So this chapter is a little shorter, but we'll call this a "filler" chapter since I didn't want to jump right into week 3's performance round just yet. Please review! Tell me what you're loving or not loving, or what you wanna see or don't see! Love you guys!

Jive, Baby, Jive

"We have the Jive this week. Very fast, very energetic. Our song is "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Go's." Rachel nodded. "The Jive is danced in 4/4 time and was formally introduced to the public in 1934. It's very similar to the Jitterbug, Lindy Hop...dances of that nature."

Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "So we're stepping it up."

"A hundred percent."

...

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." Blaine grabbed her hand and spun her in, then spun her out to the other side as they wrapped up their routine. It was Day 5, right before show on Monday. "Good. That was perfect."

Rachel caught her breath with her hands on her knees, bent over. She was so tired and she didn't feel good at all. Blaine may have thought the dance was perfect, but that was her putting on her poker face. Inside, she was queasy and light headed. "Good," she whispered.

Blaine knelt down. "You okay, Rachel?"

She managed to shake her head. "No-" but stopped short, almost mid-word. She shot up and ran for the door, pushing it open and ran for the bathroom. Once she got inside, the sink was the closest thing she had. Grabbing the edges, she'd made it just in time while everything came up from the day.

Blaine had followed after her. The cameras were watching from the cracked opened door. He put his hands on her back and rubbed it and held her hair out of the sink. As she coughed and choked up her food, the small gravitating throughout the bathroom, Blaine said, "Shh. It's okay. Just relax." He waited a few minutes for before she brought her head up, calm and collect. He grabbed a small towel for her to get cleaned off with. Turning the faucet on, he let the rejected substance from her body wash down and wet the towel for her. Hints of the green colored liquid lingered around her mouth and he wiped her off. "What's going on?" he asked, switching the towel around and wiping her forehead off with it. He knew the cameras were watching, and they would be using this footage for the pre-dance video. It was what got ratings, but this wasn't an act. People would think it was. But that wasn't the case.

Her words were quiet, as if she didn't want the cameras to hear them, forgetting they had mini microphones attached to them. "I don't feel good. I'm in pain everywhere and I'm queasy."

"You're pushing yourself too hard," he whispered. "I know this dance is hard, Rachel, but it's supposed to be fun."

"This is a competition, Blaine," she said.

"So? I want that mirror ball trophy just as much as you, but you can't stress out about this. Okay? Just relax and forget that this is for something. Pretend you're doing it for the hell of it all. Fuck the competition. This is for you."

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. She felt his arms around her waist as he returned the embrace. The way he touched her though... she felt different. Usually when a co-star or partner touched her she didn't feel anything. With Blaine... it was different. She didn't know what it was.

...

Dress rehearsal on the ballroom floor went smoothly. Rachel tried to forget everything and have fun. Some of the other couples were watching them while others went to get their costumes on. Quinn and Sam were one of the couples watching them. As always, Sam smiled throughout their performance and applauded enthusiastically when they were finished. Quinn on the other hand... it was all fake and Rachel knew it. Blaine saw her staring down Quinn and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Forget it."

He was right. She couldn't let this distract her. They were 6th out this week. Quinn and Sam were last. They had to really wow the crowd with their jive. Rachel was confident, but she still had that worry in the back of her mind. Tonight's show had to go well. For both of their sakes...