"Attention, passengers. We are being held momentarily due to train traffic ahead of us. Thank you for your patience."

Straining in her seat to see the clock in the subway car, Lizzie sighed in exasperation. She knew that she still had time before school began, but the N train she was on had stopped four times at that point. She figured that being late on her first day at a new school wouldn't exactly be the greatest first impression. It didn't help that the car was packed tighter than sardines, stinking of Axe, perfume, and body odor. Luckily, Liz and Blaine had gotten on the train in Brooklyn, meaning that they were just able to get seats before Manhattan. They had sat down by one of the doors, with Lizzie being in the middle seat, and her father by the pole. To her left, out cold, was a man that looked to be in his sixties, getting alarmingly close to using Liz as a pillow. Thankfully, this was prevented by the train starting up again, the sudden force pulling him away. As she was reading an ad near the top of the car, which read 'Divorce: When diamonds aren't forever.', her father's voice jolted her back to reality.

"Nervous?" He whispered, turning to look at his daughter.

"Nah." muttered Liz, lying. She wasn't petrified or anything, but she did feel uneasy. She didn't know anyone at her new school, which was exciting in way, because she could create a whole new fake personality to distract her to-be classmates from her real personality, which left many things to be desired. On the other hand, one fuck-up, and she was screwed.

Blaine raised an eyebrow at her, seeing right through her facade. "Okay, mind telling me the truth?" He knew perfectly well that Liz had a tendency to put on a brave face when threatened, and when this was acknowledged, she usually got defensive. This was no exception.

"What? I'm not!" Liz knew that face. The 'Are you sure?' face that every parent develops over time, specifically for their kids. "Seriously, I'm fine."

"You know that it's okay to admit it, right? That you're scared? I mean, you're just as human as I am."

Fighting back every urge to roll her eyes, Liz whispered, "Papa, I'm okay! I've been a freshman before, and I'm sure that it's still going to suck the second time around."

"It's a whole new school, though! And in Manhattan, no less!" Always the optimist, Blaine smiled at his daughter, who didn't seem to share his excitement. As usual, she just seemed uninterested.

"It's in a different borough, big whoop. Dad works in Manhattan, I'm not anything special."

Come on, Lizzie… "Well, aren't you excited to make new friends?" asked Blaine, taking another stab at trying to get through to Liz.

Shrugging, she muttered, "I guess…" 'Making new friends', of course, meant that she had to pretend to like a bunch of fake people for six hours every day, for five days a week.

Yay.

To make matters worse, Liz had transferred to an arts school, so she was going to assume that every single person would be some measure of spotlight hog or attention seeker. Before Lizzie could lament further, the train arrived at the Herald Square station.

"34th Street Herald Square, the next stop will be Times Square 42nd Street, stand clear of the closing doors."

"Next stop is us."

Not being able to hold back a grin, Liz giggled. "I know, Papa." An Anderson-Hummel family tradition, her father would always announce that they were close to their destination, despite all of them being familiar with the stops of the trains that they used. The train started again, once more nudging the sleeping man away from Liz's shoulder. As the train got closer to the station, she clutched the handle of her book bag, stroking it and feeling the coarse fabric dent her fingertips. Her grip got harder once the station came into view, and Liz came to the frightening realization that she was scared shitless. She was practically shivering, although, whether that was the nerves or the air conditioning was anybody's guess. Just as Liz was wondering why the MTA blasted AC close to arctic temperatures, when they knew damn well that everyone was wearing shorts, the intercom buzzed. Barely intelligible as always, it blared;

"Times Square 42nd Street."

Liz stood up far too quickly, ripping her skin off. 'Why can't it be fall so I can wear pants?', she lamented, rubbing the backs of her legs, and attempting to put on her book bag in a manner that looked normal. As a large portion of the 'sardines' left the subway car, Lizzie and Blaine included, all of them reeled at the stagnant heat that sat on the platform, a stark contrast to the freezing cold of the N train. It must have been at least 85 degrees, and that was being generous. Always one to crack a joke when nervous, Lizzie shot her father a sly grin and said, "Hey, Papa, aren't you worried that all the products in your hair are going to melt?"

"I think you should be more worried about your hair, with this humidity. You're gonna look like a cloud when we get to your school." Blaine stabbed back playfully.

"Touche."

In the several minutes of people-dodging to get to Times Square, Liz checked her phone a total of three times, anxiously watching the minutes like a doomsday clock.

7:45

7:48

7:52

"Papa, school starts in eight minutes, and I don't wanna be that one student that shows up late on the first day!" Her lie on the train becoming more and more obvious, Liz bounced up and down on her heels as they waited for the walk signal. She had to shout to be heard over the vehicles roaring past them, as well as the dozens of people that were milling around Times Square, oblivious to the fact that it was morning rush hour. And of course, her father yelled back,

"What? I can't hear you, sweetie!"

"Nevermind!" Liz sucked her teeth as a group of tourists elbowed past her, chatting away happily as if they didn't know they were in everyone's way. She may have lived in this city her whole life, but that didn't mean she spent a lot of time in Manhattan. Her and her family, with the exception of Kurt, stayed in Brooklyn, where their apartment was. Now, every single weekday (for the most part), for four years, was to be spent in one of the most populated city areas. And Liz wasn't what anybody would call a 'people person'. The only people she tolerated could all comfortably fit in one room, and that wasn't really saying much, because she couldn't stand her brothers on some days. This particular day had been no exception.

The walk signal finally told them to cross, and Liz was yanked out of her thoughts by a car screeching to a halt mere feet away from her and her father. Before Blaine could say anything, Liz snapped, "Hey, dickweed, get off your phone before you actually hurt someone!" Startled, the man behind the wheel hastily shoved his phone in his pocket, rambling an apology. She stormed forward, her father in hot pursuit.

"Elizabeth!"

Liz couldn't help but laugh. "Ooh, full name!" An angry glare from her father made her change her tone, as he was clearly not in a joking mood. "I'm sorry, I know I need to put a filter on my brain, it's really hard for me! And besides, he almost ran us over!"

"Sweetheart, he wasn't even close to running us over." Now it was Liz's turn to glare angrily. "You're nervous, it's okay, just don't attack random strangers!"

"A random stranger that almost killed us."

Blaine laughed. "Why must you be so dramatic?"

"You ever look in the mirror, Papa?" she replied playfully.

"You're grounded for a year."

"The horror!"

This playful banter continued until Liz and Blaine got to Liz's school. The morning sun cascaded over the uneven, littered sidewalk, casting shadows over the front of the building and making it hard for both of them to see. Squinting, they could make out;

'George Bernard Shaw High School for the Performing Arts'

"I still think it's a bit much."

"You're such a drama queen. Then again, it's not surprising, you're your father's daughter."

"I'm telling Dad you said that."

"Trust me, he'll be flattered by the compliment."

Lizzie snorted. "And what about Mom? Do I live up to her legendary attitude?"

"Mercedes will always be the biggest diva, but I'd say you're following in her footsteps pretty nicely." Blaine said, smiling fondly at his daughter. He was prepared to say something else, but was interrupted by a hellish shriek, not unlike a murder victim. However, the emotions behind said noise were quite the opposite. Lizzie found herself engulfed in a giant ball of happiness, crushing her like an adorable python.

"And here we thought we would beat you." Liz recognized the voice immediately as her Aunt Brittany, who warmly embraced her father with a wide smile. Also extremely familiar, the scent of cherries surrounded her, and she struggled to escape from the death grip that her cousin had trapped her in. Maria had always been big on hugs, she found handshakes awkward and distant. She could make anyone feel comfortable, it was one of her talents. Even cold and hardened Lizzie found herself laughing violently as she pried Maria off of her. Clearly, she was excited about school.

"Well, hello to you, too!" Lizzie grinned, beginning to feel a bit more at ease. Although she liked to convince herself that she was a brick wall, unable to be phased, she was perfectly aware that Maria was the one who convinced her to audition for the school in the first place. She knew that she needed emotional support following her first attempt at high school, and the Pierce-Lopez's were the closest thing to family she had, outside of her parents and brothers, and she preferred to have someone to accompany her. Of all people, Maria the Infectious Optimist was perfect. Furthermore, Maria didn't care in the slightest about keeping things from Kurt and Blaine, should Liz be experiencing an episode. Even if Lizzie wanted her to keep quiet. She was sure that having Maria as a wellbeing tattletale was going to get really irritating in time, but she knew it was for her own good.

"I'm so excited!" Maria exclaimed, vibrating as though she was just electrocuted. Her long, black hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, which Liz could tell took at least half an hour to perfect. Maria, like most other people, had fly-aways, so she probably used an ungodly amount of hairspray to force it to obey. Lizzie, on the other hand, had managed to get her curls up into a messy bun, which she considered a victory, so, hurrah!

Brittany quickly glanced at her phone, looking caught off-guard. "Guys, you don't want to be late, do you?"

Before Liz had a chance to respond, a gasp from Maria and a sudden death grip on her wrist literally and figuratively pulled her back to reality. She found herself being forcefully led away from her father and aunt, trying to wave goodbye before she was out of sight.

"Bye, Mama! I'll call as soon as school is over!" Maria's voice echoed as they entered the building. Though they were moving quickly, Liz could faintly hear, "Oh, I know you will". Once inside, Lizzie managed to get a quick glimpse of the lobby. She had been surprised at the fact that her school shared a building with a community theatre, with the theatre occupying the first floor, and the school occupying the second, third, and fourth floors. This meant that, with the theatre taking up close to two floors of space with its height, there were four flights of stairs to get through.

"Easy, my wrists are still sensitive…" With this, Maria quickly released Liz, looking embarrassed.

"I forgot. I think I may be too excited about starting high school. I'm sure it's not all it's cracked up to be, anyways!" Maria exclaimed, starting her journey up the stairs with Liz.

"Hey, don't let my bad attitude get to you. If you're looking forward to it, then don't stop! I'm just skeptical because of my experiences so far."

"Well, you should be. I don't think anybody would blame you for wanting to switch schools." It took a considerable effort for Maria to speak, as they climbed further up the staircase, grasping at the railing for support. Liz did the same, her legs beginning to ache and her lungs catching on fire.

About three-fourths of the way up the stairs, Lizzie was very agitated. "Who's bright fucking idea was it to put a school up this high?" Her foot began cramping as they reached the top, causing her to limp to the door leading to the school. Next to the door, there was yet another set of stairs, so Liz concluded that the school functioned like a giant, elaborate tower. She wondered why she didn't remember all the details of her visits to the school previously, for her audition and open house. Then again, she was scared out of her mind on both occasions. That might've been the reason.

"We lived!" cheered Maria, giving a tired fist-pump.

"Small victories."

As if on cue, the bell blared, mocking them and their lateness. Ignoring their sore bodies, Maria and Liz sprinted to the door and tore it open. As they ran, Liz couldn't help but admire her cousin's stamina, as she was carrying a bookbag that was almost as big as she was, and probably twice as heavy. The pair quickly opened the second door, leading into the school, and were almost immediately greeted by a large desk, manned by two security guards.

"Freshman?" The first one asked, grinning warmly. The second guard did the same.

Lizzie struggled to catch her breath, while Maria answered, "Yeah, are we late?"

The security guards laughed. "Of course not, sweetie! That was the first bell. It tells the kids to go to their classes. The late bell rings in a few minutes, you're fine."

"Thank god." Liz huffed, still struggling to regain her composure. Meanwhile, Maria had already made her way into the cafeteria just beyond the security desk, putting her bag down and shuffling through her supplies. Liz joined her, doing the same. She glanced over and saw the enormous amount of stuff in Maria's bag, dumbfounded.

"How?"

Maria looked up, breaking her concentration, and laughed. "All these things were on the list, remember?"

"All of them?" Lizzie cocked an eyebrow. She didn't remember the list of supplies very well, but she was certain that, if it had all of the things in Maria's bag, it would be considered a book.

"No, of course not! I just wanted to be prepared for everything!"

Liz snorted, smirking. "Okay, Einstein."

"Shut up."

Note: This story is also on ArchiveOfOurOwn and Wattpad!