Lauren didn't end up getting a road trip alone with Matt to Regionals. There were others who wanted to leave from Lima to make the trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana. They first arranged to take Artie along for the ride in the backseat of Matt's Jeep Cherokee. And, although Lauren wanted to refuse him access, it only made sense to take Puck as well. They picked them both up at Hummel Tires and Lube on that Saturday morning, in Matt's spotless SUV.

In the month that they'd been dating, (or at least that was her assumption by now, though nothing had been made official...) she'd never seen his car dirty. And that was impressive, since she'd learned that his day job was working in construction, where dust flew everywhere. Matt said he washed his car multiple times a week.

Several more alumni would be coming from New York. Mike would be driving in from Chicago. Tina was coming from Rhode Island. Regionals was a big deal to these people, because even though it was the weekend before spring break, none of them had made other commitments. These people were all about their Glee club.

Lauren was glad Artie was in the car, otherwise it would have been pretty weird to ride with just the guy she was now seeing (and getting kind of serious about) and her ex. Artie was the talker, as he recapped basically every competition Glee club had ever had. Matt joined in, as he worked his way backward, once they got to discussing the competitions from the first year that Lauren wasn't involved in.

"Craziest thing that happened had to have been when Quinn almost had the baby while we were onstage," Matt commented, giving Lauren just about the most uninvited mental image ever.

"That's not what happened," Puck argued. "It was just her water breaking, that doesn't always mean the baby's coming right then. We had plenty of time to get to the hospital. That was easily the most beautiful thing I ever saw..."

"It was?" Artie approached Lauren's level of horrified disgust at this comment.

"Could we talk about something other than Quinn's vagina?" Lauren pleaded. "I mean, really." She was aware that Matt was giving her some serious side eye for the comment but she didn't care.

"You missed the point, Zizes," Puck argued, but he let it ride. After a few seconds of unpleasant silence, though, he picked right back up with a related observation. "Hey, Lauren, so you've kind of been Fabray-ing a little yourself lately."

At this, Lauren turned all the way around in her seat to meet Puckerman's eyes with a most appalled expression. "Come again?"

"You've lost, what, about fifty pounds since you graduated?" Puck seemed to shrink in his seat, though, as soon as he'd said it, and Artie immediately looked out the window like he wasn't a part of this conversation.

Lauren narrowed her eyes. "Mostly because I had a head injury and I went to the hospital!" She remembered Matt, then, and decided he probably didn't deserve to have to drive two people who were fighting. She dialed it down a little and turned around to face forward again. "And yes, I did lose a little more after that. So, thanks for noticing, but I don't appreciate the comparison at all."

There was an awkward silence then, but leave it to Artie Abrams to fill it. "So, the Warblers are back," he said, by way of redirecting the conversation. "It'll be them and Aural Intensity going up against the New Directions. All the show choir blogs are actually betting on the Warblers, saying how they're gonna 'rise from the ashes.' You know, because of the fire?"

"Hmm," said Puck.

"Neat," was all Lauren could think to say.

Matt, true to his very nature, didn't say anything. Instead, he turned on some music, and that solved the issue of the awkward conversations for the remainder of the trip.

When they arrived, Lauren wanted to sprint off in the other direction to get away from Puck, who was unloading Artie's chair from the trunk, but she wouldn't do that to Matt. So instead, she leaned against the vehicle with her arms folded across her chest and avoided looking at him, while they waited for Artie.

Matt put an arm around Lauren as they walked in together. It was subtle, but it was meant to send a message to Puck. She couldn't help but like him more for that. He didn't stand up for her, because she didn't need him to, but he stood beside her. She knew it had only been a few months, but in that moment, Lauren realized she was falling for him, fast. It wasn't even just about his good looks anymore.

As for Puck, he resorted to pushing Artie, probably just to give his hands something to do, since Artie was surely capable of pushing himself.

They located the bus, and Lauren immediately found Roderick. She knew they had to get backstage and change into their costumes, but she wanted to hug him and wish him luck. She spotted him standing with Madison, Mason, and Jane. Running up to him, she threw her arms around his neck.

"Can't wait to see 'One Sweet Day,'" she said. "And the other two decent but inferior songs you'll do before you clinch the victory with that one."

Roderick laughed. "Well, I don't know about that, just wait until you see it," he said, to Lauren, as well as Puck, Matt, and Artie. "I won't spoil the songs. I'll just say 'Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men medley' and let you keep guessing 'til we go on."

"Ooh, sexy," was Lauren's comment. She was going to have to google some things in her seat to try and guess the setlist. Those artists were great, and even though they'd happened before her era, their songs had a timeless quality.

"Matt?" Mr. Schuester saw him as he climbed off the bus. He approached the guy for a handshake, grinning. "Great to see you here! I really wish we could have had you with us for longer."

"Me too, Mr. Schue," Matt said, grinning back at him. "Lauren brought me along. Even though I only had a couple of chances to compete with you guys, those were really great memories."

Mr. Schue looked stunned to hear this many words spoken by Matt consecutively. With a nod and a friendly clap on the shoulder, he excused himself and went back to the huddle of students to do a quick pep talk by the bus.

"That's a tall order," Artie muttered to Lauren a little later, when they'd taken their seats in the accessible row and she'd wound up with Artie on one side and Matt on the other.

"What is?"

"Taking on Mariah Carey," Artie went on, looking genuinely concerned. "And Boyz II Men. Can any of the girls really hit those high notes?"

"Guess we'll find out," Lauren said, shrugging. The New Directions had the dreaded first spot, which didn't offer them much of an advantage, if any at all, other than the fact that no one would be able to steal their setlist out from under them.

The first number was 'Always Be My Baby' by Mariah Carey, featuring Kitty, Marley, Jane, Madison, and Unique. With the five of them, it was kind of like Spice Girls meets Mariah, and it was really catchy, a great way to open the whole show. That led into the Boyz II Men number, 'End of the Road,' by Roderick, Mason, Spencer, Jake, Alistair, Myron, and Ryder. If you could forget about the weird addition of Myron, it was really good. Finally, 'One Sweet Day,' featuring Madison and Roderick, was the perfect way to solidly round out the show.

"That was amazing," Artie was clapping louder than everyone else, who was standing, evidently making up for the fact that he had to stay seated. "As long as the judges don't forget it after two more groups, I think the New Directions could take it."

Next, there was a short intermission between the New Directions and Aural Intensity, and since Lauren didn't care to watch the entire competition, she decided she'd skip the second group and just come back to see the Warblers, because an all-male group sounded pretty sexy.

She hung out in the lobby, as Matt took advantage of this opportunity to catch up with Mike Chang. They found him sitting on a couch with Tina. Mike spotted him and immediately jumped to his feet and exchanged a most manly bro-hug with the guy.

"What brings you here?" Mike wanted to know.

"Oh, Lauren," he said, putting an arm around her in a way most welcome by her. She tucked herself against him, making it clear to any curious passerby that they were a thing. "Her brother was the one who just killed it with 'One Sweet Day' at the end of the show."

"Dude, right?" Mike nodded enthusiastically. "I would be really shocked if they didn't win after that one."

As Mike and Matt caught up, Lauren tried to make a little awkward conversation with Tina for awhile, then set off in search of the bathroom, once the intermission had ended and Aural Intensity was taking the stage. Sure enough, she found no line and got in and out quickly.

As she washed her hands, who should come in but Quinn Fabray herself. She was accompanied by Rachel Berry. Those two never seemed to be able to decide if they were going to be friends or not, in the end, but Lauren had spotted them sitting together during the show earlier.

"Lauren, you look great," was Quinn's comment when she saw her. Lauren didn't realize some highlights and fifty pounds lost would get everyone's attention like it had. She saw herself every single day, but she supposed it was more noticeable than she knew. But she was not Fabray-ing; that was anything but a compliment.

"Nice to see you here," Rachel added. "So, you and Matt Rutherford?"

Always the tone of surprise. "Me and Matt Rutherford," Lauren said, plastering on a sickeningly sweet smile. "Nice to see you both. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I should be getting back to my date."

As she stepped out of the restroom, who should she bump into but Puckerman. She scowled at him. "Quinn is in the ladies' room," she said. "Rachel, too, if you're not sure who you'd rather stalk today."

"I'm actually stalking you," he said, getting in her way so that she had to stop and talk to him. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "Look, I'm sorry for what you said. I shouldn't have compared you to Quinn."

"No, you shouldn't have," she shot back, angrily. "What I'm doing isn't Fabray-ing. I have no intention of getting a nose job or changing my name to impress people."

"No, you can impress people without doing all that." Puckerman had nothing but sincerity in his voice. "Matt obviously thinks so."

Lauren didn't let down her guard just yet. "I'm tired of people like you treating me like I don't matter," she said. "Matt treats me like the prize I am. And sure, he may be quiet, but he's by no means boring. He's great."

"Look, I have nothing but admiration and respect for that guy, okay?" Puck said, and Lauren really didn't care what he thought of her man. "I got to know him while we cleaned pools together for a couple of summers. Really great guy. Dropped out of high school just so he could work full time and support his single mom. Not many guys would do that."

Lauren lifted an eyebrow. "Um, he didn't drop out." She played back their conversation in the coffee shop. "And he didn't need to support his mom. They moved in with his new stepdad and he had to transfer."

"Uh-uh, he definitely dropped out." Puck looked around to make sure Matt wasn't anywhere nearby. "Mike threw a party for him when he got his GED and I went. Look, I don't know what he told you... but... he didn't transfer."