Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I only own Mouse, Candy, Sarah, Terrence and Josh.
(a/n: thanks to everyone for reviewing, I appreciate it!
Read on, oh faithful ones...)
...
Chapter Eleven
...
Puck didn't know why he was so nervous. He'd been on dates so many times before and he'd always been fine. But this was different; Mouse was different to the type of girls he'd dated before. He rang the doorbell, wiping his hands on his jeans quickly.
"Coming!" Mouse called, opening the door a few moments later. An onslaught of noise hit Puck and he tried to figure out what they were. "Hey Puck. Come in," she said, hurrying back to the lounge room.
Puck frowned, recognising one of the noises as Candy crying.
"What's going on?" he asked, closing the door after stepping inside.
"Mum went off to play tennis this morning, and can't look after Candy today. I think she did it on purpose," Mouse muttered as she tried to get Candy to sit still. "She gave Candy scissors and glue to play with, so he's got glue and lots of paper cuts on his hands. Lucky it wasn't anything worse, isn't it, sweetie?" she asked, trying to smile and get his tears to stop.
"And the TV and music?" Puck said, practically having to yell as both the TV and radio were turned on and loud.
"I stepped on the TV remote by accident," Mouse said, moving her foot to turn the TV off.
The noise faded, leaving only the radio and Candy's quietening sobs.
"Such a brave boy. Want to listen to music?" Mouse asked, smiling at her brother.
He nodded briefly, tears still rolling down his cheeks. His fingers were covered in Mickey Mouse bandaids.
Mouse changed the stereo to the CD option and put in a disc that had 'Candy' written on the surface.
"Disney songs?" Puck presumed.
"His favourites," Mouse replied with a nod. "A couple of the Disneymania songs too. Not the Jonas Brothers though, they scare him," she added, shrugging slightly. "Want to play Halo 3?"
"'Kay," he replied, looking to Candy for a moment.
He was lying on the floor, colouring pictures of Toy Story characters carefully with large markers and humming along to the music under his breath.
"He'll be fine. I already took the scissors and glue away," Mouse added with a slight smile, heading upstairs.
Putting his guitar by the door, Puck followed her upstairs and into her room. Sitting on the bed with a control, Puck waited impatiently for the game to load.
"Ready to get your arse kicked?" Mouse asked with a cackle.
"Dream on, Mouse," he muttered, his thumbs and fingers already poised over the buttons.
Ten minutes later, Puck was shamed to find that he was getting his arse kicked. Royally kicked all over the damned screen! He blamed Mouse for distracting him. She shouldn't have her legs bent like that, giving him a perfect view of her ankles, or her thighs if he leant back just a bit more...
"Ha! You're dead! Again," Mouse crowed, punching the air in victory.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Puck moved so he could kiss her, his body ontop of hers as she fell back onto the mattress.
He wanted one of those legs around him, his body over hers as he pushed into her, watching as she bit her bottom lip...
Puck kissed her harder, his tongue slipping into her mouth. His hands moved to her hips, holding and caressing them as he tried to slip his hand up her shirt.
Mouse pushed his hand away and struggled to sit up under his weight. Puck moved his body off hers reluctantly, his lips swollen.
"Do you hear that?" she asked, frowning.
"It's the TV," Puck said, moving to kiss her again.
"Not that," Mouse said, muting the TV. "That," she said, a noise becoming clearer.
Puck frowned as he recognised the sound of guitar strings being plucked, then realised what had happened.
"Candy's got my guitar," he said, going to the door to head downstairs.
"You might want to wait a minute, Puckerman," Mouse called, getting off the bed and fixing her shirt.
Puck stopped suddenly and moved away from the door. She laughed softly, kissed his cheek and then went downstairs to get Puck's guitar back.
...
"Jane! Wait a moment, will you?" Will said as Candy went into the auditorium with Puck and the other Glee members.
Despite not being in Glee anymore, Mouse hadn't wanted Candy walking to school on his own, and had come along with him. He'd entered the school gates much quicker this time, only hesitating for two minutes before going inside.
"Sorry, Mr. Schue, I've got to get to the computer room and work on my English assignment," Mouse said, hefting her bag up onto her shoulder properly.
"Just one minute," Will said, holding up a finger, before rushing into the auditorium.
"I'm timing you, Schue," Mouse muttered, looking down at her watch.
Forty-five seconds later, Will was back outside the auditorium.
"I just wanted to say thank you," he said, his cheeks reddening slightly.
"About what?" Mouse asked.
"The newspaper article about my Mum and Josh Groban. Thank you for not letting that get out into the student population," Will said with a quick smile.
"You're welcome. I'd hate to see you have a nervous breakdown because you were teased. If that's all..." Mouse trailed off, shrugging as she turned to leave.
"I'm sorry, Jane," Will called.
"I know you are," Mouse replied, not turning back.
...
"All right, everyone get your music sheets and get ready to take it from the top," Will said, grinning at them all.
"The hell to that! We want to know what happened!" Mercedes said.
"Mousie?" Candy asked Puck in a loud whisper, tugging on the older boys' shirt.
"Yeah, where is Mouse?" Quinn asked, looking behind Will pointedly.
"Not here, Candy kid," Puck replied quietly. "She's not in Glee anymore."
"No Mousie?" Candy asked, his bottom lip trembling when Puck nodded. "No Mousie, sweet no sing!" he said, and sat on the stage promptly, his arms folded.
"He wants sweets at this time?" Will asked, frowning.
"He calls himself sweet," Puck answered. "He means that if Mouse isn't here, then he won't sing," he added when Will's look of confusion just increased.
"Come on, guys! I apologised, she forgave me, now let's just move on," Will said, sighing heavily.
"Details are needed before we can go on," Kurt said primly, sitting on the edge of the stage and crossing his legs, folding his hands in his lap.
"I agree," Rachel said, sitting beside him and grinning at Kurt.
He smiled back for a brief moment, then looked to his other Glee members as they too, sat down on the stage, refusing to sing.
Will sighed heavily, rubbing his face wearily. Sectionals was only a week away - they didn't have time for this! Giving up, he told them what had happened, and was confused when they didn't look overly happy.
"Just because she said she knew you were sorry doesn't mean Mouse forgave you, Mr. Schue," Artie said with a frown, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"What are you on about? Of course it does," Schue said, looking to the other male members to get their confirmation.
They all shook their heads, even the guys in the band.
"Want Mousie!" Candy said stubbornly.
"Let's just sing for now, and I'll apologise to Mouse again later. How about that?" Schue asked, feeling completely lost as to how he was going to handle this new problem.
"Maybe next time, offer for Mouse to actually come back into Glee club? You can't just apologise and think that's it," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.
"Women are far more complicated than that, Mr. Schue. I'm surprised you don't know that from your wife," Rachel added.
Will pulled a slight face at the mention of his wife. He was beginning to suspect that she wasn't actually pregnant. But his doubts had nothing to do with this...
"Terri has nothing to do with this; Mouse is a teenager, you are all teenagers! Now get onto the stage and sing! Sectionals are only next week!" he said, his voice ready to crack.
In the computer lab down the corridor, Mouse was sitting at a computer, her headphones in her ears. There was no music playing- it was just a ruse to keep anyone from disturbing her. Left to her own devices, Mouse thought of Rachel, Finn and Quinn's predicament, then opened a document and started typing.
Waiting, waiting, still waiting,
Can time go any faster?
Seems to stand still while
I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for you.
Come here, stand by my side,
We'll wait together.
Impatient as always,
Still waiting, waiting, waiting for you.
We don't mind being with you,
Or sharing your time,
It's just the waiting we hate.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for you.
Waiting for you to...
Make up your mind,
Stop wasting our time.
You're always contemplating,
Still keeping us waiting, waiting, waiting.
We're not gonna wait any longer,
'Cause together we're stronger.
Watch us walk away from here,
Not waiting, waiting, waiting for you.
Saving the song to her USB drive, Mouse checked the time and quickly sent it as an attachment to the Glee members. They could do what they wanted with it.
Just as the email finished sending, the early morning bell rang, and after taking a moment to close the programs and log off the computer, Mouse headed down to the auditorium to check on Candy and walk him to his homeroom.
...
"Hey, girl. Where's Candy?" Mercedes asked as she sat next to Mouse at lunch.
"With Puck, Finn and the other jocks. Football practice; seems he's their newest mascot," Mouse replied, shrugging slightly.
"They won't try to make him play, will they?" Kurt asked immediately.
"Doubt it; they know I'll seriously hurt them if he even gets a scratch," Mouse growled. "How's Glee practice going?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Ready for Sectionals yet?"
"You can ask Mr. Schue yourself, he's coming this way," Santana said, grinning.
"Mouse, there you are. Would you mind coming with me for a moment?" Mr. Schue asked, grinning briefly as he indicated the school building behind them.
"I'm eating my lunch so I would mind, but I doubt that would have any impact on anything, so let's go," she muttered sarcastically, standing up and brushing her crumbs off. "Don't eat my sandwich," Mouse added over her shoulder to her friends as she followed Schue to the school building.
"Thanks for coming; sorry to interrupt your lunch, but this is really the only time I have free to be able to say this, see?" Will said, holding up his own sandwich as proof.
"I believe you. What is it that you wanted to say?" Mouse asked, looking back to her own lunch with longing.
"I'm really sorry about what I did... You know, with Candy and your mum," Will started off. "I just wanted to make sure you accepted my apology this time."
"Fine, I accept your apology," Mouse said.
"I tried, you know. I wasn't even going to put his forms in, and then Figgins came in and took the forms from my desk before I even got a chance to say no," Will said.
"I said that I accepted your apology, Mr. Schue. What's done is done, so can we just leave it now?" Mouse asked, sighing.
"I want you to come back to Glee," Will said finally.
"Pardon?"
"I want you to come back to Glee. The other kids want you back too, and Candy won't even think about singing if you're not part of it," he added, hoping to change her mind.
"So you just want me back in order to get Candy to sing?"
"Yes! Wait. No. That's not what I meant," Schue said, his brows furrowing as he frowned deeply.
Mouse folded her arms across her chest and waited.
"I mean, the entire club wants you to back and sing. Me included. Please, Mouse, it'd mean a lot to the other kids, your brother especially," Will pleaded.
"I'll think about it, all right? I'm too hungry to think straight now," Mouse muttered, watching Will's sandwich enviously.
"Great. You go think about it. Tell me your decision tomorrow morning before Glee practice when you bring Candy, okay?" Will said. "And don't forget he's got solo practice this afternoon," he added.
Mouse nodded and went back to her friend and her lunch. Will grinned, confident that Mouse would sing, and whistled cheerfully on his way back to the staff room.
...
"Got another email from Mouse. Reckon you can get the jazz band to put some music to it, Artie?" Puck asked, handing him the lyrics.
Taking the sheet with one hand, and using his other hand to roll back and forth on the spot, Artie looked at the lyrics, singing them quietly under his breath.
"Yeah, they're good; I'm sure they can work something out," Artie replied with a nod.
"I want to sing it tomorrow morning. Are they that good?" Puck asked, smirking.
"We'll see soon enough," Artie said with a chuckle, rolling down the corridor to the auditorium.
Tina watched as he went by, her fingers playing with the bottom of her frayed shirt nervously.
...
Mouse headed to the auditorium, still undecided as to whether she should go back to Glee. She enjoyed singing - all right, she loved singing - and she had friends... But she still didn't trust Will enough to think that he wouldn't betray her again.
Sighing heavily, Mouse opened the auditorium door and saw Candy sitting on the stage, singing to the piano that Kurt was sitting at and playing. Candy's entire face was lit up with joy, even with his eyes closed.
"There's a calm surrender,
To the rush of day.
When the heat of the rolling world,
Can be turned away.
An enchanted moment,
And it sees me through.
It's enough for this restless warrior,
Just to be with you."
Candy opened his eyes and saw Mouse at the back of the auditorium. He smiled brightly, never once dropping a note, and waved for her to come to the stage.
"And can you feel the love tonight?
It is where we are.
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer,
That we got this far.
And can you feel the love tonight?
How it's laid to rest?
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds,
Believe the very best."
Mouse sighed softly and moved to where Candy was sitting. It was only as she approached the stage, that she realised Puck was sitting near the back of the stage, his guitar in his hands as he played with the piano.
How had she not heard the guitar before?
"There's a time for everyone,
If they only learn,
That the twisting kaleidoscope,
Moves us all in turns.
There's a rhyme and reason,
To the wild outdoors.
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager,
Beats in time with yours."
Candy opened his eyes again, smiled and held his hand out to Mouse so she would sing with him. Smiling at him, she nodded and sang the last part with him softly. Candy's sweet voice seemed to wrap around everything, lifting it into the air as he sang.
"And can you feel the love tonight?
It is where we are.
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer,
That we got this far.
And can you feel the love tonight?
How it's led to this?
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds,
Believe the very best.
"It's enough to make kings and vagabonds,
Believe the very best."
"Such a beautiful song," Kurt whispered from the piano, looking down at the keys beneath his fingers.
"It's my favourite song," Mouse said, smiling. "How's Candy going?" she asked Kurt.
"Great," he said with a sigh. "He sings in tune, on pitch, and I could almost loathe him for it. But he's far too sweet for such a negative emotion," Kurt said as he walked over, sitting beside Candy. "If I could bottle his voice, I'd be the richest person in the world," he said with a sigh, his head resting on his hand.
"It's Candy's voice, so shouldn't he be the rich one?" Puck asked as he came over, grinning.
"Technicalities," Kurt said with a wave of his hand. "Schue told us about what happened at lunch. Are you coming back to sing?" he asked, turning his attention to Mouse once more.
"I don't know yet," Mouse said, sighing heavily.
"Mousie sing, sweet sing! Sweet only sing with Mousie," Candy said determinedly.
"Oh, don't say that, sweetie. You love singing," Mouse murmured, stroking his hair briefly.
"So do you," Puck said, looking down at her from his position on the stage.
"I can deal with the loss; Candy can't," she replied.
"Mousie sing!" Candy said, bopping his head to music that only he could hear.
"I'll think about it, okay?" Mouse said, smiling. "Ready to go home now, sweetie?"
Candy nodded enthusiastically, hopping off the stage and running over to his bag. He was humming the Toy Story song as he put his bag on his shoulders, clipping the straps together over his stomach carefully.
"Such a big boy," Mouse said proudly, kissing the top of his head.
Candy wiped at his head quickly, but still grinned.
"See you tomorrow morning, guys," Mouse said as she took Candy's hand.
He waved goodbye to Kurt and Puck as well. "Bye Pucky! Bye Kurtie!" Candy called, leaving with his sister happily.
"Kurtie," Puck snorted, laughing at the expression on Kurt's face.
"Shut up, Pucky," Kurt said primly, turning on his heel. "All right, you can all come out now," he called.
From behind the stage's curtains, the rest of the Glee club came out. The members of the jazz band followed soon after, setting up their equipment quickly.
"You really think this'll work?" Quinn asked, looking at the lyrics in her hands.
"Hope so," Puck said, shrugging. "If not, well, we'll have something new for Mr. Schue to choreograph... Not that he really deserves it," he muttered under his breath.
"All right, let's get this thing started," Mercedes called, grinning over at Kurt.
"Waiting, waiting, still waiting,
Can time go any faster?
Seems to stand still while
I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for you," Quinn began to sing.
Outside the school building, Mouse was walking home with Candy, watching as her brother jumped over the lines in the pavement. How he still had so much energy was beyond her!
"Sing, sing, sing," Candy said with every jump he took.
She just hoped he'd be tired by the time they made it home. Mouse wasn't quite so lucky, and Candy had enough energy to run around the lounge room the moment they walked in. Sarah had left a note to say she wouldn't be home that night, and Mouse sighed in relief, even as Candy started to spin around in circles.
Mouse had two assignments to finish by the end of the week, and didn't have time or mental patience to deal with her overactive brother today. Sighing heavily, she started to sing the only song that she knew would calm him down...
"Come with me and you'll be,
In a world of pure imagination.
Take a look and you'll see,
Into your imagination," Mouse began to sing softly.
Candy stopped spinning and turned to face her. She indicated to the lounge and he sat promptly, waiting expectantly for her to continue.
"We'll begin with a spin,
Travelling in the world of my creation,
What we'll see will defy explanation.
"If you want to view paradise,
Well, simply look around and view it.
Anything you want to, do it.
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it," she sang, watching as Candy's eyes began to close.
She would wake him in half an hour, so he wouldn't oversleep and be grumpy later that night. Mouse was sure that he had been given homework too, and she could help him with that.
"If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it.
Anything you want to, do it.
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it.
"There is no life I know,
To compare with pure imagination.
Living it, you will be free,
If you truly wish to be," she finished quietly, Candy curling up on the lounge.
Her shoulders sagging in relief, Mouse ran a hand through her hair and headed upstairs quietly.
...
Mouse wasn't surprised to see that Rachel was the only one waiting in the auditorium when she and Candy arrived the next morning. Rachel was practising her scales, singing each note carefully as she pressed the corresponding piano key.
"Morning," Mouse called.
Rachel jumped, not having heard them come in, and quickly turned around, smiling brightly.
"Good morning. How are you both?" she asked, looking between them as she walked down to them off the stage.
"Happy!" Candy said immediately, grinning.
"Fine," Mouse said with a shrug. "You?"
"Good, thank you. I had a superb sleep, and I'm looking forward to singing with both of you this morning. That is, if you are both singing? It's Mr. Schue's decision, of course, but I honestly don't think it's wise of him to keep someone in Glee who won't perform on cue," Rachel said, her eyes on Candy for a moment. "And he's really not that good of a singer that we need him as much as Mr. Schue thinks."
There was a low growl from the entrance of the auditorium, distracting Candy's attention long enough for Mouse to slap Rachel without him seeing.
"You little bee!" she hissed, grabbing Rachel's cardigan and dragging her past the rest of the Glee members and out of the auditorium.
"That was so totally rude," Brittany said, huffing.
"Mousie angry?" Candy asked in a trembling voice.
"Oh, no, sweetie. She just needed to go to the bathroom real quick, that's all," Mercedes said quickly, smiling.
Candy nodded, but didn't look too convinced.
"Let go of me!" Rachel yelled, even as Mouse dragged her into the nearest bathroom.
"You want to know why no one in the entire school likes you, Rachel? It's because you're selfish and you don't think before you speak! Every little word that comes out of your mouth is about you, and you have absolutely no regard for the people around you! You might think you're a diva, but let me tell you this now: you are nothing but a spoilt little child who can sing!"
Rachel gasped in indignation, but Mouse didn't seem to hear, or even care.
"Get over yourself, and look around you! You're not the only one in the world! You're smart, but you're also an insensitive bitch! Next time you want to say something, just smile that big smile of yours and think about the people around you before you say it!" Mouse said, then left the bathroom, her hands clenched to stop from hitting her again.
Rachel sank to the floor, her face stinging with the humiliation of the truth.
...
"Hey, Mouse, there you are. Have you made your decision about Glee yet?" Will asked, smiling at her brightly.
"Yes, and I'm not going to go back," Mouse replied, her hands still clenched.
"What? W-why?" Will asked, his smile fading quickly.
As she shook her head at him and neared the auditorium, Mouse frowned as she heard the song that the Glee club was singing. Opening the door, both she and Mr. Schue were surprised to see that they were singing the song Mouse had sent to them only yesterday.
"Waiting, waiting, still waiting,
Can time go any faster?
Seems to stand still while
I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for you," Quinn sang.
"Come here, stand by my side,We'll wait together.
Impatient as always,
Still waiting, waiting, waiting for you," Tina sang in response.
"We don't mind being with you,
Or sharing your time,
It's just the waiting we hate.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for you," they sang together.
"Waiting for you to..." everyone else sang, grinning when they saw Mouse and Will standing in front of the stage.
"Make up your mind,
Stop wasting our time.
You're always contemplating,
Still keeping us waiting, waiting, waiting," the entire group sang.
"We're not gonna wait any longer,
'Cause together we're stronger.
Watch us walk away from here,
Not waiting, waiting, waiting for you," Quinn and Tina sang.
"Wow, guys! That was great! Who's that song by? I don't think I've heard it before," Will said, frowning as he tried to place the words.
"I wrote it," Mouse said quietly, still in a state of shock.
"Yeah, Rachel was supposed to sing Tina's part, but she's not back yet," Finn said.
"I think Tina did a great job," Artie said, grinning at her.
"T-thank you," she said, smiling back at him.
"That's odd... Where is Rachel? Have any of you seen her?" Will asked, looking at each of them in turn.
No one answered, and they refused to look at him.
"I'm here, Mr. Schue," Rachel said, coming down the aisle to the stage. "Mouse, wait, don't go," she said when Mouse grabbed her bag to leave. "I'm really sorry about what I said... My mouth is bigger than my brain, and I don't always think before I speak, which is probably obvious now... What I mean to say is, I'm so very sorry about what I said about Candy, and please stay with Glee. We - I - want you to sing with us," Rachel said.
The red hand print on her cheek was still visible, but fading quickly after it had been cooled with cold water for some time.
Mouse looked at Rachel, wondering if she was sincere. She looked genuine enough... Sighing, she turned to look at each of her friends in turn and they all looked hopeful, a few even nodding for her to come back. Her eyes on Candy, Mouse smiled as he grinned at her and waved for her to join him on the stage. Her gaze flicked to Puck, who was trying to hide his own hope-filled look without much success.
"All right. I'll sing."
...
End of the eleventh chapter. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
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