Quinn Fabray actually liked this number, even though Rachel was predicting doom and gloom, Finn kept spitting bits of wig out of his mouth, and Brittany was still working out the best way to dance around Artie's chair.
Nobody knew how, but she had managed to hit him with her leg, narrowly missing his face, once already.
Although she was having a blast, Mr. Shue was getting frustrated with everyone, Quinn could tell. Santana was in a particularly bitchy mood, continuously making comments about choreography, or people. Tina was giggly with Mercedes (which made a huge change from the sad Tina of the past couple of weeks), both finding everything hilariously funny; especially when Brittany tossed her head and hit Artie straight across the face with her hair. Artie mock-glared at them and Quinn was just glad that Tina and Artie were actually speaking.
Quinn knew that she was selfish, but it had really irked her when they hadn't been speaking. They had been such a point of normalcy in her life; like Mike' and Matt's joking, Kurt' and Mercedes' gossiping and Santana' and Brittany's pinkie-linking, seeing Artie meet Tina at her locker each day when she was at her own was a routine. When slowly, everything in her life was changing and breaking – her home, her body, her teachers, the way people were treating her, Finn's growing crush on Rachel – they were rock solid. When they fell apart in front of her eyes, it scared her.
This was part of the reason that Quinn loved this dance. After all the absolute craziness in her life, it really let her let loose. She could flip her hair, stamp her feet, shake and move; and apart from the kink that she could feel forming in her neck, it felt great.
The only downside that Quinn could think of was that she was terrified that Kurt would drop her when they did their lift.
She didn't really understand why she was paired with Kurt. Well, she did; Rachel had demanded that everyone be paired up based on hair colour. Kurt's blonde wig meant that Quinn was either going to be placed with him, and as everyone else had been paired up, Artie. And with Brittany being the blonde more able to move around a chair (ie: she didn't have a baby bump in the way) it meant that Quinn was with Kurt. She just would have preferred to have been with Finn. Seeing him paired with Rachel was like Push It all over again.
"Okay, guys, seriously." Mr. Shue looked like smoke was about to burst from his ears. "We need to calm down and work hard if we want to win Sectionals. Mercedes and Tina, stop it." Tina blushed at being called out (Quinn doubted that she had actually ever been told off at school before) and moved meekly to stand in front of Mike. Mercedes shuffled awkwardly towards Matt.
"Okay, from 'Give me...'" Everyone took their places and Mr. Schue pressed play.
As they strutted back towards their guys, Quinn planned to just jump for the lift as they were supposed to. Just grit her teeth and jump. She tried; but she hesitated just long enough for it to be more Kurt picking her up awkwardly (he seemed as hesitant as she was) and not a jump. This resulted in one of her legs slipping so that she was standing on one leg and then them being out of time with everyone else.
Apparently they weren't the only ones having issues because Mr. Schue stopped the music and said, "Take a quick break guys, I need water. Be back in five." He exited the classroom, and Quinn swore she heard him mutter something about alcohol.
"Are you okay Quinn?" Kurt asked her as they moved to sit down. Everyone else remained standing, and Tina inched towards Mercedes again, a slightly mischievous grin on her face.
"Yeah, I think I just need to sit down for a little – " Quinn was cut off by Rachel.
"We need to run through the lift again." Rachel said, pulling Tina back into line. Various groans were heard from around the room.
"Rachel, he said we could have a break." Finn's voice was gentle.
"There is no time for breaks! We can run through again together or individually." Rachel said adamantly.
"What do you mean by individually?" Puck asked suspiciously.
"One pair at a time." Rachel said. There seemed to be a collective shared glance and then everyone obediently stood next to their partners again. Quinn stayed seated, honestly just needing a break, sipping water from her water bottle.
"Quinn doesn't look too well, I'll sit with her." Kurt said from his seat beside her. Quinn was surprised, but went with it; and apart from a few worried glances, nobody dared to disobey Rachel.
Kurt pressed play and everyone started to move. Quinn could see, from here, why Mr. Schue was getting so frustrated with everyone. Santana, while clearly fine with the choreography, was having trouble with tossing her hair around. Puck looked like a caveman (Quinn giggled at this) and Brittany was getting so into it that Artie was more hits. Mercedes was definitely having trust issues, and although it was clear to Quinn that Matt was not going to drop her, was as hesitant as Quinn had been. Mike was just as into it as Brittany and Tina ducked one of his arms. The only pair that actually seemed to be doing okay were Finn and Rachel. This really annoyed Quinn, although Finn was looking just as caveman-like as Puck – neither had ever been the most graceful people in the world. Quinn watched Rachel as they ran through the lift again, trying to absorb some of the confidence and courage that she obviously had. Rachel looked like she was enjoying herself. This did not help with Quinn's growing annoyance. What was wrong with her? She was Quinn Fabray, and she was not going to be jealous of Rachel Berry.
"I won't drop you, you know." Kurt said suddenly. She turned to him to see that he had been following her gaze. "I'm not as scrawny as I look."
"I don't think you're scrawny." Quinn said quickly, but laughed all the same. "I just... I'm scared of being dropped. Stupid, considering I've been on the top of more cheer towers than I can count." Kurt shook his head.
"It's okay, you're pregnant now. It's completely understandable. To be honest, I'm scared that I'm going to squish you or something." Head-Cheerio Quinn would have pounced on the fear, laughed at him. But now she just shook her head too.
"You won't." She said, smiling slightly. She liked the fact that she was forming some form of a friendship with Kurt. She knew in the future, as her stomach expanded, she was going to need friends.
"Okay then." Kurt stood up. Quinn looked at him warily. "Come on." He pulled her to her feet.
"Kurt, what -?" She asked. He just smiled, saying, "Trust me, okay?" before bending and picking her up; one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. She let out a surprised squeal and linked her arms behind his neck automatically, holding on for dear life. As she realised that he did, in fact, have a firm grip on her, she relaxed the choke-hold she had on him, and he laughed. Mr. Schue entered the room to see Kurt put her gently back on her feet.
Although it didn't feel the way it did when she was being lifted by Finn, Kurt's arms still felt safe, and she knew that he would not drop her. It was the thing she needed to be able to do the lift.
She didn't hesitate again. And when the kids from Haverbrook were there watching them, Quinn grinned at Kurt through the hair flying around them. She just took a deep breath and let go of her fear. Because she knew that when she jumped, Kurt wasn't going to drop her.
And he didn't.