Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, Little White Lie, or the song 'It's Over Now'

The McKinley bus pulled into the Arborland High parking lot a little after eight. Groans filled the bus as everyone woke up, stretching their bodies out the best they could. "Alright guys!" Mr. Schuester called from the front of the bus. "Arborland's school starts at eight-thirty. We have about twenty minutes before then. So, as a group, we're going to go into the school, find the manager of their glee club, and discuss when they hold their meetings, alright?"

Everyone grumbled back their responses as they stood and starting filing off the bus, the exception being Artie, who had started being lowered down when Mr. Schuester had started talking and was already outside waiting on them. When Toby stepped off the bus, he looked around, taking in the familiarity of the scene. Despite the drama of everything that had happened, he had enjoyed the school.

Kurt stepped beside him, taking his hand and squeezing it slightly. "You're not out here, are you?" He asked quietly. Toby shook his head, still staring out. Kurt smiled slightly, letting go of his hand. "Well, looks like we're going to be playing pretend for the next few days then, huh?"

Toby turned to face him, but before he could protest, they heard a door slam. They all turned to see a guy wearing a black fedora, black jeans, and a white t-shirt with a black vest over it, walking away from an orange Ford Escape, an awed expression on his face. "Well, well," the guy said, ambling up to the group. "If it isn't Toby Phillips."

"Hey, Zack," Toby said, a slightly exasperated grin on his face as he and Zack exchanged a quick high-five-into-a-fist-bump. "How've you been?"

"The better question would be how've you been?" Zack asked, maniac excitement lighting up in his eyes. "You disappeared off the face of the earth over a year ago, man! Right after the recording session! You put Little White Lie in a tight spot, you know!"

Toby held his hands up in surrender. "Personal problems, dude. Besides, Sami knows how to play guitar: she did for Battle of the Bands last year, remember? It couldn't have been that bad."

Zack huffed. "Well, judging by your tone, you didn't intentionally sabotage my favorite band ever, so I'll let you off the hook." Zack looked around, taking in all of the stunned looks on the faces of the members of the glee club as they watched the exchange. "Oh, you guys must be New Directions! Hi, I'm Zack; I'm the manager of the glee club we just founded here at Arborland High!"

Mr. Schuester stepped forward and shook hands with him. "It's nice to meet you, Zack. I'm-"

"Will Schuester, yes, we talked on the phone!" Zack said excitedly. "I'm so glad all of you guys are here! Listen, we have a glee club meeting final period, which starts at about two-fifteen. Right now, though," he glanced down at his watch. "Arborland's greatest band is having a before school jam session. You guys should come with me and check it out." He started walking toward the building, hooking his arm through Schuester's, dragging him along as he rambled.

"What the hell?" Mercedes asked, warily the retreating duo warily.

"That's Zack," Toby informed them. "He runs Battle of the Bands every year and he apparently runs this new glee club."

"He's worse than Rachel," Santana noted, receiving nods from the rest of the members and an 'hmph' of contempt from Rachel.

"Well," Puck said, starting to walk forward. "We might as well go check out this band." Everyone, except Toby, mumbled in consent and started moving forward.

After a few steps, Kurt noticed his boyfriend wasn't beside him anymore. He looked back to see the distraught teen rooted to the spot, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, his head down. "Hey," Kurt walked back over to him, tilting Toby's chin up, forcing the teen to look at him. "What's wrong?"

Toby's lips quirked up in a half-smile. "Worried about the all of the drama that I'm most likely leading you all into."

Kurt snorted. "Please, I go to McKinley. I know drama." He hooked his arm around Toby's and pulled him along quickly so they could catch up to the rest of the group. They ended up meshing with a crowd of students who had gathered in front of the outside stairs. Toby watched as Zack jumped up the first section of steps to where it leveled flat. There, all of the band's equipment was set up. However, none of the members were in sight.

"Are you guys ready for this?" Zack called into the microphone, his words being met with an outcry of screams from the students below. "You know them collectively as Little White Lie, but just in case you're new, or you've been living under a rock for the past year, here they are: On drums is Jim Povolo." An immensely tall guy walked down the steps behind Zack, decked out in a white t-shirt and black, white –paint splattered, jeans, and took his spot behind the drum set. "Next is Kevin Bushwald on guitar." A kid with short, messy, dark hair walked out, his head down. He wore a pair of white skinny jeans and a white V-neck shirt.

"No way," Toby muttered as he watched Kevin pick up the guitar. "When did he wake up from his coma?"

The New Directions members turned to look at him, shock in all of their eyes. "He was in a coma? Like, for real?" Sam asked, glancing back up at the boy. Toby just nodded as Zack introduced the next member.

"Then, we have back-up vocalist, Tanya Freemont." A girl with straight, sandy blonde hair appeared; wearing a long-sleeved, white, scoop-neck shirt with a white pleated skirt, and took her place behind the microphone set up beside Kevin.

"Wait. Is that Tanya, as in, your ex-girlfriend, Tanya?" Kurt hissed, looking up at the girl. "I thought you said her and Sami hate each other."

"Yes, that's that Tanya," Toby answered wearily. "They do, and if they didn't, I'm sure they would after what happened at that party."

Zack cleared his throat, causing the crowd to settle down again. "On bass, one of the founding members of the band: Duder Reese!" A tall (but not nearly as tall as Jim), lanky guy with dark blonde, almost brown, side-bangs and hair that was spiked up in the back, came out dressed up in what Toby recognized as the outfit he had worn during the recording session.

While Duder picked up his instrument, Zack looked out at the crowd. "Now, the final member of Little White Lie, the core of the band, the lead singer and songwriter," Toby noticed Kevin, Tanya, and Duder all twitch slightly as Zack announced the last part. He shrugged it off. "Here is Sami Reese!"

The crowd erupted into its loudest cheers yet at the arrival of a girl with shoulder length, scrunched blonde hair. She wore a strapless, white, form-fitting dress that fell to the middle of her thighs with black leggings underneath that went to her knees and a thick, canvas-looking, black belt around her waist. On her hands was a pair of fingertip-less black gloves.

"Why are they all wearing mostly white?" Mercedes ask, eyeing the outfits with some apprehension.

Rachel clapped her hands together excitedly. "Don't you get it? They're little white lies!"

Toby stared at the shorter girl for a moment. "You would get along so well with Duder it's not even funny."

Everyone's attention got brought back to the band when Sami snapped her fingers four times. Jim began tapping out the beginning rhythms of the song, Kevin and Duder joining in with their chords as Sami started singing:

"There it goes, another one is gone.

Another try, another one is wrong.

Where to go? What is there to say, here?

No one knows.

I've never really felt, good about, the hand that I've been dealt.

What kind of game is this anyway? Here…"

"They're good," Puck commented.

"I actually think they've gotten better," Toby admitted, his eyes lingering on Kevin's hands on the guitar, leading him to wonder why Kevin hadn't been in a band before his accident.

"I want to make a statement, about the pictures and their awful placement.

I want everyone to see it too."

Sami bobbed her head to the music, soaking in the cheers from the students in front of her before picking back up in the chorus.

"I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,

I don't know how!

I've tried to be the one, but it's over now.

It's over now."

"She wrote this?" Mr. Schue asked, his voice revealing how deeply he was impressed. Sami's eyes roved the audience as she started singing again.

"I can see the loneliness in you.

I know it well, and

Everybody's got it too.

Funny how, I know I'm not alone, here…

That's how it seems when I'm walking through the halls.

Everyone has reinforced their walls.

It's no one's fault that the vision ain't at all

Clear…

I don't know what is worse than

Feeling like you're not a person.

And I want everyone to sing along."

Sami looked out, speaking into the microphone. "Sing it with me." The entire school screamed along. Even Toby found himself singing the familiar words of the chorus.

"I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,

I don't know how!

I've tried to be the one, but it's over now.

It's over…

All I ever wanted was to reach out

(Reach out)

And have somebody take my hand.

(Someone take my hand)

All I ever gotten was locked out

(Locked out)

Nobody would ever understand!"

Sami bowed her head, her voice low as she scanned the audience.

"I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,

I don't know how!

I've tried to be the one, but it's over now.

It's over…

I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,

I don't know how!

I've tried to be the one, but it's over now.

It's over…

It's over now…

It's over now."