Not Quite Paradise Ch 1 Pt 1: Back To School, a glee fanfic

Hi everyone, I hope you're excited for the first chapter of this story as much as I am! I've decided to split the first couple of "episodes" up into two or three parts at a time, that way I can focus on a few characters at once and hopefully help develop them more. Also, you guys won't have to wait so long between updates. So if your character isn't in this chapter (or wasn't featured very much), don't worry, their time is coming haha. For anyone who still needs the link to my tumblr for the songs and performances in this chapter it's on my profile.

I'll try to whip out the next chapter as fast as I can, but for now enjoy this one. Thanks for reading and be sure to review!

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Autumn leaves and frail branches descended onto wet blades of grass, the dew reflecting off the golden sun, creating a shimmer of luminous light shining through the courtyard of William McKinley High School. This gradual shift in scenery signaled a change in seasons and the accustomed routine of teenagers everywhere. The Fall semester was finally beginning, an unpleasant and vexatious realization for students unfortunate enough to be burdened with yet another year of the inhumanities of the high school social hierarchy. Gone were the days of summer vacation and late night pool parties, only to be replaced with enormous piles of homework and the unsatisfying feeling of time well wasted.

Sam Evans hurried through the jam-packed parking lot of the school, dodging flying footballs and boisterous boys and girls on his way towards the front entrance. Sam reached the interior of the building when he was stopped by McKinley's own nationally ranked cheerleading coach, Kitty Abrams. Kitty had replaced Sue Sylvester after eight years as a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys, when Sue felt she was getting too old to properly coach the Cheerios any longer. The Titans are currently last year's Nationals defending cheer squad with their winning streak showing no signs of letting up anytime soon.

"Hey Evans, how was your summer? You're not still upset about your loss at Regionals, are you? Because if you want, I could give you a few tips on winning considering I'm practically a specialist in that department." Kitty said. Despite the two being friends in high school, and have since then reconnected, they still enjoyed pushing each other's buttons.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think we'll be okay. It's a new year and the kids have improved so much. I think we may even have a shot at Nationals this year."

Kitty attempted to stifle her laughter. "That's really funny, Sam, just try to keep the joking to a minimum. I won't be able to make it through the day if you keep saying things like that."

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, well aware of her wisecrack remark. "You know, I don't understand this vendetta you have against Glee Club. Both of your kids are great singers, don't you want to see them succeed?"

"Of course I do." The coach replied. "I just feel like there are more important things for them to be focusing on instead of having to worry about what song truly expresses their inner feelings. That goes for all my Cheerios." She said while motioning a goth girl in ripped skinny jeans and a dark hoodie to leave the line for cheerleading sign-ups. There was no way she was letting someone like that on her squad. Sam wanted to say something, but the bitter underclassman walked away too fast.

"Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets about joining Glee Club in high school, it helped me meet Artie, but Scarlett and Connor have so much more going for them than I ever did. At this point, they could get into any college they wanted to, whether Glee Club was on their résumé or not."

"So, what you're saying is that it's okay for them to be involved with sports, because that's a better use of their time and talents, but anything that breaks the mold you set for them isn't worth pursuing?" Sam responded. "That sounds a little one-sided, don't you think?"

"Let me break it down for you, Evans. Everyone knows the only thing kids care about in high school is being popular. You may think your children don't care about the way others perceive them, but trust me, they do." Kitty explained, flipping through pages on her clipboard until she found the one she was looking for. Sam couldn't help but be confused by the graph being presented in front of him.

"Now, if we compare stats, it's easily proven that jocks are more popular than kids in theater or Glee Club. I'm not saying you guys can't have a jolly old-time singing and dancing, but at the end of the day, I'm offering these kids the confidence and skills it takes to survive life after high school."

"This isn't a competition, Kitty." Sam specified.

"The only people who say that are the ones who don't know what it feels like to win." She retorted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a back-to-school pep rally to prepare for."

Noticing her daughter standing by some lockers talking to a boy, she decided to interrupt. "Scarlett, I need you in the gym...," she glanced at her watch, "five minutes ago."

A girl sporting a red and white cheerleading uniform, with her blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, look surprised. School hadn't even started yet and already her mother was badgering her. "I thought rehearsals for the pep rally didn't start for another hour."

"They don't, but you're the Cheerios captain which means you get to spend your free time before class setting up the gym with the members of the activities board. That doesn't create a problem for you, does it?" Her mother asked, taking Scarlett's unresponsiveness as a no. "I didn't think so." She said before walking off down the hall. "And tighten up your ponytail." She called over her shoulder.

Scarlett huffed before doing what her mother told. "God forbid she ever let me have a social life." She whispered to her friend. "I'll see you later." The cheerleader said, slinging the strap on her backpack over her shoulder and hurrying to get to the gymnasium.

Further down the hallway, Sienna Puckerman had been overseeing Scarlett's interaction with her mother. She too was dressed in an identical cheerleading uniform, her stature shorter than the captain's, but with the same blonde hair and undeniable beauty. Standing with her was friend and fellow Cheerio, sophomore Jordan Lynn. Both girls had met in a gymnastics class six years ago and have been inseparable since then.

"God, I can't stand her." Sienna lashed out, slamming her locker shut. The boy Scarlett had been talking to just so happened to be Sienna's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Mason Lopez-Pierce. The two were "on" at the moment, causing the junior to become completely furious. Scarlett could have any guy in the school that she wanted, she didn't need to be going after her man.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, he doesn't seem into her at all. She's not his type." Jordan said, trying to reassure her friend.

Sienna had been spiteful towards Scarlett ever since the latter was handed the head cheerleader spot their freshman year. Sienna never believed she deserved it, and knew the only reason she was captain now was because her mother coaches the Cheerios. This theory, however, with the exception of Jordan, was not supported by any of the other members on the team, who considered Scarlett to be a natural leader and welcome change when it came to Sienna's selfish and stubborn attitude.

"I'm not upset that he's taking to her. She should go find someone else to share with how terrible her privileged life is." Sienna spat. "Better yet, why doesn't she just do everyone a favor and move back to Texas?"

The two girls walked into Mr. Calaway's history classroom ten minutes before 1st period was set to begin and took two seats in the back. There were globes and world maps everywhere along the dusty counter by the windows. Posters of past presidents and world leaders covered the beige-colored walls as a long dry-erase board hung across the front of the room, with Mr. Calaway's desk in the center.

"You haven't noticed anything weird going on with Mason, have you?" Sienna asked her friend. "Ever since the party last weekend I feel like he's been avoiding me. He hasn't said anything to you, right?"

"Um... no, of course not." Jordan replied, sounding nervous, something Sienna failed to notice. "He's probably just catching up with old friends he hasn't seen all summer. I'm sure everything's fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm stressing over nothing." Sienna thought, unzipping her backpack and setting the red notebook inside on her desk.

"Totally." The sophomore responded with a smile, avoiding eye contact.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

High school principal, Nora Taylor, was having a field day in her office due to today being the first day back at school. With everything that had happened over the summer, this morning was turning out to be a hectic massacre. Not only did she have to play peacekeeper between Sam and Kitty, she needed to figure out a way to expand the number of students allowed in a class without causing a riot from her faculty. Washington High School, McKinley's neighboring resident school, recently burned down and they needed a place to send their students. Nora had teachers blabbering on about how there was such a massive influx of kids in the hallways, along with members of the School Board arguing on whether or not to hire new faculty advisers. And on top of everything, leave it to Kitty Abrams to create more havoc by yelling over-top of everyone because she just realized she'd been assigned to teach gym class to these groups of losers. Due to all the new students, Director Adams had no choice but to hammer down on teachers to take over more classes, and Coach Abrams just happened to be one of them.

But despite all the bickering and raised voices, one person still remained to keep her composure throughout the whole debacle. It was none other than Natalie Blake, the school's new English teacher and theater director. Nora had called her up after Mrs. Linberg retired from teaching. She was named valedictorian of her senior class at Colorado University and graduated with a degree in English and Fine Arts.

"Alright, I'm going to have to ask everyone to calm down. I can't understand anything with people just yelling over each other." Principal Taylor expressed to the angry mob that currently occupied the inside of her office. They couldn't tell if the woman's British accent made her sound angrier or sexier.

"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life." Kitty replied matter-of-factly. "I can't teach gym class. My Cheerios can barely take my vigorous workouts, so you can only imagine how a far weaker species is going to measure up to them. They'll all be crying home to their mothers by Thursday."

"Now Kitty, I know teaching isn't really your thing, but times are tough right now. We need all the help we can get." Nora countered with a sympathetic tone, hoping she would see the bigger picture here.

"Fine." Kitty answered, irritated. "But if a kid gets sent home with a broken leg, I'm not about to be held accountable."

The rest of the people in the room turned their heads at that comment and looked at Kitty with a slight fear in their eyes, but they were mostly just confused.

"Whatever you say Kitty. Now, school's about to begin so I suggest that all of you go about your business. I have a lot of work to do." The principal gestured for all of them to leave her office and waited to get back to sorting transfer papers until the door closed. "It's going to be a long day."

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Lance Puckerman pulled into the busy parking lot of McKinley, not believing this was his last year at the high school. It sort of felt surreal in a way, as if the past three years just flew by in a flash. Here he was, at 18 years old, feeling like he hadn't accomplished much of anything during his whole high school career. In the past he would have been content with staying in the shadows and distancing himself from his peers, but now for some reason he was regretting his decisions. The reality of graduation was setting in and he needed an extra curricular besides Glee Club to put on his résumé to really have a shot at getting into a good college. For the first time in a long time, Lance wanted to do something with his senior year, he just didn't know what yet.

Rolling up beside him on a skateboard was one of Lance's only friends, Connor Abrams. He and Lance were complete opposites in every possible way. Where the senior enjoyed reading and isolating himself from others, Connor was the golden boy and star athlete at McKinley. He was incredibly popular, a trait his sister shared, and had a very bright future ahead of him. How he and Lance ever became best friends would be a mystery to any stranger, but people close to them know they have been buddies for eight years, ever since the junior moved to Lima from Austin, Texas.

"Something on your mind?" Connor asked in his country accent. It wasn't thick, just southern enough to make girls' hearts start racing. The red, plaid, unbuttoned shirt and black tee he was wearing was complimented with a pair of blue jeans and Converse sneakers. Lance's attire was similar in taste, sporting a long-sleeved shirt with dark jeans and a set of Vans.

"No, I'm fine." Lance decided to keep his concerns about college to himself for now, at least until he figured out what he was going to do. "Why do you always ride that skateboard around everywhere? You do know there's a perfectly good seat in mine or your sister's car."

"I like the exercise." Connor replied, shrugging. He stepped on one end of the skateboard, causing it to jolt up and grabbed it with one hand, placing it in his backpack. "So, have you talked to Avery at all today?"

"No, why?" The senior asked.

"Well, let me think..." Connor paused for a moment, humoring his friend, "the obvious reason would be because you like her. I don't know if you know this, but when a guy actually likes a girl, he talks to her sometimes."

"Alright, I get your point." Lance replied, halting any further teasing on the matter.

"So, are you going to ask her out this century or should I just tell Avery you'd rather have the thought of her in your head over the real thing?"

"Hey man, you have no place to judge. I don't see you asking out any girls and they're practically throwing themselves at you every day. What's wrong with them, huh?" Lance asked, turning the tables on Connor. "I mean, here you are worrying about my problems when you've never had a serious girlfriend either. You, my friend, are a hypocrite."

"Yeah, except for the fact I don't have the girl of my dreams staring me right in the face. She's out there somewhere, I just haven't found her yet." The junior said. "But believe me, when I do I'll know it. The girls at this school are pretty and nice and everything, but I've talked to most of them and honestly, I don't see any of those relationships developing into more than friends."

Lance shook his head, feeling as if he should tell Connor he sounded like one of the characters in a Nicholas Sparks novel. "Oh, that's right, I forgot you're one of those sappy, romantic types." He responded, suppressing his laughter. "Well, hey, I have to get to class on the other side of campus, but you keep beating those girls off with a stick. I'm sure Ms. Right will come along sooner or later." Lance joked before jetting off to his first class of the day.

Connor walked in the opposite direction towards the English department. His cell phone vibrated seconds later. He read the screen and it said he had received a message from his sister.

Scarlett: Mom's making me organize the gym for the pep rally...wanna come switch places?

Connor chuckled and was about to text back when he collided with someone in the hallway. They both fell to the floor, papers scattering everywhere. Connor glanced up, noticing he had hit a woman with long, wavy brown hair, dressed up in a light pink blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt and a pair of high heels. The diamond pendant she was wearing around her neck made her mahogany brown eyes sparkle and cause Connor to become completely speechless.

As words escaped him, he began scrambling to pick up the fallen papers. He noticed they were lesson plans immediately and made the connection that she was a new teacher.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Oh no, it's my fault." She confessed, dusting off her skirt before standing up, "I was in such a hurry I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Connor assured, "I think these belong to you." He said, handing over the papers. When their hands touched, they remained still for a little longer than necessary, the two sharing a look, unsure of what it meant. Connor cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence and putting his arm back down at his side. "So, you're new to teaching here, huh?"

"Yeah, I just graduated from the University of Colorado. I never expected to get a job offer so soon, so when the school board called and said there was a position open in Lima, I jumped at it the first chance I got."

"Well, you picked a good one. McKinley's a great school." Connor replied.

"I get the feeling." She responded, her infectious smile giving him heart palpitations. He had never experienced this feeling before. It was as if his brain had turned to mush and he was incapable of forming any sort of coherent or intellectual thought.

"Um..." Connor murmured, grasping for words but coming up short, "do you know your way around yet? I could show you where your classroom is if you want."

"That would actually be a really big help, thank you."

"No problem." He said. "What's your room number?"

"Uh," The teacher rifled through her papers for a moment, "room 214. In the English department."

Connor smiled internally, walking down the hall. "Well, we just so happen to be going to the same place. And here it is," He said, stopping at the doorway, "classroom 214. I'm Connor by the way." He introduced, deciding it was as good of time as any.

"Natalie Blake." She replied, grinning.

"It's nice to meet you. Right this way Ms. Blake." He responded, holding the door open and gesturing her inside. Connor couldn't help but think this year was starting off moderately well thus far.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Mason was just getting out of his 4th period science class when he was yanked by the arm into an abandoned classroom. He was about to yell at his abuser when he saw it was just Jordan.

"What's with the secret rendezvous?" The junior asked, examining his surroundings. He had a minor pain in his right arm, but he decided to keep that to himself.

"We need to talk." Jordan replied, sounding serious.

"Well I figured that much." Mason said, taking a seat on top of a desk. "What's up?"

"What's up is that I'm freaking out." The cheerleader responded, walking in circles because she was so nervous. "Sienna keeps bringing up how strange you've been acting and I'm trying to stay calm about the whole situation, but honestly, it's got me a little paranoid. You don't think she suspects anything, do you?"

"No, of course not. Unless you've given her reason to."

"Me? You're the one avoiding her like the plague. I'm her best friend, I don't have that luxury." Jordan claimed, anger building up inside her. She didn't believe Mason was taking this seriously at all, but then again, when did he ever take anything seriously?

"I wasn't aware that best friends slept with each other's boyfriends." And right as he said it, he realized how terrible it had came across.

Jordan looked shocked. Here she was trying to confide in him and he goes and says an idiotic comment like that. "Wow... you are such an asshole. I don't even have to worry about Sienna catching us together now because you and I are done." She said before storming out of the classroom, slamming the door shut.

Mason wanted to stop her from leaving, but he knew it would be a lost cause. He didn't mean for his statement to be taken in the way that it was, he was just joking around. But then again, Mason sometimes took messing around to a whole new level, and it usually resulted in someone getting severely pissed off. People took his nonchalant attitude as him not caring about a lot of things, but in reality, he really tried to have a strong moral compass, even if his senseless actions reflected otherwise.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Jordan was sitting on the hood of her friend, Austen Evans', white Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV during free period, watching as Sienna and Mason had their first conversation since the party last weekend, the most recent and last instance of them hooking up. Jordan wished she could pinpoint the exact moment things started to get out of control and go back in time to make sure it never happened. Maybe then she wouldn't be sitting here, heartbroken, feeling like she had no one to turn to.

Before the sophomore knew it, Austen had taken a seat down next to her, where he decided to remind her of the rules that applied before touching his very expensive automobile. "If you do any type of damage to my car, I don't care if it's a stain, or shoe mark, or something along those lines... I'll kill you in your sleep and hide your body in a place where no one will ever find you again."

"Duly noted." Jordan replied with a chuckle, knowing about how her friend liked to make jokes. She had to admit, he was a better comedian than Mason.

"So, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" He asked.

"I like being by myself." Jordan simply stated. "Take it as me being introverted."

"Come on, no one wants to be alone all the time."

"Oh yeah, and what if there was the smallest possibility that someone did? What would you think then?"

"Well, I would hope that they had someone else to talk to. You know, if they ever felt like they wanted to stop being alone." Austen replied.

"Hmm... and what if they believed people were better off without them? Happier, that is."

"Well, there's obviously logic behind their reasoning that causes them to think that way. They just have to find out what it is."

"What do you think it is?" Jordan prodded.

Austen was surprised she decided to voice that question. Knowing what type of girl Jordan was, he assumed she wouldn't like people poking around in her personal life, that was if she was talking about herself. "I think... that people in the past may have neglected them, and it somehow caused them to feel unappreciated or undeserving of happiness."

"Is there a way to fix them?" The brunette inquired, hesitantly.

"I don't think they're the ones that need to be fixed. I think the people that made them that way do."

"I doubt a lot of people would agree with you on that." Jordan whispered.

"Somebody's got to. How else are we supposed to feel like we're not being taken for granted?"

"We could always pretend."

"No, I care about you too much to let you do that."

"Huh..." Jordan would be the first one to admit that she's never been very big on expressing her feelings, yet she can honestly say that she's only had a few meaningful conversations in her entire life, and they've all been with the guy sitting next to her. "Hey Austen, you're the only considerate guy I've ever met, you know that?"

"I think that's the problem." The junior replied, frankly.

It was the problem. Since the time Jordan was a child, her parents have rarely paid any attention to her. They were too busy running their foster home and looking out for those kids, that they forgot about the one they already had. Of course she didn't think they purposely did this, but it hurt all the same. The opposite situation applied for Austen and his parents; they held such high expectations for him when it came to singing that he felt he could never live up to them, that he didn't deserve for people to believe in him, and in turn Austen began feeling depressed. Sure, he's sweet and bubbly most of the time, but he has his bad days.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jordan responded with a sad laugh. "I just wish people didn't give me so much credit. I'm not perfect, you know?"

"You're about as close as anyone can get." Austen responded, sincerely.

This caused Jordan to lean over and bring her friend in for a hug, it wasn't a romantic gesture or anything, and Austen knew that, this was just her way of saying 'thank you' in the best way she knew how.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Connor had just finished rehearsing a song for Glee Club in the choir room and was walking down the hall to the cafeteria when he noticed the door to Ms. Blake's classroom was open. He debated on whether or not to stop by and say hello, considering he had his friends waiting for him in the lunch room and didn't want to waste time, but in the end, his curiosity got the better of him. He knocked on the door, not realizing she was standing on a chair, one foot propped up on the backrest, trying to fix some curtains, causing her to turn and lose her balance. Connor reacted quickly and caught the teacher before she could hit the floor. The two shared a look for the second time that day, this time with Natalie growing speechless.

"Are you okay?" He asked, lifting her up until she was standing again.

"Uh... yeah, I'm fine. For some reason I'm just really clumsy today." She said, chuckling. "I promise I'm not usually like this."

Connor laughed as well. He had to admit, he kind of liked her clumsy. "What were you doing anyway?" The blonde wondered, looking up at the curtains.

"Oh, I was just doing some redecorating, trying to give this dull room a little feminine touch. You have to admit it's somewhat depressing to look at." Natalie said.

"You would definitely be right there." Connor agreed, glancing around at the room. There was no color whatsoever, the walls were bare, and the desks were old and dusty.

"I have a few boxes of things to help the room look more embellished, but those ugly curtains were giving me such a headache I needed to take them down. The only problem is that I'm too short to reach them." The teacher explained, placing her hands on her hips.

"I can get them down for you." Connor had a good five inches on her, eight if you disregard the high heels. It would be no problem for him to reach the curtains. "Why don't you start unloading those boxes, I'll get to work on taking these curtains down. This place could use a little sunshine anyway." The junior lifted the guitar strap that was crossed over his chest and leant his guitar up against one of the desks in the room.

Natalie began unpacking the boxes, placing a cup of sharpened pencils on her desk, a small rug at the foot of the doorway, some books she had brought from home on the bookshelf in the back, an animal calendar on the bulletin board by the windows, a few posters of quotes from famous authors in different places on the wall, and a beautiful bouquet of pink lilies in the window sill. She was nearly done when Connor stepped down off the chair and placed the folded curtains on a counter in the back.

"All done?" He asked, dusting off his hands.

"Almost," Natalie replied, "there's just one more thing this place needs." Down to her last box, she pulled out a poster of her favorite country music group, Eli Young Band.

"You like country music?" Connor questioned.

"I grew up on country music." Natalie rephrased, hanging up the poster right next to do her desk. "It was the only thing my dad would play in the car."

"I'm the same way." The junior replied. "In fact, I think I may just have an Eli Young Band song in my repertoire." Connor said, walking over to his guitar and picking it up.

"Oh god, you're serious." Natalie realized, laughing. "Are you actually going to play a song right now?"

"Why not?" He asked, believing there was never a wrong time to play a song. Connor took a seat at one of desks in the classroom and began strumming.

"Well, consider me intrigued." Natalie said, taking a seat on top of her desk.

"She's got a bumper like a billboard
Covered in stickers of her favorite bands
She's got a handful of records that she turns to
When she needs to land
She's a Saturday night parade through the streets
That all eyes come to see including me"

Natalie was both surprised and impressed by the boy's voice. He had the perfect amount of country twang in his tone; that, combined with his powerful vocals, made for a very compelling performance.

"For as much as she stumbled she's runnin'
For as much as she runs she's still here
Always hoping to find something quicker than Heaven
To make the damage of her days disappear
Just like Guinevere
Just like Guinevere"

Connor strummed the acoustic guitar solo as Natalie watched on in awe.

"For as much as she stumbled she's runnin'
For as much as she runs she's still here"

She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about Connor that made her feel happy and content. Whether it be because of the constant smile he had on his face, even while he was singing, or his kind demeanor, she felt good when he was around, like the world had stopped and she didn't have a care in the world.

"Lean into me Guinevere
Be mine tonight Guinevere"

A small round of applause filled the silence once Connor finished singing. He swung his guitar around to his back and got up from the desk.

"That was so good! I had no idea you could sing like that." Natalie said, enthusiastically, with a smile across her face.

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." He replied, taking a seat down next to her on her desk. "But if you thought that was good, just wait until the pep rally this afternoon. You're going, right?"

"I was planning to, considering it's all anyone's been talking about the whole day. You'd think Beyonce were performing here or something."

"Might as well be. People around here go crazy for Cheerios performances. Trust me, I don't get it either, but my sister's in it so I'm going to support her." Connor said.

"I think it's mandatory for staff to go anyway, but I guess it helps that you're going too." Natalie responded, smiling. The last thing she ever expected when she transferred to McKinley was to befriend a student on her first day, but so far, he had been the only person she felt like she could really talk to. It also didn't hurt that they connected on so many levels. She felt as if she had known him forever, and she couldn't help but think Connor felt the same way she did.

"Trust me, you won't regret going." Connor assured, getting up from the desk. "I'll come by later and we can walk to the gym together. The classroom looks great by the way, definitely an improvement." He said before walking out the door, finally on his way to the lunch room. Unfortunately for him, he only had five more minutes left to eat.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Scarlett was trying to convince Lance to work up the courage to go and talk to Avery, who was at a lunch table, eating and talking with her friends Lyla and Isabelle.

"Come on, Lance," Scarlett said, grabbing her friend by the shoulders trying to motivate him, "it's do-or-die right now, sink-or-swim, you have to go talk to this girl before you drive both yourself and me crazy."

"I don't know-" but he was cut off.

"No, none of that." The cheerleader demanded. "I don't want to hear 'I can't.' You can do this Lance," She promised, lifting him up from the table and shoving him in the direction of Avery's table, "now just go and talk to her."

Lance wanted to turn around, but right when he saw her smiling with her friends, a gorgeous smile he might add, it was like every fiber of his being began gravitating towards her. After years of never being able to confront her, his moment had finally came. He had stated earlier that he wanted to turn his senior year around, and what better way to do that than go after the girl he's always wanted. With only a few feet separating himself from Avery, who better than Taylor Ben Israel to step in and ruin the moment.

"Hi Lance, care to answer a few questions for the Muckraker?" The freshman asked, shoving a microphone in his face. Behind him, Scarlett visibly face palmed.

"Hey, Taylor, how about an exclusive with McKinley's very own cheer captain instead?" A voice said behind Scarlett, causing the reporter to look their way in excitement. She happily left Lance to go interview one of the most popular girls in school.

"Where have you been?" Scarlett asked, revealing the voice to have come from her brother, Connor. He took a seat down next to her on the lunch bench with a tray of cheese pizza, apple sauce, and a bottle of Powerade.

"Practice ran a little over schedule." He replied, deciding to leave out the part where he spent time with Ms. Blake. His sister didn't need to know every detail about his life. "So, what's going on with Lance? He finally going to ask Avery out?"

"One can only hope." Scarlett replied, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with Taylor practically hovering over her. She had to remember to get Connor back for that one. She was about to begin her interview with the prattling reporter when the lunch bell rang, causing everyone to get up from their tables and exit the cafeteria, with the inclusion of Avery and her friends, leaving Lance standing there alone and defeated, just a split second too late.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Jordan was walking through the now desolate parking lot of McKinley, heading to her car to grab a few boxes of confetti for the pep rally later this afternoon. This errand would usually fall to the rookie cheerleaders, but considering they hadn't held try-outs yet, the task was given to her. Jordan was still upset over the conversation she had had with Mason not more than an hour ago, and, at this point, she was just trying to hold it together until the end of the day when she could go home and cry her eyes out, accompanied with the sweet, redeeming taste of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

The sun setting on the abandoned lot symbolized exactly how she felt. Dark and empty, as if the world as she knew it was crumbling down around her. Countless times this summer she had made an idiotic mistake with her best friend's boyfriend and she couldn't take it back. It didn't help the situation when she had real feelings for him but couldn't express them in fear of hurting Sienna.

Jordan reached her car and opened the trunk, halting the regrettable thoughts in her head momentarily as she picked up a couple of boxes of confetti.

"Let me take some of those for you." Mason insisted, coming up alongside Jordan to grab a few of the boxes. He had felt bad about the way things went down earlier, and realized he should probably apologize for hurting her feelings.

"I got it." Jordan replied hastily, turning away with the boxes.

"Sorry, I just thought you'd like some help, that's all." Mason replied.

"Well I don't. I can take care of myself." The sophomore stated firmly.

Mason looked at her, his features sympathetic. What he said before was uncalled for and remorse was beginning to set in. She decided to call things off and he should have accepted that. Causing her pain was the last thing he would ever want to do. "This isn't about carrying boxes, is it?" He asked.

"Wow, he's not as dumb as he looks, folks." Jordan replied, setting the boxes down so she could close the trunk, but unfortunately for her she couldn't reach it.

Mason walked up next to her, and extended his arm over her head to pull down the trunk's hood.

The brunette spoke with aggravation in her tone. "I could have done that."

"My way was faster." The jock countered.

"Your way sucks. Kind of like exactly how you are in bed."

"Oh," Mason responded, laughing, "Really? You've never had any complaints before."

"I was dying on the inside." Jordan quipped.

"Sure you were. That's why it took you so long to call it off, right?"

"All that matters is that I did."

"You regretting that decision, yet?" The taller junior asked.

"Not in the slightest." Jordan confirmed. "You?"

"I have Sienna."

The brunette flinched at the mention of her friend's name. For a moment there she had forgotten all about her. "That you do. I hope you two are very happy together." She began to walk back to the school until Mason's voice stopped her again.

"You sure about that?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

Jordan turned around and spoke. "You wouldn't want to hear my answer."

"Why not?" Mason questioned, a hint of curiosity in his tone.

Jordan paused for a moment, trying to think of the correct way to put this, "...because I'm a selfish person." She deduced, finally mustering up the courage to walk away.

Mason was unsure of how to react to that statement, he wasn't even 100% sure of its meaning, but he figured she must have had a good reason for saying it. The two had a complicated history, and an even more complicated relationship, so it was anyone's guess on how Jordan dealt with her conflicting feelings between romance and friendship.

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~

Nora Taylor stepped out to the crowd of cheering high school students as the 2034 back-to-school pep rally kicked off. She knew all of these kids only came to see one thing, so she didn't waste any time giving it to them.

"Here to kick off this year's pep rally are the Titans' own nationally ranked cheerleading squad, led by coach Kitty Abrams. Give it up for the McKinley High Cheerios!"

The Cheerios came running out of the locker room, starting the pep rally off with a bang demonstrating an array of perfectly executed backflips, cartwheels, and high kicks. The crowd went wild for the cheer squad, something Isabelle and Avery, two of the school's brightest and most critically-minded students when it came to athletics, would never understand. Isabelle had never been a fan of the popular kids at school, she believed them all to be arrogant and self-centered. She couldn't wrap her head around why her fellow classmates gave so much attention to the girls on the Cheerios, when she, on more than one occasion, had experienced first-hand how awful they could be. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to be living in a society that didn't appreciate or value intelligence as much as it did personality and appearance.

McKinley's new English teacher, Natalie Blake, put a hand to her chest due to the sudden outburst. She'd never seen kids so pumped up for a cheerleading performance before, and she'd been to her fair share of pep rallies in the past.

"So, which one's your sister?" She asked Connor.

"The blonde one to the right." He replied, pointing in that direction.

Scarlett stopped in the far corner of the gym, setting herself before taking off at full speed in a diagonal line towards the opposite corner, where her Cheerios teammate, Sienna, was stationed. A simple roundoff turned into backflip after backflip, each one more powerful than the last.

"We shake the ground with the sound and take off like a missile," she stuck her landing with stunning accuracy, causing the crowd to erupt and jump out of their seats, cheering even louder than before.

Sienna mirrored the captain's previous stunt with ease as cheerleaders flew through the air behind her, "I got this fever for the flavor of anything and disco."

"And when it goes down, it goes down, I should warn ya," The blonde then did another set of flips across the front of the gym.

Scarlett and Jordan were basket tossed into the air, followed by three other cheerleaders, "Now throw up your hands like"
"Whoooooaaaa"
"And if ya do what you can then
Whoooooaaaa," All of them were then flung through the air simultaneously, kicking both of their legs outward while in midair.

"If you want to then just let go
If you wanna let go," Austen did an aerial, 360-degree spiral flip in the center of the gym as the squad set up a pyramid behind him.
"Stop holdin' on to what you used to be," the male cheerleaders hoisted up Scarlett, Jordan, and Sienna in the air as they flew in a helicopter motion, causing the crowd to erupt with cheers. They had never seen that stunt done before!
"'Cause yesterday's are no use to me"

"Let go
If you wanna let go"
The girls tumbled on the floor as Jordan flipped from one male Cheerio to the next, "Just step up and bring it, don't rethink it,"
"'Cause yesterday's are no use to me," finishing it off with a back handspring.
"Just put your hands in the air and sing it"

The cheer squad set themselves in a 4x6 formation, with Scarlett being front and center, as they performed the next assortment of dance moves in perfect unison.

"F-m-s-t-a-t-i-c,
That's the way we do it when we do it correctly
F-m-s-t-a-t-i-c,
That's the way we do it when we do it correctly
F-m-s-t-a-t-i-c,
That's the way we do it when we do it correct"

"Now throw up your hands like," they began trying to pump up the crowd by waving their arms up and down.
Whoooooaaaa
And if ya do what you can then
Whoooooaaaa

"If you want to then just let go," Scarlett and Jordan spun into a one-legged lift, pulling one of their legs up to touch their head,
"If you wanna let go," as another girl did a backflip with just the hands of a male cheerleader to stabilize her.
"Stop holdin' on to what you used to be," the girls cradled out as the squad got into another formation with six girls across the front and a pyramid behind them.
"'Cause yesterday's are no use to me"

"Let go," they let a few more dance moves fly,
"Just step up and bring it, don't rethink it," before they ended with a badass pose,
"Just put your hands in the air and sing it" causing everyone in the stands to go crazy. They were all screaming so loud Sam was sure the windows were about to shatter any second now.

"And that, Evans..." Kitty paused for effect, smiling insidiously, "is how it's done."

~~~ Not Quite Paradise ~~~