Chapter Seven: Loyalties Lie

Quinn was walking down the halls at McKinley days later, her confidence completely shot now that her boyfriend was aware of their very big dilemma. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling after her - one she knew would only change her mood from bad to worse.

"Quinn Fabray, I'd like to see you in my office - right now." Coach Sylvester didn't call her Q, nor was she yelling. Both were signs predicting misfortune. She followed the Coach into her office and sat opposite her, across from the desk. "I was informed by one of those acne-ridden AV losers that you, Quinn, my head Cheerio, are pregnant." Quinn didn't respond. She just let her eyes fall to her lap. There were very few things that left Quinn speechless, but apparently being called out on her pregnancy was one of them. It was only a matter of time before this talk was being had. "So it is true? Well, I can't have a girl doing a handspring into a round off - the judges will fear for the pre-heating bun in her oven!" Fingering the material of her red and white pleated skirt, Quinn's eyes began to water, and eventually tears fell to her lap with gentle sobs. "You think this is hard?" Coach Sylvester asked, growing frustrated. "Try pushing a head the size of a melon out of your not-so-celibate lady parts in seven and a half months - that's hard!"

She didn't even want to show up to the Glee Club meeting after school that day, but any odd behaviour would only give away her secret to the rest of the club. If her plan played out properly, they would never have to find out.

"Hey everybody!" Mr. Schue beamed at the students in front of him. "I'm very excited to announce that we got three more recruits this week, finally giving us enough members to compete in Sectionals this year! Please give a big Glee Club welcome to Mike Chang, Noa…" Puck glared at Mr. Schue from his seat next to Santana. "Sorry… Puck and Sam Evans!"

From her place with the rest of the band, Dana clapped half-heartedly along with everyone else. It was difficult enough watching Puck put his arm around other girls, but it was even worse being forced to bare witness to this in her own domain. By the end of the meeting, Dana's pent up rage could hardly be contained.

"Hey Puckerman," she growled.

"Dana!" Puck greeted happily. "I came to Glee; you talked me into it. I guess it's not as dorky as I thought…"

His cheerful hello made everything she felt seem unimportant. "It's good to see you, man," she finally said with a forced smile.

"Yeah," said Puck. "Haven't seen you since…"

"The party?" Dana sneered. "Speaking of which, does your girlfriend know about that night yet?"

"Are you crazy? Hell no. And I'd appreciate if you didn't blow it." He walked back to Santana and they strutted out of the room together. Puck had no intention of breaking up with her anytime soon. Had the room been empty, Dana may have broken down and cried a little, but there were two more Glee Club geeks putting their things into their bags.

"Hey Tina," she said, striding toward the girl across the choir room. "Nice outfit."

"Oh," Tina gasped at the sight of her bully. "Th-thanks."

"Yeah, love the black lace and wristbands… Tell me, where did you learn how to dress like a disturbed emo teenager - Twilight?"

"Hey, why don't you back off, Fabray?" Artie had been quiet up until now, but when Dana started to threaten his friend, he rolled his chair toward her and straightened his back. "Tina can dress however she wants, or read whatever she wants. It's pathetic that her interests make such an impact on your life. What has she ever done to you?"

"Tina is a poser. She gives our look a bad name. You look at her and she pretends she's hurting, while some of us actually are."

Charlie found herself walking home that afternoon, bundled tight in her wool coat and scarf, carrying an abundance of books that wouldn't fit in her bag. "Hey Charlie!"

She turned on her heel to see her friend rushing to catch up. "Hi Rachel!"

"Do you need help with those?" Rachel immediately questioned, taking half the books off her stack without being asked. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over and maybe practice for Sectionals?"

Charlie didn't have to think long before saying quite enthusiastically, "Sure!"

Rachel's bedroom could only be described as cute. Charlie was loving the Broadway posters, stacks of playbills everywhere and the pale pink comforter on her four-poster bed that matched the colour of the walls. "Your room is so adorable. Can I move in?"

They both giggled, but Rachel smiled and said, "Thanks, I put special thought into everything I have in my room. I'm in here all the time rehearsing and studying, I figure I should probably surround myself with things that make me happy."

"That's how I treat my friends," Charlie agreed. "That's why there aren't very many," she chuckled, "I only keep the ones around that are really special."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and sat on the bed. "See, I don't believe that. You're amazing. How can you only have a few good friends?"

"Some people aren't as welcoming as you, Rachel. A lot of people… especially at my old school… they used to call me a nerd, or they'd push me away for no reason. Surprisingly, not a lot of people like spending time with a girl who's first priority is straight As."

Rachel learned something about her friend that night, but it wasn't that Charlie had a past that haunted her every day; she learned they both had something in common. They both had bad reputations that caused them to be very under-rated girls.