PLEASE NOTE:

I do not own Glee or any characters or songs included in this story, save for Maddie Everett and her family. Also...

-Rory is technically 15 in the series, but I made him a junior just so they can drive and all.

-Maddie is MY character

-This story's not done yet, so ya'll are gonna have to wait a few more days to see the ending!

Please Review!

The Pot O' Gold and the Newbie

~a Glee fanfiction~

When new girl Madeleine "Maddie" Everett comes to McKinley High, she runs right into the sweet Irish exchange student, Rory Flanagan. They become instant friends—but is it more than that?

Maddie Everett was truly scared as her mother pulled up to the front of the school. She was going to be the new girl—again.

"Mom, everybody already has their friends, it's November. Besides, this is high school, not fourth grade. Can't I just be home schooled?" She protested.

"No, Maddie. You are going to McKinley High and that is final. I know you're worried that nobody's going to want to be your friend, ladybug, but you're a sweet, perfect girl with many talents. Someone is going to want to be your friend." Penelope Everett stroked her daughter's cheek before she hopped from the passenger seat, slung her backpack over her shoulder, slammed the door shut, and walked towards the school.

After receiving her schedule, Maddie was headed off to search for her first class. Not concentrating on where she was going, she ran straight into someone, knocking them both to the ground.

The school was empty, as everyone was in class then. Maddie jumped up and went to see if the student was all right.

"Are you okay?" She asked, helping him up. He nodded, reaching for his books. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going—"

"It—it's all right. I'm fine, really."

"You… Have an accent…?" Maddie said, trying not to sound too surprised.

"Yes—you see, I'm the school's Irish exchange student," he explained, "I'm Rory Flanagan."

"Maddie Everett. I'm a new kid."

"Oh, that explains the schedule and the confused look," he smiled, "Don't worry. I've been there. Want me to show you to your next class?"

Maddie was so taken away by his polite gesture she couldn't refuse. "Of course you can," she smiled.

At lunchtime, Maddie took her paper bag lunch from her backpack and sat down at a table, alone. She felt sorry for herself, as she always did on her first day at a new school, sitting alone at the lunch table. It's going to take me months to find a friend, she thought, remembering Rory. The Irish boy was so sweet and polite… And handsome. A boy like that most likely has a girlfriend.

"Hey, Maddie!" A familiar voice called, sitting down across the table from her. She looked up from sulking over her sandwich and came face-to-face with Rory.

"Rory! Hi!" She smiled, so overcome with shock he was there she knocked her juice box over, spilling fruit punch all over the table.

"Oh! Here—let me get some napkins—" he ran to the utensils cart and grabbed a bunch of napkins, and together they wiped up the sticky juice. When they finished, they began to talk, and Maddie began to feel really good about herself. Rory was just like her—didn't have a whole lot of friends, really cared about schooling, liked to sing, was still sort of a newbie, and happened to be a junior in high school.

At the end of the lunch period, Maddie had developed a crush—and a friendship—with Rory Flanagan. That night, she went home, did her homework, and then called her friend from New York, where she had lived previously.

"Maddie?" Elizabeth Tyler answered the phone, her voice cheerful.

"Hi, Libby!"

"Hey! How's school? Is McKinley High as great as their play was?"

"Are you kidding? The school is full of gays and lesbians. Arthur Thomas wouldn't stand a chance in this school, 'cause he's straight."

"Hey, don't turn into a lesbo, 'kay, Maddie?"

"'Kay, I promise. I wasn't going to, anyway. I already found a friend—and I like him. A lot."

"Ooh!" Libby squealed, "Who is he? What's his name? Is he cute?"

"Oh, no, Elizabeth, he's so not cute. Heck yeah he is! His name is Rory Flanagan, he's in our grade, and he's an exchange student from Ireland."

"Ireland? No fricking way you hooked up with an Irish boy on your first day!"

"There is a way. I ran into him after I got my schedule. He doesn't have a lot of friends, either, and he loves to sing."

"Aw! Maddie! He sounds so cute!"

"He is! I'll have to get a picture of me with him tomorrow so I can send you it."

"Yay! Maybe I'll look him up on Facebook… What's his last name? Flanders?"

"Flanagan. Rory Flanagan."

"Maddie and Rory Flanagan… Maddie Flanagan… Mrs. Madeleine Hope Flanagan… Madeleine Flanagan… Well, I like it, Mads. What are you're kid's names gonna be?"

"Hmmm… Let me check our list, 'cause you know, I've liked him for so long."

"Okay, okay, so I'll wait a week or two. You're going to come up with some soon, I'll tell you. Have one of your daughter's middle names be Elizabeth Marie, for me, 'kay, Maddie?"

"'Kay, Libby. Well, I've got to go. Nightie night!"

"Nightie night, Madeleine Hope Flanagan!"

The next morning, Maddie nearly ran right into Rory again.

"Rory! Hi!" She smiled nervously, "How are you?"

"Swell, just swell, Miss Everett. Say, you said yesterday you liked to sing, didn't you?"

"Ye—yes I did… Why?"

"I believe, coming from New York, you've heard of our school's glee club?"

"Oh, yes. I hear it's a fine place for all the aspiring voices of this school."

"Ah. Well, I told them about you, and my friend Finn thinks it would be a pleasure for you to join. He says New Directions needs a new girl like you, and you'll make a ton of new friends. So, what do you say, Maddie? Do you want to join New Directions?"

"I—I don't know, Rory. I kind of just started here, and I don't want to jump into stuff too quickly. I'd love to be in New Directions, but first let me get more settled in to McKinley."

"Okay. Well, have a good day, I'll see you at lunch," he winked at her, and she blushed.

Maddie sat in her first-period English class, thinking. Should I join New Directions? If Libby were here, she would've told me to say yes… I really want to, I mean, Rory's so sweet, and it would give me a good chance to become better friends with him… I think I will. I will. I will, I will, I will! Gosh, now I can't wait for lunch… I can't wait to tell Rory! He's going to be so happy… His Irish smile is going to be shining… Those blue eyes are going to be sparkling… He's so handsome…

"Miss Everett? I asked you a question!" Maddie's head popped up when the teacher, Mr. Posh, called her name.

"Oh! Sorry, Mr. Posh—I was thinking."

"I hope you were thinking of the answer, Madeleine, because that's what I would like right now."

"Umm, no, actually, I wasn't—sorry, Mr. Posh. What was the question—?"

"Probably was thinking of that dope Rory Flanagan she's always hanging out with," a girl whispered to her friend. Maddie shot them a look. It was Emilee Turner and Molly Clarke, two of the ten mean girls in McKinley.

"Or maybe she was thinking of how ugly her hair looks today!" Ariana Quigley snickered.

"Ooh! What about how last season her top is?" Jessica Boleros grinned. Maddie felt like she was going to cry. She rubbed her lips together nervously and looked at Mr. Posh, who stood, waiting for her answer to the question he had already repeated.

"M—Mr. Posh…? Can I go to the restroom? I don't feel very good."

"It's I don't feel very well, Miss Everett, and yes you may. Please don't get sick—our custodians do not appreciate it."

"I won't!" She called as she shut the door, hurrying down the hall, trying to hold her tears in until she reached the bathroom.

She sat down in the corner of the deserted bathroom and cried, softly, to herself. When the tears stopped, she went to the mirror, wiped her face, gave a little smile, and headed back to the room.

Molly Clarke, Ariana Quigley, Heather Riis and Rosemary Liad were in Maddie's next class, Home Ec, so she was prepared for torture. Luckily, she was put into a cooking group with a couple nice girls, Ginny West and Johanna "JoJo" Tailor. She automatically clicked with the two of them, and at the end of class, exchanged cell phone numbers. The girls walked to lunch together after class ended, laughing.

When Rory showed up at the girl's tables, Ginny raised her eyebrow and JoJo looked stunned that the exchange student was at their table, and Maddie smiled at him.

"Rory, can I talk to you?" She looked to Ginny, "We'll only be a second, guys." Maddie pulled Rory off, away from the table, and lowered her voice. "I'd like to join New Directions."

"You're serious?"

"Of course! It took a whole English class to decide, but I did, and I want to join."

"That's great! And—I see you made some new friends?"

"Yep! They're wonderful, JoJo and Ginny. Hey—do you have a cell phone?"

"Oh, sure. Why?"

"I was wondering if we could hang out over the weekend, maybe?"

"That'd be swell! I'd like that." They exchanged numbers and went back to the table. After they finished eating, Rory took Maddie to the New Directions headquarters, and everyone greeted her.

"You're the new girl? What's your name, Madison?" Quinn asked, and Maddie shook her head.

"Madeleine. But everyone calls me Maddie," Maddie said, clearly, so everyone could hear her.

"Quinn, give the girl a break," Rachel piped up, going to Maddie and wrapping her arm around her, "She's just a junior."

"Well, let's see how this junior does at singing," Quinn mocked, "What are you going to sing, Madeleine?"

"I—I actually haven't been preparing for this—Rory invited me to join just this morning—but I've been practicing a song lately, I think you guys will like it."

"Did you write it?"

"No—it's from The Little Mermaid."

"Oh. Good. Let's hear it." Maddie looked over at Rory shyly, and then began to sing.

Her voice was clear and beautiful as she sang "Part of Your World" Rory watched her, dazzled by her voice, and Finn nudged him and whispered in his ear,

"That is one special girl."

"I know."

"Do you like her?"

"A little. She's pretty, and her voice is stunning."

When Maddie finished, everyone looked at her in awe.

"You sounded just like Ariel!" Brittany smiled, "That was amazing!"

"Thank you," Maddie grinned.

"Welcome to New Directions," Finn grasped her shoulder gently, "We're glad you're here."

A few days later, Maddie was talking with Ginny and JoJo after school while she waited for her bus to arrive. Rory ran up to her and took her arm from behind. She turned around, startled, and pulled a piece of her hair behind her ear shyly.

"Hi, Rory. What's up?"

"Would you be free to come over tonight and practice a song with me for New Directions?"

"Uh… Yeah, yeah I think so… Sorry, this is kind of sudden… Why?"

"Finn wanted me to perform something for Coach Sylvester in a few days. He said I could have a partner. Are you in?"

"Of course! What song are you thinking of doing?"

"I haven't thought of that yet. Brittany was listening to Justin Bieber the other day—it was a duet with this girl. I didn't catch the name, but I was thinking that could be a fun one to do."

"Oh, you mean "Overboard"? Featuring Jessica Jarrel?"

"That must be it, then!"

"I like that song. I think that would be really fun to do that for Coach Sylvester."

"Plus, it'd be showing off the two newest New Directions members," Rory grinned, "See you at five?"

"It's a date."

That night, Maddie drove her dad's little Chevy to the Pierce house, where Rory was staying. Mrs. Pierce opened the door, and smiled.

"You must be Maddie. Rory said you were coming over to practice a song. Don't worry, I sent Brittany out for some things at the mall. She should be back in oh, four hours."

"Four hours? Did you send her on a scavenger hunt?"

"No, dear. I gave her a list of items in all her favorite stores. She should check out all the cute clothing and then get the items for me." Maddie smiled and nodded, just as Rory appeared behind Mrs. Pierce.

"Oh! Maddie! I had no idea you were here. Thanks for greeting her, Amanda, I'll take her now."

"Have fun, you two."

Once they were in the guest bedroom, which Rory had taken over (and you could tell) he plugged in Brittany's iPod, found the song, and they listened to it several times in a row while they chatted on the edge of his bed.

"So… Amanda's nice," Maddie said awkwardly, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah… She gets a little nosy, but she's funny, too. She controls Brittany kind of like a chess piece. She knows her weaknesses, and that's how she runs her. It's rather fascinating to watch, really."

"It sounds fun. Brittany's nice."

"She's like a sister. And her being a lesbian doesn't really change her personality. She just likes girls."

"Yeah… Anyway, you want to start practicing?"

"Sure."

They sang the song a few times, but Rory didn't seem really into it. After the second run, Maddie paused the song.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just the song. I don't think it's working."

"Like how? Is it too long, too short, not enough parts…?"

"It's Justin Bieber's voice. It's too high-pitched for mine—it doesn't fit."

"Oh. That makes sense. Here, why don't you look through Brittany's iPod and I'll look through mine, and we'll see what songs we can find that fit."

After several minutes of searching, Maddie gently punched Rory's shoulder.

"I got one," she smiled, "It's "Wouldn't Change A Thing," from Camp Rock 2."

"All right, let's hear it." Maddie got up and docked her iPhone into the stereo. Rory listened, concentrating, thinking, and when it was over he hit repeat. After the second time, he nodded and sat up. "It'll work." Maddie restarted then paused the song, grabbed Brittany's iTouch and looked up the lyrics on the Internet for Rory—she knew them by heart already. Then she hit play and they practiced several times before they could do it without the music—and Rory without the iTouch.

They sang until seven o'clock; when Amanda served them pizza. They ate on Rory's bed and talked. When the box was empty, they tossed it aside and started practicing again.

Rory and Maddie practiced every day—three days total—before their performance in front of Coach Sylvester. The night before the performance, Maddie was making her bed, humming the song, standing in her purple DREAM pajamas, when her iPhone started ringing Justin Bieber's "Baby" she looked at the picture on the screen and smiled. Rory. She answered it, and before she could say 'hello,' his voice spoke—actually sung—

"Like fire and rain, you can drive me insane, but I can't stay mad at you for anything—"

"We're Venus and Mars," she chimed in, "We're like different stars, but you're the harmony to every song I sing, and I Wouldn't Change a Thing." They sang the whole song—twice, actually, before they talked for a few minutes.

"You nervous?"

"Of course I am. At least we're not performing in front of the whole school."

"Yeah. Good thing we're not, huh?"

"Heck yeah! I would probably freak out and forget what to sing, like Gabriella in "High School Musical"."

"Wouldn't want that to happen."

"You're being awfully vague tonight—is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything's fine. Listen, I've got to go. See you in school tomorrow."

"Hey—when are we performing?"

"There's an assembly during second period. Something about—water conservation, I think. Luckily, that's when Coach Sylvester is free, so we'll be performing for her in the New Directions room."

"We get to miss an assembly about water conservation just because we're singing for Coach Sylvester? That's awesome!"

"Yeah… Have your outfit ready."

"'Kay. Night, Rory."

"Night, Maddie."

Maddie hung up and glanced over at the sparkly blue dress and accessories for tomorrow. It matched Rory's black tuxedo and blue shirt. Why had he insisted on wearing such fancy clothes for just a little performance in front of Coach Sylvester?

The next morning, Maddie sat in first period and yawned. Could they just hurry it along so they could go to the assembly and she could perform in front of the Coach? Inside, she was a nervous wreck—what if she messed up? What if the microphone didn't work? Boy, she was ever glad that they weren't performing in front of the whole school.

After first period, Maddie met Rory in the New Directions room.

"Where's Coach Sylvester? And our backdrop?" She asked, and Rory looked a bit nervous.

"I've never told a lie before in my life, Maddie—I'm awfully sorry—"

"What? What lie?"

"I lied to you—about performing in front of Coach Sylvester. We're performing in the assembly. Yes, Finn and the other New Directions are trying to show us off. Yes, I did make it all up. I'm sorry, Maddie. Really, I am."

"We're performing in the assembly…?" Maddie asked, shocked, "I can't perform in the assembly! I've never performed in front of more than thirty-five people! Singing in front of the New Directions was the biggest crowd I've ever sung in front of! I can't believe this!"

"Well, you better, because you two are on in five minutes," Finn said from the doorway, Rachel behind him, "We should've told you sooner, but Rory was afraid you'd back out as soon as you heard there was a big crowd."

"And he was right, because I am dropping out—right now," Maddie stormed off then, leaving the others speechless.

"No—Maddie, you can't drop out…! Not now!" Rachel panicked, eyes wide. Rory stood there, teetering. "Rory, go talk to her!" On queue, he raced after Maddie, who had gone into the dressing room her stuff was in.

"Maddie—"

"Go away," she snapped. He hesitated for a moment.

"No, Maddie. I'm not going to go away. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do! You're so talented, and Finn wanted to show you off to the rest of the school. Think of the mean girls that made fun of you on your second day here. If you go out there and perform, you can show them you're so much better than them—and everyone will believe it. Everyone will want to be friends with the prettiest singer in the entire junior class, Maddie—"

"I know, I know. Now could you please leave? I can't believe I'm still speaking to you after what happened."

"All right. Have it your way." He turned to go, and suddenly the door to her dressing room slammed shut. He stood there, confused, and a few minutes later Maddie emerged, smiling. She was wearing her blue dress and had all her make-up on. Rory looked at her in wonder.

"You're kidding," he murmured.

"I wouldn't kid about this, Rory. What you said really made me think. I don't want to let everybody down. So go get your outfit on and let's kick some mean-girl ass!"

When Rory and Maddie came back to the New Directions room, where Rachel and Finn were waiting, their eyes lit up with glee.

"Oh, thank gosh!" Rachel smiled, running up and hugging Maddie, "Thanks so much, sweetie, for agreeing to do it—I know you must be scared."

"I am. But it's okay, because I'm going to show the mean girls that I'm better than them."

Seven minutes later, Maddie was standing in the center of the stage, staring at the backdrop, microphone in hand, waiting for the curtains to go up and the music to begin. Rory was sitting in a rowboat at a "dock" to her left. The "water" the rowboat was in was made from shiny paper. The backdrop was at a sparkly lake at nighttime.

Suddenly the curtains rose and the audience was directly behind her. The music started almost instantly, and she began to panic. When her queue came, she began to sing, and turned around to face everyone. She gave a weak smile but kept her focus, and the next thing you know, Rory's queue came, and they were singing together. Eventually, he got out of his rowboat prop and went to stand beside her for the last half of the song.

Rory and Maddie—nicknamed Madeory by all their fans, were a huge hit, and all the mean girls were jealous of the pair's talent.

A few months later, it was the beginning of June—almost time for the year to come to a close. Maddie had noticed that for the past few days, Rory had been rather quiet and keeping to himself. One day, after school, she went to the New Directions room and found everyone but him there.

"Where's Rory?" She asked, and Brittany looked up.

"Oh—my mom's taking him to the airport."

"Why?"

"Because his family wants him back in Leprechaunland?"

"You mean Ireland...?"

"Whatever."

"Wait—so fill me in here, I'm really confused."

"What's there to get, Everett? Rory's going back to his home country. His time here at McKinley is over," Santana grumbled. Maddie looked at her fellow New Directions cast mates before turning and running off.

She ran to the school parking lot, where the old Ford truck she drove to school was parked, and jumped in, revving the engine and driving to the airport.

Rory and Amanda Pierce were just getting out of the Pierce family SUV when Maddie pulled up. She got out of the car, locked it, and chased after them through the crowds of people.