For Valentinas, because I think she's the only one who read the last chapter.

12

The smart thing to do at this point would probably have been to leave. That Sue woman was undeniably suspicious, and if I was serious about maintaining my low profile it was better not to take chances. But I had deeply disliked her, and I deeply disliked the idea that she could scare me away from somewhere I wanted to be, so I decided not to let her. Instead of turning around and marching straight back to my mother's house, I approached the choir room. There was a small window in the door, and the door itself was cracked open slightly, so that I could see into the room and hear what the people inside were discussing without them being aware anyone was listening. I took advantage of this in a way that did not resemble creepy stalking at all as I considered my options.

Will was sitting at the piano (looking absurdly handsome, and very scholastic, in his collared shirt, tie and cardigan sweater), shuffling through some sheet music, and a small group of approximately ten kids was watching him kind of… Skeptically? That's the only word I can think of for it, as if they weren't entirely certain the man they were looking at was their teacher and not some kind of alien clone or something. A girl in the front row with long dark hair, dark eyes and a strangely childish wardrobe (animal sweatshirt, schoolgirl skirt) raised her hand, holding it high for several moments even though Will's attention was still focused on his sheet music. The kids around her rolled their eyes.

Finally, she lowered her hand and spoke, her voice brisk and commanding. "Mr. Schuester, I understand you'd like us to wait for your friend to arrive, but really we don't have the time to be sitting around doing nothing. I have a long list of songs we should consider for regionals, chosen to showcase our strongest singers-"

"Oh, so just you then?" a black girl towards the back asked, voice sarcastic.

The first girl looked offended. "I think it's only natural that in an important competition we'd want to focus on the one of us with the most training and experience, but of course there are parts for everyone."

"Small, small parts," a pretty (no other word for it) boy sitting next to the black girl interjected, tone venomous.

"Whether my fellow glee clubbers agree with my list or not," the first girl said, pointedly ignoring the black girl and her friend, addressing only Will, "the point is that it makes no sense to waste this rehearsal waiting for someone who might not show up."

Will looked up, an exasperated look on his face. "Rachel, I understand your concern, but my friend will be here any minute and I think it's only polite that we wait for her. She's really looking forward to seeing you perform and I want her to get the whole effect, not walk in while we're all rehearsing different songs."

A boy in the back with a mohawk raised his hand, speaking before Will even called on him. "I'm not usually into agreeing with Rachel, but she might actually be right about this, Mr. Schue. I'm kind'a thinking you got stood up, so we might as well get some work done. Or, you know, leave and do something fun."

"Thanks for that perspective, Puck," Will answered, his voice somehow nearly free of sarcasm. "But we're going to wait a few more minutes. Just relax."

I felt a little guilty about holding up their rehearsal, but also secretly pleased that he'd waited for me. No. Not pleased, there was nothing pleasing about it at all, I felt neither pleased nor displeased by any of it. I did decide, however, that since they had been waiting for me it would be rude to turn around and leave, and besides I didn't want to give that Sue woman the satisfaction (she was definitely the kind of person to feel satisfaction at forcing someone to bend to her will). So I shrugged to myself and pushed the door all the way open.

Everyone in the choir room turned to look at me, including Will, and I remembered suddenly how strange, how unpleasant, it felt to be unable to control my own actions because as he smiled, I could not help but smile back.

"Hey," I said, not just to him but to the room in general. "Sorry I'm late, I got a little lost."

"It's fine," Will said, still smiling, standing up and coming toward me. "I'm just glad you made it. I think you're really going to enjoy this."

"I'm sure I am," I answered, and I was still smiling too because… Well if he was I had to be and god it was irritating.

He turned toward the class, gesturing that I should come forward, and began to introduce me. "Okay guys, this is my friend, Ms.-"

I didn't wait for him to realize that he didn't know my last name and then turn to look at me in consternation; the kids would pick up on that in a heartbeat. "Honor," I completed smoothly. "Just Honor, I'm not your teacher or anything."

A very sexy looking girl in a cheerleading uniform raised her hand and, like the boy with the mohawk, began speaking without being called. "Okay, what kind of name is Honor, anyway?"

"Like you're one to talk, Santana," Puck said, laughing.

"Isn't that one of the seven deadly sins?" another cheerleader inquired, looking genuinely confused.

"Uh, no, Brittany, you're thinking of… Something else," Will told her, his voice admirably patient.

"Excuse me," the pretty boy sitting next to the black girl (I was really going to have to learn their names) began, "but are those Christian Louboutin Bourge boots, and how did you get them? They're from the Spring 2010 collection, I don't even think you can order them yet."

Well, hell. "I don't think so," I answered with a weak laugh. "I got them at, um, Macy's."

"But they have the distinctive red sole," he challenged. How had he spotted that? How did this kid know so much about fashion?

"Oh. Well, uh…" I seriously had no idea how to respond, but thankfully Will saved me.

"Kurt, come on, you can interrogate her about her boots later," he interrupted. "Why don't you get into your places and we'll show Honor what we've been working on?"

Kurt didn't answer, only looked at me very closely, and I realized he might be even more of a danger to my cover than that evil Sylvester woman. This kid was sharp and obviously had an eye for detail. I smiled at him weakly.

"Come on guys, lets do this," Will prompted, and the kids all got into formation. "It would be better if we could do it on stage, but we didn't reserve it ahead of time so…"

"Oh, don't worry about it, this is great," I responded.

"Great," he echoed, grinning, before nodding at the musicians waiting for their cue.

They proceeded to do an impressive version of Jay Sean's Down, which I confess I really like even though R&B is definitely not my genre. And the way they did it was very… Innovative, I guess would be the word, dividing it into parts, many of the kids taking solos. As the dark-haired girl, Rachel, absolutely killed hers, it hit me that what Will had told me was true, these kids were all genuinely talented, several of them talented enough to make it in the industry if they really wanted to. I looked at Will, saw him beaming at the kids, saw how proud he was of them, and wondered what kind of difference it might have made in my life, to have had a teacher like that, one who believed in me and encouraged my dreams and wanted me to achieve them. Not that things didn't work out well for me and all, professionally at least, but maybe I would have stayed in Lima a bit longer, finished high school, avoided a lot of drama, if I'd had support like this and an outlet for all the music inside of me that hadn't had anywhere to go except into the world, taking me with it.

It would have been like having an ally, I realized. It would have made all the difference, and he had forsaken other dreams, other futures he might have had, in order to give these kids something I hadn't even realized I'd needed, and it was… Awe-inspiring, I guess. The depth of his love for and dedication to them.

The song came to an end, the kids grinning and high-fiving one another, and Will turned to me. "Well?" he asked eagerly. "What'd you think?"

"I thought… They were brilliant," I whispered, mind reeling. Because aside from that, I also thought I was in way more trouble than I'd realized.

TBC

I really do wish they would do a version of Down on Glee, because I love the song but can't stand Jay Sean.