I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter. You guys are fantastic and your characters are fabulous. (: You guys requested a relatively snappy update and so I delivered.

Principal Figgins marched down the hall, watching the back of the spunky youth bob ahead of him. Long dark tresses tipped in red sashayed over her shoulders. She glanced back over her shoulder.

"Do I really have to do this?"

The truth was Figgins didn't have the money to pay anyone to run afterschool detention anymore. Which gave the kids one of two choices: janitorial work or afterschool activities. Being that the former position was occupied by a group of bored hockey players on the off-season, that left the latter option for Hayley Nontenegro. Something made Figgins think that she would rather be picking up trash or scraping gum but that was just too bad. Instead she was marching towards the theatre with a sneer on her face.

"I'm a badass, not a lesbian. I'm not going to get up and sing in front of a bunch of socially crippled losers."

"You should have thought about that before you tagged the school's cafeteria exterior with graffiti."

"I didn't use any swear words. It's a step up, isn't it?" she smirked at him as she stormed through the double doors. There was a boy she recognized on stage named Milo. He was wearing sunglasses on stage, but she didn't find it odd. Milo was blind, and she respected him for his independence in spite of it. He also had a rare appreciation for the urban art form, which was saying a lot being that he'd been blind for most of his life and so didn't remember much what things looked like. They had homeroom together, and sometimes they could sit there, neither of them saying anything, and yet have an understanding. It wasn't a conversation. Maybe it wasn't even a friendship. But it was something more than what she usually had, and so she decided it may be okay with her. She caught him listening to her music sometimes—Nikki Minaj and some less mainstream rap.

"Mr. Schuester, meet your newest addition. Hayley. She'll be serving for the next four weeks," Figgins said sternly, before doing an about face and retreating to the office.

"Glad to have you, Hayley. Why don't you go ahead and take a seat and I'll be with you in a minute to talk about your audition."

"She can audition with me, sir," Milo spoke up from the stage where he'd been listening. Hayley quirked an eyebrow but didn't argue.

"What are we singing, stretch?" Instead of taking the stairs up the side of the stage she hopped up on the front, popping to her feet.

"Roman's Revenge?"

"I like," she smiled at him, tossed one of the band members her iPod to plug into the speakers, and waited for the beat to lead her into the opening. Roman's Revenge was a rather vulgar song by Nikki Minaj and Eminem but she didn't bother to cut out the explicative language. She left the lyrics where they were and when they were done Will Schuester was left with a very difficult decision. Of course he couldn't refuse Hayley, and Milo's voice had been exceptionally smooth.

"I want you two to sing something else."

"Like what?"

"Milo, I want you to sing Sam Sparro's song Black and Gold. And Hayley…"

"Yeah?"

"Your range is excellent. If you want to play with your voice a little bit, take Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift."

"The fuck is that?"

"You'll both perform at tomorrow's Glee club. Opening meeting of the season. It's a big one," Will said.

"Meaning half the club will be gone by midterms so this is the best possibility to humiliate myself in front of the most people."

Zane Byron stood outside the auditorium waiting for Milo and Hayley to leave the stage. He glanced around every few seconds, trying to look casual. Hoping that no one noticed him. He didn't have the immunity that those two had to the slushie treatment. Milo being disabled and Hayley being put into the mix by force rather than volunteer, of course they wouldn't have had to suffer the consequences of being terminally socially impaired.

When Nicolette Fierce stomped her way down the hall, he knew he was done for. Not because she was armed with any frozen drinks, but more because of the impeding judgment. The swishing blonde pony-tail and neat-looking cheerios uniform demanded the attention of all those she graced with her presence. At least, that was the impression that she gave. Whether it was more effective because of her looks or her general aura of unrivalled bitchdom, Zane was never sure. Nikki was her best friend, and it was this logic that she used to justify letting Zane know exactly what he was doing wrong in her eyes, exactly when she thought he was doing it. Enlisting for Glee club was sure to be on the list.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her tone thick with suspicion. Her gaze flitted between his face and the door to the auditorium. Whatever they were discussing on stage was sure to be over.

"Auditioning…for Glee club," he admitted sheepishly, feeling very much like a child caught doing something wrong by their parents. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, and they both knew it, so there was no point in trying to lie.

"Why?" Her tone was sharp, her eyes narrowed.

"Nikki…" he reasoned, his tone wary. He wasn't intimidated by her like most of the girls in the school, and he wasn't dissuaded from his point by her charming looks and demanding demeanor.

"Doesn't your girlfriend get a say?" Zane pursed his lips. It was times like these that he forgot that he was talking to the Queen Bitch and not his best friend half the time they were at school. This time, she was pushing it.

"No, but my best friend does. Can I speak to her? Is she around? Nikki? Are you in there? Have anything to say?" He tapped on the side of her head lightly with his knuckles, and she shoved his hand away, reaching up to peck him on the lips. A couple of jocks passing by eyed her, but didn't say anything.

"I'm your best friend. And I'm saying no. Come on. We have a homecoming committee meeting to attend to," she took his hand in hers and dragged him away from the double doors to the auditorium. Over his shoulder he watched Milo and Hayley ascend the stairs off the stage. A moment later the stage lights came off and the theatre went dark.