At Last

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, only the idea and OC. (If I owned, TIKE would be front and center every episode!)

Author's Note: My absolute favorite Glee couple is Tike (Tina and Mike were my faves from season one even though he was only background; when they became a couple-oh happy day!), but I don't feel up to the challenge of writing a Tike story at the moment.

AU, obviously.

Hope you enjoy.

As always, suspend disbelief.

Chapter One

The glee club gathered nervously in a corner. Mr. Schuester thought it was a good idea to sing during lunch to try and recruit more members. Only Rory and Blaine were upbeat and excited. They'd never done this before so they had no idea that their performance would be met with silence and blank stares. And possibly projectiles of the edible variety.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Blaine asked, bouncing on his toes.

"Do we really have to do this?" Mercedes whined, looking around nervously.

Rory stood on the fringes observing the other members of New Directions. His big smile faded a bit as he noticed Mercedes wasn't the only one looking around with fear on their face.

"Where is Mr. Schue? He promised he and Miss Pillsbury would be here with Figgins so we wouldn't get pelted with food again," Tina said.

Again? Rory thought.

"They're probably making out in a janitor's closet," Puck said with a smirk.

"No. Too germy. Ms. Pillsbury wouldn't stand for that," Kurt said matter-of-factly. "There's a reason I'm wearing last season's fashion," he added.

"I was wondering what was up with your wardrobe today," Santana said. "But I didn't want to say anything."

"Let's just get this over with," sighed Finn. "Maybe it won't be as bad as last time."

"Right you are, Finn Hudson," Rory said enthusiastically.

With a resigned look, Artie pushed a button and the opening notes of Moves Like Jagger filled the cafeteria. The New Directions picked up the beat and started singing and dancing.

Sam and Puck saw a couple of guys tapping their feet under the tables while trying to look like they weren't paying attention. Everyone else either ignored them, looked bored or stared as if they were the biggest weirdos around.

Rory noticed a girl in the corner nearby. Her long brown hair was hiding a good portion of her face, but she was smiling and her body was swaying to the music. He smiled at her when he realized she was singing along. She stopped and her face turned a deep crimson color. Rory smiled and nodded his head at her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

Shy, he thought.

As the group came together near the doors for the big finish and Sam and Mike were dancing their butts off in front of the group, Rory asked Brittany who the girl in the corner with the dark blue scarf was.

"No idea," she said as she twirled away for the final bars.

The song ended and they stood there, only Blaine and Rory smiling, waiting for applause.

"Join New Directions! We meet in the choir room every day at three!" Finn yelled. They turned as a group and ran out the doors, dragging a confused Blaine and Rory with them. The sound of food splatting against the doors followed them down the hall.

They didn't stop running until they reached the choir room and safely locked the doors behind them.

"Never again!" Mercedes yelled. "If Mr. Schue wants new members so bad he can sing and dance during lunch to recruit them."

"You said it, sister!" "Amen!" "I second that!" "Where the hell was Schuester anyway?" bounced around the room.

They waited in the choir room until second bell. Puck handed out forged passes to everyone and they went to their next class.

Rory entered his English class and handed the teacher his pass. She glanced at it and waved him toward an empty seat. Rory didn't really have the time to look around but he did catch a flash of dark blue out of the corner of his eye. Mrs. Bell was talking about Shakespeare and his influence on culture, language and life in general. Rory turned his head and there she was, in the back corner, diligently taking notes.

"Rory, can you recite a passage from any of Shakespeare's works?" Mrs. Bell asked causing Rory's head to snap back to the front.

"Uh…What was that?"

Mrs. Bell repeated her question and gestured for him to stand front and center. He gulped as he made his way forward. The teacher had to shush several students who taunted him with the threat of detention.

Rory closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned to face the class. His soft Irish brogue filled the room as he recited from Hamlet.

"To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them."

The room had grown quiet and his voice stronger as he continued.

" To die, to sleep-

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished-to die, to sleep-"

He wasn't really seeing the other students in the class or the room itself. He was back in Ireland on the stage of his small school, starring as Hamlet in their fall drama.

"To sleep, perchance to dream, ay there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil

Must give us pause-there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life."

As he neared the end, he consciously returned to room 215 in William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. He looked around as he uttered the last line and noticed Mrs. Bell and most of the girls were hanging on his every word. He saw the girl in the back corner watching him in a dream-like state, her hands clasped under her chin. After a beat of silence the classroom erupted in applause, Mrs. Bell's being the most enthusiastic.

Rory felt his cheeks warm as he bowed his head and returned to his seat.

"Oh...my. Wow. That was just…just…lovely," Mrs. Bell gushed. "Thank you, Rory."

He tried to concentrate the rest of the period and take notes, but he couldn't help noticing all the girls who were now smiling at him and trying to catch his eye. He was having quite a healthy fantasy in his head; all the girls were flocking around him as he walked down the hall when the bell rang.

As he stuffed his text and notebook in his backpack, he didn't notice the one thing he should have. Several of the boys had been giving him dirty looks. Mrs. Bell stepped into the hallway just as Rory stood and started up the aisle. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his face and someone stepped on his backpack while another kicked him hard on the ankle as they laughed then ran out of the room. He heard the word leprechaun and something about rainbows before their voices faded with distance.

All fantasies were instantly forgotten as the pain in his ankle throbbed and reality set it. I am still just Rory Flanagan; Irish exchange student, glee club member, outcast. And lonely. Oh, so very lonely.

Just then he felt a gentle pressure under his arm, helping him up. As Rory dusted off his front and gingerly put weight on his ankle a small hand held out his backpack. "Thanks," he said, accepting the bag and looking up. Right into the face of the girl from the cafeteria. She smiled and nodded then slipped past him and was gone before he could introduce himself.

Later at glee club, Mr. Schuester apologized for missing the lunch performance. He'd had a run-in with Coach Sylvester.

"Did anyone express any interest in joining?" he asked hopefully.

"Before or after they threw their lunches at us?" Kurt asked sarcastically.

"Well, I saw a few guys tapping their toes. They seemed to be on tempo," Sam offered.

"I saw a girl actually watching us and singing along," Rory said. "She was swaying to the beat."

"Really? Who was it?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Don't know. Long brown hair, blue scarf. I haven't seen her before."

"New girl. No one knows anything about her," Artie said.

"Fresh meat? Excellent!" Puck said, earning him several dirty looks from the girls. "I meant," he said staring down the looks, "that she's new so she doesn't know that associating with the glee club is a social death sentence."

"I think she's in my gym class," someone said.

"Well, Rory. Your assignment is to find out who this mystery girl is and see if she wants to join us."

"Sure thing, Mr. Schuester."

Rory tried to talk to the girl several times over the next few days without any success. He asked the few people in his class that were friendly about her, but they didn't know anything either; they'd never talked to her. Several referred to her as 'scarf girl' as she wore a different colorful scarf every day.

It took just over a week for Rory to finally corner her in the library at lunch. "Hello," he said approaching her table in the most remote section of the library. "My name is Rory Flanagan." She nodded a hello. Rory made sure he talked slow and enunciated carefully so she could understand him. "I wanted to thank you for the hand up last week in Mrs. Bell's class. That was very kind of you." She gave him a small smile and made a dismissive gesture with her hand as she shook her head.

"It meant a lot to me. I'm fairly new here, too, and I don't have many friends. So I really appreciated it. It's nice to meet you… uh…" he looked at her expectantly waiting for her to introduce herself. She saw he wasn't leaving so she took a deep breath and opened her notebook. She scribbled something then turned it toward him so he could read it.

In neat block print it said, HI. MY NAME IS GRACE KELLEY.

"Like the actress?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and nodded. MY MOM WAS A HUGE FAN. I CAN HEAR FINE, BUT I CAN'T SPEAK.

"Do you have laryngitis or something?" Rory asked.

NO. I'M MUTE.

"Oh," Rory said. "Well that puts an end to the other thing I wanted to ask you about." Grace cocked an eyebrow and stared at him. Rory pulled out the chair next to her, sat down and said, "When the glee club performed in the cafeteria I couldn't help but notice you were enjoying the performance." Grace nodded. "I was going to ask you to…uh…" Grace dropped her gaze to the table. She knew what was coming. "…if you wanted to join glee club," Rory finished. "I'm sorry. I..."

Grace grabbed her notebook and scribbled something then showed it to him. IT'S OK. YOU DIDN'T KNOW. THANKS FOR ASKING ME. YOUR PERFORMANCE ROCKED, BY THE WAY.

Rory read the note and smiled. "Thanks." He noticed her stack of books and gestured at them. "Wow, you look really busy. I don't want to bother you. I just wanted to meet you and say thanks…and glee…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'll let you get back to work."

Grace wrote a much longer note. When she finished she pushed the notebook toward him. YOU'RE WELCOME. YOU'RE NOT BOTHERING ME. IF YOU COULD PLEASE NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT ME…BEING MUTE, I'D REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I'VE SEEN WHAT STUDENTS HERE DO TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT.

Rory snorted. "You have no idea. I'll just tell the club you…can't sing?"

Grace smiled and nodded. THANKS, RORY. IT WAS REALLY NICE TO MEET YOU.

"You, too, Grace. It's been a pleasure." Rory stood and pushed his chair under the table and started to walk away. After a few steps he turned and quickly walked back to her. "Um, Grace? Would you mind if…maybe I joined you here…sometimes and…we talked?" he asked hesitantly.

She quickly wrote and handed the notebook to him. NO, I WOULDN'T MIND AT ALL. I'M USUALLY HERE DURING LUNCH AND 7TH PERIOD.

Rory smiled and said, "Okay then. I'll see you 'round. Bye." Grace smiled and waved. Rory turned and walked out of the library. He waited until he was several yards down the hall before he grinned and let out a little whoop of joy. Two hockey players walked past and tripped him with a, "Watch it, Lucky Charms!"

Rory was still smiling as he picked himself up. If he had looked back at Grace as he was leaving he would have seen her smile and blush slightly.

Grace couldn't help but smile the rest of the day. Rory was cute and seemed to be very nice. She was really hoping he actually showed, she was looking forward to having a conversation with someone other than her family. She hadn't had anyone to talk to since…before.

Rory told the glee club that the mystery girl's name was Grace and that she said thanks, but she couldn't sing a note.

"Well neither could I when I first joined and look at me now," Mike said.

"You could sing, you just lacked confidence," Tina said quietly to him.

"Yeah, maybe she just needs practice and confidence like Mike did," Artie said.

Rory panicked for a few seconds then said, "No, I don't think that's it, but I'll ask her again." After practice Rory got Finn alone and told him about his future meetings with Grace everyday.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, little man! You don't want to come across as too eager or desperate," Finn said.

"But, I am desperate, Finn Hudson."

Finn was shaking his head. "But you don't want her to know that. Wait a few days before you meet her. Then, don't go every day. You want her to think you're cool. And since she's new, she doesn't know about glee club's rep yet. You still have time to make a good impression before she realizes…"

"You're right, Finn Hudson. Thank you for your advice, you're a true friend."

"No problem, Rory. Come to me anytime you need advice about girls."

Rory had planned to follow Finn's advice. After all, Finn had dated and slept with several of the hottest girls Rory knew, but he really wanted to know more about Grace. He waited a whole night then showed up in the library for lunch the next day. He told Grace what the club had said and he wasn't sure what to tell them.

They came up with something that wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth. I DON'T WANT TO LIE, BUT I'M NOT READY TO HAVE EVERYONE LOOK AT ME/TREAT ME LIKE THE SCHOOL FREAK, she wrote.

"Believe me, I understand that," Rory said.

YEAH, I NOTICED HOW THE GLEE CLUB IS TREATED. I DON'T GET IT. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME AND DIDN'T I HEAR YOU MADE IT TO NATIONALS LAST YEAR?

"We did. And I don't understand our treatment either. Uh, does that mean you don't want to be seen with me?" he asked.

NOT AT ALL. I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS ABOUT ME. IT'S JUST KIND OF NICE BEING ANONYMOUS FOR A BIT. I HAVEN'T HAD THAT LUXURY IN A VERY LONG TIME. Rory nodded thoughtfully.

Despite Finn's sage advice, Rory had lunch with Grace almost every day. He learned that she loved music. They compared play lists and discovered they had similar tastes. To Grace's delight, he introduced her to some lovely Irish music that she enjoyed very much.

Rory also learned that she'd lost her voice the summer after sixth grade. He was curious to know how, but she didn't elaborate and he was much too polite to ask.

He also learned that she had the most incredible dark green eyes that every once in a while looked blue.

Grace learned all about his family, friends and life in Ireland. I'VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU, THAT DAY IN MRS. BELL'S CLASS-YOUR HAMLET SOLILOQUY WAS ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING.

"Thank you," Rory said, surprised. "I suppose the accent helps."

AN ACCENT WHEN RECITING SHAKESPEARE NEVER HURTS. BUT THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE WHEN YOU WERE RECITING-IT WAS SO MELANCHOLY. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING OF?

"Home. I was Hamlet in our school play last year."

ARE YOU HOMESICK?

Rory shrugged one shoulder. "A little, I guess. I miss my family. It's been a little lonely here. If not for glee club I wouldn't have any friends. And now you, of course."

IT MUST BE HARD TO BE SO FAR AWAY FROM THEM. ARE YOU SORRY YOU CAME?

"It is hard, but I don't regret coming. I've always wanted to come to America and I try to look at all experiences as an opportunity to learn something. About myself. Or others. Or life."

I TRULY BELIEVE WHAT DOESN'T KILL US MAKES US STRONGER. I LOOK AT IT AS CHARACTER BUILDING.

"Exactly. Grace, I was wondering…is writing the only way you communicate? I'd think your hand would get tired," he asked her.

I'M PRETTY USED TO IT, BUT WITH MY FAMILY I USE A KIND OF SHORTHAND AND WE USE SOME SIGN LANGUAGE.

"Really? Could you teach me some?"

She looked at him in surprise. "You really want to learn?"

"Yes, I do. It would make our conversations a little faster and easier."

From that day on part of their lunch consisted of Grace teaching Rory some basic sign language.

A/N: That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed.

I absolutely fell head over heels for Damian as I watched The Glee Project last summer. I was thrilled he won and I was hoping the writers would make his character as charming as he was. Honestly, I think they've failed so far. A friend who had not seen TGP thinks Rory is charming, but I told her not near as much as the real Damian.

I haven't seen the Valentine's episode yet-can't until the weekend and I am SO looking forward to it! (Since I found out there's a TIKE duet in it-LOVE the TIKE duets!)

The inspiration for this story came to me one night as I woke up from a light sleep. (Let's hear it for insomnia!) I've been working on my other stories, but this just had to be written and posted…now!