Okay I know it's been super long since I posted anything but I have finals and deadlines and I wanted to finish it but I just couldn't bring myself to it. So I'm really really sorry if you've been waiting for this. After next week I don't have exams anymore so hopefully I can write then. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, Gossip Girl or any of their characters.
"How can anti-cyclic public policy help avoid unemployment on a societal level?" Tina muttered. She stared at the question in her economics book, but the answer didn't magically appear in her head like she'd hoped. She didn't understand a thing about the business cycle. Their teacher had briefly mentioned it, but never truly explained what it was. Now he had given them a dozen assignments as homework, as if they would understand it without any explanation.
Tina gave a sigh and tried to focus, but it didn't work. What was anti-cyclic public policy again? She browsed her book for the definition, but even that was quite vague. An anticyclical public policy means that the government implements a policy that is the opposite of economic developments. The book didn't give examples or additional information. Just that. How was she supposed to answer that question with just that line? She sighed again. Maybe it was better to leave that question open and move on to the next one.
Just when she was about to do that, she heard a familiar sound. She wondered if he heard it himself, but she recognized the squeaking sound of the wheels of his chair immediately. She couldn't mistake that for another sound. Yet she didn't look up, because she hoped he hadn't noticed her yet. Maybe if she stayed quiet, he would leave her alone. So she focused on the next question. Explain why the New Deal (1933-1938) is an example of anticyclical policy. What the... She almost wanted to throw the textbook out of a window. How was she supposed to know any of this? Distracted by the question she didn't notice that the squeaking of Artie's wheelchair had come closer. She only noticed him when he spoke.
"Tina?" Because she didn't expect him, she jumped. He immediately apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just..."
He didn't finish that sentence. Tina didn't know what that meant, but frankly she didn't want to find out. She just wanted him to leave. Yet she felt it was rude not to turn around, so she faced him. Her heart leaped when she saw his familiar faces so near. It was strange that she still felt such things around him, when he had caused her so much pain. Artie looked nervous, probably because she had ignored him for almost a month now and she wasn't speaking now either. Maybe it was her turn to say something, but then she remembered the feeling when he didn't come back at the Winter ball and decided she had every right to remain silent.
Eventually it was Artie who broke the silence. "How are you doing?"
"Fine." She didn't mean to answer with just one word or make the conversation even more awkward than it already was. It was just that she didn't know what else to say.
Apparently Artie had hoped she'd elaborate on that, because he was silent for a while too. He then took a deep breath and said: "Listen, I feel like I should apologize for the Winter Ball in person. I really shouldn't have done things like that, but I couldn't leave Puck alone with Quinn at the moment and I..." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Tina. I should have told you where I was going."
Tina glanced down and nodded. Although it didn't take away the memory of that night or her complete lack of understanding for his actions, she was glad he apologized.
"So… I guess we're good." Artie said hopefully.
Tina didn't know what to say to that. Had she forgiven him for what happened? No. Was she glad he apologized? Yes. Was it possible that she would forgive him one day? Yes. Did she want to hang out with him again? No. She was very sure about that. It was not necessarily the fact that he had left her without telling her where he was going, but it had more to do with why he had left. Artie was now friends with a guy who had ignored him most of the time and he was in a fight with Finn, the guy who had been his friend even when things got difficult. She didn't understand how that worked and she didn't want to know. Maybe she didn't have any friends, so maybe she didn't completely understand how friendships worked, but she was pretty sure that turning your back on them, wasn't normal. It was the Upper East Side that made you do such things - she had seen it before on Gossip Girl - and she didn't want to be part of it. So yes, she appreciated his apology, but no, she didn't want to be his girlfriend or even friend again.
"Artie, I d-d-don't..."
"What?" Artie now seemed confused and she could understand it. Maybe she was just being silly, but to her Artie wasn't the same person he had been before. He wasn't the nice guy who asked about her book obsession anymore. Every time she looked at him, she remembered what happened and that he wasn't like she thought he was. She couldn't go back to how it was before.
She took a deep breath, trying to say the words without stuttering. "I don't want to be your friend a-anym-more."
Artie stared at her for a moment, his eyes full of sorrow and hurt. Tina felt sorry for him and for a second she wanted to take her words back. Then she recalled why she had said then and she remained silent.
Artie nodded slowly and took a deep breath. His glance wasn't on her anymore but somewhere on the ground. He wheeled his chair backwards away from the table she'd been working on. He turned it and left the library. Stupid enough it broke her heart so see him leave like that. She wished she had just said goodbye to him. She was the one who had broken things between them and yet, she couldn't help but feel sad it was over.
"Dad? I'm home." Kurt closed the front door behind him, taking off his coat and dropping his school bag in the corner of the wardrobe. He walked to the living room, waiting for his father's response. He should be home right now. Unless Carole didn't have a meeting with the editorial office of Vogue after all. Lately the two of them had been spending every minute of their spare time together. Not that Kurt minded. This was the way he expected to reach his goal. He became more and more certain that he would succeed in doing that. He was one of the most popular guys at St. Jude's right now and he had Carole Ellison in the exact position he wanted her in. There was no way this could go wrong.
"Kurt." Kurt stood still in the moment he heard his father's voice. There was something wrong. Now he saw him sitting on the couch, his face matching the sternness of his voice. The last time he had sounded like that was a few years ago and Kurt had hid the fact that some kids beat him up every day for three months. His father had been angry, but also concerned. Now there was no trace of concern on his face. Kurt took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come, and said with a forced smile on his face: "Dad."
"Sit down, please."
Kurt nervously sat down in a chair opposite of the couch and crossed his legs. Something was wrong. His father never used the word 'please' in contexts like these. He had done something wrong and he had the slightest suspicion what it was. He took deep, slow breaths and waited for his father to speak again.
"Carole and I had lunch today." His father told him. For a moment Kurt thought it was something else, not something he had done, but then his father continued by showing him his phone. "She showed me this message that this 'Gossip Girl' wrote."
Kurt breathed out slowly. He knew what was about to come. Somehow Gossip Girl had discovered how Carole and Burt met and Kurt's role in that encounter. He didn't know how she had gotten that information. He had told Mercedes but he couldn't imagine she would do something like this. Mercedes didn't want to be involved in the world of Gossip Girl, she had made that very clear. So who could have known it? He thought he had been careful enough when he talked about it, but maybe someone overheard them. He didn't get the time to think about the person who sold him out, because his father started citing the Gossip Girl post, as if Kurt didn't know it by heart already.
"Since the end of last year our favourite columnist Carole Ellison and the unknown Burt Hummel have been dating. I am usually not interested in the love life of our beloved parents, but the match between F's mother and K's father is so perfect, even I cannot ignore it. It's such a lovely couple that many have wondered if someone might have played matchmaker and it seems like that's true. Our favourite King of Constance seems to have planned his father's and Carole's encounter and not for his father's luck. Our dear K wants one thing only, working at Vogue. What a coincidence that your future stepmother works there, K."
His father looked expectantly at him. Kurt avoided his glance, thinking of something to say that would make this less bad. He could say it was a lie of course. Gossip Girl told lies all the time. He wouldn't be the first one she spread rumours about. Except he couldn't lie to his father's face. He could hide pieces of information for him, but he couldn't tell him an outright lie.
"So, is it true?" Burt asked.
Kurt took a deep breath, hesitated for a few seconds more and then said: "It is."
Burt let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, somehow looking older than before. Kurt felt so guilty in that moment. He hadn't felt it before, because he had told himself that Burt and Carole were happy. Who cared if there were some other intentions involved in playing matchmaker? But now he saw what the truth behind his father's encounter with his girlfriend did to him. "I'm sorry, dad." He whispered.
His father looked at him. "Carole and I broke up this afternoon."
The guilt swelled, filling Kurt's body until he felt like he couldn't breathe. Did he do this? "What...?" He stammered. "Why?"
Burt sighed again. "Finn told Carole about this Gossip Girl thing and convinced her that it wasn't a lie. During our lunch Carole wanted to know if I had anything to do with it. If I knew it. I told her that I didn't and that you would never do such thing. I said it was all lies. I defended you, Kurt."
He looked him straight in the eye as he spoke the last four words. If Kurt hadn't been overwhelmed by guilt already, he would have been now. He glanced down, not able to stand the piercing look of his father. "I'm sorry, dad." He said again. He hesitated before speaking again. He didn't want to show his father his worst side, but he felt like he owed him an explanation. "I...I wanted to get in touch with Carole, because she works at Vogue, yes. I thought she could help me with an internship or something. Then Finn mentioned that his mother was single too and I thought: why not? I didn't know if it would work and I didn't see any harm in it. I just...I didn't think..."
"That is clear." Burt interrupted him, "You didn't think. You didn't think about the people you were getting involved. This isn't a game, Kurt. You were playing with real people with real feelings and you hurt them."
"But you were happy." Kurt weakly protested.
"And now I am not." Burt got up from the couch. "You're grounded for the next two weeks and I'm going to cut off your mobile internet."
Kurt didn't protest now. His father was right. This was his fault. He had gotten his father and Carole into this mess, so he would suffer the consequences. His father left him in the living room to prepare dinner, which gave Kurt some time to think about his father's words. He had forgotten that his plans did involve innocent people like his father and Carole. He shouldn't have done that. But what he was doing now, wasn't the same. He and Rachel plotted against people like Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez. They weren't innocent. Yet he couldn't forget the cute bartender and the friend he had been talking about. What would happen to them if they were exposed on Gossip Girl? Frankly, he didn't know if he was ready to hear the answer to that question.
Let's be honest, everyone has been eagerly waiting when Rachel Berry would make her first real move as Queen of Constance. And now she has. The Rachel Berry House Party Extravaganza is a fact. I've had a few quick looks at the Guest List and I can only say that I'm looking forward to see how Miss Berry will entertain the elite of Constance and St. Jude's. May the odds ever be in your favour, Berry.
"You have an invite?" Quinn stared at Brittany with eyes, wide in surprise. "Both of you?"
"Yeah, I don't get it either." Santana said with a sigh. None of them had expected to be invited to Berry's party. It seemed like a stupid move to ask them to come to the party, because they knew all of Manhattan's teenage elite and they might just draw all the attention to them instead of Rachel. Quinn hadn't thought Rachel would make such a mistake. Maybe she wasn't as good as Quinn had thought or maybe she didn't think of them as a real threat to her crown. Honestly Quinn didn't know if she should. It was clear she wouldn't wear the crown any time soon, but Santana or Brittany...
"I think she felt sorry for me. Maybe she tries make amends for what she's done to me and Mike." There was a flash of hurt on Brittany's face when she named her ex-boyfriend, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared. Quinn resisted the urge to take her friend's hand and squeeze it. For the last week Brittany more and more pretended that she was over Mike, but it was clear to see she wasn't. Quinn didn't want to bring it up, but she had exchanged some glances with Santana, knowing her other friend had also noticed. Santana had shaken her head. They should let Brittany deal with her heart break the way she wanted to.
"It seems like a stupid move." Santana said, "I mean we could completely ruin her party and her reputation."
A vile smile appeared on Brittany's face. "I just might."
"Or you could play it more subtle." Quinn mixed into the conversation now. "Ruining her party will only make you her determined to make you pay. And we all know how that will end."
Santana nodded agreeing. "We talked about this, B. You have to play nice."
We talked about this? Quinn thought. She couldn't remember they had ever had a conversation about a 'Keep your enemies closer-thing'. It was probably discussed in a conversation that she had missed. She felt a bit disappointed, because she'd thought they were the Unholy Trinity again. Now she started to fear that something in their friendship was definitively broken, something she couldn't repair. Brittany and Santana had something going on that she didn't have with the both of them. She bit her lip and tried to hide her realization.
"I know, I know, but I'm really afraid that I will say something stupid to her and blow everything." Brittany now said. She laughed and looked at Santana. "You probably have to keep an eye on me all night."
Santana laughed with her and Quinn wished she was also invited to Rachel Berry's stupid party. Of course she wasn't the most suitable person to go to a party right now, but still. She felt left out, which made her sad and emotional. She hated the pregnancy hormones. For the last week she cried about almost everything. She had gotten a C- on her European history test and almost burst out in tears and so had she when they'd been watching a documentary about lions and she saw a proud mother lion licking her cub. The only time she'd been abnormally not emotional when she had overheard her father and one of his employees talking about how his rates were dropping and that this was probably Quinn's fault.
Santana interrupted her thoughts about her father. "Do you have any tips for us, Q?"
It took Quinn a few seconds to realize what they had been talking about. She gave a silent sigh. Britt and Santana were right not to include her in every decision they made. She just couldn't keep her mind on the subject and she feared she wasn't going to be of any help to them.
"Since of the three of us you are the expert on her." Brittany elaborated. "You've encountered her more times than Santana and I."
Quinn focused on the subject of Rachel Berry and tried to come up with good advice. "I think she's very observant, which she hides very well. We'd barely heard from her and yet, she overthrew all of us. So I guess you have to be careful of that. On the other hand, she's never had the chance to observe us on any parties, so maybe she's a bit insecure. Telling her that you like her party, even if you don't, would probably be appreciated."
"I think everyone likes it when other people enjoy their parties, Q." Brittany said, but she winked and smiled. "Thank you though. We'll find a way to manipulate Rachel Berry into liking us."
Quinn looked at her two best friends and smiled too. She felt like a big sister with two younger twin sisters. Maybe that was how it always had been between them. She'd always been the leader of their trio and Brittany and Santana had followed her like Quinn had followed her own big sister when they were younger. Now she was out of the game and she supposed the time that she was invited to every party on the Upper East Side was over. But Santana and Brittany now got their chance to shine and maybe that wasn't so bad.
She was getting a bit teary-eyed. Those damn hormones were making her emotional again. Yet, when she looked and Santana and Brittany talking about ways to get Rachel Berry to like them and discover her secrets, she couldn't help feel like a proud sister.