This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: Idle-Handed Breaker.


"Flying Solo"

7. New Directions

Two days had gone by and now Ewan Healy was about to attend the first Glee Club rehearsal of his life. After talking with Will, they had come to a course of action. He would watch them all go about their business for a bit, get a feel for the environment, and then when he was ready he could step up and sing for them. This was perfect to him.

Stepping into that room now was different than two days ago. Back then it had just been him and Mike and Tina, so he didn't experience… all of it. But today there was Mr. Schuester, the piano player, the band, and the whole of Glee Club. The room was alive and not nearly as scary as he thought it would be… he felt at home, especially as they saw him, welcomed him. They asked if he was joining, he said he'd try. Rachel asked what he would sing, but then decided to wait and find out. Kurt asked how his classes were going, Ewan said they were getting better. Quinn asked how he was doing, living in Lima now, he said he was still working it out. Brittany had looked like she just couldn't understand him and had abandoned an attempt to ask him something, instead patting him on the shoulder.

When everyone was there, the rehearsal had begun. Mike would later equate it to having a special guest to impress, everyone on their best behavior, even though certain traits couldn't be hidden without some slip ups here and there. Even then, he liked the imperfections, he could see what his aunt had meant about being like a family… he could appreciate it. So while Rachel and Santana were having a thinly-veiled argument, he pulled out his phone, opened a new message.

"I'm about to audition. A good day to take chances, even second chances, whatever you decide."

He hesitated, thinking he might be pushing her into things too quickly, but at the same time she was part of this whole process in his mind. Even if she didn't decide to join, he kind of wanted her there… so he hit send. When the girls had quieted down, he looked to Mike and Tina, and he raised his hand.

"Mr. Schuester, can I?" he asked, and the others looked to him, curious. Will gave him the floor and he was momentarily startled by the applause. He took a breath, remembered he had to tell the musicians what he was about to do. He moved to the pianist and whispered. When he got a nod back he got a flutter… this was it. If he wanted to back out, the window was shrinking shut by the second. He hadn't thought about nerves, really, in all this time it had completely slipped his mind. But he looked back to Tina, and Mike… his first and very cherished friends here, and he took a breath… he was ready. The pianist he'd later know to be named Brad, must have sensed it, because he started playing, quickly joined by the band. Ewan looked back to him, got a nod, and so he turned to face his audience, took up his courage and his heart, and he went.

[E] "Sunday morning rain is falling / Steal some covers share some skin / Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable / You twist to fit the mold that I am in

But things just get so crazy / Living life gets hard to do / And I would gladly hit the road / Get up and go if I knew / That someday it would lead me back to you / That someday it would lead me back to you

That may be all I need / In darkness she is all I see / Come and rest your bones with me / Driving slow on Sunday morning / And I never want to leave

Fingers trace your every outline / Paint a picture with my hands / And back and forth we sway / Like branches in a storm / Change of weather / Still together, when it ends / That may be all i need / In darkness she is all I see / Come and rest your bones with me / Driving slow on Sunday morning / And I never want to leave

But things just get so crazy living life gets hard to do / Sunday morning rain is falling and I'm coming home to you, / Singing someday it'll bring me back to you / Find a way to bring myself back home to you

May not know, / That maybe all I need / In darkness she is all I see / Come and rest your bones with me / Driving slow on Sunday morning / Driving slow, yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah / Oh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah / Oh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah

There's a flower in your hair / I'm a flower in your hair

Oh Oh, yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah, / Oh, Ohh, Yeah"

It was like his trial run with Tina and Mike. Before long he wasn't worried, or questioning anything. So many things had brought him here, some everyone knew, some only he knew, some even he didn't know but others did… In the span of one song, he felt it all, and something like the potential for more. At first he could barely look ahead to the next hour, much less days and weeks to come. Standing here, backed up by the rest of them by the end of his song, he wanted to see where this would go… his adventures in glee… There was still a piece missing though.

"Well, Ewan… wow…" Will got up, as the others awaited the word, breaking into cheers when he addressed them with "Welcome." He let out a breath of relief. "Go ahead and take your seat, we… Sugar?" Ewan turned, and there she was, at the door. She looked almost… shy, but she looked to him, ignored the others. She wanted to try, and he smiled.

"Mr. Schuester, can I say something?" he asked. With a yes, he looked to the others. "I know I've only been one of you for a minute now, but I would ask that you give her a do-over. I've never heard her sing, but even if that doesn't work for you, I have seen her dance," he looked back to her, saw she was observing him as he spoke, made his stand for her. "She deserves a fair chance," he looked back to the others, and he almost knew Mike would be the one to back him up on this first.

"We've got new choreography to go through," he pointed out to Will, who considered this point, Ewan's point, and his own regrets for having had to turn her away.

"Sugar, would you join us for choreography?" he asked.

"I… I suppose I could," she tried to maintain her cool, but they could see right through her. Will smirked.

"Alright, let's get started," Will turned to the others and they got up, spread out. Ewan signalled for Sugar to come stand at his side. She did, looking at him with a smile.

"You're an impressive guy, Ewan, and I don't say that often," she shook her head.

"Don't sell yourself short," he returned the compliment, and he was bowled over by her smile.

Mike led them all in the new choreography. Some picked it up quickly, others struggled. But they could all see Sugar was in that first group, even showing Ewan, who by his own word belonged in the second group. She was one of their better dancers, even if her voice had made them all want to bury their heads in sand. By the time they'd stopped, Ewan had proven his point, loud and clear. Suddenly the strange girl had taken on a new look to them.

"Sugar?" Will spoke up, and she looked to him, again with her pale attempt at ease. "I know our last conversation didn't end well, but if you'd still like to join us, I'd be willing to reconsider," he spoke honestly. Sugar took a breath, a smile ensconced within.

"I think that'd be alright," she nodded, unleashing a second wave of welcome cheers that day. Ewan could only see how happy she was, to be welcomed… he knew how that felt.

"Alright then, so I'll see all fourteen of you next time," Will smiled. As everyone began to depart, Ewan felt a hand tug his shoulder down, and then… a kiss on the cheek. Someone could have stuck his head in a bell and given it a good ring and he would have had much the same stunned look on his face. He looked to her, and she was just smiling on, no big deal.

"Just between us, I'm starting to see what you mean about second chances. I wasn't ready to abandon it," she revealed. "So… walk me to my locker? You're going that way anyway, right?"

"I… yes… alright…" she nodded and she lead the way.

After they'd parted ways, he went toward his aunt's office. When he got there she was on the phone, so he tried to back out, but she signalled for him to sit, so he did. She quickly wrapped up her conversation… Rich, again… He was growing familiar with the name, and he could tell his aunt liked him, though she hadn't brought it up with him… She wasn't too covert on that front.

"Sorry," she told him once she'd hung up. "Hey, today was your big audition day, right? How did it go? Were you nervous? What'd they say?"

"Went fine, only at first, and I got in," he answered her questions one at a time.

"Yes!" her one cheer was as raucous as that of the group of twelve had been. "I knew you would," she nodded. "Proud of you, bud," she smiled.

"Thank you," he gave a quick smile before moving to his other matter. "Aunt Shannon, I was thinking… When we left Ireland, I was having difficulty really thinking of… so many things. And I know I still have a lot to deal with before things are… What I'm trying to say is I'd like to go… back to Ireland, just… to be there again, even just a little while, maybe… next summer. I'd earn the money myself," he promised. "Would that be alright?" he asked. She looked at him, so grown in such a short time.

"Of course. I think it'll do you good," she smiled, and so did he.

THE END