new directions | glee

8. BUST A MOVE ☑️

Aaron shrugs, "Well, yeah, but—"

"This is about your popularity, isn't it?" Kayla sighs, crossing her arms in annoyance.

Popularity had always been such a big deal for Aaron. She was learning that it was a big deal to a lot of her classmates, but Kayla wasn't buying into it. She didn't care how people perceived her and she could care even less about having status if it meant having to be a horrible person. She'd seen it firsthand. Puck was actually a soft guy. Quinn had a lovely heart. Santana loved to dance. Finn was a drummer. A lot of their popular kids were just normal kids who thrived off having status.

Since elementary school, Aaron had always been the outgoing popular one while Kayla more of a quiet loner. Now she had friends, but way back when, she didn't like to talk to anyone. Aaron always did the talking for her, growing up. His status protected her from the bullies during her outing. Aaron thought if he wasn't popular that he was nothing, but Kayla saw him as a whole lot more than a running back.

"Well, yeah. How am I supposed to protect you if I don't have this jacket?"

He lifts the collar of his letterman and continues. "I'm your big brother, Kayla. I've always been able to protect you so long as I've been popular. If I'm just a glee club loser, getting slushied every day, how is that helping you?"

Kayla pulls her brother into a hug and whispers, "You help me by doing something you love. You don't need to be popular to be my big brother."

Aaron nods but he still doesn't seem too sure. "I—I'll think about it."

Kayla gives him a pat on the shoulder and says, "Do the right thing." Then she walks away.

Kayla doesn't understand what he's giving up, but she understands that he's a lot happier singing songs than he is running a ball. He only does it because he's good at it. Not because he wants to. But singing, Aaron loves to do that. He can play piano. He even taught her. He loves to make up choreography. He's the most happy in glee. She just has to trust that her brother will make the right decision.

As Kayla walks out to the parking lot that afternoon with Aaron right behind her, she sees Rachel and Puck standing at his car. Then she sees Puck lean in and kiss her. And it's like Kayla starts seeing red.

"Puckerman!" she yells across the parking lot. She's seen Rachel and Puck talking a bit more than usual, but she never thought it was in a romantic way.

Puck looks up and sees Kayla's fiery eyes. Rachel stares at her in surprise. She hadn't expected Kayla to be mad that she had a boyfriend.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kayla balls up her fist, ready to swing.

Puck holds his hands over his face. "Woah, chill. She's my girl, Garrett."

Kayla can't comprehend the words. Just twenty four hours ago, Rachel was crying her eyes out over Finn and now she'd moved on to a relationship with Puck, of all people.

Aaron starts pulling her back out of Puck's face and she gains her composure. "Fine. Rachel, just call me when you get home please."

Rachel nods and Kayla tries to remain calm as Aaron helps her into his truck and they drive home. She doesn't cry. She stays with balled up fists and a glare on her face as they drive out of the parking lot.

Kayla waits and waits for Rachel to call her and she never does.

←⧪→

It was the time of the reckoning. It was 3:59pm and not one of the football boys had waltzed through those choir room doors. Kayla is holding Tina's hand for dear life and making it her sole mission to ignore Rachel for the rest of hers. She tries to ignore Rachel's gaze that falls upon her every few minutes.

"I guess they're not coming." Tina mumbles and Kayla lays her head on the goth's shoulder.

"This sucks. I thought they were our friends." Mercedes notes and Mr. Schue quickly tries to shut down any negative energy, but it's already four and no one has shown up.

Just then, the faces of Mike and Matt enter the choir room and everyone smiles. Santana and Brittany run up to greet them. As happy as she is to see them, Kayla cares more about her brother's presence.

Then Puck and Aaron string along behind them and both Rachel and Kayla run up to hug them.

"I didn't think you'd show." Kayla notes, looking up at her brother.

"And miss your antics? Never." Aaron laughs and the two walks back to the group.

Then someone states the obvious.

"Where's Finn?"

←⧪→

Kayla doesn't know why she cares so much. She doesn't know why she's even bothering trying to get Finn back. It isn't like they're on good terms, but the team looks to her as their female Finn. She's a team captain and she's able to take charge in a way that most people aren't. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and she's the best at a good old pep talk, much better than any pep talk Schuester has ever given them.

That's how she had barged into the boys' locker room after football practice and was currently yelling at Finn.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Finn's eyes widen and he tightens the towel around his waist.

Kayla rolls her eyes. Just in her walk in here, she'd already seen about six different penises. She was sure Finn's was nothing too special.

"You picked football." She deadpans.

"Well, yeah." he says as if it was the most obvious thing on earth.

"You love glee."

He shushes her. "Could you be any louder? This team already thinks I'm like Rock Hudson gay."

"Fine." she says softer. "You love popularity. You love people knowing your name and having their respect. You don't like getting slushied and called gay. No one does. But you love glee. Is status really more important than doing what you love with your real friends?"

He pulls a shirt out of his locker and throws it on. "You don't get it, Kayla. You've never been popular. When people look to you for the answers and you know you're safe, it's easier. But it's already bad enough that I'm known as the quarterback teen father. Quinn got kicked off the Cheerios today. I have to do this if I have any chance of raising my daughter."

Kayla sighs. "I know that you have a lot on your plate right now and usually I have no sympathy towards you, but even I care about you, Finn. You brought this club together and I remember you saying that football and glee need you both. You love performing. Don't let other people get in the way of that."

And with that, she walks out. Albeit with wolf whistles and hollers from Azimio and Karofsky.

←⧪→

And somehow Kayla's pep talk works, along with Kurt slushing himself for Finn. He finally sees the light and realizes that all his real friends are sitting in a choir room. Coach Tanaka decides to end the war on glee and football and all the boys are reinstated on the team. Finn brings them all slushies which is kind of traumatic yet totally ironic.

Quinn sits in a chair quietly. She's so sad about being kicked off the Cheerios. Mr. Schue isn't going to let her mope though.

"Quinn, you have fourteen people right here who'll be with you to the bitter end."

Mr. Schuester takes a sip of his slushie and winces. "Ah, brain freeze."

Mercedes and Rachel smirk at each other. "Have you never been slushied before, Mr. Schue?"

The whole team catches on at that point and begins inching closer to Mr. Schue with their drinks in hand. He knows what's coming and tells them to do it. Each member throws their grape slushie on him and he's covered head to toe in blistering cold slush.

"From the top."
____________________________________

[A/N: good news: I'm almost completely done with my notes for this story and where it's gonna go and I'm super excited for that! Also wanted to work on Aaron and Kayla's sibling dynamic. I based off me and my brother, so it's iconic.]

*edited 10/21/22
+ 12/29/22

~ Emilee