I feel guilty. Especially after watching this last week's episode. So here you guys go. Sorry if it doesn't meet your guys's standards, sorry that it's so late, I just wasn't feeling this story till now.
Rachel rummaged in her locker quickly for her blue folder and didn't stop when she heard someone's voice.
"I thought you weren't allowed here."
Rachel's head popped up. "No, I'm allowed as long as I'm only getting my homework. And just to let you know, I'm free for any vocal coaching if you need any help. Lord knows that we are going to need all the help we can get if we are going to beat the Trouble Tones."
"Oh we won't have problem of beating them. Not as soon as I have Shelby Coracan fired." Quinn nodded.
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"She's sleeping with Puck." Quinn whispered obnoxiously.
Rachel stood, dumbfounded as Quinn sauntered away, her hips swaying as if she knew something they all didn't.
But she did, so at least she had an excuse.
"Quinn!" Rachel yelled, catching up to the blonde. "Look, I know you want your daughter back, but Shelby is her mom now. She is the one who is taking care of her, feeding her clothing her, putting a roof over her head. And if you get her fired, then you just taking away the money that supplies all of that."
"Sounds like an unfit mother to me. And I will be waiting patiently for Beth to come to me when she is taken from her."
"Quinn, I get it, okay? You miss her, you want her back. The only thing you are doing by telling Principal Figgins this fact or rumour or whatever is just going to ruin Shelby and making sure that your daughter does not get everything she needs to have a great life. And if you do that, you will ruin her and Sheby and Puck, and by doing that, you will have truely hit rock bottom. Hard."
And Rachel was gone.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Sectionals is in our auditorium for the first time since 1963." Finn said, sitting up and wandering to the other side of the choir room.
"Too much talking. Not enough looking for songs for Sectionals." Will said absentmidedly as he flipped through a really old song book. "We need something strong and upbeat."
"Mr. Schue, don't you think that we should focus on our preformer problem before we set our set-list? I mean, at least the Cherrios can dance. We need star power. We need Sam Evans back."
"Sam transfered. His whole family moved. No one knows where he is." Will said.
"He's in Kentucky." Finn replied immediately. "Just across the border of Cincinatti. Just about four hours away."
Will glanced at him. "And you know this...how?"
"Even homeless people have facebook," Finn stated as though it were obvious and walked away, leaving Will to ponder.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Kurt sighed. "Rachel and I might as well get used to a life in barista work and summer stock." He chewed on the cap of his pen. "There is no way we are getting into NYADA now. If we don't win at Sectionals, then we have absolutely nothing to live for."
Rachel nodded and leaned farther into Blaine's side. His arm wrapped tighter around her and mumbled, "New Directions is a mess. We are going to lose, Kurt, and I can't do a thing about it with Finn breathing down my neck. Everytime I open my mouth, Finn gives me these looks like, 'what does he think he's doing?'" Kurt swiftly rolled his eyes and Rachel played with Blaine's fingers to calm him down. "I don't even know what I'm doing."
Someone approached them.
"Hey guys."
Good god, it was Sebastion.
"So crazy, I'm sitting over there, checking out this really hot dude, when I realize that he's wrapped up in a short brunette and he's Blaine Anderson!" Sebastion said, making Rachel and Kurt roll their eyes. "What's up buddy? Haven't seen you online." Sebastion took the seat in between Kurt and Rachel, adding to their discomfort. "Hi Kurt. Hey Rachel."
Kurt smiled breifly, while Rachel only managed a nod.
"We've been busy with New Directions and all."
"Practicing for Sectionals." Rachel added delicately. "Together."
"Oh? I thought you were suspended, Rach?" She flinched when he called her that. "Or am I mistaken?"
"She's helping us with our vocal coaching." Blaine said, coming to her rescue. "And congrats on the Warbler win at your Sectionals." He added, diverting the attention away from his girlfriend. "We're up this week."
"Yeah, well, if there's one guy who can whip New Directions into shape, it's Blaine Anderson." Sebastion laughed, nodding.
"Right." Blaine said, picking up his empty cup and putting it down after noticing it was empty."I need another coffee." Blaine said, letting go of Rachel, not before kissing her soundly on the lips and got up to go get another cup.
Kurt and Rachel shifted awkwardly, now alone with Sebation and then Kurt said, "I don't like you."
Sebastion's smile slipped off his face."Fine then. I don't like you. Either of you."
"I don't like how you talk to my boyfreind." Rachel said, sitting up and putting her chin in the palm of her hand.
"I don't like you snarky little mercat face. I don't like your obnoxious CW hair. I'm on to you." Kurt said, crossing his arms.
"Let's get a few things straight." Sebastion said, matching their tones. "Blaine is too good for you, Rachel. New Directions is a joke and Kurt, you or I have a gay face, and it's not me. And when the end of the school year comes around, I'll have Blaine, and a Nationals trophy. And you two will have kakhi's and a Lima Bean apron to match your faces." He finished.
"You smell like Craig's List." Kurt snapped back.
Rachel smirked and opened her mouth to speak, but Blaine set his coffee down and returned to his seat, wrapping his arm aorund Rachel's small little waist, rubbing small circles on the bare skin there. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Oh, the next time you and I are gonna go out drinking, my man." Sebastion said, clapping his hands together.
Rachel's eyebrows rose to her hairline and Kurt choked on his coffee.
"Uhh..." Blaine muttered.
"Well, I gotta run. See ya around Blaine. Rachel, Kurt." He nodded to them and left.
Rachel remained silent as she stirred her drink. Kurt muttered something about finding an envelope for his application and ran off. Blaine sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Rach, I -"
"You and Sebastion went out drinking?" She asked in a small voice. Blaine felt as though he had kicked a dying puppy.
"Rach, it meant...absolutely nothing to me. It was back before -"
"You came to my house, drunk and threw yourself at me?" She asked, glancing up at him then immediately back at her drink.
Blaine sighed heavily. "Ye-yes."
She bit her lip and nodded her head once. "Right."
"No, Rach, he told me that if I wanted you so badly, why didn't I just...do something about it, so -"
"So you drove to my house, drunk, and threw yourself at me, tried to get some and when I refused to, I drove you home."
"And the next morning I woke up with a horrible hangover and a feeling that I screwed up big time." Blaine finished the story for her. "But we got through it, just like we always do. Sebastion means nothing to me, just how Finn means nothing to you. You don't see me thinking that you're doing anything with him behind my back." Blaine tried to joke.
Rachel smiled, a little. "I...I never really had anyone love me. Like, love love me. It's hard to actually...totally trust someone becasue I've had my heart broken many times." Rachel rambled quietly. Blaine was still rubbing her side in circles gently.
"I love you, Rachel. I promise." Blaine whispered in her ear, kissing her temple.
"I know." She whispered back. "I love you too."
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"No, no, this can't be right. Sam works in a bar?" Finn asked, taking off his jacket.
"Apparently. He can probably get away with anything." Santana said, taking off her jacket as well.
"There's a lot of ladies here, like, older ladies." Finn whispered, walking over to the bar.
"Maybe it's single ladies' night." Santana suggested, somewhat sarcastically.
"Good afternoon ladies. Are you ready to meet the men for today?" A voice called out and the women started cheering.
"Oh no." Santana muttered.
"Then please welcome to the stage, Cobra..." A man jumped through the sparky stuff hanging from the ceiling, shirtless. Cheers erupted.
"I didn't know Back-Draft was a muscial." Finn said oblivious.
"Someone better get the door, because here comes Mr. Package..." Another man jumped out and the women cheered louder.
"Oh god no." Santana mumbled, clasping her hands together.
"And ladies, let's give a warm welcome to White...Chocolate..." The man announced.
Sam Evans was White Chocolate and he was taking off his pants the stage.
"That's not an image I can ever get out of my mind." Finn said, staring at the stage with wide eyes.
"Give me a dollar." Santana said.
"What?" Finn asked, alarmed.
"Just give me a dollar, dipwad." Santana turned to him, hand outstreched.
Finn rolled his eyes at the comment and handed her a dollar. She walked up to the stage and, looking down, handed Sam her dollar.
Sam's eyes widened and he spluttered, "San...Santana...waht are you doing here?"
After the "show", Santana and Finn met with Sam backstage.
"I tried getting a real job. DQ's great and I got two free blizzards a day, but it wasn't enough. Thanks." He added when Finn set down a plate of food on his table. Santana crossed her arms. "Do you know how much I made this afternoon?" The two stayed silent. "Sixty bucks. Sixty-one, actually, in fifteen minutes." Santana swallowed. "Am I ashamed that I work here, yeah, I am. My dad got a job working construction so he could pay the rent. My brother needs a new pair of shoes and these abs pay for it."
"You're parents don't know that you work here?" Finn asked, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms.
"Nah, they just think that the DQ pays really well." Sam said, smirking. "I'm good at this."
"You're good at this because you have that boy next door innocence that makes you approachable. Kay, you're good at it for all the reasons you shouldn't be doing it, Trouty Mouth." Santana said, stuffing her hands farther in her jacket pockets.
"I missed you too Santana."
"Come back to McKinley." Finn said, dusting off his jeans. "We need you for Sectionals. Tell me you don't want it. Dude, you're young, you got so much potential, working here is like throwing you're life away."
"Okay, I, I - I want it." Sam said. Finn nodded. "But my dad won't let me."
"Don't know till you ask." Santana said, shrugging.
Sam took Santana and Finn to his house and the three of them sat at the kitchen table with Mr. and Mrs. Evans against the kitchen counter.
"Dad..." Sam began. "What I am trying to say is that I want to go back to Ohio with Finn and Santana. And I really want to participate in Sectionals this weekend."
"And he could stay at one of our houses so it wouldn't be like was homeless..." Finn said, faltering when he realized he said the wrong thing.
"There is a quiet dignity in that area." Santana said, coming to his rescue.
"Do you think you two could...go into the other room? Make yourselves busy?" Mr. Evans said.
Finn and Santana immediately got up and walked into the other room.
"Son...we have had a really tough year, and now that we are back on our feet, you had to become a man, much sooner than a lot of the other boys in high school." His father said, sitting down.
"I'm...I'm proud of what we've together." Sam said and his mom cracked a smile. "It's just that...I miss being a teenager." He whispered.
His mom eared up and sniffed. "Hey, hey, hey...Mom please don't..." Sam said as his dad put an arm around her. "If you cry, I won't go."
"I'm crying because I am realizing how grown up you are. And not seeing your face everyday." She smiled. "Though I don't understand why the Dairy Queen makes you put all that glitter over it."
Sam frowned.
"This is going to make you happy?" Mr. Evans asked his son.
"You have no idea." Sam smiled wide and the three hugged.
In the other room, Santana and Finn sat on the couch, awkwardly looking everywhere but each other.
"I never...thanked you. For what you did...for me." Santana stuttered quietly.
"It...uhh...you're welcome." Finn spluttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
It was an awkward apology. It was an awkward hug. But it comforted them both.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"So, I hear Sam's coming back." Rachel said, trying to make conversation with the dark-skinned diva across from her at the coffee shop.
"So? Why should I care?" Mercedes snapped immediately. Then she felt bad, seeing the hurt look flash across her friend's face quickly and when she realized that she did actually care.
"I don't know, I distinctly remember you crying on my shoulder after Sam told you he was moving away to Kentucky." Rachel snapped back, matching Mercedes' tone.
Mercedes sighed, taking a long gulp of her iced latte. "I'm sorry Rachel, I'm just stressed. Sectionals are coming, you of all people should now that and with Sam coming back..." She shook her head, exhaling. "It's all too much. I should be happy with Shane, but I'm not. I find myself constantly thinking back to Sam and the summer...thing -"
"Fling." Rachel corrected quickly. "But go on."
"Summer fling we had." Mercedes finished.
"You know what that means then." Rachel said, checking her phone.
"What?" Mercedes asked idly, stirring her drink with her straw.
"You still love him. And with that, I must go meet Blaine. Oh and Mercedes, even though I do know that Sectionals are coming, I can't compete."
That little piece of information snapped Mercedes out of her haze. "What? Why?"
"I...I was the one who stuffed the ballot box with Kurt's name, so I have been suspended and cannot compete in Sectionals." Rachel said hurriedly. "Good luck, Miss Jones. You'll be needing it." Rachel smiled and waved and left Mercedes to her thoughts.
I still love him? She asked herself.
No, a different voice said. No, you love Shane. You will stay with Shane. He's good for you. Stay with him.
But...
No buts.
It's Sam for Pete's sake, I don't know what to expect from him.
Mercedes' eyes drifted to the front of the store, where a couple people stood in line waiting for their order to be taken. In her mind, she flashed way back to when she and Sam had come here, hoping not to see anyone, but had run into Blaine and Rachel. Thinking back, it had been obvious that they had been secretly dating, along with her and Sam.
"Hey guys."
It was Mercedes and Sam.
"Oh, hey guys, what are you two doing here?" Rachel asked.
"We ran into each other in the parking lot. Decided to get coffee." Sam said, shrugging.
"Cool guys."
"Bye." Mercedes waved and the two walked by them.
"They didn't even question us..." Rachel muttered.
"So you think they know?" Blaine asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No. Mercedes doesn't know. She would be crazy if she did."
Over with Sam and Mercedes, they were whispering. "You think they know?" Mercedes asked, biting her lip.
"Mercy, I don't think anyone knows." Sam whispered back, taking hr hand and lacing their fingers together, smiling.
Mercedes smiled to herself at the memory. Oh how she missed him. She'd see him tomorrow at school. Only problem is that she has no idea how to act...
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"So have we narrowed it down to who's joining us at Sectionals?" Artie asked the group.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's Floppy - Haired Base Dude, Chapped Lip McGee and Johnny Trom-boner." Noah said.
"God we're screwed." Tina said, visibly deflated.
"No we're not." Quinn said. "I know for a fact that we're winning." She glanced at Noah and his eyes widened.
"Hey, guys. Great news everyone! Sectionals is going to happen." Will said, carrying many red plastic cups with Finn behind him, carrying a bottle of sparkling cider. "It's going to be a challenge, but we have -"
"Mr. Schue." Kurt said, bored. "We all appreciate your endless supply of drinks, but all sparkling cider in the world can't deny the fact that the Titanic has hit the iceberg and we are on a sinking ship." He demonstrated with his hand.
"Not if I can help it!" Sam announced, walking into the room.
The whole club jumped up and Mike tripped over his chair as he got up and hugged his long-lost best friend. Tina and Quinn hugged him as well.
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Santana and Finn." A few people cocked their heads at this, but let it go. "I sort of lost my way, but true friends always help you find you're way back. Where is Santana?" Sam asked.
"She's...not in the New Directions anymore." Tina said. "Along with Mercedes and Brittany."
"Oh..." Sam said dejectedly as he thought about his ex-girlfriend and the girl who helped him come back to McKinley.
"Let's here it for Sam Evans!" Finn announced, breaking the silence and popped open the bottle and everyone clapped.
"Alright, alright, enough with the sentimental stuff." Sam said, picking up his guitar. "Think we outta get some country back in this joint." The bottle of cider began overflowing and everyone laughed as Finn gave everyone a cup of cider.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"He's baaaaaack." Santana sang, sititng down in Shelby's classroom.
"Shut up Satan." Mercedes snapped.
"Hey!" Shelby yelled. "What is going on?"
"Sam Evans is back, Shelby." Santana said, rolling her eyes.
She rose an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"And Sam is Mercedes' ex."
"I don't like him!" Mercedes said defiantely.
"Yeah, anymore." Sugar said, filling her nails.
"You can never forget your first love." Brittany said, smiling at Santana and the two linked pinkies.
Mercedes sighed and rubbed her temples. "We still need to decide what we are going to sing for Sectionals."
"I agree with Mercedes. What shall we sing?" She;by asked, amused.
The girl were silent for a few moments before Mercedes' head snapped up.
"I got it."
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Hey Sam! Wait up!" Quinn yelled and skipped over to meet him. "As I'm sure you heard by now, Mercedes has a new boyfriend and he has a full scholarship to Ohio State."
"Nice to see you too Quinn. I've been good, how about you?" Sam said sarcastically, ignoring the obvious pain in his chest.
"No, no it's a good thing. See, I'm free, you're free and I'm sure you noticed that I am super-model fit now that my thyroids are in order."
"What do you want Quinn?" Sam topped and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Look...last year, I didn't appreciate you as much as I should have, but we're perfect together."
Sam smiled slightly. "Quinn..."
"I'm going to get Beth back. A-and you'd be perfect to help raise her, the perfect father. You're so good with kids - what is so funny?" She asked, annoyed as Sam started to chuckle.
"Quinn, you've got what I call 'Rich White Girl Problems' or RWGP. It's a tough world out there, I know, I've been through it. You only get one senoir year. Enjoy it. You know the song 'Jack and Dianne' by John Millancamp?"
"Please don't sing it." Quinn pleaded quietly.
"My favorite lyric is this one: 'Hold on to sixteen as long as you can.'" Sam said before walking away and leaving her in the hallway all alone.
"Quinn?" Someone was snapping their fingers in front of her face. She glanced to her right and saw Noah standing there. "You okay?"
"Why do you care about what I do?" She snapped back.
"Because you could possibly ruin your life or Shelby's life and if you ruin her life, you could very well ruin Beth's life too."
Quinn blinked slowly and looked away. "I need her back, Puck. She would be the one thing that I wouldn't ruin. She would be my pride and joy, my everything." She whispered.
Noah awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to him. "Hey...Q...I know you want her back. I do too...but she's with Shelby. Shelby's her mom know. I remember what Rachel told me a while ago. Shelby is her mother, not her mom. You are Beth's mother, not her mom. You have to accept this." He took his hands off her shoulders and they fell limply at his sides.
"But what if I don't want to accept it!" Quinn yelled in his face.
"Well, you know, sometimes life sucks!" Noah yelled right back. "Life sucks and you can't change anything! Shelby isn't going to give her up now!"
"You're so frustrating! Just because you slept with her doesn't mean you have to give up!" She snapped in his face, her voice full of vemon and spite.
"I'm not giving up! I want her back, but I can't have her back. I've accepted this!"
"Well, I'm not!" Quinn screamed. "I'm not..." She choked back a sob and turned away from him, her shoulders shuddering from her silent crying.
Noah bit his lip and turned her around again. Quinn kept her eyes on the floor and he slowly wiped away her tears with the pads of his thimbs.
"Have you gone soft, Puckerman?" Quinn asked softly.
"Maybe." He whispered in reply before pressing his lips to hers gently.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"What's the point?" Noah asked, stopping his dancing. "We're not going to win anyway. Not without the girls."
"Girls smell better than us. And girls dancing is more entertaining too. You can't help but watch them." Rory said, shrugging.
"Well then that's it then." Will said. "We'll use what's most appealing about us as a group and we'll use it to our advantage."
"Yeah!" Blaine said. "How...how about something...something like...(he did a little move) that?"
Most of the boys (except Kurt) shook their heads or said 'nah'.
"I like the spin, I like the spin. Try it your guys." Will said and half the boys did it.
"Stop." Sam said. "Stop, stop, okay, please, stop. Kay, Blaine, this (he immitated Blaine's move badly) is totally boy-band. What we need to sell...is sex!"
"What the hell was that?" Blaine asked.
"That was a body roll." Sam said.
"That was not a body roll." Blaine protested.
Many of the boys tried to do a body roll and Kurt and Baline rolled thier eyes.
"Man's not wrong." Artie said, holding up his finger. "I got tingles in a place where there's only a fifty/fifty chance for tingles." Arite grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
Sam smirked. "Yeah." Finn said. "Sam that's awesome! That's what we need!"
"No, no, that's not what we need." Blaine said, rubbing his forehead. "We don't have to resort to...that. It' cheap, you know, it's selling out."
"You realize that I came back here to win, right? And I helping you guys with that." Sam yelled. "Sometimes you gotta use your assets and do what you gotta do. This (he did another body roll) is the advantage."
"Of course that's what you would think. You have to think that in order to sleep at night." Blaine snapped back.
"What the hell does that mean?" Sam asked.
"It means that I'm not for sale." Blaine said in his face and Sam pushed him away and Blaine pushed him back and Will and Finn tried to get them separated.
"Forget it." Blaine said, walking out of the choir room.
He fumed down the hallway and ran into someone on his way to the boy's locker room.
"I'm sorry." He said. "Oh Rach, it's you."
"Yeah, I'm just getting my homework for today...what's wrong Blaine?" She frowned at his appearance, eyes burning, muscles tense, hair tusled.
"Sam's...pissing me off. He sayd that we should...sell sex in order to win for Sectionals." Blaine muttered through clenched teeth.
Rachel's head fell to one side as she thought it over. "I don't know why it would bother you so much Blaine, I mean, you're not a virgin, I would know that." She said, blushing slightly. "Go work it off Blaine."
"I was headed to the locker room now. I just have...to get it out of me." Blaine nodded, kissing her cheek.
"You missed." Rachel said cheekily and Blaine grinned before taking her mouth in his. The two kissed passionately for a few minutes before parting for oxygen.
"See you later, babe." Blaine said, squeezing her hips teasingly and walking off to the locker room.
"Bye Blaine."
Blaine walked to the locker room, took off his shirt, put on boxing gloves and began to beat the crap out of the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
"That Sam's face?"
Blaine glanced to his left, saw Finn and nodded, still punching it. "Yep. Your's too." Finn swallowed. "Don't act so suprised. After getting bullied so much, I took up boxing. Master of the Dalton branch of the fight club, which, I obviously can't talk about." He said, annunciating each word with a punch or two. He punched it one more time before snapping his head at Finn. "What is your problem with me anyway? Huh? Ever since I got here you've given me nothing but crap? Is it because I have Rachel and you don't? 'Cause if that's it, that's no excuse." He spat out with hatred,
"Honestly, dude, I was kinda jealous." Finn confessed. Blaine laughed breathlessly, not believing him for a second. "I felt threatened. You're talent kind of freaked me out. Made me question whether or not I was good enough." Blaine shook his head in disbelief. "Hey, Blaine, I'm sorry, okay? I...I've been acting like a jackass to you. With Rachel gone, you are the most talented, well-rounded member of this team and now, more than ever, we will need to be on the same page, united."
"Tell me what you need me to do."
"We have an opportunity. An opportunity to be remembered at this school as something other than losers or just another kid. For the rest of our lives, we would be remembered as people who did the impossible. But it all starts right here, with you and me. I just want to be able to look across that stage at you...and know that we did everything we could to get there. No regrets." Finn stuck out his hand.
Blaine sighed and took off his gloves and shook his hand. "Let's get back to work."
Finn laughed. "Alright."
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Mercedes walked down the stairs and suddnely, a hand was in her's. One that she hadn't felt in months. That hand belonged to Sam Evans.
"What are you doing?" She shrieked, dropping his hand as if it burned her.
"Look, I know about you leaving New Directions." Sam stated.
"That's irrelevant."
"And I know about Shane."
"Have you heard about how he's built like a bull that could kick your ass?" Mercedes hissed.
She stepped in front of him, putting a hand up to pevent him from speaking and took a deep breath. "Look...we had a summer fling. That was it."
"It was more than that." Sam mumbled, staring at her.
She looked away quickly then back at him. "I know that there will always be a special place in my heart for you... I've moved on, Sam. And you should do the same." She stood there for a minute, then turned to leave.
When Mercedes was halfway down the hallway, Sam yelled out, "I don't care how big or badyour boyfriend is, I'm going to fight to get you back."
Mercedes grinned.
Fine then. If she is gonna play hard to get, bring it on Mercy, Sam thought, smirking to himself.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Rachel and Emma sat front row in the McKinley auditorium. Emma ran to the bathroom and Rachel sat, staring at the stage, wringing her hands nevrously.
"Sad?" Someone asked, sitting next to her.
SHe looked over and nodded whne she saw Blaine. "Devastated." Blaine nodded and squeezed her hand. The bell dinged and the magical voice from above announced the judges as Blaine went to go sit with the rest of the glee club and Rachel returned to her seat just as Emma did.
As the first group, the Unitards, began to sing, Kurt leaned forward to mutter in Rachel's ear, "Oh my god, it's the Gerber baby." Rachel stifled a laugh. "Oh my god, she's flawless."
"Oh god! This is torture! I should be singing that song!" Rachel whispered fiercly.
As they performed, Kurt and Rachel muttered the words to song under their breath, drawing odd looks from Blaine, Quinn, Tina and Finn. Quinn got up from next to Rachel as the song ended and everyone clapped. Rachel's eyes followed her and quickly, she got up and followed her.
"Where are you going?" Rachel demanded.
Quinn stopped and sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be in the auditorium?"
"I saw you leave the auditorium. I know where you are going and I know what you are going to do! You are going to go tell Figgins about Shelby and Noah!" Rachel said.
"I am an adult. I can do whatever I want." Quinn said definately.
"If you want to be a destructive force in the universe, go for it. Can't you just wait until after the Trouble Tones perform?"
"Why?" Quinn asked in monotone.
"Because we don't want to wreck all of the hard work they have put into preparing for this."
"So we win."
"No, not so we win." Rchel sighed. "Look, if you are going to go tell Figgins, then at least tell Shelby first. She deserves to know. It's the adult thing to do." She shrugged and turned around, walking back into the auditorium.
"Rachel?" Quinn called out.
"Yes?" She stopped and stared at her.
"I...I, uhm...I..."
"You what, Quinn?" Rachel asked soflty.
"Puck kissed me." She blurted out.
Rachel's eyebrows rose, her eyes widened and she choked on air. "Ex...excuse me?"
"Well...one minute we were screaming in each other's faces and then I was crying and then he kissed me and the rest is history." Quinn said really fast.
"The rest?" Rachel questioned. "Oh, Q, you didn't..."
"I did and I do!" She cried, slumping against a wall and to the ground in a heap.
"You do what...?" Rachel asked softly, walking to her, squatting down and brushing back her hair.
"I love him, Rachel. As much as you love Blaine." Quinn confessed in a gentle tone, the two oblivious to the man standing in the doorway.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Tina began, "A buh-buh buh buh-buh!"
"A buh-buh buh buh-buh!" The rest of the glee club echoed.
"You went to school to learn, girl. Things you never, never knew before!" Tina sang, bobbing to the beat.
"Like I before E except after C," Kurt sang.
"And why two plus two makes four! Now now now, I'm gonna teach you -" Tina sang.
"Teach you, teach you!" The New Directions sang.
"All about love, dear!"
"All about love!" They echoed.
"Sit yourself down, and take a seat. All you gotta do is repeat after me!" Mike sang.
"ABC! Easy as one, two, three! Or simple as do re mi! ABC, one, two, three, baby, you and me, girl! ABC! Easy as one, two, three! Or simple as do re mi! ABC, one, two, three, baby, you and me, girl!" The whole club sang together. Everyone was on their feet, clapping and dancing to the beat, and Mike's dad walked in.
"Uh, uh, a little bit!" The New Directions sang.
"Come on, let me love you just a little bit!"Tina sang, putting her hands on her knees and winking.
"Uh, uh, little bit! Teach, teach, sing it out!" The rest of the glee club members sang.
"Come on, come on, come on Let me show you what it's all about!"
"Reading, writing and 'rithmetic...are the branches of the learning tree..." Quinn sang, glancing at Rachel, who gave her a thimbs up and managed a smile.
"But without the roots of love, let me tell ya, girl!" Mike sang.
"Your education ain't complete!" Kurt sang.
"T-T-T-Teacher's gonna show you -" Tina sang.
"Show you, show you!" The members echoed.
"How to get an A!" Tina sang.
"Na na na na na!" The club taunted.
"Spell 'me', 'you'! Add the two! Listen to me baby, that's all you gotta do!" Mike sang.
"Oh, ABC! Easy as one, two, three! Or simple as do re mi! ABC, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl! ABC!" The New Directions sang.
"It's easy! It's like countin' up to three!" Tina sang alone.
"One two three!" They echoed.
"Sing a simple melody!" Tina sang.
"Do re mi! ABC!" They echoed.
"That's how easy love can be! That's how easy love can be! That's how easy love can be! Sing a simple melody! One, two, three! You and me!" Tina sang. Kurt saw Sebastion and did a totally awesome jump over Mike.
"Sit down girl!" Kurt sang. "I think I love you!" He did a sexy move.
"No!" Mike yelled. "Get up girl! Show me what you can do!"
"Shake it, shake it, baby!" Tina and Quinn sang, shaking it. Sam did his "little sexy dance", which obviously turned Sugar on and made Mercedes bury her face in her hands, laughing all the while.
"C'mon now!" Mike sang.
"Shake it, shake it baby!" They sang.
"Whoo-oh!" Kurt sang.
"Shake it, shake it baby!"
"Ha!" Mike sang.
"One two three, baby!"
"Oh-hoo!" Kurt sang.
"ABC, baby!"
"Nah-nah!" Mike sang.
"Do re mi, baby! That's how easy love can be!"
"ABC, it's easy! It's like countin' up to three!" Tina sang alone.
"One two three!" They echoed.
"Sing a simple melody!" Tina sang.
"Do re mi! ABC!" They echoed.
"That's how easy love can be!" Everyone sang.
"Imma gonna teach you how to sing it out!" Mike sang.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon let me show you what it's all about!" Tina sang.
"ABC, it's easy! It's like countin' up to three!" Tina sang alone.
"One two three!" They echoed.
"Sing a simple melody!" Tina sang.
"Do re mi!ABC!" They echoed.
"That's how easy love can be!" Everyone sang.
"Imma gonna teach you how to sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, sing it out baby!" Mike sang.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh baby! ABC, it's easy! It's like countin' up to three!" Tina sang.
"One two three!" They echoed.
"Sing a simple melody!" Tina sang.
"Do re mi! ABC!" They echoed.
"That's how easy love can be!" Everyone sang.
"Imma gonna teach you how to sing it out, sing it out!" Mike sang.
"Easy as one, two, three." They all sang and finished the song.
Rahcel and Emma clapped the loudest of them all, cheering them all on and they did two more, "Control" and "Man in the Mirror", Though she was sad that she was not up there with them, was extra-excited as they finished, all as one group. She even saw Noah and Quinn hug, as awkward as it was for them. That made her cheer louder. Blaine grinned at her and she knew, she knew, that they were going to win.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Rachel stepped out of Principal Figgins office and saw Quinn sitting in a chair, waiting for her.
"Quinn? What are you doing here? Are you going to tell Figgins?" Rachel asked, slightly hysterical.
"No, no. Actually, I'm here for you, to talk to you, I was waiting for you to tell you...that I am not going to tell Figgins about...that." Quinn said, smiling.
"Oh, yay. What...what made you...?" Rachel trailed off, sitting down.
"Because I love Beth and I don't want to ruin her life. It was what you and Puck and Shelby kept telling me over and over in my head." The corners of her mouth turned upwards a bit. "I wanted to thank you, actually. And Puck, but I'll do that later. I wanted to say thank you."
"For what?" Rachel asked, her brows knitting together.
"To keep me from doing something stupid. Something I would've regretting for my entire life."
"Then why did you sleep with him in the first place?" The words were out of Rachel's mouth before she could stop them.
She bit her lip. "The first time or the second time?"
"...Both."
"I was angry. At first, I thought I was angry at everyone, but then I realized it was only myself I was frustrated with." She said softly. "What do I do Rach?"
"You start over, I guess. Isn't that what high school's for?" Rachel smiled. "My suspension is over, although it will still be on my transcript."
Rachel smoothed out her dress. "We're sort of friends, aren't we?" She asked, a little smug.
"A little." Quinn grinned, reaching out to hug Rachel and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder. "What do you think about Yale?"
"Oh, no, no, no. I have my sights set on NYADA." Rachel said, pulling away and shaking her head.
"I meant...for me. I'm not the singer that you and Kurt are, but Yale does have an amazing drama program and I find that I really do like to preform."
"Yeah..."
"So, you'd think I'd nail all the parts where the girl has all the problems?" Quinn asked seriously.
Rachel giggled. "No, I think it's a great idea. I mean, especially since you won't have me to compete with. You're a lot better than you think you are, you know that?" Rachel said softly.
"I have people I have to go talk to." Quinn said, changing the subject and standing up.
"I'll go with, if that's okay." Rachel said.
"That would be brillant." Quinn said, taking her hand and the two made their way to the girls' bathroom.
"We were better." Mercedes said as though it were obvious.
"I don't know, I think it could've gone either way." Brittany said softly.
"That damn trouty mouth. Even I was hypnotized by his mouth and sexy dance." Santana muttered.
"Alright ladies." Quinn said, stepping into the bathroom. "Girl talk."
"No." Santana said immediatley. "Don't you dare try to give us a pep talk."
"Or even attempt." Mercedes added.
"What is wrong with you girls?" Rachel asked, hands on her hips. "Not four months ago we were all getting along just fine, at the beach!"
They stayed quiet.
"Look, it's our last year. Do you guys really want to remember it as the year we were all fighting each other?" Rachel asked.
"Do you know what growing up is about? Losing things." Quinn answered herself. "In six months, we'll all be gone. Scattered across the country."
"We'll keep in touch." Mercedes shrugged.
"Yeah, but it won't be the same." Rachel said, picking at her nails. "When we see each other, it will be a special occasion, be something different."
"I don't want to grow up yet." Quinn said slowly. "I don't want to grow up yet if it means losing all of you."
"What are we supposed to do? Come back to glee club, sing background for Blaine and Rachel and never be in the spotlight again? No, we know what it's like to be a star member now. It would be too disappointing to go back on the bottom." Mercedes said.
"What if I tell you that both Mr. Schue and I have agreed to let the Trouble Tones sing one group number per competition?" Rachel asked.
"You two did not agree on that." Santana accused.
"Yes we did, I wouldn't be saying it if we hadn't."
"I'm listening." Mercedes said.
"Look, I know I went a little crazy." Santana and Mercedes 'pfft'ed at her. "But I'm here now. I'm seventeen, I have the rest of my life to make my own descisions. I love glee club, I love you girls and when we're 27 or 87 I want us to be able to look back on these next six months...and how it was the best times of our lives." Quinn said."And we can't do that if we aren't all together."
"We're doing a big number in the auditorium to celebrate and we are in desperate need for a few more girl voices. You should join us." Rachel said and the two girls left.
"I miss them." Brittany said.
"Me too, B." Mercedes said.
"Me too." Santana murmured.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Give me a second, I, I need to get my story straight. My friends are in the bathroom, getting higher than the Empire State. My lover, he's waiting for me, just across the bar. My seat'ss been taken by some sunglasses, asking 'bout a scar, and..." Rachel sang, prancing around the stage and dodging the other members on the ground.
"I know I gave it to you months ago. I know you're trying to forget. But between the drinks and subtle things, the holes in my apologies, you know I'm trying hard to take it back." Blaine sang, standing up to take her hand.
"So if by the time the bar closes..." Noah sang, looking at Quinn.
"And you feel like falling down...I'll carry you home..." She joined him, smiling slightly.
"Tonight...We are young...So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun!" The New Directions sang and everyone got up off the ground, singing and fott-tapping to the beat.
"Tonight...We are young...So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun!" Brittany, Mercedes, Santana and Sugar echoed and Rachel and Quinn grinned at them.
"Now I know that I'm not, all that you got. I guess that I, I just thought maybe we could find a ways to fall apart!" Santana sang, shrugging and stepped out onto the stage.
"But our friends in back! So let's raise a cup, 'cause I found someone to carry me home!" Rachel sang, offering her hand, but grinned and laughed when Santana hugged her. The two walked over to the rest of the group. Quinn and Mercedes danced and SUgar jumped onto Artie's lap. Mike and Brittany danced their way onto the stage.
"Tonight...We are young...So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun..." The boys sang.
"Tonight...We are young...So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun..." The girls sang. "Carry me home tonight...Just carry me home tonight...Carry me home tonight...Just carry me home tonight..."
"The world is on my side...I have no reason to run...So will someone come and carry me home tonight?" The boys sang.
"The angels never arrived...But I can hear the choir...So will someone come and carry me home?" Rachel, Quinn, Santana and Mercedes sang. Santana and Finn hugged each other, hanging on a few seconds longer than nesaccary, along with Quinn and Noah.
"Tonight...We are young..." Rachel sang, dead center.
"So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun!" Blaine joined her and took her hand, smiling.
"Tonight...We are young...So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun..." Rachel and Mercedes hugged, along with Blaine and Kurt. Rory and Brittany one-armed hugged each other. Miek and Tina cuddled. Mercedes and Sam kept glancing at each other.
"So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I'll carry you home tonight..." Rachel and Blaine finished softly and soon, both glee clubs were joined in a giant bear hug, with Will as well.
Reviews are lovely, my lovelies. :)