𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | r. berry

Never Been Kissed

Naomi was at her locker putting her things away before Glee Club. She could hear Azimio teasing her as he stood on the other end of the hallway, but she didn't let that get to her.

He's just a big dummy.

I bet he's scared of his own shadow.

She closed her locker and headed down the hall. She spotted Kurt and rushed to walk next to him.

"Hey, Naomi," the older boy greeted, sending the freshman a smile. "How was your algebra test? Autumn said you were nervous about it."

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," said Naomi. "Rachel and Autumn helped me study last night, and they taught me some tricks with the calculator that helps you get the right answer. It was like magic."

"Do you think you did good?" Kurt asked as they turned a corner.

"I think so, but–"

Naomi's sentence was interrupted by Karofsky shoving both her and Kurt hard against the lockers. The smaller girl let out a whimpering noise, shuffling closer to Kurt when the bully glared at both of them before walking away.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.

"I think so," Naomi mumbled. "Are you?"

"Yeah."

Kurt put a protective arm around the younger girl and led her to the choir room. When they walked in, Naomi sat down next to Rachel, who smiled warmly at her.

"Alright, guys," Mr. Schue said as he got everyone's attention. "Let's get down to business. First, let's welcome back Noah Puckerman. Puck, I hope your time in juvie has taught you a lesson or two about right and wrong."

"Are you kidding me?" Puck scoffed. "I ruled that place. All I did was crack skulls and lift weights all day."

"Wow, what a catch," Autumn mumbled sarcastically. "Can't believe I ever let you go."

"And now, drumroll, Finn," Mr. Schue said as the quarterback did a drumroll on the book in his lap, "because I have in my hand our competition for sectionals next month. First, the acapella show choir from the all-boys private school in Westerville, the Dalton Academy Warblers."

"Okay, hold up. Like, a million awesome gay jokes just popped into my head," Santana chuckled as Kurt gave her a disapproving look.

"It's funny how she's always making jokes about being gay when she seems like the gayest girl in this room," Naomi mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Rachel and Autumn to hear.

"And the other team to beat, the Hipsters, a first year club from the Warren Township continuing education program," Mr. Schue continued. "Now, they are a Glee Club composed entirely of elderly people getting their high school GED's."

At that, Autumn frowned as she exchanged a look with Rachel.

"Is that even legal?" the cheerleader asked.

"Yeah they're, like, ancient," the diva added.

"How are we supposed to compete against a bunch of adorable old people?" Mercedes frowned.

"Are you kidding?" Puck scoffed. "Brittle bones. Give one of those ladies a good luck pat on the rear, it'll shatter her pelvis."

"Just not mi abuela," Naomi pouted. "She's in that group."

"Moving on," said Mr. Schue. "Since it seemed to get you guys jazzed about sectionals last year, I wanna make this week our second annual boys versus girls tournament-"

"That seems a little sexist," Naomi mumbled as she played with the rips in her jeans.

"It's so much fun, trust me," Rachel beamed.

"-So, split up into two groups and figure out what songs you're gonna sing."

"Okay, I have mash-up ideas in my emergency mash-up list," Rachel said as the girls gathered together. "I'm thinking we should–"

"Kurt, I'm gonna say it again," Mr. Schue said as the brunette boy stopped in his tracks on his way to the girl's side. "Boys team."

Kurt rolled his eyes and went over to the boy's team.

"Sexist bitch," Naomi grumbled, sending the older boy a sympathetic smile when he caught her eye.

****

Autumn sat on her bed, her loose brunette locks flowing over her shoulders and into her face as she wrote in the journal Rachel had gotten her. Something she's found is that writing her thoughts and feelings down, no matter how dark or depressing they are, has helped her a lot mentally.

Since meeting Rachel, Autumn's noticed an improvement in her mental health. It hasn't magically changed over night – she still isn't happy with how she looks, and there are some days when she has to force herself to eat just to stop feeling so light-headed – but there were always the small victories that were worth celebrating.

For instance, one thing her eating disorder kept her from enjoying was snacks at the movie theatre. She had read online about people overeating while they watched TV and gaining weight because of it, so she never allowed herself to get popcorn or candy when she went to the movies with her family. However, when she went to see Mary Poppins with Rachel at the revival theatre downtown, the two got a bucket of popcorn to share, and it wasn't as scary as her ED told her it was.

The small victories always feel the best.

Baby steps, Autumn.

****

"The boys beat us the last time we competed against them," Mercedes informed the youngest Glee Clubber. "We've gotta bring the noise hard this time."

"You let those idiota boys beat you?" Naomi asked.

"They didn't officially beat us," said Quinn. "We got busted for vitamin D possession before the vote."

"You did drugs?!" the younger girl gasped, turning to her half sister with her jaw dropped. "Autumn, you did drugs?!"

"I mean, not exactly," Autumn shrugged. "My aunt gave us these supplements so that we'd have more energy.

"Wait, something's definitely wrong," Santana spoke up. "Why isn't Rachel talking?"

"She should totally be bossing us around right now," Brittany nodded.

"The idea of the assignment was to do the opposite of what we normally do," Rachel said as Autumn shot her best friend's a look. "I'm just trying to stick to the lesson plan, which is proving nearly impossible since you're gluing those sequins on backwards."

"Spies!" Naomi shouted, pointing to the door as Puck and Artie came in.

"Lighten up, midget," Puck said with a roll of his eyes. "We're here to talk to Santana and Brittany."

Naomi pouted, hating that people were always coming at her for her height. Autumn shot Puck a glare as she comfortingly rubbed her back and sent her a small smile.

"He's an idiot," the cheerleader said. "Don't take anything he says personal."

****

****

As Naomi lay curled up on the couch with Bear-Bear, she couldn't help but wish she could be with Autumn all the time instead of just at school. That was the only time when they were able to see each other, and neither of them knew how to bring it up to their parents without starting drama.

And God knows Autumn had already dealt with enough drama with everything that happened last year.

"What do you say, Bear-Bear?" Naomi asked as she looked at the teddy bear in her arms. "Not talking, huh? Well, that's okay." She sighed and reached for the remote on the coffee table. "Cartoons it is."