The next day went by pretty quickly for Quinn.
She knew that Mr. Schuester had requested that she and Brittany talked over what songs they were going to select for each group together, but she had other plans. She wanted to pick songs for everyone, including both of the groups she was in. She couldn't let Brittany pick out a song that would weaken her chances of impressing Santana. She was the whole reason Quinn was still in Glee club.
Quinn entered the choir room beaming and readier than ever to take on the challenge.
"Hey," Brittany walked up to her just as she entered. The only other people in there besides the two of them were Brad and Puck, who was tuning his guitar with a feverish pace even though he didn't even know what song he was expected to perform yet.
"So, we never really talked about song selections." Brittany bit her lip nervously.
Quinn nodded and watched Puck tune his guitar. He didn't seem to have noticed her entrance at all, let alone her general existence. He was the father of her child, and yet, it was as if they'd never met.
Brittany could tell that Quinn wasn't up for this conversation right now, but she knew it had to continue or Mr. Schuester would get mad.
"I was thinking, well Kurt and Rachel both really like show tunes, so we should give them one of those. 'Cause Mike could dance to one really easily. You know, because show tunes are kind of made for dancing along to sometimes." Brittany had a look of pure excitement on her face. "Lord Tubbington and I were talking about Cats last night. I mean like, not the furry ones, the dancing ones. And we thought that would be a good start."
Quinn thought through this. She didn't want to give them a song from Cats; she much preferred the more recent Broadway show, Next to Normal.
"Brittany, what about Next to Normal instead?" she gently proposed. She knew the only way to ease Brittany into changing her ideas were to either be kind about it, or to be born Santana Lopez.
Brittany looked at the ceiling and then down at her feet again. "Sometimes I feel like I've almost gotten that far, but not quite." she whispered back.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm next to normal."
Quinn smirked. "No, I mean, the musical. Next to Normal. We could have them sing a song from that. That's what I was thinking, anyway," she went on. Brittany didn't seem to have a strong desire for them to sing a Cats song after all, and so it was decided that Rachel, Mike, and Kurt would perform 'Superboy and the Invisible Girl'. They would have to work out the balancing of solo time on their own.
"I was thinking that you, Mercedes, and Finn might do a song that Mercedes would like. One that involves a lot of powerful singing in it, because she's the most short tempered out of the three of you. You wouldn't mind letting her take the spotlight, would you?" Quinn tried to be as charming as possible.
Brittany shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
"I don't think Finn will have a problem with it either," Quinn grinned. Her secret plan was a go. "So, how about the song 'Impossible'? Do you know that song?"
Brittany returned Quinn's smile with one of her own. "I love that song!"
"Great." Quinn nodded. "And then for myself, Puck, and Tina? Something acoustic would be brilliant."
At this point Puck had stopped tuning his guitar and was listening in on the conversation, but Quinn and Brittany hadn't noticed. He hopped off his chair and walked over to them and Quinn jumped, startled at the sudden movement and sound from behind her.
"There's something I've been working on," Puck said quietly. He glanced at Quinn for a moment, but not longer. It ached him to see her after she had rejected him so many times before. "I don't know if you'll like it, but you should at least consider it." he pointed back at his guitar and turned to Brittany. "I play it pretty well for a newbie." he said proudly.
Quinn shifted her balance from her right leg to her left, trying to ease more distance between herself and Puck. "What song is it?" she asked. Admittedly, she hadn't thought much about her original group's performance at all. She was too busy thinking about Santana and what she'd want to hear.
"It's called 'If It Means A Lot To You'. I don't expect you to know it or anything, but there's a guy part and a girl part and it's pretty sad and intense… and I bet the Asian girl will like it. Or even if she doesn't, she can deal."
Quinn cocked her head and thought for a minute. That song sounded familiar, but she didn't really remember it. "Okay," she agreed at last, upon the decision that she didn't need to impress Santana with that particular song. It could be the Unholy Trinity song just as well.
Puck smiled for a split second, then looked to the floor, looked at Brittany, and finally turned to return to his seat.
Where was everybody? Surely they were supposed to be in the choir room by now.
"Now," Brittany clapped and hopped a bit in excitement. "What about our song? We could do anything. We rock."
Quinn was just about to answer when Mr. Schuester entered the room.
"Mr. Schue! Where-" was as far as Quinn got before he interrupted.
Mr. Schuester had a look of panic on his face and sweat dripping from his forehead. Even his tie was severely distorted. "Have you guys seen Artie anywhere?"
What was the problem?
"No, sorry," Puck called from behind them. Quinn and Brittany shook their heads no.
"I don't know if you guys noticed, but he's not in a trio, and that's because I'm supposed to be working on something with him individually- if I can find him, that is. How far could a kid in a wheel-" he stopped mid-word and took a deep breath, "never mind, just, if you guys see him, let me know, please. Glee is cancelled for today because everyone's out looking for Artie."
Brad slammed the piano keys and walked out of the room mumbling angrily, "No one ever tells me anything."