Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 15

"Here, try these on."

Ryan took the proffered shirt with a light sigh and trudged back to the dressing room. He had obviously never been shopping with a mom before, and so he hadn't been prepared for the ordeal of trying on clothes one after the other, modelling them for his mom, and then deciding whether they - mainly Shelby - liked it or not. It took forever. He couldn't take much more of this, if they didn't take a break soon he was going to start banging his head on the dressing room walls. He didn't know if anyone could be driven insane by a shopping trip, but he thought he was about to come close. He pulled on the shirt Shelby had pushed at him and went outside to show his mom. After receiving a nod of approval he returned to the dressing room to change yet again.

They had been shopping for two hours, and Ryan had acquired several new shirts, a few new pairs of pants, and a jacket, and a face that managed to be tired and jumpy at the same time. If Shelby didn't wrap this up soon, he was going to make a run for it.

But then at the same time, he thought it was kind of nice. He had told Shelby the truth, he didn't have any fashion sense at all, and the last time Kurt had 'helped' him he had turned out looking like an idiot. It wasn't a nice memory. It was a new experience to have someone care about how he looked, unlike his dads who didn't particularly care. And he had to admit, his mom was a pretty sharp dresser, so she must know what she was talking about.

Still, enough was enough. "I don't suppose we can stop soon?"

Shelby meanwhile had noticed the flighty look on her son's face, and decided that it was time to quit for the day before he broke down. She could sort of remember how it felt, her mom used to drag her out on shopping trips like this when she was Ryan's age, and she usually whined all the way through. She supposed she should count her blessings that her son wasn't a very whiny child, or at least he wasn't showing it right now. "Okay, how about we take a break?" she suggested, smirking at the relieved look that appeared on Ryan's face.

"Oh thank God."

The two of them ended up having dinner in a small restaurant at the mall. "So," Shelby began as they waited for their food, "Do you and your dads have any plans for the summer?"

Ryan shrugged. "Not really. We usually just stay here in the summer. Neither of them really like to take time off work. Last summer I spent a lot of time at the garage, I'll probably do that again this year. Anyways, how's Vocal Adrenaline doing? Do you have a set list for Nationals yet?"

Shelby studied him for a moment, deciding if she wanted to pursue the topic of his dads. Something told her that was a sensitive topic right now though, so she went with the subject change. "Of course we have a set list," she informed Ryan. "And rehearsals are going fine, thank you. I've got a new assistant, Mr. Goolsby. He'll be taking over as coach next year." She smirked. "I actually let him supervise the sessions with Dakota Stanley."

Ryan laughed. "That's kind of mean," he said reprovingly. "Although Dakota Stanley's an evil little man, I can see why you wouldn't want to work with him. Did you know we tried hiring him to choreograph us for Sectionals?"

"No," Shelby said, intrigued. "How did you afford him? He charges $8,000 per number, plus a bonus if you place. The only reason we can afford him is because of the booster club."

"Huh," Ryan said. "You know, I'm not really sure. I remember we had a car wash, but now that I think about it I'm not sure how we made $8,000 from that. That was a really strange week, I think that was when Mr. Schue and some of the other teachers formed an acapella group."

"Was it any good?"

"It was, actually, but they only performed twice. He actually asked three of the glee club boys, myself included, to join in on the second one. Some of his members quit and he needed more singers."