Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 33

The next day Ryan woke up bright and early at six in the morning. Finally, finally, the grounding was over. This four-day grounding felt longer than the two-week ones Hiram and Leroy had given him. Sure, he'd been able to bond with his mom a bit, but he was just sick of this house. He literally jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. He'd missed his daily routine of going out for a run every morning. He took a deep breath once he got out of the house. He took off on his usual route, happy to have the time to clear his head.

He had finally gotten to talk to his mom about why he'd been so messed up the past couple of weeks. And it had really helped, he didn't feel quite as bothered anymore. He'd really felt a bit guilty after his talk with Shelby yesterday. When he'd first moved in he was always thinking about how not to impose on Shelby, but lately he'd started to get so focused on his own feelings that he hadn't considered how hard this must be on his mom. By now he was secure in the fact that his mom wouldn't abandon him. But he wouldn't let himself take her for granted, either.

After his run he headed home and went upstairs to take a shower. When he got back downstairs, he found Shelby making breakfast in the kitchen. "Good morning."

His mother turned around. "Good run?" she asked, stirring the scrambled eggs she was cooking.

"Yes, thank you," Ryan smiled, spontaneously giving Shelby a kiss on the cheek. The day was starting out pretty well. He was going to go see Quinn soon, and James was coming later. He craned his head to look at the pan. "Is there enough for me?"

"Of course." Shelby had learned a few weeks ago that Ryan only liked his eggs scrambled. He didn't like them fried or poached or whatever. She'd found that out a little after she discovered that he'd tried vegetarianism and vegan a year or so back only to quit when he found it was too much of a hassle. Just a phase, he'd claimed. Ryan grinned and sat down at the counter, popping a few slices of bread into the toaster. "Got any plans for the morning?" James would be here for lunch, but the morning was free and she was sure her son was just champing at the bit to get out of the house.

"Can I go over to Quinn's this morning?" he asked a bit sheepishly, remembering belatedly that he hadn't asked for permission.

Shelby nodded, hiding a smile. She should have known that's where he'd go first. "Just be back by eleven, we're picking James up at the bus station before we have lunch, okay?" She put the large plate of eggs in the middle of the counter before taking out a couple of plates.

"Got it." Ryan started spreading butter on the toast. "Are you just going to be here all morning?"

"No, I need to pick up a few things at McKinley, new teacher and all that jazz," Shelby replied, as they started eating their breakfast. "Speaking of which, did you do your homework?"

Ryan looked away. "I started...sort of..." he trailed off evasively. Shelby raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine, no. I didn't do it. I wrote my name and the title of the essay at the top of the paper. Sue me. I hate writing essays, I'd rather face a sold-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall without knowing any of my lyrics."

"Funny."

"You know, that's another thing," Ryan continued. "I survived middle school and freshman and sophomore year without anyone supervising my homework, and I got good grades. You don't need to nag."

"I'm a teacher, it's in my psyche to nag about homework," Shelby answered. "But okay. I'll try to stop nagging as long as you don't fall behind. I don't want anyone calling me about you not submitting your homework. Do you need help?"

Ryan looked at her confusedly. "What?"

"Help. Do you want me to help you do your homework?" Shelby said slowly, also confused. "Not do it for you, of course, but I can help if you want me to."