The Choices We Make Chapter 4, a glee fanfic

Here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy. Standard disclaimer I don't own Glee or any of its characters, or any other mentioned series in this chapter.

"Um Mr. Shcuester?"

"Yes Brittany?" He answers her with a little bit of exasperation in his voice, because this would be the fifth time in the last twenty minutes the blond had interrupted him while he was trying to show them the dance moves for the song.

"I was wondering if this was really the best choice to go with, cause like the whole step clap thing works if you use it sparingly but this is kind of repetitive."

Rachel raises her hand and then begins to speak as well. "I must agree with Brittany, perhaps something with a little more oomph would be better."

Brittany nods her head excitedly, glad that Rachel sees her point. "Maybe we could do something like this instead." And with that proceeds to do an extremely complex series of steps, twirls, and kicks that even she and Santana would have had a hard time keeping up with it.

Quinn had learned early on in their friendship that while the other blond might be a little slow on the uptake and easily confused at times, when it came to dancing and choreography she was a prodigy. Quinn casts a subtle glance at Santana who is watching the blond with such adoration that it brings a smile to Quinn's face.

They had been in glee club two weeks now and Brittany had taken to glee like a duck takes to water. She absolutely loved it, she loved the singing and the dancing and she wasn't terrified of Mr. Schuester like she was of coach Sylvester. She was constantly looking up new songs to sing and try out. As far as Brittany was concerned joining glee was the best thing that they had done, and she had actually thanked Quinn for asking her to join.

If Brittany loved it then Santana hate, hate, HATED, it. The only thing that kept her from murdering Quinn in her sleep for making her do this was how happy it made Brittany. According to Santana, in addition to being completely lame, she had never seen such a group of whiners and it really got on her nerves. And Quinn had to agree with the girl. In cheerios if they acted the way that these guys did they would be cut from the team, no questions asked. You showed up, shut up and did as you were told. These guys, however, were constantly complaining about something, the dance moves, the song choices, solos!

If there was any subject that was going to cause an argument it was solo's. Each and every person in the club felt like they were the stars, that the club couldn't function without them, that they were the most talented person in the room. Most of the female leads and solo's went to Rachel and a lot of people felt that it was unfair. And Quinn could see where they were coming from… up to a point. Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, and Rachel all had amazing voices, however out of all of them only Rachel ever seemed to work for it. The girl seemed to spend all of her free time practicing her vocals, working on her dancing, and looking up songs, not only for herself, but the entire group. Rachel wanted it and she worked for it.

And as much as she despised the girl, she could respect that. In cheerio's Quinn was the youngest captain in a decade and that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Especially some of the older girls who felt that they deserved the position more. However Quinn had spent her entire summer after freshman year practicing and training. She went to Sylvester's summer camps and never missed a single day and when they were over for the day she had stayed after and gotten even more training. She wanted the top spot and so she had worked her ass off for it, they hadn't.

It was one of the few things that she liked about coach Sylvester's style. Say what you will about the woman, she didn't play favorites. Age and seniority didn't matter to her, winning mattered and so if you were the best person for the job, you got it. Quinn knew she wasn't the best in every area and so did coach Sylvester. Santana was a better tumbler, and Brittany could physically outperform everyone on the field, however Quinn was the most rounded. She could fill in for everyone on the squad at a moment's notice and it wouldn't adversely affect the routine. And Quinn was proud to say, and even a little smug, that no one else could do that. That was why coach had made her captain, she wasn't always the best in one area, but she was the best at everything.

Quinn had worked for her spot in cheerios and Rachel was working for hers' in New Directions. And so as far as Quinn was concerned, although it killed her to say this let alone think it, Rachel deserved what she got. The only person in the club right now that was giving the girl a run for her money was Brittany, and rather than pout or complain about the extra competition, like certain other members of the club, Rachel seemed to take it as a challenge and worked that much harder.

Rachel Berry was still a loud, obnoxious, boyfriend stealing skank as far as Quinn was concerned but at least she was one that she could respect. Unfortunately for the small brunette Mr. Schuester didn't have coach Sylvester's attitude towards placing people. The poor guy was trying to be fair to everyone, but he also wanted to win. To win you featured the best, to be fair you let everyone play and the two sides were at war inside him and you could tell.

Another problem with Mr. Schue was that he was stuck in his head about what this group should be. He wanted it to be just like it was back when he was a kid and so he had a hard time doing anything different from that. It was a little astonishing that someone who wanted to win as badly as he did; who needed to place at regionals for his club to even survive till next year, was so resistant to new ideas. Coach Sylvester was insane, and you did things her way, but if you showed her something that worked better than what she was doing she would switch in an instant. She might… more than likely would, take credit for the idea herself but again it was whatever worked with the woman.

Mr. Schuester was slowly getting better though… slowly, as where Sylvester would probably never change so Quinn couldn't complain. As far as male vocals went, there really wasn't much drama. Kurt wanted most of the female solo's so he rarely tried for the male vocals, and Finn and Artie were pretty chill about it. She had actually seen the two play rock, paper, scissor for a part once.

As for Quinn, the club wasn't the punishment that she thought it was going to be. She was the head cheerleader so she didn't feel the need to fight for a leading part, she had her place in this school and was happy with it. Besides she wasn't the strongest vocally, and she knew that. She had only joined this club so that she could keep an eye on Finn and the dwarf. So she was pretty okay with her backup role. It irked her a little bit because she was a performer and she did like being in the spot light, but she didn't work for it and she had cheerios so it only stung her pride a little and she obviously didn't care enough to try harder.

The big downside to joining the club was that it didn't seem to be doing any good. She tried to her best to ignore it, or run interference but no matter what she did Finn couldn't seem to stay away from Rachel. They hadn't hooked up again, at least not to her knowledge but it didn't stop the longing stares and the awkward moments when one of them would be singing and then start to sing to the other. Quinn was at a bit of a loss and wasn't sure what to do, so she did nothing. She just kind of stood there and ignored it and hoped that the situation would go away.

As Brittany finished her routine most of the club stared at her in shock. Kurt and Mercedes jaws had dropped, Tina looked ready to faint, and Finn and Artie looked terrified that Mr. Schuester would actually make them do it. Santana had a little smirk on her face. Rachel however, was staring at the blond appraisingly as if she was seriously considering whether or not to go with the blonde's routine.

"That's… wow, that was great Brittany. But… I think we're going to stick with what I have planned." Mr. Schue says trying to let the girl down easy.

Brittany's smiling face falls in disappointment and it actually hurts a little to see, so Quinn decides to step in. This was a perfect example of Mr. Schuester not being willing to make any changes. And while Quinn would agree that those steps were too advanced for most of the people in this club, he had not once taken any of Brittany's ideas seriously since they had arrived and it was starting to piss her off.

"Mr. Schue, no offense but these dance moves you want us to do are lame. We won't be winning any competition, let alone sectionals, with what you have us doing. We should change it up a bit. Brittany's the best dancer I know; let her show you what she can do."

Brittany smiles at Quinn gratefully.

"Quinn's right Mr. Schuester," Rachel throws in; both girls throw each other a look that clearly states that neither of them can believe that Rachel had just said that. "You saw how Vocal Adrenaline danced the other day, if we want any chance of beating them we need to 'step up' our game as well." Rachel moves over next to Mr. Schuester and faces the rest of the club.

"Now Brittany that was a fantastic performance, unfortunately it was a little too advanced for most of the people of this club," Obviously indicating that she wasn't one of those people. "But if you slowed it down, and maybe if we worked together you and I could have a routine down that could easily be done, and look spectacular."

Brittany looks really excited at the prospect and then glances at Quinn apologetically, silently begging Quinn to not be mad at her for wanting to work with Rachel. Quinn rolls her eyes in annoyance, but nods to the girl to let her know that it was okay.

Brittany grins at her before turning to Rachel. "That sounds great, maybe instead of-"

"Guys!" Mr. Schuester yells out, frustrated at the turn things were taking and wanting to gain back control of the club. "I know some of you aren't thrilled with this choreography, but it's what I have planned and it will work. Trust me; we used this routine to take sectionals my junior year. So if everyone could get back to their positions, I would greatly appreciate it."

He waits a few moments as Rachel and Brittany head back to their spots before starting again from the beginning. Rachel looks frustrated and Brittany looks like a kicked puppy. Santana reaches over and rubs the girls arm affectionately and Brittany gives her a disappointed smile before returning her attention to Mr. Schue.

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

As glee came to an end for the day, the kids all left the club in various degrees of frustration. Santana and Quinn were waiting by the door for Brittany who was currently in conversation with Rachel.

"I'm not sure how I feel about Britts chillin with treasure trail. Isn't it against the laws of nature or something?" Santana asks.

Quinn scoffs at that, "Brittney can be friends with whoever she wants; we may not always like her choices but still. And it could be worse." She finishes with a shrug.

"How could it possibly be worse?" Santana stares at the girl in shock. "I mean seriously, you hate show tune Barbie."

Quinn smirks, "True, but in all honesty if she's going to be friends with any of these people at least it's someone I can respect."

"You… respect her?"

"I respect her ambition, I can understand wanting something so badly that you'll do anything you can to get it. Don't get me wrong I still can't stand her, but I can respect her."

"Whatever." Santana says, conceding the point.

Quinn smirks, "I'm more worried about Streisand getting B hooked on some sort of old lame ass musical than I am about them being friends."

Santana shudders in horror. "You don't think that's possible do you?"

Quinn just arches her brow in response and says two words. "Jonas Brothers."

Santana bangs her head against the wall in frustration. "Damn it."

Whenever Brittany found a new obsession, both Quinn and Santana had to suffer through it with her. The difference was Quinn could tell Brittany no, Santana couldn't. So Quinn could get a break from whatever the blond was into, Santana had to suffer through it until the blond got either bored or found a new obsession. Sometimes it worked out well, Buffy the Vampire Slayer anyone? That had been a great obsession for the girl to have and Quinn had enjoyed every minute of it with her.

Of course she got to be the Buffy of the trio, so that may have helped her opinion. Brittany said she felt safe around Quinn and people were safe with Buffy, so that's who she was. Plus they both were kick ass, blondes. It was actually one of the sweetest things Brittany had ever said to her, and that was saying something. Brittany was practically made of sugar at times.

Brittany was Willow because according to her she could understand her cat and that was kind of like magic, plus various other reasons that she wasn't allowed to share because she promised Santana, so she got to be Willow. Santana had thought she was Spike, but both Quinn and Brittany agreed in secret that she was Xander. Loyal and protective of her friend, but not nearly as cool as she thought she was, but still completely loveable and a bit of a badass at times… okay and maybe just a little bit of Spike.

Unfortunately not every obsession had been as good as that one and the Jonas Brothers had been the blondes' last obsession. She was currently on a down time, nothing specific had really caught her interest, glee club excluded. But Brittany was one of those people who just loved life and just about everything in it and so found new interests very easily.

Brittany skipped up to them and then looked at Quinn, while biting her lip nervously. "Um Quinn… I know you don't like her, and I would totally understand if you didn't want me to, and totally hated me for wanting to, but Rachel invited me over to her place so that we could work on a routine and show it to Mr. Schuester, and maybe he'll change his mind. So would you hate me if I went?"

Quinn smiles kindly at Brittany, "I could never hate you B, you go have fun, and maybe make sure I get a solo or something hmm?"

Brittany beams at her and then pulls her into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, and you are totally getting a solo part! Are we still on for tonight San?" She asks as she turns her attention to the Latina.

"Yeah sure." Santana grumbles.

"Don't be grumpy; I'll be over at seven-ish, maybe eight. See you guys later." Brittany reaches over and briefly squeezes Santana's hand affectionately before she skips back over to Rachel and the two leave talking rapidly between themselves.

Santana has a little smile on her face and sighs. "Well, should we go?"

"Sure."

"Q, LOPEZ, MY OFFICE NOW!" The two girls turn around startled and see at the end of the hallway coach Sylvester glaring at them. She then turns around and begins to walk to her office.

Santana turns to Quinn and gives her a dirty look. "She sounds pissed, even for her. If this is about us being in glee club, and you know it is, I'm going to kill you. I mean it, they won't find your body."

Quinn follows behind the girl and idly wonders if Santana will ever forgive her for this… probably not. Her friend could hold a grudge. Still she wouldn't be Santana if she didn't and her anger was only scary if you didn't know her as well as Quinn did.

Quinn catches up to Santana and pulls her aside. "Listen San, I know you're angry at me. And I've apologized over and over again. What can I do to make it right, so that you're not mad at me anymore? You're my best friend and I hate that you're mad at me. If this is about glee club, if you hate it that much then please quit, I am so grateful that you joined up for me and I love you for it. But I don't want you to be miserable, so quit."

Santana glares at Quinn. "You think that this is about the fucking glee club? Damn it Q, if I really hated it as much as I say I do I would quit. I joined for you and I'm staying for you, but seriously I'm also staying for Brittany, you see how much she loves it, and…" Santana lets out a sigh. "Don't you ever repeat this, like ever, seriously but… I kind of like it too. I know I bitch about it and complain, but that's just me. If I really, really hated it I would quit."

Santana runs a hand through her hair. "I'm mad at you Querida because I think you staying with Finn is a mistake. I don't know what's going on with you lately but the Quinn I know would never put up with the bullshit that he's put you through, and that he continues to put you through. The guy cheated on you and yet you drop everything to be with him. And guess what, you being in glee club, you not confronting him, you not letting him know how much he hurt you, it's not good. This isn't going to end well for you, you're ignoring it but you being there hasn't stopped the stupid looks going on between those two. You're setting yourself up to be hurt and I hate it. That's why I'm mad at you because you're being a doormat for this guy and you're setting yourself up to get hurt, again, and I can't do a thing about it. I just, I want to know why, why are doing all of this, why are you letting him get away with this? Why are you so determined to be with this guy, when we both know that it's only a matter of time before he tries to get it back on with the dwarf? Please tell me why?"

Santana wipes a tear from her eye and continues to glare at Quinn. And it's on the tip of her tongue to tell her everything. To tell her what happened with Puck and how she still feels so embarrassed and disgusted by what happened. But she feels guilty, again she knows that the two aren't exclusive but she still betrayed her best friend by doing it and she betrayed her beliefs. She feels sick inside. She has all of these emotions whirling through her and the only thing that is keeping her sane is this pretense of normality. She knows that she is slowly losing Finn, she knows that keeping all of this inside is killing her but she can't bring herself to destroy this pretty façade that she is living.

But it's Santana and she has spent the last two weeks absolutely hating herself. Hating what she did, a hating how she feels. She's clinging to Finn because maybe by staying with him things would go back to normal. It's pathetic but she still sometimes wants to cry about that night, and in secret where no one can see her, has. She can't look at herself in the mirror without seeing a slut who's willing to spread her legs just because she's had a bad day. And everything that she used to be able to just shrug off seems to be that much harder. But it doesn't seem to matter how hard she tries, everything seems to be slipping away anyway, and as she looks at her best friend she suddenly can't hold it in anymore and she begins to talk.

"I know I've been weird lately… I," Quinn takes a deep breath and then lets out a sigh. "Santana I have something to tell you… I-"

"Q, LOPEZ WHEN I TOLD YOU I WANTED TO SEE YOU IN MY OFFICE I MEANT NOW!"

Quinn shakes her head in defeat, coach Sylvester's interruption robbing her of her courage. "Never mind, it's not important. Let's go, you know how much coach hates to be kept waiting."

"Fuck her, talk to me Querida. What's been going on with you? Is it your parents, are things… are things getting worse at home?"

Things at home had in fact been getting worse, or maybe things were the same and she was just being more sensitive than usual. Whatever the case, she would go to her grave before she would tell Santana what was going home at home. Her father was having trouble at work, some business deal wasn't going through, so he was drinking even more. And when he drank more, her mother drank more. This time looked like it was going to be a particularly nasty bender. Still she was good at avoiding her parents when they got like this and she had weathered situations like this before. Besides telling Santana would only cause trouble.

If she told Santana then the girl would try to do something about it. It would be sweet and brave and it would be so like her to come in and try to save the day, but it would ultimately be useless. She had tried once when she was younger, just before she moved to Lima, to tell a teacher about things at home. She had hoped that they would talk to her parents and get them to stop drinking so much. But her parents were rich as well as influential members of the community and all that came of her telling was a broken nose, "an accident," and moving here to Lima.

No she was better off keeping her head down and not making waves, she had learned her lesson, telling people didn't help and only caused her trouble. She only had three years of this to go. Three years until she could leave for college, three years until she was free. She loved her parents, despite everything she loved them, but right now they weren't good people and her best bet at survival was ignoring them and focusing on going to a college far away. She was used to it, the problem for her right now wasn't her parents, it was Puck.

She still can't stop thinking about that night. She still feels ashamed of what she did and she just can't seem to get passed it. The only plus side to that night is that she hasn't seen or heard from him since then. However she's constantly worried that he'll suddenly show up and start telling everyone what happened, that he'll destroy this façade that she's so desperately clinging to. But luckily nothing has happened so far and so she keeps praying that that doesn't change.

"Things at home are the same as ever San. Not great, but fine, so don't worry about it."

"Look no offense, I know that they're your parents, but they're both drunk assholes… You would tell me if things got bad wouldn't you?"

Quinn smiles at her friend gratefully and affectionately squeezes her arm. "Things are fine, I know I've been acting weird lately and I'm sorry. I've just been stuck in my head a little bit, I'll get over it."

"You know you can talk to me about anything right, that… damn it, I hate this mushy stuff, but you know I've got your back right?"

"But you're so good at the mushy stuff." Quinn teases the girl.

"Shut up." Santana rolls her eyes.

Quinn laughs, "Are you still mad at me?"

"No… we're cool," Santana smirks at her. "I'm still going to give you shit for dating the Jolly Green Giant."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Quinn says, glad that her and Santana had worked things out. She knew her friend had been worrying about her but she hadn't realized how much. She would have to work harder to make sure that she didn't have a reason to.

The two girls step into coach Sylvester's office wary of what it is that the woman wants.

"Fabray, Lopez, next time I say I want you in my office I better not have to wait, understood?"

"Yes coach." The two girls say in unison.

"Good, now I want to talk to you about this new club you've joined."

A.N. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, you'll see what coach Sylvester asked them to do next time… not like it will be some big surprise, but for the sake of my ego please pretend that it's some huge cliff hanger lol. So thanks for reading my story and the next chapter will be up next Friday.

Also I saw Dianna's new movie The Family last night, I won't do spoilers or anything but I will say that with one exception it was a fantastic film, and that I really enjoyed it. If you're curious about what I thought about it go ahead and scroll down, if not please stop here, because there is a little bit of a spoiler, nothing specific but I know how some people can be about those kinds of things and I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.

There that should be enough space, if you're here then this is a little bit of spoilers for the film. This is your last chance to turn back… No? Okay then, like I said great movie, however Dianna's story in the film is a little sad and doesn't get a resolution, so that was the one thing that I was disappointed with. She acted brilliantly though and kicked some serious ass. But yeah, no resolution to what she goes through and so I left feeling disappointed and upset with that. Take that and do with it what you will, I still say go and see it, but be prepared.