| Switch It Up | |
| Season One, Episode Thirteen | |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous "Fools in Love" |
next "Take to the Stage" |
Switch It Up, is the thirteenth episode of Season One of Glee Wiki: Under The Spotlight. It is written by DrewlovesKuinn.
Plot
With Regionals coming up soon, Kerwin knows that the Glee Club is picking safe options as to whom sings with whom. It's tiring listening to the same voices over and over, and now it's time to switch it up, change it up and shake it up. Who knows what the result will be?
Episode
Tae was new to the school. He had literally just moved Portugal to Lima on an exchange programme. Ha, he felt sorry for the poor kid who had just been shipped off to his hometown. Seriously, that place was half dead. He hated living there, he wanted out; he wanted to reach for his dreams. And honestly, he knew that wasn't going to be happening in a small village in Portugal where the nearest job is fifteen miles away. He'd done it. He was finally free.
Tae had been given the option of where he wanted to exchange to. Places like New York and Berlin and Rome. There had been one reason he picked Lima. One reason he chose a town almost as dying as his own. Because of one person, Luke Hensley. Luke had been Tae's penpal for close to nine months now, and they were as close as anything. The two would sit up and talk through email for hours upon end until the sun came up. They knew almost everything about each other, about Luke's romance with Emma and fling with Jade. About Tae's sexuality and how he was slowly becoming ready to throwing open the closet doors and accepting him. Luke told Tae everything about the Glee Club and Kerwin's ideas and performances. Tae had basically been the guiding hand for Luke the entire time he'd been at the school, influencing his decisions to make him the better man. That was basically Tae's goal in life, make every person he can become the person person they can be. He's not got a single flaw, he's nice to everyone. Everyone.
Anyway, Tae arrived in Lima, Ohio late last week. He'd literally just got off the plane and grabbed his cases when he got a text from Luke (He'd give Luke his number because the emails wouldn't work if he didn't have any internet connection in the airport) which was a ticket for the best seats in the auditorium, where he'd have a perfect view of Luke performing Come What May with Jade. Even the idea of it gave him chills. As he'd rushed out of the airport and into the taxi, thoughts filled his head about what Luke would be like. They'd known each other for a while, through email, and they'd shown each other pictures of themselves after a few months of chatting. They'd skyped a few times. He honestly couldn't wait to meet him in person. He wanted to know what he looked like off of a screen, what colour his eyes went in direct sunlight, what kind of clothes he liked to wear, what cologne he wore. Things normal real life friends take for granted, but Tae had never managed to find out. And now he had the chance to find these out. He'd taken the taxi straight to Luke's house, and as soon as he was out of the car he could see Luke running down the path and throwing his arms around Tae. The two embraced; as this was the first time the two friends had actually ever met in real life. After a lengthy hug, and Tae figuring out that Luke wore Joop cologne, Luke took Tae's bags out of the back of the taxi, clutching the two heavy suitcases that Tae would have to live out of for the next... however long he was staying. He had a year visa, but he could always get it extended if his grades are good enough, and if the school board deems him fit. Too far in the future, focus on the present. The two walked up the steps into Luke’s moderately fancy house. Complete with hard wood floors and beautiful artwork. A beautiful girl with dark locks had ran down the stairs to greet Tae with a hug; Hayley, if he remembered correctly. After settling in, meeting the family, and beginning to unpack, the three teenagers had fallen asleep.
The next day, it was the school show. The two residents of Lima, Ohio went to school to get ready for opening night. Tae remained at the Hensley-Jenner household (Luke’s parents weren’t married, but Luke went by Hensley because reasons). Tae remained, and once he had finished unpacking, plugged his iPhone into Luke’s laptop to print off his ticket for the show. After doing so, he took the ticket, placed it in his back pocket and remarked that Luke’s laptop didn’t have a password. He said goodbye to Luke’s parents and rushed to McKinley High, riding his bicycle that he’d taken with him from Portugal. He quickly locked it outside the school, and dashed into the school auditorium, just as the show had started.
The show was amazing. Every character had been beautifully shown, and Tae thoroughly enjoyed the performance. He went to find Luke after the show, and found him crying around the side of the building, being comforted by Hayley. Arriving after the conversation happened, he only managed to hear a snip of their conversation,
“...It’ll be okay, Luke. I’m sure they’ll understand.” said Hayley in a comforting tone. Tae ducked behind a car, and listened carefully.
“No, Hayley. These guys are my friends- I can’t just leave them!” sniffed Luke in a tone that could only mean the boy was sobbing.
“They’ll kill you otherwise...” said Hayley in a slightly more sinister tone. Tae’s eyes widened.
“They wouldn’t...! Would they?” cried Luke. From what Tae had heard, Luke had many a secret that he hadn’t told Tae. The boy cowered as he heard footsteps, and Hayley mutter, “I’ll find Tae.” and Luke reply, “Don’t tell him. Please.” The girl must have nodded.
He stood up when the two had left and dashed back to where his bike was, as Luke came round the corner, his eyes still puffy from crying. He lied, saying it was nothing, when Tae questioned it. Hayley and Tae put Tae’s bike on Luke’s car roof, and Luke’s parents drove the three teens back to the house, with little to no conversation between the three.
Now, Tae was beginning to understand what Luke and Hayley had been talking about. Since today Luke had been dressed in a Dalton Academy Blazer instead of his regular clothing, and that Luke’s parents hadn’t dropped Luke off outside William McKinley High School with Hayley and Tae. Honestly, Tae thought he was gonna go off with Hayley to wherever, but the girl ran off before he could even shout, “Where are you going?!” The boy sighed, his time in Lima so far had been far from perfect. He walked into the school, running a nervous and shaky hand through his dirty blonde hair and gently pushed it back into place. He adjusted his messenger bag strap, and pushed open the glass door with his right hand. As he pushed it, a girl around his age walked past, and the door collided with her. The loud thump and shock caused Tae to yelp as the girl tripped backwards, and landed awkwardly on the floor. She clutched her nose.
“Aw, crap. Sorry!” he exclaimed, closing the door and stepping over to the girl, kneeling beside her. She opened her eyes and squinted them at Tae, before muttering, “Who the hell are you?” through her cupped hands.
“I'm Ti-Tae, Tae Lake.” he said, looking down at the girl and her warm brown eyes. He placed his hands on hers', and muttered, “Let's have a look at that injury...” he moved his hands while holding onto hers' and moved them away from her nose. Blood was flowing from her nose freely and it looked somewhat bruised. He glanced back at the glass door and saw a few splatters of red against the glass. He silently cursed, and opened his messenger bag, pulling out some tissues and pressing them against the beautiful girls' face. She smiled at him, and stood up, giving her a helping hand up.
“Jade. Jade Richman. You're new here, no? I think Luke said he knew you and that you were transferring here soon.” Jade said, pressing the tissue against her nose. From the way it was feeling, she knew it had been hurt. Maybe badly. It didn't feel right, at all, as if it was out of place.
“Hmm... lemme see your nose.” said Tae, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he moved her hands and subsequently the bloody tissue from her nose. The bridge of her nose had been moved, so her nose was at an awkward angle and looked disjointed. It seemed as if the nose had... shattered.
“Is it bad?” she whimpered.
“I... I think it's broken.” he said. His first day at school, Jesus, his first minute in the school and he'd already shattered someone's nose. Wow, he was on a roll today! Lima, Ohio seemed to be just the place for Tae Lake. And Jade, poor girl, her nose was her least favorite feature. She had always been made fun of for it, called a parrot, toucan, any kind of bird and just mocked in general. It struck a chord with her when Sis had said it a few weeks ago, and it honestly tore her apart. Now, her nose was even worse. She turned round, and before walking away, threw her head back to look at the boy, “Welcome to McKinley.” she said with a warm genuine smile.
Tae grinned. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all, he might actually make some friends. He turned round, and before he could take a step, he saw a girl with tan skin and brown hair in a ponytail, wearing what was distinctively a cheerleading uniform, and a guy with brown hair and wearing a football jersey blocking his way.
“Hi, new kid.” said the girl.
“Hi...” muttered Tae. The blood from Jade's nose had clung to his grey shirt, he remarked he'd have to hand wash it to remove the stains later tonight.
“We wanted to welcome you to McKinley High, because we're nice like that.” Tae smiled despite the sinister tone in the boy's voice.
“Wow, you guys are really nice! I was expecting you to be a lot worse, but actu-” the blonde haired boy was cut off by a sharp stinging pain in his eyes and face. The pink, strawberry flavored liquid ice collided with his perfectly moisturised skin. He stumbled backwards as the back of his eyelids started to turn into psychedelic colours and patterns. His hands scraped the slush out of the hollow between his eye and nose and threw it at the floor. The two laughed, evilly, and high fived before walking off in opposite directions, leaving Tae alone to clean up his first slushie.
Lima, Ohio, truly was an amazing place for Tae Lake.
Songs
| Song Title | Original Artist/s | Performer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Unchained Melody | Todd Duncan (Righteous Brothers version) | Lena Faith |
| Locked Out of Heaven | Bruno Mars | Lena Faith and Jade Richman |
| Bring It All Back | S Club 7 | Tae Lake |
| Wake Up | Hilary Duff | Drew Morgan and Tiago "Tae" Lake |
| 4 Minutes | Madonna | Trae Lachtner and Gina Garcia |
| Off the Chain | Selena Gomez | Skyler Parks and Hayley Lovejoy |