𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 || glee

forty five; downtown

Monotony was the best way to describe life in New York.

For the six months she'd spent in the city, Vee had the exact same daily routine — wake up, work, go home, design, sleep.

And she was sick of it.

She wasn't a realist, per se, but she knew that all her dreams wouldn't come through the moment she stepped in New York. She knew she had to work for it, she knew it wouldn't come easily, especially because of who she was.

But it was getting tiring working retail, and even more so listening to Rachel yap about how excited she was for Funny Girl. Yes, she was happy for Rachel and she did like her as a person, but it exhausted her listening to talks of Broadway this, Fanny Brice that when everyone else around her was struggling.

However, Vee was fairly optimistic about her time in New York. She had one opportunity to get it right and it was the only thing motivating her. Her college — who apparently took great pride in a student who was way ahead of the rest of the class — had recommended her to a huge fashion house that was looking for a fresh face they liked. They stated that they wanted a new perspective and was willing to financially back a new face. Only a new face. And Vee was in the running.

Yet she was still exhausted, on the brink of dozing off as she carried two tubs of ice cream up to her place. It was time for their annual Monday potluck dinner, and seeing as Vee had been working all day, she didn't have time to cook. Ice cream was her best option and she hoped they weren't too mad about it.

The door sluggishly being pulled open by a tired Vee meant everyone was there, and Rachel excitedly took the ice cream right out of her hands, smiling at the girl.

"Do you want to sleep early? I can give you some pasta and you can doze off quickly," Rachel said in concern, ushering Vee to the table.

She instantly shook her head at Rachel's surprisingly kind words. "No thanks, I'm starving," she replied.

Taking her usual seat in between Sam and Artie, she rested her head in her hands as she waited for the food to be brought out.

"You okay?" Sam asked, offering a grin.

"Yeah. Just tired. No one told me how hard retail is," she responded with a sigh.

Before Sam or Artie could reply sympathetically, Rachel had clasped her hands together, excited for the new tradition they had just established.

"You guys, this is gonna be so great!" she exclaimed. "Sidney just gave me a limo with a driver, this is so much better than what I thought it would be."

Rachel Berry seemed to get everything in life. This was no exception. But Vee just smiled warmly as she was far too tired to frown or roll her eyes.

As Kurt brought out the pasta, Vee quickly took some onto her plate as she hadn't eaten much all day. Working at Chanel had its perks, namely, the employee discount, but dealing with extremely wealthy customers was not something she treated amicably. And busy days, even less so.

"Have you eaten at all today?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Vee answered almost too quickly. "I mean, barely, but yeah," she said before scarfing down the food.

"How's your modelling going?" she asked once swallowing the noodles.

"Not good," he said simply as he shot her a look of disdain. "What about your fashion thing?"

Now that sparked a memory in Vee's mind, causing her to jump as her eyes grew wide with alert. As everyone stared at her in utter confusion, she let out a sharp exhale as she recalled the memory.