Paul stepped back from the whiteboard to admire his handiwork. He had written the word "Ballad" in green sharpie.
"Ballad…from Middle English 'bah-lod.' Who knows what this word means?" Paul walked toward the glee club as he talked. He stopped in front of Casey's raised hand but tried his best to ignore her. He knew she knew what it meant already; she didn't need to show off.
Before he could give up and just let her answer, Amy piped up, "It's a male duck."
Sheldon's hand shot up before anyone could comment. Paul pointed to him.
"A ballad is a love song," Sheldon explained, squeezing Emily's hand with a smile.
Paul nodded. "Sometimes. But they don't always express love. Ballads are stories set to music, which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the way we express feelings that we can't get out any other way."
Derek perked up at that. He certainly knew what Paul was talking about. "Sweet Caroline" had sort of been his ballad for Casey. Somehow he found it easier to sing his feelings than say them, which, he suspected, was true for many of the glee members. Except maybe Sheldon.
"Okay," Paul continued. "Now, sectionals are in a few weeks. And there's a new rule this year. We have to perform a ballad." He pointed at the whiteboard.
Casey brightened at Paul's news. "Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off." She clapped her hands together and grinned at the person next to her, who happened to be Derek. Derek gave her a disinterested half-nod. She continued to smile, but directed her gaze back to Paul. That was progress – at least they could make eye contact these days.
Paul filed away that exchange for later dissection with Casey in the guidance office (he had heard about their parents' engagement, and frankly, he was a little worried that it had ruined their promising-looking relationship), and announced their assignment for the week. "I'm going to pair you off again, different pairs this week, and I want you to pick a ballad to sing to your partner." He pointed his fingers from his eyes to Noel's, because he happened to be sitting right nearby. "Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it." Noel knew exactly what Paul was talking about. He nodded sagely.
Ralph was already intimidated. "I pick Sally," he said quickly. Sally was leaning against him. She was happy with him these days, because he was doing really well at his job.
Paul waggled a finger at him. "No, no, too easy. Between you and Sally, Amy and Max, Emily and Sheldon, Noel and Sandra—" He had been about to add Derek and Casey, but quickly stopped himself. "—this club has been quite a matchmaker. We can't have you all singing love songs. I want variety. Your partners will be chosen by fate."
There were a few scattered "oohs," but everyone was used to Paul and his crazy antics by now. He held up a top hat with a flourish, and no one commented. Nothing surprised them anymore.
"I bet the duck's in the hat," Amy whispered to Kendra.
Kendra was about to correct her but decided it wasn't worth it. "Uh, Paul, remember Max is out sick today. He had to go to the hospital because they found a spider in his ear."
Her explanation was met with groans and expressions of disgust.
Paul wasn't fazed. "Guess I'll just have to put my name in the hat for now. Who's up first?" He dropped his name in and shook the hat, while Derek loped up to the front of the choir room. He figured he'd have the best selection if he went first. He wasn't about to get stuck with Casey. Or Kendra. Or Sally, for that matter. Sam, he could handle. They had actually had an okay time together during their blindfolded bonding.
Derek pulled out Emily's name and his face fell. He didn't even bother to disguise his horror. The girl who'd had a crush on him forever had to sing about her feelings? Oh, God.
Emily looked uncertain. She was over Derek, that was for sure. But that didn't mean she wanted to sing to him.
Noel picked Sally, and Sally shrugged. She kinda liked Noel, so this wouldn't be too bad.
Ralph chose Sheldon. "I dunno if I can do this with another guy," he whispered to Paul.
Paul shrugged. "The fates have spoken, Ralph."
Ralph smiled weakly at Sheldon, who smiled back just as unenthusiastically. Maybe they could sing about their mutual love for old people, grandmas in particular?
Sam picked Sandra. They smiled happily at each other. He liked Sandra a lot (but not in that way). Since she had started dating Noel, and Noel was his best friend, they were kind of forced to hang out sometimes, which was okay with them.
Kendra crossed her fingers as she picked. She did not want Casey. She got Amy. Amy cheered, and Kendra couldn't help but smile. Girl was dumb as a box of rocks, but she was sweet. This would actually be a fun activity.
"Looks like I get you, Paul," Casey beamed.
Paul looked at her hopeful face and had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Maybe we should just wait until Max gets back," he replied.
Ralph shot him a look that clearly told him he was being a hypocrite (if Ralph even knew what that meant). "The fates talked, Paul," Ralph added for good measure.
Noel saved Paul by asking what types of songs they were supposed to sing.
"Why don't you let Paul and I demonstrate?" Casey told him helpfully. Paul groaned inwardly, but figured, what the heck.
"Endless Love in B flat, please," Casey requested of Tinkles. "It's my favorite duet," she explained, when Paul shot her a disbelieving look.
"I really don't think that's an appropriate song, Casey…"
"Why? It's a great song and a perfect ballad."
Did she really not understand why a teacher and a student should not sing that song? Bless her naïve little heart.
Ralph, still smarting from Paul's hypocrisy, piped up with a smirk, "Yeah, I really like that song, Paul."
Everyone giggled, and Derek fist-bumped Ralph. Paul threw up his hands. "Tinkles, start us off please."
Tinkles played the opening bars, and Paul began. "My love, there's only you in my life…"
Derek watched Casey watching Paul and tried to distract himself. Because the minute she opened her mouth and sung those words of love to someone who wasn't him, well…let's just say Derek hadn't been taking their breakup nearly as well as Casey had. He shifted in his seat. Ooh, there was a nice distraction. He really loved the days when he didn't wear underwear. Full commando.
"My first love…" Casey was singing.
Ralph had cocked his head to stare at Casey in profile. He had never noticed how nice her butt was. Oh, crap. He realized too late that Sally had seen him stare. She glared daggers at him, and he looked up, feigning innocence.
"You're every breath that I take. You're every step I make." Casey stared intently into Paul's warm brown eyes. He was the only guy in her life she could trust, even though he didn't always appreciate her talent. She had never really thought about it before, but he was the best man she knew.
"And I…" Paul joined in, watching her warily.
"And I…" Casey harmonized.
"I want to share all my love with you…" Paul winced as Casey inadvertently stepped closer. She was obviously very involved in the song, but even so, he didn't like the way she was looking at him.
"No one else will do..." He walked around the piano to see if Casey would follow, and she did. He tried not to panic.
"And your eyes, they tell me how much you care..." Casey finally caught up to him so that they were face to face. She found herself admiring his really nice teeth. He obviously had good oral hygiene, and that was important. It showed good self-esteem.
"I'll be the fool for you…" Paul was vaguely aware that the rest of the members were holding up their cell phones like lighters at a concert and swaying. He did not like the way Casey was looking at him. And he most definitely should not have sung that song to her – she looked crazy. He knew that look.
"And I'll give it all to you, my love, my love, my endless love," They finished together, and Paul wasted no time in stepping away from her and training his eyes to the floor.
This is amazing, Casey thought. Singing with him, it's like I'm seeing him for the first time. And what I'm seeing is super, super cute.
"Okay," Paul said as the rest of the club clapped. "Uh, something like that."
Casey watched him walk towards the risers to get the practice going, and looked down at her feet shyly. She really, really liked the feeling washing over her. This was one guy she knew wouldn't kiss her and then leave for one reason or another. He was a man.
~L~
Mrs. Albright smoothed Sally's white dress and sat down next to her, ice cubes in her drink clinking together. "Sweetie, I am so proud of you," she gushed. "The Chastity Ball is so important to your father."
Sally swallowed, trying not to vomit at the thought of her parents finding out she had been dis-invited from the Ball. She missed the firm support of her polyester Cheerios uniform; the control panel hid her baby bump perfectly. She sucked in her breath as her mother stood again and began zipping up the dress.
Of course, the zipper stuck. "Hm. That's odd, I had this custom-made a month ago."
"I had a really big lunch today at school," Sally explained, trying not to panic. "Really big tacos."
Her mother looked pained for a second, but soon put her arms on Sally's shoulders. "No worries, sweetie. We'll just take it down to the tailor's tomorrow and let it out a little bit. The problem here, honey, is that I just don't think you've been getting enough exercise ever since you quit the Cheerios. Am I right?" She pulled a tape measure from her sewing kit and wrapped it around Sally's waist.
"Yeah, yeah, that's right," Sally said, sucking in her stomach as much as she could.
"I mean, I was so glad you joined them this fall. You spent hours every day doing back flips and high kicks, and now…well, now, you spend all your free time sitting on a stool in the dark singing show tunes."
Sally eyed her mother, unsure of how to respond. Her mother had made her position on glee very clear, but Sally was not about to quit.
"Do you know how many calories singing burns? Hm?" She put a hand to Sally's chin, and Sally tried to keep her lip from quivering. "Not very many."
"Judy! Glenn Beck is on!" Sally's father called from the other room as he made his way into the den. "Oh, wait, hold on…" he put his hand over his eyes when he caught a glimpse of Sally in her white dress.
"You're so silly," her mother chided as Sally forced a giggle.
"I don't wanna see the dress!" He walked unsteadily towards the girls.
"Daddy, it's not like I'm getting married," Sally finally said, able to appreciate the irony of that.
When he reached them, her father removed his hand from his face and hugged Sally to him. "Oh, look at you! Speaking of getting married, how's that boy you've been dating?"
"Yeah, he's not, uh, pressuring you at all, is he?" her mother chimed in.
Sally watched them each take a sip of their drinks. She wished their house didn't constantly smell like booze. "No, no. He's a gentleman," she said firmly. That was certainly the truth.
"I'm glad to hear it," her father approved. "That's why I'm inviting him over for dinner on Sunday."
Sally's eyes widened as her mother cooed, "How wonderful!"
"Refresher?" her father motioned to his wife's glass.
"I don't want you to lift a finger for me. I'm your wife," her mother scolded, taking his glass and moving towards the bar.
"Yeah, my little lemon drop!" he smacked her bottom as she passed, and Sally shook her head sadly. She really wished she had parents who would understand her problems. "I gotta go catch Glenn!" her father continued as he headed out of the den.
Sally let out a shaky breath. The dress had started to itch. All she wanted to do was get it off and curl up in her bed with her pajamas on.
~L~
Casey approached Paul in his office before school the next day. "Paul?"
"Yeah?" he looked up from grading papers.
"I just wanted to confirm that we're set to rehearse our ballad at four sharp this afternoon."
"Oh." Paul winced. "Isn't Max back yet?"
"No," Casey said with a disturbingly sincere smile. "It's just you and me, all week long!"
"Gr…great." Paul capped the pen he had been gripping a little too tightly and sighed, "See ya at four." He grabbed his coffee mug and was about to take a sip when he realized Casey was still standing by his desk. "Is there something else?"
"I just wanted to give you this," Casey said shyly, producing a long box wrapped in pink paper from behind her back. "Open it," she said, barely able to contain her excitement as she handed Paul the package.
He unwrapped the gift to reveal a white tie covered in black ones and zeros in horizontal patterns…binary code. "Tens are sort of my signature thing," she explained. Paul gulped – he really liked the tie, actually…
…until Casey had to go and open her mouth again. "Since you're the computer teacher, I thought you'd appreciate the reference to coding and the symbolism of our numerical connection. Every time you wear it, you can think of me, and how you're helping to mold me into a perfect ten."
Paul thanked her, plastering a smile on his face. It didn't even come close to matching the intensity of Casey's blinding grin. What was he supposed to do now?
~L~
"It's happening," Paul moaned. "Again."
Kathy continued Windexing her office door.
"It always starts with a novelty gift," he went on.
"You can't blame her, Paul," Kathy sighed. "I mean, come on. If we were gonna rate crush-worthy teachers at this school, you'd be number one with a bullet." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.
Paul stared at her.
"Uh…I…when did…when did this start with Casey?" she asked, hoping he would gloss over the awkward moment.
He did. (He had a lot on his mind.) "We sang a duet in glee club. 'Endless Love'."
"Okay…in hindsight, that was probably a mistake." She came over to sit at her desk, while Paul remained in the seat across from it.
"Yeah. I can't handle going through this again," he whined.
"Sorry, going through what, again?" Kathy had no idea why he was so worked up. So a girl had a crush. Happened all the time.
"Have I ever told you about Susie Pepper?"
Kathy shook her head. It had happened before she started teaching. So Paul launched into the whole humiliating tale.
Susie had been a student in his computer class. She wasn't the first student to have a crush on him, but she had fallen the hardest. Susie was…unique. She was an attentive student, took copious notes, and participated in class. Paul realized what was happening the moment Susie asked him to help her create a webpage about unconventional relationships. She had looked at him with such longing and intensity in her eyes.
It was terrifying.
She bought him a gift – a tie with peppers all over it. "So you can wear it and think of me, Susie Pepper," she said.
He was sure it would burn out, like the others always did. But it only got worse. She called his house in the middle of the night and breathed into the phone. He asked, "Susie Pepper?"
And her reply: "You knew it was me just by the sound of my breath. That's so romantic!"
Terri grabbed the phone and told her to shove it. "If I don't get enough sleep," Terri hissed, "I'll go crazy, and I'll kill you!"
But that didn't deter Susie Pepper.
Paul figured it was time to man up. So he told Susie the truth. He faced her crush head on.
"How'd that go?" Kathy interrupted his story. She was fascinated.
Paul sighed.
Susie tried to commit suicide by eating the hottest pepper known to man. She had it shipped from Sinaloa, Mexico.
"Oh, gosh," Kathy murmured. "What happened to her?"
The ambulance arrived just in time. The pepper burned holes in her esophagus, and she was in a medically-induced coma for three days.
Kathy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, completely forgetting about the germs she was probably transferring to her lips.
"And that's why I can't just tell Casey to back off," Paul concluded. "These girls are too fragile. I don't want Casey to get hurt."
"Wow." Kathy shook her head. "Okay, how about this: why don't you take your own advice? Do what you told the kids to do. If you're feeling awkward telling Casey how you feel, then why don't you sing it to her, let her down gently?"
Paul's eyes lit up.
Kathy pointed to the tie, which was still in its box. "And don't wear that tie."
Paul gazed at it sadly. It really was a great tie. "Yeah. Thanks, Kath."
~L~
"Sing to me everything you feel," Sheldon instructed Ralph. They were standing opposite each other on the stage.
"Okay…" Ralph gazed blankly at Sheldon. Nothing was coming to mind. "Uh…"
Sheldon rolled his eyes. This boy had no sense of professionalism. He would much rather be singing to Emily, but he had to work with what he had. And what he had was an untrained puppy.
"I can't," Ralph moaned.
"You have to try," Sheldon said encouragingly.
"I can't!" he exploded. "I'm sick and tired of people pushing me to be somebody I'm not!"
Sheldon took a deep, calming breath. "Your lashing out at me is fantastically compelling…and inappropriate."
Ralph scratched his head. "Dude, I'm sorry. I just…you're really awesome, Sheldon. I'm just under a load of crap right now."
"Girl problems?" Sheldon really didn't know how to help him if that was the case. Things were going well with Emily.
"It's the baby," Ralph admitted, and Sheldon paled. Okay, now he really didn't know how to help him. "She's my daughter, and there's so many things I want to say to her, and I'm never going to be able to."
"Like what?" Sheldon's heart broke for Ralph. He looked so lost.
"Well, like how I don't want her to think that her father just abandoned her. How I would do anything for her. How no matter what I do, I'm always thinking about her." Ralph took a seat on the nearby piano bench and Sheldon followed, unsure of what to say.
Ralph kept talking. "How I'm going to spend my whole life loving her, and she's never even going to know." He hung his head, trying to keep from crying. It was all so overwhelming.
Sheldon put a hand on his shoulder. "Sally's really pushing the adoption thing, huh?"
Ralph nodded.
"Look, all I know is, you gotta let it out," Sheldon advised. He didn't know babies, but he did know singing. And singing was definitely therapeutic.
"How do I do that?"
"By singing, of course. I have the perfect song, too. 'I'll Stand By You,' by The Pretenders. It's in your wheelhouse, and I know you must know it from the radio because it's a classic. I've heard you in practice; you do well with classics."
Ralph shrugged. "I do like that song, but how exactly is it going to make me feel better again?"
Sheldon stood up and pulled Ralph along with him. "By singing it out to the audience. Imagine your little girl sitting there." He pointed to a spot in the balcony.
Ralph gazed out into the auditorium, and Sheldon made his way back to the piano, muttering, "Thank God I never missed a piano lesson."
He began to play.
"Oh…why you look so sad?" The first line came out a little weak, but Ralph gained confidence when he realized how good it actually felt. "Tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now…"
As he sang, he began to smile, and as he smiled, he thought about what a wonderful life his daughter was going to have, no matter what.
When the song finished, Ralph hugged Sheldon in thanks. Sheldon's eyes were teary. "That was beautiful," he blubbered. Ralph just patted him on the back. "Let's go find Emily, 'kay?" He rolled his eyes. Sheldon was such a sap.
Of course, the tears were pouring down Ralph's own cheeks as he sang the song again later in his room, watching the sonogram DVD on his laptop.
"I'll stand by you. I'll stand by you. Won't let nobody hurt you. I'll stand by you…"
As he sang the last line, his grandma appeared in the doorway and asked what was going on. Ralph quickly rubbed at his eyes and shoved the laptop out of her line of vision.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she entered his room.
Ralph realized too late that now that she was standing next to him, she could see the laptop screen.
"Were you just singing to a sonogram?"
Ralph decided to tell the truth. He was too emotional to think up a lie, and the evidence was right in front of her. So he said, "Uh-huh."
His grandma's shoulders slumped, and she sat down next to him on the bed. Ralph couldn't meet her eyes.
"Is Sally pregnant?"
Ralph's eyes spilled over with tears again and he choked out, "Gram, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" before collapsing against her, drawing ragged breaths as he sobbed. His grandma bit her lip and looked skyward, rubbing his back. "I screwed up…I'm so sorry…"
"Shh, shh." She rocked her grandson gently. "It's gonna be okay."
~L~
"I can't believe you told your grandmother!" Sally hissed. "What if she tells my mom?" She had Ralph pinned up against his locker and was pointing her finger into his chest.
"Nuh, no, she's not…" Ralph squeaked.
"Half the school knows, your mom knows…who else do you wanna tell, huh?" Her tone was getting more and more frantic.
"She's not gonna tell anybody—" he finally found his voice, and Sally interrupted him with another finger in the sternum.
"You're wrong, I'm right," she fumed, pointing to Ralph and then back at herself. She continued to point back and forth as she went on her tirade. "I'm smart, you're dumb…"
She continued her stressed-out comparison list as Emily, Sam, and Sheldon stood nearby, eavesdropping.
"All this baby drama is making my rosacea act up," Sam whined.
"I know, I just feel bad for them, having to go through this on their own," Emily lamented.
Sheldon rubbed her back comfortingly. "Let me see what I can do," he said, an idea beginning to bloom. "I'll report back later." With that, he took off, and Sam and Emily just shrugged at each other.
As he walked by, Sheldon could still hear Sally screaming, "I'm right! I'm right, okay?!"
Sheldon hovered a few feet away across the hall as Sally gave Ralph one final push into the locker with her index finger and stormed away.
"She doesn't talk to your mom, I swear!" Ralph called after her, but she didn't turn around. He heaved a sigh and turned to open his locker. That's when Sheldon made his move to help.
"How do you explain her constant irritation with you?" Sheldon asked, watching Sally go.
"Oh, hey, Shel," Ralph said absently as he shuffled some books around his locker. "I think it's the pregnancy hormones or something. They make her kind of nuts." Ralph was feeling a little better now that Sally wasn't yelling in his face. He loved her, he did, but he didn't know how much longer he could put up with her shrill demands.
Sheldon scrunched up his nose. "Well, that makes sense, of course…but I think if you just played the submissive boyfriend for awhile, she'd calm down."
Ralph arched his eyebrows. "Are you saying just take it?"
"I guess I am. I mean, I'm no expert on girls," he looked shyly back at where Emily and Sam were talking. "But I do know they just need to vent sometimes. She doesn't mean any of it. She's just stressed…just like you are."
"Yeah, I guess." Ralph shook his head. Sheldon was right, in a way. It would all end in a few months, and they'd be back to normal…or have a baby on their hands. Either way, their current predicament was going to change. "Oh, and hey, thanks for the advice about singing to the baby like that. Worked like a charm. I owe you one, dude." Ralph patted Sheldon's arm and walked away.
Sheldon shut Ralph's locker for him, smiling and rolling his eyes. He really wished they were better friends sometimes. He had been grateful to Ralph ever since the day they met. Ralph didn't owe him any favors.
It was the first day of freshman year, and Ralph and Derek passed Sheldon in the hall. Derek slammed him into a locker just for the fun of it as he went by. It didn't hurt, but it was just plain rude. Ralph stopped and put a hand on Derek's chest. "Dude, impulse control!" he chided. Derek shrugged and kept walking, but Ralph turned to look at Sheldon with a sympathetic smile.
He'd been saving Sheldon from Derek's warpath ever since.
And Sheldon had been saving Ralph from a dangerously dry T-zone. He had given him a mild lotion with built-in sunblock…and Ralph actually used it.
So it was safe to say they were friendly acquaintances, if not friends.
"Why were you cheating off of her?" Emily was asking Sam when Sheldon returned to their little group. "This is a girl who thinks the square root of four is rainbows!"
"Catch me up," Sheldon said with a smile. He already knew they were talking about—
"Amy," Emily confirmed. "Sam looked at her paper during the math test."
Sam shrugged. "I kinda knew she wasn't going to be any help, but I panicked."
Sheldon slung an arm around Emily's shoulders and rolled his eyes. "Girls!"
Sam laughed. "I hear that." He fist-bumped Sheldon, but Sheldon had a little trouble figuring out how to do it.
It was Emily's turn to roll her eyes. "Boys!"
~L~
Casey stood in the center of the choir room, trying to smell her breath. Paul was due in at any minute to practice their ballad.
"I'm really excited," Paul said as he entered the room. "I've picked a medley of songs that are going to be a fantastic teaching tool about how to sing a great ballad."
Kathy was right on Paul's heels.
"Why is Ms. Zeldin here?" Casey asked accusingly. This was supposed to be a closed practice.
Kathy, in her usual stuttering fashion, murmured, "Well…I…I…I too am very curious about the power of the ballad…I'm thinking of doing some teaching in song—"
"Kath," Paul interrupted her. "You wanna just…?" He motioned to the chair he had placed next to one for Casey. Kathy sat, and Paul continued. "Okay, Casey. This is a mash-up of 'Young Girl' by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, and the 1980 Police classic, 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'."
Casey nodded enthusiastically.
"Now, I want you to listen very closely to the lyrics because I really mean what I'm singing," Paul instructed.
Casey nodded again, taking it all in. He was so wise!
"Really listen," Paul repeated as he started the CD. The music began, and Paul motioned for Casey to sit next to Ms. Zeldin.
"Young teacher, the subject, of schoolgirl fantasy," he pointed at himself and then Casey, willing her to get it.
No such luck yet. She was beaming at him.
"She wants him, so badly. Knows what she wants to be. With all the charms of a woman, you've kept the secret of your youth. Book marking, she's so close now, this girl is half his age." Paul jumped in place and stretched out his arm to Casey in a "stop" gesture. "Don't stand, don't stand so, don't stand so close to me! Young girl, you're outta your mind! Your love for me is way outta line! Better run, girl, you're much too young, girl!"
He continued the mash-up, noticing that both girls (women, whatever) were staring at him dreamily. He knew he couldn't encourage either one of them. But the song just didn't seem to be working, especially on Casey. Great.
"Better run, girl…you're much too young, girl!"
Kathy and Casey both sighed and began clapping furiously when he finished. Paul took a moment to compose himself.
"So, Casey, do you think you understood the message I was trying to get across with that ballad?"
Casey was in awe. Paul was a genius. "Yes! It means I'm very young, and it's hard for you to stand close to me."
Paul put his head in his hands. "Uhhn."
Casey bit her lip. Okay, so, yeah, she knew what it was about. He was married, she got that. But if he could flirt up a storm with Ms. Zeldin, why couldn't he with her? It wasn't hurting anything! She would just have to show his wife she wasn't a threat. And keep reminding him what a valuable asset she was.
"Kath, mind helping me out here? Was that the message that you got?" Paul asked weakly when Casey continued to daydream.
Kathy had her hands clasped together in front of her chest. "You're a very good performer," she breathed. She turned to Casey. "He's very good."
Casey nodded in agreement. "Well, I for one cannot wait to go home and work on a medley of my own for tomorrow, because this lesson has given me a lot to think about." She grabbed her backpack and headed towards the door.
"You know, Case, that really wasn't the…" Paul started, but she was already gone. He held out his hands helplessly to Kathy. "You…" She continued to smile at him, so he gave up with a sigh.
"Bravo," Kathy said, clapping again.
Unbeknownst to any of them, Susie Pepper had been outside the choir room, listening. And she did not like what she heard.
~L~
"Thanks for coming over, Sheldon," Ralph said as he lifted a box from the corner of his dusty basement. Sheldon was staring around at the grime, trying not to kick up any extra dust.
"Yeah. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when you said you needed my expertise. You could just vacuum once in awhile," Sheldon replied, grimacing.
Ralph shrugged. "Well I know you're into fashion, and I need to find something nice to wear to the Albrights' for dinner, so…"
Sheldon perked up. "Oh. That changes things. I have to say, I couldn't be more pleased and honored to help you find something vintage and appropriate to wear."
"Uh-huh." Ralph finally cleared away the boxes and revealed an old steamer trunk. "Here it is. My grandma never had the heart to throw this stuff out." He opened the trunk and pulled out an army helmet. "Hang on to that for the next time Derek tries to throw you in the dumpster." He pushed it down onto Sheldon's head.
Sheldon took it off and instinctually smoothed his hair. "How old were you when your parents died?"
"Really young. I don't remember them. I guess I'm lucky that way – I don't miss them." He shrugged.
Sheldon nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Check this out." He held up a suit jacket, and Sheldon made an approving sound.
Ralph slipped it on. "Not half bad," Sheldon remarked. "Your dad had good taste."
"I can't believe it fits." He walked over to the full-length mirror nearby.
Sheldon grabbed two ties from the box and held them up, one over each of Ralph's shoulders. Ralph picked the purple-and-black-striped one and thanked him.
Then he sighed. "My father was brave enough to fight in some desert thousands of miles away. And I can't even go over to Dudley Road and tell the Albrights the truth."
"You're telling them about the baby? Sally will kill you!" Sheldon winced.
Ralph shrugged. "I can't deal with the secrecy anymore. They need to know."
"Well, your father didn't charge into the breach empty-handed. He had a weapon."
"You think I should bring a gun?" Ralph asked incredulously.
Sheldon's eyes widened. Wow. "Uh, no. I think you should use your greatest weapon: your voice."
~L~
Paul called hello to Terri as he entered his apartment that night. Exhausted, he headed towards the living room. "Something smells good!"
He flopped down on the couch, and as he got comfortable, a beer appeared by his head. "Thanks!" That was an as-of-late uncharacteristic goodwill gesture. They had been fighting on and off for weeks. Looks like they were "off" today.
To Paul's surprise, Casey's voice said, "You're welcome." Paul's eyes bugged.
"Casey?!" He turned to see her standing over him.
"Casserole's almost ready. Hope you like spinach."
Casey pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and ran off towards the bathroom, and Paul went looking for Terri. He found her in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the casserole. "Why did you let her in the house?" he huffed.
"She said she was one of your glee kids. Jeez!" She made a face. "It didn't take me five minutes to realize she's in love with you. She's psycho! She asked if she could see your baby pictures. Like I even know where those are."
Paul was offended on Casey's behalf. "She's not crazy, just…enthusiastic."
Terri made a gagging noise.
"Did you ask her to clean our bathroom? Is that what she's doing in there?"
"I didn't ask her, I told her to. Look. I have been dealing with these schoolgirl crushes for years. Why shouldn't I get something out of it? You certainly do."
"Oh, please, you think I like having this happen to me?!"
"Yeah. I think you do. It gives you an ego boost. And your ego is big enough already."
He ignored the jab and focused on getting Casey out of his house. "Come on, Terri, enough. Give the poor girl a break."
Just then, Casey came in and asked for more Ajax.
"In the linen closet, sweetie," Terri said with false cheer as Casey mouthed 'Hi' at Paul. Paul stared at her, open-mouthed. Casey wasn't really this gullible, right?
Terri shot a dirty look at her retreating form.
"This is immoral, Ter," Paul fumed.
"You know what's immoral? Immoral is me having to deal with a husband who spends all day with sluts who are perkier and younger than I am."
"Terri!"
"No, Paul, listen. I'm tired when I come home from work. I don't feel like getting down on my hands and knees to scrub the bathroom. Why not let someone with more energy do it?"
"You think I'm not tired? I work five days a week! You work three half-days! And I can't remember the last time you cleaned anything! I usually cook, and I was the last one to pick up a mop!"
Terri rolled her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that, sweetie. But you stare at adolescent ass all day, and I have to deal with cranky customers!"
Paul's eyes widened in disbelief. Were they really having this argument again? "For the last time, I am not having an affair with any of my students!" He wondered if flirting with Kathy counted as an affair. But…she wasn't a student. And he just needed a way to unwind from all the stress at home…it wasn't like he was going to do something rash and ruin his marriage. "And furthermore, you are not allowed to turn one of them into your slave because you have this irrational fear that I'm going to leave you!"
"Why not? It's win-win for everyone!"
"Not for Casey!"
Terri rolled her eyes. "She's a great cook, I'll give her that." She stuffed a forkful of casserole in her mouth and glared at Paul.
Paul was disgusted. He had no idea where his sweet, loving wife of a few years ago had gone, but this was certainly not her. And the worst part was, she didn't see anything wrong with how she acted.
"I'm taking Casey home," he finally said.
Terri swallowed. "Tell her to dust the blinds in the craft room first."
Paul set his jaw and headed for the bathroom without a look back.
~L~
The car ride was silent for the first few minutes. Then, "Hey Paul?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do I have to ride in the backseat?"
Paul sighed. "It's the law. Children have to ride in the back."
"Children under seven," Casey clarified, a bite to her tone. She knew she had done something wrong, but Paul wasn't giving her any clues as to what.
"I…I'm concerned for your safety," Paul explained.
"Really?"
He realized his mistake when her voice went up hopefully at the end of her question. "Uh…no. Not really." Stupid, Paul. Stupid.
Casey decided to pretend like nothing was wrong. "I think we should take advantage of this golden alone time and practice our ballad," she suggested.
Paul winced. "I don't have any music in the car."
Casey held up a CD. He should have known.
"It's okay, I made this for us." She unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned forward, and pushed the CD into the player.
Jennifer Paige's "Crush" began playing, arranged for Casey's vocals, of course.
"Ah…crush…" Casey sang seductively. Paul was the first to admit her voice was incredible…but at this particular moment it made him want to vomit.
"I see you blowin' me a kiss. It doesn't take a scientist, to figure out what's going on, baby…"
Paul pushed the off button and heaved a sigh of relief. That was so beyond inappropriate he couldn't stand it. He willed Casey to snap out of her ridiculous crush. If only he could tell her the truth…but he did not want her ending up like Susie Pepper.
"It wasn't finished," Casey said, furrowing her brow. She knew she sounded good; what was the problem?
"Yeah…the acoustics are horrible in the car," Paul answered. "Put your seatbelt back on."
She did, and he fished around for something to talk about. Finally, he realized they had never gotten a chance to discuss her love life (in a guidance counselor-y capacity, of course).
"So…how are things going with Derek?"
Casey made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "Awful. I…" she trailed off.
He eyed her in the rearview mirror. "You what?"
Casey sighed. "I wish our parents had never met."
Paul nodded. "I get why you wish that, Casey, I really do. But I told you, I would be happy to talk to your parents with you and Derek, make them see there's nothing wrong with—"
"That's not the reason we broke up, Paul. Well, it was one of the reasons. But we just can't be together. He's got a reputation to protect, and I…I need to concentrate on my music."
"You shouldn't worry about what everyone else thinks," Paul said gently. "If you want to be with him, be with him. Simple as that."
Casey was quiet for a moment. It was a nice thought, but it just wasn't reality. "It's not a good idea. We're too different. I'm a keener, he's a jock. We're not evenly matched. I need a man who can keep up with me intellectually and creatively."
Paul was about to cry 'bull' when he realized where she was going with her last comment. "Caseyyy…"
"I have my sights set higher."
Paul sighed. "Well, I think Derek is a great guy."
"Maybe so. But we are not right for each other, Paul, trust me." She was a busy girl – the last thing she wanted or needed was a complicated relationship. And that's exactly what being with Derek would be: complicated.
"You know yourself best, I guess," Paul conceded.
They spent the rest of the car ride in silence.
~L~
Casey walked down the school hallway with a bounce in her step, thinking about the night before. It hadn't gone exactly as she had expected, but Paul had driven her home. In his car. Not many girls got to do that.
The smiled disappeared from her face the second she saw Susie Pepper step into her path.
"Stay away from Paul," Susie warned without preface, mouth set in a firm line.
Casey had heard about Susie Pepper from Emily. She was a really intense senior who had once tried to kill herself by eating the world's hottest pepper, all because of a guy.
"You're gonna get hurt, bad," Susie continued.
Casey stood her ground. "You can't threaten me, Pepper. I don't even know you! And I'm not afraid of you," she finished, somewhat unconvincingly.
Susie's eyes widened and she leaned towards Casey. "You should be."
Casey just shook her head and brushed past Susie. She felt bad for the girl. She was obviously deranged. But that wasn't Casey's problem. She had to get to class. But…why was she a target of Susie's wrath? It hit her: Paul must have been the guy Susie got all psycho over. Why else would she threaten her like that? Casey swallowed hard. She had just blown off a person who was potentially more dangerous than The Fridge. That was a really, really dumb move. She could only hope that Paul had never returned Susie's affections, and that he would stick up for Casey if she ever needed help. She knew he would; he was just that kind of guy. Plus, Casey wasn't crazy.
~L~
"Oh, you're on the second floor?" Emily asked as she walked past Susie, unaware of what had just transpired. "Oh, you're right above me. You? Please! I'm a hot mess. I found out today that my hamster is pregnant in biology class, and I just started weeping. Everyone's on edge these days." She entered the choir room to find Derek tapping his foot and checking his watch.
"No, I think that's a great idea." She continued her conversation.
"We're supposed to be rehearsing," Derek cut in, annoyed.
Emily held up a finger, signaling for him to wait. "I'm talking to Sandra." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "You know, San, I'll have to call you back." She hung up the phone and glared at Derek. "I'm only five minutes late."
"If that was your way of proving you're over me, that was a really obnoxious way to do it," Derek huffed.
Emily stared blankly at him. "Seriously, Der? Don't flatter yourself. I've been over you for awhile now. Besides, I think we both have other people on our minds these days…" she raised her eyebrows at him, and he backed up under her gaze.
"Yeah, well…"
Emily chuckled. "Casey and I are sorta friendly. We talk."
Derek gulped. "Oh, yeah? What does she say about me?"
Emily smiled playfully. "There you go with your 'everything's about me' attitude. I didn't say we talk about you. Puh-lease." She dropped her bookbag on the piano and straightened her clothes. "Do you have anything prepared for the ballad?"
Derek held up his hands, ego still bruised over her trick. "Nothing."
Emily sighed. "All our ballads are going to suck. We're all so distracted. I mean, this whole Ralph, Sally, and Babygate thing has everyone freaked. How are we going to stand up here and sing about our emotions, when theirs are so fragile? We're so worried about them. It's ruining the club."
Derek looked down. "Who even cares? I don't."
Emily made a face. "We all care. What's your problem?"
Derek didn't answer.
"Sandra just had the idea that we should all sing them a ballad to show that we have their backs, you know? I think that's perfect."
Derek almost gagged. Yeah, like he was really going to sing to Sally about how much he wanted to be there for her. She had shot that idea down real quick. She wouldn't even take his money, for crying out loud. "Are you kidding me?" he said to Emily, trying to keep his voice level. "There's no way I'm singing to them."
Emily gave him a 'what are you talking about' look.
He ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. "It's just not fair, you know, Em? Ralph gets everything. The sympathy, the girl…"
"What is your problem?" Emily asked again. She couldn't figure out why Derek was blowing this so out of proportion.
"Ralph's not the father!" he spat out, staring anywhere but at Emily. He had reached his breaking point – he had to tell someone, and it wasn't going to be his dad, or Casey, or Paul. It may as well be Emily.
Emily's eyes widened. "Who…?" But she already knew the answer. She could see it in his eyes.
"I am." Derek leaned against the wall and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh, Derek." Emily could feel tears welling up, and she pushed them down for Derek's sake. She walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his arm. "How…I mean, what…" She couldn't figure out how to ask for details without sounding like a gossip.
"Sally and I had sort of a thing a few months ago. I liked her. We hung out. We got drunk. And…" he looked down at her sullenly.
Emily could work out the rest on her own. "She was with Ralph then," she confirmed.
Derek nodded. "Yeah. And she wants nothing to do with me now. She's convinced herself it's Ralph's baby."
Emily stepped back and looked him up and down. "Do you want to be with Sally?"
"No." Derek met her eyes. "But I still like Sally as a person. I want to be there for our baby. I'd support all three of us. They're my family now. Nothing Sally says or does will change that."
"Does Casey know?"
"Of course not. She never would have gone out with me if she knew. What kind of guy sleeps with his best friend's girlfriend?"
"A drunk one." A smile played at Emily's lips, and she let it spread when she saw some life come back into Derek's eyes with that statement.
"It was a pretty dumb mistake, huh?" he chuckled sadly. "It probably cost me my chances with Casey. More than our parents getting married, more than the slushie facials…"
Emily sighed. She pulled him up off the wall and looked him straight in the eye. "Look, Derek, you need to get something through your head. You're the baby's daddy…but it takes a hell of a lot more to be a father. And Sally already cast that role. Sally chose Ralph. Obviously they weren't doing anything you and Sally didn't do, or Ralph wouldn't think he's the dad."
Derek had his suspicions about what Ralph thought sex was. He wasn't about to ask, though. For all he knew, Sally and Ralph actually had done the deed. But somehow, he suspected that wasn't true. He wasn't about to reveal that to Emily, though. He'd told her too much already. So he just nodded as if he agreed.
"You need to accept Sally's decision and move on. You can't force her to change her mind. Besides, you have no business messing up her life more than you already have, you know? You need to back off."
"You really think so?" He knew she was being awfully blunt, but what she was saying made sense. Maybe that's exactly what he needed to hear.
"Yeah. I do, Derek. You owe her that."
Derek mulled it over. "I guess, yeah. Thanks, Em."
Emily gave him a half-hug. "Sorry to be so brutal about it, but I really think it's for the best. Ralph and Sally may be struggling, but it's their struggle."
"You're not gonna tell anyone about this, right? I mean, you're the only one who knows, besides Sally." Maybe Derek shouldn't have chosen the most notorious gossip in school to share his secret.
Emily nodded seriously. "I'll keep it to myself."
Derek noticed an implied second part to that sentence from her tone…'I'll keep it to myself…unless someone else needs to know.' He could live with that, though. He didn't have a choice.
~L~
Ralph was a bundle of nerves as he entered the Albright house for dinner that Sunday.
He needn't have worried, because the evening was going smoothly so far.
Sally kept glancing at him, as if she expected him to bolt for the door at any moment. But he was in this for the long haul.
"Mm, it's a lovely ham," Ralph told Mrs. Albright as they were eating dinner.
"Thank you," she replied.
"There is no beating Judy's ham," Mr. Albright agreed.
Mrs. Albright chuckled. "I cure all my own meats."
Ralph didn't really know what that meant, so he kept quiet.
Mr. Albright tapped his glass with his knife. "I'd like to propose a toast."
"Daddy, no." Sally shot him a warning look that he missed. She didn't think she could take it if he got all mushy. She'd cry for sure.
"Russell and his famous toasts." Mrs. Albright shook her head good-naturedly.
Mr. Albright stood and raised his glass. "The Albrights are a tight-knit family. I have been blessed with a loving wife and two remarkable daughters. My first married a wonderful Christian man who owns his own chain of UPS stores. My second daughter," he gazed fondly at Sally, "Little Sal, we are just so proud of her. A cheerleader, president of the Celibacy Club." He turned to Ralph, who was busy trying not to faint from the sudden onset of nervous energy. She hadn't told her father she'd quit both activities? "I got a little peek at the dress. I'm certain she's a shoo-in for princess of the Ball…"
He said some more things, but Ralph was blinking rapidly, going in and out of consciousness. He couldn't go through with this. But on the other hand, he couldn't live a lie.
"And tonight we welcome Sally's friend, a hockey player, no less…"
Ralph's heart was pounding and little beads of sweat were trickling out of his forehead. "I have to go to the bathroom," he blurted out.
Mr. Albright eyed him worriedly.
"Too much pop," Ralph explained. Sally clenched her hands together in her lap. He was about to do something stupid, she could tell.
Ralph got up and wandered away from the table.
"Right through the kitchen, sweetie," Sally's mom explained.
Ralph exited the dining room, and Sally looked up to see both parents staring at her.
"He wears a helmet when he plays, right?" her dad asked.
"He's just intimidated by you, Daddy," Sally assured him, regaining her composure now that Ralph was gone. He had been making her nervous.
In the bathroom, Ralph shut the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. He pulled out his cell phone to call Derek, but though better of it. Ever since their fight last week they had sort of been on shaky ground. He couldn't call Sam or Noel, because then he'd have to explain where he was and what he needed help with. That would take too long. Then it hit him. Sheldon knew exactly what was going on.
Luckily, Sheldon was home. "Well, hello there, Ralph. How's dinner going?"
"I'm freaking out, dude. What does a heart attack feel like?"
"Settle down and breathe," Sheldon instructed. Ralph sat on the edge of the tub.
"I can't do it."
"Yes, you can. We spent all that time rehearsing. You have the disc we burned, right?"
"Yeah. But—"
"You can do it. Just remember the power of the ballad."
Ralph nodded, even though Sheldon couldn't see him. "I have to go. They'll think I'm pooping." He hung up and took a few deep breaths, staring at himself in the mirror.
Sheldon hung up as well. Poor Ralph. He hoped things would work out.
Ralph did a karate chop at the mirror and then left the bathroom. He grabbed a CD player he saw sitting on the counter in the kitchen and carried it into the dining room. It was now or never.
"That's my kitchen radio," Mrs. Albright exclaimed when he entered.
"Yeah, I need to borrow it." He set it up and pulled the CD out of his suit jacket pocket.
"Ralph?" Sally asked with a warning tone. "What's this?"
Ralph smiled nervously at her, and that only made her more scared of what he had up his sleeve.
"Well, we have this assignment in glee club to sing a ballad. They're all about expressing things you can't find any other way to say."
Mr. and Mrs. Albright looked interested, so Ralph gave Sally another smile, this time meant to be reassuring.
Sally sat up straighter and glared at him, finally realizing what was about to happen. "Don't. Ralph. Please. Don't," she begged.
"I need to do this," Ralph said firmly. "For both of us."
Sally shook her head, flustered. "No…" She would have grabbed the player and smashed it, but that would have created a scene. Her parents were all about decorum. It looked like she had to let this play out, since Ralph wasn't listening to her.
Ralph started the music, and Sally gave him one last wide-eyed shake of the head.
He stared at her, trying to put all of his feelings for her into his eyes so that she could see how much he loved her, how much her parents needed to know that he did.
"You're having my baby…"
Sally put her hand on her cheek and looked anywhere but at Ralph. Finally she gave up and just stared back at him, feeling betrayed that he would spring this on her.
"What a lovely way of saying how much you love me. You're having my baby…"
Her parents were still oblivious; instead of listening to the lyrics, they were swaying along with the melody.
"What a lovely way of saying what you're thinking of me. I can see it…"
Sally watched Ralph watching her, and it sort of made her feel good…until she noticed her mother sitting a little straighter in her chair, a frown growing on her face.
"Your face is glowing. I can see it in your eyes, I'm happy, you know it…That you're having my baby."
Ralph came around to Sally's side of the table and grabbed her hand. "You're the woman I love and I love what it's doing to ya…"
Mr. Albright was staring at Ralph with his mouth half-open, unsure of what to make of the situation. Ralph continued singing and Sally couldn't help herself; she stared up at him with unmistakable love in her eyes. No matter what happened, she knew she couldn't stay mad at Ralph. He was doing the best he could.
After a few more bars, Mr. Albright reached over and switched off the CD player. He shared a glance with his wife, who was utterly appalled.
Ralph whipped his head around to look at Mr. Albright, and didn't like the expression he saw.
~L~
Mr. Albright led Ralph and Sally into the living room, and they sat motionless on the couch as he towered over them, fuming.
Mrs. Albright sat in the chair next to them and watched her daughter carefully. "There must be some sort of mistake here," she said hopefully. "Sally, we raised you right."
Sally could barely look at her mother. Ralph squeezed her hand when tears started to roll down her cheeks. He looked up at Mrs. Albright, but she was looking down at the floor.
"You did raise her right," Ralph said anyway. "We didn't even have sex."
Sally bit her lip and wondered what her mother would say to that. To her relief, Mrs. Albright snapped, "Oh, can we just stop with the lying, please?"
Sally squeezed Ralph's hand in return and gave him a sad smile.
Her father had been silent. He took a seat on the other side of the room, and finally spoke up, "When you were about five years old, I took you and your sister down to an Indians game. All the other dads brought their sons, but my two girls were enough for me."
"Daddy," Sally choked out, still crying. She had heard this story before.
"Your sister made it through the whole game, but you fell asleep in my lap. I kept hoping nothing exciting would happen, 'cause I didn't want the crowd to get too loud and wake you up. Didn't matter. You stayed asleep in my arms till the game ended." He couldn't say anymore. Watching his daughter cry was making his own eyes watery.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," Sally sobbed.
Her father sighed. "You need to leave," he said, looking at Ralph.
"Wait, please…Daddy, can we talk about this?" Sally rubbed her fingers along Ralph's arm. "He's a good guy. He loves me." Ralph nodded, but didn't have the courage to look Mr. Albright in the eye.
"You, too." Mr. Albright said quietly.
Mrs. Albright turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. Sally blinked. "What?"
"Get out of my house." Her father's jaw was set.
"You can't do that!" Ralph argued. Screw politeness, he wasn't going to let Sally's parents kick her out. "She didn't do anything wrong!"
Mr. Albright ignored him, so he appealed to Mrs. Albright. "Please, do something," Ralph begged. She stared at him icily.
"Don't bother, Ralph," Sally cried, wiping her eyes. "If she wanted to do something she would have when she found out I was pregnant." She looked at her mother with revulsion in her eyes.
Ralph looked from one parent to the other, confused.
"You knew?" Mr. Albright asked incredulously.
"I…no…she," Mrs. Albright blustered. "She didn't tell me anything."
Sally's eyes welled up again, and this time she didn't wipe the tears away. "But you knew. And I needed you! I needed my mommy, and you were so scared of what he would do if he found out," she glanced towards her father, sounding like a scared little girl. "You just pushed it aside. Like we do every bad feeling in this house…If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist." Now she was angry again, so angry she was shaking. Ralph stood next to her, fidgeting.
"Wait a minute!" Her father stood up and yelled at the top of his lungs, "You do not turn this on us! You are the disappointment here!"
"Why?" Sally asked, feeling a little more confident now that all her feelings were out in the open, even though they had fallen on deaf ears. "Because I'm not a little girl anymore? Because I made a mistake?"
"Who are you?" her father asked coldly. "I don't recognize you at all."
Sally gave him one last pleading stare. "I'm your daughter." She choked back more sobs, choosing instead to keep a brave face. "Your daughter who loves you. And who knows this must be really hard for you, but I just need my daddy to hold me, and tell me that it's gonna be okay."
Mr. Albright pinched the bridge of his nose, shook his head, and walked toward her.
"Please," she murmured as he stood in front of her.
But instead of stepping forward to embrace her, he turned and walked out of the room. Sally sank onto the couch in a fit of fresh tears, and she barely heard her father call, "Judy!" as she watched her mother get up and walk out as well. Ralph stood by the couch, at a loss for words.
~L~
When Ralph and Sally finished packing her things and drove to Ralph's house, his grandmother was in the basement doing laundry. Ralph descended the stairs with lead feet, still shell-shocked from what had just happened.
"Honey," his grandma said absently, hearing him approach, "how many times have I told you, you have to turn these t-shirts right side out before you—" She took one look at his face, and at Sally standing behind him, and put her laundry aside.
"Um…Sally's parents threw her out," he explained. "Could she stay here for a couple of days?"
Sally smiled apologetically at Mrs. Papadopoulos.
"Of course she can," Mrs. P. nodded. She moved toward the steps.
Sally leaned forward to hug her. Mrs. P. rubbed her back. "Hon, you can stay here as long as you want."
It wasn't the same as having her own family give her their love, but Ralph's grandma was an awfully good parent. Sally would take what she could get.
~L~
Casey was in the girls' room the next day, touching up her lip gloss. She thought she was alone, but to her surprise, Susie Pepper stepped out of a stall.
"Hey, Barbra Streisand. We need to have a little talk."
Casey capped her lip gloss, swallowed her fear, and turned to look at Susie. "I have nothing to say to you. If you continue to stalk me, I'll press charges. Everyone knows you're crazy."
"I was crazy," Susie admitted, a weird twinkle in her eye. "Crazy in love."
Casey huffed in annoyance. "Nothing you can say will change the way I feel about Paul. Ours is a love for the ages. Your threats will just make our love grow stronger." She was proud of herself for not quivering. That may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it sounded good.
She moved to leave, but Susie blocked her path. "Let me tell you a few things I learned from two years of intense psychotherapy and an esophagus transplant."
Casey made a face, but didn't move. Honestly, she wanted to hear what Susie could possibly tell her that would change her mind.
"Lesson number one: you and Paul, it won't work."
"What do you mean?"
"We're not so different, you and me," Susie said. "We're both mildly attractive, and extremely grating. Love is hard for us. We look for boys we know we can never have. Paul is a perfect target for our self-esteem issues. He can never reciprocate our feelings, which only reinforces the conviction that we're not worthy of being loved."
Casey's mouth dropped open. Susie made a scary amount of sense.
"Trust me," Susie went on, sounding human for the first time since Casey had 'met' her. "I'm a cautionary tale. You need to find some self-respect, Casey. Get that mildly attractive groove back."
Casey didn't know what to make of that.
"Trust me," Susie repeated. She turned to leave.
"Anything else?" Casey asked, a little dazed.
"Yeah." Susie gave her a small smile. "Welcome to McKinley." With that, she was out the door, leaving Casey to mull over her recent romantic choices. Ralph was taken. Paul was taken. Derek was in a different social orbit.
She had a lot of thinking to do.
~L~
Paul really, really did not want to practice with Casey that day. He had completely lost any kind of control in the situation, and that made him uneasy. But he went, because in the end, he couldn't let her down.
"Paul," she said the moment he stepped into the room. "I'm ready when you are." She was holding a bucket of pink daisies, and she set them on the piano as they met in the middle of the room. "The ballad I've selected has an important message that I'm anxious for you to hear."
"Casey, I'm sorry. I'm going to have to stop you." Paul sighed. He could not take her singing another love song to him. He just couldn't. He respected her too much. "Look, I have to tell you this, even if it's hard to hear. The way you've been acting is totally inappropriate. I'm your teacher and your counselor, Casey, and I'm sorry, but that's all I'm ever going to be." He let out a deep breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. It felt good to get it all off his chest. Now he just had to watch Casey very closely over the next few days for warning signs.
To his surprise, Casey replied, "I know." She motioned to the flowers. "I brought these for you as an apology." It was then that Paul saw the card attached, which read, 'Sorry I've been acting crazy.' He smiled.
"And the song I was going to sing," she continued, "was 'Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word' by Elton John, because I know how much you love him. I'm such an idiot…" Unable to look at him any longer, she went over to the risers and grabbed a chair to sit on. "…mooning over you and cleaning your apartment."
"Hey, it's okay." He sat down next to her. "My wife never should have let you do that."
She nodded. "Yeah, well…" She wasn't about to tell him that she didn't think too much of his wife. That was his business. She began to cry. Paul had seen her cry before, but this time she felt silly for letting herself get that worked up. She turned her face away from him.
"I know it's not always easy for you, Case," Paul said gently. "And I know there are some things about yourself that you think you'd like to change. But you should know that there is some boy out there who's going to like you for everything you are. Including those parts of you that even you don't like. Those are going to be the things he likes the most."
"I told you, Derek and I can't happen."
Paul chuckled, and Casey looked over at him, confused. "Interesting that your mind jumped right to Derek. I didn't even say his name."
Casey smiled weakly, and wiped her tears. "Thanks, Paul."
He stood. "What do you say we ditch rehearsal today? I've gotta be honest, Case, you've never needed much help with your ballads. You've been knocking them out of the park since day one."
Casey followed him out of the choir room. "Do you like the flowers?"
Paul looked down at them in his hands. "They're great."
~L~
In the auditorium, Sheldon and Ralph were working on their ballad, but of course Ralph was a little distracted.
"So, they just…kicked her out?" Sheldon asked. He couldn't imagine that happening to him, no matter what he did. Poor Sally.
"Yeah. Gave her half an hour to pack. Her father set the timer on the microwave."
"I'm sorry, Ralph," Sheldon said quietly. "Guess my plan kind of sucked."
"No," Ralph replied. "This is good. No more secrets. Everything's out there, all the feelings. And that's better, right?"
Sheldon shrugged, but quickly realized Ralph was looking for an actual answer, so he said, "Yes, better."
"Good." Ralph heaved a sigh, shaking himself out of his funk. "Well, let's work on your ballad. You were really helpful when I was trying to find mine. So what is it?"
"Toy Story. 'You've Got a Friend in Me'." Sheldon replied. He knew Ralph would get a kick out of that, and he did.
"Sounds awesome! Is it…about me?"
Sheldon beamed. Sometimes Ralph was quicker on the uptake than others. "We're supposed to be singing to each other, right?"
"Aww." Ralph muscled Sheldon into a guy hug, and Sheldon attempted the fist-bump thing again. This time he got it.
"Hey, you two," Emily called as she walked across the stage toward them. "Am I interrupting?"
Sheldon shook his head. "Nope." He put an arm around her as she got closer, and pecked her forehead. "Hi, my little squirrel."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that."
Ralph laughed.
"Come on, we have to go to the choir room," Emily said.
"Why?" Ralph asked.
"Because there's something we want to give you and Sally," Sheldon explained.
Ralph followed them out of the auditorium, asking questions they wouldn't answer the whole way.
"Open your eyes," Emily chided as Ralph closed them right before they entered the room. "We didn't tell you to close your eyes." She exchanged a 'that's Ralph!' grin with Sheldon.
"Is there a cake?" Ralph asked.
"No, there's no cake," Emily answered.
Sally was sitting on a stool, looking as bewildered as Ralph. He nodded hello to her.
"Just be quiet and sit down," Emily instructed. Ralph sat next to Sally.
When the entire glee club, including a freshly de-spidered Max, was assembled, Paul announced their surprise. "Your fellow glee club members want to sing a song for you guys, to let you know how they feel about you."
"What are you gonna sing?" Ralph asked, unable to contain his excitement.
"Just listen," Casey said, meeting his eyes with a smile. "The song says everything." Then she smiled at Sally, to make sure she knew it was for both of them. Sally couldn't help but smile back. Casey was a nice person, underneath all the man-stealing backstabbing.
"Hum, hum, hum, hum…" the song began, with everyone besides Ralph and Sally singing.
"Hold on," Noel started them off, high-fiving Paul as he did so. "Some times in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow. But, if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow…"
"Lean on me," everyone joined in. "When you're not strong…"
Emily harmonized with Noel on lead vocal. "And I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on."
"For, it won't be long," everyone else sang, "Till I'm gonna need, somebody to lean on."
"Just lean on me!" the boys belted out.
"Just call on me brother, when you need a friend," the girls chimed in.
"We all need somebody to lean on," they sang as a group.
Ralph and Sally held hands and watched their friends singing to them with goofy, appreciative smiles on their faces. Neither of them had felt that good in days.
Casey watched them together as she sang, and only felt a slight pang of jealousy. Right now, even she could admit that it was time for her to back off. She glanced over at Derek. He caught her eye and winked. Casey could have taken that to mean something more than it did, but for the first time in awhile, she and Derek were on exactly the same page thanks to the latest 'family' dinner. They were friends, nothing more. Somehow they'd manage that, at least. It would be awhile, if ever, before anything else came of it.
Kendra watched their visual exchange with interest. Derek was no longer her man, that was for sure. But that didn't mean she wanted Casey to have any part of him. She turned back to Sally and when their eyes locked, she mouthed 'Love ya' with a smile. She wished she could help her friend more, but Sally just seemed to appreciate the solidarity. Kendra could have disowned her even more easily than her own parents did. And Sally was grateful that she hadn't.
"I am right up the road, I'll share your load, if you just call me…" They all clustered in front of Ralph and Sally, laughing and singing.
Ralph and Sally laughed right along with them, their worries forgotten for the time being.
"Call me, if you need a friend, call me…"
Sheldon gave Ralph a friendly nod, which he returned. Derek looked at Sally as he sang "Call me," still trying to just let it go, like Emily had advised. But he couldn't. That baby was his. Sally stared back at him, and he couldn't read her expression. But she could read his. 'We're not done with this,' he seemed to be saying.
"Ooh...It won't be long," Emily took the next line, "Till I'm gonna need…somebody to lean on, lean on, lean on…" With that, she ran to Ralph and Sally and grabbed their hands, pulling them up to dance with the group.
They finished the song, laughing and joking, literally leaning on each other.
"Somebody to lean on…"
Paul had never been prouder.