Wednesday 10th November 2010

"I am shaking and it's either from low blood sugar or rage." Kurt said as they lined up to grab their lunches on Wednesday. "I knew it wouldn't be long before Rachel tried to take over the Glee Club."

Thinking back to yesterday's Glee rehearsal Erin couldn't help but agree. After Mr Schue had left during rehearsal on Monday Erin had assumed the next one would be canceled, but Rachel had forced everyone to turn up anyway. Thankfully they were discussing Sectionals - finally - but Rachel had, as apparently is her norm, made it all about herself - despite their previous agreement that Rachel's punishment for sending Sunshine to a crack house would be no solo at Sectionals. Santana had snapped and gone into crazed Latina mode again, shouting swears and insults in Spanish.

"You'll forget all about it tonight at bowling." Mercedes said, grinning.

"Yeah, I'm excited for that!" Erin said.

"I guess I will." Kurt said with a sigh, rolling his eyes.

Mercedes looked ready to roll her eyes back but they locked onto the lunch ladies pouring freshly made tater-tots and she made her way towards them, butting in line, while Kurt and Erin stayed behind.

They caught up to Mercedes at a free table in their designated area of the cafeteria.

"So, what are we going to do about Glee Club while Mr. Schue is sick?" Mercedes asked, shoveling tater-tots into her mouth.

"I had an idea." Kurt said, "Have you met the new Spanish Teacher?"

Glee with Miss Holiday was certainly an experience.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Finn asked as Puck rubbed a stick of butter on the floor of the choir room.

"Kurt got us a substitute so I'm buttering the floor." Puck said matter-of-factly.

"But Sectionals is like… 2 weeks from now."

"Three and a half, actually." Erin corrected him.

"Hey, gigantor!" Artie said, "We're all going to swap names, yo!"

"Um, did I hear something about a substitu-" Rachel yelped as she slipped and fell on the buttered floor. She got up as Puck cheered at his prank. "Well," She said snootily, fixing her hair, "at least I didn't fall and break my talent."

Everyone was giggling as Rachel stormed her way to a chair.

A blonde woman Erin assumed was the substitute entered the room and everyone looked on in anticipation, but instead of falling like Rachel she smirked at the room and skid gracefully as if the buttered floor was an ice rink.

"What the hell?" Artie said in shock and everyone looked at the substitute in awe.

"Hola, clase." She greeted the room.

"Is it just me, or does she look like a blonde Pepper Potts?" Sam asked, leaning towards Erin and she couldn't help but snort out a laugh. She really did.

Unfortunately her snort of laughter came at the worst possible time, because it turned into full on ugly laughing as Kurt also encountered the buttered floor and fell right on his arse.

"Let's start with some introductions." The substitute said, ignoring Kurt's fall and the laughter of the Glee Club. "My name is Holly Holiday. What's yours?" She pointed quickly at Erin who was still laughing.

"Sam Evans." She said with a smile and a straight-ish face.

"Erin Bailey." Sam introduced himself beside her.

"I'm Finn Hudson." Puck said in a terrible dopey impersonation, "I'm quarterback of the football team."

Santana raised a hand. "I'm Rachel Berry and I'm his loud, loud girlfriend."

"I'm Mike Chang," Brittany said in a deep voice and Mike nodded.

"Those aren't your names." Miss Holiday said, pointing at Puck, Santana, and Brittany. Sam and Erin high fived discreetly. "You know why I know that?"

"You're psychic." Brittany interjected.

"I know this because I recently watched a video of you guys performing at regionals where you came in last." Miss Holiday said, "Maybe it's because the songs were about 30 years old but…"

"Those songs are classics," Finn argued.

"Those songs are amazing," Miss Holiday agreed, "but they sounded like somebody else's favourite songs, not yours. Just sayin'"

"She speaks the truth." Brittany agreed.

"I'm not your average, run of the mill, substitute teacher," Miss Holiday continued. "I want you guys to do the things you want to do. I want you to have fun in our fabulous but fleeting time together. What do you say we have class outside today?"

"It's raining outside," Mercedes pointed out.

"Well then let's take a field trip to Taco Bell!" Miss Holiday said, causing most of the club to cheer in excitement. "Should we toke up some medical grade marijuana? I wish." Again the class laughed but Erin frowned, it was kind of cringey how Miss Holiday was trying to be cool and hip and down with the kids.

"We can't just goof off all day!" Rachel protested from the back of the room. "We have to write a set list for sectionals."

"You're right," Miss Holiday said, "What songs would you like to do?"

As Erin thought for ideas everyone else looked on in confusion.

"Oh, don't get asked that question much, do we?"

"Miss Holiday's right," Kurt spoke up as he made his way to the seat next to Erin, glaring playfully at her for laughing at him, "Mr. Schuester's setlist sometimes seems like he hasn't listened to the radio since the '80s."

"Yeah, he tried to get us to do Christopher Cross at the assembly as if we knew who that was." Erin agreed.

"He never listens to what I have to say." Puck spoke up. Erin remembered the lesson they'd had on Monday, just before Mr. Schue started acting weird and had to leave, "Like that new Cee Lo song."

"Cee Lo!" Miss Holiday enthused, "That's what I'm talking about."

The club cheered, but Santana looked sceptical.

"Excuse me. What would you know about Cee Lo? Cause you're like 40." She quipped.

"Top 40, Sweet cheeks." Miss Holiday said, before turning to the Jazz band. "Hit it!"

Miss Holiday could certainly sing, and it's fun to play around with harmonies and just dance along to a song for once instead of being lectured on a band or artist none of them cared about. The only person in the club who didn't seem to be having fun was Rachel, and Erin couldn't really figure out why. Maybe it was because no-one was paying her the attention she thought she deserved.

"Lets go get some Tacos!" Miss Holiday enthused as they finished the song and the club cheered, excited. Erin had never had Taco Bell before.

Bowling was fun, the lanes almost desolate on a Wednesday night, but Erin felt awkward between Mercedes and Kurt. Mercedes kept shooting her long looks when Kurt's back was turned, as if trying to figure her out.

The two only had some surface level things in common; Glee, a handful of musicals (Dreamgirls, mostly), Project Runway (Mercedes was more interested in the drama, while Erin just wanted to talk about the clothes) and that was about it, so when it was Kurt's turn to bowl their conversations were rather surface level. Awkward. Erin wasn't very good at conversation and Mercedes? well...

Mercedes radiated jealousy. But Erin didn't know what to do. She wasn't going to stop being friends with Kurt just because Mercedes was being pushed aside. It wasn't her fault Mercedes had alienated Kurt, first with the whole God thing while his dad was in the hospital, and now with the fact that she didn't know just how bad Karofsky was attacking Kurt.

"So how are things with Blaine?" Mercedes asked Kurt as Erin turned around after getting a spare.

"Okay," Kurt shrugged, "He seems nice enough, and it's nice to have another gay guy to talk to, but he goes to school two hours away." He caught Erin's eye, "Besides, I have enough people to hang out with here, and I don't want this to turn into some St. Berry like drama."

"You know we'd be happy for you if you were going out with him, right?" Mercedes said, sounding supportive, "We all know how lonely you've been."

Kurt shrugged and stood for his turn.

"We have sectionals to worry about, and I'm going to get a solo this year."

"Mercedes is right." Erin commented as Kurt drove her home.

"About what? Me having my own bowling shoes being weird?" Kurt asked.

"I mean, yeah, that is kind of weird," Erin said, "But I meant about Blaine, Glee wouldn't care, and from what you've told me about last year Klaine isn't the same as St. Berry."

"Klaine?" Kurt asked, turning to her and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I have no idea what Blaine's last name is and it couldn't very well be Burt could it." Erin laughed and Kurt grimaced before laughing.

"Good point." Kurt agreed, "But I'm not interested in Blaine. He's cute, sure, and it's nice to have someone to talk to who understands, but as I said to Mercedes he's two hours away… and added to that, he was the one who told me to confront Karofsky. I should have listened to you and just ignored him, then, well, then I wouldn't have had my first kiss stolen."

"Oh, Kurt." Erin said, "It doesn't have to count if you don't want it to."

"Well, it's the closest thing I have to a male kiss, so at the moment it feels like it fucking counts." Kurt said bitterly.

"You've kissed a girl?" Erin asked, intrigued and Kurt's face went red.

"I… uh… may have gone out with Britt for a few days last year when I was trying to 'act straight'. Please don't ask any questions, I'm trying to forget that ever happened." Erin couldn't help but laugh, head thrown back, at the idea of Kurt acting straight.

Thursday 11th November 2010

"Hey, Erin, want to go watch RENT with me on Saturday? There's a performance at the Community Playhouse with Greg Evigan, and I managed to get a couple of tickets." Kurt asked as they waited in line for lunch on Thursday.

"Ooo, Greg Evigan from Superstar? Count me in," Erin enthused, suddenly excited. "How much do I owe you?"

"A couple as in three?" Mercedes piped up and Kurt's face turned guilty.

"I only managed to score two, I'm sorry 'Cedes." Kurt said apologetically, "I wasn't sure it was your thing, I know you prefer movie musicals to stage productions."

"Hey, I liked RENT." Mercedes reminded him as they scooted closer to the tater tots.

"The stage production's kind of different from the movie, and I knew Erin had been wanting to see it." Mercedes rolled her eyes before focusing back on the food in front of her, smiling as they got to the tots. But then suddenly Santana was behind the counter and gathering the tots, and other cheerios were literally taking plates from people's trays and dumping them in the trash.

"Wait, where do you think you're going with those?" Mercedes asked Santana, rage evident in her voice.

"Principal Sue banned the tots." Santana said, rolling her eyes.

"She can't do that!" Mercedes said, outraged. And Erin silently agreed with a nod, this school was not normal. What type of Principal, acting principal at that, banned a food in the middle of lunch and got cheerleaders to just… bin it. That didn't seem very sustainable, it was a huge waste of food.

"They look like deep-fried deer poop." Brittany said, staring at the tots in the tray.

"Take it up with Principal Sue." Santana snarked.

Mercedes turned back to the food counter and scoffed, looking at what was left on offer - salad and something that vaguely resembled mac and cheese.

Kurt and Erin shared a look, knowing that Mercedes' bad mood wasn't just because of the lack of tater tots.

Glee that afternoon was fun if a bit childish, mostly it was Artie singing some sort of Gangsta Rap while the rest of them played musical chairs. Erin had to admit, it was fun to simply mess around and be a kid, definitely more fun than Mr. Schue trying to get them to sing some song she'd only heard because her dad had been a huge fan of classic rock.

Miss Holiday still seemed to think that she was called Sam and Sam was called Erin which was fun if a bit confusing. Though Puck routinely glared at them when they were called on by Miss Holiday, annoyed that his plan had failed. It wasn't her fault her and Sam hadn't been there last year, and thus Miss Holiday didn't know their actual names!

However much fun Glee was with Miss Holiday, they had three weeks until Sectionals, shouldn't they have a setlist by now?

Friday 12th November 2010

"Look at this shit! Foam fish sticks?" Mercedes was bitching to Kurt as Erin sat down at the table with her own packed lunch. "Principal Sylvester's only serving predigested food now, to give us more energy."

"Bring a packed lunch." Erin suggested, digging into her leftover Chinese food.

"Oooo, Chinese!" Sam enthused as he sat next to Erin, stealing a noodle from her tupperware before she could stop him.

"Eat your own lunch." Erin griped, glaring at him in jest and leaning over her food to protect it. She could see Kurt and Mercedes share a look before she rolled her eyes, ignoring them and their pointed glances between Sam and herself.

"Well, 'Cedes." Kurt begins, "I come bearing gifts."

"You brought tots?" Mercedes asked, excited.

"Better, I set you up on a date." Kurt told her, smiling.

"Why?" Mercedes asked, "I don't need a boyfriend."

"Anthony, in my English class, was asking about you, so I thought I'd set you two up." Kurt told her.

"Rashad?" Mercedes asked, turning to look at the table full of Jocks. The guy in question smiled and Mercedes waved coyly. "Why him?"

"Because he asked about you." Kurt repeated.

"So it has nothing to do with the fact that he's one of the five black guys at this school?" Mercedes asked.

"Of course not!" Kurt defended himself, "He's a wide receiver on the football team, he's very good looking, and yes he's a member of the Black Student Union..."

"Any non-black activities?" Mercedes asked sassily.

"He's a good guy," Sam said through a mouthful of sandwich, "I think he likes those movies you like, the ones with the vampires? He said he doesn't but we totally caught him talking to his sister about them."

"Twilight?" Mercedes asked, intrigued.

"Yeah!" Sam said, and stole more noodles from Erin's lunch, Erin was ready to stab him with her fork. Mercedes looked on in clear envy.

"I can't take this anymore," Mercedes suddenly said, taking out a pad of paper and a marker.

"Look, Mercedes," Kurt said, "As far as I know you haven't been interested in anyone since your misguided crush on me last year!" Mercedes busied herself with writing something on a piece of paper. "Love is just around the corner."

Erin started slightly as she spotted a familiar Letterman Jacket clad figure out of the corner of her eye and she saw Kurt freeze as Karofsky smirked at him.

"'Sup Homo." He sneered with a wink, before walking away.

"What was that about?" Sam asked with a frown, looking between Erin and Kurt and the retreating figure of Karofsky. Kurt silently dared Erin to say something so Erin just shrugged.

"Just Karofsky, being Karofsky." She said before shoveling Chow Mein into her mouth.

"Love's not what I'm talking about," Mercedes said as she capped her marker and stood on her chair holding the pad of paper aloft. The word 'TOTS' was written on the paper.

"TOTS!" A shout came from behind Kurt, Erin and Sam and they all jumped as the chanting started.

"Oh my god." Kurt exclaimed.

A/N:

The first chapter (of 2) following the events of S2E07: The Substitute

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter 3

and as always comments and kudos are always welcome and you can find me on tumblr at katyobsesses