Season 1, Episode 10: Ballad

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

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Will is writing a word on the whiteboard in the choir room. Kurt is sitting behind Violet, who's sitting with Brittany and Mike. "Ballad. From Middle English, balade. Who knows what this word means?" He asks.

"It's a male duck." Brittany answers. Violet smiles warmly at her friend.

"I love you and your wonderful mind Brittany." She says.

Brittany smiles. "I love you too Violet." She says before Kurt raises his hand quickly.

"Kurt." Will says.

Kurt glances longingly at Violet. "A ballad is a love song."

"Sometimes, but they don't always express love. Ballads are stories set to music — which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the way we express feelings that we can't get out any other way. Okay, now, sectionals are in a few weeks and there's a new rule this year — we have to perform... a ballad." Will explains.

Rachel smiles in satisfaction. "Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off!"

Violet rolls her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

Will smiles. "Okay. So here's our assignment for the week: I'm going to pair you off, and I want you to pick a ballad to sing to your partner. Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it." He instructs.

Finn smirks. "I pick Quinn."

Violet smiles brightly. "I pick Kurt!" Kurt feels his heart melt just a little bit.

Will shakes his head. "No, no, no. Too easy. Your partners will be chosen by fate." He says.

Finn, Quinn, Violet and Kurt all look dejected.

"Ooh, yeah. I put all your names in this hat. Whoever you choose is your partner." Will says.

Brittany smiles. "I bet the duck's in the hat." She tells Violet, who just smiles back.

"But Matt's out sick today. He had to go to the hospital, 'cause they found a spider in his ear." Santana reminds. Violet shudders at the thought of a spider in someone's ear.

"Um... I guess I'll just have to put my name in the hat for now. Who's up first?" Will asks.

The New Directions go up one by one, picking their partners.

Puck picks out a name, and frowns when he reads it. "Violet."

Violet's eyes widen when she realizes she has to sing a ballad to Puck. Oh boy.

Will is just as shocked as the others. "All right."

Artie blushes when he picks a name. "Quinn."

Finn picks next. "Kurt." He reads. The Glee Club laughs a little. "Mr. Schue, I don't know if I can do this with another guy." He says.

"The fates have spoken, Finn." Will says.

Tina picks next. "Other Asian." Mike stands up with a smile.

Next is Santana. "Brittany." She says with a gasp.

"How fitting." Will compliments.

"Yay!" Brittany cheers.

Rachel and Mercedes are left. "Looks like I get you, Mr. Schue." Rachel says.

"I thought you would've been paired with Mercedes?" Violet asks.

Mercedes shrugs. "I don't mind sitting out until Matt gets back."

Will panics when he realizes he has to sing a ballad with Rachel. "Uh... you know what? Maybe we should just wait until Matt gets back." He backs out.

Finn mocks his teacher. "The fates talked, Mr. Schue." He says, earning laughs.

"Would you mind clarifying what kinds of songs you want us to sing?" Artie asks.

Rachel stands up and walks over to the piano. "Why don't you let Mr. Schuester and I demonstrate. Brad, "Endless Love" in B-flat, please. It's my favorite duet." She says.

Will pales. "I really don't think that's an appropriate song, Rachel."

"Why? It's a great song, and it's a perfect ballad." Rachel argues.

"Yeah. I really like that song, Mr. Schue." Finn says.

Rachel and Will sing 'Endless Love.'

[Endless Love by Will and Rachel]

"I could totally sing this song with Violet. But screw her if she thinks she's taking the Diana Ross part from me." Kurt says in a voiceover, taking a glance at Violet, who's tense.

"I never noticed how nice Rachel's butt is." Finn thinks in a voiceover. Quinn is glaring at him. "Oh crap, I think Quinn knows I'm staring at it." He realizes in a voiceover.

Violet is tense, trying to enjoy the performance. "This is a great song, but it's a little inappropriate for Mr. Shue and Rachel to sing. I still can't believe I'm stuck with Noah Puckerman, the biggest French whore of them all in McKinley." She says in a voiceover.

Puck looks at Violet with great distaste. "I'm stuck with my ex-girlfriend's sister. Great. Just great. Kill me now so I can skip this assignment." He says in a voiceover.

The song ends, and Will has an awkward smile as he clears his throat and looks at his students. "Okay. Something like that."

The bell rings and everyone files out of the choir room.

= = =

Kurt and Finn are in the auditorium, ready to rehearse their ballads. "Sing to me everything you feel." Kurt encourages.

"Okay. Uh...I can't. I can't. I can't sing to a dude." Finn says, obviously uncomfortable.

Kurt sighs. "You have to try."

Finn gets pissed. "I can't, okay! I can't! I'm sick and tired of people pushing me to be somebody I'm not." He vents.

"Your lashing out at me is fantastically compelling and inappropriate." Kurt says.

Finn looks apologetic. "Dude, I'm sorry. You're really awesome, Kurt. I'm just under a load of crap right now."

Kurt nods. "Girls. They're your problem. They're up, they're down. Girls."

Finn sighs. "It's the baby. She's my daughter, and...there's so many things I want to say to her, and I'm never going to be able to."

"Like what?" Kurt wonders.

Finn sighs as he sits next to Kurt on the piano seat. "Well...like how I don't want her to think that her father just abandoned her. How I would do anything for her. How, no matter what I do, I'm always thinking about her. How I'm going to spend my whole life loving her, and she's never even going to know."

"You got to let it out." Kurt states.

"How?" Finn wonders.

Kurt smiles. "By singing. "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders. It's in your wheelhouse, and I know you know it from the radio because it's a classic. And you do well with the classics, especially in the soft rock mode."

"Yeah, I do like that song, but...how is it going to make me feel better again?" Finn asks.

Kurt smiles more. "By singing it out. To the audience. Imagine your little girl sitting there." He says as he guides Finn to the center of the stage. Kurt takes his seat at the piano. "Thank God I never missed a piano lesson." He mumbles.

Kurt plays the intro to 'I'll Stand By You.'

[I'll Stand By You by Finn]

= = =

The next day, Violet walks into the auditorium to practice with Puck. She's currently on the phone with Tina. "Oh, you're on the second floor? Oh, you're right above me. Girl, you? I am a hot damn mess. I found out today that my hamster is pregnant in biology class, and I just started weeping. No, no, I think that's a great idea."

Puck rolls his eyes in annoyance. "We're supposed to be rehearsing."

Violet glares at Puck and puts her ear back to the phone. "Tina I gotta go. I'll call you later." She says and hangs up. "This is bad. I can't stop thinking about Finn and Quinn. How are we supposed to sing about our emotions when we're all concerned about their own?"

"Who cares?" Puck asks coldly.

Violet glares at him harder. "Um, we all do, so we decided we're all going to sing them a ballad to show that we got their backs." She reveals.

Puck stands up in anger. "Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm singing to them." He groans. "It's not fair. Finn gets everything. He gets the sympathy, he gets the girl."

"What is your problem?" Violet questions.

Puck glares right back. "Finn's not the father! I am."

Violet stands there, absolutely shocked. She doesn't know who to feel sorry for: Finn (since the baby isn't really his), or Quinn (for having Puck's baby). She recovers from her shock and grabs Puck by the shoulders. "Let's get something straight Puckerman. You're the baby's daddy. It takes a hell of a lot more to be a father, and that role's already been cast. Because Quinn chose Finn, and you need to accept that and move on 'cause you have no business messing up that girl's life any more than you already have. You need to back off. You owe her at least that much." She says.

Puck scoffs. "Whatever." He says. "I don't need to take advice from you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Violet retorts. Puck is silent. "Tell me what the hell I did to you to make you hate me so much. I have tried to be nice to you, Noah, but damn it you make it so hard to be nice when all you do is throw it back in my face!" She screams.

Puck sits on the stage floor silently, and invites Violet to sit next to him. She does so reluctantly. "Look I'm sorry, okay? It's not an excuse, but I'm kinda pissed about the fact that I'm not gonna be in my own kid's life, and that Finn's going to be my child's father. But I don't hate you. I'm just mean to you because... because I'm jealous. You make friends very easily, and you'd do anything for them, like last week with Artie. I guess you could say that I want to be your friend but was too afraid to admit it." He says.

Violet's gaze softens and gently places a hand on Puck's shoulder. "Puck it's okay. Really it is. I'm glad you were honest with me. And I think one day, we can be friends. But not right now... especially with the fact that you're actually the father of Quinn's baby. Let's give it a few weeks and then go from there. Are we cool?" She asks, holding her hand out towards him for a fist bump.

Puck smirks and fist bumps back. "Yeah. We're cool."

= = =

It's Monday, and Kurt and Finn are in the auditorium. Kurt has just been informed that Quinn was kicked out of her house. "So they just kicked her out?" He asks.

Finn nods. "Yeah. Gave her half an hour to pack. Father set the timer on the microwave." He states sadly.

Kurt feels bad now. "I'm sorry. I guess my plan kind of sucked."

"No, uh, this is good. No more secrets. You know, everything's out there – all the feelings. And that's better, right?" Finn asks.

"Yes. Better." Kurt clarifies.

Finn smiles. "Good. All right, well, uh, let's work on your ballad. You were really helpful when I was trying to find mine. So what is it?"

"'I Honestly Love You.'" Kurt answers.

Finn's smile drops a little bit. "Uh...Sounds awesome. ...I don't know the song, or whatever, but it sounds positive and nice and stuff."

Kurt chuckles. "Yes it does, but it wouldn't be to you." He reveals.

Finn takes a minute to think and smiles. "So you're singing a ballad to Violet." He realizes.

Kurt blushes and is about to say something when Mercedes enters. "Hey, you two. We need to go to the choir room." She says.

"Why?" Finn asks.

"Because there's something we want to give you and Quinn." Kurt replies.

= = =

When Finn, Kurt and Mercedes reach the choir room, Quinn is already there, sitting. Finn is being brought in by Mercedes, with Kurt following behind the two. Finn's eyes are covered.

"Open your eyes! I didn't tell you to close your eyes." Mercedes says with a laugh.

Finn looks hopeful as he opens his eyes. "Is there a cake?"

"No, there's no cake." Mercedes says.

Finn frowns. "Oh."

"Be quiet and sit down." Mercedes instructs.

Finn sits next to Quinn. "Hi, Quinn. Do you know what's going on?" He asks his girlfriend.

Will smiles. "Your fellow Glee Club members want to sing a song for you guys to let you know how they feel about you."

"What are you going to sing?" Finn wonders.

Rachel smiles. "Just listen. The song says everything."

The glee club sings "Lean On Me."

[Lean On Me by New Directions]

Quinn is emotional as they sing. The two eventually stand up and dance with the glee club.

= = =

2127 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. Endless Love - Will and Rachel
2. I'll Stand By You - Finn
3. Lean On Me - New Directions