"I drove her home again on Saturday."
Sam had whispered it conspiratorially in Ray's ear while he was collecting his books from his locker. Ray almost dropped them in surprise.
"You what?"
Sam's grin was wider than Ray had ever seen it, and that was saying something since his mouth was one of the largest he'd seen.
"She was in my area and I offered her a lift. We didn't really talk this time but I feel like we had a bit of a connection. She knows she can trust me."
The taste of Ray's tongue was suddenly quite bitter and his smile just wouldn't come. The glow that had surrounded him since the sleepover suddenly felt considerably dimmer. He hadn't been the knight in shining armour, just another boy who fell at Quinn's feet at her bidding. He wanted to deflate the growing ego Sam was nurturing through her affections but he stopped himself realising how petty he was.
"That's great, Sam. I happy for you." The bitterness hadn't left his words but Sam was so high on cloud nine that nothing could affect his happiness.
The Unholy Trio strutted through their daily catwalk routine, staring imperiously ahead and not glancing once at the crowd of plebeian students. Ray could feel his whole body tingle with anticipation. What was she going to do? Turn to him and give a friendly smile? Stop in the middle of the hallway and say good morning?
The squeak of sneakers on linoleum was deafening and it felt like the whole crowd had gone silent. Suddenly, sound crashed back over Ray and he realised they had gone. Not a glance. Not even one sign of recognition. He deflated; all the pent up breath he'd been holding suddenly was released.
"Do you really think a girl like her would go for a guy like me?"
Ray really wanted to strangle Sam at that moment. How could he not see that he was exactly the kind of guy she'd go for. He was sweet, conventionally attractive, and, well, had a penis. Not that a certain guy without a penis wanted to be with her in that way. But still.
"She will see how great you are, Sam. Just give it time."
Ray slammed his locker and headed toward his first class, Sam taking a moment to look after Quinn's receding figure before following.
While making their way to class, Ray noticed Mr Shue sticking a piece of paper to a notice board. He stepped back to reveal a poster which made Ray stop in his tracks. The words GREASE: AUDITIONS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTER SCHOOL were typed in big red letters over a patterned background that made Ray's eyes hurt, but that wasn't the reason he'd stopped.
"What's wrong?" Sam realised his friend had stopped five steps later and awkwardly jogged back to him and looking around.
"I have to audition." Ray's voice was barely a mutter. All thoughts of exposure and ridicule flew right out of his mind. He had to be in Grease. The performer in him was suddenly reawakened with a vengeance, all those years of repression just making him even more eager.
"What?" Sam was looking bemusedly at Ray's set jaw.
Pointing at the sign he repeated himself, louder now.
"I have to audition."
"For Grease? I didn't know you were a musical theatre person."
Ray looked at him incredulously.
"I am more musical theatre than I am a person."
Sam chuckled and looked back at the poster.
"Thursday and Friday, huh? Sounds good to me, I'll do it with you. We'd make great T-Birds."
Blooms of butterflies exploded in Ray's stomach but he was thankful that he would be acting with someone he knew. Running through all the songs in his head he sorted out the harmonies and top picks for audition solos and duos. He wasn't worried about the dance audition; he'd learnt the hand jive age five and had regular dance lessons since earlier.
They quickly passed Mr Shue's classroom to pick up the audition sides before heading to class.
"What do you think about auditioning for Grease?"
It was lunch and Quinn had been twiddling her 'mash' with her fork while the other cheerleaders chattered endlessly and Brittany and Santana sat coldly on either side of her. She'd seen the poster at recess and couldn't get the idea out of her head.
Of course, she wasn't a theatre kid but auditioning wouldn't hurt right? She wasn't going to get a big part or anything, she didn't have a musical theatre voice, but it could be fun.
Santana grunted. "Cheesy, much?"
"What?"
"Grease. It's like the cheesiest musical Shue could have chosen. Probably just another ploy to get into Ginger's grannie-panties."
Quinn sighed heavily. Recently, Santana had been consistently grumpy and Quinn's temper was rapidly reducing in size. To her surprise, Brittany spoke up from her left.
"I think it will be fun. I'm auditioning with Mike because neither of us sing but we are awesome at dancing. I hope there's a part like that."
Santana's cheeks had turned pink and she looked like she'd swallowed a lemon.
"Won't Artie be jealous, Britt? About you getting so close to another guy?"
Brittany straightened and Quinn noticed a hint of satisfaction before her face clouded over with confusion.
"San-"
"Forget it. Break a leg for your audition." Santana started to head off before halting abruptly and turning to Quinn. "If you want, I'll go with you."
Shock made Quinn dumb but she nodded vigorously. With one last look at Brittany, which seemed more desperate than her usual irritation, she left the lunch hall.
"Why does she want me to break my leg?" Brittany's voice was small and defeated.
Quinn turned quickly back to her friend.
"She doesn't want you to break your leg, Britt. She- it's something people say to wish people luck. She wants you to do well."
The way Brittany's face lit up was adorable and reminded Quinn to punch some sense into Santana the next time she saw her.
"Can I ask you something?" Quinn knew she was probably going to regret delving into their drama but she couldn't help it.
"Sure, Q. What is it?" Brittany had contentedly returned to rearranging her food into faces.
"What happened between you two?"
There was a pause in which Brittany kept fiddling with her food. Quinn was beginning to think she hadn't heard her when she finally spoke.
"Me and San used to make out when we went to each other's houses, and sometimes in the janitor's closet..."
Brittany momentarily lost her train of thought and Quinn tried desperately to get the image out of her head.
"... San would always say it didn't mean anything, just two friends having fun, practising for when we do it with boys. So I didn't think she would care about Artie. He's so sweet and he plays the guitar really well. But then she wouldn't talk to me or make out with me and I didn't know what to do. Then she told me she loved me and I didn't know what to do because I love Artie."
Quinn coughed, choking slightly from surprise.
"Santana said she loved you?"
Brittany frowned, thinking, for a moment before nodding.
"I think so."
"Oh."
"What do you think I should do?"
Quinn was unable to give her any advice. She hadn't realised how much Santana had put herself out there, she'd assumed Brittany had started seeing Artie and Santana got distant and angry. She'd actually tried.
"I-I'm not sure, Britt."
She felt useless. Ray would know what to do. Maybe she ought to ask him, after all he probably knew about these sorts of things. No, she'd given him enough with her own troubles, and he was bound to have plenty of his own. Shit. She'd spent so long dumping all of her problems on him and she hadn't spent five minutes trying to hear about his.
"Cha-cha."
"Huh?" Brittany turned to her and she realised she'd blurted that out.
"Cha-cha DiGregorio. She's a character in Grease. I'm pretty sure she never sings and she's supposed to be a good dancer."
Brittany beamed and pulled Quinn into a rib-crushing bear hug.
Ray hadn't expected to be this nervous about auditioning. The audition for glee had been far easier because he was about as terrified of being allowed in as failing. Now he actually had something to fight for, something he really wanted.
Butterflies had filled his stomach ever since they'd seen the poster and he was so jittery he felt like he'd had a triple espresso. Sam sat through all every lesson and lunch cool as a cucumber, apart from when Quinn strode past with her tray. Ray prayed to whatever celestial being there might be that he'd never be that awkward when he had a crush.
The sides had been easy to learn and he knew all the songs backwards and by heart, but now he was about to be called on and the butterflies hit him so hard he felt like he would be sick. Sam was next to him looking strained but not on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Ray Berry."
Mr Shue's voice did nothing to soothe his qualms but Sam gave him a light punch to the shoulder and whispered "you can do this" into his ear and things started to feel a bit better. He strode out onto the stage and squared his shoulders.
"Hi, Ray. You've prepared a song?"
"Yes, I have."
He had decided with Sam that he would do Doody's solo and allow Sam to do the iconic 'Sandy'. What Sam didn't know was that the song wasn't actually in the stage version and half the boys auditioning would do that song.
"I'm going to be singing 'Those Magic Changes'. If that's okay with you?"
Ray looked at Brad for confirmation and he nodded, finding his sheet music swiftly.
"Whenever you're ready." Mr Shue said, an encouraging smile on his face.
Ray nodded and the music began.
C,C,C,C,C,C,
A,A,A,A minor
F,F,F,F,F,F
G,G,G,G seven
As soon as Ray began to sing he felt the adrenaline of performance take over and ceased to be the awkward trans teenager trying for the school musical. He suddenly felt like a Greaser from the 1950s and he channelled that into his voice with all his heart.
What's that playing on the radio?
Why do I start swaying to and fro?
I have never heard that song before,
But if I don't hear it anymore,
The high notes of the chorus came easily to him and he belted them out. Mr Shue, Brad, Sam and all the possible auditionees who might be listening faded into the background. He was going to be in this musical no matter what.
The music ended and Mr Shue looked like a kid in a candy store.
"Very well done, Ray. I'll see Sam's song and then am I right in thinking you two are doing the acting audition together?"
"Yes, sir."
"Great. Take a break and I'll see you in a sec. Next!"
Ray practically skipped backstage to where Sam was entering from and punched his shoulder in return. Sam grinned and soon he had begun his rendition of the classic man pain song.
Ray had to give it to him, he did deliver it with huge amounts of feeling and vocal talent. He just couldn't see it standing out as much as his one.
Once the sides were spoken, and Mr Shue's enthusiasm filled to the max, Ray and Sam made their way out of the auditorium, huge grins plastered across their faces. Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls and their voices joined as they performed the whole soundtrack in the highest spirits.
It was only in the parking lot that Ray noticed his bag was still backstage with all is homework for the next day.
"I gotta go back. Bag. See you tomorrow and good luck!" He shouted to Sam across the bikes and convertibles.
The adrenaline of the audition gave him the energy to sprint all the way back and he made it there in under a minute. Expertly navigating the crowds of theatre kids he found the chair with his bag and made it out of the swarm of talentless ego. About to sprint back, his feet were suddenly stilled by a soft voice coming from the auditorium.
It was a girl's voice, husky but clear, singing Hopelessly Devoted to You with such vulnerability that he had to see her. He opened the door a crack and halted abruptly. Of course it was her. The gorgeous Quinn Fabray was standing in the middle of the stage wringing her hands and belting out all the emotions he recognised from the moments he'd seen her vulnerable. Hurt, anger, loss. All of them were coming across clear as day to an enraptured Mr Shue.
Ray marvelled at her ability to bare herself despite her usual 10 foot walls. She wasn't being the Quinn Fabray he recognised from the hallways but the one she allowed herself to be when it was just them.
The song ended and Ray watched as the walls slid back up as if nothing had happened. Suddenly she was the HBIC again, giving Mr Shue the stern look that meant 'I know you're a teacher but you better give me the part or else'.
"That was incredible Quinn. I'm only concerned about you having enough time with heading the cheerios." Mr Shue put forward tentatively.
There was a pause that seemed to fill the whole auditorium with anticipation.
"I manage with glee."
"Yes but during performance week and the weeks leading up to it we may have rehearsals almost everyday."
Another pause.
"Why don't we see what happens?" Mr Shue was evidently unable to handle the tension. "Either way, you're a very strong contender for a callback."
Quinn nodded and strode off, evidently deep in thought.
Ray realised he was still staring through a gap in the doors and slipped back out. Right into the stern face of one Santana Lopez. She stood intimidatingly in the power stance, hands planted firmly on her hips, eyebrow raised.
Ray couldn't help internally recognising the similarities between her and Quinn's body language while containing very different energy. Quinn commanded a quite and poised superiority and if she barked at someone they knew they were in trouble. Lucky for the rest of the student body that tended to be Finn.
Santana on the other hand could be likened to a pot boiling. It was a matter of when not if that she exploded. Usually that would be in the form of a string of Spanish words that were delightfully creative. Right now that energy was directed right at him. Oh.
"What are you doing?"
Even if he had the words he probably wouldn't have been able to speak.
"What're you doing creeping on my girl Q like that, dwarf? Huh?"
"Your girl? No I wasn't- I was just- I'm taller than you!" The end of his reply might have ended rather petulantly for his liking.
"Not my girl girl I'm not-" Santana suddenly looked like she was the deer caught in the headlights rather that him. She rapidly regained her composure and set her gaze. "Yeah I know you're taller but I'm used to Pastry Puffs and Puck so... you're short."
An awkward silence fell over the two of them, Ray still adamant that he was innocent but not brave enough to vocalise it and Santana... well actually what was she doing? Why didn't he have a slushied face or verbal lashing yet?
"Can I go?" He tentatively asked, flinching slightly in anticipation of a violent response.
"Yeah scram, Dobby." But there wasn't even bark, yet alone a bite.
Briskly striding back to the parking lot Ray realised she'd used a Harry Potter reference. Maybe she wasn't so far from nerdy. Well, she was in Glee. He found himself suddenly reevaluating the infamous Santana Lopez. That seemed to be happening with a lot of people recently.
One thing he hadn't expected was that his gaydar was pinging like mad. There were lots of things Ray was clueless about but people often underestimate the power of closeted bisexual trans people's gaydar. His was off the charts accurate. Although that may be partly connected to the fact that he thought everyone was a little not straight.
Back to Santana, he realised now he should have seen it sooner. Brittany and her were practically on top of each other at any given moment, though he'd noticed the change since Brittany had started dating Artie. In Ray's defence, girls were much harder to gage because of their culture of friendly flirting.
There was more to the Unholy Trinity than met the eye, and Ray was starting to realise how human each of them really were. And with each nugget of information, he wanted to find out more.
"Listen up, Toe-nail crunchers!" Sue's grating voice barked through her megaphone across the field. "I have an announcement!"
The squad assembled faster than a military column and stood to attention. Sue's beady eyes sized up her pristine squad as if gazing at chewing gum under a desk. Quinn could tell something was up by the way the tendons in her neck stood out more than usual.
"I have received news of something very disturbing. My spies have told me that many of you have auditioned for the freak show that the little lamb known as William Shuester is planning on putting on."
Quinn could feel several members of the squad shifting uncomfortably but she kept her eyes forward and poker face on.
"I will inform you now that any person participating in Shuester's... shenanigans will be forced to refuse their role or risk having their ass kicked right out of my cheerios."
Quinn felt her stomach drop. She'd expected a hissy fit from Sue, maybe at worst a few extra suicides per session but this was something else entirely. She hadn't expected to care so much about getting into Grease but now that door was closed to her, she suddenly wanted it more than anything.
Something had happened on that stage, during the auditions. She'd gotten up there and all her walls had fallen away. She'd felt light and free and those eyes and ears that she could constantly sense around her meant nothing. It didn't matter what she did because it wasn't really her.
"Bullshit."
Quinn only realised that had come from her mouth when she saw the whole squad's eyes on her. Quashing a mini heart attack, she stuck out her chin and squared her shoulders to show Sue she meant business.
"More than half the squad auditioned, you know that. We're the best dancers in this school and this would be a great way to get us into even better shape."
Quinn knew the excuses she was giving were shaky to say the least, but she just kept going.
"There are no competitions for at least a few months after the performances so it's not scheduling you're worried about. You're rivalry with Mr Shue doesn't mean you can take it out on us."
Stunned into silence from being reprimanded by her Head Cheerleader, Sue didn't have an immediate response. However, Quinn could see her eyes start to narrow and lip curl and knew things were about to get brutal. But she wasn't going to give Sue the satisfaction of cowering. She was sick of adults manipulating and bullying her.
"I would like to remind you, Miss Fabray, that your position on this squad was given as a very generous favour after you decided to don the scarlet letter for nine months."
Sue's voice was cold and measured, each word digging deep underneath Quinn's skin. Instead of lashing back or losing her temper, Quinn clenched her jaw tight and said nothing. Instead, she did something far more powerful. She started to smirk.
It was almost comical to see Sue's face morph from sadistic triumph to confusion then to rage. The squad, whose heads had been flitting back and forth like tennis spectators, watched astounded as Quinn oozed rebellious confidence in the face of Sue's cruel jibes.
There was no sound but a vicious war was waged between the eyes of Sue Sylvester and her young counterpart before finally-
"Practice is over! What the hell are you babies still doing on my field!? Scram!"
As the rest of them scrabbled to the changing rooms, Quinn gave her a last glare and strolled leisurely to a waiting Santana and Brittany. Both of them were looking at her with trepidation; neither wanted their association with her to lead to punishment but at the same time something in the air had changed. Sue's powerful aura wasn't as potent.
"Wow, Q, I didn't know you cared so much."
Neither did Quinn. Perhaps it was simply frustration with Sue's bullshit. She would put it down to that.
"She just needed an ego check. Come on, let's go change."
It was the callbacks and Quinn stood in a room with mostly glee kids but a bunch of cheerios and people she didn't know. Shue had just whipped out a sheet and was sporadically looking at it and them, which was unnerving to say the least. No one had spoken a word in five minutes, all too tense about what he might make them do.
Then he started calling out names. Santana and Puck - no surprise there; they were born to be Rizzo and Kenickie. Some theatre kid and Mercedes. Shue paused for a moment before reading out two more names. Finn and Tina.
What.
Quinn could feel eyes on her and felt determined to look impassive. She didn't care that Shue had just thrown away his chance of seeing them as Danny and Sandy. The thought that Finn was Shue's golden boy, a shoe in for Danny, and she wasn't with him. That it might hurt her chances.
Ray was paired with some overexcited girl with the fashion sense of a blind taxidermist, which didn't help her temper. Finally, the nail of the coffin, Shue called out her name. She was paired with Sam.
She'd known about his crush on her since his glee audition. His eyes didn't stray from her for very long during the whole session. Quinn had something of a sixth sense when it came to people looking at her, which she put down to the amazing peripheral vision she developed after her corridor walk downs in the Unholy Trinity for so many years.
It wasn't that Sam wasn't attractive. He had the boyish good looks, great voice and Greek god body. But something was lacking. He didn't have the bad boy attitude that Puck did, or the history she had with Finn, or Ray. Not that she thought of Ray that way. Just... if she were to compare Sam with other boys in her life, he wasn't the first she'd pick.
Speaking of eye lines and Ray Berry, Quinn's spidey senses were tingling. She turned and saw him looking right at her before getting distracted by the aggravatingly bubbly brunette he was paired with,
"Right I want each of you to quickly run through 'You're The One That I Want' with your partners and I'll be calling you in with the order I called out your pairs. Okay gang! Get going!"
Sam was exactly the overexcited puppy she'd been expecting and she found herself getting a head ache from the number of times she had to stop herself rolling her eyes. There was one upside to their pairing however, Sam did have a relatively good spatial awareness and didn't move like a trained bear like a certain boyfriend. That raised her hopes of being put with a suitable Danny. Now she just needed to get over her discomfort and work on their chemistry.
"I wanted to properly say thank you. For the other night. I don't think I really expressed how... helpful you were."
Sam couldn't meet her eyes but she could tell he was fighting down a grin.
"It's no problem. Anytime."
There was an awkward pause between them before Sam piped up again.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Oh no, here it was. Why was she with Finn? He totally wasn't good enough for her. I would be so much better etcetera. She shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to ruin their dynamic just before the audition but nodded because what else could she do?
"I know this is kinda weird but... how do you balance all your school life and glee and still be popular?"
Ok so that wasn't the question she was expecting. In fact, she wasn't sure she had an answer for that. Popularity was such a complicated and mercurial thing; she knew it better than most. And all she could see in Sam right then was her four years ago, albeit far more attractive and suited for popularity. She had this crazy urge to take him by the shoulders and look him right in the eyes and say: "it's not worth it."
But she didn't. Instead she just returned to the mask she knew best: arrogance.
"I guess it just comes naturally to me. I don't take no for an answer."
Sam frowned, as if he'd been expecting some sort of Twelve Easy Steps to Popularity at McKinley High.
"Should we keep practising?" She asked slightly impatiently.
"Sure yeah. Where were we?"
Ray knew he was being snappy and irritable but he couldn't help it. Sam seemed to get it straight away, giving him a quick one armed hug and saying nothing. No hollow reassurances were going to help. The only thing that would cure Ray of the antsy alter-ego would be the cast list.
They'd checked together first thing but there was just a note saying it would be up by lunch, which made Ray actually growl. Sam had to pull him back from stalking right into Mr Shue's office and demanding it on the spot. He knew logically he was just trying to help but he still left him with a sizeable shin bruise.
Spanish class was even worse because one of the traits Ray prided himself on was being an empath, at least to those he cared about, and there was a certain hazel eyed cheerleader who looked almost as on edge as him. That meant double the stress every time he looked at or even thought about her, which was embarrassingly often.
When class ended, Ray looked up from his packing to lock eyes with her and felt a nervous jolt run through him, as if with that one look she knew he'd spent most of the lesson staring at her profile. Instead of contorting her face into one of disgust or amusement, she gave him a nod of recognition and, maybe he was reading too much into it but, encouragement. He nodded back and forced a smile of encouragement back; even if he didn't get a main role, she deserved one.
And of course the list wasn't up at lunch either. Mr Shue was really starting to get on Ray's nerves. He stood with Sam, leaning against the notice board trying to look casual, and by the third time he saw Santana and Quinn pass through the corridor he realised they weren't the only ones waiting for the moment of truth. Naturally they couldn't let the student body know how much they cared so they had to resort to sneaky surveillance tactics.
Ray was ready to storm his office again when the man of the hour finally emerged. Ray smacked Sam and they both stood to attention barely holding back from launching themselves on him. Mr Shue took his sweet time pinning all four corners to the board before withdrawing and letting the two boys set upon it like vultures.
Ray's eyes took a moment to figure out the format before scanning the sheet quickly.
Danny Zuko - Sam Evans
Sandy Dumbrowski - Quinn Fabray
Kenickie - Noah Puckerman
Betty Rizzo - Santana Lopez
Doody - Ray Berry
Frenchy - Sugar Mottah
Roger - Finn Hudson
Jan - Mercedes Jones
Mrs Lynch - Lily Brown
Eugene Florczyk - Harry Wilson
Patty Simcox - Olivia Cannings
Cha-Cha Di Gregorio - Brittany Pierce
Teen Angel - Kurt Hummel
Vince Fontaine - Mike Chang
It went on to list the copious chorus made up mostly of the cheerios but Ray had stopped about halfway down. It felt like someone had just punched him in the abdomen. This wasn't right; he'd oozed Greaser confidence in every audition.
Tears threatened to spill over his eyelids but he clamped his jaw down. He wasn't going to cry over a part in a school musical, especially not when his best friend had received the part. He was one of the T-Birds, why was he complaining?
He shot a quick empty congratulations to Sam before excusing himself to go to the toilet. Ray knew his dignified defeat wasn't at all convincing, not helped by the fact he headed off in the wrong direction for the loo, but he couldn't care.
Sam probably shouted something after him as he power walked to the auditorium but it didn't register. He needed to be alone in a quiet dark place or he was going to explode. Actually, he needed to cry, really hard, while being hugged by Quinn. Quinn Fabray who had got the role she wanted. Who was going to be serenaded by Sam with real words of love.
Rays brain short circuited when he realised Sandy and Danny would most likely kiss. He collapsed in the back row of the auditorium and let the tears leak silently out. He hated that that was the thought that bothered him the most. Not the lost part, the opportunity to present a perfect Danny Zuko, but the reoccurring image of Quinn in Sam's arms.
Stop it, stop thinking that, he berated himself. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.
He didn't care. He couldn't care. He decided: he wouldn't care. Any thoughts or feelings that had been arising over the last few days, weeks even, were nothing more than platonic love rekindled. It didn't help that the love he'd harboured for her in middle school had hardly been platonic. She was a different person now; any extremely faint chance he had had back then was completely obliterated.
Ray decided to make a mental list of all the things that meant Quinn would never see him that way.
She is Quinn Fabray
She is dating Finn Hudson
Finn Hudson is the Quarterback
She can literally be with anyone she wants
Ray paused, hating himself for thinking the next point but nevertheless painfully aware of its possibility.
5. Ray Berry is trans
Ray wasn't naive. He knew how people of small town Lima felt about trans people and maybe Quinn had accepted his true gender but it didn't mean she was capable of seeing him that way. He'd always been able to accept that he wasn't going to experience the usual teen lifestyle. Spontaneous adventures, alcohol fuelled parties and awkward first loves just weren't in the repertoire of an anxious trans guy.
A sudden click of the auditorium doors made Ray's head shoot up from his foetal position. For a second he thought Quinn might have run after him, having noticed his pain. He wasn't sure if that would be comforting or mortifying. Saving him from having to figure that out, the semi-scowl, semi-smirk of Santana Lopez finally came into view.
"'Sup midget."
Her voice was neutral, bordering on uncomfortable, and Ray welcomed it; if she'd been any more sympathetic he might have burst into tears again.
"I'm just dandy."
"What?"
"Never mind. What do you want?" He hadn't meant it to come out that harshly but didn't have the energy to take it back.
Santana frowned, evidently not appreciating his lack of hero (villain) worship.
"Look, Berry, I'm here to give you a deal. You obviously have some serious issues that you need some help working through-" she paused to take a deep breath "-and as it happens so do I."
Ray wasn't sure what shocked him more: Santana admitting weakness or the fact that she knew his surname.
"I don't have issues..." Ray tried pathetically.
All it took was one eyebrow raise to make him relent.
"Fine but they're not things I need help with. They're things I just have to deal with."
Santana sighed and sat down heavily on a chair next to where he was sat.
"Let's just cut the crap okay? I know you have a massive hard on for Fabray and I'm offering help to get rid of Finnept and Trouty Mouth. Take it or leave it."
It took a few moments for Ray to compute what she'd said and by then she was speaking again.
"Denial might have worked before the long vacant stare."
Still, Ray found himself uncharacteristically unable to word his thoughts and opened and closed his mouth uselessly.
"My offer has an expiry date. Ten seconds and I'm out of here."
"Wait, what do you get in return?" He managed.
This made her pause. Obviously she hadn't thought that far, expecting him to follow her like all the other McKinley lemmings.
"You're in a good spot. I need your... inside knowledge and weird ghost ninja abilities."
"For what?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
Ray's least favourite phrase. He hated the idea of Santana holding a bargaining chip over his head but he supposed if she hadn't told already, he had a chance to keep it hidden.
"I don't even want any of the things you're giving me. Finn and Sam are great guys and Quinn can date whomever she may want."
Santana might have lunged for his throat when the bell rang. Instead of throttling him, she grabbed his arm and wrote what Ray presumed was her number on his bare skin. Getting up to go, she glared at him once more.
"If you don't want a fat lip, text me."
The song is Those Magic Changes from Grease and Jordan Fisher does a beautiful version of it in Grease Live
