#//pls ignore the static at the beginning i had to trick the copyright

[ivystjamess]

𝐈'𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀 𝐏𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐓, 𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑, 𝐀 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄, 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓, 𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍

WHO: rachel and ivy st.james. ​ WHERE: spotlight diner, nyc. WHEN: saturday, 2/27. WHAT: rachel and jesse have been wanting eli and ivy to visit them in new york since they left in december. during this weekend visit, while jesse takes eli to tour nyu, rachel and ivy go get lunch at the spotlight diner and perform a slightly lesson appropriate song. 

IVY’S WORLD HAD FELT TOPSY TURVEY SINCE THE NEW DIRECTIONS REGIONALS. she thought with each day that passed, that her conflicted feelings would fade, but they had in fact done the opposite and intensified. winning with vocal adrenaline didn’t even feel that good, so what was she still doing there? it was candyland with mostly mckinley kids, a night shared with julien, a cathartic audition, realizations about davis, and a fun night spent bowling with her friends that left her knowing she had made a big mistake. if she was on this mission to get in touch with the innermost and tender parts of herself she had left in summer of 2040, ivy believed that the best way to do that was return to mckinley with this fresh perspective, and continue the ongoing work on herself. but where she ran into issues was the prospect of potentially disappointing her parents. she knew that mckinley’s chances of winning nationals maybe weren’t as great as vocal adrenaline’s, and it was fresh in her mind how excited her father had been when she announced she was going to attend carmel. not to mention, there was a laundry list of people she had burned in the process that she’d need to figure out how to say sorry to. so now sat across her mother, poking at her salad, ivy stared with uncertainty, hoping that if she looked just hard enough rachel would ask-- “what’s wrong, sweetie? do you not like the food? i know it’s not the greatest, but we came here for nostalgia more than anything. nobody really comes here for the food, it’s just like a musical theater breadstix, but in new york!” 

when her mother finished a familiar fast-paced ramble, ivy set her fork down and shook her head, “no, it’s not that, it’s just...” i have no idea what i’m doing, and i really need my mom right now. “is being double-casted for wendla bugging you? you know it’s not exactly the same but when lemon’s mom auditioned to be my understudy for funny girl i was completely psyched out. it’s totally normal, but i know you’ll still shine as bright as ever!” rachel said with a smile, but ivy still had a discomforted expression on her face. the double cast had been a shock, but that wasn’t even what was challenging ivy about the week of rehearsal under her belt. and more importantly, that wasn’t even a conversation ivy was looking to have right now. “no, wendla’s like, fine or whatever.” she answered, rubbing her lips together before dropping the bomb, “i was actually thinking like, maybe i need to transfer back to mckinley.” now launching into a quick rant of her own, ivy raced to explain herself, “i really like vocal adrenaline and stuff, like, i like the solos and i like being appreciated or whatever, but i just don’t think it’s for me. and i know winning is like important or whatever, but i really just miss...” a breath out. “my friends.” 

now setting her fork down, rachel st.james offered her daughter a thoughtful, “oh.” it hadn’t come as a surprise to the woman that ivy had reached this point. it was a lesson that both herself and her husband had to learn the hard way, many times over: sometimes success and a career isn’t nearly as important as the relationships and memories collected along the way. of course, rachel and jesse expected a certain degree of musical theater and show choir domination from their children ivy, but in seeing her daughter look so conflicted across from her brought out a more nurturing side in rachel. “i think i know what you’re going through.” she began, a slew of memories popping into her head of times she had chosen herself first. she was sure jesse would be able to provide similar insight if he really tried, but she also knew he wouldn’t be able to do it gently. 

so, rachel decided to communicate that sentiment in the one way she had always known how. rising from her seat, ivy watched as her mother crossed over to the current working manager and spoke to him in words she couldn’t make out. moments later that’s life (by frank sinatra or from smash, depending on who’s answering) sounded throughout the speakers of the restaurant. as rachel st.james made her way to the empty stage, heads in the restaurant turned to follow broadway star in disbelief they would be getting a free performance with their lunch. ivy still sat in place, staring as her mother soulfully began to sing to and for her 

“that's life, that's what people say, you're riding high in april, shot down in may, but I know I'm gonna change their tune, when I'm back, back on top in june.”

through the lyrics rachel expressed pretty much everything ivy needed to hear with a simple sentiment: that’s life. plans change, you’re selfish and you mess up, but there’s no shame in wanting to amend things. the woman beckoned her daughter on stage with a gesture of the finger and a warm smile and as ivy crossed to meet her, she began to sing,

“mmmm, that's life, funny as it may seem, some people get their kicks, steppin' on a dream--” 

as she sang and slowly made her way up to the stage, there was a certain aggression and air of annoyance in her tone. in recent weeks, it had became more and more obvious to her just exactly what pretenses davis had with bringing her on to vocal adrenaline. while she was still on the team, she was hardly brave enough to give him her piece of mind about it, but she didn’t like being toyed with. and she didn’t like the fact that he’d gotten so much satisfaction out of manipulating her away from her life, and it showed as she sang. 

by now, ivy had reached the stage, and rachel cut into her verse and chided “ivy.” looking down at her child knowingly, and tapping her jaw. ivy knew that meant to relax and to sing out more, she managed to laugh briefly about it, then continued singing less jadedly and more optimistic. 

“but I just can't let them get me down, no, no, ‘cause this big old world keeps spinnin' around”

continuing to converse with song, rachel made it all the more apparent that she understood ivy’s sentiments exactly by communicating that, “i've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate a poet, a pawn and a queen.” ivy nodded a little, and lyrically added in feelings that matched her own current situation, “i’ve been up and down and over and out and, oh, the drama i’ve seen” there was an exhausted tone to her voice for performance value, but a confidence on her face that said, after being up and down and over and out she was ready to return to mckinley high.

turning to face ivy, rachel sang “each time I find myself flat on my face...” ivy, in turn, faced her mother and finished the lyric “i pick myself up and get back in the race!” before uniting for a “that’s life” that solicited a few whoops and whistles from those eating at the restaurant, and were hanging on to every note. 

the pair continued their duet in a heartfelt manner as lyrics consistently pertained to their own lives. looking at each other and singing from the soul, ivy had another musical epiphany. long gone were the days of being played by davis and hurting the people she cared about in the name of a trophy. ivy was mckinley bound, and come monday, she was ready to talk her way back into a cheerios uniform and on the new directions. as this decisiveness played out in real time, rachel and ivy joined hands as they sang out, 

“i've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,a poet, a pawn and a queen. i've been up and down and over and out and, oh, the drama we've seen! each time we find ourselves.....flat on our face we pick ourselves up and get back in the race!” 

with music swelling to it’s greatest heights, they each belted out their own ‘that’s life’ while beaming from ear to ear as they made each word count and pushed out powerful harmonies. the song finished out with a back and forth name calling of sister, mother, and broadway star took place before more individual belting. the song ended with them joined together as a flawless vocal unit. as the diner stood up and applauded them, for once ivy didn’t care about the adoring cheers of strangers. instead, she was riding the high of clarity the number had given her. waving to the audience, ivy watched her mother in awe as she commanded the stage with a bow, then linked ivy’s arm to her own to walk her back to their table. rachel sang praises of their song and ivy’s vocal performance, and while ivy would usually be lapping up what her mom was telling her, this time she cut in and asked, “so will you and dad like, sign my transfer papers when we all get back to the loft?” only to be met by a firm and proud nod from her mother.

THE END.