DISCLAIMER: Given that the GLEE will be singing The Safety Dance I can understand how you may be confused but alas they just have awesome taste and I had nothing to do with at as I am but a lowly wannabe writer and not Ryan Murphy.

Ch3…

"See I told you that teleconferencing each morning so that our outfits don't clash was a good idea." Kurt said proudly, in honour of Elton John week Kurt had shown up in his favourite suit made of gold lamé. Mercedes was a little more understated in jeans and a multicoloured hoodie but atop her head sat diamante-encrusted sunglasses.

"I don't think you video calling me this morning and yelling at me to not wear my gold hoodie counts as a teleconference." Mercedes replied rolling her eyes.

"If we were both wearing gold today it would have been tacky." Kurt argued. "Instead we look fabulous."

Mercedes laughed at her best friend and found herself wondering for what was possibly the hundredth time how she had ever not noticed he was gay, no straight guy would ever say fabulous.

"Kurt, Mercedes."

The duo nodded to the curly haired senior as he rushed past them, that guy was always in a hurry.

"I still don't like that guy." Mercedes muttered poisonously. "Or trust him, there's just something off about him."

"We're supposed to believe he moved here just to get into Rachel's pants? I don't buy it and there is no way she's swiped her V card in just yet." Kurt gossiped eagerly. "We need a plan. You know who we need right?"

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." She sighed following Kurt's eyes to the two brightly dressed Cheerios. "They're so evil." She shuddered.

"They're cheerleaders." Kurt said in reply, his tone expressing his belief that that obviously explained everything. "If we want to find out the real reason that wannabe Adam Pascal is here we need someone who is sneaky, manipulative and has low moral standards."

"We can hear you two, we're not deaf. And you're cheerleaders now too." Santana snapped from her position two lockers down. "And we're in, if I have to see him and man hands making out one more time my uterus will kill itself in protest."

"I thought your dog's name was Miffy." Brittany said confused. "Why would you change it to Uterus?"

"Moving on." Kurt interrupted before Brittany could further lower the IQ points in the conversation. "Meet me in the parking lot after school, our first step is to follow Jesse St. James. Synchronize your phones for 1500."

Brittany crinkled her eyebrow and went to open her mouth but Santana covered it with her hand.

"Don't tell anyone, this needs to be kept on the DL. The last thing we need is someone blabbing to the wrong person and the Tony Twins finding out."

"Why are you all looking at me?" Mercedes demanded. "Just because I'm the one who told you about Baby-gate doesn't mean I can't be trusted."

"One word Mercedes; Brittana." Kurt reminded his best friend who scowled at him.

"Actually we didn't mind about that, our stock at this school practically tripled when that Jew Fro freak posted on his blog about our lesbianic sexploits."

"Mr. Gilbert gave me an A on my chemistry final after that." Brittany added with a smile.

"Didn't you set him on fire and singe off his eyebrows?"

"Yeah so?"

Santana and Brittany joined pinkies and shared a giggle before walking off, the former turning back and nodding at the other two.

"Why do I feel like we just made a deal with the devil?" Mercedes asked shuddering and not from the cold.

"This is High School and they are the two most popular girls in school, we did just make a deal with the devil."

He couldn't be certain but he was pretty sure that Kurt had been following Jesse around all day. It wasn't that he followed Jesse around all day it was just that he happened to know Rachel's schedule and Jesse had barely let her out of his sight the whole day, and every where they had gone he had been momentarily blinded by a flash of gold. Even now in Glee instead of taking their usual spots Kurt and Mercedes were seated next to Jesse talking to him about his ideas of an Elton John number, he was holding Rachel's hand but instead of joining in the conversation she was staring at the floor chewing on her lip.

"Okay guys I hope you've been stretching those vocal chords, who's ready to wow us?" Mr. Schue rubbed his hands together excitedly peering over at Rachel almost instinctively, she was usually the first to volunteer but today her hands stayed in her lap. "Rachel?"

"Not today Mr. Schue." She replied quietly, it was almost recognisable as the voice of Rachel Berry.

"Okay." He said confused, it wasn't like Rachel to not be prepared.

"Actually Puck and I have been working on something." Quinn called out pulling a very reluctant looking Puck to his feet. "It's a mash up and it's not finished but we can show you what we have so far."

"Great! The floor is yours."

Puck glared down the whispers while Quinn whispered to the band members and they found the right music. Breathing deeply the mo hawked self proclaimed Puckzilla frowned slightly at Quinn before he began to sing quietly but assuredly.

"Guess there are times when we all need to share a little pain

And ironing out the rough spots

Is the hardest part when memories remain"

Nodding at Quinn she breathed shakily before she sang the next part.

"And it's times like these when we all need to hear the radio

Cause from the lips of some old singer

We can share the troubles we already know"

Quinn reached out and clasped Puck's hand as the music slowed and they sang together.

"It's sad, so sad

It's a sad, sad situation

And it's getting more and more absurd

It's sad, so sad

Why can't we talk it over?

Oh it seems to me

That sorry seems to be the hardest word"

The group were bristling at the new couple who were singing earnestly, their words quite obviously directed at Finn. The music kicked back up once again and the couple broke apart, Puck taking center stage.

"If someone else is suffering enough to write it down

When every single word makes sense

Then it's easier to have those songs around"

Puck came to stand behind Quinn resting his hands on her stomach, tears building in her eyes that she would swear were from pregnancy hormones.

"The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you

and it feels so good to hurt so bad

And suffer just enough to sing the blues"

Once more the music slowed and the two sang the last lines together, hands firmly clasped together on her stomach where the subject of much controversy lay.

"What have I got to do to be heard

What do I do when lightning strikes me?

What have I got to do?

What have I got to do?

When sorry seems to be the hardest word"

The group was silent and more than a little surprised when it was Finn who started the slow smattering of applause.

"That was great you guys." Mr. Schuester enthused. "And exactly what I'm talking about, Elton John's songs are so iconic because they all hold emotions, they tell a story. You need to find the one that tells your story, I'll be expecting at least two numbers from you tomorrow and you need to start thinking of a group number that we could use for Regionals. I'd like us to have a few extras in our arsenal just in case."

The group dispersed slowly all of them lagging, waiting to see what would come of the song, if Finn would react in anyway. Rachel sat conflicted when his eyes fell on her, holding a plea in them. She looked away and bit her lip. Finn sighed disparagingly and shuffled to the door.

"Bye guys."

It may not have been much but it was Puck and Quinn's eyes that he caught as he called out his greeting. Tears spilled freely from the blonde's eyes and she hugged Puck fiercely.

"I guess this groups days of drama are over." Tina mused as she pushed Artie out the door behind Kurt and Mercedes ho were talking quietly to themselves. "You guys want to go get ice cream?"

"Can't." Kurt replied quickly. "Coach Sylvester's called an emergency practice."

The two new cheerios rushed over to Kurt's car where Santana and Brittany were waiting. The four were acting casual.

"They're up to something." Artie decided stopping his wheelchair to study the unusual group.

"When aren't they?"

He blamed his mum for tivoing all that Dr. Phil, the bald dude was right. Holding onto your anger wasn't a good thing. That's why he'd clapped after their number and why he's said goodbye to them, they were a team and if he wanted Rachel back he had to show that he was mature and ready for a relationship. That didn't mean he was going to be inviting them over for milk and cookies just that he wasn't going to snap a pencil the next time he saw them together. If he was honest it wasn't even that she had slept with Puck that he was mad about. It was that she had lied, that they had both lied. He just couldn't understand why they didn't tell him the truth, sure he would have been pissed but at least it wouldn't have been so ugly.

"Hey honey how was practice?"

He shrugged and helped himself to an apple on the table. "It was okay." He swallowed carefully. "We have to find an Elton John song that expresses our emotions but I really suck at that."

"Is this about Rachel?" She asked bluntly, mum's had some kind of psychic powers, he was convinced of it.

"Kind of." He admitted. "I just don't know how to make her understand I was a total idiot and that just being around her makes me a better person. I sang I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. And now she won't even look at me."

"Oh honey." His mum sighed rubbing his hand. "Sometimes boys can be such dopes."

"Thanks mum." He mumbled, wasn't she supposed to make him feel better?

"She's probably confused." She explained turning to their CD collection. "Here, try track 2. I think it will help."

"I Need You To Turn To." He read from the back of the album, his mum smiled encouragingly at him. At the very least it couldn't make anything worse. "Thanks mum."

"Anytime honey."

Grace Hudson disappeared into her bedroom the phone ringing a few minutes later. Finn tried to pretend he couldn't hear his mother's giggles through the thin walls of the house. With everything on his plate he wasn't sure he could handle the idea of his mother dating on top of all that. Wasn't she old? Gross. He hummed a little louder as he clicked through to his internet browser bringing up the drum tabs for the song. Putting the CD on the old boom box he'd gotten for his eighth birthday he listened to the song, and then when it ended he listened to it again.

He did this over and over, slowly picking up the beat and singing along. He was staring into his webcam singing into the unblinking eye. The wheels of inspiration began to turn and he clicked onto Rachel's my space page her long list of videos filling his screen. The light blinked red and he poured out his emotions not caring how stupid he looked, he wasn't doing this to be cool or popular or to please anyone but himself and it felt good.