Important author's note at the end. Please read and review!


While Abigail Cline was walking to her first period class the next day, a bright green flyer declaring the amazingness of Glee Club had caught her eye. She had always liked singing, especially during her cancer; it was a way to find hope and joy while struggling in a place where people usually felt hopeless and lost. While she was signing her name, a girl with hair that was just as curly as hers walked up to her.

"Hi," the girl said. "I'm McKenzie, call me Kenzie, and I'm really happy you are auditioning for Glee Club later today!"

"Hello Kenzie, I'm Abby. It's very nice to meet you, and I am excited about auditioning."

"Let me give you my phone number, just in case you ever need it. I have a feeling we will be very good friends," Kenzie said as she pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. "Just add your number here."

Abigail typed her number in to the phone, and sent a quick message to herself, so she could have the number, too. "Unfortunately, I have to go now. English is my first period and it's on the other side of the school. It was very nice to meet you, Kenzie," Abigail said.

"It was nice to meet you, too! Bye, Abby."

As Abby was walking away, she couldn't help but notice how much Kenzie seemed to care about Glee Club. It would be nice for Abby to have a friend like that.

Abigail was now sitting in her first period class. The teacher had just walked out of the room, and the new freshman were all talking amongst themselves.

Abigail looked to her right and saw a pretty Asian girl with her hair in a high ponytail. Abby was getting bored very quickly, so she gave up on organizing her binder and turned to the girl next to her that was tugging on the bottom of her shirt.

"Hello, my name is Abigail. What's yours?"

The girl looked up and smiled, "My name is Melanie, it's nice to meet you."

They shook hands, and Abigail started talking again. "What sports do you play?"

"Tennis, track, and hopefully I will make the cheer leading squad. I love to cheer, and I really want to walk around school in that red uniform. What sports do you play?" Melanie asked, curious to know how her answer would differ.

Abigail took notice of her high ponytail once more, connecting the dots inside her head. "I do track, also. And I'm auditioning for the glee club later today," Abigail said, smiling.

Melanie looked confused and asked, "Glee club? What's that?"

"You get to sing, dance, and perform. You probably will meet a lot of new friends, I've already met one because of it."

Melanie, not knowing that Glee might ruin her chances of becoming a Cheerio, replied, "That sounds pretty cool! I will sign up right after this class." The two girls grinned at each other, and Abby was really happy she was making so many friends.

The girl behind Melanie poked her. "So, are you gonna try out to be a Cheerio?"

Completely ignoring Abigail, the Asian girl turned around. "Of course!" she squealed. "I've, like, wanted to join ever since I got to Lima. Isn't it, like, so cool?"

Abigail decided to just leave Melanie and the other Cheerio wannabe to their own devices and turned to the girl on her left. She had a rather large nose but pretty blue eyes, which made up for it. She was currently listening to her iPod.

Abigail tapped her lightly on her shoulder. The girl looked up, surprised, and pulled out one earplug.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

Abigail shook her head, noting the girl's confident posture and the way she talked. "No, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Abby."

The girl smiled brightly. "That's such a pretty name. I'm Hollis and my twin Harlem is sitting behind me."

The girl - Abigail assumed she was a girl, although she looked rather masculine - sitting behind Hollis waved. She looked back down at her notebook, so Abby turned her attention back on Hollis.

"Do you like to sing?" Abigail asked, motioning towards Hollis' iPod.

The pale brunette nodded enthusiastically. "I love singing! I love music and performing in general."

She was practically broadcasting her enthusiasm to the entire world. Several of their classmates glanced at her and then shrugged, probably deciding the weirdo wasn't worth their time.

"I signed up for Glee Club earlier," Abigail began a little tentatively, unsure if Hollis would meet this statement with the same ebullience as before.

"I did too!" Hollis practically shouted, gesturing frantically at her twin as well. "We both did! I think it would be an absolutely marvelous opportunity to help improve my singing skills and performance abilities."

"That's great," Abigail said, wondering exactly how much excitement the girl could take before she'd literally burst apart. "You do know that auditions are today, right?"

Hollis nodded so fast Abigail was surprised her head didn't blur. "Of course. It's right in my planner," she said, pointing to a fluffy pink notebook sitting on her desk.

The doorknob rattled, signifying their teacher's return, and the two girls immediately turned back to their desks, faking innocence when the teacher finally burst through the door.

Anthony was lounging in the hall, waiting to meet up with a couple of friends, when he noticed his sister walking up to him with a rather curious expression on her face.

He pushed himself off the wall. "What's up, Abs?"

She scowled at him. "Don't call me Abs," she said. "Are all the people in high school this weird?"

Anthony laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders casually. "Like how weird?"

"So, I hadn't really talked to anyone besides the kids I knew from the middle school. Then I get to first period, and there's all these wannabe jocks and valley girl cheerleaders - do valley girls even exist in Ohio? - and some girl who's absolutely insane and has a ridiculously loud voice."

"Trust me, Abs; it gets better," Anthony reassured her. "Probably 75% of the school remains crazy, but you find people who you can get along with and face the craziness together."

Abigail grimaced. "That sounds like a zombie apocalypse or something. By the way, do you know a girl named McKenzie Sparks?"

Anthony thought for a moment, trying to remember where he'd heard the name from. "I think," he said slowly. "Isn't she a new sophomore? Brown hair, tan, kind of short?" He thought she'd been rather cute, but he attributed that more to her height than anything. Or maybe because she was new and he may have been a little desperate. Crushing on your best friend tended to make you over-eager to find someone else to crush on instead.

His sister nodded. "Yeah. She talked to me this morning about Glee Club auditions which are later today. How much am I going to have to beg for you to audition with me?"

"You - me - sing - what?" Anthony stuttered, still thinking somewhat of his love life.

"Please?" His sister widened her eyes and pouted, trying to pull off her puppy-dog eyes that had always worked back when she was young and innocent and not in high school.

Anthony rolled his eyes. "You look stupid," he commented.

"Please?" she repeated. "I'll buy you anything you want or do whatever you want. It's just an audition and I know you're not a bad singer. Please?"

Anthony gave in. It was inevitable, he thought sadly; he always gave in to his sister's wishes when they hadn't been completely outrageous. Like the one time she told him to tattoo a detailed diagram of an eye on his arm.

"Alright, I'll do it," he sighed. "For you. But you owe me."

Abigail hugged him. "You're awesome. I'll definitely pay you back, but I gotta go to class now." She made a face. "Maybe math won't have as many weirdos as English."

Anthony was sitting outside on a bench during his free period, contemplating his screwed up love life, when he saw that new girl, McKenzie walk past.

During kindergarten, he'd met a blonde girl with mini anger issues and a weird fondness for wooden building blocks. As he'd also had a weird fondness for building blocks, the two of them had got into an epic fight over who got to play with them. They'd fought for a week or so. One day, the girl got fed up and nailed him on the head with a block. He'd started crying, she'd called him a sissy, and they became best friends afterwards. It was probably the weirdest friendship he'd ever made, but it had lasted the longest, too.

Stephanie had always been pretty, although he hadn't really noticed until middle school, and then he just decided that girls were icky and Stephanie had some cool best-friend protection that made her okay to play with but not okay to like. In high school, however, she suddenly became popular. There were guys all over her now and she didn't have time anymore for poor lowly Anthony.

He hoped that if he fell in love with some other girl, his odd, annoying feelings for Stephanie would dissipate and they'd go back to just being best friends. He had the feeling that, just maybe, Kenzie might fit the bill.

"Hey, Kenzie," he called.

She looked up from her phone and smiled.

"D'you wanna come sit here or something?"

He very nearly went and smacked his head against the wall for his stupidity. "If you want to," he tried to amend. "Because it's a nice place to sit and it looks like you'd get tired...okay, I'm just going to shut up now."

She laughed, checked her phone quickly, and then put it in her pocket. "Thanks," she said, walking over. "What's your name? I think I've seen you before, but I don't remember your name."

"I'm Anthony," he said. "I think you talked to my sister earlier today? Abigail?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes. She was signing up for the Glee Club. Would you, by any chance, want to join as well?"

"Already did," he replied.

She smiled. "That's awesome! I can't wait for Glee Club to start. It's going to be so much fun."

They talked for the rest of the period. Kenzie thought Anthony was nice and a decent guy overall. She couldn't help comparing him to that boy with the blue eyes, though. She remembered that she'd be able to see him today at the auditions and smiled brightly at the thought.

Anthony, seeing the smile, thought that perhaps she was smiling about him and hoped that she liked him as much as he was starting to like her. She was nice, fun, and not Stephanie, which was a definite plus.

As Kenzie left, thanking him for inviting her to talk, he decided to text Stephanie to reinforce the "just friends" barrier in his mind.

Hey Steph, what's up? Wanna come do hw at my house l8er?

His phone buzzed almost immediately.

Hey A. just hanging out w/football team + friends. sounds like a plan! i need all the help i can get from u mr. smarty :)

He smiled, but wished that he could count as one of her in-school friends. Then he destroyed that thought, trying to think about Kenzie instead. It would be much more productive to crush on the new girl than his very popular best friend.

What Anthony didn't know was that when Stephanie sent him that text, she wasn't telling the whole truth. Yes, she was with some of her friends, but she was also cheering on a few of the football players while they were making fun of the gay kid, Zane.

"Hey, you little faggot. Fucked any good guys recently?" one of them asked conversationally.

His friend hit him on the back. "You're an idiot. He doesn't fuck guys; he gets fucked."

The other football players burst into loud guffaws while Zane slammed his books together in an effort to drown them out. He didn't like the bullying, but he'd taught himself to be okay with it - he was confident in his sexuality and had been since he'd came out. It didn't mean he appreciated being surrounded at his locker and having rude and immature comments thrown in his face.

"Hey. Look at us when we're talking to you," one of them snapped, kicking Zane. It didn't hit with much force, but Zane winced nonetheless. He didn't look up.

"He's so full of himself," a girl muttered and there was a smattering of agreement. "Look at him. He doesn't even think he needs to respond to us."

"Hey," a voice said roughly, and two hands grabbed Zane's shoulders, forcibly pushing him against the lockers. He gasped as air was forced out of his lungs and closed his eyes, turning his head away slightly.

Zane knew this guy. Douglas was a good football player but a terrible homophobe. He acted like every single gay or lesbian had come out of the closet just to personally torture him and he had to beat them back into the closet for the sake of the world or something. Out of all the bullies, Douglas was probably the only one Zane couldn't even feel a little pity for.

"You're a fucking blemish to society," Douglas growled. "I can't believe you're even willing to show your face in school."

Zane opened his eyes, stared directly at the harasser's misshapen nose, and declared, "Your breath smells like dead fish."

He heard a mixture of disapproval and amusement from the onlookers. He opened his mouth to continue the insults, but a quick punch in the stomach cut off his breath and he grunted in pain instead.

"You're going to hell," Douglas told him. Zane could feel little drops of spit landing on his face as the football player spoke and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "God hates gay faggots like you. It's in the Bible. You don't deserve His love. You're going to rot in hell and I'm going to enjoy every second of it."

"Isn't God the only one who can judge people, too?" a female voice cut in. Surprised, Douglas let go of Zane, who lost his balance and fell to the floor.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Douglas snarled at the girl. She was tan and dark-haired. Zane was pretty sure she was a junior, although he couldn't recognize her.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Don't I?" She glared at Douglas, her lip curled into a slight sneer. Then she turned to address the rest of the football team and cheerleaders. "You all need to cut this shit out. I'll bet at least one of you is gay and just doesn't have the guts to out him or herself. I bet at least one of you has done something you know would get you bullied." Several guys and a sizable amount of the girls looked down nervously.

She scoffed. "At least Zane's brave and confident enough to come to terms with himself and be honest with everyone. You're all lying to yourself and everyone around you because you're scared. Grow some balls, will you? You all make me sick."

They all walked away, some sheepish, some angry. One guy muttered "bitch" as he passed, but the girl just flipped him off.

"Thanks," Zane said, watching the bullies as they left.

The girl shrugged. "It's no big deal. They really do make me sick."

Zane grinned, getting to his feet. "Yeah. But really, thanks. Being surrounded by homophobes makes you think there aren't any people who support gay rights anymore."

"I know what you mean. I know you're Zane. I don't know if you know me, but I'm Brooke, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Brooke."

She cleared her throat. "I know it may sound like I'm totally stereotyping gays, but do you like singing and dancing and music and stuff?"

Zane nodded, his face lighting up. "I love it, actually."

"I saw this sign-up sheet for Glee Club on the way here. Auditions are later today and I thought it might be pretty cool if we both joined."

"Glee Club?" He'd never thought about it, although now that he did, it sounded like a pretty good idea.

"Yeah. It's like show choir or something. There's a lot of performing and singing and dancing and stuff, so I thought you might like it."

Zane smiled. "Of course I'll audition! I already have an idea for a song, too. Where's the sign up sheet?"

"Go down that way and turn left. It's, like, two doors down or something. Actually, you know what? I'll show you," Brooke said, gesturing for Zane to follow.

James had just heard the rumors about that boy named Zane getting saved by Brooke. He and Brooke had met before, and he thought she was pretty cool.

He looked back down at his book just as someone sat down across from him. He glanced up, recognizing the face but finding himself unable to identify it. The girl dropped a sizable pile of books on the table.

"Hi. I'm James Masterson, and I see you like to read."

He promptly cursed himself for what probably seemed the worst pick-up line in the history of pick-up lines. Fortunately, the girl didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I know," she said shyly. "I'm Alyssa Monroe, and yes, I do love to read."

As soon as she said her name, it clicked. She was the girl who'd come out of the closet last year. It had completely destroyed her social status and she'd been teased for the rest of the year. It looked like things had settled down over the summer or people had forgotten; he hadn't heard anything about her since school started.

She saw the recognition dawn on his face. "I guess I have a reputation around here, being lesbian and all," she said quietly.

James blinked. Then he immediately waved his hands in protest, letting his book drop to the ground.

"No! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just nice to meet you in person. Rumors don't give you any idea of how a person is actually like." Especially since rumors had painted her as a fat, mousy-haired, irrevocably masculine girl who could never ever be mistaken for a straight person and basically broadcasted "forever alone". James had known that people would twist facts to suit their opinions.

Alyssa offered a small smile. "Thanks," she all but whispered.

"Any time," James replied, bending over to pick up his book.

The two of them read in companionable silence. After a few minutes, James began thinking about bullying in schools, how victims were generally alone. Then he considered Alyssa. He glanced up at her again, deciding just to tell her that she at least had some support.

"Hey, A-Alyssa," he said, and she looked up.

"Look, I know we just met, and most of what I know about you are rumors. But I know this school and I know that you - you probably had a r-really hard time last year." He was starting to stutter, so he cleared his throat and took a deep breath before he continued. "So - so I just wanted you to know that I've got your back, okay? I think you're a really g-great girl and - people should learn to look past your sexuality."

She stared at him, wide-eyed, for a couple of seconds. James vaguely wondered if he'd said something wrong when he realized that, most likely, no one had ever told her something like that before. It made him feel a little proud and more than a little sad.

She smiled weakly. "Thanks," she said. "I really appreciate it." Her cheeks slightly pink, she looked back down at her book.

There was a loud thunk as a bag was swung onto the table. James and Alyssa both looked up, surprised.

A somewhat androgynous Asian boy stared back at them. "Sorry," he whispered.

James shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. You just surprised us."

"Is it okay if I sit here?" His voice was a lot higher than James had expected.

"Of course. I'm James, by the way."

The boy smiled shyly, sitting down and taking out a rather thick textbook. "I'm Aubrey," he said.

James couldn't quite recall knowing anyone named Aubrey, although he was certain that name popped up a couple of times in the rumor mill last year. "Are you a sophomore?" he asked. "I don't think we've ever met, even though I think I've heard your name before."

Aubrey stiffened. "Last year, that football player told everyone that I was gay and going to hell," he said shortly.

"Don't take it personally; he does that to everyone," Alyssa said softly. "I'm Alyssa, by the way."

"But I'm not gay. Not that I have anything against gays," he backtracked, glancing at Alyssa somewhat guiltily.
"It's fine," she replied.

Aubrey looked conflicted.

Trying to change the subject, James pointed at Aubrey's textbook."What class is that for?"

Aubrey glanced down at it and groaned. "AP Calc. The school only offers AB but it's not too much of a difference between AB and BC, so I'm trying to self-study BC. By the way, do either of you know what Glee Club is?"

Alyssa shrugged. "I think it's a singing group. McKinley had a good one a couple of years ago but it died down."

"It looks like someone's trying to restart it, though. There's flyers about it littered all over the school."

James thought for a second. "Actually," he said slowly, "I think it might be fun just to try out."

Aubrey perked up. "Do you wanna audition with me? You too, Alyssa."

Alyssa looked doubtful.

"Come on," James said. "It'll be fun! The other kids will probably be really accepting and you could make new friends. Even if you don't sing well, just audition with us for the heck of it."

She looked torn for a minute, but then sighed and nodded.

"Yay!" Aubrey squealed, clapping his hands "We should pick songs soon, though, since auditions are later today."

Shocked by his sudden enthusiasm, James could only nod in agreement.


This update happened a lot later than I had originally planned, and I'm sorry. The first week of school really put me of track. I hope to update a least once a week, and that's the worst possible situation. Hopefully I will have more time than I've had this week.

Special thanks to MaldrianLuver13 and my pain be creepin, they have really helped me so much and I couldn't be more thankful for them!

I need you to PM me or leave in your review two things!

1. A song that describes your character! If they were to pick a song that best describes them, what would it be? Any genre of music is fine!

2. Any ideas for a musical for the school to do! I have a few ideas, but I want to hear yours. I need ideas that have a least a few main roles, just so I can equally distribute them. You can also let me know three different parts you would want your character to have. I say that because not everyone can be the lead role.

So please leave those two things in a PM or review! I hope you liked this chapter, and after this we have audtions and then the first week of Glee Club!