Singer in the back Chapter 9, a glee fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I only own Mouse, Candy and Sarah.

(a/n: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!

I hope you enjoy this chapter - this is where it begins to skew from the original TV show, hope you still enjoy it!

Warnings: Explicit language.

Please remember that if you want a reply to your review, you NEED to sign in. I can't reply to every unsigned review on here - it would take up more room than the story itself!

Read on, oh faithful ones...)

...

Chapter Nine

...

"So, tell me Jane, why do you think you're here?" Emma asked, sitting up straight as she smiled at Mouse who was sitting across from her.

"Because you booked the appointment for me, and then cornered me after my last class so I couldn't go straight home and skip this meeting," Mouse replied, a fake smile on her face.

"Let's talk about what you did to Kent, and Jacob, and Ms. Lemay. And then we'll talk about why you quit Glee, how about that?" Emma suggested brightly.

"They're all because of the same thing, Miss Pillsbury, and after the article Jacob printed about my brother yesterday, you really can't think why I did anything I've done?" Mouse asked, rolling her eyes.

"Tell me about Candon, Jane."

Tell me about Will, Emma... Tell me about your infatuation with him. Tell me if it's just wanting what you can't have, or if you really think it's love, and he'll leave his wife for you when he thinks she's pregnant. But you and I both know that she's not pregnant, especially after you read that pregnancy book in one night, but still haven't even taken the marriage books out of the bag, Mouse thought. She didn't dare open her mouth in case her thoughts poured out of her mouth.

"If you don't tell me anything, I can't help you, Jane," Emma said pointedly, straightening one of the pencils sitting on her desk.

If I told you anything, you'd be the one who needed help, not me.

"Keeping secrets won't help anyone, Jane. The truth needs to be told."

Still Mouse didn't say a word. At least, not out loud.

The truth be told, the truth be told,
I'm worried about the future holds, the future holds,
I'm starting to worry about Ray.

The truth be told, the truth be told,
I'm worried about the future holds, the future holds,
I'm seriously worried about Ray.

They say the future's out to get you,
You know that I won't let you fall.
They say the future's out to get you,
You know that I won't let you fall.

The truth be told, the truth be told,
I'm treading on my tippy toes, my tippy toes,
I'm starting to worry about Ray.

The truth be told, the truth be told,
I'm treading on my tippy toes, my tippy toes,
I'm painfully so worried about Ray...

"Jane? Jane? Mouse!" Emma was saying, getting her attention finally.

"You said something, Miss Pillsbury?" Mouse asked, looking at her again.

"Yes, I said that you need to talk to me. After all of this stuff that's going on at home with your brother, who'll be here soon, I might add," Emma said, indicating to the school newspaper in front of her. "You're going to need someone to talk to, and people to support you. Now that you're no longer in Glee, do you think that your friends will still be able to stay by your side when they have to practice nearly every afternoon to prepare for Sectionals?"

Mouse was silent for a moment, glowering at the newspaper on Emma's desk, as if she was hoping it would burst into flames if she glared at it long enough.

"The stuff written in that newspaper is not a first-hand account, therefore most of it can be discredited as lies and heresy," Mouse said off-handedly.

"But the main part of it is true, isn't it?" Emma said softly. "Your brother has mental retardation, and as such, will most likely be teased when he attends this school."

If she mentions anything about sunglasses, I may just scream, Mouse thought to herself.

"Now, if you had a teacher on your side, say Mr. Schuester..." Emma started.

"Right... Not going to happen," Mouse drawled - Emma was so in love with Will, she didn't even realise that he'd been the one to drive Mouse from Glee - "Great chatting with you, Miss Pillsbury. We should do it again some time," she said, sarcasm dripping from every word as she stood and picked up her bag.

"Jane?"

Mouse ignored Emma and headed to the door.

"Jane?" a heavy sigh. "Mouse, sit down."

"I'm within my rights to leave, and I'm going home. Thanks for your time, Emma. Return those books on time, or else Ms. Lemay will fine you, teacher or not," Mouse added over her shoulder, the door closing behind her.

Muttering to herself, Mouse walked through the empty school corridors and out the front doors. She stopped short at the sight that met her outside the school gates. About ten jocks were standing there. Not one was Finn, Puck or Kent, so far as she could tell...

Not knowing if this was good or not, Mouse kept her head down and tried to walk past them.

"Hey, you! Wait up!" one of the jocks called, all of them coming after her.

Mouse started to run, then slowed after a few metres. She was tired of running...

Turning to face them, she gripped her bag tightly, ready to use it as a weapon if need be. The gods knew it was damned heavy enough to decapitate someone!

"Afternoon, boys. What can I help you with?" Mouse asked politely, mustering as much courage as she could in case they were going to hurt her.

Not one person was left in the car park, Emma's office was the furthest from the entrance to the school, which basically meant that no one would be able to hear Mouse scream.

"We read about your brother in the school paper ... And well, we just wanted to apologise for what Kent said about him," the black jock, Terrence, said, holding his hands in front of his groin so she wouldn't kick him.

"Tell Kent to apologise for himself!" Mouse said immediately.

"He won't listen to us," Terrence muttered.

"You're not, like, really going to kill us and throw us into the school incinerator if we, like, tease your brother, are you? Because I, like, really need to pass my exams," another said.

"What the fuck's going on here?" Puck asked behind them.

"We were just apologising to her on behalf of Kent..." Terrence said quickly.

"You 'kay?" Puck asked Mouse, looking her over for any signs of pain or bruising.

"Fine, they really were apologising," she replied, shrugging. "You really think I'm going to kill you if you tease my brother?" Mouse asked the jocks curiously.

Most of them nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"Well, I will kill you if you even so much as look at my brother the wrong way..."

The jocks paled, but Mouse ignored them and continued to talk.

"And that goes the same for any of the Glee Club members. If I hear about one slushie in the face, or someone thrown in the rubbish bin, or even if you laugh at one of them, I will kill you and throw your body into the incinerator to remove the evidence... Got that?" she asked, glaring at them.

This time there was no hesitation as each and every one of the jocks nodded quickly. Within minutes, the jocks had fled, leaving Puck and Mouse alone.

"You're fucking evil, Mouse. I think they actually believed you," Puck said, shaking his head.

"I wasn't lying," Mouse replied, smirking as she left the car park and headed home.

Puck hurried after her, frowning slightly. "You wouldn't really ... you know, kill them ... would you?"

"Of course not. But they don't need to know that," Mouse replied, shrugging. "I will kick their arses to the ground and probably break their hands if they lay a finger on Candy, but killing's just too messy and far too much paperwork."

Puck just stayed silent, unsure if she was joking or not, and continued to walk Mouse home.

"There you are, Jane sweetie! I just got a call from Jen and her sister to go play tennis with them. I'll be back in a couple of hours, look after Candon for me!" Sarah said, hurrying out to the car.

"Didn't you say that Jen twisted her ankle?" Mouse said, dumping her bag by the door and going after her mother.

"Well, yes. But her physio said that exercise is good for the tendons, or something... And I'll probably just end up playing her sister anyway. Jen really isn't that good at tennis," Sarah whispered, as if it was the world's biggest secret. "See you later, Jane sweetie. Be good! Nice to see you again, Noah!" Sarah called with a wave, getting into the car and starting the engine before Mouse could say anything to stop her.

She pulled out of the driveway not even five seconds later, and Mouse sighed, shaking her head as she watched her mother drive off.

"What the fuck was that about? Is she on drugs or something?" Puck asked in shock, staring after the small red car that was no longer in sight.

"Sarah has a very firm belief about what goes on in your house should stay in your house, and what goes on outside the house is just a show for the rest of the world to see," Mouse replied, grabbing her bag from the doorstep and heading inside.

"That's fucked up," Puck muttered, following her in.

"It's actually a very common thought among the cougars... How do you think you were able to sleep with so many of them without their husbands trying to kill you? On the outside they act like they're the perfect couple, but the moment they're inside, they're just as dysfunctional as the next family."

"Mousie!" Candy said happily, getting up and hugging her tightly. "Pucky!" he said, doing the same to him.

"Hey Candy kid," Puck said with a slight grin, ruffling his hair.

"Watch with sweet," Candy said, grabbing Puck's hand and taking him over to the small bean bag on the floor.

"He wants food?" Puck asked Mouse, looking to her with a frown.

"No, Candy calls himself sweet sometimes. Probably from all the times Mum and I have called him sweetie," Mouse said with a short and ironic laugh.

"Okay, so what are we watching?" Puck asked, looking at Candy.

"Toy Story!" Candy said.

"I know that one," Puck said grinning as he started to sing. "You've got a friend in me,

You've got a friend in me.
When the road is rough ahead,
And you're miles and miles,
From your nice warm bed.
Just remember what your old pal said,
Boy, you got a friend in me," Puck sang.

Candy's eyes lit up and he sang along with Puck, his head bopping along to the words.

Mouse smiled and went to the kitchen to get them all something to eat.

She wasn't quite sure why Puck had come home with her. She wasn't in Glee anymore, so he didn't need to practice for Sectionals with her. Mouse briefly wondered if it was because he wanted to kiss her again, and she was surprised to find that she didn't mind that thought at all.

"You all right?" Puck's voice startled her from her thoughts, and Mouse went red as she realised she'd been daydreaming about him kissing her.

"Fine. Why?" she asked quickly, turning to get some juice from the fridge.

"You've been in here a while, and I couldn't hear you moving around," Puck said. He leaned against the door frame, folding his arms as he grinned. "So what were you thinking about?"

He recognised the look on her face; he'd seen it on countless other girls and women before...

"Oh nuts, Mum put the empty carton back in. She knows I hate that!" Mouse muttered, trying to ignore his question, as well as his intense gaze into her back.

"Oh nuts, oh nuts!" Candy copied with a laugh, having followed Puck to the kitchen. "Oh nuts, oh nuts, oh nuts," he repeated, making the two words into a song.

"Not now, Candy," Mouse said wearily, suddenly feeling so damned tired from her day.

Candy either didn't hear, or took no notice, as he continued his chant happily enough.

"Come on, Candy kid. Let's go finish watching Toy Story," Puck murmured, leading him back to the lounge room.

Mouse sighed heavily, and sat up on the kitchen bench. When she'd recollected herself enough, Mouse went out to sit in the lounge room with Puck and Candy.

...

Will didn't know what to do. He still hadn't lodged the new student forms for Candy, and they'd been sitting on his desk for the entire day, mocking him for being so stupid.

How had he not seen that what Sarah wanted wasn't what was best for Candy or Mouse? Was he that blinded by her good taste in music? And really, he didn't even like Tom Cruise or that song very much anyway... He was an idiot for letting this happen!

"And now these damned articles," he muttered, looking at the one Mouse had saved of his mother running away with Josh Groban - he'd called his dad, and apparently his mum had spent the night with Josh (which Will refused to think about), but hadn't actually run off with him. Thank God for small miracles - and then to the one about Candy's soon-to-be attendance at McKinley High.

Sighing heavily, he looked at the forms in his in tray. He had to throw them away. It was the right thing to do...

"There you are, Schue! I just read the article about our newest member at McKinley High! I presume you got the paperwork signed, and an advance payment from the boy's mother?" Principal Figgins asked, looking into Will's office.

"About that, sir... I don't think it's wise to let the boy attend school here," Schue said, coughing slightly to hide his embarrassment.

"Why not? We have plenty classes that are suited to his needs, and he'll be under your watchful eye, Schue! I have full confidence in you," Figgins said, taking the forms and cheque, and then leaving before Will could say anything else.

Will stared after him in shock.

...

You have received an urgent message from Jane Franklin (Mouse). She requests that you pretty please open it this very moment, or else she'll hurt you!

The message blinked on the screen for the whole of five seconds before Puck opened the email. Glancing up, he saw that the rest of the Glee members had received emails as well. Finn wasn't talking to him, and hadn't for the whole day. In fact, he'd hardly talked to anyone.

"You guys get this message too?" Mercedes called out, Kurt sitting next to her at the computer.

"Yeah, I got one," Puck answered.

"Same," Quinn said, Brittany and Santana saying the same.

"Well, let's just watch it around the one computer. It's got some sort of video attachments, and I couldn't stand listening to everyone trying to play it at the same time," Kurt muttered.

Somehow, they all ended up surrounding Puck; even Finn was standing back there. Puck glowered at them, but they didn't seem fazed, so then he glowered at the brightly lit screen instead, and opened the first of the three attachments.

Mouse's face showed up, a bit too close, and then the zoom was adjusted properly.

"All right, I know you guys have been lacking motivation," she said, then paused.

"Only some of us have," Rachel said immediately.

"Okay, I left time for Rachel to comment on that," Mouse said, grinning. "Anyway, lacking motivation, blah, blah, blah. No more comments, Rachel!" she added.

Rachel closed her mouth and folded her arms in a huff.

"So, since you think that you're all that great and will win Sectionals easily, I thought I'd get these videos done up for you. This video is of the School for Deaf performance. I should tell you that due to recent funding, they now have state-of-the-art hearing aids, which means they can probably hear the music better than you."

There was some fiddling with the camera, and suddenly the view was pointing at a small stage.

A group of six children - three boys and three girls - walked onto the stage quietly. The zoom focused in one on of the boys' hearing aids, as if to prove Mouse's point.

A guitar began, and suddenly the three girls looked up and stepped forward, grinning.

"On a train, heading east of here,
Where I'll end up, I'm not quite clear.
But I can't help myself, I must be settling down.
Until they stop this thing, I'll get around," the girls sang.

"When I hear it's been done before,
And I hear it's a simple thing.
Then I hear it's quite difficult,
And I hear almost everything!" they all sang together, and then the boys stepped forward, and the girls back.

"Pass through deserts with mountain streams,
Outside my window, the scene's serene.
The day I find myself I'll be so very proud,
And I will not get passed up in the crowd!" the boys sang, the girls moving forward again.

"When I hear it's been done before,
And I hear it's a simple thing.
Then I hear it's quite difficult,
And I hear..." they sang together.

Stepping apart, the girls to one side and the boys to the other. The girls began to sing, then they alternated with the boys for the next few lines.

"Now I'm not trying to cut anyone down,
But I know it's been going on too long," the girls sang.

"Simply doing what you feel,
Is the best way not to go wrong," the boys sang.

"But I know it seems crazy,
And it might be a struggle."

"But I don't believe all this is true,
So I'm here, I'm uneasy, and I'm ready to go!"

"And I won't stop until this thing goes round and round,
And I can sing like I will never know!"

They stepped forward once more to be in one line, and sang in unison again.

"When I hear it's been done before,
And I hear it's a simple thing.
Then I hear it's quite difficult,
And I hear almost everything!"

As the song ended, all of the Glee Club was staring at the screen in some shock. The deaf kids were no Vocal Adrenaline, but they were good.

"I haven't tweaked the videos, either. If you want to check for yourselves, I still have the originals at my house; my address is at the bottom of the email. If anyone so much as shows that to Jacob Ben Israel, I will hunt you down!" Mouse muttered, looking at the camera once more. "You're all probably sitting there in shock, right? Yeah, thought so. Anyway, onto the next video Glee people! And smile a bit, you're supposed to be happy..."

The video cut off suddenly, and they were still all staring at the screen.

"C-can we not c-c-click the n-next video?" Tina asked, her face pale.

"I don't think I want to see it," Mercedes agreed, shaking her head.

"You're just being wimps," Puck muttered, clicking the next attachment.

"All right, I'm glad you opened this one! Was afraid you might have been scared off... I'm sure someone opened it and made the rest of you watch," Mouse said, grinning at the camera. "So, this is the group from the halfway house for juvenile delinquents. You might think that they don't care, but believe me, they do. They've been promised a three course meal if they win, and they are hungry..."

The camera turned suddenly, and the lights dimmed. In three bright flashes of colour, not even three seconds later, the stage was revealed to show a large group of ten (six girls and four guys) sitting on the edge of the small stage.

"My destiny..." the girls sang.

Then the beat started, and cascading one after the other, each jumped up and somersaulted back into the air to land on the stage.

"Don't need to think too hard,
About what to say to you.
Words come so easily,
Because what I say is the truth.
You don't need to worry about me,
I don't need nothing but you and you know it.
Baby, I would give you anything," the main girl sang, stepping forward as she glanced at the guy behind her.

"Feels like you was someone I knew,
Could have sworn we met before.
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny," the guy sang, moving to be in front of her.

"Feels like you was someone I knew,
Could have sworn we met before.
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny," everyone sang together.

The music slowed, and the main girl stepped forward again, everyone dancing the steps behind her, moving their arms in unison.

"There's no one else I know that knows me better than you,
Got an effect on me, you changed me for the good.
If I had never met you, the way I feel I would not know how to show it,
You brought out the best in me."

The girls all sang together, the main girl echoing them.

"Feels like you was someone I knew,
Could have swore we met before. (Hey)
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny. (Destiny)"

Then the boys sang in reply, their main guy echoing them as well.

"Feels like you was someone I knew, (Someone I knew)
Could have swore we met before.
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny. (Destiny)"

"You've given me more than I could ever dream of,
You're inspirational to me.
You're my destiny,
We are meant to be," the main girl sang again.

Once more, they all stepped forward to sing together.

"Feels like you was someone I knew,
Could have swore we met before.
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny."

The two lead singers stepped to the front as the rest moved back, dancing.

"Feels like you was someone I knew,
Could have swore we met before.
Feels like in the past, that history,
Maybe you're just my destiny," they sang together.

The music and lights faded off, and the group high-fived each other, whistling loudly. The camera wavered and was soon on Mouse's face again.

"Breathe a bit... You might want to take a break before you see the next video," she warned, and the video went black.

"Does a year constitute as a break?" Kurt muttered.

"I'm afraid not. But Mouse is right, I need to sit down and breathe. They were even better than the other group," Rachel said, turning away to get her drink bottle.

She bumped into Finn, and smiled shyly. He hardly glanced at her, his eyes still focused on the screen. Slightly put out, Rachel looked away quickly and went to her bag.

A few minutes later, they were all around the computer screen again, each one wondering what on earth this last video was going to be of. Mouse had already shown them their Sectionals competition, and Dakota Stanley now had police officers supervising every single Vocal Adrenaline practice so that no one could film them.

Puck almost held his breath as he clicked the final attachment.

At first there was nothing, not even Mouse's face. Then they heard Mouse talking, but the screen was still black.

"Yes, mum, I know. Just give me a minute and I'll tell you how to record the TV show," Mouse was whispering. "It's Cody," she added.

"What the hell is she on about?" Puck mused, his head cocked to the side as if he could see around the taped video.

"I think Mouse is talking in code," Artie said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "We all know her brother's Candy, and she said Cody..."

"And she'd never talk to her mum in that type of voice either," Puck muttered in agreement.

"I know that the show's about to start, I'll help you record it in a minute," Mouse said.

"Her voice is getting louder on certain words," Kurt said, sounding surprised he'd noticed it.

"Maybe we should start the video again," Tina said, frowning.

Puck nodded and did exactly that.

"... Just give me a minute and I'll tell you how to record the TV show," Mouse whispered, her voice indeed getting louder with certain words. "Vocal Adrenaline practice. Library liaison conference which got me into the school."

Suddenly bright lights filled the screen, but it still looked hazy.

"The camera is in the closet, under my white shirt, Mum," Mouse murmured.

It looked like there were scraps of blue material just lying on the stage, but then the blue materials started moving to reveal legs, and they realised that the Vocal Adrenaline girls were all lying on the stage.

"Ooh watching me, hanging by a string this time,
Oh easily, the climax of a perfect life," the girls all sang in unison.

"Ooh watching me, hanging by a string this time,
Oh easily, my smile's worth a hundred lies," the boys sang, stepping from the background to lift the girls from the stage.

The girls swept up from the stage, their dresses swinging as they swished them, walking around their partner as he dropped to the stage now.

"If there's lessons to be learned, I'd rather get my jamming words in first, oh,
Tell ya something that I've found, that the world's a better place when it's upside down, boy..." the girls sang loudly, the music pumping loudly.

"If there's lessons to be learned, I'd rather get my jamming words in first, oh,
When you're playing with desire, don't come running to my place when it burns like fire, boy..."

On the stage, the boys were now lying on the floor and kicking their legs up in unison, the girls walking above them.

"Sweet about me, nothing sweet about me, yeah.
Sweet about me, nothing sweet about me, yeah.
Sweet about me, nothing sweet about me, yeah.
Sweet about me, nothing sweet about me, yeah," the guys all sang, jumping up at the same time and running after their partner.

"Blue, blue, blue waves they crash,
As time goes by, so hard to catch.
And too, too smooth, ain't all that,
Why don't you ride my side of the tracks?" the girls sang back, running between each guy and to the front of the stage.

"If there's lessons to be learned, I'd rather get my jamming words in first, oh,
When you're playing with desire, don't come running to my place when it burns like fire, boy..."

"Sweet about me, nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me, nothing sweet about..."

"WHAT IS THAT?!" a voice yelled directly beside the camera.

They jumped at the sudden loud noise, and they all knew the voice instantly, despite only meeting the man twice - Dakota Stanley, the choreographer for Vocal Adrenaline.

On the screen, all of the Vocal Adrenaline kids rushed to the edge of the stage to watch what was happening.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I'll come home and help you record your show," Mouse said, sighing heavily.

The camera turned and they had a sudden view of Dakota Stanley's bright red shirt.

"Sorry, my mum's freaking out because the VCR's not recording her favourite program. I told her not to touch anything, but you know what parents can be like. Especially those that are techo-phobes," Mouse said, lying easily.

"Give me that phone!" Dakota snarled, and they saw Mouse's small phone in his hand a moment later.

"Can I get my phone back now? It's crappy, really... Damn thing's so cheap that it doesn't even have a camera!" Mouse muttered. "My mum had better be buying me a new one for my birthday," she said, her voice sounding childish.

Dakota went through the phone and found it really didn't have a video recorder.

"Why are you in here making phone calls?" he asked suspiciously.

"My mum called me, actually. I was just in here watching Vocal Adrenaline. They're so great!" Mouse simpered, turning to look at the group on the stage. "I can't wait to see them at Regionals!"

"Oh, hold the phone!" Mercedes called out suddenly.

"What? What's wrong?" Finn asked immediately, looking at her.

"Rewind a couple seconds and pause. I need to drool," Mercedes said to Puck, ignoring Finn's question.

Frowning in confusion, he did as she said.

"Oh, my," Kurt said, his mouth dropping open.

"Wow. He is hot!" Santana said, ignoring the look Mike gave her.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?" Puck asked, shaking his head.

It was just a close-up of one of the Vocal Adrenaline guys. What was so good about that?

"Oh, man. Just looking at the boy gives me shivers!" Mercedes said, fanning herself.

"A-agreed," Rachel said breathlessly, staring at the screen.

"Are all of you drooling back there?" Puck asked, worried that they'd salivate on his head.

"Even Quinn's drooling. Finn, check your girlfriend," Matt said with a laugh.

"Check your own," Finn muttered, nodding at Brittany, who was staring at the close-up with wide eyes.

"She always looks like that..." Matt replied, but a few seconds later, he was waving a hand in front of Brittany's face and telling her to snap out of it.

"Okay, time to press play, people. That means we're leaving the picture of the guy..." Puck said slowly, pressing the play button amid cries of protest.

"... wait to see them in Regionals! You're great, Josh!" Mouse called, and the supposedly-hot guy waved to her, grinning broadly.

"All right, all right. You've blown their egos up enough. It'll take days to bring them down again. Get going, girl, or I'll get the police to escort you out," Dakota muttered.

"I wouldn't mind that, they've got handcuffs, and my old pair broke," Mouse said.

With an innocent whistle, she took her phone back, and left a stunned Dakota behind her.

A few minutes later, the sun was shining outside of the auditorium, and the camera was brought out of Mouse's pocket.

"I don't actually have handcuffs, get those thoughts out of your minds. I mean it!" Mouse said, glaring at the camera lens.

"Hey, you there!" a loud male voice yelled.

"Oh, shit. Gotta run!" Mouse said, and the screen went blank just as it showed a policeman leaving the school building and pointing at her.

"Jesus Christ!" Finn muttered, staring at the screen.

"Finn, don't take the Lord's name in vain," Quinn said, but she didn't sound like she meant it, and looked like she wanted to say that herself.

A few seconds later, Mouse appeared on the screen once more, her face bright and hair messed up from running.

"She could have combed herself," Kurt murmured.

"Sorry about the bad hair and whatnot... I had to throw my brush into the bushes so he'd go in that direction instead of towards me. It actually worked, so he obviously hasn't watched enough movies," Mouse murmured. "Anyway, I got in, got the video, got out, and survived to tell the tale! So, I rock, and you now have enough motivation to get singing again. So go and sing, my pretties! Sing!" Mouse said, cackling wildly.

The screen went black.

"Mouse is weird," Tina said, shaking her head.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Schue asked from behind them.

He'd seen them all in the computer room, and wondered if they'd been looking up songs for Glee. Maybe they were getting motivated again!

"Nothing, Mr. Schue. I'm going to practice," Finn replied, getting up and leaving the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Schuester asked in confusion.

Santana, Mike, Matt, and Brittany all left as well, not answering his question.

"Quinn? Talk to me," Will said, getting concerned now.

"Not now, Mr. Schue," Quinn muttered, leaving as well.

Rachel left soon afterwards. Mercedes, Tina and Kurt left next, ignoring Schuester too. In a matter of seconds, only Artie and Puck were left with Mr. Schuester. Puck didn't look away from the computer screen, and Will looked to Artie hopefully.

"What's wrong with everyone, Artie? You gotta tell me something!"

Artie sighed heavily, suddenly wishing that he had chosen the wheelchair with the monster wheels. Then he'd be able to steamroll his way out of this room, and not have to explain everything that Mr. Schuester had done, and hadn't done.

"We just got an email from Mouse," Puck answered him surprisingly enough, still looking at the screen.

"Oh..." Will said, coughing slightly and looking away.

"She sent us videos of our competition for both Sectionals and Regionals," Artie added.

"Come on guys, we've been through this already. We have the required twelve singers for Sectionals, even without Mouse. We don't need her to sing now, and we can still win! I believe in you," Will said enthusiastically.

There was a knot tying itself over and over in the pit of his stomach, and even he felt sickened at the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"You know what, Mr. Schue? Fuck you," Puck said, getting up and pushing past Will roughly.

Artie sighed. Looked like he'd have to explain after all. He really thought Mr. Schue was smarter than this...

"We know that we may not need Mouse to sing, Mr. Schue, but we want her to. You did wrong, so you need to fix it and get her back... Look at the email for yourself," Artie said, rolling out of the computer room.

Stunned, Will sat on the chair and looked at the screen. Sighing heavily, he opened the first email attachment.

...

As the doorbell's tone faded, Mouse opened the door, reading to tell Sarah to be quiet, as she'd only just put Candy to bed. It wasn't Sarah however, and Mouse frowned slightly, wondering why on earth Quinn Fabray was standing on her front step.

"Hi, Mouse," Quinn said. "Going to let me in, or just keep a pregnant girl out in the cold all night?" she asked, smirking briefly.

"Sure. I'm just surprised to see you," Mouse said, stepping back to let Quinn inside.

"Well, I'm just as surprised to be here, believe me," she muttered in reply, looking around the house in scrutiny as Mouse led her to the lounge room.

There were Disney toys everywhere, Candy's beanbag was in the middle of the floor, paper dolls lying next to it, their coloured-in faces smiling up at Quinn brightly.

"Is Candy home?" Quinn asked, sitting on the couch delicately.

"He's upstairs asleep. I'm not going to wake him, sorry," Mouse said immediately.

"That's all right, I wasn't going to ask you to. I was just curious," Quinn replied, her foot playing with the beanbag.

"Can I ask why you're here? And at this time of night?" Mouse asked, glancing at Quinn's stomach briefly.

"I came to talk to you. And I couldn't get away from my parents until now," she answered, her hands over her stomach protectively.

"Okay. Well, talk," Mouse said, leaning back on the armchair as she watched Quinn.

Quinn was silent for a moment, not looking at Mouse.

"I wanted to apologise for what I said earlier about you and Puck," she said finally, her eyes still looking at everything except Mouse. "I was wrong to say that he loved me and not you... I'm just very jealous lately, and it's difficult being alone," Quinn admitted.

"You're not alone," Mouse said, frowning.

Quinn laughed shortly, looking at her now. "Finn and Puck won't even talk to each other, let alone look at me. Everyone in Glee is supporting me, sure, but that doesn't mean they're there when I'm getting an ultrasound, or when doctors show up at my front door demanding I pay the hospital bills. Soon enough my parents are going to find out, and then I'll really be alone, and have nowhere to stay either."

Mouse sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Quinn, listen to me. I'm only going to say this once... You wouldn't have come to me if you didn't want to hear the truth. The rest of the guys would have sugar-coated it, and that's not what you need."

Quinn nodded briefly, waiting for her to continue.

"You're an idiot."

"Just because I didn't want it sugar-coated, it doesn't mean you can insult me!" Quinn said immediately, standing and glaring down at Mouse.

"Sit down this instant, Quinn Fabray," Mouse said, her voice not raising any higher, and her tone completely calm.

Slowly and very reluctantly, Quinn sat back down again.

"You're an idiot for not only sleeping with Puck without contraceptives, but you're also an idiot for lying about it. You should have known exactly what would have happened the moment Finn found out about it. You didn't think he was that dumb, did you?"

Quinn didn't answer, but her silence said it all.

"You aren't a mind reader, but you obviously saw that Finn was attracted to Rachel; that's why you joined Glee, isn't it?" Mouse asked.

"To start off with," she admitted.

"Right, and then you went and slept with Puck. How did that come about? As President of the Chastity Club, I thought you would have had more strength than that."

"Don't sit there and preach to me, Mouse. You can't resist him either," Quinn said, then sighed and continued, "I felt ugly that day, and he got me drunk on wine coolers."

"That must not have been a pleasant experience for your first time," Mouse murmured sarcastically. "What story did you tell Finn?"

"Spa ... making out ..." she mumbled incoherently.

"What?"

"I said it happened in the spa when we were making out. Something about the temperature being right for sperm to swim up there. I don't really remember now," Quinn said, her face red.

Mouse burst out laughing, quickly clamping her hand over her mouth to muffle the noise.

"Oh. Wow. Funny..." she said, laughing still between her words. "I'm really surprised that he believed that," Mouse said, laughing once more.

"I'm not," Quinn muttered, raising her eyebrow slightly as she looked away from the laughing little mouse, and down at the carpet.

Mouse finally stopped laughing, and then looked at Quinn seriously once more.

"You're still an idiot for thinking that you're alone or will have nowhere to stay. Sure, Puck and Finn aren't talking, or talking to you, but that doesn't mean they're not going to help you after they've sorted things out in their own heads. Finn even got a job to support you and the baby, despite the fact that you're giving it to Mrs. Schuester," Mouse said.

"How ... how did you know about that?" Quinn asked, her face pale.

"I saw the look on your face when Mr. Schue was talking to his wife," Mouse replied, shrugging. "And I knew you weren't going to keep the baby, especially after Finn came up with the name Drizzle... Actually, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that he believed you," she muttered, shaking her head.

"You're very observant," Quinn said after a moment, frowning slightly.

"I've had to be observant. It's an essential survival skill for anyone attending high school," Mouse replied, rolling her eyes.

"You don't care that you're not popular, do you?" she asked, sounding surprised.

Mouse laughed, it was short and ironic. "Of course not. Why would I care about what those people think about me?"

"Popularity is currency," Quinn said, as if it was obvious.

"And once upon a time, there was no such thing as money. Who really cares what they think? They're not going to be sitting on my shoulder and criticising me for the rest of my life, are they?" Mouse said, shaking her head.

"Probably not, but high school defines your whole life," Quinn retorted.

"I define my own life."

...

"Jane, sweetie!" Sarah called as she opened the front door. "Oh, hello. You brought another friend home, Jane?" she asked sweetly, seeing Quinn sitting on the lounge.

"Yeah. Do you mind if Quinn stays over? I lost track of the time," Mouse said.

"Of course, sweetie. Candon's already in bed?" Sarah asked.

"An hour ago," she replied with a nod.

"I can go, Mouse. I don't need to stay over," Quinn murmured as Sarah hung her coat up and took her heels off.

"You're here now. Call your parents and tell them you're at Santana's house or something, if you don't want them knowing you're here," Mouse replied, shrugging. "Quinn just needs to use the phone for a minute, Mum," she called out before Quinn could object.

"All right, sweetie."

Sarah would be polite and sweet every single moment Quinn was in their house, and the moment she was gone, she would revert back to her normal self. Her rule of putting on an act for their neighbours when she was outside also applied to people inside the house.

"Thanks," Quinn said after a moment's hesitation, standing and going to the cordless phone nearby.

Dialling her house number, she stepped into the kitchen, away from Mouse's observant eyes, and Sarah's fake smile.

"Hi Mum," Quinn said when her mother answered the phone. "Yes, I know... I didn't realise the time... No, I'll be fine. Tell Daddy that I'm going to stay over a friend's place tonight... Yes, she offered, I didn't ask... Mum! I'm not with Finn... Yes, I'll say my prayers... Good night, Mum. Love you," she added, hanging up the phone.

Looking at the phone in her hand for a moment, Quinn sighed softly and went to go back into the lounge room. Seeing that Sarah and Mouse were arguing softly, Quinn stepped back, watching them from the doorway, trying to hear what they were saying.

"... don't care if you sleep with the entire neighbourhood! Just don't bring them home while you're supposed to be looking after Candy!"

"He's old enough to be looking after himself. Besides, it's high time he learnt about the birds and the bees."

"Walking in on you and Ron Silverman is not an educational experience," Mouse said, glaring.

"I am your mother, I can do what and who I want. Just because you're a goodie-two-shoes, it doesn't mean that you can dictate my life. That includes what I drink," Sarah said angrily.

"When you drink the entire liquor store out of business, I think that forfeits your right to make any sound decisions or judgements in your life!"

"This is about Candon going to McKinley High, isn't it? You're jealous that he's going to be at the same school as you, taking the attention from ... Oh hello, Quinn," Sarah said, noticing that she was standing in the doorway.

Mouse went bright red, and refused to look at Quinn.

"I ... uhh ... finished talking with my parents. Thank you for letting me use your phone," Quinn said quickly.

"No problem, sweetie. Jane tells me that you've already eaten, so why don't you two head on upstairs, and do your homework? Jane's got some nice games if you've already finished it," Sarah said, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"I'll be up in a minute. There's some pyjamas in my second drawer if you want to get changed," Mouse said, her face still red.

"All right. Thank you," Quinn said, moving between them and going upstairs quickly.

She waited at the top of the stairs, trying to hear what they were saying now. Unable to hear anything more, Quinn went to the first door uncertainly. She didn't know which room was Mouse's. Opening the door gently, she saw Candy sleeping in his bed, his blanket half on and half off his body. Hearing him snoring gently, Quinn smiled.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you which room was mine. It's just down the hall here," Mouse said behind Quinn.

She jumped, not having heard Mouse come up the stairs.

"Is everything okay with your mum? I can go home if you want," Quinn said, going to close Candy's door.

"It's fine, Quinn. Why don't you go get changed? I'll be there in a moment," Mouse said, holding the door open and looking at Candy.

"He looks so peaceful and innocent," Quinn murmured enviously.

"That's because he is," Mouse said softly, moving into his room silently and fixing his blanket, stroking his hair gently.

Swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat, Quinn went down the hall to Mouse's room. Closing the door behind her, she went to the chest of drawers and opened the second drawer, pulling out a pair of cotton pyjamas. Changing quickly, Quinn looked at the books that seemed to be in every crevice and nook in the room.

There was a knock at the door, startling her. Hurrying to pull the shirt on, Quinn went over and opened the door to let Mouse in.

"Thanks. I've got a spare toothbrush if you want," Mouse said as she walked into her room.

"Umm... Sure, thanks," she said. "You've got a lot of books."

"I know," Mouse replied, grinning. "The bathroom's just across the hall. The toothbrush is in the top drawer. It should still be in the packet," she added as Quinn walked out, closing the door behind her so Mouse could get changed in private.

Quinn walked into the tidy bathroom, surprised at the lack of makeup and feminine products. She couldn't remember Mouse ever wearing makeup, but then she'd only really noticed her for the past few weeks...

Opening the top drawer, Quinn saw the packaged toothbrush. It was a plain blue one, with soft bristles according to the writing, and she wondered why it wasn't used. Taking the toothbrush out, she started to brush her teeth, spitting into the sink after a few moments. As she straightened, Quinn saw two Winnie The Pooh toothbrushes in a holder next to the tap. She could suddenly imagine her daughter brushing her own teeth with something like that, her tiny hands holding the brush as she brushed her teeth with a fierce determination...

What was wrong with her?! She wasn't keeping the baby, she was giving her - when had she started to think of the baby as anything other than 'it'? - to Mrs. Schuester. It had been arranged, and she wasn't ready for a baby! Was she?

"Candy bought the toothbrush for me for Christmas," Mouse said as she saw Quinn staring at the Eeyore and Tigger toothbrushes.

"That's nice of him," Quinn said.

"He didn't know that I'd already bought myself one the day before, that's why that one was still in the packet," Mouse added. "You can keep it."

"Thanks," Quinn replied, taking the toothbrush and going back to Mouse's room.

As she put her new toothbrush away in her bag, she noticed the picture books on the bottom shelf of one of the bookcases. Her eyebrow raised in some confusion, Quinn pulled the top one out and sat on the bed, flipping through the pages slowly. Beautiful pictures of fairies met her eyes, a child in a forest with a small dog beside her. The girl was young and had blonde curls, just like her daughter could have...

"It's still early, if you want to watch a movie or ..." Mouse stopped, seeing Quinn sitting on her bed, crying over a picture book.

Grabbing a box of tissues, Mouse offered them to Quinn, who took it gratefully, turning away to dry her tears and blow her nose.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," she said with a small laugh. If she didn't laugh, then she knew that she'd just start to cry again.

Mouse pulled the book off Quinn's lap gently and put it back on the bookcase. "You're pregnant, that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you," she said, sitting beside her and putting an arm around Quinn's shoulders comfortingly.

"I'm crying at everything, and I can't stop thinking about her ... it," Quinn said, taking another tissue.

"That's normal. You're going to be very emotional, you can cry at the drop of a hat - I mean that literally, by the way - and as an expectant mother, you're going to be thinking about your baby constantly... Even if you're giving the baby to someone else."

Quinn finished drying her tears and looked over at Mouse. "How do you know all this?"

"I read a lot," Mouse said with a shrug, indicating to her bookcases.

"They couldn't all tell you about pregnancy," Quinn muttered.

"Of course not, but fiction characters can get pregnant just like real people can," she replied, grinning. "All right now?" she added, seeing that she'd stopped crying now.

"Thanks," she replied with a nod. "You said something about a movie?" Quinn asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure. I've got to turn stuff off, so you can choose one," Mouse said, getting up and letting Quinn blow her nose again in some privacy.

"You've got a lot of musicals," Quinn noted, seeing the entire shelf of musical movies.

"Candy likes musicals; I'm saving those ones for when he's older. Chicago's not exactly the best movie for him at the moment, despite what my mother thinks," she muttered, sitting at her desk.

"I don't think I can watch a musical right now. Do you have anything that doesn't require much brain power? I'm so exhausted..." Quinn moaned, falling back onto the mattress.

"Also normal for pregnancy," Mouse said, swinging her chair around to face her properly, her glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"Good to know everything is so normal," she replied sarcastically. "Just freaking peachy."

"It's not the normalcy you should be happy about, it's the fact that you're not the only one who's ever felt this way. You're not alone," Mouse said, turning back to the desk, slipping her foot beneath it and flicking the switch off with her toes.

Quinn watched her curiously, wondering why she was turning all of the power outlets off. And with her feet, that was just ... odd!

"It helps my back so I don't have to bend all the time. And it's fun to turn it off this way," Mouse said, not even looking at Quinn to see if she was watching.

"How... How?" Quinn said, utterly bewildered now.

"I can feel you staring at me, and since I'm doing something against the norm, it's only logical that you'd want to know about it. So I just answered before you asked the question... What do you think about aliens?"

"Pardon?"

"An alien movie to watch. No brain power required. But not the proper Aliens movie, because that'll be too loud for Candy. Swear he's hypersensitive sometimes," Mouse muttered. "There's Chicken Little if you want animated, War of the Worlds if you want to listen to me heckle Tom Cruise for almost two hours straight, or that Scary Movie movie if you want something ridiculously stupid ... Too bad about Charlie Sheen's small part in the movie, he was a great lead in the Hot Shots movies," Mouse said with a disappointed sigh. "I refuse to watch Terminal Velocity again. That worm in the bottle... Yuck," she said, shuddering now.

"Okay, I'm officially confused. How do you change thoughts so quickly and keep up with yourself?"

"Hyperactive brain. Insomnia. Very big imagination... Ri-donk-ulously big if you ask Candy... Constant worry. Pick one, you'll be close enough," Mouse said, shrugging briefly.

"Don't you get tired?" Quinn asked, shaking her head.

"Every night," she replied, chuckling. "I pick Scary Movie four."

"What's wrong with Chicken Little?" Quinn asked. "Is Tom Cruise in that too?" she asked, grinning slightly.

"I don't think so, and I really hope not... An animated movie might get you upset again, and I'm selfish enough to like my pillow without it being wet from someone else's tears. Say your prayers before watching the filth that is Scary Movie and I'll get the DVD ready," Mouse said, grinning.

Quinn wondered what Mouse cried about, but sighed and dutifully got on her knees beside the bed and started to pray silently.

...

End of the ninth chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

...