𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | r. berry

Asian F

"You're late."

"I know," Mercedes said as she walked onto the stage. "I overslept."

"It's 4:30 in the afternoon," Quinn frowned.

"That blonde chick looks a lot like the crazy girl with the pink hair that tried to kill me the other week," Ava whispered to Autumn.

"That is the crazy chick with the pink hair," the cheerleader chuckled as the younger girl's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no," Ava shook her head. "Uh uh. Keep her away from me."

"My alarm clock went off 30 minutes late this morning. It kind of shifted my whole schedule," Mercedes explained to their teacher. "Anyway, what's Santana doing here?"

"I've resworn my allegiance to the glee club," Santana sighed. "Without telling Coach Sue."

"Mercedes, I'll catch you up," Mike said as he pulled her aside.

Brad started playing the piano, and Mike began counting as Mercedes practiced the dance moves they were learning. She suddenly whimpered and ran over to one of the trash can props for West Side Story.

"Mercedes, you okay?" Mr. Schue asked.

"My stomach hurts," Mercedes groaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Why are you babying her?" Santana scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, she can't do three steps without puking cause she ate a Quiznos before she showed up in this joint."

"Aren't you supposed to wait 20 minutes after eating before doing physical activity?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, 20 to 30," Autumn nodded.

"Mr. Schue, you have us scheduled to the second right now," Mercedes said. "With school, Glee Club, and booty camp, when else am I supposed to eat?"

"When the rest of us do?" Autumn shrugged.

"Oh, like you eat!" Mercedes snapped, sending the head cheerleader a glare over her shoulder.

Autumn pressed her lips together, lowering her gaze to the floor. That wasn't exactly the best comment to direct towards a recovering anorexic, in fact, it was triggering. She suddenly felt guilty about the lunch she ate earlier, and was already planning the best way to avoid dinner that night.

Autumn, no.

Take a deep breath.

We don't do that anymore.

We're better now.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in through her nose and out her mouth as she counted to 10 in her head. She opened her eyes again and looked up, flinching a little when she felt a hand on her back.

"Auttie, you okay?" Santana asked her.

"Yeah," Autumn nodded. "Just trying to push away those ED thoughts."

"You're beautiful, okay? Remember that."

Autumn smiled a little and nodded again, thankful that her friends were always there to help her through the road bumps in her recovery.

"It's not about eating, it's about attitude," Mr. Schue said. "Sectionals are coming up, and if we don't give it our all–"

"I'm doing my best," Mercedes said, her voice wavering.

"No, you're not. It's not about doing your best anymore. It's about doing better."

****