Aftermath

Nicole’s P.O.V.

Rehearsal for Glee club was always the favorite part of my day. It allowed me to unwind after a stressful school day, and I just loved to sing. My best friend, Finn Hudson, was also a member, so it was just an added bonus that I got to spend more time with him.

When the bell rang signaling the end of the day, I hurried out of my last period math class and went straight to my locker. Or at least, I tried to. On my way there, Aleesha Bauer stepped swiftly in front of me, giving me the dirtiest look. I wasn’t surprised, seeing as this was an everyday occurrence. I didn’t really consider it bullying, because she rarely got me down, and I fought back with my words whenever I needed to.

“You going to your stupid Glee club again, Nikki?” she said, a sneer on her face the whole time. I knew she was trying to make me mad, because other than Finn, Kurt, and my mom, NO ONE was allowed to call me Nikki. No one, not even teachers.

“No actually, I’m heading to Narnia to go ride on the unicorns. That sounds like something you might know how to do,” I said, smirking at her as I started to walk away. “Bye, Aleesha.”

As I walked the rest of the way to my locker, I turned my head back just a little to see a dumbfounded expression on Aleesha’s face, her mouth hanging open. She seemed to think that just because she was a Cheerio, I should be too afraid of her to defend myself when she attacked. That was one of the things she just happened to be dead wrong about.

Once I was done at my locker, I turned around to see Finn standing there, a creepy look on his face. I jumped back and let out a high-pitched,” Eeep!”

He just stood there and laughed, tears nearly falling from his eyes. “You’re hilarious, Nikki,” he said, proceeding to take my book bag of my shoulders and put it around his own.

“Finn, you know you don’t-“

“Yes, I do. Now, let’s get’s to rehearsal before Mr. Schue tries to make us sing another Journey song,” he said. Every day, he insisted on carrying my book bag for me, whether it had any books in it or not. I didn’t really understand why he did it, and I tried to object every day, but he would never let me finish.

Like I figured, we were some of the last people to arrive at rehearsal. Only Brittany was missing, but then again, she wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box. More than likely, she’d forgotten how to get here.

As soon as Finn and I crossed the threshold of the choir room door, Rachel swooped over to us like a hawk. She was giving me a dirty look like she did most times whenever she saw Finn and me together. I guess she thought I was “trying to steal her man” or something, but honestly, it wasn’t like that. I actually had a crush on someone else, and that person was not Finn.

“Finn, come sit with me. We must discuss the duet we’ll be singing for Sectionals. It is very important, trust me,” Rachel said, smiling sweetly, her eyes never leaving Finn’s. She didn’t want him to know that she absolutely hated me, so whenever he was around, she was my best friend. When we were alone, she was like Adolf Hitler.

He nodded. “Sure.” Before walking away with her however, he made sure to take off my book bag and hand it to me, smiling as he remembered my reaction from earlier.

I went to sit beside my next closest friend, Kurt. He was always there for me, comforting me with kind words whenever I had tears in my eyes or was frustrated. He was also the guy I had a crush on. I’d liked him ever since I’d met him a few years ago. I mean come on, he was gorgeous, so can you really blame me for liking him?

“You guys got here just in time, he was about to make us sing another Journey song,” Kurt whispered to me, linking him arm with mine like we did every day. And like usual, I felt my heart begin to beat just a little faster.

“When are we gonna sing some Michael Jackson up in here? We would rock that so hard.”

“Mr. Schue tends to pick songs that are just a tad...how do I saw this nicely…outdated,” he said. And he was right. Glee was always singing things like Journey, Chicago, and old show tunes, things Mr. Schuester deemed were “classic”. No matter how many pleas he got from all us members to do more modern music, things never changed.

But there was something I wanted to know that didn’t involve Glee, or poor song choices. “So, tell me about this person you like,” I teased, poking him playfully in the shoulder. Kurt had mentioned to me at the last rehearsal that he liked someone, but he wouldn’t give any details. This time, I was going to pull it out of him.

He started to clam up, and I could tell this subject made him nervous. “Well…I don’t…I don’t know if you know them or not.” He started to scratch his head, something I knew he did when he was lying.

I turned my head so I was looking directly into his eyes. “Kurt, you’re one of my best friends. I love you, and you know you can tell me anything. I don’t tell secrets, and if you have something you need to tell me, it stays between the two of us. Clear?” I asked. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him this nervous, so I knew it must be something big.

He took a deep breath before revealing to me exactly what was going on. “Nicole, I like a guy. I’m gay.”