Chapter Text
It had officially been six whole ENTIRE months since Barbie had moved to the Real World.
Six months since Gloria, wonderful Gloria, had let her into her life and helped her become a fully fledged human being.
She knew this because, while helping Gloria with some school supplies for Sasha as she headed into her next grade, she had seen something Gloria called a 'calendar' on a shelf, displaying the current year in huge letters.
Barbie had asked for her own one to go in her room. That way, she could write little notes for her plans on each day, which usually was just: "Movie Night With Gloria!" in pink marker.
Scattered across the various months were other important dates. She went to the mall for the first time (amazing) and even the gynecologist (not quite so amazing.)
At one point, while filling in her new best thing, Barbie had eagerly asked Sasha what her "move in" date was, to which the gruff response was: "About six months ago."
Gloria, who had been sketching on the opposite couch, looked up with interest.
"Really?" she asked, to nobody in particular. "That long, huh?"
For her, it felt like Barbie had always been there. It was strange to think that this time last year, she hadn't been a part of their lives.
"Wow!" Barbie responded excitedly, making Gloria smile. "We didn't really measure time in Barbieland, every day was more or less the same. I mean..."
She paused, looking down at the calendar, in thought.
Come to think of it, Barbie wasn't quite sure how long she had even been there, or how old she was.
Barbie voiced this thought, and watched as Gloria quickly got to her feet.
"Okay, wow. I was already sort of thinking this, but we definitely need to have a party."
Sasha's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Barbie echoed her question, not fully following.
"Well, I mean, Barbie has been with us for half a year. And I'm guessing you've never had a birthday party before?"
Barbie knew what one of those was, but come to think of it, all the parties in Barbieland had been constant and, to be honest, for nothing special.
"I guess not!" she replied brightly. "Can I have one?"
"Of course!" Gloria replied in an instant. "It can be your birth-versary party!"
"No way! When should we do it?!"
Barbie, ever the enthusiastic newly human, was grinning at the very concept of a party all for her, and Gloria couldn't help but marvel at how utterly stunning she was.
Blinking once or twice to try and quell all those feelings from blurting out, she shook herself.
"How about this weekend? I could invite some people from the neighbourhood that you've become friendly with, if you want? Turn it into a full on shin dig?"
Sasha cut into the conversation by sighing dramatically. "Okay, that's seriously lame, but I'm in too. As long as I get to control the music."
***
That weekend, Gloria was true to her word. The house had been decorated for a party (a pink party, of course) and everyone in the neighbourhood was invited.
Most of the street knew Barbie pretty well by now. She was the excitable" lodger" in Gloria's home, helping cover the rent now her husband was out of the picture.
Or, rather, that was the story Gloria had hastily put together. It's not like she could tell them the truth, could she?
But either way, the night was so far a total success. Barbie and Gloria had dressed up in their finest clothes. As promised, Sasha was in control of the music. And there was a group of people dancing around and having a good time.
Barbie felt good. The party wasn't quite as extravagant as the ones they would have in Barbieland, but it was perfect. Gloria had set out plates with little versions of regular food on them, which at first, Barbie didn't get, because surely you'd just want a regular sized burger over a small one, but Gloria insisted it was normal for a get together.
In the present moment, Barbie had taken one of those plates, topped with tiny little hot dogs, and was walking around the house, offering them to everybody.
So far, each person had accepted, and there were only a few people left, two women who ran the local gym, who were chatting on the stairwell.
However, when she was about to turn the corner and offer the snacks, Barbie heard a tone of voice that made her freeze.
"Barbie is clearly Gloria's rebound. I mean, how blind can she be?"
Barbie gulped. They sounded annoyed. And she wasn't fully sure what a rebound was, but it didn't sound good.
"I know, right? And she's not even doing anything for Sasha. She's been here six months and she doesn't have a job. Gloria is clearly just after her body."
The other woman snickered. "Totally. I guess we can't knock her wanting a good time after her husband left."
"Once she's got it out of her system she'll find someone else, this won't be on for long."
Barbie felt her blood run cold. Surely that wasn't true? Gloria couldn't abandon her, not after all they had been through.
She felt her chest tighten. Placing the tray of snacks onto a nearby table, she had no choice but to run upstairs and lock herself in the bathroom, not wanting to make a scene.
Maybe she had gotten it all wrong. Gloria probably couldn't wait to be rid of her. Maybe this whole party was just to get her gone - a fairwell party.
Barbie found that her breathing wasn't coming easily anymore. She was shivering and shaking like a leaf, and her breath was coming out in tiny pants.
Barbie was terrified - she had never felt like this before and had no way of making it stop.
She almost wanted to call Gloria, but something made her stop. Gloria wouldn't want to deal with this. Barbie was just a rebound, and she didn't want to make it any worse than it already was.
Her wonderful Gloria had done everything for her, and she was just Barbie.
So she curled up on the floor of the bathroom and started to cry.