Catch Up: It's now exactly a fortnight until New Directions face off against the Dalton Warblers, Aural Intensity, The Choraliers and Singsation at Regionals, and they haven't even decided on what songs they were going to sing, let alone rehearse them.
Last week Rachel had an idea that they should perform original songs to boost their chances of winning, but everyone was pretty unoptimistic about it, and all decided that Coach Sue's choice, "Sing" by My Chemical Romance, should be their anthem at Regionals. So Mr. Schue put it to a vote; Originality or My Chemical Romance*.
MCR won by a landslide with only Rachel and Leo voting for the originality concept.
*Comeback – Season 2 Episode 13
It's Monday once again, and the bell rings to signify that classes are now in session, but for two particular Glee clubbers, it's their free period and they're at this moment in the rehearsal room working on an original song to perform at Regionals, despite the others voting against it.
"So, with Anthem being the theme for Regionals, it's clearly evident that the song needs to be both bold and epic, but with that certain message that connects us all to each other as well as the audience," Leo replies, pacing the room which he says helps him to think.
Rachel, who's sitting in front of the piano with her pen and flamboyantly pink notepad in hand, suddenly looks in Leo's direction with a wide grin on her face and replies exuberantly, "You're absolutely right, and with the both of us being exceptional vocalists, it shouldn't be too much of a problem." She then immediately returns to her notepad as she feverishly jots down an idea before scribbling it out a second later.
Suddenly a voice occurs from out of nowhere, and they turn their attention to it to find Noah Puckerman standing in the doorway, dressed in his usual leather garb, looking all kinds of bad-ass, "Whassup, my hot little Jewish-American Princess?" He directs to Rachel before looking at Leo and replying, "Hey, Newbie." That's the nickname Puck had chosen for Leo for the simple reason that he's exactly that…for the time being, that is.
"What do you want, Puckerman? Can't you see that Leo and I are working on a song that could win us Regionals," she sighs, her attention back to her notepad when, from out-of-the-blue, Puck makes himself comfortable by sitting right next to her on the piano stool. Leo can't help, but hold back a smile at the look of shock on Rachel's face at Puck's disregard for private space.
"Word on the street is that your Dads are out of town, and you're all home alone."
"They're on the Rosie O'Donnell cruise, and who told you that anyway?"
"This is the kind of information a guy like me tends to know. So, uh, party on Saturday? I'll bring the beer ball. That's a mini-keg if you didn't already know."
Rachel straight the way shakes her head no, "Forget it, Puck. That's a no-go."
Hearing Puck say about a party peaks Leo's interest as he stops pacing, and turns his attention to the Mohawk-haired jock, who's now back up on his feet, clearly getting restless about something, "Oh, come on. Just us," he gestures to himself, Rachel and Leo, "the Glee kids. We're losing our minds, all stressed over Sectionals, and stuff."
"Regionals," Leo intervenes, Puck giving him the "Alright smartass" expression before Rachel adds, "Besides, you just want a place to have sex and get drunk," her face scrunching up at the thought.
"Yeah, there's a word for that – a party."
"No…no. My Dads, they left me alone in my house…because they trusted me to be responsible."
Puck rolls his eyes at her negative response, "No, they left you alone 'cos you suck, and are a total bore." He then spins on his heels, and leaves the room in a gruff, not seeing the hurt look he'd just caused on her face as he does.
From the other side of the room, Leo approaches her and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, don't take what he says to heart, Rachel. He's just a little frustrated, like we all are. Regionals are exactly two weeks away, and we've got jack squat."
"But he's right. How am I supposed to help write a song like Joni Mitchell or Carole King, they're my newest idols by the way, when they've truly lived, and I haven't?"
Leo then mulls over Puck's proposal for a party at Rachel's house, and suddenly gets a great idea, even though she might not like it, "Rachel."
"Yeah," she mutters, placing her notepad down on the table, not particularly enthusiastic now about writing a song for Regionals.
"Puck's idea…the party at your house. Maybe we could use that to our advantage."
"How exactly?" It's evident that she's intrigued by the way Leo's going with this, placing her notepad onto the piano, now clearly forgotten as her full attention's now on him.
"Well, not to sound like a total bitch 'cos that's Santana's department, and don't tell her I said that, but maybe if you want to be an artist like them…maybe you should do, you know, a little living of your own."
The look of sudden realization dawns on her face as she suddenly gets up, "You're absolutely right. I can't believe I never thought about it in that way. I mean, even now, it-it-it's Alcohol Awareness Week and we're supposed to sing songs about the dangers of drinking and I've never even had a drink."
"Seriously?" Leo mutters, a little too loudly, but Rachel's too much in thought about what she's about to do to hear it anyways, "Hey, wait. Where are you going?" He asks as she zooms past him on the way to the door.
"To find Puckerman. You know, my journey from little princess to "natural woman" begins this Saturday night at my house."
The word travels fast within the Glee club about the party at Rachel's house on Saturday night with most of them, particularly Santana and Puck, dreading the fact that it was going to be THE most boring, alcohol-free, and simply one of the worst parties they'd ever been to.
Fortunately all of the Glee club had decided to go so at least they're going to get some entertainment out of this fiasco of a party.
The week has come and gone, and it's now just under half an hour before the "Rachel Berry Fiasco" is about to begin, and Leo has just come out of the shower. As soon as he enters his bedroom, his phone begins to vibrate on his bedside table, and he knows full well who's going to be on the other line.
As he picks it up to see the caller I.D., his assumption's right and presses the "Accept" button on-screen, "Hello, gorgeous. Please don't tell me you're calling me now to tell me that you won't be able make it because if you're not going, then I'm not going. Simple as."
He hears Blaine laughing on the other line, "No, of course I'm coming. I'm calling to tell you that we'll be by your house to pick you up in about 10 minutes. Okay?"
"Perfect, I'll see you then. Bye."
"Yeah, bye."
They both hang up on each other, Leo throwing the phone onto his bed then heading straight for his chest of drawers to take out a pair of boxers and some socks before grabbing some deodorant, spraying under his arms and around his chest before choosing a thin shirt from his wardrobe, as it'll probably get hot as the night goes on and Leo doesn't particularly want to be sweating all over the place. To match the shirt, he chooses a pair of faded Cooper jeans with a pair of navy blue trainers.
"Honey? Are you ready yet? You're worse than a woman, you know that right?" His Mum calls from down stairs, Leo picking up his phone as she does before turning off his light and closing the bedroom door behind him.
"Oh Mum, I've gotta look good for Blaine, don't I?" He calls back, hearing her sigh from the bottom of the stairs as she replies, "It's not going to matter to him either way, Leo. He's your boyfriend and, if he's the kind of boy you say he is, he's going to love you no matter what you wear."
As soon as he reaches the bottom his Mum's pampering him, making sure that he looks okay, and there are no marks or creases in his clothes, "You look smashing, dear," she replies truthfully, "and to be frankly honest, I think you gonna be turning more heads than just Blaine's. I hope he isn't one of those jealous types."
Even though they've been dating for exactly a fortnight, they still have a lot to learn about each other, and knowing if Blaine's the jealous type is one of them, "Blaine be the jealous type?" He asks incredulously, "I'm the one who should be jealous. He's smart, drop dead gorgeous, and has an amazing voice to boot. If anyone's going to be turning heads, it's him."
"Oh now stop it, you're all of those things too. Over these past two weeks, you've been so happy, and every time I see you now, you've got a big smile on your face. I just don't want anything to happen to you guys that might take that beautiful smile away from my baby." She replies, Leo noticing that her voice's getting a little shaky, and her eyes are watering, signifying that she's about to cry.
He embraces her back with his strong arms, "Oh, don't cry Mum, and don't think too much into it. Nothing's going to happen between us, I can assure you. I really like him, he likes me, and no-one's coming between us." He then lets go of her, seeing her nod in agreement, but unbeknownst to him, she still feeling a little sceptical about the whole thing. Not wanting her son to go through what he did last year all over again.
Suddenly, an abrupt knock on the front door makes them jump near enough out of their skin, causing them to laugh because of it before his Mum opens the door, revealing the culprit to be none other than Blaine Anderson with his hands behind his back, and a smile on his face.
"Good evening, Mrs Holloway. Is Leo ready by any chance?" He asks ever so politely, causing her to stutter a little at his politeness as she replies, "Y-y-you must be Blaine. Leo's told me so much about you, but I'd never imagine you to be such a handsome lad."
This causes the black-haired teen to blush as he responds politely again, "Thank you. He's been telling me such amazing stories about you, Mrs Holloway, and I have to say that it's an absolute pleasure to meet you. It's not very often you meet a West End/Broadway star like yourself around these parts."
"Oh, why thank you, Blaine. You really know how to make a lady blush, and please, call me Janet. It's easier for you to say then having to keep referring me to "Mrs Holloway"," she informs, watching as Leo slips on a jacket in case it happens to rain on his way home. You never know what you're gonna get from Mother Nature.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Blaine, are we ready to go?" He asks, giving his Mum a kiss on the cheek goodbye before rushing out the door and into the cool, night air, breathing it all in.
"It was very nice to meet you, Mrs—err, I mean –Janet," Blaine says, almost forgetting to refer her by her first name, giving her a short wave goodbye before escorting Leo to Kurt's car, climbing into the backseat with him.
Standing on the front door step, Janet continues to wave to her son and his friends until they disappear down the street, suddenly having second thoughts about letting him go to a party, but reassuring herself that he'll be alright. He's amongst friends, and from what he's told her about them, they look after each other as they're like a tight-knit family. However, knowing that still doesn't lift the bout of anxiety she's feeling at that very moment as she suddenly realizes that they're long gone, and she's still standing out on the front step.
She takes one more look in the direction that they'd disappeared in before sauntering back into the house, and closing the door behind her, knowing for a fact that she won't be getting any sleep tonight until he's safely back inside the house…
Author's Note: I just like to say that I will be revealing what happened to Leo the year before real soon, and it's going to put a strain in his relationship with Blaine because of it. Some of you might have an inkling of what it might be, some of you are problbly just dying to find out what it could be. It's gonna be a dark subject, but not too dark as I'm trying to keep this Teen rated as possible! See you all real soon!