Thank you again for all of the kind reviews. And for those that don't like where this may or may not be going, you have to remember that most of these characters are all teenagers. Finn was Rachel's first real love & that's not always an easy thing to get over. Just bear with me. Oh yeah, and I own nothing except the story idea.
Mr. Schue snatched the top off the dry erase marker and scribbled "MUSIC" on the board. Turning around to face the Glee club, he was met with several confused looks. He placed the top back on the marker and tossed it on the desk. Grabbing a choir stool, he parked himself on it and clapped his hands together.
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Mr. Schue said. He was met with even more quizzical looks. "Anyone ever heard that quote?" Again, more baffled looks and shaking heads.
"Berthold Auerbach." He replied. No one seemed to be following his lesson. Sam looked to Rachel, sure she would know who Mr. Schue was talking about, but even she shrugged her shoulders with a perplexed look on her face.
"You all come from different walks of life, have different backgrounds, but you know what the one thing is you have in common?" Mr. Schue asked, looking around the room for some sort of confirmation that his lesson was making sense.
"We all think I'm hot." Brittney said, without missing a beat. Santana smirked as she watched the blonde blow a tiny bubble with her chewing gum.
"Um, not quite Brittney." Mr. Schue frowned. "Your passion for music. Whether it's singing, dancing or playing an instrument, it all directly involves music. Your assignment this week is to find a song with the word music in it." Hands began clapping as ideas started exchanging amongst the members.
"You will perform this in front of the class…with your duet partner." He added. The room became quiet; heads turned in his direction.
"A duet?" Kurt whined, slumping back in his chair.
"Yes Kurt, I will be choosing names from this hat." He reached for a hat that had been sitting on the desk. He shook it back and forth a few times.
"Well Kurt, since you complained the loudest, I'll let you choose your partner first." Kurt sighed as he made his way to the front of the room. He moved his hand around inside of the hat, withdrawing a tiny folded piece of yellow paper.
"Tina." Kurt announced. Tina smiled weakly, as Kurt tossed the piece of paper on the desk next to where Mr. Schue sat and returned to his seat in the back of the room.
"Sam, why don't you pick next?" Sam smiled, secretly hoping he'd pick Rachel's name. He was hoping to prove to her just how well their voices would work together. Sam came forward and stuffed his hand inside the hat. He plucked out a piece of paper. He held his breath as he carefully unfolded the paper. His face fell when he saw the name scrawled on it.
"Puck." He muttered, dropping the paper on the floor as he returned to his seat. Puck began his protest almost immediately.
"Come on Mr. Schue, I can't sing a duet with another dude. S'not cool. No offense Kurt." Puck almost whispered the last part to Kurt, who was sitting behind him. Kurt nodded in acceptance.
"That's enough Puck. You will sing with Sam and that's the end of this discussion." Mr. Schue scolded. He bent down to pick up the wad of paper Sam had discarded on the floor. "Finn, come on up and pick a name."
Finn lumbered up to the front of the room. He reached inside the hat and triumphantly pulled out a folded piece of paper. His grin turned to a scowl as he unfolded the paper. He scratched his head and turned to look at Mr. Schue with a befuddled look on his face.
"How in the world can I sing a duet with myself?" Finn asked, showing Mr. Schue the paper with his own name on in. Mr. Schue grinned at the obvious blunder and instructed Finn to pick again. This time the paper brought a huge smile to Finn's face.
"Rachel." Finn announced, glancing at her to see her reaction. Rachel shifted nervously in her seat, while Quinn and Santana both groaned in unison. Sam was beyond disappointed. This duet assignment certainly wasn't helping his case. Rachel already felt her and Finn's voices were much better matched. He neglected to pay attention to the rest of the pairings, wondering instead how he could convince Finn to trade duet partners with him.
As soon as the bell rang, Sam was on his feet and heading towards Puck. Puck was caught up in a conversation with Artie and paid no attention to Sam following close behind him. Sam followed him to his locker and threw his body against the set of lockers right next to Puck's.
"Look Puckerman, I'm not going to explain why, but just trust me when I say I've got to be Rachel's duet partner." Sam blurted, as Puck shoved textbooks into his locker. Puck slammed his locker shut and turned to Sam with a grin on his face.
"And how do I fit into your plan?" Puck asked, walking away as Sam tagged along behind him.
"I need to find a way to get Finn to trade partners with me." Sam's pace quickened to catch up with Puck.
"You heard Schue, I'm stuck with you." Puck growled. "Why do you want to sing with Berry anyways? You two knocking boots now that prom is over? No need to thank me."
Sam frowned in disgust as Puck walked out of the building. He watched as Puck crossed the parking lot and jumped into his mom's car. He shook his head in frustration and figured he needed a new strategy. Maybe the key was to convince Finn that singing with Rachel would be a bad idea. Sam spun on his heels and headed back down the hall in search of Finn. He didn't have far to go. As soon as he turned the corner to the math hall, he spotted Finn talking to Rachel at her locker. He took a few steps back and hid his body around the corner. He strained to hear what they were saying.
"That sounds great Finn. I think I have the perfect song for us to sing. See you at 7" Rachel beamed, closing her locker and gathering her backpack. Her determined footsteps echoed down the hall as she quickly turned the corner. She ran smack into Sam, who had his body pressed up against the door that was propped open.
"Oh Sam, I'm terribly sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She apologized, smoothing her skirt out. Sam's face turned a fiery shade of red. He stood up straight in an attempt to make it look like he had been walking down the hall when she bumped into him.
"Uh, that's ok. I was just coming to find you to see if you needed a ride home?" Sam fumbled with his words.
"Sure, I was going to call my dad, but this will save him a trip." Rachel smiled.
"Maybe we could stop and get a smoothie on the way home." He suggested. Rachel scrunched her mouth into a frown.
"I'm sorry Sam, I can't today. I need to finish my literature homework and then I have a meeting tonight." Rachel began to walk down the hall slowly, patiently waiting for Sam to follow.
"What kind of meeting?" Sam asked quickly, silently cursing himself for coming across so desperate for an answer. Rachel dropped her head and continued walking.
"Finn and I are going to practice the duet I selected for us to sing." She said, much quieter than normal. Sam racked his brain for a much better response, but came up empty handed. He stopped walking once he reached the exit door.
"What song are you guys singing?" He asked, hoping he sounded more excited than he felt. Rachel swatted his arm playfully.
"I can't tell you." She giggled. "I don't want you and Puck to steal it."
Sam laughed along with her, as he pushed open the door. He held it for her as she passed through. He caught a whiff of her strawberry shampoo as she brushed past him. He decided he needed to step up his game plan to get Finn to switch duet partners with him and he needed to do it fast.
Like it? Hate it? Please review & let me know. I need to feed my muse and you guys are the best!