Ch1: In The Box

A/N: Hey there, not a gleek just so you know, so apologies for not knowing everything. But the songs are pretty cool, and the cast very talented. Doing this cause there ain't enough Artie/OC's. More stories may come on request ;) Don't own Glee, only my OC's (OFC's name pronounced Ess-ee) Slightly AU as well. Enjoy!

Will Shuester sat alone next to the piano, sorting through pages of sheet music. He was trying to decide what to set his Glee Club for next week. And he only had the weekend to do it. The kids had probably gone home a long time ago, and now it was just him. Or so he thought. There was a timid knock at the door. Will looked up and smiled kindly. A quiet Southern voice greeted him.

'Hi Mr. Shue.'

'Oh, hey Esse, come in.'

The girl slowly made her way over to the piano, a bag slung over around her shoulder.

'I hope I'm not interrupting or anything.' she said, looking over the pages of music.

'No! Just trying to figure out what to do for next week. Please, sit down.' He added, as Esse pulled a chair towards her and sat down. She took something out of her bag.

'Here's the score sheet I borrowed. I copied it and took notes for Monday. Thank you.'

'Oh, thanks, no problem.' he replied, taking the book off her hands. 'I can't wait to see what you've come up with. Well done at last rehearsal by the way, those effects looked great.' Esse gave a slightly embarrassed smile. She tucked a loose strand of wavy brown hair behind her ear.

'Thanks, nothing to it. I was wondering if you had anything else in mind for your next practice in the auditorium. You're still doing Hairspray aren't you?'

'Yeah, I thought we'd go with standard Bright's and flashy themes to match the songs; you'll get the idea when they run it through the first time.' the girl nodded, her big, ocean eyes already alight with ideas.

'Was there anything else you needed Esse? I don't expect you coming to me for language help, seeing as you do French and Italian.'

'True. I was just wondering how long till Sectionals, that's all.'

'Um, we've got about…nine weeks I think. Maybe a bit less. Why?'

'Just wondering. I figured you'll be using the auditorium a lot more then.'

'Are there any times you can't make practice?'

'No, I don't think so sir. Just curious.' Esse said simply. There was a pause as Mr. Shue seemed to consider something.

'Do you want to come?'

.

Esse's eyes widened slightly. 'Me sir? Seriously, I mean- sectionals?'

Mr. Shue shrugged casually. 'I don't see why not.'

'But I'm not a member of the Glee Club.'

'Not officially. You're as good as though. We still need you.'

'But Mr Shue, nearly all your Glee kids don't even know who I am, or what I do. What would they say if I just rocked up one day?'

'Well, technically speaking- pardon the pun, you are at nearly every practice, the others just don't see you that's all. Do you want me to introduce you to them?'

'Oh no! No! You don't have to do that sir! It's just; they'd probably think it was weird if I showed up all of a sudden. That's all.' Esse finished stupidly. Mr. Shue frowned.

'You said nearly all of the Glee kids didn't know you. Who do you already know?'

'I'm in a few classes with Mike Chang, and Artie Abrams, and the Cheerio's for PE, but we don't really talk. I think I'm happier in my box at the back, thanks sir.'

'Okay, if you say so. But everyone's gotta come out of their little box eventually Esse, you can't stay there forever.'

'I guess so sir.' she agreed quietly. Really, she didn't want to be anywhere else, except maybe the very back of the band pit, where she was relatively unseen. Other than that- sound box, at the back, out of sight. Perfect.

'I thought you would've gone home by now.' Mr. Shue commented, glancing at the clock. 3:45pm. Esse noticed the time as well.

'I missed the last bus, so I've got another ten minutes to wait. But I can walk. It's not too far.

'You're okay getting home then?'

Esse turned her head, glancing up at the clock again. 'Yeah, it's cool. I think I'll wait for the bus. See you next week sir.' she said, getting up.

'Have a good weekend Esse.'

'You too sir.' she replied as she made her way out the door. Will just shook his head. That girl had so much potential if she had a little more confidence in herself. He didn't even know if she could sing. If she could, and she was good, she'd be a great addition to the club. But she had made her point by saying she preferred her other job; the one that the other Glee kids didn't know about. Mr. Shue let out a deep sigh, and went back to his sheet music. So much potential…

As Esse walked slowly to the bus stop, she thought over what Mr. Shue had said to her. "…everyone's gotta come out of their little box eventually….you can't stay in there forever." She huffed. She was good at what she did, and thought it was best she stayed as is. But to be up on stage- that was something else. Something she hadn't done in a long time. And when she watched those Glee kids from her high spot at the back, she half-wished she could just jump up with them and sing. But she wasn't much of a mover, not like them. And whenever she sang, it was quietly, with no one around. She knew the Glee kids were outcasts from the other kids. And so was she, but she decided to keep to herself more.

"Join a Club or something!" her parents had said. "If you don't do anything else with your school life, other than just getting high marks, then school's not worth enjoying!" they were right, but she didn't belong anywhere. Just doing what she loved, where no one else could see her was enough. Her shoulder slumped as she sat down at the bus stop, and she absently played with a lock of her bright, chestnut hair. Sometimes, being the sound and light technician for the Glee Club wasn't always a win-win situation.

The following Monday:

'Well done guys! That was looking great!' Mr. Shue applauded from his seat in the auditorium. The kids on the stage all took the opportunity to lean over and stretch, or just flop down to the floor.

'Mike, Brittany; the choreography still needs some work around the end, but I like you're idea of the three partners' sequence. It fits the music perfectly.'

'Thanks Mr. Shue. Will do.' Mike Chang answered from his sitting position. Tina soon joined him, leaning on his shoulder. Brittany just continued to stare up at the lights on the curtain line vaguely.

'Rachel, you can tone down your solo just a bit for the second verse, it's not a Liza Minnelli show-stopper.' Mr. Shue added. Rachel looked slightly disappointed; she obviously thought she had been doing a flawless job.

'Oh, I thought this song was supposed to be exciting.'

'It is Berry.' said Quinn, giving Rachel a dark glare. 'Only it's an ensemble piece, not just you front and centre. Some shows have more than one person standing there you know.' she added accusingly. Rachel returned the sour look. Finn just kept out of the awkwardness, and started talking to Sam and Puck about football.

'Well guys, that'll do for now; go and finish your lunch. We'll go again this afternoon.' Their teacher announced. The kids took their cue to leave, and filed out, collecting their bits and pieces from the stage (namely empty cans of hairspray) on the way. As Mercedes, Santana, and Artie were about to exit through the wings, they noticed Brittany still looking distantly ahead.

'What's wrong Brittany?' asked Artie. She pointed to the back of the hall.

'There's a ghost hiding up there.' she whispered. Everyone looked to the back of the large auditorium.

'Uh, sorry girl- what are we looking at? Mercedes asked confused.

'No idea. What's going on Britt?' Santana said looking puzzled as to what Brittany was on about now. The blonde kept pointing, as if she was about to announce she saw dead people.

'There; in that box.' She answered. They all cast their gaze to the sound and light box, which only had its usual light on. But it wasn't empty. From the inside of the room, there was a head, just visible. It was small in their line of vision from the stage, but it was there. Someone was in there. Strange, they'd never really seen anyone in there before during rehearsal, except for Mr. Shue occasionally. But somebody was up there by themselves. And from the way the backlights of the stage were fading, they were controlling the lights of the performing area.

'There's someone there.' Brittany announced, confirming their thoughts. The others looked at each other.

'Who is it?' Santana asked. They all shrugged, but Brittany seemed definite.

'It's a ghost.' she repeated, sounding quite terrified. Artie wheeled up to her and patted her arm.

'It's okay Brittany. There's no ghost up there.' he reassured.

'Besides, how many ghosts do you know with browny-red hair?' Mercedes added, walking out, unable to wait for lunch any longer.

'Come on, let's eat.' Santana agreed, walking off the stage. Artie tugged at Brittany's sleeve to pull her out or her daydream.

'Hey, let's go grab lunch, okay?' he offered gently. She glanced down at him, smiling, and nodding in agreement.

'Okay. My sea monkeys need feeding anyway. I wonder if they like strawberries?' she mused, skipping a little off the stage. Artie shook his head slightly, before the head from the box caught his attention again out of the corner of his eye. It was moving around, almost bobbing up and down like some faraway puppet. As the other lights on the stage started changing, the light in the tech box remained on. The last thing Artie saw through his glasses before he turned away, was a vivid head of chestnut brown hair, shining in the light.

'Okay class, if you'll get out you're textbooks and turn to page 127…' the teacher droned on. Biology Theory was definitely not the highlight of after lunch subjects, especially with Mr. Martins. Artie grabbed the Bio book out his satchel and dropped it onto his desk, unenthusiastically flipping through the pages. Mr. Martins continued to bore on about a cytoplasm and photosynthesis, or something or other. No one else was paying much attention; afternoon boredom was evident. After taking some more notes, Artie realised his pen had stopped working, and there was a whole line of paper blank. He cursed quietly, and fumbled around his pencil case for another pen. There were none, he'd just used up his last one. He put down his pencil case in annoyance, and looked up to the board to see the rest of the notes he wasn't writing. A small voice interrupted his thoughts.

'Hey? You need another one?'

Artie wouldn't have realised someone was talking to him, were it not for the blue pen that appeared at the front of his desk. Blinking, he turned his head to see a girl sitting by herself in front of him, shyly holding a pen out to him. Her eyes weren't set directly on him, more so the pen, so Artie couldn't quite make out what colour her eyes were. But what really caught his attention was her hair; hair that anyone could have recognised. It was thick, with waves that were both soft and wild. By the window, in the sun, it shone a deeply glowing chestnut brown colour, which brightened up the girl's pale face. It was tied up high into a loose bun; a few long strands hung curled around her face, framing it perfectly. Artie suddenly knew where he'd seen the girl before. He hadn't seen her in full detail, but it was her; he was sure of it. She was the girl who'd been in the box at the back of the auditorium. He could have slapped himself for not realising she had always been in his science class. All the thinking Artie was doing must've taken a while, because the girl now had an expectant expression on her face.

'Um, hello?' she asked cautiously, wondering if she was being purposefully ignored. It wasn't unusual sure, but it wasn't a nice feeling. Artie finally blinked again, and cleared the lump out his throat.

'Oh, yeah. Um…thanks.' He said, reaching out for the pen. As she handed it to him, their hands brushed each other. Artie was surprised at how soft her hand was. But at the sound of Mr. Martins raising his voice, explaining something important, Artie jerked out his thoughts once again, and started catching up on the notes, mouthing another quick "thank you" to the girl sitting in front of him. He missed the small blush that crept up the girl's cheeks.

.

After another few minutes, while the class started chattering away, Artie looked ahead to the girl sin front of him. He noticed, that even amongst the blurry chatter of the class, she was making some noise, to herself. Artie focused all his attention on her for a moment and picked up what the noise was; she was humming. Humming quietly and peacefully to herself, and the melody sounded strangely familiar. But she kept going, and he picked it up in an instant: it was "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. This was getting too coincidental. Not being able to reach out and tap her shoulder, which would probably freak her out anyway, Artie scribbled something on a piece of paper, scrunched it up, and threw it onto her desk. She nearly jumped as it landed on target next to her. She smoothed out the piece of paper, and read it:

Hey, thanks again. I would've been in deep trouble otherwise. :)

Even from his seat, Artie could see a hint of a smile come over the girl. His face lit up as she started to scribble a reply with a permanent marker, and passed it back to him.

You're welcome. Plenty of pens to go around.

Artie lifted his eyes up to the girl, who was watching him. He grinned sheepishly as she looked away, embarrassed. She really was shy. He hurriedly wrote something else and threw the paper back to her.

Good to know. ;) Have you always been in this class?

Her face became confused, as she read. Her response was brief:

Yeah, just like you. Why?

I don't see you around much. Or do you look different?

Probably…

Before Artie could finish his next response, the bell rang. Everyone scrambled out of their seats and piled together in their rush to the door. The girl gathered her things together hurriedly, but she stopped in her tracks as she saw the crowd around the door. This was Artie's perfect opportunity to talk to her, for real.

'Hey, wait up!' she stopped and turned to face him. But she didn't look down on him like he was some lesser being; just curiously, almost embarrassed that he was addressing her. Artie noticed for the first time, her eyes were a shockingly bright blue, clear as crystal. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

'Do...uh; do you want your pen back?'

To his surprise, the girl just gave a timid smile, and shook her head slowly, her wavy crimson locks swaying gently with the movement. And then she spoke.

'No, you can keep it. I've got plenty more for use.' She had a distinctive southern twang to her voice. It was soft, sort of reassuring, easy to listen to. Arite wanted to hear more of that melodious voice. 'Have fun in Glee, Artie.' she said, quickly turning away, and making her way out of the classroom, her arms wrapped around her books. But as she was leaving, Artie realised one important detail he'd left out. He wheeled himself as fast as he could out the door.

'Wait! What's your-' but she was gone; the hallway was crowded with people. Damn, he couldn't even get this girl's name. The random girl in his classes who he'd never spoken to before, hardly even noticed, until he saw her at a Glee rehearsal. He needed to know who this mysterious girl was; she even knew his name when he didn't know hers. Feeling slightly dejected, Artie wheeled himself out of the classroom, slowly making his way through the flurry of students, on his way to the Music rehearsal room. Surprisingly, he was one of the first people to make it to the classroom. He wheeled into his usual spot, as he waited for the others to enter. Mr. Shue just gave a short greeting, and got back to sorting pages of music. While thinking of ways to try and get the mysterious girl's name, he suddenly remembered something. He got out the borrowed pen from his pocket, and examined it. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for. Though not very big, it was there; a name written in small letters in permanent marker:

ESSE D

So, that was her name. Well, first name, and a last intial, but it was good enough.

'Esse.' murmured Artie, as if this was one the most important discoveries in history. Now he knew the name of the girl in his classes, and who seemed to have something to do with the lights during Glee practices. But even with his new revelation, he needed to find out more.

'So.' Began Mr. Shue, once all the Glee group were settled down. 'We are continuing with Hairspray, and will consider some of the songs from our medley for Sectionals. We've got nine weeks, so we've gotta start picking and rehearsing soon. Now, why don't we go over our final number: "You Can't Stop the Beat"? The harmonies need a bit of work, particularly the four part bits in the middle, and we need to finish that choreography too. sound good? Okay, let's go!'

And with that, they all got to work. Mike and Brittany were demonstrating the new sections of dance moves; the guys were going over their harmonies, trying to get them pitch perfect, Mercedes was looking over the music, trying to time her counter-melody belt solo. Everyone was working on something, until Rachel started complaining about the stage presentation, more specifically the sound and lights.

'The mikes aren't on loud enough, and everyone just isn't projecting right, which is losing us crucial sound. And Mr. Shue? What is going on with the lighting colour scheme? I specifically suggested greens and yellows last week, and instead there are blue and purples and oranges lighting up while we sing! I mean, who runs all that anyway?' she added nonchalantly. It grabbed the others attention, there was a noticable hush over the room.

'Yeah Mr. Shue, who does run the lights and stuff for us?' Mercedes asked curiously, voicing the others mutual question. All the other kids had fallen relatively silent by now, all looking around at each other and then to their teacher.

'What?' he asked distracted from his previous activity. Everyone was giving him someone puzzled, expectant look.

'Who does actually design all those lights and fancy stuff on the stage?'

'Has someone always been doing that?'

'Do we even know them?'

'Someone runs sound and lights?' the students asked. Mr. Shue put his work down and shook his head, ready to give another educational lesson to his Glee Club.

'You know guys, a lot of what happens behind the scenes is one of the most important jobs that goes on in showbiz. A good performance can't run without those sorts of people. Remember all those lights and flashy effects that just happen on stage when you go up to do your stuff? Well, we plan that all ahead, and practice to get it all perfect.

'We?' Finn interrupted quizzically. 'Who's we?'

'Well, I help design the layout and colour scheme and mood of the lights and our technician sequences it, times it all, goes into the fine little details that makes it work. And with the sound, it's just a matter of who has mics, where the other pick-up ones have to be, how loud they are. It's quite a job.' He explained. Sam gave a low whistle.

'Wow, that's a lotta buttons to be pressing.' Puck commented.

'So, who does all that?' Tina started.

'Yeah. How come we never see them?' Mike asked.

'Shouldn't this technical person be a regular consultant at our meetings then?' Rachel demanded.

'One step ahead of you Rachel. Already taken care of.' The teacher answered, grinning.

'So, does all that stuff work in that little room up the back of the hall or something?' Quinn continued for them. Her teacher nodded. 'Who sits there?'

Mr. Shue held up a hand to halt the flow of questions.

'Whoa, whoa. Yes, it's all controlled from the sound box up the back, and yes, someone does work up there when you're performing.'

'Who is it?' about three people questioned together.

'It's the ghost.' Brittany said suddenly, gaining strange looks from her peers. She looked around for back-up. 'We saw it remember? A ghost in the box, it was moving and everything. It turned off the lights.' she explained. Mr. Shue nodded and laughed.

'Well, Brittany, she's certainly not a ghost, I can certify that.'

'She?' Puck cut in. 'You mean there's been a chick up there all along pushing buttons?' he said, half-impressed, half-shocked. There was a hint of deviousness in his voice too. 'Who is she?'

'A very hardworking young lady in your year. I believe she's in some of your classes.'

'Really?'

'Who?'

'Who is she?'

'What's her name?'

Again, their teacher's hand went up, and they all went quiet.

'She doesn't normally like to be recognised for what she does, because she's just happy doing it.'

'What? If I was doing that much, I'd want all the credit I could get!' Rachel huffed. Mr. Shue shook his head.

'Well Rachel, not everyone has your confidence and our girl's just not like that. She consults me on what's going to happen, and then she just watches you guys in the auditorium and tries out my suggestions. She's usually quite capable of doing it herself though.'

'Yeah, but what's her name?' Santana pushed. Everyone waited in anticipation for an answer, hoping they might actually know her.

'Her name is Esse. Esse DeMarco.'

Artie's eyes went wide. It was her. It was Esse all along. And he'd never noticed.

A/N: Alright. What do you think so far? I'm not sure how much of this I should do, it depends on your opinions, which are most definitely valued. So, subscribe, send a PM, check my others current works, whatevs. Reviews are love, and much appreciated.

Peace out Earthlings (salutes)

G-4077 :D