Standing in the auditorium of William McKinley High School was a Glee club in its entirety, but not exactly all together. Three students on the stage and nine in sitting in their seats while their teacher and co-director flailed wildly about, screaming at each other with violent and some might say somewhat hilarious expressions on their outraged faces.
They had been going at it for a week, and somewhere in the back of Paul's head, he wondered how he got there – how he could ever let something like this happen. Somewhere in the very front of Ryan's head, he thought about how awesome his hair was that day, and great it felt to pop the zit known as Paul Greeby.
It had all started a week ago when Principal Lassiter had called them into his office to speak with them, he had said…
"Paul, Ryan," he began. "I called you in here to get the temperature of the glee club."
The two plastered smiles onto their faces and nodded understandingly.
"I wanted to get a progress report on how you're working together as co-directors," Lassiter continued.
The two began speaking at the same time, but Paul insisted Ryan spoke first. "Okay," Ryan accepted with a cocky smile. "Principal Lassiter, things couldn't be going more smoothly."
"I couldn't agree more," Paul affirmed, and he playfully punched Ryan's shoulder, at which he laughed nervously.
"I don't want to hear any reports of either of you currying a favor from the children, am I clear?" Lassiter said as he leaned forward over his desk.
"Absolutely," Paul grinned
"And no putting the kids against one another," Lassiter warned.
"Never," Ryan assured, but he was going to put those kids against one another. He was going to create an environment that is so toxic that no one would want to be a part of that club. Like the time his parents sold their house to a nice, young couple, and he salted the earth in the back yard so that nothing living could grow there for a hundred years. You know why he did that? Because they tried to get them to pay their closing costs.
"Sectionals is coming up," Lassiter said. "What are your co-director plans?"
"Actually, each of us is going to direct our own number," Paul informed the principal.
"Yeah, and we'll be flipping a coin to see who goes first, so it'll be very civilized, very sportsmanlike, so…" Ryan trailed off, smiling widely.
"This arrangement is fantastic," Lassiter enthused, and the two agreed on the outside, but they were rolling their eyes on the inside. "Now, let's hug it out."
"I'd rather not do that," Paul chuckled unenthusiastically.
"I really don't see that happening," Ryan said with gritted teeth.
"This meeting doesn't end until I see your you two hugging," Lassiter pressed. "It's a technique I learned last week at my leadership seminar."
The two sighed inaudibly, standing up before hugging awkwardly. "I will destroy you," Paul hissed quietly, so that only Ryan could hear.
"I'm about to vomit down your back," He growled.
"It's on," Paul replied.
The two pulled back and smiled stiffly. Let the games begin.
~L~
"I'm freaking out," Sally whispered to Ralph as she lay on a long chair in her obstetrician's office as the nurse prepared for an ultrasound. She was not supposed to be there, she wasn't that girl… you know, the girl that everyone talks about not because she's alarmingly intelligent, pretty or just a genuinely good person, but the girl everybody talks about because they got pregnant.
"Everything's gonna be fine," Ralph said, but he sounded nervous as he clutched his girlfriend's hand.
"Relax," the nurse said comfortingly. "At your age, there's very little chance of anything being wrong."
That wasn't why she was freaking out.
"Awesome," Ralph said with a less worried smile.
"Okay," the nurse began after everything was ready. "This is gonna be a little cool to the touch."
"Can you just," Sally trailed off, embarrassed as she peered down at her cheerleading uniform. "Be careful of my uniform?
"Alright," the nurse threw her an odd look as she spread the gel onto Sally's stomach. "Speaking of your ages, have either of you two given any thought of what you're going to do after the baby is born?"
"Whatever Sally wants is fine," Ralph said.
"Well," the nurse said as she looked at the screen. "If it makes a difference, it's a girl."
Ralph looked at Sally's stomach and his eyes brightened as he kissed Sally's hand. She was so lucky, he was being so supportive… she wondered how supportive he'd be when he found it that it wasn't his.
But Ralph's demeanor changed when he left the room after the ultrasound. Paul had driven them to the obstetrician's office, and he had been in the waiting room.
Ralph sat down next to Paul and sighed as he looked at the floor, "Hey," he said.
"Hey,"
"Baby's fine, no mutations or anything... not even any cool ones," Ralph mused. "Thanks for taking us today, I was too freaked out to drive."
"Yeah, no problem," Paul said. He looked at Ralph and saw how he looked borderline nauseous. "Hey, you doing alright?"
"Um... no. I mean, how am I supposed to take care of a real person?" Ralph asked. "My grandma won't even let me have a fish."
"I thought Sally wanted to give the baby up for adoption," Paul said.
"For now, but we both know that's not my call," Ralph said with a sad realization. "This sucks. You get all the stress and worry and none of the control."
Sally walked into the waiting room and she briefly looked at Ralph, but peered down at the floor out of pure shame.
"It's cool, Paul," Ralph said, standing up. "You wouldn't understand."
~L~
"The independent polling company in my dockers has determined that you're the hottest girl in this school," Tinker said to Casey as he leaned against the locker next to hers.
"Ew," Casey said, rolling her eyes as she walked past him.
"Hey," Tinker continued, walking beside her. "Have you been reading my blog?"
"Of course not," Casey scoffed as she held a floral, pink notebook to her chest. "You're a gossip monger, and your blog is nothing but trash and lies, many of them, about me."
"Well, you'll be happy to know the one I'm working on right now has nothing to do with you or your rumored lust for redheads," Tinker said with a sneaky grin. "It's about Sally Albright. Word on the street is that she's in trouble!"
"Where did you hear that?" Casey asked, feigning disinterest.
"Are you denying it?" Tinker questioned.
"Yes," Casey lied, but her expression failed her. She turned to escape the creepy reporter, but he stopped her.
"Because the same birdie told me you're heartbroken that Ralph Papadopoulos didn't choose you to carry his litter," he called.
Casey sighed and turned back around, walking back up to the redhead. "What's it gonna take for you to not run the story?"
She was too busy listening to Tinker with horrified ears to notice that Ryan was walking down the hallway, asking something about double-headed coins.
~L~
"I pick heads," Ryan sneered as he flipped the coin in the choir room. Paul peered at the coin and announced with a snarl that it was heads. "Awesome! Alright, the following students have been selected for a special elite glee club called Ryan's Kids."
"Hold on," Paul stopped him. "We agreed not to split up the group."
"Aw, come on, Paul. Gimme a chance to do things Ryan Sylvester's way," Ryan pleaded with false innocence. "Maybe with my proven leadership abilities, I can help this pathetic group of mouth breathers place in sectionals."
"We can't even compete if we divide up the club, Ryan, it's against the rules,"
"Really? You need to crack open a book, Paul. Here, I have," Ryan said as he dug into his backpack that sat on a nearby chair. He found a book and tossed it to Paul. "Show Choir Rule Book, page twenty four, prevision fourteen, second addendum. Twelve members must perform for each team. However, not all members must perform every song."
"Fine," Paul grumbled, because he just was not okay with this, he knew that he was up to something. "Okay, just go ahead, take all the football players and your cheerios."
"Alright everybody, listen up," Ryan hollered. "When your name is called, cross over to my side of this black, shiny thing."
"It's called a piano, Ryan," Paul said in disbelief.
"Emo poetry boy, gay kid," Ryan called, looking at Sheldon.
"But I'm not gay," Sheldon defended.
"Gay kid," Ryan called, but louder and more angrily. Sheldon glared at the obscenely large upperclassman and then looked next to him, seeing Emily. He placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her for a moment before pulling back, standing up confidently and crossing over to Ryan's side of the room, leaving Emily stunned into silence.
"I'm not gay," he hissed towards Ryan, who shook his head in confusion, but carried on.
"Blonde beanie kid, Aretha and goody-two-shoes," Ryan called, and Sam, Emily and Sandra stood up with odd looks towards him. "See, Paul, I don't want to participate in a group that ignores the needs of the losers in this school."
"Hey," the separated group defended themselves.
"You've got to be kidding me," Paul said in disbelief, his eyes growing wide.
~L~
"What'd you have to do to get him to stop?" Ralph asked Casey after she had told him the whole story of Tinker and the news piece.
"Let's just say I feel sorry for my mom," Casey explained. "Because she's going to have to dip into my college fund for intensive therapy."
"Whoa," Ralph yelped, his eyes growing wide. "Hardcore!"
"I don't mind," Casey said, smiling gently up at him as they strolled down the hallway. "I did it to protect you."
"And Sally," Ralph continued.
"Of course," Casey agreed begrudgingly. "We're all… teammates."
"Hey, I gotta tell you, you really are awesome," Ralph said sincerely as he turned to stand in front of her, placing a hand on the side of her arm gently, and she felt her heart leap. "I'm gonna make it up to you some day, I swear."
Casey grinned and felt her stomach flutter as he turned and walked away. But the next face she was greeted with wasn't as welcomed.
"I need another pair," Tinker said, and Casey's face fell. She was really, really tired of this kid.
"What's wrong with the ones I already gave you?" Casey whispered as she snuck a look behind her shoulder.
"Um," Tinker grumbled agitatedly as he dug into his backpack, pulling out a lime green, see-through thong. "They still have the tag on them!"
"Put those away!" Casey hissed angrily, her eyes widening.
"I want Casey McDonald panties," Tinker demanded. "I expect delivery tomorrow morning, or the story of Sally Albright and the stork goes wide. I feel an urge to kiss you right now, I'm just gonna go for it."
Tinker leaned forward and Casey pointed a finger in his face, spluttering out every phrase she could think of that meant 'HALT!'. He left, sprinting down the hallway, and Casey sighed, her notebook pressed up against her chest.
~L~
"I'm kinda nervous," Sam said anxiously as they waited in the choir room for Ryan.
"I debated not even showing up," Noel admitted.
"Maybe it won't be so bad, guys," Emily tried to remain at least somewhat positive, but all she got were strange looks.
"Hey guys," Ryan called as he entered the choir room with a few band members that he may or may not have terrorized into helping him out. "Brought some of my brass buddies with me, thought they could help us out a little bit. Okay, so I selected a song that I think will speak to the frustration you've felt under the failed leadership of Paul Greeby."
Ryan handed out sheet music to the group, and Emily's face lit up.
"Hate on Me," she grinned. "An R'n'B song!"
"It's about time," Sheldon remarked. "We do an awful lot of show tunes."
"Emily," Ryan pointed at her. "I wanna see some of those Mariah hands."
"I can do that," she said with a nod and a grin.
"I think we got this, Ryan," said Sam.
"Well, alright, we'll see," Ryan said, turning to lean against the piano. "Hit it!"
The group sang along with the intro filled with horns, and Emily began the first lines as they all danced in their chairs.
"If I could give you the word on a silver platter," she sang as a few other members of the group got up, improvising dance steps. "Would it even matter? You'd still be mad at me."
"If I could find in all this a dozen roses that I would give to you," she continued, her voice loud and clear as the rest of her group sang, moving chairs around. "You'd still be miserable!"
"'Cause in reality I'm gonna be who I be," she sang, walking on the ledge that separated the two rows of chairs, singing playfully towards Sheldon. "And I don't feel no faults for all the lies that you bought! You can try as you may, bring me down when I say that it ain't up to you, gonna do what you do!"
"Hate on me hater," the group sang. "Now or later, 'cause I'm gonna do me, you'll be mad baby!"
"Go 'head and hate!" Sandra sang.
"Go 'head and hate on me hater," they all sang, grinning as Sam and Noel pushed two chairs in front of Emily for her to stand on. "I'm not afraid of… what I got I paid for, you can hate on me!"
Sandra and Sheldon brought more chairs up to the front of the room, while the rest of the group loudly sang, "You cannot hate on me! 'Cause my mind is free, feel my destiny, so shall it be."
"Go 'head and hate on me haters," Emily sang as Sheldon sat on the chair in front of her, leaning the opposite way as his legs kicked back and forth above the back of the chair, causing a wide grin to appear on Emily's face. "I'm not afraid of… what I got I paid for, you can hate on me!"
"Go 'head and hate on me hater," Emily sang as the others sang the hook behind her. "I'm not afraid of… what I got I paid for, you can hate on me… ah!"
As the group grinned and high-fived each other, Paul stood behind the door, looking in from the glass, his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.
~L~
"Ryan," Paul called as he walked through the hallway, spotting the seventeen year old. "Hey, Sylvester, I'm talking to you!"
"Oh," Ryan said tonelessly. "Hey buddy, I thought I smelled failure."
"Why'd you take the piano when it was my time up with the kids?" Paul asked angrily, but he tried to keep his cool.
"A properly steam-cleaned piano is part of any successful music group,"
"You are undermining me in front of these students," Paul exclaimed, unable to hide the fact that he was outraged at this insane child.
"Your delusions of prosecution a telltale sign of early-stage paranoid schizophrenia," Ryan deadpanned, and Paul stopped walking for a moment out of shock.
"Ryan, I am not done talking to you," Paul called as he caught up with him. "What about all my sheet music, I need that for sheet music for my students!"
"Well, Paul," Ryan said as they walked down the stairs. "The last thing your kids need is chronic sinusitis from the mildew I feared was infesting that old moldy paper."
"So what, you sent it away for some testing?" Paul bit, his eyebrows stitched and his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Nope," Ryan said, popping the 'p', "Burned it."
"Oh, that is it, Ryan," Paul exclaimed. "This ends right here!"
"Cockfight," Ryan grinned. "Perfect."
"No, we are here for my students and your underclassmen," Paul said, trying to stabilize his voice. He had to be careful, because in all technicality, he was a student. "So whatever problems we have with one another? We need to get 'em out in the open right now."
"'Kay, you wanna get real? You're right, Paul, I have been trying to destroy your club with a conviction I can only call religious," He admitted as they stood at the bottom of the stairs. "And you wanna know why? Because I hate show tunes and whenever I hear one, all I can think of are small, five year old children with birds laying sulfurous eggs in their obscenely curly hair, and I find it disgusting."
"Oh, you are a terrible influence on these kids," Paul hissed in shock. "I think you're dangerous, and I think you teach them all the wrong lessons!"
"I don't care what you think, Paul. If it means I have to get you fired to close down that club of happy-go-lucky, singing clowns, then so be it," Ryan said with a shrug, and then he walked down the hallway only to slam a slushie another student was holding onto the ground. "Those drinks are crap!"
~L~
Ryan walked into the football field with a cheery, bubbly reporter at his side, a microphone in her small hands. "Mister Sylvester," she began, pressing the record button on the microphone. "A lot of our readers at Cheerleading Today-"
"I'm cutting you off," Ryan said. "Is this a cover story?"
"Yes,"
"M'kay," Ryan began, clearing his throat. "This is all your readers need to know... I'm all about empowerment. I empower my Cheerios to live in a state of constant fear by creating an environment of irrational, random terror. Speaking of which, S! Here, now!"
Sally ran up to her coach as Amy and Kendra stretched in the field, but the rest of the cheerleaders remained absent. "Where are my Cheerios?" Ryan queried.
"Coach Sylvester," Sally began as respectfully as she could around both her coach and the reporter. "They're not academically eligible, Paul flunked them."
Ryan ripped off his sunglasses and stared at her in horror. This would not stand!
~L~
"It is a travesty of international proportions," Ryan growled as she stood in Lassiter's office pointing a Paul, who was sitting on the couch. "You are jeopardizing my Cheerios' role as good will ambassadors! And I have a call in to the president."
"Ryan," Paul began, holding up a sheet of paper. "I have in my hand a Computer quiz in which one of your cheerleaders misspelled her name and answered every question with a drawing of the YouTube logo!"
"You can't stand it, can you?" Ryan began in frustration. "You can't stand to see a student in a position of power."
"That has nothing to do with it-"
"Your psycho age-centered derangement would be fascinating," Ryan started. "If it weren't so terrifying!"
"Ryan, Paul did a little research, and according to our test records, most of your cheerleaders are functionally illiterate!" Lassiter explained.
"Oh, so what?!"
"And only last Friday, at the football game," Lassiter continued, still appalled at the knowledge himself. "They tried to spell out 'Go Team', and they spelled out 'To Game'!"
"Since you started coaching the Freshmen and Sophomore cheerleaders," Paul explained clinically. "Ninety-five percent of your them should've flunked Computer Class, and I for one am not going to be a part of it anymore!"
"Let me break this down for you, okay," Ryan recomposed himself as he sat down on the couch next to Paul, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "I empower my cheerios to be champions. Do they go on to college? I don't know, I don't care. Should they learn something like Spanish or about computers? Sure, if they wanna be dish-washers and gardeners, but if they wanna be bankers and lawyers and captains of industry, the most important lesson they could possibly learn is how to do a round-off."
"He is deranged," Paul yelled, and then he turned to Lassiter, pointing at him accusatorily. "You know what, this all happened on your watch!"
Lassiter gestured towards himself in shock, and Paul nodded, continuing, "You have allowed this to go on since he was appointed as coach for the underclassmen!"
"Say something!" Ryan screeched.
"I- Okay, Ryan, Paul is correct, you're wrong," Lassiter said, slamming his hands down on his desk, and Paul uttered a relieved 'thank you', while Ryan grew wide eyed. "From now on, no free passes... that's it!"
Paul stood up to leave the principal's office, with a fake-friendly, "See you in rehearsal, Ryan," and an attempted pat on the shoulder.
"Don't touch me," Ryan growled, glaring at Paul, who responded by poking him and leaving quickly. "That is a lawsuit, Mister, I will sue your ass! What happened to our little agreement, huh? Will I be uploading a certain video to YouTube this afternoon?"
"Oh, Ryan, I put it on YouTube myself, and it only got two hits," Lassiter explained, and Ryan mouthed 'damnit!'. "Let me break it down for you... nobody cares!"
Ryan left his office with a glare before pushing a another student, not hearing Lassiter yell, "Not the children!"
~L~
There was a test in computer class, but Ralph was a little more concerned with one of the coolest things he'd ever come up with. He fake yawned and passed a small, folded up not to Sally, who was sitting at the desk behind him.
"What is this?" She whispered with an edge to her voice.
"Check it out," he replied in a whisper. "I came up with a name that I think would be good for the kid."
Paul looked up and saw Ralph turning to look at Sally, "Eyes on your own test, Ralph," he said, but was soon distracted by another confused student.
"Anyway, then I read that the Gwyneth Paltrow named her kid Apple, and I think that's so cool, 'cause you know how much I love apples, right," Ralph rambled as Sally stared at him blankly. "And so, I figured we should name our kid something more... original, poetic. Then I came up with the best baby name of all time…"
Sally opened the paper, and it spelled, in doodle font, "Drizzle". It even had a little cloud over the 'I'.
"Drizzle," Ralph grinned.
"Drizzle?" Sally deadpanned, seemingly not amused.
"Yeah," Ralph nodded enthusiastically. "'Cause you know how awesome it is when it's just drizzling outside but it's not really raining, so it still smells like rain, but you don't need an umbrella to go outside."
"Are you a moron?" Sally asked rhetorically. "We're not naming our baby Drizzle, we're not naming our baby anything! Finish your test, Ralph."
Next to her, Amy grabbed her test with a blank look.
"Give me my test back," Sally said irritably.
"I just don't understand anything," Amy explained.
"That's not my problem," Sally bit.
Sally rushed to leave when class ended, and Ralph tried to catch up with her, eventually catching up to her.
"You are so insensitive," she said angrily, her voice shaking. "Bringing up baby names to me when you know I don't wanna keep it… I can't keep it!"
"I know," Ralph said, confusion clear in his voice. "But I don't know what you expect me to do about it!
"Not have an opinion?"
"Hey, this is happening to me, too," Ralph said, beginning to get defensive.
"No, it's not," Sally corrected as she flung her locker open. "You're not the one whose parents will burn her like a witch if they find out.
"You know," Ralph started, and once he said this, there was no going back. "Sometimes, I wish you were a little more like Casey."
"…Really?" Sally said, turning away from her locker as she felt tears begin to well up in her green eyes, but she fought them back.
"Yeah, she cares about my feelings, she sticks up for me... she sticks up for both of us," Ralph said, thinking of what she had done. "Did you know that she gave that Jacob kid a pair of her underpants just to keep him from posting on his blog about you being pregnant?"
"You think she did that for me?" Sally questioned bitterly and in disbelief, her head shaking and her ponytail shaking along with it. "Just to be a good teammate?"
"Yeah, that's what she told me,"
"I know guys cheat on their wives and pregnant girlfriends," said Sally. "Just don't do it with her."
~L~
For the first time in quite a while, the whole club was together, Derek strumming on his acoustic guitar and Ralph banging on his drums as they all sang.
"If you wanna go and take a ride with me, we three-wheeling in the fo' with the gold D's," all twelve sang as they smiled light-heartedly. "Oh why do I live this way? Hey, must be money!"
"In the club on the late night, feelin' right, looking tryin' to spot something real nice," the group sang, fighting off laughter at their bad, impromptu dancing. "Looking for a little shorty, hot and horny so than I can take home, I can take home!"
"She can be eighteen, eighteen with an attitude, or nineteen, kinda snotty, actin' real rude," they sang, and Casey burst into laughter before joining back in. "Boo, as long as you a thick thicky thick girl you know that it's on, know that it's on. I peep something coming towards me up in the dance floor, sexy and real slow. Saying she was peepin' and I dig the last video, so when Nelly, can we go; how could I tell her no? Her measurements were 36-25-34!"
"Yellin', I like the way you brush your hair," they sang, and Casey mimed brushing her hair towards Noel before moving to mock-brush his hair with her hands. "I like those stylish clothes you wear, and I like the way the light hit the ice and glare, and I can see you moving way over there!"
"Whoo!" they all yelled before they all clapped and chuckled to each other.
"I miss us all being together," Casey said sadly.
"I hope we don't get in trouble for our covert jam session," Noel said, and everyone laughed.
"If Ryan catches us mingling we're cooked. He told me if I even talked to one of Paul's kids, he'd shave my head," Sheldon explained, and they all laughed. "And I just can't rock that look! I mean, even Justin Timberlake is growing his 'fro back."
"Well, we gotta go," Emily said regretfully. "Ryan's expecting us in ten minutes in the dance studio."
"Aw, man," Derek said as everyone said their goodbyes, and then Paul walked in with the band.
"Hey, what're you guys doin' here?" Paul asked, a wide grin growing over his face as he saw them. He missed having the whole group together.
"Just stopping by to say hello," Sam said, and Paul smiled, patting Emily on the back as they left.
"Aww, it's great to see you guys," he said as they left, shutting the door. "Alright, great news, I brought the band with me, and I think we have our number for sectionals."
"Paul," Casey said gently. "We don't like what this has become."
"Don't you guys see? That is how Ryan wants you to feel, giving up doesn't help anyone but him. Look, if it were up to me, we would all perform together at sectionals, but it's not up to me anymore, okay? Ryan is gonna do his song, and we are gonna do ours," Paul began to hand out sheer music. "Ryan's kids are singing about hate... literally! So, I thought we would try a kinder approach. Alright, Ralph and Casey, come up here, you're gonna take the leads."
"I love this song," Casey gasped. "Okay follow my lead."
"Don't wait for me," Ralph said with a smile.
"So much for togetherness," Sally said bitterly, but Paul didn't hear her. She rolled her eyes and stepped to the back as Ralph and Casey stood in front of the microphones.
"Guys, you really need to practice this," Paul explained as he stood in front of them. "Night and day, between classes, it needs to be letter perfect, okay?"
The two assured them that they would, and the song began.
"If I should die before I wake it's 'cause you took my breath away," Casey sang, not needing to look at the lyrics. "Losing you was like living in a world with no air."
"I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave, my heart won't move, it's incomplete," Ralph sang, following the lyrics on the sheet, not seeing that Sally was analyzing the look on Casey's face with a bitter glare. "Wish there was a way that I can make you understand."
"So how do you expect me to live alone with just me," Casey sang, looking over at Ralph admiringly. "'Cause my world revolves around you, it's so hard for me to breathe."
"Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air," the group sang. "Can't live, can't breathe with no air, it's how I feel whenever you ain't there, it's no air, no air…"
They practiced over and over, and they eventually made it to the stage of the auditorium, microphones set where Sally, Kendra, Amy, Derek and Max stood, and every time they performed, Sally grew more and more angry at having to watch that little piece of man-stealing grime look at him like he was perfect. Derek couldn't deny that he tried to focus on any and everything but the two people exchanging sappy, romantic stares whenever they could… because it was cheesy, of course.
"Breathe no air, baby," Casey drew out the last note as Ralph grabbed her hand and they lined up next to everyone else.
"It's no air, no air, got me out here in the water so deep," Casey sang.
"Tell me how you're gonna be without me," Ralph sang as they walked in front of the rest of the group and towards each other.
"If you're not here, I just can't breathe," Casey's voice sang loudly.
"It's no air, no air…"
"Amazing, guys," Paul said through the microphone in the audience. "Bull's-eye!"
"Excuse me!" Sally said, pushing between the two. "What about us? You expect us to just sway back here like props?"
Since the incident where Ralph told her that he wished she was more like Casey, she had gone above and beyond the expectations of Ryan as being her mole. Ryan had instructed her to poison the glee club in any way she could, and that's what she was doing. She hadn't listened to exactly what Paul said, but when they all got ready to leave, she turned to Derek and Amy. "I think Ryan's right about him," she said. "He clearly doesn't care about us."
That's when Derek and Amy joined Ryan.
~L~
Ryan was not technically allowed in the teacher's lounge, but after a year of him barging in whenever he pleased, he was accepted by most as a teacher's lounge regular. He sat at one of the tables with the paper in his hands when Paul walked up to him.
"Who do you think you are?" Paul asked, leaning over the table.
"Well, now you know how it felt for me to have my Cheerios snatched away," Ryan said, closing his paper.
"I can't do a song with five kids," Paul said.
"Not with that attitude," Ryan said with a smacky grin on his face. "Look, I'm prepared to cut you a deal. You pass my Cheerios, and I'll give you back your team of losers and snot faucets."
"Ryan Sylvester," Paul said calmly. "You're gonna have to pry those Fs from my cold, dead hands."
Paul turned and walked towards the door of the lounge.
"Can't wait, pal!"
~L~
"Listen here Treasure Troll, we're about to have a smackdown," Sally said as Casey shut her locker.
"I don't wanna have a confrontation," Casey said meekly as she pushed past her.
"Don't play stupid with me, stubbles," Sally growled, moving in front of her. "I'm having Ralph's baby, and you need to back off. I'm asking you as nicely as I possibly can, leave him alone."
"You're right," Casey admitted slowly. "I helped you not because it's the right thing to do, but because I had romantic ulterior motives. But just so we're clear, you're the one who's cheating."
Casey narrowed her eyes at the cheerleader and turned on her heel to walk away.
"Excuse me?" Sally asked incredulously as she walked next to Casey.
"I have on good authority that you're Ryan Sylvester's mole, and you can deny it all you want, but I know it's true," Casey explained quickly.
"Oh, I have no idea what you're talking about," Sally snarled, trying her hardest not to skin Casey alive in the middle of the hallway.
"Ryan's not on your side, Sally, he's not on anyone's side but his own," Casey explained as they walked up the stairs. "Can you imagine what he's going to do when he finds out about your situation? He'll probably try to rip off your uniform with his bare hands. Alright, every time you whisper in his ear, you empower him to do more damage to the glee club, and right now, glee club is all you have. And if I were you, I'd recognize who my true friends are... oh, and I'd practice a little bit more, because you obviously have a lot you need to express."
"Oh, you have no idea," Sally said.
~L~
Casey stepped up to the microphone as the other half of the club sat in the audience with Ryan.
"We would just like to say that although we find ourselves on opposite sides," she said with a light-hearted smile. "We hope you enjoy our number, and we look forward to seeing yours as well."
"Get on with it," Ryan yelled. "Enough with the jibba-jabba! Sing something!"
"Ryan," Paul scolded. "You can't talk to them that way."
Ryan placed a hand over his mouth, feigning shock, and Paul rolled his eyes as the music began and Casey began to sing the first few lines. Ryan scoffed and stood up.
"Alright, that's it. They had their chance, up everybody, we're leaving," he said, snapping his fingers, ordering the kids to stand up and leave.
"I'm sorry," Ralph said. "Is there a fire?"
"No, and the point, there is no fire," Ryan pointed out. "You know, it's sad enough that my Ryan's Kids are probably picked on and terrorized by their classmates every day…"
"I'm popular," Derek corrected, looking at Ryan, who ultimately ignored him.
"But for you to drag 'em in here and bore them to death? I won't stand for it," Ryan said. "Come on, guys, out! We're going for conies, my treat."
"Okay, that's it," Paul yelled, slamming his clipboard down on the desk in front of him.
"Really?" Ryan grinned, amused by his frustration.
"You know what, Ryan? You've been pretty obvious about your feelings for me, so let me return the favor... you're rude, Ryan," he said, unable to control the anger in his voice. "You have no class, and you are a terrible influence."
"You are a failed performer, Paul," Ryan said, obviously striking a chord with the teacher. "You weren't good enough to make it in the real world, you're not even good enough to run this stupid little club that nobody cares about! Time after time, Paul, you've failed!"
The kids behind them realized that in no way was Ryan on their side, and they stared down at the two blankly. What had happened in the past few days?
"You spend every waking moment of your life trying to figure out ways to terrify children so you can feel better about yourself and the fact that you're probably gonna end up alone because no one can bear to be around someone as cruel as you," Paul yelled, and Ryan's eyes widened.
"How dare you talk me like that," he said, pushing Paul.
"Don't you even-"
"Enough! I'm sorry, Paul, Ryan," Ralph interrupted. "But if we wanted to hear mom and dad fight, those of us who still have parents would just stay home on pay day."
"I agree, glee club is supposed to be fun," Emily said, allowing her frustration with what the club had become to show. "And furthermore, I don't like this whole 'loser' business. Not everybody knows my name, but I'm not defined by my friend count. I'm out!"
"Me too," Sam agreed as the kids began to head towards the exit of the auditorium in retaliation.
"Fellow glee clubbers, it would be an honor to show you how a real storm out is done," Casey said loudly from her spot on the stage. "I encourage you to follow my lead."
She stomped off stage, and the others followed, everyone leaving the auditorium, leaving Ryan to storm out by himself and Paul with a massive headache.
~L~
Paul knocked on Ryan's already open office door, and he ushered him in, telling him to close the door.
"I wanted to talk to you about the auditorium," Paul said towards the senior.
"Good, I wanted to come to you to, but I have no idea where your office is," Ryan admitted nonchalantly. "Why don't you have a seat?"
"Sure," Paul said, sitting on the chair in front of Ryan's desk.
"So, I decided to step down as co-head of glee," Ryan said, and Paul eyed him oddly, asking, 'really?'. "Yeah, it's not for me, it's too fruity. I can't stand the sight of anyone getting emotional unless it's from physical exhaustion."
"Yeah, it did get pretty bad in there," Paul agreed uneasily.
"Ugh, yeah. I'd still like to stay on as a consultant," Ryan corrected, and Paul felt an impending sense of doom. "Maybe you could show me your set list before competitions... just so I feel like I'm contributing."
"Cool," Paul mused uneasily.
"I was a DJ at a party last year," Ryan confessed with a light smile.
"Why do I feel like I'm about to fall though a trap door into a pit of fire?" Paul asked, and Ryan pointed a pen in his face with a too-friendly smile planted on his face.
"Because you don't trust me," he explained. "I know my methods are extreme, I know I'm not like the rest of you hippies, caring about the underclassmen's feelings, as if they're real... but I do care about coaching. And when I coach them, and they win? I win, and you know how I feel about winning."
"I do," Paul said as kindly as he could manage. "Look, who's to say that everything I do is one-hundred percent on the ball-"
"No one would say that," Ryan interrupted, and Paul kept his cool.
"Probably right," he shrugged, even though he felt a small nagging urge to smack him with a book of etiquette. "But in hindsight? You were right to shine the spotlight on the fact that they're outsiders."
~L~
"Because you're all outsiders," Paul said to the group of twelve, and they all looked onwards at their teacher with admiration for telling the truth. "You're in the glee club. So it doesn't matter that Derek's Italian, or that Ralph's-"
"Unable to tell my rights from my lefts," he said shyly, and the group giggled light-heartedly.
"Sure, or that Sally is-" Paul began, but Ryan interjected.
"Pregnant," Ryan said, and Sally's shoulders slumped. "Sorry, S, it'll be all over the blogisphere by this afternoon. Now everybody knows... including me."
Ryan stood up and left the room, leaving Sally to sit there in shock. Derek looked guiltily at the ground, because when it all came down to it, this was his fault.
As soon as rehearsal was over, she stomped up to Tinker when she saw him in the hallway.
"How could you do that?" Casey asked Tinker at his locker. "Do you have any idea how much pain you caused by running that story?"
"Ryan made me do it," Tinker explained, feeling rotten and dirty for what he'd done already. "He found your… you know, in my locker, and he made me explain everything, then he told me to run it, and he scares me. I'm sorry, Casey."
Tinker turned to leave, walking down the hallway, and the sound of crying made Casey turn to see Ralph holding Sally in his arms, sobbing into his chest while he tried to soothe her.
~L~
The group stood on the auditorium's stage, dressed in black and white as the music started and the stage lights shone down on them.
"You're not alone, together we stand, I'll be by your side you know I'll take your hand," Casey sang with a sympathetic look towards Sally that she didn't see.
"When it gets cold and it feels like the end, I'll be by your side you know I won't give in," Ralph said, locking eyes with Sally.
"No I won't give in," Ralph and Casey sang together as the group extended their arms in different directions. "Yeah, yeah!"
"Keep holding on," the group sang as the boys and girls ran to the opposite ends of the stage, alternating. "'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."
"Just stay strong," all twelve sang and the boys picked up and twirled the girls. "'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you."
"There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do," Casey and Ralph sang, the others repeating. Noel smiled supportively at Sally, and tears filled her eyes. "There's no other way when it comes to the truth, so keep holding on 'cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."
They all extended one of their arms and folded it back into their chests as they sang.
"Here me when I say, when I say I believe," Ralph and Casey sang, looking at each other. The look in Casey's eyes said, 'Don't worry,'. "Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny."
"Whatever's gonna be will work out perfectly," they sang. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
The group sang along with the beat, and the lines continued while all the girls placed their left hand over the boys' hearts, Sally paired with Sheldon as he looked at her comfortingly when everyone twirled together, and Sally felt like she belonged there. Maybe Casey was right, maybe these were her real friends… no, she knew Casey was right.
"Oh," the group sang while Casey and Sally faced each other, and a tear spilled onto her cheek as she sang, "Keep holding on!"
"Nothing you can say, nothing you can do," they sang. "There's no other way when it comes to the truth so keep… keep holding on!"
Line by line, the each grasped each others' hands, and while one of Casey's hands was occupied by Derek's, the other was holding Ralph's, and maybe it bothered him that out of the two, Derek certainly wasn't the one that mattered… maybe it didn't. It really shouldn't.
"'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through…"
The music ended, and Sally shuddered, her breathing ragged. She closed her eyes and let her head hang – maybe they would make it through.