Will slowly pulled the slips of paper from the hat, a small frown stretching across his lips. All of the students appeared to have voted for themselves. Including Brittany and Artie, and they hadn't even sang.

He had five piles already and three slips to go. He pulled out another that read "Sam & Quinn" in messy scrawl. And it looked a lot like Finn's. He arched a brow, wondering what the young man's angle was. He knew Rachel would be quite irritated when she found out her boyfriend hadn't voted for her.

Then he pulled another out, which read, again, "Quinn & Sam". He nodded to himself, noting that the new guy and Quinn had already won. But there was still that one slip of paper, the one he knew had Rachel's handwriting on it.

He debated even opening it.

But he knew he had to, in all fairness, just to say he could count Rachel's vote in favor of herself and her boyfriend. The boyfriend who didn't vote for her, he added silently in his head. Bracing himself, he opened the slip and read it. Twice. Three times. Okay, five times. In purple ink, Will read, much to his shock, "Quinn & Sam". There was a tiny star in the bottom right corner.

Rachel hadn't voted for herself.

He read it one more time, just to make sure.

Nope, he thought. The apocalypse must be near.

He schooled his features and turned to the class, making sure he announced that almost everyone voted for themselves and that Sam and Quinn had won by two votes. His eyes darted to Finn and Rachel as he said this, unable to comprehend what had happened. Rachel and Finn had voted for Sam and Quinn.

Rachel Berry voted for Quinn Fabray.

Hell, Rachel Berry had voted for someone who was not Rachel Berry.

And she was acting (poorly, he might add) like she was shocked that she hadn't won.

As Sam and Quinn came up and accepted the gift certificate, his eyes wandered back over to Rachel and Finn. He watched the young man lean over to whisper something to his girlfriend and watched her smile and nod.

And then it hit him. They threw the competition on purpose!

He dismissed the group shortly after, though he asked Rachel and Finn to stay behind.

"You wanted to speak with us, Mr. Schue?" Rachel asked as she tucked her small hand into Finn's.

"This isn't about our song again, is it?" Finn asked with a slight wrinkle in his nose. "'Cause I thought we sounded pretty great."

"Your vocals weren't the problem, Finn," Will said with a shake of his head. "It was the costumes and the characters."

Rachel pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and looked away. Finn tugged her closer to him, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her waist. "We're not going to apologize."

"I don't expect you to," Will said with a slight grin. "I'd like to know, however, why you performed in the competition in that manner. You knew no one would vote for you if you took it that far."

Finn and Rachel both averted their eyes. Will knew he would have to bring up the way they purposely threw the competition because they would never admit it without him calling them on it.

"I thought you two were doing Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," he said as he turned to gather some sheet music from atop the piano.

"Who told you that?" Rachel asked as she whipped her head around and stared at Will.

"Brad," Will said with wide eyes, a little bit scared of the crazy look in Rachel's eyes.

"I didn't even know that guy could talk," Finn muttered to himself, his eyes focused on a spot on the floor.

"I … I don't know why he would say that," Rachel protested, her voice slightly shaky. "Because we weren't. Finn and I had planned on the same song from day one."

"I don't think you did, Rachel," Will said as he stepped towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes connecting with hers. "Tell me why you threw the competition."

"I don't like Breadstix," Rachel lied.

"Rachel …"

"I … It's not like we … I mean …"

"We need Sam to win Nationals," Finn sighed out. "So, you know, we knew they couldn't win if Rachel and I performed a good song. Well, the song was good, and I totally rocked the harmonies, and you sounded great, babe," he added as he turned to Rachel with a small smile. He then turned back to Will. "We wanted Sam to win so he knew how cool it really was. We all know what happens to us in the hallways and whatever. Sam needed that taste, you know. Of greatness. And since I stole his spot back on the football team, I figured I kinda owed it to him." He paused, then let his eyes connect with Will's. "It was Rachel's idea."

Will opened his mouth to laugh but then saw the slight blush on Rachel's face and the way she averted her eyes. "Really?"

When Rachel didn't answer, Finn grinned widely. "Yeah, Mr. Schue. She was awesome. She was all I'm not a good person and I'm selfish and I was all Yeah but I like you anyway and she was all You're such a great person and a great football player and so hot and a really good kisser …"

"Uhh, Finn?" Will grinned. "I don't need to know that."

"And I recall a slightly different conversation, Finn," Rachel added.

"So you gave up a dinner at Breadstix – a free dinner, I might add – just to make sure Sam and Quinn won? So that Sam would stay?" Will asked, needing to make sure.

"Yes," Rachel responded, her head held high. "He's got a great voice and we need him to win. Especially since Noah's gone and gotten himself incarcerated," she added with a familiar eye roll.

"The only thing that shocks me about that whole thing is that it took him this long to actually get arrested," Finn said.

Rachel was about to continue her rant about their delinquent club member when he eyes caught Kurt walking down the hallway, book clutched to his chest. "Excuse me. I need to …" she said before flitting out the door.

Will and Finn watched her disappear into the throng of students hustling between classes, a smiled on both of their faces.

"She's pretty great, isn't she?" Finn asked, not even realizing he was speaking aloud.

Will smiled and placed a hand on his student's shoulder. "She sure is."

Finn smiled, eyes vacant for a moment, before turning a serious expression on Will. "Hey, uh, Mr. Schue? Can I ask a favor?"

"Uh, sure, Finn," Will responded with a slightly wrinkled brow. "What's up?"

"You could, uh, keep it between us and, you know, not mention in any way shape or form to Rachel that she and I came in, you know, dead last?"

Will's laugh echoed over the sound of the bell, a grin stretched across his face as he watched Finn grab his backpack and dart out the door.

-x-

Of course, this is dedicated to all the Skype gals … and tjcrowfoot for her awesome typo-catching powers.