm able to focus all of my energy on the new directions, the crucible, and my classes," she insisted from a couple of steps away from goldie, the distance put into place to prevent any further attempts at tickles. "and the other groups trying to steal our space vary from day to day, but rest assured, there are plenty."

it was at that moment that fate decided to intervene in their conversation. stella was prepared to let goldie's mention of her partner dropping out of the mash-up go with only an oh no, so sad, but just before she could do so, the buzz of her phone clued her in to the fact that she had some breaking mash-up related news of her own. taking a peek at the screen just long enough to get the gist of things, it was with a smile that stella turned her attention fully back to the blonde.

"great news for you! my partner tragically has food poisoning, so your mash-up is back on. after all, as captain and choreographer, it would be a shame if we both were unable to perform due to unforeseen circumstances. wouldn't you agree?"

[sing2you]

🌌 a closed starter for dennis @stupidiots, in their floor's common room in abrams

there were a lot of downsides to living in abrams - it wasn't the best maintained of the dorms, there was little to no privacy, and now someone wanted to sneak in a komodo dragon? but for all of the negative, lore was of the firm belief that there was plenty of positive. one - she was surrounded by people she liked. and two... well, one was big enough, actually. she couldn't walk ten feet without running into one of her friends there, and thankfully that day, she hadn't even needed to go that far.

the second floor common room was close to lore's room, so when she spotted dennis in there when she was already thinking of heading in to study, she didn't hesitate. "how's your mash-up thing going?" she offered in lieu of a traditional greeting, the need for such pleasantries having been surrendered either when they were dating or sometime after their (for the best! positive!) breakup.

"and do you think that if i offered kelmeckis the rights to my first maybe-someday-lucrative patent, he'd forget about the randomized partners thing and let me pair up with you instead?"

[scgclden]

it was a sad smile that was sent towards lore. as a girl who still thought of freshly baked snickerdoodle cookies when she thought of home, sweets were kind of her love language. or one of them. having a big cake on your birthday, or sharing brownies at a sleepover! those were the memories she had when she thought of sweets, but coach steele was so intense about the cheerios being strong and perfect machines that it often meant she had to go without.

unless it was days like today when she snuck off campus during classes as to not get caught. "intense is kinda the name of the game." she said with a shrug. it was true. if you couldn't hack it, then they could always replace you with someone else. you had to be intense to stay on the squad. "it just comes with the territory. cheer season never really ends. we might not always be at a football came or competing at a comp, but that doesn't mean we're not always repping the cheerios when we're on campus. so, gotta be smart about what we decide to put into our bodies." she pushed the cupcake to the side, having already talked herself out of eating any more. "it's okay, you kinda get used to it after a while." looking around to see if lore was meeting anyone, goldie turned back to her and asked, "whachya doin' in here alone? grabbing something yummy? meeting someone yummy?" her smile turned playful at the light accusation she sent lore's way.

[sing2you]

perhaps it was a good thing she'd failed her cheerios try-out, because lore had never heard any of her friends on the squad say anything about coach steele or their practices that wasn't vaguely terrifying. intense is the name of the game and cheer season never ends? it was hard for lore to imagine changing her whole world to accommodate an extracurricular, even one that could give her so much (social status, a built-in friend group, places to go and things to do, etc). but goldie seemed to be managing okay. minus the terror in her eyes at having been discovered eating a cupcake. so... maybe it wasn't actually that bad?

"well, i hope you still get to try the seasonal flavors, at least," lore replied, the sentiment genuine. but with that out of the way, it was time for a little dishonesty.

"oh!" she paused, gesturing towards the counter full of treats so she could come up with a reason for being there when she hadn't yet purchased anything and was having to unexpectedly rethink her shopping list.

"grabbing something. definitely grabbing something. i haven't come here that often, so i'm just not sure what i want yet. would you recommend what you got? because the pop tart thing looks good too."

[shcwtunes]

"i've stopped to talk to the custodial staff about it, but i have a feeling they were just saying they'd go take care of it to placate me. they didn't seem to actually care. not like it could spread diseases or anything." bear rolls his eyes, clearly displeased by the results of the conversation he'd had. "but, hey, if they want to clean up puke from everyone after we all get sick because of their lackluster job performance, that's their prerogative."

his little rant comes to an end as he finds the right page, lifting his head to take a quick glance around at their other club members, and, a little disappointendly, realizes that their newest experiment is, in fact, basic. "they should let me pick what we do in here sometime. it'd be way more fun, and i have so many good ideas that i could use some more hands for." also potentially hazardous and could risk causing expensive damage to the lab, but, hey, that was the fun of it! "they're holding us back in here."

[sing2you]

"sometimes i forget we have custodial staff in abrams," lore frowned, the sudden reality check of how uncleanly her living situation might be hitting her full force. "i know they take out the trash, but i actually can't recall them ever having stepped foot in the bathrooms... which... unfortunately, makes a lot of sense with what you're telling me."

and what a terrible realization. but she couldn't let herself catastrophize on that front any further when they had an experiment to get to.

pulling her textbook towards herself to skim over the instructions they were meant to be committing to follow, lore had to admit that bear and the rest of the club were right.

"a basic chemical reaction. this is elementary school stuff, at best," she murmured mostly to herself, already ready to concede that bear's leadership of the club would lead to more interesting work. but that was vibes-based, not evidence-based. and so, she asked the question he'd lined up for her perfectly.

"what would you pick?"

[hcngover]

eugena spots her target immediately when she steps into the news room, sitting by herself, completely absorbed in editing a fresh batch of photos on her computer. the other girl wasn't just a photographer for the school paper, but also one of the gleeks. a lesser annoying one, who just seemed desperate to make new friends, which made her absolutely perfect for eugena's big plan. "oh lore, i need you to do me a huge favor." without waiting for permission, eugena sets a small pink box down on the girl's desk. lifting the lid, she reveals an assortment of cutely decorated cupcakes. "so, i bought these on an impulse between classes... then i remembered we have cheer practice today. and coach steele, well, you know she is." eugena lets out a heavy sigh, nudging the box toward the other girl. "take them, please? or share them with your friends? because if i bring them home with me, i'll just end up eating the entire box myself." ( @sing2you )

[sing2you]

lore's head snapped up at the sound of genie's voice, photo editing immediately forgotten when something more interesting was occurring. a favor? she thought to herself, curiosity piqued and the word yes already on the tip of her tongue.

until mere seconds later, when genie set down a recognizable pink box and the pieces of the puzzle quickly came together. the answer was still yes, obviously, but there was one aspect of genie's request that tripped her up.

"with my friends," lore repeated, mind racing to determine who the cupcakes should go to. cece, goldie, genie... they were all cheerios, so they were out. which left... who? bear and the science club? abilene and the celibacy club? the cast of rocky horror? cupcakes should've been a simple gift, but instead lore was already thinking strategically about her distribution. and they'd only been in her possession for mere seconds.

"absolutely!" she grinned as she spiraled. "thank you so much! i know coach steele is really intense about that stuff, so i'm happy to help. i will definitely share them with my friends. and also my duet partner for this week's glee assignment, maybe."

lore knew that genie didn't need to know the particulars of her distribution system, but she simply could not stop talking. she had been caught off guard by the unexpected honor.

[dazednconfuseds]

August let out a quiet breath through his nose, almost similar to a laugh as she settled in beside him. He let his head fall back on his jacket, following the line of her finger when she pointed, squinting like that might magically download the information to his brain. He always liked when Lore was near, rattling off some, what he referred to as, science nerd shit. It had come as a term of endearment over time.

"Nineteenth brightest," he repeated, nodding along. "Right, I knew that." He obviously didn't. August shifted onto his side so he could look at her properly, propped up on one elbow. There was something so grounding about the way she talked about the sky; so certain and sure of where things belonged.

"Yeah," he said, answering her question regarding his lack of sleep. "Or... maybe I just remembered the thing about the Angus Cylinder." Noting that he remembered her adjusting her own sleep schedule. His gaze drifted upward, tracking nothing in particular. He didn't seem to have the same eye for it as Lore did.

"But," he glanced back at her with a small crooked smile, "Figured if I was gonna be awake, I might as well learn some facts of the universe. Hit me with it, Liang."

[sing2you]

though she could never be sure, lore felt pretty confident that each time she and august met up, she taught him something new. was he fully absorbing it? maybe not. but he kept showing up, and seemed eager enough to hear a new space fact each time, so that was enough for her to keep sharing them.

"i'm sure," she gracefully allowed, letting him pretend to know the nineteenth brightest star in the sky fact as she fully settled in beside him. but it didn't take long before her eyes were trained upwards again.

though she was focused on the constellation of which she spoke, she did take a peek over at august the moment the words angus cylinder left his mouth, surprise evident in her expression. "do you mean the o'neill cylinder?" she asked, before she realized that they'd not yet discussed theoretical space habitats. and he probably wouldn't know that there was a comic artist named angus mckie who had incorporated the o'neill cylinder into some of his work.

oh. wait. a smile crept onto her face as she realized what he actually meant.

"alpha cygni," she reiterated, encouraging him to look up at where she was now pointing. "alpha because it's the brightest one in the constellation, cyngi, for cygnus, the name of the constellation - the swan. if it helps you to remember, baby swans are cygnets."

she traced the shape of the constellation then, pointing out each star and the way in which they all connected.

"there's a pretty straightforward cross in the middle, and then the arms of the swan get a little wonky on the end. one of the stars in the cygnus constellation is pretty high up on the list of largest currently known stars."

it was only after she let her hand fall and a beat of silence ensue that she moved them away from space facts and towards a conversation about what was going on in their lives. and yet, her eyes didn't move. not at first. it was easier to shift topics if she kept looking at the sky. it made things feel more casual, somehow, even though she was asking questions she really wanted the answer to.

"how are you feeling about your mashup duet thing in glee club this week? would you say it's... keeping you up at night?"

[rawtalents]

🏒           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ    jesusfuckingmaryandjoseph, his heart thrashing in its cage with how he nearly jumped out of his skin, muttering a chain of expletives under his breath with a hand clutching his chest when stella seemed to simply materialize out of nowhere. it wasn't unusual for him to be caught with his nose in a book, today's menu: putting the SHOW in CHOIR, the ultimate handbook for your rehearsal and performance ISBN: 9781617743238, but he thought it would've been polite not to disturb someone in the middle of #research either. and so all he could do was look up and stare at her for a few seconds, still making up his mind whether to be intimidated or amused by her. nonetheless, a slow smile curled the corners of his lips upward, shaking his head in slight disbelief. " you know you're a lot, right? " it was almost a breathless sound, as if he wasn't sure whether they should be breathing in the same air, but it was rhetorical anyway. " you're lucky i like it when people are a little overbearing, a little too passionate, " sydney chuckled, shoulders shrugged. stella probably saw him like the other jocks who half-assed most things, but maybe he'd just have to show her that he was already a few steps ahead. " but don't worry, cecelia and i got everything under control. we've got our songs, booked the choir room and a private soundproof space in the basement of hudson house for rehearsals, emailed the jazz ensemble to help with tweaks for our arrangement, " and he paused for a second, feigning to think of anything else he might've forgotten to do⸻ but sydney was nothing if not efficient, so of course, he was already on top of everything. " it's mostly choreography that i struggle with, so i'm pretty lucky to be paired with the captain of the cheerios. " then he leaned just a little closer, his polite smile turning into something playful, impish. " and you? d'you have it all figured out? "

[sing2you]

having surprised sydney to the point where he was speechless, stella had the time to take a peek at what he was reading. what she'd been expecting? a tome on the best hockey players of all time, or perhaps a book about strategies to win a debate. what she hadn't been expecting? ...the book that was actually in his hands. "nice valerie lippoldt mack. are you enjoying the so-called humorous anecdotes?" she asked with a tilt of her head in genuine curiosity. after the new directions' loss last year, stella had read every book she possibly could on show choirs to ensure that when the group was under her leadership, they would never suffer the same fate. the one sydney seemed so engrossed in had been a disappointment, but she wasn't about to discourage someone who actually seemed to be taking things seriously.

it was only once she'd asked a question of her own that she bothered to respond to his, a proud nod indicating her feelings on the matter. "yes." he may have meant it rhetorically, but she did know she was a lot - it was a strength, actually!

a beat later slid into the chair opposite him under the assumption that i like it when people are overbearing (plus or minus a few words) was an invitation, but she offered no comment on his likes or dislikes. instead, she was momentarily taken aback by the fact that he'd addressed all of her points before she could verbalize them. down to the choreography.

what was his deal?? every other jock she'd spoken to about the new directions wasn't taking things seriously, so her reminders had been more than necessary. but sydney seemed to be approaching his membership with the seriousness that he brought to their academic debates. was he actually... going to help new directions, rather than hinder them?

no, that didn't sound right...

"how fortuitous. a match made in show choir heaven," she remarked, unable to find an error in his planning (beyond the soundproof space rehearsal sequencing - was it before or after the choir room one? she didn't want to risk him pointing out that it was the former, so she made no further comment).

luckily, she was much more comfortable with pivot towards talking about herself. "i always have it figured out." paired with a smile, she was certain that he'd never detect that she and lo were still working on it. she'd booked the choir room and jazz ensemble for a rehearsal, at least!

[dazednconfuseds]

August had, for the most part, been minding his own business. He was actively away from the choir room when Stella seemed to materialize out of thin air in front of him. He stopped short, one shoulder hitching as he slid an earbud free. "Jesus H. Christ, Stella," he said, letting out a sharp breath. Some people took glee club a little too seriously with Stella sitting high at that list.

"You ever heard of Prozac?" A beat. "Or a warning? Maybe you could get a little bell that would signal your... shining presence." That seemed better than being fully ambushed. He let her go on about the mashups and rehearsals with not so much as his facial expression wavering from neutral. Were him and Carter going to rehearse? He couldn't imagine they'd do anything showstopping the necessitated such a thing.

"If I say that I'll book a time, will you leave me alone?" Touchy.

[sing2you]

speaking of those with a weaker constitution... stella wouldn't say that she took particular care in silently approaching august, but she also wouldn't not say that.

"i know that being aware of one's surroundings can become difficult for some people when they have earbuds in, so perhaps a lower volume would be best?" stella smiled, fully ignoring any of the feedback august had on her sudden appearance. it'd had its desired effect, given that a) she'd wanted to scare him as retribution for the thong song and b) she now had his attention.

did she think that he was paying proper attention as she stressed the importance of booking space? no. but in the end he came to the correct conclusion, so she didn't bother to make an even more passionate plea. not when there was something else she was hoping to address with him.

"yes," she agreed to his request, fully knowing that the answer was actually no. "but it would help me to leave you alone if i also had some sense of what you might be performing."