This felt wrong. Very, very wrong. Karofsky stood at one end of the choir room. His hands were clenched into fists, and he sported the makings of a pretty sizable bruise over his right eye. Finn stood a few paces away from him with a split lip with Mike and Sam hauling on his arms to drag him further back. The others formed a ring around the whole group as if they were trying to stare the Neanderthal down. Rachel, however, stood on her tiptoes shaking her finger in his face."Who gave you the right to be here, you pythonic twit? You don't belong here! You think after everything you've done to us, to Kurt, you can just waltz in here and mess with him? Seriously?" The sound of a powerful slap filled the room. His head didn't move. "You don't get to be here, Karofsky. This is the one place in school where we're supposed to be safe to be the people we wantto be. Get out!""Dude, get your freak girlfriend outta my face, Hudson." Finn lunged towards the other jock again, and dragged Sam and Mike a few steps before stopping. "I don't hit chicks, 'cause I got my principles, but I'm getting real annoyed here.""Then get the fuck out of here!" Puck yelled, only to be pushed further back by Santana. "We don't want you here!" Karofsky snarled and launched himself towards Puck, nudging Rachel out of the way."Oh... oh my! Please... stop this!" And, miraculously, Karofsky stopped in mid-stride. Kurt stifled a giggle as the lout stumbled to regain his footing. Miss Pilsbury entered the room with her usual quiet stride and grace. "Now, can someone explain what's going on?""Ya, why is Karofsky here?" Kurt wasn't necessarily angry at this turn of events. He'd long since gotten over being afraid of the jock. Besides, being with the Glee club could actually help the closeted teen. Maybe, it'd help him out of his shell. It certainly would be a step towards teaching him acceptance of others. Still, he had a role to play, and getting a few digs at the jock was kind of fun. "Shouldn't he be in the library or something, and, I, don't know, learn his ABCs" At the hurt that flashed briefly in Karofsky's eyes, Kurt didn't really think that getting those digs was all that fun anymore. "Those are hard, I keep mixing up J with the number Two." Trust Brittany to say the most bizarre things at the most inopportune times. Santana sighed and walked over to Karofsky, entwining her arms around the ogre's side. Oddly, Karofsky seemed to visibly relax at her touch. "I asked Dave to come here because... well... he's my boyfriend, and I want him to join Glee club." She planted a small kiss on the thug's cheek and then stepped away from him to the center of the floor. "Look, it's no secret what he's done. Just as it's no secret that he's been trying to make up for it. I thought that joining Glee might, help him with that." Miss Pilsbury looked just as taken aback by this as everyone else. Did Miss Pilsbury suggest Dave join? What was Santana's game, then? Why take the credit for this?
"Cut the crap, Santana. Prom's over." Mercedes and Santana glared daggers at each other. "What's your game?" "Fine. Alright you caught me. Truth is,...""I asked her." Dead silence. Even Santana stared at the jock in shock. The Latina Eve Harrington certainly hadn't planned that. Karofsky walked over and clasped hands with Santana. "You hate me, I get it. I was a douche. I am a douche. But, she's my girlfriend... and she said you needed some help with building sets, or whatever. My dad's a contractor, I work weekends at his jobs, so I know how to do shi-..." He paused and looked over at Miss Pilsbury. What was that about? "Stuff. So, I can build sets and junk. And, you can trust me, because my girlfriend is going to be using them, so I won't be trying to, like, secretly kill you guys or whatever." "Wait, sets? You toldhim?" Rachel looked aghast that Santana had divulged any secrets of the Club. Seriously, she treated Glee club like it was a Masonic Lodge or something, and everyone was out steal their trade secrets in some sort of show-choir espionage. Granted, there was precedent, but Kurt doubted very much that Dave belonged to an evil show choir rival. "Sets? What's Crazy-Lady talking about now?" Rachel wheeled around and glared at Mercedes. "I was talking with Mr. Schue..."
"You mean you were yelling at him, and he was nodding along until he gave in." Quinn rolled her eyes and walked back to her seat. Lauren watched her with narrowed eyes. What was with that? Kurt knew there had been some bad blood between them over the whole Prom thing, but he thought it had been largely settled before elections even started. "I was simply saying that while I will be honing my craft all summer-as, no doubt, Kurt and some of the other more seriousmembers of our company will-the rest of you will be wasting your time..." Karofsky leaned down and whispered something into Santana's ear. Her throaty laughter interrupted Rachel's tirade perfectly, something everyonewas happy for. The triumphant light that burned in Santana's eyes gave Kurt pause, though. How much of that scene had Santana orchestrated? Eve Harrington had nothing on Santana Lopez. "As...as I was saying, most of you will be wasting your time doing nothing over summer. And, the club seriously needs the money... We could put on a production of … something... here, in the auditorium, sell tickets and actually make some much needed money for our woefully underfunded program. The appearance of a plucky and eclectic cast of zany characters with a can-do attitude that we've managed to cultivate has worked for us so far, but we almost didn't make it to competition because we were broke and we lost...""We lost because you and Finn couldn't keep your paws off each other." Really, whywas Quinn being so harsh today? She couldn't still be sore over the whole breakup. Their love triangle was so last season anyways. "Well yes, at Nationals.. there was that. But, we lost last year because we looked poor." Rachel stammered and looked at the floor as the room suddenly became awkwardly silent. Even Karofsky sensed the shift as he just stared at Rachel. "She's got a point." Every eye turned to Sam. "I mean, I've only been with you guys this year, and I thought the costumes looked amazing. But, after I saw what we were up against at Sectionals, and even worse, Nationals, we need to bring our A-Game. Those teams went all out. You could tell their schools put money into them." Mercedes smiled and hugged Sam tightly. They were cute together. Hopefully, she'd feel comfortable enough to tell him about her relationship with Sam. Until then, Kurt was content to watch from afar as their relationship slowly unfolded like a Victorian romance.
Tina nodded along. "Ya, they were the Red Carpet, and we were Goodwill." She gasped and fiddled with the sleeves of her jacket. "Not that you didn't do a great job, Mercedes, but...""Naw, I feel you, we need better material, and maybe we could hire a professional. I'm good, but I can't do 12 costumes on my own. Even with Kurt and everyone helping," Kurt huffed at that, he did more than just helpMercedes. But, she did have a point. "It's too much." "Exactly my point, Mercedes. So I convinced Mr. Schue that doing a musical over summer would be perfect. We could hone our craft, and earn some much needed money for the program! It's win-win!""Wait, I thought that ship sailed when we tried to do Rocky Horror." Sam had a point. And, while he thought he rocked as Riff Raff, he didn't relish getting all dressed up and learning lines to be booed and heckled out of the auditorium. The Night of Neglect debacle had driven the point well and truly home. "Well, yes, Rocky Horror was a very ill-conceived idea. But, there are others, and Principal Figgins insists that every club or program does something to raise money to cover 'drastic money-saving budget cuts'." Miss Pilsbury sniffed in frustration. "The Cheerios and athletes have boosters that will sell concessions at their events, and generous donations from alumni. The gardening club will be selling bulbs and flowers this summer." Wait, there was a gardeningclub? How were theyabove the Glee club in the social food chain? "So, Mr. Schuester decided to put on another musical."
"Ya, and how long until Coach Sylvester destroys it like last time?" Kurt nodded as Mercedes through her hands up in frustration. Even if this had been Rachel's brainchild, somewhere there had to be an angle that Coach Sylvester could take over. Didn't Mr. Schue see that? This hadto be a ploy from Coach Sylvester to make New Directions lose.
"Mr. Schuester worked out a list of musicals to produce: Babes in Toyland, Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, or some Disney productions. We have more leeway because it's the summer and school's out. So, while it's ata school, it's not really a school function, and doesn't necessarily have to follow school policy-within reason. We can't do something really out there like Hair or Spring Awakening. But we can push a few envelopes." Kurt smiled at the choices Miss Pilsbury listed. All three were wonderful musicals and pretty tame for school. Sweeney Todd might be a bit much with all the murder and the rape scene. But, it was still pretty tame compared to what went on in Rocky Horror (but then again, who didn't like a bit of gay sex, swinging, cannibalism, and incest!), or the Twilight series. And, you could never go wrong with Disney. "And, since it's during summer, it'll keep you guys in practice, like Rachel said, and it'll be fun. It'll be a nice break for you all. He also said that if it works well, and you can squeeze it in, you might do another one over winter after Sectionals.""I'm sorry, Miss Pilsbury, but, um, when is Mr. Schue coming? Because I've worked out several selections to showcase my talents and appropriateness for each of the leads in those plays.""Rachel... how? If we're auditioning now I veto Sweeney Todd." Everyone stared at Quinn in shock. "There's, like, only 3 female characters in the entire play. Rachel will inevitably get Mrs Lovett, because Schue always gives her the leads. And, Kurt'll probably get that retarded kid since he's the only guy in the club that can sing that high." Toby did have some pretty amazing songs. He could definitely live with that. Although, Kurt did think he'd rock either lead if he did say so himself. Maybe if they gender-swapped Sweeney and Mrs Lovett... " That only leaves two parts for seven girls, if everyone stays. That's ridiculous.""Well.. uh.. not everyone will get to shine, certainly, but isn't it enough to know that you're making meshine brighter? The production is all that..." "Oh, Hell to the no!" Mercedes lunged at Rachel, again. "Oh! Oh my, stop this! Please!" Mercedes, unlike Karofsky, didn't seem to care all that much what Miss Pilsbuay said.. It took Lauren, Puck, and Sam to haul her away from Rachel, who was using a very uncomfortable looking Finn as a human shield. "Mr. Schue will be dealing with all these decisions when he gets back Thursday. For now, I'm just here to listen to your assignments and give comments." "Well, fine. But, I still don't think Karofsky should be here, though." Several heads nodded as Finn made his case. "He threatened to kill Kurt, and he's bullied every one of us. So...""So we vote." Santana stepped back to the center of the room from where she left Karofsky sitting in a chair alone in the corner. "We've always accepted anyone who wanted in."
"We can't just accept anyone who wants to join our group" Rachel strode towards the piano with her usual full-swing march, pulling everyone's eyes with her and off Santana. Rachel certainly knew how to make a scene. "We are a select group of elite performers. And, while some of us are more elite than others, we all understand the importance and pressures of performing in front of an audience. We need to make sure that every member of our group can do the same. I will not have someone ruining my chances of stardom because they crack under pressure. I have too much difficulty carrying the burden of stardom and leadership as it is, and-""Only 'cause you hog all the solos!" Mercedes retorted, fire burning in her eyes."Rachel's right." All eyes turned to Quinn. This could not be good; Quinn never agreed with Rachel unless she was planning something. Usually, it was the precise angle from which to strike. And, while Meatloaf had been talking about the chords of a power-ballad, Kurt was more inclined to think that Quinn's angle involved daggers and backs. "We've all had to audition. It's only fair that he goes through that same experience. He might crack under the pressure.""Please, he's a star athlete. I think he understands pressure," Santana snorted. It wasn't a pleasant sound. Then again, Santana wasn't really a pleasant person. She was undeniably hot, yes (even Kurt could see that), but neverpleasant. "He's never performed before." Rachel stamped her foot to emphasize her point. She did that way too much, in Kurt's estimation. She would be far more effective as a leader, or even a public speaker if she used a bit more grace and tact. "He performed that half-time number, and sang with the guys when they did that cover of "She's not there There". Doesn't that count as performing?" Santana smirked, obviously sensing victory. "And, if I remember right, he even suggested to Finn that they do that Zombies cover to begin with, isn't that right Finn?""Well.. uh.. he suggested that we do something to get used to singing and dancing and stuff so that we didn't suck. But. .um.. I think Mr. Schue picked the song." Kurt sighed in disappointment at his brother. Really, if the guy insisted on saying he was co-captain of the glee club, why did he refuse to take any sort of leadership position at all? For that matter, why did everyone else let him be co-captain to begin with?"Ya, but it's still a tradition to audition." Artie nodded along with Tina as the Asian girl stated her case. And threw daggers at Karofsky with her eyes. She was kind of scary when she wanted to be. "What tradition? We've only been around for two years." Santana laughed and rolled her eyes, hands firmly placed on hips. "We let Zizes in without auditioning." Zizes started awake at the sound of her name. "Why shouldn't my boyfriend get the same? Or, is it only people that Puck wants to fuck that get to break 'tradition'?" "Those were special circumstances, you know that." Rachel shot a fierce look at Dave, who seemed to be doing his best to hide in the corner and go unnoticed. No one noticed the look of abject misery that crossed his face. Maybe they did, but they just assumed that it was about being in the club. "Anyways, playing a sport with a team in a bunch of uniforms and helmets and stuff is a totally different experience." As always, Quinn remained poised and calm in her seat. Hands clasped on her lap, legs crossed demurely at the ankle and bent slightly beside her chair. The perfect image of decorum and prudence. Completely unlike Lauren who Puck had to keep firmly placed in her seat after that last remark from Santana. "He might forget his lines or the steps, or do something stupid like trip or something, thus costing us our shot at the national trophy." Ah, there's the angle. And, dagger well stabbed, indeed, Quinn. Well stabbed, indeed. "Oh please. I'm not some under-sexed hormonal hobbit, I'm not going to have a freakishly inappropriate make-out session with my boyfriend on stage in front of thousands of people." Santana pointedly looked away from Rachel. She couldn't have been more obvious. Kurt had to hand it to Quinn's skill with manipulation; Santana might be a Latina Eve Harrington, but she had nothing on Quinn. Two attacks in a row on Rachel, and Santana carried all the blame. "I can control my emotions, and so can Dave, unlike some people." She favored Dave with a brilliant smile. "He doesn't have the best track record with other people." Finn glared daggers at the hockey player. "Can we really be sure he won't try to hurt Kurt again?" "We're on the Bully Whips, Finn; he's stopped picking on people; and he even asked to join our club. He's changed. He's not perfect, obviously, but he is trying." Miss Pilsbury nodded silently from her position near the wall, a few of the others nodded as well. Unfortunately, Finn, Puck and Mercedes weren't buying it. They started speaking at once, all yelling over Miss Pilsbury's calls for quiet: "Hell no! He hurt Kurt! We have to protect Kurt! We need to make sure Kurt's safe! What if he tries something?" After three minutes of constant arguing, Kurt had had enough, and he shattered the argument with a perfectly pitched high F. "Look, guys. Thanks, but if you're going to worry about Kurt, shouldn't you ask Kurtwhat his opinion is?" He smirked as his three friends looked a bit bashful at that. "First off, Karofsky apologized and I've accepted that apology. He's been walking me around school since I came back, and he hasn't laid a finger on me. I've come to know him a bit, and I understand, a bit, of why he treated me the way he did. I think he understands me a bit better, now, as well. But, if you are going to hold his bullying against him, then we should throw out all of the jocks." Finn made to protest, but Kurt ran right over him. "Puck and Finn, you guys threw me in the dumpster every day. Puck, you slusheed all of us, at least once a week." They at least had the decency to look ashamed over their past actions. "No one did anything to stop it. The Cheerios were cruel to Rachel every time she uploaded a video to Myspace. Although, really, Rachel, what you were doing with an active Myspace page nowadays is beyond me, it's so2005. And, of course, there are the pee balloons." He regarded them all with cold, hard eyes. "Ya, Karofsky said he would kill me. You, my friends, made me wish I was dead at some point in the past. You made allof us wish it."
"We... uh.. we apologized and..."
"Yes, Finn, you did. You apologized, and you haven't done anything this year, which is great. And, we're all friends, now. Shouldn't we give Karofsky that same chance?" He tried to give Dave a reassuring smile. "I'll do it." Silence. Everyone stared at Dave like he'd grown a second head. "You guys are a team. A weird, freaky, singing and dancing team that's all about stupid shi-stuff-like rainbows and unicorns and whatever, but you're still a team. And, being a team means you gotta be able to rely on each other and know that everyone's gonna do their part. Even when the football team sucked, Tanaka still made people try out. It's not just so you can pick the best guys, but it's so you can figure out what they're good at, or not good at, or.. y'know if they suck or whatever. So, sure, I'll do it." Kurt couldn't believe his ears. That was...deep. Now, he wanted to unravel the mystery that was Dave's brain even more. Karofsky sighed and slumped in a stool. "Just, don't expect anything, y'know, good. I only sing in church, so I really don't know how I sound. And, I'm not dancing or anything, g-lame-, like that. Don't know how anyways." Dave adjusted himself a bit and took a few steadying breaths. What was he doing? He didn't prep the band or Brian or anyone about his music choice. He was just going off the cuff like this? He really didn't know anything about showmanship or show choir. Dave cleared his throat a few times and then leaned forward with his eyes fixed to the floor. Which was unfortunate, because that posture doomed his voice to ruin, a sentiment that proved true when the jock opened his mouth. His voice was a croak, barely a whisper, mangling Radiohead's Creepinto a tortuous experience for all. Kurt almost begged him to stop to save his ears. Growling and snarling all the time had to be murder on the voice. The words barely ripped themselves from his lips, as if they were coming from someplace deep and dark and tortured. Then, Karofsky seemed to gain confidence, or his throat loosened up. Either way, the notes fell into place and the words became stronger. His voice was a deep baritone, almost a bass. It had a rich, unrefined undertone that made the ear want to pay attention, like it was something special because of its rarity and lack of polish. This song was the perfect selection for his voice, although Kurt doubted that Karofsky had thought of it that way. It was a simple song, really, from a simple person. This was notthe song he would have expected the Neanderthal to sing. Something country, definitely. Something filled with machismo and testosterone-fueled rage and red-neck blue-collar pride, definitely. But not something so... open. As the Neanderthal sang, an image began to form in Kurt's mind, an image of some brilliant model or diva walking through hallways or sitting in classrooms, completely oblivious to the misshapen oaf looking around corners or peeking behind locker doors straining to catch a glimpse of that perfect beauty and relishing every stolen glance. That image should have terrified him, but, instead, all he felt was pity. The song spoke of longing that bordered on obsession and a desperation so intense it held an undercurrent of something Kurt couldn't quite place. Suicide maybe? Certainly self-loathing. There was something profoundly personal being revealed as Dave moved into the refrain, like Karofsky was speaking to someone else about something the Glee kids really had no right to be a part of. The band started playing as the jock questioned his place in the world, only to fall silent on the last lines of the chorus as he concluded with cruel finality that he did not belong, turning an already painful song into something more tragic. Karofsky's voice, plain and unaccompanied, gave an undercurrent to the song that seemed all the more stronger when the guitar and drum chimed in for that declaration of solitude only to grow silent once more as the subtlety of Karofsky's words floated in the room. Kurt felt profoundly dirty for bearing witness to this song. He was robbing Karofsky of something precious and secret as surely as Karofsky had stolen from him in the locker room so many months ago. No one was meant to see this side of Karofsky. He saw a man, desperate, pleading for change, for growth, for release, a perfect soul. A man begging for someone to notice him. It seemed ironic, to Kurt, that the star right guard of the football team and starting forward and captain of the hockey team should so pointedly embody isolation and self-loathing. It was ironic that such sentiments would come from a bully. His voice had grown softer, and the whole club hung on his every note. Kurt felt himself gasp as the refrain picked up again, with an even stronger beat from the guitar and drummer. Karofsky had looked up and was staring at him, into his eyes, piercing him to the spot, baring himself for a moment, so that Kurt could see the wounds beneath the armor. Then, his eyes turned harsh, and something dark flashed beneath them, something born of pain and abject misery. Anguish. In Kurt's mind, the oaf, desperate for affection, lashed out at his idol, chasing, snarling, barking, slamming... kissing... The words turned desperate, pleading. Karofsky's voice twisted as the oaf Kurt imagined begged his idol to run someplace safe even as he begged the idol to stay. He begged the idol to keep him from hurting, even as he pleaded to continue the pain that he had always known because he was too terrified of the uncertainty its absence would leave behind. Karofsky's voice was the sound of anguish. Kurt doubted anyone had ever heard the like, or would again. He doubted he could express such raw opened pain. Dave's voice was an open wound. The lyrics were burning nerves. The silence was salt rubbing into both.The jock slumped in his chair, dejected and defeated, and Kurt heard a sniffle, Rachel, probably, from behind him as Karofsky, again, declared how special his idol was and how he was a creep and unworthy of the idol's attentions, the music from the instruments rose to a jarring crescendo until: Silence. The final words of the song, spoken, not sung, for the final time and without accompaniment, were barely a whisper, barely a croak. They were a statement of hatred as much as fact. He was a creep. And, he did not belong.Everyone stared at the hulking Neanderthal sitting morosely beside Miss Pilsbury unwilling to break the silence. His pain still hanging in the air between them, filling the void. "Wow." Kurt could hear the sneer in Puck's voice. He didn't turn around to check, though. He didn't want to forget this moment when he got to see inside his former tormentor's soul. "Damn, that was fucked up. You can sing any song in the world, and you pick thatone?" "I thought it was... pretty." Even Brittany seemed to gather that something dark was shared. Santana patted her on the shoulder and then rushed forward to clutch Karofsky in a tender embrace. Maybe there was something more than simple manipulation? Her tears couldn't all be an act. Karofsky sneered, shaking off the stunned expression on his face. "Whatever, it was the last song on my play list. Don't make such a big deal out of it." He wrapped his arms protectively around Santana and his hands rubbed small comforting circles in her back. "So, am I in? Is that good enough to build sets, or whatever?" Rachel nodded from her spot in Finn's arms. She fiercely wiped at her eyes with her boyfriend's sleeve. "Yes, I think you're in." "Talk about blow your brains out music." Puck chuckled and leaned into Lauren's quick embrace. Kurt stared in shock as Karofsky quietly dried his eyes with no one the wiser. Blow your brains out music, indeed.
