Quinn woke up slowly that morning, resting on her side with her hand resting on something incredibly warm. She cracked her eyes open, met by the sight of her sleeping boyfriend, mouth hanging slightly ajar as he breathed softly. She shut her eyes again and for a moment she didn't move, simply relishing the feeling of complete satisfaction running through her. It was almost like her body was still humming, and she smiled as she recalled last night's activities. It had been better than anything she'd ever imagined. When she was on the Cheerios she had always enjoyed the sensation of flying through the air. Last night had felt just like she was flying, only a thousand times better.
Before Ryan she hadn't been completely sold on the concept of sex. It was just this thing that she wasn't supposed to do until she was married. And then everything with Puck had happened, and, while it wasn't horrible, it was something she thought she'd never actually want to do again. Once was enough.
But last night...
Ryan shifted beside her, turning onto his side and wrapping his arm around her body. His eyes stayed shut but a goofy smile appeared on his lips. "Hi," he mumbled sleepily.
She chuckled. "Hi." She shivered as he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, cuddling her close. "I love you, you know?"
"I know," he smiled. Finally she saw his warm brown eyes looking up at her. "I love you too. So much." He rubbed his hand lazily against her stomach. "You know, I'm not really sure what to say after last night."
"Me either." She smiled shyly, hesitantly. "I... last night was good, right? I mean, I was okay?"
Ryan laughed softly. "Oh my god, Quinn. I do not have words. And considering how extensive my vocabulary is, that's saying something." Quinn's smile widened. A tiny part of her was worried that she sucked at sex. A touch of vulnerability appeared in his dark eyes. "What about you? Was it good for you?"
She kissed him languidly, nipping lightly as his lower lip. "It was fantastic."
He gave her smile, a hint of cockiness showing through. "Good. I am an entertainer after all, and I always aim to please." She huffed out a laugh, pulling him in for another kiss. "And us, we're still good, right?"
Quinn locked gazes with him, nodding. "We're good." She'd been kind of scared that this might change them, ruin everything somehow. But everything just felt right. She felt even closer to him than ever before, something she hadn't thought was possible. "We're perfect."
He leaned in to kiss her again, and she sighed, melting into him. Then he pulled away. "Wait, what time is it?"
Right. Shit. They had parents who could very well kill them. Quinn glanced at the clock on the wall. "Almost six."
"Crap." He sat up, glancing around the room for his phone, which he'd laid on the table last night. Grabbing it, he checked his messages. Quinn watched him in amusement. They were probably so dead with their parents, but she couldn't find it in her to care right now. "I should get home before my mom wakes up."
She nodded. "Yeah, you should probably go before my mom and Frannie wake up."
He got out of bed, picking his pants up from where they'd ended up on the floor as Quinn eyed him with a smile. "See something you like?" he flirted as he pulled his clothes on.
"Most definitely," she nodded, eyes tracing his bare torso. "I wouldn't mind having it again sometime."
Ryan grinned as he leaned bent down to kiss her again. "I would be most delighted to oblige."
..
Fifteen minutes later Ryan pulled up outside his house, getting down from the car ever so quietly. He didn't want to wake his mom up, he'd probably be so much trouble for missing his curfew it wasn't even funny. Then he stopped short when he saw someone sitting on the porch. "Uh..."
James smiled at Ryan as he stood there, not knowing what to say. "Hey."
"Hi," Ryan answered warily. Then he sighed resignedly as he let his shoulders slump.
"Yeah," James nodded sagely. "Busted and all that. Don't worry, I'm not mad. Your mom's not awake yet."
Ryan ran his hand through his hair. "Does she know...?"
James shook his head. "No, we went in pretty early last night." He smirked. "You're not the only one who had some fun last night."
"Ugh!" Ryan clapped his hands over his ears, face screwing up in disgust. "Lalalalala! Don't wanna hear that, Dad!" He shuddered. He did not need to think of his parents doing that. "TMI!"
"Don't be like that," James teased, inviting Ryan to sit down. He did so, a bit reluctantly.
"Is this a trap? Are you going to ground me or something?" he asked suspiciously.
"No, and no." James studied him. "So, did you?"
Ryan flushed. "Yeah."
"Okay then. We've already had the safe sex talk, and your mom told me you had the 'importance of sex' talk. You're old enough to do what you want. Maybe give us a heads up so we know where you are next time."
Ryan looked at him confusedly. "How does that go, exactly? Hi dad, I'm not coming home tonight, I'm having sex with Quinn."
James shrugged. "Whatever works. I won't tell your mom if you don't want me to. But I'll bet she already knows. She's scary like that."
"Yeah, she is." They sat there for a few moments before Ryan stood up. "Okay. As fun - and awkward - as this conversation has been, I'm going upstairs, I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm going to have breakfast. Good talk."
"Okay," James answered, standing up. "Hey kid?" He offered Ryan a fist bump. "Congratulations."
Ryan chuckled as a reluctant grin spread across his face. He tapped his fist against his dad's. "Thanks."
A while later Ryan came down to the kitchen after his shower to find Shelby working on a pot of coffee. "Hi mom. Where's dad?"
"Oh, he said he had to go home for a bit. He'll be back for lunch. You're up early," she commented.
"Either that or you're up late," Ryan countered easily. He was quite happy with the world today, even if James catching him had been a bit awkward. His shower had quickly restored his spirits, and he was back to floating on air. Sex with Quinn had been amazing. He'd never felt like this before, it was like he was completely relaxed and completely energized at the same time. He was practically thrumming. He couldn't wait to do it again. And he was quite pleased with himself too, seeing as Quinn had enjoyed it as well. Not bad for a first time.
"Mm-hmm," Shelby nodded, spooning creamer into her mug. "Did you have a good night?"
Ryan froze for a nanosecond, his acting skills coming into play. Keep it cool. "Yes, I slept quite well," he answered, face straight. It was true, that had been the best night's sleep he'd ever had.
"That's good," his mother answered innocently. Almost too innocently. Ryan studied her face carefully. Did she know? "Could you stick some bread in the toaster please?"
"Yeah... sure." Ryan slowly pushed two slices of bread into the toaster. He looked back at Shelby, cursing her poker face. Why did he have to have a mom who was a performer? "Uh, how about you? Did you have a nice night?" Shit, why did he say that? He didn't want to hear about her night!
Shelby sent him an amused smile that still didn't betray whether or not she knew. This was freaking him out. "Oh, I had quite a nice evening," she said lightly. "I could tell you all about it if you wanted -"
"Nononono, that's quite all right!" Ryan yelped.
"Are you sure? You could tell me about yours, and I could tell you about mine..."
"NO!" Ryan shut his eyes, taking a deep breath to collect himself.
"Suit yourself," Shelby shrugged, still smiling that infuriating Mona Lisa smile that he didn't understand.
Ryan smiled tightly. "Excuse me for a moment, would you?" Shelby nodded, and he practically bolted out of the kitchen. He came to a stop at the foot of the staircase, thumping his head against the wall. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out.
8:47 AM From: Quinn Fabray - Hi. Did you get in okay?"
Ryan sighed, tapping out a reply.
8:48 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - Yes. Busted by my dad but he didn't mind.
8:48 AM From: Quinn Fabray - Oh. What about your mom?
8:49 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - I don't know
8:49 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - I don't know if she knows
8:49 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - And it's making me crazy not knowing if she knows
8:49 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - Because she's smiling this weird smile and I don't know what's happening
8:50 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - And I don't know if she's about to turn around and ground me for missing curfew
8:50 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - She's freaking me out, Quinn
8:50 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - HELP ME
8:51 AM From: Quinn Fabray - Okay, just calm down. If she's not mad, that's a good thing, right?
8:52 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - I'm just so confused right now
8:52 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - But really really happy too
8:52 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - Like REALLY happy
8:53 AM From: Quinn Fabray - Me too ;)
8:53 AM From: Quinn Fabray - I love you. You'll be fine.
8:54 AM From: Ryan Corcoran - If you say so. I love you too.
On Monday morning, Quinn was just putting together her homework when her bedroom door opened. She looked up, a smile spreading on her face as she saw who it was. "Hi."
Ryan smiled happily at her. "Hi." He wrapped his arms around her waist as she moved close to him. She rested her arms around his shoulders as he leaned in for a slow kiss. She sighed contentedly, lips moving languidly against his as her eyes fluttered closed. She let out a breath as they parted, her lips still parted and eyes still shut.
She could hardly wipe her smile off, giddy just at the fact that he was here. "Mmm. You taste good."
He chuckled. "Thank you. So do you." He kissed her again, quickly, before stepping back. She almost let out a moan of protest, but she knew they had to go. "You ready?"
Quinn nodded, leaning down to pick up her bag, only to have Ryan beat her to it with a cheesy smile. She rolled her eyes in amusement. "I could have gotten that."
"I know."
She shook her head, letting him follow her out of her room and down the stairs. "Mom, we're going!"
Judy stepped out of the kitchen. "Have a good day, Quinnie," she said, giving Quinn a kiss on the cheek. "You too, Ryan."
"Thanks, Judy," Ryan smiled, as he followed Quinn out to his car. They got inside and he started the engine, setting off towards McKinley. "So, how was Frannie's flight back to California?"
"Delayed," Quinn deadpanned. "She spent a couple of hours texting us back and forth from the waiting area. But she's fine, she called and she's back in her dorm."
"That's good."
They reached the school a few minutes later, and they headed to Quinn's locker first to drop her things off. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said. Ryan tilted his head curiously. "I need us to get some shots for our Prom King and Queen campaign."
"We're campaigning for Prom King and Queen?"
"Yes, we are. It's the ultimate popularity symbol."
Ryan looked at her strangely. "I thought you were over the whole popularity thing?"
Quinn shrugged. "Well, yeah, I am. It's just always been this thing that I wanted. Frannie was the prom queen, and I guess I always wanted to be like her when I was little. You know, when I was Lucy." She paused. "I know what you're thinking. I'm smart, and pretty, and relatively sane for a girl." Ryan opened his mouth mischievously and she shot him a glare. "Shut up."
"I haven't said anything," Ryan defended, unable to hide the smile playing on his face. "And you certainly are intelligent, beautiful, and yes, relatively sane. Does being prom queen really matter?"
"Well, I guess not," Quinn conceded. "I you had asked me last year, then yes, most definitely. But it's something I always thought I'd do."
Ryan smiled sincerely. "Well, I can't think of anyone more deserving of that plastic tiara than you. So if it's really important to you, then I'm in." He looked at her curiously. "But I'm not entirely sure how you'd fare with me as a running mate. I'm not exactly Mr. Popularity here. I guess I never actually considered running for Prom King."
Quinn smiled innocently. "I could run with Finn if you wanted me to..." She trailed off, enjoying the disgusted look on Ryan's face. "Great, we'll start campaigning tomorrow." She kissed him on the cheek.
"Hey, my mom has a staff meeting later. You want to come over?" Ryan asked.
She glanced at him over her shoulder as she pulled her books out of the locker. "Maybe," she said coyly. "What are we going to be doing?"
She felt him hugging her from behind, shivering as his breath tickled her ear. "Well," he said, his voice deep. "I think I recall someone saying that they wouldn't mind a repeat of Saturday night."
"Hmm. I think I do remember that," Quinn agreed, her body flushing hot at his close proximity. "I'll meet you in the choir room after class."
Ryan smiled broadly. "You got it." She kissed him on the cheek with a smile, before heading to Spanish class. Santana fell into step beside her a second later.
"Morning, bitch."
"Good morning, Santana," Quinn said breezily, causing the other girl to look at her speculatively. Then Santana smirked.
"Oh my god, you two totally did it this weekend didn't you?"
Quinn rolled her eyes, a blush creeping up her neck, her conservative upbringing now showing its face. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's about time," the Latina continued, ignoring her. "You took forever, I thought we were all gonna be old and wrinkled by the time you got around to it. Well, you were gonna be old and wrinkled. I'll be perfect forever." Her smirk widened. "So, how was it?"
"I am not talking about this with you."
"So there is something to talk about," Santana said gleefully. "So, is he packing? You know I'm going to pester you until you spill."
Quinn just groaned in response.
..
"Are we sporting a sticker that says 'we had sex the other night' on our foreheads?" Quinn asked later as she followed Ryan into his house after class. "Because Santana ambushed me this morning, and Brittany was squealing about how she was happy we finally had some sexytimes."
"You know, now that I think about it, maybe we do," Ryan said, eyes widening. "I was talking to Mike and Tina this afternoon, and they were shooting me these funny looks. Is it that obvious?"
"That's what I'm asking."
"You're okay with it though, right?" Ryan asked, almost anxiously. "I mean, you're still okay with what happened? You don't regret it or anything, right?"
Quinn rolled her eyes, stepping into his personal space as she looked up at him. "The only thing I regret is that it's taken us two days to do it again."
Ryan chuckled, putting his hands on her waist to pull her closer. "Well, you did have to go to Columbus to see Frannie off yesterday. But yeah, I kind of regret that too." He placed a light kiss on her lips.
She nodded. "Besides," she said slowly, smiling as she ran a hand down his chest. "If I regretted it, then I probably wouldn't have been daydreaming about doing it again all day..." Ryan's eyes darkened as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. "I could hardly keep from jumping you..."
He swallowed, and she smirked as she pulled him into another fierce kiss. She moaned into their kiss, tugging urgently at his lower lip with her teeth before delving inside. She hadn't been lying, she'd been thinking about this all day. Just seeing him in the hallways had been turning her on, and only the fact that they'd been in a public place had stopped her from doing anything rash. She wasn't quite ready for that yet. But that night had felt so fucking good and she needed more. She needed him inside her, right now. She pulled back breathlessly. "Upstairs," she panted. "Now."
Ryan immediately started pulling her up the stairs, stopping a few times on the way to his room for more frantic kisses, before they finally made it to his bedroom. By the time they got in Ryan's shirt had come off and Quinn's hair was disheveled. Their lips crashed together again, and Quinn slid her hand down Ryan's pants, wrapping it around his erection. She pumped him hard and he moaned loudly into her mouth, his grip on her waist tightening. "Oh god, Quinn -"
She stroked him a couple more times, smiling as his dick twitched in her hand, before pushing him down onto the bed and straddling his stomach as she pulled her shirt off. He looked up at her adoringly, and she felt like she was about to explode with how much she loved him. He surged up to kiss her, lips and tongues sliding together frenetically as he fumbled with her bra, finally taking it off before laving her breasts with his mouth and hands.
"Ryan," she moaned, arching into his touch. His lips moved to her neck, and she tilted her head, shuddering as she started rocking back and forth, his dick pressing against her clit perfectly and sending jolts of electricity up her spine. "Say my name."
"Quinn," he breathed out, moving to her collarbone. "Quinn, I love you so much. I want you, please."
She let out a gasp as he thrust his hips up, angled perfectly against her. God, she was so ready. "C-condom," she gritted out, rocking her core against him. Ryan nodded, reaching over to pull one from his bedside table. Quinn took it, moving down to pull his pants and boxers off, his dick bouncing out. She tore the packet open, carefully rolling the condom down her boyfriend's shaft. Ryan fell back against the bed, screwing his eyes shut as he struggled not to come. She pulled off her own underwear, her wetness already leaking down her thighs.
She was back on top of him immediately, and she bent down to kiss him, her hair, falling around his face. "Quinn - please -" he whimpered, thrusting his hips up shallowly.
Quinn nodded, desperate to have him inside her, and she positioned his cock at her entrance before dropping down. She gasped as she felt herself stretching around him, and his hands on her hips tightened almost painfully as he moaned. She took a breath, still trying to adjust to the fiery stretch.
"Are you okay?" Ryan asked, looking at her in concern, his brown eyes still dark with lust. Quinn nodded quickly.
"I'm fine - just need -" She rocked forward experimentally, and had to shut her eyes as her vision blurred. It was a different angle than last time, and it was fantastic. "Oh god Ryan." She braced herself against his chest, setting a rhythm as she rocked back and forth, helped by Ryan's hands on her waist.
Ryan screwed his eyes shut, holding still as he tried to get himself under control. "Quinn - I -"
Quinn slowed her movements, not wanting this to be over just yet, and she leaned down, kissing him softly. "You okay?"
After a moment, he nodded. "I'm good."
"Good," Quinn groaned. Her own climax was building, and she needed more. She ground down hard onto him just as he thrust up, and she let out a scream as it caused him to drive even deeper into her, hitting the spot that made her see stars. "Ryan!"
His grip on her was almost bruising, and she was scratching at his chest and stomach as she tried to find purchase as she rode him. "Almost -"
Ryan surged up again to kiss her, his fingers coming to rub at her clit, and Quinn shattered, her world dissolving into a white haze as she cried out her pleasure. She dimly registered Ryan reaching his own finish, and she let herself float away on the sensations wracking her body.
She didn't know how much time had passed by the time she came to her senses, and she opened her eyes to find Ryan gazing back at her, a soft smile on his face. She had collapsed onto her side, and he had moved close to her so their fronts were pressed flush against each other. He sighed contentedly. "That was..." he waved his hand vaguely.
Quinn chuckled breathlessly. "I know."
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and she closed her eyes, basking in the afterglow. "You're perfect, you know that?" he breathed.
She smiled happily. "I know. I think you're perfect too." She caught his lips in hers, sliding her tongue into his mouth. As close as they were, she could feel him starting to harden against her. "Again?" she chuckled. Ryan just smiled, running his fingers over her breast as she moaned. "We've created a monster, haven't we?"
Several days later
"You sold anything yet?" Mike asked.
Ryan nodded. "Yes, in fact, I have sold a net total of -50 cents," he said, with a painfully fake smile. Mike looked at him in confusion. "Brittany took a couple pieces."
Yesterday, Mr. Schue had told them that their brand new assignment of the week for glee was to sell 2000 pieces of saltwater taffy at 25 cents per piece, to make up the $5,000 they needed to get to New York for Nationals. They had been counting on the budget they'd gotten from the Cheerios after they had tanked, but apparently Sue Sylvester had squirreled away the cash in an offshore account in the Caymans. "This isn't going to work. Who even eats saltwater taffy?"
Mike nodded. "At least when we sold those cupcakes last year they sold for a dollar a pop."
"And it's kind of hard for Puck to spike candy with MJ," Ryan said dryly. He'd actually considered it, it had been surprisingly successful last year. "But ridiculous sales schemes aside, when do you want to work on that chemistry report?" He and Mike had been partnered up to do report on organic compounds for chemistry class.
"Oh, right. I'm free anytime this week," Mike offered. "How about you come over to my place tomorrow after school?"
"Really?" Ryan asked. He hadn't been invited to anyone's house in... ever.
"Yeah," Mike nodded. "My parents will be cool with it. Maybe we can hang out a bit after, too."
Ryan smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be great." The two boys walked into the choir room, followed by Mr. Schue.
"Okay everyone, forget the taffy," he announced.
"Thank God," Santana snarked, backed up by sighs of relief from the other kids.
"To raise funds for our trip to Nationals, we are going to be doing a Night of Neglect fundraiser benefit. We're going to sing, and charge admission. Proceeds will go to our plane tickets," Mr. Schue explained brightly. "And you know what the best part is?" He paused for effect. "We're only going to do songs by neglected artists." The room was quiet, the kids' eyes narrowing in confusion. "Because it's a Night of Neglect."
Ryan raised his hand. "Could you define what you mean by 'neglected artist?"
"Uh, someone whose brilliance isn't always appreciated."
"Oh, you mean like me."
"I mean like all of us." The teacher clapped his hands. "All right everyone, next Saturday night in our auditorium, McKinley High's first annual Night of Neglect Fundraiser Benefit is a go!"
The next day Ryan had a brand new problem. After going around and canvassing the glee club members for performances, he and Quinn discovered that Lauren Zizes had set herself up as Mercedes Jones' manager. And they were making an awful lot of demands.
"A, I need a bowl of green M&Ms," Mercedes ordered. "And by bowl, I mean large bowl. Well, really a small barrel."
Ryan nodded. "Done." He knew performers were very high maintenance, and if this was what they needed to get the show going, then so be it. "Anything else?"
"Two. I need humidifiers," the diva continued. "Lots of humidifiers. A team of humidifiers, whose only job is to make the air that Mercedes breathes more humid."
Quinn blinked helplessly. "We'll try our best -"
Mercedes held up a finger. "Shh. I'm not finished. Before every performance, I like to wash my hands. And after doing so, I like to dry them. On a fresh puppy."
Now Ryan looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, a fresh puppy?"
"I believe you heard Miss Jones," Lauren interjected. "In fact, if I were you, I'd probably get a whole litter of fluffy puppies, just in case she decides to take a post-show shower."
A few minutes later he and Quinn walked away with a list of things they needed to set up for Mercedes. Quinn turned to Ryan. "Okay, what the hell was that? Are you seriously going to find her a puppy to wipe her hands on? And where are you going to find just green M&Ms? What do we do with the other colors?"
"Quinn, I know her demands were a little extreme, but a little leeway should be given to talented performers. She obviously feels that her talent has been neglected in the club. I can relate."
She looked at him disbelievingly. "So that means she can boss us around like we're her minions now?"
"As long as she performs, yes."
"That's insane."
"No it's not," Ryan argued. "Performers need to feel validated, and acquiescing to their admittedly outrageous requests is one way of showing them that."
Quinn shook her head. "Ry, I love you, but if you ever ask me to get you a puppy to use as a freaking hand towel, I will leave you."
..
After her fifth period sophomore class, Shelby made her way to the history classroom. Holly was back and subbing for the history teacher. Shelby knew it was one of her favorite subjects. Holly liked dressing up as important historical figures, and Shelby had to admit that it did get the students' attention. She stopped at the end of the hall as she saw a familiar figure enter the history room. Dustin Goolsby, her successor as coach of Vocal Adrenaline.
She went in after him, staying at the doorway. Holly glanced at her, nodding as she kept her focus on Dustin. Shelby smirked, knowing that Dustin hadn't noticed her yet.
"Lemme cut to the sexy chase," he was saying, seated on one of the tables in a rather provocative pose. "Think about how many more years you have left of productive ovulating. Those aren't eggs in those fallopian tubes, they're rare exotic pearls."
"Ohh, so you're trying to seduce me," Holly smiled.
"Jackpot," Dustin said brightly, sitting up. "This hairline is 80% my own and my sperm count is off the charts."
Shelby held back a snicker. She'd known he was a little sleazy when she'd met him last year, but this was something else. Holly was more than a match for him though, and she was already dating Will Schuester. "Well," Holly chuckled. "As tempting as that sounds, I have a boyfriend."
"You do, now. Admit it," Dustin said cockily. "I'm handsome, I'm good-looking, and I'm easy on the eyes. Also, I'm gorgeous."
"And I'm dating Will Schuester."
Out of the corner of her eye, Shelby spotted Will enter the room from the other door, stalking towards Holly and Dustin with a grim expression on his face. Looks like this wasn't going to be good.
Dustin stood up, coming face to face with Holly, almost close enough to be invading her personal space, completely ignoring Will. "Lemme tell you something about Will Schuester. That guy has tiny baby hands. Seriously. It's weird. Once I saw him try to pick up a Big Mac, he couldn't do it. Had to eat it layer by layer, teeny tiny wee baby hands."
Will finally spoke up. "That are big enough to knock your teeth out."
"Well, this is awkward. Consider my offer." Dustin swaggered out of the classroom. Shelby quickly drew back just before he saw her, and she contemplated going after him or talking to Holly. Holly was talking to Will though, and her friend could handle herself. She went after Dustin, quickly falling into step with him.
"Justin."
He faltered for a moment, still looking straight ahead as they walked. "Shelby Corcoran. I'd heard you jumped ship over to a new school."
"Yes," Shelby agreed. "I heard Vocal Adrenaline won their Regionals last week. Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"That doesn't explain what you're doing here though."
"Just a little scouting mission."
"Well, that's just BS," Shelby said coolly, causing him to stop and look at her. "You're way too cocky and sure of yourself to even consider a scouting mission, something you might want to fix before Nationals. No, you were trying to seduce Holly Holliday. Now, since I have it on good authority that you play for the other team, that means someone put you up to it."
He flinched almost imperceptibly. "Don't know what you're talking about."
Shelby sighed. "Okay, look. Yes, Vocal Adrenaline won Regionals. Unfortunately, I'm friends with quite a few people, and I've heard whispers that the boosters aren't quite as happy as they should be." She noticed him pale a little at her statement, and she smiled sweetly. "So, unless you want it getting out that you've been flirting with random teachers instead of working on VA's Nationals set list, you're going to tell me who put you up to it."
"Vocal Adrenaline is doing great, thanks." Dustin shrugged. "But since I don't really care what goes on in this little backwater school, it was Sue Sylvester. Something about destroying the glee club. I wasn't really listening."
Of course it was Sue. Shelby nodded. "Thanks." She patted him on the shoulder before turning around and heading back down the hall.
..
"I didn't know you lived in Lima Heights," Ryan commented as he pulled up in front of Mike's house. It was a rather large affair situated in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in Lima. Ryan knew Santana's house was just a few blocks away.
"Yeah, we moved from Michigan when I was in the third grade," Mike answered as they got down from Ryan's car. "I think we were in the same class."
"Right," Ryan nodded. "I remember. Tina was the only other Asian in the class and everyone was staring at you for weeks." He chuckled as he followed Mike into the house, where they were greeted by a short Asian woman.
Mike smiled at her. "Hi Mom. This is Ryan. We're in glee together."
"Ah, yes, I remember," Mrs. Chang nodded at Ryan. "Nice to meet you, Michael's told me quite a bit."
Ryan offered Mike's mother a smile. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Chang. You have a very nice home."
Mrs. Chang smiled. "Ah, you finally found a friend with manners, dear," she commented teasingly at her son. "Your football friends leave much to be desired in that respect."
"Mom," Mike groaned. Ryan chuckled. He knew Mike was pretty good friends with Puck and Finn, and Mrs. Chang was probably right. Their manners were probably... different. "We're going to work on our report in my room, okay?"
His mother nodded. "Go ahead."
Ryan followed Mike up the stairs to the second floor, noting the different pictures that were hung on the walls. A lot of them were of Mike, some solo and some with his parents. They got to Mike's room, a large one with quite a bit of open space and a large mirror. Ryan observed that he had quite a few trophies in the room. Not surprisingly, they were dance trophies rather than football ones. There were also several academic contest trophies. "Have you thought about what you're doing for the benefit yet?" He asked.
"Yeah," Mike grinned. "I'm gonna be dancing to Jack Johnson's Bubble Toes. No singing, just me and my sweet moves up on that stage. How about you? What are you singing?"
"I'm still deciding, but it'll definitely be something from the Broadway catalogue," Ryan said vaguely. "I was hoping to get the closing spot but it's going to Mercedes."
Mike looked at him curiously. "Really?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I would have thought you'd insist on getting the last spot." Mike opened a chemistry book. "You know, you're a little different this year."
Ryan glanced at him. "How so?"
"I don't know, I guess you haven't been trying to get as many solos. You gave the Sectionals one to Sam, right, and you haven't been hogging the spotlight at rehearsals either. Sorry," he added apologetically. "Tina says you're not as crazy as before, too."
Ryan thought about it. It was sort of true, he hadn't been as neurotic as he had been last year, and his desire to spend every moment in glee singing in front had been lessened now that he thought about it. "Huh. I hadn't noticed that, actually. Is that a good thing?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yeah," Mike nodded. "I mean, we know you're still really into glee, but it's nice that you're not as crazy anymore. Makes it easier to talk to you. It's cool."
"I see. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." Mike gave him an amused look. "Now, how about we get back to the report?"
"Sure. You know, I'm not really that into chemistry."
"I actually prefer math," Ryan said easily. "But chemistry's cool."
"I guess I don't really have a particular subject I'm really good at," Mike admitted. "But I guess I like physics."
"But you still have straight A's in everything?"
Mike chuckled. "It's an Asian thing."
The report was finished in a couple of hours, and the two boys packed up their school things. "Do you need to leave already?" Mike asked. "We could play a round of Halo if you want."
"Halo?"
"The video game." Mike stared at him. "You've never played?"
Ryan shook his head. "My adoptive parents didn't really believe in video games," he said offhandedly. "And I didn't really have anyone to invite me over to play."
"Huh. Well then, we have to play," Mike told him, grinning as he fired up the console. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
Soon the two were immersed in a rather competitive round of Halo on Mike's Xbox. After learning the controls, Ryan had proved to be a fast learner, though most of the first few minutes had consisted of him running around and mashing the attack button. "Yes!" He cheered as he managed to blow up Mike with a grenade.
"Nice one, I wasn't even letting you win there," Mike teased.
"You know, this is surprisingly fun," Ryan commented, eating one of the dumplings Mrs. Chang had brought up for them to snack on. They were much better than the ones he'd had from the Chinese takeout place on 3rd street.
"I know, right?" the Asian boy grinned. "You ever tried CoD?"
"What's that?"
"Call of Duty, best FPS ever. Its multiplayer is online though, across consoles. Finn and Puck and I play a lot."
Ryan nodded. "Yes, I've heard of it, but I've never played."
Mike quit their game and switched discs. "You gotta try it."
..
Meanwhile, back at the Corcoran house, Shelby found Holly at her front door. She looked at the blonde in surprise. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be over at Will's or something?"
Holly smiled, the sentiment not reaching her eyes. "He's busy. And I thought I'd catch up with my girlfriend."
Shelby stepped aside, letting her friend in. Holly easily made herself at home at the kitchen counter as Shelby started a pot of coffee. "Guy problems, huh?"
"Ohhh yeah," Holly agreed. Shelby chuckled. The two of them had had quite a bit of those over the years, what with their tumultuous series of one-night stands. She looked closely at Holly though, and she could tell this was something more.
"What's wrong?"
Holly shrugged. "It's kinda silly."
"You're kinda silly."
"I am, aren't I?" Holly nodded knowingly. "Did you see the Wallace Simpson costume? The kids loved it." Shelby waited for her to get to the point. Holly always did go off in tangents. But she eventually came back. "I saw Will and Emma in the lunchroom today."
Ah. "Well, they're friends."
"Looked a lot closer than just friends." Holly let out a soft chuckle. "Do you think he's still in love with Emma?" Shelby hesitated. "That's what I thought," Holly said.
"Well, you sort of knew that going in."
"I guess. He told me he was over her though. Clearly not." She smiled wryly, watching as Shelby poured two mugs of coffee. "I guess maybe long-term just isn't my thing."
"You don't know that," Shelby argued. "I mean look at me. Two year high school relationship, five year split, one week of insanity, a baby, and then fifteen years without partner or said baby. Then I get the kid back, get James back, and then we're living... happily ever after?" She shook her head, not sure if that was the right term. "Can't get any more screwed up than that."
Holly scoffed in amusement as she stirred three spoons of sugar into her drink. "Well, that just made me feel loads better. You're right, you are screwed up, I don't think we can be friends anymore." Shelby gave her an unimpressed glare. "I really wanted it to work with Will."
"I know, sweetie," Shelby said sympathetically. "But maybe it's just not the right time. He's sort of in a transition period, I think, and he's kind of lost."
"There is that," Holly agreed. "Did you hear about the Great Saltwater Taffy Scheme?"
"Yes, I seem to recall something along those lines. What was it, 5,000 pieces of taffy at 25 cents each?" Shelby chuckled, shaking her head. Will really needed to get some better ideas. "How's the benefit going, anyways?"
"It's going great. The usual questions of who gets to sing, who gets the final number, who has to find a Pomeranian to act as a hand towel, that sort of stuff."
"What now?"
Just then the front door opened, and Ryan came into the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw Holly. "Hi Mom. Oh, sorry. I didn't know we had guests," he said. "Hey Miss Holliday."
Holly smiled. "I told you, it's just Holly outside school."
"Right." He smiled, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge.
"Did you finish your chemistry report with Mike?" Shelby asked. He nodded.
"Yep, all done. Then we played Halo and Call of Duty. I don't suppose there's any chance of you getting me a video game console anytime soon?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, Mom," Holly chimed in, smirking. "Video games are an important part of today's childhood, after all. Personally, I love Mario Kart. Throwing those turtle shells is awesome."
Shelby rolled her eyes. "We'll see."
Ryan smiled. "Okay." He left the kitchen.
"What was that?" Shelby asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. Holly raised her hands in innocence.
"Nothing, just trying to be the cool aunt. I mean, I like to think that's what I would have been if he'd grown up with you."
Shelby chuckled. "Sure."
"Hey, I would've made a great aunt-like figure."
"Sure you would," Shelby teased, before smiling sincerely. "I know you would have."
"Good. Don't worry, when he comes to me for his first tattoo I'll make sure it's completely tasteful."
"Funny."
The doorbell rang, and the two women heard Ryan call out, "I'll get it!" A minute later James came into the kitchen, pressing a kiss to Shelby's cheek.
"Hi Shelby," he greeted. "Hi Shelby's friend."
Holly smirked. "It's Holly. Holly Holliday." Shelby rolled her eyes as the blonde sent her a mischievous look. "You must be James. I've heard so much about you. True, I did pretty much force it out of Shelby here, but I feel like you're an old friend."
James raised his eyebrows questioningly at Shelby, and she shrugged at him. He could figure this out himself. She'd long ago stopped trying to explain her friend's insanity. He shook Holly's hand. "I feel the same way about you," he said sincerely. "I've heard magnificent tales of your exploits in the sex education classroom after all."
Holly nodded with a broad smile. "You're interesting," she complimented.
"Don't listen to anything she says, she's insane," Shelby said, sending a mock glare at Holly, who shrugged unapologetically.
"A perfect friend for you, then," James quipped, drawing a laugh from Holly and a glare from Shelby.
"So, it's going to be you two teaming up against me, is it?" Shelby asked sarcastically as James and Holly shared a grin, instantly taking a liking to each other. "Lucky me."
The next evening, the glee club was holding their Night of Neglect benefit. They had been skeptical as to how many people would actually show up, as the glee club was, as always, at the bottom of the totem pole. Sunshine Corazon, their former member who had jumped ship over to Vocal Adrenaline, had shown up a couple of days ago, promising to sing a number and pull in her 600 Twitter followers.
It had proved to be a ploy by VA though, and Sunshine had pulled out at the last minute. The only people in the auditorium were Kurt and Blaine, and several people who had made it their life goal to heckle the performers. It had gotten so bad that Tina had rushed off the stage crying after the first chorus.
"That's the worst I've felt in my entire life," she cried as Mike knelt next to her trying to comfort his girlfriend.
Artie shook his head. "I didn't think it was possible for people to hate us more. We're calling this off."
Mr. Schue spoke up. "Guys, I hate to say this, but I think we have to buck up. Tina, I'm really sorry you had to go through that, but it was a really good lesson for all of us. I mean, that's a part of show business guys, sometimes people can be really mean. Think about what's going to happen if we have an unfriendly crowd at Nationals in New York. And I'm sure there are going to be some Vocal Adrenaline hecklers there too. We just have to find the strength and barrel through this. And I think I may know a way to shut those hecklers up for number two."
Ryan sighed as Mr. Schue and a few of the glee clubbers went out to hand free taffy out to the hecklers. "Okay, I get that tonight really sucks, and I guess it wasn't really a brilliant idea in the first place. But Mr. Schue's right about one thing. We need to work through this. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the heckling's a good thing, but we need to use that negative energy and - and use it to fuel our performances." A round of nods followed his speech. "Okay, so let's get going. Mike, you're up next."
Mike's performance went well. The hecklers were too busy chomping on their taffy to heckle too much. Mike came back to the choir room to rousing cheers. "Good job, Mike," Mr. Schue congratulated him. "And it looks like the Heckling Club loved the refreshments."
"Yeah, but we're out of saltwater taffy," Quinn said. "How are we gonna stop them from going after us again after intermission?"
"By being so god that they can't heckle us," the teacher said determinedly. "And I know just the person for the job." He looked around. "Where's Mercedes? She's up.
Lauren entered the room, arms folded across her chest. "Miss Jones does not appreciate the way she's been treated and is refusing to go on."
Mr. Schue sighed, getting up. "Lemme go talk to her."
Lauren shook her head. "Don't bother. Mercedes has left the building."
"Well, that's it, we're screwed," Puck said. "Let's just blow this thing and hit the arcade."
"Wait, wait, wait." Ryan held a hand up. "What do you mean, she doesn't appreciate the way she's been treated? We met all of her demands other than the one about her performing the final act and being carried in in a giant egg like Gaga at the Grammys." He and Quinn had told Mercedes that Sunshine would get the final spot and she had countered with the request that her feet never touch the ground. Needless to say, that had been squelched.
"That's right, there's a Shih Tzu puppy waiting in the other room for her," Quinn added, frowning.
"Unfortunately, the closing number was kind of a dealbreaker."
"Excuse me?" Ryan asked incredulously. "That is completely unacceptable. We have tried to be as accommodating as possible. I understand being a diva, but I also understand that she made a commitment to perform at this event. But you know what, fine." He stepped up to Lauren. "You can go tell her that we can finish this show just fine without her. She may be good, but she's not Beyonce just yet."
"I'm liking the new balls, Midget," Santana said approvingly as Lauren left the room. "But new problem. Now that Sunshine and Wheezy bailed, we don't have a closing act."
"Leave that to me."
Holly clapped her hands together. "Great. Now, how about we all get ready for the next act, and I will go deal with the haters."
The group broke up, and Ryan found himself looking over some sheet music when Quinn came up to him. She smiled lightly at him. "That was interesting."
"You don't think it was too much, do you?" Ryan asked anxiously. "Maybe we should go try to find Mercedes, talk some sense into her..."
"No," Quinn assured him. "You were right. I never wanted to go along with all those demands in the first place. I'm just curious, what made you change your mind? I thought you were all about meeting diva needs."
"Yes, but I also think there should be a line. Performers can't just back out of commitments at the last minute just like that, it's not professional and it's unfair to the audience." He shuffled his papers. "Besides, no one comes to try to mollify me when I storm out, and I usually have a good reason. Why should we do it for someone who throws a tantrum over something so small?"
Quinn studied him for a moment. "You know, you've changed a lot since last year."
"Is it bad?"
She shook her head. "No, it's good. It's like... you have more self-respect now. Last year we were horrible to you. Don't deny it, it's true," she added, when he started to protest. "And you still came back and did everything to help us. Now you still help us, but you're also standing up for yourself more. I like it." She put her arms around his shoulders. "It's hot."
Ryan's lips curved into a smile. "Really?"
"Mm-hmm." She pulled him into a kiss, before pulling back and patting his chest. "Maybe later..."
"I'll hold you to that."
The next day
Sue sat in her office, contemplating her plans for the Legion of Doom - wait, it was League of Doom. Even she was getting confused. She had selected the worst henchmen ever, but it had been slim pickings. There hadn't really been anyone else. The Pink Dagger was supposed to destroy Will Schuester and the glee club, but last night's heckling scheme had failed spectacularly, and even Captain Handsome had failed at causing an explosive breakup between Butt-Chin and Holly Holliday. The two had had an amicable split, and the glee club had come out of the experience even more determined than ever. And now they were immune to heckling.
Just then Shelby Corcoran sauntered into her office. This was going to be fun. The brunette came up to her desk, dropping a piece of paper and a pen in front of Sue.
"And what is this? Would you like me to write you a love letter?" Sue inquired. "Sorry, Your Grace, but Sue Sylvester doesn't roll that way."
Shelby ignored her. "Account number for the Cheerios budget in the Caymans. Write it down."
"And why would I do that?"
"Out of the goodness of your heart."
"Nice try, but I don't have a heart, had it taken out a while back, along with my tear ducts."
"Then because the Cheerios booster club will receive an anonymous tip that their donations were somehow misappropriated," Shelby countered. "Word just might reach the School Board and the Cheerleading Board too, do you really want that to happen?"
Sue pondered her for a moment. "You know, for someone who's not actually in that sad excuse for a glee club, you seem very up in their business."
Shelby smirked. "I do love a good meddle."
"Clearly. I have an idea, how about you just take over that pitiful group of losers and head up the glee club yourself?" Then she wouldn't have to keep up this charade of hating the glee club anymore and she could continue to harass Will Schuester in peace.
"I'm not really looking to get involved right now."
"Ah." Sue nodded. "You don't want to compete against your old team."
"Maybe next year. Wouldn't want to demoralize my old students right away."
"Right." Sue contemplated moving to a different school and coaching a team against her Cheerios. She probably wouldn't want to compete against them either...
No, she'd want to crush them. She was evil after all.
Shelby tapped the sheet of paper. "Account number. At least let them lose fair and square."
"You know, blackmail goes against the very ethics of the glee club you're trying to help."
"Blackmail?" Shelby asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But there's an email all ready to go on my laptop that will result in a nice, thorough audit of funds."
"I should have known you use underhanded tactics," Sue said grudgingly, albeit with respect.
"Only when I'm up against underhanded tactics myself. I do have some ethics after all. It's not really something I do often, but I have a feeling normal methods aren't going to work with you. And besides, it's nothing you wouldn't do."
She had her there. And she'd known it was a bit of a risk, hiding the funds in an offshore account. "I'll give you the numbers for 10% of the funds."
Shelby folded her arms. "75."
"25."
"60%."
"50 and that's my last offer. The rest of it is going to the Cheerios when I start it up next year."
The brunette nodded, shaking Sue's hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Sue wrote down the numbers and passcodes for the Cheerios offshore account. She did still have a soft spot for her Cheerios somewhere. Small as a pinprick, but there it was. "This isn't because of your misguided blackmail attempt. I do like a good underdog story." She had her sister after all. "But even if we give 'em enough cash to drown Bill Gates, they're still gonna lose with Butt-Chin leading the charge."
"That's their problem, not yours."
"This isn't over, I'm still trying to destroy glee club."
Shelby smiled, taking the numbers. "Then I look forward to further competition."
"Let the games begin." Sue watched her leave the office. One point to her then.
She had to talk to the Honeybadger.