Thanks so much for all your support on Chapter 16. I didn't expect many reviews since it's not a very popular episode in the fandom. This chapter was a fun one to write, since there was some Finchel, but I feel like there was a lot we didn't see. Hope you guys enjoy it and review if you want me to keep going!

Chapter 17: Bad Reputation

Finn tried to hold in his disgust as he walked into glee practice and he saw Rachel and Jesse walking in hand in hand. Why couldn't Jesse just leave McKinley? Then he noticed that Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie watching a video on the computer and laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You guys aren't watching the video of me falling off stage at my first TinyTots beauty pageant, are you?" Rachel asked with panic in her voice.

"That was Carrot Top funny compared to this comedic tour de force," Kurt laughed.

"That's Olivia Newton-John's Physical," Jesse rambled. "It was pretty groundbreaking subject matter at the time, considering it's depiction of fluid sexuality."

Finn rolled his eyes. Did Jesse always have to try to make himself sound so above everyone else? Then he took a look at the video. "Wait, wait. That's not Olivia Newton-John. That's, that's Sue Sylvester. Where did you get this?"

"I can tell you that I certainly did not steal it from her locked file cabinet yesterday when she sent me back to her office to get her hormone replacement injection during Cheerios practice," Kurt said.

"Wait, did she just do the Cabbage Patch?" Artie asked.

It was about time that Sue Sylvester got what she deserved, and Finn had an idea. "I'm posting this on YouTube."

"No, no, wait, wait," Rachel panicked. "Do you think that's a good idea? She might kill us."

"Oh, let her get a taste of some of the humiliation she put us through," Mercedes agreed.

"I'm with Finn. You guys need to stop being such asses and start being bad-asses," Jesse said.

If Jesse agreed with Finn for once, it had to be a good idea. He reached for the upload button. "Ten bucks it goes viral by lunch."

x

At Glee club that afternoon, Mr. Schue didn't look too happy with the glee kids. "Coach Sylvester isn't too happy that you posted a video of her on YouTube."

"Just because she hates us doesn't mean any of us did it!" Rachel said. She didn't want Finn to get in trouble.

"Rachel, don't," Mr. Schue said. "She has an IP tracker attached to her things and the video was posted from the glee club computer. That's her private property."

All Rachel wanted to do was not get Finn in trouble. "For once, she deserves a piece of the humiliation she puts us through!"

"Rachel, stop it," Mr. Schue said. "And that's not all that's going on." He held up a piece of paper that read "Glist: Who's Hot, Who's Not!
1. Quinn +45
2. Santana +43
3. Puck +38
4. Brittany +35
5. Jesse +29
6. Finn +19
7. Mike +11
8. Matt +5
9. Rachel -5"

"What's that?" Rachel asked. Whatever it was, someone who didn't like her clearly had made it.

"It's ranking the glee club members based on their promiscuity," Mr. Schue said.

"Then why am I not higher up?" Brittany asked.

Mr. Schue ignored her. "Who did it? This is serious. Principal Figgins is threatening to disband the club."

"Why are we playing this game? We all know it was Puck," Santana said.

"Back off. I didn't do squat," Puck snapped.

"Then why is your girlfriend first on the Glist?" Tina asked.

Santana and Tina both had points. Rachel knew Puck didn't have a very high opinion of her. "And why am I last? Aside from the fact that I refused to put out for you."

"Okay, enough! No one is accusing anyone of anything. Puck, seriously, did you do it?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I said no!" Puck shouted. "I'm a delinquent, sure. I like setting Stuff on fire and ating up people I don't know. I own at. But I'm not a liar."

"All right, here's the important point. Between this and posting Coach Sylvester's personal video on YouTube, you guys are getting a pretty bad reputation," Mr. Schue told the group.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Artie asked. "Maybe if we seem more dangerous, people would stop flushing my glasses down the toilet."

"Look, things are hard right now. I get it. You're under a lot of pressure with regionals coming up. And I know that winning sectionals hasn't had the positive effect on your popularity that a lot of you thought it would. But becoming what you despise is not the answer," Mr. Schue lectured.

All Rachel could think about was how low she was on the list. She knew that people didn't really like her, but did they really think that she was so below everyone else that she had a NEGATIVE number. Mr. Schue began talking about how this week they'd be doing songs with bad reputations, and she was going to use this project to make her look like someone with a reputation people wanted to see.

x

After doing some searching, Rachel had the perfect idea for this assignment. She was sure that she knew what she wanted to do, but first she needed to make sure that it could be done. After glee practice, Rachel went up to Artie. "I need to enlist the services of the A/V Club."

"What did you have in mind?" Artie asked.

"My shame at appearing so low on the Glist has made me reevaluate my image at this school and beyond," Rachel told Artie. "I've now realized that in today's culture of bad boy athletes and celebrity sex tapes, a good reputation is no good at all. Artie, you know how our Glee Club assignment was to find a song with a bad reputation and rehabilitate it? Well, mine is going to afford me the worst reputation in this school. Rachel Berry is going to get a little down and dirty."

Artie looked fascinated. "I'm going to stop you. You had me at sex tape. How can I help?"

Rachel was one step closer. "Hold onto your hat, because Rachel Berry is going to become musically promiscuous. I'm going to shoot the same video with a few different guys and have you and the AV club put it together so they're each in it for a small part."

"I never saw you as that type," Artie said. "I can help."

She was one step closer. Now she just had to get as many guys as possible in on it. Jesse would do it for sure, and she was pretty sure she could get Finn to do it. Artie was helping her make the movie, so he was out. She didn't know Mike and Matt very well and it didn't seem like this was Kurt's type of thing. Maybe she could get Puck to do it, too. She went up to Puck in the hall. "Hey."

"Hey," Puck said.

"Can you come to my house after school?" Rachel asked.

Puck looked confused. "Sure."

x

"Do you know that when we dated, the rest of the school gave us a nickname, Puckleberry?" Rachel asked. That wasn't true. She'd thought that up on the spot, and she had to admit it sounded pretty stupid.

"That's humiliating," Puck said.

The trick didn't work. She had to think fast of something else to say that could help him do the video with her. "The fact is that slumming it with me actually improved your reputation. It gave you a sense of humanity." It wasn't true. She knew she was the reason why he'd been slushied. Maybe this would work though.

"Wait, do you want to date again?" Puck asked. "I was wondering why you invited me here."

No. She wanted to date Finn. She was with someone else right now though. "As you know, I'm taken. But I can be of some assistance. Help me with my song for Glee Club. I might be the last chance you have to salvage what's left of your reputation, and stay in Glee. Besides, you need a song that going to help you express your inner pain."

Puck looked interested now. "So what song do you want to do for your assignment?"

"I've chosen David Geddes' fantastically terrible '70s top ten hit Run Joey Run. It's a story song. So we get to play parts. I'm going to play the role of the tragic heroine who dies in the end, a la Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge. And you can be the hunky, heroic male lead," Rachel said.

"Do I get to kill you?" Puck asked.

"Actually, my dad shoots me with a shotgun," Rachel said. That made her wonder, who would she get to play her dad?

"Do you think I made that Glist? Honestly," Puck asked.

Rachel thought for a moment. Puck was a troublemaker, but one of the cheerios could have made it, too. "Well, it does sound like something that you would do."

"God, I'm so tired of people judging me for a few mistakes I've made," Puck snapped. "I try to be a good guy. I go to school and I say, 'Be cool, Puck. Be nice.' But by second period, I've got a fire extinguisher in my hands and I'm spraying some dweeb with it and I don't know how I got there."

Rachel didn't know why he felt such a strong urge to be a badass, but she too sometimes felt urges she couldn't control. "I understand. Yeah. I sit in Glee Club and I watch a couple of imperfect performances and a litany of criticisms just start building up inside of me like a volcano and I keep telling myself to hold it in and then it just comes bursting out. Granted, generally I'm right, but doesn't do much for my reputation."

"It does suck when you do that," Puck said.

"So, uh, how do you think we can get people to see us differently?" Rachel asked.

Puck leaned over as if he was trying to kiss Rachel. "I don't know."

He was trying to kiss her? "I can't do this!" Rachel said.

"You know, whoever made that Glist is going to put you at number one when they find out you cheated on that Jesse kid with me," Puck said. "Besides, Jesse will never fully understand what it means to be a Jew."

Could they have a conversation without him mentioning their heritage? "I'm ironically turned on by your bad boy image, but I think we should just keep this professional," Rachel said.

Puck started to leave. "All right, I'm out. Why should I stay if there's no chance of us making out?"

"Noah, please come and sit down and let's work on the project. Okay, it'll help us both. I promise," Rachel said.

"All right," Puck said. "Besides, maybe it's not a good idea for us to make out. I am with Quinn."

x

Shooting the video with Puck and Jesse had been fun, but now it was time for the shoot Rachel had been looking forward to: the shooting of the video with Finn. He'd wanted to do it right away when she texted him. If this was any other assignment, she'd just want to do it with just Finn, but she wanted to move up on the glist.

"I'm so glad you wanted to work with me," Finn said. "I thought you'd work with Jesse."

"I told you, even though I'm with Jesse, you are my favorite duet partner," Rachel said.

"I'm glad you asked me, because I couldn't find a good song," Finn said.

Rachel did feel bad. Maybe she should tell Finn that she was shooting the video with Puck and Jesse too? No, she couldn't. He might tell them. Or someone. And if she wanted to move up on the glist, she had to keep this quiet. She was tired of being an outsider, even with the other outsiders. She just hoped Finn wouldn't get hurt.

x

Rachel had gotten Santana and Brittany to help with her video as well, to her surprise, and she'd even gotten Mr. Ryerson to make a cameo. Artie had made some good edits, and today, she'd show it to the glee club. Before Rachel showed the video, Mr. Schue talked to the group. "All right, guys, listen up. Another week has almost passed. If a list goes up again later today, this issue is out of my hands, and it becomes Principal Figgins' jurisdiction."

"Seriously, Mr. Schue, whoever made that list is not gonna come forward. We might as well just bend over and take whatever's coming," Finn said.

"Fine. Okay. Well, then, uh, let's get to it. Rachel, how about you show us your bad reputation project?" Mr. Schue asked.

Rachel went to the front of the room. "I'd like to say a few words first. Though I understand that a motion picture should stand on its own, I do realize that some of you are not well-versed in the complex vocabulary of the filmic arts. I expect that this video will go over some of the heads of our less-cultured teammates. So let me just say I hope you enjoy my Bad Reputation. Lights. Okay, go." She turned on the video and was so impressed once again with how it had turned out.

Brittany and Santana: Aaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaah
Rachel: Daddy, please don't
It wasn't his fault
He means so much to me
Daddy please don't
We're gonna get married
Just you wait and see
Puck: Every night, the same old dream, I hate to close my eyes
I can't erase the memory
The sound of Julie's cry
She called me up, late that night
She said, "Joe, don't come over"
My Dad and I just had a fight
And he stormed out the door
I've never seen him act this way
My God, he's goin crazy
He said he's gonna make you pay
For what we've done, he's got a gun
So run, Joey run, Joey run!
Rachel: Daddy, please don't
It wasn't his fault
He means so much to me
Daddy, please don't
We're gonna get married
Just you wait and see
Jesse: Got in my car, drove like mad
'Til I reached Julie's place
She ran to me, with tear-filled eyes
And bruises on her face
All at once I saw him there
Sneakin' up behind me (Rachel: Watch out!)
Then Julie yelled, "He's got a gun!"
Finn: And she stepped in front of me
Then, suddenly, a shot rang out
And I saw Julie falling
I ran to her; I held her close
When I looked down, my hands were red!
And here's the last words Julie said:
Rachel: Daddy, please don't
It wasn't his fault
He means so much to me
Daddy, please don't
We're gonna get married...
Brittany and Santana: Aaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaah
Finn, Jesse and Puck: Run, Joey, run, Joey, run, Joey, run, Joey, run, Joey, run, Joey, run!

x

This wasn't making sense. Why was Puck in Rachel's video? Finn had shot it with her! Wait, now why was Jesse there? Finally, Finn saw himself and he realized what Rachel had done. She'd used him. She'd done this to make herself look popular. That's why she'd made a video rather than just singing a song in the choir room.

At the end of the video, Rachel, Santana and Brittany were clapping, but Finn couldn't. Rachel went to the front of the room. "Why don't we just, um, take a moment to really absorb what we've just watched?"

Finn couldn't hold how hurt he was in anymore. "This is garbage!"

"Finn!" Mr. Schue said.

"No, he's right," Puck agreed. "First of all, I need to trust my instincts more because I had a feeling when we were shooting that, that it was not going to be good."

"Why didn't you tell me they were in this, too? I thought you and I were going out. Being triple-cast with two other guys to play opposite your girlfriend? It's mortifying," Jesse said.

"It was an artistic statement," Rachel tried to defend herself.

Finn knew what was going on. "No. It wasn't! It was you trying to look like you had a bunch of guys fighting over you so you could stop looking like some kind of outcast and be seen as some hot slutty girl singer! How could you do this to me; to all us guys? Is your stupid reputation more important than your relationships?"

By the look on Rachel's face, Finn could tell that what he said was right. However, Rachel was distracted when Jesse stormed out of the room.

x

No new glists had gone up, so Rachel didn't know if her video had been a success in moving her up. None of the three guys had said a word to her since Rachel had shown the video, and Rachel was the most upset about Finn. Rachel felt like an even worse person. She felt worse about hurting Finn than the fact that she'd emotionally been cheating on her boyfriend. As she closed her locker, she saw Jesse there. "Hi. Are you still mad at me?"

"You know, before I transferred here to make you my girlfriend, I asked around about you, found out your rep, what kind of girl you were," Jesse said.

"What did they say?" Rachel asked. She had a feeling it wasn't good.

"Most of them had no idea who you were," Jesse said. "The ones that did said you were kind of sneaky hot, but that that quality was canceled out by a compulsive need to be right and a strange affinity for sweaters with animals on them. The most interesting part was that, even though no one particularly liked you, they all said you were a person who could be trusted."

That was something, right? "I still am," Rachel said. "I have this pathological need to be popular, okay? I just want people to think I'm cool so bad sometimes that it just clouds my judgment. Okay? As a fellow star in the making, I'm sure you can understand that."

"On that level, sure," Jesse said. "But as the guy who gave up everything to be your one and only, I just can't see past this. I should have been enough for you, Rachel."

He was breaking up with her, she could tell. "I knew you'd break my heart."

"Well, that's the funny thing about reputations," Jesse said. "Everyone thinks I'm the big heartbreaker, but the fact of the matter is, you broke mine first. Do me a favor? If we end up next to each other on the bar at Ballet Club this week, just do your arabesques and piques in silence. Don't talk to me."

x

In glee club the next day, Rachel said she had another song to sing for bad reputation week to apologize to those she'd hurt. Finn couldn't help but join in, and he noticed that Puck and Jesse couldn't, either. He noticed that Rachel genuinely looked upset.

Finn: Turn around
Rachel: Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you're never coming round
Puck: Turn around
Rachel: Every now and then I get a little bit tired
of listening to the sound of my tears
Jesse: Turn around
Rachel: Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
that the best of all the years have gone by
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
and then I see the look in your eyes
Finn: Turn around bright eyes
Rachel: Every now and then I fall apart
Finn: Turn around bright eyes
Rachel: Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
Cause we'll never be wrong together
We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (New Directions: All of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight (New Directions: Forever's gonna start tonight)
Rachel: Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
Finn and Rachel: But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart

Finn couldn't handle this anymore. He had to leave the room. Who was he to talk? Reputations were important to everyone. They were important to him, too. So many times he'd hurt Rachel because he was concerned about his reputation. Wasn't he being a bit hypocritical now? As much as it hurt, he couldn't get too upset because he'd hurt Rachel for the sake of his reputation before.

Shortly after Finn got home, his doorbell rang. He went to the door, and there was Rachel. "Hey."

"Hey," Rachel said. "Finn, I wanted to let you know, I'm really sorry about the video. You were right. My reputation shouldn't be more important to me than my relationships."

Finn gave Rachel a small smile. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you. I've let my worries about my reputation get the better of me before."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "I didn't want to hurt you. I'd never want to hurt you."

Finn didn't know what to say. He never wanted to hurt her either, but he was pretty hurt by her being with Jesse. "So, are you and Jesse broken up now?" He wasn't sure if he was right to be hoping they were.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I really don't know. He won't answer my calls and texts, and you and Puck both let me apologize. I just... I'm glad you forgive me."

"Of course," Finn said. "I just wonder who made the glists."

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Puck said he didn't do it, but it is the type of thing he'd do. I also wouldn't be surprised if it was Quinn. She was always at the top and you and I both know how important it is to her to be at the top."

Rachel had a point. Finn was now pretty suspicious it was Quinn. But they may never know.

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