New Directions

In the afternoon on Friday, Edie got into her car and headed over to the hospital after first stopping by the drugstore for some sort of gift. She had it on good authority from Lillian that Kurt adored Lady Gaga, so the current issue of Vogue magazine was probably a good bet. At least she was hoping so. She figured that him being here was sort of her fault, in a way.

While she was certain that he had plenty of visitors, one more couldn't hurt, surely?

She stood outside the room and knocked softly. "Hey...you decent?" One never did know, in a hospital.

The McKinley High gym has been nicely decorated for the evening, the Valentine's Day committee having spent the intervening hours between school and the start of the dance wielding streamers and balloons and setting up tables. The very center of the gym has been cleared out for the dance floor, and circular tables surround that for people to sit at, eat and talk between dances. A long table at the back of the gym has been set up for the DJ, and one other table to the side is for the basketball team's fund raising table, selling roses and other Valentine's Day goodies. The usual gym concession stand is now stocked with punch and snacks.

The teachers who have been enlisted to serve as chaperons are keeping a watchful eye on the activities on the dance floor...though they're not really keeping a close eye on the doors leading into the rest of the school. They might want to keep an eye on that.

There is a red carpet leading from the outside into the dance...let's get this party started!

The stage was bare but for a few chairs , a couple of microphones, and some instruments (a piano, some drums, electric guitars, that sort of thing) and Fenton was perched on the edge. As the kids filtered in, he gave them a little wave and waited until everyone was settled into the auditorium seats.
( Once everyone was seated, he cleared his throat and spoke. )

Edie walked into the school with no small amount of trepidation. Not only was she not happy here, but she was also scared. She was scared that she wouldn't make any friends, no one would like her, and that she wouldn't get on the cheer squad. If she didn't have cheer, this was going to be a long, two-year suckfest.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her, and she proceeded to the office to pick up her schedule and then she proceeded to get herself lost. She needed to be in English. But this looked like the physical education portion of the school. Mostly because that's where the gym was.

Crap. Crapcrapcrap...

"Shit," she muttered aloud.

"Hey there, Peaches."

Startled, Edie turned to see Dave Karofsky come down the hall. She relaxed visibly.

"Nice mouth," he said, grinning at her.

Edie blushed. "Sorry. What'd you call me?"

"Peaches. You just seem like a...Peaches. Plus, you smell like 'em." His grin faded to a little bit of confusion, as if he was unsure of a line he read.

Edie laughed a little and then sighed. "Okay, well, you're the only one who can call me that, then. No one else is allowed." It was sort of stupid, but cute. "I'm trying to find my English class. Can you help me?"

After he'd shown her to her English class, they'd checked their lunch schedules and they made plans to eat lunch together. At least it was a friendly face in a sea of question marks.

But, all in all, the school day didn't go too badly, her meeting with Ms. Sylvester (who, Edie was sure, was certifiably insane) went excellently, and she was going to be in practice tomorrow, and now she was just at her locker, putting away her books and putting her cheerleading uniform in her bag.

And she had an actual date for Friday night. Would wonders never cease?

The day of Sectionals had finally come. Three show choirs from mid-state Ohio were gathered to compete for the honor to compete some more! Regionals loomed in their futures, and after that, Nationals. In New York. It was a very big deal, and anyone who doubted that fact had never competed for anything in their lives.

Dr. Lawson had said that Kurt wasn't in trouble. But there was still that nagging feeling that he was. The way his luck was going lately, he was probably going to be expelled or something. Or, at the very least, flunking out completely. Was it too early to be told he would be going to Summer School? He didn't know. It worried him.

But he'd said he would be there, so he was. If nothing else, Kurt was a boy who was true to his word. Even when it terrified him.

And so he knocked tentatively, his other hand clutching the strap of his bookbag like it was a lifeline.

Things had not been...good...for Kurt since the Karofsky smack-down. Not good at all. The jock hadn't exactly gotten more violent, but there was an unspoken menace there now that seemed to grow by the day. A knowing look here, a passing touch there. It was like walking in a mine field, never knowing when one would explode, and Kurt felt like he was losing his mind. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, hell, he couldn't breathe most of the time. He was teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown and he knew it. But he still couldn't figure out what to do about it all.

At the moment, he was trying to get his locker open, but between his hands shaking and his brain's current refusal to work, he just couldn't get the combination out. Making a frustrated sound in his throat, he rested his forehead against the locker door. It was all he could do not to burst into tears.

"Okay, kids, the challenge this week is 'Your Favorite Childhood Song'," Will said, once all the kids were gathered in the room. The band and Brad were there, ready to back people up.

"Let's see what you've got."

With her hands on her hips and her legs planted like tree trunks, Coach Shannon Beiste surveyed the McKinley football field like a warrior queen looking over her domain.

It looked like her predecessor's pathetic reputation was well-deserved, she thought with a sneer. She had never seen a sorrier bunch of recruits gathered in her presence - half of them looked like they would blow over in a strong wind, and the other half would trip over the goal line.

But then of course she had always coached winners.

Well, Panther, she thought to herself, think of this as a challenge to your coaching abilities. You can do anything, including turn this ragtag bunch of losers into the well-oiled destroying machine that everyone has come to expect of you.

Mr. Schuester and Brad were all set for the kids to start performing. He knew there were some strong personalities paired up, and he just hoped that the kids would put aside their differences to do the assignment.

They had a lot to cover, so as soon as all the kids were assembled, he got their attention in order to start. "Okay, kids...what pair of you wants to go first?"

Will was excited. He was going to let some people perform first, if anyone had anything they really wanted to share, but he was very excited to hand out their first song of the new school year.

When everyone had gathered, Will called the meeting to order. "Welcome back, everyone, and to our new members, welcome to New Directions. We're going to work very hard this year, but we'll have fun doing so as well."

He sat down on the stool near the piano. "So...first off, does anyone have anything to share with us?"

Sue was in her office, mapping out her current plans for World Domination in her journal, as she did every year. Even though she had given the Glee club another chance, that still didn't mean that she was going to let Will Schuester relax in his lard-haired glory all year.

Oh no...that would simply never do.

And so, there were Plans.

She was highly encouraged at the turnout so far for the tryouts. It looked like Quinn Fabray was coming back...the tension in the top three cheerleaders would be back in play, for the most part.

It was good tension. Tension that made everyone work harder.


This was going to be a good year.

As Kurt predicted his Dad was reading his entry, and for a few moments, he hesitated, wondering if it would be better if he just replied to the entry, but then decided it would be better to have a talk with his son.

So he headed down to the basement, knocking on Kurt's door softly. "Hey, Kurt. Can I come in?"

The plan was to get to Kurt's house, drag him out of bed, and make him drive the group to NYC to see American Idiot. It was a good plan, as far as Tina was concerned. Maybe not as well-thought-out as it could have been, but if she really thought about it, she probably wouldn't be doing it.

It was far earlier than Tina was usually awake during summer vacation. She hadn't even bothered doing her makeup, it was that early. But they had to get there before Kurt was awake enough to realize what was going on. Sleeping Kurt was easier to deal with than Awake Kurt. No less snarky, but easier to deal with.

They waited until Kurt's dad left for work, because that was easier to deal with as well. It wasn't that Mr. Hummel was a bad guy, but he was a little...intimidating, sometimes.Then, hand in hand, they made their way stealithy to the house...well, as stealthily as two giggling teenage girls can be. Tina crouched down next to one of the windows to the basement to peer inside. “He's still asleep...at least I think he is. He isn't scowling and his hair's sticking out. That means asleep, right?”

Kurt sat on the bed of the hotel room, squinting at himself in the lighted mirror he'd brought for the occasion. Putting the finishing touches on the large silver star he'd drawn over one eye, he glanced over at Tanner stretched out on the other bed. "You're sure you don't want makeup? I could make you really pretty, Tanner..." He knew the answer already, but he still had to ask. And he was still going to get eyeliner on his boyfriend, even if it killed them both.

"If she pulls us on stage or something, we have to look like we should be there, you know? I may kiss her, just a warning." He had it all planned out in his head: Gaga would pull him on stage, they would make out, and then she would decide to keep him and he'd be part of the Haus of Gaga and she would simply call him "K" and everything would be perfect. "I think I'm going with the mesh...could you grab the electrical tape from my bag, please?"

There had been had been so much going on in the last week, that Father's Day had slipped his mind completely. Of course, once it dawned on him, he felt terrible about it, because he totally needed something else to feel terrible about.

He wracked his brain for just the right gift, and really, honestly didn't know what to do. But finally, he settled on something. So, he paid for it and printed out the receipt and padded upstairs to find his dad.

Kurt had finished his third bag of Oreos in as many days (supplementing them with gummy bears, just to switch things up) and had been taking full advantage of the horrible programming on TLC. He'd even watched Kate Plus 8, and he hated Kate Gosselin so much that there weren't even words for it.

He felt mopey and vaguely nauseated at this point and even the horror of Extreme Poodles couldn't distract him from the hopelessness of life. Finally, he flopped over dejectedly onto his side and tapped out a text to Tanner: 'plz shoot me now'

Lillian was awake anyway, so she headed out from her house with bat in hand. And a softball, if anyone wanted to question. Why anyone would, she didn't know, but a teenage girl out after dark with a softball bat might be a little suspicious?

She made a perimeter around the Hummel's house, flashlight in hand. She found an upturned garbage can and righted it. "Raccoons, yup." That said, she didn't like to be out here in the dark by herself.

"Kurt?" she said, in a loud whisper. "Kurt, are you out here?"

( No Day, But Today )

Kurt sat sprawled on the couch in the dim light of the living room, fingers wrapped loosely around the beer can that rested on one denim-clad thigh. He'd done his best to dress the part; a plaid flannel shirt worn unbuttoned over a t-shirt that read "I'm all about trucks and bucks" with the obligatory...truck and buck on it. A ballcap with the American flag on it perched on his head.

Deadliest Catch was on the TV and he watched it with a faintly bewildered expression on his face. That was what his father considered entertaining? It was madness...but he had to give it a chance. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it all the way.