CHAPTER 15

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Beiste bellowed, spittle flying from her mouth and showering Theo like shrapnel from an explosion. Theo listened to her scream and shout for what felt like an eternity, not saying a word in response. Not saying a word to defend himself. He wasn't one for excuses, no matter whether or not he felt they were valid. He had let his anger take control of him, and now it was on him to bear the consequences of that. It didn't matter about the Karofsky of it all. It didn't matter about the slushie. All that mattered was that he had screwed up, and now he was taking his licks for it.

Little did Theo know though, that Theo' punishment was just about the last thing on Coach Beiste's mind. As she yelled, her mind whirred and raced as she thought about the person sitting before him. She hadn't really paid attention to him until today - he was the kind of quiet, less popular guy who flew under the radar in McKinley - but seeing him out there on the field, he was EXACTLY what the football team needed. The way he had lost his temper and manhandled Karofsky, that was exactly the killer instinct that their defense had been lacking. The whole game yesterday, they hadn't gone the whole game without a single sack, for the first time in Beiste's entire coaching career. It was genuinely shocking too. The players had strength and they all had experience, so on paper it shouldn't have been as bad as it was. But there was something they had been missing: that killer instinct that just couldn't be taught. It was something that was ingrained in certain individuals, and the boy sitting before her clearly had it. Attacking Karofsky in the way he had… he was clearly athletic, he was fearless even when faced with a big, menacing opponent, and he also packed a pretty vicious tackle. Coach Beiste didn't know how much experience Theo had at football, if any. But all she knew was that this was someone she NEEDED for her team.

But how to convince him? As Coach Beiste continued to yell nonsense at him, buying herself time to think, she pondered about how she could actually get him to join the team. The boy seemed to be part of the Glee club, whose male contingent consisted almost entirely of football players, so Coach Beiste figured that if Theo had wanted to play, the other Glee boys on the team probably would have already convinced him. Trying to give him a speech now about the benefits of football would probably fall on deaf ears. She needed a different strategy. That was when Will's advice from earlier that day came to mind…

"Look, I don't know how you did things in your old school, but here in McKinley we have a strict NO VIOLENCE policy!" Coach Beiste spat. Theo raised an eyebrow questioningly, but didn't question it. In the past 2 weeks he had been here, he had been slushied, shoved around, laid out by Karofsky, but sure yeah, McKinley had a no violence policy right? "I oughta take you to Principal Figgins and have him expel your ass!"

Fear flashed for a moment through Theo's eyes. Expelled? He couldn't get expelled! The whole point, the whole reason that he had agreed to move all the way out here to Lima was for a fresh start. It was for the chance to become the man that Marley could be proud of again. And getting expelled… it would wreck any chance of that ever happening.

"Ms. Beiste…" Theo began, but Beiste's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Coach Beiste." Beiste corrected him. Theo nodded.

"Coach Beiste… please don't expel me!" Theo begged.

"Well… I guess I could come up with an alternative, where Figgins doesn't find out about your entanglement with Karofsky, and in return you do something for the community. Kind of like community service in a way." Beiste replied. Theo instantly nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure! Anything! Is it picking up trash off the side of the highway or something? Because I'll do that!" He exclaimed. Beiste shook her head.

"No. Not that kind of community service. It's more… giving back to your school. Paying off your debt by giving back to the school community."

"How do I do that?" Theo asked. Beiste took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Well, you do that by agreeing to join the football team for the rest of the season." Beiste told him.

Theo' eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Huh? He thought to himself. Join the football team? It was the exact opposite to anything he could've expected.

"F-football?" Theo stammered. This was the one thing that he couldn't do. He couldn't continue playing football with Marley gone, when she was the one who had given him the strength to play again in the first place.

"I saw the tackle you hit Karofsky with. "Not everybody 50 pounds lighter than him like you could've made that tackle. You ever play football?"

"Used to." Theo admitted quietly. "Quarterback and Defensive Line in my old school."

"Right. Makes sense." She murmured. "You clearly have potential Theo. Your tackling, footwork, strength and speed are clearly there. With some practice, you could be a superb football player."

Theo looked down for a moment, staring at his feet, before looking back at her. He couldn't agree to this. Every bone in his body screamed at him to come up with an excuse why he couldn't play, but his brain refused to cooperate."

"I appreciate it, coach. I'm flattered, I really am. But I don't think I can play. I'm already doing Glee after school."

"So are plenty of the other guys on my team. There's no time conflict between the two." Beiste told him.

Shit, Theo thought to himself. That was obvious. He had never been a very good liar, and had failed miserably here. He had thrown away any chance of getting out of this.

"Again, it's completely up to you, Theo." Beiste continued. "But I feel like I should remind you of the alternative option if you don't agree to play. Principal Figgins' office is only a 2 minute walk away. The choice is yours…"

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A couple of minutes later, Theo walked out of Coach Beiste's office, only to find all of the Glee guys standing there, staring at him anxiously. They were all pacing up and down the corridor anxiously, and they all ran over to him when they saw him.

"What happened? Did Beiste suspend you?" Finn immediately asked him.

"No." Theo shook his head.

"Detention?" Puck asked. Theo shook his head again.

"Nah, none of that." Theo told them.

"So what was the punishment then?" Sam asked.

"Well you know how I said that I didn't want to play football this year? Guess I'm joining you guys after all."

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"Wait… let me sure I'm hearing this correctly… Theo, you knocked the daylights out of Karofsky in the middle of the Phys Ed class, and your only punishment was being allowed straight onto the football team without even trying out?" Mercedes asked, in disbelief, as all of the New Directions sat around in the choir room that afternoon, discussing the events of earlier that day.

"Well… yeah? I guess." Theo replied as he placed his backpack down and sat down in the choir room, still dressed in Quinn's ridiculously small Phys Ed outfit as he hadn't gotten the chance to change before his next class, Beiste keeping him in her office too late for that.

Mercedes whistled in surprise.

"I've gotta say, after all the crap he's put us through for just being in Glee club, I'm kind of sad I didn't get to see him finally get some justice." She commented.

"Speaking of things we did and didn't see, Theo, why the hell are you still wearing that outfit? You look like a prostitute that got kicked off Rupaul's Drag Race." Santana remarked bluntly. Theo blushed slightly.

"Didn't have time to change after Phys Ed." Theo admitted.

"You mind if I borrow the outfit to wear tomorrow?" Puck suddenly chimed in and asked him. Theo looked at him, confused.

"Um… huh?" Theo grunted.

"I swear that outfit is an absolute babe magnet!" Puck told him.

"Puck, I can absolutely and unequivocally tell you that that is not at all the case." Rachel laughed. "No offense, Theo."

"None taken." Theo quickly responded, really wanting to change the subject from his stupid attire as soon as possible. But Puck wasn't having any of it.

"Really? Is that right? Theo, tell them about what happened at the lockers." Puck demanded.

"What happened at the lockers?" Tina asked, the New Directions thoroughly entertained by this story. Well, all of them but Theo, who was getting increasingly embarrassed with each passing second. He glared daggers at Puck and sighed.

"Nothing much. I bent over to pick up a book that fell from my locker, and a few Cheerios suddenly came over and gave me their numbers."

"A few? My boy somehow must've mastered the dark arts or something, because it was like he had managed to conjure every Cheerio in the entire school." Artie remarked.

"Yeah, they're not wrong." Sam chimed in. "He must've had at least 50 numbers in his locker by the end of the day. Heck, even the lunch lady asked him to prom!"

"No way! We've gotta see these!" Santana exclaimed. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, Theo slowly opened his backpack and pulled out an entire plastic bag's worth of scraps of paper, notecards and other slips that all contained a different girl's social media handle, phone number or an extremely overtly sexual message. As Santana thumbed through all of the slips of paper, recognizing many of the names from the Cheerios and cackling uproariously at some of the messages, Blaine turned to him.

"So what are you going to do with all of these? Kindling to the fire, or are you actually going to go out with these girls?" He asked.

Theo was extremely uncomfortable by this point. What was he supposed to say? He knew for a fact that he wasn't going to go out with a single one of these girls, but he couldn't reveal why. Apart from Quinn and Santana, nobody else knew about Marley. Nobody else knew he was a married man. So Theo resorted at sarcasm and cynicism to respond.

"I don't know. I was thinking I'd be able to have a roster set up by the end of the week." Theo remarked, extremely sarcastically. "One girl on a breakfast date. One girl on a lunch date. One girl on a dinner date. And I switch the girls out every day. Puck also wanted some of these numbers, so maybe I could sell some of them off to him, make a hefty profit, and..."

"Oh, my God!" A voice suddenly snapped from the corner of the choir room. Everyone turned to see Quinn, her face crimson and livid, shockingly so given that she hadn't said a word up until this point. "You can't just treat these girls like objects! You can't date three girls in one day! That's so rude! It's misogynistic! It's…"

"So very clearly sarcasm." Theo finished her sentence. Quinn hesitated for a moment, as she took in these words.

"W-w-what?" She stammered. Theo shot her a look, and as he stared at her, Quinn remembered who she was talking to and what she had learned about him, and she instantly felt really bad. Of course he wasn't going out with these girls after what had happened to him before, she thought.

"I'm not dating any of them." Theo remarked. "Call me old-fashioned, but I don't really want to be dating a girl with whom my first interaction was them staring at my bent over ass. It should be the other way around."

As Theo said this, he looked Quinn right in the eye, noticing the blush and embarrassment dyed rosy pink on her pale cheeks. Even though the two of them were just friends, he felt the irrational need for her to know that he wasn't a player. That he actually cared about people he dated.

"Oooookay." Kurt remarked, the New Directions all sending each other surreptious smirks. There was something between Quinn and the new boy, there was no doubt about that. Some kind of chemistry, a spark that was yet to have been lit. Many of them were desperately holding back their comments about it, and it was only Mr. Schue walking into the room at that very moment that prevented some of the more gossipy members of the Glee club from doing so.

"Alright, guys!" Mr. Schue exclaimed as he saw them all sitting in the choir room, awaiting the lesson. His eyes flickered over to Theo, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the ridiculous outfit. He didn't ask though. After all, with Kurt and Mercedes both in the room, Theo was not even the most flamboyantly dressed person there. "Hope you guys are ready, because we have a big lesson up ahead…"

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"What happened last night was an embarrassment! It was a shitshow! Each and every one of you played like a bunch of little babies! You looked almost scared of them! All of you! I don't know what I watched last night, but it sure as hell wasn't the performance of State Champions! You didn't even look good enough to beat the Under 9s State Champions!"

The Football team stood in the locker room that afternoon for practice as Coach Beiste berated them for their shocking performance the night before. 41-3 was a horror show that Beiste never wanted to see repeated, not just by this team, but any team she coached now or in future. It was embarrassing, and it was a step in the wrong direction for everyone: both her and the players. The last thing she needed was for this to become a pattern, so she needed to nip this in the bud before it could. That was why Theo, as well as 10-15 other hand-picked athletes Beiste had recruited one way or another, stood along the back wall of the locker room, listening intently and generating the confusion of everyone else in the room.

"It's a long season ahead, but we sure as hell can't go at it like we did last night, or we won't even make the playoffs. We need a total reset, boys. That's the only way we can salvage this season." Beiste stated bluntly. "So… as of right now, starters… you're all cut from the team."

Murmurs of shock echoed around the locker room, eyes wide and jaws slack with shock. The starters, many of whom had been key players since their sophomore year, looked at Beiste like she had grown a third arm right in front of their very eyes.

"You can still earn your spots on the team back. But you all start at 0." Beiste told them. "You're all cut. I don't care if you're the star quarterback. Or the star receiver. Or the star lineman or linebacker. I don't freaking care if you scored the game winning touchdown and were the MVP in the State Championship game last year!"

Beiste briefly locked eyes with Finn as she said this. Although Finn was her captain and was an experienced member of the team, if she was being extremely honest with herself, he had put on a sub-par performance last night. Nobody on the team had played particularly well, but as their captain, Quarterback and in some cases their talisman, Beiste needed more from Finn. She hoped one of her recruits would be able to challenge him and rejuvenate him to fight for his spot on the team, rather than allowing him to rest on his laurels.

"As you can see behind you, I've brought along about 10 to 15 extra guys. Some tried out for the team and got cut. Some have been brought in now."

Everyone's head turned around and looked at all of the various teenagers Beiste had brought to the locker room that afternoon.

"Consider today a second tryout." Beiste explained. "We're going to a play a bunch of mini-games, so I can assess exactly where each and every one of you is as a football player. But it will be tryout where none of you are going to be cut. Instead, we're going to play this season with extra players. Which means more and more people who will be vying for your spot. Show me today why I should pick you for our next game. Everyone, get your pads on, and you have 5 minutes to get out onto the field! Now!"

The locker room sprung into action the moment Beiste stepped outside onto the field, with all of the teenagers hustling to get ready in time. Many guys zipped out as quickly as possible, but Theo was one of the last people to emerge from it. He took a while to put on his pads, trying to calm himself as best as he could and ready his mind for what he was about to do next.

Theo had vehemently sworn to himself after Marley's death that he would never play football again. Sure the two events weren't directly correlated, but for Theo, they might as well have been. Marley had saved him when he was at his lowest, and she had done so through football. Football then was as much heaven to him as it was hell to him directly before that. Any good memories he had playing football was because of her. Any success he achieved, both team and individual, was because of her. She had been his guardian angel, his cheerleader, his good-luck talisman. It had all happened because of her introducing him to the sport in the first place. But playing now… without her… it just felt wrong.

Theo had little time to dwell on that fact though, as just when he was about to leave the locker room and step onto the field, he felt himself encircled by a group of people, and he didn't even need to look up to know who it was. Karofsky, Azimio and their group of bullies surrounded Theo like hyenas, with the Glee club already outside so unable to back Theo up.

"What a surprise to see you here." Karofsky remarked as he scowled daggers at Theo. "Didn't think football was a sport for little bitches."

"Is that right?" Theo murmured, standing tall and refusing to show any fear in the face of the bullies. "Have you already forgotten what happened this afternoon on the field?"

"You got a lucky hit when I didn't expect it." Karofsky muttered through gritted teeth. "See what happens to you now."

He began to curl his hands into fists, Theo doing the same, when suddenly another voice rang out in the locker room.

"Back off, Karofsky." Sam told them, the last of the Glee guys to leave the locker room.

"Walk away, Evans. Unless you want us on you too." Karofsky snapped at him. However, Sam didn't back down, walking over and standing between Theo and Karofsky, facing the bully.

"Just save it for the field." Sam told them. Shockingly, Karofsky and his bully gang backed away, mainly because they knew they didn't have much time before Beiste began wondering where they were.

"You're right. We'll save it all for the field." Karofsky said, looking Theo right in the eye as he did. "You better watch yourself out there."

Karofsky and his friends walked out of the locker room, leaving just Theo and Sam inside. Once they were gone, Theo turned to Sam.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Theo said to him. Sam shrugged off the thanks.

"No problem." He replied. "I know what it's like to be in your shoes, moving in from out of State. I was the new boy last year. It's all a bit overwhelming, and guys like Karofsky don't help at all."

"No kidding." Theo remarked, agreeing with him.

"Just show them all up. Be better than all of them." Sam encouraged him. Theo nodded, a faint, genuine smile on his face. Sam had been really nice to him since he had arrived at McKinley. He had missed having genuine friends like this.

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Finn and Puck were two of the first people on the field, wasting no time in warming up together, doing a whole bunch of practice throws and routes. With Beiste's words, Finn was really feeling the pressure. He was his own worst enemy, he was in his head the most, and he knew full-well that he hadn't performed well yesterday. He NEEDED to keep his spot on the team, for more reasons than just pride too, like it had been in previous years. Football, he knew, was his best chance at getting a scholarship and a chance to go to college, so he needed to perform well. Although they won State last year, with all of the chaos that went on during the final, he didn't manage to catch the attention of any scouts, which he needs to do this year.

As Finn and Puck began warming up, they watched Sam and Theo walk outside together too and begin throwing their own practice throws and routes. Watching Theo throw the ball… Finn was instantly uneasy. Although they were just lightly warming up, the way Theo was throwing the ball around seemed effortless. He knew that Theo had played Quarterback before - the treatment he had given Karofsky earlier had shown him as much - but he never figured his spot on the team was in genuine jeopardy. He did now though.

"Relax." Puck told him, reading the expression on his friend's face. "You have nothing to worry about. You won the State Championship as captain, and were the Finals MVP last year. I know Beiste says that shit doesn't matter, but it really does. Besides, Theo's probably not even that good. I spoke to him in class a few times. He only started playing a few years ago, and hasn't played in a while. You've been preparing for this your whole life."

"His throws look pretty clean though." Finn remarked.

"It's easy to make a throw with no defense around. Let him try with a massive, bloodthirsty defensive end bearing down on him. It'll be totally different, I guarantee you." Puck reassured him. "You'll have your spot back as starting Quarterback before you know it."

Tryouts started shortly after and much to Finn's dismay, Puck couldn't have been more incorrect. Theo was good. He was very, very good. There was definitely an argument to be made that he was one of the best players McKinley had seen in recent years. Beiste had set them up in a mini-game format, and although it took Theo a little while to adjust to playing Football again, once he had, there was no stopping him. Playing at Quarterback, he was making throws that the rest of the team couldn't even dream about making. He could also run with immense pace for his size, as well as possessing a rocket of an arm. He ran, threw and made decisions very well. Needless to say, Beiste was secretly over the moon with her new recruit. He had the makings of a very, very good football player indeed.

But Finn wasn't going to be outdone easily. The game switched from offense to defense so Finn's team was playing offense and Theo's was playing defense, which meant that Finn had the opportunity to show off his own skills. And boy did he need to, because Theo had put on a clinic, and Finn could feel his certainty of a spot as starting Quarterback slipping from his grasp.

The two teams lined up, having switched sides, and who did Finn see lining up for the other team? Of course it was Theo. Of course it was. The boy played both offense and defense in his old school, his large, built frame allowing him to play on the defensive line.

Theo was up against Karofsky, who was playing on the offensive line, and the bully wasted no time making fun of him, mocking everything about him as they waited for the play to start. Theo didn't say anything back to him though. He simply gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw, preparing to pounce.

As Theo crouched, ready to play defense and charge towards Finn, his mind was a mess. Rather than football being a fun game like it was after he met Marley, it had reverted back to the ell it was before he had met her. It was a way of letting out his anger at the world. He could feel himself slipping further and further back into the shoes of the angry idiot he was before he met his wife, driven by trauma, just like he was now.

As soon as the whistle blew, in the blink of an eye, Karofsky was flat on his back. Just like that. 250+ pounds had been dumped aside at the hands of Theo, who now had a straight shot towards the Quarterback. Taking advantage, Theo sacked Finn HARD, slamming him to the ground.

Finn groaned in pain as he went down with a CRASH, wincing so tightly that his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, he saw Theo standing over him, holding a hand to help him up. Anger began to swirl inside Finn's stomach and he dragged himself to his feet, ignoring Theo's hand, more desperate than ever to make a big play.

Unfortunately, Finn found himself dumped onto his ass several more times throughout the tryout, unable to really do too much with the ball. By the end, it was clear that Finn was no longer the best player on the team. There was a new top dog in town, both on the offensive and defensive side…

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However, despite the great news, Theo was not satisfied at all. The small hint of hope, optimism and happiness that he had felt about his life before the tryout had now been crushed. He felt like utter shit as he sat in the locker room afterwards, missing Marley more than he ever had before. He didn't feel a shred of the satisfaction he used to feel about playing football. In fact, he felt devoid of any joy or emotion. No matter how well he did on the football field, that meant nothing in the slightest. The bottom was that he was still alone. She wasn't here anymore. And she never would be.

"Hey, Theo." Theo was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Sam's voice. "Great job today, man."

"Thanks. You too." Theo murmured back.

"Do you want to hang out or something now?" Sam asked.

"Oh, uh… I'm sorry, man. I should probably be getting home. Next time though." Theo replied. That was a lie. He had absolutely nowhere to be right now. But more than anything, he needed to be alone right now. He was done with the entire world right now.

"No problem. Next time for sure." Sam replied cheerfully. "Okay. Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning for Glee rehearsal."

Theo nodded and the boy left shortly after. Once he was gone, the locker room fell completely silent as Theo was the last person left inside. He sat by his locker and pulled something out of his bag: a photo of Marley. It was a candid photo he had taken of her during one of their dates together, and the sheer joy and happiness on her face was enough to cause an agony to rip through her entire body. She had no idea what was about to become of her. What Theo would end up doing.

All of Theo's emotions finally caught up with him after a whirlwind of a first week in McKinley. As they did, his pain returned one hundred fold, tears beginning to splash down onto the photograph of Marley as Theo cradled it to his chest.

"I miss you so much."