love like fools ➙ glee

forty-two ; rolling in the deep.

author's note: the photo attached is alicia's prom dress. :) all other notes will be at the end! happy reading!

. . . 

Alicia walked into the choir room in the midst of discussions about prom. Horror overcame her immediately.

She'd been doing her best to avoid dwelling on the inevitable prom of it all. Finn and Quinn's breakup meant that their campaign had been practically demolished and Quinn, from what she had told Alicia, was consumed by rage. She kept making offhanded comments about revenge, but when Alicia tried to inquire further, she just offered her a coy little smile and changed the subject. Despite the breakup and potential revenge plot, Quinn continued to run independently, and against all odds, she was ranking higher than Santana and Karofsky by about 15%. 

Alicia was surprised that Quinn lacked any resentment towards her, since it was kind of her fault that her relationship with Finn had failed so terribly. But all of Quinn's rage seemed solely directed at Finn and, for some reason, Rachel.

So it was obviously a tense atmosphere within the glee club lately.

While Alicia hesitated in the doorway of the choir room, gaze flickering between Jesse and Finn, Mercedes brushed right past her. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked, plopping into her usual seat.

"Prom dresses," Lauren said.

"Thank God I don't have to worry about that. I'm not going."

Kurt frowned at Mercedes. "Why not?"

Her gaze lowered, something like regret flashing across her features. "Because no one's asked me."

Will entered the choir room next and Alicia hurried to find a seat. She could feel both Finn's and Jesse's stares on her, but fortunately, she found a seat next to Kurt and behind Mercedes. She wasn't prepared to face either boy yet, not after the awkwardly public conversation last week. She'd been dedicated at avoiding them, spending most of her free time with Kurt, Quinn, and occasionally Tina and Mike.

Will scrawled PROM across the whiteboard in dramatically capital letters. Dread rushed through Alicia at once. "All right, guys! Prom."

"Please tell me we're not doing songs about prom," Sam said.

Alicia's brows furrowed. "Are you thinking Good Riddance by Green Day or more like You and Me by Lifehouse?"

"Please keep your music taste at least six feet away from me," Santana snapped.

Will chuckled. It was a nervous sound, and the uneasy mannerisms only increased as he clasped his hands together. "Nope. We are the prom. Figgins has asked us to perform." Instinctively, Alicia's gaze flickered to Mercedes, who sighed heavily in front of her. Frankly, she could relate. She'd been hoping to skip prom, too, in a feeble attempt to avoid any more drama.

Rachel seemed content, though. "Let's do Run, Joey, Run!" 

For once, the glee club came together in complete solidarity as everyone shot Rachel the same skeptical and slightly disgusted look. That performance still gave Alicia frequent night terrors.

Jesse held up a hand. "No offense, Schuester, but this seems like a rotten idea. We should be focusing all of our attention on preparing for Nationals. I know for a fact that Vocal Adrenaline is currently in twenty-four hour rehearsals. You don't stand a chance if your attention is divided."

Most of glee club exchanged uneasy glances. Only Alicia and Quinn seemed neutral.

"Now, I know this isn't ideal with Nationals coming up, but we really don't have a choice," said Will. "And, we could really use the money. But I know that prom is a special rite of passage. I want to make sure that all of you guys get a chance to enjoy the dance, too. So we're gonna stag at the performances so that each and every one of you has a lot of time to dance with your dates." Jesse mimed throwing up from his seat behind Will, and Brittany giggled.