The New Directions were on track for another sectionals competition and although this wasn’t Mr. Schuester’s or many of the members’ first, Will wasn’t willing to accept anything other than first place this year. “Guys, come on! You’re all over the place” Schuester complained while his team grew increasingly less enthusiastic. “I thought we sounded good, Mr. Schue…better than last week for sure” Jake Ryder spoke up, now a senior and more opinionated than ever. “Yeah well we have to be better than we are now if we’re gonna win in two weeks” Will added while Jake rolled his eyes and his buddy, Ryder Daniels interjected.

“Maybe we should take a break? I think everybody could probably take a beat” the former jock suggested. “I know what you’re saying but we don’t have the luxury of breaks right now. The harmonies for the second number aren’t right, Unique is showboating in the background, Jake isn’t keeping up, and Marley is the only one consistently on key” Mr. Schuester laid out as if he’d been holding it in. “Showboating??” Unique challenged. “I am totally keeping up! This song is throwing me off” Jake assured as an ego-driven temper flared up. “You know what, fine; take a five minute break but we’re going again when you get back” Will announced to the relief of his annoyed students.

“I think Mr. Schue’s vest is on too tight” Ryder joked as he and Jake walked to the bathroom. “Right? I mean what is up his ass today?” the bad boy of the group questioned in agreement. “I don’t remember him getting like this before; I mean he’s usually stressed near competition time but not this bad” “Yeah it’s like he wants somebody to key his car after practice” Jake answered with a grin like he’d thought about it. “Maybe we should ask Sam about it…see how they handled it before” Ryder proposed. “That’s not a bad idea. Let’s just hope Mr. Schue doesn’t have a stroke before then” Jake agreed and after another grueling hour of practice, the boys made their way down to the locker room to find Coach Evans.

“Hey, Ryder, Jake, what’s up?” Sam asked as football players wandered around in various degrees of nudity. “Well, we wanted to ask you about Mr. Schue…he’s been riding us pretty hard this week and it’s just bad for the whole team. I mean everybody is burnt out and he’s pushing way too much” Ryder explained. “Yeah, I remember him getting pretty intense about competitions” “No, dude. It’s worse than before…he’s out of control” “Really? Hm…although I did hear he could be up for a raise if you guys win nationals this year. Maybe that’s got something to do with it” Sam enlightened, spilling some of his knowledge as a staff member.

“Shit! I bet that’s it” Jake added. “Well that still doesn’t help us in the meantime; we were hoping you knew some way to help him chill out” Ryder asked while the wheels in Sam’s head turned, soon getting a light laugh from the football coach. “What’s so funny?” Jake questioned. “There was this one time when we were working on choreography and Mr. Schue got Finn to pick him up in a lift but I guess Finn’s placement was off and he ended up digging right into Mr. Schue’s pits and he totally freaked. I thought it was one of the girls laughing about something but it was him; it was hilarious” Sam explained while laughing through his own retelling. “Wait, so what does that mean?” Ryder asked. “He’s saying Mr. Schue’s ticklish” Jake explained, clueing his friend in and getting a laugh from him.

“So we should tickle our teacher…? That’s your suggestion??” Jake challenged, not sold on the idea. “He would get so pissed at us” Ryder pointed out. “Look, I like you guys so if you really want my help cooling Schuester down, I can meet you at the choir room tomorrow after practice. If not, that’s fine too; I’m not singing show tunes or every Journey song known to man anymore so it doesn’t matter to me a whole lot” Sam explained as Jake and Ryder exchanged a similar look, “We’re in.”

The next afternoon’s practice wasn’t any better than the previous one; they were all doing well but Mr. Schuester wasn’t satisfied. “Alright, alright…we’re calling it for today” Will announced with an annoyed tone in his voice. “I think we’re killing it” Kitty spoke up. “We’re not even close to killing it. Everybody go home and make sure you learn every single word of the songs; if I notice slip ups, the judges will too” Schuester added before the Glee Club left.

The curly haired perfectionist was too busy shuffling sheet music on the piano to notice there were still two students in the room, totally clueless until Ryder approached him. “Hey, Mr. Schue I had a question about our outfits for the competition” Ryder started, making sure to face him so Schuester’s back was to the rest of the room. “Are you serious? Why are you worried about what we’re wearing?” “I just thought…maybe we should take a vote or something; I mean there’s so many options” Ryder stalled the best he could while Jake moved around behind Will as quietly as he could.

“Listen, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it; the priority right now is the music and the choreography” Mr. Schue answered as he packed up to leave, persuading Ryder to act fast. “Oh, Mr. Schue I almost forgot to ask, would you mind helping Jake and me out with our biology project?” “What? Why would you need my help?” “Well we’re uhh…we’re studying the human body and we need to get measurements from an adult” Ryder thought up on the spot. “Yeah, and since we’re not exactly adults, we figured we’d ask you” Jake chimed in. “...fine, what do you need?” “Just lie down here on the floor and stretch your arms and legs out” Jake instructed.

“Alright” Will reluctantly obliged and sat his folder down before getting on the floor and stretching out flat, his arms out to his sides at 90 degrees and his legs in a V formation. “Now what?” “Just a minute…let me look at my notes” Ryder answered while Will laid there growing more impatient for a couple minutes. About that time Sam walked in, “What’s up, guys?” “Sam? What are you doing here?” “I heard my friends here needed some help” “Help with what?” Will questioned as he started to sit up only to realize he couldn’t. “What the…why can’t I move? Hey, what’s going on, guys??” “Oh man, that glue worked!” Jake exclaimed. “I told you; the shop class has been using it for years and that stuff doesn’t budge” Sam added, making Will’s eyes get even wider.

“Help me up! I’m serious, guys! Come on!” “Sorry, Mr. Schue but you’ve been a real pain in the ass lately” Jake answered while he and Ryder walked closer to him. “Yeah, you’re usually pretty cool but we thought you could use some loosening up” Ryder added with a small smirk. “The hell are you talking about?! Sam, help me out!” “I know how crazy you can get, Mr. Schue and how stubborn you can be about stuff. I’m siding with them on this one” Sam rejected, intensifying Will’s frustration as he fought to get up but he’d have to take his clothes off to get free and he wasn’t about to walk out of there in just his underwear.

“We heard a little rumor about you, Mr. Schue and I for one am very eager to see if it’s true” Jake explained as he knelt beside Will and reached out with both hands, Schuester’s eyes following them the whole time until the stiff fingers daggered into the base of his armpits. “AAhaHSSTtoOHAP!” shot out of Will with more power than any of them had expected. “Wow, yeah I’d say you were right” Ryder added with a grin of sudden excitement. “Wait! This is inane! Guys…guys!” Mr. Schuester protested the best he could until Jake dipped back into his armpits, this time wiggling around a lot more.

“AAAAHAnNOONNOoOO!! GGEeTTOOoFFF!!” Will burst with another robust laugh but this time Jake didn’t retreat, instead feeding off the ticklish panic and letting his devious side take the reins. “I’m gonna check out his feet” Sam announced before taking the left loafer in both hands to pry it off. The second shoe came off right after and the feeling of fresh air on his socked feet made Schuester cringe, fearing how bad off his feet were. Sam sat between the trapped feet and let his fingers rake up from the heels before slipping off the tips of his toes and Will’s laughter jumped nearly a whole octave.

“AAoAOHANoOo! DDAaAmMmIITTT!! SSToOOpP!” “Man, you’re two for two, Mr. Schue” Sam commentated as he started dragging a little faster and applying more pressure, even making sure to dip into the undersides of his toes a little harder since they were the most hidden. “OOOOoOOHHOhOoHMMYyGGGOoOoDD!” Mr. Schuester’s pearly smile was on full display as his head shook back and forth with full-bodied laughter but just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, he felt two strong hands lock around his knees and start squeezing.

“AAH! AOhAOhAoOoHAoAHJJuUuSSSTTSSTTooOHOPpPP!!!” Ryder giggled at how hard Mr. Schue was trying to stop them from tickling him and felt a sense of pride that his efforts were just as effective, pinching in just above Will’s knees through the gray pants. “Now, how about the next Glee Club meeting…we have a more relaxed practice? I think everybody would like that” Jake encouraged while still swirling around in Will’s pits. “AAhoAOhA IIImMmTthHEEcCOoOOAAACCHH! NNoOoTYYYOoOuUU! NnOooWWWLlEetTTmMEEuUPPP!!” Schuester rejected but being a Puckerman, that only challenged Jake to see how mean he’d have to be to change his mind.

Jake smiled a little sharper and started unbuttoning his vest, “DDooOnNTTDDOoTThHhAAAT!” “Stop me” Jake challenged as he finished and proceeded to undo the blue shirt, revealing a wife beater with perfect access to Will’s terribly ticklish pits. “JJAAaAkkKEE!! IImMMWWAARRnNniIinnNGGyYoOUU!” was all Schuester could think to say before all ten fingers dove into his fully exposed underarms, digging in with even more motivation this time. “AAhAOhAAAOHAOAHNnOONOOO!! AohAAhAhAOhAO!!” Mr. Schue’s head flew back the little it could and his arms yanked against his shirt sleeves to combat the fresh attack.

Sam had never heard his former teacher laugh so hard or ever look so out of control but he couldn’t help but enjoy it, convincing him to amp up his own approach. “I know what he’ll like…” Sam added before he switched from raking to a more isolated strategy, going after Will’s socked toes with scrunched fingers for more focused scratching. “NNNOoAohAOHAoOohHooOLLYyYySshHHiIIiTT! SSaAAmMMCCOOmMeEOooNN!! AHAHAAHaA!” “See, I knew you’d like it” Sam teased while concentrating on the wiggling toes, only able to fan out so far because of the navy socks but Sam never gave them a moment of relief.

“You know, my knees are pretty bad but it’s usually even worse up here…” Ryder explained as his hands shifted from Will’s knees up to his thighs, the warning barely enough time for Mr. Schue to know what was coming before Ryder was squeezing and kneading into his toned thighs. “oOoHohOAaohAAAOhAOhNNooOOO!!” Will howled with his knees trying to bend toward his upper body but the glue held strong and kept him perfectly stuck. Ryder didn’t normally do much tickling but he did work out a lot and he was stronger than most other 18 yr olds but he didn't really know his own strength, meaning he had no idea just how brutal a thigh squeeze from him was, let alone two at once.

“And I thought my dad’s feet were ticklish” Sam laughed as he wrecked Will’s toes. “Haha I bet they’re even worse without the socks” Ryder suggested, catching Schuester’s attention through the wild laughter. “NNOOoOOO! AohAOHA SSOoOCCkKSSssSTTAAyYOOOnNN!!” “Well now I have to get rid of em’” Sam added with another playfully sadistic grin from Ryder. Sam took the toes of both socks in his hands and pulled on them like had his own so many times, knowing it only took a few seconds for them to slip all the way off. Will’s peach, velvety toes clenched in fear but couldn’t hold the defense for more than a few seconds with Jake still terrorizing his armpits.

“Hey, Ryder, why don’t you get one foot and I’ll get the other” Sam proposed. “Cool” Ryder agreed and hopped over so both of them were straddling an ankle. Will’s feet jerked around as if they could avoid any more attention but Ryder and Sam wasted no time testing out their coach’s nervous bare feet. “AAAAOhAohAohAOooHoH!! NNOOnNOoOO!! AohAOhAAhAHaAAOOKOokAOhAOAHA!!” Will exploded with a new level of desperation as Sam clawed all over his foot, taking advantage of how soft and tender wearing shoes all day had left Mr. Schue’s soles. “No way haha, the tops are ticklish too!” Ryder announced while tickling the top and sole of the foot in front of him with his short nails. “That’s rough” Sam laughed after looking over to see it in action, humored at how seriously ticklish Mr. Schue was turning out to be.

Jake finally abandoned Will’s pits but it wasn’t the break the almost 40 yr old thought it was, his relief quickly deflated when he felt his tank top being pulled up a bit. “JAAkKEEEnNnoO! NnOOoMmMoOORREE!” “Check out the abs on Mr. Schue…I never would’ve guessed that was under those vests” Jake taunted before wrapping his hands around the sides and sinking in with his thumbs to watch Will try to jolt up from the floor. “AAhAOhAOHAIIiSSAaiIIDDSSTToOOhOhPP!!” “And we said we want you to chill out during practices” Jake reminded as he dug into the muscled stomach far worse than Will expected, moving from the top of his waist and lower sides all the way up near his ribs and everywhere in between.

Sam and Ryder looked like they were having a blast tickling Mr. Schue’s feet, well not just looked like it; they were. Perhaps each of them knowing how sensitive they themselves were made it all the more fun or maybe it was being able to tickle the shit out of someone without fear of retaliation, even if it was a teacher. But a sudden beeping sound Sam recognized as a janitor’s walkie quickly told him they had a problem on their hands. “Guys, we’ve gotta stop for a minute! It’s Mr. Henry coming down the hallway” Sam announced and Will’s eyes lit up. But before Mr. Schue could call out for him, Jake’s hand clamped down over his mouth, muffling him just in time as the same beeping sounded again before getting quieter and quieter down the hall. “You guys are in so much trouble! Let me go right now and I’ll consider not getting you suspended!” Will demanded with obvious frustration and angry disbelief.

“Hey, Ryder hand me his socks…” Jake instructed, getting a confused look from Mr. Schue. “Did you hear me?? Sam, tell them to stop this right no-” Will was cut off by his own stocks being tied around his mouth, forcing him to taste his own salty, leathery sweat as he argued with Jake to take it off. “Haha he’s gonna be so pissed” Ryder laughed while watching their coach fight to lose the savory gag. “Then I guess for you guys’ sake we need to show Mr. Schue how much we really want him to get back to his old self” Sam explained. “Let’s do it then” Jake agreed as he straddled Schuester’s waist to face him and Sam and Ryder sat across the ankles again before really giving Mr. Schue something to laugh about.

Jake sunk into the armpits again, this time wiggling a little deeper to focus on one specific spot that’d really gotten him going earlier. The sweat Will had worked up from laughing and fighting them before intensified every move Jake made, having left his armpits nice and slicked up for the teen’s ruthless fingers. Meanwhile Ryder was busy dishing out his worst on the handsome foot in front of him, scratching and scribbling all over the supple pink sole with special attention to the balls and arch. Beside him, Sam had the brilliantly evil idea of using the lanyard part of his whistle to help Mr. Schue come around, pulling the thin red material back and forth between the savory toes like he was cleaning them out one by one.

“MMpHmMHmMPhAMpHMPhAMmPHMMhAHAMM!!!” Mr. Schue raged with every part of him fighting to get loose. The boys could hear the surprise in his voice as he laughed his head off as if he didn’t even know he was this ticklish; he would’ve given up a month’s salary to protect his armpits and although Ryder was proving a real tickle monster, Will thought he would scream if Sam didn’t stop flossing that whistle between his toes. After several minutes one of Jake’s hands left the armpits and started exploring Mr. Schuester’s neck and ears, wiggling along his neck and getting a solid reaction but when he fluttered along his ears, Will actually did let out a ticklish shriek.

“Woah, what was that?” Jake asked with a cruel glimmer in his eye before trying it again and watching Mr. Schue go crazy. “Now we’re talking” Jake added with a brand new target locked in. “Hey, Ryder, come hold his head down for me; his ears are crazy ticklish” Jake announced to Will’s absolute horror and he tried to convince them to change their minds but couldn’t before Ryder used both hands to steady Mr. Schue’s head and Jake unleashed a flurry of fluttering fingers on both hyper sensitive ears. “MMphMaphaMmphMMPh!!!!” Will roared with squeals of overload like out of all the places, this was the number one worst. “Hey, switch with me. Hold him on one side though; my cousin used to do this thing to me that I wanna try” Ryder soon proposed and Jake followed suit before Ryder leaned closer and started flicking his tongue all over Will’s ear, shocking Schuester and Jake.

“What the hell?” Jake asked but soon got his answer when Will’s laughter shot up even higher, squealing and yelling from behind the dirty socks like he belonged in a straitjacket. His reaction was so insane that it soon convinced Sam to see what was happening, “Oh man, that’s evil haha” Sam added while Ryder continued lickling Mr. Schuester’s ear until Jake noticed Will’s hand hitting the floor and he thought he heard what sounded like ‘I give up’ a couple times. Jake got Ryder to stop and Mr. Schue’s head sat back to normal with an exhausted look on his face before Jake pulled the gag out, “So, next practice…are you gonna be back to old Mr. Schue?” “...yeah….whatever, old Mr. Schue”

“Great! We didn’t wanna have to do all this but you were kind of a nightmare. Sam suggested tickling was a good way to help you cool off” Ryder added, earning Sam a death look from Mr. Schue. “Only because I care about the Glee Club so much” Sam assured. “Just help me up” Will instructed. Ryder and Jake tried to get him up but he didn’t move much at all, “How do we get him un-glued?” Jake asked like he knew that wasn’t a word. “...good question; I don’t know if there’s actually anything for that” Sam answered. “What!?” Will exclaimed. “You could just leave your clothes here and we can get you some gym clothes from the locker room” Ryder suggested. “Fine” “Yeah, we’d hate to leave you here until morning; if Sue finds you she probably won’t stop until you pee your pants” Sam pointed out, getting yet another dagger of a look from the incredibly stubborn, incredibly ticklish New Directions coach.