(A/N) Hey all! Thanks to MyBodyIsBrokenYoursIsBent, bran201, sparklylulz, and Mickey1980 for the kind reviews! The support is very appreciated! :)


Once again, it started with the novelty gifts.

"It's a pair of kicks, Mr. Schu," Mercedes Jones explained, her usual powerful, in-your-face voice softened just a bit. She pulled the little silver Nike shoe charm out of its box. "Hope you get a 'kick' out of it when you see it, hah! Get it?"

"That was, um, clever, Mercedes. Look," Will sighed. "I can't accept this -"

"Oh, don't be telling me you don't know what kicks are, Mr. Schu," she said, waving a hand. "I mean, you're old, but you're not that old." Mercedes stopped and smiled sweetly. "That's actually something I realized recently."

Will chuckled awkwardly, grimacing and scratching his head. "No, I know what kicks are, and this is a very… nice gesture, Mercedes. It's just that… students shouldn't be spending money on teachers. It's just… not appropriate, you know?"

Mercedes' face hardened. "Oh. I get it."

"You do?" Will exhaled, letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's fantastic, Mercedes. I must say, you caught on a lot faster than - "

"It's because I'm black, isn't it?"


"It's because I'm Asian, isn't it?"

Will had to fight from groaning in frustration or laughing in disbelief. He wanted to do both, as he faced Tina Cohen-Chang's disappointed gaze and offering of blue hair dye.

"No, it's not that, Tina," he groaned, putting his face in his hands. "As I just told Mercedes about half an hour ago, every person is beautiful, ok? Regardless of race."

Tina rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Like I haven't heard that one before, Mr. Schu. My parents used to make me watch after school specials about Asian kids trying to grow up amidst adversity and judgment from their peers. My personal favorite was Fork You, Spoons!: Why Chopsticks are a Vital Cultural Icon."

"What – ok." Will had long since learned not to dwell too long on each random, tangential statement his glee kids made. "What I'm trying to say is that this is a very nice thing for you to do, but… why now? I would love to accept this, but I can't. You girls never brought me gifts before, and you shouldn't now."

"Well, well -" Tina was grasping at straws. "I just recently realized how much you mean to me. I mean, our club. I mean, Glee. You know, in light of winning Sectionals and all… You're a – really great performer, Mr. Schu." Her eyes scrunched up into cheerful half-moons.

"Thanks, Tina." Will smiled, sighing helplessly. "But you have to see – my voice isn't who I am. That youthful guy I become when I sing? That's not really me. I'm your teacher and advisor. I'm old!" He scoffed and threw up a cuff-linked hand. "I mean, I didn't even know what kicks were until Mercedes told me."

"You didn't?" Tina cocked her head.

"Not a clue."

"Oh." Tina sighed. For what seemed like an hour, she simply stood there in front of his desk, blue eyelids despondently cast downward. Finally, she responded, "I guess you're right, Mr. Schu." She tugged on her black fingerless gloves and fiddled with the three bangles on her right arm. "I guess you could say… I just have a crush on your voice."

"That was very deep, Tina," Will smiled.

Two down. After Tina sheepishly waved goodbye and shuffled out the door, Will leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. That was when he realized that he was slightly disappointed he couldn't try that blue hair dye after all.


The two Cheerios were a different story.

Originally, Will didn't think they'd be as hard to turn down as the others. For one, Brittany wasn't the brightest bulb in the linen closet. And two, he didn't feel as bad being harsher to Santana, given her track record with Sue the she-devil.

But at the same time, he failed to realize the dangers of a mixture of ruthlessness and attractiveness. The two traits together, in two different girls both vying for your attention, could be double the trouble.

At present, Brittany and Santana were both draped over his desk, their pungent perfumes blending and wafting in the air.

"Girls, could you maybe back up a little?" Will attempted, but neither seemed to hear him. "Yeah, my allergies – my eyes are – "

"I just really, really wanted to apologize for giving Sue the set list," Brittany interrupted, her blond ponytail bobbing as she leaned forward on the table. Will could practically taste her scent; he felt as if he was inhaling strawberries. "I don't know why I did that. I mean, Sue's not even hot. Like, as hot as you. I'd rather help a hot person than an ugly one, that's my motto."

"Honey," Santana rolled her eyes and yanked Brittany backwards by the shoulder. "I thought your motto was 'Dress like Britney, think like Madonna.'"

"Oh… yeah."

"Anyway." As Brittany was mulling in the background, Santana pushed her way to the forefront and sat down on his desk. "I'd like to again stress how loyal I was to the glee club by not leaking the set list. I would never do anything like that to a group that I actually love being a part of." She shifted, hiking her pleated cheerleading skirt up to reveal a perfectly tanned expanse of leg. "And there's a lot I love about glee club… if you know what I mean."

Will swallowed. Santana's glossy smirk and the proximity of her legs, combined with Brittany's shiny hair and sweet flavor hovering at his left, were making him feel slightly awkward.

"Girls," he croaked, clearing his throat slightly before continuing, "Look, I really appreciate you two coming to tell me this… but I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable."

They were at his side in an instant. "Why?" Brittany crooned near his left ear. "Do your shoulders ache? I think it's called like, pneumonia or something. Need a massage?"

"Erm, no, thank you – I'm alright – " Will rolled his leather chair to the right, only to be immediately startled by Santana's outstretched hands, clutched around a Thermos.

"How about some coffee? I put something special in it."

Okay, I really need to put a stop to this, Will thought adamantly. But how?...

"No, it's not that," he sighed slowly. "It's probably just how worried I am about other stuff going on in my life."

"Oh…" Santana whispered in faux sympathy. "Like your divorce?"

Will shook his head. "No… my antique chess collection."

""Huh?""

Will fought to keep a straight face as he watched Brittany's and Santana's faces wrinkle into confusion and disgust, respectively. "Yeah," he continued in a voice laced with exaggerated concern, "See, I'm putting together this little project, where I'm making my own chess board with different pieces from around the world. I have my eye on this beautiful queen from Russia, but I'm constantly worrying that someone will outbid me on eBay. It's really stressing me out."

There was silence.

"You… like chess." Santana seemed to spit the words out as if they were poisonous.

"Yep."

Brittany furrowed her brows. "Dude, you're, like, a nerd."

""Chess players creep me out.""

Will chuckled lightly as the two girls spoke at the same time, and as said two started a bit and turned in surprise to the other.

"Hey, soul sister," Brittany grinned.

"Haha!"

"You don't like chess or anything stupid like that, right?"

"For sure." Santana rolled her eyes and linked pinky fingers with her friend. "What a deal breaker."

And they lived happily ever after, Will couldn't help but think to himself as he watched the two oblivious friends widely ignore him and saunter out of the room, eyes only on each other.


(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Quinn's chapter is coming up next :) Thanks for reading and I'll update soon!