Season 1, Episode 16:  Home

Special Guest Star:  Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes

Ownership of Glee:  FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

= = =

The Cheerios were gathered in the gym as Sue was talking to them.

"I've reserved the auditorium for the week. Not to mention, I have an interview with Splits Magazine." Sue tells her Cheerios. "Black girl from glee club, get over here!" She yells at Mercedes.

"My name is Mercedes." Said girl corrects as she walks up to Sue.

"Why are Lady and Violet following you?" Sue asks rudely. Violet holds Kurt's hand as they look at their coach.

"What do you want, Sue?" Mercedes asks.

"You need to lose 10 pounds for the interview." Sue says bluntly.

Mercedes looks confused. "Why would I want to do that?" She asks.

"It's all about image, Mercedes." Kurt influences. "Honestly, if you are fat then we have a problem."

Violet lets go of his hand. "Don't talk about Mercedes that way, Kurt." She says and Mercedes's jaw drops in anger.

"Well Lady, you should lose 10 pounds too. You have pear-shaped hips." Sue says before walking off.

Violet turns to look at her boyfriend and her friend. "Guys don't listen to Coach Sylvester. You two are beautiful just the way you are." She says.

Kurt gives her a small smile. "Thanks honey, but Mercedes and I have to apparently lose 10 pounds in a week."

Violet just pinches the bridge of her nose, unable to understand why two of the most confident people she knows suddenly want to change something about themselves.

= = =

Because Sue reserved the auditorium for the Cheerios this week, the New Directions can't use the auditorium to practice.

For the glee club meeting, Will was making announcements. He sees it's almost time for the meeting to end, and decides to close with one more announcement.

"One more announcement," Will says. "We can't use the auditorium for the next week."

"But that's garbage!" Finn says, enraged at the thought.

"Finn's right. Coach Sylvester should've never reserved the auditorium for the Cheerios. We can practice in the gym just as good." Violet says.

Will sighs. "I know Finn," he agrees. "But don't worry. I promise to find us a new home."

= = =

At lunch, Kurt, Violet and Mercedes are sitting at their own table. Violet and Kurt were sitting next to each other and Mercedes sat on the other end of the table.

"Mercedes, don't let Coach Sylvester get to you. You shouldn't change anything about yourself." Violet says.

Mercedes gives her a small smile before going to dig into her lunch.

Kurt's playing with his peeled celery. Violet notices that's all he has to eat. "Baby do you want some of my food? I'd be more than happy to half my lunch with you." She says, a bit concerned for their well-beings.

Kurt kisses her cheek. "It's okay babe. I'm only having peeled celery for lunch. I had Splenda for breakfast." He reveals.

Violet frowns. "That's starving yourself Kurt. I thought you were better than that." She says. She places half of her ham sandwich in his hand. "Will you eat it for me?" She asks.

Kurt sighs, knowing she won't give up until he eats it. He takes a bite out of the sandwich, which causes Violet to smile gently. He eats the half of the sandwich and sees Violet smiling in victory.

"Thank you love. I would hate for something to happen to either of you because you were starving yourselves."

= = =

The New Directions were practicing in a roller rink that was owned by April Rhodes.

Kurt looks anxious to get onto the floor with his roller skates. Violet, however, is flawlessly skating around her fellow glee club members... with the exception of Quinn.

Violet skates up to Kurt. "You haven't come out to skate yet." She notices.

Kurt gives her a nervous smile. "I've never gone skating before." He admits.

Violet just smiles. "It's okay. I can teach you. I mean... we're technically here on a date right?" She says.

Kurt chuckles. "Yes, I guess you can call it a date." He says and lets Violet guide him to the rink.

"Okay so the first rule of skating is to keep your balance. It's similar to riding a bike without training wheels in a way. Just bend your knees slightly and push your feet forward." Violet instructs.

Kurt does as told and falls onto his butt. "Well that went well." He remarks.

Violet helps him up. "It's okay if you fall. It's part of learning." She says.

It takes a few minutes for Kurt to get the hang of it, but he eventually does. Violet smiles as she watches him become better and better with every passing minute.

Kurt makes a full lap and smiles victoriously. "I did it! Did you see me? I did it!" He cheers.

Violet giggles and takes his hands in hers. "I'm so proud of you Kurt."

Kurt smiles. "This has been the best first date ever."

= = =

Violet and Kurt come home later that evening from glee practice. Burt has on a nice shirt and good jeans.

Violet smiles as she takes in his appearance. "Nice outfit Burt." She compliments.

Kurt nods. "I agree. The red looks good with those jeans." He says.

Burt smiles at his son and (hopefully) future daughter-in-law. "Thanks you two. I'm going out tonight, so don't do anything reckless. I'll be back by 11." He says.

Kurt nods and Violet looks confused. "I'm confused. You're going on a date?" She asks.

Burt smiles brightly. "Yeah. I'm going on a date."

Violet smiles widely. "That's good Burt. Hey, who's your date?" She asks.

"Carole Hudson. She's Finn's mom."

= = =

The next day, Finn comes storming down the hallway, angry at Kurt. Violet backs up a little, seeing Finn's angry expression.

"Kurt!" He says loudly. Kurt turns around.

"What the hell is going on with our parents? How did this happen? When did they meet each other?" Finn asks rapidly.

Kurt smiles. "Fate found them at the open house last month."

"This is impossible." Finn rejects.

"When will you learn that nothing is impossible when it comes to love?" Kurt asks, looking into Finn's eyes. He gazes to Violet and then turns his attention back to the quarterback. "Don't you think your mom is happier this way? I mean, we will probably move in together soon."

Violet sees this pushes Finn's buttons. He pushes Kurt into the lockers and grabs a fistful of Kurt's Cheerios shirt. He lifts Kurt two inches in the air.

"Let him go Finn!" Violet says. Finn's eyes are blazing with anger.

"Screw this. I like my house. I am not moving in with you. Got it?" Finn snaps.

Violet has a burning glare for the co-captain of Glee. "Let him go Finn. You got your message across loud and clear. Don't make me slap you." She seethes.

Finn lets go of Kurt and walks down the hallways. Violet slings an arm over her boyfriend's shoulders.

"I think you should've just stopped at his mom being happy. You pushed him a little too far hon."

= = =

For rehearsal in the choir room, Kurt performs 'A House Is Not A Home,' which turns into a duet with Finn.

[A House Is Not A Home by Finn and Kurt]

After the performance, Puck and Finn walk down the hallway together.

"So you're bisexual?" Puck asks seriously.

"What? No! I just did a duet with a bisexual guy — who's dating Violet, by the way. It's not like I copy his style." Finn argues.

"You mean you didn't switch to boxer-briefs after Kurt did?" Puck asks with a raised eyebrow.

Finn's done with the conversation. "Hey, man. That was a coincidence!" He defends before leaving Puck alone in the hallway.

= = =

That night, the Hummels and Hudsons are out at Breadstix for dinner. Violet was hesitant to go, but she couldn't say no to Kurt's cute little pout.

Finn looks confused when he sees Violet sit down next to Kurt. "Wait I'm confused. Are you two on a date?" He asks.

Violet tenses and Kurt grabs her hand. "Violet's been living with us permanently for the past month and a half..." Kurt says softly.

Carole swats Finn's arm. "Finn that was rude." She scolds.

Finn looks down. "I'm sorry Mom. And I'm sorry Violet. I shouldn't have said something." He says.

Violet gives him a small smile. "It's okay Finn. I would love to tell you, but I don't feel ready to yet." She explains.

"Well whenever you are ready... just know you have me and the glee club's support no matter what." Finn says.

Violet nods, even though she thinks about how telling the glee club will affect Rachel badly.

Burt decides to switch topics and looks to Finn. "So... what's your favorite football team?"

"Patriots." Finn says with a smile.

"Mine too." Burt says with a laugh.

The more they talked about football and other sports, the more Kurt felt left out. Violet could see the pain in his eyes and kissed his cheek.

Other than having Violet at his side, Kurt had never felt more alone.

= = =

After coming home from Breadstix, Kurt is furious. Burt walks into his son's and Violet's shared room.

"I can't believe you did that." Kurt states.

Burt looks confused. "What? Have a little guy talk with Finn?"

"Guy talk? I'm a guy." Kurt says sadly.

Violet places a hand on his shoulder as Burt inhaled deeply.

"You know – "

"Get out!" Kurt screams, cutting his dad off.

Burt looks shocked.

"I said leave! NOW!" Kurt shouts.

Burt quickly leaves the room as Kurt slams the bedroom door closed. He slid down the door as he began to cry.

Violet ran to him and sat next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Baby are you okay?" She asks.

Kurt takes a shaky breath.

"No."

= = =

The next morning, Kurt walks up to Finn at his locker.

"Finn." Kurt calls.

"Yeah?" Finn asks.

"Listen, we have to break up our parents."
Kurt states.

Finn looks confused. "Huh? Why? I thought dinner went well last night?"

Kurt sighs in exasperation. "God, just listen to me!" He shouts. "We are going to break up this relationship. Got it?"

"Yes." Finn manages out.

= = =

That afternoon, it's time for the mid-week weigh-in. Sue has all the Cheerios come into her office to stand on the scale so she can check their weight.

She calls Santana and Brittany before she calls in Mercedes and Violet. The two girls walk into the office together.

Violet gets on the scale first. Sue checks her weight.

"Fighting fit as always Violet." Sue compliments. Violet steps off of the scale and stands next to Becky Jackson.

"You're really pretty Violet." Becky says.

Violet smiles. "Thanks Becky. You're really pretty too."

The conversation is cut short. "Mercedes, you gained two pounds." Sue says.

"What? That's impossible!" Mercedes says.

"Coach Sylvester maybe the scale's wrong." Violet says.

"Sorry girls, but the scale is never wrong. Mercedes... you got the rest of the week to lose those 10 pounds and look more like Violet here or else I'm kicking you off the Cheerios." Sue threatens. Violet looks down in embarrassment. "No one is ruining my chances of getting my face in a magazine. Got it?" Sue asks Mercedes.

"Yes." Mercedes mutters angrily as she steps off the scale and leaves the office.

Violet runs after her. "Mercedes wait!" She says.

Mercedes whips her head around, eyes full of tears. "What do you want?" She says venomously.

"Don't listen to Sue. You don't need to look like me. I have a high metabolism rate that keeps me this skinny. But I'm also doing a lot of physical activity for Cheerios. Please don't listen to her. I think you're perfect." Violet rambles.

"Perfect? Look at me. I'm a 38-28-38. I'm not the stereotypical skinny cheerleader that she wants." Mercedes says.

Violet sighs. "It doesn't matter what your measurements are. I'm a 34-26-36. If you really want to lose weight, what you should do is drink plenty of water, eat healthily, and exercise daily. That's the best way to lose weight. But I don't think you should lose any weight because then you wouldn't be Mercedes Jones." She explains.

Mercedes is silent through Violet's talk. "Just... think about what I said, okay?" Violet asks.

Mercedes nods and watches Violet walk away.

"Sorry Violet, but I'm losing those 10 pounds."

= = =

Violet noticed that Mercedes wasn't eating for the next three days. She was constantly drinking water and she wouldn't participate in anything for glee, which worried the others.

Violet sat with Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Tina at lunch. Mercedes hadn't gotten her lunch, which worried Violet more.

"Are you sure you don't want anything, Mercedes?" Tina asks.

"I'm sure." Mercedes answers.

Artie gives Mercedes a look of concern. "It's not healthy for you to do this to yourself."

"I said I'm fine!" Mercedes snaps. "You guys have no idea what I'm going through."

Mercedes gets up to leave, but stops. To her, everyone looks like food. Her stomach growls and she feels dizzy. Not long after, she faints.

= = =

Violet and Quinn walk down to the nurse's office together after Violet tells her friend that Mercedes fainted in the cafeteria. Both girls take seats in the chairs that are in front of Mercedes.

"Did you listen to Coach Sylvester again?" Quinn asks.

Mercedes nods.

Violet breaks the silence. "Mercedes, she tells all her Cheerios that they're fat. She did it to me too. It's your job to ignore her."

"It's not easy, okay? In middle school, everyone made fun of me, calling me Fat Black Girl. It hurt so much, Quinn. Now I'm in high school, and I see all these beautiful skinny girls... like Violet, Santana and Brittany. I just want to be like them." Mercedes confesses.

Violet's heart hurts. Did she really make her friend feel this way?

Quinn breaks the silence this time. "Mercedes, you are beautiful. You know that. Don't ever think otherwise. People come in all different shapes and sizes, but no one is ugly."

Violet nods. "Please don't ever starve yourself again Mercedes. You scared me when you fainted." She says and pulls out a granola bar. "Here. Eat this. I know you've got to be hungry." She says.

Mercedes takes the granola bar thankfully. "Thank you Violet. And I'm sorry for how I talked to you the other day." She apologizes.

"It's okay Mercedes. Just please start eating again. Don't do it for us; do it for yourself. And know that you have 10 other friends in the choir room that will always love you no matter what you look like." Violet says.

Mercedes smiles as she and Violet hug. Quinn smiles as she joins the hug too, wary of her baby bump.

= = =

Just before the Cheerios' performance on Friday, Mercedes gets up and takes center stage with a little speech.

"Hey, guys. I'm Mercedes Jones. So most of you know Cheerios is about perfection and winning... looking hot and being popular. Well, I think that it should be about something different." She says.

"How many of you at this school feel fat?" Mercedes asks. Quinn's hand shoots into the air.

"How many of you feel like maybe you're not worth very much? Or you're ugly, or you have too many pimples and not enough friends?" Mercedes asks. A lot more hands go up.

"Well, I felt all those things about myself
at one time or another. Hell, I felt most of those things about myself today. And that just ain't right. And we've got something to say about it. And if you like what we have to say... come down here and sing it with us." Mercedes invites.

The opening to Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful' plays, and Mercedes begins to sing.

[Beautiful by Mercedes]

By the bridge of the song, most of the Cheerios — excluding Kurt — the glee club and a good portion of the student body are singing with Mercedes. The song ends and everyone erupts into applause.

Kurt looks at Mercedes with a smile. "Thank you. I was wrong." He says.

Violet smiles as Kurt walks up to her. "Hey handsome." She flirts.

"Hey yourself beautiful." Kurt winks. He gently grabs her waist and kisses her. Violet kisses back, smiling as she did so. She didn't care who was watching them right now.

She was in her own little world with her boyfriend.

= = =

2763 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. A House Is Not A Home - Finn and Kurt
2. Beautiful - Mercedes

It took me a bit with this one guys. I couldn't find a transcript that was acceptable, so I wrote most of this chapter inspired by Ashlee_Fanfic .
She has her own sets of Kurt x OC books, so you should definitely check those out.

We're now 6 chapters away from the season 1 finale. Next up is Bad Reputation.