Welcome to the Jungle

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. All recognisable characters, content, or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Part Two: Sixteen

Chapter Thirteen: Leaving

Santana hands him a swatch of colour before classes on Monday morning, and informs him that he'd better have a matching tie for Homecoming. He's already got a suit - Lily had dragged him to Columbus the day before to replace the dress clothes he'd outgrown - but they'd opted to forego purchasing a tie for the very purpose of coordinating colours. They have four weeks left until the Homecoming Weekend, and between Lily and Kate, Harry's confident he'll have a suitable tie in a suitable shade of green, and he doesn't dwell on it. He hangs out with Puck instead, slumped against their lockers, passing time and shooting the breeze. Mike's in the library, Matt's got an African American Association meeting, and apparently, Finn's joined Quinn's Chastity Club. They meet every week, on Monday morning and Thursday afternoon, and the irony (re: hypocrisy) is hysterical.

"So, Dad's moving here," Puck says conversationally.

Puck's dad, Mr Dubois, is an accountant. He'd been based out of Marseille last Harry had heard. They're close though - not that Puck would ever admit it - and Harry can't say he's overly surprised by the news. He hasn't thought about it, mind, and neither had he expected it, but he'd be more surprised if Mr Dubois were moving to Russia, or England, or really, anywhere else but Lima.

"Yeah?" Harry acknowledges. Kate passes by them in the hallway, pulls a face, and then laughs as Harry returns it. "That's good, right?"

Puck shrugs. "Bébé's excited."

"When does he get here?"

"January," Puck replies, "We're going to spend winter break there, and he'll come back with us. Hey, did you like our artwork on Saturday?"

Harry laughs. "It made my day. Where'd you get the paintball guns?"

"Walmart. Where else?"

"Why'd you do it, though?"

Puck rolled his eyes. "Dude lied to me. Said he had to help his mom out because she had some shit going on with her prostate. Chicks don't even have prostates!"

"That's…" Harry flounders, shakes his head, and turns to gather the things he would need for class, "I don't even know, man."

Puck huffs his agreement. "Yeah, I know. He's a fucking idiot, but what's new? Have you got your car back yet?"

"I wish," Harry grouses. He shoulders his backpack, shuts the door of his locker, and approaches a nearby water fountain to fill his water bottle, "I'm not getting it back until homecoming."

Puck winces. "That blows, man."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Their conversation turns to other things - movies, video games, their Chemistry papers - but eventually, the school bell resounds through the crowded hallways, and they split to their respective classrooms to start yet another day at McKinley High.

-!- -#-

At lunch, Mr Schuester calls for another Glee Club meeting. It's a bit irksome, because it's the second emergency meeting in as many weeks, but nevertheless, Harry trudges to the choir room, and joins Kate on the risers. She's already partway through her lunch, listening absently to Kurt and Mercedes chatter animatedly about that month's edition of Vogue, but she spares him a light kick to the ankle, a brief grin, and a commiserating, long-suffering roll of her hazel eyes.

On such short notice, she's not pleased to be there, either, but barring Harry and Finn, she seems to be the only one.

"What's going on?" He greets her. He unpacks the lunch Lily had prepared for him - a couple of stuffed sandwiches on Turkish bread, an apple and an orange, a slice of brownie, and a couple of homemade muesli bars - and chows down with relish. He's starving.

Kate shrugs. "No idea. Wish Schue would hurry up and tell us, though."

The rest of the Glee Club trickles in, Rachel and Finn, Tina and Artie, and Mr Schuester claps his hands together to grab everyone's attention. In turn, the team falls expectantly silent, and Mr Schuester offers them all a small, sad smile."Hey guys, sorry to disrupt your lunch again. I just wanted to get you all together to let you know I'm resigning from McKinley High."

There's a brief, uncertain silence. Kurt crosses his arms over his chest, makes eye contact with Mercedes, and then Kate, and then Harry. He frowns, too, and then glares at his feet. Kate stares glumly at the remnants of her lunch, and around them, the rest of the club is similarly sullen.

Eventually, the silence is broken by Artie. His eyes look unbelievably wide behind his glasses. "You're leaving us? When?"

Mr Schuester rocks back on his heels, crosses his arms over his chest, and grips both of his elbows. "Well, I've given my two weeks notice, but I promise; I'm going to find you guys a great replacement before I go."

"Is this 'cause those Carmel kids were so good?" Mercedes asks, "Because we can work harder."

Mr Schuester shakes his head, no, but Mercedes looks hardly appeased. Mr Schuester looks upset, too, though, and Harry realises - uncomfortably - how much the Glee Club actually means to the man.

It's sobering in a way, to realise how much Schue's invested in his students, and Harry avoids his gaze, oddly ashamed.

"This isn't fair, Mr Schuester," Rachel protests. She stomps one of her feet, and drops gracelessly into one of the desk chairs. Her skirt flutters around her thighs as she does so, and Harry's gaze, unintentionally, lingers on her tanned, toned legs for a beat too long. Mercifully, no one notices. "We can't do this without you."

Mr Schuester looks like his heart is breaking with every word said, with every moment of eye contact, with every frown he sees. And through it all, Finn looks around, awkward and uncertain, and then asks, during a lull in conversation, "So does this mean I don't have to be in the club anymore, or…?"

Harry rolls his eyes so hard he's sure he sees his optic nerves, and Kate mutters scathing things under her breath that only he and Kurt are close enough to hear. There are unimpressed glances sent Finn's way - Mercedes, Artie, Tina - and even Mr Schuester spares the JV quarterback a disappointed frown. It doesn't last, though, and quickly, Mr Schuester garners their attention once more.

"This isn't about you guys. Being an adult is about having to make difficult choices. It's not like high school: Sometimes you have to give up the things that you love. One day, you guys are going to grow up and understand that. I have loved being your teacher."

The underlying message being, of course, that as an adult, it's something he has to give up.

And somehow, despite Harry's general antipathy regarding Mr Schuester, the reality leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

-!- -#-

Author's Note: Hey, guys and gals. Apologies for the long wait. Been preoccupied with reading books, mostly. I think I'm up to the 28th of the new year. Anyway, thanks for reading. Leave a review? Until next time, -t.