Well, i don't quite know what's happened to me! It's been over two weeks, and all i have to show for myself is four days in London, two pointless exams, five Christmas presents and about ten pages of writing... But hey ho, i like my ten pages :) So i'm sorry it's taken so long guys! And thanks to all those who reviewed, you guys made my day!
Anyways, i now have 200 people with this on alert xD and you're all awesome :D -chocolates for you all-
Apologies in advance for grammar and spelling/punctuation mistakes, normally they're the bane of my life and i'm falling asleep as it it :/ i promise to revise all the chapters asap for this! Plus, only about four more chapters after this one! D:
Enjoy,
Over and out xxx
Even though neither one of them even wanted to think about it, somehow Wednesday was on top of them before they could even blink. They had spent a semi-relaxed, semi-panicked weekend alternately enjoying each other's company and keeping everyone up to speed with developments, including liaising with Scar.
But then the school week had started, and Kurt had gone there on Monday thinking that it was okay, because he had two days to mentally prepare himself. On Tuesday Sam was a little nervous but really just trying to ignore everything and pretend that it wasn't the next day that would decide what would happen to them in that school.
However, suddenly it was Wednesday morning, and they were jittery and anxious, and then it was Wednesday lunch and Kurt hardly ate, picking at his food listlessly as he watched those around him and tried to keep some semblance of a smile on his face. Sam, on the other hand, had decided that eating his entire body weight in chips, pizza and chocolate was a good way to soothe his nerves.
Then it was Wednesday afternoon, at the end of their last lesson, which they had separately, and in French Kurt was packing away so slowly he might as well have been taking the things back out of his bag. Sighing, he watched as everyone else around him shove their things away hurriedly, not caring if they were crumpled in the process, just wanting to get out of the room, the building, as fast as possible. He, on the other hand, wanted to stay in the classroom conjugating French verbs forever.
The teacher even left before him, chuckling and telling him to hurry up, before disappearing out the door and letting it swing shut behind him, entering the throng of students rushing past the doorway outside, desperate to get home.
Sam was doing the exact same thing in his lesson, packing up at the pace of a snail, but he had resorted to more desperate measures of pretending to not understand the subject matter of their math lesson so that he could stay behind and have it explained to him again, even though it was a pretty simple theory and he completely understood it the first time. It was worth looking like an idiot in front of his teacher to avoid reality for those few more precious minutes before he had to face it again.
In the end, both of them had to vacate their respective classrooms, and they met up in the hallway that bordered the auditorium, midway between their two classes. Sam could tell that Kurt was just as nervous as him when the approached each other, and he gave his boyfriend a hug as he reached him, before taking his hand gently and then turning and continuing along the corridor, towards the staff room where the governors and Figgins had decided to hold the appeal.
However, the appeal didn't actually start until thirty minutes after school had ended, to give the governors and Azimio and his parents, as well as Scar and anyone else who wanted to be there to show their support. So they had time to kill as the last remaining students drifted out of their classes and towards the doorway at the end of the corridor, chatting aimlessly with their friends or slamming their lockers shut in an effort to get away from the building faster.
Kurt watched as the corridor emptied around him and then said "You know, I've been dreading this all week, but now it's actually here, I just feel a little numb. Like it's not really happening at all, and I'll wake up to find that it's all a dream."
Sam clutched his hand tighter and replied "I know what you mean baby, but it isn't a dream, and in about an hours time you and I will be free of Azimio forever, and we won't have to worry about him breathing down our necks ever again!"
Kurt sighed and then smiled up at Sam, knowing that his boyfriend was trying to cheer him up, and that he also truly believed what he was saying.
He truly thought that in an hours time they appeal would be over and that they would have won it.
Which gave Kurt himself that little bit more confidence that all would really be well.
Even so, they dawdled in that hallway for another few minutes before Kurt started whistling the tune to 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' and realised that they would actually have to go somewhere.
"Come on, we might as well head down to the staff room now and see what's happening. It wouldn't kill us to be there easy I suppose."
Sam just shrugged and nodded, knowing that he needed to do something before he went stir crazy and started having some sort of panic attack.
"Okay, well I think the quickest way is past the choir room, down this corridor."
They set off, encountering one more lone straggling student as they went, and were nearly past the choir room door when the heard the sound of chatter and music coming out of it.
Pausing, Sam turned to Kurt and said "You don't think they...?"
"I'm sure they wouldn't... would they?"
Both of them moved at once, rounding the doorframe at the same time, to be met with a sight that was as familiar and expected as it was startling.
The entire Glee club, minus them, was sitting in the choir room, all with either piles of papers in their laps or some sort of singing going on. None of them were silent, and all of them turned to look at them as they pushed the door further open and promptly jumped on them in a million way group hug.
It took a while for everyone to back off, but eventually they gradually drifted apart so that Kurt and Sam could breathe again, and then formed back up into some semblance of a line up on the raised section at the back of the room, where Sam could see that the chairs had been cleared from.
"You guys, what's going on?" He asked curiously, having some inkling of what was about to happen.
Rachel practically bounded forwards from her position, a huge smile on her face as she started "We had the most wonderful idea that we should-"
"Oi, Rach, it was our idea! Kurt, Sam, man we wanted to make sure you knew we all supported you and everything, and I guess Rachel's right sometimes, singing really does get your feelings out or whatever. I hope you liked the song we chose."
And with that he herded Rachel back into her place in the line and then walked into the last empty spot himself, the one where he could easily grab the guitar off Deryk the band guy, and start to play.
The first strains of guitar were heard and Sam knew the song, but from the look on Kurt's face, he didn't. Well, he hoped that Kurt would enjoy his musical education.
This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles
Finn, over at the right end of the line, spun around, singing first as he grinned at Sam and Kurt a little, the rest of the group still facing the back and just providing quiet harmonies and tapping their feet, slapping their thighs.
This one goes out to the ones in need
Artie flipped his chair around, his wheels gleaming as he sang and his glasses slipping down his nose a little while he smiled at them.
This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical
Quinn was the next to turn, her knee length cream dress flaring out and making her look a little like a ballerina as she infused some feminine charm and sweetness into the otherwise hardened and gritty song. Kurt could immediately see why she'd chosen to sing that line, knowing that she felt like a sinner because of the child, Beth, that she'd had, and that she probably would consider herself cynical and hardened. He could see as well, however, that this was her way of pushing through that, reclaiming herself a little, accepting herself and moving on.
This ain't about no apology
Mercedes was the one to swivel next, her hand on her hip and fingers snapping, the bags of attitude that Sam loved about her obvious as she belted it out. He was giggling as she winked in their direction and then smirked at his laughter.
This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry
Tina stepped forwards, her sweet voice bringing the same haunting quality to the sing as Quinn's had, and Kurt had to marvel at how amazing she sounded, because he had thought she was good but chills were going down his spine.
This road was paved by the winds of change
Rachel was the next to turn, for once not looking like the star of the show but just like anyone in an ensemble piece, and Sam could tell she was truly into the song, and it hadn't even crossed her mind while they had been singing that she wasn't the centre. She just wanted them to take comfort from it that much.
Walking beside the guilty and the innocent
With a swoosh of blonde hair Brittany swung around, her normal happy-go-lucky smile on her face as she so obviously portrayed innocence. The sparkle in her eyes and the pure happiness in her smile were just a wonder to both Sam and Kurt, and they both walked up to take places on either side of her, very near the centre, and grinned at her as she continued tapping her leg and doing the harmonies.
How will you raise your hand when they call your name?
Santana was the surprise to both as she turned and belted the last line of the verse out with more aplomb than they had expected. She really was questioning them, leaning forwards and looking straight into their eyes, daring them to go against her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe
The whole of Glee was singing the chorus, those fully turned stomping their feet in time and those who weren't leaning around to look over their shoulders, hands still slapping their thighs. The whole effect had Kurt joining in, standing and copying the pose of the others, body facing the back and head tilted over his shoulder until he could see the front.
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe
Sam had done the same, assimilated himself into the line, and now they were all really getting into the song, the upbeat meaning and strong sense of personality, or power and of self-confidence, of never giving up, extremely prevalent.
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
This one's about anyone who does it differently
This time it was Sam who spun around, at the same time as Mike, to sing the line, and the both harmonised perfectly, Sam really feeling the words of the song. He knew he was pretty different, but he didn't care... he would be as different as he wanted, because he had people who loved him.
This one's about the one who cusses and spits
No one was surprised when Puck was the one to turn next, his voice smooth and perfect for the song, sounding like he could have sung the whole thing wonderfully.
This ain't about our livin' in a fantasy
The next line was supposed to be Rachel's, but she turned at the same time as Kurt, and then blended their voiced like honey to make the perfect sound, contrasting amazingly with the harmonies. They both knew they could be drama queens at times, but neither was stupid. And Kurt was well aware that people thought he was delusional and stupid, and wrong, but he knew that he was right, and that he was right with Sam.
This ain't about givin' up or givin' in
Everyone joined in on the last line of the verse, and, since they were all turned around, they gathered into a better formation, mixing up with each other and all smiling, grinning, laughing like they had no cares in the world.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe
As Sam and Kurt watched from the back, still mesmerised at the effort that their friends had put into showing them that they were behind them one hundred percent, the rest of the group spread out, all morphing from the line into a formation that seemed haphazard and random at first but actually wasn't. They were facing the back, obviously having assumed that that was where Kurt and Sam would be when they were singing, and every single one had their hands formed into fists and a smile on their face that made them seem a little like they were on drugs; Kurt could tell they were enjoying themselves.
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
And then they were all weaving in and out of each other, a perfectly choreographed routine that even Finn could hardly mess up, the tall, gangly teen only stepping out of formation a few minute times. Kurt wolf whistled and then went to join in the fray, punching the air next to Mercedes and then going to belt out the words next to Puck, having a great time as he walked up the banked seating and then jumped down, his feet slamming on the ground and the exhilaration flooding his brain.
We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe
Sam knew all about when life was a bitter pill to swallow, he'd been swallowing complete bullshit and trying to force down the words that he just wanted to scream out after he had publicly admitted his sexuality and relationship and ever since. He was grasping what he believed in with both hands and never letting go though, because he knew that it was worth it, and that he would regret it if he ever had to let it go or have it taken away from him.
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe
Well, Kurt thought, they were standing up for what they believed in.
In fact, they were standing up, then getting on their chairs or tables, pulling out a megaphone, making a banner, adding flashing fairy lights and screaming for what they believe in.
He just hoped that that would be enough, because he knew that Azimio's dad had half the board of governors in his back pocket, which was the reason the appeal had been allowed anyway. He knew that it would be tough, whatever happened, so he was just hoping and praying that everything they, Scar and Sue had done would be enough.
As well as Santana's secret weapon, whatever she was going to be springing upon them.
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah
We weren't born to follow, oh yeah
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)
We weren't born to follow, oh yeah
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah)
They finished in scattered positions all around the room, Puck playing the last few notes at they faded out, and the sound of cheering filled the room as the club high fived each other. Sam and Kurt had drifted together during the performance and ended it stood in a tight embrace, their foreheads touching as they breathed heavily.
"For a moment that made me forget that we have to go to that god damn appeal next." Sam said wistfully, wishing for a few more minutes of blissful ignorance from the nerves.
Kurt sighed and agreed, pulling his head back to look around at the exhausted Glee club and say "Thank you so much. You're the best friends anyone could have, and you managed to so totally distract me from my stress that I feel so refreshed, a million dollars better just because you're all so wonderful."
His statement didn't have quite the intended effect as most of the club just started giggling at him and breaking away from the hugs they themselves were in, Rachel stepping forwards to embrace both himself and Sam happily, her mega-watt smile engulfing them both.
"Oh, there's really no need to thank us as it was something that we were doing for ourselves as well as you, seeing as we like listening to our especially tuneful voices as much as the next person and were wilfully just showing off, in no way attempting to have a propitious affect on you because of certain upcoming events that may or may not be gratuitously distressing to you."
Sam just rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the waist, swinging her around and saying "Well, you certainly had the propitious effect you were totally not hoping for, so I think we're gonna thank you anyway."
At that cheers rang out around the room, many laughing at Rachel's typically ostentatious vocabulary that was so her it would never sound right coming from anyone else.
However, all too soon they were glancing at the clock and realising that it was nearly time for the appeal to start, meaning that they had to set off to the staff room quickly if they were going to start on the best foot. Kurt could quite imagine the slurs they would be getting flung at them already, thank you very much, without the added stigma of being the people who walked in late to the appeal that they were effectively the prosecution in.
Standing stiffly up from his chair, he grasped Sam's hand tightly and then smiled at the rest of the group with thin lips, his expression saying it all. He was scared, but he wasn't going to let that get in his way, something which the entire group admired in him, especially Sam, who was himself scared witless.
"Right guys, let's get this show on the road."
And with that, they gradually trooped out of the room in twos or threes, Kurt and Sam first. The staff room was only a short walk away and they found themselves there in under a minute, which somehow seemed to speed up anyway, because it seemed to Kurt like he'd hardly stepped out of the choir room and he was at the door, waiting nervously to knock and be let in.
Taking a deep breath, Sam reached an arm out around Kurt, who had seemingly frozen by the door, and rapped on it sharply, the noise ringing out in the now hushed corridor.
There was silence for a heartbeat, and then the door was opened by Sue Sylvester, whose expression changed from one of nightmare inspiring terror to one of mild benevolence in front of their eyes when she saw that it was them.
"Glad to see you didn't slip and fall on the sweat trail that the ham-fisted idiot inside left on the floor."
Taking that as the only greeting they were going to get, Kurt took her movement back into the doorway as an invitation inside and dragged Sam with him, pulling him through the gap by his hand.
As they got through the door, Sue following them closely behind, he had to stop himself seizing up again as he made eye contact with Azimio, the person responsible for the whole mess that they had found themselves in concerning the appeal. He made himself stare back just as coldly and calculating as Azimio himself looked, and tried not to betray any of his anxiety over the fact that his dad had half the board in his back pocket.
The room looked extremely different from the last time Sam had been in it, he couldn't remember when, as all the little tables and chairs that were normally scattered throughout had been pushed to the sides, the tables lining the walls an the seats put in rows a little like it was an actual court hearing, with a little aisle down the middle. There was a long table that had been pulled in at the top, wooden and very officious looking, behind which the seven school governors were sat.
They all looked different, and he was having a hard time telling who was the most likely to be one of Mr. Adams' cronies, even though he had been sure it would be obvious. He wanted to know who to address his appeals to, and not knowing who it would be pointless talking to was annoying, but he guessed that addressing the room at large was what most of their defence would rely on anyway, so it wasn't too serious.
There were two women and five men who made up the board of governors, and he had to admit that most of them looked like they would be pretty hard to please.
The first seat on the left was filled by the oldest of the governors, a man who appeared to be in his late seventies with extremely gray hair and reading glasses. He was wearing a tweed suit that Sam just knew that Kurt would comment on, and was gazing out of the window he was sat next to like he didn't have a care in the world, not paying attention to anyone else in the room. Sam was hoping that they might be able to convince him.
Kurt soon whispered from beside him as they were led to their seats by Sue, "What on earth does the man on the end think he's wearing?"
He hadn't been able to say anything else because the room was so quiet, but he knew a fashion faux-pas when he saw one, and he could feel Sam's silent laughter at his side which meant that his boyfriend had probably seen it too, and known that he was going to ay something about it.
Well, the fashion sense of the rest of the board left quite a lot to be desired as well, but they didn't all look horrific either.
One of the women was next to him, and her business suit was sharp and crisp, even if the cut was pretty old. Her face looked quite kind of exhausted, and she was sat next to a younger man, in his late thirties, who Kurt was betting would be against them no matter what.
His haircut was atrocious, something akin to a bowl cut, and he was glaring down his slightly hooked nose at them, and their clasped hands in particular, in a way that was extremely unpleasant and quite disturbing.
The second woman was next to him, in the middle of the table, and it looked as if she was the chair of governors, the one who would make the final decision in event of a tie or something similar. She was holding a sheaf of notepaper and glancing about the room in a perfunctory manner scanning to see who was there he presumed.
The rest of the row was about as easy to predict as the first half, except for the last man on the end.
The man on the chairwoman's right seemed to be the perpetually cheerful type who seemed like he could be Rachel's dad he was that bouncy. He was sitting straight up in his chair and grinning down at the room at large, his hands bouncing excitedly as if he wanted to clap them together and was forcing himself to resist.
Next to him was a rather eccentric looking man who was wearing a lime green woollen jumper and playing with the sleeve, his dark brown hair sticking out at odd angles and his red glasses sitting just slightly askew on the bridge of his nose.
It was the final man who Kurt was unsure about. He too was wearing a suit, this a dark blue one which was in the newest cut Kurt had seen, and the shirt was expertly pressed and the trousers expertly creased, lending his overall businessman look that little extra oomph. However, although the petite brunette respected his dress sense, there was something shrewd and cold in his eyes that made him fear what he might do.
All in all, he thought that the man with the bowl cut, the businesswoman and the last one with the cold eyes would be the ones that would prove hardest to convince.
All their speculation on the character of the governors had taken up their time, and they had failed to notice the door open again until a whoosh of air announced someone else's arrival.
It took all Sam's admittedly not so copious powers of control not to laugh at the younger man with the bowl cut's expression as he saw Scar walk in.
She had really gone all out in her outfit choice, and the red tartan ruffled skirt she wore was over flowery fishnet tights and chucky black patent Doc Martins, her army style coat swishing out behind her as she walked. There was a newly coloured streak of bubblegum pink in her hair that clashed beautifully with the already there purple, and her lips were cherry red against her pale skin, the smile adorning them probably visible from outer space.
"Did you miss me?"
She winked at them as she slid comfortably into the chair next to Kurt, and was only saved from the outcry of the assembled masses because the door swung open again to reveal more people.
This time it was Burt and Carole coming through the door, followed closely by Cara and Marc, with Emily further behind them. All five of them stalled for a moment, hovering in the doorway, before Sam waved to his mom and the rest of the group clued in, walking briskly towards them and sitting down in the row two behind them, because the rest of the glee club had taken up residence directly behind.
It was Burt who leaned through the gap between Tina and Brittany to tap Kurt on the shoulder, springing him cleanly out of his reverie, saying "Anything you need we'll be right here kiddo. If there's any doubt about this Azimio guy getting let back in, we'll all be there to back you up in a second, okay?"
Kurt nodded, choking up a little because he knew just how serious his dad was, and replied "I know you'll always be there for me."
Burt laughed a little, quietly, and said "Thanks. Now go kick some ass Kurt."
Kurt smiled, rolling his eyes and turning around again, which was probably a good thing as at that moment the woman who was sat in the middle of the table of governors, whom Sam had presumed was the chairwoman, stood up and shuffled her papers one last time before starting to speak.
"Thank you for all being here promptly, and since as far as I am aware everyone who needs to be here is in this room this seems to be as good a time as any to start today's session."
She looked down her nose, not too unpleasantly, at the room at large, and then continued speaking, her voice nasal but not too grating, reminding Kurt of a country singer he'd once heard who Rachel had slated but he'd liked.
"We are all here because of the expulsion from this, William McKinley Highschool, of Mr. Azimio Adams, for violent misconduct and associated derogatory and homophobic slurs which misters Hummel and Evans take serious offence to. This expulsion has been appealed against, and we are here today to decide whether this appeal should be quashed or upheld."
Kurt looked around the room as her gaze swept it, and he could see the expressions of Azimio and his father, unconcerned about what was going to happen, which made him even more nervous, because they were so very confidant and he knew that didn't bode well for them.
The chairwoman glanced over at the Adams' one more time and then seemed to hold Kurt's gaze, her blue eyes boring into his body as he tried to read her and find out whose side she was supporting.
"As a board we would like to first call upon Mr. Adams himself to relate for us the events in question as he recalls them. Could you please stand up and recall these facts for us Mr. Adams?"
Azimio stood up and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he did so, enough to afford him a semi decent view of Kurt and Sam, which he exploited to his full advantage by smirking at them and then glaring, seeming to remember himself just before he started speaking. Sam knew instinctively that everything that would come out of his mouth would all be lies.
However, just as he was about to start speaking, the door at the back of the room banged open once again, and Dave Karofsky rushed in, his face red and one of his sneakers untied, the laces nearly tripping him over as he came to a sliding halt in the middle of the room.
Spotting the loon on the face of the chair of governors, he slid quickly into a seat near Kurt and Sam and leaned over to them, saying "Have I missed much?"
Kurt just shook his head and whispered back "No, it's just about to start."
A/N: ARRRRGH... it's all about to start! Sorry i had to stop it there, big cliffie and everything, but i wanted to keep up the suspense, i wanted to get a post out before you all thought i'd died, and also, it would have been fat too long if i'd have written all i wanted to for the appeal!
The song is 'We Weren't Born To Follow' by Bon Jovi, and it's a great song :D Go listen to it!
Now, any of you lovelies fancy giving my review button some attention? Well, i love you lurkers a little as well ;) x
