"Turn off your cell, asshole." Santana shouted whispering to one of the cheerios.

The girl's eyes widened and complied. Santana watched the hall again. It was empty at that moment. Sue Sylvester's room was right there, and Santana was almost sure that the coach was on duty watching everything through the peephole. Worse, it's very likely that she gave a bribe to an employee to give the password to access the security camera in the hall. Santana signaled for the cheerios in the next room, made the sign of the cross and ran crouched up the stairs. She ran as close to the doors as possible and hoping to go unnoticed by the minefield that was the coach's door. When Santana saw that everything was clean, she signaled for the next one. So, in absolute silence, all 20 cheerios from McKinley High, Lima, Ohio, made it to the stairs.

It wasn't reason to celebrate yet. Still in absolute silence, they cautiously descended all three flights of stairs to the lobby. Santana watched the hall to see if the coach or even Becky was there. Becky was the worst. The co-captain's only role was to be a watchdog, as she didn't participate in any competitive routine at all, and only performed at football games. Santana saw Charlie, the team's fitness coach, talking to other members of other teams. The lobby was blocked by these people. Santana signaled to take the employees' entrance door and go out the back. Still, breaking into the employees' area was no guarantee. Before they left the building, Santana looked at the perimeter. She saw that everything was clean and signaled her companions to run to the street. They walked to the next block and only then activated their cell phones to call the uber.

It didn't take five minutes for the cars to arrive. Santana got in the car and looked at the other three companions who accompanied her. One of them was Brittany. She smiled at her ex-girlfriend and enjoyed the ride. The cheerios party that year was set on a plot next to the school that hosted the competitions that year. Once there, Santana gathered the team to say the usual message.

"Remember the rules. We came here to dance and have fun. Respect the limit of three glasses of beer, do not accept drinks from anyone, do not take drugs, or even smoke marijuana, and we all leave at midnight sharp. No discussion. The competition is tomorrow morning, I don't need to explain any more, right? Have fun!"

"It's our last escape." Brittany hugged Santana sideways. "We need to make it historic!"

"You will make it historic for both of us."

"Come on, San? The party is great, the music too. This is the only party in the year that we have the opportunity to go where everyone knows how to dance. We have to take advantage of it."

"Nothing against the dance part."

"Just don't be excited about the girls."

"What?"

"Didn't you know? Some girls bet they would get into your pants. Some of them bet you would have sex with me."

"I don't understand this fascination with my sex life." Santana sighed. "Now that I know about the bet, I think it's better to leave. The party is spoiled for me."

"It's just a dance. It's not that some girl is going to grab you and kiss you in front of everyone. I protect you."

Santana wanted Brittany to go crazy and grab her in front of everyone, but it was unlikely because, deep down, Brittany was still hurt. Santana smiled as she walked beside Brittany to the dance floor. As a good captain, she served as an example for the commanders: she had just a glass of beer, stared and was a bitch with other captains, danced most of the time, and withdrew the team exactly at midnight, relieved that no incident had occurred for real. The important thing was that everyone would be fine to compete the next day.

…

Rachel was having nightmares about audition. She drove to Chicago with Kurt the day before and stayed in a small hotel room. She found it incredible that no one else in the choir had tried to get into New York's best art school and perhaps one of the best in the world. Mike, for example, chose to go to a dance company in Chicago. Brittany was going to a university in Atlanta. Finn was going into the army. Quinn, well, she'll have a beautiful future ahead after graduating from Yale and being someone important. On the other hand, who besides her and Kurt was talented enough to face a drama school? Maybe Mercedes and Santana, in Rachel's opinion. But Santana was going to study something at CCNY until she could get into law school, and Mercedes was going to Los Angeles to be a studio backing vocal while waiting for a spot in the sun.

"Cowards!" Rachel thought aloud, startling Kurt.

"Who?"

"Oh… no one. I just thought out loud."

"Now you need to tell who is a coward." Kurt took a sip of coffee.

"The Glee club. They should be with us doing the audition if they had a little more ambition. It's what I think."

"People have different paths, Rach. We already talked about it."

"Sorry. I'm nervous."

"We both are." Kurt took Rachel's hand and smiled. "We'll be fine."

Rachel wasn't so sure. When she and Kurt walked to the auditorium, she started to sweat cold with the moment. There were at least thirty candidates and just one or two would be well succeed, according the statistics. There were auditions like that in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. McKinley High must have been one of the few schools in the universe to accept two students for the final selection. Rachel and Kurt went to the front desk to make the registration and then stood there, astonished, watching all the variety of people who wanted the same place. There were those who stretched, others who did warm-up exercises. It was 10 am when one professor called the first candidate. Rachel was apprehensive. Some people tried to see something, but entry was prohibited. With the doors closed, all you could hear was a muffled sound.

The interviews lasted 15 minutes. So much effort for everything to be over in 15 minutes? Rachel started to panic. She was even more apprehensive when the third candidate left the auditorium in tears.

"You shouldn't care about that."

Rachel was surprised by a tap on her shoulder by someone she knew very well. More than that, that she loved.

"Finn?" Rachel stood up and hugged her ex-boyfriend. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't resist, Rach. I had to go here to give you my support." He looked at his step-brother. "Hey Kurt!"

"I'm glad you're here but..." Rachel lost her voice when Finn kissed her hand before trying to warm it between his.

"Look, I know very well what that means, how much you struggled to be here. You know what to do, Rach. Nobody needs to tell you what to do. You know. Just use your heart."

"Rachel Berry." They looked towards the professor who was calling the next candidate.

"Just use your heart." Finn pulled Rachel and kissed her on the lips, before releasing her to the audition.

With a racing heart, Rachel entered the auditorium. The professor who summoned the candidates closed the door and sat down at a small table above the stage. Three more people were seated at adapted tables in the chairs closest to the auditorium in the form of an arena. Carmen Tibideaux was the central appraiser. Rachel would recognize her from afar: afro-american woman, strong features, African-inspired clothes. There was also a pianist on hand for those candidates who had previously taken the scores for the number they would perform.

"This audition is being recorded. For registration questions, could you say your full name, age and place of birth?"

"My name is Rachel Barbra Berry, I'm 18 years old, and I'm from Lima, Ohio."

"Barbra?" Carmen spoke up when she checked the candidate's registration form.

"My parents are fans of musicals. My daddy is a classical musician and papa is a great Barbra's fan. I grew up watching Barbra Streisand films."

"Two fathers? Do you know your mother?"

"Yes, I do. She's a high school teacher, a vocal trainer and she directs choirs."

"I see… so you grow up in the art's environmental."

"You can say that."

"Yeap, you're one of those." The man on the assessment bench rolled his eyes, which worried Rachel.

"It says here that one of the most prevalent activities you do is your school's choir, among a number of clubs you have been a part of."

"It's a very performer choir, I can assure you. We have reached the national finals twice in a row and I am the lead soloist, as well as co-captain."

"Miss Berry, do you understand that everyone out there has some involvement in music production? Some were practically born inside the theater, others came from church choirs, others even perform regularly as an attraction in a bar. Everyone is talented, no doubt. Now tell me why should we give you an opportunity to be a Nyada's sutudent?" The man asked.

Rachel stopped for a moment and looked at Carmen, who was looking at her with some disinterest. Rachel remembered Finn saying to speak from the heart, but Santana's voice was stronger in her mind: they want someone with personality, someone good, but someone they can shape and make sure they do the entire course. There was no friendly face in that auditorium, so Rachel took a deep breath and faced the evaluators head on.

"Because I'm going to be a Broadway star. This has been my goal since I was a child. I know I don't have the proper beauty to be a TV or movie star. Perhaps I'm not the best at many other things. But I was born to step here." She pointed to the stage and tapped her foot. "I'm going to be a star and I want to be in Nyada, because I know that there is no better place to achieve excellence. Because I'm sure that I meet all the requirements of the college: I have some experience, I have great vocal technique, I can sustain high notes with ease and, best of all, because I have well-defined ambitions, I usually learn any lesson quickly. I know it won't be easy, that I have a lot to mature, and improve. Nyada demands sweat and tears in search of excellence. Well, that's exactly what I have to offer."

"OK." Carmen said without affectation. "Let's hear you sing, Rachel Barbra Berry."

The pianist played the first notes of My Man, a song she thought of singing in honor of Finn Hudson.

"Wait!" Rachel alerted the pianist. "I changed my mind and I'm going to sing another song."

"If you didn't send the score in advance, you know you're going to have to sing a capella." Carmen warned.

"I know." Rachel turned to the pianist. "Could you play a G please?"

The pianist complied with the request. Rachel smiled, shook her head and started moving to the melody that came in her head.

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day/ Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way/ kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town/ waiting for someone or something to show you the way…"

Rachel didn't sing the full song. She believed that the first four verses were more than sufficient. Especially since the song said: time is gone, the song is over, although I have something else to say.

"Thank you, Miss Berry." The professor dismissed.

"Wait a moment." Carmen said, making Rachel stop. "It says here on your record that you had planned to sing something that could show us your entire vocal range. You had pre-programmed to sing My Man. Why did you change your mind and sing a Pink Floyd song, which is technically much simpler?"

Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"My… wife said that I have the right profile to be at Nyada. Because I'm already good, but I still have a lot of space to grow and improve myself. To find myself. Even if I sang Another Brink in The Wall, it would be all right, because that's where I should be. I just don't like that song. Time is the best Pink Floyd song. Besides, I admire Barbra, but I'm not a copycat."

"Oh, you're married. I didn't see it at your profile. Anyway, thank you, Mrs. Berry."

Rachel left the audition with a strange sense of pride in herself. Finally, both Santana and Finn helped her. Santana for saying the real, as always. Finn for being there for her (because Santana was in Nashville competing in the national cheerleading championship). Rachel joined the two councils: she followed the heart, but dealing with reality. When she saw her ex-boyfriend, she smiled and threw herself into his arms. The kiss was inevitable.

"I see that you did great." Kurt interrupted a gesture that could give her friend problems, even though he supports more Finchel than Pezberry.

"I have no idea." Rachel smiled. "But... I don't know... I have a good feeling about it."

The three sat down again, waiting for Kurt's call. Finn and Rachel sat side by side, holding hands, as if time had not passed, as if their relationship wasn't broken at that moment. When Kurt was called, Finn and Rachel remained silent, hoping their friend would also do well.

"So?" They said at the same time expecting a good sign from their friend.

"I sang Barbra for people unable to sketch the slightest emotion." Kurt said frustrated.

"It will be okay, little brother." Finn comforted him.

"What do you think about having lunch, enjoying the city and then finding a karaoke bar around here?" Rachel suggested.

Kurt was uncertain, but ended up agreeing. He thought he needed to keep an eye on Rachel and Finn. If Santana Lopez found out anything, Rachel's life would become hell. Worse, it could compromise New Directions' performance in the same Chicago two weeks from there.

...

It was a glorious Monday for Sue Sylvester and the cheerios with the resumption of the national top. The cheerios squad passed through the halls, receiving the usual applause from the rest of the school. That was William McKilian: cheerleaders were always better prepared and trained than any sports team the school supported. It even seemed that sports teams existed only so that cheerios had a routine of performances. Santana was right behind Sue Sylvester, beside Becky, waving proudly to her colleagues, with the golden medal on her chest. It was how she should leave the position of head cheerleader, and it was a goodbye after a very difficult year in which she was expelled from the choir, faced a forced marriage, and that, in the end, things fell into place. Quinn was the first one to greet her with a hug and a kiss on her check.

"I'm glad I left the cheerios in good hands." Quinn commented with a smile.

"Bitch, you couldn't have done it better."

Quinn laughed. Maybe Santana was right, since she was always a much more dedicated captain than Quinn ever was. They were different command styles and Santana definitely had more heart and a sense of sorority than her best friend. Santana approached Rachel and hugged her.

"Congratulations, Santana. I knew you would be successful." Rachel said with a forced smile.

"Thank you... Rachel." Santana frowned. Something wasn't right.

At the choir meeting, the New Direction's members were arriving little by little. Santana sat in the last row of chairs, as usual. Something was bothering her deeply. She couldn't understand why, all of a sudden, Rachel seemed to be avoiding her at all costs during school time. The diva sat in the first row of the chair, which was nothing unusual, as they rarely sat side by side. All members of the choir behaved normally. Sam was talking to Blaine and doing stupid little dances, believing he was white Michael Jackson himself. Blaine laughed at his best friend's mannerisms. Mike and Tina acted like the couple they always were. Artie was talking to Brittany and Mercedes. Kurt arrived and sat down next to Rachel, as usual. Quinn, holding up the book she was reading, sat next to Santana.

"Are you fine?" Quinn asked her best friend, when she felt Santana's tension.

"I don't know."

Santana stared at Finn's. It was when she observed the boy's reactions. Finn seemed to avoid Rachel at all but was falling miserly, his goofy smile was on. The diva also started acting strangely, looking in the other direction, putting her hair behind her ear. Santana had no concrete evidence, but her third Mexican eye was never wrong.

"You fucked him!" Santana exploded. "You were with him during the auditions in Chicago!"

"Santana?" Rachel was startled.

"How do you know?" Finn gave himself up and then looked at Kurt. "Did you say something?"

The choir was silent, Rachel put her hand to her mouth, Kurt felt guilty because he knew. It was in this scenario that Schuester found out.

"Guys, we need to organize the nationals' performances." The teacher was silent when he saw that the students wasn't paying attention to him, but his eyes were all on Santana, Finn and Rachel, who were also standing.

"You... you fucking bitch!" Santana said with a serious face, without moving a muscle. She was even more frightening than when it behaved explosively. "How can you be so low? How could you have sex with this shitty misogynist, women aggressor?"

"You have no right to speak to her like that!" Finn stormed and pointed his finger at a Santana. Meanwhile, Rachel remained standing, speechless, mortified.

"What is it, son of a bitch? Are you going to punch me again?"

"Guys! Stop it now!" Schuester shouted, trying to maintain order. "Santana, get out of this room now before things get complicated."

"Are you serious?" Santana pointed a finger at the teacher. "The woman who is my wife has sex with the guy who assaulted me and was suspended for that, and you are kicking me out? Your racist colors are showing up again, Schuester. It looks like you won't learn anything!"

"Santana…" Schuester thought again. He was already in trouble because of his positions. Seeing his students looking at him in not a good way, he tried moderate. "I think you should cool off. Just get out of this room and breath."

"Is this a nicer way to kick me out? Great!"

"I'm not kicking you out, but you should leave this room and cool off."

Santana looked at everyone in the room, adjusted her uniform, and left the room. There was an almost funeral silence. Some were breathless, others just bewildered.

"Are you alright?" Schuester asked Finn and Rachel, concerned about the two captains.

"Yes." Finn nodded and sat down next to Rachel. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." Rachel was almost panicked.

"Santana needed to breath. She will be back at our next meeting." Schuester explained the class. "We cannot be a unit like this. Nationals is in two weeks…"

"Santana didn't do anything, you jerk..." Brittany said quietly to Rachel.

"What?" Schuester asked.

"Santana did nothing." Brittany said in a louder tone. "During all these days in Nashville, the entire cheerios team hit on her because of a bet, but Santana refused them every single time... because she is trying to figure things out with you. And now, she did nothing, but say some truths. And you…" Brittany pointed to mr. Schuester. "You made her to leave this room."

"It looks like Rachel didn't have the same willpower." Quinn stood up. "Santana is the one uncontrolled? Do me a favor! I had my problems with her, but if there's one thing I can't say, it's that she is disloyal. Not even when she slapped my face. If you'll excuse me."

Quinn left the room. Brittany, Mercedes and Sugar Motta were next. Everyone else remained.

"Does anyone else want to leave the room?" Schuester challenged.

"With all respect, but sometimes you are clueless when you play favorites." Blaine surprisingly stood up. "And you are at the wrong side of the story this time." Blaine told directly to his boyfriend and left the room.

Blaine saw the group of girls at the end of the hall. Santana looked like she was crying a lot in Quinn's arms while everyone else was around. He arrived quietly and asked Mercedes, who was nearby.

"What can I do for her?"

"You've done well just being here with us."

Two minutes later, the group saw the rest of the classmates leave the room, except Rachel and Finn. There was really no way to discuss music in such a bad mood.

...

Santana was at her parents' with Quinn. She refused to go back to the Berries' home and have to face her own wife. Santana was hurt and enraged at having ruined her relationship with Brittany, because she thought it was worth exploring what she felt for Rachel. There was genuine admiration for the singer, they had chemistry in bed, and there was the fact that they were married and had to stay that way for the next four years and a few months. Then Rachel has a relapse for her ex-boyfriend, the guy who physically assaulted Santana.

"I'm not going back there." Santana crossed her arms. "If any inspector shows up there and sees that the marriage is shipwrecked, so be it."

"What Rachel did was low, but you can't leave the Berries without her." Maribel tried to reason.

"I can and I will."

"With all due respect, but San is right. It's too much abuse to endure. Rachel needs to lose at least once!" Quinn said firmly to Maribel.

"So what solution would you suggest?" Maribel asked.

"Rachel should get out of the comfort of her home and come and live here, on the bad side of town!" Santana said.

"San, you live in Lima Heights, not in Lima Heights Adjacent as you love to lie at school to make you more… badass!" Quinn smiled and Santana rolled her eyers.

"You can ask Rachel to move in." Maribel reasoned.

"The fact is, I'm not going back to that house, period."

With Santana resolute, there was no other way than to call an urgent meeting with the lawyers. It took place in the early afternoon of the following day. In the presence of Santana, Rachel, their parents and the two lawyers. Santana knew that divorce was out of the question for the time being, but there was a whole room of people who heard Rachel's involuntary confession, that she slept with Finn even after the boy had physically assaulted Santana. And she won the cause, managing to reverse a clause in the agreement that theoretically would be there just to benefit and protect Rachel. Now it was the diva who had a fine to pay and at a disadvantage regarding future custody. Rachel and Santana ended the day alone in the office of one of the lawyers to reach an agreement.

"I won't give up to register of occurrences." Santana said. "I know I called you names when I found out your abominable act, but you did worse. At the end of five years, I want to see what will have more weight when we finally get divorced."

"I agree." Rachel said in a lower voice.

"Great." Santana took a deep breath and shook her head. "This is so stupid."

"What's stupid?"

"All of this! Our friends often try to steal each other's boyfriends and girlfriends all the time, but in our case, it will never be simple teenage thing anymore."

"It's true. It's the weight of a marriage and a contract."

"Yeah..." Santana frowned. "It shouldn't, but it hurt a lot knowing you had sex with him behind my back and after everything he did… after everything that happened with us."

"Finn and I had sex after I auditioned. I was relieved, and he was there for me... Ah, Santana, you know very well that I still love him. It's not so simple to leave it behind. Relapses would happen. You and Brittany were at Nashville doing who knows what."

"Brittany never left you with a black eye and tried to murder your reputation, Rachel. This is disgusting." Santana shook her head in disapproval. "And to think that I spent all these days restraining myself, afraid to hurt you. I thought we were getting along, that our marriage could really have a shot. I'm an idiot, aren't I? I bet you and Finn had a good laugh at my expense."

"It's not true. We just lived in the moment. I wasn't thinking…"

Santana looked at Rachel and was puzzled for a moment. How could that girl who the other day was squirming in pleasure at her touch suddenly ignore everything that was at stake to relive a bad fuck with her ex-boyfriend?

"This is not going to work." Santana rubbed a hand over her face. "We're only 18. We're too young to be in this mess."

"Too late. We already signed the papers." Rachel filled her lungs with air and blew upward, her lips vibrating in the process to try to ease the tension. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know about you, Berry, but I can't live under your roof anymore."

"Santana... you can't leave my house."

"I'm already out, Berry."

"But what about the agents?"

"You should have thought about that before."

"Santana, please!"

"Or you come to live in my parent's house with me, or we stay like this. I don't care anymore. I'm the one who made the biggest concessions so far. I'm going to New York, even if Oregon was the best academic option, I agreed to a prenuptial agreement that favored you, I moved in with you, I broke up with Brittany and remained so. Now, it's your turn."

Santana turned her back on Rachel and left the lawyer's office.

…

"Hi Finn."

Rachel answered the phone after crying all afternoon with anger, disgust and defeat. Worst of all, she didn't even feel entitled to be angry with her wife, since it was she, Rachel Berry, who faltered just when she and Santana were trying get the relationship right.

"Rach. How are you doing?"

"Terrible."

"Look, all of this was a show that Santana created to attract attention. It will pass, okay? We will overcome this crisis once more."

"We?" Rachel said angrily. "Finn, don't you see that we caused this crisis?"

"You are exaggerating."

"Exaggerating? I can't believe how stupid I was!"

"Rachel, we are only human. And we love each other. I don't regret anything about the night we spent together. It was wonderful." Finn sighed. "What's wrong about we stay together? This is what we planned all along."

"Except that Santana and I signed documents with severe legal implications because of assets that amount to almost 300 million dollars!" When Finn fell silent on the phone, Rachel closed her eyes and regretted it.

"You live in a really nice house, but I didn't know you were that rich."

"Most of these assets have been in court for decades. What my family enjoys isn't even close to what exists. The same goes for Santana's family. And the only person who will have 300 million dollars in hand is the kid that I will have with Santana. And if we don't comply with the agreement, everything is in the hands of the state. My house, the restaurant, my father's school, Santana's father's clinic, her house... everything. We will be left with nothing and a huge debt. One that will us all to jail!"

"Rachel... sorry... I never imagined."

Rachel shook her head in disbelief. She perfectly remembers explaining everything to Finn months ago. Either he must have forgotten or he didn't even pay attention. And every time Rachel thought about it, she saw the image of Santana playing in her face how Finn was a terrible observer, who took very poor readings of reality.

"Even so." Finn continued. "It's not fair that two people who love each other..."

"We're done. For real this time!" Rachel unburden.

"What?!"

"We're done, Finn. I'm sorry that we made plans and had dreams of being together, but, for now, none of this is worth in the face of reality. I was kidding myself, and now it's time to wake up. I'm going to New York and so is Santana. We'll live together and we will have some kind of relationship. I don't know how things are going to happen. But if I come back to Lima after that and if we meet and be together, it will be great. But right now, this is not the kind of drama I want for myself. I've had more than enough."

Rachel hung up on her ex-boyfriend. She vowed that this would be the last time in her life that you would make naive and impulsive decisions because of a man. Poor decisions, she had to point out. Rachel finally realized how serious the game was that she was placed in, and that her opponent had a wide advantage on the scoreboard at that point.