A/N: A lot of cheerleading stuff will be discussed early on in preparation for the Cheer Nationals in the next chapter. It's relevant to the overall plot anyways due to Sue's interview on Fondue for Two. Prepare to spend a big chunk of the first scene inside Santana's head.
A/N2: Finally, the prom! Our two Cheerios will be in here quite a bit and there's a lot of Sue as well as some awesome David/Santana interactions. Also, I've recently noticed that the two Cheerios are coming across as increasingly gay…that is not about to change.
Spoilers: Prom Queen and the rest of Rumours
Warnings: Not so subtle discussion about an eating disorder, but otherwise nothing new at this point.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Crowned?
Tuesday – 7:35 am
"What happened with David yesterday?" Cody asks as she bounces up to the Cheerio captain as soon as Coach Sue dismisses the squad to the showers.
Santana sighs, already having enough on her mind without the added stress of the two girls trying to establish themselves as her new BFFs…or whatever. "Yeah. You dragged him into an empty classroom and five minutes later you guys were fine," Jaimie adds.
Casting a look towards the bleachers, the Latina notices the dark and scrutinizing look on Sue's face as she watches the other two girls disobey her orders to go to the locker room while Santana puts up the equipment…alone.
"David knows better than to cheat on me and we were able to figure out that it was Azimio who used his position on The Muckraker's writing staff to print that crap about him and…Brittany," Santana explains, hesitating before mentioning the blonde girl's name.
The other two girls take in this new information, feeling bad about the way they chastised their captain's boyfriend now that they know he really was innocent. After barely a moment, they then share a mischievous smile, seemingly on the same wavelength, before turning back to the petite Latina. "So, what's the plan, then?" Jaimie eagerly wonders while Santana packs the pompoms up in the two large bags designated for them.
"What plan?" Santana asks, valiantly managing to keep from sounding too exasperated.
"For Azimio? We're not about to let him get away with…labeling? Library-ing? Liberating? Liberace? Uh…" Cody struggles to find the word she's looking for with increasingly disastrous results, her face scrunching up in mounting confusion before turning to the other two girls for help.
"Libeling?" Santana ventures after a beat, trying not to roll her eyes and/or smile at the other girl.
"Yeah! That," Cody brightly confirms with a nod.
"Getting revenge isn't going to fix anything and it will only make David look guilty. Besides, with him and me in charge of the Bully Whips, how do you think it would look if my own Cheerios went around starting shit?" The small brunette asks rhetorically with a half shrug as she indicates for each girl grab a bag with the packed up pompoms.
"True dat," Cody agrees after taking a moment to ponder the other girl's words.
"But we can't just let him walk all over you…especially with that thing about your gaydom in the paper too," Jaimie argues, paying no mind to her blonde friend tugging anxiously on her skirt in an attempt to get her to back off.
"Except that no one even cares about what was on the Blind Item page in the first place. Honestly, this is kind of like the pond scum of gossip since no one believes a word of it. No one in this school seriously thinks I'm gay any more than they believe that Coach Tenaka is going to be on the next season of The Biggest Loser," Santana shrugs, nonplussed before going over to attempt to lift the Gatorade cooler filled with Master Cleanse.
"Wait, you mean he isn't?" A truly caught-off-guard Cody questions.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Santana leaves the inquiry without comment. "David and me ignoring these rumors will do more to disprove them than attacking the person that wrote them will," she finishes explaining to the other dark-haired girl.
Jaimie nods and purses her lips but doesn't argue any further. Nudging Cody slightly, she tilts her head to where Santana is trying to move a cooler that, in all actuality, probably weighs more than she does. They both drop their bags of pompoms and go to their captain, not-so-subtly edging her out of their way as the duo easily lift the cooler and begin to walk it towards the building. Though it would be easier to move had they been able to turn it over and empty it first, Coach Sylvester would start foaming at the mouth if they dared to waste her Master Cleanse in such a manner. Besides, it would probably kill the grass so hard that it would be, like, a hundred years before the soil would be able to sustain life once more.
Santana narrows her eyes at them for so blatantly undermining her, but the look quickly drops when she realizes that there was no way in hell she'd be able to move that on her own. However, like hell is she about to go and tell them how grateful she is for their help. They might get a stiff nod of appreciation and acknowledgement…if they're lucky. But a verbal expression of gratitude? Blasphemy in the eyes of any Cheerio captain (it even says as much in the contracts they must sign as per Sue).
"Flotsam, Jetsam!" Sue shouts through her bullhorn at the two Cheerios once they're close enough that calling them in her regular voice would have sufficed. To the pair's credit, however, they don't drop the cooler…even if they did falter a little.
"Yes, Coach Sylvester," they obediently answer in unison, like the well-trained cheerleaders that they are.
"Since you two future C-list pornographic thespians insist on being out here to pester your squad captain in an effort to win not-at-all-sexually-suggestive Brownie points with her, you can finish putting the equipment up yourselves," Sue sneers at the girls through the bullhorn despite being only a few feet away. "Lopez! My office!" She barks at the Latina without the use of said bullhorn despite the fact that the other girl is significantly further away than the two girls in front of Sue.
Less than two minutes later finds Santana sitting in front of the inscrutable Sue Sylvester in her Cheerio office, the door closed to block anyone from interrupting. The brunette would feel a lot less uneasy if she had the slightest idea what this was pertaining to…but she doesn't.
"David and I sorted out that Blind Item claim about him cheating. It-"
"That's not why I called you in here," Sue interrupts before Santana can continue rambling.
"No one believes that I'm gay and everyone seems to have found out that the comment on Fondue for Two about 'playing on the other side' meant that I was a Cheerio now instead of in the glee club," Santana tries again to explain, thinking that this is the only other thing the older woman could have brought her in her for.
Coach Sylvester fixes her with a stern glare before turning her attention to her trusty journal open in front of her. She flips a couple of pages to one with the heading 'Froot Loop/Queerio Talking Points' underlined at the top of the page. The confused look on Santana's face is not lost on the cheerleading coach.
"I'm still torn as to what would be the appropriate term to use to describe you," she explains the slash mark between the two terms in her heading.
Santana understands 'Queerio' easily considering it's a play on the name of the squad, but…"Froot Loop?" She can't help but ask, despite every instinct telling her that she probably doesn't even want to know.
"My dear Taco Teaser," Sue addresses her head Cheerio, ignoring the look of utter mortification and unadulterated disgust on the Latina's face at the new 'nickname', "what is a 'Froot Loop' anyways?" She asks rhetorically, not giving the teen time enough to answer even if she wanted to. "I'll tell you what. A Froot Loop is nothing if not a gay Cheerio," she 'educates' the brunette.
Santana, unable to help herself, releases a short, incredulous laugh at the unexpected explanation. She can't even bring herself to be offended by the other woman at this point considering that, in a way, the definition is almost a veiled compliment…at least in comparison to some of her usual material.
Sue allows the briefest, almost undetectable twitch of her lips in the vaguest ghost of a smirk at being able to glimpse something other than the miserable girl that Santana's become over the last year. It doesn't last more than the briefest moment simply because Sue knows what this tête-à-tête is about. With one last – albeit unnecessary – glance at her short list, she turns her attention to the girl seated before her.
"As you may or may not know, I have been invited on the internet show Fondue for Two to be interviewed this evening," Sue begins. Santana chooses not to say anything, but simply nod to show that she is aware of said interview. "Well, Ms. Pierce called me yesterday evening to allow me to extend the offer for you to be interviewed alongside yours truly. Rather than accept on your behalf, I decided to consult with you first for the sole reason that I sensed an ulterior motive on her part for wanting you to tag along," she notes astutely.
"I appreciate the consideration," Santana manages to speak up. Given how the other woman has no qualms about turning her Crazy up to full-blast, she can also be dangerously perceptive as well. It's almost terrifying really.
"I'd initially planned to completely hand over the reins to you for cheer practice after school today seeing as how I obviously won't be there to run it myself or supervise. If you decide to be interviewed with me, however, practice will be canceled for the day but extended tomorrow after school. It's up to you how you want to handle this," Sue informs the stunned Latina, her expression firm but a flicker of something behind her steely blue eyes.
Santana can tell that Sue is well aware of the possible implications of whatever Santana ultimately chooses. The part that amazes the Hispanic girl is the utter lack of judgment on the other woman's face. Under any other circumstances, if Sue Sylvester were to give anyone a choice, it would be in a manner in which to imply that there really is no choice and that she is expecting only one answer. This time, however, Santana gets the sense that there is no 'right' answer and that the other woman would support either one. To say that Sue never gives anyone, let alone one of her Cheerios, the opportunity to think for themselves is a gross understatement.
For her part, Santana knows exactly what it would mean to show up with Sue tonight. It would be a subtle agreement to go with the two blonde former-Cheerios to the prom rather than show up with her fake boyfriend and it could potentially cost her the crown and result in some poor girl being on the receiving end of a beef blood shower (infinitely less pleasant than the traditional slushy facial). Also, in a way, it would be a step towards entering into a real relationship with Brittany, which is what she ultimately wants despite how much the thought of that scares the unholy shit out of her. However, it's too soon after the other girl's break up with Artie and the damage from her previous rejection in favor of the aforementioned cripple is still too fresh.
On the other hand, it is a rare opportunity to be allowed full control over a squad practice and it's unheard of when so close to Nationals. During Quinn's brief reign as Head Cheerio last year before getting knocked up and this year before quitting, the blonde never had been allowed this chance whereas this will be Santana's third. It's a silent show of trust on Sue's part, something that is nearly impossible to earn. All of that aside, the squad leaves for Nationals in four days and the competition begins in six. They need all the practice they can get and it will probably be more detrimental for them to do a double practice after school tomorrow than to split it up manageably with today. Her decision, she realizes, isn't really all that difficult after all.
Going on Fondue for Two is a bad idea right now and, for better or for worse, Sue made certain to drill it into their brains the importance of being a cohesive team. The best cheer squads are in it for the best interest of its members whereas the best captains are in it for the best interest of the squad as a unit. Essentially, it's up to the squad members to take care of one another because of the inherent trust and understanding that it's the captain's job to take care of the squad. If Santana were to cancel practice then she would be going back on one of the core principles of what it means to be a Cheerio and giving a big 'fuck you' to what it means to be Cheerio Captain.
Sue watches with expertly hidden fascination as she witnesses the Latina's entire decision-making process play out across her features with every facial expression and flicker of an emotion or memory flashing in her eyes. She's fairly certain that she sees the exact moment Santana makes her decision even though it takes the brunette a moment longer for her to realize it as well. The older woman waits patiently because she already knows what it is…it's clearly written in the determined glint in her eyes.
"The interview will be too much of a distraction and I need to focus on the squad to keep them focused as well," Santana says confidently, but they both understand the deeper meaning of her words. When she's referring to 'the interview', she's really referring to Brittany herself.
"That's what I like to hear," Sue tries not to express her pride in her protégé lest it goes to much to the other girl's head as she crosses the first two items off her list. "Now, next order of business-"
"We're not done?" Santana questions incredulously as she pauses half out of her seat as she was preparing to leave, wondering what else the other woman could possibly have to discuss.
"No. Sit," Coach Sylvester sternly commands, her gaze hardening somewhat as she points down to indicate that the other girl should take her seat.
"I'm going to be late for first period," Santana points out as she checks the clock on the wall behind Sue just as the warning bell sounds.
"I'll write you a pass," Sue easily retorts, unusually serious and calm, which worries the Latina more than a little. The older woman waits a moment to be certain she has her undivided attention. "Do you keep Master Cleanse anywhere else besides your lockers and your backpack?" She asks, much to Santana's confusion.
The Latina glances around for a partially concealed red light to indicate she's being filmed or something to explain the sudden topic change. "I have some at home in the refrigerator. Why?" She finally gets to ask what's been wondering since it was randomly brought up.
Sue shuffles a short stack of pages on her desk before standing up and leisurely pacing behind the Latina in the way she knows drives the girl mad. "As you know, in addition to the weekly weigh-ins I have monthly blood tests run on all of my Cheerios to ensure they are in good overall health. Your blood tests and weigh-in upon rejoining the squad were less than ideal, but I chalked it up to being the result of personal neglect due to your recent and obvious bout of depression over those unfortunate unrequited 'feelings' of yours," she begins to explain, even going so far as to use air quotes on 'feelings'.
"Get to the point," Santana says in a way that sounds more like a plea than the demand she likely intended it to be. Now having an idea as to where this conversation is heading, she sinks into her chair and wished she could disappear into it altogether, the feel of Sue's gaze of the back of her head making her feel ridiculously small.
"Since becoming a Cheerio, your weight and tests have been the most stable and consistent I've seen since my first year as coach. Your BMI never strayed from 18.5, the lowest it can be without you being considered 'underweight', and at an ideal 110 pounds, you have been the smallest and lightest on the squad since joining…even after you had those ridiculous titbags inserted. Everything else was perfect: blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar, electrolytes, triglycerides and so on," Sue gestures vaguely as she moves to stand directly in front of the Latina, leaning back against her desk.
"So, what's the problem?" Santana asks, hoping to get the older woman off her case and biting down on her bottom lip when she hears the bell ring to indicate class was getting started now.
"As I said, last month there were some minor fluctuations, nothing that I couldn't brush off as being normal for kids your age. However, your weigh-ins have been taking a nosedive and your tests results from Saturday have confirmed my suspicions. You've lost over 8 pounds in a month, your heart rate and blood pressure are high and everything else has dropped. Would you like to try explaining that to me?" She questions sternly, her glare a feeble attempt to mask her concern for the petite Cheer Captain.
"No," Santana answers honestly, wishing to be anywhere else right now as she refuses to even look at the older woman.
Narrowing her eyes and fixing her scrutinizing gaze on the girl in front of her, Sue drums her fingers idly on her desk in thought. "When I asked some of your teammates, they informed me that, when you do join them in the cafeteria, the only thing they ever see in front of you is a bottle of Master Cleanse," she informs the girl, having no problem, essentially, implying that the squad sold her out. "So, as soon as you get to school tomorrow morning, I expect you to report back here to turn in any and all remaining Master Cleanse in your possession. I've already taken the liberty of personally removing it from your lockers, backpack and purse…along with your mass murdering cigarettes," she calmly says, not the least bit fazed at having just admitted to breaking into a student's locker and removing items in her possession.
"You can't just go through my-" an enraged Santana fumes when she's cut off by Sue holding a hand in front of her face to silence her.
"I can and I did. I expect you to surrender all Master Cleanse and don't think I won't randomly decide to come by and see to it myself that you have done so. After Nationals, I am going to see to it myself that you get your act together. Are we clear?" Sue practically demands, not caring that the last thing the girl wants is an adult hovering over her and actually daring to try and parent her.
"Yeah," Santana grumbles petulantly, arms crossed. Sue decides to let the attitude slide because, all things considered, her irritation is more than a little justified.
"But Lopez, if by the end of the school year I am not convinced that you're making progress…or at least an effort, then I won't hesitate to kick you off the squad until you can prove otherwise. Are we clear?" She questions, her tone almost barking once again.
"Yes Coach," Santana weakly nods, confused by the fact that she feels like she's about to cry.
Sue returns to her chair and pulls out a pad of stationary personalized with the school logo at the top with the official Cheerio seal and her name. She scribbles a quick note and passes it to the subdued girl barely holding on in front of her.
"Go pull yourself together then get to class," she orders the teen, effectively dismissing her. Santana simply nods before leaving.
Once the door is shut once more, Sue allows her rigid posture to relax somewhat as she breathes out a sigh. A part of her feels at least mildly responsible for whatever body issues Santana may or may not have which bothers her more than it would had this been any of the other Cheerios, even the male ones. Then again, she knows the Latina's parents well enough to take comfort in the fact that they are tougher on the girl than she is…at least when they're even around.
A knock at the door brings her back to her senses and she acknowledges that it's time she gets her head back in the game. She takes pride in the fact that Santana has developed a sense of focus similar in intensity as one Sue Sylvester's. Right now, Sue has to focus on preparing for her interview. While the internet show itself isn't exactly a widely viewed medium, it is still good practice. With her reputation on the line right along with that of her Cheerios, the results of this year's Nationals competition could mean the difference between being featured on Barbara Walter's list of Most Fascinating People of 2011 or on Katie Couric's list of 2011's Biggest Failures. She's at least confident in trusting Lopez as her captain again. Another knock makes her realize she's still a little off her game after the previous conversation.
"Come in!" She barks, though not maliciously since she knows who it is.
Becky pokes her head into the office, making sure the coach is alone. Coach Sylvester requested that she report to her ten minutes after the bell to make sure she had plenty of time to finish up her conversation with Santana. The last thing the other girl wants to do is interrupt considering how serious the coach was when she brought it up.
"So, what's on the agenda today, Coach?" She asks, taking her usual seat and pulling out her notepad to write it all down.
"Preparing for my interview on Pierce's ridiculous internet show tonight," Sue briefly informs her, holding back her smile at her lackey's eagerness.
Becky nods contemplatively. She's always liked Brittany and considers the girl a friend, but she knows that Sue has had a bit of a hate-on for the girl since around the time Santana took over as captain again and, thus, restored the natural balance of McKinley's social hierarchy. So, it's for that reason that she can't help but be confused by Sue's sudden interest in the former Cheerio.
"Why are you going on it anyways, Coach? No one outside of the school even saw it and who cares about these losers anyways?" The other girl bluntly questions.
"I consider it practice for when it's someone that matters that's asking the question," Sue honestly answers.
"But if Brittany doesn't matter, then why did you ask her to write for The Muckraker?" She continues.
"Beckster, you're astute observational skills have me engorged with pride," Sue grins, impressed. "Since she is both the reason why my prized fiery Latina quit the Cheerios as well as what drove her back, I just want to keep a close watch on her. The last thing I want is for Pierce to corrupt my Head Cheerio once more and drive her away from the squad again, possibly for good," Sue explains.
"Sounds good, Coach," Becky nods, understanding the motives a little clearer now.
Sue pauses for a moment. "How would you like to appear on the show with me?" She asks the girl.
"I would, Coach," Becky begins regretfully, "but I'm afraid my hotness might explode the internet," she breathes out a long-suffering sigh.
"Fair enough," the older woman nods with a warm smile. "Would you at least like to tag along?"
"Totally," Becky accepts with growing excitement.
Lunch
After receiving the news that they'll be performing at the Junior Prom this morning, the glee club have been somewhat less enthusiastic about the event. Brittany stares blankly over at the table with the Cheerios and their boyfriends as she idly chews on a Twizzler. Though initially ecstatic when she noticed Santana was no longer carrying around a bottle of Master Cleanse, it was quickly replaced with confusion and concern when all she'd seen in its place was a bottle of water and her petulant bitch-face directed at the squad. She hasn't been able to tear her eyes away since.
"What's on your mind Britt?" Quinn questions her pensive friend as she follows her gaze, having an idea as to what's bothering the other girl.
"Tonight's Fondue for Two. She told me she'd let me know if she'd be there and she hasn't yet. She was late for first period and she hasn't even looked in my direction at all today," Brittany replies before tearing her gaze away from the Cheerio table to look at her friend. "Do you think she'll be there tonight? She has to, right?" She implores, her tone almost begging.
Quinn's heart breaks a little, but she doesn't know if she can bring herself to tell the other blonde that she doesn't think Santana is going to show up. She's torn, however, because she also doesn't want to give the girl false hope because the disappointment will only be more devastating as a result. Luckily, she is saved from having to answer when Kurt flounces up to the table to take a seat next to Brittany.
"Hello my fellow McKinley students!" Kurt chirps happily, still glad to be back with his friends. He waits until the group greets him in response before delivering the good news. "So, as you all know, Blaine and I are an official couple," she smiles widely.
"And we are all happy for you. My dads-"
"Anyways," Kurt quickly cuts Rachel off before she can get her rant off the ground, much to everyone's relief. "After much discussion, he agreed to accompany me to the prom as my date," he announces, giddy with excitement.
"That's great Kurt," Brittany smiles, genuinely happy for him. Her enthusiasm is slightly tempered by the fact that she knows that, under different circumstances, it could just as easily have been her delivering the same news about her and Santana.
Kurt gives the blonde an odd look at her somber demeanor before brushing it off, not yet realizing that he hasn't been informed of the revelations made about the blonde dancer in his absence. "Additionally, Mr. Schue has given Blaine the go-ahead to perform a song at the prom," he beams. "Blaine wanted me to request two of the ladies from New Directions sing and dance backup for him on his behalf," he then informs them.
"Who did he have in mind?" Mercedes chimes in curiously knowing that the other boy wasn't really close enough with any of them to actually play favorites.
"Brittany and Tina," he answers, glancing back and forth between the two girls.
"Okay," Tina agrees immediately, flattered that Kurt's boyfriend picked her.
"I'm confused," Brittany frowns.
"Oh, Sweetie," Kurt coos as he places a hand on her back without realizing how condescending he's being. Quinn can't help but cover her face with a hand as she shakes her head.
Brittany shrugs him off, trying not to get too upset considering it was only yesterday that she broke up with Artie for calling her stupid. "I don't even really know him so I don't know why he would want me up there with him," she explains why she doesn't understand.
"Please?" Kurt pleas.
Rolling her eyes, Brittany can't help the small smile that forms on her face. "Sure, why not," she agrees after a moment. "Did he pick a song yet?" She asks when the boy wraps her in a grateful hug.
"Oh, yes. It's that 'Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You' song. He listens to it consta-"
Brittany and Quinn cut him off when they erupt into laughter. Everyone else at the table is utterly baffled by the reaction. Both girls' faces turn red and, as they start calming down, they happen to look at one another before bursting once more.
"I think it's a wonderful song choice Kurt. It's a fun and catchy song despite its lack of emphasis on vocal ability and-"
"Shut up, Rachel," Brittany interrupts as her laughter finally begins to subside, reaching up a hand to wipe a tear from her eye. Kurt gasps and brings a hand up to clutch at his chest in shock, never having heard the bubbly blonde utter an unkind word until that moment. "Tell Blaine I can't wait," she smiles at the boy, ignoring his dramatics.
Quinn and Brittany share another look and grin, shaking their heads in silent agreement that, given Brittany's secret dance lessons to a certain Latina's boyfriend, this is probably the most ironic song choice in the history of ever.
Later
Santana has spent all of Spanish listening to the murmurings of how Brittany swiftly turned down Artie's request to be his date to the prom after serenading her in Home Ec last period. A part of her wishes she hadn't opted to skip Mrs. Hagberg's daily course in bitching an moaning passive-aggressively about domestic duties in favor of taking a smoke break outside with Brad. However, she's glad she wasn't there because she doesn't think she would've been able to handle it knowing that she was part of the reason why the blonde turned him down. That guilty feeling settles over her chest again, threatening to crush her with its weight. Brittany turned Artie down without knowing that Santana had no intentions of going on her show tonight or going to prom with her and Quinn.
As class begins to wind down, Santana acknowledges that her feelings of guilt are further compounded by how mean she was when she snapped at David before lunch. He informed her that Coach Sylvester had called him the night before and explained that she needed him to keep an eye on Santana for her. Santana immediately knew it was related to the conversation she had with the other woman after practice this morning. Already in a foul mood from having such a crappy week so far and from not having eaten anything or being able to use the Master Cleanse to combat her low blood sugar, Santana had been a complete bitch before proceeding to ignore everyone during lunch.
The bell rings and Santana resists the urge to groan. Despite getting ready to go to her last class of the day, it's with one of the last people she wants to see right now. The thought of spending the next hour in AP Calculus with Coach Sue is far from appealing. It's even worse because she can tell Brittany's been floundering in that class and Sue's been exceptionally unforgiving towards her.
Once out of the classroom, barely sparing Mr. Schuester a glance, she immediately groans in annoyance when she sees who's eagerly waiting for her, old school recording device at the ready.
"Any comment on the vicious rumor left on the Muckraker website about you and Karofsky doing it in the backseat of a parked car in the Holier Than Thou Cemetery?" Jacob Ben Israel questions before thrusting the microphone in her face.
"No comment," Santana sing-songs with a roll of her eyes.
"Any comment on the fact that when I looked up the I.P. address of the person who posted the rumor I found out it was you?" The boy asks with a smug tone in his voice, blatantly smirking when her quick and steady stride falters slightly.
Santana steels herself and fixes a glare on him as she reaches the door to her last class of the day. "My computer was stolen by someone who is apparently stalking me," she pauses slightly when she notices Brittany at her locker across the hall turning towards the Latina at the sound of her voice.
"Is that so?" Jewfro inquires skeptically.
"Yes and I would appreciate any information on its whereabouts," Santana snaps at him, sighing in exasperation a moment later. "Look, all I can say is that Dave and I are going strong," she averts her gaze to nothing in particular, "and we're very excited about our prom king and queen campaign. Vote Santofsky," she finishes with confidence. It had been a small battle with Sue over their portmanteau. Eventually the Cheerio captain won because of the simple fact that 'Pezsky' sounded too much like 'pesky' and sounded too negative for people to vote for.
The scrawny nuisance barely stifles his urge to scoff. "So are you two in love?" He asks condescendingly, but Santana is too distracted watching Brittany fiddling with a tube of lip gloss and blatantly stare at them with a frown. "Soul mates, so to speak?" Jewfro continues, not buying it for a minute. Santana and Brittany make eye contact at the end of his last question, the blonde not the least bit ashamed in openly showing how interested she is in the head Cheerio's answer.
"Yeah," Santana replies while maintaining eye contact before growing anxious, glancing between the blonde, Jacob, the microphone and then back to Brittany before she continues. "I'd say that was accurate," she confirms with a stiff nod before quickly turning around and entering her classroom.
Hurt, Brittany turns her attention slowly and sadly from where Santana had just been back to her locker. She places her lip gloss back in there with the rest of her makeup before shutting her locker door. Without needing her to say a word, Brittany already knows that Santana won't be on the show tonight just as she won't agree to go with her and Quinn instead of David.
4:45 pm
Understandably, Quinn can't help the uneasy feeling that goes along with being in such a confined space with Coach Sylvester. She keeps the camera steady on Brittany as her friend greets the audience and introduces her guest.
"Your Cheerio captain, Santana Lopez, was meant to be with you tonight but had a last minute change of schedule. Is that correct?" Brittany asks the coach, sounding infinitely more prepared and professional in comparison to the mess from last week.
"Lopez is supervising Cheerio practice as we speak," Sue says right into the camera and Quinn can't help but feel like the older woman is speaking to her directly as if to rub it in her face that she's never been trusted to head a Cheerio practice on her own.
"This close to Nationals, every practice must be crucial, right?" Brittany asks with a forced smile.
"I'm sure even you couldn't have forgotten how intense training is this time of year," Sue arches a brow ever so slightly in challenge as she casually dips her chunk of raw meat in the pot of hot melted chocolate. Brittany knows that that was meant to be a dig at her perceived lack of intelligence.
"Oh, I remember and I definitely don't miss it," Brittany chuckles. "And, given the squad poor performance at the Regionals competition earlier this year, I would think you have to work a lot harder to prove that you belong in the National Championships this year than a lot of the other squads competing," she replies innocently.
Sue narrows her eyes at the girl, but doesn't take the bait. "Lopez and I have been working hard to whip the squad back into shape and our unquestionable win in the State competition proves that our efforts have been paying off," she answers diplomatically.
"Well, I for one certainly hope they continue to do so," Brittany nods towards Sue before smiling back at the camera. "And that's all the time we have for this week's installment of Fondue for Two. Tune in next week when we'll be dipping candy canes in simmering ranch dressing," she says with a smile and a wave.
Quinn can feel a headache forming behind her eyes as she shuts the camera off and shoots her friend a perplexed look. "What?" She can't help but ask, hoping the other girl is joking.
Brittany shrugs nonchalantly. "I still have at least a dozen candy canes left over from Christmas and my mom just got a case of two gallon jugs of ranch dressing at Costco for eight dollars," she explains simply.
"Well Ladies, I am positively throbbing with indifference," Sue announces with an eye roll. "And Pierce, while I consider this a vast improvement over last week's train wreck, I still feel the need to spend the next seven hours in my personal hyperbaric chamber at home just to make sure I am properly cleansed of the residual failure wafting in the air left over from when the pair of you unmotivated flesh-sacks decided to quit the squad," she plainly informs them.
"It was nice seeing you too, Coach," Brittany smiles at the older woman.
"Enjoy your futures filled with nothing but disappointments as you strive for mediocrity," Sue responds as she looks from Quinn to Brittany before leaving.
Becky pauses before following Sue. "Jacob puts Santana 14 points ahead of you on his Queen Poll online," she smugly informs Quinn before leaving.
"What the hell was that?" Quinn sighs. "You don't think it's true, do you?" She asks Brittany, eyes widened, almost in a panic.
"I don't know, Sweetie. Jacob Ben Israel has never really been known for his reliability," Brittany points out, not having the heart to say that she honestly does believe Santana is well ahead in the polls.
Friday – 7:15pm
Santana isn't quite sure when it was decided that Jaimie, Cody and herself would all be getting ready at Cody's house but it must have happened at some point because, well, here she is. It's strange for her to think that, somewhere between rejoining the Cheerios and now, these two have managed to wedge themselves into her life.
"This is so exciting, right?" Cody asks giddily, eyeliner in one hand while her other hand firmly grips the Latina's chin.
"Could you maybe not bounce in your seat when you have a sharp object so close to my eye?" Santana grouches, flinching every time the blonde girl's enthusiasm gets the best of her.
"Sorry," Cody smiles sheepishly as she gets back to work.
"So, are you and David going to be stuck keeping an eye on that gay kid all night?" Jaimie questions as she blows on her freshly painted Cheerio-red fingernails.
"We kind of have to since we're the Bully Whips," Santana shrugs like it's no big deal.
"Jae and I can totally take over for you when you want to, like, go dance or make out in a corner or something," Cody offers with a grin.
"Oh my god, yes!" Jaimie grins, unable to contain how much she approves of the idea. "We can be deputy Bully Whips or something," she suggests with a grin.
"Or maybe even real ones," Cody nods wildly. "I really like those hats," she shrugs by way of explaining her desire to join.
Santana ponders the idea for barely a moment to determine if there would be a way to spin this to work in her favor. "Obviously I'll have to consult David about the possibility of recruiting new members. I'll mention it to Sue first chance I get so we can maybe make your membership official when we get back after Spring Break," she says with an air of finality.
"Awesome," Cody celebrates with a fist pump in the air.
The Latina smirks as she thinks about it. More members would obviously warrant a budget increase and, since their budget is already coming from Ms. Castle's badminton team. When faced with the chance to make Sue proud by forcing the badminton team out of existence due to lack of funding. Besides, 'badminton team'? Who are they trying to fool? Badminton isn't a sport. Any activity that has a piece of equipment called a 'shuttlecock' is automatically denied the right to ever refer to itself as a sport. Plus, getting two new students to agree to join the Bully Whips only makes them look better which makes Sue look better.
"So what are you and Dave doing after the prom? Are you going to Tommy Mirkenfelter's after-party?" Jamie eventually asks.
"I'm not even sure. Maybe go back to my house or something. I think it depends on how we feel after the prom king and queen announcements. I doubt we'll be going to Tommy's party though," Santana shrugs.
"I don't think Jae and I are going to the party either," Cody mentions, earning an odd look from Santana.
"You two are allowed to leave the dance with someone other than each other, right?" Santana arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the other two, who share an uneasy glance of sorts. That shared look, while not much, is just enough to get Santana to drop the issue. No one understands that kind of confusion better than she does. So, not in any way ready to discuss it, the Latina gives them a look that tells them she knows but also promises that she won't say a thing. Neither gives any indication that they know her secret – any of them, actually – or that they are aware of how this might relate to what she went through/is currently going through with Brittany.
"I don't think you have anything to worry about with being crowned prom queen tonight. According to JBI's latest poll, you're pretty much a shoe-in to win," Jaimie informs the nominee.
"Yeah. The comments section is funny too because everyone is pretty much baffled that your campaign has been the cleanest of the three main candidates. Grimace totally played dirty by exposing Quinn's pathetic loser past," Cody mentions, her expression darkening at the thought of the former Cheerio's betrayal.
"And Cameltoe McBitch tried bribing people with taffy and constant begging," the other brunette adds and Santana can't help but burst into laughter at the nickname, the other two soon joining in with her amusement.
After gaining control of themselves, Cody finishes applying Santana's eye shadow before brushing her thumbs over the tops then bottoms of the Latina's eyelids to blend in the color and create a subtly smoky look. Santana is then allowed to take a look at herself in the vanity mirror while Cody anxiously awaits judgment, wiping the makeup from her hands with a sanitized moistened hand-wipe. It took a lot of persuading to get Santana to agree to let the blonde do her makeup since there are few people she would trust for such a delicate task. Honestly, Brittany and her mother were the only two people she'd allow other than herself and her mother is rarely around to be able to help anyways.
"Adequate," Santana nods to the nervous girl beside her. Sue Sylvester has taught her the importance of understating a job well done so as to ensure that those involved will continue to try and outdo themselves in an effort to appease you. So, while Santana is impressed and pleased with the other girl's work, she won't tell her that.
"Yay!" Cody cheers as she throws her arms up in victory, still choosing to take that reaction as though it's the highest possible compliment.
Santana simply chuckles and shakes her head. "Well girls, I think it's time we go to David's house and wait for that limo," she instructs. Without further ado, they slip on their heels and gather their respective clutches, checking to make certain they have everything they need.
"Are all of the Cheerios still meeting outside of the school first so we can enter as group?" Jaimie thinks to ask before they head out.
"I've made certain they know to be assembled outside of the main entrance no later than 8:10," Santana confirms, her brows furrowing a moment later. "Do either of you know if the others got ready individually or in small groups like this?" She wonders and both girls share a look.
"The other Juniors or underclassmen dating Juniors all got ready together over at Chelsea Beecham's house," Jaimie hesitantly replies.
Santana's eyes harden and she sets her jaw, but makes no comment, instead choosing to hold her head up and stride confidently out of the room. She knows the other two will follow her without needing her to tell them to do so.
9:20 pm
Santana stands next to David off to the side of the main dance floor, taking in all of their classmates having the time of their lives. The Latina, despite looking as stunning as ever in her flattering red dress, has a mildly petulant expressing marring her features.
"What's with the frowny-face Santana- Banana?" David asks playfully with a teasing poke to her ribs.
Though she tries, Santana fails miserably at holding back a smile. "Stop it," she swats his hand away, her face cracking into a big grin as she chuckles as he resorts to trying to tickle her. "Seriously, you best gets back afores I decide I needs to cut a bitch," she warns.
"'Cause you gots razorblades all up in your hair, right?" Dave humors her as he ceases his actions.
"Imma do what I gots to do to keep from getting' jacked in Lima Heights Adjacent. That just be how I roll, Playa," she continues, her grin widening as her boyfriend cracks up.
"Keep telling yourself that 'Tana," he smirks.
They lapse into a comfortable silence as they continue to watch their peers. Despite being more confident in his abilities thanks to a week-long crash course in dancing courtesy of one Brittany S. Pierce, David is still having difficulty in working up the nerve to ask the Latina to dance with him. As he notices the petulant expression working itself back to Santana's face, he can't help but wonder why.
"What are you glaring at so hard?"
Santana takes a moment to make sure she directs her rage towards the subject of her ire before blindly lashing out at her friend simply because he's more convenient. "You would think that, after all the hard work and care we put into making this school a safer environment for everyone just so Kurt would feel secure enough to transfer back, he would at least have the decency to not turn himself into a target at the first opportunity," she practically growls.
"What are…" he trails off as he follows her eye-line.
"Him showing up in some skirt or kilt or whatever is like a slap in the face. It's like he wants to invite ridicule and turn himself into a spectacle just so he can act like some kind of fucking martyr when someone actually decides to do something. I'd kick his ass myself if I thought I could get away with it," she grumbles darkly.
"I get that he wants to stand out, but he does it in all the wrong ways," Dave acknowledges.
"If 'being yourself' was a concept embraced in this fucking place, then you and I wouldn't be together. "We have our whole lives to be ourselves once we graduate and leave and if he can't wait one more year…" she leaves the statement open, simply shaking her head as she watches Kurt and his boyfriend.
Their attention is pulled away from the other boy as the opening riffs of "Friday" sound from the stage before Puck takes the lead on the song. David shakes his head and laughs, easily recognizing the song and remembering how ridiculous that whole internet meme was at the time.
"This song is so awful," Santana chuckles at the lame lyrics. Her chuckles turn into full-blown laughter when David starts bobbing his head and moving his feet along to the music, a big grin on his face. "I am embarrassed to be associated with you right now," she laughs at him.
"Come on, dance with me," he urges after a moment.
"Uh, hells no, Tiny. You wanna embarrass yourself go right ahead but leave me out of it," she shakes her head with amusement.
"I won't take no for an answer," David says with a grins as he takes both of her hands in his and pulls her to the dance floor. "You will dance like a complete dork with me and you will like it," he demands as he begins moving her limp arms around in every direction as he begins rocking back and forth on his feet.
"Nope," Santana insists, though the grin on her face hints that her resolve is more or less gone at this point. It isn't long until they are both laughing and bouncing along to the music, David occasionally spinning her for no discernible reason.
"It would be endearing if I wasn't so disturbed," Quinn deadpans, causing Brittany to jump slightly and cast a brief look towards her friend before returning her gaze to the couple on the other side of the dance floor.
"He's not a bad guy," Brittany says in response, though still silently agreeing with the other blonde's assessment.
"Maybe not, but I think we both know that Karofsky is most certainly not her soul mate," the other blonde replies, a look of disgust crossing her features.
"You wouldn't know that just by watching them right now," Brittany notes reasonably as she watches them. "It's been so long since I've seen her smile or laugh or have any kind of fun like she is right now. The kind of fun where she isn't drowning her denial and insecurities in alcohol…or whatever," she explains with a longing sigh.
They both watch the other couple for several moments in silence. "I voted for her," Quinn confesses just loud enough for her friend to hear.
"What?" Brittany asks with her brows furrowed in confusion because she couldn't possibly have heard that right.
"I voted for Santana to win tonight. She's the only one of us nominees that managed to accomplish something positive during the campaign. She didn't slander anyone and she actually faced rumors that are actually true about her sexuality and rumors about her boyfriend sleeping with you. Every time she had a chance to lash out, she held back," Quinn shrugs self-consciously.
"Yeah," Brittany breathes out in agreement, though silently acknowledging that there's really a lot more to it.
"Besides, you know how this school works. Now that there is a strong Cheerio captain in place again, the students have their highest ranking social position filled and, therefore social order has been restored. The undisputed top of the social hierarchy always wins queen," Quinn reasons simply.
"I always liked how, even though this is such a conservative town, McKinley High has always run as a traditional matriarchy where everyone looks to the alpha female rather than some macho dude that's secretly insecure over his smaller than average penis," Brittany grins, much to Quinn's amusement.
"I'm going to find Finn and share at least a couple of dances with him and his two left feet before Figgins announces the winners. Go find someone to dance with before you get up there with Blaine," she nudges the other blonde encouragingly.
"Okay. Good luck," Brittany wishes her friend just as the song ends and Rachel takes the stage, the lights dimming. Making her way along the edges of the dance floor in search of a dance partner, Brittany isn't entirely aware of her surroundings and thus she runs into someone else. "Oh! I'm sorry," she immediately apologizes as she steadies the other girl.
"No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention," the brunette shakes her head before looking at her assailant. "Britt! Hey!" Jaimie grins as she greets her former teammate and friend.
"Wow, Jae. I love the dress," Brittany gushes.
"Yeah, Cody and Santana helped me pick it out," the other girl mentions off-handedly. She wants to ask about the other blonde's brightly colored dress that, somehow, seems entirely too appropriate for her friend…but she doesn't get the chance.
"Hey, you wanna dance?" Brittany blurts out before she can help herself. Something about the thought of Santana replacing her and Quinn as friends or sidekicks or assistants or whatever hit her more than she would have imagined.
"Yeah, sure," Jaimie shrugs neutrally. It isn't even like it's that big of a deal in the first place and it's not like anyone will care or notice what with Kurt walking around in a skirt…unless she started making out with the other blonde or something. However, she's pretty sure that Santana would skin her alive and feed her to Coach Sue's alleged piranhas if that happened.
Up on stage that short obnoxious girl that she's heard Santana refer to as "Schnoz-Berry" is singing some slow depressing song and she can't help but wonder why Brittany dragged her almost all the way to the other side of the dance floor. It doesn't take long to figure it out when she feels someone staring. Glancing around, she's startled to find Santana glaring daggers at her and Brittany.
As if struck by lightning, everything suddenly makes sense to the brunette Cheerio. Brittany wanted to make sure Santana saw them because she wanted to be certain that Santana could see how no one cared and how effortless it could be. Also a small part of her maybe also wanted to make Santana jealous.
All too soon, Brittany is disappearing backstage to get ready to perform with Tina and Blaine. She can't help the sly smile slip onto her features as they take their marks and hear the music cuing up.
"You are the girl that I've been dreamin' of," Blaine gets them started with Tina and Brittany joining in on the next line. "Ever since," they all call out, "I was a little girl," Blaine continues before they run through it one more time.
Brittany smirks when she catches David's amused eyes in the crowd as she continues on with Tina in the background. She can't help but think that the words are oddly appropriate given the circumstances…aside from the fact that she did teach him how to dance with Santana, who couldn't seem more pleasantly surprised. It's a fun song and she's glad Blaine requested she perform with him since she's afforded a great view of the crowd. Once again Santana seems to be having fun jumping around and bumping shoulders with David every so often. Moments later she happens to notice Jaimie and Cory spinning each other and having fun too, their fingers remaining laced together the entire time. Furrowing her brows, Brittany tries to figure out if there's even anything to it other than it being a friendly gesture.
20 Minutes Later
Feedback from the microphone gathers everyone's attention to the stage where Principal Figgins is standing awkwardly. "Attention students! Attention!" He calls out while tapping on his microphone. "Will the candidates for king and queen gather on the stage?" He instructs them and they begin to file on stage. "The votes are in. This is the moment you've all been waiting for where we announce our junior prom king and also prom queen. Roll the drum, please," this cues a drummer to start the aforementioned drum-roll. "This year's junior prom king is…David Karofsky," this results in the students cheering wildly. "Achievement. Achievement," Figgins claps along as David steps forward to retrieve his crown and 'scepter'.
Santana claps as well, blowing air kisses as she does so before turning slightly towards the blonde girl to her right. "You suck so bad, Quinn Fabray. I won," she smugly murmurs out of the side of her mouth, making the blonde wish she could go back and vote differently this time.
"And now, your 2011 McKinley High prom queen, with an overwhelming majority vote is…" Figgins takes a long and dramatic pause. Santana idly thinks about how, if this were American Idol or something, this would be when they would go to a commercial break.
Soooo, how much do you hate me right now? Ending this chapter here was literally a last minute decision. I'd written out the rest of this (admittedly short) scene and was getting ready to write out my take on the Brittany/Santana conversation that would inevitably follow. Then, when I realized that there would still be at least one more scene to write after that, I decided to end it here and have the next chapter have the rest of this night leading into the cheer competition. The last chapter was almost unbearably too long and I wanted to avoid that happening again. This is still long, but at least it's about 3 pages shorter than the last one since I scrapped/altered a few unnecessary scene ideas and made Sue's interview shorter than originally intended due to how long the first scene of this ended up being.
When trying to decide where to end this chapter, I almost kept this entire scene intact but then I went over the chapter once more before finalizing it with the spoilers, warnings and Author's Notes. That line right before Figgins announces the winner was absolutely perfect and entirely unintended on my part. I cut out the last sentence of the paragraph and here it is. The only other change required was to put a question mark at the end of the chapter title and thus, the answer to the title's question is a resounding "Nope, not yet".
The next chapter will finish up Prom Queen and will go into events that never happened on the show that will, eventually segue into Funeral in chapter 16. Anyways, for the upcoming chapter expect a lot of Bring It On references…the first one, not any of the crappy sequels.
Next chapter look forward to the winner being crowned (finally), a pretty big scene with Santana and Brittany as well as a fun scene with Santana and David. Also, the cheer competition means that there will be quite a bit of Sue and Santana awesomeness to come as well as showing more instances of San actually interacting with the squad and leading them. Becky and Santana's two Cheerio minions will also make appearances, obviously. The entire week of the competition will be crammed in there with some minor scheming as well as glimpses of life back in Ohio interspersed…including a Brittany, David and Quinn bonding scene(!).
ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: 12 April 2012