jupiter and mars [ quinn fabray ]

- one -

Room 7.9 was one of the many rooms that were reserved for extracurricular clubs. It housed the anime club on Tuesdays, the debate team on Wednesdays and every second Friday and Monday, it was home to the photography club.

The William McKinley Photography Club, while only one of many, was considered to be quite an exclusive club.

To be accepted into the club, one had to submit a portfolio of previous works that were to be harshly judged by the students that ran it. It was humiliating for many, standing there while people their own age sat there with cruel smirks as they picked apart every photo with analytical eyes rivalling that of an art critic.

Erika Addams was rather proud of her place at the top of the pyramid in photography club. She'd only been in the club for less than a semester, but her sister, Vanessa, had been among the founding members of the club.

"Okay guys, we've got a shoot coming up in Westerville soon," Erika spoke, excited smile on her face.

As part of their initiation, the newbie had to take over a shoot, giving directions and organising the shoot themselves. It was, of course, the part where many collapsed due to stress.

Never one to be deterred, Erika had grasped the bull by the horns and was slowly dragging it to the ground.

"Special thanks to Penelope and her family for supporting this shoot," Erika paused as the groups clapped and cheered. Penelope, a brunette junior, sent her a beaming smile from where she sat in the third row.

"We have about a month to plan and prep before the shoot. I was thinking that we organise ourselves into day shooters and night shooters, half and half, just like we did for the skatepark shoot." Erika eyed her peers, raising a bushy eyebrow. "Thoughts?"

The room immediately exploded into conversation. Erika caught the eyes of their supervisor, Mrs McCally. Mrs McCally grinned at her and nodded in approval.

Erika bit her lip to hide her smile. Her first project was going well.

- jupiter & mars -

Erika shuffled through her locker, book bag heavy on her shoulder and camera hanging from her neck. She'd been asked by Miss Sylvester, the cheerleading coach, to go and photograph the cheerleaders during their practice.

If she could nail this, her reputation would be set for her entire high school career. If this went wrong, she might as well just move schools.

Huffing, she shoved her locker closed. A face stared back at her, smile overtaking their face. Erika screamed. "Oh my god, night troll!"

The smile slowly fell off of, what Erika could now tell, was actually a rather beautiful face with an unfortunate nose.

"I'm so sorry," Erika panicked. "You just startled me."

She hurriedly turned to face the other direction, decidedly not running away. Her night troll description, while unnecessarily cruel, was scarily accurate.

Everybody at William McKinley knew about Rachel Berry. She was practically insane and, if she was being honest, absolutely terrified Erika.

"Wait! You're Erika Addams, right?" Rachel's faux-sweet voice asked, chasing after her.

"Yes, I am. And you're Rachel Berry." Her voice was crisp and harsh. It should've meant the end of the conversation, but the other girl was clearly unable to let it go.

"You're like the best photographer at the school, aren't you? I have a proposition."

Erika shook her head, tugging down her overwhelming, competitive glee at the title. "No, Rachel, I've only just joined the photography club."

"And yet, Coach Sylvester is already asking you to take pictures of the Cheerios." Rachel sounded overly smug as she followed Erika down the halls. Clearly, she thought she had a winning argument.

"So?" Erika hid the tension in her voice with a dismissive edge.

It had been a massive deal to have been asked by Coach Sylvester to photograph the Cheerios, but her peers in the photography club hadn't exactly taken to it well. It was practically the equivalent of a scouting agent seeing someone sing at a low budget school musical and immediately putting them on Broadway.

"So," Rachel pushed, "you're obviously crazy good."

Erika sighed and slowed to a stop, turning to face the midget behind her. "What do you want from me Rachel?"

"I," Rachel's arrogant smile took over her entire face. Erika wanted desperately to smack it off, "want you to cover the new Glee club, the New Directions. Make us look good."

Erika raised an eyebrow. "One; you're called the New Directions? That's super lame. Two; it's literally impossible to make you crowd of losers look good because literally none of you are photogenic and singers make weird faces so you kind of need to be. Three; you're not the Cheerios - you're not special, you're not important. Why would I risk my reputation to take a few ugly photos of a few ugly subjects?"

Rachel said nothing. Erika smirked a malicious smile. She wasn't normally one to be so cruel, but everything her sister had taught her about surviving high school lead to this moment. Establishing her place as above sub-basement involved a bit of cruelty, but she held no regrets.

"That's what I thought." Erika turned on her heels, ready to bounce off with a flourish, when the unthinkable happened.

"I have photos of you attending multiple theatre events over the past five years. I have photos of you in dance class when we were kids. I saw you audition for Glee club last week." The sweetness had been drained from her tone, replaced with a sick darkness.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Erika tried to deny, dodging students as she expertly weaved her way towards the football field.

"Yes, you do. And unless you do what I say, the entire school will know too. You'll be ruined before you've even began."

"Fine, Rachel," Erika hissed, grabbing onto Rachel's arm and dragging her into one of the closets. "I'm listening. What do you want?"

Rachel held out a hand, a pile of paper clutched in her grasp. Erika snatched it from her, skimming through the first page.

"Are you kidding me?" Erika gasped, "Is this- is this a fucking contract? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I have been writing and signing contracts since I was three years old," Rachel said matter-of-fact. "It's a common practice when you're basically theatre royalty."

Erika scoffed, still glaring down at the 'contract' in pure disbelief. "I have to be on the football field in five minutes, Rachel, I don't have time to read through a fucking contract!"

Rachel shrugged. "It doesn't matter. If you don't sign it, some pictures are going to be released."

"You know what, whatever. Fine!" Erika grabbed a pen from her dress pocket (that's right, her dress had pockets!) and signed hurriedly along the bottom. "Now, leave me alone!"

"We meet tomorrow after school at three thirty," Rachel smiled sweetly, taking the contract back and flouncing from the room.

Erika buried her head in her hands, leaning back against a table. She was gong to regret this. 

- jupiter & mars -

authors note;

and the plot begins. i hope you all come to enjoy this little story of mine. i know there hasn't really been any interaction between quinn and erika as of yet, but that's all to come. what's your opinion of erika thus far?

hope your day is sickeningly sweet

- evelyne x