𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 || glee

thirty five; cough syrup

Regionals week was not going as well as planned. With the news of Dave Karofsky's attempted suicide and Sebastian's attempt at blackmail, no one was feeling particularly great about anything. Vee was feeling especially sombre — she and Kurt visited Karofsky at the hospital and both of them couldn't stop crying afterwards.

Sat in a circle on the auditorium floor, the entire glee club's mood had been solemn. Vee had been mostly silent after getting back from the hospital, a cause for concern among Sam and Kurt. But they both trusted her when she claimed to be fine, hoping she was telling the truth. Her lies seemed to be getting more believable nowadays.

"Mr Schue, why do you have a jar of peanut butter with one spoon?" Mercedes questioned.

"Yeah, there are fifteen of us here, and I'm only comfortable sharing a spoon with about half of you," Sugar spoke up as she eyed everyone pointedly.

"Well, it's come to my attention that our good friend Rory Flanagan has never tasted peanut butter," Mr Schue announced. Responses of disbelief could be heard as the glee club exclaimed in surprise. Vee stayed silent.

Mr Schue stood up, Rory did the same. "Rory, if you don't mind."

Grabbing the spoon and taking a scoop of peanut butter, his eyes lit up the moment he put it into his mouth. "That's the best thing I've ever had." The room erupted in laughter as Rory took a seat, the jar of peanut butter in his hands.

"Mr Schuester, wow, that's incredibly moving," Kurt stated with an air of sarcasm. "It's kind of been an emotional week for some of us," he reminded.

"Yeah, Mr Schue, what's the point of all this?" Finn asked in agreement with Kurt.

"The point is Rory just had a brand-new experience, something as simple as peanut butter. You guys are young. I want you to promise me that, no matter how depressed you get, no matter how hopeless or alone you feel, you'll try your best to imagine all of the amazing experiences you have ahead of you," Mr Schue said. Vee felt a long, inspiring speech coming up.

"Mr Schue, look, I know we're a little dramatic sometimes, but I don't think anyone will ever consider taking their own life," Mercedes reasoned with him, the others all nodding their heads or verbally agreeing.

"I did."

That shut everyone up.

"Junior year. That was a tough year. I cheated on my math midterm. Peeked at the answers of the guy next to me and the teacher saw me do it," Mr Schue explained. Not quite the inspirational speech she imagined, but she listened intently, much like the rest of them.

"Just because you got caught cheating? I get caught cheating all the time," Puck interrupted.

"On your girlfriends or your tests?" Vee murmured, but when everyone turned to face her — with amused expressions — she retracted her statement. "Sorry, serious topic, I'll shut up."

Mr Schue held the ghost of a smile as he continued. "They called my dad at his office, and he was coming to pick me up. How was I supposed to look him in the eye? I just kept picturing my dad so disappointed in me. So I walked up to the roof. I went right to the edge. One step and all the pain and humiliation would be over."

"That day, I promise you, it felt like it was the end of the world. But you know what? It wasn't," he went on.

"You know, for some of you, getting caught cheating isn't a big deal. But there's something, everyone has something that might take them up to that edge."

He was right, as usual. Though Mr Schue had his moments of questionability, there was no doubt in Vee's mind that he cared deeply about each and every one of them. Sure, he favoured Finn and Rachel, but he still showed concern towards his students, and that was more he could say than any other teacher she had.