Chapter 28: Cutting Loose

SEBASTIAN

Reporting to McKinley High for an ungodly early call time certainly wasn't what Sebastian– who was typically more accustomed to sleeping in– had in mind when he'd first envisioned his summer of relaxation. That's what he was thinking about bright and early on Saturday morning for the final day of production on Artie's short film: reshoots.

After Artie's brief preliminary skim of all of the footage that he and the AV Club had collected throughout the week, he determined that he needed to reshoot a couple of scenes. The scene ahead of the West Side Story dance number needed to be redone, and he also concluded that it wouldn't hurt to have some more close-up footage of Kurt in the Newsies number– to make him stand out from all of the ensemble dancers in that scene since they were all dressed similarly in tattered overalls and dirty combat boots. At least, that was what Artie had told everyone in the mass e-mail he'd sent out late the night before.

For the West Side Story scene, Artie was firmly insistent that Finn, Mercedes, and Santana's characters spoke in Puerto Rican accents. This was supposed to help with their believability as the Sharks, but Sebastian just hoped that whoever would be watching this short film to determine whether or not Artie was granted admission to their prestigious university would not find this detail to be offensive.

Santana nailed the diction on her first try. This was unsurprising to Sebastian, but he didn't say so. He wasn't sure how a comment like that– even one that was meant to be complimentary– would be received. He also wasn't sure that he and Santana were all that friendly, after he'd once doused her with a cherry slushie following their particularly tense rendition of 'Smooth Criminal', and all. He didn't want to find out the hard way, so he was determined to tread lightly when she was around. Mercedes and Finn were having a far more difficult time faking the accent than their Latina friend, however, and the scene needed to be run three or four more times with the camera rolling before Artie was satisfied with the outcome.

After that, Artie switched gears into Newsie-mode, giving Sebastian his much-anticipated break time to rest and further ponder what had been burning on his mind lately.

"Psst," Sebastian whispered, his arms crossed as he leaned over to his co-star as the two of them were watching Artie direct the dancers in 'Seize the Day'. "I want to talk to you about something."

"And what's that?"

Both of their gazes stayed put on the dancers, and for this, Sebastian was grateful. The more nonchalant their conversation was, the better. He didn't want to draw anyone's attention– especially Artie's– to the two of them until after he'd gotten the chance to pick Quinn's mind in private.

"I think… I think what Artie's done here so far is great. You know, the script and the shooting. But I feel like the ending is just kind of… meh. It doesn't have this big conclusion to wrap everything up all nicely like all the great movies do. It just… ends."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sebastian glanced at the expression Quinn was wearing. She appeared to be following along with the point he was trying to make. He took that as a good sign to continue.

"I mean, what Artie's written is fine, but it can be better," Seb continued. "I think there's a big finale dance number missing from this movie. You know, like 'You Can't Stop The Beat' in Hairspray? I think this project needs something like that to… complete it. And I think that Artie should be a part of it."

"Have you lost your mind?" Quinn whispered back.

"What?" Sebastian asked. He was so confused by her reaction that he dared to pull his eyes away from the raggedy dancing newsboys and turn to her quizzically. "He loves to dance. He told me just last weekend that at one point he wanted to make a career out of it."

"I know that," Quinn replied coolly.

"Okay, so… why don't you think this is a good idea?" Sebastian wondered.

"Don't you think he's going to be upset with you for meddling?" Quinn asked, presenting Sebastian with a question of her own and ignoring his. "I mean, he's the screenwriter and director after all. He gets to decide what makes it in and what doesn't. He'll be a little offended that you think you know better than him, don't you think?"

"I don't know," Sebastian told her truthfully. "Probably a little bit at first. But I really think he should do this, and we won't know unless we ask. He's a great director, and I know how serious he is about being successful in that field, but I don't think he should give up performing altogether. Listen, I know him. He's my step-brother, and–"

"And he's my boyfriend," Quinn cut him off, slightly raising a singular eyebrow, as if to challenge him and his idea.

Sebastian knew that Quinn still didn't trust him entirely. Likewise, he was still skeptical of her intentions as well, what with getting into such a serious relationship just mere months before heading off to college. In the end, both of them had the same goal in mind: neither of them wanted to see Artie get hurt. They just had differing ways of going about that.

Their harsh opinions of one another remained, but luckily, they were both good enough actors that their indifference toward one another ('indifference' was a generous way of describing it) wasn't able to be seen on camera. They could put that aside for the person they both love in their own way– Artie– and the sake of his project.

"I'm doing this for him, okay?" Sebastian asked, exasperated. This wasn't a competition over who knew Artie the best. He just needed Quinn to agree with him so that they could band together and approach Artie with Seb's idea. If they put up a united front, Artie would be less likely to say no. Or so he hoped. "I don't have any ulterior motives here."

He couldn't help but be a little annoyed that some members of the New Directions were still hesitant to trust him. He knew that he deserved that, to some degree (their reactions were fair after the rock salt slushie incident, he supposed), but how long were they going to hold this grudge against him? Had he not shown them that he'd grown over the last few months? If Artie had come to trust him, why couldn't the rest of them do the same?

Quinn still didn't seem convinced.

"So this is you telling me that you don't think the movie's missing something at the end?" Sebastian asked, straightening up with his arms still crossed over his chest. Artie still hadn't glanced their way. He was too concentrated on giving Kurt his moment in the spotlight. "You don't think Artie should be a part of it, on screen?"

"I didn't say that," Quinn corrected him. Her voice was calm, but he could tell that her patience was running thin. "I just think you should be careful. He's been working very hard on this–"

"You're telling me," Sebastian scoffed. Surely, he knew more about Artie's work ethic over the last week than she did. After all, he was the one that had been sharing a room with the guy. Artie hadn't been turning off the lights until the wee hours of the morning, too busy watching what they'd shot and working on making edits to the script to get some much-needed sleep.

"–and I just think there is a chance that he will think that you suggesting that his show is 'missing' something is you telling him that it's not good enough. That is not something he needs to hear right now," Quinn continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Listen, Sebastian, I agree with you to some extent. I think it would be wonderful if Artie was able to show off his talents in front of the camera. I… know all about his dream of dancing, believe me. I just think that you should be mindful of the way that you approach him and phrase your suggestion, is all."

"I know that," Sebastian replied stubbornly, pouting like a child. "For the record, I have thought about this. A lot. I even know what the big last number should be. I just don't know how to convince him to get in front of the camera and make it happen."

Sebastian may not have a solid plan to execute his idea just yet, but he'd achieved what he'd set out to do: get Quinn to agree with him that Artie should take part in his own project. Despite his and Quinn's apparent resistance to one another, they were able to put their differences aside and find a common ground– albeit, a small one– that could bring them together.

Artie called cut, and his actors dispersed. Some went to their water bottles, others took the free moment to take a trip to the restroom. Artie, however, stayed put, burying his nose in his script and scribbling more notes in the margins.

"Well, now's your chance if you're going to do this," Quinn said, placing one hand on Seb's shoulder and the other on her hip. "You'll have to hurry to catch him before he releases everyone for the day."

"Well, you're coming, aren't you?"

"I'll come, but this is your idea. You're the one taking the fall for this if it goes awry. Now, go." She nudged him forward. "Quick. While he's alone."

"Oh, God," Artie commented a moment later, looking up from his script and noticing his brother and girlfriend standing before him so expectantly. It didn't take much aside from some common sense to see that Quinn and Sebastian weren't close to one another. Artie was right to be confused by the way they'd approached him together. "What is it, you two?"

Quinn nudged him again, and Sebastian cleared his throat nervously.

"We have a problem."

"Let me guess, you caused it?"

"Not this time." Sebastian shook his head. "Listen, I hope I'm not overstepping by saying this, but I think your script is missing something."

Artie furrowed his eyebrows together, clearly unimpressed, as he capped his pen and leaned back in his seat, glancing between the two of them. "What do you mean?"

"We think… I mean, I think…" Sebastian corrected his phrasing when he caught a stern look from Quinn. "I think your movie is great so far, Art. Really, really great. I just think there's something that could make it even better!"

"And that is…"

Sebastian knew he needed to quit dancing around the point. An impatient Artie wasn't one he wanted to have to deal with. "I think you need a big dance number at the end. You know, to cap it all off."

As predicted, Artie wasn't immediately overjoyed by, nor receptive to, the idea. "We don't have time to choreograph, rehearse, and shoot a seventh number. We can't just randomly throw something together. This isn't a Friday afternoon in Glee Club, or just some low-stakes backyard production."

"Well, I know one movie that has plenty of dancing that you didn't even include in your script," Sebastian replied. "What about Footloose? It was the movie that gave you the idea for this film in the first place, remember? We can do a big ensemble number to the title track for the grand finale. Not a bad idea, huh?"

"How would we even work another movie in? Footloose was released in 1984– that'd be the middle of the film we're making," Artie pointed out. "That completely ruins the point of moving chronologically."

"Forget about the chronology for a moment," Sebastian said, earning him another harsh look from Quinn. She was right, though. He needed to reign it in a little. If he wanted Artie to agree, he needed to be less pushy. "I just mean, I don't think something like chronology matters so much when this would be just a fun, finale number, you know? I'll bet Mike could choreograph it pretty quickly, and we could all learn it and shoot it today. And, hey! Maybe you could make a cameo, too!" Sebastian tried to phrase that last bit as something he'd thought of just now, and not something he'd been searching for a casual way to slip into conversation.

Artie shook his head vehemently at that. "Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, as if he was wondering why Sebastian would even suggest such a thing. "Even if we do put a last-minute dance number in, I am not going to be part of it."

"Why not?" Seb challenged, just as Quinn piped up.

"It's not a terrible idea, Artie," she said sweetly. "So many filmmakers make cameos in their movies. I remember you telling me that once. Alfred Hitchcock, Mel Brooks, Michael Moore… you'd be joining a very esteemed group of directors if you made a creative choice like that one."

"The vision of this movie is to focus on the two of you. And people like Brittany, Tina, and Mike. Dancers. Does that make sense?" He asked, staring seriously back at them. "I want this movie to be perfect, and I think a number with me in it is just going to be a number that focuses on my chair."

"Alright, now you're the one being ridiculous," Sebastian told him. It felt like Artie was just making up excuses now. "We'd all be out there with you. It's not like you'd be in front of the camera alone. Your chair's not going to be as much of a scene-stealer as you're thinking it will be, dude."

"Listen, both of you," Artie said, placing both hands on his knees and heaving a great sigh. "If there was a way that I could apply to these schools without even disclosing my disability, I'd do it. I don't want anyone watching to think that my portfolio is 'good, for a kid in a wheelchair', or that my dancing is 'good, for a kid in a wheelchair'. Okay? I want it to be good because it's good. Me getting in front of the camera would ruin all of that. You can both understand that, can't you?"

Sebastian and Quinn were both quiet at that. Despite how much they wanted Artie to make an appearance in his movie, the concerns he had were very valid as well.

"I just don't want the eyes of whoever's watching this to be drawn to me instead of the people who can actually dance. That won't do anyone any good."

"You can actually dance," Sebastian argued. "And you're pretty damn good at it, so quit it with all this 'woe is me' crap, alright?"

"You know," Quinn said gently, placing a hand on Artie's shoulder and diverting his attention away from Sebastian's small outburst. "I seem to recall someone telling me recently that sometimes it feels like outsiders' opinions matter so much, when in reality, they don't. The only person whose thoughts and feelings actually matter are yours. If you are confident and proud– which you should be, by the way– then screw what everyone else thinks."

Seb didn't know exactly what Quinn was referencing, but whatever it was appeared to strike some sort of chord with Artie, because his face– which had been set in an ever-present frown for their whole conversation up until now– softened at that.

"You want this movie to stand out and be creative, right?" Sebastian asked, taking advantage of his brother's moment of thoughtfulness. "Then get in front of the camera, Artie. Come dance with us."

Artie appeared to struggle with himself for a moment before nodding, eventually giving in, no matter how hesitant he felt inside.

"Okay," he said, managing a small smile. Then, unlocking his brakes with one swift motion, Artie pivoted to face his cast and crew. "Change of plans," he called out as everyone's heads turned to him. "We haven't wrapped for the day just yet. Does everyone have it in them to dance in one more number?"

…

After Artie gave in to Sebastian's idea, Mike was elated to choreograph something on the spot for the finale number. The moves had to be manageable for Finn to master quickly, which meant that it was super easy for everyone else– a lot of step-touches and spins and kicks did the trick just fine.

This was also the first time during this production that they'd be actually singing the song, too. For the other dance numbers, Artie had opted to use recorded versions from movie soundtracks, but to make this one stand out, he decided to treat it like a Glee Club performance. For this scene, Artie handed the reigns of the project over to Mr. Schuester, allowing him to use his Glee Club expertise to serve as interim director. Artie didn't even fight back when the teacher suggested that he take on a solo verse in the song, while the rest was split between Seb and Quinn since they were the leads.

Since they hadn't been planning on including a seventh number, they were out of unworn costumes. The only ones that the McKinley theatre department closet had on hand were smelly neon disco costumes that allegedly dated back to Mr. Schue's time in show choir. Artie decided that everyone should wear something simple and uniform, and everyone had black jeans, black t-shirts, and Converse sneakers at home. That was how, after learning the choreography from Mike in a record-breaking hour-and-a-half, everyone was dismissed for an hour to go home and change. They returned to the auditorium at three o'clock sharp, ready to shoot. And this time, Artie wasn't seated in video village. He was in front of the camera, too.

After wrapping up on reshoots, Artie invited whoever was around to come back to the Abrams-Smythe house to swim. He was calling it a little impromptu wrap party, before the actual one he planned on hosting to premiere the movie once it was edited. Nearly everyone in the cast was able to attend, and the backyard, pool, and patio were filled with all of their friends just a few hours after they'd left the school.

And there was nothing that Sebastian loved more than to sit back and people-watch this crew.

"Hey, Artie," Puck said as he was in the middle of a water gun fight with Sam and Finn. "When it's time to close up the pool for the season, have your mom call me. I'll come by and clean it to get it all ready, and I'll even give her my friends and family discount."

"Okay, cool." Artie grinned at the guy's generosity. "I will."

"I was considering moving to Los Angeles to work on my screenwriting career and relocating the company out west," Puck shared. "There are plenty more pools there than there are in Ohio, so it would be pretty good for business. But, for the time being, I've decided to stay loyal to my clientele here. Though, it will suck for all of those Bachelor cast-offs out in Cali that will miss out on taking a ride on ol' Puckasaurus."

"I'm sorry, what? Your screenwriting career?" Kurt repeated incredulously. "Considering that I've had to help you with your grammar numerous times over the last four years, I'd love to hear about how you plan on making a living off of that."

"Q, your phone is ringing," called out Santana, effectively interrupting the conversation about Puck's unclear plans for the future. She was across the patio, wearing a skimpy little bikini that showed off her muscular, fat-free physique, as she laid out on a lounge chair in the sun and tried to work on her tan.

Sebastian was sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet in the water as he sucked on a popsicle, as Quinn hopped out of the pool and hurried over to where Santana was holding up her phone. Everyone's attention turned to her as she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Quinn answered the phone. "Oh, hi, Shelby! How are you?"

Puck perked up at that, and Sebastian observed the way that the other present and former New Directions seemed to exchange glances at the mention of this woman.

"Oh," Quinn replied to whatever was said on the other end of the line, and the others watched as her face fell. "I'm actually not home right now. I'm at Artie's. He's having a pool party. I'm sorry I'll be missing you guys."

You could hear a pin drop as nobody in the water or on the patio was even making an effort to seem like they weren't eavesdropping on Quinn's conversation.

"Well, I can probably come to see you guys before I leave for school, right?" Quinn asked. Silence again. "No, that won't work. I have my freshman orientation in New Haven that weekend…"

"Quinn," Artie called over to her from his current position, floating on one of his rafts in the water. His intense curiosity was enough of a reason for him to interrupt the conversation Quinn was having. "What's going on?"

"One second," Quinn said into the receiver before moving the phone to her chest and replying to Artie. "It's Shelby. She and Beth are passing through Lima on their drive back to Akron after visiting Shelby's parents in Fort Wayne. She wanted to see if I was around for a last-minute visit."

"Invite them over here!" Artie encouraged her. "They can even come swimming if they want to. It'll probably be the last chance you'll get to see them before you go to Yale."

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked, blinking away her disbelief.

Artie waved off his girlfriend's surprise. "Yes, of course. The more the merrier!"

"Okay!" Quinn replied, brightening up at that before lifting her phone back to her ear to relay that message. "Shelby? Hi, sorry. Artie says you guys can come over here if you want to! I can forward you his address… Okay, great! We'll see you then!"

She hung up the phone and set it back on the table before returning to the water. "Thanks for letting them come over here, Artie. I haven't seen Beth since the graduation ceremony. I'm sure she's grown so much in a month, so I'm really excited to see them."

"Me too," Puck chimed in, hoisting himself up onto the side of the pool so that he was sitting beside Sebastian.

"Who are you excited to see, Puck?" Santana snickered, raising her sunglasses to get a better look at the mohawked boy. "Beth or Shelby?"

There were a couple of stray gasps from the onlookers as Santana dared to go there, but Puck just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on," Puck grumbled back defensively. "That's over, okay? Long over."

"So, what?" Santana raised an eyebrow. "You've had your student-teacher relationship where you got to play house with a forty-year-old and your biological daughter, and now you're a man?"

"No," Puck scowled. "I may have rode my motorcycle to school every day and banged every chick in that place twice, but that's not what made me a man. What made me a man was sitting there in that choir room, singing songs I hated, next to the biggest collection of losers you've ever seen. That and Beth made me a man."

Sebastian had never seen the tough guy look so defeated.

"Beth's just a baby, and I know I'm not the one raising her, but she shouldn't have to grow up feeling the way I did. Like the guy who made her doesn't give two craps about her. So I just want to see her, okay?"

"Aw, Puckerman," Lauren Zizes said, placing a hand over her heart. "That was actually kind of sweet. Almost got me to forget that you're the worst kisser I've ever been with."

That got a laugh out of everyone except for Puck, who looked pretty offended. But Zizes had been right, Puck's sentiment had been kind of tender, even if a little backhanded. Even Seb– who hadn't been around back then, during the cheating-slash-teen pregnancy scandal, but had heard his fair share about it– could see how excited both Quinn and Puck were at the prospect of seeing the tiny human being they'd created during a drunken after-school escapade. Sebastian supposed that was to be expected after you'd created, carried for nine months, and then birthed a full-fledged human before your prefrontal cortex was fully developed.

The moment that Shelby and Beth opened the pool gate and entered the backyard twenty minutes later, they were met with a swarm of hormone-crazed teenagers. While the majority of them– the girls, especially– were fawning over the baby, talking to her in a baby voice, cooing at her, and vying for her attention, Sebastian hung back.

Babies weren't his thing. Unlike Artie, it hadn't been a lifelong dream of Sebastian's to be a dad one day. He was very inexperienced in the baby department and thought newborns were kind of scary, the way they looked like aliens from another galaxy for the first few days.

But Beth Corcoran wasn't a baby. She was a toddler, having turned two years old this past spring, with beautiful, big green eyes and blonde ringlet curls. Sebastian couldn't help but look between Beth and her biological parents– who kept passing her off to one another, taking turns twirling her around in the water and trying to make her giggle by blowing bubbles– trying to catch the similarities between them and figure out which features she'd inherited from who.

The longer that Sebastian kept his distance, however, the more curious he became. That was why when Artie beckoned for him to swim closer and take a turn pushing around Beth's inflatable kiddie tube, he let his interest get the best of him.

It didn't take him that long to become comfortable with the toddler's presence. She was pretty cute, after all. Beth seemed to take an instant liking to him as well– based on the way that she was constantly grinning at him, showing off her mouth full of newly grown-in baby teeth.

"She likes you," Shelby told him with a smile. Sebastian didn't initially know how to feel about that, but he guessed he should take compliments where he could get them.

"While it's admittedly strange seeing you with a baby, it also kind of suits you," Artie mused from his perch on the top stair.

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "I'd never expect that you, of all people, would be a baby whisperer, but I'm impressed."

Sebastian was playing the humble card by shrugging off their flattering comments like they were no big deal, just as Sam chimed in with his own two cents.

"Seb was really good with my siblings when they met on the Fourth of July," he pointed out. "Stacey loved him. Maybe kids are his thing and he doesn't even know it."

"Have you ever thought about pursuing that further?" Shelby asked Sebastian, who only raised an eyebrow.

"What, like fathering a child at seventeen?" Sebastian asked dubiously, shaking his head. "Uh, no offense to those in the vicinity who are teen parents, but no. That's not going to be my path. For more reasons than one."

"No, I meant working with kids in some capacity," Shelby clarified. "Have you thought about your plan for college at all? Maybe you could major in education and become a teacher. The world could always use more of those."

"I'm not quite sure that's the direction that Sebastian is destined for," Artie joked, much like he had a month ago when Sam had first suggested that Sebastian join him working at the ice cream shop.

That comment earned Artie a glare from Sebastian before he settled on shrugging at the woman's advice and offering up a noncommittal "Maybe."

While he agreed with Artie to some degree, Sebastian had also noticed that Artie seemed to be consistently underestimating and undermining his capabilities– something Sebastian knew for certain that Artie loathed when the tables were turned. He'd already proven his brother wrong once this summer. Surely, twice would feel even sweeter.

Maybe teaching wouldn't end up being the exact path for him, but it was a start. He hadn't spent much time (okay… he hadn't spent any time) thinking about what his major should be, but maybe Shelby wasn't too far off. Maybe there was some potential in this idea…