SOOOO I'm trying really hard to make the chapters more frequent, but I was having a little trouble writing this chapter, BUT it's New Years Eve, do I decided to just push mahself through and write it out as my sister is passed out on top of me, successfully putting a stop to any chance I have at sleeping.

Happy New Year!

Casey Fabray's disappointment had surged through her body, as quickly as the 6th period bell rang.

The freshman didn't want to get her hopes up, but she had been absolutely combusting to see Brittany the entire day. The innocent "take the long route to class to see if you can bump into Brittany" had evolved into full-fledged locker-stalking. It was admittedly a little creepy, but Casey felt something. The feeling occurred when Brittany had taken her hand sitting on Puck's front steps. Something in Casey needed Brittany, she could feel it, and that same part of Casey knew Brittany needed something in her too. It had become evident during a few instances the night of Puck's party. After that, Casey was sure things were going to be different. She couldn't explain it, she wasn't sure what she was expecting from her fellow blonde, but she figured it must be good.

That's where she was wrong.

Casey's feet landed back inside McKinley High, a bit before the 6th bell had rung. She had been out with Puck for lunch, and the laugh still printed on her lips from Puck's impression of Principle Figgins quickly faded as she spotted Brittany, two and 3/4 locker rows before her, being pressed up against them by Santana Lopez. Puck put a hand on her back, signaling they should leave or maybe to calm his friend down, but Casey couldn't tell, nor did she budge. Giggles and laughter escaped the older blonde's lips as Santana shifted their bodies so they were gliding down the hallway. As soon as Brittany's eyes flicked open and the two separated momentarily, she saw the young Fabray. She paused and pushed Santana off of her just as the high pitched bell pierced her eardrums and students soon funneled aggressively into the halls.

Casey brushed past Puck down in the other direction, even though her AP Bio class was conveniently just where Santana and Brittany had been practically fornicating, but out of the very corner of her eye, she saw a speechless Brittany set off after her.

The short blonde's heart was imploding. As she pushed through bustling students, she felt her face become hot. She had to keep moving. The curly haired girl knew that if she stopped, she wouldn't have any distraction from what she had just seen. Casey felt Brittany still following her, and she just couldn't deal with talking to her right now. Maybe after school. Maybe after glee. Sometime after she could cool down. She twisted and turned down the hallway, making turns, finding any pathway in hopes she would evade the older girl following closely behind. The fear that Brittany might catch up with her, eliciting Casey to say or do something incredibly stupid, burned it's way up the freshman's spine. But the fear was somehow forgotten when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Casey," Brittany furrowed her brow and sighed. The younger girl spun around. Casey should've known the senior would catch up to her; she had much longer legs and knew the halls of this school much better.

"Just stop," Casey breathed, shaking her head. "I can't even believe you."

"Believe what, Casey?" Blue eyes searching blue eyes.

Casey paused. This definitely wasn't her place, but if she wanted her and Brittany to ever be something resembling friends, she needed to be honest. Or maybe the young girl just wanted to scream, to let herself be angry.

"You! After the way Santana treated you that night-" The words were lost on her as Casey tried to calm herself down. She took a long breath. Her head felt like it was splitting apart. The migraines could get like that sometimes. The shorter blonde wanted to scream. Casey wanted to tell Brittany that Santana would never want her the way Brittany'd want the brunette. But the taller girl just stared at the Fabray, both girls speechless.

"I think you're overreacting," Brittany finally sighed, tilting her head, trying to be as gentle as possible as students drained into their 7th period class, emptying the hallway completely.

"I don't." Casey clenched her jaw as if there was something in her mouth she was trying to kill. "Look.. I'll talk to you later... I can't... I can't be around you right now..." Casey turned to leave, but Brittany wasn't giving up so easily.

"Casey," The older girl pleaded, taking the other girl's upper arm and twisting it so they were face to face again, "Don't go. Don't be angry with me." She sighed and looked down. "I think you'll understand why I do what I do... when you're in love." And a intense burning bubbled up in Casey's chest, before she swallowed it and forced out:

"If love had anything to do with it..." The girl began coldly, unable to keep her eyes glued on the taller blonde. "I would understand."

And Casey left without a word, head filled with smoldering coals, cursing herself silently because if she was late one more time for Bio, Ms. Flendermein was sure to give her detention.

Casey's previous locker-stalking had turned into the exact opposite for the last few periods of the day. In the minutes transitioning from one period to another, Casey used to run into the bathroom to practice the song she was planning to perform today at Glee with the recent conflict she had experienced with Brittany. Quinn had always informed her about impromptu performances; mostly when Quinn's eggo was preggo, and during their parents divorce.

Unfortunately during those times Casey did not have these outlets.

Casey hadn't been paying much attention to anyone after her little confrontation with Brittany. She hadn't been paying much attention to anything really. Frankly, Puck was worried the young girl would do something incredibly stupid, because the Fabray sisters couldn't even rationalize themselves when they were angry.

But when the final school bell rang out, torturing Casey's already suffering head, she was ready for Glee, she was ready for Brittany. The members slowly fed from their respective locations into the Choir Room as Casey informed Mr. Schue she wanted to perform something quickly. She ignored Brittany's gaze that the freshman girl felt on her back when the blonde Cheerio entered, pinky-linked with Santana, which only made Casey sick to her stomach.

As soon as everyone had taken their seats, and Casey had handed the music to the band, she took her place at the front of the room. Quinn, arm draped over Rachel's shoulders, sent her sister a quirked eyebrow. Although she didn't profusely worry about the young Fabray, because when it came to standing up in front of an audience, Casey was almost unusually talented.

Brittany's eyes were heavy on the younger girl. She felt guilty for not having told Casey herself, but it's not as if it was entirely the curly-haired girl's business. In fact, Brittany almost felt angry at Quinn's sister for making her feel guilty. The blonde squirmed in her chair. Santana felt a tone of distress radiating off of the blonde beside her, so she quickly tightened her pinky around the tall girl's finger, then discretely removed it and placed her hand on the girls thigh.

The freshman released a hoarse breath before opening her mouth, clutching onto her sheet music for dear life.

"Hey little girl, is your Daddy home?

Did he go away and leave you all alone?

I got a bad desire

I'm on fire"

Every muscle possible was tense in the fifteen year-old's body. Her jaw clenched, only opening wide enough to release sound, her arms not leaving a bolted position so as to see the sheet music that sat out parallel to her chest. Casey's head still burned, but that was momentarily neglected. Her foot tapped lightly but feverishly to the hurried beat, as she kept her eyes completely focused on the blonde dancer who sat before her.

"Tell me now baby is he good to you?

Can he do to you the things that I do?

I can take you higher

I'm on fire"

Santana felt both uncomfortable and pissed off by the blatancy of the song.

I'm more than glad to set you on fire, Fabray The Latina thought, firmly attempting to restrain her thoughts so they wouldn't be conveyed on her face. But that was only because of the unbearable fondness for the freshman she sensed in the girl sitting next to her. So instead, consciously keeping her ignored hand on Brittany's thigh, Santana just pulled off a trademark scowl, and continued to plot the death of her best-friend's sister.

"Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby

Edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley

Through the middle of my soul, oh, ohh"

Quinn was surprised at the voice her sister had. She hadn't really thought about it during the fifteen year old's audition, what with her wanting to rip the younger girl's face off, but it was an impressive voice. It was middle pitched and modest, but pretty. Never sounding too high or too low. Of course, if her sister didn't already have a death sentence from Santana Lopez, she did now, but at least now her sister would die with a pretty voice.

"At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you
Can cool my desire
Oooh I'm on fire
Oooh I'm on fire
Oooh I'm on fire"

Brittany looked straight into Casey's blue eyes as she looked into Brittany's. She was hearing every word, effortlessly understanding (which had been a difficulty at times) and anything inside the tall Cheerio that resented the young girl for being angry with her, quickly dissolved with each verse. It was the same feeling she got when Brittany thoughtlessly took her hand the other night.

All that was going through Brittany's head was how much she wanted to kiss the girl before her.