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He selected the largest slushie cup and filled it to the brim with icy purple liquid. As he turned the corner and entered the main underclassmen hallway, many students tensed up, wondering if they would be the culprit today.

Sam flinched and ducked out of the way, but he was not a target.

Emily was talking to Sheldon by the lockers, and she shrieked and dove into Sheldon's arms as the slushie perpetrator strolled past. But they were safe. For now.

Casey felt sure it was meant for her. She scrunched up her nose, sucked in her breath, and got ready to take it. But she wasn't assaulted.

The intended victim came around the corner, and the perpetrator struck: Ralph was slushied square in the face.

"What the hell?" he yelped, grabbing his assailant by the shoulders and spinning him around. He pinned the boy against the lockers. "What the hell, Karoffski?"

Karoffski snickered at his teammate. "I've wanted to do that ever since fifth grade when you made fun of me for getting pubes. And now that you've joined Lullaby League and insperminated the queen of the chastity ball…"

Ralph gave him an extra-hard shove, but Karoffski kept talking. "…and dropped below the rest of the hockey team on the food chain, it's open season!"

Sally came up to them to see what was going on. "Screw you, Karoffski! You and your Neanderthal puck-heads are nothing! Why can't you be more like Ralph?"

"You're gonna pay for this, dude," Ralph snarled as he roughed Karoffski up again.

But Karoffski fought back. He smacked Ralph's hand away from his chest. "No, I'm not." He smirked. "You two don't have the juice anymore. Welcome to the new world order."

Karoffski gave them a long pitying glare and sauntered away. Ralph and Sally stared at each other, unsure of what to say.

~L~

"I need dance lessons," Kathy announced as she strode purposefully into Paul's office.

"What?" Paul looked up from his half-chewed sandwich and swallowed quickly. "You know how to dance."

Kathy smiled uneasily. "I have some rhythm, that's true, but…I need professional training."

Paul looked her up and down. "Why?"

"Because," Kathy looked at her feet in embarrassment. "I'm looking for some new material for my drama class and I would like to be able to, well, demonstrate what I'm teaching them."

"Nothing wrong with that," Paul smiled sympathetically. "But I can't really help you, Kath. My only dance training comes from my own glee days."

"But that's just it…I don't want to pay some fancy school for lessons, when I could pay you to get the basics. That's all I need, really. Like I said, I'm not completely hopeless on the dance floor."

"Let me stop you right there," Paul said, holding up a hand. "There will be no payment involved."

"Oh, Paul, I wouldn't feel right taking—"

"Seriously, Kath, we're friends. It'd be awkward."

"Friends. Right." Kathy mentally slapped herself for getting hung up on the word. "So, you'll do it?"

"Of course," Paul grinned. "I'd be happy to help."

Kathy clapped her hands together in excitement. "Thanks, Paul. It really means a lot." She couldn't help but think that the idea of them dancing together was just as enticing to Paul as it was to her. Wishful thinking, maybe, but that's what kept her going sometimes.

~L~

"This is a disaster," Sally whispered as she toweled off Ralph's face in the choir room. The slushie had matted his hair and his face had turned red from the cold. "Our reputation as McKinley High's 'It' couple is in serious jeopardy if we don't find some way to be cool again, Ralph." Ralph just stared blankly at the wall.

Casey gazed at him in sympathy. She wished she could be the one drying him off, but it looked like he was fully committed to Sally these days. It hurt a little, but she was tough. She could handle being just his friend.

"The slushie war has commenced," Sheldon muttered to Emily and Casey. They nodded.

"And, if Ralph and Sally got nailed, none of us are safe," Emily said sadly.

Paul entered the room carrying a stack of papers. "Okay guys, we're a little behind for sectionals thanks to our Ryan Sylvester detour, but you guys seemed to really enjoy doing mash-ups, and I want to keep you guys fired up."

Everyone gathered around, looking interested.

"Plus, there's an important lesson to be learned with mash-ups. Sometimes, things are so different, they don't feel like they go together. But the big difference between them is what makes them great. Like…chocolate and bacon."

"Or glee club and hockey," Ralph piped up bitterly.

"Exactly," Paul agreed, not catching his less-than-enthusiastic tone. "But you've proven that it is a great combination."

Sally looked skeptically at Ralph's soggy head.

"So," Paul continued, "Here is my personal favorite song." He handed out the papers he'd been holding. "And your homework for the week is to find an unexpected mash-up to go with it."

Sheldon looked up with a frown after reading the title. "'Bust a Move'?"

"This song is so old school!" Emily remarked doubtfully.

"Noel," Paul motioned to him, "try to follow along on the bass. Ralph, take us through it."

"I'm sorry Paul." Sally was now rubbing his eye with the towel. "I got corn syrup in my eye." He blinked a few times and made a face.

"Oookay," Paul looked around. "Derek. How 'bout it?"

Derek took one look at the paper and grimaced. "I don't really groove on Young MC." Paul stared at him, disappointed, and Derek shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Casey saw her chance to get a dig in at Derek. But she was also kind of disappointed in Ralph. (She had once performed with both strep throat and pink eye, and he was worried about a little corn syrup?) "I am shocked at the lack of leading-man ambition in this room right now," she said, shaking her head.

"That's okay, Case," Paul said with a satisfied grin. "Guess I'm gonna have to show these guys how it's done." He unbuttoned his dress shirt while the glee clubbers hooted and whooped, and he threw it aside to reveal a tight gray t-shirt.

He pointed for Noel to begin the guitar solo. "Bust it!"

Ralph joined in on the drums, having miraculously recovered from the slushie-ing. Sally rolled her eyes and walked over to join the rest of the group.

Casey smiled and led everyone in clapping along.

"This here's a tale for all the fellas," Paul rapped, "Tryin' to do what those ladies tell us. Get shot down 'cause you're overzealous. Play hard to get, females get jealous." He roused Sam, Sheldon, Derek, and Max from their chairs and began showing them some moves. They caught on quickly.

"Okay smarty, go to a party," Paul hopped up on the riser and danced between the seated girls. They were still swaying and clapping. "Girls are scantily clad and showin' body. A chick walks by, you wish you could sex her, but you're standin' on the wall like you was Poindexter…" he took Sally by the hand and twirled her around. She began smiling at his enthusiastic antics.

The girls joined in, singing "Ahh" every few beats, getting into it.

"You want it, you got it," they sang.

The guys handled the "Bust a move!" shout-outs, as Paul broke out some very rusty break-dancing skills.

They continued singing and dancing and having fun, taking a much-needed break from reality.

"Just bust a move!"

~L~

"So, uh, how can I help you kids?" Kathy asked nervously. Two very upset teenagers were sitting across from her in her office.

"You gave Ralph some good advice before," Sally answered, "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need advice on how to be cool."

"Yeah, you must have picked up some ideas about what cool people do from watching them over the years," Ralph added helpfully.

Kathy blinked.

"Not that you were never cool yourself," he went on, realizing his mistake.

Kathy giggled. "Huh. Yeah, well…um, hey, you're two of the most popular kids in school." Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

"We were," Sally huffed. "Until we joined glee club. That's why he got a slushie facial. I'm sure of it." She looked at Ralph forlornly.

"Okay, I see. Okay, right." She was searching in vain for some way to make these kids feel better. "Let's talk about this. Why is it so important for you to be cool? Don't you like being in glee? It's fun." She smiled.

"Status is like currency," Sally explained. "When your bank account is full, you can get away with doing just about anything. I mean, look at Ryan Sylvester. But right now, we're like toxic assets."

Kathy was listening, she was, but she couldn't help but get distracted by Paul, who was doing a goofy little jig in the hallway right outside her office, motioning for her to join him for dance lessons.

She tried to focus on the fact that Sally was still talking.

"When my mom applied to college, she put being popular as her main extracurricular activity. And she got in to Arizona State…" Sally trailed off, realizing that Kathy was barely paying attention.

"Sunglasses!" Kathy replied a little too loudly. She had been admiring Paul's just a moment before. "They're so sexy." She stared dreamily at Paul, who began walking out of her line of sight. When he finally disappeared, she remembered Sally and Ralph, who were staring blankly at her.

"Sunglasses," she said again, trying to sound confident. "They're uh, they're really cool. I'm always seeing celebrities wear them in magazines, even at night…doesn't need to be day…very popular. Gives you a sense of, you know, mystery…rappers," she finished weakly.

Ralph didn't seem to notice. He was on board. "Totally! You can't see their eyes, so they have all the power. I could be looking at your boobs, and you'd have no idea."

Sally opened her mouth and glared at Ralph in disgust. She elbowed him and he turned to look at her, not understanding why she was upset.

"No, um, kids," Kathy took a deep breath. "Look. The most important thing is that you be yourselves, okay? And if people don't like you for that, I'm sorry, but who needs 'em?"

Sally wasn't sure she was ready to give up on her popularity, despite Kathy's warning. She eyed Ralph with a knitted brow, but Ralph was deep in thought, probably about what brand of sunglasses he was going to buy. Sally shrugged. What could it hurt?

~L~

By the time Kathy got to Paul's classroom, he was pushing aside tables and creating a big dance floor.

"Hi," she said quietly, trying not to let her excitement show.

"Hi," he replied, face lighting up.

She peeled off her sweater and pulled off her jeans, revealing a leotard and tights.

Paul stared, open-mouthed.

"Is this…" she gulped, "not okay?"

"Wha? Oh, no, you look great." Paul tore his eyes away from her form-fitting clothes and thought of his wife. What was her name again? Terri! Yeah, Terri. You're married, Paul reminded himself. (But if he was being honest, it wasn't much of a marriage these days. More of a cohabitation of convenience.) "I thought we'd start with a fast song to get us loosened up," he continued.

Kathy nodded. Paul went over to his CD player. "Hey Kath? I'm really excited about this," he blurted out.

Kathy's breath caught in her throat. "Yea…yes. So exciting," she breathed. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. But it was too late now.

Paul pressed play and the song began. Kathy laughed when she recognized it: Sisqo's "Thong Song."

He began rapping along with the lyrics and dancing around Kathy in a circle. She followed his motions, and when he got to "Baby, move your butt, butt, butt," he backed up against her and she blushed scarlet.

Overall, it went well. Dancing with Paul was a little awkward, but he was patient in teaching her some easy steps, and the silliness of the song helped to break the tension.

During the last verse, Paul spun her too quickly and they ended up in a heap on the floor, laughing and groaning. She sat up slightly and realized she was straddling him. "Are…are you okay?" she muttered.

Paul laughed nervously. "Uh-huh." Kathy untangled their limbs quickly and stood up.

"I think that's enough for today. Thanks so much, Paul." She didn't wait for him to answer before racing out of the classroom. She paused in the hall outside, heart pounding. She hated herself for this. Paul was a good man. He was not going to leave his wife for her. She had to get that silly little fantasy out of her head.

~L~

Ralph was outlining the upcoming plays for his teammates in the locker room. "That's the plan, alright?" Ralph concluded.

"No." Karoffski stood up, glaring at Ralph.

Derek stood up as well. "No?" he said incredulously.

Karoffski smirked. "I'm starting to question your friend's leadership abilities," he explained. A few other guys nodded.

"Yeah, maybe you're having trouble making good choices," another player told Ralph. "As in, for instance, choosing to join 'Homo Explosion.'"

"Are you kidding me?" Ralph's eyes flickered to Derek, and Derek nodded, encouraging him to stand up for himself. "Do you not remember what glee did for the football team? It's good for athletes to have dancing skills."

"What has glee done for me lately?" Karoffski fired back. "We're taking a bunch of heat, because you and Derek like kissing dudes all of a sudden."

Derek had heard enough. He came at Karoffski and got him in a headlock. Ralph and some other guys rushed in as well, and the players scuffled until Coach Tanaka came in to see what all the fuss was about.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" He pulled Derek and Ralph away from the guys they were fighting. "You're not being team players!"

"It's Papadopoulos," Karoffski growled, pointing a finger in Ralph's direction. "I'm surprised he was even man enough to knock up Sally Albright. You sure a real man didn't sneak in there and do it for ya?"

Ralph struggled out of Coach Tanaka's grip and came at Karoffski again, eyes blazing, Derek at his heels. But the coach blew his whistle. "Enough!" he bellowed furiously. "Break it up!"

Derek and Ralph backed off reluctantly.

"Everybody! Take a knee! Now!"

The players got down on their knees as Coach Tanaka surveyed them angrily. "What if you had broken a bone?" he asked them. "We'd be worse off than we already are. Hockey is war! And no one single man can win that war, not even if they strap nukes on him. I want you to start acting like a team again! You need to be of singular purpose! I want you to start hanging more. Spend more time together." Derek, Ralph, and Karoffski rolled their eyes, but the coach was adamant. "That's why, starting next week, I'm adding extra practice on Thursdays at three-thirty."

"But Coach, that's when glee rehearses," Ralph protested. Derek elbowed him in the gut, and he realized that hadn't been the brightest thing to say.

"I have had it up to here with Paul and glee," Coach Tanaka fumed. He had held a bit of a grudge against Paul ever since the failed Acafellas experiment. "Here's the story." He looked from Ralph to Derek and back again. "That practice is mandatory. No exceptions. So you're going to have to choose what's more important to you. Hockey, or," he smirked condescendingly, "glee club."

Ralph hung his head. How could he make that choice?

~L~

That night, the Venturis were finally coming to the McDonalds' house for dinner. Casey was not happy. She couldn't fake an illness, or pretend she had too much homework. She had to be sociable. All night. With Derek.

Her mother was a nervous wreck, checking and re-checking the casserole, pacing in front of the door. When the Venturis finally arrived, though, Casey was comforted by the huge grin on her mother's face. She could tell how much she liked George.

Casey liked George, too. Dinner was nice. He seemed interested in her life, especially glee club. And his kids were pretty cute (the youngest two, of course, not the oldest one).

After dinner, though, things became awkward very quickly. The three youngest, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti, raced upstairs, giggling and laughing, and shut themselves in Lizzie's room.

Casey's mother gave her a tight-lipped smile and a nod of the head that clearly said, "Go entertain Derek, I want to be alone with George."

Ew. Casey rolled her eyes and motioned for Derek to follow her upstairs. "Come on, let's go work on our mash-up for glee," she said without thinking.

George's eyes widened. "You joined glee, too, Derek?"

Derek put an arm around Casey's shoulder and squeezed way too tight. She tried not to let it show. She deserved it, after all. She had no business spilling people's secrets, even if this was Derek's.

Derek plastered a smile on his face. "Uh, yeah, Dad. I thought it would be a good way for Casey and me to get to know each other."

"Aww." Casey's mother sighed happily. "That's wonderful." Both adults looked at them with such sappy faces that Casey couldn't bear to disappoint them with the truth.

"We'd better get to work," she said quickly, dragging Derek upstairs by his wrist. When they reached her bedroom, she slammed the door shut and pushed him onto her bed roughly with both hands, trying to remain in control of the situation. He smirked, but said nothing, and Casey didn't catch the innuendo.

"I'm sorry I spilled about glee. But your dad was okay with it. So can we just drop it?"

Derek made himself comfortable, leaning on one elbow and gazing up at her with a pitying look. She was so naïve. "When I have I ever let you off the hook that easily?"

"I'll make it up to you, I swear," Casey said, hoping he didn't have too nasty a punishment in mind.

"Do my mash-up for me," he said, and she bit her lip.

"That's all you want?"

"Of course. I enjoy making you miserable, you know that. But like you said, my dad didn't care. I didn't think he would, honestly. I just didn't want the reason I joined glee to get around."

"That reason being…?" Casey sat across from him in her desk chair and leaned forward. She didn't understand why she was even interested, but she had to admit, Derek was definitely unpredictable.

"Like I would tell you…You can't keep a secret!" He grinned triumphantly at her.

Casey threw up her hands. "You are so frustrating!"

"Thank you." Derek smiled at her, and she blushed and looked away. He certainly was a charmer.

"So, I was thinking of starting with Christina Aguilera for the mash-up," Casey said finally. "How about 'What a Girl Wants'?"

Derek nodded, clearly not that interested. "Sure."

She began singing, trying to run through the music in her head as she worked out the beat and flow of the song.

Derek watched her intently. It wasn't fair that she was so pretty. It really wasn't. And it wasn't his fault she was such an easy target at school – she was a keener loser. He was obligated to make her life miserable. It was the law of high school. So why was he enjoying his current view so much? Casey in a tight white shirt, chest area a little lacking, but she made up for it with those mile-long legs, and that short skirt that rode up her thighs the way she was sitting…

"Can we take a break?" Derek was going to have to make a dash for the bathroom if her skirt rode up any higher.

Casey stopped mid-lyric. She was uncomfortable with the way Derek was looking at her, but in a way, it felt good. Like Ralph had looked at her right before the first time they kissed…

Oh, crap. "O…okay," Casey choked out. Maybe he had the hots for Christina, and it was just her singing that song made him all…like that. It was possible, right?

The next words out of Derek's mouth were, "You wanna make out?"

As each syllable escaped his lips, it reverberated around Casey's bedroom and seemed to echo. Her eyes went wide, but Derek looked so earnest. She could see the warmth in his expression when he looked at her, and misplaced affection or not, she may as well get some action. At least that's what she convinced herself in the three seconds it took for her to say, "…Sure."

This is crazy, Derek thought to himself as he pinned Casey against her pillow, lips finding hers and crashing against them eagerly. She pulled him further on top of her, tugging at his shirt collar, as if she was afraid to actually touch his skin. He moved his own hands to tangle through her hair, and she placed a few tentative fingers against his cheek. He rolled her over so that she was on top, and her legs slid along either side of his. Derek flicked his tongue out against her lips, but she wasn't having it. Giving up on that, he moved his hands to her hips, kneading the skin there. She responded by pulling his face even closer to hers, sucking on his bottom lip until his head went completely foggy.

But in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but continue to feel how wrong this was. And yet not. At all.

It all stemmed from a Venturi family dinner conversation the night before. They were discussing the impending visit to the McDonalds', and Marti was talking about how much she liked Casey's clothes.

Derek patted Marti on the head. "Oh, Marti. If only you knew the hag inside them, you'd feel so differently."

"Derek," his father warned, "Be nice. Casey's a very pretty girl. And she's sweet, too. You should get to know her better. I understand you ignore each other at school."

"Ignore is a strong word," Derek insisted. Casey obviously hadn't mentioned the slushie facials. He was relieved about that. "We just don't see each other much. We don't have the same classes."

George looked unconvinced. "All right, well, no more teasing her. She's not even here to defend herself. And," he pointed his fork at him, "no teasing tomorrow night, either. Try to get along with her, for my sake."

Derek nodded, all smiles. "Sure, Dad. I promise to try, but I'm not promising results."

So it had been an enormous stroke of luck that Casey had outed him as a fellow glee clubber the next night. It would get his father off of his back for awhile, at least.

But he had had to go and call her pretty, something Derek had been stubbornly denying to himself since the first day they'd met. He was convinced that his dad's offhand comment had been the source of his strange encounter later that night.

He thought at first that Casey was really standing there, in his bedroom. But he knew it was a dream because there was no way Casey could have climbed up the wall outside his window with no shoes on. No shoes, but she was wearing a flowing white nightgown that glowed in the moonlight. Her hair was down and wavy. She looked like an angel. She reached out a hand towards him in his bed…

Then he woke up. He realized right away that it was more than a dream. It was a message from God. Casey was hot, and he needed to get into her pants. It would take away his frustration; help explain that strange pull he felt towards her. All he needed was to break the sexual tension, and he could stop obsessing over her.

Besides, he realized with a rare stroke of genius, if he started dating Casey, his father would surely have to break up with Casey's mother. There is no way they'd get married if they thought their children would be going at it all time when they lived under the same roof.

Derek tried to focus on his current position underneath this gorgeous and frustrating girl, but his head began spinning with all of the thoughts and emotions and the feel of her hair and her breasts rubbing against him and her legs sliding along his…it was all too much.

He opened his eyes and pushed her away gently. He didn't want to mention it because he figured she'd get defensive, but his heart swelled when he saw that as their lips disconnected, she had a contented smile on her face. The D-Man still has it!

"We should stop," he said groggily, struggling to get his voice level.

Casey nodded, still a little starry-eyed. "Yuh…" She swallowed. "Yeah."

Derek propped himself up on his elbows as she clumsily disentangled their limbs. She tugged down her skirt so it wouldn't ride up as she hopped up off the bed. She stood over him uncomfortably, obviously searching for something to say. Derek, in a snap judgment that was based solely off of the way she was biting her lip, decided to tell her about his little scheme. Better to play this off as a calculated maneuver. That way neither of them would have to get all goopy and talk about feelings.

"That was a great start. I think we can make this work," Derek said confidently, as if they had been in the middle of a conversation. (Well, they had been, sort of. Just not a verbal one.)

"Huh?" Casey sat down next to him on the bed, very careful to make sure no parts of their bodies touched. "Great start?" she repeated, still a little dazed.

"You see, I, Derek Venturi, am a genius." He smirked.

Casey's eyebrows furrowed. "Care to explain a little further?"

"Look, the reason I wanted to kiss you…it was just an experiment."

Casey's eyes flickered downward…Was that disappointment he saw? Whatever it was, she did a good job of brushing it off. "Go on."

"I have this brilliant plan. If you and I date, well, if you and I pretend to date, then we can break our parents up and we'll only have to see each other at school."

"What?" Casey's eyes were definitely full of enthusiasm this time. It was Derek's turn to feel a pang of disappointment. Do I really mean that little to her?

"Yeah, see, there is no way our parents are going to get married if they think we're together. They won't want us living in the same house. Get it?"

"Ooh." Casey clasped her hands together. "That's a great idea!"

"Of course it is. I told you I was a genius."

Casey stuck her tongue out at him, but all that did for Derek was invite dirty thoughts about what that tongue could do.

"Uh…" He cleared his throat. "So, what do you say we pretend to date this week at school, really get a feel for it, and if we can make it look convincing to our friends, we'll definitely convince our parents."

"Sounds like a plan. One week of secrecy, and then we'll commence Operation Parental Breakup." She held out her hand for him to shake.

He nodded. "Deal." But instead of shaking her hand, he leaned in for a kiss. Casey willingly obliged, and it probably would have gotten out of hand again if George hadn't called up the stairs that it was time to leave.

When Derek and his family were gone, Casey remade her bed (they had rumpled the sheets a bit with all their rolling around), and tried very hard not to think about the fact that kissing Derek had been just as exhilarating, if not more so, as kissing Ralph. It's just that he's a good kisser, she kept telling herself. It was just for fun. It has nothing to do with feelings. He doesn't see it that way, so why should I?

They were on a mission, darn it. They needed to keep focused on Operation Parental Breakup. All the same, she spent extra time getting ready for school the next morning, making sure her hair and makeup were perfect.

~L~

Derek carried his slushie through the halls the next day. He typically enjoyed the panicked look on people's faces as he strode past, but today, no one paid any attention to him, probably because his smile was a mile wide. There would be no assaults today, and everyone knew it.

Except Casey.

When he reached her locker, she sucked in her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, ready to take her slushie in the face.

She had forgotten that Derek was her "boyfriend" now. To her surprise, Derek held the slushie out to her and plucked a straw from behind his ear. "I picked it up for you when I was buying nachos. It's grape. I know that's your favorite because the last time I tossed a grape one in your face, you licked your lips before you cleaned yourself off."

Casey stared at him, blinking rapidly. She couldn't see a hint of deception in his warm gaze, and that unnerved her and excited her at the same time. Either he was taking this scheme way too seriously, or he was starting to tolerate her. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she took the slushie anyway. It smelled okay. And grape really was her favorite.

Derek noticed her hesitancy but kept talking as if everything was normal. He couldn't begin to earn her trust (let alone respect) if he kept being a jerk to her at school, and this "Operation" was the best way to do that without admitting how he really felt about her. "So, you want to keep working together on the mash-up?"

Things happened pretty fast from that point. Getting Casey to make out with him again was easier than he thought. His dad worked late, and Edwin and Marti had after-school activities, so they had the Venturi house to themselves all afternoon. He couldn't help but think that maybe she was just desperate, but when her tongue slid past his teeth, he knew it had to be more than that. He was pretty sure you had to be a pretty special guy to get to French kiss Casey McDonald.

But that illusion was shattered a few minutes later when she removed his hands from tracing circles on her thighs and pushed herself off of him.

"You okay, baby?" he asked gently.

Casey paled. "I can't do this." She sat up and tried to compose herself. She had almost moaned his name a few seconds ago. But not the name "Derek." Nope, she was picturing Ralph, and that scared her.

"Why?" Derek brushed her hair from her face. "This is one of the perks of our little plan. We're a couple of good lookin' kids, why shouldn't we make out?" He leaned in to start things up again, but she backed away.

"I can't give myself to someone who isn't…" She was about to say "Ralph," but thought better of it. "…isn't brave enough to sing a solo." She was quite proud of herself for coming up with that one. "If you don't have the guts to do that, then…then how are you going to be bold enough to deal with the ups and downs of pretending to love an admittedly high-maintenance girl like me?"

Derek flinched. "Are you questioning my badass-ness?" he asked, rolling up his sleeves. "Have you seen my guns?"

Casey looked at his arms approvingly but shook her head. "Derek, I'm sorry…your arms are lovely, but…I just don't see this working out."

Suddenly Derek understood. She didn't want to have sex with him; that much was clear. But she was also an innocent. Operation Parental Breakup wasn't her style. He had been presumptuous to think that he could mask his attraction with some juvenile scheme.

"So, you're just giving up?" He crossed his arms and frowned.

Casey shrugged. "I'm really sorry." She thought of Ralph again. As naïve as she knew it was, she wanted Ralph to be her first. And if she kept up these makeout sessions with Derek, pretend or not, she was going to end up letting herself go too far. A girl's got to have her standards.

~L~

The glee clubbers were chatting and laughing the next day, waiting for Paul to arrive. Casey didn't feel much like singing at the moment, but she was a professional: the show must go on.

"Hey guys," Paul greeted them as he entered the choir room. "So, any ideas for the mash-up?"

The room got quiet.

"Anybody?" He smiled mischievously. "Come on, guys! It's like you're daring me to start dancing!"

He was met with a chorus of playful "No!"s.

"You know I will!" Paul teased.

Derek picked up Noel's guitar and announced, "I've been working on something."

Paul didn't bother to hide his delight. "Oh yeah? What is it?"

Derek's eyes flickered to Casey, and the other members were silent, waiting to see what Derek could possibly have up his sleeve. "I was inspired," he said, smiling at Casey. "This is a tribute to a musical icon."

"Fantastic." Paul took a seat and motioned for Derek to go ahead.

Derek didn't know much about Neil Diamond, but he had seen a greatest hits CD of his in Casey's room, so he knew she liked him.

He strummed the opening of "Sweet Caroline" and Casey's eyes lit up, and he knew he'd made the right choice.

"Where it began, I can't begin to know when, but then I know it's growing strong. Wasn't the spring, and then spring became summer…"

His eyes never left Casey's, and her smile got wider and wider. Noel and Sam exchanged bemused glances. Sally and Ralph looked at each other as well, unsure of what to think about this interesting development.

"Who'd have believed you'd come along? Hands…touching hands…"

Sheldon and Emily touched hands and giggled, as did Max and Amy.

"Reaching out…touching me…touching you…" Derek held the note and winked at Casey, who blushed.

Ralph sat up straighter. What the heck had gotten into Derek?

Kendra crossed her arms and pouted. She and Derek were over, that was for sure, but that didn't mean he was supposed to move on to Casey. Ugh.

"Sweet Caroline…"

The rest of glee joined in on the "bah bah bah" section, some more enthusiastically than others.

"Good times never seemed so good…" Derek knew that he was getting some odd stares from his friends, but at that moment he didn't care. He was singing to Casey, for Casey. She wanted a man who was bold enough for a solo? He'd do a thousand solos if that meant he could get into her pants…or you know, her heart, cheesy as that sounds.

He really started rocking out during the last verse, holding the notes for as long as he could. The other club members, and Paul, were swaying with smiles on their faces, contributing to the harmony.

Sally was caught up in Derek's performance more than anyone. She had a million different thoughts running through her mind, but the most prominent one made her wonder why she had rejected Derek so forcefully. Maybe he was a good guy after all.

When he was finished, all Derek could see was Casey's joyful face. She nodded at him, and he knew he was back in her good graces. The sound of the others clapping slowly made it through the Casey-fog to his brain, and he bowed as the applause continued.

~L~

Ralph and Sally were traveling through the hallway incognito – both clad in thick black sunglasses.

"You know, I really think this is working," Ralph whispered. "I think we look super cool!"

"I'm proud of you, Ralph. I'm proud of us," Sally replied.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be popular. It just means you want people to like you. I think that's healthy."

Sally grinned good-naturedly at his take on the situation. "I totally agree."

"Being popular means you can have it all."

They turned the corner and came face-to-face with Ralph's (former) hockey buddies…the same ones who used to help Derek torture guys like Sheldon. They were all holding giant slushie cups.

"Ya thirsty?" one of them taunted.

Sally tensed, but Ralph didn't catch on to the hostile vibe in the hallway. "Sure, thanks," he said, reaching for the nearest cup.

Before he could grab it, six or seven slushies hit Sally at Ralph at once, from all sides.

"You can't do this!" Ralph roared, whipping off his sunglasses. Slushie dripped down his forehead and into his eyes.

"Oh, you think that's bad?" Karoffski snarled. "Just imagine what's gonna happen if you don't show up to practice on Thursday and quit that little glee club for good."

Ralph paled. Sally was still standing immobile, mouth open. Those slushies were cold.

"Bros before heigh-ho's, dude," Karoffski said with a cruel chuckle. "Don't forget that."

He led the rest of the players away, leaving Sally and Ralph shivering in the middle of the hall.

~L~

If Paul had predicted what he'd be doing in the auditorium with Ryan Sylvester, the very last thing on the list would have been teaching him to swing dance.

But that was exactly what he was doing. Ryan's mother wanted to enter a swing competition, and he had agreed to be her partner. Paul knew that since it was uncharacteristically sweet of Ryan to want to help someone, even family, he couldn't possibly turn the kid down.

It wasn't easy, but somehow they got through an entire song without any mistakes. Paul had to teach Ryan to lead, even though Paul was used to leading, so it was a pretty funny situation. They were both smiling. Paul could see that Ryan felt a real sense of accomplishment.

This was what Paul loved about performing. It transformed people. Look at Derek and Casey: last week they could barely look at each other, now it was puppy love. He was extremely happy to see that the tension between them had disappeared. They seemed completely at ease with each other, and though Paul had to admit he was shocked Derek had opened up his heart to her, it made a certain degree of sense. They complimented each other well. He wondered what their parents thought about them together, but didn't want to ask; he didn't want to intrude on what could possibly be a delicate family situation.

His interactions with Ryan were still as antagonistic as ever, but Paul could feel that a weight had been lifted. They had reached an impasse after their conversation in Ryan's office the week before.

They finished the number, laughing so hard their sides hurt. They were out of breath, and leaned on each other so they wouldn't collapse from exhaustion.

Paul recovered and gave Ryan a high-five. "That was amazing," he told him sincerely. Ryan nodded. "You know, I have to admit, at first when you suggested I teach you a few steps, I was hesitant," Paul went on. "Since you were so horrible to me and the glee kids when Lassiter made you co-director." He handed Ryan a bottle of water, and took a long sip from his own bottle. They both sat on the edge of the stage.

"Well, live and let learn, my friend," Ryan said with a wink.

"That is ultimately what I got to," Paul agreed. "It's nice not being at each other's throats."

"You know, you're right. I don't know how else to say this, but I'm so happy. My mother asked me to take her to the second annual Allen County Sickle-Cell Anemia Dance-a-thon. With your tutelage, Paul, we can take home that blue ribbon like two prize heifers."

Paul laughed. He wondered why this was such a big deal for Ryan. Maybe he was getting financial support from his parents at home, but not that much emotional support. It explained a lot about his personality. Paul briefly wondered where his father was, but didn't say anything. Ryan had never once been in to see him in a guidance counselor capacity, and now Paul regretted never initiating the meeting himself. "I was wondering why you asked me for dance lessons."

"Oh, well, Kitty just raved about you," Ryan explained.

He inwardly rolled his eyes. Ryan just could not get the hang of Kathy's name, first or last. "I have to say, I'm touched," he smiled. "I'm glad you're happy. You've been so nice. And you've been so cool about Sally Albright, and you know, her situation."

"Yeah, she's just a confused kid. The least I can offer her is my compassion."

Ryan was what, two years older than her? Paul couldn't believe how wise he sounded. He wished he could see this side of Ryan more often.

"But you, mister," Ryan gave him a friendly punch on the arm. "The Ryan Sylvester who has been obsessed with sabotaging your every move is now just a distant memory."

Paul put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "That's great, Ryan."

"Now all I feel for you is sympathy. Whether it be for your sham of a marriage, or the fact that Coach Tanaka's finally laying down the law with regard to glee club."

Paul removed his hand and ran it through his hair. "Wait…what?" The first part of Ryan's statement had bypassed him completely; he needed to know what was going on with glee.

Ryan stood and looked down at Paul. "Yeah. Tanaka's making the kids choose. And I mean come on, let's be honest. What kid's gonna choose glee club over hockey? That'd be ridiculous." With that, Ryan walked away, leaving Paul's stomach somewhere around his ankles.

~L~

"Hey!" Paul strode purposefully into the boys' locker room. "Ken!"

Ken Tanaka emerged from his office and made a "What?" gesture with his arms.

"You wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" Paul asked, as nicely as possible with the tone he was using. "You know I have a standing glee rehearsal on Thursday. We sat down and worked out a schedule when some of your guys joined the club."

Ken folded his arms. "Circumstances have changed. I have a serious morale issue with my team, and it's my responsibility to fix it."

Paul didn't have an answer for that.

"Sorry if me doing my job interferes with your club," Ken said, not sounding sorry at all.

"Ken, we've known each other for years. Your commitment to hockey is about as long as your pants!"

"Yeah, well that was before you turned my guys into fruity dancing fairies!" He stormed into his office and slammed the door.

"Hey!" Paul went to the door and knocked. "So do I get Sam, Derek, and Ralph on Thursday?"

Ken opened the door a crack. "You keep your rehearsal, and I'll keep my practice. We'll let the kids decide who's first choice." Then he shut it again, and Paul knew the conversation wasn't going to get anywhere. He returned to his office. There was nothing to do but wait it out and see if Ralph, Derek, and Sam would come through for him.

~L~

Derek and Casey had begun traveling the halls arm in arm. Casey nodded to Emily and Sheldon, who were walking the opposite direction holding hands. The two couples exchanged hellos, and Derek pulled Casey tighter.

"Tell me more," he said, and Casey launched back into her discussion of past Tony winners.

He didn't give a darn about the Tonys or whoever Tommy Tune was. But the look on her face as they strolled the halls together gave him such a high, he could have listened to her talk all day. Whether Casey knew it or not, she was no longer pretending to like Derek. She was into him for real. Derek didn't want to risk scaring her off, so he didn't mention it. He was too busy getting lost in her blue eyes, anyway.

They still hadn't told their parents. They were enjoying the secrecy: the private glances at dinners, the playing footsie when no one else was looking, the making out in each other's bedrooms when their parents thought they were "studying" together. But at school, they could be themselves. And Derek wanted nothing more than to show her off as his. She may have started out as a keener loser, but no guy at McKinley could deny how hot she was. And Derek still had enough street cred, despite being in glee, that people had left them alone so far.

When Casey was done her discussion of musicals (at least for the moment), Derek pulled her closer and said, "So, I want your honest opinion. How was my mash-up solo?"

"You're still missing the elusive high B," she said thoughtfully. "That's a brass ring for a baritenor. I had to work on it for weeks with Ralph before he got it."

Derek grimaced. If anyone else had said it, it would have been an insult, but Derek knew by now that it was actually a compliment: she really thought he'd be able to get that high B. The part that troubled Derek was the fact that Casey was still thinking about Ralph. He had been avoiding his friend, knowing that even though Ralph was with Sally, he had every right to call Derek out on dating Casey. After all, Derek knew what had gone on between them, at least the basics, and while Derek was sure Ralph loved Sally, he knew Ralph had slight feelings of attraction for Casey. And Derek didn't want things to be awkward between him and Ralph. So he had pretty much ignored him since he had started "going out" with Casey. Not the best solution, he knew, but Derek didn't want to fight with his best friend.

All of Derek's insecurities about Ralph were alleviated when Casey pulled him against the lockers and put her arms around his neck. "You're a great performer, Derek. I just want to say how proud I am to have you on my arm in front of the whole high school." She grasped his hands and leaned in to kiss him, and Derek didn't think twice about kissing back.

She had realized right away that mentioning Ralph wasn't the best idea. She had a feeling Derek could tell she was still a little hung up on him. But that didn't mean that what she had with Derek wasn't real. It was never supposed to be, but in the last few days, Operation Parental Breakup had been put on the back burner, and she was just enjoying being his girlfriend. Besides, their parents hadn't known each other that long. They wouldn't get married anytime soon.

The first bell rang, and Derek reluctantly pulled away from Casey. They headed back down the hall arm-in-arm, and before either could react, Derek was slushied in the face by Karoffski.

The force of it threw him backwards, and knocked the wind out of him. As soon as he could open his eyes, he scanned the hall for Karoffski, but the jerk was already gone. Casey put a hand over her mouth. She never would have thought Derek would be a target!

Casey led him into the girls' room and grabbed a folding chair from against the wall. She set it up in front of one of the sinks and helped Derek sit down. She stripped off his shirt and hung it over a stall door.

He sat in silence, watching her moving around. Finally, she cupped his chin and leaned him back against the sink. She ran her hands through his hair, rinsing the slushie out of it.

"You're pretty good at this," Derek murmured, still shell-shocked by what had just happened.

Casey smiled. "I've had a lot of practice. You're actually a lot luckier than Sally and me. You have much less hair." She pulled a towel out of her bookbag and dried his head, then his chest.

He put his hand over hers as she rubbed the towel over his skin. "I'm really sorry I ever did this to you," he said quietly. Casey could tell that Derek did not apologize for things very often, so this meant a lot.

"That's okay," she replied, sitting on his lap. His head was still leaning back into the sink, and he raised it slightly to look at her.

"No, it isn't." He put his arm around her waist and rubbed absently at her hip. "I had no idea what it was like. No one deserves this feeling."

Casey looked down sadly while Derek kept talking. "You know what the worst part is? It's not the burning in your eyes, or the way the slushie drips all the way into your underpants…it's…it's the humiliation." Casey nodded slowly. "I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment. And you know I don't do tears. Casey…I'm sorry, but today when the clock chimes three-thirty…"

Casey finished his sentence for him. "You're choosing hockey over glee, which means we probably can't be together anymore." She choked back tears, and gave him a small smile.

"Yes," Derek nodded. "This whole plan was never a good idea. We come from different worlds."

Casey shrugged. "That may be true. But either way, I don't want to be your sister. Can't we still get the Operation back on track…"

"My heart's not in it, Case. If we ever get to tell our parents we're together, it will be because we're really together, not because we cooked up some scheme to keep them apart."

It was as close to an admission of his true feelings as Casey was going to get, but she was touched.

"I feel the same way about you." Casey planted a soft kiss on his forehead, and slowly got up off of his lap, pulling him up too. They held his shirt under the hand dryer together, eyes locked. They wanted to treasure their last moments as a couple.

~L~

Paul looked up excitedly as Kathy entered his classroom. They were going to try out a slow song on their lunch hour.

"What did you choose?" Paul asked.

Kathy held up a CD. "'I Could Have Danced All Night'."

"My Fair Lady, excellent!" Paul loaded the CD and the music began.

Paul showed Kathy the opening positions for the waltz. Paul bowed; Kathy curtsied.

Then the song began, and Paul counted aloud to help Kathy with her footwork.

"I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night, and still have begged for more," Kathy sang to herself. The lyrics could not have been more fitting for her current situation…floating in Paul's arms.

"I could have spread my wings, and done a thousand things I've never done before…"

Paul lifted Kathy and spun her right at the lyric about her heart taking flight.

"I only know when he began to dance with me, I could have danced, danced, danced all night!"

When the song ended, Paul dipped her, and they held that position until the music stopped.

Kathy looked up into Paul's eyes and tried to read his thoughts. But he seemed to be concentrating on a spot somewhere over her head. "Yeah. Good," Paul said, abruptly pulling them upwards and breaking the contact. Kathy's face fell; he seemed angry. But within seconds, he was back to his jovial self.

"So, today's the big showdown," he joked, though he was truly worried.

Kathy nodded sympathetically. "That's right. I'm sure everything will work out, Paul."

"Yeah, well, unless all the athletes choose glee, we won't have enough members for sectionals."

"Then glee is over," Kathy agreed sadly.

"I know." Paul leaned forward and gave her a hug. "Wish me luck."

Kathy hugged him back, savoring the moment, even though it came from a depressing place. "Good luck."

~L~

Casey, Sally, Kendra, Max, Amy, Sandra, Noel, Sheldon, and Emily stared at the choir room clock. It was 3:29.

Paul came over to join them. "Hey guys," he said softly.

The clock hand moved to 3:30, and ten faces turned toward the doorway. After several seconds, Paul hung his head. "I guess they're not coming. Sorry, guys."

"I can't believe this," Emily sighed. "I thought they were our friends. How can they just abandon us?"

Casey knew how. They had their priorities, and she had hers. It wasn't fair to just assume they'd match up. A week before, she never would have believed Derek capable of being responsible and compassionate. But today, she knew he had wrestled with his choice, and she respected him for making it, even though it made her ache inside.

Sam entered the room, and the ten people already in it let out sighs of relief. Emily and Sandra ran over to hug him, and he rejoined the group with a smile. He exchanged fist bumps with Noel, Max, and Sheldon.

"Are the others coming?" Paul asked nervously.

"I dunno. JV's a little different. They won't miss me at their practice. But varsity…" he shrugged, and Paul's face fell.

The clock turned to 3:31.

A few moments later, Derek came shuffling through the door, hands in his pockets. There was a collective gasp when everyone saw him, and Casey wasted no time in throwing herself into his arms.

"Are you sure about this, Derek?" she asked into his neck. "Choosing us over the team means you might get a slushie in your face every day."

He gripped her tighter, and looked over her shoulder to the rest of glee. "Bring it!" he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

They laughed, and he picked Casey up and spun her around before grabbing her hand and leading her over to the rest of the club, where he took turns high-fiving everyone.

Now only Ralph was left. The eleven members and Paul stared at the doorway, but it remained empty.

"Where's Ralph?" Noel asked Sally.

Sally looked pained, but didn't answer. She knew she probably would have made the same choice he was making, but she didn't care about glee like Ralph did. He loved it.

Over at the hockey rink, Ralph was suited up and ready to go. He felt sick to his stomach for ditching his friends, but he knew it was for the best. He couldn't go through high school a teen father, a glee clubber, and a hockey player. One of them had to go. As he skated onto the ice, the team clapped. He stopped right in front of Coach Tanaka, who just nodded and said, "Okay, let's get started."

~L~

The slushie wars continued. The next week, a new slushie-er navigated the halls, searching for his target. He bypassed Sam, Noel, and Emily, who were clad in multicolored raincoats. They ducked anyway.

He stopped at Casey and Sheldon, who were chatting by Sheldon's locker. They too were in full rain gear.

When Sheldon saw who it was, he turned and faced him. "Do it."

"I really don't want to, honestly," Ralph whined. "Besides, I know how picky you are about what products you use on your face."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "But you've been getting so much pressure from the gorillas on the hockey team. I guess they didn't appreciate me resigning from the football team and choosing glee, is that why I'm your target?"

"Yeah, it probably would have gone over better if you didn't announce it in the showers," Ralph said with a shrug.

Emily, Noel, and Sam had reached them by this point, and stood behind Ralph, glaring at his back.

"You are not gonna slushie my man," Emily spoke up, walking past Ralph and putting her arm around Sheldon.

"You two are official now?" Ralph asked, looking happy for them.

Emily and Sheldon smiled at each other. "I guess so," Emily said.

"Em, Ralph's made his choice," Casey interjected. She put a hand on her shoulder and glared at Ralph. "He doesn't care about us losers anymore."

"Aw, that's not true," Ralph moaned, clearly frustrated. "But if I don't do it, the guys on the team are gonna kick the crap out of me. Derek's not around anymore to keep them from getting violent."

Sheldon let go of Emily and stepped forward. "Well, we can't have that, can we?" He grabbed the slushie cup out of Ralph's hands.

"What are you doing?"

"It's called taking one for the team." And with that, he tossed the slushie into his own face. It splattered a little on Casey and Emily, who jumped back and shrieked. Sam's and Noel's mouths dropped open.

Sheldon wiped the slushie out of his eyes. "Now get out of here. And take some time to think about whether or not any of your 'friends' on the hockey team would have done that for you."

Ralph looked like he wanted to help his dripping friend, but wasn't sure what to do, so with a horrified groan, he ran off.

Sheldon wiped more slushie off his face, and Emily and Casey rushed him into the nearest girls' room to clean him up. Noel and Sam watched them go.

"Man," Sam shook his head. "Crazy."

"I know." Noel sighed. "Why can't we all just get along?"

~L~

Derek sat on the bleachers at the ice rink, watching his former teammates play. Casey spotted him and walked over. She had figured he'd be there, sulking.

"You miss it?" she asked, sitting down next to him and snuggling against his chest. He didn't put his arm around her.

"Hell, no."

"I hope…" Casey looked down and tried again. "I hope you didn't choose glee over hockey because of me."

"Why?"

"We both know this relationship isn't going to work out." She had thought long and hard about her decision, and knew it was for the best.

Derek slid away from her. "That's cool. I was going to break up with you anyway."

"No, you weren't." Casey eyed him carefully. She desperately wanted him to fight for her, but knew it wasn't his style.

"Yes, I was." Derek refused to look at her.

"Derek—"

"My dad bought a ring."

"What?" Casey grabbed his hand, and he finally looked at her. His expression was hard to read.

"Yeah. I don't know when he'll propose, but it might be soon. So that's it. They'll never believe us now if we say we're together. My dad will know it's a reaction to the ring."

"But like you said…what if it's real between us?" Casey's lip quivered.

"Doesn't matter. We can't, Casey. They'd watch our every move. If we even lasted long enough to get to the wedding, that is. Look at how much trouble we're having, just being together at school."

"It was good for awhile." Casey rested against him again, and this time he put his arm around her.

"But just not good enough."

They sat quietly for a moment, until Derek spoke again. "You still like Ralph, don't you?"

Casey nodded against him, and he couldn't see her face, but he could tell she was trying to keep from crying.

"He's never going to leave Sally. Not with that baby in her belly." Derek watched Ralph out on the ice, thinking of everything Ralph was giving up for his child. Derek's child.

"Do you like Sally?" She lifted her head to look at him.

"No," Derek scoffed uneasily. "What makes you say that?"

Casey shrugged. "Just the way you look at her sometimes."

"We had a thing awhile back, that's all." Derek decided that that was close enough to the truth.

"Oh. Well, you're probably right. Ralph and Sally won't break up now."

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Derek, tell me the truth. Why did you join glee?"

Derek sighed. "A few reasons…but mostly because of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My dad told me I should make an effort to get to know you better."

Casey palmed his cheek. "If that's what you want me to believe, I'll buy it."

Derek smirked and kissed the tip of her nose. "You're too smart for your own good."

"So, back to being a jerk?" Casey asked teasingly. But she was also kind of serious. She didn't want their current bond to disappear.

"I have to protect my rep," Derek replied. "But no more slushie facials for you. I promise. I'll try to keep the hockey guys away from all of us in glee, too, if I can."

"Thanks." She started to pull away from him. "I should go."

He held her to him. "Not yet."

"Why prolong this? Our relationship was built on a fantasy. Like every other one in my life." She glanced out at Ralph again.

"I hope we can still be friends," Derek said, trying not to sound too eager.

Casey shook her head. "We weren't friends before."

Derek had no answer for that, because she was right.

"I'll see you at the next 'family' dinner," she said, eyes filling with tears as she got up to leave.

"Case…" He stood up as well and grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her one last, gentle kiss. She leaned into him and breathed him in, trying to memorize how good she felt in that moment. She would need the memory to get her through what she could already tell would be tough times ahead. She'd have to see him in glee, and at their houses, and in the halls. It wasn't going to be easy to stay away from him. But somehow, she'd do it.

~L~

Later that day, Ralph was working in his front yard when Paul drove up. He got out, holding a Nerf ball. He needed to talk to Ralph with no distractions, no other students around.

"Hey Ralph, wanna have a catch?"

"Sure." He put down his rake and ran to the other side of the yard. Paul tossed him the ball.

"I'm not coming back," Ralph said before Paul could ask him anything.

They continued throwing the ball back and forth. "These are the moments, Ralph," Paul finally said. "They're the crossroads. The ones you look back on when you get old and think, 'what if'."

"I don't buy that. I don't think any one decision makes your life. Unless you accidentally invent some kind of zombie virus or something," he conceded.

Paul chuckled. "Ah, you're right. Life's a series of choices. A combination of moments. Little ones that add up to big ones that create who you are."

They continued their catch for a few moments until Paul added, "You're letting other people make those choices for you, Ralph. You're letting them decide who you're gonna be. People you're not even going to know in three years. People whose names you're going to forget, when you run into them in the hardware store." While he was talking, Paul was walking closer and closer to Ralph, having stopped the game.

"You don't understand the kind of pressure I'm under," Ralph said quietly.

"Yes, I do. Because of all the students I've ever had, you remind me the most of me." It was true. Paul may have had better grades than Ralph, but they had similar personalities. Paul always tried to find the good in people. And he felt the need to protect his friends. Ralph was a good kid. He just needed someone to tell him that it was going to be okay.

Ralph was staring at him, unsure of what to say. "Come back to glee, Ralph," Paul said, smacking his chest lightly with the ball. "It's where you belong." Paul patted his shoulder and walked back to his car, leaving Ralph deep in thought.

~L~

The next day, Ralph went to see Coach Tanaka. "I'm team captain, right? You trust me to lead the team?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, all this stuff about having to choose between glee and hockey, it's making it hard for me to lead. Leaders are supposed to see things that other guys don't, right? Like, they can imagine a future where things are better…like Thomas Jefferson, or that kid from the Terminator movies."

Coach Tanaka nodded, clearly interested with where this was going despite his annoyance.

"I see a future where it's cool to be in glee club. Where you can play hockey and sing and dance, and no one gets down on you for it. Where the more different you are, the better. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to have to choose between them anymore…that's not cool." Ralph eyed his coach, who was still silently mulling this over.

Coach Tanaka cleared his throat. "That uh, that Thursday practice, that's canceled indefinitely. I got some stuff I gotta do; laundry, things like that."

Ralph was pretty sure that was a good sign. "Oh. Sweet." He turned to leave.

"Ralph. Tell Derek, too, will ya? And Sam."

"Sure. Thanks, Coach." Ralph smiled at him and left the locker room.

~L~

"Paul!" Ryan barked, coming up behind him in the hallway as he was taking a drink at the water fountain.

"Yeah?" Paul asked, wiping his mouth.

"I'll need to see that set list for sectionals after all. I want it on my desk warm from the laminator at five p.m. And if it is one minute late, I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then, on some dark, cold night, I will steal away into your home, and punch you in the face."

Paul stared at Ryan, trying to follow that line of logic. He didn't trust the maniacal gleam in his eyes. "Ryan?"

"What?"

"How'd you do in the dance-a-thon?" Paul had a feeling the return of The Fridge had something to do with that, and he was right.

"My mother decided to take her new boyfriend instead."

"Ah." Paul wanted to tell him something sympathetic, but Ryan had already walked away.

As Ryan passed Sally in the hall, he told her to take off her sunglasses. "I want to look in your eyes when I give you this piece of business." Sally removed her glasses. "You're off the Cheerios. I can't have a pregnant girl on my squad."

Sally opened her mouth to protest, but Ryan glared at her. "You're a disgrace."

He left her standing in the middle of the hallway, crying quietly. Even though the hallway was crowded, no one around her noticed; they were too busy laughing and talking with their friends. She had never felt more alone.

~L~

Paul knocked on Kathy's office door after school and she called for him to come in.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

He didn't smile back. "Look, I think we should stop the dance lessons."

Kathy nodded. She had been expecting this. "Oh. Yes, well. Um, thank you," she stuttered.

Paul looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he closed his mouth and walked out of her office with a limp wave. Kathy swallowed hard. If this thing between them kept up, she was going to have a hard time keeping her feelings to herself. One day, she was going to burst out with how she felt, and that wouldn't do anybody any good. She was going to have to learn to control herself better.

~L~

"So, what do you think about my welcome back gift to the club?" Ralph asked as he passed out slushies to everyone at glee.

"Thanks, Ralph, they're delicious," Casey told him. As much as it hurt to see him so happy with Sally, she was glad he had rejoined glee. Singing hadn't been the same without him.

"They're loaded with empty calories," Sheldon informed them. "You know why they call them slushies, don't you? Because your butt looks like one if you have too many of them." The girls giggled.

Ralph proposed a toast. "To Paul. You were right about hockey and glee club being a killer combination." He raised his slushie cup to Paul, and the others followed suit.

"Paul," Noel spoke up, "I'm sorry to report that we've all been remiss about completing our assignment this week."

"Yeah, none of us could find a good groove for 'Bust a Move,'" Emily agreed.

"And I personally feel like a failure," Sam said, and those around him patted his back.

"That's okay guys," Paul conceded. "Because I feel like the lesson landed. That's what's important. Besides, we're glad to have you back, Ralph."

There were hearty cries of agreement, except from Sally, who was sitting quietly at the edge of their group.

"You okay, Sally?" Paul asked.

"Do I look okay? I'm devastated. Now that I'm off the Cheerios, I'll start every day with a slushie facial."

"You weren't getting slushied before you joined the Cheerios," Casey said matter-of-factly.

Sally gave her a withering look. "But at least I was in Celibacy Club then. I don't even have that anymore. My popularity has hit rock bottom." She glared at Kendra, who shrugged. Sally was her best friend, but it was now obvious to the world that Sally did not belong in Celibacy Club. Besides, they had taken a vote. It wasn't Kendra's fault.

"Well, you know what?" Paul said. "That's okay if you get slushied. Because right here are eleven of your friends who will be more than happy to help clean you off." He couldn't stop the slushie war, but he could at least take care of the wounded.

Everyone chimed in their agreement. Sally managed a smile.

"Oh!" Paul put a hand to his forehead. "Brain freeze! I can't imagine getting hit in the kisser with one of these."

The glee clubbers glanced around at each other. "You've never been hit by a slushie before, Paul?" Noel asked as he took a step forward.

Paul backed away. "Uh…"

Suddenly eleven more people were taking steps forward.

"All right, guys…" Paul chuckled nervously.

They kept advancing, impish smiles on all of their faces.

"We're a team." Paul held up his arms. "Fine. Bring it on. Give me your best shot!"

Casey counted off. "One…two…three!"

Twelve cups' worth of slushie hit Paul square in the chest, face, and hair. He quickly wiped the corn syrup from his eyes and said through the slushie dripping into his mouth, "From the top!"

The glee kids were too busy applauding and whooping for Paul to even think about singing just yet.

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