A/N: I'm really sorry, a week is way too long to leave between updates, but life suddenly and unexpectedly kicked my ass (and I really mean unexpectedly, because I wouldn't start a fic if I wasn't sure I'd be able to update regularly). Anway, to try and make it up I'm going to try and speed up the next few chapters majorly, as well as having at least one spare on hand over the Halloween weekend when I'm not here. Hope you enjoy this anyway :)

Rachel: Is it really a good thing to be "stuck in the middle" with someone?
MySpace Fan: It is if to the left and right of you there's only clowns and jokers. How did you find that out, anyway?
Rachel: Puck told me.
MySpace Fan: I'm really sorry that the whole thing kind of...fell apart, by the way. Trust Finn to get a crazy girlfriend with terrible timing.
Rachel: Well, she's probably not his FIRST crazy girlfriend...
MySpace Fan: Yeah, Quinn is pretty weird.
Rachel: That's not particularly nice...

xxx

"You're cheating on me."

Quinn's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

Seated around the rest of the room, the Glee club showed varying degrees of interest. Some (Kurt, Mercedes, Tina) were watching intently and occasionally comparing notes, others (Finn, Sam, Artie) were looking away uncomfortably and trying to pretend they weren't listening, and a select few (Brittany, Santana) seemed genuinely disinterested and were talking to each other.

Rachel looked at the clock impatiently, Mr Schue was already late and if he arrived to find Puck and Quinn fighting he'd undoubtedly want to attempt to resolve the problem and give a speech on the importance of sticking together as a team. While she couldn't dispute the merits of teamwork, Sectionals were fast approaching and they really were woefully unprepared (although this was at least partly her own fault, since she'd been spending more and more lunchtimes in the library as opposed to rehearsing suitable song selections. Nevertheless, Schue did have his own duties).

"Noah, Quinn," she attempted to intervene, "While I appreciate that this is an important - "

"Shut up, Rachel."

She gaped wordlessly at Noah, suddenly afraid of becoming collateral damage.

"I'm not cheating on you."

Puck raised his arms in indignation, "What the hell am I supposed to think? You're constantly busy, you're not interested in me." he lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, "It's not like it would be the first time you cheated on someone."

There was a gasp and muttering from everyone in the room (even those who'd previously looked bored), "Puck," Finn tried, "Calm down, dude, don't you think - "

"No," Quinn said, "It's fine." she turned to Puck, (he at least, Rachel thought, had the decency to look a little regretful), "Okay first of all, I'm not cheating on you. Second, I'm sorry that I'm busy with school, and Cheerios, and Glee, and that watching you play video games and talk to Finn about whether it's possible that everyone else in the world is secretly a robot doesn't come top of my priority list. Third, you're an asshole. I'm going to leave now, and you can talk to me when you've calmed down."

Quinn's storm out wasn't quite at the level of Rachel Berry-perfection, but it was quite impressive, and it did leave Puck standing in the middle of the room, mouth open and looking slightly foolish. There was silence for a few seconds, before Mercedes looked around in confusion, "Wait, practice was supposed to start twenty minutes ago, where the hell is Schuester?"

xxx

Will shifted in his chair and sighed. Sue stared at him from across the desk.

"Really, Sue, you said this would only take five minutes, now I'm late for Glee and you haven't even said anything so can we just - "

"William, William, William."

Will sighed, he wasn't sure why he bothered trying to reason with her, or why he'd agreed to see her right before Glee club was supposed to start.

"Do you know how I became an internationally recognised cheerleading coach?"

"Sabotage and blackmail?"

"Be quiet. I became an internationally recognised cheerleading coach because I am an expert in the ancient art of subtlety."

Will raised his eyebrows, Sue Sylvester was a lot of things, but subtle really wasn't one of them.

"I've been taking notice of your Glee kids Schuester. Your tiny female siren has been spending her lunch periods in the library, your gangly wailing boy has been dating girls outside of your incestuous little flock, another has taken an alarming interest in American Idol, and I could continue. You're clearly up to something, I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now."

Will took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, as ever, he had very little idea what she was talking about, "Nothing's going on, Sue, the kids - "

She slammed her fist on the desk, "Don't lie to me, William, I have a nose like a bloodhound and I can smell deception. Now, we're going to sit here in silence until you tell me what's going on."

Will looked at the clock - this was going to be a long afternoon.

xxx

"Wait, where are you all going?" Rachel looked on in horror as the other Glee members began to pack up their things to leave, "We still have fifteen more minutes."

Finn shrugged, "Mr Schue clearly isn't coming, Rach, let's just go."

Rachel, small though she was, did an impressive job of blocking the doorway by standing in front of it, "Regardless, we should still practice so as not to waste our time before Sectionals, for example there are some vocal exercises - "

"Who died and made you the queen of living? Get out of the way."

"Please move, Rachel, my cat was really sick this morning, I want to make sure he's okay." Brittany said with a pout.

Rachel looked at Santana, who didn't, Rachel thought, look like she felt particularly guilty about Brittany's hungover pet. This distraction gave Puck time to lift her out of the way though, and the rest of the club filed out even as she stamped her foot and warned them of their impending humiliation at Sectionals if this kind of lax practice continued.

A few minutes later she walked into the girls bathroom, still muttering to herself and composing an angry email to Mr Schuester in her head, but stopped dead when she was confronted with Quinn Fabray, who also seemed to be muttering to herself (a rather rare lapse in composure, Rachel thought).

She was about to turn and leave, but Quinn's voice stopped her. "I'm not cheating on him."

Rachel looked away and wondered why she kept running into undesirable encounters with Cheerios in the bathroom recently, "That's not really any of my business."

Quinn's reflection in the mirror was staring intently at her, and Rachel met her gaze (she was Rachel Berry, she refused to be intimidated). "I've just been talking a lot to someone else. I guess I kind of like them."

Was this the longest conversation she and Quinn had ever had without the other girl insulting her? Probably, Rachel considered, which didn't really go a long way towards explaining why the head cheerleader suddenly seemed to be confiding in her.

"Why are you telling me?"

Quinn blinked suddenly and shook her head, as if her mind had been somewhere else entirely, and turned to lean against the sinks. "I don't know. Who else am I going to tell?"

"Well there's always - "

"Most of my friends seemed to disappear when I put this uniform back on."

Quinn was looking away from her now, but Rachel could only frown at her in confusion. Was this an offer of friendship? From Quinn Fabray? As always however, she recovered herself admirably (it was a trait she rehearsed in order to prepare for difficult questions at future press conferences). "Perhaps if you like someone else you should break up with Puck."

The cheerleader gave her a sideways glance, "Aren't you going to ask who I like?"

For one, brief second, Rachel imagined Quinn revealing that she was the MySpace admirer, that she loved Rachel and was going to break up with Puck to be with her, and that she had an uncle who was very influential on Broadway and was very interested in meeting her. She shook the thought away, and cast about wildly for an idea of who the girl's actual crush might be (the strictly Christian teenage mother and former president of the celibacy club was also secretly gay? That seemed a bit of a stretch - Rachel Berry dreamed big, but not that big), "Is it...Sam?" she asked, the new football player seeming the most likely option.

Quinn laughed, "Yeah, Rachel, it's Sam I like." she shook her head, "Sam."

Rachel beamed, "Well I have always trusted my natural ability to read people, and honestly - "

"Wow, you were this close to a normal human interaction!"

Rachel pouted, but Quinn didn't really look annoyed at all.

xxx

Rachel: I talked to Quinn today, I think it was the first time she's managed to get through a conversation without insulting me.
MySpace Fan: What did you talk about?
Rachel: She isn't cheating on Puck.
MySpace Fan: Good for her.
Rachel: It's sort of funny, before Glee club began and I started being interested in Finn, I had a huge crush on her.
MySpace Fan: You had a crush on a girl?
Rachel: When you're at the bottom of the social heap and the only person interested in you is Jacob Ben Israel, there's not really any point in limiting yourself.
MySpace Fan: That's an interesting take on bisexuality.
Rachel: Yes, in actuality I rather doubt my crush on Quinn was affected by how popular I am.
MySpace Fan: If it were up to me, you'd be far more popular.
Rachel: Thank you. Anyway, I should go, my dad and I are getting up early to go to an auction for a one of a kind, hand-made Parisian music box that plays Taylor Swift songs when you open it.
MySpace Fan: Taylor Swift?
Rachel: My dad's a big fan.

xxx

"Oh my God," Rachel's dad looked inordinately excited.

"What? Is Perez Hilton here?" she asked, with rather more sarcasm than her friends in the Glee club would expect from Rachel Berry (as much as she loved him, it was occasionally trying to have a father who perpetuated nearly every stereotype of gay men).

"No," her father glared, "And if he was I wouldn't be standing here talking to you. They have a signed picture of that guy from the hair dye commercial."

"Oh," Rachel gave a small smile, "Finn loves him."

"I know," her father gave a dramatic sigh, "I can't believe you two broke up, I really liked him. And after you'd dated all summer!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Let's just look at the other lots before the auction starts, shall we?"

Her father agreed, and she tried to talk him out of buying the signed photograph for Finn (it would just be really, really creepy, she pointed out) as they browsed the other items. Rachel wasn't quite sure how to describe the kind of auctions she and her father usually attended, she knew they were normally held for more easily categorised items, like antiques and cars, but these auctions could be described as holding little more than "miscellaneous celebrity paraphernalia". Not that she was complaining (she had once found a letter from Barbra Streisand to a friend stating she wished the musical had been called "Amusing Girl"), she very much enjoyed them, and it was interesting, really, to see the things on sale. It had given her something of an eye as well for spotting the fake from the genuine (although she maintained the Barbra Streisand letter was real).

As such, she looked on in amusement as a blonde woman inspected some socks that had apparently once belonged to John Lennon (she found it rather unlikely that he had worn socks with the days of the week sewn on). She was feeling rather charitable though (despite the clear ignorance of the potential buyer) so she approached, intent on explaining their mistake. As she neared however, she noticed something very familiar in the back of their head, even though they were wearing jeans and a jacket instead of a cheerleading uniform.

"Quinn?" she asked, rather too loudly it seemed, as several heads turned towards her.

Quinn span around, blushing, "Do you have to yell?" she asked firstly, and secondly, "Are you wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt?"

It was Rachel's turn to look embarassed then, "My dad's a big fan," she explained.

Quinn smirked, "Yeah, sure."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Rachel said, in an slightly transparent attempt to distract her (what was wrong with Taylor Swift anyway?).

"Uh," Quinn gestured in a vague direction, "My mom wanted to come. What about you?"

Rachel was slightly distracted from the question by attempting to spot anyone who might feasibly be Quinn's mom in the direction she had pointed, but failing, she replied. "My dad and I come here quite often, today we're bidding on a Taylor Swift music box."

Quinn nodded solemnly, in a clear attempt at not laughing, "Well I was thinking about getting these John Lennon socks. I mean that's pretty cool, John Lennon's socks, right?"

Rachel shook her head, slowly and sadly, "Quinn, I don't want to sound unkind, but you are clearly utterly lost in the world of miscellaneous celebrity paraphernalia"

xxx

Rachel: I bumped into Quinn again today.
MySpace Fan: You talk about her a lot, you know that?
Rachel: It's weird, I used to want to be friends with her so much. I suppose I haven't really grown out of that.
MySpace Fan: Why not?
Rachel: I don't know, she always seems lonely. I suppose we have that in common.
MySpace Fan: I think me and you have that in common too.
Rachel: I don't want you to be lonely.
MySpace Fan: I don't feel so lonely when I'm with you.

That night, Rachel lay awake in bed. "I don't feel so lonely when I'm with you." Not "when I talk to you" but "when I'm with you". She would have to scheme harder, because it was vital she found out the identity of her friend.

xxx

Finn sighed deeply.

Rachel wondered if she could feasibly pretend she hadn't heard him - he was standing right next to her locker, but he was at least a foot taller than her so perhaps he'd overlooked her entirely. He sighed again and she groaned inwardly - no, he definitely knew she was here.

"Is everything all right, Finn?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"No," he said, looking every bit an unhappy puppy, "Amy got sent to military school."

Rachel raised one eyebrow, "Well, she did attempt to attack your ex-girlfriends, all of which are your friends, I'll remind you."

He shrugged, shaking his head, "It wasn't that. She got kicked off the Cheerios, and her parents said that meant she had to go - if Sylvester couldn't keep her in check, the military was the only option."

She attempted her best sympathetic look, although she privately thought Amy probably got everything she deserved, "Well I'm very sorry, Finn. I have to admit though, I'm surprised that Coach Sylvester was overly concerned with Amy's tendency for violence - she does keep Santana on the squad, after all."

"It wasn't that, someone told Sylvester about some music on Amy's iPod that she totally forbids."

"Insane Clown Posse?"

"No, Katy Perry."

Rachel gave him a confused look, but decided questioning him on Coach Sylvester's logic was unlikely to lead anywhere useful. Instead she placed a hand on his arm, "Well this may cheer you up, my dad has a present for you, I'll bring it for you tomorrow." He grinned brightly, and shuffled off. She shook her head in amusement (he was easily pleased) and went back to searching for the history text book that she'd somehow lost in her normally hyper-organised locker. Distracted as she was, she barely noticed the conversation occurring nearby.

"Santana, please don't do anything dumb." Quinn was saying, "You can't get arrested again."

Santana gave a small, sly smile, "Actually, Fabray, I wanted to enlist your help..."