Mr. Schuester paused, noting the more then slightly awkward air in the choir room.

"Hey Mr. Schue." Finn greeted, desperate to break the tension, "What's the new song?" The rest of the club reverted their attention to their teacher as he began passing out music.

"I was thinking," Mr. Schuester began, "with the addition of our newest member, that we've spent so much time on our regionals songs that we've been neglecting interpersonal relationships."

"Mr. Schue, this is Dirty Little Secret." Mercedes commented, flipping through the sheet music she'd just been handed.

"Exactly. Your assignment this week is to find a song that expresses a secret no one knows yet." The students looked at each other, slightly uncomfortable. They were friends and all, yes, but this assignment had the potential to be a huge train wreck. "And I thought this would be the perfect song to kick it off." Mr. Schuester cued the pianist, and the whole combo started up.

As the sheet music decreed, the choir started up in an A capella fashion over the music, it's members imitating certain instruments, and iconic melodies. As they progressed a little farther, Addison noticed Mr. Schuester looking at her, and then down to the music, as if to tell her to take the solo. Addison pointed to herself, then to the music, to double check. She wasn't going to sing over anyone else on accident. To her surprise, Mr. Schuester nodded empathetically. Maybe this was his way of welcoming her to the group. Addison shrugged. She knew the song, who didn't?

"Let me know what I've done wrong when I've known this all along. I go around a time or to just to waste my time with you." Addison began growing more confident when no one else joined in on her part. But as the song went on, she realized how utterly personal it had juts become.

"I'll keep you my dirty little secret." Suddenly it wasn't fun and edgy anymore. The phrase made her feel claustrophobic. Everything she did was going to be put under an over analyzing microscope, not to be left alone. "Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another reject." These weren't her words, they were Jesse's. Addison struggled to keep herself under control, she couldn't loose it now, not when she could feel her competition's glare boring into the back of her head. Of course, remembering that she had competition was the kick she needed to get back into the game.

They left class with the instructions to return with a song picked out.

"Hey, Addison, right?" The question broke her mournful staring at Jesse and Rachel's retreating figures. She turned to face two of the guys from Glee. One was Finn, she reminded herself, but she had yet to meet the other.

"Yeah. Finn?" She double checked, his smile let her know she was right. "And, I'm sorry, I don't think we've met." She turned to the other, smile still perfectly in place.

"This is Puck." Finn said, and Addison couldn't really read the look he shot Puck, it wasn't quite friendly.

"Hey." Puck nodded, before walking off with one of the cheerleaders. Addison hadn't bothered to learn to many people's names yet.

"So where are you headed to?" Fin asked, seeming unfazed by his 'friends' hasty departure.

"Math." Addison couldn't help but roll her eyes. Math was not a strong spot for her. She couldn't help it, all the numbers had been fine, but throwing shapes and letters into the mix had mate things practically incomprehensible.

"Not a fan?" Finn asked, laughing. Addison couldn't help but join in, his laughter was infectious. "Not really. It's terrible, Je- my ex used to have to walk me through everything after class." Addison couldn't believe she'd almost slipped up like that. They walked in silence for a little longer, Addison not trusting herself to say anything else, and Finn not really knowing how to respond to her last comment.

When they parted ways, awkwardly, and quieter then it should have been, Addison wondered what it was about that boy that made her so gabby and comfortable. She'd gone through half the day without even mentioning she was from Carmel, and now, after one class, she was ready to spill her guts. Maybe it was a good thing she was going to math. It would take work, and focus. She was good at that kind of thing, the focus and work, not the math.

Of course, life wasn't planing on making itself easy for her, apparently, because sitting across the room was one Jesse St. James.

He was engrossed in choreography sketches, and placement charts, Addison assumed. It was what they used to do for Vocal Adrenaline, it was what they had done together as dance captains.

She took the seat next to him, and looked for something to occupy herself. She wasn't going to throw herself at him, that would be stupid, but she was so not going to leave the area open.

He didn't look at her the entire class period. Not even when the teacher introduced her as a new student. She couldn't help but feel disappointed

Even later in the day, she felt disappointed. She couldn't help it. Jesse's constant snubbing was really getting to her. It wasn't just that his behavior hurt emotionally, but that he so obviously had to work at it. He had never been able to ignore her before. Even when they didn't know each other his gaze had never strayed too far.

Addison found herself missing Finn, as the day went on. As little as she had actually conversed with him, she could tell that he had a rare, slightly naieve, sweetness about him that not many people were able to keep past the fifth grade. Addison couldn't help but be drawn to him.

A new step began forming in her head. It would be risky, a far more dangerous then anything she'd done before, but what she originally planned wasn't really working out anyways. If Addison had learned anything in her three years in Vocal Adrenaline, it was that staying on your toes, and using others was the only way to get ahead. In any case, Jesse St. James would not be able to ignore her much longer.

There's no excuse as to why this took so long, I had a bad case of writers block, and it really slowed me down.

This chapter's music can be found here:

youtube. com/ watch? v=nOQ8 -0Iwukw It's not the All American Rejects, even though it's the same song.

~Belle