A VERY GLEE CHRISTMAS
•••••
"Hey guys." Mr. Schue greeted as he walked into the choir room. He saw the New Directions were decorating the tree, singing some Christmas carols, and enjoying each other's company. "What's this?"
"We're trying to get into the Christmas spirit, Mr. Schue." Finn answered. "And check out this awesome tree. I found it on the side of the road. It must have fell off some guy's car."
"And the ornaments?" Their teacher asked.
"The guy who lives next door finally killed off his elderly mother. When they carted him off, they left the house wide open." Santana explained. "I think she was a holiday hoarder."
"You could say that again." Lexi chuckled, as Santana lifted her up so she could place the ornaments near the top of the tree. The two girls had gone to Santana's house the previous day to retrieve the boxes of ornaments. They were more than fine not to mention the dogs that chased them down the street afterwards.
"And the presents?"
"I lifted them from a display at the mall." Puck shrugged. "But don't worry they're empty."
"What he doesn't realize is that he shoplifted." Lexi clarified. "It was an unethical action."
"Guys, I appreciate the effort, but this isn't what Christmas is supposed to be like." Mr. Schue said, as the group turned to frown at him.
"For us it is." Mercedes argued. "This tree is like a mascot for Glee Club. We won Sectionals two years in a row and according to everyone at the school, we still suck."
"Yeah...and it's my first Christmas with a possible dad...so it has been a lot of adjustment." Lexi agreed. "Plus, we still manage to receive slushies every morning. It's such a pleasant wake up call."
"I'm pretty sure they just added food coloring to real slush from the parking lot." Tina agreed, referring to her and Lexi getting slushied in the parking lot earlier that day.
"No. I am not gonna let you guys throw yourself a pity party." Mr. Shue shook his head. "Look, I'm the first one to say that things haven't turned out exactly how I would have liked them to this year. But Christmas is all about being grateful for things that did."
"I thought that was Thanksgiving." Finn frowned, confused.
"And this year, Glee Club is gonna lend a hand to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Program right here in Lima." Mr. Schue continued.
"Oh, my mom and I deliver food to them every Christmas." Lexi commented. Being Ukranian, and Columbian, Lexi and her mom made a whole slew of food every year-it was tradition from where they were from.
"Wait. Classrooms in this school with students in them?' Tina asked the obvious question that was lingering in the room.
"Well if there are no students in them, there will be no one to put money in the collection box while we sing." Mr. Schue replied.
"We're gonna be killed." Quinn commented quietly.
"You do realize we're risking our dignity by doing something that could lead to public humiliation, right?" Lexi asked.
"And How I Met Your Mother is still on air." Santana snickered, as they giggled.
"Hey... I love that show." Lexi defended her love for the show.
"No guys, it's Christmas, a time for miracles." Finn spoke up. "We gotta try this."
"Finn's right." Mr. Schue nodded. "So let's start rehearsing. This year, Glee Club's going full Santa."
------
Haul out the holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stocking I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again Now
The new directions heard some of the students starting to get fed up with their performance. There were multiple insults. Some were quite audible.
"You suck!"
"Who goes caroling with a band?"
"I'd seriously rather be learning."
For we need a little Christmas
"You're making me hate Christmas!" the group heard someone yell. However, Lexi, and Mercedes both nodded at the band who started the music again.
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
"Yeah, that's right. Leave! - Go, go, go! - I hate you! - Go, go, go!"
The New Directions made a run for the door as someone threw their shoe at them. The class was getting out of hand, and Lexi swore in that moment, she was going to die...She chuckled as Brittany wrapped her arms around her, trying to protect her from the angry students tossing literally anything they could grab at the New Directions.
————
"I can't believe that that teacher let her students speak to us like that." Rachel exclaimed, annoyed.
"I can't believe she threw her shoe at us." Puck agreed.
"It was absurd. Frankly, part of me expected it, and the other part was just shocked at the behavior, and verbal language." Lexi commented.
"We almost died." Brittany commented.
"I guess we're done carolling." Tina let out a sigh.
"No, we're not." Finn disagreed. "Guys, we can't let what just happened ruin our Christmas spirit. Mr. Schue got us this beautiful tree to inspire us. We're gonna practice now, and gear up for round two tomorrow." He decided, attempting to keep a positive outlook.
"Pretty soon, no one will bully us." Brittany spoke up. "Santana Claus can do anything and this year, I asked for the Glee Club to stop getting picked on."
"She's kidding, right?" Lauren asked, clearly just as shocked as the rest of the group.
Artie sighed, and wheeled away from Brittany, motioning for the group to gather. "Guys, this is serious. Listen up, Brittany still believes in Santa Claus."
"You cannot be serious." Mercedes shook her head in disbelief.
"Last week, Brittany believed a cob had magic powers. This is a kind of pattern." Sam pointed out.
"She believes that unicorns are real, and that dinosaurs exist, and that their ecstasy problem is what caused them to go extinct." Lexi added.
"She's gonna find out sooner, or later." Quinn agreed.
"Okay. Somebody needs to break the news to her." Lauren said, as she, including the rest of the group turned to Puck.
"Don't look at me." He said, shaking his head. "I'm cruel and all, but that's just hard-core."
"Right? That's my point. Hear me out." Artie began. "Remember when you were a kid, how excited you would get when you would think about Santa Clause, how awesome it was? Christmas was the highlight of the year. Why wouldn't you wanna keep someone's world magical for a little while longer?" He asked the group.
"How?" Mike asked.
"I've got it all figured it out." Artie assured the group.
------
"Don't get me wrong...I love Brittany, but I did not sign up for this." Lexi admitted, as the group stood in line waiting to sit on Santa's lap. They watched as Brittany conversed with one of the elf's.
"I'm not sitting on that guy's lap. Santas' laps are always really warm, and it's creepy." Quinn agreed.
"We all have to sit on Santa's lap. If Brittany sees that we all still believe, it'll make her strong enough to withstand all the Santana naysayers in the world." Artie spoke up. He was persistent about doing something good for his girlfriend.
"Which is everyone over the age of six." Sam commented. "I mean, not even my brother believes in it anymore."
"I never believed in him." Lexi shook her head. "Not even the tooth fairy, but low and behold, I was Brittany's tooth fairy throughout middle school."
"Wait seriously?" Sam asked, as Lexi nodded.
""Seriously." Lexi answered. "I would dress up in a tutu, and pink leotard, and Quinn would do my makeup, while Santana would put my pink wig on. It was horrendous, but it was for Britt."
"I'm pretty sure that isn't gonna work." Tina said, referring to Artie's earlier response. "That guy doesn't even look like Santa."
"At least they have diverse knowledge." Lexi shrugged.
"Trust me. All Brittany's gonna see is the suit. She wants to believe in him." Artie said, gently shoving Mercedes forward. "Mercedes, get up there."
"Go, Mercedes! Go, Mercedes. Go!" Brittany cheered, as Lexi shook her head.
One by one the group began to move down the line. They took turns sitting on Santa's laps. All of them rather wanting to be anywhere else, instead of the mall.
"I would like Puckerman to love me." He's a fox." Lauren said. "I would also like sweet potato fries."
"I want bling. I can't be anymore specific." Santana said bluntly, as she was about to get up, she saw Lexi in her peripheral vision, talking to Sam. "I want my girl Lexi to have happiness. She's in love with Sam over there, but he's oblivious...so if you could provide love and pure happiness for her, that'd be sweet..." She paused, and frowned then. "Okay, wait. Hold up. Please tell me that is a roll of Certs in your pocket."
"Go lexi!" Brittany cheered, shoving Lexi forward. Lexi sent Brittany a smile, before she turned around, and sat on Santa's lap. She pondered, as she swore she felt the group staring. "You know....honestly, I just want Sam to love me. It sounds kiddush but it isn't. I really love him." She shrugged, gesturing to Sam who was with Quinn. "Uh, that's all. And if that's too much, I just want happiness or a year's supply of tacos."
"Do you have anything for stretch marks?" Quinn asked.
"Chapstick. Lot's of chapstick." Sam said with a small smile.
"I want Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff." Mike said.
"When does Asian Santa arrive?" Tina asked, slightly agitated.
Finally, it was Brittany's turn, and stating she was excited-well that was an understatement.
"Ho, ho, ho. What's your name?" Santa asked, as Brittany settled down on his lap.
"Brittany." She sent him a small smile. "You've gotten really tan." She made an observation. "That's because at the North Pole, there's a hole in the ozone." Santa replied.
Lexi had to bite her lip from giggling.
"You're amazing." Brittany chuckled. "I know you're really busy, so I only want one thing for christmas. Do you see my boyfriend over there? For Christmas, I want him to be able to walk. You can do that, can't you, Santa?" She asked.
When the group overheard her wish, they gasped. Artie looked like he'd just seen a ghost. He sent Santa a look, and shook his head.
"Sure, I'm on it." Santa replied, playing along.
"Thank you so much, Santa." Brittany squealed in delight.
"Now we're screwed." Artie sighed.
------
Lexi and Sam sat in her dining room working on the last assignments before the holidays. She was currently helping him do some chemistry problems he was struggling with. After some moments of silence, Sam spoke up.
"So what are your plans for the holiday?" He asked.
"Oh you know, the typical Christmas traditions..." Lexi answered, as she closed her textbook. "Well, I'm Ukranian and Columbian, so my mom and I follow a very specific Ukranian tradition...and maybe a Columbian tradition or two.
"Would that explain the food laying on the counter?" Sam asked, gesturing to the large amount of delicious smelling food on the island.
"Yeah..." Lexi chuckled. "Since it's two days before Christmas Eve, my mom and I are preparing our 12 course Christmas meal."
"12 courses?" Sam asked, his eyes widening.
"In Ukraine it's a Christmas tradition." Lexi said, as her and Sam walked into the kitchen. "We make kutya..it's a meal that's eaten out of a dish to symbolize unity." She explained, as she picked it up to show him.
"We also make pickled Herring; beet salad; bean salad with garlic...we have marinated mushrooms; vinaigrette salad, some delicious cabbage rolls stuffed with buckwheat and mushrooms; borscht; deep fried white fish; oven-roasted cabbage; perogies with potatoes and sauerkraut and a very special dessert called uzvar. It's a drink made from dry fruit." Lexi chuckled when Sam frowned.
"It's not as disgusting as it seems." She assured him. "Oh! We also make fruit cake...in Ukraine, we call it kolach. It's a staple." She added. "The truth is that it takes hours to prepare each dish. And, we don't even fast for 40 days as required, that's a tradition we broke. Uh, which reminds me..." She picked up a box of food. "This is for you, and your family."
"Wow, thanks, Lex." Sam smiled softly, as he looked through the food that she'd given him.
"No problem. We give much of the food away to friends, family, and then we give it to the homeless as well. Obviously, there's a load of it, so me and my mom have enough for a few meals."
"Yeah..." Sam nodded, as quickly glanced at his phone. "Oh, I have to get going...my parents are waiting for me at home."
"Alright." Lexi sent him a small smile, as they walked towards her door, where there just happened to be mistletoe. "Oh god." Lexi muttered, knowing exactly who hung it there. She knew for a fact it was Brittany or Santana.
"Oh, and I also have a gift for you." Sam smiled, as he handed her a box of chocolate.
"Thank you so much. I'll have to keep this away from my mom." She chuckled.
"And, Stacey and Stevie also decorated Christmas cookies that they insisted you have." Sam laughed, as he handed her another box.
"That's so generous." Lexi smiled, as she placed the boxes on the side table beside the door.
"Okay...well, I should really be going now." Sam said. However, he noticed a branch of mistletoe hanging above the door. There was no easy escape.
"I swear I didn't know it was there." Lexi spoke up, as Sam nodded. They were both in an awkward position. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, causing her to blush. After he pulled away, they both smiled, and let out a few laughs.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at school." Lexi said.
"See you, Lex." Sam sent her another smile, before he turned to leave. She watched as he walked down the steps, and down her driveway.
She sighed, and shut the door. What she really wanted for Christmas was something no one could gift her. She loved Sam, and unfortunate he hadn't noticed-although unbeknownst to her, he was starting to like her, as more than a friend. He was falling for her.
Lexi walked over to the grand piano in her music room, and began to play the notes to Nancy Wilson's That's What I Want for Christmas
When you said yesterday that it's nearly Christmas
What did I want and I thought
Just love me, love me, love me
That's what I want for Christmas
When I walk through a room, let them see you need me
Walk through a room, let them
See you love me, love me, love me
That's what I want for Christmas
Anyone can wish for all the trinkets in the window
Some can even buy the things they see
But the present that I want you'll never find in any window
Bring me love and bring it just for me
When you come home at night
Take me in your arms and hold me
And kiss me and say you love me, love me, love me
That's what I want for Christmas
Hold me, kiss me
That's what I want for Christmas
------
The next day, the New Directions stood in the entry of the choir room shocked. They saw that all of the decorations had either been stolen or damaged.
"They took everything." Mercedes said. Sadness was evident in her voice.
Lexi sighed, as she bent down to pick up some of the broken ornaments.
"Including all of Sue's Secret Santa gifts we were gonna give to the homeless kids." Tina added.
"Only further proof that everyone in this school hates us no matter what we do." Rachel mumbled.
"It's not the school." Mr. Schue announced as he walked into the room. "It was Sue. She did this."
"It wasn't Sue." Brittany argued. "How wasn't this coach Sylvester's fault? It was Santa. A light was out in the tree. He'd fix everything. We need to let him do this thing." She added, clearly not fully understanding the conversation being had.
"O-kay." Mr. Schue said, unsure of what to add. "Are you sure Santa was a boy, and not a girl, Brittany?" He asked.
"I swear on my life. Santa's a boy. Everybody knows that." Brittany answered.
"So our tree is gone. So our presents are missing." Finn commented.
"Santa's probably fixing any dents or chips as we speak." Brittany tried to assure the group.
"All around the world today way worse things have happened to people than this." Finn continued, ignoring Brittany. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna let this get us down. Tis' the season."
"I agree. Come on, guys. Let's clean this up." Mr. Schue said. "Come on."
------
Later on, the group had come to a final decision. They were going to try to raise money for kids., but none of them were particularly about the price they had to pay to accomplish their goal.
"This was my dad's." Finn spoke up, holding up a watch.
"He'd want you to do it.... For those kids." Mike commented.
"This was my uncle's. It's the first thing I ever stole actually." Puck said, holding the watch he had in his hand.
Across from the boys in the room, the girls were complaining about the price they had to pay. It was little more demandingly personal than the boys, per say.
"I'm gonna look terrible." Quinn muttered, as she held her ponytail protectively.
"Shut up." Tina grumbled. "With your bone structure, you could rock Rosemary's Baby look and still look good. I'm gonna look like Jackie Chan."
"It's the gesture that counts, right?" Lexi spoke up, as the girls turned to look at her.
"You're going to cut your hair, and you'll still look like Mila Kunis." Santana commented, as she held some of Lexi's hair in her hand. Santana was right. Lexi did in fact look closely similar to the actress, with her bone structure, and eyes, and most of her characteristics.
"Funny... I was going to say Sarah Hyland." Lexi shrugged. "But then again, they're each other's dopplegangers."
"If Barbara can pull off a bob, so can I." Rachel said to herself.
"Oh godddd...I really don't want to do this." Lexi shook her head.
"Enough complaining, let's do this." Santana decided, as she urged the girls to finally cut their hair.
Before they could cut their hair, Mr. Schue walked into the room. "Whoa! What are you guys doing?" He asked, rather shocked.
"We're going all Gift of the Magi to raise money to buy homeless kids those school supplies." Mercedes answered.
"The guys are gonna sell their watches, and the girls are going to sell off their hair." Sam explained.
"You can't do that."
"Who's to say we can't?" Lexi asked, rather snarkily.
"No, it's cool. Most of this isn't mine anyway." Santana shrugged.
"No, I mean, that's not the answer. There are other ways to raise money at Christmas time." Mr. Schue reiterated.
"No, but we tried caroling, and it didn't work." Rachel complained.
"Wait. I thought you and Finn were getting us a new tree."
"We went, but Finn bailed before we could get one." Rachel rolled her eyes, still bitter that Finn officially broke up with her.
"Nice Christmas spirit, Finn." Brittany said.
"Wait. Guys, no more fighting. Have any of you ever actually read Gift of the Magi?" Their teacher asked. "None of you?"
"You don't have to read Gift of Magi. Everybody knows what it's about." Quinn commented.
"Well, if you actually read it, you'd know what it's about."
"You can't just assume we haven't read it." Lexi snarked.
"Yeah, I know what it's about: life freaking sucks." Santana rolled her eyes.
"Actually, you're right. The first Christmas you remember having is the greatest day of your life. Your family's all together. There are loads of presents, cookies. The magic is alive and well. But before you know it, you grow up. Work, and school, and girlfriends take over and Christmas becomes more of an obligation. A reminder of what's lost instead of what's possible. And all the trees and the presents and even the mistletoe can't change that. And then when you get to my age you're so desperate to get that magic back... You'd do anything to be able to feel how you did that first Christmas.." Mr. Schue explained.
"So...what are we going to do?" Lexi asked, folding her arms.
"Put your scissors down. Put your watches back on. We're gonna go out and find some people who really need some Christmas spirit. And we are gonna sing for them."
------
The New Directions stood in a group in the teacher's lounge, preparing to perform a song they'd prepared.
"Hey." Finn greeted. "Uh, so we're your students. All year long you suffer through dealing with us. I imagine having some of us in your classes would slowly chip away at your hopes and dreams until the whole world just felt like a never-ending nightmare of pain." He rambled awkwardly.
"Get to the point, Finn." Mr. Schue urged.
"Right. Uh, anyway, we're here today to help raise money for children that have a lot less than we do. And I know some of us have had a Christmas. But what we've come to learn is that no matter how tough things get, there isn't anything that more Santa or a couple more jingle bells can't cure." Finn finished.
{Welcome Christmas-Sung by the New Directions}
-------
After they finished performing for the teachers, the New Directions were making their way back to the choir room.
"So, how much did we raise?" Finn asked.
"2010 bucks. And that's after my cut." Puck said casually, causing everyone to look at him with glared facial expressions. "I'm kidding." He raised his hands in surrender.
The group stopped and stood in shock when they entered the choir room. They couldn't believe what they saw. Artie Abrams was standing and walking. His legs were attached to some machine, but he was taking some slow steps with Brittany by his side.
"Artie." Lexi called gently.
"It's called a ReWalk. Some guy in Israel invented it. I can't use it all the time but... Check me out." Artie replied, with a small smile.
"Was it a Christmas gift?" She asked.
"I didn't buy it." Brittany shook her head. "We went home, and it was sitting under my Christmas tree." She smiled brightly.
"How the hell could you afford that thing?" Sam asked, as he stood next to Lexi who sent him a small smile, which he returned.
"I didn't know what it was.... I thought it was a Transformer." Brittany continued, completely ignoring Sam's question.
"So if no one we know bought it for you, then..."
"Santa brought it." Brittany finished Rachel's sentence. At that, everyone looked shocked, but slowly they began to smile, playing along.
"Santa." Smiled Mercedes.
"Santa." Artie agreed.
"A real Christmas miracle." Lexi whispered, as the group nodded. Little did they know that Coach Beiste watched them from a distance. Her heart was full knowing that her generous gesture could mean so much, and making the group very happy.