CLOUD NINE | GLEE • OC X OC | ON HOLD

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IVORY AND LUKE WERE IN THE CHOIR ROOM PRACTICING, WAITING FOR MIKE AND BRITTANY.

As they were practicing, Luke and Ivory went to do a move, but instead, Ivory hit the ground.

"Fuck!" She groaned, sitting up.

"Shit, are you alright?" Luke kneeled next to her.

"I'm fine. This is bullshit, I'm not as good as Brittany, I can't do this." Ivory complained.

"Hey, don't talk like that. You are one of the best dancers in that club. Okay? Just give it time, and you'll get it." Luke rubbed her back.

"We've been at this for an hour. I'm gonna go home with bruises on me." She mumbled, standing up.

"Well, I'll help you ice them when they form." Luke smiled, making Ivory laugh.

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"Where's Puck? I haven't seen him since yesterday, and I need him to get me a churro." Santana asked.

"My guess is he'd rather quit Glee club than lose Sectionals, and I can't blame him. Our set's gonna be real light on the Mercedes." She complained.

"I'm telling you if the Warblers win Sectionals, it's only because we gave them Kurt. We should not clap." Tina added.

"Wow, I never realized how much these guys suck sometimes." Ivory whispered to Luke, who had his arm wrapped tightly around her.

"If we lose, we should throw possums." Brittany put in her two cents.

Then Rachel walked in with a piece of duct tape on her face, covering her mouth.

"And the Princess walks in acting like a bitch, of course." Ivory continued, making Luke hide his laugh in her hair.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Mr. Schue sighed.

"I'm not doing anything. You've silenced my talents. I'm merely protesting." Rachel complained. "My talents are wasted in this club. My star shines too bright, and I think you're threatened by it."

"Take that off! I'm tired of this, Rachel." Mr. Schue snapped, slamming his papers on the piano. "You have a terrible attitude, you're a lousy sport, and it is not okay anymore."

"Well, I'm upset. I'm furious about this. About a couple of things, actually." She looked over at Finn.

"I'm sorry you're disappointed. But you know, you could also make the choice to he happy that we're a part of a glee club that is bursting at the seams with talent." Mr. Schue explained. "There's an awful lot of 'me' talk going around. 'What's in it for me?' 'What solo am I gonna sing?' Now, when we got to Sectionals, we're gonna be good sports. We'll cheer on the Hipsters. We'll cheer on Kurt and the Warblers. And if they win, we will congratulate them. Because that's who we are." Mr. Schue added.

"Dude, where have you been?" Arite changed the subject as Puck walked in with Lauren Zizes.

"I found him in a Porta potty." Lauren answered.

"I was trying to find Kurt's replacement for sectionals. I was trapped in that Porta potty for 24 hours." Puck explained. "So I asked her if she wanted to join. I have to say, she kinda rocked my world."

"Okay, guys. Uhm, well, it looks like we're back in business.  Let's all welcome our newest member, Miss Lauren Zizes." Mr. Schue announced.

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"Hey, brought you guys some food." Reggie and Alex walked up to Ivory and Luke.

"No thanks." Ivory muttered, resting her head on the table.

"Ivy, you alright?" Alex asked, sitting across from them.

"We have Sectionals coming up, and Schuester has us, Mike, and Brittany doing a dance number, and she thinks she's not good enough, no matter how many times I tell her that she's doing fine." Luke rubbed her back.

"Ivy, you're a great dancer. You're gonna do just fine." Reggie smiled.

"Here, you need to eat something. You haven't had anything yet." Luke held out some food for her, but she pushed it away.

"No thanks. Uh, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." Ivory got up and quickly walked up.

"Is she getting bad again?" Alex looked at Luke.

"Yeah. I don't want to bring it to her aunt and uncle, but I might have to if she gets worse." Luke sighed.

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THE HIPSTERS WERE PERFORMING FIRST, AND WHILE THEY DID, IVORY FELT HER ANXIETY START TO FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF HER STOMACH.

The warblers went next, and Ivory pulled out her phone.

"Alright, Alex sent me a picture of the guy he was talking to. Do you see him anywhere?" Ivory whispered.

Once they scanned the Warblers on stage, Luke shook his head.

"No, he might not be a warbler." He answered.

Now they were all in the green room getting ready.

Ivory's anxiety was now through the roof, and her hands started shaking.

To her, it sounded like her ears were blocked with water, and her face and neck were extremely hot.

Performing in front of people wasn't the problem. It was the fact that she felt like she was going to screw up the routine with Luke.

Before anyone could stop her, she slipped out of the green room and went outside.

"Uh, Luke, where's Ivory?" Sam asked once he was able to calm Quinn down.

"Shit. Uhm, I'll be back. Let me know if she comes back." Luke rushed out of the green room with a bottle of water in his hand.

LUKE HAD FOUND IVORY STANDING OUTSIDE, LEANING AGAINST A METAL RAILING.

"Hey, come here." Luke started to walk towards her and noticed she had one of her hands on her chest while the other one gripped the railing. "Hey, Ivy, you're having a panic attack. Alright? Can you look at me?"

"It hurts to breathe..." She cried, facing away from him.

"I know. Here, why don't you sit down." He suggested and lightly grabbed her wrist.

The two sat on the concrete wall, and Luke ran his fingers down her back.

"Hey, Ivy, how you doing? Hm?" He asked, and Ivory intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed his hand.  "Alright, that's progress. Just focus on the sound of my voice and your breathing, okay?"

"I'm sorry." She managed to get out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She continued, working herself up again.

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry for. Okay? You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for." He spoke softly.

She was able to calm herself with the help of Luke, and she buried her face in his chest.

"What happens if I fail?" Ivory asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"You aren't gonna fail, Ivy. I promise you. You've worked so hard to get here that we're gonna get on that stage, and you're gonna kill it." Luke rubbed her back.

She pulled away from him, and he quickly wiped her tears off her cheeks.

"You alright now?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. I will be once we get this thing over with." She said, and the two walked back in the green room for the bell to ding.

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