Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I do own Mouse, Candy, and Sarah though!
Thank you to those who read the last chapter, and especially to those who reviewed.
...
Chapter Twenty Two
...
"Where has the storm night gone?
Dark is the day.
How can I find my way home?
Home is an empty dream,
Lost to the night.
"Father, I feel so alone.
You promised you'd be there,
Whenever I needed you.
Whenever I call your name,
You're not anywhere.
"I'm trying to hold on,
Just waiting to hear your voice.
One word, just one word will do,
To end this nightmare.
"When will the dawning break?
Oh, endless night.
Sleepless I dream of the day,
When you were by my side,
Guiding my path.
"Father, I can't find the way.
You promised you'd be there,
Whenever I needed you.
Whenever I call your name,
You're not anywhere.
"I'm trying to hold on,
Just waiting to hear your voice.
One word, just a word will do,
To end this nightmare.
"I know that the night must end,
And that the sun will rise,
And that the sun will rise.
I know that the clouds must clear,
And that the sun will shine,
And that the sun will shine.
I know that the night must end,
And that the sun will rise,
And that the sun will rise.
I know that the clouds must clear,
And that the sun will shine,
And that the sun will shine…"
Mouse looked to her brother, and saw that Candy's gaze was riveted to the stage. She doubted that he would away from it for the entirety of the show. With a smile, she turned her attention back to the stage too and settled down to enjoy the Lion King show.
...
"I hope you've cleaned the pool for your sister's party," Mouse said to Puck, grinning.
"Already done that. You coming tomorrow? Katie would go nuts if you came," he replied, leaning back onto his bed.
On the other end of the phone, Mouse grinned slightly. "Only Katie? You sure you just don't want to see me in bathers?" she replied, chuckling when he was silent.
"Well, I wouldn't say no to that," Puck said, his voice thick.
"Would Katie mind if I brought Candy along? Mum's got a squash game tomorrow."
Puck took a minute to calm himself, sit up and call out for Katie.
She poked her head into his room. "Mum wants to know why you're yelling across the house instead of getting off your butt."
"I'm on the phone," Puck replied.
"He's on the phone!" Katie yelled back.
"It's called a mobile phone for a reason!"
"All right already!" Puck called, rolling his eyes. "Is it all right if Mouse and Candy come to your party tomorrow?"
"Really? That'd be awesome! Wait… They're bringing a present, right?" Katie asked, frowning slightly.
On the phone, Mouse was laughing at her response. Puck raised it to his ear, confirmed that they would bring a present for her, and shooed Katie out of his room.
...
"It's my party,
And I'll cry if I want to,
Cry if I want to!" Katie sang loudly as she ran through the house, laughing.
Puck groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. It was a Saturday morning, and it should be illegal to get out of bed before 10am. Looking at his clock from under his confines, he saw that it was only 7.35 in the morning. "KATIE!"
She giggled when she looked into his room. "It's my birthday, you can't be mad at me!" Katie hurried into his room and tugged on his quilt. "Hurry up and give me my present! Pleeeeease!" she added, laughing again when he swatted at her.
Puck stayed still, waiting for Katie to move closer. Curious at her brother's silence, she moved towards him with a slight frown. She wondered if she'd really made him upset. She squealed when he pulled her onto the bed, tickling her relentlessly.
"So it's your birthday, is it? Well, the birthday monster likes to eat children who wake it before 10! Rawr!" he roared, ticking her more.
Katie laughed until she cried, her eyes bright as she managed to wriggle away. "Bet you can't catch me!" she said, running out of his room quickly.
Shaking his head slightly, Puck ran after her, roaring again.
Their mother was more than surprised when she saw Katie run into the kitchen, Puck chasing her, but just told them to go out to the lounge room and smiled as she continued to cook her daughter's birthday cake.
...
Candy held onto Katie's present and card, crumpling the paper slightly with his grip. He had spent most of the morning decorating the card and writing the words 'Happy birthday Katie' very carefully, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on keeping the words as straight as possible.
By the time they'd finished wrapping the present and making the card, Sarah had already left for her squash game, giving them a bright smile and wave when she'd left the house.
Stepping off the bus Mouse took Candy's free hand and led him up to Puck's house. She was carrying a small bag with their towels. Candy had insisted on bringing his small green bucket, despite Mouse telling him that there was no sand to build castles. He hadn't cared so she'd packed it for him anyway.
"You want to ring the doorbell, sweetie?"
He nodded quickly, pressing the small button with a bright grin. Candy giggled when the chime echoed in the house.
Moments later, Katie opened the door, grinning brightly. She was wearing a swimming costume already, a tiara on her head.
"Happy birthday!" Candy said immediately, holding the present out to her.
"Hi Candy, hi Mouse! Come in," Katie said, taking the offered present happily. "Thanks, I'll put it with the other presents," she said, leading them into the house.
Candy carefully stepped over the threshold, and they both followed Katie to the backyard. Puck was outside with a small crowd of children in front of him as he sang to them.
"I made him play the guitar for everyone," Katie said with an evil grin.
"So when are you all going swimming? Now, or after presents and cake?" Mouse asked.
"When Noah's finished singing. Oh, gotta go. See you later," Katie said, heading over to her waving friends.
Candy followed cautiously. He hadn't met these children before and was shy around strangers. He sat at the edge of the group, and listened happily enough as Puck finished his song.
The moment Puck finished, the group of children hurried over to the pool, laughing to each other. Candy sat on the edge of the pool, watching everyone as they splashed about, grinning.
"You've come to rescue me from the birthday girl?" Puck asked, his arm around Mouse's waist as he kissed her.
"Surely it's not that bad?"
"That's the sixth song I've had to sing since 11 this morning. I was ready to throw them all in the pool," he muttered.
"Oh, hello Jane. How are you?"
"Good thank you, Mrs. Puckerman. How are you?" she asked, smiling at Puck's mother.
"Good, good. Just finishing icing and decorating the cake. Would you both be able to keep an eye on the children while they're in the pool?"
"Sure, Mrs. Puckerman," Mouse said with a smile, leading Puck over to the gated area.
"I was hoping to stay as far away from them as possible," he muttered sourly.
"They'll tire out in an hour, then they'll be so full with cake that they'll probably sleep for the whole afternoon," Mouse said, grinning at him.
"Don't you mean, they'll be hyped out on the sugar and running around screaming?" he muttered.
"That too... Hey, sweetie. You want the bucket?" she asked Candy.
Katie called out for Puck, her friends giggling around her. He sighed and left Mouse to see what his sister wanted.
Candy nodded at Mouse's question, grinning. The moment he had it in his hands, he started scooping water up and pouring it back into the pool, watching the sun shine on the small waterfall.
"Look, Mousie. It's pretty," he said, looking up at her with a bright grin.
"Yes, it is. Want to see something else?" she asked, taking her skirt off and moving to sit beside him in bathing shorts.
She slowly kicked her legs in the water, and showed Candy the ripples that followed her movements. He continued with his small waterfalls, watching the ripples from that as well. A shadow cast over them, and Mouse looked up at Puck with a grin.
"Aren't you getting in the water?" he asked, frowning down at them.
"Nope! Making waterfalls," Candy said, grinning and continuing with his game, the water sliding through his fingers now.
"What did Katie want?" Mouse asked, returning to kicking her legs in the water slowly.
"Her friends decided that they think I'm hot and should take my shirt off for their benefit or something," he muttered in distaste, sitting between Candy and Mouse.
Candy frowned seriously and placed his cool hand on Puck's forehead. "Pucky is only warm," he said decisively and with a shake of his head, he returned to his game quietly.
Mouse grinned at Puck's expression and took his hand in her own, leaning against his shoulder.
An hour and a half later, Mrs. Puckerman announced that lunch was ready. Mouse and Puck went inside to help her (the latter only to get away from the loud and overwhelming children). There was some scrambling to get out of the pool, and a few shouts when the children hurried to get dry.
"Excuse me, Katie?" Candy asked politely as they all headed to the house. He wanted to know if he could sing happy birthday to her at lunch, or just with the cake. It was a very important choice, and he didn't want to make the wrong one.
"Who are you?" one of her friends asked, looking at him with an unfriendly expression.
"Yes?" Katie asked him, ignoring her friend.
Candy stepped back and shook his head, the girl's expression making him feel uncomfortable, unwanted and other bad feelings he couldn't name.
Before Katie could say anything, her friends crowded around her and practically pulled her into the house, glaring back at him. Candy followed the other children and sat at the end of the table quietly.
"What's wrong with Candy?" Mouse asked Puck softly as she helped serve the plates of food.
Puck frowned as he looked over at him, seeing that Candy was looking down at the table, instead of bright and happy as he had only moments ago.
"Jane, would be a dear and help with the drinks, please?"
Mouse looked to Puck, quietly asking him to look after Candy. When he nodded, she reluctantly headed into the kitchen to help Mrs. Puckerman.
When her plate of food didn't arrive, Katie looked over at her brother to complain. Then she saw he was looking at Candy, poor Candy who looked so sad and miserable. She felt guilty at letting her friends take her away. She wondered why he'd wanted to talk to her.
"Katie? Hello, I'm trying to talk to you!"
"Oh, sorry, Bianca…" she hurried to say and look at her friend.
"After lunch, I need to get changed and have my hair dried and straightened. I cannot go around looking like a wet rat for the rest of the day!"
"O-okay."
"I'll also need my swimsuit dried before I go home," she said, listing off a few more things that she required.
Seeing that Bianca wasn't paying her any attention - it wasn't her birthday, so Katie didn't know why she was being such a diva! - Katie looked over to Candy, and was relieved to see that he seemed slightly happier as he ate his lunch, talking to Puck quietly.
"You okay, Candy kid?" Puck asked.
Candy quickly nodded and smiled as he took a bite of his food. He chewed and swallowed before answering. "Okay."
"You sure? You were looking sad before…"
His expression fell, and Candy looked down at his mini sausage rolls. "I ... I was going to ask if sweetie should sing with lunch or only cake," he said hesitantly.
"Who were you asking?" Puck asked with a slightly confused expression.
"The birthday girl," Candy said, giving the title as much importance as he could.
"And Katie didn't answer?"
"No time," he replied.
"No time?" Puck echoed, frowning.
"She was taken away by rats and lizards, like Cinderella," Candy replied, smiling briefly.
"Those girls took her away?" Puck asked, nodding in their direction.
After a moment of hesitation, Candy nodded.
Puck glowered, his jaw set. Katie didn't seem happy, and whichever brat was talking at her didn't seem to notice or care. "I'll be right back."
"Stay with sweetie, Pucky?" Candy asked quietly, his head hung low.
He didn't like these other children. They didn't talk to him, and the girls were mean and made him feel bad. He wanted to stay inside and watch a movie, or draw, or maybe just go home. He wasn't feeling well anymore, and didn't want food either. Candy pushed his food away, looking down, his eyes filling with tears as he tried not to cry.
Puck could see all of the conflicting emotions that Candy was feeling, and wondered if singing would make him happy. He would sing every song just so Candy wouldn't look so upset.
A tear dropped onto the table, and Puck watched as a beat started with the one-two-three-four tears that fell.
"You might make a different song,
Oh yes, that's right, it's true.
But that don't make anybody,
More or less as good as you.
"If you can feel the music,
That's all you really need.
To turn this party all the way,
A good time guaranteed.
"Everybody get up, clap your hands,
Dancin' to the beat.
Whatever you do, little darling,
It's cool, just get up out your seat.
"Wave your flag,
'Cause everyone plays a part.
One world united,
Singing this song, this song of the heart."
Puck stopped his quiet song when he noticed that Candy was smiling brightly once more, his cheeks red from the hastily rubbed away tears.
"Thank you, Pucky. Sweet is good," he said solemnly, hugging him briefly.
"All right. You come to me if those ... rats and lizards are mean again, okay?"
Candy nodded, and started eating his food once more.
...
Katie's eyes went wide as she saw the large chocolate-frosted cake that her mother brought out for her. She grinned as everyone sang happy birthday to her, and blew out the candles.
When the curtains were opened, no one noticed that Puck and Mouse were missing. Katie asked to open her presents before eating the cake, and no one could disagree with the birthday girl.
Candy was excited about Katie opening the present and card from him and Mouse, and went to the lounge room with the other children to wait patiently.
"Puck, we should go back downstairs. They're probably cutting the cake already," Mouse murmured against his lips.
"They'll handle it," he replied, his hands on her waist as he kissed her between his words.
She grinned, agreeing as he continued to kiss her. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Mouse pulled Puck closer against her body. Her eyes widened in shock as his hands undid her shorts and slipped inside. She pushed him away quickly, and Puck immediately stepped back, his breathing heavy.
"I thought you wanted this?" he asked, trying hard not to make it sound like an accusation.
"I ... I do. But, not ... not yet," Mouse said. She was nervous, embarrassed and terrified all at the same time, but she kept watching him as she continued to explain, "Puck, you've slept with a lot of women, and cougars are definitely not known for their discretion. If any of them are like Sue Sylvester, then they could have sexually transmitted diseases, and I ... I don't want to risk that. Even if you've got condoms now, well, what about later when we don't use one?" she added when he went to interrupt.
He closed his mouth and sat on his bed with a sigh, running his hand over his head.
"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly, worrying at her lip.
Mouse had no idea whether to move closer to him, or just leave.
Puck looked up at her, seeing her worry and fear in her expression. Fear over what? he wondered. Standing once more, he moved to her, and pulled her to him gently. He felt her relax as he pressed a light kiss to her lips. "We'll wait... And I'll have a test done, or whatever it is," he added.
Mouse was surprised by his response, but then, she didn't really know how she'd expected him to react. They both knew that he'd had sex with a lot of older women, after all.
"Thank you, Noah," she murmured, kissing him gently.
They both pulled away when they heard the sound of screaming and hurried downstairs quickly.
...
A few minutes earlier...
Katie opened her presents, gushing over the things she'd received. She received a few CD's and DVD's, a lunchbox, some stuffed animals, store vouchers, money, the book she'd requested from Noah (she'd thank him later, he seemed to have disappeared), a handbag and makeup from Bianca (Katie noticed that her didn't seem overly happy with the gift, but she could have just been grumpy about serving all of the cake by herself now that Mouse was missing too), and then Candy had given her his present and card with barely contained excitement.
"Thanks, Candy," she said, reading the card and grinning at his decorations. A cake with a candle, a birthday present wrapped with a bow, and a bright purple smiley face were all inside the card, and Candy's large writing wishing her a happy birthday. "The card is really nice, did you make it yourself?"
"Yes, sweet made it pretty for Katie," he replied happily, grinning broadly.
Katie smiled back at him and opened the present, not knowing what to expect from the small rectangular package. She saw that it was a cassette tape, and Katie was slightly confused until she saw the neatly written words on the insert.
The songs from The Little Mermaid, as sung by Candon Franklin.
Katie looked up at him, speechless for a moment. Candy had only been invited to the part yesterday, and yet he must have spent hours doing this for her! She noticed that he did look slightly tired, and Katie was surprised to realise that this was one of the best presents she'd received all morning. She hugged him quickly, unable to put her thanks into words.
"Well? What did you get?"
"Candy made a tape with all of the songs from The Little Mermaid for me," she replied, smiling. "Thank you so much, Candy. It's a wonderful present."
He grinned brightly, and the sun itself seemed dim in comparison.
Beside her, there was a scoff from Bianca. "The Little Mermaid? That's the worst movie, like, ever. And making tapes is illegal, you should be in trouble," she said, glaring down at Candy in distaste.
Somewhere in her mind, Katie knew that Bianca was just jealous that she had liked Candy's present more, and even that her friend was the daughter of a cougar (whatever that meant) and was used to getting her own way. Bianca was petty and rude, even at school and to the teachers, and no one could do a thing to stop her. Somewhere in her mind, Katie knew that her next actions would probably have bad repercussions, but she didn't care.
"Bianca? You're a rude little bee, and I don't want to be your friend any more," Katie said seriously, and picking up her piece of cake, she smeared it all over Bianca's perfect clothes.
Candy's eyes went wide in shock, and Bianca screamed loud enough to bring Mouse and Puck out of hiding.
Mrs. Puckerman hid her smile - she'd been longing to do something similar since the young girl had arrived and demanded that she should be seated at the head of the table, that her present should be opened first, and that she should be allowed to lick the frosting from the bowl - and moved to separate the children before a food fight or something worse could occur.
Mouse and Puck hurried to sing a song to placate the children and Mrs. Puckerman returned to the kitchen. Slicing off a large piece of cake, she put it in the fridge to proudly give to her daughter later that night.
...
"Mercedes?"
She looked at Mouse quickly, wondering why she was shouting at her.
"I've been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes. Are you all right?"
Mercedes looked back at Kurt's old locker, and with a sigh, looked away once more. "I'll be fine. Just missing Kurt."
"Don't say that," Mouse said, putting her arm around Mercedes' waist.
"What? That I miss him?" she replied in confusion.
"No, you can say that... Don't say that you just miss him. You're degrading your own emotions that way. You can't just do something. It's do or do not. You miss Kurt; we all do, and we understand how you're feeling."
Mercedes nodded briefly. "All right... Then I miss Kurt. I miss Kurt a hell of a lot, and I wish he hadn't transferred."
Nodding her understanding, Mouse gently led Mercedes to their next class.
...
"Mousie?" Candy asked seriously at lunch.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"Are you and Pucky going to make a baby?"
Puck, who had been drinking out of his water bottle, promptly spat it out, almost choking on the liquid. Everyone else seemed to be staring at Candy in their own similar state of shock. Mouse simply swallowed her bite of sandwich, took a small sip of water to clear her throat.
Candy's eyes widened as he watched Terrence smack Puck on the back. "Is Pucky all right? Did sweet hurt him?"
"He's fine, Candy, just surprised. Remember that time you got scared when you were drinking lemonade?" Mouse reminded him.
He screwed his nose up, nodding. "I got bubbles in my nose... Are you going to have a baby, like Quinnie?" he asked, smiling at Quinn and then Mouse.
"Maybe, sweetie."
"And will Pucky be the daddy?"
"I'm not sure; he might be. I'm sure that we would talk about it first, and hopefully plan for a baby if we decided to have one together."
Candy was quiet for a moment, and then nodded solemnly. "Mummy says babies are expensive, and that's why sweetie can't be a baby anymore." Suddenly, Candy smiled brightly, and he looked over at Puck. "Can I name your baby, if you have one with Mousie?"
He didn't know how to respond, had somehow forgotten how to form words, and Puck opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of something. Eventually, he just nodded, still stunned and speechless. Seeming happy enough with that response, Candy returned to his lunch, humming gently.
The rest of lunch was a very quiet affair.
...
When the bell rang, the guys practically dragged Puck away. Mercedes and Mouse walked Candy to his next class, as he was excused from this session of Regionals practice.
"Exactly how does your brother know about the birds and the bees?" Mercedes asked, her eyebrow raised as she and Mouse headed to the auditorium.
"Sarah isn't exactly one for discretion. And besides that, she sat us both down when I turned thirteen, and told us in great and foul detail of how babies are made. Since Candy was only eight years old, he asked a lot of questions. I had to find out what Mum had meant with half of the crude language she used, and explain it in ways that he could understand," she replied, shrugging.
"I can't believe he asked you though! I would have been way too embarrassed to say something like that," Tina said.
"When did you get here?" Mouse asked, not having heard or seen their friend join them.
Tina just grinned and didn't reply.
"It's not that embarrassing," she said, then thought of her embarrassment on the weekend with Puck. "Well, it's something that needs to be talked about, otherwise it could just happen without any warning," Mouse added, thinking of Quinn's unplanned pregnancy.
"So you'd talk to Puck about sex then?"
"I already have... Sort of. He's getting tested for STD's," she said.
"What are STD's?" Brittany asked.
Mouse stopped and turned around to find all of the Glee girls following her. They could sure as hell be quiet when they wanted to be! She briefly wondered if Quinn had heard her comment, and if she was offended.
"STD's are the same as STI's," she replied.
Brittany wasn't the only one who looked blank at her explanation. Mouse frowned slightly. Even Candy knew what STD stood for... But then, as she'd said, their mother had explained it all to them in greater detail than was probably necessary.
"You've all had The Talk with your parents, right?"
"Yeah, but mine was more along the lines of what sort of benefits you can get by having sex with certain people," Santana said, rolling her eyes.
"I know what has to go where... I think," Mercedes said, slightly red as she shrugged.
"Umm, we'll talk about this later, okay?" Mouse said as Schue walked down the corridor towards them.
"Ready to practice for Regionals?" he asked with a bright and enthusiastic grin.
...
As Mouse stood in front of her friends, she wondered how it had ended up like this. One half of her wanted to disappear entirely, but the other half was adamant that she stay.
"Welcome to the first Sex Ed. class."
She was terrified to say anything else, and Mouse had no idea how to explain this properly. With Candy, she had at least had questions to answer.
"Does anyone have any questions?" she asked hopefully.
There was no answer. It was then that Mouse noticed that everyone looked as nervous as she was.
"You would not believe how nervous I am, standing up here!" she said with a slight grin.
They all laughed softly, looking relieved that they weren't the only nervous ones.
Deciding to do this differently than the usual lecturing of their other classes, Mouse pulled out a notebook from her bag and ripped out some pages. Taking out pens, she handed them out to each of the girls.
"All right. Grab a piece of paper and write your question on it. I'll answer them as I pull them out of ... this bag," she said, pulling the empty rubbish bag out of the bin.
Again, there was no answer, but at least this time, they all took a piece of paper and started writing. They all looked nervous, blushing and embarrassed as they folded their papers and put them in the bag. Taking a deep breath, Mouse pulled out the first piece of paper.
"What are STD's?" she read out. "Okay, I can answer that one," she said, more for her own benefit than theirs. "STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease. It's the same as STI, which is a Sexually Transmitted Infection. It is a disease or infection, like HIV or Hepatitis, that is passed on to people during sex... Does that make sense?" Mouse asked, hoping that she wasn't just rambling nonsense.
Slowly, they each nodded, and Mouse pulled out the next question.
"Can you get pregnant from oral sex? No, you can't, but you can still get STD's from oral sex. In regards to getting pregnant, you need to have sperm in or near your vagina to get pregnant. Which means, yes, the 'pull out before the guy ejaculates' schtick can still get you pregnant."
"What's ejaculate mean?" Brittany asked with a frown.
"It means he's coming," Santana answered.
Before taking another question, Mouse set the bag aside and ripped out more pieces of paper.
"Thanks, Brittany, you've made me think of something..."
Brittany looked pleased at being helpful.
"Since I'm doing this, I'm going to use the proper terms for everything," Mouse continued, writing headings at the top of each page. "I want you to write down words that you know these as…"
Mouse stuck the pages down to the table with sticky tape and watched as they slowly made their way over.
"You mean, write all the slang under the technical terms for everything?" Mercedes asked.
"Exactly. For example, everyone knows breasts are also called boobs. So that's one. Then there's vagina, penis, testicles, ejaculation, homosexual, bisexual, etc. Write down everything you can think of, even if it's crude."
They were hesitant at first, but soon there was laughter and words being called across the room. With some of the words that were being shouted, Mouse was just glad that the door was closed and no one else was in this part of the school.
When they were finished, Mouse collected and looked at the papers and the things they'd wrote. Some of the words were completely foreign to her, others had her stifling her laughter, while some were just plain absurd.
"All right... Now that you know what the words mean, I'm going to use the proper terms when I talk about them. By using the informal words it's like you're trying to cover up your own embarrassment, and if you don't know the technical terms for something, then you'll never take anything about sex seriously."
Her first 'class' ended and Mouse stayed behind to clean the blackboard of the words "Celibacy Club". When that was done, she went to the auditorium to take Candy home.
...
"Would you ask your girlfriend why she's suddenly got my girlfriend so interested in the Celibacy Club?" Matt asked Puck.
"What are you on about?"
"Apparently Mouse restarted the Celibacy Club yesterday after school, and all of the Glee girls are in it, including Brittany," Matt replied, looking annoyed. "Didn't Mouse tell you about it?" he asked, grinning cruelly.
Puck frowned and didn't reply. He wondered if Mouse starting the Celibacy Club again had anything to do with what had happened on the weekend. Deciding to find his girlfriend the moment football practice was over, Puck returned his attention to Coach Beiste for the next game's play.
...
"So ... What's all this about the celibacy club being started again? I thought you hated that thing 'cause it limited the library's books?"
Slightly surprised that Puck had remembered her comment about that, Mouse nodded. "I don't like it. And I haven't started it up again. Well, not properly, at least. The school doesn't have a sexual education class - or at least, not a very good one - and after Candy's comment the other day, everyone found out that I know a lot more about sex than they do. I was sort of volunteered to tell everyone what I know…" she trailed off, seeing the look of relief on his face. "Were you worried that I was going to be celibate until marriage, or something?"
"Or something," Puck muttered in reply.
Taking her hand, he pulled Mouse down to him, kissing her eagerly.
...
"Remind me again why we're here?" Matt muttered, looking at the words 'Celibacy Club' written on the blackboard in distaste.
"Well, you're the one who was so interested in what your girlfriend was doing here, so we're going to find out," Puck replied mockingly.
Matt glared at him, but looked away when the door opened and the rest of the Glee club walked in.
"What are you guys doing here?" Mercedes asked, looking at them with a frown.
"We're here to join the club," Finn replied, although he really had no idea why he had to. He and Rachel weren't him and Rachel anymore...
"You do know that it's not a celibacy club, don't you?" Brittany asked, frowning.
"It's just a front for sex ed," Tina said, blushing slightly.
There were some broad grins exchanged between the guys, making the girls nervous.
"It's fine. Just a bigger audience, that's all... Sit down, and I'll get started," Mouse said, sounding nervous.
None of the girls seemed overly pleased, but they sat down and waited.
"All right, who knows what these are?" Mouse asked, holding up a packet of condoms.
"We know what they are," Matt said, grinning and high-fiving Mike.
"They're condoms," Santana replied, rolling her eyes at the boy's comment.
Mouse took a shopping bag from her school bag and placed it on the counter. She pulled out a few zucchinis and cucumbers.
"Bet you had a few comments about buying those with the condoms, didn't you Mouse?" Matt asked, and most of the guys laughed loudly in response.
The girls rolled their eyes at his comment, and Brittany looked very upset with her boyfriend. Puck repressed his desire to plant his fist in Matt's face.
"Okay, girls. Take a packet each and try to put them on. All of the guys, go into the adjoining room. Right now," Mouse said, glaring at them all when they went to say something in response. "You too, Puck," she murmured.
Waiting until they had done as she said, Mouse then closed the door behind them and turned her attention back to the girls.
...
"All of you sit down and shut up," Mouse said sternly as she entered the adjoining room.
The boys had only heard this tone in her voice when she'd been defending Candy, and were quick to go silent.
"Firstly, how dare you embarrass me like that? I am trying my best to teach everyone what I know about this, and you go and throw that back in my face like I'm less than nothing! If you didn't want to come to the club, then you didn't have to. I did not force you to be there, and I did not force you to stay," she said, her tone still quiet and angry. "If you have a desire to actually learn something and not put your health at risk, or someone else's, then shut up and pay attention."
When she was certain that she did have their attention, Mouse continued talking, "Secondly, I understand that you were nervous. You were nervous and scared, and you tried to hide your own feelings by laughing and putting others down. Don't do that to yourselves, or to others. You can admit that you're nervous. Hell, I was terrified of speaking just to the girls yesterday!" Mouse said with a slight grin. "But I told them that I was nervous, and we all managed to get through it and I came back today. You can admit that you're nervous. You can admit when you're freaking terrified. It's not a weakness. It is, however, rude and simply childish to put others down to hide your own emotions."
Matt looked ashamed, and kept his gaze on the table in front of him.
"Now that's all over, are you actually interested in this? Like I said, I'm not forcing you to stay," Mouse said, her voice kinder now.
"I think we know most of the stuff. We've all seen Playboy," Finn admitted, shrugging.
"All right. So who knows what a prostate is?" she asked, looking at them each in turn.
Puck knew the answer, but only because he'd checked about it after Finn said that his mother was getting hers checked. Going by the looks on the others' faces, Puck guessed that they didn't know what a prostate was.
"So are you staying then?" Mouse asked.
One by one, they nodded.
...
Kurt adjusted his blazer with an uncomfortable frown. He wished he could wear his own clothes, but the school's policy didn't allow it. It was a shame, but he supposed that the scarf would have to do for now.
"Hey, Kurt. Ready yet?" Blaine asked, grinning at him.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied with a sigh, turning to face Blaine. His breath caught, as it always seemed to do, and he smiled briefly.
"Come on then. The Warblers won't wait forever."
Closing his locker door, Kurt followed Blaine down the corridor and to his very first practice session with the Warblers.
He wondered how Mercedes and the others were doing, and if they missed him as much as he missed them.
...
"GET OUT!"
"Sorry, Coach," Becky said, leaving Sue's office as fast as she could.
She ran up the hallways and to her class, sobbing into her sleeve.
"Becky? What's wrong?" Mouse asked, holding her shoulders before Becky could run into someone or something.
"Coach ... Coach fired me," she sobbed, her arms wrapped around Mouse tightly.
Mouse gently guided Becky to the teacher's lounge, Candy walking beside her, his face solemn with worry for his friend. When Mrs. Komp saw Becky, she immediately called the young girl's mother. Candy promised to wait with Becky and Mrs. Comp until Becky's mother arrived. When Mrs. Komp nodded and agreed to this, Mouse left to find Sue.
Coming to Sue's office, Mouse found her sitting at her desk, her head in her hands and not seeming to see anything.
"Are you all right?" Mouse asked quietly, knocking on the door.
Sue didn't answer. Frowning, Mouse moved into the office completely and stood next to the Cheerios Coach.
"Ms. Sylvester?" she said, her voice a little louder now.
Still no answer.
"Sue?"
Hearing her name, Sue looked up and at her, but again, didn't seem to be seeing anything properly.
"What's wrong, Sue?" Mouse asked, hoping that she'd respond if she used her name again.
"Jean... It's Jean. She died," Sue murmured.
...
End of the twenty-second chapter.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
The song list for this chapter (as with all previous and future chapters) is posted in my Glee forum.
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