Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 41st cycle. Now cycle 42!

INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet

** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 42 CHEAT SHEET **

Countdown cycle #4 - Yes, it's that time again, where I select 16 favorite things (characters, ships, friendships...) from Glee and give them each a ficlet, and a chapter fic for #1. The previous countdown cycles, if you want to check them out, were c10 [days 190-210], c25 [days 505-525], and c29 [days 589-609]. Like the last countdowns, the #1 story is split in 3 blocks, the chapters posted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays over these three weeks, with #16 to #2 from Thursdays to Mondays.
Coming in at #14...

"Shamrock"
Rory (& Brittany)

He had never even imagined he would get to do this. Him, Rory Flanagan, who had never in his life left Ireland, would be flying to America as an exchange student… madness. But then all the pieces had fallen into place and before he knew it he was packing up his things, his family was driving him to the airport, hugging and kissing and waving him goodbye, and then he was in the sky, crossing the ocean. He didn't know much about his host family, except that the student he was staying with was a girl… That already on its own was enough for him to get a bit speechless, and he hadn't even seen her. He didn't know what to expect, and for all he knew he would strike out royally; his track record spoke for itself.

Coming through the gate he'd searched for whoever it was that would be picking him up. As it turned out, that was Mr. & Mrs. Pierce; their daughter was still at school. They'd driven home, asking questions here and there, and from what he could tell they were very nice people. Once at the house, he'd started unpacking, having nothing else to do for the moment… except maybe wondering about his unseen host. He'd passed her bedroom door – which was shut – as he was led to the guest bedroom, and he just wondered what lay behind it.

It hadn't taken long to get himself settled in; he was a light traveller, at least for what he himself had packed. His mother, on the other hand, had made him bring about twice as many other things, most of which he kept in his suitcases for now. But he was done for now, so he'd left his room, exploring the parts of the house he could see, basically anything but bedrooms. He was just coming up from basement when he found himself face to face with… her…

They'd both been startled, both stopped, both observed one another. Later he'd blame what was about to happen on the fact that she'd knocked the wind and any sort of knowledge of the English language out of his head the moment he'd laid eyes on her. She was kind of stunning that way, with those blue eyes, wide with curiosity, the hint of a smile in her surprise, which just spread over her entire face… He'd seen pretty girls before, but this was just… And he'd be staying with her, living with her, seeing her in the morning, the evening… This could be a disaster…

"Who are you?" she asked, somehow he managed to speak the words 'my name is Rory,' or he must have, because then she'd replied, possibly reacting to his accent, or… "Hold on, you're one of those things, the little guys in green," she pointed at him, and whatever power had granted him four words a moment ago were not being so kind now, leaving him speechless again and allowing her to take it as admission. "That's awesome," the restrained smile had burst out in earnest, and then he was done for.

It wasn't until later that night that he understood what she'd meant, what she'd thought… He sat there on his bed and it came to him: She thought he was a leprechaun.

At first he'd just thought 'she's joking.' But then the next morning came, and he wasn't sure anymore… maybe she did believe. Now what was he supposed to do? It could make him sound weird, like a creeper, but he kind of didn't want to correct her. Girls like her, they never gave him a second thought. Now here they were, and the trade-off was she thought he was make believe. That could be problematic down the line, but right now… right now he was not seeing any harm, so maybe he could play it out, just a little bit.

The more time he spent with her, the more conflicted he got. Yes, it felt a bit ridiculous to pretend to be a leprechaun, but then the rules were fairly flexible, and he could mold what being a leprechaun meant and hopefully she'd accept it. But that was only one part of it. She may have been a teenaged girl who believed that he was a magical creature only she could see, but he liked her very much. It wasn't even that she was hot, although that did factor into it.

She was just really nice, and as far as adjusting to being in a foreign country with no one he knew around him, having her there did really help so much. He'd just frozen when she'd asked him in the beginning, took a while to figure it all out, and now that this time had passed, he had something to lose… If – no, when – she found out, she would probably take it as something bad. All he had wanted was to get to know her, and then this had happened.

He wasn't going to delude himself into believing certain things would happen, though he'd sure give it all he had. But he didn't want to go back home when all this was over and have nothing to show for it. Maybe they could find a way to be friends… once she knew he was real, not invisible or magical, and if she didn't hate his guts… More than anything, all he wanted right then was to know that someday the two of them could look back on this time and laugh.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!