Find Yourself:
OK so I thought I'd do something a bit different and instead of doing two more filler chapters before I got to the showcase stuff I decided to do kind of a little run down instead. Hope you like my change in pace. Song used in this chapter 'My Girl' by the Temptations… Any comments/suggestions are always loved…
The following week drew out a mixture of emotions for Kristina and the people around her and she shuddered to think about what it would feel like in the days leading up to a more competitive performance like Regionals.
Monday:
The week began in the all to routine way of one of her friends (Kurt on this day) picked her up and took her to school.
'Someday' she thought to herself, 'I'll go and get my Ohio State drivers license'
Though considering the fact that she had killed her ex-step mother's unborn child by running the bitch off the road she assumed that the timing would be after Quinn Fabray had her baby, just to be on the safe side.
"So," Kurt had spoke on their drive to school, "big weekend ahead of us huh."
Hiding her nerves, and faking a smile Kristina nodded back at her friend.
It was a big weekend.
Her first performance was most likely what Kurt was alluding too which defiantly was giving her butterflies. However mixed with that came the thought of Valentines Day and her planed declaration to Artie.
God she hoped she wasn't making an ass of herself and that in turn all he wanted was her friendship. Or what if he did like her in the same way she liked him but got offended when he found out about all her baggage like he got offended when he heard Tina was faking her stutter. (Her friend told her this key factor though told Kristina how it was for the best and that she and Artie made a cute couple)
-
Entering school that day she shared a brief moment with her 'gal pals' before heading into homeroom.
"Nice hairclips," Puck commented as he pointed to the sparkly silver butterflies sticking out of the twist Kristina's hair was pulled back in.
The young girl grinned thinking about when she bought them along with her friends kid sister the other afternoon.
"Thank you," Kristina said while grinning, "I suppose Ruthie liked her hair clips too."
He nodded.
"The hairclips were not all Ruthie liked."
The way his face curled into a smirk as he said this caused Kristina to roll her eyes a bit.
She wondered how many of his flings he introduced his sister to.
Obviously she met Santana…
She didn't have to wait long for him to continue.
"I told her you were just a good friend and that I was in love with Rachel and she smiled approvingly."
Kristina was glad of this as the teacher began to lecture.
-
Besides being the only day that week without Glee rehearsal there was nothing else super eventful about the day.
Tuesday:
Again nothing eventful was going on in her life other then the normal classes and interactions with her friends.
Well, that was except for her regularly scheduled 'therapy' sessions with Miss Pillsbury.
"So," she said, "I heard it through the grapevine that you've been tutoring Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman."
She didn't know how the woman knew this but she nodded anyway.
"Have you ever considered volunteering for our school's student to student tutoring program Kristina? You'd be very good and it's one more extra curricular that you can show Yale when you apply in next year."
Pausing she thought that it would be a good thing to do.
Perhaps she would even ask Kurt to do it with her as her friend was just as driven and brilliant as she was and had great potential of not only being one of the lucky ones to leave Lima but to do it in style.
"Can I get back to you after the showcase."
She nodded thinking all about the whole event.
Emma simply nodded thinking about the Sweetheart Showcase as Will has so been affectionately been calling it.
"So how are you feeling about that."
"Nervous," Kristina admitted as they went on in their session.
--
By the time that the first of that weeks rehearsals rolled around Kristina's nerves temporally seemed to subside.
She wasn't going to think about things, she was just going to have fun.
Reciting that mantra to herself she was suddenly spooked by a hand tapping her shoulder from behind.
Turning around she spotted Mike Chang smiling over to her.
The young Asian boy had been her dance partner for segments of 'All You Need Is Love' and because of this he had also been helping her brush up on her moves for the older group numbers the club had planed to reprise.
Clearly he was one of if not the best dancer in the group and Kristina was blessed to have his help with things. However on the flip side she was also grateful that he had been seeing someone or she would have been all too sure he was flirting with her.
Pulling her hair back she soon ran over the choreography of their dances for the final number while craning her ears in the direction of where Puck was having a conversation with Mr. Schuster.
-
"I don't know about this Puck," Will spoke in a tone that showed little promise.
"Please , I mean I know I've performed Sweet Caroline before and I know I am good with it but I can sing other songs too."
"I know you can, but this close to the performance."
"It's not like it's a competitive one, and even if it was we came up with that set list at Sectionals at the last minute and we won that sucker."
Kristina didn't see but Will was giving his young student a look that silently spoke an answer that the young man didn't want to here.
"Haven't you ever been in love?" Puck asked.
With that question the teachers face lit up.
Sure he had up and married his High School sweetheart whom now he was in the process of getting a divorcé from. But with Emma, yes he was in love and could honestly see himself wanting to serenade her in the way this young man wanted to serenade, well, he wasn't going to ask though he assumed the song he wanted to now sing was meant for Quinn or her unborn baby girl.
"Fine you can sing your song Puck."
The young man had smiled at the teacher and thanked him before asking him to promise not to tell the others of the program change.
"I promise," Will spoke.
--
Wednesday:
Hump Day.
Two days down until the showcase and two more to go.
It was lunch that day that things began to get interesting.
"Hey guys," Brittany said approaching the table, "have you purchased rose-o-grams yet?"
The five some just looked at the blonde all lost in their own thoughts.
Kristina had purchased a rose for Artie already.
Artie planed to purchase a rose though he didn't want to do it in front of Kristina.
Kurt would of loved to of purchased a rose for Finn but he knew that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.
Meanwhile Tina and Mercedes had no sweethearts to purchase a rose for and thought there would be no sweetheart to buy one for them. They didn't fret though thinking there was plenty of possibility for next year.
"Not today Britt" Kurt said with a smile.
"Ok then, see you this afternoon?"
They nodded as she skipped off to the next lunch table leaving an awkward silence in her wake.
It was then that Artie spoke, his voice squeaking with nerves.
"Kristina, speaking of Valentines Day…I was kind of wondering."
She flashed him a bashful smile silently telling him to go on with his inquiry.
He bit his lip wondering if it was Brittany trying to sell them the rose-o-grams that was causing him to man up and do this or if it was simply insanity.
"Um…I know we said keep it casual and all and Valentines day is the antithesis of casual when first dates are concerned but I was wondering if you… you know… want to go out or something Sunday…like a date or…"
"I'd love to Artie," she simply said watching him exhale the breath he suckered in as soon as he had been done asking her that question.
--
It wasn't until later that it hit her.
She was actually going on a date with Artie and on Valentines Day no less and yet things weren't heading towards weirdsville with them, which was defiantly a good sign.
Thursday:
The final stretch.
Again nothing earth shattering except they were doing an experiment (well what passed for one at a Public School) in chem and she did have to admit her partner looked hot in goggles but that wasn't something earth shatteringly important.
Other then that it was a pretty hum drum day as after glee practice Puck had offered to drive her home.
As she road in his truck she soon noticed that instead of taking her directly to her house she was instead driven to his place.
"Mom's working a double, Ruthie has girl scouts or some shit like that."
Kristina glared at him and he just shook his head not caring about the crassness of his language.
Entering his home he motioned for her to take a seat on the couch and he offered her a drink.
"Thanks," she spoke as he ran to the kitchen to grab her a diet soda before running upstairs to his room to grab his guitar.
Arriving back into the living room he took a seat on a chair across from her and smiled.
"Anyways I asked Schuster if I could change out songs."
Nodding she told him about how she was eavesdropping on him while she had been rehearsing with Mike.
He didn't know what he was more impressed with. The way she eavesdropped on his private conversation or the fact that she was multi tasking and trying to learn Mike's choreography while doing so.
Picking up his guitar from the floor he smiled to her once more.
"Ok, so Molly went on about how Rachel was my muse or something and told me that I should sing to her…her being…"
"Rachel."
Puck nodded.
"Anyways, Molly said I should write her a song or at least to sing her something a bit more romantic then Sweet Caroline."
Kristina nodded at him.
"And you wanted to run the song by me."
He nodded.
"I figure if this is to be a surprise to her I needed to rehearse in front of someone who could tell me straight up if I was making a total ass of myself."
Kristina nodded thanking Puck for the confidence he had in her and he picked up his guitar and began to play.
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl).
He sang the song with such sincerity, such passion that she thought that if Rachel didn't at least change her thoughts then she was the idiot not her friend.
"Rachel will love it," she simply said as they chatted some about school work (hey why not waste what was a perfectly good study session right)
-
Friday:
Today was the day and as Kurt's car pulled into the driveway Kristina knew she was in for the longest and yet the most exhilarating day of her life in Lima so far.
TBC