Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive nicknames, and drama.
I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.
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Sectionals
Sue Sylvester entered the teacher's lounge one afternoon, determined to take the empty seat at William Schuester's table. Emma Pillsbury and Coach Beiste were already at either side of him like a pair of hos. Sue took a few strides over, but suddenly went flying through the air!
"Step aside, Twinkle Toes!" cackled the drunken and irritating voice of Brenda Castle, the astronomy teacher and badminton coach. She stuck her tongue out at a fallen and humiliated Sue Sylvester, sprawled out on the tile floor with hot coffee in her hair.
Brenda Castle took the final seat at Will's table eagerly, and turned around to give Sue an evil grin. Sue's eyes averted from Brenda to the other teachers in the lounge. Everyone was laughing at her - in slow motion! Sue growled. This only ever happened when Brenda Castle was there! Only ever! Two years ago Porcelain had broken into her private stash of Jazzercise videos, and found a tape of her rocking out to Olivia Newton-John's classic "Physical." He and the other Glee Clubbers posted it on the internet and turned her into a huge laughing stock. Sure, she'd gotten fame out of it and even recreated the video with Newton-John herself. But the whole ordeal put her on Castle's radar, and the two of them had been enemies since.
Sue watched Brenda flirt her little heart out with Will. Talk all you want. He'll never be interested, Sue thought with a chuckle. Will was a stiff. He wasn't into drunken hooligans like Brenda Castle. No. He didn't realize it, but he was in love with a one Sue Sylvester. He must have been. Now, Sue could flirt with Will. She could kiss him. She could even sleep with him. But she could not fall in love with him. She was a married woman. She loved herself/domestic partner. She could tease him, but she couldn't please him. She just needed to help Will on his way to realizing that she was what he really wanted.
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"I turned eighteen a month ago," Kurt told the manager at Breadstix. "I've eaten here a million times. I know the menu practically by heart. I'm confident, and I know how to talk to people. I'm a great listener, and I'm very professional."
"Problem is, there are a bunch of people that want to be waiters here, and you're much younger than any of them," the manager sighed, "but I'll give you the job if you want it that bad. You seem like a good kid. You start working tonight, okay?"
"Okay," Kurt said excitedly. That was a lot easier than he'd expected it to be. He hoped that being given this job didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was gay, and that the manager would be seen as a bigot if he didn't let him have it. He didn't tell his dad or his step mom that he went for this job. He was doing this to impress Blaine. He also needed to do something to take his mind off of things. He needed to get away from his problems.
That evening Artie, Brittany, Tina, and Mike entered the restaurant. Kurt squealed excitedly and clapped his hands when he saw them. But then he remembered that there were certain tables he was supposed to wait on, and the one they were seated at wasn't one of them. However, Tina saw him and waved quickly. He waved back and grinned happily. He wanted to get a chance to talk to them before they left. Next the football players - the mean ones - came in. Azimio, Karofsky, Zach, Ronnie, and Bryce! Bryce was too nice to hang out with them. Perhaps he was trying to get back at Quinn by hanging out with the enemies.
"That's your table," a black waiter said, pointing after the bullies were seated.
"Oh no," Kurt begged, shaking his head. "Those kids torture me at school."
The waiter gave him a look, like he was being unprofessional. "Fine. I'll take over."
"Thank you so much," Kurt said gratefully, and the waiter went over for him.
When Kurt went over to wait on a nearby table, Karofsky looked up and saw him. Kurt could feel those beady black eyes. And when he turned around, he met their gaze. When he walked away, he could still feel them. Kurt's heart beat as he ducked in the men's restroom. He could have hid in the employee's restroom, or ducked into the kitchen, but he didn't. After all, this was his first night as an employee, and he was too afraid to think clearly.
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"Has Kurt still not written a song for Sectionals?" Rachel asked Finn anxiously.
"He has been writing," Finn replied. "I've looked through his trash can. There are several crumpled sheets of paper with lyrics written on them. But I'm not sure if he's decided he likes any of his ideas. Most of them are about making mistakes, what's worth living for, and fear. It's all very depressing. He's always wanted to sing a solo at Sectionals, and now he's slacking."
"Maybe I should help him," Rachel said. "I could give him some of my ideas."
"No offense Rachel, but the judges aren't going to be interested in songs about headbands and being an only child," Finn said honestly. "Kurt's been writing about what's in his soul, but he's too afraid to share it. I think he's worried about Blaine."
"How do you know that?" Rachel asked.
"He wrote it in his songs," Finn said.
"I see," Rachel replied. "Well, I still think I can help him."
Finn chuckled. "Maybe." The two of them kissed on the lips.
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"Finn told me a little bit about Jesse St. James," Bryce said loudly, marching over to Quinn and Jesse sitting on the steps outside McKinley. They were eating lunch; Quinn had come here to join her new boyfriend. She was wearing a pale blue dress and cardigan, and a blue bow in her adorable bob cut. "Apparently he's a heartbreaker and a big jerk. Why are you dating him?" Bryce asked her. "You know he's not your type. You like guys like me, not guys like him. I like you so much, Quinn. More than he ever will."
Quinn knew that Bryce liked her. But she was still angry at Finn for leaving her for Rachel. She figured the only way to make Finn really jealous was to date the person he hated the most, and Finn hated no one the way he hated Jesse St. James. In fact, Jesse was using Quinn for the exact same reason. He hated Rachel for choosing Finn over him, and he wanted to upset her by dating the prettiest girl she knew.
"I liked you, Bryce," Quinn assured the younger boy in a caring tone she didn't usually use. "But now that I've gotten to know Jesse, I realize that it's him I want in that way. I'm sorry. I'm not going to break up with him. I like him too much. Do you understand?"
Bryce sighed. "Yes. I understand." Jesse gave a satisfied smile and put his arm around Quinn's shoulders. Quinn smiled weakly at Bryce as he walked away. Bryce meant to find the football players and sit with them for lunch, but instead went to the hallway and sang when no one could hear him, "Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live. Oh, take, take, take it all, but you never give. Should've known you was trouble from the first kiss. Had your eyes wide open - why were they open? Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, you did. To give me all your love was all I ever asked. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight for my brain. Yes, I would die for you, baby! But you won't do the same."
He walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. "No, no, no, no." He stared miserably at his reflection, and then beside it, at the hallucination of Quinn. Standing there with a sweet smile on her face. From behind her came another hallucination of Jesse St. James, with a twisted smirk. "Black, black, black and blue, beat me 'til I'm numb. Tell the devil I said, hey, when you get back to where you're from." He looked away from Jesse to Quinn. "Mad woman, bad woman, that's just what you are, yeah. You'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car. Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash. You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did. To give me all your love is all I ever asked. 'Cause what you don't understand is I'd catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya."
He left the bathroom, stuck his hands in his pockets, and went over to his locker. "You know I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight toward my brain! Yes, I would die for ya, baby! But you won't do the same. If my body was on fire, ooh, you'd watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me; you're a liar. 'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby! But darling, I'd still catch a grenade for ya. Throw my hand on a blade for ya. I'd jump in front of a train for ya. You know, I'd do anything for ya. I would go through all this pain. Take a bullet straight toward my brain. Yes, I would die for you, baby. But you won't do the same. No, you won't do the same. You wouldn't do the same. Ooh, you never do the same. No, no, no, no." He didn't cry. He was a strong man, and he couldn't cry.
"Bryce!" called the familiar voice of Tristan Boone as she ran over to him.
"Oh hey, Tristan, what's up?" Bryce asked in a defeated tone of voice.
"Ronnie told me all about what happened with Quinn," Tristan explained. She sounded cheerful even while talking about something depressing. Also, she was currently dating Ronnie, a senior. "And we decided that it would be cool if you started dating Riley. Riley's single since she liked Sam Evans, but he's dating that girl Lexus -"
"Mercedes," Bryce corrected.
"Yeah," said Tristan. "But you're both single now and both cute, so….."
"I don't want to go out with Riley," Bryce said bluntly.
"But she even kind of looks like Quinn," Tristan pointed out.
Not really. True, Quinn and Riley were both tan and blonde, but Quinn had a much prettier face than Riley did. Bryce knew that. "So?" he said. "Then I would have to look at her and think of Quinn every time I'm with her. No. I think I'll stay single for a while."
"But you're on the football team," Tristan pointed out. "You need to date someone."
"I was dating someone," Bryce said angrily. "And now she's out of my hands. If I try to get her back, her new boyfriend will kill me. Have you met him?"
"No, but I hear he's weird," Tristan said. Bryce smiled at that statement.
"How is Riley taking being single?" he was curious to know.
"Not very well," Tristan whispered. "But don't tell her I told you that."
"I know someone she could date," Bryce said. "He and his girlfriend split recently, and he's free. Dave Karofsky."
Tristan made a face.
"He was prom king," Bryce pointed out. "It'll boost Riley's popularity to date him."
Tristan considered this. "You're right. I'll ask her what she thinks."
"Cool." Bryce nodded at her before she skipped off to find her best friend.
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"Hey," Rachel said, greeting Kurt and Mr. Schue at the bus. Kurt had been showing Mr. Schue the song he was going to be singing today at Sectionals. "I haven't gotten a chance to see it."
"You'll hear it later," Mr. Schue told her. "Artie, Brittany, Tina, and Mike all wrote the second song together. They'll tell you all about it. They wrote a solo in for you, Rachel. Kurt's been having a hard time lately, and I'm trying to comfort him."
Rachel reached out and touched Kurt's arm, but he pulled it away from her. "I understand if you don't feel up to singing today. I'll sing it for you."
Kurt scowled. "Right. Let you sing my song the one time I get a solo for Sectionals."
Rachel sighed. Kurt obviously didn't want any help. Artie, Brittany, Tina, Mike, Santana, and Trey were already on the bus. Rachel got on it and went over to them to talk about the second song.
"You get the chorus after the bridge, Rachel," Mike explained.
"But that's the most important part of the song," Rachel pointed out. "Why would you let me have it?"
Tina chuckled. "You think any of us can hit that high note in it?"
"Yeah, seriously," Brittany agreed.
"Thank you, guys," Rachel said, smiling. She pat Artie's shoulder. Then Finn, Puck, Lauren, Sam, and Mercedes came onto the bus. Kurt was still outside talking to Mr. Schue. Finn sat down beside Rachel and kissed her cheek. "We're off to Sectionals," Rachel sighed.
"Yep," Finn said, putting his arm around her. "And we're so gonna win this."
"Yeah we are," Brittany cheered, clapping her hands. Then Puck did the same, and Lauren did a fist-pump in the air. Sam and Mercedes were kissing passionately. They told each other good luck, and then Quinn, Alyssa, and Bryce climbed aboard the bus.
A few minutes later, Mr. Schue placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder when they got up on the bus. Rachel and Finn both stared at the tear stains on Kurt's face. "How are we going to place at Sectionals if our main soloist looks as though he's just had his puppy put to sleep?" Santana asked insensitively.
"Leave him alone. He'll do great," Rachel said kindly. She smiled weakly at Kurt.
Mr. Schue said something to the piano player, Brad, and then turned to New Directions to speak. "We're not ready to go yet. Miss Pillsbury will be joining us."
"What? Is he dating her again?" Santana asked Trey.
"No." Trey shook his head. "He's dating Coach Beiste."
Santana laughed. "Ha. That's funny."
"No, he's seriously dating Coach Beiste. I'm not kidding," Trey insisted.
Santana's jaw dropped. "Wow. I'm so sorry. When did this start?"
"Last week," Trey replied. "She announced it during practice."
A few minutes later, Emma Pillsbury hurried onto the bus. "Sorry I'm late!" she squealed apologetically and she sat down at the front of the bus. "I had to run home and make sure I turned off the stove. Don't want the whole house to burn down." She chuckled awkwardly, and then the bus started off to the theater. Puck and Lauren were sharing an ipod, and Sam and Mercedes were looking at facebook on their phones. Emma Pillsbury was fixing her hair and gazing longingly at Mr. Schue; she obviously unaware that he was currently dating Coach Beiste. Mike and Tina were making out. Brittany was styling Artie's very short hair. Santana was crossing her arms coldly, and staring at them from out of the corner of her eye. Trey didn't mind that she was ignoring him. Rachel was resting her head on Finn's shoulder. Quinn was telling Alyssa about the last two years at Sectionals, and Bryce was sitting by himself, staring at her. Kurt was also sitting by himself, thinking about the song he wrote.
The bus arrived at the theater, and New Directions got off of it.
In the lobby, Mercedes and Sam approached Kurt. "Hey," Mercedes said, and Kurt smiled weakly. They were the only two people who Kurt was going to try to be nice to today. "Do you mind if we look at your song?" Mercedes asked, and Kurt handed it over half-heartedly. Sam put his hands on Mercedes' shoulders and read the sheet music with her. "It sounds so sad," Mercedes said, turning back to Kurt, who just shrugged in response.
"I think it's good," Sam said encouragingly. "You'll do a great job."
"Thank you," Kurt said, smiling a little bigger. "I worked really hard on it."
"Who are the judges going to be?" Mercedes asked Sam, and he said, "I think Rod Remington, Sandy Ryerson, and April Rhodes." Mercedes' eyes widened, and Sam said, "Yeah, I'm surprised April's one of them." Mercedes shook her head.
"No, I can't believe Sandy Ryerson's one of them. That's weird," she pointed out.
Just then a beautiful girl who fit the description of Fleur Delacour in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire approached the three teenagers. She had long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and light blue eyes that matched her light blue dress. "Hello, you must be from New Directions," she said with a sparkly smile. "My name's Janie Whitman. I'm from Crawford Country Day. You're our competition. You're Sam Evans and Mercedes Jones, right?"
"Wow, what else do you know about us?" Mercedes was curious to know.
"I know you're Kurt Hummel," Janie said, turning to the boy holding his sheet music close to his chest. "I watched you perform 'Animal' with the Warblers a few months ago. I offered my number to that attractive guy Blaine Anderson, and he refused it. He told me he was gay. Only a little while later I found out that you started going out with him."
"Yes, Blaine is my boyfriend," Kurt said firmly, trying to hold his head high.
"Fine. I don't need him," Janie referred to Blaine. "I've already seen that several guys from your Glee Club have noticed me." Mercedes looked up in terror at Sam, who closed his jaw quickly. He'd been drooling over Janie. Finn, standing with Rachel, and Puck, standing with Lauren, and Mike, standing with Tina, and Artie, sitting with Brittany, had done the same. All of their girlfriends looked furious - except for Brittany, who also drooled at Janie.
Janie smirked with satisfaction, and turned around and walked away. She looked over her shoulder, and said, "Oh, and by the way, New Directions, it's old news that you guys write your own songs for competition. You're not the only ones to have done so. Both my school's club and Choral Explosion have written songs of our own. And I'll be singing the first one for my club. You don't stand a chance with Kurt having written your first."
New Directions was the second choir that would be performing, which was exactly what they didn't want. The first choir always set the bar, and the third choir was always the freshest in the judge's minds. The second choir was always forgotten. The girls of Crawford Country Day were first. The whole show opened with Janie Whitman. As the all girl's choir sang their second song, Kurt stood behind the curtain, taking deep breaths in and out. He hadn't warmed up like he usually would have.
"Everyone welcome to the stage… New Directions!" the MC announced, and the audience roared with approval. Everyone had been looking forward to seeing New Directions perform. After all, this was the choir that had won Sectionals two years in a row. The audience was expecting big things. The curtains opened, and Kurt stood there in the spotlight. Puck, Sam, and Mike were at stage right, and Trey, Bryce, and Artie were at stage left. Finn was on the ground in front of the audience, and all the girls were behind the auditorium, waiting for the chorus after the bridge to make their entrance. All the boys stood perfectly still, with their hands behind their backs. They looked down at their feet. During the first song they were only going to hum harmony to the song that Kurt had written. Kurt opened his mouth and began to sing the sad song he'd written about the past year, and about Blaine, whom he was so afraid of losing.
Some people in the audience were crying now, and so was Sandy Ryerson. Kurt kept singing. He held a note in the bridge as the girls started down the aisles, singing the chorus. Rachel joined Finn in front of the stage and took his hand. Brittany went to Artie and took his hand. Tina went to Mike, Santana went to Trey, Mercedes went to Sam, Quinn went to Bryce, Lauren went to Puck, and Alyssa went to Kurt. Kurt joined the girls in finishing the chorus.
Brittany started the next song. Then Artie, then Tina, then Finn, and then Santana. The group danced and sang together, and Rachel took over during the bridge.
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"That group of girls from Crawford Country Day was quite an attractive bunch," Rod Remington said, like a creeper.
"I already know I'm not good enough for you, Rod. You don't have to rub it in my face!" Sandy snapped bitterly.
"New Directions did an amazing job, as usual," April said, on Will's behalf.
"Very right you are, Miss Rhodes," Rod agreed. "That boy that sang the first solo had me reaching for my handkerchief. His song touched me; all about making mistakes, and trying to figure out how to fix them."
"Reminded me of when I came to the realization that I needed to stop cyber stalking boys on MySpace," Sandy sighed, and Rod and April gave him a look. "Three words for you: DE-PRESS-ING!"
"I'll give you that, Mr. Ryerson," Rod agreed. "It was a bit depressing. And something about their second song felt redundant to me."
"New Directions has done material like that before," Sandy said, nodding. "And those lyrics sounded like they were co written by a dumb blonde." (Well, Brittany did co write it.)
"Choral Explosion did a nice job," April changed the subject, not wanting to hear Will's Glee Club being bad-mouthed anymore.
"That they did, Miss Rhodes," said Rod, nodding his head in agreement.
"They had the pow!" Sandy said exuberantly, fist-pumping in the air.
"Well, who won Sectionals last year?" Rod asked curiously.
"It was a tie," April explained. "New Directions and the Warblers. Both went to Regionals, and New Directions beat the Warblers and went to Nationals."
"So New Directions has won Sectionals twice?" Rod said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," April said, and then Rod went on, "And Dalton Academy did not place at Regionals, hmm… I don't know about you two, but I think this year is good for a private school team. What do you say to giving the prize to the girls from Crocker Country Day?"
"As long as you don't say they're pretty again, I will gladly give them the prize," Sandy said, nodding in a surrendering fashion.
"I vote New Directions," April said, caring about Will.
"Well, we don't," Sandy challenged her. "Sorry, sister."
"Hope you'll still consider dating me," Rod said, winking at April.
A few minutes later, the three judges stepped up on the stage with the Glee Clubs and Rod stepped to the front. "The winners of Sectionals 2011 are the ladies from Crawford Country Day!" There were dozens of squealing girls hugging each other and jumping up and down.
Rachel's jaw dropped in horror. She and Janie locked eyes. Janie smirked wickedly, and accepted the trophy from Rod after kissing him on the cheek. Rachel crossed her arms and shook her head. As New Directions exited the building, she said, "Thanks a lot, Kurt."
Kurt turned around to look at her and smiled sarcastically. "So this is my fault?"
"Yes, it is!" Rachel snapped. "You depressed them! That's why we lost!"
"Rachel, our losing had absolutely nothing to do with Kurt," Mr. Schuester said, placing a comforting hand on Kurt's back. "The judges probably thought that because we won two years in a row, another group should get a chance."
Santana crossed her arms and spoke up, "I'm telling you, the whole thing was rigged. The judges hate us. That's why we lost. Rod Remington went out with Sue Sylvester, and he knows she coaches at our school. Sandy's hated our Glee Club since he was fired from his job as director, and April Rhodes is bitter about you quitting on her for her big Broadway show."
"This thing is not rigged, guys," Mr. Schue said, rolling his eyes. "This is show business. You're going to hear a million no's in your life if you continue living in this field, and if you can't handle that, then you can't handle the life of a performer."
"No Sectionals means no Regionals, which means no Nationals," Sam said sadly.
"Now all our newbies won't be able to see what the bigger competition's like," Puck pointed out. Bryce and Trey both looked disappointed.
"I'm sorry guys," Mr. Schue apologized to the two of them. "But, Bryce, you're a freshman, and Trey, you're a sophomore. You both have time in the future to see."
"Yeah, but this is our senior year," Santana pointed out, gesturing to herself and Puck. "I wanted to go out with a bang. And for me, a bang is a win at Nationals."
"I'm sorry," Mr. Schue sighed tiredly. "You guys have every reason to be upset. But you should be proud of yourselves. You were great up there."
"A lot better than that school of lesbians," Trey muttered, and Santana blushed.
New Directions climbed onto the bus, and sat quietly on the way back to McKinley. Will shook his head and gazed out the window in depression. Sue will be happy to hear we lost, he thought to himself. Emma sat down beside him and smiled. "Hi."
"Hey," Will replied, smiling weakly back at her in response.
"I'm so sorry you lost," Emma said softly. "The kids were great."
"I know they are," Will agreed. "And I thought… with April there… there might have been some hope for us. Maybe Santana's right. Maybe it was rigged. I thought Sandy was fine with our Glee Club, after he donated his drug money to Mike's brainiacs team. But maybe he hates us again. Maybe April is mad about Crossrhodes, and I don't know about Rod -"
"It wasn't rigged, Will," Emma said, taking his hand. "But it wasn't fair."
Will slowly took his hand from Emma's grip. "There's something I have to tell you," he took a deep breath, "I'm seeing someone."
Emma couldn't hide her shock and disappointment. "Um, oh… Who?"
"Shannon," Will replied, and Emma looked down at her lap in embarrassment.
"You're dating Coach Beiste," Emma said, but she was speaking so quietly that she was practically talking to herself.
"Yes," Will said, nodding. "I apologize if inviting you to join us at Sectionals led you on. Kurt really needed your guidance. His mother's been dead for many years. He needs a maternal figure in his life. I should have told you sooner about me and Shannon."
"Why, Will?" Emma couldn't hide the tears that were now welling up in her eyes. "Why is it that you get with someone every time I realize I want you?"
Will didn't know how to respond. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I really am."
"Don't be," Emma snapped. "Don't be sorry. Don't apologize. Just make sure that Coach Beiste knows how lucky she is. Does she? Does she know?"
"Yes. She knows," Will said.
"Good," said Emma, standing up and starting off. "That's all I wanted to hear."
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Author's Note: As I've said many times, this story is very old. The only thing that keeps me updating it is that I posted the first few chapters already, and it would be wrong just to delete it out of nowhere. I wrote this before hearing *possible SPOILER ALERT* that Blaine is going to transfer to McKinley in the first episode of season three. I hope some of you like this story, even if it's really old. By the way, I don't think Rod is Sandy's type, but I thought it would be kind of funny to have him flirt with him, months ago, of course, when I wrote this.