A/N: Hey, Readers! Fair warning – I might not continue this story. My friend and fellow Fanfic writer Thisismexxo put the idea in my head so I had to do something about it. This is the result, but like I said it might just be this one 'Episode' and nothing further. Anywho, here it is…
P.S. Another fair warning…I didn't edit :D (don't hate me)
If you spent your days navigating Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Hunters, and Curses you'd want a break from Reality, too. Blair certainly needed one hell of a vacation from the insanity that was her life, but instead of taking one like a normal person she looked to her Witch friend Bonnie Bennett for help. Bonnie recently discovered a 'Reality Jumping Spell' or a universe jumping one, whichever terminology is preferred. Well, as soon as Blair heard about the Spell she wanted it cast on her ASAP. The spell would send her to a different Reality for a specific reason – the reason being unknown, but there would be one. And Blair wouldn't be able to leave said Reality until she – in her Alter's body – achieved completion of whatever the reason might be. That and dying would send her back. Blair found no fault in this and had the Spell cast upon her right away, but not for a second did she think she'd ever end up in Lima, Ohio in a very Gleeful Reality.
When Blair first arrived in this Reality she learned that her Alter's parents had been killed in a freak surfing accident off the coast of Hawaii and all her stuff was being packed up and shipped off to Ohio – Blair included. Why Ohio? – Because her guardian lived there. None other than Sue Sylvester. Apparently Sue knew her Alter's parents way back and it was put in the will that if anything happened to them both that Sue could get custody. Well, something did happen and Blair was shipped off to Ohio. Blair was grateful when her Alter's memories started to filter in the longer she spent there because already this Reality gave her a weird vibe but had no idea just how weird it was going to get.
Presently Blair stood on the sidelines of the football field next to Sue Sylvester and watched the cheerleading routine. She crossed her arms with a heavy sigh because she was bored out of her mind. Yeah, there was a time in her own Reality where she was a cheerleader and loved it, but there was no way in hell she would join this squad if for no other reason than Sue Sylvester was a nut.
"Can I go now?" Blair had asked that about every five minutes since their arrival. "No matter how many times you make me watch practice, it's not going to convince me to join."
Sue didn't take her eyes off the squad doing a complicated routine as she answered her. "I shouldn't have to convince you of anything. I give you a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your stomach. You should join because your stubborn ass is grateful."
"You only want me to join because I won a bunch of medals un gymnastics," Blair shot back. "Not because you think I should be grateful."
Sue ignored her and blew her whistle when they screwed up the routine. She brought the megaphone to her mouth and shouted, "You think this is hard? Try being waterboarded. That's hard."
"I'm leaving now." Blair walked away without waiting for permission this time. As much as she hated this high school already, she would much rather be in its halls than out there with her.
For some reason, once Rachel Berry discovered Blair was being transferred to McKinley she took it upon herself to be her best friend. Blair had to repeatedly tell her that she wasn't a foreign exchange student and could speak English but it took awhile for Rachel to grasp that understanding. Finally she did, and for some reason Blair kept hanging out with Rachel – despite how annoying she thought Rachel was.
As soon as Blair walked into the school Rachel seemed to appear out of nowhere and linked arms with her. "Holy mothballs, Batman! You need to wear a bell or something." How Rachel always seemed to just appear was a mystery to Blair, but she was trying to get used to it.
"Bells are very tacky unless worn for a specific costume," Rachel answered as she moved some hair over her shoulder. "But you know all about tacky—take that outfit for example. You do know there are other colors in the world besides black, right?"
Blair opened up her leather jacket to show Rachel the purple lining. "I'm not just wearing black. See? Purple. It even matches my lingerie."
Rachel looked appalled when Blair said that. "I did not need to know that information."
"Then you shouldn't have assumed that all I wear is black." Blair sarcastically grinned as she stopped at her locker.
Rachel exhaled exasperatedly. "Sometimes I wonder how we are even friends."
"Beats me." Blair got the book she needed, shoved it in her bag, and slammed the locker shut.
Rachel rolled her eyes a bit at that. "Are you going to sign up for Glee Club? Mr Schuester is taking over."
Blair walked down the hall and laughed. "Our Spanish teacher who can barely even speak Spanish is taking over the Glee Club? That's going to amusing."
"So you're going to sign up?" Rachel sounded very excited about this prospect.
"I don't do school activities. Haven't I said this before?" Blair leaned against the wall next to the bulletin board while Rachel signed her name on the Glee sheet. She proceeded to roll her eyes when Rachel put a gold star next to her signature again.
"I think this would be a good experience for you. You can't let your loss dictate your entire life forever." Rachel was trying to be a supportive friend, but Blair didn't take it as such.
"You still have both your parents," Blair shot back, "so don't try and tell me how my loss should affect me." She wasn't able to say anything else because one of the football asshats – as Blair called them – walked by and threw a Slushie right in Rachel's face. Blair's temper flared at this act of bullying. "Oh hell no." She was about to go after that guy but Rachel stopped her.
Rachel grabbed hold of Blair's arm with both her hands to keep her there. "Don't do anything, Blair. It won't help me and you'll just get into trouble."
"Someone needs to punch some sense into them!" Blair shouted down the hall, hoping the asshat would hear.
Rachel pulled on Blair's arm to get her attention. "Don't start a fight, Blair. It's not worth it."
Blair took a deep, seething breath before giving in. "Fine. Let's get you cleaned up." She walked with Rachel to the girl's room and proceeded to help get out as much of the Slushie off Rachel as she could.
After school, Blair sat on the bleachers and started in on her school work. Sue wouldn't let Blair have a key – something about not trusting juvenile delinquents – so Blair had to wait until Sue was done with the Cheerios before she could go home.
It didn't take her very long to finish the work because not only was this stuff covered already in her Reality, but because this wasn't her fire life that attended High School. When all the work was done, she popped on her headphones and turned on some music. When her favorite dance song came on, she couldn't help but start moving along with it.
There was a time in her Alter's life where music, dance, and gymnastics were as important to her as breathing but when her parents died that all changed. It wasn't until Blair took over her Alter that she was starting to heal. Little by little Blair let those things back into her life but didn't push it because she and her Alter were starting to blend and what bothered her Alter bothered her. It wasn't hard for Blair to deal with though because it was just like dealing with one of her past lives, but even so it was a bit different.
While Blair was jamming out to the song playing through her headphones, Sue looked back to check on her. Seeing Blair moving around like that brought a momentary smile to her face because it was a step in the right direction. Blair's therapist told Sue to appreciate the small victories and to her, this was one of those. Now Sue wasn't about to let herself go soft so she turned back around and started yelling at the Cheerios to work harder.
Blair didn't notice when Sue turned back to look at her and she wasn't even aware that one of the football asshats was checking her out as well. Blair was lost in her own little world until the song ended and then she went to get a jumpstart on the work for the following day, all the while waiting until she could get out of there.
Blair cooked dinner that night – per all Sue's health requirements. When they both sat down at the table, Blair commented on the Cheerios routine. "Marcia is still lagging on the flips. You should tell her to do it on two instead of three because she's always a second behind. It throws everything else off."
Sue was impressed by Blair's observations and made note of that. Of course she wouldn't give Blair any credit if improvement was made, but Blair already knew this. "If you were on the Cheerios it wouldn't be a problem."
Blair stabbed her steamed vegetables with more force than necessary. "Give it a rest, Sue. I am not going to, nor will I ever join the Cheerios. That part of my life is a closed chapter. No Nationals of any form for me."
Sue shook her head at this. "You're so talented, Blair. And you know I don't say this to anyone but I'm saying it to you. You're just throwing it away!"
"I'm eating in my room." Blair took the plate off the table and went into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
The next day at school were the Glee Club tryouts. Blair didn't participate herself but she went in support of Rachel. She had to admit that Rachel was pretty damn talented, but wouldn't admit it aloud. Rachel's ego where her talent was concerned was big enough as it was so Blair wasn't about to inflate it any further.
At the end of the tryouts, Blair gathered up her bag to head out of the Auditorium but was stopped by Mr Schue.
"You're Blair, right? You planning on trying out today?" There weren't many who did and he would be grateful for another member.
Blair didn't answer him anything but a laugh – a laugh that echoed in the Auditorium until she walked out of it.
"Okay then," Mr Schue said to himself and left as well. He was about to go down one end of hallway but stopped when he heard shouting coming from the other end. Blair was getting in the face of one of the football players and it looked pretty heated.
"You Slushie Rachel ever again and I rip your head off! If you're lucky it'll be the one attached to your shoulders." Blair punched him in the gut to make her point known and stormed off only to meet Mr Schue face to face. "I thought the hallway was empty."
"Nope. But if you want me to forget what I saw and you pretend that it was, I think we can come to an agreement." Mr Schue opened the door to the Auditorium and smiled, figuring she'd get the idea.
Blair scoffed an incredulous chuckle. "You want me to audition? That's not gonna happen – I don't sing. So suspend me, expel me, do whatever it is you gotta do because I am not trying out for Glee Club."
Mr Schue pondered this for a moment before saying, "Well I guess I could always tell Sue you threatened and punched a fellow student and let her be the judge of your punishment."
Blair's face went white at the thought because Sue would most likely make her join the Cheerios as punishment. With her head held down, Blair walked into the Auditorium muttering, "What song do I have to sing?"
"Your pick." Mr Schue smiled excitedly as he took his seat at the table and waited for Blair to trudge her way up to the stage. "Have you picked a song yet?"
"I'm thinking!" Blair shot back with crossed arms. "I haven't done this in a while." Blair herself had no issues with singing but her Alter had the problem. It brought back memories of her singing with her parents in the car or in the kitchen or just about anywhere. It made her sad to sing but Blair pushed through it and picked a song.
Blair finally picked a song but it wouldn't sound right if there wasn't any music so she sat down at the piano and channeled an ability that her Alter did not have – playing the piano. Her fingers played the quick intro to 'A Thousand Miles' before she started singing. After the first few notes Blair was lost in the moment and could hear all the other instruments playing along and would swear she could even see them. She didn't miss a word of the lyrics of a note of the music – the joy of singing from her own Reality and for her Alter flowed through her and surged her voice even higher, loving every minute of it.
When the song wound down she played the final notes on the ivories before turning around on the piano bench to face Mr Schue. "Can I go now?"
Mr Schue was a bit in awe of her performance and nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you at rehearsal."
Blair stopped mid-step when he said that. "You just said that I had to audition. You never said I had to join."
She had him there, but Mr Schue played it off like she didn't. "No, I'm pretty sure I did tell you that you had to join. See you tomorrow."
"You're evil, Mr Schue. Downright freaking evil!" Blair swiped her bag off the floor and stormed off the stage without another word.
Mr Schue was left feeling pretty good about himself for getting another person to join – even if his methods were far from normal.
Blair did not tell Sue she had joined Glee Club – made to join Glee Club was more like it. That was some drama that Blair wanted to avoid at all costs, so instead of going out to the field the following day after school she went right to the Glee room.
Rachel gasped happily when Blair walked into the room. "You joined! You little stinker, you should have told me!"
"I didn't have much of a choice," Blair muttered as she plopped herself down into a chair in the front row with crossed arms.
Mr Schue enthusiastically walked into the room and clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's get started. Blair, won't you join us?"
"You apparently said I had to join Glee Club, but never said I actually had to participate. I'm good here." Blair crossed her arms even tighter to affirm her stance that she wasn't going anywhere.
"Don't take it personally, Mr Schue," Rachel interjected. "She's had issues with music ever since her parents died."
"Wow!" Blair shouted as she bound to her feet. "Thanks for telling the whole group that!" She waved her hand at the other members before leaving the room.
Rachel realized her mistake as soon as it came out of her mouth. "Blair, I'm sorry!" She started to go after her but Mr Schue held out his hand to stop her and went out instead.
Mr Schue caught up to Blair before she left the building. "Blair, wait." He shot out his arm to keep her from leaving. "I don't know your story, but Glee Club is the best place to work through whatever it is your feeling. You can take all that emotion and put it into the music. I know you can do it. I saw you do it. Your audition blew me away. You have a gift."
"That's all anyone has ever said to me my entire life," Blair shot back. "You have a gift. Well what good is my gift when the two people who meant the most to me in the world don't even exist anymore? Tell me, Mr Schue, how the hell can Glee Club fix the hole I've had inside me ever since a cop came to my hotel room and told me my parents died in the water right outside? And don't give me any more crap about putting my emotions into music. That doesn't fix anything. At most, it's a goddamn Band-Aid."
When Blair pushed past Mr Schue and out the door, he didn't stop her. He would have to come up with something to help Blair because he felt like that she needed Glee Club even more than it needed her.
Blair avoided everyone who was a part of Glee Club the following week and even skipped Spanish class with Mr Schue because she didn't want to get cornered by him again. Everything was going according to plan until one of the football asshats, Finn, came up to her at her locker.
"You're supposed to be in Glee Club right? And you're friends with Rachel?" Finn's tone had a sound of desperation to it that caught Blair's attention.
She closed her locker and leaned against it with crossed arms. "Maybe. Why?"
Finn didn't bother beating around the bush with his answer. "Because Rachel is kinda freaking me out a bit and you're a badass so I was hoping you'd, I don't know, be like a barrier between me and her or something?"
Blair chuckled a bit at this request. "Now why would I help you do that? You and your asshat buddies bully the one friend I have in this school and I'm pretty sure you've sent Kurt dumpster diving at least twice. So you're on your own, buddy." She clapped her hand on his arm. "Good luck."
Finn quickly matched pace with her as she walked away. "I'm serious. Please. I'll do anything. She really is freaking me out and I have to stay in the Club if I want to avoid getting kicked out of school."
Blair paused and turned around on her heels. She looked up at Finn because he was considerably taller than her. "Mr Schue gave you the choice of Glee Club 'or else', too, huh?" At his nod, she scratched the side of her nose in thought. "Nope. Not gonna happen. Music and I have a hate-hate relationship."
Finn tried to say something else to her but froze in fear when she whipped around, pointed a finger at him, and seethed, "One more word and I'll rip your tongue out." Finn took her threat seriously and walked away as quickly as possible.
Blair rubbed her forehead with a heavy sigh before going on her way. Whatever the reason was for the Spell sending her there, she hoped she found out what it was soon because Blair was so over this place.
Blair hadn't spoken to Rachel since she stormed out of Glee Club over a week before and she couldn't believe she was actually starting to miss her annoying friend. Her days were one and the same – school, waiting after school for Sue to be done, dinner, bed, and all over again the next day. The same old routine was starting to drive Blair up the wall. Maybe it was time to mix it up and find something else to do?
She had a free period in school that day and went to the empty Auditorium. If only her Alter didn't have such issues with music it would make it so much easier. But that wasn't the case and even the therapy sessions Sue made her attend didn't do much to help. Maybe Mr Schue was right. Maybe she did need to express herself through the music, even when the music was part of the problem. Yeah, Gymnastics was Blair's thing but music – that was something her Alter shared with her parents. It was important to all of them. Blair decided it was time to push her Alter past their comfort zone so that's what she did.
Blair went to the sound system, plugged in her phone to play the instrumentals to a song she loved and hated because it was an emotional one for her, You Found Me by Kelly Clarkson.
She closed her eyes and sang the song with everything she had and when her eyes opened she would swear that her parents were sitting in the front row looking up at her proudly. Blair poured every ounce of everything she had into that song and didn't even realize she was crying as she did it. She just completely gave herself over to the music and her Alter started to as well. The vision of seeing her parents there meant as much to her Alter as it did to Blair herself because she lost her parents in her Reality as well, but it wasn't until that moment she herself felt as if she was starting to heal.
When the song came to its end. Blair pulled her phone from the system and was about to leave but didn't because she realized she wasn't alone. Rachel was standing in the wings on the other side of the stage from her. Blair didn't say anything because she wasn't sure what Rachel was doing there, yet alone how much she saw or heard.
Rachel crossed the stage over to her friend with an amazed expression upon her face. "Blair, I – I had no idea you could sing like that. I mean I knew you could sing, I've heard you sing to yourself a few times, but that…that was a whole other level. I felt it." She placed her hand on her heart to emphasize then stayed quiet in case Blair had anything to say, but she didn't. After another moment, Rachel asked, "Does this mean you're coming back to Glee Club?"
"Are you going to reveal any more of my secrets?" Blair shot back.
Rachel crossed the last bit of distance between them, saying, "No. I swear."
Blair sniffled back some tears. "Good. Because I really missed my friend."
Rachel felt like crying herself and did a little bit as she hugged Blair. When they finished hugging their moment out, Rachel pulled back to ask, "Have you heard that Mr Schue is quitting?"
Blair's eyes went wide at that. "Are you kidding me? What?"
"It's okay." Rachel linked her arm with Blair's and left the Auditorium with her. "Glee Club has a plan."
The plan was they were going to keep going on with Glee Club even if it meant Mr Schue wasn't going to be a part of it. Blair thought this was crazy but went along with it. Mercedes fitted her for a costume, well a red shirt anyway, and Rachel teased her mercilessly about finally wearing something other than black. Blair found herself laughing more than she had in a long time – in either Reality. The Club was working together and listening to one another. Their strengths were being put to use no one was left out. Blair's life in her Reality had always been of the supernatural variety but this was all so…human. She almost forgot what that felt like.
Finally they were ready to practice on stage. Blair wore the red tank-top and matching midriff open sweater that Blair tied together, red fishnet gloves, and her black jeans. She stood in line on stage and started the opening acapella notes with her fellow Glee Club members to Don't Stop Believing.
It was amazing what Blair felt on that stage, singing that song, and dancing what Rachel choregraphed. There was no worry, no pain, no grief. Blair didn't have to be afraid of what new supernatural entity was going to burst through her life, she didn't have constant reminders of all the people she herself lost, and she – she could just be. For the first time in a long time Blair felt alive.
Blair had no idea that Sue was watching, or Mr Schuester, of the football asshat that kept looking at her on the bleachers everyday after school. And it didn't matter. All that mattered right there in that moment was having the time of her life, so that's exactly what she did.
When the song came to its end, she heard the sound of clapping and looked up to find Mr Schue standing in front of the stage.
"It was good, guys," was Mr Schue's greeting. "It's a nine. We need a ten." He walked onto the stage to join them. "Rachel, you need to hit the ones and the fives. Finn, I think if we worked on it, you could hit a high 'B'. And Blair, don't be afraid to go for it. We both you can."
Finn looked at the group then to Mr Schue. "So does this mean you're staying?"
It most certainly did. "It would kill me to see you win Nationals without me."
Blair and Tina shared a high-five right before Mr Schue said to the group, "From the top."
Those three words meant something to small and yet they opened the door for the insanity that would follow. At least, it would be insanity for Blair. It is amazing how different things appear just from a different perspective.
End Season 1 Episode 1