Glee: Race to the Finish (the fifth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 25: She'll Be The Death Of Me

I finally got inspired and whipped out an incredibly long chapter with lots of stuff going on and plenty of drama. Thank the lord because it had been a while. Here you go, sorry for the slow progress, and hopefully I'll get ahead very soon! 
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The night was nearing and soon it'd be the day of the label anniversary party. Julie wasn't comfortable staying alone with Kara, so she had asked some of her friends over for a bit of a slumber party before Alex returned.

"You could've just told me you were scared," Kara teased as they prepared the living room for binge eating and Netflix. "I would've crawled right into bed with you." Julie rolled her eyes and didn't respond, busying herself with taking Meg to her bedroom. 

"Stay here, ok, baby?" she whispered as she locked he dog in her room with her small bed and food bowl. When she returned to the living room, Kara was heading to Alex's bedroom. "Where are you going?" Julie asked her.

Kara turned back and gave her a look. "To the room..? I don't want to be in the way when your friends get here."

"Ok, I may not love you," she told her. "But... I didn't mean to make you think I didn't want you around. I don't, but you're here, so you may as well hang out. Besides, if you went and locked yourself away right now, Peyton would've come for nothing."

"You invited her?" Kara said, a smile spreading across her face. Julie nodded. Kara was filled with so much joy at getting this tiny bit of acceptance that she dashed over in an attempt to hug Julie, but backed away just seconds before doing so. "Sorry," she told her. "We're not there yet, are we?"

"Not even close," said Julie, though Kara could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile. The doorbell rang and it was time for the slumber party to begin.

***

Once Bree, Kitty, Peyton, Leila, Albany, and Harmony—the girls who weren't otherwise busy—had made it to the apartment, the sleepover commenced. Julie wasn't used to being around so many people at home since she'd gotten pregnant, so it was weird seeing all of them drink homemade cocktails and eat as much junk as they wanted in her presence.

"You girls want to hear something funny?" said Leila after a while of gossiping and having girlish fun. "Bree, show them the message John left you earlier."

Bree rolled her eyes but retrieved her phone. After a few seconds, she had called up her voicemail and hit play on a saved message. 

Alex's muffled voice was heard briefly in the background and then John very clearly said, "Hey sexy! I just wanted you to know that I miss you. I miss your body. And I can't wait to see you and get all up on it."

The girls giggled. They could hear movement and shuffling until Alex said, "I'm so sorry for this. I swear, I'm not the one who let him drink. Have a nice day. We'll see you soon." The call ended abruptly and Bree looked up at the girls, annoyed.

The girls all burst into fits of giggles after that. "What the hell was that?" Peyton asked.

"He was trying to call me," Leila answered. "At least I hope he was."

"Drunk John is a perverted John," Kitty rolled her eyes.

"But aren't they touring?" asked Albany. "Why would they be drunk?"

"Because they're touring," Harmony pointed out, unamused. "I swear, these boys are too immature to be that famous."

"They're just having fun," Julie defended them. "Actually, they should be headed home now. I'm going to call them and see if they've left their hotel yet."