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 39th cycle. Now cycle 40!

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** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 40 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days, starting in cycle 40!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: Tender Love & Care, chapter 2.

"Stage Front"
Artie/Lucy (OC)
follow up to "Baptism by Ice"

He was sitting next to Lucy in Glee Club when Schuester had made the announcement… she'd squeaked. She had been doing fairly well lately, finding her place among them. Her confidence in participating had grown, so he figured everything was going fine. And then Schuester, the announcement…

There was an assembly coming up, and as was becoming 'tradition,' Figgins had recruited the New Directions to perform. It may have been tradition to the rest of them, but this would be a first for Lucy.

"So did you hear a word they said in there after Schuester said we were doing the assembly?"

"They talked?" she made her point, her voice flat and blank.

"You've performed on stage before," he reminded.

"Y-yeah, with the band… I haven't done the other part, especially in front of the whole school."

"You're going to be great. We're all in this, we don't let each other down. That includes you now." She smiled.

"That's sweet, as usual, but it's not going to change the fact that twelve people is not the same as… the whole school… With the band, backing you up, people looked at you guys, not us, not me… and I was okay with that, you know?"

"Why shouldn't people get to see you? You're an amazing musician, and a better singer and dancer every day."

"Even if that were true…"

"Which it is…" She breathed out. "What are you scared about?"

"I'm not sc… It's not like…" she couldn't find the words, the direction…

"You know a lot of us didn't start off all that confident on the stage either. Brittany, she had terrible stage fright before Sectionals…"

"Yeah, I remember," she nodded, and to him it was another reminder of how she had been in the background all year. "How did she get over it?"

"Well, I…"

"Wait, before you go on I do need to ask if I want to hear this, being that she is your ex and I'm your… current…" she slowly explained.

"I gave her… a magic comb… It's not a euphemism, it's not even… real…"

"Okay, I'm lost…" she bowed her head.

"At first, having the comb helped, but then she lost it and I explained it wasn't about the comb, that it was all in her already. I'm going to tell you… about the same thing. If you could see half of what I see when you perform… You'd never have to be afraid. You've got so much talent in you, and they should see it," he nodded. She let out a breath, taken by a smile.

"But these are the… same people we see every day, the ones who tease us and generally hate our guts for being in Glee Club. I'm one grape Slushie away from the whole… Slushie rainbow here…"

"I know," he went on nodding and she groaned with 'anguish.' "You had to know this day would come…"

"But denial is so lovely this time of year…" she breathed dramatically.

"We don't even know what song we're doing yet. You could be on lead like you could be in the chorus…"

"Schuester wouldn't go and… toss the new kid in the spotlight… would he?" she cringed like she hoped for a no.

"No…" he told her and she relaxed. "Not here anyway. Regionals maybe…" he went on, and Lucy's face turned ashen for a moment. "But by then you'll have gotten through this assembly, it'll be better," he promised.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better…"

"Is it working?" he asked.

"Well I'm not feeling worse," she estimated.

"How can I keep you heading in the right way? Would ice cream be a deal breaker?" She laughed, and that was all he needed. "Everything's going to work out," he nodded.

"I know, I… yeah… you're right, I just… I need to stop thinking like it's such a big deal. I'll just forget they're there," she nodded, and by her tone he could guess she wasn't nearly as fine as she'd like to let on, but she was making progress. "Nice… chorus spot…" he thought he heard her whisper to herself.

At their next Glee rehearsal, when Will would announce the song choice for the assembly, Artie could see Lucy, how she tried to play it cool but at the same time just needed to know where she would end up.

Maybe his estimation hadn't been exactly on point. Because when Will announced the leads he had selected, there were two, and they were Artie Abrams and Lucy Collins. Again he heard the squeak, though it would soon be buried under the voices of those who weren't happy about the selection for another reason. But then there were others, both of the club and especially of the band, who would transmit congratulations. Lucy would smile to them, but Artie could see the quiet freak out bubbling underneath. When rehearsal had ended she made her exit on auto pilot.

"You were saying?" were the first words she passed on to him.

"No, but this is good, it is," he nodded. "No going in halfway, we'll just go for it. And you won't be alone, I'll be right there next to you." She smiled.

"Well that does help a lot," she admitted, and he nodded back. "Can we start practicing?"

"Sure, I… Now?"

"The sooner the better," she confirmed.

"Okay, then let's get back in there," he indicated the choir room.

They had practiced every day until the assembly, in and out of the club. Sometimes when it was just them some of the others had come and helped. The most surprising of those had been Brittany, who had really helped Lucy on the choreography. It should have been weird, but then all the credit to the kind of person Brittany was, she hadn't let it get weird, so neither had Artie and Lucy.

Finally the day of the assembly had come. Lucy was still a nervous wreck, but then she'd look to Artie… and he'd smile… and she'd smile… and then her fear was back under control. When they'd taken their position he came to two conclusions… or one conclusion, and one prediction. He concluded that Will had done this on purpose, to get her out of her shell. He predicted that she would knock it out of the park.

He was right on both accounts.

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!