Rachel
When Quinn and Santana approach Rachel in the hall she is stunned to say the least. They barely make eye contact with her on a good day unless she's done something to set one of them off. She's pretty sure she hasn't done anything other than kissing Quinn's boyfriend, but why would Finn have told her about that? He wouldn't. He would only be hurting himself.
"The choreography we're doing in Glee club is awful," Quinn says.
"W-What's wrong with it?" Rachel asks, not really making eye contact with either of them.
"It sucks," Quinn says.
"It's completely unoriginal," Santana adds.
"Aren't you guys going to get shunned for talking to me?"
"Sweetie, we're a team now," Quinn answers.
Rachel makes eye contact with her feeling a lightness in her chest she's not familiar with as she does so. She then shifts her gaze to Santana wondering if this is some sort of prank.
"But you've gotta do something about Mr. Shue's dance routines," Quinn says, snapping Rachel out of her trance.
So later in class Rachel stops class while they're doing a ridiculous dance routine to tell Will why they can't do these silly routines anymore.
"We can't compete with Vocal Adrenaline with these steps. You're a great vocal coach, Mr. Shue…" Rachel looks at Quinn which earns her a look of slight approval then she looks back at Will. "...but you're not a trained choreographer. That's what we need to be the best." She looks behind her at the rest of the group. "We need Dakota Stanley." Quinn told her that he's the best show choir choreographer in the Midwest and that he works with Vocal Adrenaline. So he must be the best, why else would she be telling Rachel this if he wasn't. Santana to Rachel that they can't take Regionals without him. They need him to win. Rachel sighs and looks back at Will. "He was the understudy to the candelabra in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway!"
Will shakes his head. "Just because he understudied doesn't mean he ever performed."
Quinn steps forward with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. "Did you ever perform, Mr. Schuester? After high school. Did you even try?"
Rachel looks down feeling guilty about the whole plan.
"I think that's enough for today, guys. Good work today," Will says.
Rachel watches as Quinn smirks at Santana and Brittany. Maybe this was all just a ploy to bully Will and make her look bad.
After a few weeks Rachel makes an effort to say sorry to Will, she even bakes cookies, but it's too late. Her words must've gotten to his head because he doesn't show up to Glee club that afternoon as he's too busy with some weird boy band he's started.
"He's not coming," Rachel tells the group.
"What happened?" Finn asks.
"Well I baked him a batch of my famous sugar cookies to say sorry but he said I was right. He told me he's started this weird boy group called the Acafellas. I told him we need him and that he's missed six rehearsals and he just told us to hire Dakota. He said he doesn't have time for all of it anymore and then gave me a weird punch on the shoulder." Rachel sighs and sets her cookies down on the piano then crosses her arms.
"Of course he doesn't want anything to do with us after you kicked him in the nads," Finn says standing and throwing his hands in the air.
"Then why did he thank me?"
"The goal is to win. And now that Mr. Schuester has agreed to let us hire Dakota Stanley, we can," Santana says, looking over at Brittany and Quinn, then back at the group.
"But he doesn't want us to. He doesn't have the confidence to coach us anymore. Guys are real sensitive when it comes to this kind of stuff," Finn says.
Rachel points to herself. "And that's my fault?"
"Do you see anyone else in here with a plate of 'I'm sorry' cookies? I don't. Just you."
Quinn stands up. "I'm bored. All those in favor of hiring Dakota Stanley?" She raises her hand and most of the group follows.
Rachel looks at Quinn and smiles then raises her own hand looking back at Finn. It feels good to be on the winning side for once.
The bell rings and Rachel walks out with her arms cross and Finn following behind.
"Hey, wait up. You can't do this to Mr. Schuester," Finn says.
Rachel continues walking and makes eye contact with Finn as he catches up to her. "What? Make him a hero? Once we hire Dakota, and win nationals, he'll thank me for it. You heard Santana. It's all about winning."
"Since when?"
"Look, you have your popular clique and your football and your cliché of a blond girlfriend. Glee is my one shot. If this doesn't work out, then my whole high school life will be nothing but an embarrassment."
"What's a cliché? Is that a bad thing?" Finn shakes his head and puts his arm out to stop Rachel. He steps in front of her shaking his head. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," he says quickly. "Is this one of those chick things where you're pissed about one thing, but you're just pretending like you're pissed about something else? 'Cause…"
She shakes her head. "I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugs her shoulders.
"Well, for a while there, you were kind of all over me and now you just yell at me all the time. It makes me think that you're still upset about what happened in the auditorium."
"I'm not," she says quickly. And she means it. Whatever happened in the auditorium didn't feel right. She pursued another girl's boyfriend and she won, didn't she? She bested Quinn Fabray. She proved she could get a guy if she wanted to. She walks past Finn not looking at him. She just wonders why she still wants to keep Finn and Quinn apart. "I've moved on and I'm focusing on my career now."
"So do you want to talk about it?" Finn asks as Rachel storms away.
"No," she says and rolls her eyes, turning back to face him. "And neither do you," she scoffs and shakes her head. "It's kind of ironic how you're Mr. Popular and I'm just this nobody that everybody makes fun of, but I have enough confidence to say out loud that what happened between us in the auditorium was real." There it is. She doesn't know why she's saying it. She doesn't believe it. She just wants to keep them apart. Maybe she does believe it. "You have feelings for me and you just don't have the guts to admit it." She looks up at Finn's stunned face. "We're hiring Dakota Stanley." She turns and starts walking away again.
"Even if it means me quitting?"
Rachel stops for a moment and considers this. They need him. But Quinn said they're a team now. So maybe they don't. "Yes."
—
Quinn
In Sue's office, Quinn and Santana watch as Sue uses her elliptical while they sit and pretend to listen to her villain speech as she praises them for getting Glee to hire Dakota.
"Mr. Schuester barely even shows up for rehearsals," Santana says and smirks.
"Oh no, no, no, no. 'Barely' will not cut it. I will not be satisfied until Glee club is disbanded," Sue says. "And what about this Dakota character? Any chance he actually helps?"
Quinn smirks. "They're soft. He'll eat them alive. I give them fifteen minutes before the first one quits or tries to commit suicide."
Sue gets off the elliptical and grabs her sweat towel. "You know, ladies…" She puts the towel around her neck then sets it on her desk and sits down. "I learned a lot in Special Forces. I was on the strike team in Panama when we extracted Noriega."
Quinn nods along not believing a word she's hearing.
Sue makes a fist. "We took out the shepherd…" She undoes her fist and motions around. "...then we went after the sheep. You need to go after these Glee clubbers one by one," she says and points at each of them. "I want my full budget restored." She puts a finger on her lips as if she's thinking. "I need a fog machine," she says and leans back in her chair nodding as if impressed with herself. "Now, get outta my sight."
When Quinn and Santana leave her office, Quinn sees Mercedes making heart eyes at Kurt who is definitely gay. She gives Santana a look and when Kurt walks away they go in each on one side of Mercedes. "You should totally scoop that," Quinn says and grins as they each link arms with her.
Mercedes laughs and shakes her head. "I don't think I'm his type."
Quinn nods. "Oh, I think you are."
Santana nods after Quinn says this.
"Just follow our lead. We've got your back," Quinn says and grins at Mercedes.
Mercedes looks back and forth between each of them and then they part ways as they go to class.
The plan continues as they go to spy on Vocal Adrenaline's rehearsal with Dakota Stanley. Quinn, Santana, and Brittany watch as Mercedes continues to try and flirt with Kurt. They catch Dakota Stanley quickly after the rehearsal as he's about to drive away in his convertible.
"Look, my fee is $8,000 per number, plus a $10,000 bonus if you place in the top three. And with Dakota Stanley at the wheel, you will place at the top three. Move it," he says and motions for them to move out of the road as he drives away.
"How are we gonna get $8,000?" Rachel asks.
Quinn shares a look with Santana and Brittany. They have to get this money or else Sue will raise all Hell at Cheerios practice.
"A car wash. That's what the Cheerios do to raise money for events. It's the perfect plan," Quinn says.
A few days later they have a car wash as planned. Sue got the Cheerios to help with the car wash as well so that people actually show up. Their plan with Mercedes and Kurt goes just as planned because Mercedes busts the window out of Kurt's nice car.
Quinn smirks at Brittany and Santana, now they just need to get Dakota Stanley and everyone in the group will quit and Sue will be pleased. They get enough money for Dakota from the car wash and with a little help from Santana conning Puck for money.
A week later they have their first practice with Dakota. He gives them all strict diets to follow besides the Cheerios in the club. Quinn actually starts to feel a little guilty as Dakota insults Finn and Rachel and the rest of the team.
"Am I hurting your feelings? Did I say something wrong? Because I thought you wanted somebody who respected you enough to tell you the truth. But maybe you don't have the confidence to hear it, hm? Maybe you need somebody who's going to lie to you and tell you things like, 'You got what it takes.' But you know what? As far as I can see, you don't. So, why don't you just take a little second, take a breather, and ask yourself, 'Do I wanna be a winner...or not?" Dakota says and laughs.
"Screw this. I quit," Finn says.
Quinn realizes their plan is working exactly the way she wanted it but for some reason it just doesn't feel like a victory.
Half the group follows Finn until Rachel says, "Wait, Barbra Streisand. When Barbra was a young ingénue, everyone told her in order to be a star, she'd have to get a nose job," Rachel says and looks at Dakota. "Thankfully, she refused."
"Where's this going, Yentl?" he says.
"Where it's going is that…" Rachel looks at the group then back at Dakota. "We don't need you." She looks back at the group again. "Let's face it. We're never going to be as good of dancers as Vocal Adrenaline. We're gonna win because...we're different. And that's what makes us special."
Quinn doesn't listen after that. She knows they failed Sue and she's going to be pissed. But maybe it's not so bad. Rachel hasn't been all over Finn as much since Quinn has been keeping an eye on them.
"What's your point?" he asks.
Rachel grins and steps closer to Dakota. "Our point is that...you're fired. And I'm taller than you."
At the beginning of next week they have a meeting with Sue.
"Let me get this straight. The Glee club got rid of Dakota Stanley; Mr. Schuester is back; and they're busy at work on a new number, more confident than ever," Sue says and nods.
"Well I wouldn't say-" Quinn starts.
"Shut it, Q. I've never been more disappointed in my life. This is what we call a total disaster, ladies. I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits."
Santana and Quinn share a look and slowly smell them.
"That's the smell of failure and it's stinking up my office. I'm revoking your tanning privileges for the rest of the semester."
Santana starts crying immediately and Quinn just looks away.
"Oh no!" Santana says through sobs and she stands and leaves.
Quinn stands and starts to walk out then she turns to face Sue. "Ms. Sylvester, I wanna thank you."
"For what," Sue says and takes off her glasses angrily.
Quinn nods. "For teaching me a valuable life lesson. When you really believe in yourself, you don't have to bring other people down." She grins and leaves her office feeling confident about the Glee club still being together.