The Girl Who Didn't Join Glee Club

10. Ballad

When Charles picked up Cataleya from practice on Monday, there was a conversation they needed to have.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked Cataleya as she entered the car and settled in the passenger seat.

Charles noticed how she looked like deer caught in headlights before she cross-questioned him. "Tell you what exactly?"

"Look in the glove compartment." She did what she was told to find a picture of her and Rosa together. "This fell out of your jacket when I was putting it in the coat closet. How come you didn't tell me you have this, honey? I would've hung it up! That's such a beautiful picture of you two."

He was too busy driving that he didn't see Cataleya let out a deep breath of relief.

"Dad, that's not a good photo. Don't you see that I'm missing my front teeth?"

"You were a kid!" Charles defended. "And I think it looks adorable, which is why I'll be hanging the photo up once we get home."

"Dad!"

"Nope!" Charles shook his head. "You can't change my mind. I like it too much. How did you get this photo anyways?"

"Oh, it was inside the CD case I gave Kurt," Cataleya answered.

"I still can't believe you gave him some of your Wicked memorabilia."

She shrugged. "As I told him, he'll give it the love it deserves. If I didn't give it to him, it'd be in the back of my closet. Plus, I still have Mom's."

"Still, I think it was sweet that you did that. I'm proud of you, honey." Charles stated, knowing the effects that words of affirmation can have. Not getting that from his father, he wanted to make sure he told Cataleya every chance he could so she never felt the way he did growing up.

"You don't have to be proud of me for doing something like that," Cataleya told him.

"Well, it's a good thing that it's not the only reason I'm proud of you. There's a whole list. You got that?"

"Yeah," Cataleya responded in a small voice. Because he was driving, he didn't see the shame Cataleya had on her face.

Once they got home, Charles got a call. "Hey honey, I have to take this, but it should be quick."

He then left, leaving a troubled Cataleya by herself, stuck in her thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~

After Cataleya came over to his place, Kurt rarely saw her, but when he did, he noticed a change in her. She was always looking in her notebook or talking to a certain teammate of hers. Kurt assumed it was soccer related.

So, when he saw that Cataleya was alone at her locker, he thought it was as good of a time as any to tell her the latest glee club gossip. "You'll never believe who Rachel has a massive crush on! Actually, you might, you're good at guessing."

Kurt noticed she jumped at the sound of his voice. When he got closer to her, he noticed how drained she looked. "Leya, are you okay? You don't look well."

"Yes, Kurt, I'm fine. You just scared the shit out of me, so sorry I don't look my best at the moment." Cataleya retorted, and Kurt could sense some sarcasm in her tone.

"No, that's not what I mean. It's just for the past few days, you just don't seem like yourself. You've been so caught up with soccer, it's like I don't see the Cataleya I'm used to seeing. You know, the badass who had a love for dance. You said you would dance more this year, but you haven't really because of soccer."

When Kurt said those words, they were out of a place of worry. Throughout his time knowing Cataleya, he's never seen her like this. He was worried that she was digging herself into a hole and that it would be hard to get her out of it. He was worried that with all her focus on soccer, she might break down.