It was only a few weeks until the invitational for McKinley High's glee club, and Paul had to get the word out, fast. He had made posters to hang on the walls around the school, but little did he know that certain cheer leading coaches were following him, taking them back town to thwart his efforts.

Things had been difficult around the glee club since Casey quit, Paul thought to himself as he watched the kids practice Don't Stop Believing, where, in Casey's place, Sally sang with a voice that belonged to a five year old - a good five year old, but a five year old nonetheless. She didn't have the powerhouse voice that Casey had coursing through her vocal cords, and Ralph's voice didn't mesh as well with his girlfriend's.

But, only a few lines into the song, Sally felt something twist in her stomach. She ran for the door with her hand over her mouth, and Paul called after her, but she burst out of the door, ignoring him.

"I think she just had a bad breakfast burrito," Ralph tried with an uneasy smile.

"Can we please talk about the giant elephant in the room?" Sheldon asked as he crossed his arms.

"Your sexuality?" Kendra shot back with a snarl.

Sheldon cast a glare in her direction, but said nothing in reply, "Casey," he said. "We can't do it without her."

"That's not true," Paul said, but he didn't fully believe his own words. "We may need to layer Kendra and Emily over Sally's solo, but... we'll be fine."

"Maybe for the invitationals," Noel interjected, "But not the sectionals and certainly not the regionals."

"The poetry kid's right," Derek agreed reluctantly. "Casey makes me wanna light myself on fire, but she can sing."

"Look, Casey left, guys, she's gone. Now, if we're gonna make this thing work, we can't look back," Paul explained, but everyone just looked at him blankly in their own way of saying 'we disagree'. "Alright, take five, guys."

Ralph walked up to Paul who had sat down at the piano when all the other glee clubbers sat down to complain to each other about how Casey left, "Uh, Paul," he began with his hands in his pockets, peering behind his shoulder nervously. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but with all the dancing around that Sally's doing, I'm kind of worried about the baby..."

"Yeah, I get it," he said understandingly. "How about I give Sandra a few of her verses, okay?"

"Okay," Ralph nodded.

"You think you might wanna tell your grandma about what's going on?" Paul questioned, worried about his student.

"I think I'd rather handle it myself right now," Ralph declined. "My grandma's got enough to worry about."

Ralph walked away, and Paul looked at him wearily as he went back to his group, placing a hand on his head. He was just a kid, and he needed someone's help… he needed someone to talk to, guide him through some things. Paul couldn't talk to him, he needed someone who wasn't emotionally invested, and that's when it hit him. After rehearsals, Paul ran for the teacher's lounge and saw Kathy filing her nails absent mindedly.

"Can you keep a secret?" he whispered into her ear with a hand placed on her shoulder.

~L~

Ralph sat in Kathy's decently sized, squeaky-clean office with no idea why he was there. "So," he began as he fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Have I done something wrong, or-"

"Oh, no! No, no, absolutely not," Kathy said wildly, shaking her head rapidly. "No, actually, I've just, um, taken a special interest in you. Look, I know sometimes life can come at you pretty fast, and uh, you reach a point where you just need a little special guidance."

Ralph looked at her questioningly, both because he knew she wasn't the guidance counselor and because she sounded like she knew more than she was saying. His grandma had told him that people said 'uh' a lot when they're lying, too. "Has someone told you something about my personal life?" he questioned.

"Nope, uh-uh," she reassured, her fingers intertwined together in a false display of innocence. "But you know, there are very few students who get athletic scholarships, but there are some schools who give full rides to kids who excel in music... students like yourself. And I dunno, maybe if you were able to go to college, you wouldn't, say, end up stuck in this town in a dead-end job living hand and mouth with a wife and kid you never intended to have."

Ralph's face fell rapidly in apprehension, and Kathy covered herself roughly. "For example," she coughed. "That's just something off the top of my head."

"So," he began tentatively. "You think if I stuck with glee, I could get a scholarship?"

"It's definitely a possibility," Kathy smiled hopefully. "And if you win at regionals, maybe you could generate some interest."

"But we lost Casey," Ralph reminded her. "Do you think we can do it without her?"

"…Sure," Kathy said. No, no you can't. "Definitely... but, if you're concerned about your future, and those who may be a part of your future soon, maybe you could just give Casey a talk, you know, see if you can get her to come back."

"Maybe I will," Ralph said with a wide grin. "Thanks, Ms. Z!"

~L~

Casey sat in an empty room in the theater building at a table, opposite Tinker, that relatively creepy online-blogger-slash-school-newspaper-reporter. "How does it feel to be just a sophomore," he opened the interview as he held a small microphone to his mouth, "And get the lead in a musical?"

"It's an honor," Casey said with a grin. "Frankly, one I feel I've earned. If there's one thing I've learned in my sixteen years on the stage is that stars are rare, and when they're found, you have to let them shine."

Tinker stopped the recording and set down the microphone shakily, "Show me your bra," he said bluntly.

"You mean the one I'm wearing?" Casey questioned, puzzled and rather off-put.

"Quid pro quo, Casey," Tinker said as he made a point of staring at her chest. "You want a good review? Show me your over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder."

"No way, you can't do that! Besides," she began confidently. "My performance will stand on its own, no one reads the school paper anyway, and it's not even a school musical."

"Oh, but I'll post my scathing review online," he said with a small smirk that didn't quite look right on his childish, nervous face. "You'll be finished on the stage. Now, get those sweater puppies out of their cashmere cage."

"Ugh," Casey growled, standing up and gathering her things to leave, but Sandy burst in.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "My Vespa had a flat. Give me a minute and I'll be ready for my interview."

"We're actually not gonna need any quotes from you for the article Mister Ryerson," Tinker explained anxiously as he picked up his recorder hurriedly. "Do the right thing, all the great actresses take their clothes off."

"Well," Sandy began as he put an arm around Tinker's shoulders, leading him out. "I have no problem with nudity. Let me tell you about my planned production of Equus. Have you ever hung out at a stable?"

The two left the room and Casey shook her head, sitting down on the table. She moved her long, brown hair out of the way before peering down at her chest for a moment. "Hey," she heard a voice. "What are you doing?"

She looked up and her eyes widened as she saw Ralph standing in the entrance of the room. "I, uh, nothing," she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd pop by to see you," Ralph grinned. "I knew you had rehearsal today, so… what's going on?"

"Just getting the star treatment I didn't get in glee."

"Totally," Ralph agreed, and Casey was surprised by his support.

"It's times like these where I know I've chosen the right path," Casey explained. "I'm never going back to glee, its clear my talent is too big for an ensemble."

"You're not gonna get an argument from me," Ralph said as he walked up to her with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, sitting down on the table next to her.

"I'm not?" Casey questioned quietly.

"No, you're like, the most talented person I know," he said, and even though he had less than honorable intentions in seeing her, he meant it. "Even more than the guy at the mall who can juggle chainsaws. I just wanted to let you know that if you need someone to run lines with, I'm available."

"There is a lot of dialogue," Casey said with a slow, mesmerized nod.

He stood back up, "Figure we could go somewhere quiet, maybe with," he shrugged. "Low lighting. Let me know."

Ralph turned around and Casey waved, though he didn't see him. The smile on his face faded and he walked out of the room feeling angry at himself for leading her on.

~L~

Kathy sat at a chair in Paul's office with a manila folder against her chest, wrapped in her arms like it was a child and she was its mother. "I could get fired for this," she said in some tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd change his mind.

"She was a student fifteen years ago, no one is gonna care," Paul reasoned, holding his hand out for the folder. She handed it too him with both hands, but he practically had to pry it away from her. "I knew it! She never graduated, she quit with like, three credits to go."

"How did you even think of this?" Kathy questioned in an effort to get her mind of off all the different ways (there were twenty six so far) she could be fired for doing this.

"I was a restaurant," Paul answered as he flipped through the folder. "And I realized that the waiter was this kid I had in my Spanish class ages ago, as it turns out that Vocal Adrenaline's school keeps flunking him because he's the only one who can do a backflip. How awful is that? But it reminded me of April Rhodes, and I remembered that nobody saw her at her year's graduation."

"Oh, I understand," Kathy mused. "I saw her picture in the folder. …Pretty."

"Pretty?" Paul echoed, looking up from the folder. "April Rhodes was a goddess, the most talented performer in McKinley High Glee Club history! When she sang, it was mesmerizing. She was my first crush. I was a freshman, she was a senior."

"Well, hold on a second," Kathy said, recalling a previous conversation about his wife as Paul studied the folder. "I thought you said your wife was your first crush."

"Yeah, that's because April didn't even look at me," Paul admitted with a light chuckle. "Aw, crap, there's no forwarding address."

"So, then you've had feelings for someone other than your wife-"

"Kathy," Paul began as politely as he could while he opened the apple laptop on his desk, "I'd love to play 'This Is Your Life', but Lord Google demands my attention."

Kathy stood up from her seat and gained his attention, "O-okay, just hold on hold on hold on," she said quickly, tripping over her words. "Um, reaching back into your past is a dangerous business, okay? People can change, they can disappoint you-"

"I think I can handle it,"

"I thought I could too! Just hear me out, hear me out. A few years ago, I started an online flirtation with a high school flame, Andy. Things got weird and I called it off and two months later," she paused heavily. "Versace was dead... dead."

"…'Kay," Paul said and he began to type, "April Rhodes, London, Ohio. Oh, she has a MySpace page!"

"Oh, god," Kathy sighed, burying her face in her hands as she circled the desk to see the screen of his laptop.

"And it has a link to her own personal website. She's online!" Paul spotted a guest page and he typed a short message."Hi, April. Not sure if you remember me, but my name is Paul Greeby."

April quickly replied, "Thirty-five Bontempo Road, between two and three," Kathy read, and Paul laughed jovially. "Bring buffalo wings."

~L~

Paul pulled up to the address he was told in that clunker of a blue Honda he loved so much and saw a house that would fit in with the houses of the rich, famous, and residing in Los Angeles. He opened his car door and stared in awe of the house. He walked to the door and rang the doorbell, where a girl in a dress with short blonde hair approached. "April?"

"Are you Paul?" she asked with a red cup in her hand and a slur in her voice. The smell of her breath made Paul think that that it was not water.

"You remember me?" Paul asked, very taken aback.

"No," April admitted with a slowed, drunken voice. "But I don't remember breakfast. Come on in!"

The blonde girl ushered him inside by pulling on his tie and he peered around the extravagant house that was just as beautiful on the outside as it was on the outside. He didn't remember her being a drunk before, or even a rebellion. "So," April began. "Did I sleep with you?"

"Uh, I was a freshman when you were a senior,"

"So," she repeated. "Did I sleep with you?"

"No," Paul said uncomfortably – Kathy was right, people can disappoint you.

"Can I get you a drink?" April asked, swirling her red cup around, but she headed away towards the kitchen before he could reply. "I just cracked open a fresh box of wine."

"This is a great place you have," he said politely. "Looks like you're doing well for yourself."

"I get about five or six appointments a day from my world-wide web page, so I do okay by myself," she laughed as she popped back in from the kitchen with a matching red glass, handing it to Paul. "Why don't you have a seat, take off that jacket, and I'm gonna slip into something a little more comfortable."

"Uh," Paul stumbled over his words, not sure how to handle the drunken, middle-aged woman. But then, they heard the door open and three people walked in, a young couple with what appeared to be a real estate agent.

"So, this is a beautiful five bedroom with a wood burning fireplace and-" the woman said to the young couple, but when she turned around and spotted April, her eyes widened. "You! This is the third time this week!"

"Uh," Paul began. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sandy with Oak Crest Real Estate, and she is a squatter," she told Paul, gesturing to April. "This is a bank-owned property, the owners foreclosed six months ago!"

"Let me just get my Vino and I'll be outta your hair," April said as she handed Paul her drink as he stood there, feeling rather embarrassed. April scurried into the kitchen and Paul smiled awkwardly.

"Nice place," he said.

April and Paul left the house and the angry real estate agent, sitting on the sidewalk without any words spoken while April filled her glass with the boxed wine that sat between them.

"Can I ask you a question?" Paul asked.

"Yeah," April said as she sipped on her wine.

"What happened to you, April? In high school, you were really going places," he said, recalling the girl who wore sweaters and conservative jeans. "You had a voice like a dream, everyone loved you!"

"Oh, I went down the wrong path," she said with a light hearted laugh. "Me and my high school sweetheart Vinnie were convinced we were going to be stars, so we dropped out school and hitchhiked our way to the Broadway. And we wound up in Cleveland slinging hash at Cory's Bait Shop and Waffle House... Cory had an affair with Vinnie, I had a set of mix raced twins."

"April, I think your struggle is really moving," Paul said honestly, nodding. "And I wanna help you get back on your feet. I happen to know that you're only three credits shy of your diploma. I can put you in my computer class, and I know you're an amazing singer; I want you to be in the glee club. We'll get you sobered up... and buy you some underwear. It's not too late for you, April. What do you say?"

April looked at Paul, and with one final swig of her drink, she splashed it onto the asphalt.

~L~

"Guys, I'd like to introduce you to someone very special. This is April Rhodes," Paul introduced her, and she waved enthusiastically. "She's our newest member."

"Wait," Ralph started, his face twisted up. "Old people can join glee club now?"

"Old, huh?" April countered. "You guys look like the world's worst Benetton ad."

Noel raised his hand slightly, but spoke freely, "Paul? This seems like a terrible idea."

"April is a great singer, and she never graduated," he defended his new student as Derek waggled his eyebrows at her, not unnoticed by April, who winked in return.

"We appreciate what you're trying to do," Emily said towards Paul. "But she's no Casey."

"Who's Casey?" April asked, ready for a showdown if the opportunity presented itself.

"She's kind of our star," Sam provided.

"Your star, eh?" April sniffed. "Then where is she?"

"She left to be the lead in Cabaret," Sheldon explained bitterly.

April laughed and shrugged off her jacket, tossing it into Paul's arms. "Hey, Tinkles," she said. "Gimme Maybe This Time in B flat, and don't let me catch you snoozin'."

He began to tap on the keys of the piano, playing the introduction of the song. "Maybe this time," April sang. "I'll be lucky… maybe this time he'll stay."

Her voice already held promise, and the glee kids watched on doubtfully, but with intrigue. "Maybe this time, for the first time," her voice was smooth and calm. "Love won't hurry or wait. He will hold me fast, I'll be home at last…"

"Not a loser anymore like the last time," she sang, a moment of showing off the power in her voice. "Or the time before."

Not too far away, rehearing for her play, Casey sang the same words April did. "Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loved me!"

"Lady peaceful, lady happy," they sang together, it didn't matter the walls and even buildings between them. "That's what I long to be!"

"All the odds are, they're in my favor, something's bound to give in!"

They saw themselves in the song in different ways. One was about to seize the stardom she had once, one was about to seize it for the first time.

"It's gotta happen, happen sometime,"

But they sang the song in the same way.

"Maybe this time I'll win,"

They sang it like they meant it.

They both finished the final lines of the song, both ending the song in a loud, high-pitched, well-controlled bang. And in the choir room, eleven slack-jawed faces stared back at her, and one of them was Sheldon Shlepper, weeping like a newborn child. "Stick that in your pipe and smoke it," April said as she adjusted the strap of her dress.

~L~

"April!" Paul called the following day as he sprinted after her, having spotted her walking out of the girl's bathroom. She turned around to face him.

"Hey, Paul," she smiled. "How are your little slack-jawed chipmunks?"

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Paul said, though he didn't smile. "...Look, April, I've been talking to the glee kids, and uh, I think they're still not sure about having you around. You draw a lot of attention to yourself, and they're embarrassed enough as it is. So, do you think you could maybe take some time to try to win them over?"

April listened to what he had to say and she nodded. She had more than a few ideas…

~L~

April peered over her shoulder for any signs of Paul or other teachers as she handed Sheldon a container she had in her backpack filled with… well, let's just say it wasn't hot chocolate. "It smells like my Aunt Mildred," Sheldon said in slight disgust as he got a whiff of the strong-smelling stuff.

"Just drink it," she said, and he took a sip, making a face.

"Sweet," he said. "With a bit of an after burning taste."

"Oh, good Sherry should always have a little bite, a few swigs of that in the morning before school and you'll have all the courage you need to be," she paused to pinch his cheek, catching him quite off guard. "Yourself."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah!" April reassured him, and he shook his head in disbelief, but he kept drinking.

"That's fantastic," Sheldon sipped on his drink a little more, and when Paul asked him about April later that day, he was decidedly in adoration of her.

~L~

Kendra and Emily walked with exaggerated hand movements and tiny steps across the choir room before two heads of cabbage fell out from under their skirts. "Ah, no," April scolded. "You've gotta be more natural!"

"I can't do this," Emily said with a heavy sigh.

"I don't understand why we're doing this in the first place," Kendra hissed with a hand on her hip.

"Your lack of imagination astounds me, this is only the beginning," April insisted. "If you can master this, you can sneak anything out of a store between your knees! Shoes, prom dresses... I almost got a cake out of a kid's birthday party with the candles still lit."

When that didn't work, April decided to go with the one thing girls will always be in favor of… jewelry. When Kendra and Emily told Paul that they wanted her to stay, they said it with diamonds on. And her method with the hockey boys? She snuck her way into the locker room after practice. That Derek kid wasn't half bad, in several very different ways.

~L~

"What good is sitting alone in your room?" Casey sang vibrantly as Sandy watched her disdainfully.

"This is terrible," he hissed.

"Come hear the music play," she continued with her head held high.

"This is a disaster!"

"Life is a cabaret old chum," her voice didn't falter, though her face fell slightly when he shouted 'Boring!' at her. "Come to the cabaret!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sandy screeched unhappily as he stomped his foot with each angry, frustrated syllable.

"I don't know what you want," Casey grumbled as she tried to remain as calm as humanly possible.

"Well, I know what I don't want, and it is all of this," he gestured to her. "When I gave you this part, I thought you could handle, but clearly you can't. What this show needs is a star with a little bit more maturity!"

"I know what you're trying to do," she said, looking him square in the eyes. "You're trying to get me to quit so you can be the star. Well, it won't work, I'm not going anywhere."

She walked away, leaving Sandy's face red with embarrassment and anger.

~L~

"I'm sleeping with him," Casey said.

"So am I," Ralph returned, then scrunched up his nose. "This play is weird."

"That's Mister Ryerson's favorite line," she told him, clutching the script in her hand as they stood in the choir room. She really had it for Ralph, even though she knew she shouldn't. She couldn't help it, there was something so sweet about him, and even though it was probably better for her to stay away considering he was taken, she just liked being around him either way. She believed that she had the strength not to act upon her feelings, but not the will to stay away from him. "You're a really good actor, Ralph, maybe you should consider joining the musical."

"Well, I'm pretty devoted to glee, I don't think I could just walk away from it," he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans shyly. "I know how hard it was for you. But, I could justify doing both if you came back, but we both know that's not gonna happen. Do you know what we should do?"

"Elope?"

"What?"

"Nothing,"

"We should go bowling," he continued. "You're always so stressed out about the play, you just need to loosen up. I always go bowling whenever I'm worked up about a big game or somethin'."

"Just us?" Casey asked gently, and she forgot her ambitions of remaining the bigger person between her and Sally.

"Yeah," he smiled, and Casey nodded slightly.

"Yeah, that would be great," she agreed. "I am really stressed out, but that's the price you pay for being a star."

The two heard the door to the choir room open and shut. When they looked back, April and Paul were walking in, "Don't I know it," she agreed with Casey.

"Hey, Casey," Paul said towards Casey with a friendly smile. "April Rhodes, Casey McDonald. You mind giving us the room, Casey? We need to teach April the cues for Don't Stop Believing."

"Wait, she's singing the female lead?" Ralph asked.

"Wait, she's in glee club?" Casey asked over his question, her eyebrows stitching. "She's ancient."

"Talent doesn't age, sweetheart," April snarked with a hefty grin.

"That's Casey's part, Paul," Ralph said towards him, but Paul merely shrugged.

"Well," he began. "Casey's not in the glee club anymore."

And she missed it. It hurt to think, so she would never say it, but she wished that she hadn't quit. Nevertheless, she was in the musical now, and there was no turning back… sometimes, as a star, you need to make difficult choices, and this was one of them, so there would be no thinking like that. "Thanks, Ralph," she said as she picked up everything she'd brought in with her, walking quickly towards the door, but Paul called her back.

"We're all really excited to see the play," he said supportively. He may not be his star glee club student anymore, but he still wished her well. "Make sure you save us a seat in the front row."

Casey nodded quietly and left the room, but she stayed behind the door, watching and listening for a moment as April and Ralph did scales. But she decided that she didn't want to watch anymore, because the more she saw what she was missing desperately, the more she'd want to go back down that road.

~L~

Sheldon did not feel good. His eyes were puffy and he felt like someone was taking the largest hammer they could find and bashing it against his head, while every sound in the halls was like a loudspeaker in his ears.

Kathy walked past him and smiled her hellos, but she smelled something funny as she walked by, so she stopped and walked back to him, "Sheldon? Hi," she said, and Sheldon thought somewhere in the back of his head that she was yelling really loudly and that was not polite. "Sheldon, I'm a girl who knows her solvents and your breath smells like rubbing alcohol."

"Oh, Bambi," Sheldon slurred helplessly, "I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy."

Before Kathy could question Sheldon's sanity, he knelt down and was one of the many victims of drunkenness – vomiting. Poor Kathy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

~L~

Kathy walked into the teacher's lounge with her shoulders tensed as she walked stiffly over to Paul, who sat at a table with papers scattered around him. "Hey, Kath," he said distractedly. "Just trying to work out the setlist for Saturday…"

"I just got back from the emergency room," she said, and Paul looked up in concern. "Had them give me four decontamination showers. I think they call that the full silkwood."

"What happened?"

"Sheldon was drunk and he ralphed on me," she explained shortly. "Not exactly fessing up on how he got the booze just yet, but I'm pretty sure it's not a fake ID because he looks like an eleven-year-old milkmaid. Paul, I think it was April. Her backpack's always clinkin' with empties."

"I'm so sorry," Paul said apologetically. "I'll talk to him."

"Okay," Kathy began, ready to spill some things that she'd been thinking for a while. "I'm a little worried about the glee club."

"So am I," Paul sighed. "I mean, if we don't place at regionals, it's all over."

He just wasn't getting it; she was going to have to explain this to him like he was five. Kathy sat down and looked at him sternly but with a friendly air about her. "We have obligations as teachers, Paul," she explained. "To give kids opportunities for growth and enrichment. With April in glee, you're taking away a kid's chance to grow and giving it to someone whose brain is soaked in corn booze."

"April's not finished, Kathy," he defended April, but moreover, himself. "And if glee's going to win, I need to give her a second chance. She is a talented performer, and I really think that the kids are going to learn a lot of valuable technique from her."

"Okay, but I think you need to think about why you're doing this, and what you're willing to sacrifice to get it," she said bluntly before standing up and leaving the teacher's lounge. She was the only one who was going to talk sense into him, and he needed it.

~L~

Tears rolled down Casey's cheeks as her eyes puffed up and her nose became red, using a napkin to try to dry her eyes while her shoulders shook and her breath grew ragged. Just moments earlier, she had been at an extra rehearsal that she had insisted on as she was almost always early for school, just so she could get a little more practice. But that particular morning, Mister Ryserson had yelled at her, told her that she sucked and demanded that she leave. She had cried all the way to school. It was more of a collection of his attempts to thwart her efforts, rather than one particular thing he had said.

April waltzed into the bathroom and walked up to the sink next to her, plopping her purse down on the edge of the sink. "Aw," she cooed. "Rough day at the office, cookie?"

"I've just got a lot on my plate," Casey sniffled. "It's not easy being in the spotlight. It's the difficult road I've chosen."

"Yeah, I know that song, sister," April sympathized lightly, digging eyeliner out of her purse. "Um, do you have any Nyqil? I could use a pick-me-up."

Casey shook her head gently, and April shrugged, relining her eyes. "These high school boys are a lot hotter than they used to be," she giggled. "That Ralph Papadopoulos is one cutie pie I gots my eye on!"

"Ralph's taken, April," Casey informed her. If she – a hormone ridden sixteen year old – could control herself, so could April.

"Yeah, well," she sighed. "Some guys like a little somethin'-somethin' on the side."

"I think your behavior is totally inappropriate and your presence in this school is a complete travesty," Casey bit back angrily. "What you choose to do with your life is your own business, but don't go around screwing up everyone else's."

"I'm not afraid of you, sweetie. There was a time when I was the biggest star around here," April told her. "And now that I've got that back, I'm never letting it go."

The blonde grabbed her purse and hummed as she left the bathroom, and Casey watched her leave before looking herself in the mirror and recomposing herself.

~L~

Bowling alleys. The center for all that is pure, unadulterated, loud fun. …And germs.

"Do I have to put my fingers in the holes?" Casey questioned as she stared down at the selection of bowling balls. Think of the things that could be in there; swine flu, seasonal flu, norovirus, common colds! "Couldn't there be diseases in there?"

"Ah, no, ball sharing is all part of the fun," Ralph waved her off, and then he picked up a bright pink bowling ball. "Here, use the pink one. Pink's your favorite color, right?"

Casey nodded lightly as she grabbed it from his hands, looking down the alley and then back at Ralph. "Now what?"

"Follow my lead," he said, leading her closer to the lane as he stood behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, so, just look at the pins, nice and straight."

Casey made a feeble, failing attempt and tossing the ball down the lane, and it almost immediately went into the gutter, taking it's time getting to the end, too. Ralph chuckled, "You sure this is your first time?"

On the other end of the alley, Paul had decided to take April out bowling, hoping to talk to her in a lighter setting as opposed to his office. He didn't want to trap her or make her feel bad, but he let himself have fun while he was there anyway.

April rolled the ball down the lane and every last pin fell. She jumped, and Paul cheered. "April!" he grinned, laughing. "You see what you can accomplish sober?"

"Sober?" April snorted. "I'm rolling on a fistfull of horse tranquilizers, I can't feel my lips! Oh, you know, I think I'm going to keep these shoes."

Paul's face fell as April sat down next to him, and he decided that now was the time to talk.

"April, I brought you here because I needed to talk to you,"

"Okay," April said, straightening up somewhat.

"I'm concerned that you're a bad influence on the glee club," he said, his voice serious but not rude. "I can't have you around if you're going to keep encouraging them to make bad choices."

April nodded weakly, "You're right," she agreed, handing him her drink after taking a look at it. "Paul... as of right now, I'm back on the wagon."

"Really? That's great," Paul enthused. "I have to tell you something… I was in awe of you in high school. I mean, of all the roads I never traveled in life, one of the ones I regret the most is not getting the chance to sing with you."

"Really?" April asked, gaping.

"Yeah," Paul insisted. "I mean, that's how you get better, you know? Singing with people who are better than you."

"You really thought that much of me?"

"April," Paul smiled. "You are the reason I joined glee club."

"So, your dream was always to sing with me, huh?" she grinned mischievously.

"Yeah," Paul admitted shyly.

"Well, then, come on," April said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of his seat.

"What?"

"Come on!"

They payed for their games and April may or may not have stolen some bowling shoes underneath her skirt. She directed him to the nearest karaoke bar, because after all, she knew the best ones in town. April switched on the karaoke machine on her own, and the bar tender called, "Hey, April! Karaoke is on Wednesdays, tonight's bingo!"

"Shut your gravy hole, Barry," April hissed into the microphone, handing the second microphone to Paul.

"Hey guys," he said, waving. "Happy gambling!"

The clichéd, altered for karaoke, instrumental version of 'Alone' came on, and April took the first few lines, "I hear the ticking of the clock," she sang. "I'm lying here, the room's pitch dark. I wonder where you are tonight, no answer on the telephone… and the night goes by so very slow, and I hope that it won't end all alone."

"'Till now, I always got by on my own," April sang as Paul joined in. "I never really cared until I met you!"

"And now it chills me to the bone," they sang. "How do I get you alone?"

"How do I get you alone?" Paul echoed.

"How do I get you alone?" they sang together as their small, probably tipsy audience grinned and clapped. "Alone!"

~L~

"This is really good pizza," Casey mused as she swallowed a bite of the large pepperoni pizza on the table near their bowling game while Ralph sipped on his almost-empty soda.

"Yeah," Ralph agreed. "I think they import the pepperoni from like, Michigan or something."

Casey smiled half heartedly, and looked at him coyly, "How's glee?" she asked.

"Oh, well, everybody misses you,"

"They miss my talent," Casey corrected, shaking her head gently.

"No, we're your friends," Ralph said as he set his soda aside. "We just miss having you around."

"I love glee," she said honestly. "I just don't see the point in wasting my energy on some place I'm not appreciated."

"I appreciate you," he said with a small smile. He saw the pink bowling ball roll into the ball return and he stood up to grab it for her. "It's your last ball. Just like the first time except… better."

Casey grinned and stood up, grabbing the bowling ball from his hands. She held it up to his face and kissed it for good luck before sloppily clunking it down onto the lane. Miraculously, the bowling ball went all the way down the lane and knocked over every pin. Ralph's jaw fell and Casey jumped up and down, cheering before turning to him and throwing her arms around his neck.

Casey pulled back from his arms and her smile faded. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders and stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his, and he didn't exactly fight the matter, his hands tightening around her waist, where they'd been when she hugged him. She reeled back and looked at him, waiting for that talk about how inappropriate she was being because he had a girlfriend, but it never happened.

"Come back to glee," Ralph pleaded.

"What about Sally?"

"I don't know what's gonna happen in the future," Ralph said meekly. "I just know I want to spend more time with you now."

"I'll have to quit the play," Casey said in realization. There was no way she could balance glee, school and the musical. Ralph panicked for a moment, because he knew how much the musical meant to her… but he needed her there. To be honest, he kind of missed her being there. She noticed the look on his face and quickly blurted out, with a smile, "I'll do it!"

Ralph laughed slightly and hugged her tightly, and wondered how long he could keep the fact that his girlfriend was pregnant from her.

~L~

"Maybe," Sheldon began as the glee kids hunkered together around the piano in the choir room. "Sally is lactose intolerant."

"That doesn't explain all the crying," Noel pointed out.

"Maybe she just doesn't like the group," Sam pitched.

"Are you all that stupid? Seriously, I bet you thought that Bert and Ernie were just roommates," Derek piped up from his seat, his guitar in his hands, and Emily made a face. "Maybe, Sally's got one in the oven!"

"Who's the baby's dad?" Emily asked, slightly believing the idea.

"Who do you think?" Derek scoffed. "Ralph!"

Sheldon gasped while the rest of the group pondered the idea. No one had enough thought process to spare to be shocked when Casey walked in with a large bounce in her step and a grin on her face, "Yes, you have heard right, I'm returning to glee club," she said loudly. Derek rolled his eyes and walked away, because really? He needed a break from her and her annoying ways, annoying perfect voice and annoying pretty face. He left, because if he was in the same room as her, he may have had to shoot himself for several different reasons. "In lieu of flowers, please send all donations to a socially conscious charity of your choice."

"This is a disaster," Emily whispered to Sheldon, Sam and Noel.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I thought I'd be welcomed back with a tad more enthusiasm," Casey hissed.

"Sorry," Sheldon said distractedly. "Glee club has just been rocked with its first scandal."

Casey looked at him questioningly, "Sally's knocked up," Emily offered. The wheels began turning in Casey's head, because if Sally was pregnant, then the only logical father would be…

"And the baby daddy?" Sheldon smirked. "Ralph."

~L~

"I just wanted to drop off the application for that scholarship you were tellin' me about," Ralph said with a large smile on his face as he dropped the paperwork onto Kathy's desk. "I got Casey to come back to glee, so I figure we have a real shot at it."

"I'm so proud of you," Kathy said happily as she reached for the application. "See what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it?"

Ralph nodded enthusiastically and stepped out of her office. He felt great, he might actually have a chance of getting to college now, and he already felt better that he knew that if that happened, he'd be able to provide for the little boy or girl he was going to have. He might not look like the type, but he really didn't want to let anybody down.

"Ralph!" he heard someone call, but when he turned around, he felt his head turn to the left and his right cheek stinging.

"You're a liar," Casey growled. "Why didn't you tell me Sally was pregnant?"

Busted.

"Who told you?" Ralph asked, looking over his shoulder nervously.

"Everyone knows but me," Casey said angrily. She felt hurt and lied to, and it wasn't a good feeling. "I'm the only fool who went out with you and let you kiss me thinking you actually had feelings for me!"

"But I-I do," Ralph stuttered. "Yeah, I haven't been totally honest with you, but that's different than lying, only it's not that much different, but look, I need to get a music scholarship so I can go to college so I can get a good job so I can take care of my kid and I can't do that if you don't come back to glee club. You should take it as a compliment..."

Casey shook her head, "You could've just been honest with me,"

"Look," Ralph sighed. "I know what I did was wrong, but that kiss was real."

"Whatever it was it ruined any chance of me ever coming back to glee," Casey said, closing her eyes for a moment in exasperation. "I hope you have fun playing house with Sally while you languish in your little ensemble but my dreams are bigger than that, and they're bigger than you!"

Casey turned on her heel with her arms crossed and walked away quickly. As if it wasn't bad enough that she was embarrassed and heartbroken, now she didn't even have the musical.

She had nothing, and she couldn't live like that. Farther down the hallway, she spotted Ryan, ripping down the glee club posters. "Mister Sylvester," she said smackily, trying to gain his attention with her attitude, and he placed the poster back on the wall quickly. "I know you have pull with Mister Ryerson, and I want you to tell him that if he'd like me to return to the musical, changes have to be made."

"Well, Casey, I couldn't agree with you more," Ryan said. "You know, when I heard Sandy wanted to write himself into a scene as Queen Cleopatra, I was confused, then furious. I hereby grant you complete artistic control, I'll make sure he agrees, don't worry. Congratulations, kiddo, you know have everything you could possibly want! 'Innit a great feeling?"

Casey nodded as the wide smile on her face grew faker and faker as the seconds ticked by. Ryan brushed past her, and she let it fall… she didn't have everything she could possibly want.

~L~

The kids were all in their costumes on the day of the invitationals, doing vocal warm ups and scales with Tinkles when Paul burst back into the room after going to take a look at the audience. "The house is packed! You guys are gonna kick butt tonight," he enthused. "Your first performance in front of a real audience, I can't wait! You guys are gonna love it! Where's April?"

"Yee-haw! Hahaha, right on cue as usual," April said with a slur in her voice, walking up to each of the glee kids and saying her hellos in forms of 'handsome', 'I like that color' and a quick lip lock with Derek. Oh, and pinching Sheldon's nose like he was a six year old. "There's my boy."

"Are you drunk?" Paul asked, appalled as he pulled her away from the kids. "You promised me you'd sober up for this!"

"When, last night?" April questioned. "Well, I was drunk, you can't hold me to that!"

Paul didn't know what to think… on one hand, he thought that she might genuinely stick to her promise. On the other hand, what was he expecting from a girl who somehow got her hands on horse tranquilizers? He turned to see Kathy, and she ushered him out into the hallway.

"April Rhodes almost ran me over in the parking lot just now, Paul," she said once they were in the hall, and Paul sighed exasperatedly. "You can't let her go on in her condition."

"There is an auditorium filled with people waiting to see us perform," Paul attempted to reason. "And if she doesn't go on, none of the kids can."

"Wow," Kathy began, with a slight air of sarcasm in her voice. "It's really great how committed you are to these kids."

~L~

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Principle Lassiter began as he stood on stage with the curtains closed. "Please welcome McKinley High School's New Directions!"

The auditorium cheered while the red curtains drew back, revealing a country-like backdrop with all the glee kids in cowboy costumes, all matching in black except for April's hot pink outfit. "Last night I got served a little bit too much of that poison baby," April sang as she took off her hat, spinning it into the crowd. "Last night I did things I'm not proud of and I got a little crazy!"

"Last night I met a guy on the dance floor," her voice was loud through the auditorium, and she emitted a few giggles when she groped two of the glee guys' backsides. "And I let him call me baby…"

"And I don't even know his last name," they all sang, performing the choreography well and with personality. "My mama would be so ashamed.

"It started out, 'hey cutie, where you from?'" the group sang. "And then it turned into 'oh no, what have I done?'"

"And I don't even know his last name!"

When the song ended, the whole room grew louder and louder with applause and whistles. And, standing in the midst of the happy, cheering audience, Casey stood there with a weak clap. Maybe they were done with her… maybe, even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to go back.

~L~

Paul leaned against the wall outside of the girls bathroom. After a moment, April left and Paul confronted her, "I need to talk to you,"

"Oh, sorry, lady needed to tinkle," April said with a laugh. "Come on, act two!"

"No, I can't let you go back out there," Paul said firmly. "You broke a promise."

April looked up and him and nodded. She felt ashamed, really, and needed to say a few things.

"You're right, it was a great moment for me, but it didn't feel right. I don't belong up there," She said with a sad smile. "But everybody deserves their moment in the spotlight, you know, to shine. Oh, I got that standing ovation, Paul, and it felt amazing, like every bad decision I ever made just went away... I was back in the game. But then I look over and I see these sweet faces of these kids, and I think, I'm hoggin' their sunshine. It's their turn now, not yours. They're so lucky to have you, Paul, because you won't let what happen to me ever happen to any of them."

Tears welled up in April's eyes as she thought back on all the bad things she had done, all the wrong decisions that she made. She looked down and placed her hands on her hips, willing her eyes to dry themselves.

"So," Paul began. "Where are you gonna go?"

"Well, I-I'm gonna straighten up, maybe try to find a new dream. You know, I always loved Broadway," April winked. "Do you think there's a part out there for a washed-up has-been like me?"

"April, you are not washed up," Paul insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And hey, there's always Branson."

"Paul, Paul, Paul," April cooed, pressing up to kiss his cheek and then give him a light, friendly hug.

"Thank you," Paul said graciously.

"Oh," she said, pulling back. "No, no, no…"

She mouthed 'thank you', and made her exit, walking down the hallway. "Branson, eh?"

~L~

"Where's April?" Sam asked as Paul entered the choir room with an odd lack of drunken blonde performers.

"You were right, Paul," Sheldon started. "She'd massacre Mariah in a diva-off."

"April is amazing, but she's not in the glee club anymore," Paul announced, and the energy in the room lessened noticeably. "I, uh, I screwed up bringing her here. It was about me, and glee club is supposed to be about you guys. You don't need her to be great."

"But we need her for the second act," Emily pointed out, already beginning to worry.

"I'll just have to go out there and tell them that we had to cut the second act short," Paul said sadly, but he held his head up high. "Guys, you were great! Don't worry, there will be other performances."

But a small figure entered from the door, with a quiet, "Excuse me?"

"I think I might have a solution," Casey walked in further, past Paul. "In show business, when a star can't make it to a performance, her understudy steps in. I'd be happy to go on for April if you'd let me."

"Since when are you willing to be an understudy?" Emily asked bitterly.

"Since I quit the play," Casey replied.

"Really?" Sheldon questioned. "Why?"

"I realized being a star didn't make me feel as special as being your friend," she confessed. "If I let you down when you needed me the most, I'd never forgive myself... I know all the words to the song."

"You don't know the choreography," Sally said from her spot next to Ralph.

"Then we're gonna have to give her a lot of help out there," he said, smiling at Casey.

"Go get in your costume," Paul said with a smile towards Casey. It was great to have her back.

~L~

Paul moved his way past the crowd of people, trying to find the seat Kathy had saved for him. She looked up at him briefly when he found her, and he nodded in acknowledgement. Soon, the curtains opened…

"Can," Ralph sang the first note. "Anybody… find me somebody to love?"

"Oh, each morning I get up I die a little," Casey sang, her voice clear. Kathy looked over to Paul with her mouth wide open, and he merely grinned. "Can't barely stand on my feet!"

"Take a look in the mirror and cry," Ralph sang, "Lord, what're you doin' to me?"

"I spent all my years believing you, but I just can't get no relief, lord," Casey sang. "Somebody, oh somebody!"

"Can anybody find me somebody to love?" The group sang.

"Got no fear," Ralph sang as the rest of the group executed the choreography in front of them. "I got no rhythm, I just keep losing my beat."

"I'm okay, I'm alright," Casey sang with a smile at Ralph, "I won't face no defeat!"

"I just gotta get out of this prison cell," they sang in unison, Ralph grabbing Casey's hand, "Someday I'm gonna be free, lord!"

The group went into their respective places and they each stomped their feet as they repeated, 'Find me somebody to love', and Kathy placed a hand over her heart in the audience.

"Can anybody find me," they sang as they arranged themselves into a line, and as Casey and Ralph looked at each other, they knew that all was forgiven. Emily walked up to the very front of the stage, and sang loud and clear,

"Somebody to love!"