𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐲 | q. fabray

City of Angels

Bailey knocked gently on the door to Mr. Schue's office. He looked up from his paperwork and motioned for her to come in and take a seat. She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands on her thighs to calm her nerves.

"How can I help you, Bailey?" Mr. Schue asked, offering the blonde a warm smile.

"Uh... I-I... I wrote a song," Bailey said as she unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to her teacher. "This is my last competition, and I was wondering if I could sing it? We've done really well in the past with original songs, and I'm really proud of how this one turned out."

"Bailey, this is really good," Mr. Schue said as he read through the lyrics. "Your songwriting has really improved over the years." He was quiet for a moment, and the senior nervously bit her lip as he folded the paper and handed it back to her.

"I'd really like the opportunity, Mr. Schue," Bailey said as she looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Well, I don't see why not," the teacher shrugged, chuckling.

"Really?" Bailey gasped, smiling when Mr. Schue nodded. "Thank you. You won't regret it!"

She walked out of his office with a huge smile and ran up to Tina and Adalynn, who were waiting at the other end of the hall.

"What did he say?" Tina asked.

"If he said no, I'm killing him," said Adalynn.

"He said yes!" Bailey exclaimed as the three jumped up and down, squealing excitedly as they hugged.

****

LA was even better than Adalynn had thought it would be. She, Bailey, and Tina were all put in a room together at the hotel, and after unpacking they changed into their swimsuits and went down to relax at the pool.

The warm, late-May sun shined down on them as they relaxed on the lounge chairs. Bailey kept a careful eye on Julian, who was in the pool with the twins, who had floaties on their arms to keep their heads above the water.

Adalynn flipped through a magazine, frowning when a dark shadow appeared over her.

"Who the fuck stole the sun?" she asked, annoyed as she looked up, gasping when she saw her brother. "Finny, you made it!" she exclaimed as she tossed the magazine aside and jumped up to throw her arms around his shoulders.

"You didn't think I'd miss your last competition, did you?" Finn asked, chuckling as he lifted Adalynn up and spun her around, a mischievous smile forming on his lips as he carried her over to the pool and tossed her in.

She landed in the water with a splash, and glared up at Finn as she spit water out of her mouth. He smiled innocently, shrugging it off as if it had never happened.

"You're so mean," Adalynn pouted as she swam over to the edge of the pool and pushed herself out.

"Enjoy your swim, Baby Shark?" Finn teased.

"You watch it, or else I'm gonna turn into a parana," Adalynn said as she squeezed the water out of her long hair.

"Hi, Finny!" Maya yelled, waving at him from the other end of the pool.

"Finny, I'ma meemaid," Ava said as she put her legs together and thrashed her arms around as she struggled to make her way over to him. "Daddy!" she whined. "Daddy help!"

"You're okay, Ava," Julian said as he went over to his youngest daughter. "Do you want to go to Uncle Finn?"

"Yeah," Ava nodded.

"Alright," the young father said as he picked the two-year-old up out of the water and placed her on his shoulders. He went over to the side of the pool that Finn was on, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Maya was okay before handing Ava to Adalynn, who wrapped her up in a small towel before handing her to Finn.