Episode 16, Chapter 1:
Spotted: Rachel Berry wading in the Met fountain, fishing for change... Quinn Fabray, seen dallying with an off-duty doorman at Rinky Dinks on a Monday night. It looks like the battle between the Queen Q and Little R has moved from the streets to the blogs. Who's sending this debasing dish? I have a feeling...
Quinn debated all weekend with herself how she would handle her guilty feelings over Finn and Rachel. She heard through her typical sources that they got back together. She didn't care either way. At least, she told herself she didn't. Even with the pressure she felt to reassert her power after Zizes' devastating political stunt, she needed to restore the balance and give Rachel a win. She figured that kissing her enemy's boyfriend while they were on the break was probably the lowest moment in her ongoing feud with Rachel. She was willing to do what was necessary to ensure she didn't have the shame of what happened to her with Kurt and Sam happen to another girl. There was some brutal karma in store if she didn't.
Quinn had a good relationship with all the teachers including the theater director who was in the process of picking this year's Spring Musical.
The Monday after the SAT, Quinn picked up Rachel and dragged her to the theater of the school building before they all met up on the steps.
"I don't understand what I'm doing here, Quinn. Why did you text me?"
"I'm sorry about the kiss between Finn and I. It was a mistake; I'm not proud of it. Thankfully, Gossip Girl doesn't know, and I don't want them too. It's bad for my reputation, and I don't need any more boy drama. I know you don't want that spreading either so I'm calling for a truce... on that only. Finn's a good guy, he's kind to me, and I think he really likes you. Because I don't want the bad karma following me around and I know what it's like to be betrayed, I'm giving you one win," she paused. Rachel cocked her head waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I convinced the drama director to let a freshman audition for the lead in the school musical: West Side Story."
"Maria?!" she shakily squinted at Quinn in shock, believing she must be punked.
"You can sing; you're probably the best chance at Maria, and I'm too busy with my other clubs and responsibilities to dedicate to theater right now."
"Quinn, I don't know what to say!"
"You still have to ace the audition," Quinn quickly added, "and I can't help you if you choke. Besides this, I will keep up all appearances of disdain, and I will avidly deny that I had anything to do with this opportunity. In every other way humanly imaginable, I will crush any hope and chance you have to be Queen while I live and breathe," she took one step closer intimidatingly. "Do you understand me?" Rachel backed up responding the way Quinn wanted.
"Yes ma'am!" she squeaked.
"Good girl," she smirked. "Let the games begin."
Three days later, the gaggle of girls sat in their usual spot on the steps of the MET before school. Sugar returned to school after her father was sent to prison. Her mother already had another husband lined up so she didn't have to wait for more financial assistance to support their lavish lifestyle. It was confusing how quickly she popped in and out of their lives.
"So, you're going to be Maria in the school musical, and you and Finn are co-hosting your own party? That is so cool!" Sugar squealed excitedly.
Rachel blushed and was about to speak when Santana continued, "That's like serious for relationships. I don't know what Sam is up to half the time—he barely talks to me. We just make out when we're both free. Some nights he'll just send me a dick pic and we'll sext…I was joking Q! What?! Do you want an apology?" she finished.
Quinn wasn't interested in talking about her friend and ex being intimate. It was bad enough that the two of them were still seeing each other. It made no sense to Quinn that they were still in a relationship or fling or whatever they decided to call it. While she knew she wasn't perfect and had made several rather public mistakes, overall, Santana was trashier than her, and from what she knew, Sam liked "good girls."
"You're all invited—even you, Quinn," Rachel said ignoring the tension and returning the conversation to herself. Quinn gave the girl a look for daring to speak to her directly.
When she had last talked to Rachel, she couldn't have envisioned Rachel having the audacity to throw a party with her boyfriend. Rachel knew throwing a successful party would be her best shot at becoming queen. Rachel even spoke to Puck in order to host the event at his nightclub, which was still open surprisingly although it was barely making enough business for him to justify keeping it open. Puck was obviously oblivious to how Quinn would react, or he was secretly waiting for her to confront him about it.
Rachel, for obvious reasons, didn't tell her dad about the party. The last one had gone over well enough in Burt's eyes, but she wanted this one to be a lot bigger with a lot more people. This one would have free-flowing liquor, and like all dads, he would flip if he found out. She and her dad were still not on the best of terms. Since Blaine talked her out of making the trip to Ohio, the two only silently acknowledged each other around the house. She'd managed to plan the party all out without him noticing. She couldn't be too sure he wouldn't figure it out, but she wouldn't let him stop her if he did. She'd gone through enough work to convince Finn.
Only one day after deciding the couple would take it slow, they were on his bed, and just for kicks, she'd let him touch her boobs, over the shirt of course. Two days later, she'd sprung the idea of a nightclub event, and three days later, she'd asked about a party at a nightclub, but just for the people in school. The whole door-in-the-face approach worked, and he agreed. Only afterward did Finn realize how stressful it would be to plan. He let Rachel handle all the details. His only tangible or visible proof that he had anything to do with the party was his name on the invite.
Rachel liked making plans so she didn't mind that he didn't know what the color scheme would be. She asked Kurt for his help because at least he was honest with her, didn't hate her or tried to destroy her regularly. Also, by having Kurt a part of the planning, it was like his brother was there in spirit.
"How did little Rachel Berry manage to go from nobody to the host of an Upper East Side party in one school year?" Quinn asked aloud.
"Oh, that's easy! She married up," Sugar smiled.
Kurt and Finn took the same car to school that day; something they didn't always do. Kurt had been trying to have a serious heart-to-heart with him all week, but he'd always changed the subject last minute. "What's been going on with you?"
"What do you mean?" Finn asked another question back, deflecting as custom.
"You've been acting strange all week. I thought you wanted to get back with Rachel."
"I did, but it's all the same. I don't know how I got roped into this party thing."
"Just tell her you don't want it. I can co-host with her. I made most of the plans."
"No! It means too much to her. I don't want to upset her."
"It's your relationship, not just hers. You have to be honest with each other," Kurt said calling him out.
Finn shrugged, "Yours isn't much better."
"What do you mean?" Kurt asked panicked. His own reaction frightened him.
He and Blaine hadn't gotten over the SAT skip scandal from a week ago. He didn't know exactly what Blaine was thinking, but he was behaving passive aggressively ever since. He could feel Blaine at a tipping point, just holding on before he blew up on him. Kurt wouldn't have anything to say if he did because he hadn't fixed his Dave problem yet.
Dave signed him up for spam messages from some pretty unsavory websites, which imbedded his laptop with viruses and malware that made it unusable after that point. After that, Dave dropped off the grid again, which didn't soothe Kurt's worries. He had no idea when he would pop up on him again. He was sitting prey in his game.
Blaine had been keeping in touch with Kary all week, and they'd become fast friends. He listened to him and didn't judge. They actually shared a lot in common. When they talked, he discovered more about him, unlike with Kurt, who would just shut down. Kary understood him very well and seemed to know his worries, secrets and fears. For that reason, he was scared to tell Kurt about him. He liked Kary as a friend, and he didn't want anything more from him because he loved Kurt. Blaine, however, wanted someone to talk with honestly who wasn't his sister, or Tina, who were clearly biased. He needed an outside source. Kary had good advice about giving Kurt time to figure his issues out that Blaine was following, but it soon became part of the problem. If Kurt noticed how upset Blaine still was at him, he should have tried to fix it, but he hadn't yet.
Kurt caught Blaine off-guard when he walked into the school building, and his boyfriend threw his arms around him from behind.
"Hey stranger!" he smiled warmly. Blaine was instantly confused.
"Hey Kurt, what are you doing?"
"I'm here to apologize for keeping you in the dark lately, and I know you've been upset with me. I want to tell you all about it over dinner."
Kurt didn't know yet if he'd tell the big secret—honestly, he doubted if he'd have that much honesty, but he felt there was a good chance he'd tell him something just to get him off his back until he decided what to do next. The look in Blaine's face changed towards him, just like he hoped it would.
"Really Kurt? Do you mean that?"
"Yes, I do because I love you, and I can't go another day without you knowing. I also want to congratulate you for getting the role of Riff in the school musical!"
"How did you know?" Blaine asked him surprised.
"I auditioned too. I wanted Tony, but they gave me Officer Krupke instead," he sighed momentarily disappointed. Blaine wasn't even aware the other had auditioned. "I'm surprised you of all people didn't get the lead."
"Maybe next year," Blaine smiled good-naturedly. He was content with just being included. The boys smiled together; it was nice finally talking after a tense week.
Suddenly Blaine's resolve to keep Kary to himself became more difficult. The thought of honesty being pumped into the air between them brought it out of him. Blaine couldn't be sure that Kurt would even care about his new friend. He never expected him to be more upset with him then how upset Blaine was at Kurt.
"I want to introduce you to my new friend."
"Oh yeah? Who is she?" Kurt tried to sound natural.
"His name is Kary."
"Huh? Well, maybe I can meet him tonight before the dinner."
"I'd love that. I'll ask him."
"Sounds like a date," Kurt stoutly ordered needing to know who this mystery boy was.
After the talk with his brother, Finn felt surer than ever that he needed to tell Rachel how he felt about this party, even if she didn't want to hear it. His feelings mattered too, and if he didn't want it, then she should respect that… right?
"Hey Rache, I need to talk to you."
"What's it about?" she asked completely oblivious to the serious look on his face. She had tests to study for and a party to plan so she couldn't keep focus.
"It's about…," he started. He lost his words and resolve being this close to her. She didn't notice the hesitation so he was able to jump back on board and just say it. "It's about your party." This grabbed her attention.
"What about it?"
"Well, that's sort of it—it's your party, not mine."
"I told you that you could be a part of the planning, but you decided not to be. I'll send you some pictures of flowers. Just tell me which one's you like."
"No, not just the planning…"
"The guest list is perfect. All your football team friends already RSVP'd."
"That's not it either."
"Well, I can't change the style of invitation because those already went out."
"Rachel! You're not listening. I'm not sure about having this party, like at all."
"Finn, you're being silly," she laughed good-naturedly. "I just said the invites went out. The party is on." She put a hand on his arm slowing her speech. "I know it must be a lot to handle, but you're popular Finn, just own it. If you need someone to talk to you, you know I'm here for you to get through this. You're the most important… Now, make sure you pick up a tux. Kurt told me that you don't own one, which seems ridiculous considering your measurements. It would make more sense to have one custom made for these occasions," she leant up to peck him on the cheek just as the bell rang. She smiled, "Perfect timing! Is everything else okay?" she asked. He simply nodded yes. "Great, talk to you later Finn!"
Finn stood dumbstruck as she walked away.
And the only thing more shocking than the truth... is the lies people tell to cover it up.
Blaine bumped into Finn as he rushed to his next class. Finn barely felt him. His eyes were glazed over, and he was breathing shallowly.
"Whoops, sorry man! Hey Finn—are you okay?" the taller boy simply nodded yes. "You don't look okay—Finn? Should I take you to the nurse?"
He shook his head. Blaine looked around, and even though he would be late to class, Finn looked like he needed some help. He walked him outside. The benches were all empty. It was a colder morning for April.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine asked him.
"I don't know how to explain it."
"Well tell me a part of it then, the easier part."
"It's Rachel."
"What did she do this time?" Blaine sighed.
"I don't think I want to have this party," he said shyly.
"Did you tell her that?" Blaine looked curious.
"I thought I did," Finn exclaimed.
"Well, she's known to be a bit hard of hearing things she doesn't want to hear. Do you want me to tell her?" he asked.
"You shouldn't have to,' he sighed reluctantly.
"She's a strong personality. I understand. Can you get through it or do you want to cancel it that bad?"
Finn shrugged. He looked stressed in a way he never saw him look before. Rachel really did a doozy on him. His self-confidence was shot.
"You love my sister, right?"
"I do," Finn nodded fiercely.
"You sure you do? I know it's hard to tell that to me of all people, but you can tell me the truth. You might feel like you have to love her, but sometimes feelings change…"
Finn hadn't thought about it before, but with all the stress he was under, it might explain something. He relied on her. It was hard to uncover where his feelings began and ended.
The boys didn't talk much after that. Blaine stood for a bit longer before going back into the building leaving the door open for Finn.
When Rachel got out of class, she saw the two of them sitting together. She smiled for a second before she saw the serious looks on both of their faces, which gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
When Blaine left his side, Rachel caught him by surprise. For the third time that day, he was thrown off-guard. She was small and silent when she wanted to be. Rachel might have grown two inches the way she looked down on him.
"What did Finn want?"
Blaine shook himself before responding.
"He's just dealing with some stuff. I was giving him some guy advice."
"What about?"
"I don't know maybe you should ask him about that. You two do talk, right?" he shot back and adjusted his book bag on his shoulder.
"Was it about me? That's the only conversation topic that you might not want to talk to me about?"
"No, any conversation topic would still be private. All I'm going to say is that maybe you should talk to your boyfriend and actually listen. I'll see you at home, Rachel," Blaine said.
He appeased her a bit before walking away fast enough that she couldn't follow him without it looking like a chase scene. Blaine needed to talk to someone about her.
"You ever have trouble connecting with your brother?" he asked while swinging his leg over the bench to sit down with Kurt.
"No—well, yes. I guess... sometimes. Why do you ask?" Kurt asked drinking from a tall coffee cup with his name written on the side.
"Rachel just insists on everything going her way. If it drives me crazy, I can only imagine what it's doing to Finn. I love her, and I'm obligated as her brother to help her, but she doesn't listen to me. It's just frustrating sometimes," Blaine said looking stressed.
Kurt's eyes pitied him, and he offered Blaine his cup. His boyfriend gratefully took it. Sipping on the grande non-fat mocha, Blaine raised his brows; he liked his medium drip better. Kurt shrugged apologetically.
"I talked to Finn too. I'm on the other end, and he doesn't listen to me. I like them together. Finn looked happy with her, but recently not so much. I know what it is," he offered. Blaine looked on interested. "It's hard to talk to her because she's in the phase. The only things she cares about are the four G's: Guys, Girlfriends and Gossip Girl. Technically, you fall under none of those categories."
"I guess," Blaine looked bummed. Kurt wanted to take his mind off of it.
"Did you know the first ever post was about me liking a boy in school?"
"Really?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded.
"It might have been just before you arrived. I was dating Brittany as you know. She was my beard. I was as faithful as a guy could be. There were no gay guys at school, or at least anyone who was out of the closet, so everything was very hush-hush. Then, I met a boy. He was wildly handsome! He didn't even go to school here. He lived in the Village, but one day, he dropped me off near school. Our kiss was all anyone could talk about. Gossip Girl was the first on the scene. "I'll always remember what the post read:
This just in: Kurt Hummel spotted locking lips before class... But not with his girlfriend. Looks like gentlemen don't prefer blondes. They prefer other gentlemen.
"That's terrible!" Blaine said.
"I got back on my feet eventually. It stung for a bit, but I was always proud. I should have been careful and trusted my friends to have my back, but I didn't. I broke up with Brittany amicably because it was for the best. Just like I learned, so too will Rachel. She's young."
To mark the moment, both boys were notified by a new update by Gossip Girl posting more slander about Rachel. Blaine shook his head.
Is this just another round of blanks fired between Q and Little R? I'm tired of being the bearer of bad grudges. This is the last item that goes to press without proof.
~A.N. So I took some liberties with the 2nd to last GG blast. In the GG show, it is used in reference to Jenny Humphrey's character's boyfriend kissing another boy, but since we don't have any storyline close to that. I instead did a quick flashback to a young Kurt's first, unnamed kiss. It's also a good opportunity to reference Brittany and Kurt's short-lived S2 fling LOL
