Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, associated trademarks, or characters. I also do not own any songs (unless otherwise specified). I do own Mouse, Candy and Sarah.
(a/n: thank you to everyone who reviewed, and even those who didn't. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Read on, oh faithful ones.)
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Chapter Fourteen
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"Only four more days until Sectionals, guys! We need all the practice we can get!" Schue called as they filtered into the auditorium. "Santana and Brittany have cheerleading practice, so you all need to practice extra hard today to make up for it!"
There was a miserable cough from one of them and Will immediately rushed over. "Who coughed? You're not sick, are you? Is anyone sick? Who coughed?"
More coughing came from more throats and he paled, moving back from his students.
"You're all sick?" he asked, horrified.
Suddenly laughter burst from them, and Mouse doubled over with her laughter when she saw Will's expression.
"Oh, geez. That was too funny!" she said, breathing heavily as her laughter subsided.
"You're not sick? ... Why?" Will asked, shocked as he stared at them.
"For jumping to conclusions when I went to see Sue, Schue. Next time, think before you speak," Mouse said, patting his shoulder and moving past him to get up to the stage. "Seems to be a common problem here. Maybe there's something in the water?" she murmured almost to herself.
Tina shook her head as she joined Mouse on the stage, Candy holding her hand. "You're mad, Mouse."
A song started in Mouse's head, and she could imagine the Glee girls singing and dancing with her. Quinn and Mercedes on either side of her, Rachel and Tina at the edge. They'd all sit on stools, simply singing the song as a ballad, as it was meant to be sung. No fancy frills or pretty props; just a song to be sung from the depths of the soul.
I think the lady did protest too much,
She wouldn't take the flower from my hand.
She only saw the shadow of my circumstance,
Perception can describe what makes a man.
I didn't mean to interrupt your stride,
But a rose was all I had to give.
Sometimes beauty isn't recognised,
When it contrasts with what you feel inside.
Who's to say the darkened clouds must lead to rain?
Who's to say the problems should just go away?
Who's to point a finger at what's not understood?
Because...
We're all mad in our own way,
Colours paint the grey away.
Different people, all the same,
Each reveals a meaning.
We're all mad in our own way,
Fill the sky with different shades.
With a story on each page,
Each reveals a meaning.
Each reveals a meaning.
"Earth calling Mouse. Still in there?" Tina asked with a frown, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Oh, yeah, hey. Still here," she said with a bright grin.
"Where'd you go?" Tina asked, still frowning.
"Pluto, of course. Where else is there to go at this time of year?" Mouse asked, her tone serious, but she couldn't hold back her grin.
"Right," Tina said, shaking her head again. "Do Plutoneans sing?"
"They do now," she replied cheerfully, taking the offered sheet music from Mr. Schue. "Thanks."
"MC Hammer?" Finn choked, seeing the song.
"You have got to be joking, Schue! This is as bad as Run DMC," Puck muttered, looking at the paper as if it's very presence disgusted him.
"No way, Schue. No freaking way!"
"You can't touch this, da na na nah, na nah, na nah, can't touch this!" Candy sang, giggling.
Mouse laughed, humming the song under her breath and clapping in time with her brother's words.
"Stop!" Will called, and Candy stopped in surprise, turning to him. "Hammer time," he added, grinning boyishly.
Suddenly, Quinn started laughing heartily, tears running down her face as her entire body shook with laughter.
Candy walked over to hug her. He stroked her hair softly until her laughter subsided and then looked up at her with a worried and confused expression. "Quinnie crying and laughing?" he asked.
"Happy tears, sweet. I'm happy," Quinn replied with a reassuring smile.
"I think it would be best if you gave us the proper music sheets now, Mr. Schuester," Rachel announced suddenly, diverting everyone's attention as Mouse got some tissues from her bag for Quinn to use.
"Mad world? But Quinn just stopped crying," Mercedes said.
"I'll be fine. Can I have one of the sheets, please?" Quinn asked, standing up and walking over to get her sheets with Candy and Mouse.
"From the top!" Schue called out.
"All around me are familiar faces,
Worn out faces,
Worn out faces," Finn started to sing.
"Bright and early for the daily races,
Going nowhere,
Going nowhere," Rachel sang.
"Their tears are filling up their glasses,
No expression,
No expression," Mercedes sang.
"Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow,
No tomorrow,
No tomorrow," Kurt continued.
"And I find it kind of funny,
I find it kind of sad,
The dreams in which I'm dying,
Are the best I've ever had.
I find it hard to tell you,
I find it hard to take.
When people run in circles,
It's a very, very,
Mad world,
Mad world," they all sang together.
The mood was sombre, added by the fact that only the piano was being played in the background.
"Children waiting for the day they feel good,
Happy birthday,
Happy birthday," Candy sang softly, the atmosphere affecting him.
"And they feel the way that every child should,
Sit and listen,
Sit and listen," Mouse continued.
"Went to school and I was very nervous,
No one knew me,
No one knew me," Quinn sang.
"Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson?
Look right through me,
Look right through me," Tina sang.
"And I find it kind of funny,
I find it kind of sad,
The dreams in which I'm dying,
Are the best I've ever had.
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take,
When people run in circles,
It's a very, very,
Mad world,
Mad world," they sang together once more, the song finishing on a soft and sad note.
Quinn wasn't the only one who had a tear in her eye.
...
"So how did you get all that money for Candy's present? I need to pay at least one of my bills, or the doctor won't see me," Quinn said, frowning.
"I do babysitting every so often, and I've saved the money from that for the past few months to pay for his tickets," Mouse replied.
Quinn nodded slightly, wheels turning in her mind. "That's a good idea," she murmured, thinking of Mrs. Schuester's sister.
"Well, I'm always looking for something more than just a couple of hours every two weeks, so if you know of anything, let me know," she said, grinning.
"Only if you split the money with me for finding you the job," Quinn replied sweetly, batting her eyelashes with a laugh.
...
Mouse watched Kurt with a small frown. He had hardly spoken all day, not even to Mercedes, and they were all worrying about him. Somehow, Mouse had been given the task of making him talk.
"Good catch, Candy. Now throw it back!" Terrence called, grinning as Candy threw the football with more power this time. "Good throw!"
She could deal with Kurt when lunch was over, or when Candy tired of throwing the football around, Mouse decided, biting into her sandwich.
"You've gotta stop tensing like that, Mouse. He'll be fine, Terrence is a good teacher," Puck said, his arm wrapping around her waist.
"I'm sure he is, but even the best teachers can fuck up," Mouse muttered, not looking away from Candy. "Get your hand away from there, Puckerman, or I'll remove it for you," she added when his hand started to slide up the side of her body.
Puck groaned in frustration, leaning back and trying hard to not mutter under his breath.
The bell rang fifteen minutes later, and Candy pouted when he realised he had to stop playing to go back inside.
...
"All right, Hummel. Spill the beans," Mouse said, cornering him at his locker.
Not the most subtle technique, obviously, but she was sure it would work. Eventually.
"Spill the beans about what, Franklin?" Kurt replied, rolling his eyes.
"You're depressed, or at the very least, upset about something. If you don't tell me what it is, then I'll tell everyone you kissed me," Mouse said, attempting a threat-pretending-to-be-a-joke to get it out of him.
Kurt turned to her, a sour look on his face. "When you do that, can you also tell them to stop calling my Dad every other day to tell him I'm a fag?" he asked in a cheerfully fake tone.
"What? Who's doing that?" Mouse asked, her fists clenching in anger.
"I have no idea, they hang up every time I pick up the phone," Kurt said, slumping against his locker as he massaged his temples slowly. "I've tried everything I can to shield him from this - it's my decision after all, not his - but I can't think of a way to get this asshole to leave him alone. It's tearing him up, Mouse, and I don't know how to protect him from it... I can't stop being what I am, even if it hurts him," he said, sighing heavily. "Mouse?" he queried when there was no answer.
Kurt opened his eyes to see complete and utter rage in Mouse's eyes, something akin to the way she had looked when Rachel had insulted Candy.
"Don't you worry about it any more, Kurt. I'll find out who the bastard is," Mouse said suddenly when she realised Kurt was looking at her in concern.
She'd come to him in concern and then had ended up getting it from him... Weird.
"How are you going to do that?" Kurt asked, shaking his head as he walked with her to class.
"What time do they usually call? Morning or afternoon?" Mouse asked, ignoring his question.
"Afternoon, usually on the weekend, but it's been happening more and more often during the week. Usually around four," Kurt replied, his shoulders slumped.
Just before they arrived at the classroom, Mouse turned to Kurt and smiled at him. "Shoulders up, be confident. Don't let this asshole get to you, otherwise they'll win," she murmured, brushing off his shoulders as he straightened up.
"Right, let's go," he said, looping his arm through hers.
...
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hummel. How are you?" Mouse asked as she entered his auto workshop, holding Candy's hand so he wouldn't hurt himself on anything electrical or sharp.
"Hello. Good, thanks. Does Kurt know you're here?" Bert asked, rolling out from underneath a car, oil smudged on his cheek.
"No, Candy wanted to surprise him. He's learnt all the words to the CD Kurt bought for his birthday, and wanted to sing with Kurt," Mouse said, smiling.
"Okay... I'll go in and get him for you," Bert said when Mouse didn't offer to go inside herself.
Candy took Mr. Hummel's hand, and smiled at him brightly when Bert looked at him in surprise.
"Drink for sweet, please?" he asked with big eyes.
"S-sure," Bert said in surprise, but he took Candy inside anyway.
Pressing a button on her recorder, Mouse took it out of her pocket and rewound to the beginning quickly. It was almost four. She just hoped that the bastard would call today.
"Kurt, would you come upstairs please?" Bert called, just as the phone rang in the shop.
Before Bert could answer the phone inside, Mouse picked up and pressed 'play' on her recorder and put the ear piece to her ear to listen.
"Hello," Bert's voice said from the recorder.
"Your son's a faggot," a voice sneered.
The line went dead just as Bert came back out to the workshop.
"Who was it?" he asked, walking over.
"Wrong number," Mouse lied confidently, smiling at him brightly.
"Right," he said, not looking at all convinced.
"Do you mind if I stay out here while they sing? I got to hear Beyoncé all the way here, and will probably hear her on the way back too," Mouse said, grinning now.
"Go ahead. Just try not to touch anything, I've got everything where I can find it," Bert said, indicating to his messy desk.
"No problem, Mr. H," she replied, sitting on the small stool behind the desk.
A few minutes after Bert was back under a car and tinkering, the phone rang again. A thud, and then a stream of curses followed from underneath said car, and Mouse was just glad Candy wasn't able to hear.
"Hello, Hummel's Automotive Care, this is Jane," she answered the phone a moment later.
"Oh, hello Jane," a female voice said in surprise. "This is Karen Tooley. Is Bert there? I need my car serviced tomorrow," Karen said in a firm tone.
"Of course, Mrs. Tooley. I can book you in for a car service," Mouse said, her eyes scanning the messy desk for a diary of some sort. "One moment, please," she added, still not able to see it, putting her on hold quickly.
Quickly searching the desk properly, she saw the diary and bit back a cry of victory as she carefully pulled it out from underneath a pile of papers.
"How long is a service, Mr. Hummel?" Mouse asked quickly.
"Hour and a half with Mrs. Tooley; she likes to talk," Bert replied, his arms folded as he watched her work.
Taking the phone off hold, Mouse smiled as she started to talk to Mrs. Tooley once more.
"Hello, Mrs. Tooley? There is only one booking available tomorrow for the time it will take your car to be serviced. Is one-thirty all right?" Mouse asked, now looking for a pencil to write her in the book.
"I have my hair booked at three-thirty at Shelley's, will the car be ready by then?" Karen asked.
"It takes about fifteen minutes to get to Shelley's from here, so you should make your appointment on time, Mrs. Tooley," Mouse reassured her.
"Wonderful. Thank you. Tell Bert it's a pleasure to talk to someone with manners," Karen added, hanging up the phone.
Mouse replaced the phone on the cradle, and looked at Bert sheepishly. "I can't let a phone ring out," she said quickly.
"Good, be here at four tomorrow then," Bert said, getting back on his platform and sliding under the car again.
...
"Hi Puck, come in," Mouse said, grinning brightly as she opened the door.
Quinn had been nice enough to go to Santana's for the afternoon, and Sarah had promised to watch Candy while she was with Puck.
"Hey," Puck said, kissing her as he stepped inside.
"Want to practice for Sectionals first, or get your ass kicked on Halo?"
"I've been practicing, no way you're beating me this time, little mouse," Puck said with a smirk.
"Hi Pucky!" Candy called from the lounge room.
"Hey Candy kid," Puck said, looking in to see Candy watching Wall-E with a very bored-looking Sarah. "Hello, Mrs. Franklin."
"Noah, lovely to see you again," Sarah purred, looking him over with a grin.
"Let's go upstairs, shall we?" Mouse muttered, practically dragging Puck away.
Sarah's cruel laughter followed them.
...
"I'm going out now. Look after Candy for me, will you, Jane dear?" Sarah called as she left the house.
Mouse groaned in annoyance and Puck moved away with a heavy sigh.
The Halo game had been paused almost ten minutes into the game - Puck was losing again, Mouse noted with a grin - and they'd been making out for the past fifteen minutes instead.
"She's doing this on purpose, I know she is," Mouse muttered, heading downstairs to check if Candy was okay.
"Mousie! New movie please!" Candy said when he saw her.
"All right, which one?" Mouse asked, adjusting her shirt slightly when her brother turned away.
"This one," Candy said happily, giving her a video cassette box.
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? All right. Do you need to use the bathroom before I start it?" Mouse asked as she crouched down to take out the Wall-E DVD and put in the video instead.
Candy hummed loudly as he thought about it. "No, sweet is good."
"Good. Okay, here you go," she murmured, fast forwarding past the opening credits. "You'll sit through the middle bit, won't you?" she asked, smiling when Candy nodded. "Thank you. Be good. Enjoy the movie, sweetie," Mouse said, pressing 'play' and heading upstairs quickly.
"Everything 'kay?" Puck asked as she entered her room once more.
"Fine, sorry about the interruption," she replied with an apologetic smile. "Ready to lose again?" Mouse asked with a grin, taking her control.
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End of the fourteenth chapter. Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it.
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