AN: So sorry for the late update guys! low inspiration + finals = no writing. Luckily I had most of this one worked out just needed to know where to end it off. Interestingly enough, all my Faberry scenes (except for their initial meeting) thus far have been completely unplanned...
Thank you again for all the feedback, subscriptions and favourites. You guys are the best!
The Grass Is Greener
Chapter 7 – There Are Consequences and There are Consequences for Those Consequences.
Ray stumbled out of the locker room, still stunned by his moment with Quinn. She was a Christine. The Mimi. The ever-loving and eternally lovely Cosette.
He was the hapless Marius, too struck by the magnitude of a fateful and heart-filled encounter to properly focus on anything else.
"It's about fucking time, Berry." Santana grumbled.
"Uh huh." He replied, dazed.
Brittany skipped in front of the boy and waved a hand in front of his stupefied face. "Ray?"
"Huh?"
Dark eyes narrowed as Santana's face scrunched up in a mix of annoyance and disgust. "Oh, for God's sake. Snap out of it afores I go all Lima Heights on your ass, Berry."
"That's nice, Santana." Ray replied blankly.
Santana smirked evilly and Brittany caught the look, predicting what would happen next. "S, don't-"
It was too late though as Santana tipped her head from one side to the other, the small cracking noise made both times, before stepping up and slapping the lovestruck boy with enough force to make him stagger back.
SLAP!
The resounding crack of Santana's hand hitting Ray's face seemed to echo through the halls but it did its job.
"Santana!" Ray yelped as he rushed to his locker mirror. "You could have caused irrevocable damage to my face!"
"Cool your tits, you're fine."
"You. Hit. My. FACE." Hysterics broke in with the panic. "I need this face! I need to take headshots with this face! I have an appointment this weekend!"
"Anymore of you looking like constipated cupid and I would've had to do some irrevocable damage to your crotch."
Ray glanced down quickly and gulped. Instead of pushing Santana, he chose to concede and inspected his quickly reddening cheek in the mirror, "Well, at least you didn't hit my nose."
"I'm glad your nose didn't get hurt too, Ray-Ray." Brittany chimed in, her interruption stopped any more hostility between the other two. "Santana told me that your nostrils were portals to Narnia."
Ignoring Ray's glares that were reflected in the mirror, Santana huffed. "Come on, Narnia-Nose. Let's get me some of that faux-Italian oil and cheese covered carb-sticks."
Santana looped her arms through Brittany and Ray's arms and led them out down the hall.
Ray rubbed his cheek again but allowed the abuse. Quinn gave him a compliment. He could have had Bernadette Peters walked by and he wouldn't have blinked. Still there was a feeling in the back of his mind. "Do you guys get the feeling that we're forgetting something?"
"All the time." Brittany answered. "Today I forgot to come up with an excuse for why I didn't do my homework because I forgot to do it last night."
"Ugh, who fucking cares? I need sticks and I needs them now."
So Ray shrugged and continued down the hall with his friends. They walked out to the parking lot and it wasn't until they reached the car that they all realized what, rather who, they forgot.
"Noah!"
"Puckerman!"
"Lord Tubbington's packet of Nicorette!"
Quinn glided down the hall with Ray's song in her head (and dare she think it? Her heart as well). She shouldn't feel this way. Everything was so much easier when things were just plain black and white. She was popular and he wasn't. It was like Coach Sylvester always said, 'School is a caste system.'
She had to be reborn to move up in the system and it was all because she wanted it, craved it more than anything.
"Hey, Zizes! Does your fat ass start beeping when you backup?"
"Watch out for Lucy Caboosey- With a booty fat and juicy. WATCH OUT! She might sit on you and turn you into gooze-y."
Lauren Zizes was a scary girl but behind the façade of an attitude that rivalled Santana's own, there was a Lucy Caboosey. Quinn didn't have to read minds to get that. And just like when she saw Ray earlier in the auditorium, Quinn couldn't stop her heart from breaking at the sight.
"Hey!"
It was that dumb-looking hockey jock. Quinn noted that she didn't have to reach so far to get into bitch mode; the glaring red mullet was such a fashion disgrace that it served the same purpose as a red flag for a bull.
"Hey, Fabray. You decide that hockey's where it's at, baby-cakes?"
She swatted him back with a glare, "Go away now."
"Pfft… You don't know what you're missing, Babe. Once you naked body check a hockey jock you'll never go back." He did a poor rendition of Puck's signature body thrust.
Quinn's face crinkled in disgust and summoned a bit of Santana's attitude to dismiss him. "Ew, you smell like Canada and failure. And 90's Billy Ray Cyrus called, he's asking for his mullet back because you make it look worse than he ever did and that's saying something."
The dim-witted hockey jock backed away one hand brushing through his mullet and the other one up in surrender. "Woah, lay off the 'do."
She cocked her head and sent another glare his way. "Bored now."
Quinn took pride in her ability to send men running away with their tails between their legs with only a look. Once he was gone, she looked over to Lauren. "Hey…" she greeted awkwardly.
"Nice… Willow quote." Zizes said with grudging respect then she fixed a scrutinizing gaze on the cheerleader, "Why'd you chase him off?"
"He was being an asshole." Quinn answered honestly. The challenging stare was confusing her. Shouldn't Zizes be the least bit grateful?
Zizes didn't relent and finally eyes widened in assumed understanding. "Whatever, I'm not gonna vote for you for Homecoming Queen just 'cause you decided to help one of your poor helpless subjects."
"What? They haven't even started the planning for that yet. I'm not tryi-"
"Yeah? Then what the hell is this? Swooping in to save the poor helpless loser? Last time you talked to me, you asked that I walk behind you so you could still get through the door before I got stuck in the frame."
Quinn flinched, "I'm sorry about that."
"I don't want to hear it. I can fight my own battles. I'm a strong, confident, independent woman. I don't need skinny little bitches like you to save me." She finished off with a sassy finger wave.
"Don't lose that. The confidence." Quinn replied earnestly. When did all losers get a backbone? Why did Lucy miss hers?
Lauren looked puzzled but shook her head and walked off. "Zizes out."
Quinn was left standing in the hall by herself, thoughts of Lucy pervading her mind.
She always thought she lived out Lucy's what-if possibility. Quinn Fabray was skinny, beautiful and envied by all.
And right now? Quinn Fabray was envying Ray and Lauren more than anyone.
Suspecting that Noah was still sleeping in the janitor's closet, Ray reminded the girls that they should retrieve him before he gets locked inside the school for the night.
He hoped that Santana was kidding about just leaving the dumb sad sack in there because she wanted to get her Breadstix on.
"Noah?" Ray peeked in through the door to find his best friend cuddled in the corner with a mop.
"Mmmmrregh?"
"Puckerman! Get your stoned ass up, there's a cougar asking you to clean her pool!"
"Where?!" Puck jumped to his feet but managed to trip over the mop in the process.
Santana snorted at the display while Ray ran up to help Noah up. "Come on, Big Guy. You're treating us to Breadstix."
"Where's the MILF?" He grumbled, shaking his head while trying to manoeuvre around the now messy janitor's closet. "Y'said there's a MILF."
"There will be MILFs galore, you just need to treat us at Breadstix first. Come on! Hungry Snix ain't a happy one."
"Oh, San! Can we get some Chicken Parmesan for Lord Tubbington? He loves Italian."
Noah shook his head in an effort to clear it but didn't argue with Santana's suggestion. He had a major case of the munchies too.
"THEY DID WHAT?" Puck yelled, spraying food everywhere and making Brittany and Ray duck to avoid food spatter.
"You could've stopped it if you weren't stoned out, Puckerman." Santana mumbled before diving right in to her second basket of breadsticks.
"Santana…" Ray gave her a pointed look and then tried to calm Puck down. "Look, it was fine, Noah. It's just a little dyed ice."
She scoffed into her basket. "Yeah, a little dyed ice to the face. Those little coloured iceburgs hurt like a fucking bitch."
Puck shook his head in sympathy. "I should have been there, man. I'm sorry."
"Noah, I'm fine." Ray insisted forcefully. "It's just a bunch of idiots. I can deal with it. Really."
Santana shared a knowing look with Brittany and snorted, changing the tone of this line of conversation, "He's just saying that because Fabray gave him some sweet locker loving time after getting jumped by his naked ass in the girls locker room."
The distraction worked and Noah whistled, "Shacking up with Ice Queen Fabray in the locker room? Hey, good for you! I always thought'd be me." At both Ray and Santana's stern glares, Noah placed his hands up in surrender, "I'm totally happy that it's not though. She'd probably tear my head off afterwards... Both of them." He shivered at the scenario.
"We didn't shack up in the locker room, Santana." Ray denied vehemently. "She just wanted to hear my audition music for glee. I finally decided on a piece." His cheeks coloured. "She said it was nice. I'm going to practice in the auditorium tomorrow before officially telling Mr. Schuester."
Puck grinned maniacally, "What I want to know, is what we're gonna do to Hudson for this."
"What do you mean, Noah? What's done is done."
"Dude! He totally has to pay for his... his total sacrilege of your stage or whatever." Puck finished off uncertain but Ray nodded happily at his attempt to describe the attack with words usually outside the taller boy's vocabulary.
"Violence only begets more violence." Brittany pitched in sagely, making the rest of the table pause. "I saw it on a fortune cookie once."
Ray nodded in agreement, "You should listen to Brittany, Noah. I don't want you risking your academic future because of this. No violence. It's a never-ending, pointless circle."
"Pfft, whatever."
"Noah." He glared at Puck who wilted under the gaze.
"Fine, I promise. No violence."
"Hey," Santana added in smugly, "I already stepped in and curtailed Finn's humiliation plan with a little blackmail of my own. Nothing like a little blackmail to metaphorically cut off his balls."
Puck sank into his seat petulantly, "So I missed everything?"
"Relax, Noah." Ray nudged him cheerfully, "You didn't miss Breadstix!"
"God, I hate it when you get metaphorically laid. You're totally happy even after getting slushied by almost all of the football team." Puck whined. He reached over to get a breadstick and yelped when Santana slapped his hand. "Jeez Santana! I was just-"
"Nope."
"Can't I just…?"
"No."
"Seriously, Lopez? You're just gonna puke it all up later."
Ray gasped as Santana glowered at her 'boyfriend.'
"What?" The smaller boy inquired worriedly.
"Okay, one? It's nothing for you to worry about, Ray. Two? Fuck you, Puckerman. You best be laying off my Breadstix if you don't want me to break yours."
It was clear to Ray that this was an old issue being rehashed by Puck in the worst way. At least Noah looked sufficiently regretful at his jibe.
"OW! Santana, jeez! I'm sorry alright? That was shitty of me but damn. You didn't need to kick me so hard."
The girl in question looked slightly surprised. "I didn't kick you, you ass."
"I did." Brittany inserted. "Violence is bad unless you're being stupid, then it's necessary. It was on my other fortune cookie."
Sometimes, Noah Puckerman questioned how well his bro knew him because if he did, Ray wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss Puck's claims for revenge. Of course, Ray probably would have known about Noah crossing his fingers behind his back while promising not to do anything.
Puck promised no violence. But he wouldn't let it slide without consequence.
He couldn't stand by again and let jerks like Hudson get away with this shit and still end up smelling like a fucking rose.
And he sure as hell wouldn't let Santana get all the credit for defending his bro.
So once Puckerman got home from Breadstix and was in the safety of his room, he pulled out his cellphone and dialled the only person that would help.
"Hello? Miss. Corcoran? Something happened to Ray this afternoon and I think you should know about it…"
The next day
"You did WHAT?" Ray shrilled. His arms waved dramatically in the air, emphasizing his panic.
Puck winced at the high-pitched yell. He inwardly cursed his bro's ability to reach such ear-piercing tone. Still he stood by his decision. "I called your ma."
"Wait-a-minute." Santana interjected, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're big 'payback' was to call Berry's mom? That's kind of weak, Puckerman."
Both boys glared at Santana and simultaneously told her to butt out in their own way.
"Shut up, Lopez."
"I would greatly appreciate it if you just butt out, Santana."
The conversation was escalating, between Ray's uncharacteristic display of rage and panic, Puck's obvious fear of Ray (and Shelby's) wrath as well as Santana's needling. It was Brittany that decided to end it. "But San, Ray, didn't you guys tell him not to use violence?"
"Brit?" Santana asked in confusion.
"Puck is just really worried about you, Ray-Ray. You won't let him fight for you so he got the one person who could without getting in trouble. Because friends help each other and wouldn't want them to get hurt more." It was done, she brought out the pout and fixed her sad eyes on the poor unprepared boy in front of her. "I know I don't want you to be all slushified."
Ray stopped his rant at Puck, admitting to himself that he had been sufficiently beaten by the puppy-dog pout. Also, Brittany was right.
"It's just- Did you really have to call my mother?" He asked weakly.
"Dude, your mom is like the scariest chick since Sylvester crash landed on earth in the 50's, bringing her reign of constant menopausal terror on all of Lima. If you had Shelby there for you before? None of that shit would've happened."
It was a shitty move, bringing up the past. Puck knew that. There was still that choking fear that seized his friend at the mention of the bad days. And that was precisely why Puck wouldn't let it happen again.
The sharp staccato clacks warned the two boys before they even saw the crowds of the hall make room for the smartly dressed woman stalking her way through. She owned the hallway with as much, if not more, authority than Santana or Quinn did on a good day.
Brittany nudged Santana, whispering in her ear, "Ray-Ray's mom is so hot."
The other cheerleader could only bob her head in agreement. That was a woman in power if she ever saw one. And yeah sure, technically Coach Sue was a being of the female species with authority but Shelby Corcoran? She worked that power with a hell of a lot of hotness. It was nice to know that a bitch can have both.
The woman seemed to tower over everybody, despite being average height, Santana glanced at her heels and noted that she was definitely a head bitch in charge who can charge it. She may just be Santana's new hero. Move over Paula Abdul.
The sharp clacks stopped in front of them, the woman causing the commotion ignoring the looks of the rest of the student population and focussed her gaze on her son.
"Hello, Ray." She said softly, her features softening as she reached up, if a bit cautiously, to brush off his shoulders and fix his hair.
"Hey… mom," Ray tried out awkwardly.
"I thought I threw out all of these sweaters." Shelby murmured.
Puck and Santana snickered, they wanted to do the same thing on several occasions over the last couple of days.
"Yeah, well the Dads bought more. Figured I'd wear them." Shrugging self-consciously, Ray added, "I thought I looked sharp."
"So sharp, your fashion sense is stabbing me in the eye." Santana butted in wryly, her snickers were cut off by the intense glare that Shelby fixed on her. "-Sorry…"
Seeing the threatening look in his mother's eye, Ray stepped in front of her. "Mom! It's okay! Santana's just like that with everybody. It… makes me feel normal."
Shelby relented, "Okay…"
Santana flinched as she was hit with a warning glare. "I ain't gonna treat him differently from the rest of my friends, Ms. Corcoran. That's just the way I am. Sorry."
Nodding in understanding, Shelby waved the girl off. "I get it. People are funny with their displays of affection. You'll have to excuse me for being over-protective. My son is important to me."
Ray blushed before asking, "Mom, what exactly are you doing here?"
"I thought it was obvious." Shelby intoned, "I'm here to ensure those delinquents are punished for what they did to you."
"It's not a big deal. Santana already threatened them with blackmail." He tried to downplay it as much as possible but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
"Blackmail?" she eyed Santana with a hint of grudging respect.
Santana nodded frantically, "Yes ma'am."
The older woman nodded, "Okay Santana, before I go with Ray to the principal's office I'm going to need that video."
"Mother, this isn't necessary. I'd much rather let this whole thing blow over-"
"That isn't an option, Ray." Shelby insisted.
"But-"
Finally, Shelby Corcoran had enough. "Ray Redford Berry! This isn't up for discussion. You will not stand up against this horrible treatment but I will. I am your mother. This is what we do. Now zip that mouth of yours and march yourself to the principal's office, young man."
"Yes, mother."
Brittany interlocked her arm with Ray's, "Don't worry, Miss. C! I'll make sure he doesn't get lost. I got lost once. I couldn't find my way out of the classroom."
Shelby just nodded, dumbfound as the pair walked away.
"I'll, uh go get the video from my locker, Miss Corcoran."
"Thank you," Shelby said sincerely, "And please, Santana. It's Shelby."
Puck sniggered when he caught Santana blushing heavily but it turned into a strangled yelp as the Cheerio punched him in the balls.
"What the hell were you thinking, Finn?" Quinn hounded him before class could start, "Oh wait, I forgot. I'm talking to you. You CLEARLY weren't thinking at all."
"I was just doing what you wanted!" The towering boy backed up as his girlfriend glared him back against the wall.
She huffed, "I didn't tell you to broadcast it to the world, Finn! And I certainly didn't approve of you bringing the rest of the team in on it."
Seeing that his girlfriend clearly wasn't going to let the matter go, Finn decided to try a different tact. "Look, the guys were bugging me about doing something more extreme. I just wanted to-"
"Just wanted to prove some top dog male leadership that you obviously have trouble proving on a regular basis, right?"
"Hey!" Finn started to redden, "You wanted me to do this. Not the guys, you."
"I know. I know that it's on me. Quinn replied regretfully then her eyes hardened. "But it's on you too. "
Finn made his frustrated face of constipation before dismissing the matter, "Whatever."
Quinn watched her boyfriend stalk off. She heard a crash of something once he was out of sight and knew that some poor piece of furniture was paying for their confrontation. A part of her did feel bad about it. Finn did what she told him to do.
And Quinn didn't even know why she ordered it in the first place. Ray was… a genuinely nice guy. When he looked at her, she really did feel pretty. Beautiful. She shook her head.
She didn't need a guy, or anybody for that matter, to make her feel beautiful. She knew she was. She did.
A glance in her locker mirror made her wince so she closed it.
Still, it made herself believe her own conviction when he said it too.
Her thoughts were disrupted when the chime of the P.A. system rang out.
"Attention, attention! Would Finn Hudson please come to the principal's office? I repeat, Finn Hudson to the principal's office."
It wasn't difficult to figure out what the matter was all about.
Quinn didn't know what she was going to do or why she was even going but her feet dragged her towards Mr. Figgins' office nonetheless.
"Ray?"
"Oh!" Ray fumbled around the coffee table in the office waiting room before reaching Quinn, "Hey, Quinn!"
"What's going on in there?" She motioned at the yelling match that was going on inside Mr. Figgins' office. The older man was seated at his desk, his hands set over his ears to block the noise. "It's hard to imagine that scene without Coach Sylvester in there, screaming up a storm."
"I've heard horror stories about Coach Sylvester, is she really that bad?" he asked as they sat down.
Quinn answered with just a raised eyebrow.
"I see." Ray rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Uh, that's my mother in there. She heard about the whole slushie thing from Puck. She's kind of going all mama-bear now."
"That's sweet," Quinn commented, "Was she always like that?"
"Since I met her almost two years ago, yeah."
"You just met your mother two years ago?" she asked curiously.
Ray hesitated for a moment but realized he couldn't be scared of his past anymore. "She was a surrogate for my dads. I didn't meet her until they felt that it was necessary at a rather low point in my life. Shelby jumped at the chance and she's been there for me ever since. She's my personal vocal coach and has helped me immensely with my stage ambitions. She booked me for my first real Columbus community theatre audition. I'm up for it in October."
"Two dads and a mom, huh?"
"Is that a problem for you?" Ray wasn't completely self-obsessed. Being ignored for most years before the bullying started he did learn to be observant. The cross that dressed Quinn's neck was more than telling.
"No, it's definitely not a problem." Quinn raised her hands in defense. "I just never met someone who- Somebody that's been raised in that kind of household."
And it was true. Besides Santana's glaringly gay closet case, Quinn has had no experience, no interaction with the gay community. Her dad's blatant hate for the "lifestyle" choices made it difficult. She herself had nothing against it.
"I guess that's fair," Ray relented, "Though it's a pretty normal household, all things considered. My dads were always there for me when I was younger. They bought me my first custom microphone and we would hold private concerts after dinner and they're uh were there for every recital and play I've ever been in."
Quinn nodded as she watched his face with veiled envy, "They sound amazing."
"They're the best." He asserted. Whether to convince a ghostly jury, the girl in front of him or Ray himself, it was anybody's guess. "For a long time, I thought they were my only friends in the world."
And there it was, the pain that was constantly hovering behind those dark brown eyes. That connection that sprung up when they first met was painted on his face, clearer now than ever.
"And now?"
Ray smiled shakily, "…I like to think that this new school year brought more friends…"
"Any worth mentioning?" Quinn hummed, faking nonchalance as she looked anywhere but at Ray.
He chuckled before humming in though. "Hmm. I guess there's an amazing blonde cheerleader that's constantly keeping me on my toes."
"I'm flattered."
"I have no clue why." Ray replied with mock innocence, "I was talking about Brittany. She makes me dance with her every time we see each other in the hall."
"Hey!" She punched the boy's arm with moderate strength behind the blow.
"Ow! Violence is never the answer, Quinn!"
Quinn pursed her lips, her arms crossed in mock agitation. "Yeah? Then give me the right answer, Berry!"
"Well… I guess there's this girl." Ray started, "She's kind of amazing. And her smile? The real one she gives once the masses are gone? It's quite probable that it's the most beautiful sight I've seen in my life. That's pretty tough to beat considering I once saw Barbra Streisand live in concert."
Ray gazed at her intently, watching the way she shrank away from the compliments subtly. She didn't say anything so he just continued, "Things were a little confusing but I'm pretty sure we're friends now and I couldn't be happier." Still not getting a response, he backtracked, "I mean, she said we were friends but I suppose it would be more apt for us to be acquaintances? I would be content to say that we're partners but that would mostly assume somethi-"
"Ray!"
"Right, my apologies. I tend to ramble."
She laughed and noticing he was actually getting sad over it, she nudged him playfully. "You know something?" Quinn asked innocently and when he shook his head nervously she continued, "I think you guys might be friends too... maybe."
Shelby's cries of indignation pierced through the glass walls, utterly breaking the intimate moment and reminding them why they were there in the first place
They watched as Mr. Schuester placed a hand on Finn's shoulder and Shelby's face contorted fiercely. Mr. Figgins seemed to be agreeing with everything that Mr. Schuester was saying and that incensed the Carmel teacher even more.
"I feel sorry for your mom," Quinn said, "No matter how hard she fights them, Figgins won't really punish Finn if he can help it. Sports are the main source of funding around these parts."
"Honestly? I don't really expect much from the outcome. There are consequences for everyone except the select popular few."
"We have consequences." Quinn offered, "They just don't happen until after the safety of high school. Destined to be Lima Losers."
"You? Never." Ray grinned with brimming confidence.
"History says otherwise." She argued. "The last three Cheerio captains have either had babies, got married or both straight out of high school." All of which are currently unhappy and stuck in Lima.
"None of them are you." He replied with certainty.
"How do you know?"'
Ray shrugged. "Well, unless the stories are true and Coach Sylvester really does know how to clone her perfect cheerleading team, I'm fairly certain that you are your own person."
"Wiseass."
"Violence!" Ray cried out in mock pain as she elbowed him. "Still, you just don't seem like the kind of person to settle for mediocrity when you know you can have so much more. Trust me, you're going to get out of here. I am, after all, destined for stardom and a life out of Lima. If you can't take my word for it than what else do you have?"
The small encouragement was jarring. He had just nonchalantly pierced through everything that made her Quinn and all the fears that went along with it.
She sighed and had a feeling that it would always be like that with them. Touching his arm and looking sternly into his eyes, she stated bluntly, "You're really annoying, you know that?"
The tone wasn't as biting as it could have been, Ray knew that so instead he smiled and leaned back. "I know."
They fell into a companionable silence and waited.
Ray tried not to focus on the fact that Quinn's hand was still rested on his forearm.
"Quinn?"
"Hmm?"
"Why is the Spanish teacher in there too?"
Shelby Corcoran never wanted to think of the child she had given up so long ago, yet she did anyways. Every single day since she had him bundled in her arms. She never thought of herself as a mother but often dreamed of being his mother. The one to chase away the nightmares and protect him from the evils of the world. But the days morphed into weeks and then they were months and years. The time had flown by and so too did her baby. She didn't think she could see him thirteen years later even if she could, what would she do? He would be a teenager. He wouldn't be the baby she dreamed of.
When Hiram and Leroy called her to tell her about Ray, to tell her that he tried to-
She had never felt so powerless in her life. Not when they took him from her arms all those years ago. Not when the countless casting agents turned her down. Not when the doctor told her that there was a low chance of her ever having children again.
She didn't think of her doubts as she rushed to Lima. She didn't think of the stranger that was too old. She only thought of her baby. Because she realized that it really hasn't changed.
The first time she saw him again, he was in the hospital unconscious from the extreme loss of blood. He looked even more fragile than he did as a baby. She cried for hours.
It took him months to stop calling her Miss. Corcoran, even when he lived with her while at Carmel.
Now she's there, playing- no she was the protector. His protector.
And sometimes, he called her mom.
Her baby would always be her baby. It took a terrifying wake up call to realize it. And she thanked God everyday for the second chance she got to be in his life.
"What kind of institution are you running here? My child was assaulted by your football team less than twenty-four hours ago and I still see those varsity jackets strutting the halls like they're royalty."
"I can assure you, Miss Berry-"
"It's Corcoran," she corrected in a tone that left Mr. Figgins chilled to the bone. He's had his share of angry parents but there was never one that scared him so much. This was Sylvester level scary.
"Miss Corcoran, I assure you that every step will be taken to ensure that your son feels safe in his academic environment. I'm sure that this is all a misunderstanding-"
"Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding?! My son was ambushed by your football team and assaulted by colored ice projectiles. You need to expel those miscreants before I start suing you all."
"Mr. Figgins!" Finn yelped. "Dude- Sir, I can't be expelled. My mom would totally kill me. And it would really suck if I couldn't play for the State finals."
"Kid, it's either she kills you or I d-"
Mr. Schue, who stayed mostly quiet through the exchange, stepped up before she could finish, "Miss. Corcoran! Please refrain from threatening the students."
"So you'll protect him? What about my son!"
Mr. Figgins sighed, "Okay Miss Corcoran. I'm sorry, Mister Hudson but you are suspended until further notice and forbidden from participating in any sports activities for the rest of your academic career at this institution."
"Principal Figgins!" Mr. Schue intervened, "You can't do this to him!"
Finn's face crumbled, everything he was, everything he could have been was gone. Just like that. Shelby eyed the boy with passing sympathy. It only took one thing. One straw to break someone's life, but this time it wasn't her son. She had to make sure it wasn't her son.
"I'm sorry, William," Figgins said gravely, "But Miss Corcoran has brought in undeniable video evidence. Mister Hudson, you do know the consequences of what you did yesterday?"
"Please, sir." Finn began to beg, "I need to play sports… I can't do anything else. It's my only chance."
"Surely there's another way…. I mean his mom's not even here to help him with this! You can't just suspend him without her here. Finn isn't a bad kid. He doesn't deserve this."
"And my son didn't deserve to have 30L of slush dumped on him by the football team."
The air was thick with tension, Finn observed. Maybe that Berry kid didn't deserve what he did but it wasn't Finn's fault either. It was the guys. It was Quinn. It was this whole stupid school. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't a bad guy. He was different.
Tapping his fingers on the desk, Principal Figgins turned to Mr. Shuester, "And what do you suggest as an alternative, William?"
"Glee club."
The two words left the remaining occupants of the room stupefied.
"You can't be serious, Schuester." Shelby said incredulously. "This isn't something you can sing away."
"Think about it, Principal Figgins." Mr. Schuester ignored Shelby and grew more and more excited as he thought through his brilliant solution, "These kids are stuck in these- these groups. Coach Sylvester said it was a caste system and she's right. Glee club can be the way to break it down. Break down the barriers and help them-"
"Sing and dance and kumbaya with each other before these boys put them into dumpsters and use them as slushie targets." Shelby finished bitterly.
"These kids just need to be in an environment where they all feel accepted… special. Glee club is all about possibility, happiness and acceptance. If they get the chance to experience that together, as a team, I just know they will change this school."
Figgins looked contemplative as he weighed his options. As much as he was against the glee club, Ryerson had left quite the sour note on idea of show choir, Figgins did not want to lose the quarterback and the captain of the school's football and basketball teams.
"Okay, William. Mr. Hudson has every other day for the next two months and he is to be a member of the glee club for however long that ship stays floating."
"My son will not be performing with this bully or any other of your jock Neanderthals. He would rather-" Shelby stopped her tirade abruptly. Ray would rather transfer back to the safety of Carmel than share the stage with the people that harassed him.
The room once again fell to a heavy silence as the angry mother lowered her metaphorical claws.
"Fine. Schuester can have his one hit wonder. My boy will not stand for it and you," She directed her fiery gaze at Mr. Schuester, "will have to deal with the consequences." She picked up her purse from the chair and pivoted towards the door. Her heels hitting the ground sharply, she stopped at the door for another final word, "Good luck getting your show choir to Sectionals without my son, Schuester. I guarantee that you're going to need it."