here's chapter one :) i'm sorry if it seems kind of dull or filler-y, but what happens in it is pretty important for the story...
so, i hope you like ;)
and if you do/don't, please, REVIEW! i really need to know what i'm doing right or wrong, or could do better with :S if you could take the time to enlighten me, that would be fab XD
DISCLAIMER: i own absolutely nothing. you can blame Ryan Murphy and Fox for that :(
Chapter one
William Schuester held the door to the childrens home open for his wife, Emma.
The worn wooden door looked as dull and miserable as the rest of the building around it - surrounded by dusty red bricks and rotting window frames. The traffic thundered down the busy road behind them, and Will couldn't help but think how dangerous it was to have a childrens home with a main road for a front lawn.
Emma hopped up the steps to the entrance daintily, wrinkling her nose at the grimy door handle her husband held.
The married couple of three years had decided they wanted to adopt a child months before. Both had always wanted children, and while Will argued he could get by with his glee club, the New Directions, as substitutes, Emma had insisted. She felt guilty that she couldn't give him his own offspring; she was diagnosed with OCD and the thought of giving birth, let alone the mess that accompanied raising a baby, made her skin crawl and brought on anxiety attacks. She loved children, and was a sweet, kind, caring woman, but there was no way she could tolerate germs on that scale. It made her shudder just to think about it.
The couple made the decision that they would adopt. They would get the child they had always wanted without Emma having to go through the trauma of child birth; and would be able to skip the 'messy, earlier years'.
They entered that tumble-down building with the full intention of coming home with a little boy or girl, preferably between the age of five and eight years old.
Will let the door swing shut behind them with a loud bang that echoed around the dank, tiled entranceway. The hustle and bustle of the street outside was muffled as the sunlight was cut off from the interior of the building. It was dark in the room, the only light coming from flickering orange bulbs set high up on the walls. The faint light filtering in from outside was divided by black shadows, and upon further inspection Emma saw that the grimy, practically opaque windows were barred.
She shivered at the thought of having to grow up in a place like this.
Busy surveying the oppressive room, both Schuesters failed to notice the small, middle aged woman approach them from a desk in the corner.
'Hello! Can I help you?' The womans cheerful, much too enthusiastic voice made Will and Emma jump; after looking at her, Will noted that her apparently sunshiny disposition was completely at odds with the heavy atmosphere.
The couple glanced at each other. Emma then smiled brightly at the woman and replied, matching her enthusiasm;
'That would be wonderful! We're looking to adopt a child.'
Will smiled at Emma's obvious excitement. If he had any doubts about their decision before, all were eradicated now.
'Ah, you must be the Schuesters! Brill! If you could just please follow me, I'll show you to the little horrors.' The cheerful woman still spoke in the same tone, so Emma and Will knew she was joking about the 'little horrors' thing. Or at least, they hoped. As they followed the woman down a narrow corridor to their left, listening to her motherly, fond reminiscences of some of the children ('little Pete is such a darling!', 'oh! you must meet Annabel, she's such a sweetheart.'), it was evident that she cared a great deal for the children in her care. As they continued up a small flight of stairs (which creeked quite ominously under their weight), it was revealed that her name was Katherine Briggs, but that they were to 'call me Kathy, dears!'.
In short, Will and Emma found themselves liking the woman very much.
They liked her even more when she led them around a final corner and into an open lounge area, in which about a dozen children were playing.
Emma's heart tugged ever so slightly when the room went quiet upon their arrival; every single body looking to her with a young, hopeful face.
She knew this would happen.
She wanted them all.
But she couldn't have and love them all. Her and Will had agreed on one kid only, more out of their current financial situation then anything else. If they could afford to do it, they would. Emma glanced up at Will and knew he was thinking the same.
'Children!' Kathy clapped her hands jovially for their attention – which seemed unnecessary, considering every eye and ear was already directed to them. 'This is Mr and Mrs Schuester. They are looking for a bundle of joy to take home with them today, so please make them feel welcome.' She smiled a wide, loving smile, and turned back to the couple. 'Everyone is here. Why don't you spend some time with them all, and then we'll decide where to go from there?'
Both Will and Emma nodded happily.
They couldn't wait to find their son or daughter, who they were sure was mixed in the cosy chaos somewhere.
A small, dark haired girl with wide blue eyes made her way over to Emma.
'Excuse me, miss,' she said sweetly, tugging on Emma's skirt, 'do you like dolls?'
Emma grinned widely at Will, then the girl.
'I like dolls very much! I used to play with them when I was a little girl.' She told her, crouching down in front of her so their faces were level.
'Would you like to play with us?' the girl indicated over her shoulder to a group of similarly aged girls gathered around what looked like a dolls house. All of them were watching the exchange hopefully.
If possible, Emmas smile brightened what seemed like a thousand watts. She looked at Will over her shoulder, who nodded down to her encouragingly - then took the girls hand and allowed herself to be led over to the others. As soon as she reached them, they were all clamouring for her attention.
Will watched Emma interact with the kids. It did amazing things for her OCD. She was picking up dolls she would normally run away from without a thought, and didn't even flinch when one girl wiped her nose on her sleeve. More importantly, the radiant smile upon her face never faltered. He couldn't wait to see how she would react when they found the one.
Moving his focus from Emma, he used her distraction to properly take in the room.
It was reasonably large, and had a high, white ceiling that was ridden with cracks. The green carpet beneath his feet was grimy, but cosy, and the assorted sofas, armchairs, and beanbags scattered about the place looked comfortable. The atmosphere was light and cheerful – contrasting so greatly to the original, below in the entrance hall. The boys of the home were grouped around a T.V mounted on the wall, playing Mario cart. Will wandered over to them, and they immediately passed him a controller and began chatting excitedly.
An hour later, Emma had learnt the name of every boy and girl in the room, including the little dark haired one who turned out to be Annabel. She was indeed a sweetheart. Emma found every single child adorable, and it broke her heart to know she could choose only one.
Will, after playing with all of them as well, felt the same.
However, happy that they had met everyone, the pair stood up from amidst the dozen kids and made their way back over to Kathy.
'Well?' Kathy laughed, bouncing on the balls of her feet, 'Has anyone stood out to you?'
Emma's expression morphed into one of pain and slight regret.
'They're all such wonderful kids.' She whispered, biting her lip. 'I don't know how we'll ever choose…' Will nodded in agreement. It was going to be a really tough decision.
Emma looked over them all one last time. There was Eva with her carrot top hair, Stevie with his adorable, floppy blonde fringe, Joe, Michael, Rebecca, Amelade, Jason, and, of course, Annabel. They were the youngest, ranging from six to nine. But then there were all of the others, too. Emma sighed in frustration. Just as she was about to turn back to Will and Kathy, who were discussing the actual adoption procedure, something caught her eye.
Or, more specifically, someone.
A figure, sat in the back of the room, their back turned to everyone else. They wore a dark burgundy hoodie with the hood pulled up, and sat with what looked like a guitar in their hands. Whoever it was, he or she was obviously the oldest child in the home. Judging from what Emma could see, she guessed they could be anything from fourteen onwards. She wondered why she hadn't noticed them before now, and why they hadn't joined in with all of the others.
Listening closely, she could hear the whisper of notes being plucked on strings very faintly drifting through the room.
She was entranced.
'Who is that?' she pondered aloud, interrupting the conversation. Both of the other adults looked over to where Emma was staring, and Kathy's smile quickly slipped from her face.
'Oh, you don't need to worry about him! He's much too old for what you're looking for-' she babbled hastily, trying to steer Emma away from the line of sight of the boy. Emma resisted, and instead began to make her way across the room towards him.
All she could think on her way over was how sad it was that the boy felt so alone, so rejected, that he had stopped caring when prospective parents came to visit – choosing to instead ignore the people he was sure wouldn't want him anyway. It brought tears to her eyes, and she hesitantly reached out a hand to his shoulder when she reached him.
As her hand made contact, the strings stopped playing with an abrupt twang as the boys tan hand slapped against them, silencing his music.
As he began to look around to Emma, whose hand was still on his shoulder, his hood fell back and curious, slightly hostile hazel-green eyes met hers. She gasped.
She did not need to hear Kathy to know this boys name. She had seen his face in countless magazines and on the television more times than she cared to remember.
'Mrs Schuester, this is Blaine Anderson.'
DUN DUN DUUUUN! sorry about being a bit of a cliffy tease :P the next chapter'll be up next sunday probably...though i have my doubts. it's proving to be a dousey :P i'll try my best x in the meantime, *broken record impersonation* REVIEW!