Old Habits Die Hard

8

Triple update??? You're welcome.

Barry walked into Spanish class, sitting in his seat and trying to keep his head down. He really hoped that Sam would not bring up what had occurred yesterday. He had kind of chewed Sam's head off in the middle of his mental breakdown, but he had no regret on the matter. Sam had shoved him into the lockers and interrogated him in gym class.

Even though he had his head down, he could tell that Sam was looking at him. He could also feel eyes staring at him from behind. "This is just great..." He muttered to himself. Then, directing his next statement at Sam, he said. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Sam blinked, "Are you okay?" He asked after a moment.

"Just peachy." Barry responded, keeping his head down.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, "You definitely didn't look 'peachy' yester-"

"I'm sure." Barry said. "Just leave me alone. And also, could you tell your friends to stop staring at me? It's distracting."

Sam glanced at whoever had been staring at Barry too. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, Mr. Shue started the class.

~~~~

Barry walked up to Marley locker. "Ready for glee?" he asked.

Marley sighed. "I tried to find you before," she said. "I don't think I want to join anymore. They were making fun of mom at lunch again today, which by the way, why weren't you there?"

"Not hungry," Barry stated. "So you just wanna go home?"

Marley was about to answer, when someone came up to them. That someone being Sam.

"Hey, Marley," he said, glancing at Barry who was just glaring at him. "Uh...Barry. I just wanted to apologize for all of us, and beg you not to quit." Barry internally groaned, he was in glee? "Look, I get you. Like, for instance, I know that sweater is from Walmart and your mom sewed the J. Crew logo onto it."

"How do you know that?" Marley asked.

"Because my mom used to do the same thing for me," Sam replied. "The best part about glee club is it's not about labels. If you can sing, or if you can dance, you belong. And, dude, you can sing."

"I don't know," Marley said. "You say that, but the way you were making fun of my mom, something doesn't feel right. You also pushed Barry in the hallway."

"It was a misunderstanding," Sam said.

"Didn't seem to believe that then," Barry replied coolly.

"The point is, I'm sorry," Sam said.

"We all are."

The rest of the Glee club suddenly surrounded them, and Barry felt extremely uncomfortable with it.

"I think being popular felt a little too good," the asian girl said. "And we forgot ourselves."

"Well, I didn't, I was always popular," the blonde cheerleader said. "I do forget to wear underwear sometimes though."

"The best part of glee club is that everyone gets to be a start," the boy with gelled hair said, and Barry recognized him from spanish. "Which is why we're all hoping that you'll come to rehearsal this afternoon and sing lead vocals on one of the songs we're working on?"

"And if words don't convince you, let the majesty and mystery of Unique's fabulousness be enough," the girl's words made Marley laugh. "I mean it. Glee club's a special place. I mean, where else could I dress like this and be welcomed with open arms?"

"Okay, one last thing," Marley said. "I don't think I'm comfortable sitting with that cheerleader and those guys at lunch."

"That won't be a problem," another blonde cheerio said as she walked towards them. "We could handle Gimpy, and the Tarantula Head, and Richie Poor, because you guys were national champs, like us. But our invitation was not extended to pre-op precious based on the novel Barf by Sapphire and Mark and Molly's daughter as part of our crew. He's fine, he's cute" She pointed at Barry during that last part.

"Well, I guess we're not in your crew anymore," Blaine said.

"You know, I was kind of hoping you'd say that," Kitty said. Something cold and wet hit Barry's face, making him gasp in shock.

"And with that, order is restored!" one of the guys said.

"Well, looks like you guys have been officially welcomed to the glee club," Artie said.

"Unique's eyes, they are on fire," Unique said.

"Let's get you guys cleaned up and go to rehearsal," Blaine said, touching Barry's shoulder to lead him to the bathroom. Barry flinched away from the touch.

"Please don't touch me," he stated. He couldn't see the looks exchanged between the New Directions. He might not be Sebastian, but he sure did seem to look and act like him.

In the bathroom, Barry had once again warned them not to touch him as he turned on the sink, splashing his face with warm water to get the red liquid off of his face and out of his eyes. He accepted the towel that was handed to him, using it to dry off the water and leftover bits of slush. "Thank you," he stated, noting how all three of the boys had chose to keep a good distance. "Nothing against you guys, I just don't like people touching me."

"Why?" the one with the hair gel asked.

"I need a reason to not want people I don't really know touching me?" Barry asked. "That's bullshit if I ever heard it."

"Sorry," he stated. Barry sighed.

"Not doing good at this making friends thing, am I?" he asked.

"Everyone has their own boundaries," the one who was in the wheelchair said. "They should be respected no matter what they are. I'm Artie."

"Barry," he replied.

"And I'm Blaine," the one with the hair gel said. "And you obviously know Sam."

"Obviously," Barry replied, glaring at the blonde for a brief moment. "We should head to glee."