Chapter Ten: Sectionals—Not Just a Couch
"Get ready for me, love, 'cause I'm a comer," Rachel belted out the lyrics as she stood center stage in the auditorium. "I simply got ta march—my heart's a drummer."
The empty auditorium rang with the sound of her voice. The short girl always felt most relaxed during her private rehearsals.
Sectionals was that coming weekend and Rachel was to be the featured soloist. She was hardly surprised when Mr. Schue had announced it; she was a supremely gifted vocalist. Being the center stage soloist was a far cry from being one face lost in a crowd of others back in Chicago.
"Nobody, no, nobody," Rachel sang, pushing herself harder, "is gonna rain on my parade!"
She held the last note as long as her lungs would allow. When she finally brought the song to its close, she took a bow for her imaginary audience. The audience would be captivated this coming weekend when she opened New Directions' performance with this powerful number. She could already hear their applause.
"You're very talented, you know," said a voice, startling Rachel out of her reverie.
The starlet looked down the aisle and spotted a familiar blonde standing by the front row.
"Quinn?" inquired Rachel, surprised. "How long have you been here?"
The brunette quickly hopped off the stage to approach her companion.
"Just since the climax," answered Quinn, a smile playing on her lips.
She took a seat in the first row and Rachel followed suit.
"You're very good. Far better than I am."
Rachel felt herself grow warm from the other girl's praise. "You're quite good too; we just have different types of style," she replied. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at lunch?"
"I could ask you the same," the blonde smirked playfully. "Besides, this seemed like the best place to find you."
"You were looking for me?"
Quinn nodded, tilting her gaze to her hands that were folded on her lap.
"I guess I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you the other day. You were just being kind and I practically hissed at you," she explained.
"It was probably just hormones," Rachel joked lightly.
The other girl chuckled before growing serious again. "If the roles were reversed, I probably would've done the same thing you did. Perhaps worse even."
It was Rachel's turn to stare at her hands.
"I—I think I wouldn't mind, you know, being your friend," Quinn whispered. "I know I don't really deserve your kindness, but I'd be willing to be friends again."
The brunette stared at the blonde next to her. "Of course you deserve kindness."
The other girl kept her eyes on her lap, her flaxen hair spilling over her face.
"I'm a bad person, Rachel," she said, her airy voice barely audible.
Rachel remained silent, stunned by the confession. "No, you're not, Quinn," she protested.
She placed a gentle hand on her companion's arm. However, Quinn tensed at the touch and recoiled away from the starlet.
"Yes, I am," the former cheerleader stated firmly, a hint of remorse stinging her voice.
She stood up hastily and backed away from the brunette. Her hazel eyes darted side to side, looking torn, and Rachel swore she could see the internal battle taking place inside the other girl.
"You know what?" Quinn said after a pause. "Forget it. I can't do this. I just can't."
The blonde swiftly started up the aisle toward the exit.
"Can't do what, Quinn?" the petite cheerleader called after her. She quickly got up and followed the fleeing girl. "Wait! What's wrong?"
Quinn stopped and spun to face Rachel. "Do not come near me, troll!" the blonde spat. "I take it back—we're not friends."
The brunette gasped at the taller girl's sudden change of heart. "Why not?"
But there was no response other than the heavy doors to the auditorium swinging shut as Quinn retreated.
Sorely confused, the starlet stood staring at the exit. The girl was like a feral cat, retreating at the slightest hint of human touch. Every time Rachel thought she might make progress in mending their friendship, and getting them to grow closer, Quinn would scurry away and hide inside the safety of harsh words.
It was the day of Sectionals. Excitement buzzed around the members of New Directions as they filed into the yellow school bus that would carry them for the forty-five minute drive to where the competition was being held. It was a very cold mid-December morning and the sky was blushing pink with the sun just above the eastern horizon. The students' breath clouded around them as they chattered noisily together and shamelessly boasting their own talent.
Rachel was last in line to board. She had been keeping an eye on Quinn ever since the odd conversation in the auditorium. The blonde had not even looked at the brunette since, making the starlet wonder what had changed the ex-Cheerio's mind.
Currently as she got on the bus, Rachel observed the flaxen-haired girl take a seat in the back beside Noah Puckerman. Quinn's face was a carefully-crafted pallid mask of pure neutrality. The shorter girl frowned as Puck draped his arm over the blonde's shoulder.
"Hey, Rachel," Finn's voice shook her from study. "Sit with me?"
She looked over her shoulder to see the quarterback waving her over to him, a big smile on his face. A week ago, Rachel would have rejoiced at the prospect of sitting with Finn. But ever since the day the pregnancy rumour was born, the brunette felt nothing but guilt being near him. He was nothing but a physical reminder of her broken friendship with Quinn. From the corner of her eye, Rachel thought she could see the former cheerleader grimace when Finn smiled. The brunette was immediately reminded that the tall football player was not worth all of this remorse.
"Rachel!" called Brittany from the back row. "Are you coming?"
The starlet let out a relieved sigh and nodded to the other cheerleader.
"I'm sorry, Finn," she told the footballer, "I have to decline, but thank you anyways."
She retreated to the back of the bus to join her fellow Cheerios, leaving the poor boy looking quite confused. Sitting next to Santana, Rachel beamed at the two cheerleaders beside her. Brittany returned her smile while the taller brunette stared straight ahead at the seat in front of them, eyes glazed.
"Is she okay?" Rachel asked Brittany, pointing to the girl between them.
The tall blonde nodded. "Yeah, she's just not a morning person, and it's worse today because it's a Sunday," she explained. "I hope you don't mind sitting on the end. I need to sit by the window 'cause I get car sick. Ever since this one field trip in second grade, we sang about the wheels on the bus going round and round…I threw up all over the teacher. Now I always feel sick on buses."
When Rachel's face grew pale, Brittany quickly added, "Don't worry, I feel fine right now!"
"That's a relief." The starlet sighed, relieved.
Crisis averted.
The shorter girl then examined Santana again. It was her short skirt that caught Rachel's attention: the cheer captain was already wearing her thin costume for their performance. Both Rachel and Brittany were wearing warm street clothes. The club would change later closer to their actual stage time.
"Why is Santana wearing her costume? Isn't she cold?" she asked out of curiosity.
Brittany fidgeted and glanced out the window. "Well, Santana hates mornings and it'll be less work later if she's already changed."
The school bus groaned into life and lurched forward. Her blonde companion reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small bag. Opening it, the other girl smiled as she held it out for Rachel.
"Gummy bear?" Brittany offered, "They're nice and warm now that they've been in my pocket."
The shorter girl politely declined.
Brittany shrugged and dumped a handful of the candy into her mouth. "I can't wait to sit on that couch," declared the blonde.
"What?" the starlet inquired, confused and uncertain if she wanted to know the answer.
"You know," she replied flatly, "the sectional sofa we're going to see today; it must be really special for us to be driving all this way. I'm going to sit on it until there's a permanent mould of my butt in the cushion." Brittany spoke as if it were a foolproof plan. "I hope it's not leather—I hate leather couches 'cause they stick to your skin."
Rachel gawked at Brittany. "That's not the kind of sectional we're going to attend…" she tried to explain but was met by a blank stare from the taller girl.
Rachel quirked her brow, puzzled. She stared straight ahead at the seat in front of them. Out of her peripheral vision, she fancied that the blonde was smirking at her bewilderment. As much as the brunette liked Brittany, she had a very difficult time having conversations with her. Most of their talks ended up in these bizarre anecdotes that left Rachel speechless. It was a wonder to her that Brittany and Santana always seemed understand one another when the taller girl's musings were so absurd.
Letting the subject drop, the two fell into a comfortable silence. Brittany settled in to look out the window with Santana slowly leaning over to rest her head on the blonde's shoulder, asleep. Rachel let her brown gaze search the bus. In the front, Mr. Schue was on his cell phone. Finn and Sam Evans were discussing something quite animatedly. Behind the two football players, Lauren Zizes had claimed her own seat. Mike Chang and Tina were busy kissing rather heatedly, making Rachel wonder if the Asian couple ever came up for air. Mercedes and Kurt sat across the aisle from the happy couple, reading a fashion magazine.
At the sight of the duo, the starlet regarded her hands. She decided it was best not to recall the argument she had with them back in November. She looked up again and turned her attention to the seat opposite hers. Noah Puckerman still had his arm draped over Quinn's shoulders, talking about Super Mario, from what the brunette could over hear. Based on the blonde's bored expression, Rachel perceived that Quinn hardly cared about the Nintendo character or anything else that spilled from the boy's mouth.
The bus came to a stop and all the students sluggishly filed off the yellow vehicle. A cold breeze whipped Rachel's hair and stirred her mind out of its torpor. Rachel stretched her cramping limbs when she reached the pavement. Brittany and Santana quickly passed her by without a second glance and headed toward the local high school where the competition was being held.
The starlet watched the two briefly before her eyes drifted over to where Quinn lingered behind her. The blonde's hazel stare was fixated on the Rachel, unnerving her. Barely able to suppress the shiver it gave her, Rachel quickly trotted to catch up with her fellow cheerleaders. As she followed a few steps behind the other two Cheerios, the shorter girl could feel Quinn's eyes burning into her back, scorching the flesh beneath her sweater.
They would be going last, Mr. Schue had informed them. Rachel was rather disappointed at that development. She had been eagerly anticipating her show choir solo debut with "Don't Rain on my Parade," hoping to go first to set the bar high for the other two glee clubs attending. Having a solo part in their second song, "Somebody to Love" by Queen, only increased her excitement and disappointment in going last.
As she took a seat in the school's auditorium next to Brittany, she reminded herself that going last had its advantages. New Directions's performances would be the freshest in the judges' minds. Her voice would be so spectacular that the judges would forget the other two choirs' songs.
Finally, she thought, she would accomplish something that she had envisioned since the beginning of the school year before the Cheerios and Unholy Trinity drama distracted her from her original goals.
She was yanked from her mind when she noticed Quinn taking the chair next to her.
Her breath caught in her throat.
She had not spoken to the blonde since their conversation earlier that week. Perhaps Quinn had changed her mind again about being friends? The ex-cheerleader was rather fickle when it came to Rachel lately. Quinn seemed to constantly teeter between liking her and hating her that it made it impossible for the starlet to tell where she stood with the other girl.
"Hello, Quinn," Rachel greeted tentatively.
"Midget."
It was a start, at least.
The shorter girl let a small smile slide across her face. "Are you as excited as I am for Sectionals?"
Quinn rolled her hazel eyes. "I doubt it," she replied shortly.
Noticing Rachel's crestfallen expression, the blonde added, "I am excited, don't get me wrong." Then, she mumbled, "I'm just excited for different reasons."
Rachel wondered if she was supposed to hear that last part. However, before she could ask, the first performance started from Jane Addams Academy's glee club. From what she understood, it was an all-girl school for juvenile delinquents. After singing a rousing rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," a too familiar melody began to play.
"Oh my God," the brunette whispered to the blonde next to her, "That's 'Somebody to Love'—that's our song!"
Beside her, Quinn was shaking her head. "I knew Mr. Schue shouldn't have picked such a popular song."
Confound it, Mr. Schuester! Rachel silently cursed their teacher.
Despite the shock, she managed to applaud their rival's performances. Next was Haverbrook School for the Deaf. She knew it probably made her a bad person, but she hardly expected this glee club to pose much of a threat.
Her heart leaped into her throat when their first song started.
"Don't tell me not to live," sang a girl with mousy brown hair, "Just sit and putter…"
That girl was slaughtering one of the best songs Barbra Streisand ever gave this world. It was a crime! It was an atrocity! Her ears hurt from the monstrous sound that dribbled from onstage. Deaf or not, that girl was simply not qualified to sing Streisand.
She jumped when she felt Brittany place a hand on her arm.
"We need to go to the green room," the cheerleader whispered, "Tell Quinn."
Nodding, Rachel turned and passed the message onto the other blonde. She grabbed Quinn's hand, briefly noting the girl stiffen at the contact, before following after the rest of New Directions out of the auditorium.
She wanted to smack that guy in the audience who was crying from the girl's singing. This wasn't inspirational—it was murder!
"Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade?"
The starlet wished it would pour on the singer as she escaped into the hallway.
Once they joined the rest of the glee club assembled into the green room, Quinn promptly dropped Rachel's hand. The shorter girl frowned and went to stand with her fellow Cheerios.
"Guys, we have a big problem," started their director. "We need two new songs to perform in less than ten minutes."
"Did the other clubs know we were gonna be singing those songs?" asked Sam Evans. The blond football player looked confused as he turned to Finn, who shrugged.
Murmuring broke out among the club members.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mercedes questioned them all. "It was one of the Cheerios. Don't y'all remember Rachel telling everyone about Sue Sylvester wanting a copy of our set list?"
The entire club, including Mr. Schue, turned their attention on the three cheerleaders in the room.
"Did one of you give Sue our set list?" the teacher glanced at each of the three girls.
Appalled, Rachel was the first to speak up. "Mr. Schue, you can't possibly believe these ridiculous accusations!"
Mr. Schue's expression remained unbelieving. "Sue is very manipulative."
"We didn't do it!" she cried.
She was met with silence.
"We didn't do it!" she repeated.
The petite brunette glanced back to the other two suspects. Santana stood with her arms crossed in front of Brittany, acting almost like shield against the angry glares that were being thrown their way. Brittany shrank from the scrutiny of her peers.
"Look, we may be Cheerios, and yes, Coach did ask for a copy of our set list, but she never followed up after that meeting," stated Santana. "None of us gave her anything."
When she was met with distrusting stares, the taller brunette sighed. "Okay, look. I know it must sound crazy to you, but I actually enjoy glee club and I actually want to be here. Yeah, you heard me right. I thought that'd be pretty obvious when Britts and I got us our twelfth member. I mean, I wasn't about to fu—screw this up. It's the truth…although I'll probably deny it later."
Brittany nodded from behind Santana. "Yeah, we like glee club."
That seemed to make the club believe them.
"Okay, if you didn't help Sue," Mr. Schuester said, "Then who did?"
They all looked at one another with suspicious eyes, daring the perpetrator to confess. Rachel's heart quickened and her brown eyes widened as she flashbacked to only days ago. She was standing in the hallway outside the cheer coach's office, waiting.
In her mind's eye, Rachel saw a certain blonde girl leaving Coach Sylvester's office. She heard the conversation she and the other girl had. The words they had exchanged that day echoed in her head and the image of the sly smile that had captured the ex-cheerleader's lips burned behind her eyes.
"Well, I hope you had only good intentions while meeting with Coach Sylvester then."
"You could say that."
The starlet felt her legs grow weak and her stomach churn as the realization set in. She took a few steps backward, leaning against the wall for support.
Quinn had given Sue Sylvester their set list for Sectionals? Rachel felt as though she were falling into a bottomless pit. Was it karma—punishment for the blonde's pregnancy debacle getting out for the whole school to judge her? Was this retribution for her breaking her promise to a friend?
This could not be happening. After all the work they all put in to their performances, Quinn included, would be for nothing. New Directions would lose and when they got back to school on Monday, glee would be no more. Her dream that she had been harbouring since the start of the school year, since she was even old enough to dream, was destroyed in a single act of an ex-cheerleader.
Anguished anger from Quinn's betrayal rushed through her veins as red as the blood that it coursed in.
Rachel shot a glare at the perpetrator, finding the blonde staring directly at her. The petite starlet wanted nothing more than to slap that satisfied smirk off Quinn's face. But, before the brunette could even reach her, Quinn had left the green room and into the adjacent hallway.
"Quinn!" she called out to the retreating figure. "Don't you know how important Sectionals is? If we lose this, we can't go to Regionals, which means glee club will be cancelled."
The blonde huffed, staring icily at the shorter girl. "Should I care what happens to a bunch of losers who like to sing about how much their life sucks?"
"You know how much glee club means to me!" She bit her lip in worry and frustration with the flaxen-haired girl. "It's important to the others too," she mentioned, remembering Santana's confession from a few minutes ago.
"You think glee club is something important?" Quinn shouted, her venom shooting out with every word. "It's nothing but some rag tag group of misfits brought together by life's circumstances. It's good for the movies but this is no movie, this shit is real! Trying to compete with the well-oiled machine of Cheerios is fucking moronic!"
"You're not even on the Cheerios anymore, Quinn," Rachel pointed out.
At that statement, the blonde laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, but I will be again. When spring tryouts come, Coach Sylvester will make me head cheerleader again if I help her get glee club out of the way. It's siphoning funding that rightfully belongs to the Cheerios."
The shorter girl felt her mouth go dry. "You can't do that."
"Watch me, you fucking midget!" the ex-cheerleader stepped closer to Rachel, her hazel eyes burning holes into the brunette. "You deserve to have glee club stolen from you."
Tears of frustration and fury spilled over her cheeks. "I was a fool to trust you that day. You took away the Cheerios from me! You took away Finn! You took away the things I needed most! So, I'm just returning the favour." Her eyes turned much darker at the threat.
Rachel was stunned, her brown eyes locked with the hazel ones of her accuser.
"But Finn deserved to know," she defended herself.
"You promised you wouldn't tell!" Quinn all but screamed in the petite cheerleader's face. "It wasn't your place to tell! You took advantage of me in my weakest moment. You pretend to be some sweet girl from some special school, but you're not that innocent, Rachel! You're just like me—a back-stabbing, two-faced liar who threw her friend under a bus!"
Quinn took a few steps back and massaged her temples, looking disturbed. "I've never felt so enraged before…this must be what it feels like to be Santana."
Before more could be said, Mike Chang came out of the green room obviously looking for them.
"Um," stammered the Asian boy with an awkward smile, "You two need to get in here—we kind of go on in a couple minutes and you two still need to get into your costumes."
The shorter girl nodded, "And what are we going to sing?"
"We decided on 'Don't Stop Believing'," the footballer answered. "We thought it was appropriate for our situation," he added light-heartedly.
The two girls shared one final exchange of glares before they ran off to get changed into their costumes.
It was a train wreck.
It was worse than a train wreck. It was a train wreck that consisted of a train that was filled with bunnies and sick orphans on the way to the hospital for the orphans' life-saving surgery. And then that train got blown up in a fiery explosion within sight of that hospital.
They looked unprofessional and unrehearsed, probably because they were unprofessional and unrehearsed. She lost count of how many times someone ran into someone else. She had bumped into Tina hard enough to knock the other girl flat on her behind. And Brittany's erroneous lyrics forever ruined the formerly inspirational song:
"Don't stop cleanin', there's mould up on that ceilin'!"
Rachel wished fervently that she could forget the entire performance.
As New Directions stood on stage with the other two glee clubs waiting for the announcer to open the envelope to reveal the winner, the starlet could already feel her despair.
The announcer ripped open the envelope and there was a dramatic pause. "First runner-up goes to Haverbrook School for the Deaf." He paused for applause before continuing, "And first place goes to Jane Addams Academy!"
Although she had not expected to win anymore, it still came as a harsh blow. Not hearing her club's name being called almost made Rachel physically hurt. By the looks on the expressions of her fellow club members, she could see that they too felt the same pain.
Glee club would be no more. Her dream of leading New Directions to victory and making it special and known were over. She felt as though a part of her had been murdered.
Sad brown eyes glided over the others, their own disappointment and gloom clearly painted on their faces. When she met the hazel eyes of the club's murderer, she glared, trying to communicate all her misery and loathing in a single look.
Quinn smirked back, quirking an eyebrow, obviously pleased with herself. Her response only angered Rachel further. The brunette crossed her arms, subtly hugging herself. She shot one last hate-filled glare at the blonde before leaving the stage with the rest of New Directions.