Author's Note: Interactive chapter with a lot of characters! Yay! There's a missing "the" somewhere but I couldn't find it on my second read through...for the record.

ALSO the characters I am writing for are: Quinn, Rachel, Puck

DryadSpeaks is writing for: Artie, Mike, Santana, Brittany

Apparently, no one else in yearbook has an opinion...

Chapter Three: Emergency Meeting

Friday afternoon, Rachel called an emergency meeting of the yearbook staff which, up to that point, had only been convening on Mondays and Wednesdays. She hadn't checked with Quinn or Ms. Pillsbury beforehand, sending out an email late Thursday night with the subject heading "Emergency Yearbook Meeting…Mandatory!" Quinn was more than slightly irritated but had decided against saying anything. This time. For a reason unbeknownst to Quinn, Puck and Mike were both attending as well, leaning against the back wall, not paying any mind to anything Rachel was saying. And to be honest, neither was Quinn. But it seemed Artie was because, after a stray comment Rachel made about something, he felt the need to speak up.

"Rachel, I really don't think that's necessary. We've only had our assignments for a few days...don't you think you're getting a bit ahead of...everything?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Rachel eyed Artie for several long seconds before answering him. "I already have the entire Senior section storyboarded. Can you say as much as for glee club?" Without waiting for him to respond, she continued on. "I didn't think so. Which is why I am volunteering myself and N- myself for the glee club as well as the Senior section!"

The look of annoyance on Artie's face increased with every second that went by. "Rachel, I can assure you that I've got everything under control. Thanks for the offer, but I'd like to do this on my own."

Obviously, she didn't believe him. "Have you? Because you do realize that glee is the most important club on camp-" Stepping forward a bit, Puck called out, "I'm with Abrams, Berry." Sputtering, Rachel turned her head, looking from Puck to Artie before spinning towards Quinn.

Remaining calm, in spite of Rachel being sort of ridiculous, Quinn tapped a finger against her desk before telling Rachel, "Artie's in charge of the glee club and that's that." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a look of annoyance on Santana's face, directed at Rachel, and knew that she would have to diffuse things or they would just get more heated. She was all ready to do that when Santana interjected with,

"Rachel, you need to get off your high horse and stop trying to get in everyone's business. Wheels doesn't need your help, and you better not try and take over my or Britt's stuff either, or there will be consequences."

Turning a shade of red that seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and anger, Rachel raised her voice. "And what consequences might those be, Santana?"

Jumping up, Quinn positioned herself between the two girls, as Santana had stood up while Rachel was talking. "This is getting us nowhere. And I think we need to address another issue entirely." Raising an eyebrow, she glanced to where Puck and Mike stood. "Why are you two here?

Puck looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, Mike jumped in. "I just wanted to let you guys know that we've started a dance club. And I was wondering if maybe I could join the yearbook committee and do a little section on that? We only have five members...and I thought maybe we could get some more if people knew it was going to be in the yearbook."

Shrugging, Puck leaned back against the wall, saying nothing.

Wondering what his ulterior motive for being there was , Quinn narrowed her eyes at him in what was not quite a glare. "Mike," she said, ignoring Puck for the moment. "Perhaps you can work with Brittan-"

"Actually, I was wondering if maybe Santana wanted to work with me on this," he said, looking over at the dark-haired cheerleader. "Britt's in the club, and I thought it might be good to have someone working on it that's not a member. Plus, Santana is in charge of some of random clubs too, and this definitely fits in that category."

Santana nodded in agreement with Mike, a small smile forming on her face.

Accepting Mike's reasoning, Quinn gave her approval before focusing on Puck again. "Would you like to join too? Because there aren't really any openings but I guess we could find something for you to work on…"

Snorting, Puck smirked. "Nah, I'm here because someone annoying dragged me here." Rachel gave a little "humph" but Puck pretended not to hear (though everyone had heard it), elbowing Mike. "I mean Chang here."

"Yeah...I thought Puck should come with me for moral support. You know, in case you guys rejected my idea." Mike grinned, sheepishly.

Giving Mike a nod, Puck affirmed that the other boy's statement was true. "Bros gotta stick together."

Quinn tilted her head, not believing it for an instant. For a second, her eyes met Artie's and she thought she spied the same doubt in them. Could Rachel's "humph" have anything to do with Puck's explanation for coming? Could Mike be covering for his "bro"? Sighing, she decided it wasn't worth considering and dismissed it from her mind. "Does anyone else have anything to say at this called-by-Rachel emergency meeting?"

As Artie's eyes met Quinn's, he wondered if they were thinking the same thing. He thought that Puck's reason for coming, and Mike's support of that reason, were all a charade to mask what was really happening. Judging from Rachel's "humph" a couple of minutes earlier, it was clear (to him, at least, and apparently also to Quinn judging from the look she gave him) that Rachel was the one who had brought Puck. That just left him pondering why Mike was really there, and he wondered if the fact that he had basically steamrolled Quinn's suggestion that he work with Brittany in order to suggest working with Santana had something to do with it. He was about to say something, when Brittany spoke up.

"I forgot last time. Can I do the duck section?"

"Britt, I don't think there is a duck section," Santana said, patting Brittany on the knee and smiling gently.

"Oh. Why? There should be one." The girl looked confused.

"Because...there just isn't one. I don't really think we need a duck section...but maybe you could put some ducks on some of your pages for decoration?"

Brittany smiled, and nodded. Santana was relieved that her friend was satisfied with this. She didn't think the rest of the group would have been too happy having a section about ducks in their yearbook.

Listening to the exchange between the two, Quinn began to shake her head. "No. No ducks. None as decorations or otherwise. Sorry, Brittany." But the sorry was more a pleasantry than anything else. Pursing her lips, she looked at Santana, waiting until the other girl made eye contact. "I'm actually shocked that anyone would make that suggestion. We want this yearbook to be the best McKinley has ever had. Not some joke, not something that will become a laughingstock for years to come. Really, Santana." Santana seemed to bristle at Quinn's words but Quinn was right. What had Santana been thinking, telling her friend that?

Grinning, Rachel came to stand next to Quinn. "I am in complete accordance with Quinn on this issue. Which is why I really think that I should be in charge of-"

"No," Quinn practically shouted. "Artie is doing glee." Pointing at Santana and Brittany she went on, "No ducks!" Gesturing toward Puck she exclaimed, "And you being here is just obnoxious, seeing as you're not even part of the staff!" Taking a deep breath, Quinn composed herself. "Meeting adjourned. And Rachel, no more emergency meetings without prior approval from me or Ms. Pillsbury!"

Quinn's outburst seemed to stun the yearbook staff who had been quiet throughout the meeting. Even Jacob had been silent, though his hand had shot up around the same time Brittany had started to speak but he now lowered it, fearing the wrath of Quinn.

Huffing, Rachel gathered her stuff then stormed out the door (she was an expert at storming out of a room), shifting her eyes over her shoulder. Puck and Mike caught the glance and quietly left, using the door at the back of the room.

"Come on, Britt, let's go," Santana said, grabbing the blonde's hand and standing up, while giving Quinn a look that said she wished she could shoot daggers out of her eyes. "Don't worry, there will be ducks somewhere in the yearbook, I promise you that."

Artie saw the look of sadness in Brittany's eyes as she walked out with Santana. Contrary to what Rachel thought, he had started, and he knew that there was a picture from one of their fundraisers where Brittany was wearing a t-shirt with a duck on it. Maybe he could use that somewhere in the glee section...he did want to put a couple of pictures from their fundraisers, after all, and there would be no way Quinn would dispute that. He hated seeing people upset. It made him feel like he needed to do something.

"Quinn, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said, wheeling towards her.

Shoving papers into a folder, not even caring that they were getting somewhat crumpled, Quinn lifted her eyes to meet Artie's. "Sure, fine. What's wrong?"

"Um...nothing's wrong. I just thought you looked a little tense when we got here, and that just got worse as Rachel's sorry excuse for an emergency meeting took place. I wanted to ask you if everything is ok?"

Running her tongue over her teeth, Quinn contemplated his question. Everything was better than okay. Everything was perfect in her life. It was only yearbook that was giving her a headache. Why would he even ask that? Though, if she was honest with herself, she would admit that Finn's prank at lunch involving tater tots and peas he had mashed had made her want to bang her head against a wall. Why did he have to act like he was five sometimes? "I'm fine." Without adding any more unnecessary comments, Quinn grasped her folder to her chest and prepared to leave.

Artie wasn't going to take "I'm fine" for an answer. He knew all too well that that was what people said when they really weren't fine. It was something he did frequently. "Are you sure? I mean, if you don't want to talk about it with me, I would understand, but you just look like you're clearly not fine."

She almost snapped at him but felt that would take too much effort. Pausing in the doorway, she said, over her shoulder, "I'm sure. The meeting was crazy but it's done so...time to move on." Then she left, ponytail swaying as she made her way to cheerleading practice. And really, everything was fine and would stay that way, as long as she could manage to effectively run yearbook, produce something that would make McKinley High history and keep the peace. Which she was sure she could.

Artie watched as she left the room. He couldn't figure out if she really was fine and he just hadn't read her right, or if she just didn't want to talk to him about it. And then, of course, there was always the third option of her being in denial about how things were really going. He knew how that went...it was always easier to be in denial instead of actually dealing with things. Denial was something that popped up in his life frequently, although it was becoming less and less as he got older and felt more able to deal with things. He just hoped that, if things weren't fine, she had someone to talk to about it. Artie sat for a moment more, before heading towards the door. Thinking about what he was going to do that weekend, he flicked the lights off and closed the door.