"How the hell could you do this?"
Quinn rolled her eyes in irritation, turning away from Finn. Seriously? This conversation again? It was bad enough with Ryan, she did not need to rehash it with Finn Hudson of all people. "Oh, don't get all up in my face, Finn, what were we supposed to do?" She shut her locker door and walked away, hoping he took the hint. Of course, he followed her.
"Uh, quit Cheerios?" he asked, as though it were obvious. "Coach Sylvester is awful to you guys. And don't forget who was there for you last time she dumped you on your ass. Us. Glee club."
"And you don't think I feel awful about that?" Quinn retorted, spinning on her heel to face him with a glare.
"You don't need to be a Cheerio to be cool."
"Ugh, you are so naïve," Quinn said in disgust. Finn had no right to say that when he was the king of insecurity when it came to his popularity status. "This whole school is about labels."
"I didn't realize you were so freaking weak."
Really? Quinn opened her mouth angrily to lay into Finn when her boyfriend showed up behind him.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Ryan asked, glaring at Finn, pulling him around so they were face to face. Quinn stopped talking, folding her arms in front of her chest as she watched the two boys talk.
"All the Cheerios are leaving glee club," Finn said angrily.
"I know that," Ryan said evenly, his hard gaze still on Finn. "That still doesn't give you the right to yell at her."
"Dude, I'm the leader of this team –"
"Excuse me?" Ryan eyed him disbelievingly. "You are a co-captain of the glee club, dude, a position which frankly now that you bring it up, I don't think you're filling to the best of your abilities."
Finn sputtered at him. "What?!"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "You're the football quarterback, you are in the best position possible to influence the football team to ease off on their bullying. You're their leader, and as you said you're one of the captains of the New Directions. And yet the glee club is constantly being harassed by the football team and you don't do a thing about it."
"The other guys don't listen to me," Finn said defensively. Quinn scowled, folding her arms in front of her. She couldn't believe she'd ever dated this idiot.
"If you were any type of leader at all you should have found some way to bring the two groups to a peaceful resolution somehow, or at the very least gotten them to cease hostilities," Ryan pointed out heatedly. "If you're not willing to step up and be a leader, then you might as well leave the position to someone who can handle it."
"You mean like someone you?" Finn challenged. "You know, just because Coach Beiste gave you that jacket doesn't mean you're a big shot now."
"Maybe not, but at least I know where my loyalties lie, and everything I do around here is to benefit the glee club."
Finn scowled. "You wanna settle this right now?" He pushed a large hand against Ryan's shoulder, shoving him back slightly. Ryan scowled.
"You're seriously picking a fight in the middle of a school hallway, Hudson?" he gritted out, forcing himself not to retaliate. Fortunately Finn seemed to come to his senses, a constipated-looking expression coming to his face. Finally Quinn stepped in.
"Finn, you have absolutely no right to say anything to me when you're the one so weak you couldn't even stand up to one football player for you stepbrother," she seethed. If there was anything she couldn't stand it was self-righteous hypocrites. "So just back off, okay?"
"You heard her," Ryan glared at Finn for a moment. "You say you're a leader? Grow up and act like it."
Finn scoffed, before walking off angrily. Ryan and Quinn watched him leave.
"I could have handled that, you know," she said, not looking at him. She heard him sigh, and looked at him just in time to see his hand combing through his hair.
"I know," he said shortly. "I just didn't think he should be allowed to yell at you like that without reprimand, and we both know Mr. Schue isn't going to do a thing," he added, nodding at said teacher, who was standing at the other end of the hall. "That said, he had a point. As I told you yesterday, you don't need the Cheerios. I mean sure, the popularity is great, but you have actual friends in glee club, who were there for you when you needed them."
"It's not that simple," she argued.
"Well, then, we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this point then." He turned to go. Quinn scowled, as she chased after her boyfriend. She'd be damned if she was going to let one of Coach Sylvester's tantrums get between them. She grabbed his wrist as she caught up to him, dragging him into an empty classroom. Ryan glared at her. "Quinn, you've already made yourself clear, I don't have anything more to say."
"Well too bad, because I'm not done yet," Quinn told him severely. "I need to stay on the Cheerios, Ryan."
"Yes, we've established that, but come on, Quinn, really?"
"I know that," Quinn said heatedly. "But I can't leave."
"Why not?"
Quinn looked down. "I need the Cheerios because there's a chance I can get a scholarship for it. Since the divorce, my mom can't afford to send me anywhere good. And I need to get out of here, Ryan," she said, looking at him fiercely. "I can't stay here forever. And the only chance I have to get out of here is if I can get into college, which isn't going to happen unless I manage to get a scholarship. Do you understand?"
Ryan stood there silently for a moment. "Yes," he said quietly. "I understand."
"Good." She couldn't stay here in this hellhole of a town. Especially if he was leaving too.
"Wouldn't it be possible to get a scholarship from something else, though?" Ryan asked. "Like academics, I know you're at the top of almost our classes. Or even for glee, if we win Nationals –"
Quinn shook her head. "Academic scholarships are crazy competitive. There aren't enough to go around. And I'm not like you, you know I'm not that good of a singer. And the Cheerios are National champions, Ryan. I can't pass this up."
Ryan sighed in defeat. "Okay." He ran his hand through his hair unhappily.
"Thank you."
"I still don't like it." He frowned. "And where are we supposed to find three singers to replace you? One was hard enough, and I'm still not quite convinced that taking Lauren Zizes was a good idea."
"You'll figure it out," Quinn told him. They had to.
..
"Thanks, Brad," Ryan smiled at the glee club's taciturn pianist as he gathered up his sheet music. He'd needed to rework a couple of parts of the Thriller/Heads Will Roll mash up for the halftime show and had stayed behind to work with Brad.
Ryan headed to the boys' locker rooms to get his zombie makeup off, quickly scrubbing the stage makeup off with some special soap. He was just rinsing it off when the entire football club barged into the locker rooms, covered in what seemed to be… "Is that cherry slushy?" he asked in surprise.
Mike nodded. "Some of the hockey guys must have made a Seven-Eleven run, they got all of us pretty good."
Karofsky stumbled over to one of the sinks, splashing water in his face. "My eyes, they're burning!"
Finn wiped at his own face with a towel, lucky enough not to get any in his eyes. "Just relax, they'll stop burning after a couple of hours."
"There's no way I'm letting that happen again!"
"He's in the first stage of loser-dom," Artie predicted. "Denial."
"No!" Karofsky said defensively. "I am not a loser, and I don't sing and dance. I walk tall, and carry a big stick!"
Finn approached him, only to get pushed off. "Dude, just relax, it's gonna be fine."
"Yeah it is," Karofsky snarled, flicking his eyes toward Ryan for a moment. "Because I'm quitting glee club."
"No you're not," Coach Beiste spoke out suddenly as she entered the room. "Covered in ice and Red Dye #7, you guys looked more like a team than you ever did on the field."
Karofsky shook his head. "I don't care. I'm out."
"Then you're off the team."
"No way." Karofsky looked at his team in consternation, receiving questioning looks in return. Ryan could see that the football players, except for the ones in glee club, looked to Karofsky for their cues. The decision Karofsky made right now would go for all of them. "If we all quit you barely have enough guys to play on Friday. It's the championship game, you're not gonna give that up."
Coach Beiste looked him dead in the eye. "Try me."
"Don't do this," Finn said. "If we stand together, and we do the halftime show, we could win the game and be kings in this place."
Karofsky looked at her, before glancing around him at the other guys on the team, who shook their heads at him.
He looked back at the coach, then back at Finn. "Good luck with that." He led the rest of the football team, leaving Finn, Mike, Sam, Puck, and Artie as the only players on the team. Ryan quickly followed the football team out of the locker room, catching up to Karofsky.
"What do you want?" he asked once the other guys had scattered.
"Just because a few guys on the hockey team have a negative reaction to you guys doing the halftime show doesn't mean everyone will," Ryan said, trying to persuade him.
"I said I don't care. I am not going out to do some gay routine out in front of a hundred people. It's not happening."
Ryan sighed, having suspected something like this. "Look, the rest of the guys on the football team are following your lead. Think about this. You're keeping them from playing in the championship game. If you decide to perform with us, they'll all do it too."
Karofsky hesitated for a second. Then he shook his head firmly. "No. I'm not doing it. Just back off, okay?" He turned around and strode off, leaving Ryan in the hallway watching him.
"Thanks," Ryan smiled at the Lima Bean barista who handed him his order. Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste were busy figuring out how to fix the mess with the football team, meaning that glee rehearsals were cancelled for the day. He walked back to the table he was sharing with Tina and Mike. Quinn had Cheerios, so she hadn't been able to come. And she was still on the outs with the glee club.
"Coach Beiste put up a sign-up sheet for guys who want to be on the football team," Mike was saying. "She was hoping she could get some more guys."
"Well, that's good, right?" Tina asked. "I mean, loads of guys probably want to get on the team."
Mike sighed. "That's just the problem, no one's signed up yet."
"Wait, how's that possible?" Tina wondered. "Didn't she cut a whole bunch of people earlier this year? She even cut Finn."
"Yes, but the news that Karofsky and the other guys are boycotting the team is probably all over the school," Ryan said. "And I imagine they'd be rather upset if someone does try to take their place. No one wants to risk annoying the whole football team."
"Yeah," Mike nodded.
Tina sighed, rubbing his back. "It's just so unfair, you guys have worked really hard to get to the championships, and now you might not even get to play."
Ryan nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "It's just so sad because the teams were getting along quite well before this." His eyes were caught by a familiar person walking up to the counter. "Guys, my friend Blaine's over there, you mind if I ask him to sit with us?"
Both of them shook their heads. "No problem," Tina said.
"Good, because he just spotted me," Ryan chuckled, waving at his friend. "Hey Blaine. Want to sit?"
"Hi Ryan," Blaine smiled back. "Yeah, but only if I'm not interrupting anything."
"No, it's fine. This is Mike Chang, and that's Tina Cohen-Chang," Ryan introduced his classmates. "Guys, this is Blaine Anderson."
Tina waved at the newcomer with a smile, and Mike nodded. "You're the lead singer from the Warblers, right?" he asked.
Blaine nodded back. "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to Regionals," he added, as he sat down. "You guys were great."
"Well, so were you, that's why we tied," Ryan said.
"How do you know Ryan?" Tina asked curiously.
"Oh, we went to the same voice teacher back in middle school," Blaine answered, setting his mug down on the table as he opened a packet of sugar. "I moved away after 8th grade though."
Ryan nodded in confirmation, before asking, "What are you doing over here?"
"Oh, this place is a regular Dalton haunt," Blaine said. "I'm actually waiting for Kurt, I'm supposed to meet him here. He said he just had to swing by his house to get something. How about you guys?"
"We're decompressing," Ryan said dryly. "We're having a bit of a situation with our football team." He quickly ran Blaine through the drama. "So the championship game is on Friday, and we have five guys on the football team, the ones who are also in glee."
"And one of them's in a wheelchair," Tina added.
"That is a mess," Blaine agreed. "Don't you guys have reserves?"
Mike shook his head. "Even the reserves quit. There are open tryouts, but so far no one's taking the bait. I think we're taking pretty much anyone at this point."
Ryan nodded. "I already signed up, and Coach Beiste agreed. I just feel really sorry for the football guys, they've worked so hard to get to this game. They already take so much abuse for being in glee, and winning this game might take some of the pressure off. I think they'll take anyone to fill the team places at this point."
Blaine nodded pensively. "Well, the good news is you only need three more guys. High school regulations actually let you play a couple of guys short if you want to."
Just then Ryan spotted Kurt coming towards them.
"Hi Kurt," Tina smiled, standing to give Kurt a hug.
"Hey Tina, Mike. Ryan. Hey Blaine." Kurt sat down at their table, giving his fellow Warbler a questioning glance. "I didn't know you guys knew each other."
"Yeah, Ryan and have actually known each other for a few years," Blaine said. "I just met Mike and Tina."
A minute later Kurt went to the counter to order, and Blaine went with him to get a biscuit. "He's cute," Tina said, when the two were out of earshot. Ryan chuckled as Mike gave his girlfriend an incredulous glance. "Oh, don't give me that look," she told him.
"Yes, I suppose he's kind of good-looking, from an objective point of view," Ryan said in amusement. "He's also 100% gay."
"Oh," Tina sighed. Mike just smiled, a little relieved.
The next morning, Shelby woke up to the beeping of her 7 AM alarm. She reached out to shut it off, before spending a few more moments in bed, eyes closed as she contemplated what was supposed to happen today. Her days were a lot more relaxed than they had been when she was coaching Vocal Adrenaline, something she was enjoying. Then she opened them again as she heard her bedroom door open and close. She smiled. "Hey."
"Hey, sleepyhead," James teased as he came over to the bed in just his pants, leaning down to kiss her sweetly on the lips. Shelby pulled him down next to her so they were lying side by side, before giving him another kiss.
"Did you take a shower?" she asked, running a hand lazily through his slightly damp hair.
"Yeah," James nodded. "I borrowed some of Ryan's stuff, otherwise I'd smell like lavender. I'd never hear the end of it at work."
"Hey, my stuff smells perfectly fine."
"Sure it does, on you." James buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. "Not so much on almost-40-year-old guys."
"Point taken," Shelby chuckled, resting a hand lightly on his bare chest. "Is Ryan up yet?"
"I don't think so, his door was still closed when I went outside."
"He's been pretty busy with the glee club lately, I guess he decided to sleep in." Shelby bit her lip. "You don't think this is going to freak him out, do you?" she asked, gesturing between the two of them. They hadn't had overnight stays very often, maybe just twice in the last month, preferring to spend time together when they knew for sure Ryan wasn't going to walk in on something traumatizing. Things had gotten a bit out of hand last night, though.
"I'm pretty sure he's figured it out," James admitted, having received strange looks from their son several times when he was over in the early mornings. "Do you want me to talk to him?"
"If you could, yeah," Shelby smiled gratefully. She wasn't quite sure how to broach this particular topic with Ryan, and if James would do it, more power to him. She stretched, before sitting up, smirking slightly at James' inhale when the blankets fell off. She picked his shirt up off the floor, shrugging it on. "I'm going to go take my own shower."
He seemed to shake himself slightly before answering, "Okay."
Minutes later, the two of them were downstairs in the kitchen, in their own clothes, sharing the paper, when Ryan came downstairs. "Mom, did you –" he stopped short as he saw both his parents sitting at the counter, drinking coffee. "I didn't know you were here already," Ryan said slowly.
Shelby glanced at James, who was looking at Ryan. "I crashed here last night, is that okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Ryan answered guardedly. Shelby found their interaction interesting, two guys suddenly unsure of their standing with each other. She cleared her throat.
"Ryan, you should eat breakfast before you go to school."
"Okay," Ryan shook his head, before pulling out some cereal and milk. "I actually wanted to run something by you guys. You know about the whole mess with the football team, right?" Both parents nodded, having heard of the ongoing saga as it progressed. "I've thought about something that might get them qualified for the game."
"This should be good," Shelby said wryly. Ryan's schemes were sometimes on the crazy side, such as sending someone to a crack house.
Ryan gave her a flat look. "Very funny. I was talking to Blaine yesterday, and he said we only need three more guys to play. So I was thinking, maybe if we got the girls on glee club to join, the football team would be allowed to compete."
Shelby raised an eyebrow. "You want the girls to play football? As in, football with 200-pound guys tackling everyone else? Isn't that just a recipe for disaster? And lawsuits?"
"That would only happen if the girls actually played," Ryan corrected. "I thought that if they agreed, as soon as the quarterback snaps the ball, all of them just lie flat on the ground, so they stay out of the action."
James nodded slowly in understanding. "I guess they can't get hurt if they're flat on the ground," he mused.
"Until those 200-pound players land on top of them," Shelby deadpanned.
"Well, they'd be wearing all that protective equipment," Ryan defended. "Besides, it's only if Coach Beiste can't find anyone to join the team. And I thought, to cover our bases, the girls could get their parents to sign off on some permission slips. Which reminds me, you have to sign this." He pulled out a permission slip from his pocket. "I'm filling in for the football team."
Shelby scanned through the slip, before signing it. "I will be very upset if you end up in the hospital because of this," she informed her son.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Ryan said dismissively, taking back the signed form. He quickly swallowed the rest of his breakfast. "I have to go early, I want to find Tina and Mercedes, and possibly Lauren Zizes to see if they'll cooperate." He quickly exited the kitchen, and Shelby heard his car start up a few seconds later.
James turned to Shelby. "Is he mad at me?"
"I'm not really sure," Shelby admitted worriedly. She'd been worried about this since the first time she'd asked James to stay the night. "He's probably just really focused on the school issues."
"I'll talk to him about us," James promised.
"Okay. Just a piece of advice though, you might want to wait until after the football game tomorrow," Shelby said, standing to take her plate to the sink. "He's pretty focused, and you want this talk to go well."
"Got it." James smiled slyly, pressing her up against the counter. "So, since he's not here right now, maybe we can go back upstairs? I've got the afternoon shift today." He pressed a kiss against the side of Shelby's neck, and she hummed in appreciation, the touch sending shivers up her spine.
"Okay," she breathed, her breath hitching as his lips moved to her ear, his hand running along her sides. "But I have work, we need to be quick."
Then she yelped, clutching at James' shoulders as he suddenly swooped down, picking her up to set her on the counter. He crashed their lips together, sending Shelby's head spinning, before pulling back to give her a lascivious grin. "I think I can manage that."
..
That evening, Quinn went home after another exhausting Cheerios practice with Sue screaming at them the whole time. Honestly if the woman wasn't such a damn good coach she would have been fired a dozen times over for child abuse or something already. Mr. Schue was a complete idiot, and Quinn just wanted to scream at him for riling Coach Sylvester up like this. Thank god Shelby had already persuaded her to let up on the cannon.
"Quinn?" Her mom's voice came from the kitchen, and she went inside. "Hello, dear. Dinner's almost ready," Judy looked up at her with a smile, which Quinn returned weakly. Things with her mom had been going pretty well. Their therapy sessions had been doing a world of good, and Quinn was starting to feel comfortable around her again. Not enough to spill everything to her mom, but comfortable.
"Quinn? Are you okay?" Judy waved a hand in front of her daughter's face, and Quinn looked up to meet her gaze.
"Sorry, just thinking."
"Care to share?"
Quinn smiled a little at the casual question. The therapist had encouraged them to talk, but had warned them about pushing the other. Quinn could hear the note of hopefulness in her mom's voice though. "Just some problems with the Cheerios."
"Routine problems?" Judy asked.
Quinn hesitated, before relating the whole situation with Coach Sylvester forcing them to choose between the Cheerios and the glee club. "I'm just not sure I made the right choice," she said, letting her guard down a little.
Judy looked at her as she stirred the pot of sauce she was working on, quiet for a moment. "Which one makes you happier?"
"Huh?" Quinn blinked.
"Which group makes you happier, Cheerios or glee club?" Judy repeated. "The way I see it, you've done a lot of things because they're what you were supposed to do, and a lot of that was our fault." Quinn knew who she meant by 'our'. "So I think it's time you do what you want, not what you think people expect of you."
"I guess glee club makes me happier," Quinn admitted softly. "But I told you –"
"– that you're trying for a cheerleading scholarship," Judy interrupted, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry," she added quietly. "It's partly my fault you won't be able to go to Yale or Harvard or wherever you want."
"No it's not," Quinn said immediately. Her mother's tendency to blame herself had come up quite a bit in their sessions. And she knew exactly whose fault it was. "It's his."
Judy nodded with a sigh. "Right. But sweetheart, I think maybe you'll be able to work it out, without you being miserable about your choice. There are other ways to get scholarships."
Quinn sighed as well. She knew that, but they were really slim, and if she were really honest with herself, a small part of her was scared to leave the Cheerios. The Cheerios were her safety net, from becoming Lucy again. She couldn't get hurt again if she was at the top of the pyramid as Quinn. But her mom was right. She wasn't happy.
Judy turned off the stove, and came over to Quinn to press a kiss against her hair. "Just don't waste your time trying to keep up public appearances like I did. Do what you want, and you'll have support. From your friends, and me too."
Quinn watched her leave the kitchen, frowning as she thought about what her mother had said. She sighed, before going into the dining room to help set the table. This was just so hard.
..
8:45 PM From: Quinn Fabray – Hey
8:47 PM From: Ryan Corcoran – Hey, what's up?
8:48 PM From: Quinn Fabray – Nothing
8:49 PM From: Ryan Corcoran Are you sure? I can come over there if you want?
8:52 PM From: Quinn Fabray – No, it's ok. Just talked with my mom about the Cheerios thing.
8:54 PM From: Ryan Corcoran – Oh.
8:54 PM From: Ryan Corcoran – What did she say?
8:55 PM From: Quinn Fabray – She said I should do what makes me happy
8:55 PM From: Quinn Fabray – Not what I think I'm supposed to do
8:57 PM From: Ryan Corcoran – That's smart of her.
8:58 PM From: Quinn Fabray – Yeah, she was surprisingly useful
8:58 PM From: Ryan Corcoran – Are you reconsidering going to the Cheerios competition? You know there's always room for the three of you if you change your minds.
9:00 PM From: Quinn Fabray – I don't know
Quinn jumped in surprise as the phone in her hand started to ring. She smiled slightly as she picked up. "You surprised me."
"Sorry, I thought this conversation would be better off if conducted orally rather than through text," Ryan's voice came through the connection. "You should listen to what your mom says."
"Yeah, but…" Quinn trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Ryan was quiet for a moment. "Let's take this a step at a time. What makes you happier?"
"Glee."
"Good," Ryan said, obviously pleased. "So what's holding you back? I know it's either the popularity or the scholarship angle. So which one is really holding you back?"
"Both, I suppose." Quinn lay back, intrigued by the way Ryan was going at this.
"So let's look at this from the scholarship side. I know you said that you think cheerleading is the only feasible way you can get a scholarship, but it's not. You're so talented, Quinn, you can get anything you want. I've been looking at college options in New York to find the best performing arts schools, but I've also unearthed courses for things like fine arts, and photography, both of which I know you're interested in. And there are loads of scholarships for those too." He paused. "You're not just a cheerleader, Quinn. You're so much more than that."
Quinn smiled shyly, even knowing that Ryan couldn't see it. "Thanks." She wasn't used to people complimenting her outside of her looks or her cheerleading position. When she was younger it had been impressed on her that frivolous things like art weren't really things to focus on.
"And on the popularity side… what does it matter if people don't part like the Red Sea for you anymore? If you think about it, you're only going to be with these people for less than two more years. They don't matter."
Quinn was quiet for a moment. "How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Not care what people think about you?" It was something Quinn had always admired about him, even before they were together. How he could take all the slushies, all the insults, and keep his head up high and push through with his goals. She'd asked it before, but it was incomprehensible.
"I do care," Ryan admitted, after a moment. "I care a lot, and it does get to me." He was silent for a moment, and Quinn wondered what he was thinking. "But before, I just told myself that I was going to make it out of here, and I was going to make everyone eat their words. Then when things started getting better this year, with you, and my family, I decided that it didn't matter what everyone else said, as long as the people I cared about were proud of me."
"That's… nice." Quinn sighed wistfully.
"You can do it too."
"No I can't."
"Yes you can," Ryan said encouragingly. "You think you can't, but I know you can. You are one of the strongest people I've ever met. Even if you don't think so." He was quiet for a second. "In the end, it's your choice, and I hope you know I'll support you either way, even though you know what I'd like you to do. Just… do what you want to do, like your mom said."
Quinn sighed. "I'll think about it."
"Good. I gotta go, talk to you tomorrow?"
"Okay." Quinn hesitated. "Thanks. Love you."
"I love you too. Anything to help you."
Santana grumpily made her way up the bleachers the next morning at six forty-five, blinking sleepily as she balanced the cup of coffee she'd gotten at the drive-thru on the way over. She plopped herself down next to two blondes near the top of the stands. "This better be really good," she groused.
Brittany rubbed her back, and Santana had to keep herself from arching towards the touch. "Don't worry San, if Q called us out here half an hour before practice starts, she must have a good reason."
"Well then, spill, Tubbers."
Quinn looked at her and Brittany. "Is this worth it?"
Santana groaned. "Q, if you pulled me out of bed for some philosophizing shit –"
"I'm serious," Quinn interrupted. "I want to go with the glee club. But the Cheerios…"
"The Cheerios are what gives us our stripes," Brittany nodded. Santana gave her a look. "You know, it makes us special like zebras. 'Cause without the stripes, then we'd just be horses like everyone else at school."
"Right," Quinn nodded slowly. "And I've been thinking about it… I think we need to go back to glee."
Santana was silent. She'd never admit it, but she wanted to go back to glee too. It was nice to be somewhere where people weren't always screaming at you. And she actually did like singing. "So what do you want to do? 'Cause as much as it kills me, you're the leader."
"Yeah, we've totally got your back, Quinn," Brittany chimed in. "Besides, I don't want to die yet, not until One Tree Hill is cancelled, anyway, which won't be for a couple of years."
Quinn took a deep breath, seeming to steel herself. "Looks like we're leaving the Cheerios."
"Coach is not gonna like this," Santana said, shaking her head. She smirked. "But screw her. She put me on the bottom of the pyramid."
Brittany smiled. "Let's do this."
..
Sure enough, Sue Sylvester was very not happy. "You can't quit Cheerios, it's blood in, blood out," she informed them. "Now get your sweet little cans out on the field, you're doing sprints."
Santana smirked in satisfaction, years of wanting to give it to the vitriolic coach bleeding through. "But we still quit."
Sue stared at them in disbelief. "You're my stars! If you leave, I have no performance!"
"Sucks for you," Brittany said matter-of-factly.
Quinn nodded, folding her arms. This was it. No going back. "Look, Coach, we want to be on the Cheerios," she said. "We just want to be on the glee club more." She leaned forward. "You should be proud, we're doing what you always do, not giving a crap about what other people think."
"This is disappointing, Q. I told you, I thought of you as a young Sue Sylvester. But instead you've allowed Will Schuester and his moronic gaggle of geese to ruin you."
Quinn lifted her chin up slightly in defiance. "Well, maybe I don't want to be you." She stood up. "Thanks for being our coach, but we're done." Santana and Brittany stood as well, and the Unholy Trinity turned to leave the office.
"If you leave, there is no way in hell you're coming back!"
"That won't be a problem." Quinn led the other two out of the office. Minutes later, they found themselves at the auditorium. They could hear the sounds of the glee club getting a final rehearsal in. "You guys sure about this?" she asked Santana and Brittany.
"Totally," Brittany said happily.
"Hell yeah, bitch," Santana smirked.
Quinn nodded, opening the door to the left entrance. She stepped out onto the stage, flanked by her friends, and the glee club turned to look at them. She sought out Ryan, who had a questioning look on his face, before her gaze snapped to Mr. Schue. "We heard you could use a few more dancers at the game later."
Mr. Schue nodded, a relieved smile on his face. "The more the merrier ladies. Everyone, let's take five, Mike, show them their places."
Mike quickly came forward to give them a quick run-through of the dance, and soon enough, Quinn found Ryan standing next to her. She turned, look him in the eye, receiving a warm smile in return. "I knew you could do it," he said softly.
Quinn shrugged. "I thought about what you said… and you were right."
He smiled at her. "I know."
"Don't let it get to your head."
"Never." Ryan pressed a kiss in her hair, before grinning. "I can't wait for tonight, this is going to be epic."
..
Before the game
"So, you ready to be the hottest cheerleaders at the game?" Santana asked Quinn and Brittany as they stood on the sidelines, waiting for the game to start.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "You do know that we're the only cheerleaders at this game, right?"
"We're still three smokin' hot bitches though."
A smile cracked through the Ice Queen façade. "Right." Quinn smiled contentedly, completely at peace with her decision to return to the glee club. She scanned across the crowd that was starting to fill up the bleachers. The sun had just set a few minutes ago, and the stadium lights were on. Finally, the locker doors opened and the rest of the glee club spilled out, all of them, even Tina, Mercedes, and Lauren in full football equipment. Ryan immediately walked over to Quinn.
"So, how do I look?" he asked, taking of his helmet.
Quinn nodded, impressed. "Not bad. Very hot." She was understating, as soon as Ryan walked over she was seconds away from having to fan herself. He smiled disarmingly at her, and she couldn't resist grasping the jersey and tugging him down to kiss him on the lips.
"Wow, Hobbit, I thought the letter jacket was good, but this is a whole new level," Santana butted in.
"Yeah, you look super hot, Ryan," Brittany agreed. She fished out a digital camera from her McKinley jacket and aimed it at the couple. "Smile." Quinn rolled her eyes, but obliged. Ryan did as well, his picture-worthy smile quickly appearing on his face.
Santana took the camera and thrust it at Ryan. "Here, take one of us."
Ryan quickly did so, not wanting to anger the volatile Latina. "Nice," he said appreciatively, as the Unholy Trinity posed for the photo. Now Brittany took the camera, and waved at one of Coach Beiste's assistants.
"Hi, could you take a picture of us please?" she asked. Quinn smiled in amusement as the assistant agreed. No one could ever say no to Britts when she wanted to be sweet.
"Yo, glee bitches! Get over here!" Santana yelled. A minute later, several shots of the entire time, complete with Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste, were taken, just in time for the game to start.
"You ready?" Quinn asked, straightening Ryan's shoulder pads.
"Hell yeah, we're gonna win this!" Ryan grinned. Quinn pulled him into another kiss, before letting him go onto the field. She took a deep breath. Since when had it gotten this hot?
"Careful Lady Chastity, I can almost smell you going into heat," Santana fake gagged, before smirking. "Seriously, you should tap that already."
"Whatever, Santana," Quinn grumbled, blushing.
"Just sayin'."
..
"Watch the step," James said, as he and Shelby climbed up the bleachers before the game. The seats were packed, it seemed like the entire district had turned out to watch. And it made sense, since this was the first time in a decade that McKinley had gotten into the championships.
"I got it," Shelby said, settling down in one of two empty spots as she zipped up her jacket against the cold weather. James sat down beside her, wrapping his scarf more tightly around his neck. Shelby looked at her other side, and saw a familiar face. "Hello, Mr. Hummel."
"Hey Miss Corcoran, nice seeing you again. Mr. Walker," Burt Hummel nodded at James with a smile, before looking back at Shelby. "And it's just Burt. This is my wife, Carole." He indicated the woman sitting next to him.
"Shelby, then," she replied, shaking his hand and waving at Carole. "You're here for Finn, right?" she asked, remembering that Carole was Finn Hudson's mother.
"Yep," Burt nodded. "Ryan's playing too, right?"
"Yeah, that's the only reason I'm out here at night in the middle of February," Shelby said dryly. "Go Titans."
Carole laughed lightly. "Yeah, this isn't exactly my thing either." Just then two boys Shelby recognized as Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson showed up, taking up spots next to Carole. "Looks like they're getting ready to start," Carole nodded towards the field, where the players had just come out of the locker rooms."
"Wow, Finn said they were playing the glee girls. Didn't think they'd go through with it though," Burt commented.
Shelby nodded, amused at the way the girls were dwarfed by their male counterparts. James chuckled. "This is going to be one interesting game."
..
"All right, how's everyone doing?" Finn asked in the huddle. There were three minutes left in the first half and the score was 0-17. Not in their favor.
"Kill me now," Mercedes wheezed. "I'm gonna die."
"Is anyone else tired of lying down all the time? I wanna play," Tina chimed in. Ryan sighed. He'd already been tackled several times. He wasn't quite as tired as Mercedes, but there was only so much they could do with only five functioning players against a whole team.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Finn cautioned. "Ready, break!"
The glee club tiredly got into formation again, and Finn started calling the play. "Set! Hut!"
The players clashed again, and Finn got creamed again. Somehow, by some miracle, the opposing player fumbled the ball, and Ryan saw it roll towards Tina. After a second, she stood up, grabbed the ball, and ran for the endzone, cheered on by the crowd. Ryan quickly scrambled after her. He was faster than most of the other players and managed to knock one out of the way before he could get to Tina.
She was tackled heavily a few seconds later though, and play stopped as medics ran onto the field to check on her. The glee club crowded round as the medic turned her over. Ryan could practically feel the worry coming off Mike, and he couldn't help but be glad Quinn wasn't playing.
"Is she breathing?" Mike asked anxiously, watching as the medic checked his girlfriend over.
Finally, Tina's eyes opened, and she reached up slowly to tug the mouth guard out of her mouth. "Did we win?"
A relieved laugh bubbled up from the team, and Mike smiled in relief, helping Tina up from the ground. Ryan watched them go with a slight smile, before turning to Finn, who had a dazed look on his face. Finn took off his helmet. "We're still in this," he said determinedly.
Ryan sighed, taking off his own helmet. "Give it up, Finn. Our only shot at redemption here is to kick butt at the halftime show." The score was abysmal, the only way they'd even have a shot at winning this thing was if all the football players sucked it up and did the halftime show so that Coach Beiste would let them back.
Finn thought for a moment, brow furrowing. "Sam! C'mere" he called out. Sam jogged over, looking at Finn expectantly. "I need you to play quarterback for the rest of the half."
The blonde looked surprised, but nodded. "Okay."
Finn turned to Puck. "Puck, when the half ends I need you to come help me convince Karofsky and the rest of the guys to do the halftime show."
"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Puck asked incredulously.
"We'll figure it out. You're my wingman, right?" Finn held out his fist. He and Puck stared at each other for a moment before Puck nodded, tapping Finn's fist with his own.
"Yeah, I'm in."
Ryan stayed quiet, nodding as Finn finally stepped up to be the quarterback in the team's crisis. The game was soon back in play – not that it really mattered, with only a couple of minutes left in the first half – with Sam as quarterback. As soon as the time ran out, Puck hurried to the locker rooms, while everyone else started on their zombie makeup.
Ryan decided to follow Puck, thinking that maybe they could use some help convincing Karofsky. When they got there, it looked like Finn wasn't quite having an easy time convincing the football players to do the halftime show until Puck stepped up.
"You're all just a bunch of cowards! This is our moment to actually win something we can tell our grandchildren about, and you're all sitting in the damn stands!" The mohawked boy stalked towards the other guys. "You're so afraid of being called freaks, or losers, or gay, that you settle for being nothing. We've still got another half to play, and we can still win this, guys, I know it!
If he had to admit it, Ryan was impressed. He hadn't known that Noah Puckerman was capable of doing that. The other football guys were looking at each other guiltily. This might actually work.
"What's the point, man? Beiste isn't gonna let us play," Azimio said.
"She will if you do the halftime show with us," Finn said quickly. The boys looked around, undecided. Ryan looked at Karofsky, who still looked like he was dead set against the idea.
"I'm in," Azimio said suddenly. The others started nodding.
"No way," Karofsky exclaimed.
"Come on, man," Azimio said. "I really wanna win this game. It'll mean so much to my dad, man."
"Forget it, okay? Glee club sucks!"
"Okay, Karofsky's out, whatever," Puck said. "But the rest of you need to get on your zombie makeup and hit the field, come on!" He and Finn led the football team out of the locker rooms, leaving Karofsky and Ryan alone.
"You gonna blackmail me into joining now?" Karofsky asked Ryan.
"No, of course not," Ryan denied. "But you need to reconsider this. Doing this halftime show is not going to make you look gay, even if being gay were a bad thing, which it's not."
"I don't care."
"Puck was right, this is your chance to be champions. Don't cheat yourself out of it just because you're afraid," Ryan said persuasively. When Karofsky didn't protest, he pressed on. "No one's going to think less of you if you do it, except the hockey guys, and if you win this, they won't be able to say anything."
"If everyone thinks I'm gay –"
"Then they'd be calling the entire football team gay, and I don't think anyone has the courage to do that."
Karofsky huffed a laugh. "I guess not." He seemed to struggle with himself for another minute before nodding. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Good," Ryan said in relief. "Come on, we've got just enough time to get the makeup on."
..
Up on the stands, Shelby rubbed her hands together to get them warm. The last football game she'd attended was probably an OSU home game, and that was a very long time ago, not that she cared to think about it. James wordlessly took her hands and tucked them into his jacket against his side before wrapping an arm around her. "Remember that football game when I was in Senior year?" he asked nostalgically.
"The one that ended in a riot when someone decided to throw water balloons filled with grape juice in the crowd?"
"No," James rolled his eyes. "The first one of the season."
Shelby tilted her head at him. "As I recall, we didn't see the end of that one because someone," she nudged him in the ribs, "decided it would be more fun to sneak under the bleachers and make out."
James smirked. "We could do it again."
"No we can't, shut up," Shelby hissed, smacking his arm as he laughed. "I'm a teacher here now, all hell would break loose if we got caught."
"Didn't stop you from Grand Theft Slush-Machine."
Shelby rolled her eyes as the smoke machines started working on the field. "Looks like they're getting ready to start."
"This is going to be cool," James said excitedly, as the band and the glee club started getting into place. "I was eleven when Thriller came out, and the family I was with had a record."
"We had one too," Shelby smiled. "And you're right, this is going to be fantastic."
True enough, the Thriller/Heads Will Roll mash-up was a terrific hit with the crowd, with everyone standing and dancing to the beat. Shelby couldn't help but notice that the football team was out there with the glee club, and wondered what kind of drama must have gone down in the locker rooms.
"Am I seeing things?" Burt asked a few minutes later, as the whole football team jogged out onto the field. Shelby did a double take and saw that all the boys were still wearing their zombie makeup. A quick glance to the sidelines confirmed it. Ryan was standing there with Artie and the three cheerleaders, all still in their undead costumes.
James laughed. "They're trying to psyche the other team out," he chuckled, as the Titans hissed and growled at their uneasy opponents.
One play later, Shelby decided James was right, when one of the opposing players chased after the referee, complaining that one of the zombies had bitten him. "Looks like it's working."
..
Unfortunately, it wasn't working well enough, and with ten seconds left in the second half, the score was 21-24, with the Titans trailing by three points. Ryan watched as the team huddled up, wondering what they were planning. The Titans weren't in possession, and it wasn't like basketball, where ten seconds could stretch into forever. The game was pretty much over. Curiously, Finn seemed to perk up, suddenly telling the team what to do.
The team jogged back onto the field, setting up their formation one more time. Then –
"Brains…"
Ryan's eyes widened in confusion, along with everyone else's, when the Titans started chanting "Brains…" in creepy zombie voices. He looked over at Quinn.
"They're trying to get the other quarterback to fumble," she said.
"Just might work," Santana mumbled.
Ryan glanced back at the team. "Then let's help them."
Soon, the entire McKinley crowd was up and chanting along with the football team, leaving the poor opposing team very unnerved. Finally, their quarterback called for the ball, and everyone held their breaths as the ball shot past him. Finn leaped forward, wasting no time snatching it up and running it to the endzone.
The referee raised his arms, signaling a touchdown, and the crowd went absolutely crazy, the glee club on the sidelines screaming themselves hoarse as Mr. Schue grabbed the giant bass drum and started pounding on it.
"We won!" Quinn yelled, shaking her pompoms as Ryan grabbed her in a hug.
"Yeah!" Ryan cheered. Caught up in the moment he swept Quinn into a deep kiss, heat exploding against him even in the wind. For a second they almost looked like the clichéd football player and cheerleader high school couple. Covered in zombie makeup. A moment later Santana literally shoved in between them.
"Victory party at the Green Giant's place," she bellowed at them to be heard over the crowd. "Let's go, bitches!"
Quinn dialed the combination on her locker in between first and second period, idly noting the hall decorations. Things were just starting to settle down after the big game, and the school hallways were filled with banners celebrating the win. The afterparty at the Hummel-Hudson house had been fantastic. She'd passed on the alcohol though, and thankfully Ryan hadn't pushed, not that she'd expected him to. In fact he'd abstained as well, but she thought that was mostly because he was scared of what Shelby would do if he had any.
Right on cue, Ryan showed up beside her. "Morning," he greeted, with his charming smile. He kissed her quickly, looking appreciatively at the dress and cardigan she was wearing. "You look beautiful today."
Quinn smiled wryly, flattered. "Thanks." Today was the first day of her second stint as a not-Cheerio. She sighed wistfully, before shaking herself. She didn't need them.
"How does it feel to be out of the uniform again?" Ryan asked.
"Weird," Quinn admitted, as they set off for their classes. "Turned a few heads."
"Did you see the Cheerios Regionals on TV?"
"Yeah," Quinn nodded. "Saturday morning on FOX." Coach Sylvester had swapped Kenzie Larkin as her lead Cheerio, shooting newbie Cheerio Bea Hart from the cannon. Probably because she was new and easily cowed. The cannon had misfired, but thankfully the damage hadn't killed the freshman. She was now in the hospital with first-degree burns and a broken leg. Quinn shuddered, thinking that that had almost happened to Brittany. Obviously it was too bad it had happened to Bea, but that was on Sue.
"Mom and I watched it on CNN Saturday evening," Ryan mentioned. "Apparently Sue singlehandedly sparked a national debate on athlete safety and whatnot."
"Serves her right," Santana grumbled, popping up randomly beside them. "If that happened to Britts, Snixx would have murdered Sue by now, and we'd never find the body."
"Good morning, Santana, how was your weekend?" Ryan asked. Quinn turned to her friend.
"I heard it was really good. Did you really kiss Sam on a dare at the party last Friday?"
Ryan's eyes widened as he stared at the Latina. "You what?"
Santana shrugged. "Puck dared me to. And I was curious. The boy's lips are huge. Those trouty lips had to be good for something, right? And I was right. You totally missed out, Q," she smirked.
Quinn frowned. "TMI, Lopez, and I'm perfectly happy with my boyfriend's lips, thank you very much."
Ryan grinned, "Aww, thanks." He have her another kiss.
"Yes, yes, we get it, you two love playing tonsil hockey," Santana snarked, rolling her eyes. "No demonstration necessary."
"Shut up, Santana," Quinn requested.
"You're not my captain anymore, don't need to do what you say."
"As if you ever did in the first place."
..
Shelby walked into the nearly empty faculty lounge on Monday morning, walking over to the coffee machine to get a pot going. She nodded at Mr. Whitmore, the overweight history teacher, and sat down at an empty table to flick through a newspaper. While she was waiting, Sue Sylvester entered the room, a pair of aviator sunglasses on her face, toting a large mug. The tall blonde plopped down unceremoniously in front of Shelby, who raised an eyebrow. "Something you want?"
Sue pulled down the sunglasses to reveal empty blue eyes. "Barbra, for the first time in seven years, Sue Sylvester has lost a competition."
"I know, I saw it on CNN the other night," Shelby said, turning back to her paper. "Sweet exhibition. Is your frosh alright?"
"I have been completely humiliated."
Shelby snorted, turning a page. "That is true. You also have the dubious honor of having sparked a national debate. I did warn you against the cannon." She sniffed, detecting something strange in the air. She peered over at Sue's mug. "Is that alcohol?" she asked suspiciously.
"I would never think of bringing a substance as dangerous and prone to abuse as alcohol to a school environment. No, this 100% hypochlorite solution, also known as straight bleach."
"I see." Shelby refrained from rolling her eyes at the woman's dramatics. Honestly, if she wanted to be an actress, Sue Sylvester would be among the best. "So, any plans for the rest of the year?"
"Well, I have an interview with Katie Couric for Ten Most Fascinating in a few minutes," Sue said, pushing her sunglasses back on. Shelby opened her mouth before shutting it again. "So I'll be going."
"Have fun." Shelby returned to her paper. Call her crazy, but she was sort of looking forward to what the cheerleading coach would get up to next.
..
Meanwhile, Ryan was down the hall at his locker, looking for his science textbook.
"Hey."
He looked up, mildly surprised to see one of the Cheerios in front of him. What was her name again… Kenny? Kenzie. "Hello, Kenzie, right?" he asked politely. The girl smiled widely.
"You remembered." She twirled a finger through her ponytail. "I heard you did really well at the game last Friday."
"I only played in the first half, actually," Ryan corrected, a little unnerved by the girl in front of him. It almost looked like she wanted to eat him. Things were weird today, this was the third random girl who had talked to him, and it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. Manners won out though. "What can I do for you, Kenzie?" His attention was caught by Finn approaching Dave Karofsky a few feet away though. He glanced back at the Cheerio, smiling apologetically. "Now isn't really a good time."
"Oh." The smile dimmed slightly, but was back again in a second. "That's okay, I'll catch you later."
"Okay," Ryan said vaguely, trying to listen into Finn and Karofsky's conversation without being too obvious.
"…It was a team effort," Finn was saying. "So, listen, uh, there's no way the glee club's gonna let you join permanently until you clean things up with Kurt. So, I was thinking maybe we could go together, to Dalton, and apologize…"
It took Ryan a lot of effort to keep quiet at Finn's rambling. If Finn thought Karofsky or any of the other football players were going to stay on the team, he was a lot dumber than Ryan had given him credit for.
Sure enough, Karofsky scoffed. "Who said I want to join the glee club permanently?"
Finn blinked. "Well, I just thought after this week, and the way we won the game, and the way you came out to dance –"
"What do you think?" Karofsky glared at him. "We all dance around together, and win a football game, and everything's gonna change? Glee club's gonna be cool, and we're all gonna sing hippy peace songs every morning?"
"Maybe? I – I don't know, it's a start –"
"No, dude, it's a finish!" Karofsky said sharply. "This is high school. People's memories for good stuff last about as long as a FaceBook status." Ryan almost laughed at the appropriateness of the statement.
"We've got a chance to really change things here," Finn argued.
Karofsky stared at him. "I just won the conference championship," he said smugly. "Why would I wanna change things?" Finn shook his head, walking off. Ryan went over to Karofsky, who looked at him. "What? Did you expect me to join up too?"
"No, I never expected any of you to join permanently," Ryan admitted. "I don't think any of us did, except for Mr. Schue. And obviously, Finn."
"Well, good." Karofsky closed his locker door.
"What I want to know is if things between the glee club and the football team are going to go back to before."
Karofsky rolled his eyes, walking away. "I don't know. I don't care."
Ryan scowled, following after him. "You should. You owe us, if the glee club hadn't stepped in to play the first half after your misguided exodus from the team, you never would have even qualified for the game."
Karofsky slowed down, before turning to face Ryan. The two stared at each other, and Ryan thought he saw a bit of fear in the other boy's eyes. Then he realized, he's still afraid I'm going to out him. He sighed. He'd never out someone without their permission, that was below the belt. "Look, whatever you decide, I'm not going to say anything. I hope you'll take that into consideration."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I told you, you have the right to come to terms with this at your own pace," Ryan answered simply. "Even if you wouldn't extend the same courtesy to anybody else."
Finally Karofsky broke eye contact first. "Whatever, okay? I'll tell the others to back off."
"Thank you," Ryan nodded in satisfaction. "I'll see you around." He walked off in the opposite direction. Couldn't be late for class, after all.
Hello people, hope you liked this latest installment. Thanks for the continued support.
- I'm glad you're liking the Sue/Shelby interactions, they're fun to write, if only because Sue is so unpredictable.
- I hope I handled Ryan/Quinn well, look out for some further conflict later on…
- Yes, Ryan does seem to know what he's doing, doesn't he? We'll see later on if he's been getting some Google advice ;)
- Dave and Ryan might have a friendship in the future, it'll be very slow going though, because of Dave's insecurities.
- I find that Mr. Schue does have his heart in the right place. Unfortunately, he does seem to be hopelessly outmatched by Sue. In Season 2 he's also very confused about what's going on with his life, leading to him not quite making the best decisions.
I'm having an okay start of the year, hopefully you're all having better ones, hahaha. I'll be getting back home and back to school in a week, so expect updates to slow down again soon. I'm trying to get as much done as possible though. So leave comments, I'll get back to you, and I will see you as soon as I can.
