I must say...happy denial land is a GREAT place to live. I don't ever intend on leaving it! Not me!

Leaning against the door of her steadily aging Dodge Ram pickup, Leah took a final sip of the coffee she had picked up about halfway on her journey from Columbus. Crushing the Styrofoam cup in her hands, she tossed it into the bed of the truck without a second glance. Most likely she would clean the bed out approximately five minutes before she needed to haul something. Even though it's near constant state of being a rolling trash heap indicated otherwise, Priscilla was her baby. So long as it kept running and took her where she needed to be, she really didn't care what it actually looked like.

And right now, where she needed to be was Lima.

The few phone calls she had shared with her brother since he followed Mike back home had done nothing to calm her nerves. She was forever grateful to the Changs for opening up their home the way they did, but she knew Matt. The odds her brother would ever say anything more than everything was "fine" or "ok" were slim and none. If there was any chance this wasn't going to work out, she needed to know now so she could find him another option. She was the only family Matt had right now and she wasn't going to fail him.

For the last half of her drive, she had debated going directly to her parents' house and not leaving until they saw how much they were throwing away. She had gone so far as to turn down the street and stop in front of the house, staring at it. No one was home, she knew that. Steven and Gabriel were still in school and both her parents were at work. Would it actually make a difference? That was the question Leah couldn't help but repeatedly ask herself. Matt didn't seem to think so but her brother was a natural pessimist at heart. Maybe things weren't really as bad as she thought they were.

But then she remembered. She remembered the lack of phone calls about where Matt could have possibly run off to. The refusal to even hear her arguments on Matt's behalf. The finality in her mother's voice when she said "We're his parents. Not you." When she remembered those things, Leah couldn't help but think Matt had probably been right.

After all, surely by now if they were going to come around to at least listening to Matt, it would have happened before the Changs picked up all his belongings and took them to their home. As that realization washed over her, Leah had put her car into gear and made the short drive three blocks over to where her brother now called home.

God she wanted this to work for him. She could kick herself for never thinking of this but really, it was a major thing to ask a friend to do. Asking if Matt could crash on a couch for a few days was one thing. This was an entirely different ballgame. Leah was insanely glad her brother had lucked out in the best friend department and made a mental note to stop by St. Agnes's on her way back to school and say a prayer of thanks for Jim and Susan Chang. Surely it wouldn't hurt to start their campaign for sainthood now right?

Spotting a familiar Jeep start down the street, Leah pulled her green blouse straight and brushed off any crumbs that had accumulated on her jeans. Fixing a bright smile on her face, she waved as her brother shook his head and a girl Leah recognized as Quinn Fabray waved back. She might be out of her mind with worry about him, but she was not going to let Matt see it at all. What he needed right now was her to be positive, and that's was exactly what he was going to get.

"Do you always get home from school this early?" Leah clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I thought you involved types of people stayed at school hours of the day and night."

" wasn't feeling well so no glee today." Matt responded as he got out of the Jeep. "What the hell are you doing here Lee?"

"The Thursday flu hit me." Leah explained with a smile as she hugged him hello. "So where else would I recover from it but in Lima?"

"You cut your classes." Matt deduced quickly. "Quinn, my sister is a very corrupting personality. I suggest we leave her and her evil ways behind."

"Oh shut it." Quinn rolled her eyes. "I can tell you're happy to see her. And she can help tell you that I'm right and you need to go with the black jeans tomorrow. They're perfect and they make you look delicious."

"Tomorrow? Why do we want to look delicious tomorrow?" Leah asked, her eyes darting between Quinn's mischievous blue orbs and Matt's blushing cheeks.

"We don't want to look delicious because that's for food not humans." Matt protested. "Not tomorrow. Not any other day."

"He and Kurt have their first official date tomorrow." Quinn came around the side of the Jeep towards Leah laughing. "And for some reason, they decided to bet on it. Probably because they're both loons. I'm just trying to help him win and your brother is refusing to listen to reason."

"Date?" Leah jumped up and clapped her hands as Matt groaned. "You have a date tomorrow? Well of course I'm going to need to approve what you're wearing. What type of sister would I be if I didn't?"

"The good kind?"

With a laugh, Quinn passed off a shopping bag to Leah's outstretched hands. "Here. It's what we bought yesterday and he keeps trying to return it. Don't let him. He looks smoking hot in it and I for one know Kurt will approve."

"And where are you going? Don't leave me alone with her!" Matt pleaded as Quinn waved goodbye.

"You'll be fine. You survived the hallways today. Your sister is no problem. I'll see you tomorrow. Leah, nice to see you again."

"You too Quinn" Leah smiled as the blonde started to walk down the street before cutting through the yards towards her own house. Turning towards Matt, she raised an eyebrow. "Survived the hallways? Why do I think we need to talk about this?"

"It's not that big of a deal." Matt sighed as he led her up towards the door and pulled a key out of his pocket. "Some of the puck heads in school are assholes. Nothing I couldn't have predicted. Or at least expected to happen."

"Matt. Don't sugar coat this. Not to me." Leah said firmly dropping the bag just inside the door as she reached over to grab his arms. "Talk to me. How bad is it? I went to McKinley too so don't think you can get out of this by saying fine. I know it's not fine."

Matt chewed his bottom lip before gesturing for her to follow him into the living room. Once they sat down, he released a sigh. "Ok the few semi-literate ones have taken to practicing their spelling on my locker."

"Spelling of the three letter variety?" Leah hissed, her eyes narrowing at the very idea of someone taunting her baby brother with that word.

"Don't freak out. The janitor paints it over every morning after first period. Eventually they'll get bored and pick someone new to torture. They'll stop looking at me and whispering about me and then things can just go back to normal."

"I'm always going to freak out when it comes to you. I think I'm allowed by my rights as big sister." Leah took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "What else?"

"I have to see Ms. Pillsbury once a week until she thinks I'm doing better. Or something. I don't know."

"Good. That's good. You need to talk to someone and since I'm not here I think she'll do nicely."

"Lee…."

"Don't Lee me. You need to do this. I know you Matty. You'll just bottle everything up until you explode. And I hate that about you. You really need to change that."

"Yeah I've heard that a few times." Matt smiled ruefully.

"What about here? How's it going here?"

"Still weird. I mean the room is almost exactly like mine but it's not you know? But it's not bad. I just need to get used to it I guess."

"Of course it's going to be weird still. I'm sure they're still getting used to you and all the noise you make in the morning." Leah teased him.

"I do not make a lot of noise in the morning."

"You so do." Leah nudged his shoulder, glad to see the smallest hint of a smile. "But you think this is going to work? We don't need to come up with a Plan B?"

"No. I think Plan A will work. "Matt admitted.

"It's certainly seems to be working if someone already has a date." Leah smiled at her brother's groan and immediate attempt to try to squirm away from her. "Someone works fast."

"Fast? I thought you told me I was moving slower than the iceberg that sank the Titanic."

"Details. But you do need to tell me all about this date. Who asked who? What are you doing? Do I need to buy a dress for the wedding or do I have time?"

"Oh I'm not telling you anything."

"Oh but you are. Otherwise I'm asking Kurt." At Matt's incredulous look, Leah smiled softly. "We're Facebook friends now. I figured it was a good idea to get to know him better."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. But I will hate you if that's what you're planning on wearing. Or anything remotely resembling that." Leah waved at his clothes dismissively. Why Matt had developed a plaid fixation of all things was beyond her understanding.

"What do you all have against my clothes?"

"You could do so much better than that. Now come on. You're going to play fashion model for me." Seeing him about to protest, she held up a finger. "Facebook friends with Kurt."

"I can't wait till you fall for some guy. Everything you're doing? I'm doing worse."

"Big talk. Now go Mr. Model. I have to get back for class tomorrow."