New Directions

The dance studio was one of Brittany's favorite spots at school.

The locker rooms and under the bleachers were fun, and she loved the candy machines because of the candy (duh), but the dance studio was special in its own special way. That was where she got to dance however she liked, without Sue yelling at her (unless Sue was walking past the door, which was why Brittany always made sure it was closed when she was there).

And that day, she was really excited to be there because she had Very Important Stuff to do: the guy in charge of the new Glee musical, who wasn't Mr. Shue and looked kind of like a really smart potato with hair, had asked her to do the choreography for the whole show. Up until then, Brittany had just made up dances in her room or for people's Glee numbers and MySpace videos, but never a whole show. So it was a pretty huge deal.

Anyway, now that Nationals were over, Brittany had time to start thinking of the dances and that was why she was in the studio at school.

The music that was going to be used in the show made her want to jump around like she had cool epilepsy, so after doing her stretches, that was exactly what she did.

It wasn’t the first time Santana had been in the boy’s locker room – not even close – and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Usually she was going there for fun, but this time she was pissed. Beyond pissed. It wasn’t so much that she felt any love for Kurt, and especially not for Edie, but that didn’t mean she was fine with them getting knocked around. Edie had a black eye and Kurt had almost been killed. That was far from okay.
( He was going to leave them alone. She would make sure of it. )

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!

Benji was nervous. Very, very nervous. It had all been his idea, he knew that, but still...he was nervous. It felt a little like walking into a lion's den...where the lions made out with you before they ate you. It wasn't the lions' fault, they were just doing what came naturally, he wouldn't be able to blame them but...yeah. Nervous.

His dad glanced over at him from the driver's side of the car, head tilted and brow furrowed with concern. "You feeling okay, Benj?"

He nodded. "'M fine, Dad. Just not...used to, uhm, visiting, y'know?"

His dad nodded. It seemed a little bit more than that, but he wasn't going to push things. Sometimes it was just easier to go with what his son was saying than to delve. Most times, really.

"I'll call when 'm ready to go home, okay?" His dad nodded again and Benji got out of the car and shuffled up to the door of Santana's house, eyes down and hood pulled over his head. He rang the doorbell and then shoved his hands into his pockets to wait. Oh yeah. Nervous.

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. )

"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."

Puck had only spent a couple of weeks in juvie, and it more boring in there than anything else, but he guessed that the idea that he had actually done time in there was enough to up his badass quotient at McKinley.

As he left Figgins' office to go to his locker, people scrambled to get out of his way. He heard hushed whispers of "Puckerman" and "permanent record," and saw people bow their heads, perhaps to avoid looking him accidentally in the eye, as he walked by.

He smirked. Cool.

Of course, there was always at least one ant in the picnic. Some idiot had written "Jailbird!" on the door of his locker - in pansy-ass ballpoint pen. What a wuss.

Reaching out, Puck collared a passing geek who turned out to be Jacob ben Israel. Briefly, he was tempted to throw Jacob back, just because he was a fellow Jew, but the fact that the word was written in ballpoint pen instead of proper black marker was bothering him. "Clean that up."

"Yes, sir."

He smiled tightly as the Jewfro'd kid promptly started scrubbing at the locker door. He was starting to feel normal again. They were all afraid of him again, just like in the old days, and their fear tasted like the finest boxed wine.

Maybe getting thrown in juvie had been for the best after all.

On an average day, Sam was bouncing around happily. On his birthday, the day of his party and after a day of catching up with closest friends, he was almost literally bouncing off the walls.

He was also responsible for the whole house looking like a giant balloon (or the house from Up at least), the garden was filled with lights and more decorations and, after Lillian's party, Sam had insisted on a karaoke machine. The tables set up were packed with food and drink and the huge 'Happy Birthday' banner would have been more impressive, and more meaningful, if Sam hadn't made it himself at 2 o'clock that morning.

Sam was in his full pirate outfit and had been for most of the day. His friends from home (Lee, Andy, Ben, Rebecca and Lisa) were in the garden with him, or rather a cowboy and Han Solo were sneakily smoking his brother's cigarettes and making Sam feel like part of the Villlage People, Princess Fiona and John Lennon were surreptitiously attacking the chip bowl and Alice was not so much in wonderland as she was in the bathroom.

Sam himself was letting his mother kiss him goodbye and nodding that of course he'd behave as he waited for his guests. He was also wondering where Blake had wandered off it, wondering if he'd gone to retrieve the rum.

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?"

( No Day, But Today )

A long red carpet leads from the parking lot to the lobby of the school gym, decorated for pictures of the happy couples and groups. From there, the carpet leads to the gym, which is decked out in red and black balloons and silver stars.

There's an actual DJ this time near the “bar” where drinks are being served...well, sodas and water. It's high school, what do you want? There's tables scattered about the edges of the dance floor, with red tablecloths and movie-themed centerpieces.

Have fun, kids. Try not to get into too much trouble.

Well...this was it.

Matt nervously wiped his hands on his pant legs as he eyed the clock. He shoved his family out the door for the purposes of his date. The dining room table was set up with a white table cloth and two place settings, minus the actual plates. Two glasses were set out--one filled with water and the other empty. In the middle of the table was a flower arrangement his mom insisted on putting out, as well as two boxes, one smaller than the other. He even dressed up in his nice suit for the evening!

It wasn't a fancy restaurant, but hopefully Santana would like the intimate setting and the work he put into this.

( Whipped Into Shape )