Since I won't be able to update until two weeks from now, this is an extra long chappie for you guys. This chapter has tons of crazy in it. I hope I did New Directions justice. The italics part is a flashback. But just that large section. All other italics are his thoughts. I'll shut up and stop making it more complicated.
Rory walked into McKinley High with trembling hands a squirming stomach. Daddy had never said much about high school, but whatever he'd mentioned seemed like hell. Rory dried the palms of his sweaty hands on his jeans. Whenever he or Toronto were nervous, Papa would sing Somewhere Only We Know, but he obviously wasn't there to calm his nerves. Rory's blue eyes scanned the hall for any familiar faces, but was met with a sea of pimply faced, uninterested teens. Where's Sugar when I need her? He wandered down the hall, turning a corner and promptly turning around. Puck, Santana and Brittany were down that hall and, frankly, Rory didn't need another encounter with his teenage mom. Knowing Uncle Puck, his younger version was probably ten times worse and Rory did not need to be dumpster tossed or given a wedgie on his first day, thank you very much. The bell signalling first period rang to Rory's annoyance. He walked down a few halls, a last attempt at finding his cousin before giving up with a half hearted sigh. He adjusted his bag strap, heading for his first class.
Finding his way to spanish class was relatively easy, but after seeing the only available seat, he wished he hadn't taken the extra time to try and find Sugar. Rachel Berry, Creepy Cousin Harmony's equally creepy mother, was sitting in the first row, back ramrod straight and a far too wide smile on her face. Rory groaned, shuffling towards the seat and plonking down reluctantly.
"Hello, I'm Rachel Barbra Berry, leader of the New Directions and future Broadway star," she chirped, taking his hand and shaking it. Rory gulped, thinking about how eerily true that was. She's even worse in high school. This is not good.
"Rory Flanagan, exchange student from Ireland," he forced a smile, remembering how he'd almost let his cover slip when Mrs. Pierce first said his "surname". Rachel took a deep breath but at that moment a very young Mr. Shue walked in. He teaches spanish? Daddy never told me that.
"Buenos dias. Como estan todos?" Mr. Shue chirped in what Rory knew was a terrible accent (Mama tended to shout in Spanish when she was pissed). The class mumbled a reply no one quite understood. Mr. Shue sighed, passing out handouts and explaining their homework before launching into a speech about the conjugation of verbs and whatnot. Rory tuned out, not even taking notes, as he thought about where he could possibly find Sugar when a sharp poke from Rachel brought him back.
"What?" he blinked, shaking his head.
"Trabajo de pareja," Mr. Shue announced. Partner work? Shite, I actually have to talk to Rachel. Rory blew a raspberry, back crumpling. Daddy would've reprimanded him for having terrible posture and Papa would've laughed, earning him a swat from Daddy. This brought tears to Rory's eyes, but he blinked them away. How he was going to make it without punching Rachel in the schnoz he didn't know. Rachel picked up the handout, taking a deep breath.
"Hola, yo soy Rachel Berry. Cual es tu nombre?" Rachel read from the sheet. She read it as if it were english, to Rory's amusement. What a terrible accent.
"Hola. Yo me ll'mo Rory Flanagan y so d' Irlanda," he replied, his irish accent very present.
"Que bien! Yo soy de Ohio," Rachel mispronounced every word, making Rory snort.
"'M pretty sure that's not how you say it," he laughed at Rachel's tiny blush. She straightened her shoulders, breathing deeply before giving him a fake smile.
"Cuantos anos tienes, Rory?" she chirped. Rory burst into a fit of laughter.
"You- you just as'ed me how many a- assholes I h- have," Rory spluttered. Rachel turned a spectacular shade of red, hiding her face behind the handout.
"How's it going, guys?" Mr. Shue asked, giving Rachel a quizzical look. Rory pressed his lips in a tight line and closed his eyes but his shoulders still shook with laughter.
"Everything's just fine, Mr. Shue," Rachel rushed, shooing him away. Rory buried his face in his hands, still giggling. "How do you say it properly, Mr. Banderas?"
"Cuantos años tienes?" Rory bit his lip to hold in the occasional giggle. Rachel wrote something down in her notes, not even thanking him. The bell rung shortly afterwards and Rory shot out the door, colliding face first with a wide chest. He looked up and blanched to find Uncle Puck's menacing face scowling down at him.
"Watch it, newbie," Uncle Puck growled. Rory paled even more. This is isn't Uncle Puck, this is super fucking scary teenage Puck. Remember that, Rors.
"Shite! Man, I'm so sorry. I was jus' tryin' to get away from Rachel," Rory mumbled, gulping.
"Dude, give him a break. I honestly don't blame him. She's a nightmare," Uncle Artie (Stop calling them Auntie or Uncle anything!) shooed Puck off, giving Rory a sympathetic smile before wheeling into the room. Rory shuddered, rushing off the find his next class, but he was so shaken he lost his way twice. The late bell echoed in his ears as he found his english classroom, rushing in to the only available seat without looking around. He plopped down, letting his forehead touch the cool surface of the desk.
"Hello there. You must be Rory. Brittany's been going on and on about the leprechaun living with her," a low voice purred. Nonononononono. Shite, Daddy told me she was insane in high school. Why me? Rory peeked up to see a young Aunt Quinn giving him a critical look.
"I'm not a leprechaun," Rory blurted, blushing immediately. Stupidstupidstupid answer. What is wrong with you, Rory Hummel-Anderson! Quinn chuckled.
"I figured. Brittany's insane. It'll be a wonder if she ever gets out of high school," Quinn drawled. Rory's jaw dropped. Well, that was mean.
"She will," Rory muttered angrily.
"What's that?" Quinn arched an eyebrow.
"Nothin'," Rory took out his notebook, scanning the classroom. No sign of Sugar, Kurt or Blaine. With a sigh, he faced the board. Within seconds, his eyes glazed over, and he payed no attention to the lecture about symbolism.
-Papa, How I miss You-
Rory made it to lunch without any incidents and without bumping into any members of ND. At least, until the puckheads from the hockey team shoved him against the lockers, pain shooting up his spine. Uncle Finn thankfully intervened, acting overly cheery and far too interested in Rory. Frankly, it creeped him out, so with a quick thank you he headed to lunch, adjusting his bag so it wouldn't touch the newly formed bruises. Lunch was fairly quick and passed without any trouble. Tina and Mike were a welcome distraction from the pain but as soon as the bell rang, he rushed out, frantically searching for Sugar. Instead, he saw Puck and Santana waiting for him. He gulped, turning to leave when Puck's hand stopped him.
"Chill, dude. We just wanted to welcome you," Puck said. Santana's eyebrows shot up and she gave him a look of condescension. "Well, I did, anyways. So, welcome to Meathead Dumpster High." Rory snorted at the name, shifting his weight.
"Thanks, man. 'M sorry about' earlier. I didn' mean to bump into you. Rachel's kind of a nightmare," Rory muttered the last part, eyes falling to the floor.
"Newbie with some sense in him," Santana cackled. Rory pouted. Is that the closest to a compliment I'm gonna get? Puck clapped his back, which made Rory wince.
"Sorry. Locker shoves already?" Puck asked. Rory nodded. Puck rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to say something when the late bell rang. Rory shot him an apologetic look, rushing off to class.
The first thing he saw when he entered history class was Papa and Daddy sitting together, foreheads touching as they looked at something on Daddy's phone. Rory was frozen to the spot, staring at them. Daddy giggled, bumping Papa's cheek with his nose. Papa grinned, a loving look in his eyes as he eskimo kissed Daddy. The second thing Rory saw was Sugar sitting in the desk behind them, an empty seat by her side. Rory ran to the seat, tripping over Papa's chair. He flailed, grabbing the desk to keep from hitting the floor and Papa's strong hand caught his arm, but it wasn't enough from preventing his knee to crash into the floor. Pain shot up his knee and back, making him hiss. Sugar snorted, paling when Daddy glared at her before peering over Blaine's shoulder.
"Sorry," Rory blushed, tears welling in his eyes when he saw the worried looks on Daddy and Papa's faces. Giggles spread around the room, prompting his blush to grow.
"Are you hurt?" Daddy asked, voice edged with concern. Rory sniffled, wanting nothing more than to curl up into Daddy's arms as he shook his head. A blonde girl passed by Rory, kicking his bag, which sent another flurry of giggles around the room.
"Watch it!" Papa growled, helping Rory up. She rolled her eyes, walking to the back of the room. Rory sniffled again, a tear staining his cheek.
"Hey, don't cry," Daddy's soft voice brought back a flood of memories, tears prickling in his eyes. Daddy reached around Blaine to give Rory's hand a comforting squeeze. Papa gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Courage," he whispered. Rory smiled in spite of his bruised back and knee and the homesickness. Papa always told him to have courage. Rory opened his mouth to thank Papa when the teacher walked in, nearly twenty minutes late. He quickly took his seat next to Sugar.
"Where've you been?" he whispered. She smiled that stupid superior smile.
"That doesn't matter. I can take care of myself. And you. How's Mami Britt's place?" Sugar whispered back. Rory narrowed his eyes at her.
"You'd love it there. I just miss Papa and Daddy," he replied, glancing at Daddy and Papa, who'd linked hands under the desk.
"You're welcome, grouchy," she snapped. Rory flinched. "Sorry, Asperger's."
"How'd you get here before me?" he asked. Sugar shrugged.
"I guess those few seconds made me appear two months earlier. I never put in a month, just the year," Sugar murmured. Rory's eyebrows shot up.
"How do we get back?" he asked. She shrugged again. Rory panicked, his breath quickening and eyes growing wide. Daddy, who'd been leaning towards Papa (and was always the more perceptive one), saw Rory out of the corner of his eye.
"Dear, are you okay?" Daddy asked. Papa turned to face him too, triangular eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Rory held his breath, cheeks puffed out and eyes wide, nodding slowly.
"Breathe!" Papa exclaimed when Rory's cheeks turned blue and his eyes watered, but Rory still held his breath. Sugar smacked his cheek, making Papa and Daddy jump and glare at her, but the smack was enough to get Rory breathing again.
"Panic attack," Sugar said matter-of-factly. Rory's breathing was heavy for several minutes, eyes glimmering with unshed tears as he remembered the short phone call with Papa at Mama's house after she sang to him.
"Papa! How are you? Where'd you go?" Rory asked, out of breath.
"I'm-" Rory heard Papa take a shaky breath. "I'm coping. How are you, baby?" The tremor in Papa's voice was heartbreaking.
"I miss you, Papa. Are-" Rory sobbed. Mama grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Are you coming home?" He heard Papa sniffle, nails digging into Mama's hand as the silence stretched on. "Papa?"
"I- I don't know sweetheart. I miss you, and I miss Toronto, and I miss Kurt, but I don't think I can go back," Papa sobbed. Rory shook his head furiously, fat tears soaking his shirt collar as he clung to Mama's hand. Mama stroked his cheek with her other hand.
"Babe, you should sleep," Mama said softly. Rory whimpered, gripping the phone.
"Tana's right, Rors. I'll stop by later, okay?" Papa sniffled again. Rory angrily wiped away his tears, lower lip jutting out in a pout.
"Love you, Papa," Rory whispered.
"Love you too, my little irish songbird," Papa's voice cracked.
"-ory! You little fucktard! Come back!" Sugar snapped her fingers in his face. Rory jolted, looking down at his notebook to see it, and his cheeks, drenched in tears.
"Is everything okay?" Papa asked. Rory almost let out another sob, but sniffled and wiped away his tears instead.
"M'fine. Just a bit homesick," he replied, which wasn't a complete lie. The boys gave him sympathetic smiles.
"You can talk to us anytime you want," Daddy said. Papa took Daddy's hand, giving him an adoring look. Rory bit back a whimper at this.
"You miss 'em?" Sugar whispered. Rory nodded.
"They shouldn' be gettin' a divorce," he muttered when the boys had turned to face the teacher.
"Maybe they don't have to," Sugar grinned at his quizzical look. "Honestly, you got the looks, but I got the looks and the brains." Rory rolled his eyes. "Tell them. Or at least one of them. That way you can stop it from happening." Rory gasped.
"Holy shite! Sugar, I think I love you," Rory kissed her cheek. She pushed him away.
"Yeah, wha'evah! And stop calling them Papa and Daddy in your head or it'll slip out one day," she smirked. Rory gaped.
"How- what? How'd you know?" Rory stared at her, bug-eyed.
"Cause I know you, cuz. Plus, it almost happened to me with Mami and Mama and that was embarrassing. They're total bitches, they don't deserve me yet," Sugar explained. Rory gave her his "Kurt-bitch-please" face. "Sorry, Asperger's."
"I bet you don' actually have that," Rory grinned at her.
"Don't be jealous cause you have to watch your mouth. I'm that much better than you, so don't talk to me," Sugar flipped her hair, doodling in her notebook. Rory smiled. Things look like they're getting better.
Awwwwww poor Rorykins. I love him. I want to adopt Damian. Even though I'm three years younger than him. :3 Anyways, here's a little preview of the next chappie, so you know what's gonna happen and rip your hair out for the next two weeks:
"What?"
"You're my papa," Rory repeated.
"What?" Blaine asked again.
"I'm your son."
MUAHAHAHAHAHA. Shit's gonna go down. Review please