Chapter 13: The Prank
She'd gone to class before Finn arrived. Mike had given her a curious look, having seen her in the hall that morning clearly wondering why she hadn't come to class right away. She smiles at him as she slips into her seat and he relaxes, grinning back. He slips her a note.
~You good?~
~Yes, Michael. I'm good. :) ~
He chuckles and goes back to paying attention to the lesson. When class ends, he gives her a quick hug.
"Glad you're back, Rachel."
"Me, too."
"So," he continues as they leave the classroom, "next time you're hiding from the world, I have a recommendation."
"Oh?"
Mike nods. "Yeah, a game."
He goes on to tell her about some puzzle based game he thinks she'd like. He points out that it takes thought, but no emotion, so it's a good way to step away from your emotions and focus on solving the puzzles instead. Plus it's fun. She thanks him and says she'll look for it. Later, when walking into Glee, she finds Finn already there and clearly waiting for her. Rachel and Sugar are two of the last to arrive. She's not actually annoyed with him anymore, but decides to make him squirm a little more. Rachel lifts her head and walks past him without a glance. She takes a seat two rows behind him. She watches him slump dejectedly in his seat. Quinn and Mercedes look between them curiously.
"What'd you do, Finn?" Quinn asks.
"Nothing!" When the girls, and everyone else already present, look at him skeptically, he groans. "I may have…..left her alone to deal with an angry Coach Sylvester."
Mr. Schuester presses his lips together and turns away. Rachel's pretty sure he's trying not to laugh. Her friends look torn; understanding Rachel's irritation in that situation, but also understanding why Finn would run. No one wants to face an angry Sue.
"Wait, why was she angry?" Artie turns in his chair to look at both of them.
"Does it matter?" Rachel challenges. "She was obviously angry and coming towards me. Finn saw her and ditched me."
Sam and Mercedes choke back laughter. Quinn's lips twitch.
"But seriously, why was she angry? Was she mad at you?" Tina presses.
"Yeah. She was mad at how I handled realizing I had Danton's. She thought I should have handled it better. Stronger." It's not a complete explanation, but true enough.
Their amusement fades and sympathy takes its place. "Yeah, about that…..we're really sorry, Rachel."
They all nod. She smiles at them. "Thanks. And I know you are. I may not have handled it well at first, but I got my emotions out and I'm ready to face it."
"I'd say." Finn mumbles.
If she was closer, she'd hit him to shut him up.
"What do you mean?" Santana asks.
Finn glances at Rachel, then the rest of the team. "She definitely got her emotions out. It looks like she took it out on Coach Sylvester. She destroyed the woman's office."
Everyone stares at her in shock. Rachel merely shrugs. "She shouldn't have accused me of being weak."
Incredulous laughter resounds around the room.
"You really destroyed her office?" Brittany moves to sit next to her.
"Mostly I just made a mess of her desk. But she's going to need a new lamp or she'll be sitting in the dark." She says this with a careless grin, making her friends laugh again.
"You're definitely not weak." Blaine assures her with a smile.
Rachel smiles back at him. "Thanks. I know. And she didn't actually mean it, she was just trying to push my buttons. And she succeeded. I shut down for a few days because it was just too much at first, but I'm better now."
"And we'll help you." Sam grins.
The others nod. A lump starts to form in her throat. She swallows it down. "I know you will."
Sugar Motta walks in at the tail end of this discussion, just after the bell rings. She pauses when she sees Rachel.
"Oh, it's you. You're back."
Rachel nods. "I'm back."
"Did you seriously take time off of school just because you were sad?"
Her team glowers, shifting in their seats in irritation. Sue walks in behind the girl and gives Rachel a challenging look. She's not wrong, after all. Rachel swallows down her pride.
"Something like that."
Sugar rolls her eyes. "Lame."
She takes a seat near Kurt. He immediately gets up and moves further away. It's probably for the best. He'd already spent part of the weekend complaining about the girl and her rude comments. Mr. Schuester shakes off his own annoyance and starts class.
"Regionals! They're coming up! We need to agree on our songs this week. No more delaying or arguing. We know the theme is 'inspiration'. We need to choose songs that fit that theme. Coach Sylvester and I have a couple ideas, but we want to hear from you first."
Kurt eagerly raises his hand, his fingers wiggling in the air. Mr. Schue calls on him. "Rachel and I had an idea for a song. Aunt Shelby helped us come up with it."
Their coach smiles. "And what's that?"
Kurt turns in his seat excitedly to face the others. "'What Doesn't Kill You'….Makes You Stronger by Kelly Clarkson."
The others smile and chatter excitedly, pleased with the idea. Everyone agrees to it, so Mr. Schue writes it down. They spend the rest of class discussing possible ideas. Rachel makes sure to grab Finn's hand on the way out. She's fairly certain he knows she's not actually mad at him, but she wants to make sure. When he looks down at her with a lopsided grin, she smiles brightly up at him. Obviously he knows her well enough to realize what she'd been doing and doesn't hold it against her. Good.
Rachel sits through her afternoon classes only half paying attention. She's distracted by a song idea swirling through her mind. She's not sure how the others will feel about it, but she's also pretty sure they'd let her sing any song she suggests, which is why she's hesitant to suggest it. At home, she asks her mom for her opinion.
"First, were you hoping to sing lead on both this song and 'What Doesn't Kill You'?"
Rachel shifts in her seat to scratch Yero's head. "No. I did want to have a solo in that song originally, but if they agree to this other song I want to sing, I'd want to sing it as a solo. I'd be fine with not singing in the other song at all."
"Okay, good. Just checking. Next question; If you want to sing a song and you know they'll let you, then why are you worried about asking them?"
"Because what if they're only letting me out of pity?"
Her mother sighs. "Rachel, put all of that aside and focus on the competition. You are the best singer in there. You are their female lead for a reason. They call you their star for a reason! That reason is your talented voice and dedication. Your team has a big competition coming up. Frankly, you guys are running out of time to prepare for it. If you have a song that you want to sing that you think will help lead them to victory, then trust their respect for you and share it."
Rachel nods. "Okay. But I also need your help editing the song to make it appropriate."
The startled look on her mom's face amused her. When Rachel explained the song and why she wanted to sing it, her mom hugged her tight and promised to help her make it more appropriate.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
During Glee on Tuesday, Rachel gathers her courage and raises her hand. Mr. Schue calls on her and teammates stop arguing to listen. She's momentarily distracted by trying to determine if her friends are back to hanging on her every word, just being respectful, or if this level of attention never truly stopped. She can't decide immediately, so she shakes those thoughts away and refocuses.
"I, um, I know we haven't decided what the solo song will be or who will sing it, but I'd like to put forward a song I'd like to sing as a solo." She glances at everyone, her eyes lingering briefly on Mercedes. "Just as an option."
"Let's hear it, Rachel." Mr. Schue smiles encouragingly.
"The song I have in mind is about us. For us, really. I think it fits the theme of 'inspiration' but mostly," she shrugs a little shyly "I just feel like it fits us, especially now."
"What song?" Noah asks.
"Before I say what song," Noah smirks and leans back while some of her friends chuckle, "just know that I am well aware that the original song is not appropriate. My mom helped me edit the lyrics to make them appropriate. Which is a real shame because the original lyrics are far more fitting than what we changed them to."
Rachel grins at their reactions to that.
"What song?" Tina presses impatiently, but smiling.
"'Here's To Us' by Halestorm."
Curious, they listen as she explains what she changed the inappropriate lyrics to. When she's done, they're nodding and smiling. Mr. Schuester gives her a proud smile.
"I think we have our solo number."
"Wait," Mercedes starts hesitantly, glancing nervously at Santana, "if you're singing that as a solo, who will sing the other song?"
"I was thinking about that. Maybe we could arrange our performance the way we did for Nationals last year."
Everyone except Sugar understand what she means.
"So it'd be a girls only number, just without you?" Quinn clarifies.
Rachel nods.
"But we only did it that way because we didn't want to tire you out." Santana points out.
"Yeah, and I'm sick again. And I'm not the only one who deserves a solo. So assuming you're interested in singing that song, it'd be for you girls to rock. It's just a thought, though. You don't have to."
The boys shrug, not particularly minding. The other girls share contemplative looks, then nod. Their coaches nod as well. "That sounds like a plan."
Now that they have two songs planned out, they start getting more excited. They agree to Rachel singing 'Here's To Us' as a solo. They agree to the rest of the girls singing 'What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)' as a small group number. Those girls start working out who gets what solo in that song. Coach Sue sits with them to help work it out. The boys, Rachel, and Mr. Schue sit to discuss the third number. They discuss the possibility of doing a guys only number and come up with a few ideas for that. While they were excited for that possibility, they can't come up with a song that seems to fit with the other two songs or the theme. When they start discussing having it be a whole group number, their list of ideas grows. They argue good-naturedly until class ends. In their after school rehearsal they decide to spend the time working out the third song rather than jumping to working out the choreography for the other two songs. Everyone's ideas are listened to and considered (even Sugar's rather ridiculous ideas).
"We've done well with mashups in the past." Finn points out.
Artie groans. "Yeah, but now we have even more options open to us!"
"And they still have to fit the theme."
Blaine taps his chin. "Our other two songs are about going on after things have been hard. Rachel's solo is more about supporting one another after a dealing with a tough challenge and being stronger together, while the girls group number is about being stronger on your own. What if we open with a group number about facing challenges and finding the inspiration to go on and not be defeated. Then go to the girls number of being stronger after a relationship ends. Then end with Rachel's solo of celebrating being stronger together."
The group mulls this over. Rachel imagines what Blaine has described and smiles. It's perfect. Thankfully the others agree. Now they just need to come up with the song for the group number. Their discussion keeps them in rehearsal past their usual end time, but no one minds. This is important and Rachel is pleased to find realize that everyone else feels the same way. It is Sugar who suggests 'Fly' by Nikki Minaj featuring Rihanna.
"That's actually a good idea." Rachel tells the younger girl.
Sugar looks startled to be complimented by her, but then she smiles proudly. Rachel smiles back, hoping this means Sugar will stop being such a bitch. The team agrees it's a good idea, but not perfect. Blaine solves that. He suggests mashing it with 'I Believe I Can Fly' by R. Kelly. It truly amazes Rachel that Blaine is not only an incredible singer and songwriter, but he comes up with awesome arrangements as well. She sees big things in his future. With their songs decided, they go home. The coaches promise to get to work on choreography and rehearsals start tomorrow. Thrilled, the team leaves in high spirits.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
On Wednesday, Rachel walks down the hall with Brittany. Their arms are linked and they're chatting about the twist that occurred last night in the tv show they both like. They're so engrossed in their conversation that it takes them a moment to notice the crowd gathering up ahead. Baffled, they stop talking and slow their pace.
"What's going on?" Brittany stands on tiptoes, craning her neck to see above the crowd.
"I have no idea."
Quiet mutterings work their way back to the two girls.
"That's seriously messed up."
"It's not even funny."
"What the fuck?"
"They should be suspended."
"That's sick."
"Who did it?"
When Rachel notices some of her classmates further up ahead and realizes they keep looking back at her with pity, her stomach clenches and her nerves shoot up. She releases Brittany's arm and starts weaving through the crowd, making her way forward. A hand on her arm stalls her. She looks up at Jordan, who is frowning down at her.
"I don't think you should go up there. You don't need to see it."
"I appreciate your concern, but I really think I do."
She gently pulls away and continues on, her nerves steadily rising. Stephanie, a cheerleader friend, steps in front of her and blocks her path.
"Don't." A soft command.
Her heart pounding, Rachel shakes her head. "I think I need to."
Stephanie trades a glance with Meghan, who shrugs helplessly. They step aside. The first thing she sees is David Karofsky and Austin Denvers keeping others back. David sees her and dips his head.
"Berry." His eyes move and she follows his gaze.
Finn is tensed up, his hands in fists. He's glowering down at the floor where a display has been set up. A pile of soil is formed into a rounded rectangle. Using a combination of painted cardboard and foam, someone created a fake tombstone and placed it at the head of the pile of dirt to create a grave.
Here Lies
Rachel Berry
December 1994 - Febuary 2012
Rest In Peace
Her stomach clenches and her heart pounds loudly in her ears. Why? Who? Actually, she realizes she already knows the answer to both of these. Her eyes search the crowd until she finds them. The hockey team stands together at the side of the crowd with Rick Nelson front and center. The boy is struggling to keep a smirk off his face. Who else has the incentive to do this and place it in front of Finn's locker? Disgusted, Rachel turns away and takes in the expression on Finn's face. Fury and despair swirl in his eyes. If he loses it and cracks in front of everyone, the hockey team will win. She can't let that happen. And she needs to comfort her boyfriend. She takes his hand in hers. She grips it as hard as she can and he squeezes back. Uncertain what to say, she looks back down at her fake grave, her eyes scanning everything. And then she sees it.
"Are you serious?" Rachel makes sure to speak loud enough to be heard over the muttering crowd, her eyes on Rick. "You misspelled 'February'."
Laughter rumbles through the onlookers. From the corner of her eye, Rachel watches Rick's face flush with embarrassment. He turns and hits his friend's arm before seeming to realize how that could appear and quickly straightened up. The corner of Finn's mouth curls up slightly and he stops shaking, but his eyes still betray his inner turmoil. Using the distraction of the crowd around them laughing and chattering over the spelling error, Rachel stands on tiptoe. Finn obliges her by leaning down enough that she can whisper in his ear.
"If you crack in front of everyone, he wins. We can't let him win."
He nods.
"Move along, move alone. Don't you all have class? What's with the hubbub?"
Rachel turns to see Holly Holliday coming closer, prodding students to leave. When the blonde woman's eyes find the fake grave, she freezes.
"What the f—"
Mr. Schuester quickly cuts her off, loudly proclaiming "Off to class, all of you! The bell—"
When he catches sight of the fake grave, his voice immediately fails. First, he pales. Then, his expression changes to a look Rachel has never seen on her kind teacher's face before. It sends a chill down her back. He slowly walks forward, eyes darting between the headstone, the pile of dirt, and the gathered students. His gaze settles on Rachel and Finn. She's sure he sees the emotions Finn is struggling to keep contained, but she's unsure what expression is on her own face. Her teacher turns to the others.
"Who did this?" His voice is a cold and low. The students silently shake their heads. Redness creeps up his neck. "Who did this?!"
It is so rare for the calm Spanish teacher to yell that most students shift uncomfortably and look down. The anger in his voice has the little hairs on the back of Rachel's neck standing on end. No one says a word, but many sets of eyes drift over to where the hockey team is standing. The look Mr. Schuester gives them has even those kids looking away nervously. He picks up the styrofoam headstone and crushes it between his hands. Bits of painted foam rain down on the floor. He throws down the final pieces and stomps on them, leaving nothing but dust.
"Go to class." The growled demand has students scattering.
Ms. Pillsbury steps up next to him and places a hand soothingly on his arm. Her eyes roam over the remnants of the headstone, Mr. Schue, Rachel, and Finn. She shares some sort of look with Holly that has the other teacher nodding.
"You two with me." Holly has them follow her.
Rachel tugs Finn's hand, pulling him away from the disturbingly arranged mound of dirt. In doing so, Rachel finally notices a detail she'd originally missed. A single black rose lays on top of the dirt. The same type of black rose she'd found in her locker. Any minuscule doubts are wiped away. Rick Nelson did this. She's not sure how she feels about this scene he created. But for the first time since he stopped her in the hallway months ago, Rachel feels a little scared of Rick. Coach Bieste is hugging Brittany, comforting her. As they pass them, Brittany slips out of the burly coaches arms and throws herself at Rachel. Sam, actively restraining a glower, gently pulls Britt off of her. The two blondes follow them. They follow Holly through the guys sweat infused locker room. Rachel scrunches up her nose in distaste at the horrible smell but keeps quiet when she realizes where they're going. They get to the weight room through the smelly short cut. Finn release her hand and takes large steps to the punching bag. Sam releases Brittany and quickly follows. He holds the bag steady while Finn punches it as hard as he can, over and over.
Rachel sits between Holly and Brittany, watching silently. She doesn't know much about punching, but Finn's punches seem strong. Sam is strong and he's working hard to not be knocked back with each punch to the bag he's holding. Finn releases a roar that forces tears to Rachel's eyes. He hauls back and kicks the bag. Sam stumbles back and catches himself on the nearby weight rack. Finn nods his thanks to Sam, who nods back grimly. Rachel watches her boyfriend take in deep breaths, trying to regulate his emotions now that they're not bursting out of him anymore. She goes to him. She runs a hand along his back and he shudders. She walks around to his front, keeping her hand in contact on his body. The cruel prank was upsetting on its own, but after the conversation they'd just had days prior? And Finn's subsequent breakdown? He wasn't ready to have a mockery of her death thrown in his face so soon. Rachel slides her hands up his body. He melts into her touch and bends forward so she can reach his head. She wraps her hands around the back of his neck and gently tugs him lower. He obliges. She goes up on tiptoe and kisses him. Not caring about their audience, just needing to feel close to her, Finn pulls her against him. Rachel kisses him again, deeper this time. When they break apart, he buries his face in her neck. Rachel hugs him tight while he breathes in her scent. She wonders what she smells like to him. From him, she gets a slightly woody scent. Maybe sandalwood? It's mixed with a lighter scent she can't identify but enjoys. Especially mixed with his natural scent and possibly his deodorant. Whatever the mix is, she loves it. It's uniquely him.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
While they were hugging, Sam was being productive. He'd taken a picture of the grave with his phone. Now, he sends it to Burt Hummel. As Finn's stepfather and Rachel's "dad", Sam feels like the guy should know. The response is immediate.
"I'm on my way."
Sam can just imagine Mr. Hummel throwing down his tools, a furious scowl on his face, and storming up to the school. The man can be intimidating when he needs to be. He briefly wonders if he made a mistake in informing him like this.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
It was the talk of the school. The general consensus was probably not what Rick had been hoping for. Everyone agreed that the "prank" was in very poor taste. It was not funny or cool. It was just mean and cruel. Words like "disgusting" were used as well. Kurt heard about it, of course, and was angry and revolted. But word also spread that Rachel's response was to point out a spelling error, which amused him. It amused everyone. It's the only part that was deemed humorous. People were talking about her calmness and wit; her strength in facing such cruelty. And they were talking about Finn. They spoke of his obvious pain at seeing the mock grave, but his strength in staying calm. People were praising how the couple handled it. Kurt hopes Rick and his buddies are miserable at how horribly they failed. They were clearly hoping to get a rise out of Finn and probably hoping to upset Rachel, as well. They planted the display at Finn's locker, but they did it at the only time of day that Rachel passes it. It disgusts Kurt.
Kurt is walking with Mercedes when he sees something unexpected. His father is stalking down the hall, his expression causing students to leap out of his path. Kurt's about to call out to him when he suddenly stops and stares intently down the adjacent hall. His previous glower, which had already been intimidating, could be considered a welcoming smile compared to the expression now forming on his face. Kurt hurries his pace and peers in the same direction. Rick Nelson is staring back. The mullet sporting teen is trying to appear indifferent, but even from this distance his discomfort is obvious.
"Dad?"
His dad turns to him, his expression calming. "Hey, Kurt."
"What are you doing here?"
"Sam sent me a picture. Did you see it?"
"I saw pictures afterwards, but I didn't see the actual thing, no. Coach Bieste had custodians haul away the dirt as fast as they could."
"Not just custodians." Mercedes joins them. "A couple teachers and students grabbed trash cans and started scooping it up. No one wanted that monstrosity to linger any longer than necessary."
"No one found it funny."
"I'm betting someone did." His dad says, turning to look back in Rick's direction. "I'm heading to talk to Figgins now. I want to know what he's doing about this."
Kurt throws his arms around his dad. "Thanks, Dad!"
He feels better knowing his dad is going to push for some sort of consequence. He'd feel even better if could talk to Rachel and Finn, but Rachel responded to his text saying they were fine and heading to class.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Burt Hummel does not wait to be invited into the principal's office. He walks straight in with his shoulders squared and face set in stone. He can't stand that Rick kid, but he's just a stupid kid. Figgins is an adult. He should handle things better.
"Who did it?"
The small man cowers back in his chair. "The prank?"
"That wasn't a prank. That was a psychological attack. Did you check the cameras?"
Sue Sylvester walks into the office. "I did. The little mongrels were smart. They stayed out of sight of the cameras until they could release a bunch of balloons. The balloons blocked the cameras while they set up the display, then they removed the balloons when they were out of sight again."
Burt's knee bounces in agitation. "It's Rick Nelson. Maybe he wasn't alone, but he was involved."
"We don't know—"
"Oh drop it, Figgins." Sue snaps. "You know it as well."
Mr. Figgins sighs. "But we have no proof. Without proof, I can't do anything."
"He threatened her. He's been harassing her for months. All to get back at Finn for a fight that he started last year. This was a psychological attack." Burt argues.
Sue nods. "On top of the dirt pile was a black rose. The same type of rose that was left in her locker. It's him."
"But we have no proof! I want to catch him and punish him, too! But I can't without evidence!" The frustrated principal reveals.
"So check bags and lockers! They had to get the dirt in somehow!"
Apparently that hadn't occurred to him yet. Figgins turns to Sue. "Lead a locker search. I'll deal with any parents who are unhappy about it. I'll make an announcement telling teachers to keep students in their classrooms until it is concluded."
She nods and is out the door. Figgins looks to Burt nervously. "And, um….will you….."
Burt does his best to keep his face neutral and nods. "Since you're clearly busy trying to help solve this, I'll go ahead and call Rachel's mother for you. I'll inform her."
The principal sags in relief.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The locker search commences. A couple lockers revealed remnants of soil and one had a bunch of deflated balloons shoved in the back under a jacket. All of those lockers belong to members of the hockey team or their friends. Unfortunately, Rick Nelson's locker was clean. When questioned, one of the students cracked and admitted it was Rick's idea. While they were being questioned, the rest of the school day was going on. Rick Nelson was not having a good day. Rachel watched from her spot at a table surrounded by her friends as Rick came in to get lunch. Other kids quiet down and watch him. Rick looks around uncomfortably, then grabs a tray and joins the line. Kids in front of him start letting friends and classmates get in front of them, making his wait longer. When he moved to a different line, they repeated the process. Red faced and huffing, Rick waited incredibly long to get his lunch. Rachel eats her lunch while watching him walk around with his tray, trying to find a place to sit. No one is letting him. Any open spaces are suddenly taken up by bags or trash. The bell rings. Lunch is over. Rick stands in the middle of the cafeteria with a full tray of food, furious and embarrassed, and probably hungry. Someone "bumps" into him, causing his tray to crash into his chest. Marinara sauce splatters his shirt and bits of spaghetti slowly slip down his front. Rick throws his ruined tray to the floor and spins to face the guy.
"What the fuck, man?!"
Many kids pause, waiting to see how it'll play out. The kid who bumped him, Davonte, smirks. "What was that? I don't speak loser. Speak my language, dawg."
Rachel shares a grin with her friends. Kids around them laugh.
"What did you say to me? I'm not a fucking loser!"
"Hey hey hey! Calm down!" Davonte chides. "Don't get your panties in a bunch."
More laughter. "Fuck off!"
Joshua steps up next to Davonte. "Dude, you're so lame."
"I'm lame?! At least my team didn't lose the season 2-7!" Rick challenges.
Rachel has no idea what he's talking about, but she also doesn't care. Kurt whispers to the others "What sport was that?"
"Soccer. They had a bad season." Puck responds, watching the other guys closely. Rachel wonders if he's hoping they end up fighting so he can jump in.
"At least I didn't lose my scholarship for being a dick."
A random kid calls out "Rick the Dick!"
A couple others repeat it and laughter renews. The play on words from his previous nickname of Rick "The Stick" has Rick turning bright red.
Davonte smirks. "Since you brought up teams, where's yours? Who is standing with you? No one."
"You're pathetic. That prank you played today was horrible, man. That wasn't funny. It wasn't even a prank. It was a real dick move. It's what losers who attack innocent people do." Josh states firmly.
Muttering of support spread around the room. Rick looks around, angry and humiliated. Davonte tosses him a napkin. "You're a fucking mess. Clean yourself up."
Davonte and Josh high five and walk away laughing. Chants of "Rick the Dick" rise up from around the room. Those not chanting are laughing as they leave to get to class. Rachel walks out of the cafeteria arm in arm with Kurt. She's glad to have the support of the rest of the school. But, looking back into the empty cafeteria where Rick still stands alone, shaking in rage, she feels unsettled. She's just not sure why.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Shelby stares at the photo and wants nothing more than to give the kids involved a piece of her mind. And a slap or two. She drops the phone onto the table.
"They're suspended?"
Burt nods. "Those involved got two days. Since it was revealed that Rick was behind it, he got five days."
"I'm surprised he got so long. Not that he doesn't deserve it." Carole places a mug in front of Shelby and sits next to her.
"He only got so long because this event cast reasonable suspicion on the other incidents. We still don't have proof that he was involved in all of them, but the black rose tied him to the rose and note in her locker. It's enough evidence to support claims of harassment."
Shelby wraps both hands around the mug. "All this over a fight last year?"
"And his lost hockey scholarship."
"It's ridiculous. It's dangerous. He's 17. If this is how he handles things now, how will he handle worse situations as he gets older?" Shelby asks.
"Someone needs to straighten him out soon." Scott sets his own mug down.
"But Rachel really seemed to handle it okay?"
"Yeah, it seemed like she was more worried about how Finn was handling it."
Shelby pinches the bridge of her nose. That's not really what she wanted to hear, but she's not surprised either. She needs to get her daughter to stop worrying about others so much. It's worrying her how much Rachel worries about everyone else.
"And how is Finn?"
"Better now. He talked to Emma and spent some time with Rachel. He said he was fine after that. It was just seeing a gravestone, even an obviously fake one, with her name on it, so soon after their talk last weekend. It threw him." Carole explained.
"Do you think being suspended will cause Rick to stop harassing them? So that he doesn't get in more trouble? I mean, he was basically caught." Scott questions.
Burt sighs. "I don't know. I hope so."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Blaine sips from his water bottle and watches his boyfriend struggle to complete the required dance moves without adding in any jazz hands or shimmying. He hides a smile behind the bottle. Kurt really is adorable. He's a very talented singer and actor, but he struggles with dancing. In the cutest way, of course. Kurt isn't the only one struggling. Mercedes and Finn are also still trying to master the sequence of steps. Blaine knows he doesn't have to be here. He's a good dancer. But he saw how disappointed Kurt was when he was told he had to participate and he wanted to cheer him up. Besides, he's not going to pass up a chance to spend more time with the boy he loves.
Loves.
Yes, Blaine Anderson realized that he's in love with Kurt a couple months ago. Not just loves him, but is in love with him. Even just thinking it makes him giddy. Sure, they've traded "I love you"'s for a while now, but Blaine hasn't yet made it clear to Kurt just how much. He hung out with Rachel not long after he realized it and confessed his deep feelings. She'd squealed happily and hugged him tight. It'd felt good to confess. And outside of Kurt, Rachel is his best friend. Chatting about being in love with your best friend is thrilling. Especially since she was able to talk about being in love with Finn. They both got to gush about their guys. She'd encouraged him to tell Kurt, but he wasn't ready to at the time. He knows he was being ridiculous, but he wanted to wait. He figures it's enough that Kurt knows he loves him. He'll tell him he's in love with him soon. Blaine had been so caught up in his introspection that he failed to notice the focus of his thoughts walking up to him.
"Hey, you okay?" Kurt picks up his own water and chugs it.
"Yeah," Blaine responds, "I'm very good."
Kurt eyes him curiously but before he can question him further, they're interrupted by Mercedes joining them. The diva is thrilled to have finally managed it and high fives both of them. Blaine is relieved that she's back to acting like herself again. He still doesn't really understand her personality shift at the start of the school year.
"I can't do it!"
They look over at Finn, the last to master it, as usual. Blaine feels bad for the guy. Dancing is always a challenge for the tall teen, but this week has been hard on him emotionally as well, which is exasperating his struggle. He didn't see the fake grave in person, only in photos. It was still upsetting. He can't imagine how much it hurt Finn to see. Especially since Rachel struggled emotionally after learning she has Danton's again and Finn helped pull her out of it. Blaine didn't get any details, and he won't press for any, but he knows that Rachel went silent for a few days and hid from the world. He doesn't blame her. He also knows that she upset Kurt by saying something about him not knowing suffering the way she does. Kurt had called him and vented that night. Blaine could see both sides, but played the supportive boyfriend. He'd hoped Rachel would reach out to him as well, but he wasn't surprised when she didn't. He knows Finn had a long, hard talk with her and that after that talk she felt better and ready to face everything. Certain details make Blaine think the hard talk was harder on Finn than on Rachel, but neither is saying. If that's true, and it was about Rachel being sick, then having to see a fake grave days later would have been more distressing than normal. And now, a day later, he's fumbling dance moves in booty camp. Mike steps back and lets Mr. Schuester try to guide Finn through it. The frustrated quarterback fails again. Blaine wonders if he's about to give up when a surprise guest arrives.
Rachel walks up to Finn and steps close, so they're chest to chest. She nods to Mike, who restarts the music. The others watch as Rachel places her hands on Finn's waist and steps forward with one foot. Finn instinctively holds on to her and steps back. She steps sideways and he follows. Blaine realizes she's not only leading him through the steps, but doing so backwards since she's facing him. Impressive. Their movements start out very cut and dry steps in time to the beat. But as they continue to repeat it, their motions become smoother and more natural. Rachel keeps her eyes on Finn and gives him a tiny smirk. He grins back, relaxing for the first time since booty camp started. Once they're moving seamlessly together, she adds in more hip movement. Finn mimics her. Smirk growing, she turns so her back is to his front. After a momentary stumble, Finn catches himself and they repeat the steps a couple more times. His arms wrap around her waist and her arms rest over his. Blaine watches, feeling a little astonished, at how quickly Rachel managed to get Finn to go from not getting the steps at all, to getting them but very clinically, to moving perfectly and naturally, to doing the steps with a subtle sensual undertone. He assumes their newly increased physical intimacy is playing a part in this. Blaine may be gay, but even he can appreciate how hot the whole situation is. Or maybe it's because he's gay that he finds this scene a little hot. He glances around at the others to gauge their reactions. Their expressions vary between being impressed or amused. Rachel steps away from Finn and spins so she's facing him. He stops dancing, clearly missing holding her against him. She kisses him on the lips, winks to the others, and walks over to the piano. She leans against it casually.
"He's ready." She announces.
Finn blinks, seeming dazed. Some of the others giggle. Mike restarts the song and counts him off. Finn nails it and smiles proudly. They all applaud. Puck straightens up and raises a hand slightly, getting Rachel's attention.
"Uh, I'm struggling a little. Can you—"
Kurt smacks his arm hard. Rachel rolls her eyes and leaves without dignifying that with a response. Blaine grins. Rachel Berry continues to impress him.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
He shoves a box out of the way and stomps on the centipede that had been hiding underneath. Nothing. He tears open another box and riffles through. Not there. Rick stands and turns slowly in place, his eyes carefully scanning the garage. There are plenty of boxes in here, but he's not finding the one he's looking for. He knows his brother left it here. He'd gotten in trouble for having it in his dorm in college, so he brought it home and hid it. Rick still isn't sure how Steve managed to prevent their parents from finding out about it. Maybe it's in the basement. He goes back inside and heads down the stairs. He takes extra care to move carefully, not wanting to disturb either of his parents. The last thing he wants is another lecture.
Loser. He scowls.
Pathetic.
Lame.
Rick the Dick.
You're a fucking mess.
Rick the Dick. Rick the Dick. Rick the Dick.
Rick growls low in his throat and kicks a box of Christmas ornaments out his way, not caring about the resulting sound of shattering glass. He pushes through to where Steve sometimes hides things. He finds other things; a few bottles of alcohol, some pornographic DVDs, a whip, a signed hockey puck, pictures of ex girlfriends, a bong, and a few knickknacks. Rick grabs one of the DVDs to watch later. He steps back to think. Where would his brother keep something he didn't want found, but if it was found, couldn't immediately be tied back to him? With sudden inspiration, he goes to where his dad keeps his tools. He ignores the nice tools out on display and shifts through a cabinet to the older tools. They haven't been touched in years. His dad mostly keeps them around because they were his first real tool set. Rick finds an old, battered toolbox. The odd part is while everything else in the cabinet has a layer of dust on it, the toolbox doesn't. His heart thuds in anticipation as he pulls it out. He sets it on the ground and kneels before it. The rusty hinges creak quietly as it opens. Rick stares down, grimly pleased to have found what he was looking for. For a moment, he hesitates, wondering if he should actually go through with it.
Loser.
Rick the Dick. Rick the DickRicktheDickRicktheDick—
Attack innocent people.
Innocent? Berry is hardly innocent. Or…maybe she is. He grins. He can change that. He'll make sure everyone knows the truth. They never should have messed with him. She'll learn that lesson soon.
They'll all learn
XxxxxxxxxxxX
A/N: Reviews are motivating. Thank you to those who review!