𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 || s. evans

TWENTY SEVEN

They were back. Blaine, Artie, and Kurt seemed impressed with their work and Santana was immeasurably happy. Rachel never really got into their business, and Izzy was definitely thankful for that.

Rehearsals had just started for Chicago and being the lead dancer, Izzy was very stressed. Between juggling school, dance rehearsals, and a social life, she really chose the wrong time to start a relationship.

But she enjoyed being with Sam. Him and the rest of her friends helped her cope with everything going on in her life, and she was immensely grateful for that.

"What are you doing home so early?" Santana asked with Izzy by her side. "I thought that you'd be in the recording studio all day."

"Yeah, well, my producer just listened to the final cut of my album, and in his words: 'Didn't hear a single,'" said Mercedes, sighing deeply.

"Now he's worried that the label won't give it a release date."

Izzy let out a scoff. "He's an idiot, you're amazing," she reassured her.

"And you're just gonna listen to these morons?" Santana added.

"You know, if I don't get backed by the label, that means that I won't get any promotion, which means I don't get any airplay, which means I'm just another no-hit wonder."

Mercedes was an amazing singer, and in Izzy's opinion she was the best in all of glee history. No offence to Rachel.

"Well, you would still be doing a hell of a lot better than me. I would kill to be you right now, thinking about creating the perfect single to save my record deal," Santana took a seat on the sofa.

Mercedes suddenly had an idea. "You know, maybe you can."

"Remember back in high school, every time we sang together, it was always magic. Maybe you can help me find some of that again."

Izzy started nodding and gasped. "That is a capital idea. My two favourite singers doing a single together, that would be perfection."

Santana made a face. "I don't know, I mean—"

"Oh, come on, Santana, you've been fighting for this your whole life!" Izzy exclaimed, attempting to get her on board.

Mercedes nodded in agreement. That made Santana finally break, and she smiled and started to nod. The three of them broke out into laughter and Izzy initiated a group hug.

*******

Finally done with rehearsals, Izzy rubbed her eyes as she stepped back into the house. She saw a bright light on the TV and realised that Sam was watching True Jackson VP and eating cereal once again.

"True Jackson again?" she asked, squinting at the screen.

He nodded in response. "How was rehearsals?" he asked her, but by looking at her face, he easily deduced the answer.

"I'm guessing tiring," he answered. She nodded and lied down on the sofa.

"I just want to sleep," she shut her eyes, but fought the feeling of falling asleep.

"Then why don't you?" he asked her, taking a big spoonful of cereal.

"Because I love you," she groaned with faux annoyance coating her voice.

"Based off all the chapstick you got me, I know," he shrugged.

Opening her eyes to watch the show with him, she sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. Saying she was tired was an understatement, but relationships took work. And she wasn't putting enough into hers.

"Keke Palmer's a genius," she gave a small smile, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Exactly," he agreed, staring at the screen.

Unexpectedly, Santana came in through the door looking pissed. She dumped her bag and jacket down and took a seat next to them.

"Scoot over, lovebirds. What are we watching?" she asked with her arms crossed.

"True Jackson VP," Sam answered without skipping a beat.

"The Nickelodeon show?" she furrowed her eyebrows. "Whatever. It'll do."

"You wanna talk about it?" Izzy asked, conceded for her best friend.

Santana shook her head with pursed lips, not peering off the show. Something was clearly up, but Santana never really liked talking about her feelings.

"Trouty, your taste in shows suck," Santana rolled her eyes.

"And yet you're still here," Izzy smiled, not feeling tired after her friends were surrounding her.

Santana wordlessly stole Sam's cereal and shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Izzy frowned, looking to Sam who had the same expression of concern across his face.

"Peachy," she responded flatly.

"And you're sure you don't want to talk about it."

"Positive."

Izzy nodded, resting her head on Sam's shoulder once more. Her eyes started getting heavier and before she knew it, she had dozed off.

Santana looked at Izzy's motionless body and poked it a few times, looking at Sam who was smiling at her.

"Trouty, your girl's asleep," she pointed out.

"She's had a long day," he shrugged. "I know you're only here for her, so you don't have to watch—"

"Oh, shut it," Santana huffed. "I'll watch the dumb kids show for you, but only because I have nothing better to do," she said, fighting back a smile.

"You keep telling yourself that," Sam mumbled.

Catching it, Santana snapped her head towards him. "What was that?" she asked, her expression filled with annoyance.

"Didn't say anything," Sam said quickly. He never mentioned it to Izzy, but Santana still scared him. Sometimes.

"That's right," she glared, focusing her attention on the TV.

*******

According to Mercedes, Rachel had ditched Funny Girl for some crappy new show in LA. Her understudy couldn't perform, so she was screwed. Needless to say, she didn't make it back in time, and wasn't doing too well after her audition went horribly.

"Poor Rachel," Izzy raised her eyebrows.

"Poor Santana," Mercedes corrected. "At least Rachel has her show. Santana doesn't get to be on the album. It really sucks," Mercedes shook her head.

That's why she was so pissed.

"That explains it. She watched a Nickelodeon show with me and Sam the other day," Izzy mentioned.

"So that was what all that noise was about," Mercedes glared. "You know, some people want to sleep at night."

"That was entirely Sam," Izzy was quick to throw him under the bus. "He was watching it with Santana while I fell asleep."

"With all that noise? You must've been really tired," Mercedes said, impressed.

"Rehearsals are a bitch," Izzy gave a small smile. "But they also further my career, so who am I to complain?"

"You know what?" Mercedes asked, with an idea popping into her head. "Let's go get a celebratory cake. For the two of us. A record deal and a role as the lead dancer when we're not even out of college. I say that deserves a treat."

Izzy nodded violently. "I could really go for some cake right now," she smiled as both of them made their way to the nearest (and cheapest) bakery.