Chapter 8: Screw You, Mr. Schue
"I can tell by just looking at your pathetic bitch face that you still haven't told Berry about your part in the slushee-geddon he suffered yesterday," Santana drawled as she passed the Cheerio captain in the locker room. They were having practice during lunch much to Santana's dismay. She snuck in some left over breadsticks and had been looking forward to hiding out and munching them with Brittany.
"Leave me alone, Santana," was Quinn's only reply. She was thinking over what had happened with Ray earlier.
Quinn had left once Shelby stormed out of the office, she didn't want Finn to think she was there for him. The overriding guilt for being the reason that this whole thing happened also was a factor. She wanted to tell Ray, she really did, but he looked at her with such… reverence that Quinn couldn't let that fade. Not yet. It was selfish, she knew that much. She just needed some time.
"I'll leave you alone once you leave Berry alone, Fabray."
"Since when do you care? You know he's loser material. Plus, you have no heart. It's been scientifically proven."
"The fact that Berry's the biggest dork to hit this school since Suzy Peppers hasn't stopped you from pulling a 'Hot N' Cold' act around him since he transferred, has it Quinnie?"
"He's not like Suzy Peppers! And don't call me Quinnie," She growled, which only encouraged Santana.
"You're right, I don't have a heart but that kid's been through enough. Even I'm not so cruel that I'd kick a dog that's still trying to get up after losing a leg. He doesn't have a chance with you." Santana pointed out knowingly but at Quinn's contemplative look, her eyes narrowed. "Or does he?"
"Of course not, S." Quinn's eyes darted away, strangely unable to hold a glare of defiance against Santana's question. "I have a boyfriend."
"Please. That tub of cowardly lard does not count as a boyfriend. He barely counts as an inanimate object."
Quinn huffed but didn't dispute the accurate description of her boyfriend. Instead she took a different route. "Ray is okay with us being friends."
Santana's eyes narrowed accusingly, "Really? You're going to be his friend? You're barely my friend on a good day. Besides unlike me or Britts, this guy's bound to want more than your crap ass excuse of a friendship." Santana observed Quinn's reaction, or total lack of one. Damn her master poker face. "Berry's stupid lovey-dovey face is annoying enough, I really don't want to deal with the heartbroken one. Don't screw with him, Fabray."
Quinn knew that Ray would eventually want more and she also knew that she was a bad friend most of the time. But how do you say "I'm sorry but I've never had friends before so I have no idea how to be one," without looking like a pathetic loser?
"I don't know what you want me to say, S. That I'll stay away? I can't-" she was going to say that it was because of their shared English assignment but was interrupted.
"FABRAY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M PAYING YOU FOR?" You're not paying me, Quinn thought wryly, though she was grateful for the distraction. "DO YOUR JOB AND CAPTAIN YOUR GROUP OF UTTER FAILURES."
Coach Sylvester was crass, unapologetic and utterly vile in her constant spew of vitriol and Quinn welcomed said spew with open arms. It was that or face Santana's weird case of self-righteous but incredibly accurate bullshit. She couldn't finish her train of thought now because Santana would think she was making up an excuse.
Sue was right though; she couldn't worry about Ray while she had a bunch of moderately pretty and wholly uncoordinated girls to turn into national champions. Whatever she was feeling or starting to feel for Ray could wait. One thing at a time, she told herself. The mental conversation playing in her head must have shown on her face though because when she turned back to Santana, she was smiling smugly.
A few minutes and a lot of yelling later, Quinn thanked God that she was on top of the pyramid and didn't have to face that stupid, judgmental smirk that she knew Santana was still sporting.
"Dude, I saw your mom leave the parking lot in a hurry. What happened?" Puck asked as he approached his friend at his locker.
Ray's brow furrowed, "I have no idea, I tried asking her but she said she had a VA emergency to deal with. She said she'll call me after my audition."
There was the sound of a locker door slamming and both boys looked down the hall to see Finn Hudson come barrelling down the hall towards them with a barbaric lack of grace. Seeing Ray in his sights he went out of his way to shove shoulder check him into the locker but didn't stay to say anything more or face Puck's wrath.
"Huh." Puck remarked as they watched him. "Santana was right."
Ray gulped before looking at Puck "What?"
"He does look like the constipated love child of a dinosaur and a sack of potatoes. I never saw it until now."
Instead of laughing at Puck's observation, Ray just looked in the direction that Finn stomped off to. He always prided himself on having a sixth sense and right now, it was telling Ray that something bad was going to happen. Somehow, Ray knew it would have something to do with Finn Hudson.
Kurt Hummel had spent everyday of his first year of high school living in fear. By the end of it, he thought he would have to be resigned to the constant state of terror for the rest of his high school career. Then in the first week of sophomore year, there was a saving grace. Something that made him more excited than scared at the prospect of attending another day at the poor excuse of an educational institution.
He looked around the auditorium and shivered with anticipation. Synchronized and choreographed show tune routines? It was a dream come true! And judging from the list of signatures at the signup sheet, Kurt was guaranteed a spot. Not that he doubted his impeccable singing ability.
"Excuse me?"
Though, the presence of other signatures, however few they may be, still meant that other people would have to be in the spotlight. The newest arrival was Mercedes Jones, he noted. He shared a couple of classes with her before but never got a chance to converse but Kurt remembered that the girl always sported a bold fashion taste, which he appreciated.
"Hello!" he greeted bubbly. "I see that you're also here to see who our potential teammate might be. And may I say that your sequined top is tres chic?"
"You may!" Mercedes smiled, "And if my fashion fly eyes aren't mistaken, that shirt looks like the one that was in last week's Vogue!"
"Made it myself!" Kurt preened as Mercedes 'oooh'd and 'ahh'd.'
"Yo!"
"H-h-h-hey!"
The two fast friends looked to the doors to see more arrivals, a goth girl complete with blue streaks and heavy eyeliner, it wasn't a look that Kurt was particularly fond of but it worked with her. She was pushing a wheelchair with a bespectacled boy who was sporting a sweater that he wanted to burn on the spot. Kurt believed they were freshmen but didn't know their names.
"You guys curious as we are to see this new kid?" The boy had introduced himself as Arthur 'Artie' Abrams and Kurt barely contained himself to comment on the sweater vest that dared to call itself clothing, "I heard he transferred from a performance arts school, so Tina and I thought we'd check it out."
"Really?" Kurt intoned with renewed interest. Performance arts school meant that there was a 90% chance this boy would not be completely straight. It would be nice to have the company.
They gossiped for a little before the lights flickered and the spotlight shone on the stage. Brad the piano player made his way on stage, face set in the permanent poker face that he had on when each of them auditioned.
"I'd like to extend my gratitude again, Mr. Brad, for coming in a bit early so that I can rehearse with you."
Ray Berry strutted on the stage, a natural confidence setting in with each step closer to the spotlight. Brad just shrugged but that did nothing to deter Ray from continuing his conversation. "I do hope you're prepared. As a Broadway star-to-be, I can only expect my accompanist to give the same 300% that I bring to every performance."
There was a collective roll of the eyes from Brad and the four students peering in from the back of the auditorium.
Ray smiled out to the absent audience and started his practice audition, "Hi, I'm Ray Redford Berry and I'll be singing 'Never, Never Land,' composed by the great Scott Alan."
Kurt saw Mercedes and Artie scrunch their faces up in confusion but he was pleasantly surprised when Tina's eyes lit up excitedly. Looks like he wasn't the only Broadway enthusiast at McKinley.
The gentle piano chimes played the intro and Kurt didn't know what to expect When it came time for the new kid to sing, however, his jaw dropped in astonishment. The rest of the glee club hopefuls shared his shock. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't this.
He sang with hope and hurt and love and innocence. Kurt had loved the song before but Ray Berry made it sound all new. Not by changing any arrangements or doing anything really different but bringing everything he has in his heart into the song. Kurt had never watched a live show on Broadway but he suspected that this was the closest that he's ever seen.
This new kid knew how to work an audience, even if there wasn't one in attendance. He pushed and pulled emotions in a song that called for both soft vulnerability and emotional powerhouse vocals.
"And though life is never easy as we as children read in the books," Ray sang, as he strode across the stage, owning it with his presence and performance.
"Where fairy dust, could just fly you so far away," Every line at this point sung with enough power to leave even Ray's endless lung capacity breathless.
Quinn watched from the back door, on the opposite side of the auditorium from Kurt and the others. She was supposed to stay away but had heard Brittany talking about Ray's audition with Santana and Puck. She still didn't understand why they were all on Ray Berry's side. A part of her was insanely jealous. Of who and why exactly she was jealous was still up for speculation.
"And all I ask is that you leave me my imagination
Where I can pretend I'm flying away"
She felt her own heart seize as Ray dramatically stalked up the stage, holding his own heart as if to keep it from leaping out when he belted out the end of the first part of the bridge.
Ray took a deep breath before continuing, his eyes methodically tearing up.
"I'm flying away
and that is where I'll stay.
Right there in Never Neverland,"
He brought his hands down and looked out into the audience, scanning and smiling with a genuine show face that would make even Jesse St. James cower at its shine.
"I'll be flying, I'll be dying for love, appreciation.
Where mermaids sing and fairies would ring
Right down there in Never Neverland"
The strains of music quieted as Ray's voice matched the slow diminuendo and the glaring spotlight narrowed on him.
"And it's second to left and straight on 'til morning
Or was it second to the right, straight on 'til morning"
Ray motioned for each direction, his eyes crinkling in performing the actions and practiced laughter at the correction. He stared out wistfully at the invisible crowd. Was it just his imagination? A blur of red and white by the back door? The brief flash of blonde hair as the light from outside the auditorium faded to a close.
"In Never Neverland,
In my Never Neverland…"
He let the last note drift off, eyes closed. He knew he had this song down. The adoring audience, the applause, they were just out of reach. –wait. There was actual applause. Ray looked off stage to see Mr. Schuester and Finn Hudson stalking up to him. The new glee club teacher was smiling while Finn looked like he wanted to be anywhere but up on the stage.
Ray felt his smile slip and fall into the depths of the orchestra pit. "Mr. Schuester! You're early! I was hoping to rehearse a little more before we get to my actual audition but-"
"It's okay, Ray." Mr. Schuester cut him off, "I caught your rehearsal performance. I'd be crazy not to have you on the team. You're in."
"Of course I am. When do rehearsals start?" Ray asked as he eyed the lumbering mammoth of a boy that was standing awkwardly behind the teacher. "Because I already have some ideas for solos for me and-"
"Well, I was actually going to start by getting to know everyone on the team right now." Spotting the kids in the back, Mr. Schuester motioned Kurt and the others to come up on stage. "We won't be starting practice until next week but, this is a good chance for us to introduce ourselves."
"Hi, I'm Kurt Hummel. A lover of fashion, good taste and Broadway."
Ray started clapping in approval and delight but stopped when he realized no one else was doing it. He remembered the faces of everyone and even high-fived Artie when it was his turn. The only elephant in the room was- well, was the lumbering elephant in the room.
"Okay guys, I really want to make glee something special. Something that transcends the social ladder here at McKinley." Mr. Schuester pulled Finn into the group circle and introduced him, "If you guys don't already know, Finn here is the quarterback and captain of our school football team."
Ray rolled his eyes.
"And because we need to widen our horizons with this group, I managed to get him on this team."
That was all that Mr. Schue could get in before an incensed Ray stepped up, "There's no way that I'm allowing that behemoth-like Neanderthal on my stage. Not after what he did." Ray stomped his foot as he crossed his arms defiantly. "He desecrated this sacred place. Why isn't he suspended?"
"'S'not like you didn't try." Finn spat accusingly, "Running to your mommy because you got hit with a slushee and had to have a girl save you?"
"No, Puck called my mother because he was concerned because I was ambushed and assaulted by the majority of the football team."
"Guys!" Mr. Schuester stepped between them and pushed them apart. "Come on! We're a team now."
"So you expect me to take this club seriously now that the guy who assaulted me is joining? You thought that just because he can carry a slushie, he can carry a note?"
"Hey! I know some stuff about music! And I can play the drums and Mr. Schue said I can sing. Don't know where he heard me though 'cause I only really sing in the shower..."
Ray rounded on him, not giving one care about their massive height difference. "Oh really? Do you know the difference between a Tony and a Grammy? Have you been taking singing lessons since the age of two? What's your range? Can you sight-sing? Do you know the difference between pitch and tone?"
Finn looked furious and stomped towards Ray menacingly only to be stopped again by Mr. Schue.
"Hey!" He placed his hands on Ray's shoulders, "Come on, Ray. Doesn't everybody deserve a second chance? And none of that stuff really matters. We'll all learn it on the way. What matters is-"
Ray shrugged off Mr. Schuester's patronizing hands and words, "-is joy. Glee is all about opening yourself to the possibility of joy." He glared at the two, "How in the world do you expect me to feel safe much less happy when that bully is paying for what he did to me by joining the club that I practically restarted myself?"
"I wouldn't have even gotten in trouble if Santana hadn't given your mom that stupid video. It was just a stupid prank." Finn mumbled petulantly before cowering under Ray's death glare.
The others were speechless and a bit afraid. Kurt could tell that although Finn Hudson was a fine and very tall male specimen, he just didn't carry himself with the same natural stage presence that Ray had. He also doubted that Finn could sing like that angel just did.
"This is why I wanted us to spend this time talking. Looking past the jocks and the nerds and the invisibles. We're all just people that really love music. We can all get along." Mr. Schue looked at his students, his eyes brimming with hope and enthusiasm.
"I must apologize, Mr. Schuester, for what I'm about to say… But you're full of shit. And you are dreaming if you think I'll even stand to breathe the same air as that uncoordinated, empty-headed bully for even more than a second. Screw you. Screw the both of you."
"Ray Berry!"
"I quit. Good luck trying to get to Sectionals without me, seeing as you wouldn't even be head of this club if I didn't report Mr. Ryerson in for sexual harrassment."
Mr. Schuester looked on helplessly as Ray Berry stormed out of the auditorium as Finn eyed the retreating loser with contempt. The rest looked at each other worriedly, knowing that Ray was right and that they were screwed.
Quinn left Ray's rehearsal just as it ended. She didn't want to but she saw that she wasn't the only one there. And she had to know why.
"Coach?"
"Okay, Dye Job, here's the thing." Quinn's hand snapped up to her ponytail self-consciously and Sue continued, "I hate Will Schuester. He is a wide-eyed, washed out greaseball whose enthusiasm and bleeding heart has no place in the world of competition even one as gay as show choir. He roped in your boyfriend and that gremlin that just brought down the house and made my heart bleed through my ears isn't going to take it."
"Wait, Finn's on glee?" Quinn's eyes widened in shock, it couldn't be. Ray's mom drove to the school to make sure that Finn paid for what he did to her son. "Ray…"
Sue looked down imperiously on her second-in-command. "I want this glee club crushed like the little underdog it thinks it is. If gremlin-boy even shows his face in that club, I want you to bring him down."
"What?"
"You are truly my successor, Fabray. You saw the threat before I did. Now I want you to take care of it. Schuester's motley crew of misfit toys isn't going anywhere without the little elf-boy. You know it. I know it. Just make sure your midget-sized boy toy stays away."
Sue eyed the younger girl making sure she understood and when Quinn nodded, she gave a nod in return and stalked away.
Letting out the breath she was holding, Quinn leaned her back against the lockers and wondered what the hell she was going to do about this situation.
Finn seemed to trudge as he stomped down the hall, a side effect from his almost unnatural height. It was an arrogant sort of lurch, one derived from his earlier talk with Mr. Schuester.
The glee club teacher was sad at the departure of what could have been their star player but he quickly placed his confidence in Finn, something that made the quarterback preen.
They didn't need Ray Berry on glee anyways, Finn thought with certainty. He could make glee club work, he just needed the right recruits. The guys on the team were out. Besides, he wasn't looking to tell the team anything about it. That would be social suicide. Remembering what happened that morning, it was easy to see that Puck wasn't going to do anything for Finn's sake either.
How was he going to get more people for this stupid club?
It was then that Santana and Brittany breezed past the lumbering boy and after glaring at the brunette, an idea began to form in his mind.
This wasn't going to end well for anyone.
To be continued...
AN: I know I've been bad with updates lately but I'm working through the writer's block! I have most of the next chapter planned out so hopefully I'll update this quicker. Thank you so much for the reviews!
I'm glad you guys like protective Shelby! She'll be in the next chapter so don't worry about missing the Mama Bear too much.
I know a lot of you guys might hate that Mr. Schuester is such an ass and canon-esque but I'd like to hope that I do a better job than the show in that I will have other characters confront and address these attitudes that both Schue and Finn have. They may be jerks and self-righteous assholes but they will not get away with it.
Anyways... to apologize for my lack of updates, here's a little preview of the next chapter:
Ch. 9: My Gift Is My Song
Ray's storm-out pace didn't stop, even though he had left the auditorium a good five minutes ago. He just felt so angry. He put his trust in William Schuester to do what was best for the show choir and Ray was left utterly betrayed. It would be too much to consider Finn Hudson as his nemesis but if he were to consider staying at this godforsaken school, then that was exactly what that towering, half-witted lout would be. Even if nemesis implied some sort of equal ground between the two.
But he wasn't. Staying, that is.
It had to be said that he really did give this a chance and he really wanted to prove them wrong.
He'd miss going to school with Puck, Santana and Brittany.
And he'd really miss being able to see Quinn everyday. Perhaps it would be best. He was but a Phantom to Quinn's Christine.
But those eyes. That smile. The cross look she gave him that desperately tried to hide one of amusement. The twitching upward eye roll. All the looks that she'd never get the chance to give him. He was going to miss it all.
A voice stopped him and his furious thoughts in their tracks.
"Ray…"