Lean on Me

Self-Absorbed Author's Ramblings: Whooooo. We're one chapter away from the end \:D/ (though I might put in an epilogue or something after)

And since the next chapter is the finale, I might take extra long with it because I'm probably gonna be pretty OC with it and it's gotta be all BOOM and SCHAZAM in all the right parts right. (That, and I have to animate and edit like fifteen scenes; draw and color ten comic pages and two covers; figure out a one-minute experimental animation; and record and edit some voiceovers in the next three weeks or so. Therefore be warned, I'm gonna be swamped and I can't promise a short wait between this chapter and the next)

Oh, and I just noticed that this chapter's unusually short. Let's just say it's that way coz it's kind of a filler...?

Chapter Twenty-One

The moment Brittany entered the choir room, Santana practically bounced over to her. "Did you hear it? Did you hear the news?" If Brittany hadn't, the cheers of celebration coming from the Troubletones and Ms. Corcoran probably already gave away the results.

"Yeah, I heard it." Brittany sounded distracted, which was bizarre considering how worked up she was about this whole thing just moments ago. Santana opened her mouth to ask Brittany what was going on, but as if she could read Santana's mind, Brittany already had the answer ready. "I think we should talk about Bennet sometime."

At the mention of the name, Santana tensed. "Why? Did she do something? Did that bitch hit you again? What happened?" She looked over Brittany's shoulder at Quinn, who just looked uncomfortable and shrugged.

"It's nothing, Santana." Brittany tried to pacify Santana. "It's nothing like that." She smiled, and it almost looked genuine. "Let's just celebrate for now, okay?"

Santana narrowed her eyes and regarded Brittany and Quinn with suspicion, but nevertheless managed to nod and say. "Okay. We'll worry about it later." This time, Santana was going to make sure that they actually did get to talk before going to sleep.

If another slap happened… Santana would probably lose it.

Brittany could see that Santana was still on the edge about it, but they didn't have time to dwell on that, because the Troubletones all swooped in and surrounded her with hugs and cheers and congratulations. Santana ended up being carried along by the moment and eventually decided to just go with the flow than fight the current.

Then the cheers died down as all heads turned to face the doorway upon hearing a knock.

There, they saw Kurt, hunched over with a crestfallen expression, while Blaine, ever at his side, looked sympathetic.

"Hi… I'm… sorry to interrupt." Kurt looked down at his boots and drew a semi-circle with his toe. "I'd… I'd like to speak to you, Brittany. If that's okay."

A quick observation of Kurt's posture and tone didn't hint at any aggression or malice, so Brittany figured that he could be more sad than mad about losing the presidential race to her. Taking Santana's hand because either way, Brittany preferred to have her close, they approached Kurt and Blaine together, stopping just a meter away.

"Dramaaaaaaaa."

"Sugar!" Mercedes swatted Sugar's shoulder. "Girl, be quiet!"

Kurt smiled slightly, and a sound that was almost a chuckle left his mouth before he said, "First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on your win, and I hope there are no hard feelings between us because of this."

"Unicorns and bicorns can't stay mad at each other forever when they're in the same herd."

Blaine just looked confused, but Kurt looked like he sort of understood. At the very least, he could remember their unicorn talk back when she was still his campaign manager. "I admit that at first… I had a lot of doubts about you…" Then he lowered his voice to just barely more than a whisper. "And to be perfectly honest with you, I was initially more concerned about getting extra credit for my NYADA application, than any focus on anti-bullying." He shrugged. "That part only came later on."

Brittany didn't quite approve of this, but she didn't give voice to that thought. It wasn't the right time, and it wasn't necessary.

"And I think… you could be a decent president. I think that if you could remind me to embrace my own magic and own up to my unicron-ness." Now, Kurt sort of laughed and shrugged again. "I'm probably not phrasing that right, but you get the idea. You got me to remember that I had better chances of owning up to it and using it at the head of my campaign, than if I had done everything with that toned down, depressing poster I showed you those months ago."

"It really was depressing." Brittany said, but with a joking tone and a smile. She nudged Santana. "You should've seen it, it was like looking at the picture of a dead president."

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, it kind of did…"

Now, it was Kurt nudging Blaine. "Anyway… what I'm trying to say is… I'm impressed and I think you could be a great president who'll get other people to embrace their magic too. That's what you wanted me to do when you were still my campaign manager, and I figure that's what you want to do now that you're president."

"Yup. That's exactly what I'm planning to do. That and make this school a safer place for everyone." Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and grinned at her and received a grin in return. This was something. This was their glee friends trying to understand the magic and not trying to downplay it or ridicule it. This was more than they could have ever hoped for.

"Sounds good to me." Kurt said, then his smile fell. "And finally… I'd like to apologize for underestimating you. Both in your campaign, and in the choir room."

"I'm here to apologize about that, too." Blaine added.

Brittany gestured for them to come over, and just like the group hug with Tina and Mike, she got the four of them together and told them, "I can't stay mad at you guys. We unicorns and bicorns should stick together, right?"

Shortly after the brief celebration and a discussion on preparations and plans for the weekend, Ms. Corcoran promised to come to tomorrow's full-day rehearsal at Quinn's house, and dismissed the group.

Now, six of the Troubletones were gathered in the Fabray living room, which had been cleared out, the furniture pushed to the walls, so that there would be enough space to sing and dance.

This was a place that Quinn normally did everything in her power to avoid because of the memories still attached to it, the tension it gave her. But now, seeing it full of people she felt quite comfortable with, and laid out very differently, Quinn could almost forget that this was the same room.

Now was the ideal opportunity to give it new memories, and Quinn threw all her energy into the rehearsal with Brittany, Santana Mercedes, Sugar and Amanda.

It was challenging at first. Since their partners weren't around yet, Quinn and Mercedes had to partner up for the move they'd jokingly started calling the Brittango. And as much as she loved Mercedes, it was harder than Quinn was willing to admit to dance with her. Sugar and Amanda also got off to a rocky start. Sugar didn't trust Amanda enough and kept firing out threats she'd follow through with if Amanda dropped her. Brittany also started to get irritable with them all for moving so slowly and out of sync. Santana threatened Quinn with violence every time her foot was accidentally stepped on.

By one in the morning, everyone was just exhausted. But at least they managed one run-through without yelling at each other. It wasn't perfect. Quinn nearly tripped and Amanda bumped into Mercedes. But they were moving a lot faster now, more in time with Mercedes and Santana's singing.

Quinn wouldn't exactly refer to these as… happy memories.

But they were a lot better than the thoughts and memories normally attached to this room, for which she was grateful. At least these new memories, Quinn could look back at with fondness, and if they ever got to talking about it, there would probably be some laughs, too. Just like how New Directions sometimes looks back at rehearsals and jokes about mistakes and fights made during that stressful time.

"Do you think we might have a chance at winning?" Quinn asked Brittany, Santana and Mercedes, who were still awake. Amanda had crawled into her sleeping bag the moment rehearsal ended, while Sugar had flopped onto her mattress without another word.

Mercedes was the first to answer, "I think we've got a pretty good chance. I mean we're really making up for all the time we've lost and we're getting the hang of it fast."

"Besides, we could always use the Skanks and Lauren to intimidate the judges." Quinn was about to be appalled by Santana's suggestion until she realized that Santana was smiling. It was a joke.

Quinn really had to loosen up.

"I can imagine them doing some of those really cool gravity-defying stunts those wrestlers do." Brittany said, nudging Santanna and smiling with her.

Mercedes laughed at the image that conjured before saying, "I think that with or without that secret weapon, we could win."

If they won though… Quinn wasn't sure if she would be happy about the part she played in the Troubletones winning or if she should feel bad for New Directions's loss.

All too well, she could remember how bad they would all feel every time they lost, and she could imagine the looks on their faces upon hearing the results. It would definitely feel weird considering the fact that some of them used to be part of New Directions before joining the Troubletones.

And it would be a shame if Rachel would hardly get any opportunity to sing afterwards.

"Hey guys…" Quinn had an idea, and even though they were all friends, she wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to make such a suggestion when she'd only joined so recently. "If we win… what if… What if we offered to let ND join us if we win?"

"Both their guys and their girls?" Mercedes asked, seeming to consider the idea while Brittany and Santana's smiles faded at the same time.

Quinn hadn't quite thought of that." Well… both, I guess?" Though she wouldn't feel too pleased with the idea of being in the same group as Finn again, and she doubted Santana and Brittany would like it, Quinn had to acknowledge the fact that there were some good guys there, too. Sam, for one, seemed pretty concerned about Santana once he found out about her situation. Kurt and Blaine were okay, too. And Mike and Rory. Actually… almost all of the guys except for Finn.

"I could be down with that." Mercedes turned to Santana and Brittany, who had yet to say anything on the subject. "What about you guys?"

"I'm pretty sure Finn hates me too much to like the idea." Santana said, folding her arms across her chest and leaning closer to Brittany. "And Berry's gonna hog our spotlight again."

Brittany didn't say anything.

Quinn considered their points for a moment before saying, "What if we made a condition? Like Ms. Corcoran calls the shots and Mercedes is the team captain and what the two of them say is what goes?"

"I like the sound of that." Mercedes said. "As long as we don't let Rachel or Finn or Mr. Schue take over in any way, I think there's no harm in at least giving them the option to join."

"Well…" Santana's brow furrowed as she looked at the floor and avoided their eyes. "I dunno…"

Finally, Brittany spoke up. "I don't like the idea of Finn being near her."

"Maybe… maybe he won't even accept the offer." Santana said, looking slightly alarmed by the cold edge to Brittany's tone. Quinn couldn't blame her. She felt stunned and a little scared by it, too. "Maybe way too much shit's gone down between us for it to be fixed, and he won't want any part of this. And he'll just say no."

"Maybe…" Brittany sounded less intimidating now, but still doubtful and tense.

"So… we'll make the offer?" Quinn asked, "Just before the competition?"

"I guess." Santana said, still reluctant and uncomfortable. "As long as Berry understands that it's our turn to be the divas and her turn to be in the background."

Quinn nodded, "I'll talk to her about that." Hopefully Rachel would listen.

Brittany just nodded.

"I'll run it by Shelby in the morning then." Mercedes said.

From her spot at the other end of the room, Sugar grumbled something about wanting cookies before rolling over and remaining asleep. Which reminded Quinn that there was something they were supposed to talk about.

"Oh yeah," She started, wanting to get right onto the topic before she forgot again. "Sugar was supposed to talk to us about this, but…." Qunn spared a quick glance in Sugar's direction, still saw that she was asleep, and continued, "Since she's not available right now, I'll say it. It's about Susan."

If Brittany had seemed tense a while ago, she was even more wired up now. She went so far as to wrap her arms around Santana in a way that was unmistakably protective. "What about her?"

"Sugar overheard her talking about meeting up with Rick the Stick." Quinn said. "Sugar claimed that there was something odd and secretive about the way Susan brought it up, which Sugar thinks could be cause for concern."

At the mention of Rick's name, Santana's eyes widened for the briefest of moments before narrowing. "Meeting up? Like…. Hooking up? Or what?"

"She's lost her spot on the Cheerios, so she might be trying to get some popularity points by dating a jock." Mercedes gave her theory and ended with a self-conscious shrug. "But I dunno…"

"Any spell she's trying to work on with Rick to gain popularity won't work because Rick's suspended and Susan's lost her powers." Brittany said.

Quinn nodded, "That's what I was thinking. If she's trying to snag a guy for popularity's sake, there are far better choices. Rick may be the hockey captain, but I think his suspension's put him in a bad light."

"I'm not sure about that." Mercedes said, "It depends on who you overhear. Last week, there were some freshmen in the bathroom who were talking about how badass it is that he got suspended. And they even said it was such a turn on." Tensing her shoulders, Mercedes shuddered at the memory, "I hope I never have to hear what I heard ever again."

"That's gross." Santana's face showed her disgust.

Mercedes nodded in agreement and shuddered again. Then she looked at Quinn, "Still, we could be making a fuss about nothing. Sugar could just be being her usual drama queen self, making a big thing out of a small thing."

"True. Sugar likes to do that. But I think that we should still be careful around Susan." The emphasis Brittany put in Susan's name, lowering her tone and hardening her voice… it showed just how strongly she was disliked. Though Quinn couldn't blame her, she still felt uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the concept of Brittany being able to get angry and hold a grudge. "Remember when you two were at each others' throats about Cheerios stuff?"

Upon recalling this, Quinn shifted uneasily and looked down. That was one of her very low moments. She and Santana tended to have an on and off friendship when it came to the Cheerios, but some of the things Quinn did to rise up while pushing Santana down…

It wasn't something she felt proud of, or at all willing to look back at.

"Yeah… we were really bad." Santana's reaction was different, almost amused. When Quinn looked up, she saw a smirk. "I totally kicked your ass in the hallway last year, Q."

Quinn rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Mercedes interrupted. "I think that maybe she could be up to something. But right now, we really don't have enough info to figure out what it is, and if The Stick is even part of it."

"Let's just stay as far away from her as possible." Brittany said, resting her chin against Santana's shoulder.. "And just cast protective spells and be careful."

"If we're lucky, she'll fall into the sewers and be stuck there for the rest of her life." Santana said.

Mercedes tilted her head slightly. "By the way... Brittany, did you really spend last last summer in the sewers?"

"I hear that Sewer Gators live on the moon."

Only Santana smiled and it was when she started to laugh that Quinn and Mercedes awkwardly exchanged a glance and tried to laugh along.

Conversation lightens up after that, then eventually, they decide to settle down. Brittany and Santana share a mattress to the side, while Quinn and Mercedes take sleeping bags side by side, a little further off.

It was time.

"So what about Bleachhead?"

Brittany looked confused for a moment, then her eyebrows shot upwards. "Oh, that!" Her eyes darted towards the ceiling. Santana followed Brittany's gaze up to the ornate decorations. "Do you think Lord Tubbington can climb up to Quinn's chandelier?"

Santana returned her gaze to Brittany and raised an eyebrow, quietly letting her knew that avoiding the topic wasn't going to work.

With a sigh, Brittany let her eyes wander the living room for a moment, prolonging the wait, hesitating, bracing herself. Then finally, she said it. "I've been thinking about maybe giving her a second change."

A second chance? Santana felt her blood boil and automatically clenched her hands into fists, imagining how it would feel to swing them in the direction of Bennet's damn bleached head. "Why the hell should we?" Her voice had started to rise in volume, and Santana had to stop herself and take a deep breath to be able to regain control. Her next words came out as a whisper. "No way in hell."

What Brittany said next was unbelievably surprising. "I agree. I really don't want Bennet to taint any of our oxygen with her prescence, much less give her a second chance."

"Wh… then why the hell are we even considering this for?"

Brittany shrugged. "Bennet's having a hard time now. Susan's abandoned her. The people she thought were her friends hardly seem to give her the time of day anymore." There was something weirdly familiar about what Brittany was describing, but Santana was too caught up in how good it felt to hear that one of the people who made life so hellish was finally facing some consequences. "It's as if the universe is delivering the punishment she deserves."

Santana stopped short of saying 'that's a good thing, isn't it?' The part of her that she didn't listen to very often unless she was with Brittany, the part that tried to be sympathetic and considerate… it reminded her of how bad things were immediately after the outing. How painful and humiliating experience after experience had been.

She couldn't help but know exactly how it felt to have so much stripped away in such a short time, and how it seemed like there was no one to turn to.

It's not an experience Santana would want happening to any of the good people she cared about.

Bennet wasn't any of those people. But still… Santana found herself sympathizing.

Just a little. "I'm not too crazy about the idea of giving her a second chance, Britt."

"Me neither." Brittany said, "But if we have her rejoin the Cheerios, or even TT if she wants, Bennet will have to put a lid on her unicornphobia. She's not going to be able to bash us openly anymore."

"Well yeah…"

"In a way… we'll be just a little bit safer."

Santana could see that Brittany felt just as uneasy and hesitant about this. It was a decision they both needed to consider thoroughly, and come to an agreement on together. Something they would have to support and comfort each other on.

"Good point, Britt…" Santana said, "But I'm not ready to jump on the idea just yet. Maybe… maybe we should give it some time. Maybe let's talk about this again after Sectionals."

"Yeah, let's focus on winning this, first."

The next day, they rehearse exhaustively.

With no Mr. Schue to take over or Rachel to compete with or Finn to complain or Mike to help, Brittany was in complete control of the dancing part. She kept a close eye on everyone, catching and correcting mistakes, even Santana's. Ms. Corcoran would occasionally give suggestions, but for the most part, she just watched them and seconded Brittany's comments after each run-through.

The command she had was kind of exhilarating. Brittany liked the way they actually looked up to her figuratively as much as literally, and they did make an effort to take her comments into consideration and improve at their next try. Even the Skanks and Lauren were listening to her!

Brittany tried to be as gentle and constructive as possible, and it seemed to be working wonders. They were actually a lot more successful today than they were yesterday. It could be because Ms. Corcoran's presence encouraged people to be more professional and focused. It could be that they were starting fresh in the morning instead of at the end of the day. It could be that they all wanted to give it their best shot since competition time was tomorrow.

Whatever it was, Brittany figured she should just be thankful that things were running so smoothly.

It really was surprising that the Skanks arrived on time and were being active. It wasn't surprising though that they tried to offer cigarettes and some other questionable items to Sugar and Amanda during the lunch break while Ms. Corcoran had her back turned. Brittany put a stop to the transaction just in time.

Besides that little incident though, Brittany felt great about how Saturday went.

And then Sunday came, and though she felt the usual pre-performance anxiety clawing at her from the inside, Brittany felt quite hopeful.

As the girls flitted about in the dressing room, Brittany kept memories of the successful rehearsal in her mind to keep herself calm. They've got this. They were an incredibly varied bunch of girls with different backgrounds and personalities and shapes and colors and motivations, but while they were in this room, they were one. They were the Troubletones, and they were going to be trouble for the other teams.

Brittany's confidence wavered when Amanda approached, looking increasingly agitated. But it could just be nervousness. Everyone got nervous before a performance. It was normal.

Then Amanda leaned in and whispered, "It's Susan. She keeps sending me these mean texts."

Brittany could feel the confidence begin to slip through her fingers. "Mean texts?"

Amanda nodded, "About how I'm going to regret ratting them all out, and I'm next. And then she'll go on about how she's going to deal with you and Santana first, and you're going down and…" Her voice fading into a whisper, Amanda shook her head, "And… just some really really mean things about you two…"

There was worry and fear in Amanda's eyes, and though Brittany felt it herself, she made sure to smile and put as much warmth into her voice as she could. "She's just mad and looking for someone to vent to. Don't worry about it, Amanda."

Amanda halfheartedly nodded, but was clearly still anxious, afraid even.

"It's going to be okay." Brittany patted the younger girl's shoulder and tried not to think about the last time she said those words and had them thrown back in her face.

S-A.A.R.: I was supposed to include an extra small scene where Quinn and Mercedes talk, and Mercedes talks about the latest with her and Sam, and Quinn kind of regrets not treating him better, and tells Mercedes that they'll make a good coulpe. And Mercedes also says that Sam already apologized to Brittany.

Buuuut... the scene felt unnecessary-ish. And I got lazy. xD

On another note, if there's any particular small scene or interaction you really wanna see during the competition, feel free to make a suggestion, and I'll consider working it in if it looks like it'll fit. :)

And again, I apologize for how short this chapter is.