By Very Definition Chapter 13: The Many Faces Of June, a glee fanfic

BY VERY DEFINITION

13. The Many Faces Of June

The Glee Club waited for Mr. Schuester to arrive. They all sat in their seats, waiting patiently.

"How did your Spanish Skit go?" Kurt asked Parker dryly. She had filled him in on the criteria and the plan, along with the due date.

"We haven't actually presented it yet." Parker answered, "But I think it will go well, June says I'm pronouncing everything right."

"June?" Rachel asked sharply, she had overheard and now watched Kurt and Parker with wide eyes, the club went silent, "June who?"

"June Harrison." Kurt answered tastelessly.

"You're doing a project with June Harrison?" Mercedes demanded, Parker nodded and the black girl sighed.

"Why?" Artie asked, effectively including the entire club in the conversation.

"She sits next to me in Spanish, we're supposed to do it with our deskmates." Parker answered wearily.

"So Mr. Schue did this?" Rachel demanded, "Why would he do that?"

"Come on." Tina said quietly, "June isn't that bad."

"Not you too!" Rachel sounded horrified.

"I've been sitting next to her all year in our computer class, she's not that bad when you get to know her."

"AKA when she disassociates you with the club." Kurt added. That was when Mr. Schuester chose to walk into the choir room.

"Mr. Schuester is it true?" Rachel demanded shrilly, "You really made Parker partners with June Harrison?"

"Yes." The teacher sounded confused.

"Leave it alone." Parker instructed.

"She's crossed to the dark side." Mercedes lamented.

"I have not!" Parker argued, "Why is this such a big deal? Brittany and Santana are Cheerios! Cheerios hate Glee too, and Quinn used to be the captain for crying out loud. And Finn, Puck, Matt, and Mike all play football and basketball. Why is this so different?"

"Because that was a general group. Cheerios were told to hate Glee, they were expected to." Kurt answered, "June Harrison chooses to hate us and it's not even mentioned at Drama club."

"I still don't see the big deal." Tina muttered.

"Calm down everyone." Their elder instructed the students, "Let's just focus on Glee right now, okay?" They all grumbled in mild agreement. Mr. Schuester pulled a stool up in front of them and sat on it. "Today we're looking at the classics. Mainly Disney. Disney cartoons are chalk full of song with meaning. Who would care to demonstrate?"

"I would." Kurt stood up immediately and faced the class, looking pointedly at Parker.

"Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil
If she doesn't scare you no
evil thing will
To see her is to take a
sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella

The curl in her lips
The ice in her stair
The inacent children better be ware
She's like a spider waiting
for the kill
Look out for
Cruella De Vil

At first you think Cruells
is a devil
But after time has worn
away the shock
You come to
realize you've
seen her kind of eyes
Watching you from
underneath a rock

This vampire bat, this
inhuman beast
She ought to be locked up
and never released
The world was such a
wholesome place until
Cruella, Cruella De Vil

At first you think Cruells
is a devil
But after time has worn
away the shock
You come to
realize you've
seen her kind of eyes
Watching you from
underneath a rock

Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil
If she doesn't scare you no
evil thing will
To see her is to take a
sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella

The curl in her lips
The ice in her stair
The inacent children better be ware
She's like a spider waiting
for the kill
Look out for
Cruella De Vil"

As was tradition and not to mention routine, everyone clapped when the song ended. Kurt made a sweeping bow that reminded Parker of June's bow in Spanish class the other day.

"Very good Kurt." Mr. Schue complimented, "Who would care to follow that?" Kurt sat down next to Parker and she rolled her eyes at him.

Parker was tense at the Dinner table that night. She had been tense for about a week, since she returned from her adventure at Breadstick's with the members of the Glee club.

"Will we still be having dance lessons this evening?" Rhonda asked tentatively, she had been walking on eggshells since Parker's little breakdown, trying not to upset her unintentionally. Parker felt guilty, it was barely Rhonda's fault. No that it was she was to blame...there were a lot of people to blame. In short, it was only Rhonda's fault because the woman was so nice.

"Yes." Parker answered quietly. Rhonda wasn't very reassured.

"Parker, if something's bothering you..."

"Nothing is." Parker snapped, she looked up and saw James and Rhonda staring at her. Just...watching her...blinking...like cattle. Parker let out a sigh, she was back to square one. She thought she had come so far, she had built a relationship with her foster-mother along with comfort and familiarity. But something had pushed her so far back that she was once again the stand-offish, frustrated teenager that had first moved into their house. Parker stood, "I'm going to get ready for the lesson." She said.

She'd put her ballet shoes on with her leotard, tights, and pants. She tapped out a few notes on the Piano while she was waiting for Rhonda to come down stairs. Parker hadn't been waiting for very long but she felt unreasonably impatient. Maybe her thoughts were just making her restless. She thought about a lot of things, mostly about the way she cried into her pillow the other day. Why had she done it? The more she thought about it the sillier it seemed. Crying over what? Crying over a word? How ridiculous! Family, it's just a word...it didn't have to mean anything. Parker collapsed on the Piano bench, chewing her tongue. Maybe it wouldn't even be so bad if she sometimes called Rhonda "Mom" or James "Dad". Mom and Dad... Parker opened her mouth, convincing herself that she could say the words out loud, only to find that she couldn't.

"What, what?" She snapped at the empty room, twisting in her seat to stare at the center of the room as though she could see someone standing there, "I just can't have a family anymore? No one asked you! You're the reason the word is ruined for me, it isn't my fault!" Tears slowly started to leak down Parker's cheek as she became aware of her fleeing sanity. She was yelling at an empty room as though it was accusing her of something. "You're not winning." She informed the invisible something, "I don't have to listen to you anymore and you've done enough! I'm not going to end up like you did, I won't let you control my life anymore!" She turned back to the piano and tapped out a few more notes that quickly turned into a melody. Parker took a deep breath, hoping that singing would calm her.

"I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

Because of you
Because of you"

Rhonda had been standing at the bottom of the stairs with her back pressed against the wall since Parker started yelling at the empty room. She waited out of sight for her foster-daughter to calm herself, she waited for the song to end and the tears to stop. They didn't, Parker leaned against the piano to hold herself up and Rhonda eased herself back up the stairs, she'd come back when Parker had cooled down. But she wouldn't know what to say. In a way she felt bad for Parker's dilemma, even though she didn't know the details of the girl's previous life, she'd heard enough to make her eyes burn if she looked at her for too long. There was so much strength and pain there that Rhonda was surprised, Parker had been getting on so well there. Well, nothing lasts forever.

"Are you ready to present today?" June asked as Parker sat next to her in Spanish class that next day.

"I hope so." Parker replied tiredly, rubbing her bloodshot eyes. Parker glanced up at her partner, who was watching her with something that almost looked like concern. June had two faces. There was this one, the one that could accept individual people; and the one Kurt and the others told her about, the one that was full of hate and resentment. June didn't notice the way Parker looked at her, the look that said she was taking a new assessment of her.

"Are you okay?" June asked, Parker was fine and everything but if she got a bad grade because of this...

"Yes, I'm just kind of tired. But I practiced the lines before class to make sure this would still go well."

"Oh." June started feeling bad for judging her on that, she was tired was all. And she'd worked extra hard to make sure their presentation turned out well. As Parker covered up a yawn June's eyes snapped to her arms, she hadn't really noticed the gloves before. Though, now that she thought about it, she'd always worn them. June didn't have single Spanish class memory in which Parker didn't have her sleeves. "Why do you always wear those gloves?" June asked directly. Parker looked at them and shrugged.

"I like them." Was the simple reply. June didn't agree. On the contrary, she found the gloves to be quite an eyesore, they were black and gray and old and frayed. They didn't even have fingers, what was the point?

"Parker? June? You're up." Mr. Schuester called the pair up to the front of the room. Parker stood immediately and did as he said. June responded a little bit slower and as she stood she muttered under her breath.

"Easy for you to say."

It's summer now, this is probably the last Chapter I'm writing during school so I'm not entirely sure when I'll next get around to writing more.

"Cruella De Vil" From Disney's 101 Dalmations and "Because of you" by Kelly Clarkson

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