𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 | jesse st. james

3: beautiful

╰─▗ ▘➤𖥸 chapter three
where Eliza's headache stems from
the many happenings of this week.
also, guillotines.

          ELIZA HAD NEVER FELT MORE indecisive in her life. Jesse St. James was a headache, one she could not get rid of by simply popping an Advil. It was a mind-boggling effort to try and figure out how she felt about him, because one moment they could be getting along incredibly well, then the next she'd be wanting to find the answer to time travel just so she could get a guillotine to slice his head off.

          It didn't help her dilemma that she had just walked into the choir room and found her seat taken by the boy himself. She found herself a place next to Mike and Matt just as the meeting began.

          "Um, alright, I have one final announcement before we all leave. We can't use the auditorium for next week." Mr. Schue sighed, already knowing what kind of response he was going to have to deal with.

          "But that's garbage," Finn protested. "How are we supposed to practice for Regionals without the auditorium?"

          "The Cheerios need it to practice in. There's nothing I can do," Mr. Schue answered. The Cheerios in the room slumped slightly in their seats as they were faced with scornful stares from the group.

          Rachel sprung to her feet. "I recommend a sit-in."

          Eliza put a finger in the air. "Actually, Coach Sylvester told us yesterday that if anyone tries to interfere with our practice we need to step on them. Bonus points if we step on Mr. Schue."

          "I recommend we torch the place," Puck pitched, causing ripples of laughter to fill the choir room. He looked around with a frown, unsure of why the team was laughing when he was completely serious.

          "I'm with Puck." Eliza reached over to high-five her friend. She wasn't actually on board with his idea, she just enjoyed encouraging his outrageous thoughts from time to time.

          As Mike and Matt fist-bumped, Mr. Schue shot down the idea quickly. "No, look, we've all faced adversity before and we've come out stronger on the other end. I'm going to check out a few off-site locations for us to use, just for the week. I promise I'll find us a new home."

          Eliza remained in her seat a moment longer than her friends as she redid her ponytail. Brittany had discreetly informed her earlier that a chunk of her hair wasn't tied up with the rest of it. It honestly mortified Eliza knowing that she had walked around the school like that.

          She ran her hand underneath her ponytail to check for loose strands. Once she was sure nothing had been excluded this time around, she got up and left the choir room to chase down Santana and Brittany for lunch.

          Quinn stopped her in her tracks. The young blonde carried her bag on her shoulder, Eliza could see a few medical papers sticking out. She figured that her friend was on her way to yet another of the many medical appointments she had.

          "Eat," Quinn told her.

          "Looks like you have somewhere to be, Q."

          "Eliza."

          "Quinn, you weren't even supposed to know so just... pretend like you never found out."

          Quinn lowered her voice. "How was I not supposed to figure it out when I've been through the same thing."

          "I'm gonna go now."

          "You can't keep ignoring it."

          Eliza's lips parted, but once she figured arguing further would do neither of them any good, she pressed them back together. She walked away, leaving Quinn in her dust. She did truly feel bad for taking off so hastily, and she could even admit that her act was immature, but annoyance was all she could feel every time her friend brought up her sensitive situation.