𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 | s. lopez

The Power Of Madonna

The thing about living at Puck's house – there's alcohol everywhere. Juniper thought that wouldn't be a problem, but every night after everyone's gone to bed, she's been sneaking downstairs to numb the pain with a glass or two – sometimes three – of liquor. She knew this wasn't the best coping mechanism, but she didn't care.

"Juniper?" called Quinn from the other room.

"Shit," mumbled the brunette under her breath. She quickly poured out the whisky that was in her cup and filled it with water before putting the bottle of alcohol back in the cabinet. Juniper tried to act normal as the former head cheerleader came into the kitchen. "Hey, Quinn," she said in a forced perky voice with a fake smile.

"Are you okay?" asked the blonde, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I'm great," said Juniper, still faking a smile.

"Okay... uh, why are you up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged, taking a sip of water. "You?"

"I heard you leave," said Quinn, leaning up against the counter next to the younger girl.

They stood in silence for a bit, Juniper taking small sips of water and Quinn pretending to be intrigued by a small spider crawling on the ground. After a while, Juniper set her half empty glass of water down on the counter. Quinn put an arm around the brunette as they went back upstairs to go to bed.

****

"What comes to mind when you see that name?" asked Mr. Schue after he wrote "Madonna" on the board.

"Genius," said Rachel

"Icon" added Kurt.

"Hall of fame MILF," smirked Juniper, getting a nod of approval from Puck.

"So, we're all aware of Madonna's musical and cultural significance, which is why this week your assignment is to come up with a Madonna number," explained Mr. Schue.

"Uh, Mr. Schue?" asked Puck. "As a dude, Madonna makes me kind of uncomfortable."

"Uh, Puck, as a dude, you make women everywhere uncomfortable," said Juniper. "No offense."

"I agree with Puck," said Finn. "She's smoking, but can't some of us do something else? Like the guy version of Madonna? Like, you know, Pantera?"

All the boys looked at one another and made agreeing remarks.

"Guys!" said Mr. Schue, regaining their focus. "It's come to my attention that many of you haven't been treating the young ladies of our group very nice lately. You're disrespectful, bullying, sexist, and I hate to say it, misogynistic."

"I have no idea what that means," said Finn.

"When I pulled my hamstring I went to a misogynist," said Brittany.

"What it means is put yourself in their shoes for a change. Culturally, Madonna's legacy transcends her music because by and large, the subtext of her songs are about being strang, independent, and confident no matter what your sex. But more than anything, Madonna's musical message is about equality. Something I think you guys need to work on."

Kurt raised his hand.

"Mr. Schue, I don't think we can have an honest conversation about Miss Ciccone without acknowledging that her images are as indelible as her songs," he began. "I'd like to honor her contributions by tackling a multimedia project with Mercedes.

"Great, go for it, Kurt," replied Mr. Schue.

"I'm still not down. And no chick intimidates Puckzilla," said Puck. "I don't think her music translates to show choir."

"Really? Well, I, for one, couldn't disagree more," said Rachel, standing up and heading to the front of the room.

****

Juniper walked down the hall, feeling sick from the vodka she had chugged before school that day. She rushed into the nearest bathroom as she felt a churning in her stomach. She gripped onto the sides of the toilet seat as she threw up.

She heard someone come in, and the next thing she knew, that person was holding her hair back so no vomit would get in it.

Reaching a shaky hand up, Juniper flushed the toilet and leaned back against the side of the stall, sliding down to the floor. She looked up and saw Rachel.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently as she sat down next to the shorter brunette.

"Yeah, I'm fine," lied Juniper.

"You smell like alcohol," said Rachel, furrowing her brows. She pushed a strand of hair out of the girl's face. "Juniper, what's going on?"

"I'm so sorry," cried Juniper, wrapping her arms around the older girl and burying her face in the crook of her neck. "I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have done it. It's just made everything so much worse."

"Hey, hey, shh, Juni it's okay," Rachel said softly as she ran a comforting hand through the smaller brunette's hair. "It's gonna be okay."

"I'm so sorry," Juniper whispered.

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Rachel as they pulled out of the hug. "But first thing's first, pack your bags. You're coming to my place. Puck is a bad influence, and I have a feeling this whole thing started because of him."

"Why are you being so nice about this?" asked Juniper.

"Underneath your tough exterior is a good person who's been hurt badly in the past," said Rachel with a small smile. "What kind of friend would I be if I gave up on you when you needed me the most?"

"A shitty one, that's for sure," said Juniper with a small laugh. "Thank you, Rachel."

"No need to thank me." Rachel stood up and extended a hand to Juniper, helping her up and pulling her into another hug. "It's my pleasure. I'd do it for anyone."