Chapter 1
Strengths
"Come on, you bunch of amble-legged losers!" Sue yelled into her microphone. "Show me what you're capable of!"
The 'amble-legged losers' performed a series of handstands, cartwheels, and flips in the air that would make a gymnast green with envy. Blaine didn't know how much longer he could take- this was the Cheerios' toughest routine yet. Except for that time Coach Sylvester made them perform on sky-high tilts last year. It was like she knew some of them had a fear of heights.
"Pitiful!" Sue barked. "My grandma could do flips while skydiving when she was 78! You're making her cringe in her grave and up in heaven, you LOSERS!"
Blaine sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. Skydiving at 78 years old? Suuure. Grandma Sylvester must have called 'falling off the bed' skydiving.
"Now get into a pyramid!" Coach Sylvester bellowed on. "Go, go, GO!"
The Cheerios stealthily raised themselves up into their signature pyramid, each of them holding the other up by the ankles, up and up until there was only one person at the top. Which was, of course, Blaine. Like a boss, he thought, smirking.
"Now get into a handstand, Blaine!" Sue barked. She looked tiny, so far down, but her voice was loud enough to be carried to the next state. Or the other side of the world. Or the Land of Oz.
Yet Blaine, caught off guard, had to stutter a "w-what?"
"I SAID, GET. INTO. A HANDSTAND!" Sue screeched.
Blaine had stood at the top of the pyramid for countless, countless times, and had confidently looked straight ahead and felt absolutely fine. But now as he stared down at his coach, he felt his knees turn to Jell-O. Get into a handstand? Sue might as well have said to jump off the damn pyramid. No, the Empire State Building. Okay, I know I'm incredibly talented and can do everything, Blaine thought. But this, no one can do.
"But I can't!" Blaine managed to shout down. "It's dangerous for me to get into a handstand at this drastic change of gravity!"
"BABY!" Becky screamed. Blaine shot daggers her way.
Sue shot daggers his way. "If that's so, Smarty-Pants Gay Anderson, then get your butt down here to the bottom of the pyramid!"
"What?" Blaine cried, snapping his attention away from Becky. The rules of the pyramid were simple: if you sucked, you were at the bottom. If you were awesome (and the captain), you were at the top. Blaine knew he didn't suck. Plus, he didn't want to hold some girl's sweaty ankles that would stain his hand with tanning cream. And what if she was on her period? Blaine wrinkled his nose in disgust and stubbornly refused to get down.
"You know what," Sue growled finally. "All of you get your butts down here."
The pyramid of Cheerios slowly detached itself to the ground. As they got into a line facing their coach, Santana nudged Blaine, snickering, "Sue's got it in for you."
Brittany poked him. "What did you do? Switch her tub of cocaine with protein powder?"
"Brittany, it is protein powder," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. Santana and Brittany were the only students at McKinley who he didn't mind poke fun at him. Anyone else dare say something to Blaine Anderson though, and they're dead.
The Cheerios stood before Coach Sylvester, breathing hard, tired as hell. Sue's face was twisted into a snarl that showed no sign of vanishing. She sat there, one leg over the other, microphone in hand. Becky slouched next to her, giving everyone blank, bored stares behind her glasses. Under the intimidating glare of their coach, the cheerleaders crossed their arms nonchalantly as if the three grueling routines they'd performed in a row this afternoon didn't make them break a sweat.
Sue stared everyone down, not saying a word, until Becky blurted, "You guys were boring."
"Well put, Becky." Sue growled at the Cheerios, "You all disappointed me beyond words."
A murmur of disappointment rippled through the cheerleaders. This always had to happen. When they did their best, Sue still threw trash at them (metaphorically.) And when they did their worst- well, they were pretty sure Sue would throw trash at them not-so-metaphorically.
Coach Sylvester continued in a low, menacing voice, "This wasn't your first failed practice. And if it isn't your last-" she raised the microphone to her lips. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
An uncomfortable silence passed until Blaine huffed, "What are we supposed to do, then?"
"Follow my orders!" Coach Sylvester barked. "Unlike you! And you call yourself a captain? Next time you'll do as I say or I'll knock you right off that spot. Do you hear me?"
"Yes," Blaine sighed.
"Now go and hit the showers! I don't want to smell the stench of your failures any longer!"
Blaine went off to the changing rooms, his head in the air, refusing to be humiliated. Jeez Louise! Sue was almost as bad as his father. As he went inside, his hip bumped into the door. It was only a little bump, but it irritated a bruise from the day before and made it burn with pain.
His father. Blaine shuddered, holding his bruised . No one could be as bad as his father.
"Tonight," Rachel sang, leading the voices of the New Directions. "We are young. So let's set the world on fire-"
"Fire!" The New Directions harmonized.
"We can burn brighter-"
"Brighter!"
"Than the sun…"
Finn and Rachel stood at the center of the stage as they sang the song to a close. "So if by the time, the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I'll carry, you home, tonight…"
The Glee club erupted into cheers. Everyone high fived each other, grinning from ear to ear, their laughs echoing through the auditorium.
"Great job, guys!" Mr. Schuester's happy voice rang above all the others, his claps never ceasing. "You performance was wonderful!"
"Thanks, Mr. Schue!" Rachel chirped. "We couldn't have done it without you!"
"Kiss-ass." Puck fake-coughed into his hand. Mike heard anyway and elbowed him. Puck rolled his eyes, but he, like everyone else, knew they couldn't have gone this far without their teacher.
"So what do you say?" Will asked everybody, rubbing his hands together. "Do you think we've found our song for Sectionals?"
The New Directions gave another cheer while Rachel jumped up and down, clapping her hands, obviously thrilled she got a big solo.
Kurt smiled. Sectionals was months away, yet it was so hard not to stay positive when you were in Glee club. Except- of course- when someone was fighting for solos (Rachel,) stealing girlfriends (Puck,) trying to destroy the club (Coach Sylvester,) making rude comments (Santana,) or the happening of any usual drama amongst the New Directions.
But through everything from bitch-slaps to losing competitions, they always managed to repair the damage in the end- together. Now, after coming 11th place in last year's Nationals, everyone has come back determined that they win 1st place this time. And everyone has come back determined that they will.
"See you all next week!" Mr. Schuester called.
Everybody began filing out of the auditorium, talking amongst themselves.
"We should go to Asian couples therapy," Mike sighed to Tina.
"Why does the couples therapy have to be Asian?" Tina shot back exasperatedly.
"Since when did Pippi Longstocking join the New Directions?" Brittany muttered to Santana.
"Brittany, that's Rachel in a denim dress," Santana smirked.
"Hey!" Finn interjected. "Don't make fun of my girlfriend, she's cool!"
"Finn! That's an insult!" Brittany gasped, horrified.
"Dude, your impressions are weird," Puck was telling Sam.
"You don't say?" Sam drawled in Nicholas Cage's voice. A beat later, he looked thoroughly confused. "Wait a minute, did I just insult myself?"
Kurt pushed through the auditorium doors and walked down the hallway, keeping his head down. People catching the late bus hurried past him, deep in conversations, but Kurt just kept himself to himself. He reached his locker and pulled out a can of hairspray, carefully coating his head with a fine layer. Overly-active Glee practices was sometimes too much for his hair.
"Hey Kurt!" said a bright voice behind him.
Kurt turned around. "Oh, hey Rachel."
"Sooo I'm going on a date with Finn and I need your fashion advice!" she warbled, looking excited.
"Okay, okay," Kurt said calmly. He put the hairspray in his locker before turning back to survey Rachel. She was wearing a denim dress over a white collared shirt and stripy leggings, with her hair tied in two tight braids. It took all his willpower not to grimace. She did look like Pippi Longstocking.
"I'm sorry, Rachel, but you're going to have to lose the whole outfit," Kurt told her timidly. He tried not to be too mean with his criticisms- hurting anyone's feelings didn't really make him feel good with himself. "Try on a dress- but not too patterned. Preferably black, it'll slim you down. Not that you're fat, of course. And the stockings… um… no. As for your shoes, please find anything that matches. Also, unbraid your hair. Blow dry to give it volume."
Rachel had listened with her head to the side, and when Kurt finished, she pouted. "Are you sure about losing the whole outfit? I got this at a thrift shop for discount!"
"Well…" Kurt shrugged slightly. "I mean it's not bad…" Yeah right. "But you could do with something better."
Rachel's pout turned into a smile. "Thanks, Kurt! A fashionista could make sacrifices, can't she?"
Sacrifices? Kurt couldn't help but smile at her obliviousness.
"Now what do you say we shop for that new dress you were talking about?" Rachel continued giddily.
"I'd love that." Kurt nodded, smiling back. He got his bag out of the locker and shut it, then made his way out with Rachel by his side.
Sometimes, when Rachel's not in some stroppy fit over not getting a solo or crying over Finn (again,) she was Kurt's best friend. But second to his father, of course.