A New Generation is Born

by A-LionGleek

It's the first official week of glee club sessions for the 13 newest members of the New Directions, and they are more than ready to get the show on the road. But with drama popping up at every turn, the beginning of their time in glee club will be far from easy. Can the 13 brand new gleeks handle it all and show that they have what it takes to be a worthy new generation of gleeks?

5. Quitting While Ahead

Hey ya'll! MAN, I SO did not intend for you to wait THIS long! For some odd reason, even with all the free time that I was provided with for being in the midst of Christmas break, I just got caught up in the overall 'laziness' inducing atmosphere of the season I suppose. But nevermind that! Here you all go! New chapter for the new year folks! Here's to hoping that this chapter is worth the HELL long wait! In this long awaited new chapter, Charlotte has some words to exchange with her coach (some of which explain the 'favor' she asked of Zach last chapter), and Zach comes up with a bold new idea to attempt to win Charlotte over. However, as Susan is about to very narrowly avoid figuring out the hard way, this plan of Zach's is not exactly what anyone (least of all his friends, or readers who are familiar with what he's like in the main GWAF story) would find savory. Sound good? I certainly hope so!

A/N: But wait! First I'd best remind you! I DO NOT OWN GLEE! Get it? Got it? Good. Onward with the fic now!

Chapter 5:

Quitting While Ahead

"And just what, may I ask, were you doing talking to that Skinner boy not too long ago?"

Charlotte mentally took a deep breath to keep herself calm. Coach Sylvester had made it clear many times in the past that she didn't entirely trust Zach Skinner, a boy she claimed to be 'a Puckerman in all but blood'.

"Coach," Charlotte began. "There is nothing to worry about here. That boy has not done anything towards me to earn your wrath. Believe me, if he had, I'd have already told you by now without you even needing to ask."

Sue Sylvester raised her left eyebrow. "You swear on that?"

Sue Sylvester, it had to be admitted, wasn't entirely certain herself why she was behaving the way she currently was. After all, as they both knew quite well, Charlotte had never lied to the coach before or similarly given her any reason not to be trusted. Furthermore, she also knew Charlotte well enough to be quite aware that Charlotte was a fighter and likewise strong-willed in nature, and that she would most certainly not be one to just give up or let others have their way with her without a fight. But even so . . .

"Maybe it's just that maternal instinct in me," Sue thought to herself. And indeed, she wouldn't be at all surprised if that were indeed the case. As she remembered quite well even now, it certainly wouldn't be the first time. She'd taken on this sort of role before for her own sister Jean. She'd taken on this role for former cheerio Becky Jackson. And she'd likewise sort of taken on a similar role with multiple other cheerios in the past, including Charlotte's much esteemed predecessor in the head cheerio position from Lord knew how many years past, Quinn Fabray. "All that in mind," Sue thought to herself, "why wouldn't the same happen to me all over again with Charlotte?"

Clearly, Charlotte had similar thoughts, as she did not seem at all offended by her coach's apparent questioning of her honesty. Rather, she patiently nodded her head with her eyes closed. She opened them again with a smile on her face. "Damn right I do. Need you ask?"

Sue couldn't help but let a small smile come on her face upon hearing this. "That's my girl," she thought to herself. She quickly let another poker-faced frown replace the smile, and then gave a curt nod. "Better safe than sorry."

Charlotte chuckled, and shook her head side to side. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Nonetheless," said the cheerleader, "I had a perfectly good reason to be talking to him."

"Do enlighten me."

Charlotte smiled. "Nothing too big; just asking him to do me a little favor."

Sue's eyes narrowed.

"Not that kind of favor!" Charlotte hurriedly yelled, snapping her hands forward and frantically waving them around side to side in a placatory gesture. "Good God, no. It was nothing like that. I swear!"

For what seemed like an eternity, Sue continued to keep her eyes narrowed into a suspicion filled glare directed at the head cheerio. Then the coach took a deep breath, exhaled, and slowly nodded her head. "In that case," the coach began. She looked directly at Charlotte. "Just what sort of favor did you ask of him?"

Charlotte mentally took a deep breath, and she instinctively looked around as if checking for any watchers of eavesdroppers. She looked back at her coach. "You are aware of my little . . . quest . . . right?"

"How could I not be?"

"Fair enough."

Charlotte took another deep breath, but this time for real rather than in her head. "Well, you see, I've decided to try to see if I could get Zach to help manipulate Daniel down the right direction."

Sue raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Clarify," said the coach.

Charlotte nodded. "Well here's the thing," she began. "I've noticed over the last two years, perhaps ever earlier than that, how Zach seems to have some sort of . . . weakness . . . if you will . . . in my regard."

"He gets all lovey dovey for every girl here." Sue then thought to herself. "Or at least . . . every attractive one his age that isn't already taken anyway."

"I know that," Charlotte admitted. "But even so, even with all that in mind, he always seems especially eager to please me."

Sue thought to herself. "True enough," she admitted grudgingly.

"And that being said," Charlotte continued, "I thought, perhaps maybe I could take advantage of that detail and allow him to be molded into an ally of mine in my efforts to get Daniel to finally get that message I've been trying to send him through his head and understand how he and I are destined to be together."

Sue thought to herself once more. "Hmm, I will admit, your reasoning is certainly sound." Charlotte smiled, only for it to fade when her coach suddenly started shaking her head side to side with her eyes closed. "But perhaps you've forgotten that he's also the quarterback's best friend." She looked at the head cheerio, her eyes narrowed. "And as far as I can tell, he seems more than willing to support the idea of Daniel getting together with that blonde Rachel Berry wannabe."

"And probably might very well be hoping to get in your pants himself rather than let Daniel get there instead," Sue thought to herself. But she certainly wasn't about to say that aloud to Charlotte.

Charlotte took a deep breath, and then exhaled once more. "I am aware of that coach," said Charlotte. "Really I am." Her wide smile returned. "But surely you didn't think that I hadn't thought of that?"

The coach raised her eyebrow once more. "Clarify."

Charlotte chuckled, her blue eyes agleam. "Well here's the thing." She looked left and right as if checking for any unwanted eyes and ears. She looked back at her coach. "I quite cleverly worded it in a way that wouldn't make it obvious that I'm hoping he'll end up directly helping me out in getting my hooks into his best friend."

"And how exactly did you word it?"

Charlotte chuckled again. "Well here's the thing. I'm sure you are aware of the sort of treatment that tends to befall just about every student who becomes a member of the glee club right?"

"You don't say," Sue responded sarcastically as she thought about all the slushy facials, humiliations, and other unpleasant experiences that myriad past New Directioneers had been subjected to by the other students at McKinley High; particularly by the jocks.

"Well here's what I've asked Zach to do," said Charlotte. "Granted, the abuse hasn't begun yet, but it's bound to happen sooner or later. And when that does happen, Zach, assuming he goes through with my request, will be ready." She took another deep breath. "You see, as much as Daniel seems to really have his heart set on being a proud member of the glee club and following in the footsteps of that two left-footed dork he worships, I have a pretty good feeling that he's not at all looking forward to being subjected to any of the abuse to come from his fellow jocks.

"Therefore," Charlotte continued. "My plan is that, hopefully, Zach will be able to convince him to, in the hopes of proving himself to still be worthy of the jocks' respect and to get them to stop abusing him and anyone else in the glee club, start acting a bit more," she let a very unnerving grin come on her face. "Assertive."

Sue thought to herself. "Let me guess," she said. "When you say assertive, the definition you have in mind is the one that Plankton had in mind in that one episode of SpongeBob SquarePants when he manipulated SpongeBob into being an overly aggressive and mean-spirited jerk to all the other Bikini Bottom residents at the beach with them and forcing them all to leave to make way for construction of a new Chum Bucket facility."

Charlotte chuckled, her unnerving grin widening. "You hit the nail right on the head."

Sue nodded, seemingly not at all surprised by the confirmation. "Well I can certainly imagine such uncharacteristic behavior coming from Daniel being enough to do a number on the jocks and bullies and whatnot. But how is that supposed to help increase your chances of sinking your hooks into him?"

Charlotte giggled. "Now this is where the real beauty comes in." She giggled once more for a couple seconds, seemingly fighting to keep herself from falling to pieces in maniacal laughter at her perceived sheer genius. "Assuming Zach doesn't screw it all up in his description, Daniel will be led to believe that his behavior; or, more accurately, the potential cessation of any abuse against them by the jocks; will cause the glee club members that don't know him as well to be appreciative of him and look up to him as a hero, and perhaps even more willing to befriend him. And furthermore," she paused to let out another round of giggles. "He will also hopefully be put under the impression that it may even allow that undeserving rival of mine to be especially strongly attracted to him."

Sue thought to herself. Truth be told, she could see a sizable amount of sense in Charlotte's thinking for this plot of hers. But even so . . . "And just what makes you think that Zach, and through him Daniel, would believe for even a second that your 'rival' as you put it would be even remotely attracted to an aggressive and overly jerkish asshole? Don't get me wrong, but that's kind of what I'm thinking you're hoping for Daniel to become."

"Well hey," said Charlotte, a smug smile of apparent triumph and pride on her face. "There are plenty of girls out there who are quite easily attracted to bad boys." She nodded her head, eyes closed, and sighing in content. "I myself included," she said to herself in a quite contented tone. She opened her eyes and smiled at her coach. "For all Daniel, or more importantly, Zach, knows, that undignified little shrew that thinks she's even the tiniest bit worthy of Daniel's love could yet have the potential for similarly becoming attracted to Daniel if he were to act more like a bad boy then a nice guy."

Sue thought to herself yet again. She was slowly warming up further and further to Charlotte's idea the more she learned about it. In fact, she now couldn't help but feel as if there were now a much younger mental and physical replica of herself sitting before her as she listened more and more to this seemingly quite devious plot. Her eyes narrowed. Of course, she had always been extra careful in virtually everything she did. "Assuming Zach gets it right," the coach began, "how can you know for certain that Daniel would actually believe that such behavior from him would result in what you want him to believe it will result in?"

"Like you said," said Charlotte. "Zach is his best friend." She nodded her head. "And from what I know, Zach's never given him any reason not to trust him in the past. As far as I can tell, he shouldn't have any reason at all not to trust Zach this time." She looked directly at her coach once more, a confident and smug wolf-like grin on her face once more. "And if the plan goes exactly as I hope it will, then by the time Daniel realizes just how much he's alienated and turned off Diana and all the other gleeks apart from myself and Zach and caused all manner of trouble and drama to unfold, it will be too late. He'll have lost both his intended love, destroyed his chances at gaining at least 10 new friends, and perhaps even damaged the club in more ways than one to cause it to practically self-destruct."

Charlotte took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "And once that's happened," she continued, grin back on her face, "I'll be at the ready to step in and comfort him. By that point, he'll almost certainly be low and broken enough to accept comfort and cheering up from even me, and it will only stand to reason that it will be all the easier and swifter for him and I to finally become a couple." She nodded her head. "Just. Like. That."

With Charlotte having finished her explanation, Sue thought to herself. As the seconds went by, the coach found that there was now no way she could possibly deny it now. Her head cheerio's plan, while admittedly still more than a little flawed in some areas, was actually a pretty clever, devious, and acceptably thought out just enough plan. Then the coach found a small smile of smug satisfaction and pride come on her face as she thought of another detail. She had to admit, if the plan went just right enough, she herself certainly wouldn't at all say no to the potential utter destruction to befall the glee club.

The coach nodded her head with her eyes closed upon having that thought. For the last 22 years, she'd had a quite turbulent, rocky, and likewise uncertain relationship with the glee club. In fact, she'd held a deeply ingrained hatred of just about anything related to the arts, or at least the music and show choir-based elements of them ever since a very distressful and upsetting experience she'd had over the course of an attempt to audition for a part in the musical, Oklahoma, at an especially young age. However, as deeply ingrained as said hatred was, it had often tended to alternate in overall levels of strength, passion, and dedication over the years. But then, 22 years ago, it had finally developed an especially firm and reliable anchor for it to be focused on when Mr. William Schuester had taken up the reigns of the glee club. And from that point onward, she and the glee club director; and, by extension, the glee club; had engaged in a long and turbulent war that had alternated so many times between truce and conflict that neither side was entirely certain how much either side truly hated the other or not anymore. In fact, over the course of so many near victories on her end, triumphs and rises from the ashes on the glee club's end, and various other events and developments to unfold over the course of it all, Sue herself had come to quite enjoy the whole business between her and the glee club and even now viewed Mr. Schuester as a worthy opponent to this day.

The coach shook her head to clear her thoughts. At that moment, the history of the whole matter was far from the most important thing to think about. What mattered the most at the current period, was that she was now currently in the midst of one of her 'anti-glee club' phases. She looked back at Charlotte, proud smile returning to her face. And judging by just how much of herself she was now starting to see in Charlotte, combined with how the young cheerleader had managed to think up a respectable enough plan of her own before Sue herself had even gotten close at the current point, Sue had a feeling that perhaps it would be beneficial for both Charlotte and herself to perhaps join forces even more securely then they already were as teacher and student.

The coach leaned forward. "Charlotte," she began. "I'm gonna tell you this now. Now that I know all the details, I must admit, your plan actually does sound pretty clever and devious."

Charlotte chuckled, a smug grin of her own on her face. "Why thank you coach, I'm flattered."

"Just as well," said the coach. Sue nodded her head. "Because with all that in mind, I am now strongly considering a very real proposition between us."

One look at Charlotte's face mere seconds after Sue said this, and the coach knew instantly that she'd gotten the head cheerio's attention. The teenager leaned forward. "I'm listening."

Sue felt a flare of pride and triumph flare up in her. "This is just like when I got so many other cheerios in the past that were members of the club to take on the exact same role," she thought to herself. She mentally steeled herself up once more. Now was not the time to allow any sign of weakness, real or otherwise, to show in her reserve. "You see Charlotte," she began. "As you may or may not be aware right this very moment, I'm currently in the midst of what you'd call one of my 'anti glee club phases'."

Charlotte nodded her head. "Indeed."

"Well now that I'm aware of what you've currently got hiding up your sleeve," the coach continued. "I think it would be beneficial, and wise, for the both of us if we were to join forces."

Charlotte thought to herself. "I'm liking what I'm hearing so far." She nodded her head. "Do keep going."

"To be more specific," said the coach. "I'd like you to take on the same role that so many cheerios before you, starting with the famed Unholy Trinity, have already taken on my behalf. I'd like you to work for me as my personal spy, instigator, and agent of doom amidst the glee club."

Charlotte thought to herself once more, a small grin starting to form on her face. "I will admit, that does sound rather appealing." Then she frowned. "But surely it won't be 100% necessary? I mean, what with my current plan and all."

"You can never be too careful," said the coach. "After all, as painful as it might be for you personally to consider the possibility, suppose your current plan were to fail, or at least not quite go the way you initially intend? Surely, in that case, it would be useful for you to have an ally to help you out in coming up with new plans or ways to adapt and allow your initial plan to evolve to account for any unexpected developments to unfold that aren't in your favor."

Charlotte considered her coach's words, and then nodded. "Fair point," she admitted.

The coach nodded as if to say 'exactly'. "And in the event that this partnership does indeed last longer than you currently appear to expect," the coach continued "it would be especially useful for the two of us to be in an alliance of the nature I'm currently suggesting." She leaned forward, Charlotte instinctively copying the motion, clearly still interested.

"The fact is, Charlotte," Sue began, "that we both could mutually benefit from a partnership of the nature I'm suggesting." The coach let a small smile appear come back on her face. "For starters, tell me this; what do we have in common?"

Charlotte thought to herself. "Aside from hair and eye color?"

Sue shook her head side to side, though with a somewhat amused smile on her face. "We think alike." She lifted up her finger as if to further emphasize a point. "In fact," said the coach. "Just from listening to one current plot of yours alone, I have a feeling that we're almost certainly equals regarding intellect, brains, and smarts."

The coach gestured towards a small framed picture on her desk that portrayed a photographic image of herself and a teenage Quinn Fabray from the latter's time as a student in the McKinley High cheerleading squad. "Virtually every other cheerio that's taken the position I'm now offering you has acted far more often than not as enforcers for plans strictly thought up in their entirety by myself." She pointed at Charlotte. "You, however, are clearly able to think up clever plots on your own just like me." She nodded her head. "In fact, as hard as you might find it to believe, you've actually now managed to think up a clever plot of your own while I myself was still miles away from successfully cooking up yet another plot of my own."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Really?"

Sue nodded her head. "Really," the coach confirmed. She stared intently at Charlotte once more. "And that being said, here's where we could mutually benefit. For despite our common ground on intellect level and skill at coming up with plots, we also have very real differences." She pointed at Charlotte once more. "As I've freely admitted to you just now, you are young, and are able to think up plans far more swiftly then my current age allows me."

Charlotte made a facial expression of mock shock. "Oh, that can't be true," said the cheerleader. "Aren't you still in your 30s or 40s?" She let a jocular grin come on her face.

Sue sighed, and shook her head side to side. Then she directed a withering 'really?' look at Charlotte. "Charlotte, my efforts at convincing people of all that stopped fooling people years ago. And really, I believe we have more important things to discuss right now?"

Charlotte silently gulped, and briefly hung her head, suitably chastened. "Right," she admitted. "Sorry."

"As I was saying," said Sue. "You are young. Thus, you have proven yourself to possess a mind capable of cooking up plots at a speed that has long since left me." She pointed at herself. "But while you have the skill at plotting, and the strength and speed of mind necessary to get them planned and set up in a timely fashion, I have experience."

Charlotte raised her eyebrow in confusion. "But I've been thinking up plans for the last two years."

"Indeed, you have." Sue raised her finger to forestall further comment from Charlotte. "However," the coach explained, "you have, so far, mostly only ever thought up plots focusing on getting your hooks sunk into the quarterback. And any plots you've thought up that aren't intended for that purpose have likewise only been developed with the intent of fulfilling similarly small-term goals." She pointed at Charlotte, simultaneously leaning forward. "However, with this current plot, you're now not only trying to get Daniel wrapped around your fingers as your lover boy, but you are also hoping to potentially bring about the successful, and perhaps even permanent, destruction of the glee club. And even if this current plot of yours wasn't the first plot with such an expanded and long-term goal in mind, that still doesn't change the fact that you've only been taking part in this kind of work for only two years."

The coach pointed back at herself. "Whereas I," she continued, "have 22 years' worth of experience. And in that time, there have been hundreds of plans I've cooked up to stir up trouble amongst the glee club and bring it down." The coach nodded her head. "To put it simply, with your youthful mental ability, my experience, our combined intellect, passion, and skill at plotting, and a clear common goal, we could, by working together, achieve both our dreams in one fell swoop."

For what seemed like an eternity, Charlotte thought to herself. Truth be told, she could actually see the appeal in what her coach was offering. And not only that, but she also couldn't help but feel honored. After all, as she herself had freely admitted during the recess session of glee club that day, she very strongly idolized Quinn Fabray, a McKinley High alumna who'd been a member of the glee club, a member of the cheerleading squad, and one of coach Sylvester's personal agents set to try to assist her in her work at getting the club thoroughly destroyed beyond hope of return. And the fact that the esteemed coach now seemed willing to consider her worthy of taking on the exact same role as her idol filled her with considerable pride. But still . . . "Can I think about it for a few days?" She slowly hung her head as if trying to avoid eye contact with her coach. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I feel honored, and I do find the idea appealing. But even so . . ." She lifted her head back up. "It's a lot to consider."

Sue Sylvester thought carefully to herself, considering what Charlotte had said. Then she nodded her head up and down. "Understandable." She looked back at Charlotte. "Tell you what; how about I allow you all the way till the end of school this Friday to think my offer over?"

Charlotte considered the suggestion. "I think I can manage that."

"Good." Sue pointed at her current head cheerio once more. "Remember, you have until the end of school this Friday to decide. I will be expecting your answer no later than that. That deadline passes and I haven't received an answer from you? No joke, I will assume that your answer will be no. And in the event that your answer is determined to be 'no', regardless of whether directly stated by you or implied by tardiness, you won't get any further chance at taking me up on my offer. You hear me? This is a strictly one-time deal? Got that?"

Charlotte nodded her head. "Got it. Understood coach."

"Good." Sue Sylvester pointed towards the door to her office. "Now get the Hell out of my office."

. . . . .

At around the same time that Charlotte was in the midst of her meeting with Sue Sylvester, Zach was wandering around the McKinley High hallways, seemingly deep in thought. As it happened, he was thinking carefully about what Charlotte had talked to him about not too long after departure from the choir room before parting ways with him to meet up with her coach.

However, while the words Charlotte had said to him had turned out to have indeed inspired Zach into action, they had not quite had the intended effect that Charlotte had been hoping for. Zach mentally winced as he thought once more about the exact nature of the favor Charlotte had asked of him not too long ago. From the way Charlotte had behaved the last two years regarding Daniel, and in fact just the previous Friday, he thought it oddly uncharacteristic of Charlotte to be at all interested in trying to help Daniel potentially get together with Diana. And furthermore, while nowhere as close to Diana as Daniel when it came to friendship, he knew her just well enough to know that she would not only be not at all interested in Daniel if he were to behave the way Charlotte had suggested for him to try convincing Daniel to act, but that such behavior from him would also very likely prove a brutal turn off for her. And he had a good feeling that the other 9 students in the club alongside them wouldn't find such behavior from Daniel any more appealing than Diana would.

But even though he had no intention of attempting to carry out the exact actions that Charlotte had requested of him, her words had inspired him into thinking of a little idea of his own. As he remembered quite clearly, she had said something along the lines of 'all girls like bad boys'. And that had him thinking of how, if what he'd heard about her developing reputation over the years, Charlotte herself seemed to have something of a natural attraction for bad boys, and had reportedly gone all the way with more than one boy to fit such a description.

"I wonder," he thought to himself. "If I were to act more like a bad boy myself, would she perhaps be more attracted to me?"

As he had the thought, he slowly started to find more and more appeal and sense in the idea. "Maybe I need to up my game a little," he thought to himself. "Maybe I've been playing the whole business too safe. Maybe I need to raise the stakes a little." He let a small smile come to his face. "Yes, that's right, maybe I should do that. After all, if this works, maybe Charlotte will finally get her attention away from Daniel and allow her to fall for me. And then, once she's firmly fallen for me, maybe she'll love me enough for me to further win her over when I shed my bad boy persona and allow her to fully come to love me as a nice guy. And besides, I'm sure that the other students in the glee club will understand the necessity once I finish."

Zach nodded his head. "Yes," he thought to himself. "This is exactly what I must do." He lifted his head, a wide grin now on his face. "And I know just the way to start." In a flash, he drew out his phone and accessed a number on his contacts list. It was time to get the show on the road.

. . . . .

Susan couldn't have felt more relieved to finally be ready to leave to go home. "That book club meeting took forever," she thought to herself as she drew out the last of the supplies from her locker that she'd need to take home with her for the evening. "On the bright side," she thought to herself. "Now I'm done with school for today, and I can go home." She placed the supplies she'd drawn from her locker into her backpack, zipped it closed, and then closed her locker.

"Going somewhere?"

Susan briefly reared back in surprise upon hearing the unexpected voice coming from her right; but she managed to regain her senses in time to turn her head and narrow her eyes at the sight of a Chinese American girl standing right by her. In fact, from the way the girl was positioned, the open locker door from earlier would have almost certainly been covering up her face and the top half of her body. Now, the girl in question had a half joyous and half scheming smile on her face.

Susan's glare never once faltered. "Yes," she responded curtly. "I was just about to go out and go home." She gestured around the area. "Maybe you don't know this, but school's done for today now. Why are you still here?"

The Chinese American girl chuckled, shaking her head side to side. "Simple." She folded her arms across her chest. "We're doing a good acquaintance of ours a favor."

Susan raised her eyebrow. "Ours?" she asked. "What do you mean ours?"

"Nice to meet you to."

Susan turned her head away from the Chinese American, and her eyes briefly widened in surprise at the sight of twelve other girls that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere while she'd been busy talking with the first one she'd seen. "What the?" she thought to herself; then her eyes narrowed. "When the Hell did you punks get here?" she then asked aloud.

"That's none of your concern."

The speaker, a blonde, folded her arms across her chest, a proud and confidant look on her face. "All you need to know is that we're all here to help a very good acquaintance of ours show you what you've been missing out on."

Susan raised her eyebrow again, not comprehending. "What are you talking about?" she asked irritably. "Stop beating around the bush!"

"All business I see."

Susan's blue eyes briefly widened once again. Then they narrowed irritably as she recognized the voice she'd just heard from behind her. She turned around, narrow-eyed glare still on her face. Sure enough, as she'd just come to suspect, none other than Zach Skinner was standing right there.

She mentally groaned. "Why am I not surprised?" she asked out loud. She glared at the black boy once more. "After everything that went down in glee club not too long ago, I guess I should have been expecting you to pull off some half-brained nonsense like this."

Zach seemed to wince upon hearing this, and he shook his head side to side. "Look, I get it," he began. "I probably could have timed this better. . ."

"Oh, timing aint the half of it," Susan growled. She straightened up angrily. "And here I was thinking Calvin had already gotten the message through to you effectively enough, or that perhaps maybe he might have misjudged you. But clearly, Calvin was both correct in his thoughts about you and not effective enough at getting the point across to you." She turned her head, raising up her right hand in a dismissive gesture. "But I'll go ahead and save you the trouble. I know what you're going to ask; and my answer is no."

Zach could already feel himself mentally wincing. Clearly, things were not quite going exactly the way he'd imagined they would. "Susan, please," he said. "You don't know 100% for certain what I'm planning here. . ."

"Yeah well, knowing what kind of person you are, and your typical motive behind going after any sort of girl like this at all, I daresay it's quite obvious what you've got in mind here."

Susan folded her arms across her chest once more. "And the fact that you appear to have hired all these love-sick floozies to gang up on me and keep me here for you is not helping your case."

Twelve of the other girls behind Susan bristled at the sound of Susan calling them floozies, but a glare from the Chinese American girl that had initiated the whole meeting between them all was enough to keep them in line.

Zach winced once more. Susan was indeed correct. As it so happened, in between the day's recess and after-school sessions of glee club, he had met up with multiple fan girls of his and asked them if they were willing to consider doing him a favor at some point or other. Later, after finally making a firm decision to go through with his new plan at attempting to win Charlotte's favor, he had called back his apparent lead fan girl, the Chinese American, to confirm that he still wished for her and her pals to help fulfill the favor he was willing to ask of them. And now, here they were, having managed to make sure that Susan was still present at school for him to present his case to her; and incidentally, as Susan had now pointed out, not helping his case at all.

"Susan," Zach began. "Please, just hear me out. I really do want to be your friend. . ."

"Ok stop right there." Susan shook her head side to side. "You see, normally I'd have no problem with a person wanting to be my friend. However, right now, in my case, when you say you want to be my friend, what you really mean is that you want me to be your newest bedding partner. And I know I told you this already, but my answer to that is no."

Zach mentally sighed, and shook his head side to side. His thirteen fan girls, meanwhile, were all gaping uncomprehendingly at Susan. "What is with her?" they all thought to themselves in unison. "How could she possibly turn down an offer like this from such prime eye candy? Doesn't she have any idea what she's willingly allowing herself to miss out on right now?"

Susan shook her head side to side once more. "And don't even try to say anything more to convince me. Because no matter what you say, I can tell you right now, that it sure as Hell won't work." She turned her head away once more, extending both hands this time in a dismissive gesture instead of just her right hand. "I've already got enough future rapists trying to get in my pants already. And I've gotten an especially abhorrent admirer named Miles Surette eying me up and down even now. So really, I don't need you making my life more stressful then it already is."

Susan looked back at Zach, still glaring. "And besides, as Calvin made quite clear back in the choir room, it would be much wiser and better for your health to let sleeping dogs lie and leave me alone. Trust me, if you've paid any attention to what's happened to all the other guys who've tried to take him on, you'd know how antagonizing him and running the risk of angering him is the absolute last thing any sane man would want to do. And that's being optimistic considering what he could just as easily have Hobbes do them if he weren't so merciful and law abiding."

At that moment, the Chinese American girl gave Susan a forceful pat on the back, almost causing her to stumble forward straight at Zach. The tanned skinned Caucasian managed to keep her footing with barely a single movement, and she turned her head with a rather hateful looking glare now directed at the Asian American girl. "Excuse me?" she hissed. "But what was that for?"

"Good grief," said a single ginger haired girl amongst the group. "What is it with you?"

"Yeah," said a blonde standing next to the redhead. "Don't you have any idea what you're missing out on here?"

Susan's eyes narrowed even further. "Hate to break it to you," she said in a tone that sounded like she could care less what the girls thought, "but there are things out there that are more than worth missing out on." She pressed her finger against the chest of the redhead. "Cancer for instance." She pressed her finger again. "Or earthquakes." She pressed her finger a third time. "Or better yet, getting attacked by a wild animal."

"So? What's so bad about Zach?"

This question came from one of the blondes. The blonde in question folded her arms across her chest. "He's not any of those things."

Susan rolled her eyes, and folded her arms across her chest. "No, he is not," she admitted. She glared. "However," she then stated. "The kind of thing he's asking of me? To truly be enjoyed, or meaningful, it needs to be consensual on both ends." She pointed at herself. "I'm not consenting." She pointed at the other girls. "And the fact that he and you punks are trying to force me into giving myself over to his tender mercies is starting to make this situation I'm trying to avoid seem very reminiscent of an equally distasteful situation. The situation in question? Rape." She folded her arms back across her chest. "And like I said, I've already got enough future rapists gunning for me amongst the student body in this dumb place. And they're at least willing to respect my wishes. So really, the last thing I need is to add a boy who doesn't want to respect my wishes to that list."

Susan turned around to face Zach once more. "Now I'm going to say this one time only." She gestured to the side. "Get out of my way, let me go home, and leave me alone."

It took all of Zach's willpower not to groan. "This is so not going my way," he thought to himself. He extended his hands forwards as if to try to placate Susan. "Susan, please," he began.

"Fine." Susan turned her head away in an almost haughty gesture of annoyance and dismissal. "If you're going to be pigheaded like that, I'll just go the other way." She turned around to walk down the direction opposite Zach, only for the thirteen girls behind her to tightly group together to block her way.

"Not happening."

At the sound of that phrase, Susan raised her eyebrow, now quite mystified by the behavior of the thirteen girls. "I beg your pardon?"

The Chinese American girl shook her head side to side, a clear smirk on her face. She pointed past Susan towards Zach. "Hate to break it to you; but until you let McKinley's top dude bring you up to our speed, you're not leaving."

Susan's eyes narrowed once more. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh, I kid you not." The Chinese American girl pointed her finger at Zach again, this time in a seemingly more insistent fashion. "Come on now girl, we don't have all day."

"Yeah," Susan growled sarcastically. "Not happening."

"Oh, come on," said one of the blondes. "Stop being such a prude! You'll love it!"

Susan almost spitefully blew a raspberry. "Like Hell I'll love it! You're asking me to say yes to being raped!"

"Not cool and not true," said the redhead. She folded her arms across her chest. "Come on. Just make this easier for everyone; stop acting like a prude," she pointed at Zach, "and get on with it."

Susan scowled, and folded her arms across her chest. "Over my dead body."

"Have it your way then." The Chinese American girl looked over at her twelve companions. "You two," she said, simultaneously pointing to indicate the single redhead and the blonde that had spoken not too long ago. "Help her out."

"With pleasure."

The two girls walked up to Susan, grabbed her by the shoulders, and forcefully turned her around to face Zach.

Fortunately, Susan reacted in time to lean herself back and prop up her feet so that her heels would now be dragging across the floor, effectively impeding the other girls' efforts at dragging her over to Zach. "Stop this," she hissed as she continued to push herself backwards against the grip of the two other girls. "Let me go!"

"Not," the blonde growled as she and her friend pushed equally hard to force Susan forward towards the still patiently waiting Zach. "Happening."

"Come . . . on," the redhead snarled as she tried just as hard to successfully struggle against Susan's stubbornly impeding her and her friend. "Stop . . . making . . . this . . . difficult!"

"Let me go, and I will! By LEAVING!"

"For the love of God, girl," said the blonde, now having positioned herself in front of Susan so that she was now pulling on her by the left hand. "Just let Zach-attack do his work!"

Susan snarled, half out of rage over the continued efforts by the girls at forcing her into an unwilling sexual encounter with Zach, and half out of dumbfounded shock at the outrageous pet name they appeared to have cooked up for the boy. "No!"

"Please," the redhead hissed as she continued to push on Susan's right shoulder.

"I. SAID. NO!"

At that point, Zach decided his input would be necessary. "Susan, please." He took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

Susan narrowed her eyes, snarled, and then spat in the direction of his face. "Screw you!"

"Susan," Zach said, calm and reasonable as ever. "Just relax. It won't be that bad!"

Susan growled, gritting her teeth in a feral snarl. "Go. To. Hell."

"Susan," said Zach. "Just trust me. Everything will be fine. It will only take a few. . ."

Bang!

Zach tensed up, mouth shut, eyes widened, completely speechless. Such was the effect of the quite painful pounding he'd just now unexpectedly felt upon the back of his head. For what seemed like an eternity, time seemed to stand still. Then, with a groan, Zach's eyes closed, and he fell to the floor with a thud, flat on his face.

For a brief moment, the 14 girls gaped in shock down at the unconscious Zach. Then they all looked up, 13 of them still gaping in speechless shock while Susan's own shocked expression morphed into a clearly relieved look of gratitude. Standing right behind the downed casanova was none other than what looked like a very annoyed Calvin. In his right hand, there was, inexplicably enough, a large frying pan. And standing right behind him, peeking out from behind his legs, was a very deadpan, yet dumbfounded, looking Hobbes.

Calvin looked down at the unconscious Zach, and then shook his head side to side. "What part of 'no' did you not get?" Naturally, the unconscious boy didn't respond.

Calvin snorted in derision, and lifted his head to face the 14 girls in front of him. After about a minute of dead silence, Calvin raised his eyebrow. "Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna say something?"

In that instant, the Chinese American girl was the first one to finally regain her voice, and she pointed her finger at Calvin, a scandalized look or horror on her face. "You idiot!" she screamed, her voice now noticeably shrill. "What have you done!?"

Calvin's eyes narrowed, and he pretended to think to himself. "Hmm, I'd say I've just now managed to successfully prevent a rape." He looked over at Hobbes. "That sound about right to you boy?"

Hobbes appeared to think to himself. Then he barked twice, and seemingly nodded his head up and down with his eyes closed as if consciously agreeing with his master. Susan chuckled, and shook her head side to side with a bemused smile on her face.

The other thirteen girls, however, were not so pleased. "Is that all you have to say?!" the Chinese American girl yelled.

Calvin thought to himself. "Well considering I just saved my good friend Susan and the rest of you from getting raped by this douche," he pointed at Zach. "Would a 'you're welcome' suffice?"

"He wasn't going to rape us!" the 13 fan girls yelled.

"Oh yes, that's right," Calvin admitted. Then he glared at the girls. "He was just going to rape Susan; my best friend, and a girl I specifically told him was off limits, and that she herself made quite clear not too long ago she wanted nothing to do with."

"I know, right?" said Susan. She gestured at the girls in a 'see what I have to deal with' indicative fashion. "What's with them?"

"Exactly," Calvin said in agreement, a small smile now on his face. Then he looked back at the other 13 girls, glare back on his face. "Alright girls. I'm gonna say this once." He pointed at Susan. "Let my friend go."

The 13 fan girls all narrowed their eyes in unison, glaring almost hatefully at the autistic boy. The Chinese American ring leader even went so far as to stick his tongue out at him. "Make us, loser."

Calvin's own eyes narrowed, and Hobbes let out a low snarl. "Don't. Tempt. Me."

The two girls holding onto Susan sneered. "Or else what retard?" They chuckled. "You'll bore us to death with all your random trivia drivel?"

Calvin very noticeably tensed up at the sound of the word 'retard'. "I'm. Serious," he snarled. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then exhaled. When his eyes opened back up, Susan could instantly tell from the now very dark look in his already dark black eyes that her autistic friend was now in even less of a mood for funny business then he'd already been. "Let her go, or you'll be sorry."

"Oh really? What you gonna do?" The Chinese American girl chuckled after saying this, her 12 cohorts chuckling alongside her. "Hit us with that cheap plastic frying pan you brought from home? Please, we all know that aint gonna happen." She shook her head side to side, and then looked back at Calvin, an almost bored look on her face and her hands on her hips. "So unless you've got the balls and spine to even try to prove that your serious about this, why don't you be a good little retard, leave this school, take your brainless mutt with you, and stay out of our business?"

"Very well," said Calvin. "I will."

The Chinese American girl had all of one second to process this comment before Calvin very abruptly walloped her in the face with the frying pan. Caught 100% off guard by the unexpected blow to the face, the Chinese American girl stumbled back three steps before falling flat on her back. After what felt like an eternity, the pain on her face diminished sufficiently enough for her to open her eyes and lift herself up into a sitting position.

"Hurt didn't it?"

The Chinese American girl gaped in stunned shock at Calvin, who smirked, and then said. "Just as it should have." He indicated the frying pan. "Because A: this isn't plastic; it's made of real metal. And B," he pointed down the hall behind him. "I didn't bring it here from home. I borrowed it from the Home Economics classroom; a room that might I add, was conveniently left open and unlocked." His eyes narrowed into a glare. "And another thing."

Without warning, he threw down the frying pan so that the circular portion of it pounded against the Chinese American girl's groin hard enough to go flying back up in the air for him to catch by the handle. The luckless fan girl reared her upper body forward, face tensed up, and wheezing in pain while instinctively placing her hands on her now quite pounded groin. Calvin pointed his finger at her accusingly, glare still on his face and frying pan firmly back in his right hand's grasp. "That, was for calling me a retard. I'm Autistic. There's a difference. A very big difference. And that being said. . ."

He looked away from the Chinese American girl. All twelve of her fellow fan girls looked quite in shock. Even Susan looked somewhat stunned by just what she'd now seen him do. He snorted, pointed at the Chinese American girl with his left hand, and said, "There, proof of seriousness." He lifted the pan in his right hand. "Who's next?"

For a brief few seconds, the other 12 girls remained frozen in shock. Then, as one, they all gulped, and looked at each other nervously in the eyes. Then they looked at Susan, who now had a half annoyed and half smug look on her face. Then they looked back at Calvin, hearts sinking as they saw the cold and angry look on his face that very clearly showed he was serious. The 12 girls looked back at Susan again. As one, they all stepped away from her, the two that had been gripping her and trying to force her towards Zach almost instantaneously letting go of her hand and shoulder in the process and raising their hands in surrender with nervous looks on their faces.

Susan very noticeably squirmed her shoulders for a couple seconds after being set free, then she snapped herself to a stop, glared at the redhead, then the blonde, and growled in irritation before then storming over to where Calvin and Hobbes were standing.

Calvin directed a now concerned look towards Susan. "You alright?"

"Heck yeah," said Susan. "Thanks to you."

"Good." Calvin looked back at the thirteen fan girls who'd tried to help Zach get his way with Susan, his eyes narrowed once more into an angry glare. "Let this be a lesson for you lot." He pointed at the still unconscious Zach. "And for your overrated dumbass God-wannabe to!" He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't care how much you might hate the idea, or how many times I'll have to pound that numbskull on the back of the head with a frying pan to get the point through, but this girl here. . ." he gestured at Susan, "is off limits." He turned his head to Hobbes. "Right boy?"

"Grr," Hobbes growled in a clear canine tone of agreement.

"Thought so."

Calvin looked back at the fan girls. "When he wakes up," he pointed at Zach. "Tell him I have a message for him." He leaned forward, an almost owl-like look of intensity now in his eyes that very much left the fan girls quite freaked out upon sight of it. "Susan is off limits. Your precious golden boy lothario needs to grow a brain and quit while he's ahead. And it will not; I repeat, will not; matter how many times he asks or what he tries to pull. The answer is no. N. O. That spells 'no'. It means, no."

Calvin leaned back to full standing height. "And if you and your pathetic false god don't like that, then two words." He flipped the finger at the 13 fan girls, whose eyes widened in shock at the sight of the gesture. Even Susan looked caught off guard by the unexpected move on Calvin's part. "Fuck you."

Susan found herself even more caught off guard upon hearing Calvin say this. As Calvin's only true friend, she knew him perfectly well enough to know that he rarely ever swore. And in all the rare times he had sworn before now, he had never dropped the F-bomb before. "He must really be angry right now," she thought to herself. The 13 fan girls, likewise, were stunned speechless.

Calvin growled, swung the frying pan in his hand thrice in a clockwise circle. "And while we're at it; I'm also aware of how your precious false God likes to have you all line up and kiss him under the mistletoe at the McKinley High Christmas dance."

At that very moment, Zach was starting to groan and slowly return to consciousness, all while weakly swiping his hands around the area in front of him to try to give himself a means of support to get back up. As this happened, Calvin said, "Well tell him that if he tries to pull a mistletoe stunt, or any other stunt, on Susan after today, he can pucker up. . ." He slammed the frying pan down upon Zach's backside. "AND KISS IT!"

Zach's eyes snapped open, and he unconsciously spat in a mixture of pain and shock from the unexpected blow to his backside.

Calvin, seemingly not at all aware of Zach's reaction to the blow, directed one final glare towards the 13 still shocked speechless fan girls, and then snorted derisively. "That being said." He flipped the finger at them once more. "Fuck you." He turned around so that only his head was still facing the direction of the fan girls. "And goodbye."

With the farewell out of the way, Calvin turned his head to face Susan. "Shall we be off?"

Susan nodded her head. "Gladly."

The autistic boy, his neurotypical best friend, and the well trained therapy dog turned away and began to make their way down the hall towards the nearest school exit and away from the thirteen fan girls and the slowly rising Zach; Calvin's arm left arm around Susan's shoulders, Susan shaking her head and hair side to side in relief, and Hobbes happily panting and wagging his tail. When the trio was about 10 feet away from the scene of the incident, Calvin proceeded to casually, as if in an afterthought, toss the borrowed frying pan back through the air behind him towards Zach and the fan girls.

At that very moment, right as Zach was inches away from reaching a point where he'd be able to slip his knees out from under him and properly straighten back up onto his feet, the frying pan bopped him on the back of his head a second time and then clattered to the floor in front of him before sliding to a stop mere centimeters in front of the still downed Chinese American girl. Zach had just enough time for his eyes to widen, and to then direct a brief gaze at the guilty frying pan before he then let out a sigh, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed flat on his face a second time, unconscious once more. By the time the fan girls managed to wake him back up and he reached his car to drive home about 15 minutes later, every single other student, and all but four or five of the faculty had already left to go home themselves.

And just like that, we FINALLY have a new chapter done and posted! Here's me hoping you enjoyed this chapter, that it was truly worth the longer than intended wait, and that you leave plenty of feedback. Remember, just like with the previous chapter, I require (I repeat, REQUIRE) a MINIMUM of TWO reviews for this new chapter. That quota fails to get met? No chapter 6. That being said, I again hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I might as well mention this now; just to let you all know, at this point in the GWAFU, with many months left to go before the events of chapter 16 in GWAF, Zach, Daniel, and Calvin have not yet had the time to develop themselves or their relationship to the point that they have the almost brother-like friendship between them that they have for the majority of the main GWAF story. That being said, you'd best prepare to see me go into Zach's unexplored darker side from before the chapter 16 point of GWAF. Believe me, what he tried to pull to get his new 'operation attract Charlotte' plan into motion? This won't be the last we see of 'Dark Zach'. Make careful note of that. You. Have. Been. Warned.

Coming up Next: The very next day, Diana finds herself undergoing a unique personal mental peptalk, Daniel decides to make an active effort to better get to know his new 2nd in command, and Calvin himself finds himself (much to his surprise and delight) well on the way to making yet another close friend or two far earlier than he was expecting.