Blake looks around Coach Sylvester's office, observing all of the weird things she keeps in there. She notices a lot of trophies, an expensive blender, and an unnatural amount of magazines with her face on it.
"Ladies, what we have here is a grade-A dilemma." The cheerleading coach looks at Mercedes, Blake and Kurt. " Mercedes, your vocal cords have had more fantastic runs than a Kenyan track team but that look simply will not do. At first I thought it was a subtle homage to yours truly but now I fear it's some sort of ironic comment."
"Ms. Sylvester, I'm just not comfortable in those Cheerios skirts. They don't fit me right." Mercedes says.
"Mercedes you shouldn't feel embarrassed by your body." Kurt looks at his best friend, comforting her.
"Yeah, you're gorgeous, and have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of." Blake smiles.
"Ashamed?" The girl laughs, "No, no. I'm worried about showing too much skin and causing a sex riot."
All three teens laugh at their friends' comments. "How do you three not have a show on Bravo?" Sue looks at the students, not understanding their dynamic. "Here's the skinny. Splits magazine, after much campaigning by one Sue Sylvester has named me cheerleading coach of the last 2,000 years. In seven days reporter Tracy Pendergrass will arrive on campus and my new star singer will have lost 10 pounds and be in a gender-appropriate cheerleading uniform or she is off the team." Sue looks at Mercedes firmly.
"Ten pounds? Are you serious?" Kurt looks at his coach like she's crazy.
"You could lose a few too, kiddo. You got hips like a pear." She's says, nodding her head at Kurt.
"That's kind of unreasonable, Coach Sylvester." Blake states, "Don't you think you'll get extra brownie points if you show the magazine you have a squad that accepts all shapes and sizes?" The brunette tries to reason with the cheerleading coach.
Sue looks the girl up and down and forms her lips in a tight line, "I have nothing negative to say about you." She pauses, "This has never happened before." The four sit in an awkward silence, until the coach eventually moves on from her lack of negativity towards Blake. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to put in a call to the Ohio secretary of state notifying them I will no longer be carrying photo I. D. You know why?" She asks, standing up, "People should know who I am"
The trio gets up and leaves the Coach's office and Blake can't help but notice the change in Mercedes attitude. She sends a look over to Kurt which he reciprocates with a nod.
"Mercedes, look at me." Blake says softly. "You do not have to lose weight. You are beautiful just the way you are, and if Sue doesn't want to take you that way, we'll quit."
Mercedes looks at the brunette girl, "No. I want to be on the Cheerios. This is the first time I've felt seen. It's not gonna kill me to eat a little healthier. I'll be fine." She dismisses, "Now let's get to glee rehearsals before Mr. Schue has another fit about us being late because of Cheerios."
The three laugh and make their way over to the choir room. They walk in and head their separate ways, Blake takes a seat in the front that nobody has occupied yet, and the other two head to the middle row.
Blake adjusts her high ponytail, then reaches in her backpack to take out her songbook. She finally finished her previous song to which she titled Turn Up The Music, and now she's working on a new song, the title... TBD.
She slowly writes the chorus in her notebook, not having everything figured out yet.
I keep my eyes wide open
Bless this ground unbroken
I'm about to make my way
Heaven help me keep my faith
And my eyes wide open
All I have is just this moment
And I don't want to miss a second
'Cause it could all be gone in an instant
Yeah, in an instant.
As the girl continues to write she feels two bodies take up the seats beside her and she immediately closes her book.
"What are you writing?"
"What's that?"
The voice of Jesse St. James and Finn Hudson ring out at the same time. Blake lifts her head up slowly and looks at the two boys, "Nothing. English homework." She smoothly replies.
"Lying now are we?" Jesse smirks.
"I'm not lying. It's just none of your business what I'm doing." She shrugs her shoulders.
"Exactly, so mind your business." Finn glares at the curly haired boy.
"It's not your business either." Blake looks towards Finn. "If I want to tell either of you what I'm doing, I will. But I'm not going to, so both of you drop it."
"You're right." Jesse sighs, taking the brunette's hand in his, "I shouldn't have pried, is there any way I can make it up to you?" He asks, giving Finn a menacing smirk in the process.
Blake notices Finn clench his jaw, and she rolls her eyes at the two boys. "Just don't do it again." She mumbles, removing her hand from Jesse's grasp.
"Men." She grumbles under her breath.
Mr. Schuester finally enters the classroom, and the club gets to work on brainstorming ideas for Regionals. Even though Blake had an odd start to the class, with Finn and Jesse seemingly fighting over her, it ended up being a pretty uneventful period.
As everyone was getting ready to leave, Mr. Schuester looks at them awkwardly and rubs his hands together, a habit Blake notices he has when he gets nervous. "Um, all right, I have one final announcement before we all leave." He pauses, knowing the reaction isn't going to be pretty, "We can't use the auditorium for the next week."
"But that's garbage." Finn looks at his teacher, upset, "How are we supposed to practice for regionals without the auditorium?"
"The Cheerios need it to practice in. There's nothing I can do."
Blake looks down at her uniform and feels a bit awkward with the current predicament. She knows she shouldn't feel bad because she deserves the same amount of recognition as Rachel, but being part of the cheer squad tended to get in the way of glee club. Everyone thinks football and glee club are hard to mesh together, try being on Mr. Schuester's rivals cheer squad.
"I recommend a sit-in." Rachel nods.
"I recommend we torch the place."
"Noah." Blake looks at the boy, "Where would we rehearse if the place is 'torched?'"
The boy thinks about it for a moment, "Fair point."
"Yeah." She nods her head.
"Look, we've all faced adversity before and come out stronger on the other end. I'm gonna check out a few off-site locations for us to use just for the week. I promise I'll find us a new home." Mr. Schuester smiles at them.
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
After going through her next two classes, Blake decided to meet up with Kurt and Mercedes for lunch. She walks down the hall being filled by a sea of children, the girl groans at the inconvenience knowing it's going to be forever before she makes it to the lunchroom.
Blake begins her walk, getting ready to weave in between making out couples and frantic freshman when all of a sudden everything stops. Well, not literally, but everyone seemed to part to one side when they saw her. Some people wouldn't even look her in the eye as she slowly made her way down.
Looking at all the teens confused, Blake pulls over one Jacob Ben Israel, "What is going on?" She asks him.
The boy looks at the brunette girl, seemingly terrified, "W-What?"
"Why is everyone avoiding eye contact? Why are they moving to one side of the hallway when I walk by?" Blake asks, demanding answers.
"Y-you're a Cheerio now." He shakes slightly, "I mean, you were pretty before, but now that you're a cheerleader, you have some power to back it up." He looks her up and down, "It's like you're the new Quinn Fabray."
"I thought Santana was the new Quinn?" Blake looks at him confused.
"Just because she's captain, doesn't mean she holds power."
Blake backs up slightly, she looks behind her and notices the people who were staring averted their eyes as soon as she glanced their way. Is it true? Does she really have that much control?
"You can go now Afro puff." She says, distracted by her discovery.
Jacob nods his head feverishly, "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am." Then the boy scurries off.
"Hm." She smirks slightly.
Blake then walks to the cafeteria with much more pep in her step. The journey there was not nearly as long due to her new status within the school.
"Hey guys." The girl smiles as she walks into the lunch line.
"Hey. You look chipper." Kurt comments, noticing a radiant glow coming from the brunette.
Blake shrugs, "Just a good day is all."
"Did you finally get a boyfriend?" Mercedes asks her, semi-joking.
Blake laughs, "No, absolutely not. I could though if I wanted to." She says, referring to her uniform.
The trio laughs as they make their way down the line to get food. Blake grabs a chicken breast and an apple. As the three exit the line, Kurt looks at Mercedes plate.
"Mercedes." He scolds, giving her a pointed look.
Mercedes looks at him confused, "This is healthy. Chicken breast and a salad, dressing on the side."
"You have a week to lose 10 pounds. It's like having to lose one of my butt cheeks." He says, overdramatically. "Look at what I'm eating. Peeled celery. And for breakfast I had Splenda."
Blake looks down at her plate, "I got a chicken breast too." She says confused, "Look, yes you have to lose ten pounds, but your body needs protein. It needs sustenance. If you don't eat what your body needs, it'll start to store fat which makes you gain weight. Your body doesn't know the difference between survival and you trying to lose weight." Blake looks at the girl, "Let's face it, losing ten pounds in a week is near impossible. Sue isn't going to kick you off and lose her star singer. She's not stupid."
Kurt looks at her bewildered, "Seriously? You really think Coach Sylvester won't kick her off?"
Blake simply shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head no. Kurt sighs, but still doesn't change his stance on the issue. "Look, Mercedes, now that we're cheerleaders, we're finally part of the in crowd. We have a place at the table. We don't have to beg underneath for scraps of attention. Don't screw it up."
Kurt walks away as Mercedes makes her way to Santana and Brittany. Blake grabs the girl's arm and gives her a serious look, "Don't beat yourself up over this okay? Please. It's not worth all the problems that could come out of it." She looks over to the raven haired girl and the blonde, "They might look great, but I guarantee they're messing up their bodies with whatever diet Sue has them on." Blake sighs, "If Sue kicks you off, I'm leaving with you. So please if you're really trying to lose weight, do it safely."
"I will." Mercedes nods, "Don't worry."
"Promise?"
Mercedes looks at her friend and sighs, "Yea. I promise."
"Okay. Good." She gives her a half smile. "I'll see you later, yeah?"
Mercedes simply nods her head, and Blake walks away from the girl, hoping she keeps to her promise.
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
Blake groans in annoyance at the sound of her phone ringing. She was enjoying a nice nap in her very comfortable bed, when some idiot thought it was a good idea to call her and wake her up.
She grabs her phone and groggily answers, "Hello?"
"Blake?" Finn asks, "Were you asleep?"
"What gave it away?" She sassily replies.
"You sound like you just woke up." Finn answers, not picking up on her sarcasm.
"What's up, Finn?"
"I just." He pauses, sighing, "I need someone to talk to." He says, clearly upset by something.
Noticing the sad tone in his voice, Blake sits up and focuses her attention on him, "What's going on?"
"Do you know Kurt's dad?" Finn asks.
"Oh! Burt? Yeah, I sat next to him at Kurt's first football game. He's a really cool guy. Why?"
"Apparently he's dating my mom." He says, still hating the idea.
"Oh my gosh! Finn, that's amazing. I didn't even know your mom was dating again."
"That's the problem."
"What?" Blake asks, confused.
"She's dating again, so now she's getting rid of all my dads stuff. She even tried to get rid of his recliner." He sighs, irritated, "It's the chair he was sitting in when he took a photo, holding me in it. It's the only photo with him that I have."
Blake frowns sympathetically, "I'm sorry Finn. But, think about it. She's finally able to move on. I couldn't imagine losing the love of my life. The amount of pain that would cause a person, it would break you." Blake explains to him, "So, the fact she's able to find happiness again is a good thing. The first step to moving on, is getting rid of some of the things holding you back."
"So my dads holding her back?" Finn says, offended by the girl's words.
Blake shakes her head, "No, no of course not. But Finn, your dad has been dead for a long time. And how long has it been since your mom went out on a date?" She asks rhetorically, "Isn't it time for her to be happy again?"
She hears a small sniffle on the other side of the phone, "I just don't think it's right for her to forget my dad, y'know?"
"And she's not." Blake gives a soft smile over the phone, "Just because she's getting rid of objects, doesn't mean she's getting rid of him. She still has the memories she'll get to hold onto for the rest of her life. That's what matters."
"I just don't even know how she even met Burt." Finn says, still not accepting the new relationship.
"What's wrong with Burt?" Blake asks, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Nothing. It just all seems planned or something, like someone is pulling the strings or whatever."
"Orchestrating?"
"Yeah." He nods, "I just don't want her to get rid of that chair. That's all I have left of him."
"Did you tell her that?"
"I tried." He sighs, "But I was too mad to get anything across."
"It's okay. Just try to tell her how you feel. But, calmly next time."
"I will." He nods, "I'm still gonna ask Kurt how they met though."
"Okay. Just don't get too bothered by it, okay? Give it a chance."
"It's easy for you to say, it's not your mom." Finn mumbles.
"Yeah. My moms not around. She's not dead, she left. And I would do anything for my dad to move on and be happy with someone again." Blake says, sadly. "I know it's different because your mom and dad didn't leave on bad terms, but she's still your mom Finn. If she's happy, be happy for her."
"Not if it means forgetting my dad."
Blake exhales, knowing the boy is going to spiral about this. She can tell there's going to be no convincing him to be happy for her tonight, so she simply lays back down on her bed, getting comfortable.
"Are you in bed?" She asks.
"Yeah." He nods, why?"
"I'm assuming you're tired. It sounds like you had a long day."
"Yeah." He breathes out. "I didn't even notice how tired I was until now."
"Come on then. Let's go to bed."
"It's only ten." He says, confused.
"Maybe a good night's sleep will do you some good." She suggests.
The boy nods, "You're right."
"I usually am." She chuckles lightly.
"Do you mind if we stay on the phone?" He asks, shyly. "I don't really wanna be alone."
Blake smiles, "Of course I don't mind."
"Okay. Cool." He gives his signature half smile, "Goodnight Blake."
"Goodnight Finn."
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
"A roller rink?" Santana looks at her teacher, disgusted, "Weren't those outlawed in, like, 1981 for being totally lame?"
"Come on, guys. Where's your sense of adventure?" Mr. Schue asks, trying to sell the idea of practicing in a roller rink. "The space is great and April is giving it to us to practice in for free."
"So what? We're gonna skate and sing?" Blake looks at him skeptically, "Doesn't exactly seem like the best place for glee rehearsals."
"Mr. Schue? If I may?" Kurt says, standing up, "The New Directions is clearly a club with a dearth of direction. Rachel and Jesse refuse to accept that all of us would rather die before we allow them to become the next Beyoncé and Jay-Z and Finn's mother's romance with my father is sending him into a wholly unnecessary tailspin of despair."
What does that have to do with a lack of rehearsal space? Blake thinks to herself. "What we all need right now is to explore the idea of a sense of place and how if we find that place within we will get that happy ending." Kurt smiles, looking over to their piano player, "Brad, B-flat."
Kurt starts singing "A House Is Not A Home," and after the first few verses Blake notices Kurt mouthing "Are you gay" to Finn. She looks over to Finn and notices his uncomfortability with Kurt's stare focused on him. Blake leans over and puts her head on his shoulder, hoping it'll help him. He looks down at the girl and glances at the sheet music, seemingly having a revelation.
Kurt stares at the brunette girl, and averts his eyes from her and Finn. As he finishes the performance he gives Finn a fleeting look, and turns around. Blake knows she probably upset the boy, but it's not fair to force something onto someone, no matter who you are. While Blake does think Finn tends to overreact, she also knows how Kurt feels about the boy. She would never judge Kurt for his feelings, but there's a line that needs to be drawn at some point.
"Thank you." Finn whispers.
"Of course." She smiles at him.
The bell rings and everyone goes to leave. Finn walks alongside Blake as she walks out of the room.
"I was right." He says, "Kurt's the one who set up our parents. And he's the reason why she's getting rid of all my dad's stuff, and he's talking about me and her moving in, and how I'll have to share a room with him." He rambles. "It's creeping me out."
"Finn. Slow down." Blake says, calmly.
He takes a deep breath and Blake looks at him, "I know this is hard for you, but no matter the circumstance of your mom meeting Burt, she's happy." The girl gives him a soft smile, "Give it a chance, you never know what could come out of it."
"No!" He exclaims, "I don't want her to be with Kurt's dad. It makes things weird."
"How are things weird?" Blake asks, raising her eyebrow.
The boy groans, "I just don't want to move in with them. My family is good the way it is."
"Is it good? Or is it just something you're used to?"
Finn sighs, "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" She looks at him confused.
"Know what's really going on with me. It's like you can read my mind or something."
"I know you, Finn. I pay attention." She smiles.
"Thank you. But I'm still not gonna be supportive of their relationship." He shakes his head, "It's not fair."
Blake sighs, she wants the boy to be accepting and happy for his mother, but he's too stuck on his dad. He can't see past his own fears. She knows he loves his mom, but he can't get past the fact it's Kurt's dad that she's happy with.
"I'll support you with whatever decision you make." She smiles, "Just remember, your mom loves you and wants you to be happy. Please do the same thing for her."
Blake gives him a small hug which he returns, and she walks away from him, happy with the advice she gave him.
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
Blake walks into the lunchroom, looking for Mercedes. She glances around and sees her sitting at a table with Tina and Artie. When Blake makes her way over to the girl, she hears her yelling at her two friends.
"Stop getting all up in my face, telling me what I can and cannot do. And I'm really hungry, so stop trying to get me to eat you!"
"Hold up. Did she just say she wanted to eat us?" Artie looks at Tina confused.
Blake stops in her tracks, and notices Mercedes look over at Rachel and Jesse, muttering something under her breath. Then the girl passes out.
"Oh my gosh! Mercedes!" Blake yells, running over to the girl.
Suddenly Quinn walks over with a wheelchair from the nurses office, and looks over at the brunette.
"Help me get her up." Quinn says.
Blake nods her head and helps Quinn lift up Mercedes. The girl's place Mercedes in the chair, and Blake runs over to the vending machine in the corner of the cafeteria. She puts in fifty cents and buys a granola bar and Gatorade for her friend. She runs after Quinn as she wheels her to the nurses office.
The nurse quickly takes Mercedes inside, while Blake and Quinn wait outside for the nurse to give the okay for the other two to come in. They see the nurse finishing her examination and she gives the two girls a nod, signaling that they can come in.
Blake and Quinn walk in, Quinn with the granola bar and Blake with the Gatorade. The two girls hold out the snacks towards the girl, and she immediately shakes her head. "I'm not hungry."
"Yes you are." Blake says, softly.
"You're starving." Quinn looks at the girl with sympathy.
"We would know. We've been there." Blake says.
"Did all the other kids start looking like food right before you fainted?" Quinn asks.
"Yeah." Mercedes nods, "How'd you know?"
Quinn and Blake give each other a look, "Been there." Both girls reply.
"Eat the granola bar." Quinn tries to give her the snack.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Mercedes asks Quinn. "I can't remember the last time you said two words to me that weren't 'you' and 'suck.'"
"Because I was you, scared. Hating myself for eating a cookie." Quinn looks at the girl, sadly. "But I got over it."
"Yeah, of course you did, Miss Pretty Blonde With the White Girl Ass." Mercedes sasses, not getting how someone like Quinn could relate to her.
"When you start eating for somebody else so that they can grow and be healthy your relationship to food changes." Quinn nods, "What I realized is that if I'm so willing to eat right to take care of this baby why am I not willing to do it for myself?"
"Mercedes, we understand where you're coming from. Why do you think I was so adamant about you eating enough? Because I've been there." Blake looks down upset, "I had an eating disorder after my mom left. Everyone would always comment on how beautiful my mom was, and how I was nothing like her. After a while, the comments got to be too much. At first it was just me skipping breakfast, and once I realized I stopped getting hungry at that time. It led to me avoiding lunch. Then I'm sure you can get the rest." Blake rambles. "It took me a long time, but I finally realized that food is important. Everyone is built differently. Everyone has a different metabolism. But you need to know, you are beautiful just the way you are."
"You are so lucky." Quinn gives Mercedes a soft smile, "You've always been at home in your body. Don't let Ms. Sylvester take that away from you."
Mercedes looks down, trying to hold back her tears, "I'm so embarrassed." She shakes her head, "This isn't me. How did I become this person?"
"You are beautiful." Quinn says.
"You know that." Blake nods.
"We're gonna stay with you until your mom comes, okay?"
Mercedes nods, and the three girls embrace one another, knowing how hard these kinds of things are.
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
Blake spins in a circle on her skates as she makes her way around the roller rink. As she smoothly moves along the floor, she notices Rachel go through Jesse's legs and averts her eyes. Gross she thinks. Blake starts to skate backwards, putting her five years of ice skating to good use.
Not paying attention to where she was going she accidentally trips over someone's foot. Blake squeezes her eyes shut, bracing herself for impact expecting to fall on the hardwood floor, but she never does. She slowly opens her eyes, only to be met with a pair of bright blue ones.
"Just as much of a clutz as the first time we met." Jesse smirks.
Blake swallows the lump in her throat and tries to fight off the blush creeping its way onto her cheeks, "Yeah. I guess I am."
"What? No witty comeback?" Jesse teases, still holding the girl.
Blake stares at the boy's arms, noticing the muscles bulging out of his shirt. She shakes her head' "No."
Jesse, noticing her staring smirks at her, "My eyes are up here Henley."
"And your muscles are down there." She nods.
He laughs, "There she is. I missed you."
He lifts the girl up, and the two are now dangerous close to one another. "Thank you." She clears her throat, "For catching me."
He nods his head, "If you wanted to tell me you were falling for me, you could've just said it. I didn't need a demonstration."
Blake rolls her eyes, "Whatever. It's not like I meant to fall."
"That's what they all say." He winks at her.
Blake lets her eyes flicker down to Jesse's lips, an action that doesn't go unnoticed by the older boy. "I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu." He smiles, "Is your truck outside?" He smirks.
As Blake goes to respond a voice rings out behind her, "Everything alright here?" Finn asks, staring the two down.
"Everything's fine." Jesse replies, barely glancing at the boy.
"I wasn't talking to you." Finn says, trying to stay calm.
"Finn, it's fine. He was just helping me." Blake looks at the taller boy, trying to reassure him.
Finn looks in between the two and notices Jesse's hand still resting comfortably on her waist, "Yeah? Helping you with what exactly?" He says, nodding towards Jesse's hand.
"Woah." Jesse says, "You need to calm down. There's nothing going on here."
"Don't tell me to calm down." Finn looks at the boy aggressively. "How would Rachel feel about this, huh?"
"Finn, nothing's happening. I tripped and he caught me. That's it." Blake tries to calm her friend down.
"Oh yeah? Then why is his hand still there?" Finn exclaims, getting dangerously close to yelling.
Jesse, becoming protective, moves to stand in front of Blake, blocking her from Finn's view. "You need to back off. She didn't do anything."
"I know she didn't." Finn says, "It's you that's the problem."
Suddenly a small voice interrupts the conversation, "Hey babe." Rachel says, coming up to him with a water bottle. "Is everything okay?" She looks between the three.
Jesse looks at his girlfriend and nods, "Yeah. Everything's fine." He gives Finn one last threatening glance as he goes over to Rachel.
"Are you sure?" She asks, skeptically.
Finn keeps his mouth shut, clenching his jaw tightly and Blake looks over to the shorter brunette and nods. "I just accidentally fell. But luckily Jesse caught me before I hit the ground." She smiles at Rachel, "Finn just came over to make sure I was okay."
"Oh." Rachel says as she looks towards her boyfriend, "Aren't you just a superhero?" She smiles.
"Yeah." He nods, "Come on, Let's go sit down for a minute. Maybe we can get one of those cinnamon pretzels you love so much."
Jesse escorts the girl away, but not before looking back at Blake and giving her a small smile. She returns it, and looks back over at Finn.
"What the hell was that?" She asks him angrily.
"You're mad at me?" He looks at her incredulously, "You were the one about to kiss another girl's boyfriend."
"We weren't about to kiss Finn!" Blake yells, getting tired of their feud very quickly. "The only person I've kissed in the last month has been you!"
Finn stumbles back slightly, knowing full well what he did wrong but not having the courage to tell her. "Okay. I'm sorry."
Blake huffs, "I don't get why you guys have to fight. Him and I are just friends."
Finn sighs, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He looks into the brunette's eyes, "I just get so mad when I see you two together. I don't know why."
"I get it." Blake nods, "I know you just want to protect me, but I can handle myself, okay?"
He gives her a slight nod, "Okay. But don't expect me to just stop trying to protect you. Because I won't."
Blake chuckles, "I know."
"Okay, now come on. Let me buy you some ice cream to make it up to you." He smiles, ushering her out of the rink.
"Oh Finn Hudson, you sure do know the way to a girl's heart." She jokes.
╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗
The next day, Blake stands in the gymnasium with the rest of the Cheerio's knowing this is the day the reporter is coming to interview Sue. What the cheerleading coach doesn't know, is that Mercedes is going to bring the house down in her own inspiring way.
Blake smiles over at Mercedes as the girl makes her way to the front. Mercedes gives her a smile back and grips onto Blake's hand, pulling her up front with her. Blake looks over to the girl, confused, but when she sees the look on Mercedes face, she knows the girl needs her there.
"Hey, guys. I'm Mercedes Jones." She says, still gripping onto Blake's hand. Blake looks over at the girl and gives her a reassuring nod. Mercedes exhales and looks back out to the audience, "So most of you know Cheerios is about perfection and winning, Iooking hot and being popular." She says, "Well, I think that it should be about something different." She nods. "How many of you at this school feel fat?"
Looking around in the audience Blake sees hands start to shoot up in the air. She looks over to Mercedes and gives her a soft smile, raising her own hand.
Mercedes looks at the girl, slightly shocked, but continues. "How many of you feel like maybe you're not worth very much?" More hands start to make their way into the air, "Or you're ugly, or you have too many pimples and not enough friends?"
Blake smiles at the vulnerability the audience is showing. Mercedes really is inspiring a whole generation to love themselves for who they are.
"Well, I felt all those things about myself at one time or another." She lets out a sad laugh, "Hell, I felt most of those things about myself today. And that just ain't right." She shakes her head, "And we've got something to say about it. And if you like what we have to say, come down here and sing it with us."
Mercedes begins to sing "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera, and boy that title does not do Mercedes justice. Blake looks over to her best friend and can't help but be in awe of her talent. While Mercedes sings, people start to come up to the front with her and Blake, supporting the message Mercedes is putting out. Blake smiles as the entire glee club makes its way up to encourage Mercedes. Finn stands behind Blake grabbing her other hand while they sing. She looks back at the boy and leans her head back onto his chest.
As Mercedes finishes the song, applause erupts throughout the audience, causing Blake to look over at her friend and pull her in for a hug. "You are so amazing." She mumbles.
"Thank you." Mercedes laughs lightly. "Seriously." She says, looking the girl in the eyes. "Thank you for showing me my worth."
"I love you." Blake looks at her, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I love you too." Mercedes pulls her in for another hug.