Thursday morning Caroline felt all but giddy as she made her way toward William McKinley's entrance, S'mores Pop Tart in hand. The breakfast was just one more thing the boys had insisted she try in order to fully reclaim her lost childhood, and it was actually really good. Besides that, she couldn't wait to find out how Katie's date had gone, and talk to Liam about their plans for Medusa.
"Caroline—wait up!" a voice called from the parking lot, and the brunette's face brightened as she watched Teddy waving his hand as he worked to catch up to her.
She paused, watching patiently as he stopped beside her, catching his breath while he slid his hands around his pockets, checking to account for his glasses, cell phone, backpack, and camera bag.
Finally the tall boy straightened and smiled. "Hey," he said with a chuckle.
"Hi," she replied cordially.
"Nice Pop Tart," he commented.
"S'mores," the brunette informed him with a grin, and he mirrored her expression.
"Processed breakfast food, full of preservatives and sugar," he summarized. "The breakfast of champions."
"Yeah, well, someone suggested I let myself indulge in breakfast items that made no nutritional sense," Caroline told him with a smirk. "I believe they said it was the key to my youth."
"You know, I've heard that," he told her with a laugh. "It seems to me like a sound piece of advice."
The two stared silently at each other for a moment. "Um, can I—?" he offered, gesturing toward the school. She smiled and nodded, and together they made their way through the front doors.
"So, how's your week going?" Teddy asked, adjusting his glasses as he matched her stride.
She grinned up at him. "It's going fine," she told him. "Better than fine, actually—what you guys have been doing is amazing, I can't believe it." Caroline gently touched his arm. "I can't even tell you how much it means that you would go through all of this for me."
The sandy-haired boy blushed slightly, pushing his hair out of his face. "Good," he replied. "I mean, Liam will be glad, since it was his idea—not that I didn't want to help—I did. The movies were actually my choices, since filmography is kind of my thing…"
"They were great choices," the brunette assured him. "I'm really glad we got to watch Shrek; and Star Wars; and all of those Disney Movies; and Pixar was so great." She laughed. "I didn't even know that I'd missed so much," she told him.
"Well, it's never too late to catch up," he told her. "I mean, at least until you're old and senile and have the memory of a goldfish—then it might be hard, but still."
She giggled, and took another bite of her Pop Tart as they reached her locker. "Maybe you could recommend some others, you know, so that I could keep watching to work on my catch-up." She glanced up at him and saw his eyes locked on her. Caroline wondered if he noticed how close he was, how blue his eyes were…
The junior put out a hand toward her, brushing her cheek lightly, and Caroline felt a shiver roll down her spine. "What are you doing?" she breathed anxiously.
Teddy blushed, clearing his throat as he held up his hand to show a smear of chocolate on his thumb. "You, um, had some stuff on…" He muttered in embarrassment, pulling out a Clean Wipe from his pocket and wiping his hand with it. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have—"
"No," the freshman interjected, sweeping her own hand across her face to both check for additional schmutz and hide her quickly reddening face. "I mean, I appreciate it—I'd rather not go around all day wearing my breakfast." She smiled awkwardly.
"Right," he replied self-consciously.
The two stood in silence for another minute.
"You know," Teddy began, gathering his courage. "Maybe sometime we could, you know, if you wanted—"
Unfortunately for the gangly teen, Caroline's attention had been completely diverted to a set of quickly moving ballet flats as their owner scurried unseeing through the halls.
"I'm so sorry, Teddy," the brunette murmured, patting the junior's arm in apology, her eyes never leaving the girl that flew past them. "I've got to go." And away she went, desperate to catch up to her friend and leaving her teammate standing unhappily by her locker.
"Hey!" the brunette shouted as Katie continued quickly down the corridor. "Hey!" The blonde slowed; if for no other reason than the other had finally caught up with her and tugged on her shoulder to force her to stop. "Katie, what's going on?"
Katie didn't say anything; truthfully, she just wanted to go to her classes and forget the last week had ever happened. She felt like a complete and utter idiot, and knew that if she ran into Caroline, her friend would want a full report about her "date", and, sure enough—
"Are you okay?" Caroline asked. "Did something happen last night?"
Katie ducked her head down; wishing like anything that they weren't having this conversation in the hallway with a million kids wandering around. Thankfully, her friend seemed to pick up on her hesitant vibe, because she quickly tugged her into an empty classroom and sat her on a desk.
"Katie, say something, or I'm going to think you went all New Moon Bella Swan on me."
The blonde took a deep breath and mumbled to her friend, "Hestoodmeup."
"He what?" The brunette asked, leaning forward to catch the sentence.
Katie huffed, trying to ignore the flush in her cheeks as she repeated "He stood me up." She stood up, turning her back to her friend and beginning to pace. "I was standing in front of the theater halfway into the first movie when he finally sent a text after I called him, like, a billion times." She held up her phone, and Caroline read the simple sentence, "Sorry."
"I'm totally going to kill him!" Caroline cried.
"Care—"
"No, seriously; I'm going to rip off his head and stick it on a spike. I told him if he pulled anything—"
"You told him?" Katie asked. "When did you talk to him?"
Caroline's eyes went wide as she thought quickly. "Uh, at Glee rehearsal yesterday," she lied quickly. "I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be a jerk—and clearly he was." She continued her rant, "So now I'm going to have to destroy him. Of course, you'll have to help me destroy all evidence of the body, since that's your thing—"
"Care, seriously," the blonde told her friend, placing a hand on her arm. "I just want to forget about all of this. It was obviously too good to be true, and now I know. No biggie."
"No biggie?" Caroline asked incredulously. If it had been up to her, there would already be a body stuffed in the school dumpsters.
"Look, can we please just forget about it?" her friend pleaded, causing the brunette to let her shoulders slump forward unhappily.
"Fine; for now we'll forget about it," she conceded, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder. "But that won't stop me from 'accidentally' tripping him every time we pass each other in rehearsal."
Katie gave a small smile, and she and Caroline made their way back into the hall and toward class.
Ashwin walked through the hallways with his head high, ignoring the hushed voices that carried around him. It had been another period of silence with his girlfriend, though he could tell by her notes that she was starting to thaw around the edges. He just hoped like crazy that whatever they were fighting about would be over soon: this fishbowl attention on the two of them was incredibly unnerving.
"Hey M. Night Shyamalan!" a voice called from behind him, and the boy turned to watch a group of jocks coming up behind him.
He put on a grin and slapped hands with Coby, Crash, and Wally as the boys walked toward him.
"How's it going man?" the husky boy continued with a grin. "We heard Ashma's on hold and figured you could use some bro time."
"Two years of double-standard servitude," Wally commented, putting his arm around his soccer buddy's shoulder. "We figured you can finally get some long-missed testosterone recharging. Now what you'll need is a quick catch-up on the girl scene: I recommend a bout of sorority partying at the community college with me and Crash here, then a more public rebound—"
"Wall, come on," Ashwin interjected, putting his hands out to stop them. "We're not over. We just had a fight—all couples fight."
"Maybe," the dark-haired sophomore muttered.
"Regardless," Coby mediated. "You're a free man for now, and seriously? When was the last time you had any time sans Wonder Woman?"
More than I'd like, Ashwin thought to himself, but his friends wouldn't understand. The entire school saw the two of them practically attached at the hip—they wouldn't notice that almost every minute that wasn't school regulated they barely spent any time as a pair.
When he didn't answer, Crash supplied, "Exactly man: you need some guy time. Starting now."
He found himself being steered away from his classrooms and back toward the front entrance.
"Wait, wait; where are we going?" he asked, trying to slow his steps, but the guys weren't having it.
"Away from here," the dark-skinned boy answered, and for the first time in his life, Ashwin found himself allowing a mar on his perfect attendance record as he let his friends coerce him into skipping class.
The bell signaled the end of class, and Emma slowly gathered her things and let the crowd of peers carry her to the exit. Ashwin hadn't shown up, nor had he hadn't texted her to say he wasn't coming. Truthfully, it was the second part that bothered her most: even when they were fighting, he wouldn't want to leave her hanging.
So now she was worried. She knew that he wasn't in physical trouble, since she'd just seen him the period before and he'd looked perfectly healthy. The brunette still refused to believe that her boyfriend would be cheating on her, since if Ashwin was going to try to get some action behind her back; she felt he would try to be a little stealthier about it. However, his attendance record was only second to her own, and he'd never even considered cutting class a day in his life, so where was he?
She took out her phone and stared at the screen, willing it to inform her of a new text or voicemail—something that would explain her boyfriend's absence. As much as the girl hated to admit it, she was tired of being without him, and the unwanted attention from being alone was really starting to get to her.
"Emma Malley," a voice chuckled behind her, and she had to work to keep her nose from wrinkling in distaste as Liam Stewart walked up behind her, his friend Andrew trailing.
The brunette kept her face neutral as he continued, "I could hardly recognize you without your brainiac arm candy." He glanced around. "Where is Kumar, anyways? It's not like him to skip out on class."
"What do you want Liam?" Emma asked, unable to keep the slight bite out of her tongue. The film geek always had a way of pushing her buttons with hardly any effort, and she normally tried her best to keep from associating with him at all.
"One teammate can't be concerned for another?" He put his hand to his chest. "I'm hurt that you think I wouldn't care about your pain."
Emma's skepticism didn't let up, and so Andrew finally spoke up, "We were on our way to Biology, and wondered if you wanted some company to your next class?" He ducked his head slightly as he said it, but the girl couldn't help but feel appreciative for the offer.
"That's really not necessary," she replied against her wish. "I'm actually on my way to my class down the hall—"
"Perfect," Liam spoke up, sidling up beside her. "We'll get you there safe and sound." He watched her reluctant expression, then softened up his own a bit. "Come on," he told her gently. "I promise we don't bite, and it's got to be better with us than facing the lions alone, right?"
Emma mulled it over in her head a moment before nodding resignedly, and then allowed the two to steer her in the direction of her room. "Perfect," the taller boy replied, tone returning to its normal volume. "I just need to make one stop and then we'll get you where you're going, no sweat."
They made their way down the corridor, the two boys involved in an apparently long-running discussion about the film they were planning on submitting for the Ohio Independent.
"I'm just saying," Liam insisted, slowing at his locker. "The more interviews of Figgins, the more material we have to choose from. We could really show the truth of this place."
"And I'm telling you Li: he will suspend and/or kill us if we chop up an interview that exposes him the way you're talking about," Andrew countered.
"He can't suspend us for using his own words," the taller boy countered, adjusting his glasses as he spun the combination. "Seriously, Drew, you've got to look at the bigger pic—"
Suddenly both boys jumped back with a yelp, and Emma, having admittedly spaced out in the calming banter of the discussion, looked up in surprise. Her face went from shocked to disgusted as she realized what the boys were scrambling away from.
Upon opening the door, possibly a hundred opened tampons had poured from Liam's locker, more than a few saturated with a bright red liquid.
"Holy crap, that is—that is—" Liam stammered, apparently unable to voice his open repulsion and horror at the scene. His friend seemed equally at a loss, face white with distress.
"Who the hell does that?" the boy shouted again, drawing more attention to their situation, and Emma, desperate to calm them, couldn't help but notice something about the cotton closest to her.
"Oh my god—" Liam gagged as she pulled out a tissue and gingerly pressed it to the Tampax.
"Food coloring," Emma stated quietly, speaking up when she was certain. "It's just food coloring." She put a hand on the taller boy's, trying to reassure him and keep him from throwing up or fainting. "It's not…anything else."
The lean brunette squeezed the girl's hand with his own, trying to get ahold of himself. It was just a prank, he realized as he brought his free hand to his forehead, pushing his hair back away from the sweat. Just a prank…
His eyes darted around the halls in abrupt realization, and it took all of five seconds for them to find what he'd been looking for: a sophomore leaning against a corner of the wall, scarlet and white streaks dancing evilly in the artificial light, eyes shining in excitement as she watched the chaos taking place in front of her.
Liam finally collected himself, scoffing slightly as he offered her a half-smile across the halls and dropped to help Emma and Andrew clean up the mess as the rest of the students resumed their lives. Well played, he thought to himself, shaking his head and already wondering how he was ever going to top this.
Annie flitted through the current of students making their way to lunch, pushing through the library doors and into the stacks where a bleach-blonde was leaned up casually against the shelves, fingers grazing a book in his hands.
The sophomore took a moment to appreciate the way that Hayden managed to look so nonchalant no matter where he was. He looked completely at ease, shaded eyes staring off into space, and his fingers the only part of him moving.
"Fancy meeting you here," he spoke up, smirking as his gaze remained fixed ahead of him.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, looking at the book in his hand.
"What else do you do in a library? I'm reading," he replied, closing the text and showing her the cover. "You ever read this one?"
Annie scrunched up her face in confusion. The book had no words, just a bunch of random bumps that looked like somebody had spilled clear pop rocks all over it. "What is it?"
"Through the Looking Glass," he answered. "Lewis Carroll was always my favorite author."
"How—?" The brunette stumbled on the sentence, uncertain how to ask what she wanted to know.
She could see by the arch in his eyebrows and wrinkle in his forehead that he was rolling his eyes as he smirked at her implied question. "Braille," he told her, opening his hand as a gesture for hers, then placing her fingers across one of the pages. "The little bumps stand for letters, the letters make words, the words tell the same story you would see in type."
Annie couldn't help it; she giggled in surprised delight as his hand gently guided hers over the tiny bumps. Granted, she didn't understand any of it, but the whole idea of a language you'd read with your hands sounded pretty cool.
Hayden released her hand and closed the book, returning it to his bag. "So, what's with the secret rendezvous?" he asked, holding up the handwritten note she'd left with his teacher. "And, just to let you know, it's not so secret if you send it in a way that I have to find someone to read it for me."
The brunette blushed again, something she seemed to do a lot when she associated with the boy. At least he couldn't see her. "I wondered if you were up for an adventure," she told him.
"I've always thought of myself as the adventurous type," he replied, then frowned. "What kind of adventure?"
"Come to lunch with me," she proposed, taking his hand and leading him toward the exit.
He put his other hand against her to slow her progress, stumbling as he tried to slow his feet. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea," he replied with a hint of irregularity in his inflection that Annie couldn't place as he absently adjusted his sunglasses.
"I promise it'll be fine," she assured him, brushing the confusion aside. "You really need to get out and hang around the rest of us—at least to see that we're not a bunch of meatheads."
Hayden looked anything but confident, but he allowed himself to be pulled slowly forward by the sophomore, patting the folded ID cane in his back pocket for reassurance and hoping he wouldn't need it.
Dylan checked his phone for the millionth time as he kept watch on the hallway. Multitasking was something he'd grown up doing, but he hated the urgency he felt over his current problems. Seeing Caroline and Katie making their way down the halls with a handful of Cheerios in tow certainly did not make him feel any better.
"Katie!" he called out, jogging over to her spot in the center of the pack of girls. Watching the four glowering eyes lock on his person made him really wish that he'd caught her alone, but as he tugged on his last good polo shirt, he figured he wasn't in much of a place to negotiate.
"What do you want, jerk-wad?" Michelle spat from her spot in the rear.
"You know," Caroline spoke up from beside her friend. "You've got a lot of gall to just come up and talk to us after what you pulled last night. I should cut you into confetti and sell you to Party Town."
Dylan's face momentarily cringed at the imagery, but he kept his eyes on the blonde in the middle. "Katie, please—I just need a minute."
"She doesn't want to talk to you Grunge Master," Michelle responded as the freshman's gaze dropped to the ground. "You were lucky to have any sort of chance with her to begin with, and then you went and stood her up, which proves that not only are you a loser, but you're stupid."
"Please, just give me a chance—"he tried again, still trying to catch the girl's eyes.
"A chance to do what?" Caroline demanded. "Embarrass her all over again? No way—come on guys." And she pulled Katie down the hall.
The shaggy-haired boy gave one last effort, throwing himself in their path. "Katie, just two sentences, please," he begged.
The usually vivacious blonde looked up at him, and he flinched at the hurt in her eyes. "I really thought you were a good guy," she told him. "And you made me feel like crap. Can you even understand what it was like—"
Suddenly the brunette's phone vibrated, and he automatically glanced down to check the message that had appeared on the screen. When he looked up, he was met by four equally incredulous expressions.
"You know what?" she told him before he could get a word out. "Forget it—just forget we ever met. Have a nice life."
The girls began walking away from him, with Michelle leaning over to sneer, "And by the way, your outfit looks like they're leftovers from a Before weight loss program picture."
Dylan sighed unhappily as he watched them—more specifically her—go, letting his back slam up against the lockers as he dwelled on the unfortunate circumstances that was his life. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what he would have said to her if she'd given him the chance: he wasn't who she thought he was, and if he was himself, he couldn't imagine she would have actually wanted to date him.
I have often dreamed, he sang gently, of a far off place
Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me
Dylan pushed himself off of the wall, Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be
The boy gripped his fist tightly as he turned toward the locker. I'll be there someday, I can go
the distance
I will find my way, he intoned, spinning so that he faced the hall, if I can be strong
I know ev'ry mile, will be worth my while
When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong
He made his way down the aisle of the auditorium, smiling as Katie stood watching him from the
stage. Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate
Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you
And a thousand years, would be worth the wait
It might take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through
And then he was alone on the stage itself, the spotlight glaring down on him. And I won't look
back, he sang, I can go the distance
And I'll stay on track, no, I won't accept defeat
It's an uphill slope, but I won't lose hope
Till I go the distance, and my journey is complete
Dylan looked around sadly back in the empty hallway, down where the bubbly blonde had
disappeared. I will search the world, he told her, I will face its harms
Till I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms
The freshman took a deep breath to compose himself, then pushed a button on speed dial and strode into an isolated classroom, tone soothing and sympathetic as he greeted the person on the other end.
Annie eagerly led Hayden through the halls, trying to slow down enough so that he didn't run into anyone while getting to the table as fast as physically possible. She really wanted to introduce him to everyone, just because she'd never met anyone like him before and was sure no one else had either.
She spotted her table instantly, tugging on the reluctant boy's arm excitedly. "That's us over there," she told him, wanting to smack herself the next instant when she realized he had no idea where there was. She guided him through the crowded room, sitting him down next to her as she greeted her growing table group.
"Hey everybody," she said. "This is my new friend Hayden Bryant. Hayden, this is Nina Grannis, Michelle Harrison, Caroline Fabray, Emma Malley, and Katie Bennett."
The blonde boy gave an awkward wave, and everyone murmured their hellos.
Annie continued, pulling her lunch from her backpack, "So what's the what?"
"Oh my god you missed Dylan "dresses like he's homeless" Jamieson begging for Katie to give him another chance, only to take a phone call right in the middle of his lame excuse!" Michelle exclaimed.
The brunette's jaw dropped, "Seriously?"
"Hand to Marilyn," the tiny freshman replied. "But no worries—Katie put him in his bag-wearing self in his place." She put out a hand to the blonde girl, who tentatively high-fived her.
"So, Hayden," Emma said, not only trying to include the new boy, but also keep Michelle from seguing back to her and Ashwin. "I don't think I've seen you around—what grade are you in?"
"Sophomore, actually," he told her, shifting awkwardly. "I actually had to take a year off when I was ten, so I'm just a little old for the normal cut."
"A sophomore, really?" Emma commented, picking up on the circumstances and trying to navigate around any delicate issues. "Do you do any clubs or anything?"
"Not really," he replied, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat.
"He reads," Annie supplied, trying to encourage her new friend.
"Everyone reads, Annie," Michelle retorted, rolling her eyes.
"I just meant—"
However, the tiny brunette once again deterred from the conversation by standing up and waving like a maniac to get the attention of Roxie as she passed by.
"Roxie, over here! You—"she pointed to Hayden. "Scoot over, will you?"
The blonde tried to comply, but accidentally moved the wrong way, bumping into Nina and knocking over her avocado-tomato dip all over their laps.
"Bloody hell!" he cried out, revealing a much more pronounced British accent than Annie had noticed before. The poor boy tried to back out of the seat, but ended up slipping in dip and crashing into an unsuspecting Roxie before they both hit the ground.
"Hey, be careful!" Dalton snapped as he came up behind them, reaching out to help the tiny girl to her feet. "What are you blind?"
Hayden kept his head down to hide his reddening face, pushing to his feet as he lunged for the exit, hands partially extended.
Annie glared at the boy still standing awkwardly before her. "You are such a jackass," she told him, rushing after her friend.
The sophomore had made it to the still sparsely occupied hallway before the brunette managed to catch up with him.
"Hey, I am so sorry," she started, but he just put out a hand.
"Forget it," he said sharply, pulling out his cane from his back pocket and locking it into place. "It was my own fault for agreeing to this clanger of an idea in the first place."
"But—"
"I said forget it, okay?"
Annie held back a moment, watching as he slowly moved the aluminum along the ground to find his way back. "At least let me help you get back," she offered.
"I can get back on my own just fine," he snapped. "I haven't needed your help for the last six years—I don't think that's going to change in the next five minutes."
He angrily trekked back toward the SLC hallway, and all the Cheerio could do was watch him with hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Dalton apologized again as he followed the tiny brunette out the cafeteria. He'd been doing damage control since the admittedly insensitive remark he'd made to Annie's new friend, but the freshman seemed determined to avoid him. "Are you seriously going to ignore me forever?"
I'm not ignoring you, Roxie replied internally as she continued down the hall in the general direction of the nurse's office. She didn't want anyone to see that she was hurting as much as she was from the collision, and really just wanted to take something and lay down. I just have nothing to say to you.
The ash blonde reached out and grabbed her arm, taking advantage of her surprise to direct her into an empty classroom. "Look, what I did was stupid, and I'm sorry. What else can I say that will make you forgive me?"
You could admit why you were being so stupid, the brunette thought, gazing at him coldly. You could decide which side you're going to stand on the next time this happens.
"Really? Still nothing?" He asked, and she arched her eyebrow in response. "What, you want an in-depth explanation? I told you already: it's complicated. You wouldn't understand."
Wow, that doesn't sound vague and evasive, the girl inner-monologued, rolling her eyes.
"Look, I know you don't like my reason, but it's all I can give you about then. What I can give you about now, though? I can tell you that I won't let you down like that again; I'm really in this, I promise."
How can I tell if that means anything now when it didn't then? Her eyes asked him, hurt overwhelming her again.
"I know that you barely believe me, if at all," he remarked. "But the only way I'm going to be able to prove it is time, and I need you to at least tolerate my existence until I've got enough of that under my belt. So can you just give me a tiny break for now?"
Roxie sighed, blushing at the earnestness of his gaze and dropping her head to stare fixedly on the tiles at her feet. "Everyone in Glee already forgave you—" she murmured.
He closed the space between them and cupped her chin with his hand, bringing her eyes to meet his.
"I don't care about their forgiveness," he told her. "I want yours."
She blinked in disbelief at his statement, feeling her breath stop slightly as his hand didn't leave her face. She could have sworn she saw a flash of something cross his face—
Roxie quickly backed away as her face heated up in embarrassment, and her body started throbbing in pain as it remembered why she was in this section of the school to begin with. She placed her hand on the door, and then glanced back at the boy with a sigh.
"Fine," she told Dalton quietly. "I forgive you—for now. Time will tell if I can trust you again."
Dalton couldn't help but grin at the words, tilting his head as he pressed, "Does that mean you'll ditch the Blather Squad?"
The tiny freshman threw him an amused smile and nod, then walked as quickly as she could away from him, completely bewildered by the last five minutes that had just transpired.
Caroline crept through the empty halls carefully. She had a secret mission, and based on the previous couple of days, decided it would be best to involve as few others as possible, especially her Cheerio friends.
The brunette snuck a glance around the corner, than darted into the girl's bathroom, closing the door quickly behind you.
"Expecting someone?" a voice asked from the sink, and the girl jumped a little as she saw Hayley brushing her colored waves in the mirror. She chuckled dryly. "Wow, you are getting paranoid."
The freshman straightened herself, walking forward to where the other girl stood. "I was looking for you, actually," she told her.
"Really?" Hayley asked. "And here I thought Bossy McSuperNag told you to steer clear of my sort."
"You said if I wanted to do something more than run and hide, you could help," Caroline replied. "I want to do something more than run and hide."
"About damn time," the sophomore grinned, turning from her reflection to look at the girl beside her. "Look at you in your Big Girl pants."
"I heard about your prank on Liam," the freshman continued. "The design, the execution, the response—it was huge, and that's exactly what I want."
"Then that's what we'll do," Hayley told her. "Did you have anything in particular in mind?"
Caroline smiled.
"So what's going on with you and Mini-Q?" Nikki asked from her cushioned seat in the mezzanine section of the auditorium. Stassi had actually suggested it—it was quiet, and dark, and they'd see anyone coming before anyone saw them. "Dissension in the ranks already?"
Stassi looked up from her half-Luna bar she'd been eating off-and-on all day. "What makes you say that?" she asked.
"She was wandering around alone the other day," Nikki reminded her. "Not something a good commander-in-chief would allow."
"Freshman's new to the system," the brunette replied. "She'll get used to the motions eventually. Just a kink really."
"And she's been seen hanging around Trickle Montenegro," the Asian girl added. "You know that girl is only going to stir up trouble."
Stassi sighed in frustration. "Bitch is a serious thorn in my side," she commented, kicking the chair in front of her.
"The Queen Wannabe or Hurricane?"
Her friend scoffed. "At this point? Both." Stassi looked over to the Head Cheerio in concern. "As long as the streaked freak is whispering in the freshman's ear, I can't control any of the clowns in this circus. Honestly Nik? I'd watch my back if I were you."
"You're starting to sound a little repetitive there, A."
"I'm serious Nikki." The Cheerio rotated to face her friend, the packaged meal completely forgotten. "Hurricane's a loose cannon, and Fabray is looking for anything to point that'll send shrapnel your way. Neither think, and that could be a real mess for everyone."
The Captain considered her friend. "What are we going to do?"
Stassi didn't hesitate. "Make sure when whatever Droplet's planning hits the fan, it flies fully back in her face. She's already an inch from expulsion; it shouldn't take much of a push." She nodded happily. "With her gone, Mini-Q will go back to seeing sense—"
"You mean, she saw any to begin with?"
"—and eventually realize she should drop this Gleetard Parade before her situation gets any worse," she finished, leaning back contentedly in her fantasy.
Nikki nodded. "You know," she said, leaning forward. "It was Geriatric Napoleon Dynamite who vouched for Misty in the first place. If you wanted to make sure ReQuinn dropped the Sing Along, maybe we could direct some of the fallout his way as well."
Stassi sat silently, frowning as she thought about the idea. It wasn't like she liked Glee or Mr. Schue or anything, but it sounded kind of harsh to euthanize the club just to relocate back to the right side of the hierarchy.
"Whatever we do," she finally replied. "First we've got to take care of Montenegro." She put her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "So just keep an eye out for yourself, okay?"
The Asian girl smiled as the other exited the room, feeling proud that she'd so easily planted the first seeds in her friend's mind.
Caroline made her way to Glee rehearsal, barely listening to a chittering Michelle going on about the various gossip she'd picked up in her last class. Seriously, the girl talked so much about so little, the brunette was beginning to understand how it had such a marginal effect on the others. It seemed the only time she said something worth hearing was when she had very little to report.
"So then I found out that Ashwin Chima was completely unaccounted for two periods today, plus lunch, and he never misses class without a note, so it's just such a scandal," the tiny brunette babbled, bouncing on her toes as she walked backwards to face her friend. "Plus, I found out that Rhi missed classes too—granted not the same periods, but it could still mean something—"
"Hey guys," a voice interrupted them, and Caroline turned to see Katie approaching. She grinned and pulled her friend into a hug, giving Michelle a moment to recover from her initial bout of unhappiness at losing the limelight and become happy at the new addition to their group.
"Hi Katie," the Cheerio greeted, lightening instantly as she recognized follow-up on an already treaded path. "How are you holding up?"
The blonde smiled. "I'm fine, Michelle, really." She shrugged and tossed her head back as she straightened her shoulders. "I must've had water in my brain or something to have even seen something in Dylan Jamieson in the first place."
"Totally," the girl chirped. "I mean, he's so weird—he never goes anywhere or does anything except chess club and theater—and Glee now, of course." She shook her head in distaste. "But seriously? He dresses horribly, he's super secretive—just a horrible choice. We'll totally find you someone way better than that freak."
"Michelle!" Nina chided as she and Annie caught up with the girls just outside of the music room. "That's enough now. Regardless of his lack of common courtesy, he's still our teammate."
The small brunette huffed in disagreement, but said nothing. Caroline, however, looked from the door to her friend and said, "Speaking of, we kind of have to get going…"
"I know," the blonde replied with a smile. "That's why I'm here."
The other girls stared blankly, with the non-Cheerio being the first to connect the dots. "Oh my gosh, really?" She squealed, jumping up and down as she hugged her friend. "But—"
"He's not going to run me off from doing something fun with you guys," the other girl told them. "It's like my mom always says: even though there are some jerks in your path, it's all about the journey, and you've just got to keep your head up through all of it."
"Aww, that's nice," Annie said.
"It's also a great song choice," Katie said with a grin, holding up her sheet music, and standing in front of the New Directions as she introduced herself.
Katie tapped her feet to the tempo, The glow that the sun gives
Right around sunset
Helps me realize
This is just a journey
Drop your worries
You are gonna turn out fine.
Oh, you'll turn out fine.
Fine, she sang out, oh, you'll turn out fine.
She pirouetted, But you gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
You gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
I know it's hard, she threw her hands out in frustration, know it's hard,
To remember sometimes,
But you gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
Only rainbows after rain
The sun will always come again.
It's a circle, circling,
Around again, it comes around again. She jumped onto the piano and began rocking side to side.
I say only rainbows after rain
The sun will always come again.
It's a circle, circling,
Around again, it comes around
She jumped off and shuffle-stepped around the class, Caroline standing to join her, But you gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
The rest of the New Directions stood up, dancing with each other from their place in the audience and singing along, You gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
Katie took the lead again, taking Caroline's hand as she sang out, I know it's hard, know it's hard,
To remember sometimes,
But you gotta keep your head up, oh,
And you can let your hair down, eh.
The group burst into applause, with a loud cheer coming from the Cheerio section, and Katie spared a glance at Dylan, who nodded in seeming resignation.
Somehow, that didn't make her feel as good about the situation as she'd hoped.
A/N: Songs featured are "I Can Go The Distance" by Michael Bolton (featured in the Disney Movie "Hercules"), and "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer.