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"I hate it," claimed Sam bluntly before he crossed his arms and glared at the performer in front of him. The teen couldn't have looked more like the definition of 'pouting' if he tried but that still didn't stop his teacher from being concerned.

"What?" questioned Mr. Shue, frowning at the blond in the front row. Mike had just demonstrated a new dance that he thought the team could use to nab a Nationals trophy. Everyone else thought that it could be the secret weapon that they had been searching for but the blond senior simply sat in the front with his arms crossed as he glared at his dancing friend. Mike glanced at Sam, whose blue eyes seemed to pierce his soul. He had never seen his friend so angry and decided that it wasn't worth pushing even though, he thought the dance would probably be the teams ticket to first place at Nationals.

"Mr. Shue, we should just let it go," Mike insisted.

"No," the teacher disagreed, walking over to the disgruntled student. "Look Sam," he began. "You're allowed to have a difference in opinion, especially if you can come up with a better routine than Mike but you are not allowed to just sit in the front and tear down everyone else's ideas."

"So I'm not allowed to have a say here either?"

"Either?" questioned the teacher. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Sam said, brushing it off. "I just thought this was a space where everyone's ideas were valid."

"They are," Mr. Shue said softly. "But that also includes ideas that you don't agree with and you also have to give clear reasons why something should be changed or deleted. You can't simply decide what's going to happen and what's not."

"Whatever," Sam sighed, rolling his eyes. Mr. Shue looked around at the classroom full of students staring at him and Sam. He sighed before turning to the board and wrote down the words, Working Together.

"Okay, so this week, I want you guys to work with a person that you wouldn't normally work with to perform a song of your choice. I like to think of this glee club as a family and as many of us know, families don't always agree but at the end of the day, you're still a family. So move out of your comfort zone and pick someone that you don't always see eye to eye with and make something beautiful. If the graduates in the room wouldn't mind, I'd love if you guys could participate as well." The kids left their seats to find a partner but Mr. Shue watched as Sam didn't move an inch out of his chair. So his teacher opted to sit down next to the blond to figure out what was going on.

"Is everything okay, Sam?" The teen shifted uncomfortably in his seat but turned to face Mr. Shue.

"Yea, I'm cool."

"You sure?" he asked. "Because you were being really disrespectful to Mike."

"Yea and I'm sorry," he admitted sheepishly. "I have so many things going through my mind right now that I guess I just snapped." Mr. Shue nodded as the student explained.

"We all have bad days," he responded. "And that's okay, you just have to be willing to own up to your mistakes."

"You're right," Sam nodded. "I'll go apologize to Mike." Mr. Shue smiled and waved him off. Sam got up and approached his friend who was staring at the white board. "Hey Mike," the blond began. "I'm sorry dude."

"Oh, it's okay," his friend claimed. "The dance could use a little work."

"No, it was really good," Sam insisted. "And even if I didn't like it, there was no reason for me to act like such a baby. I-I've just been having a tough couple of days."

"Do you want to talk about it?" his friend offered.

"Thanks man," Sam smiled. "But I want to think it over in my head a little more. I want to see if I can fix it on my own first."

"Really? Because sometimes talking about it can help you notice a solution that you might not sen otherwise."

"Maybe later," the blond suggested. "I don't really want to get all mushy in glee club."

"Dude," laughed Mike. "If there was a place to get mushy, it'd be here."

"Can't argue with that," chuckled Sam. "A lot of stuff has gone down in this room."

"That's what makes it so great," his friend claimed. "There are so little spaces that make you feel completely free to be yourself," Mike noticed.

"True," the blond agreed.

"So what is it?" Mike asked.

"What?"

"The thing that's got you in a bad mood."

"It's not really a thing," he admitted sheepishly.

"Oh," Mike realized. "It's a girl."

"What? How do you come up with that?"

"Please, there are two things that get you all grouchy and that's a chapstick shortage or you're having girl troubles."

"How do you know I'm not out of chapstick?" Sam questioned.

"I saw you at your locker on the way to glee club," Mike claimed smiling. "You're good for the next month."

"You got me," said Sam.

"Is it Britney?" his friend asked expectantly but Sam shook his head.

"No," the blond replied.

"Say no more," Mike chuckled. "If I knew anything about that I wouldn't be having problems of my own."

"Of your own?" questioned Sam suspiciously. "You mean with Tina?"

"Uh," Mike paused nervously. "Not exactly."

"So, who are you talking about?"

"Well, it's-"

"Mercedes!" cheered Kurt as his friend entered the glee room. "Where have you been?"

"Just got a little delayed," she explained as she, Kitty and Marlee entered the glee room. Everyone stopped talking to watch the three girls take their seats. "Sorry we're late," she told the teacher.

"It's no problem," Mr. Shue said. "What were you guys doing?"

"Well, I heard these two arguing in the hallway," Mercedes said, nodding towards Marley and Kitty.

"We weren't arguing," Marley claimed. "Kitty was just yelling at me for no reason, as usual."

"No reason?" the cheerleader shot back.

"So," Mercedes said loudly to get the floor again. "I took them to auditorium and did what you would do, Mr. Shue."

"And what that?" the teacher teased.

"Made them sing it out," she laughed.

"Did it work?" asked Mr. Shue, noticing the girls were sitting far away from each other.

"It's going to take more than one song," Kitty claimed.

"That's for sure," Marley agreed.

"But I think we made progress," Mercedes claimed.

"Guys," Mr. Shue sighed. "We have a solid chance of winning Nationals this year. We can't be divided against each other." The two girls crossed their arms and didn't budge. "Okay, well this week's lesson is 'working together', you guy are partners."

"What?" questioned Marley.

"We just sang a song in the auditorium," Kitty pointed out.

"Yea, so now you have a head start," the teacher said. "Now go." The two girls groaned and the rest of the class went back to their business. Mercedes was looking around the room when Kurt sat down next to her.

"What's up?" he asked a little too eagerly.

"Nothing," she said slowly. "Why?"

"Oh nothing," Kurt claimed, shaking his head slightly. "You wanna be partners."

"What about Blaine?"

"Everyone expects that," Kurt explained. "And I want to mix it up a little so I told him to ask Artie."

"Sure," she nodded. "We haven't sung together in a long time."

"Too long," he agreed. "We're going to kill it."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Do you want ask Mike and Sam what they're doing?"

"Why would we do that?"

"You know to get ideas or whatever."

"Whatever?" she questioned. "What is up with you?"

"Blaine told me about Sam," he blurted out and she rolled her eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I already told him it was over," she explained.

"Seriously?" asked Kurt.

"Seriously," she agreed. Her friend sat in silence for a moment beside her.

"Why?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were crazy about him."

"I was. Was. Past tense."

"Oh please," Kurt waved off. "Those feelings are as current as Vogue."

"No," she claimed, shaking her head. "They're more like an episode of Where Are They Now?"

"Please," her friend laughed. "They're probably on your iPod under Recently Played."

"What?" asked Mercedes.

"Okay, that might not have been the best idiom but you know what I mean. You still like him."

"Of course I still like him but that doesn't mean we should be together."

"Why not?"

"Why?" she questioned, biting her lower lip. "Um, because maybe we just aren't good for eachother?"

"Well that's just balogna," the teen said simply. "If you're going to lie, you're going to need to try at least a little."

"I'm not lying," Mercedes said indignantly.

"Seriously?" he asked. "Is that what your heart is telling you? That you and same aren't good for eachother?"

"Oh," realized her friend. "I get it."

"Get what?"

"You like Mike."

"What?!"

"Can't say I didn't see it coming."

"Well that would make one of us, because I don't."

"Really?"

"Really." Kurt moved forward, stared her in the eyes and squinted. Mercedes played her friend's game and widened her eyes. "I promise."

"Hmm," he pondered as he sat back in his seat. "Maybe you just haven't realized yet. Sometimes feelings just creep on you and next thing you know you're bursting through someone's window."

"Seriously, Kurt?" Mercedes gave her friend an irritated look but Kurt was grinning.

"What?" he joked. "What did I say?"

"You can be such a dweeb sometimes," she teased.

"Hey," he replied indignantly. "I am not a dweeb. I'm more of an undiscovered prince or a Kardashian brother," he mused.

"Sure," she laughed. "So what are we going to sing?"

"Something magnificent obviously," the man shrugged before scooting his chair closer to his friend. "But we can talk about that later, I want to talk about you now."

"Me? What about me?"

"Sam or Mike?"

"Ugh, Kurt," the diva sighed, rolling her eyes. "That's not a real question."

"Not if you keep avoiding the answer, which is…." he trailed off hoping she would fill in the blank but she just stared at him.

"Nope."

"Oh come on," he whined. "You have to choose sometime."

"It's not a decision," she shot back.

"Really?" he asked. "So you've already chosen?"

"What, no!"

"So you still trying to decide?"

"Yes!"

"I knew it!"

"No!"

"No, what?"

"To everything," she stammered, rubbing her temple. Her friends could be a real handful sometimes. "I'm not deciding anything at this moment."

"But you'll decide later, right?"

"Kurt," she breathed, clearly irritated. "Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Fine," he sighed, disappointed. "But we will discuss this." Mercedes nodded however she didn't look happy but Kurt was okay with that. Love was hard work and if it were easier, well, the world would be a happier place. In fact, Kurt wasn't sure why love had to be so much hard work, maybe it just made it worth a little more when you had it.

"Mercedes?" called Mr. Shue from the front of the choir room. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Mr. Shue," she beamed, getting up out of her seat. "I'll be right back, Kurt," she said quickly before making her way to the front of the room. On her path to Mr. Shue, Mercedes passed Mike and Sam talking about the song they were going to perform. Mike gave her a warm smile and a quick wave while the blond gave her a shoulder so cold that it could have easily froze over an active volcano. Mercedes obviously felt a little hurt by the way Sam was ignoring her but she figured that it was only natural after what they had been through. He needs time, she told herself. "What's up, Mr. Shue?" she inquired when she finally reached the choir director.

"Yea," he nodded, shifting through some sheet music he was carrying before looking up at her. "I wanted to ask you about what happened between Marley and Kitty. Was there a problem?"

"Yea, but it wasn't a big deal," she explained. "You know how tensions can get in high school, even the little things can feel like a big deal sometimes."

"Right," Mr. Shue nodded. "Well, thanks for getting the girls to work out whatever it was together. I try to help them as much as I can but I guess I miss things every once in a while. Thanks for helping out."

"My pleasure," she smiled.

"And it seems like they're actually able to work together now," the teacher pointed out, nodding toward the two girls, a couple of feet away. Marley and Kitty had already decided on a song and now the the two were discussing practice times. "Great job."

"Thanks," Mercedes beamed. "Anytime."

"Really?" the teacher asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes?" she replied slowly, caught off guard by how quickly Mr. Shue wanted to accept her offer. "Why?"

"Well, Sam and Mike have been kind of out of rhythm lately," he explained. "Actually, it's more Sam than Mike, would you mind working with them? Or at least Sam?"

"Uh," Mercedes began but didn't have anymore follow up words. She let out a deep breath and turned to face the pair of boys near the entrance of the choir room. Mike was explaining something to Sam as he performed a tap dancing move and the blond nodded unenthusiastically. "I don't know," she admitted, turning back to the teacher. "Sam and I aren't really in a good place right now, so I don't really think my input will help him calm down."

"Oh," Mr. Shue realised. "Okay, I get it. Maybe that's why he's in a bad mood," he concluded. "Hopefully, it'll wear off."

"Yea," Mercedes agreed, sighing. "Hopefully."

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review :)