"You wanted to see us, Doctor Frey?" Shawn and Patrick were standing, slightly hesitant, outside the lair of the beast. She motioned to the two seats, conveniently located across from her desk. "Sit down, you two. This won't take that long, I am sure. I noticed both of you have applied to be the male lead in the club?" They both nodded, eyeing each other out of the corner of their eyes. Patrick was a good two years older than Shawn, but they'd both been training for the same number of years, and many, many years of musical auditions had taught them not to underestimate each other. "So, what I wish is for example of your skills." They looked at one another, not speaking at first, and then a word was murmured. A word that had changed the course of history, altered entire Broadway musicals. "Diva-off." There was the fire of passion burning deep in both their eyes, but they knew there could only be one, just like the Highlander, or the vampire slayer. "Broadway?" Patrick offered his hand, and Shawn took it, with a firm shake. "Naturally. Into the Woods?" "What other male to male duets are there which are fitting?" The Doctor nodded. "I am familiar with the song. I shall see you in a few hours, in which you will both be prepared." They both nodded curtly, and stood, almost in unison, to leave. In the hall, they passed DJ, who was being hunted down by Kyle, who was, surprisingly enough, both sober and in attendance. "DJ! Bro, slow up."

DJ stopped, lifting his head in Kyle's direction. " 'Sup, man?" Kyle grinned, and almost bashfully, ran his hands through his hair. "You know that huge keg party Lieberman throwing on Friday?" DJ nodded, his guard up. "What, do you need to me get the kegs? You know, I can't pull the strings anymore." Kyle shook his head. "No, man. I was wondering if you wanted to, you know, go with me?" That stopped DJ cold. "You mean, like bros?" Kyle shook his head. "No, man, I mean, like a date." DJ looked at him. "Oh." Kyle laughed. "You know what? Forget it man, I guess the rumours were just-" "I'll go with you." Kyle looked at him with what could have only been described as relief. "Really? That's awesome. Look, I'll pick you up at five, okay, man?" DJ nodded, still slightly shell shock. He felt a cool hand on his arm, and turned around to find Elle smiling at him. "Did Kyle try to threaten you?" DJ shook his head. "No. No." The head shaking became more fervent. "Then why do you look so worried, D?" Elle and DJ had lived on the same street for a good three years now, and their younger siblings were best friends. "He asked me out." Elle blinked. "You too?" DJ gave her a look. "What, did he ask you out too?" "No. I mean, you also like men." DJ looked at her. "There's more guys like me here?" She shook her head. "No, no. Forget I said anything. Look, I'll see you at Glee Club, okay? Apparently Shawn and Patrick are having some sort of sing off. It should be fun." He nodded, but she didn't move. "DJ, your class is halfway across the school. You're going to be late if you don't move." He nodded again, and slowly, realizing what had just happened, began to smile.

"You ready to face your defeat, Patrick?""Only if you are, Shawn.""In your dreams." They were back to back, their hands resting on the pommels of the swords that they had commandeered from the theatre department. "Are you ready for the first Diva off of the season?" "Oh, I was born ready."

Shawn took the floor first, pointedly staring at Celeste. Unfortunately, Leanne was in the way. All the same, he thought it best to look her way, just in case she should happen to glance his way. If he had to be perfectly honest with himself, he was rather fond of the girl. "Did I abuse her, or show her distain?" He had been the perfect gentlemen to her since they had sung that duet. He had held the door for her, helped her when ever she needed, and had even carried her books, when she had had to make a rather quick retreat, after punching Leanne 'accidentally' in the face.

"Why does she run from me?" She didn't even notice him. She was too busy smiling at Mary. Talking with her eyes, he supposed, as most girls did. Telling Mary how attractive she found that football player, how she would love to get her hands on him. He mentally shook his head. Celeste wasn't like that, he was certain.

"If I should lose her, how shall I regain this heart she has won from me?" She didn't even know the affect she had started to have on him. The feelings he suspected might be called, if not love, then surely affection. He hadn't even won her, and he could see the distance growing. He felt as if he knew everything about her, but she was so far away.

"Agony! Beyond the power of words!" It hurt. He was an eloquent man, with beautiful turns of phrase, a good grasp of the English language. And yet, he had no words to tell her how he felt about her. At least, how he thought he felt about her.

"When the one thing you want is the only thing out of reach." She was so close, and yet, even now, there was something in the way. Leanne had shifted even more into his sights. He wanted her to move, but he could not say anything. She was so close, yet it was as if he was looking through a mirror. You can never touch the reflection.

"High in the tower, she sits upon the hour." Patrick had glanced for the shortest time at Natty. He must be cautious. She was not a girl who took kindly to crushes. She was so aloof, so cool, and he was impossibly dorky and awkward. It was as if she was the sun, and he the moon. He could reflect her light, but he would never be able to touch her. To have her, if not as his woman, at least as his friend.

"Maintaining her hair, blithe and becoming." She was hardly what you would call a lady. She was too bold, too controversial. She was simply perfect in every sense of the word. Her sarcasm was as charming as it was biting.

"And gently humming, a light hearted air." How often had he passed her in the hall, humming a tune. Sitting next to the tall silent one at lunch, singing a song. Playing her heart out on the piano when she thought nobody was looking, or nobody cared. She was impossibly talented.

"Agony! Far more painful than yours!" Shawn would know what to say to her. He might not have been as talented as Patrick, but he wasn't afraid to speak to her. Why, just the other day, he had yelled at her for sitting on the piano when she should have been playing it for him. As if she had to do anything she didn't wish to.

"When you know she would go with you if only there were doors." Her heart was a closed door to him, tightly bolted with a dead lock or two for good measure. If only he could make her see how much she meant to him. He glanced at her, and realized, in horror, that she was actually looking back. He was certain his face must have begun to blister with the incredibly heat that rose with the flush of his cheeks. With a worried air, he turned to Shawn, and in perfect unison, the spoke the next words.

"Agony! AH, the torture they teach!" The other had no idea what he was going through. With this much emotion, surely he would win. By the end, both had convinced themselves that they were entirely smitten with the girl they had only been moderately obsessed with before.

There was a light golf clap from the Doctor, and then she stepped forth. "I have made my decision. However, in fairness, I would like you, as an individual, to give your favour to the prince you would have gone with, after hearing these words. I have a dozen roses here. You shall each take one, and give it to the prince who has won your heart." Natty slipped off her piano, grabbing a rose before the Doctor had even finished her words, and tossing it at Patrick. "I catch you looking at me during a song again, you are dead meat, understand, scarecrow?" All the same, she was looking considerably less pointy than usual. Louis was next, smoothing out the leaf as he handed the rose to Shawn. "Pretty." Shawn nodded. Louis didn't compliment people often. He must have done well. Echo, glancing nervously around, handed Shawn his rose. "That little logo on your shirt is really, really cute. Where did you get it?" Skyler snorted as she handed her rose to Patrick. "Not bad, white boy. Keep this up, and you might find a girl not completely repulsive willing to date you." Patrick nodded slightly, not really hearing her, still thinking about the rose that Natty had thrown. Russell, who had, until now, stood unnoticed in the corner of the room, slipped forward, handing her rose to Patrick, not even bothering to look up. Elle, too gave her rose to Patrick, though Celeste, Shawn noticed as his heart leaped, cast her rose towards him, though she didn't bother to look at him as she did so. Lise stood for a few moments, considering both, but finally dropped her rose at Shawn's feet. "Oh. Sorry. I'll pick it up, if you like?" He shook his head. "No, it's fine." Mary slipped her rose in Patrick's back pocket with a wink. "Enjoy it whilst you can, babe. You're going places, if you don't trip over your feet getting there." Kyle, who was standing, if a bit awkwardly, close to DJ, was busy whispering in his ear. Whatever he was saying was highly intimate, if the colour of DJ's face was to be any indicator. Kyle slipped away from him long enough to hand is rose to Patrick, but DJ guiltily slipped his rose to Shawn. Leanne was smiling around.

"Now, I knew you had talent, Shawn, but that won my heart. It was clearly aimed at me. I mean, you were staring intently at me the entire time. Well, baby, it worked. You have won yourself one smoking hot girlfriend." Celeste snorted, as Mary leaned over to her. "She needs to get over herself. He was clearly looking at you." Celeste looked at her. "You don't sound too happy about that." Mary looked affronted. "Clearly. You're my best friend, baby. You deserve only the best, and whilst he's good, he's a bit lacking in the hunky man meat department." Celeste stared at him. "You've slept with him?" Mary shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, girl. You're the good one in this friendship." Celeste sighed. "I suppose I am, aren't I?"

It was a Friday night, and the Lieberman's house was swarmed with cheerleaders, jocks, and anybody who was ahead in the looks department. DJ wasn't going to lie to himself. He was a bit nervous. He didn't trust himself to drink, and these things brought out the cesspools of humanity. Even the comforting presence of Kyle's arm around his shoulder couldn't comfort him. They'd already passed Shawn, Leanne firmly planned on his lips, and there wasn't really anybody he knew. Well enough to talk comfortably to in any case. "Hey. Buddy. You want to grab a drink?" DJ was about to say he didn't drink, but then he realized something; these parties were only ever fun if you were pissed out of your mind. Sighing, he nodded. Two six-packs later, both he and Kyle had lost their shirts in the crowd, and there were rather closer than DJ normally allowed anybody to be to him. "Hey. Hey. Hey." His words were slurred, but he felt great. Ready to take on the word. Kyle, smirking, slurred back. "Yes?" DJ laughed. Man. Kyle's voice sounded really, really, funny at the moment. "So, we're like dating, right?" Kyle nodded. "I guess." DJ grinned, and stopped laughing long enough to ask. "Hey. Hey. Kyle. You want to make out?" Kyle nodded, and the last thing he remembered before blacking out was the crash of Kyle's lips against him.

Somewhere else in the crowd, Shawn was busy trying to separate himself from Leanne. She was slightly tipsy, and pressed uncomfortably close to him, whining. "I wanna makeout more. Why did we stop?" Shawn shook his head. "You're drunk, and I don't enjoy sloppy kisses." "But you sung that song to me…" Shawn shook his head again. "I told you, you were mistaken. I wasn't singing that to you." "But you looked straight at me…The entire time…it was sexy…" She reached up to try and kiss him again, but he shook his head, slipping her off his lap. "I'm sorry, Leanne. I wasn't singing to you." "But…" He stole his courage, shaking his head for the third time. "You were mistaken, Leanne. It wasn't you I was singing to. It was Celeste." There was a sudden silence, and then her hand came, flying out of nowhere. It wasn't a slap, and it wasn't light. He winced. For a drunk girl, she had a lot of power behind that punch. "You…you…bastard. I can't believe you would string me along like that. I hate you! I hate you much that I want to kiss you!" She tried to kiss him, but he turned away. "It was a mistake to come here with you, Leanne. I'm sorry, but I don't feel anything for you." "I'm a hot girl. It doesn't matter. Don't you want to make out?" Shawn shook his head yet again. "No. At least, not with you. Look, you are a beautiful girl, and you have a lot of talent, but I don't feel that way for you. I'm leaving." She chewed her lower lip, tearing up. "No…stay. Please." He sighed, and offered his hand to her. "You're drunk. I'll get you home. I have my permit. Just don't try anything in the car okay?" She leant against him, sighing. "You're so strong, Shawn." "I'm not."

DJ woke up, groaning. His head felt as if a coven of very angry witches had taken residence, and had begun their naked ritual dances in his head, their pointed toes catching the soft tissue of his brain and making his eyes shake slightly. "Good morning, DJ. Thanks for last night." He groaned again, freezing when he realized the voice was Kyle's. It was hard to think over the beating of the witches' drums, but he managed. "What happened?" Kyle chuckled. "You might want to ask the ripped clothing at the foot of my bed that." DJ sat up, hitting his aching head on the bedspread, momentarily shaking the witches' enough to stop the drumming for a few moments, in which he gathered two things. The first is that he ached all over. The second is that he was naked. "What the hell?" Kyle shook his head. He was sitting in the office chair at the foot of the oddly neat bedroom. "We should really clean this up before the Lieberman's get home." DJ looked at him in horror. "We're still at the house?" Kyle nodded. "I didn't expect you to be so easy, DJ. We barely made it up to the room before you pounced on me. You're lucky I'm strong. Otherwise everybody might have seen us."

DJ blinked, his mind beginning to process. "Did we?" Kyle smiled. "Yes. Thank you for that, by the way. It's not as good as with a girl, but it wasn't as bad as I expected." DJ blinked. "What?" Kyle sighed. "You're still hung over, aren't you? You're such a lightweight. I expected a man of such…" at this his eyes ghosted over the sheets that were wrapped around DJ. "…size as yourself to handle his alcohol better. Yes. We did. And no, we will not be again." DJ looked at him. "What? I can't remember…why didn't you stay in bed with me? It's cold." Kyle raised an eyebrow, and indicated at the neat pile of clothing at the foot of the bed. "I folded them after you fell asleep. It's such a pity. You're such a good guy sober, but such a slut when drunk. I'm not gay, DJ. I never was. I just was curious, and you seemed like an easy target." DJ blinked. "But you said…" Kyle chuckled darkly. "You're such a girl. Honestly, who falls for that? I played you, DJ, and you were too gaga, too willing to see it." A door downstairs opened. "Ah. That will be Jake. I'll go now, save you the embarrassment of explaining what happened." He slid off the chair, and out the room. DJ pulled his knees up to his chest, and jamming his eyes shut, fell asleep again.

"Doctor, I'm turning in my resignation." The entire room looked up in shock. "What?" Celeste looked at Kyle, but he was pointedly looking away. "The guys on the football team. You'll understand." Natty stood, shaking her head. "What the hell? I thought you were stronger than that, DJ." He looked at her with surprise. "Since when do you care, Natty?" She glared at him. "Because…" He was about to ask her what the hell that was supposed to mean when she grabbed him by his arm and dragged him outside of the classroom. "You can't leave." "The guys already think I'm faggot for being gay." "DJ, I hate to tell you this, but faggot and gay? They're synonyms." He shook his head. "You know what I mean, Natty. I'm a tough guy, and I'm not going to cover up my sexuality, but it's really hard to convince them, you know? Why do you care so much anyway?" "Because…" "Yes?" He was looking at her expectantly, so expectantly. She said the first thing that came to mind. She couldn't tell him the real reason, at least not now. She'd heard rumours about what had happened between him and Kyle, and knew if she just came out with something like, 'Louis is deeply in love with you, man.', it wouldn't go down to well. "I have…You tell anybody about this, I kill you, all right?" He nodded. "Well, you see, I have a crush on you. And I know it's stupid, and that you don't like girls, but I just want to be friends with you, okay? And if you leave the club, I would feel bad. And real men don't make girls cry so…" He sighed. "Fine. If it means that much to you, I'll stay. But don't expect me to treat you as anything other than a friend." She nodded. "I understand. Well?" He too nodded, and they were about to go back into the choir room when Kyle emerged. "Hey, DJ, man. I need to speak to you." DJ glared. "You're a dick, Kyle." Natty copied the glare. "Fuck off, Kyle." Kyle sighed, grinding his teeth. "You know, I don't really want to do this, but the club needs you. I have something to tell you."

Natty winked at DJ, and slunk back into the room. "What is it, Kyle?" "Look, man. I need to apologize. First, for lying to you, and second for being such a dick to you." DJ nodded. "What did you lie about?" Kyle looked down. "Look. We really didn't do it. And what I said, I was covering for myself." DJ looked at him, surprised. "What?" "Look, when I asked you out, I actually kind of liked you. When you were drunk, and you tried to kiss me, that was fine. And then you started grinding on me. And I realized, I don't like men. Oh, sure, making out with them is fine, not really that much difference to making out with a girl. It's just…I'm not attracted to men…once it comes to the sexual bit…you know." DJ nodded. "So we didn't do it?" "No. We didn't. And…I'm sorry." "You've said." "If it makes you feel any better…" DJ didn't wait for him to finish the sentence. He swung at the other, his fist squarely connecting with the other's stomach. "That felt good." He grinned at Kyle, and wandered back into the room, to witness a new horror. Echo has cornered by the Doctor. "And why did you stop singing to grab at Leanne's bag?" Echo's lower lip began to quiver. "It was so cute, and you never hear my singing." The Doctor's eyes were cold. "This club needs to start taking themselves seriously. With this attitude, we will not make it past Sectionals, let alone Regional's. You will sing a solo for us now, or you are out of the club." Echo stuttered, blinking. "Can it be a duet?" The Doctor sighed. "All right. But you still have to sing out loud."

Echo looked around, blanching. "Louis. Help me!" Louis stepped forward. "Why?" "You're tall, and quiet and nobody messes with you. You're like me, but you're confident. How do you do it?" Louis smiled, and nodded at Natty, who slipped onto the piano stool, dangerously close to Patrick. She grinned at him, and leaning over, whispered into his ear. "Speechless. Lady Gaga. You have to know it. Keep up, or beat it. If you can match me in playing?" She shrugged, and began.

Louis rested a hand on Echo's shoulder, and smiling, began to sing. "How?"

Echo blinked, pushing his glasses up, and smiling nervously. He knew the song. "How?"

There were two voices then, intertwining. Sizing themselves up, comparing sizes, pitches, and resonance. "How?"

Louis let his hand drop, singing the last lyrics, at least for him. "I can't believe what you said to me, last night when we were alone." His eyes found DJ's, but the other looked away. He sighed inwardly, but motioned at Echo. He stepped forward, thinking of all the adorable things in the world.

"You threw your hands up, baby you gave up, you gave up." He could sing. He often didn't think he could, but he did. He wished the Doctor hadn't given up on him so quickly. He knew he wasn't that bright. Why did they all give up on him? He lived to sing.

"I can't believe how you looked at me with your James Dean glossy eyes." What he would give to have the looks of James Dean, the presence. The girls. He was timid, but he knew he wanted somebody to spend the rest of his life with. Was that really so wrong?

"In your tight jeans, with your long hair." Patrick couldn't help but notice that the pale, silky skin of Natty's arm was rubbing against the considerably less glamorous skin of his. He flushed, and almost skipped a note when he realized she was looking at him. She was breathe taking, really.

"And your cigarette stained lies." Kyle offered a fist bump to DJ, but he shook his head. He might not have meant what he did, but it had scared him all the same. He was a liar, and a bastard; not somebody DJ could be bothered with. He would tolerate him for the sake of the group, but they would never be bros again. Some things just push a man too far.

"Could we fix you, if you broke?" Leanne looked longingly at Shawn, trying to ignore the similar looks he was sending to Celeste. That bitch. She would get everything that was coming to her. Leanne had her number. Her and that Latina slut, Mary were obviously sleeping together. They made her sick.

"And is your punch line just a joke?" Celeste smiled as Mary leant against her. There was tension between the two, lately. Where all those flirtatious jokes more than just jokes? She pushed it from her mind. She was almost certain she was straight. But then again, there was Mary. She could say without a doubt that without Mary, there was no Celeste, only another empty eyed blonde. She was so much of what she was. She moved away slightly, almost letting Mary's head drop to the floor.

"I'll never talk again, oh boy, you've left me speechless." Mary looked at her friends, the green eyes searching in the sea of blue. Didn't she realize how much she felt for her? The other boys and girls were toys. Mary's heart had been locked in Celeste's chest for as long as she could remember. Did she have to say it? For the first time, a flicker of doubt formed in her mind. Did Celeste want to say the same words to her?

"You've left me speechless, so speechless." Lise caught herself sneaking sidelong glances at Kyle. She knew she liked him, but she couldn't say anything. He was too much of a risk. There are some people even God can't save. And he wasn't ever willing to try.

"And I'll never love again, oh boy you've left me speechless." Russell looked down inconspicuously at her wrists. She'd worn short sleeves all day, and nobody had noticed. Nobody cared. Nobody would worry if she simply disappeared. God knows he wouldn't.

"You've left me speechless, so speechless." Skyler was glaring at all of them, even Leanne. They were supposed to be ruling this club, but her minion had so far been useless. Honestly, the atmosphere in this club was starting to get too touching. It was toxic to her. She just wanted to scream at their blithe smiles and idiotic feelings. Only wimps and babies felt anything.

"I can't believe how you slurred at me, with your half wired broken jaw." Russell pressed her eyes closed. She had broken his jaw, after he had broken her heart. He was her first, and she'd come back from school to find him with her sister. Her sister, of all people. After he knew how he felt about her precious and perfect sister. She almost reeled in shock as a cool hand gently wrapped itself around her wrist.

"You popped my heart seams." It was Elle, her bright blue eyes filled to the brim with sorrow. She let her hand ghost over one of the scars, and mouthed at Russell two words. "How long?"

"On my bubble dreams, my bubble dreams." Russell shook her head, attempting to pull away, but found that Elle's grip was strangely strong. She sighed, and held up two fingers. Two years.

As Echo's voice faded into the background of the worries of the group, one line still remained etched in each brain. "You've left me speechless, so speechless, all alone." Skyler smiled. She could almost see the group beginning to fall apart. It was so easy.