CHAPTER 6

"Are we seriously going to do this?" Kurt grumbled to Mercedes as the entire Glee club walked into the cafeteria together, preparing for their last gasp recruiting effort during lunchtime.

"Yeah, this is like social suicide." Artie remarked. Rachel sighed.

"No, look, come on guys! You all heard Mr. Schue last Friday! We need more people, and the only way we're going to do that is if we can recruit some today." Rachel reminded them. Everyone grumbled and groaned but deep down, they knew that Rachel was right. They needed to do this, for the sake of their Nationals hopes, no matter what the consequences could be. No matter the fact that after this, if they weren't already at the very bottom of the social letter, they most definitely would be. No matter the fact that they'd probably be greeted every morning for the next month with a slushie to the face. Because it would all be worth it if they even managed to recruit one person.

Quinn was silent as they entered the cafeteria, her head whipping around the packed room, trying to see if Marcus was there. She looked around every inch of the cafeteria and her heart sank like a stone: he wasn't there. Quinn didn't even know why she was so upset. Sure he was really attractive, but she had only had 2 conversations with him, and both had ended with her thoroughly pissed at him. No, there was something about him beyond his looks: a certain quality within him that made Quinn want to learn more about him. His dark, brooding frame clearly housed a lot of pain inside it, and for some reason, Quinn wanted it to be her mission to find out why and help him. However, she couldn't do that now if he wasn't even there.

Nevertheless, the show must go on. The Glee club quietly spread out all over the cafeteria, the band members inching their way over to the instruments that they had set up earlier that morning. The New Directions were extremely nervous, to say the least, as they prepared to begin, however they forced the feelings deep down. If they could perform in front of hundreds of strangers in New York, surely they could do it in front of their peers, right? Taking a deep breath, Finn began to sing the first note…

The following song is Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Levine

My heart's a stereo

It beats for you, so listen close

Hear my thoughts in every no-o-o-te

Make me your radio

And turn me up when you feel low (turn it up a little bit)

This melody was meant for you

Just sing along to my stereo

Gym Class Heroes baby!

If I was just another dusty record on the shelf

Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else?

If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that?

Like yea [scratched], check it Travie, I can handle that

Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks

It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks

I used to used to used to, now I'm over that

'Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts

If I could only find a note to make you understand

I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand

Just keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune

And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you

My heart's a stereo

It beats for you, so listen close

Hear my thoughts in every no-o-o-te

Make me your radio

And turn me up when you feel low

This melody was meant for you

Just sing along to my…

However, just as Sam was about to finish the last line of the song, all of a sudden he looked up and his voice immediately trailed off. He had barely a moment to think as he saw a plate of spaghetti and meatballs hurtling towards him, before it connected with its target with a loud SPLAT!

A collective gasp rang through the cafeteria, and for a moment, as Sam wiped the spaghetti sauce off his face, the Glee club were stunned in shock. The band instantly stopped playing, and quickly snuck off through the back exit of the dining hall. They knew what was going to happen just as well as anyone else. Sure enough, a few seconds later, a voice sliced through the dead silence of the cafeteria.

"FOOOOOOOD FIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

From there, it was absolute carnage. The Glee club barely managed to raise their hands to protect themselves before a tsunami of food came crashing their way. They were under siege. All sorts of food - salad, pasta, sauce, desserts - were sent their way, splattering onto every inch of them. Nobody was safe. Not wheelchair-bound Artie. Not intimidating Puck. Not Quarterback Finn. Not Head Cheerio Quinn. They were all used as target practice by the merciless student body, who were pelting them from every angle. All the Glee club could do was scream and shout and try to cover themselves up as best as they could as they sprinted towards the cafeteria doors, but there was no use. When there were hundreds of people all flinging projectiles at you like chimps at the zoo, there was only so much you could do to protect yourself. They all roughly pushed each other towards the exit, desperately trying to make it out as quickly as they could. That was harder than it sounded though. Some of the jocks had created walls blocking them from reaching the exit and although Puck and Finn managed to shove through them and create a path out, it provided the students with another few seconds that they could spend dumping food all over them. Eventually, they made it out though, leaving the jeering and yelling students behind them…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Oh, my God! I just heard what happened!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, as he rushed into the choir room for the Glee rehearsal that afternoon. As he entered the room and looked up, he abruptly stopped walking and his jaw hit the ground in shock. The room was an absolute mess. Despite not a gram of food being thrown in the room, the amount the New Directions had dragged in as they had retreated from the cafeteria meant that there were scraps of food littered all over the floor. Chunks of pasta, cake and salad painted the white choir room floor in a variety of different colours. Mr. Schue didn't pay much attention to the floor though. His main concern was with the 12 students sitting at the back of the room, trying to pick food out of their clothes and hair, scowling at him in annoyance.

The sight was an absolute spectacle, and Mr. Schue couldn't help but stifle a laugh, one that did not go unnoticed by the New Directions.

"Hey, Mr. Schue? Next time you want to make us perform in front of the entire school… please don't." Kurt grumbled as he picked pieces of vegetables from the sleeves of his Marc Jacobs sweater.

"Or better idea, how about you actually be there next time so you can get pelted along with the rest of us!" Puck snapped.

"Yeah, Mr. Schue, what happened to suffering through everything together because we're a family?" Mercedes remarked. "You're like the dad who says he's going out for milk and walks out."

"I thought slushies were bad, but spaghetti sauce in the eye is so much worse." Artie mumbled, trying to wipe his eyes of all of the crap that was all over him.

"Mr. Schue, if the aim of this was to break us down to build us up, it's working." Mike said.

Mr. Schue sighed.

"Look, I'm so sorry that this happened to you guys." He told them. "If it makes you guys feel any better, we do have a new recruit for the New Directions."

Every head in the room shot up at the same time and looked at him incredulously. Their shitshow of a performance had actually managed to entice someone to join?! Quinn, especially, cocked her hair in curiosity. Had Marcus actually been there and somehow been convinced to join?

It wasn't Marcus, however, who walked through the doors moments later. It was none other than Blaine Anderson, no longer donning his Warbler's blazer and instead wearing a gigantic smile on his face as he looked at the New Directions.

"New Directions, give it up for the newest member of the McKinley High Glee Club, Mr. Blaine Anderson!" Mr. Schue announced. The entire room erupted in cheers, genuine cries of pleasure and relief as they welcomed their newest member. Of course the one person who had actually been so foolish as to join was the one person who wasn't at lunch as he had just arrived that day at the school. After being welcomed by everyone with open arms, particularly Kurt who was ecstatic to see him, Mr. Schue then began to proceed with the rehearsal.

"Thank you so much, guys." Blaine addressed them. "I'm so happy to be here. We're going to win Nationals this year! I can feel it!"

Mr. Schue nodded.

"Thank you, Blaine. We're all so happy to have you here." Mr. Schue responded, before turning to the rest of the group. "But guys, having Blaine with us doesn't change what I said the other day. We need more people. So, for our next performance, I'll make sure that…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" Tina exclaimed. "Our next performance?"

Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Well… yeah." He replied. Instantly, there was an uproar. Almost everyone in the room erupted with anger, outrage and defiance.

"Mr. Schue, there is no way we're doing that again!" Mercedes shouted.

"Yeah, look around, Mr. Schue! Nobody joined! The only thing that happened is that we had lunch made on our faces!" Santana spat.

"Look, do you guys think I really enjoy seeing you all like this?" Mr. Schue asked them. "You know you're all like my own children to me. It physically hurts me to see how the rest of the school is treating you guys. But I also know that we're not going to make it to Nationals without at least one more singer."

"And we have one more… Blaine!" Finn remarked.

"Mr. Schue is right, you guys." Rachel interjected. "I love everyone in this room, but you guys have to admit that we're sort of missing star quality from the male side of the room."

"Hard not to take offence to that." Sam mumbled.

"Look, I hate Berry as much as the next person, but she's right." Santana added. "The girls have at least 5 or 6 people that at any moment, can step up and perform the big solo in the big moment. The boys on the other hand… sometimes it feels like it's just Frankenteen and his Merry Men."

As all of the boys scowled daggers at Santana, at that moment she was interrupted by a knock on the choir room door. Everyone's head whipped around to see who it was, half-expecting a group of jocks there to dump even more food on them. But it wasn't. It was just one teenager. A student who was new to the school that semester. One who was indeed there during the performance that lunchtime, but his eyes had been fixated on a certain blonde cheerleader within the Glee club.

"Hi, Marcus. How can we help you?" Mr. Schue asked him, recognizing him from Spanish class. Marcus probably hadn't said 10 words in the week that he had been in Mr. Schuester's class, so Mr. Schue was certainly surprised to see him there.

"I, um… I heard you guys were looking for recruits for your choir and I was wondering if I could join." Marcus said. Mr. Schue smiled widely at him, before turning to the rest of the New Directions.

"See, you guys! You did manage to entice someone with your performance!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. Marcus nodded.

"Yeah, I saw what happened in the cafeteria today. I figured any group that can stick together after having had hundreds of people pelting food at them must be a pretty damn fun group to be in."

This wasn't wholly a lie. Ever since his mom's death, he had become always reluctant to join new groups and teams. The therapist he was forced to see after her death called it "abandonment issues", but Marcus thought that was bullcrap. He was just a bit introverted and antisocial. Nothing wrong with that. However, seeing Quinn again, seeing her up there singing with the rest of the club… he just couldn't stop looking at her. There was just something about her, and he needed to get to know her better, even if that meant joining the Glee club to do it…