Chapter 1: He's a Failure Now

"Are you sure you want to watch this?" Finn asked Rachel with uncertainty.

Rachel nodded. "Jesse, even if he wasn't the greatest guy, is a great singer. All of the members of Vocal Adrenaline are great performers. They worked hard to get where they are. I want to see what they've come up with. Maybe we could learn something."

Finn sighed. He really didn't like the idea of having his girlfriend watch her ass of an ex-boyfriend get everything he wanted after what he did to her. He didn't even really understand why the Glee Club was doing this.

All the members of New Directions had gathered at Kurt's house to watch Nationals on pay-per-view. So far they had seen the seven other teams, all excellent, but not nearly at the level of Vocal Adrenaline. More than once a cry over how New Directions could have taken Team Such-and-Such had occurred. But now that Carmel High was about to go up, everyone was looking nervously at Rachel as if they were sure she'd explode.

"Seriously, Rachel, you don't have to put on a brave face," Kurt said. "We understand if you don't want to watch."

"I don't want to watch," Brittany said. Everyone looked at her.

"He's the only guy in School I didn't get to make out with," Brittany explained.

"He was dating me," Rachel replied, shocked.

Brittany looked at her as if she couldn't understand the relevance of the statement. Rachel just turned away.

"No, I want to see what they do. Really! I won't dissolve into tears, promise."

Mercedes sighed. "If you say so."

Kurt un-paused the TV and an announcer came onto the stage. "Introducing the three-time National Champions, Carmel High School's Vocal Adrenaline!"

Applause, followed by the curtain opening.

Vocal Adrenaline were dressed in a yellow and white color scheme: white pants and yellow shirts with suspenders for the boys, yellow and white cock-tail dresses for the girls. The team was assembled in groups of fours, save for one of the female soloists, who was solitary and sitting dead center stage, her head in her knees.

The opening notes sounded. Another female came from stage right and tapped the girl on the shoulder. "If you wake up and don't want to smile/If it takes just a little while/Open your eyes/ Look at the day.."

Jesse came from stage left and belted. "You'll see things in a different way!" He then belted out the chorus, pitch-perfect as the rest of the team began to dance.

As the song continued, Jesse took the girl in the center and danced around with her. The production, choreography and singing were, off course, perfect. But Rachel grinned.

"Oh my God," She said, watching them. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"Look at Jesse!" She said, grinning, "Notice anything?"

They all looked at the screen. "Um, no," said Mercedes.

"Well, you guys haven't watched him sing as much as I can, so I guess I can understand why you wouldn't notice. But… He's not spitting."

"What do you mean?" Artie asked.

"Jesse, for all his talents, always had an unfortunate habit of spitting when he sang fast-paced songs." Rachel said. "But he's not now."

"So he got over a bad habit, why would you be happy about that?" Puck asked.

"Actually, I think something else is going on." Rachel answered.

"What?" The rest of them asked in unison.

They didn't need Rachel to answer. As if the Gods of Poetic Justice had taken that moment to personally intervene, the music for Vocal Adrenaline started skipping. Along with the music? Jesse and the lead female vocalists' voices. The word "Stop" which Jesse had been belting was now "Stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah."

"Oh my God." Artie said.

"No way." Quinn concurred.

"Pinch me, I'm dreaming," Kurt added.

All of them started pinching each other. They were that floored by what was happening at that moment.

Then, they all descended into peals of laughter.

"Oh God," Kurt said, laughing. "Brittany, please, go get my camera, we need to preserve this!"

Rachel watched in utter bliss as Vocal Adrenaline tried for a few more seconds in vain to sing, their faces growing redder and redder.

Finally, Vocal Adrenaline got off the stage, looking appropriately shamed.

Finn and Puck looked at each other. Suddenly, the fact that they had hated each other for so long no longer mattered. None of it did now that something so perfect had taken place. The two of them tried to remember why they had even bothered slashing Vocal Adrenaline's tires. If they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have bothered.

Finn felt wonderful for Rachel. Finally, she got to see some justice dealt that asshole. He hugged her close.

Once everyone got over their laughing fits, they all looked at Rachel again.

"Rachel did you know something we didn't know?" Kurt asked.

Finn hadn't even considered that. But Rachel shook her head.

"Honestly, I had no idea until I saw them start to perform." Rachel protested. "But as soon as I saw how Jesse's saliva stayed in his mouth, I knew. So much for his victory lap."

The whole team descended into laughter again. Hours later, Rachel and Finn were back at her house in her room, naked in her bed, with Finn's head between Rachel's legs and her clutching his hair.

"I'm almost there…. Almost there…" She cried out. Finn was getting a little tired. It was taking Rachel a lot longer than it took him and his tongue was getting tired. An idea struck him.

"Don't! Stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah" He said, he went back down and Rachel squealed, her toes curling, her whole body tensed, then relaxed and Finn smiled. He wiped his face, hen came up and kissed his girlfriend.

"Is it messed up that I got off on a reminder of Jesse's failure?" She asked him.

Finn laughed. "As long as there is tentacle hentai, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I can't believe we ended up doing this again," Rachel said, "I wanted to talk to you about something important, but I-"

"I don't mind, really," Finn replied. "We can talk about this now."

"Finn, as you know I lied about swiping my V-Card with Jesse, and you told me about what really happened with Santana," Rachel said, "Both of us had really disappointing experiences in that manner and I really don't want that to happen with us. I mean, doing oral is definitely not nearly as messed up and weird as people portray it to be and I think we are still able to maintain some loving intimacy even when one of us isn't facing each other. But I want us to take the next step, and I want it to be special. Because even if we're not together forever, I still know that I would be able to look back on losing it to you without regret. But still, I want it to be perfect. Which is why I was able to talk my Dads into this."

"Into what?" Finn asked. He definitely liked where she had been going up until the part where she brought up her Dads.

"Well, every few years, my Dads and I go to France for a few weeks during the summer right before school starts. I was able to convince them to let me invite you this time. Sure, I had to listen to a lecture about condoms and safe sex for two hours afterward, and if you say yes they are going to make me go get fitted for a diaphragm and pick a brand of birth control pills, but wouldn't it be so worth it to be able to share that moment among the lights of Paris?"

"When are you going to France?" Finn asked, "I don't remember you mentioning this before."

"Well, once I found out there was the possibility that I might be able to invite you, I wanted to make it a surprise. We're going in the last week of July and are coming back mid-August. It's only April now so you should have plenty of time to plan everything."

Finn felt conflicted. On one hand, getting to go to Europe and have sex with his girlfriend was pretty much a dream come true. On the other hand, he had never left his Mom alone during the summer. He mentioned this to Rachel.

"Well, I mean, she has Mr. Hummel now, right? I'm sure she would not mind."

She had an excellent point. No doubt the two of them would appreciate some alone time. Living in his house alone wasn't that great anyways, and it also meant having an excuse to avoid Kurt.

"Well, what about my job?" Finn asked.

"Are you really that attached to Sheets n' Things?" Rachel asked. Her eyes narrowed. "Finn, don't you want to go to France with me?"

"Of course!" Finn said quickly. "It sounds incredible! I'd say yes right now if I knew my Mom would agree. I just want to be smart about this, you know?"

"Well, I don't want to rush you, but if you could get an answer within two weeks, that would be great." Rachel said.

Finn smiled. "I think I can manage."

Jesse St. James kept his head down and covered as he walked the Halls of Carmel High. It was the only way to minimize the amount of projectiles that came his way over the past few weeks.

He had been in Hell ever since that stupid infection fucked with his vocal chords and made him a musical cripple. But it had been even worse since Nationals. He hadn't been able to sleep since. The humiliation, the shame… It was awful.

All of his team mates abandoned him, except for Andrea, but really only because she was in the same boat he was. UCLA had withdrawn his scholarship and everywhere he went people were either calling him "Ashlee Simpson" or "Milli Vanilli."

He was furious. He was a star, damn it, no matter what he did. It wasn't his fault he had gotten sick. He had done what he had done to save Vocal Adrenaline. No one seemed to appreciate that.

He walked into the Principal's Office to find Andrea and Ms. Corcoran sitting with Principal Michaels.

"Sit down, Jesse." The Principal said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Jesse sat down nervously. He looked at Andrea, who looked terrified.

"Jesse, Sarah, I've gathered you here with Ms. Corcoran to discuss the incident of Nationals," Michael said, stroking his grey mustache. "Over the years, the three of you have brought a great amount of prestige to this school as a haven for the arts. Because of Vocal Adrenaline, we're one of the best-funded and most respected schools in the state. Carmel High owes a lot to you."

Jesse, Andrea, and Shelby looked at each other nervously.

"What happened at Nationals possibly undid all the good you did for this school," Michael said. "Not only did you absolutely humiliate the entire school, but you have also brought in investigations. You see, now the whole board of the National Show Choir Association wants to know what other things you've been doing to win. They are now interested in the fact that we've failed one of our seniors six times so he could stay in Show Choir, in the rumors that some of your dancers have been given growth hormones. That you allowed a hired choreographer to put several of your female members on starvation diets with no consultation with a Doctor or Nutritionist, that you've been using extreme hazing techniques on new members, that you barred students from joining based on their race, ethnicity or appearance regardless of their musical skill, that you all have been basically allowed to get away with anything you wanted, including egging not just other students, but a student from McKinley High who you, Jesse, dated. I was not aware of this, but apparently, a large section of the student body refers to you as 'The Hitler Youth.' All of this is coming to light."

"Wait a second, you egged Rachel?"

Jesse and Andrea looked at Shelby, who looked horrified, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yes, the student in question, Rachel Berry," Principal Michaels said, pulling up a file. "I called McKinley High School to try and keep this from becoming an issue. Not only did I get her file, but I also got to meet with Rachel's teacher, William Schuester. He told me a few very interesting things. Apparently, before Glee club, Rachel was an outcast who was pelted with slushies daily who had a very difficult time in school. She was raised by two gay fathers and never met her biological mother due to a contract that her fathers had made with the mother. And as it turns out, Shelby, you're actually the biological mother of Rachel Berry. But you knew that. Apparently, Jesse, you were the means through which Rachel and Shelby met, I don't think that was a coincidence, either. Want to explain yourselves?"

"In my defense, Mr. Michaels, I didn't tell Jesse to try and make her fall in love with him. All I asked was that he befriend her. But Jesse thought it would be a good acting exercise."

"But that didn't stop you from allowing his temporary transfer to McKinley, so I hardly think you were all that opposed to such an exercise," replied Michaels. "So as I understand it, Jesse pretended to be interested in this girl so that he could help you violate a contract you set up, Shelby, had her fall in love with him, and once it was no longer necessary for Jesse to hang around her, he pelted her with eggs. As I understand it, Jesse, you lured her out into the parking lot, and you and your friends picked eggs because she was a vegan."

Jesse couldn't believe this was happening.

"In fact, Ms. Cohen," the Principal said, "Apparently when this took place, you said to this girl, quote unquote 'You're a vegan, so now all the lives of those baby chicks are on your conscience.'"

Andrea just looked ill.

"Is this really what is going on in my school?" Michaels asked. "Shelby, I have given you almost unlimited free reign because of your victories. I thought I could trust you, yet you allow this to happen?"

"I had no idea about the lip-synching!" Shelby protested. "Nor did I know about the attack on Rachel Berry. If I had known Andrea and Jesse had attacked my daughter they would not have been singing solo, I assure you."

"That's even worse, Shelby," Michaels said, "As a teacher, you're not only supposed to teach them to perform, you're also supposed to teach them to be decent human beings. You used a student to manipulate a young woman in order to use a loop-hole in a contract to your advantage. I find it hard to believe that you didn't know about that, Shelby, you established a connection with not only the girl but Will Schuester. Toilet papering is one thing, but playing around with the emotions of a naïve young woman in order to violate a contract, that's just absolutely cruel. Jesse, you may not know this, but when you've defected to the competition and broken up with a girl, you've already done enough damage. You don't need to crush an egg to her face to make the point that you're not interested. If this were a one time thing, I would not mind so much. But apparently there are many incidents like this that have taken place over the years. Apparently, Vocal Adrenaline has been bullying top students to do their homework for them, you all once up-ended a porta-john on one Ms. Lucy Graham who has since had a crippling phobia of germs, something I hear you all further exploited for your own amusement. There was also a case this year where you rejected two students, twins Gypsy and Sam Levy who, after you discovered were able to compose music, you all showered in ketchup and locked into a dumpster. Luckily, the twins convinced their parents not to serve us with a greatly deserved lawsuit, but the two are going to be attending McKinley High next year."

"Fine, we'll write apology letters." Jesse said.

Michaels glared at him. "This is not funny, Mr. St. James. After your blunder at Nationals, Carmel High is now under a microscope. You and your friends have gained yourselves a reputation for cruelty. It's all going to come out now after what happened, and the school's reputation will soon be complete mud. You can't conceive the damage you, Ms. Corcoran, Ms. Cohen and all your team mates have done. There's something else, too."

"What?" Jesse asked.

"I've been looking over your grades, as well as the rest of Vocal Adrenaline's. Even with the stuff that was obviously not actually your work, it's not pretty. So, I've decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself, Jesse. And you, Ms. Cohen."

Jesse's heart rose. He couldn't believe it. He was so sure that he was going to thrown to the wolves.

"We're failing both of you."

Jesse's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

"We're failing both of you," Michaels repeated, handing them each a set of documents. "You've failed senior year and are required by the Board of Education to repeat it."

Jesse's blood boiled. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"No, I'm not." Michaels said. "It was either that or expel you along with several other members of Vocal Adrenaline. At least this way you'd have another chance of winning us another National Title. Trust me, you're getting off easy."

Jesse stood up. "I won't stand for this. Over my dead body. I am not some Brian Klein."

"I really have to protest," Shelby said. "It wouldn't help anything, his heart won't be in it. I don't think this is very fair."

"Your judgment regarding what is fair is not exactly credible, Ms. Corcoran. Not that you have any say in this. After all, I am firing you."

Shelby backed away, her mouth agape. "What?"

"Obviously, you cannot be trusted, Shelby, I'm sorry." Michaels said. "I'm giving you the option of voluntarily resigning."

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm afraid not, Shelby." Michaels said. "But you are at fault for a lot of what has been going on, even for the lip-synching debacle."

"I didn't even know about that!" She said.

"No, but your obsession with competition and winning is what drove Jesse and Andrea to this. I doubt they would have done this if they hadn't been so insanely pressured by you. I'm giving you the chance to bow out gracefully. Don't pass it up."

Shelby held back tears. "You know what is sad? I was planning on quitting anyways. Until I heard what you were doing to Jesse. Then I changed my mind so I could personally make sure that Jesse learned a lesson and changed his ways. By doing this, you've ruined any chance of that happening. Hand me the papers."

Michaels handed her a clip board. Shelby signed it without a word and walked out.

Jesse and Andrea looked back at Michaels. After a few moments, Jesse stood up.

"I'm not going down that easily." Jesse said. "You'll regret this."

With that, he ran out of the office.