butterflies ⋮ sam evans

22 | "asian f"

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West Side Story auditions were now in full swing, and Keilani had spent the better part of a week helping Mercedes build up the confidence for her Maria audition. Keilani didn't care about getting any sort of role, as she knew she was destined for the ensemble, so the audition season wasn't as big of a deal for her.

Seeing Mercedes hug Rachel in the cafeteria had been the final straw for Keilani, and as she made her way over to Mercedes, she waved Keanu over as well. "What was that?" Keilani asked once Rachel was well out of earshot.

Mercedes shot her a confused look. "What are you going all crazy about?"

"You just hugged your arch-nemesis right before the big audition," Keanu pointed out, wrapping an arm around Mercedes's shoulder. "Do you think before I cleat some dude, I hug him?"

"What the hell is cleating?"

"Do you ever pay attention at the dinner table when Mom and Dad are asking me about football?"

"Honestly, no."

"Guys!" Mercedes exclaimed, interrupting the bickering siblings. "It's not like that. Rachel and I are friends."

Shaking her head, Keilani replied, "Not right now you're not. This is winner-takes-all. Maria's the lead, and you deserve to be playing that part."

Despite still feeling incredibly nervous about the upcoming auditions, Mercedes couldn't help but laugh at Keilani's new intense attitude. "What's gotten into you, K? You've gone all crazy stage mom on me."

Keilani sighed. It was strange to her. In almost every other situation, Mercedes had always been the most confident one in the room. At least that's how it seemed to Keilani. She had always been so self-assured and so unapologetically herself, and Keilani had always admired her for that. But when it came to competing against Rachel, Mercedes would suddenly almost "hide" in herself and suddenly doubt her every move, and Keilani absolutely hated it because she knew she was capable of so much more.

Fortunately, Keanu stepped in and managed to say everything that was on Keilani's mind. "People are saying that Rachel's the one to beat. Why don't you know that you're the one to beat."

"I know..."

Keanu cut her off with a shake of his head. "You don't. You always make me watch Dreamgirls on our movie nights. You say you're Beyoncé, but on the inside you feel like Effie White. You're better than Rachel Berry, you know that right?"

"No one except Keilani's ever told me that before," Mercedes said quietly, smiling softly up at her boyfriend who was now pulling her into a tight hug.

Sensing that the couple was having a "moment", Keilani quietly slipped away and let the two be, knowing she'd talk to Mercedes later to figure out what her audition song would be. She was thankful that Keanu and Mercedes never made Keilani feel too much like a third wheel, but she knew that there were just some moments better shared alone between the sweet couple.