I am officially a nominee for the Wattys2014! So if you want to help this story win (I have to finish it by Dec. 15th for it to qualify. The story will run all the way to May and right now they're at the end of January, which means I'll be writing much more often to make it to the end!) leave a lot of votes and comments, share it on Facebook/Twitter with the hashtag #Wattys2014, and show your love however else you can!
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"It lasted for a week," Will said as he sat in the teacher's lounge with Emma. "They came back from their camping trip best of pals, inseparable. And then suddenly they went back to all the fighting."
"Do you know why?" Emma asked him.
Will shrugged and said, "Well, I guess you could say that it all started when I asked the captains to brainstorm songs for Regionals with them."
***
"No one's bigger than Taylor Swift right now," Marley said. "It'd be smart to finally do one of her songs in competition."
"And bore the audience to death with songs about her ex that cheated on her?" Jake scoffed. "No way."
"Oh just because you know what it's like to be on that end of things..." Marley rolled her eyes. He looked at her, surprised at her sudden aggressiveness.
"Get over it, Marley," Julie defended him as she stood at the front of the choir room with Kitty. "It was a long time ago."
"I am over it," Marley stood up for herself. "I just think someone like Jake shouldn't be judging."
"Ok, ok, enough," Kitty rolled her eyes. "Back on track. Taylor is... an option." She forced herself to write the name on the white board. "Anything else?"
"We have to do a girl group number," Shana insisted. "We have the hottest girls ever and best vocals of the group as well as best dancing is dominated by our female population."
"There are plenty of male artists out there for us guys to represent in that case," Ryder responded.
"No," Julie shook her head. "We've been doing the female-male split every year and it's getting old. Kitty, add it to the list but... We need something more."
"Why are we even going through this right now?" Rory asked, seeming pretty bored. "We have two months until Regionals and we usually just come up with something, like, the day before."
"We want to actually win Nationals this year," Harmony told him. "Julie and Kitty are right to do this. We need to start kicking butt now. I for one think we should do a Katy Perry number."
"We've had Katy vs Gaga week before," Unique told her. "Get with the program."
"Well, I wasn't here," Harmony retorted. "And besides, Katy is a pop icon. Regionals tends to go to a pop or classic rock set list. And I think we'd be better off going the pop route."
"Boo..." Alex groaned, complaining as Amity soothed his arm.
"I think Harmony's idea is good," Amity agreed, "but I wouldn't go with someone like Katy. We need an artist that poses as an icon for the underdogs. Someone like Lorde."
"Absolutely not," Kitty shook her head. "Lorde is awful."
"Agreed," Bree nodded.
"Disagree!" Shana exclaim. "Lorde is great. I'm with Amity."
"We should do some Nicki Minaj," Unique interrupted them. "I went to Nationals with that song back with Vocal Adrenaline."
"And there's a reason you didn't win," Kitty told her.
"We need a big dance number," Bree interjected.
"We should do something sexy," Stefan said, speaking up for the guys.
"No..." Rory said softly.
"Yes," Alex said. "As long as it's not some cheesy little boy band number."
"I'm with Rory," Ryder said. "We're graduating and should do something serious and meaningful."
***
"The argument soon became one between the underclassmen and the seniors," Will told Emma. "I really don't know how to keep them from fighting. It's like no matter what happens, they always have to go back to being rivals."
"Why does that have to be a bad thing?" Emma asked as she put a grape into her mouth carefully. "Santana and Rachel couldn't stand each other from day one and they were great together at their last Regionals. Blaine and Finn started off at odds, as did Finn and Sam. Why not let these kids finally feed off of those competitive drives and settle things once and for all?"
"That's brilliant," Will said, wondering how he hadn't thought of that. "And I know just what to do."
***
"Mash-up," Will said as he wrote the word on the whiteboard. "Sometimes two unlikely songs can come together and make a completely different and wonderful sound. Your assignment for this week is to take one of those ideas—" He pointed up at the board "—and either defend it or refute it with a different song in a mash-up. Marley, you'll do a Taylor Swift song; Unique will have a Nicki song; Harmony can do a Katy song; Shana and Amity have Lorde... The rest of you find a song to go against theirs."
"Wait," Stefan shook his head. "I'm still confused... What is a mash-up?"
Will turned to Kitty and Julie and smiled. "Ladies, care to demonstrate?"
The girls smiled at each other as they walked to the front of the room. Julie took a seat on the piano bench and said, "This isn't the best mash-up but it's the best we could do with just a few hours of preparation."
"A mash-up," Kitty explained as she stood beside the piano, "is a combination of two different songs. Like a smooth remix. The more unlikely the pair, the more likely it is to be wonderfully unique. And this is ours of Fergie and Justin Bieber."
Unique and Shana gave each other a look, unsure of how those two artists could ever produce a decent sound together. Nevertheless, they waited silently as the girls began.
[Mash-up of "Clumsy" by Fergie and "Die in Your Arms" by Justin Bieber. I tried to split the lyrics evenly but the beat is mostly to the JB song.]
Kitty began by harmonizing and humming as Julie belted a few soft notes. Everyone else continued to wait, curious as to how this combination would work.
Julie: Say you love me. As much as I love you yeah. Would you hurt me baby? Could you do it to me yeah? Would you lie to me baby? Cause the truth hurts so much more. Would you do the things that drive me crazy? Leave my heart still at the door.
Jake smiled, feeling as though he was watching two girls he cared about show everyone in the room how amazing they were.
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it.
Julie had wanted to sing the Fergie parts, not the Justin Bieber ones, but unfortunately her voice was more tailored towards the latter. Kitty, on the other hand, was thrilled to get a chance at singing some Fergie-Ferg, one of her favorite divas.
Julie: Oh, I can't help it, I'm just selfish. There's no way that I could share you. That would break my heart to pieces. Honestly the truth is...
Though Julie was glued to the piano, Kitty didn't want to be just a prop, standing there. She made use of the space in front of her and started dancing, acting as though she was tripping as she sang appropriately.
Kitty: You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling. Clumsy cause I'm falling in love. You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling. Clumsy cause I'm falling in love. So in love with you.
Julie slowed down the tempo and finally took a chance to turn around and look over at her friends. As she sang, she winked at Jake and made him smile. Kitty tried to ignore the exchange and instead sang to nobody, embracing the fact that she was still single despite what the song said.
Julie: You know. This ain't the first time this has happened to me. This love sick thing. I like serious relationships and uh. A girl like me don't stay single for long.
Kitty: 'Cause every time my boyfriend and I break up. My world is crushed and I'm all alone. The love bug crawls right back up and bites me! And I'm back!
Julie turned back to the piano, her head towards the ceiling as she sang her heart out. Will watched, content with the assignment so far. Emma was clearly a genius and deserved more praise for constantly feeding him great ideas.
Julie: Ooh, if there is a reason to call me a fool. Cause I love too hard. Are there any rules baby? If this is a lesson. Baby teach me to behave. Just tell me what I gotta do. Just to stay right next to you.
Kitty waved her hands in front of her and looked at all of the faces in front of her, avoiding Jake's. There was really no use in watching him watch his girl, and she didn't feel the need to put herself through that awkwardness anymore.
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it, the girl can't help it.
Julie: Oh baby...
Kitty: She can't help it.
As the girls sang, not everyone appeared to be enjoying the performance, particularly some of the other girls. While Bree was as supportive as ever, Marley didn't want to end her last year with the Kitty and Julie show, and neither did Unique.
Julie: Oh, I can't help it, I'm just selfish. There's no way that I could share you. That would break my heart to pieces. Honestly the truth is.
Kitty: You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling. Clumsy cause I'm falling in love. You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling. Clumsy cause I'm falling in love. So in love with you.
Julie didn't notice the fact that her friends were sitting with their arms crossed, hoping for the song to end already. As far as she was aware, it was an excellent mash-up and the delivery was going well so far.
Julie: Basically I'm saying here. I can't live without my baby. Loving you is so damn easy for me. Ain't no need for contemplating. Promise you won't keep me waiting. Tell me baby, I'm all that you need.
Julie (Kitty): If I could just die in your arms (I'm back in love now!). I wouldn't mind (I'm back in love now baby!). Cause every time you touch me. I just die in your arms (I'm back in love now!). Oh, it feels so right (And they got me!). So baby baby please don't stop boy.
Marley tapped her foot impatiently. She was the star of the group before Julie, Kitty, or any of these other people joined. When did she start letting herself take a backseat to their dreams?
Julie: If I could die...
Kitty: Clumsy 'cause I'm fallin' in love...
Julie: I wouldn't mind...
Kitty: So in love with you...
Julie: Oh... Don't stop baby no no oh.
Kitty: It's what you do to me yeah
Julie: Whoa, no no no no no no
Kitty: So in love with you...
Julie: If I could just die
Kitty: Oh. Baby please don't go boy...
Kitty: No no no no no no...
As everyone clapped, Will made his way up to the front. Julie stood up next to Kitty and Will stood behind them, his hands on their shoulders as he said, "Now that you've seen your team captains bring some serious A-game to the mash-up competition, do any of you brave souls wish to challenge them?"
Nobody said anything. They all looked around, frightened at the prospect of being put to shame by these two divas. Finally, Marley raised her hand and said, "I want to challenge Julie."
"Seriously?" Julie responded, trying to hide the fact that this threatened her very much.
Marley nodded, trying to stay confident as she said, "Yes. You were one of the few that refused my Taylor Swift idea. So I challenge you to come up with something better against it."
"What song?" Julie asked, crossing her arms thoughtfully.
"I Knew You Were Trouble," Marley said, glancing at Jake briefly before turning to his new girlfriend defiantly.
"And I'll challenge Kitty," Unique said, glaring at the blonde. "You dared go against my girl Nicki, now you have to try to prove you were right but let's face it... You ain't got it..."
"I'm assuming you'll want 'Anaconda,'" Kitty responded, raising her brow expectantly and giving Unique a look that offended the latter.
"You bet..." Unique responded, squinting back at her new competition.
"Great!" Will said. "This is going to be fun!"
***
"This is going to be bad," Jake said as he walked with Ryder. Since returning from the cabin trip, the two had found it much easier to get along and had spent several occasions just hanging out like they used to. Now, they were walking to the weight room together to work out like the good ol' days.
Ryder sighed and said, "I know. I'm going to try to stay out of the competition as much as possible. It just seems like a bad idea to pit everyone against each other."
"Great, so I won't be the only one sitting this one out," Jake said as they walked into the room, which was pretty packed.
"What's up?" Stefan asked when they appeared. "Afraid of getting your asses kicked by us younger guys?"
Jake rolled his eyes and walked across the room but Ryder wouldn't give him the satisfaction, so he told him, "In your dreams. Rory, Jake and I just feel kind of sorry for all of you because we're leaving and you're all stuck here next year trying to fill in the gaps."
Alex, who was doing chin-ups on a bar that was in the back of the room, hopped down to the ground and chuckled. "Stefan and I don't really agree on much, but I have to side with him on this one," he responded. "If you seniors are supposed to be better than the rest of us, why are you so scared to compete against us?"
"We just want to leave the fighting to the girls," Jake said, trying to keep Ryder from committing them to a fight he didn't feel like taking part in.
"The girls fight because they have to prove who's the best," Stefan pointed out. "If you guys want to just admit that—"
"Never," Ryder stopped him.
"Then I guess it'll be the Senior Boys," Alex said, glancing at Stefan, "against the underclassMEN."
Jake rolled his eyes, glaring at Ryder. Before he could help it, the face-off was official.
***
"Did you select a song?" Peyton asked, standing in the middle of the stage. She had no idea how she'd become the mediator for the guys' little song fight, but she had fun waving flags in front of people so she accepted.
"'Don't You Worry Child' by Swedish House Mafia," Jake said.
Stefan grinned and said, "We chose 'Save the World' also by Swedish House Mafia."
"The floor is all yours," said Peyton, rushing off to the audience seat and joining the rest of the New Directions girls. She smiled at Amity, taking a seat next to her. "We're cheering on the underclassmen, right?" she asked her.
"Definitely," Amity nodded. Cupping her mouth with her hands, she shouted, "Go Alex, Dan and Stefan! Whoo!"
"Go Jake, Ryder and Rory!" Bree retaliated from a few seats down.
"Did you ask the band to come?" Ryder asked Alex, looking around in confusion.
"We don't need a band," Dan said, smiling. "We're doing this old school." He cleared his throat and began to sing, joined by Alex and Stefan seconds later.
["Save The World/Don't You Worry Child" by Pentatonix. Look up their version!]
Dan: Whose gonna
Underclassmen: Save the world tonight?
Dan: Whose gonna
Underclassmen: Bring you back to life?
Dan: We're gonna
Underclassmen: Make it you and I
Dan: We're gonna
Underclassmen: Save the world tonight
As Ryder stepped forward and looked at the underclassmen defiantly, the other team began to sing acapella beats in sync. They'd obviously rehearsed, while he and the other seniors had done nothing to prepare for the challenge.
Ryder: There was a time; I used to look into my father's eyes. In a happy home, I was a king, I had a golden throne.
He looked back at Jake and Rory and indicated for them to jump in. The two nodded, as though waking up from a daydream, and attempting harmonies like the other team was doing.
Ryder: Those days are gone, now the memories are on the wall. I hear the songs from the places where I was born.
Julie tapped her fingers nervously. She really wanted the seniors to win this one. The underclassmen all got along and her more years to come. But this was the last shot for the seniors and she wanted them to end closer than they'd started off. Winning this could bring the three guys closer together.
Dan: Whose gonna
Underclassmen: Save the world tonight?
Dan: Whose gonna
Underclassmen: Bring you back to life?
Dan: We're gonna
Underclassmen: Make it you and I
Dan: We're gonna
Underclassmen: Save the world tonight
Kitty wanted to pay attention and cheer on her friends, but she was just so distracted. Aside from a blog war that she was currently participating in with some of the Cheerios and the jocks, she had also been checking her email. Because her house had officially been resold, she wasn't sure whether some of her college letters were getting to her or not. Maybe her parents would get them instead.
As the guys finished on the stage, the doors to the auditorium swung open and in came the wrestling team. The guys ended their song and waited for whatever crap was going to come out of Bobby's mouth.
"Well, well, well," the blonde began as his team made it to the front. "So the rumors are true. Mr. Tough Guy and his band of geeks are prancing around during school hours."
"Lay off it, Bobby," Ryder responded, annoyed.
"It's worse than we thought," Phil said, turning to his buddy. "They moved a step further down from glee club and are on some Pitch Perfect shit now."
Some of his pals laughed and a few of the girls turned to each other, confused as to how on earth that was a funny joke. "I guess they've finally decided to embrace the fact that they've become a bunch of gay losers," Bobby said, shrugging.
"You better knock it off before I go over there and kick your ass, Surette," Stefan called out.
"And the sophomore speaks!" Bobby exclaimed smugly. "I thought you were Lynn's bitch this whole time." Stefan moved forward but Jake put an arm in front of him, forcing him to refrain from starting a fight. "We're never going to back off. Not until we graduate. And after that, our guys will keep the tradition going." He nodded behind him at some of his younger, scary-looking teammates. Dan gulped and glanced over at Alex, who didn't seem amused at all. "See you out on the ice, ladies."
He led his guys out of the auditorium. When they were gone, Bree jumped out of her seat and exclaimed, "Why didn't you whoop those suckers for talking to you like that?"
"Seriously," Harmony said. "They threatened every single one of you."
"We're above all of that," Ryder said, shaking his head. "Let's just get back to the assignment. Who won?"
"All in favor of crowning the seniors the winners?" Peyton said, standing up and facing the girls. Not surprisingly, Amity, Shana and herself voted for them. Everyone else, the senior girls, voted for the seniors.
"That's total crap," Alex said. "We were better."
"Honestly, I wasn't paying attention," Kitty admitted.
"Which just goes to show that an all-male number at Regionals would bore the audience," Shana pointed out.
Rory creased his brow and said, "But our numbers are always big hits."
"At school dances, sure," Unique told him. "But you ain't got it like we do."
"Wanna bet?" Stefan replied. "How about we kick it up a notch then? All of the guys against all of the girls?"
"You're on," Bree told him, crossing her arms. He grinned back at her and nodded so it was agreed; the same time, the same place, a different day... The guys would try to kick the girls' butts.
***
"Hey Coach, wait up!" Bree called out as she rushed after Sue in the hallway. Sue turned, pleasantly surprised to see Bree in high spirits, and allowed her to catch up and join heron her walk.
"What is it, B?" she asked.
Bree took a deep breath and said, "I just saw you and realized I never got to thank you. For looking out for me. I know I was angry at the time and said mean things but—"
"There's no need to thank me," Sue responded, shaking her head. "Bree, you've been my favorite since I realized I let you in the squad. Somehow, I must have seen past your race because of how talented you are."
"Wait..." Bree said, trying to take in all of that. "Ignoring the racism because you just said... I was your favorite?"
"Are my favorite," Sue corrected her.
Bree smiled as she looked down at the ground, surprised that it wasn't Julie or any of the other girls. "Really..." she mumbled.
"Oh sure," Sue nodded. "That's why I was so tough on you. Because I know out of everyone you can take it. You're so talented, Bree... And I'd hate to see that go to waste with you going down the darker paths of life."
Bree nodded and said, "You know, during my stint in rehab I had to reflect on a lot of things. And when I was going through an awful stage of withdrawal I... I had to think of what mattered most to me to stay strong. Joe, my girls, the Cheerios, glee club... And you, Coach. I wanted to make it up to you by getting better."
"And you have," Sue said with a smile. "Now keep making it up to me by working hard and getting yourself to higher places after high school."
Bree nodded and said, "Thanks again, Coach. I have to go challenge someone to a mash-off now and I have the perfect song thanks to you." She rushed off to her next class and Sue smiled as she watched her go, feeling a tinge of nostalgia hit her early at the thought of seeing her graduate and leave.
***
"Ready ladies?" Will asked as he walked into the choir room. The New Directions waited for the number to start, but Harmony was nowhere to be found.
"If she forfeits can I win automatically?" Bree asked, her arms crossed impatiently.
"I'm here!" Harmony exclaimed, rushing into the room. Multiple jaws dropped as she wore a beautiful white toga with golden rims, as well as a beautiful leaf wreath on her head above her dark, wavy locks of hair.
Bree raised her brow and said, "What's the point of all that?" While she typically felt powerful in her Cheerios uniform, at the moment she felt like the loser against the beauty that was Harmony.
"I've chosen 'Dark Horse' for my Katy song," Harmony said. "I thought it was fitting to put on a show so I dug up my Halloween costume from last year."
"You look awesome," Stefan said. A few of the other guys agreed and Bree rolled her eyes.
"Well, I've chosen a Ke$ha dance song, so let's see if you can move in that," she said.
"What song?" Harmony asked. Bree turned to the band and nodded as she turned to the rest of the New Directions and laughed.
"Dance," she said, standing her firm ground and not answering Harmony.
["Blow/Dark Horse" mashup. Look it up on YouTube under an account named DJ Pyromania! If you're on the Tumblr stuff, I've posted a list of most of the videos there!]
Bree: Back door cracked, we don't need a key. We get in for free, no V.I.P. sleaze. Drink that Kool-Aid, follow my lead. Now you're one of us, you're coming with me.
While she knew she could never defeat Bree by dancing, Harmony decided to strike different elegant poses. In her outfit, she looked fantastic, even with her understated dance moves.
Harmony: Make me your Aphrodite. Make me your one and only. But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy.
Bree saw that Harmony was taking all of the attention so she became a bit more aggressive and did her best to lift up her energy.
Bree: This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh. This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh.
As much as she tried, however, it was obvious that Harmony was stealing the show with her look alone.
Harmony: Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse. Are you ready for, ready for? A perfect storm, perfect storm. Cause once you're mine, once you're mine. There's no going back.
Annoyed, Bree blocked Harmony's way. This quickly backfired when the others begged her to move out of the way.
Bree: This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh. This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh. This place about to—
Bree was even more surprised when a few students she didn't recognize came in with small fog machines. She moved out of the way due to shock, but continued to watch, her brow furrowed, as the lights went out and the only light was coming from Harmony's shimmering outfit.
Harmony: Mark my words. This love will make you levitate. Like a bird. Like a bird without a cage. But down to earth. If you choose to walk away, don't walk away. Don't walk away.
Bree frowned, walking forward to try to take some of that attention back. She had thought challenging Harmony was the easiest choice. Yet the girl she thought would be the easiest to beat was kicking butt and probably making half of the guys in the room fall in love with her on the spot.
Bree: It's time to lose your mind and let the crazy out. (This place about to) Tonight we're taking names 'cause we don't mess around.
Ryder and Stefan glanced at each other and at the other guys with wide eyes, both surprised by how turned on they were by Harmony at the moment. Dan forced himself to smile, for every time he saw her he felt guilty about the way he'd treated her in the past. Rory, however, couldn't help but grin. He'd known all along that his best friend was a star.
Bree: This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh. This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh! Blow-oh-oh-oh.
Harmony tried to keep a callous expression, though she wanted nothing more than to jump with joy at the way her peers were looking at her.
Harmony: Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse. Are you ready for, ready for? A perfect storm, perfect storm. Cause once you're mine, once you're mine. There's no going back.
Bree: We are taking over... Get used to it ok...
Bree continued to sing her chorus, but she took a seat as she did, knowing there was nothing she could do to defeat Harmony. She'd been feeling extremely confident when she'd decided to challenge her, but now her bubble was burst. Maybe that was for the best.
Harmony: So you wanna play with magic. Boy, you should know what you're falling for. Baby do you dare to do this? Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse. Are you ready for, ready for? A perfect storm, perfect storm. Cause once you're mine, once you're mine. There's no going back.
Bree felt even worse when she turned and saw that Stefan wasn't even paying attention to her at all. His eyes were ogling Harmony's body, as were the eyes of every other single guy in the room. Even Ryder was drooling over her and he had a girlfriend!
Bree: This place about to blow...
The lights came back on and the fog was cleared by Harmony's helpers, who disappeared as quickly as they had showed up. Bree sighed as everyone praised Harmony, who was rightfully filled with joy at their approval.
As they began to walk out, Marley caught up to Ryder, who was trying to catch up to Harmony to talk to her. "Wait," she said, grabbing his arm.
He looked back at her and hopelessly turned back towards the end of the hallway, but Harmony had disappeared. He sighed as he looked back at Marley and asked, "What's up?"
"I want to talk to you about something," she said in a hushed voice. "Something really important."
***
"Guess who got into Ohio State!" Kitty exclaimed as she walked into the tutoring room. She'd been so loud at the library in the last week that she and Vince were forced to take their sessions to a private room where she could talk as much as she wanted.
"I'm guess it's the girl talking like this!" Vince responded, mimicking her sing-song voice.
Kitty rolled her eyes and sighed as she took a seat in front of him. "A simple congrats would've been fine," she said.
"For getting into a school with an acceptance rate higher than fifty percent?" he asked. "That's hardly an accomplishment."
"Take that back!" Kitty exclaimed. "It's only a high rate because the majority of people who apply are Ohioans and many of them are already super qualified. Plus, it's a big school so—"
"Yeah, yeah," he waved her away. "Whatever. I can't believe you're barely finding out. I've got an uncle at the admission's center who told me I was in back in November."
"And you didn't jump with joy and tell the whole world?" she asked, surprised.
Vince shrugged. "Why would I?" he asked. "I don't want to go there."
"Where do you want to go then?" Kitty asked. "Don't tell me you don't want to go to college."
"Of course I do," he said. "But I'd like to go to Caltech. It's like the MIT of California."
"I know what it is," Kitty rolled her eyes once again. "That's pretty impressive. I want to go to California, too..."
"I know," he nodded. "Pepperdine."
"How did you..?" she began.
"You went on and on about it for the past several weeks," he answered. When she gave him a look he said, "What? I know how to listen. Now come on, we should really get to this homework set."
Kitty nodded but said, "So you want to be some sort of engineer then?"
"Theoretical physicist," he told her.
"Like The Big Bang Theory!" she added. "Aww, you're like a little Sheldon Cooper!"
Vince rolled his eyes and ignored the comparison. "Engineering would be too much of a cake walk," he shrugged. Looking down at her homework packet, he added, "And, uh, I prefer a challenge."
She nodded, looking down at her paper and following along as he began to help her through the problems. Interesting, she thought.
***
As Harmony walked down the hall, her costume still on, she enjoyed the looks of surprise and admiration from her fellow McKinley students. She knew the clothes, the hair and the makeup wouldn't last, but could only hope that one day she'd reach stardom so high that she'd have the permanent looks on her all the time, wishing they could be just like her.
Her glee wore off, however, when she saw the last thing she wanted to see as she rounded a corner.
"Football practice is going on right now," Bobby was saying, "so I doubt Lynn or Montgomery or any of those other guys will come to help you now!" He shoved Dan against the locker so hard that multiple bystanders gasped. As Phil and Bobby high-fived each other, Harmony stared in shock. A few Cheerios, including Peyton, were there, but they all seemed to scared to intervene.
Harmony rolled her eyes. Sure, when Julie, Kitty or Bree were around they acted all brave and stuck up for the underdogs but without them, they were all cowards.
"Loser!" she heard someone shout. In a second, she realized someone was talking to her and she braced herself for the very cold slushies, which she'd never been hit by before. Despite the cold, however, she continued to rush down the hall to help Dan up.
"Are you ok?" she asked him, her white dress now stained with red and her hair dripping to the ground.
"Are you?" Dan asked her, grunting as he tried to get up. She extended an arm out to him and helped him up. "Come on," he said, leading her into the girls' restroom that was nearest. After making sure nobody else was in there, he grabbed a few napkins and handed them to her. "First time, huh?" he asked her.
She nodded and took them. "Thank you," she said, wiping her face. "I think I'd better change though. Give me a minute." She grabbed her backpack and headed into one of the stalls.
"I can wait outside..." Dan said awkwardly as she changed. "Give you some privacy.
"It's ok," she told him. "I'm just more worried about you right now. That slushie was cold but that hit sounded much worse. Did it hurt?"
"Oddly enough I'm used to it," Dan responded. "Kind of numb after a while."
"Wait, what?" Harmony replied, concern in her tone. "This is a thing now? How often do they mess with you?"
"Lately it's sort of been daily," he said. "I've been hanging out with Alex more because they leave me alone when I'm with him but..."
"They find a way to get you alone..." Harmony finished for him. She came out of the stall back in her school clothes and said, "This isn't right, Dan. You should say something or stand up to them."
"That won't help," he said, shaking his head as he leaned against the wall.
"Sure it will," she insisted. "There are ways to make this better. There has to be."
"That's the thing..." Dan murmured. "I keep telling myself the same thing, but the truth is that I don't think it ever will get better at this point... I thought standing up to my friends and family would make things easier, make me stronger and braver. But I forgot that there are people out there who won't be as understanding if you just tell them how you feel."
"You're better than those people, Dan," Harmony told him. "It may seem hard now. Trust me, I know... But you have to know that one day you'll be bigger and better than all of them. All those jocks from the last few years, have you heard of them? No... But Rachel is on Broadway, Mercedes is a popstar whose song played on the radio the other day, John and Sam and a few of our own were just signed to a major record label... We're all going to be better than those kids who bully us now, you'll see."
Dan shook his head, unconvinced. "You will," he told her. "You've got all the talent and determination of those glee kids you mentioned and I know you'll be a star. But I'm—"
"A crazy great actor?" Harmony interrupted him. "Really smart? A fantastic musician? The kindest, cutest guy I've ever met? Not so good at sports but that's ok?"
Dan laughed. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," he said, sheepishly looking down at the ground.
"Yes, and because it's true," she told him. "Dan, you have to know you're special. And when you're big and famous all those kids are going to look back at the moments when they pushed you against the lockers and regret it because they could've been becoming your BFFs instead."
"Is that why you're so nice to me?" Dan asked jokingly. "You want to have the benefits of a friendship with me for when I'm rich?"
"Of course!" Harmony exclaimed. "We should get out of here before some girl walks in and turns you in."
Dan nodded and began walking with her towards the door. Before opening it though, he turned and said, "You're special, too, Harmony. You're clever and driven and the most talented girl I know. Today you reminded everyone of how beautiful you are and I'm really proud of how far you've come." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, making her face flush red as he walked out. She took a deep breath before being able to follow him out.