Episode 12, Chapter 2:

At school the next day, there was an assembly led by the new headmaster Sheldon Beiste. He was not happy that in her first week he had to deal with something like this. He struck fear into even the toughest of them, and when he asked for answers about what happened at the pool party, he expected to get them. Someone left their phone so there were clear pictures of who was at the party. Every one of them would get questioned, and the one responsible for breaking in would be expelled. However, the cost for all them if someone didn't come forward was class expulsion, but he couldn't really do that, could he?

This would be just another test of the interwoven high society bond the students shared. They already knew the drill. No matter how dangerous the cost, they were expected to stick together so no one gets blamed. Snitches had no place in that system. It was how they had survived for years. Kurt told Blaine not to say anything, and reluctantly the shorter young man agreed. In truth, Blaine knew nothing about who had started it, where they got the key from, or really anything pertinent.

Finn didn't want Rachel to pay for this crime that he knew she didn't commit. He didn't attend because he never completed his Spanish oral exam, and he was going to fail the first semester if he didn't stay home to study for it. He knew Rachel couldn't afford to get kicked out of school—what with her big Broadway plans and all!

"If you know who had the key, you should come forward."

"I can't do that Finn. I'm not going to be the one person who rats everyone out."

"Someone could have died, Rachel. Your own friend! This is more serious than your new clique. Someone is to blame, and you can get in serious trouble for protecting them. I know how much this school, even without all the people, means to you. You could get expelled for helping to protect them. Your dad can't buy you back into the school like everyone else could."

"I won't do it. I'm going to write my essay on how stupid I was for attending a party on school property hours where Tina almost died, but I'm going to thank God she's alive and keep my trap shut. It's not like I know who actually had the key," she ended carefully looking down.

"Are you lying to me right now?"

"What?" she said taken aback.

"You didn't look me in the eye when you said the last part. You know who had the key that night! And you're not going to say anything?"

"I don't know where you got that from Finn. If you want to make me out as the bad guy, then fine, but you would do the same if you were in my shoes. Now stop looking at me like that!" Finn wouldn't let up on it for the rest of the night.

Everyone came to Tina's bedside, even students who didn't know who she was. Seeing someone almost die in a place you were just having fun has a certain effect on you. You have to pay respects to her and the miracle of life.

Blaine sat in the seat closest to her as everyone walked in. He was dressed in a white and black Club Monaco Jacquard shawl cardigan and yellow and black Bowdacious by Amy Laun 'The Blaine' Special Edition bow tie. [Not while I'm around] It got exhausting, and Blaine had homework in his hardest honors class so he left just when Tina was going to take a nap.

Tina was feeling better and enjoying the attention. She told them all what she'd dreamed while she was out cold. She "woke up" from her fall in an opposite world that brought her to the mall. She saw all of the familiar faces ofthe William McKinley Schoolwearing wild outfits and acting like a caricature of other people: Blaine had a Mohawk like Puck, Kurt was wearing flannel like Finn, Rachel looked all goth like Tina, and Puck wore a sweater vest like Blaine. As interesting as it was, Tina was thankful to have woken up at all.

The final two people allowed as visitors that day were a surprising duo.

Puck followed Quinn dressed in a navy-blue Kate Spade Denim Kimberly dress with a white collar. [You Learn] She slowed down so he could catch up.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me," he said.

"I don't, but you keep following me around so I figured I mind as well. Who knows, maybe I can even convince you to leave me alone. I've tried being angry, but you seem to like that so how about I appeal to your humanity?" she said as they took two seats next to Tina. She'd fallen asleep, or so they thought.

"That probably won't work any better… why are you visiting little Asian?"

"Because she's a nice person," she said honestly. "She sang at my birthday party, she's friends with Kurt, Blaine and Rachel, and I never bothered to get to know her so—something you'll be happy to know—I feel guilty," her voice was quiet.

"I'm not happy when you're guilty. I'm happy when you give me the time of day. I know you have feelings for me; you're trying to ignore by putting your energy into Sam, and I know that it'll never work with him."

"It did before you came into the picture."

"I was always in the picture. For as long as you were dating Sam, you were dating me. We do everything together."

"Even share each other's girlfriends? I get it. You don't see the problem with us, but I know the truth. We'd destroy each other."

"I don't believe that, not for a moment. You see us as being so different, but I think we are exactly the same," Quinn purposely avoided looking at him. "That's why you caved in twice. The first time you can say you were dumb, but the second time was because you wanted me back. I can wait," Puck finished, extremely sure of himself.

"I can't keep having the same conversation with you," Quinn resisted him. She left the flowers and chocolate by the girl's bed and walked out. Puck left right after giving her the physical space he knew she needed to think. He'd never been surer of himself. He could have her for himself. It wasn't too crazy to believe.

Burt had a lot to say when Blaine came home. He thought he might have a heart attack so Burt made sure he was seated and comfortable before he got into the yelling. He'd already done this same routine to Rachel who was fake crying in her bedroom hoping to get some forgiveness. Burt knew that Blaine hadn't gone there for a party, but instead because he'd wanted to see Kurt. He would have let this go if someone hadn't gotten hurt, but, of course, someone—of all people, Tina Cohen-Chang who practically lived with them—did. He offered her guardians to pay for her medical bills as it was his son's fault for taking her to the illegal party where she hit her head and almost died.

Blaine knew he deserved his punishment. Halfway through his rant, Burt stopped yelling and gave his son a hug. Burt knew that Blaine was upset and had spent the whole afternoon with Tina in the hospital.

Blaine went to his room and emptied his books on his bed. He didn't know where his homework ended and his bed began. He just needed to lose himself in something he could control, but there was no such thing as having control when he was in a relationship with Kurt, who called right at the start of his work.

"Kurt, I really can't talk right now. I have a mountain of work I need to do."

"You've been avoiding me all day."

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have," he pronounced every word. "You saw me when I was walking towards your locker, and you immediately closed it and left. Later, I saw you in the middle of class walking in the hall with a book in your hand from you running back to your locker. You never leave things in your locker. I can count on one hand the times that brilliant, genius, you forgot something like that… This is about the party, isn't it?" he asked carefully.

"Well yeah, it's about the party. Tina's in the hospital because of it."

"She's going to be okay, and no one will ever do anything like that again."

"How can you be so sure? You get invited to all sorts of parties. Who says the next one someone won't die?" he sounded haunted, and Kurt momentarily felt haunted too. He didn't want to talk about this.

"I won't go then, Blaine. I'll never invite you any place even a hint illegal," he smirked.

"This isn't funny, Kurt. You didn't see Tina today; you had to be the only one."

"That's because I didn't want to be one of those fake people. They were coming because the person before them came. I'll spend time with Tina when it's not for show."

Blaine nodded. That made sense to him.

"I'm just scared."

"Blaine, she'll be out of the hospital in no time. She had a slight concussion, and she's already talking and telling stories—"

"I know Tina will be okay. I'm worried about us and school. You have to know who's responsible. Someone will say something before we all get expelled, right?"

"No one's getting expelled. It would be all over the papers. The school would never do that," he tried to reassure, but it wasn't going to be easy.

"But still no one's going to admit they did something wrong? This is Tina we're talking about. If you know something, at least tell me so I can bring this guy to justice."

"Don't you feel safe knowing that if no one talks, no one will get in trouble, and this will all blow over?"

"No, I don't feel safe or comforted by that fact, Kurt!" Blaine got exasperated. His boyfriend just didn't understand, and it's possible he never would, "I have to stuff to do. I'll see you tomorrow," Blaine angrily hung up his phone. Of course, Kurt wouldn't get it because nothing bad ever happened to him that couldn't be fixed with a lot of money.

There's a weak link in every chain, and it's just a matter of time before this one snaps.

Quinn was brought into the Headmaster's office first thing in the morning. She easily gave a well thought out lie for why she'd been at the party. Most of it characterized her as a victim and made it clear that her unexpected behavior truly was a onetime occurrence that would never happen again.

Santana took a different approach when she was called into the office next. She explained that in reality it was a lame idea, who wants to go to a pool party at school. She preferred to avoid the place completely when it was outside of the average school day. She would have done something much cooler if she hadn't also been peer-pressured into going to the pool party. She never wet her hair on any occasions so it was a good possibility she'd never go in a pool again.

Brittany was a challenge to talk with. Quinn and Santana knew that she would most likely squeal when asked a particular question so they vetted her beforehand to make sure she was both dumb and mute when put before Beiste. Thankfully, he bought the routine and let her go so Brittany couldn't accidentally cause trouble for them all.

Rachel went in next. Finn held his breath hoping she'd do the right thing. When he saw her walking in the halls later, he rushed to catch up.

"Rachel, how did it go?" he asked kindly, but she looked annoyed that he wasn't interested in talking about anything else.

"Finn, there was nothing for me to say. No one is getting blamed."

"Meaning you had your chance, and you blew it? You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I am not ridiculous. I'm not crazy or stupid either. Can't we move past this? We haven't had a disagreement like this in our entire relationship, and I hate what it's doing to us right now."

"I don't like it either, but I just know something bad is going to happen."

"Okay, you want to know the truth… I didn't want to tell you, but I know I can trust you to do the right thing. I wasn't there when they opened the pool. I came forty minutes later when there were already people there."

"Your friends had to be there so… Kurt knows."

"If you want to harass anyone, talk to him, but I don't think you'll want him to tell the truth either."

Puck lost contact with Sam during the day, but he found him in the gym working out.

"You ever heard about the guy who worked out too much and died from exhaustion?"

Sam didn't think it was funny. He continued lifting the small weights. He was concentrating on something, and Puck knew he couldn't count very high.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Who do you think? Quinn. I can't get her out of my head, and it's giving me problems."

"Do I want to ask what sort of problems?" Puck winked. "The sexual kind?"

"I can't sleep, and I can't eat."

"Then you really shouldn't be working out right now!" Puck teased.

"You don't get it. You've never been in love with a girl before."

The statement wasn't meant to cut Puck down. It was common knowledge. Sam knew him well enough that he could handle it. He couldn't have expected the slight blip in Puck's chest as he realized that wasn't as true as he or his friend would like to believe.

"Me and Quinn have history," Sam continued. "I was so busy—being an ostrich, you know, with my head in the sand—that I didn't treat her right. I hurt her feelings more than once, probably a thousand times, and then, when we got back to the place that we could be something again, I chickened out and went to Florida for the holiday practically abandoning her here. I'm going to get her back, for real. She's going to see how serious I am this time around."

"I didn't realize..."

"My mind gets clearer when I work out. You have to help me get back with her."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Why?"

Puck didn't have answer. Eventually he nodded. He would help Sam get her back.

Blaine might be too softhearted for his own good, but he can hold a grudge for at least a day, and when he tries so hard not to forgive someone, they will know they messed up royally. Kurt understood this. His boyfriend avoided him all day at school. It was way worse than yesterday. Now, Blaine would make heavy eye-contact and walk around Kurt when he passed him in the hall. Kurt tried but couldn't get a word in edgewise even when he exasperatedly cried out for Blaine. The smaller boy even slipped around him when Kurt was sure he had him cornered. However, he didn't give up hope because he knew where he'd find Blaine at the end of the day.

Tina was daydreaming next to Blaine. He liked the quiet. She was still recovering from some of the side effects from hitting her head. No matter how much she wanted to she hadn't been able to sleep. She'd been irritable and extra emotional because of it. It was taking everything within her power not to tell Blaine what she'd heard from Quinn and Puck when they thought she was asleep.

Kurt's arrival was a pleasant distraction even though he was still upset with the taller boy. Blaine rushed outside to warn him about how she'd been acting. Tina sighed and turned over, but he returned to his same spot without another glance to his boyfriend. This obvious distance was suspicious. She turned to see Kurt.

"Hey Tina, I'm glad you're okay. I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday, but with all those people, I knew I wouldn't get to apologize to your face the way you deserve. We never should have gone to that party. I know you will be okay, but it's okay if you're really mad at me for getting you stuck in here."

"I'm not stuck. I leave tomorrow. I'm going to take it easy at home. You have nothing to apologize for, Kurt. I enjoyed everything... up until falling into the pool. I shouldn't have been running and drinking. It's a fairly lethal combination; things could have been much worse."

"Even though you said that, I know I'm still responsible…" he redirected his attention to the smaller boy, who raised his brows wondering what he had to say now. "Blaine, it was actually my key to the pool—well, really Puck gave me the key as a welcome to the family gift after Christmas. I didn't think I'd ever use it considering who it came from, but one thing led to another and it happened. I opened the door that night, and I thought you should know the truth. I'm sorry for lying."

"That's why you won't tell anyone..."

"That doesn't matter to me," he said softly. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew what you'd think of me."

"Kurt, I know who you are. I'm not upset you had the key to the pool, maybe a little bit surprised. I'm just upset about how you acted after the fact. Look where we are right now."

"Don't bring me into this Blaine. I don't blame him," Tina interrupted.

"It's harder to explain, Tina. It's not just that," Blaine seemed more frustrated.

"I get it, and if you want, I'll own up to it and take whatever the consequence."

"Would you do that?" Blaine asked him. The guy of his dreams would do that because in his mind dream-boy was perfect, just, and moral —with abs.

"For you, anything."

"Not for me, Kurt. I want you to just because it's the right thing to do."

Kurt, of course, was invited to Quinn's essay party for her close friends to complete their individual assignments for Beiste. Kurt extended the olive branch to Blaine if just to find a secluded place to work, but his boyfriend wasn't in the mood. He felt more comfortable staying with Tina for a bit longer before she was discharged the next day. Kurt and Blaine were polite together, but that didn't mean they were okay just yet. It all depended on what happened in the morning.

Kurt felt pampered and comfortable upon arrival at Quinn's get-together, but in his heart, he knew something wasn't right.

Spotted: Kurt learning that when the punishment fits the crime there is no reason you can't serve your sentence in style.

~A.N. Oh Kurt, what were you thinking? Also, introducing Sheldon Beiste as Headmaster of the William McKinley school. Honestly, he's only person who I would have trusted as principal in Glee NGL!