New York, New York

by GryffindorJedi1

This one took a lot of work. Couldn't put in all the content I wanted so as to avoid copyright laws. Also, Shelby would've been in a lot more scenes, but I tried to make it so she wouldn't because back then Idina Menzel was looking after her son, Walker, who was about a year old at the time.

Chapter 6

New York, New York

Everyone was content with Jack's compassion and integrity. He was firm but kind, which is exactly what these people need. Not Will's competitiveness, not Sue's brashness, not even Shelby's overconfidence. Jack was everything the glee club and McKinley needed and more. Rachel knew from the get-go. Anne Marie and Ian were also very good teachers, like Emma and Beiste.

Shelby told him, "So you're really going through with this. You really want to do this?"

Jack shrugged and said, "I figured since you were doing something, I may as well do it, too. Might even gain some experience."

Shelby nodded, "You've got guts, Jack. I admire that." She gently tapped his arm with her fist and said, "You'll make a good coach," then she walked away. Jack looked at her and smiled bashfully. Rachel appeared and said, "What was that? Was that flirting?"

Jack said, "I almost lost my balance again."

Rachel stated, "You have really got it bad for her."

Although Shelby did not return Jack's romantic affections, she was always very friendly towards him.

In the choir room, Will said they needed to raise more money for tickets to Nationals. "This is saltwater taffy."

Brittany said, "I love saltwater." Mike looked at her.

Will said, "So, to raise $25,000 for 25 cents a piece, we need to sell 20,000 pieces of taffy."

Santana said, "Wait, do you really think we can sell 20,000 anything? We've won Regionals for the first time ever, and Tompkins and I got a cherry ICEE facial."

Anne Marie said, "I really freakin' hate that Karofsky." Ian put his hand on her shoulder and Claire rubbed her back.

Quinn said, "Yeah, Santana's right. Nobody really cares about us."

Mike said, "I can't listen to this."

Will asked, "Mike, you okay?"

"No. You guys always talk about being mistreated, but you have no idea what it's like to work your butt off for something so important."

Artie and Tina walked to him. "We're in the academic decathlon."

Will said, "Wait, I can understand you three being on the team, but Brittany?"

Mike said, "Liz Schneider was our fourth, but she got rubella."

Tina said, "Her parents are hippies who don't go for vaccinations."

Claire said, "Oh."

Will asked, "How much do you need?"

Tina said, "If we only ate Funyuns, $250."

Will said, "Which means...we just need to sell more taffy."

Rachel tilted her head back.

Beiste was eating a chicken in the teachers' lounge the next day. Jack was looking with stunned fascination. "You must have a serious metabolism."

Beiste said, "Mm. Take it from me. You don't get this strong just by eating protein bars."

"Uh-huh." He noticed Shelby pouring coffee. "Hey, Shelby."

"Hey," she smiled.

Will and Emma sat down. Will said, "Hey. What's going on?"

Beiste said, "I don't know about you guys, but I think our boy Jackie here has an infatuation of sorts for a Miss Shelby Corcoran."

Will asked, "Are you serious?"

Emma said, "Jack, that is so sweet."

Jack said, "How do you know about that?"

"Just a guess," Beiste stated, "from the way you were eyeing her the other day."

"Jack," Will said, "if you feel like this about her, you don't have to be embarrassed."

Jack didn't let it slip that he was now dating Rachel. Well, semi-dating. After Rachel kissed after Regionals, Jack felt a bit conflicted. He truly, deeply cares about Rachel in his own way—there was no denying it—but what would happen if people found out about them being together. They would just have to keep it simple so that she wouldn't get suspended and he wouldn't lose his job.

In the choir room, Victoria Sanchez was introduced. She was a close personal friend of Holly.

"Okay," she said. "Let's get started. Is this the glee club?"

Claire asked, "Uh, who's this?"

Tori said, "Victoria Sanchez. Holly can vouch for me."

Holly said, "We met during our first dancing class. Ever since then, we're pretty tight."

Tori said, "Yeah. I'm sort of an interpretive dancer."

Santana said, "Can I just say that you are the hottest woman I've ever laid my eyes on."

Tori said, "Yeah, I get that all the time." Claire smiled at her.

Will said, "With Miss Sanchez's help, we are going to have a Night of Neglect."

Anne Marie asked, "Why?"

"To appreciate someone who has been disregarded by their talent."

Rachel said, "Now, why does that sound familiar?"

Tori smiled, "Oh, you must be Rachel."

"And my reputation proceeds me."

Shelby smirked.

Tori went on, "Anyway, I heard about your new benefit on Facebook and I wanted to perform."

Quinn asked, "How do we know that we can trust you?"

"Because I don't really have anything against any of you. Please just let me show you what I can do. It's not really a song about neglect, but I think it'll help you get some of your juices flowing."

In the auditorium, Tori sang an illustrious version of "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls.

Claire asked, "Wait, didn't we already do an assignment about this?"

Anne Marie looked at her, confused.

Finn smiled. Artie was impressed. Mike raised an eyebrow. Puck hung his mouth open in awe. Santana was totally into it. Hmm… Rachel and Shelby were definitely uncomfortable.

When Tori was done, everyone clapped, especially Puck.

Rachel said, "Wow, you are really something."

Tori said, "Thank you."

Shelby was walking down the hallway. Henry ran after her. "Hey. Miss Corcoran."

"Hi, Henry."

"You know, I've been thinking. Miss Holliday and Miss Sanchez really help people bring out their wild side. Maybe you could do the same."

"Why me? You think I should strip naked or something?"

Henry blushed. "Um, no. Not really. I just mean that you could also get us to step out of our comfort zones. Get the feel of it before Nationals."

"Look, Henry, it's sweet that you thought of me. But after what we just witnessed in there, I'm kind of nauseous."

"Okay. Well, great. I'll think of something else, then." He walked off.

Rachel walked in Jack's office. "Finally," she said. "Someone who appreciates my talent."

Jack said, "Hey."

Rachel sat on his lap and kissed him. "I don't know, Jack. Do you think that this is a little much?"

"What? You mean us?"

"It's just that we just started going out. I mean, you're a teacher, I'm a student, it wouldn't be appropriate. Everybody already gives me so much grief. Imagine what they'd do to me if they found out how much I like you."

"Rachel." He kissed her. "Look, we can just keep it brief. We'll keep it professional during school hours, and then after school, you can come to my apartment and we'll watch some movies."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I got our whole weekend planned. I don't know how you feel about Star Wars, but I think you'll really like the original trilogy."

"It's the one with Darth Vader, right?"

"Yes." He chuckled.

"Okay, then I'm in. Just doin't make me wear those cute Leia buns."

Jack chuckled. They kissed again.

In the teacher's lounge, Emma was focusing on the same spot by the sink.

Will said, "I hear that OCD symptoms tend to expand when the person is under great stress."

Emma said, "Carl's gone. He left. At what age are you supposed to look back on your life with regret? I actually believed I had a handle on my condition by now. It's just been so long, and I'm so tired."

Will put on a glove.

"What are you doing?"

"No judgement. Just a friend that you can count on." He cleaned a grape.

Holly looked in on them from outside.

Claire said to Henry, "Did I just hear you ask Shelby Corcoran to assist Tori Sanchez to help us with our comfort?"

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted her to help us, that's all."

"Oh, is that why you wanted to talk to her?"

"What does that mean?"

"Henry, I get it. She's nice, good-looking, talented and serious."

"So is Rachel."

"But you do realize that she used to coach our competition."

"Why is everyone so hung up on that? She left Vocal Adrenaline. She's coaching New Directions now."

"Co-coaching. And I don't really think she's even been giving us any song ideas. Rachel said she's all about being theatrical. Mr Shue is closed-minded. Coach Sylvester is narcotic. And all Miss Holliday wants to talk about is sex."

Ian said, "Hey."

Anne Marie said, "What's going on here?"

Claire said, "We're running out of options. Clearly, the New Directions can't agree on anything, so we're just going to have to take this matter into our own hands. Henry, you'll work with Miss Tompkins. Mr. Rivers, you're with me."

Anne said, "What are you thinking, Claire?"

"Mr Shue and Miss Holliday want a night of neglect? How about we change it to a night of respect?"

The others smiled with anticipation.

Rachel closed her locker and saw Shelby and Jack standing in front of her.

Shelby said, "Hey, Rachel. We've decided that you should be the head of talent relations."

Jack said, "You're probably used to being related because you're so talented."

Rachel smiled, "Well, I'm honored that you came to me. But don't you think it's a little too obvious of you to choose me? Mostly because you're my family and you're her best friend."

Shelby said, "Well, we had a little trouble with one of our performers."

In a flashback, Mercedes said, "First, I'd like a large bowl of M&Ms."

Jack said, "Okay."

Mercedes went on, "Two, I need a lot of humidifiers to help me breathe better."

Shelby said, "Check."

Mercedes continued, "I'm not finished. Before every performance, I like to wash my hands." Shelby raised her eyebrows.

Lauren said, "I believe you heard Miss Jones."

Back to the present, Rachel said, "Stars make demands the way cats cough up fur balls. They can't help it. What a star wants is to feel appreciated and respected. They just want to feel like they're being heard. I can relate. So leave it to me. I'll take care of it." Shelby and Jack smiled.

Henry strummed a guitar in the choir room.

Anne Marie walked in. "Hey. So why are we singing together?"

"Okay. Um, I wanted to gain a little experience. Do you know how to play?"

Anne Marie said, "Yeah."

"Here." They strummed a few notes. Henry leaned a bit.

"Okay, um…let's try a different approach."

In a classroom, Claire was walking back and forth. "This is really freaking me out."

Ian said, "Would you stop pacing?"

"No. Look, we need this benefit to go well? How else are we gonna help pay for this trip to Nationals?"

"And the academic decathlon."

"Well, yeah, that too. This is a lot harder than I thought."

"Wait. I got it. Will and Holly want to do songs by neglected artists, right? Well, you were the one who said that they weren't neglected but respected. So let's give them a show they won't soon forget."

"Yes." Claire smiled.

In the gym the next day, Henry was punching a bag.

Finn said, "You tried to kiss her? Major glee party foul, dude."

"You're back together with your ex-girlfriend. Don't take it out on me. Look, I know I shouldn't have. I just got swept up in the moment."

"That's okay, dude. It happens. Look, next time just think of something to distract yourself. That way you won't get confused. Me, I just think of something that really turns me off."

"Like what?"

Finn had a really bad experience learning how to drive. He hit a mailman and Carole screamed. Not to mention that the windshield cracked. Hard to say what happened to the mailman, but he seemed to have survived, hopefully.

Henry said, "That's…really shocking, Finn."

Finn said, "Yeah. Picturing something as horrific as that is even better than a cold shower."

Henry said, "Wow" very uncomfortably.

In Shelby's classroom, Justin walked in and said, "So, this is where Rachel gets her good looks and talent from."

"Who are you?"

"We haven't been properly introduced. Hi - Justin Masterson. I'm Jack's brother." They shake hands.

"Sorry, I don't know who you are."

"Well, I know who you are. Jack talks about you all the time."

"Really?"

"Look, it's none of my business what you and your sister do on your own time. But Jack's my little brother, and it was always my responsibility to look out for him."

Shelby nodded. "I can respect that. So, what did he spend hours doing? I mean, you know, when you guys went to high school?"

"We were on our own basketball team. But that was pretty much it."

"So how do you know about Rachel?"

"I did my research. We saw a couple of her MySpace videos. She's great."

"Appreciated. Is that all why you're here?"

"I just wanted to see for myself that you were the real deal."

"And?"

"Ah, you seem all right."

Rachel walked in. "Hi. Sorry. Didn't realize you had company."

Shelby stated, "Rachel, this is Jack's brother. Have you met him?"

"Not until now. Mr. Masterson."

Justin nodded. "It's Justin. You don't need to be so formal, Rachel. Any friend of Jack's is a friend of mine. I hear you guys are going to Nationals later on. Nice work. Hope you all enjoy New York. From what I hear, that city never sleeps." He smirked and walked out.

Shelby whispered, "Yeah."

Rachel said, "Well, he was tall and cute. You think he'll come to the benefit?"

"I doubt he'd be interested."

Kurt was walking down the hallway with Blaine.

Karofsky said, "What the hell are you two doing here?"

Kurt said, "We're here for the benefit. Don't tell me you're thinking of going."

"I wouldn't be caught dead. I was pumping iron in the gym when I found out you two were here."

Blaine snarked, "Would you just give it up? You can live whatever lie you want, but don't pretend what the three of us don't already know."

Kurt said, "Yeah. You're really brave when it comes to your fists, but you're a coward when it comes to the truth."

Anne Marie walked up to them and said, "The truth about what?"

Karofsky said, "It's none of your business, Meryl."

Anne Marie raised her eyebrows and said, "First of all, anything you did became my business when you decided to toss that Slushie up in my face! So, here's what gonna happen. I crack one of your nuts, that's your choice. So you can live to be a jackass another day. Oh, and I also have razor blades you don't know about."

Karofsky grunted and slimed away.

Kurt said, "Thank you for stepping in, Miss Tompkins."

Blaine said, "We could've handled that."

Anne smiled and said, "It was more fun doing it together." Her phone beeped. "Oh, crap!" She ran. Kurt and Blaine walked. Anne said, "Guys, we have a problem. Tori's not coming."

Rachel said, "I knew it! Anyone that beautiful would rather be anywhere else but here."

Shelby asked, "What are we gonna do now?"

Puck said, "I say we blow this whole thing and hit the arcade."

Finn said, "No. Screw that! We have to do this. People came to see us perform. What's that saying? The show has to go...all over the place or something."

Rachel said, "It's the show must go on." Shelby put her hand over her eyes.

Finn said, "Yeah."

Rachel said, "Finn's right. Tina, you're up first."

Tina was singing flawlessly. However, Jacob, Azimio and Becky all shouted at her.

Jacob said, "Where's Rachel Berry?"

Azimio said, "You call that music?"

Becky spouted, "I'm bored!"

Back in the choir room, Tina was sobbing. "I've never felt so bad before in my life."

Artie said, "I never thought people would hate us even more. Maybe we should call the whole thing off."

Will said, "Guys, I hate to say it, but we have to buck up. Sometimes people can be really mean."

Claire said, "And stupid."

Will said, stunned, "Yeah. But that's part of showbiz. There are a lot of unfriendly people in New York. No doubt there could be Vocal Adrenaline hecklers, even at Nationals."

In the auditorium, Anne Marie was singing, "According to You" by Orianthi. She completely blew the audience away, even though there weren't that many people in there. Holly was impressed. Blaine raised his eyebrows in surprise. Finn said, "Man, she's hot."

Puck said, "Smokin' hot."

Quinn said, "Vote Quinn Fabray for prom queen."

Sam said, "And now, please enjoy the dance stylings of Mr. Mike Chang as he moves to Claire Thomas."

Claire was then singing, "Shut Up and Kiss Me" also by Orianthi. One of her favorites. Mike was dancing in the background.

Jacob said, "The music's too loud!"

Claire snarked, "Does it feel like your head's about to explode?"

Kurt stood up with Blaine and they clapped and cheered.

Kurt said, "Whoo!"

Blaine said, "Brava!"

In the choir room, they all clapped and cheered.

Mike said, "That was all kinds of awesome!"

Will said, "Awesome work, girls. You too, Mike."

Claire and Anne hugged.

Quinn asked, "How are we going to keep them from being heckled again?"

Will said, "By being so good they can't heckle us, and I know just the person for the job."

Outside, Rachel wore a raincoat and ran to Shelby's car. She knocked on her window and said, "Hey, can you let me in? Come on, it's raining." Shelby unlocked the door and Rachel came in to sit in the passenger seat. She said to her, "We've been looking for you."

Shelby said, "Don't bother with a pep talk, Rachel. I'm not going back in there."

Rachel said, "Have you ever read anything about Aretha Franklin? She earned her crown when they called her the queen of soul. That's how she gained her respect. Not by demanding for special pillows or food, but by doing what she does best - singing."

"Tell that to Mercedes. Rachel, you always get the best solos, the best songs, all those moments in the sun. Why is it never me?"

"I don't know. But you're just as talented as I am. I get that from you. Look, I'm not saying that it's healthy or better than being loved, but there is nothing that I wouldn't do to be in the spotlight. You and I are gonna sing together. So, come on. What do you say?"

Shelby smiled, "You know I can't resist you."

In the auditorium, Blaine said to Ryerson, "You're a really horrible person, you know that?"

"You sound like my therapist."

Sam said, "And now, please give it up for the dynamic duo of duets, Misses Rachel Berry and Shelby Corcoran."

Rachel and Shelby started to perform, "She's So Gone" by Naomi Scott. Not the type of song that Shelby would normally do, but everyone really seemed to like it. Lemonade Mouth. Good band, bad movie. Rachel and Shelby hugged.

Sam said, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, Miss Holly Holliday and hunky heartthrob Mr. Jack Masterson."

Jack chuckled. "Will is this big showstopper. Finn is soulful. And Kurt is a damn good soprano. I'm just not powerful enough to teach music."

Rachel said, "But you're just as great of a singer as they are. When you walk on that stage, I can tell you're so full of life. You really like doing it. Jack, you belong at this school. You're the most talented, honest, thoughtful, intelligent, and sensitive man I've ever met. You're so kind and open, friendly and funny, and really handsome."

"You really think I'm…good?"

"Absolutely."

Holly started singing "Changes" by David Bowie and Butterfly. Sandy said, "Oh, dear God, I love this song."

Jack sang with Holly. Everyone loved it, even Ryerson. There were tears in his eyes, head over heels for Jack. As soon as they were done, everyone clapped and they took their bow.

Holly kisses his cheek. "Whoever it is that you're interested in…I think you should tell her how you feel. You've got a lot to offer."

Rachel and Jack hugged. He kissed her cheek.

Rachel blushed and said, "What was that for?"

"For just being you. And for giving me a shot."

"Like I had any other choice."

He leaned forward and they kissed.

"Hey, hot stuff," Holly said to Will. "How are the kids doing? They were amaze-balls tonight, right?"

"Yeah, they're good. Everyone's in the choir room. They all want to thank you for helping out with the benefit. Why were in the janitor's closet with the door closed?"

"Oh, because I'm a sub. Guess what? I just got offered a job to teach French in Cleveland. Isn't that great?"

"Full time."

"No. Who are you talking about? Four months, tops."

"Don't you have any feelings about leaving?"

"I told you, Will, I live the glamorous life of a substitute teacher. I'm deathly allergic to commitment. You're too nice. But you broke my record: five dates."

"What? You counted the one we had in the janitor's closet yesterday?"

"That was my favorite one."

Will nodded, "Mine too. You think you'll ever settle down?"

"Maybe." She kisses him and starts to walk.

"Holly, will you come back and visit?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She was walking away.

Shelby was clearing up the stage. Jack walked to her and said, "Hey."

"Hey."

"You guys were really great tonight."

"Well, you and Holly really brought the house down." They sat down.

"I really thought that you and Rachel were the best part."

"Oh, please. Did you see the way everyone was fawning all over you? Rachel and I both agree that that was the perfect closing number."

"This is a good learning experience for me. But I don't know if it's what I really want to do."

"Well, what do you really want to do?"

"Rachel. I want to help Rachel. She's the only one who cares about me."

"That's not true."

"Are you saying you care about me?"

Shelby smiled and said, "Jack." She gently pushes him.

They chuckle.

"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." She put her hand on his shoulder and kisses his cheek. She grunted to get up and walked off. Jack touched his cheek and smiled.

In the choir room, Will asked, "Sandy? What are you doing here?"

Artie smiled and said, "Mr. Ryerson offered to pay for our trip."

Ryerson said, "I tried to be a hater, but I just couldn't do it. After hearing all those songs, it gave me a change of heart. I do miss show choir, Will, but this is where you belong. You just got poked. Poked by the dagger." He walked out without another word. Finn looked confused.

Will said, "Uh, okay."

Artie, Tina, Brittany and Mike were now all set to go to Detroit.

In Jack's apartment… "Ah! Oh, my God, Jack! I can't believe she kissed you!" Rachel shouted excitedly.

"It was just a cheek kiss. I mean, she's done it before, but this one felt like electricity," Jack had a big smile on his face. "I've just never had an experience like that before in my whole life. And I owe it all to you."

"You don't owe me anything. I'm just happy that you're happy. So, A New Hope?"

"In every sense."

In the auditorium, everyone was gathered around. Will said, "All right, guys. Nationals are just a few weeks away. Your singing at Regionals was amazing, but your dancing… It's booty camp time. Vocal Adrenaline takes no prisoners."

Finn accidentally hit Rachel's nose and she went down. Shelby shouted, "Rachel!" She runs to her. Finn said, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Rachel said, "I'm bleeding." She was in a doctor's room. Shelby was standing beside her with worry. Rachel asked, "How bad is it? Be honest."

Shelby raised her eyebrows and said, "Actually, it's really not that bad."

"Well, my dads will be here any minute, Shelby. You don't have to stay."

"No, I need to be here for this. I need to hear what the doctor says. Maybe it's not even broken."

The doctor came in and said, "It's broken."

"Oh, dear God."

"Thankfully it's a clean break, so I won't have to set it. I'd consider this a terrific opportunity."

Rachel asked, "Are you suggesting that I get a nose job?"

Shelby raised her eyebrows again.

"You're 16, right? That's when I gave my daughters theirs. It's a rite of passage for Jewish girls." Shelby glared at him.

Rachel said, "Okay, first of all, I like the way I look."

The doctor asked, "Is she your sister?"

Shelby said, "Yes."

"What does your mother look like?"

Shelby glared at him again.

Rachel said, "Second of all, I don't really want to do anything that could cause severe damage. My Broadway career depends on it."

Shelby said, "Yeah, we have a big show choir competition in a few weeks, and Rachel's our best singer."

Doctor said, "Well, it doesn't impact the voice. The fact is that opening up your septum might allow you to take in more air per breath, which means bigger belts on your high notes."

"But Barbra Streisand…"

"Is great. Also one in a million. I have an appointment open next week. You can think about it. Can I sign you up?"

In the choir room, Quinn asked, "You're getting a nose job?"

Rachel had a strap on her nose. "It's a minor procedure to repair my deviated septum."

Santana said, "So, a nose job."

"Technically. Look, I've embraced my nose. But let's just say it's slightly more demure?" Brittany looked sad for her.

Will said, "Well, what about the risks?"

Santana said, "Hold up. Can we all just be real here? Can we not pretend we all don't have things that we'd want to change about ourselves? Sam with his mouth, Artie with his legs, and Tina with her eyes." Sam pursed his lips. Artie glared at Santana. Tina said, "That's incredibly racist."

Mike asked, "Then why are you wearing blue contacts? Self-hating Asian."

Claire asked, "What's so bad about Tina having brown eyes?"

Tina said, "Thank you."

Finn said, "My dancing kind of bothers me. I mean, it almost killed Rachel."

Will said, "Guys! I'm shocked at what I'm hearing here. It goes against everything the glee club stands for. The thing that you'd want to change the most is the thing that's most interesting about you."

Mercedes said, "Well, maybe, but sometimes the most interesting thing is what other people use against you to crush your spirit."

Will said, "Rachel is beautiful. She doesn't need a nose job."

Emma said, "I don't know what to tell you. Except this. What you need to do is find a way to get Rachel to see that she's perfect the way that she is."

"How long do we have to do this?"

"Until they're all clean."

"I'm really enjoying helping you with your OCD."

"I really don't like that term. But I am appreciative of your help, Will."

"Isn't there some way for you to be eating your food without scrubbing it?"

"Well, I've tried. I mean, I might have been born this way, but this is my lot in life."

At that, Will got an idea. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I think I may have a way to get the kids to accept their differences. With myself and Lady Gaga. I'm gonna need your help."

Santana's voiceover said, "I should be queen at this school. Brittany should dump Artie so she can be with the real queen. God knows Sam doesn't have heat at this school yet. Now, Dave Karofsky…"

Karofsky walked by and took a look at Sam's jeans while Sam was drinking water from a fountain.

Santana's voiceover went on, "Holy crap. I may be a closet lesbian, but that just means I have excellent gay-dar."

In the Lima Bean, Mercedes, Tina and Santana all sat down with Kurt and Blaine. Kurt was just telling them that the Warblers were performing at a strip mall next to a national bank. In the background, Brittany was putting foam on Artie's nose with a straw.

Tina said, "We miss you so much."

Mercedes asked, "Isn't there any way you could come back to McKinley?"

Blaine said, "I told him I would be okay with it if it wasn't for Karofsky. Kurt needs to feel safe."

Kurt said, "Okay, can we please change the subject?"

Santana's voiceover said, "That's it. Kurt's the key to winning Nationals and getting Britt. Even Finn and Quinn would vote for me for prom queen." She stood up and said, "I've gotta gay. Go. I gotta go."

In the choir room, Will wrote "Acceptance" on the white board. Finn raised his hand and asked, "Um, why is Miss Pillsbury here?"

"She's gonna help us with this week's assignment. You don't reject each other. But you don't accept yourselves. We are gonna perform a group number by the queen of self-love, Lady Gaga." Everyone clapped and cheered.

Finn said, "Wait, I still don't know why Miss Pillsbury's here."

Emma said, "I'm here to help you with your T-shirts for the number. All of you will be issued a fitted white T. We will also use this letter press to write a word or phrase that best describes what you'd like to change about yourself, which is super specific."

Will said, "Embrace them. Wear them on your chest with pride."

Mike asked, "Can you give us an example?"

Will said, "Yeah. Shelby?"

Shelby sighed. She unzipped her jacket and revealed a T-shirt that read, "Over-competitive" in all caps. "You guys know about my reputation. I'm all about being theatrical. My walls are lined up with trophies and I'm basically willing to do anything to get to the top."

Brittany said, "Wow. You really are Rachel's sister."

Will said, "Wow, Shelby."

Emma said, "But this plague, in its own way, has made you unique. Everyone, learn from Miss Corcoran's example. She was born this way. Hooray. Hooray!" Will smiled and the school bell rang.

Shelby asked, "What do you think of this for the acceptance project?"

Rachel said, "Uh, I don't know. It seems kind of…you. Thanks for being here with me."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"What's it like? Looking the way you look."

"I try not to think about it. My mom never gave me the time of day growing up. Then you were born when I was 15, and…" She sighed. "Figured our parents gave you up for adoption so that she wouldn't screw you up the way they screwed up me."

"Is that what you think? Shelby, you are not screwed up."

Shelby chuckled. "You know, with every trophy I've earned, I thought that my mother would finally look at me. All she ever did was ignore me."

Rachel looked sad. "Well, the reason I got my trophies was that people could appreciate my talent. All that's ever done is make me seem petty. We both earned our trophies, Shelby. But just because your mother didn't see you that way doesn't mean everyone else doesn't."

The doctor from before walked in and said, "Okay, ready to pull the trigger?"

"No," Rachel said, "not quite yet. I might want to get an idea on what I might look like after the procedure."

"No problem. So, I'll click some pics, make some photo composites and we'll be ready to rock 'n' roll." To Shelby he said, "You know, I never told you last time you have a very nice nose."

"Thank you." Shelby put her hand on Rachel's arm.

Rachel and Quinn were in the choir room singing, "I Feel Pretty from West Side Story and Un-pretty." Mike kissed Tina's cheek and she smiled.

Everyone clapped. Will said, "Big applause, ladies."

Meanwhile, Lauren had decided to run for prom queen with Puck's help. Quinn, of course, was against it.

Quinn walked right up to her and said, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, hey. I'm just running for prom queen."

"Well, you may just get enough votes to win."

"That's sort of the idea."

"And what do you think's gonna happen when they squeeze that tiara on your head? They could spill pig's blood on you."

"Okay. I don't exactly know what your problem is, but you better bring it, Fabray. I keep it real, and the people want a prom queen to be just like them. Not everybody can be born like you."

"You don't know anything about me, Lauren. But you know what? You're about to."

In the Lima Bean, Karofsky said to Santana. "I knew you'd ask me out eventually."

"Cut the crap. I know."

"Know what?"

"That you're gay. I saw you staring at Sam's ass the other day. You know, you need to be more careful with your leering."

"I wasn't leering. I was just checking to see what jeans he was wearing."

"Like that's gonna help your case. Look, at the benefit, when you were worried about the truth getting out, it's out."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I need you. And you need me. We're on the same team."

Karofsky looked confused, but then understood. "You're…?"

"Look, I'm not looking to start any parades or shout it out loud from the rooftops. I'm just trying to help you out here. Have you ever heard the term "beards"? It's about a man and a woman pretending to be an item to hide the fact that they're gay. Like Ellen Degeneres and Neil Patrick Harris."

"Those two never dated."

"You and I are gonna be each other's beards."

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'll tell the whole school about you and your life will be over. You in or not?"

In the teacher's lounge, Shelby poured herself some coffee. A man cleared his throat. She asked, "How are you doing, Jack?"

"Just tell me that it isn't true."

"What?"

"Rachel's getting a nose job?"

"Oh."

"And you're actually letting her do this? How can you actually be okay with this?"

"I'm not. I happen to like Rachel's nose. It's perfect the way it is."

"Then why?"

"Look, she's a teenager. She needs to figure it out for herself. I'm just trying to help her."

Jack walked out. Shelby said, "Jack, wait." She ran after him. "Jack!"

Rachel looked and said, "Jack." She turns away. "I don't want you to see me like this."

Jack put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around gently.

"My nose is broken."

"It'll heal. Besides, you still look the same to me."

"Well, the compositions came back, and I have to say I'm pretty happy with the results." She showed a photo of what she would look like with Shelby's nose and then Quinn's nose. Shelby was in shock when she saw the photos.

Shelby said, "What?"

"Look, if you two aren't willing to support my decision, then I'm pretty accustomed to doing this one my own."

Shelby said, "You cannot be serious."

Jack said, "Rachel, you don't have to get a nose job. You're beautiful."

Rachel smiled, "It's not up for discussion."

Shelby said, "But it's not too late to reconsider."

"No, I've made up my mind."

Back in the teacher's lounge, Will sat down. "Hey."

"Hello, Will," Shelby said. "How's the assignment?"

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

"Oh?"

"The word you had Emma put on your T-shirt."

"Over-competitive? What about it?"

"I was a little bit surprised."

"Look, Will, you know as well as I do that that's who I am. That's who I've always been. Sometimes that's how everyone else is here, too. Sue, Santana, especially Rachel. But even she'd never resort to cheating and I admire her for that. I don't think it's appropriate to talk about things so personal with them. The kids have to trust us. They have to trust me, I'm supposed to be a role model."

Will said, "I know. We're trying to teach them to accept themselves. And I'm glad that you've accepted yours, but Emma and Jack refuse to."

"Look, whatever Emma and Jack choose to put on their T-shirts, that's their choice, not ours."

"You take your job too seriously, Shelby."

Shelby looked somewhat confused.

"We all just humor it because you function so well and you're so good about it, but…sometimes I feel like your teaching job and your personal dealings are what's keeping you from enjoying your life."

"You are being out of line here, Will."

"You know what I want?"

Shelby folded her arms. "What?"

"I want you to have lunch with me."

"I just ate."

"Here. Have a grape."

"I am not gonna sit here and take this from you. I'm not Emma, Will. She has her own problems, and she has to deal with them on her own, whenever she feels comfortable about it on her own time."

"You know what I think, Shelby? I think you are an expert at defiance."

"Oh, really? And what does this make you? This isn't about me, Will. This is about you and Emma."

"I'm just trying to help her."

"If you really want to help her, don't force her." She stood up and walked.

In the choir room, everyone was disagreeing with Karofsky.

Figgins said, "That's all I'm asking. Quiet."

Finn said, "We don't care what he has to say."

Figgins said, "Now, I know David has had some issues in the past, but I have great respect for what he's doing right now."

Sam said, "Why don't we punch his face in?"

Mercedes said, "Right."

Will said, "Hey, that's enough, guys."

Karofsky said, "First of all, I want to say how sorry I am. For what I did to Kurt and all of you. I think I Slushed every single one of you. A montage of Slushie flashbacks occurred. Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes got slushed with blue. Finn and Puck with purple. Shelby and Jack with green and red. Artie and Sam with red. Tina and Mike with red. Claire with Mountain Dew green. Henry and Ian with light blue. Anne Marie with dark red.

Anne Marie and Ian looked at him very angrily.

Karofsky continued, "I treated Kurt the worst."

Puck said, "Why should we believe you?"

"You don't have to. All I can say is that Santana helped me see the light."

Quinn said, "Wait. Santana?"

Santana said, "This glee club is not complete without Kurt." She held his hand. Brittany looked solemn.

Tina said, "I'm gonna barf." Puck looked like he was about to beat her to it.

Karofsky said, "Santana and I started a new anti-bullying club. The Bully Whips."

Santana said, "Name was my idea."

Figgins said, "Those people are going to identify bullying and stop it in its tracks."

Azimio pushed Stoner Brett onto lockers. "I'm saying I want the pants."

Brett asked, "But then what will I wear for the rest of the day?"

"That's your problem, not my problem."

Karofsky said, "Hey, Z. Back off."

"What? What the hell is this? Berets?"

Karofsky said, "I'm planning on reaching out to Kurt personally."

In Figgins' office, Burt said, "You know, you talk a great game, but all I'm hearing is talk. Talk isn't gonna keep people safe."

Figgins said, "But the anti-bullying club that David started will."

"Yeah, and if I took all the water out of the ocean, it wouldn't be wet anymore, would it? The bullying stopped because your top offender stopped."

Paul, Karofsky's dad, said, "Mr. Hummel, can I call you Burt?"

"Of course."

"The last time we were here, I didn't come to David's defense. I believed your son. That's because the boy I raised was a cub scout. He was kind, a good citizen. I still don't know what was going through his mind when all this bullying started. But I can tell you right now that this right here is my son back again."

"Do you have any idea how much stressed this has caused my family? My son having to leave his friends? My wife and I spending money we don't have on private school?"

"Burt, were you always so accepting of homosexuals? You remember what it was like for us, what our parents told us when we were their age. Why can't you give it the time it's given me?"

"Because he said he's gonna kill my son!"

Karaofsky said, "I never actually meant that, though."

"How's he supposed to know that?"

Will said, "Your words still matter, David."

Karofsky said, "I know. And I feel bad about them. Those ones, especially."

Will asked, "What do you think, Kurt?"

Kurt said, "I think he believes what he did was wrong."

Burt said, "You're only saying that because you want to be back in this school so badly."

Kurt said, "Can Dave and I have a moment alone?"

The others left. Kurt asked him, "What's your angle here?"

Karofsky said, "What do you mean?"

"Dave, I know. I haven't told anyone."

"Why? It would've made your life so much easier."

"I don't deny who you are. But I don't out, either. Still, you owe me the truth."

"It was Santana's idea. She wants to be prom queen, so she figures if you come back, it'll get everyone to vote for us."

"I'm repulsed and impressed by her evil ways. A Latina Eve Harrington. Okay, you simply must know who that is. Okay, I have several options here. I can either stay at Dalton, or I can return here and marvel at your pride and success, starting a new chapter P-Flag here at McKinley." Karofsky looked confused. Kurt explained, "Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. You may not need to come out, Dave, but you need to be educated."

"Oh, man, just kill me now."

In the hall, Burt said, "Keep an eye on your brother."

Finn said, "I'm one step ahead of you." He patted his shoulder.

Rachel slowly takes off her bandage. Shelby walks in.

"What do you want, Shelby?"

"I just want to talk."

"Look, it's my nose, okay? I am tired of all the lectures."

"Just hear me out. Honey, your nose is a birthright. It's a sign of survival."

"This has nothing to do with our religion."

"Listen to me. I know you've had it rough, okay? But please think about what you're doing."

Outside, Puck walked to everyone and asked, "What's going on?"

Mercedes smiled and said, "It's noon. It's official."

Sam asked, "What is?"

Kurt said, "My transfer! Kurt Hummel is back at McKinley!"

They all clapped and cheered. He hugged some of them.

Kurt said, "Let me breathe. Let's get ready for Nationals."

Mercedes said, "Not yet. There are some people who want to say goodbye to you, Kurt."

Blaine walked with Wes and David. He said, "Kurt, we're gonna miss you. You were a great addition to the Warblers and you made us a better team. I'm sad to see you leave, but we all know this is something that you really want. I'll still have you on the weekends, but these guys won't, so they're here to say goodbye."

Wes said, "And thank you, Kurt."

Blaine and the Warblers sung Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know."

Kurt hugged Blaine, "I'm never saying goodbye to you." He then hugged everyone else again. Blaine smiled at him.

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror. "Jack? Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you."

"So, um, are you trying out a new fashion statement? Uh, the jacket."

"Oh, right. The acceptance thing. Look, I'm not too proud of what I have on. And since I know for a fact that you're the only one who won't judge me, I figure it only fair and right that you should be the first to see this." He unzips the jacket and opens to reveal a white tee that reads, "Always afraid."

Rachel smiled, "You know, just the fact that you even thought to show me this is in itself brave."

"Heh. Well, nobody's gonna look at me the same way again."

"Maybe they might. If some of them knew, they'd still like you."

"Do you think Shelby knows?"

"She'd want to know."

"You two inspired me, Rachel. When I first got here, I didn't think I'd have any friends. But you were the first person to take a chance on me, and…you really move me."

Rachel blushed. "How do you do that? Every time I'm always kicking myself when I'm down, you always swoop in and save me from myself?"

"Uh…I just feel like I owe you."

"So, you really don't care how I look or dress?"

"Nah. You have your own style. It's you."

Rachel kissed him. She put her hand on his face.

Emma was wiping a chair. The therapist was waiting patiently.

"Okay. There." Emma sat. "Nice and clean."

The therapist said, "I'm afraid we're out of time."

"But I just sat down."

"The therapeutic hour is 50 minutes and you just spent 48 of them disinfecting the chair."

"Really?"

"It's clear you have a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD is very treatable. With time and medication, and a combination of behavioral therapy will help ease your feelings of panic that you might feel if you forgot to unplug the curling iron…. There's a stigma in this country about certain disorders—anxiety, depression, Asperger's, bipolar—they're difficult to diagnose, so people don't always insinuate that they're serious problems, even though they are."

Emma looked down, "Yeah, um…I don't know. I mean, I don't feel comfortable laying down on a couch telling some stranger all my secrets and I don't want to have to start popping pills just to become someone that other people want me to be. This is how I am. This is who I'm supposed to be."

"Your disorder isn't who you're supposed to be. It's what's keeping you from who you're supposed to be. Look, you're a guidance counselor, right? If someone walked in with diabetes, would you give them insulin? Or would you tell them, 'Hey, that's just how you're supposed to be?'"

Emma said, "I-I just feel…so trapped."

The therapist sympathized, "Right. Well, you're not alone. When my daughter was born, I was diagnosed with a severe case of postpartum depression. I would look down at this beautiful baby girl and it would be like all the color had just come from the world. But you know when I started to feel like myself again? When I started talking about it. Well, that's what I'm here for. Can I tell you something, Emma?" She put on glasses. "You're going to get better." She wrote down on her pad with a pen. "Now, I recommend an SSRI. Start with a low dosage, and I would like to see you in about a week." She pulls off the paper and gave it to her.

Shelby was balancing pencils when Jack walked in. He said, "Hi."

"Hey."

"Uh, could I…?"

"Please do."

He sat down.

She opened her jacket. "What do you think?" (Over-competitive)

"I think you're embracing your true self."

"Am I supposed to guess what's on yours?"

Jack sighed and opened his. (Always afraid)

Shelby smiled.

"You must think I'm…a wimp or a coward."

"No. Not at all. I think you're very brave."

"I just…didn't want you to think less of me."

"Jack, I would never think less of you. You know, you're my best friend."

In the hallway, Claire walked to Anne Marie. "Hey. What do you think of this?" Her T-shirt read, "Weird."

"Well, I for one think it's perfect. How do you like mine?" Hers read, "Insecure." "What?" she said. "This is perfect."

"Insecure about what?"

"Basically everything. Anyway, don't get used to it."

"Why not? You're the most amazing woman at this school."

"I don't want anyone to judge us."

"Well, you know you won't get any judgement from me."

In the auditorium, Will clapped his hands. "All right, guys. Listen up, you all did really well this week. I think we came closer as a team. Now, I'd like to show you all my insecurity. Something I've been embarrassed about that I've come to accept this week. Drumroll, Finn." He opened his jacket and his T-shirt read, "Butt chin."

Mercedes said, "I like your chin, Mr. Shue."

Tina said, "I would've gone with tears up a lot."

Rachel walked in and said, "I have an announcement to make. I went to the doctor and canceled my appointment." Will smiled. Shelby smiled in relief.

"Then I went home and made this." Rachel opened her jacket and all it said was, "Nose." "But I still have to kick back while my nose heals, so, Finn, next time, watch out for the schnoz." Finn did a rimshot.

Artie asked, "Where's Santana?"

Sam said, "Probably out somewhere with Karofsky."

Everyone was singing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" while showing off their true selves. Kurt started with, "It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M. I was born this way, baby."

Kurt: Likes boys.

Mercedes: No weave!

Tina: Brown eyes.

Mike: Can't sing.

Artie: Four eyes.

Finn: Can't dance.

Sam: Trout-y mouth.

Lauren: Bad attitude.

Puck: I'm with stupid. With a down arrow.

Brittany: I'm with stoopid. With an up arrow.

Quinn: Lucy Caboose-y.

Emma walked to Will and opened her jacket, hers read, "OCD."

Santana was sitting in the seats with Karofsky.

Say it loud, say it proud.

Rachel walked down the hallway. "Hey, handsome."

Jack smiled, "Hello, gorgeous."

Rachel giggled. They kissed. "So, anyway, I have an important question to ask you, Jack Masterson. Considering that we're together and I think you and your lips are cute, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the prom with me."

"I'd love to. But I don't know if I'm going."

"Are you worried that people will judge us?"

"Why don't you let me think about it? There's still time." He kisses her cheek and walks off.

Will wrote in his office. April Rhodes walked in and said, "Excuse me. Do you know where a gal can find a piping hot cup of Will Schuester?"

"Oh, my God. April." They hug. "I thought you were on Broadway."

"I was. But my all-white production of 'The Wiz' was a disaster."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I should be telling my own story. Cross-Rhodes."

"You're writing a musical?"

"Yes. Now, Will, do you remember I bought you your auditorium?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I need to borrow it. I'm running low on funds."

Rachel ran to Finn. "Hey. We need to talk about Nationals. I think we need to sing a duet."

Finn said, "What's that?"

"The Muckraker. It's the school newspaper. Read the 'Blind Items' column."

Sue has really hit an all-time low. Trying to get the newspaper editors to write propaganda, especially about Sam.

Will and April were having dinner at his place. He told her that there was so much drama that everyone has been dealing with. April said that it was a similar situation to Fleetwood Mac. Will said he had it on LP. April said she sold hers for drugs. "Kidding!" she said. "Nope. Actually not kidding. I really did that." That woman is always drinking.

In the choir room, they were singing "Dreams." Everyone clapped and cheered. Will told everyone to pick a song from the Rumors album and put their own twist on it. Later, Artie rolled to Brittany and asked her what she and Santana were up to. Obviously Santana was manipulating her, but Brittany just couldn't see it. Artie said, "Damn, Brittany, why do you always have to be like this?"

Rachel said, "Stakeout. This is so exciting."

Jack said, "I'm not comfortable with this."

"Then why did you agree to do it?"

"I didn't have anything better to do. Do you believe in karma?"

"Yeah. It's the law of physics."

"My fiancee left me after we were together for so long. I thought I was ready. But was she?"

"Was she beautiful?"

"Yeah. You and Shelby are beautiful."

"What was she like?"

"Fun-loving. Charismatic."

"Why did you love her?"

"I don't know."

"I do. She gave you a new perspective on life. You'd forgive your first love anything. While we're here, have you given any thought to my duet ideas?"

"A couple."

They started kissing. Rachel moaned.

Claire and Anne Marie were seated together at the Lima Bean.

Claire said, "I can't think of anything to sing for the Rumors project."

Anne Marie said, "I can't think of anything either, but we have to sing something. Otherwise, this whole thing is going to blow up right in our faces."

"No, what we need to do is bring people together."

"Is this about you and Henry?"

"No. It's about everyone. I have to fit in at this school."

"You do. You've been proving yourself for months. We all have. Rachel sees something in you. That's why she took a chance on you. Some of the others have even warmed up to us. Henry think you have what it takes to make it."

"I think he only sees me as a friend. Finn must think the world of you."

In the garage, Henry was busy fixing another car.

Ian asked, "So, who are you going to prom with?"

Henry said, "I don't know. But I know who I'd like to take. Shouldn't we be thinking about Fleetwood Mac?"

"Yes, but this made me forget about that. Maybe we should do The Chain. It's the best one in the whole album."

"You want to know who I want to go with to prom? I don't know if I see anything there. She only sees me as a friend."

"So? Who is it?"

Henry checked to see that no one was listening in. "It's Claire."

Ian smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah. But if people find out, I'd never hear the end of it. Everyone at that school is so judgmental. You know what Santana's like."

"Yeah, she's not nice. Puck certainly isn't, either, and don't even get me started on Sue."

"We need to band together. I really need to get the feel with everyone else."

"Does anybody at this school talk to you in a friendly manner?"

"Rachel and Finn do. I think I may have interacted with Artie once."

In a flashback, Artie rolled to Henry. "Hey, Henry."

"Oh, hey, Art. What's up?" They shake hands.

"Do you think you could help me with a Fleetwood Mac song?"

"Yeah, okay. Which one?"

"Never Going Back Again. I just broke up with Brittany."

"And that's bad?"

Back to the present, Ian said, "You actually said that to him?"

"Oh, come on, Brittany's not exactly bright."

"I don't disagree with you there."

"Besides, if he's asking me to do a number with him, at least that'll get Puck and Mike off my back. I don't want to feel threatened."

"It's Will we gotta watch out for."

The school bell rang. In the teacher's lounge, Shelby and Jack talked.

Jack told her, "And then at one point, Justin threw the ball and it bounced off the net and went over the fence."

Shelby laughed. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not."

April walked in and said, "Well, don't you look like the hit of the town."

Shelby said, "I'm sorry. Do I know you? You seem kind of familiar to me."

"Oh, well, where are my manners? I'm April Rhodes. I bought the auditorium at this school." They shake hands.

"Noted. I'm Shelby. Shelby Corcoran."

"Now, are you sure we've never met? Because you look like you have a sense of Broadway about you."

Shelby raised her eyebrows. "Uh, heh."

Jack said, "Maybe you two knew each other in another life. I'm Jack. I don't suppose Will has ever mentioned me."

April said, "Well, he certainly hasn't, but I wish he had. Anyway, I'm off. Don't let me keep you." She whispered to Shelby, "He's cute."

Shelby smiled at her.

Henry said, "Hey."

Anne Marie said, "Hey."

"Look, I've been meaning to apologize about…that thing between you and I. It wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No. Henry, it's fine."

In the choir room, Finn and Anne Marie were singing, "I Don't Want to Know." Anne was strumming her guitar.

Will said, "Okay. Great job, you guys."

Rachel said, "It was lovely, but I prefer it when Miss Tompkins is singing with Mr. Rivers."

In the choir room the next day, Shelby looked over some sheet music. Jack walked in. She said, "Hey. What's going on?"

"I thought you'd might like some company. I can't stand being in the same room with the others right now, what with all the rumors they've been spreading about each other. It's just too much for me."

"I get it."

"So, what's that?"

"I'm trying to think of the perfect song for everyone to sing at Nationals. I'm at the end of my rope."

"Maybe you don't have to be."

"What do you mean?"

"You and Rachel are the biggest powerhouses at this school. Well, every other person has something to offer, too. Mercedes and Artie have soul. Mike can really dance. Finn shows promise. All they have to do is find that common ground and see how they can make it work."

Shelby crossed her arms. Jack looked at her and said, "What? What is that look?"

"Nothing, it's just… I've never seen you with so much passion before. It's kind of refreshing."

Looks like Shelby might finally be warming up to Jack.

Jack said, "You have real talent, Shelby. I know it won't go to waste."

"I know I've already said this enough, but you're the best friend I've ever had."

"Uh…I-I have to go." He walked off.

Shelby turned around.

In the teacher's lounge, Emma ate a grape.

Will said, "Emma, did you wash those grapes?"

"For about a half hour. I just let them sit in some cold water."

"Still."

"I've been taking my medication."

"I'm so proud of you, Emma."

"You inspired me, Will. I saw you and April sing on stage. You're really good."

Will said, "These kids. You. You all saved my life. I want to go on Broadway so badly. But we're so close."

Back in the choir room, Rachel was singing "Go Your Own Way." Looking at Jack most of the time. He smiled. Finn was drumming but also smiling at Rachel. When she was done, Quinn said, "Don't you think it's maybe a little inappropriate that you're singing a love song to my guy?"

"Oh, you're such a hypocrite, you little miss perfect prom queen. I wasn't even singing to him!"

Santana said, "You know, I blame Sam for all this."

Lauren said, "Why doesn't Sam have anything to say about it?"

Artie said, "Guilt."

Puck said, "Seriously, dude."

Will said, "Wait, hold on."

Sam said, "My dad lost his job a few months ago."

Finn asked, "Then why were you in that motel?"

"Because that's where I live now." He stood up. "Are you all happy?!" He walked out.

Shelby said, "Okay. What just happened?"

Claire said, "Sue happened." Will looked at her.

Rachel was conflicted. Realizing she still had feelings for Finn but still having feelings for Jack. It was a centuries' old dilemma. Being in love with two people at the same time. Rachel felt like a regular old bachelorette. Speaking of conflict, Santana was dealing with emotions herself. Not at all confused about her affections for Brittany, but also worried about the truth getting out. She'd never live it down. They all knew how hard and painful it was for Kurt. It couldn't have been easy for him to come out, but he did. What would Karofsky do if people found out about him? What people look at him the same? Would they treat him differently? And then there's Will's situation about wanting to go on Broadway with April, despite the fact that they were about to go to Nationals in New York.

After discovering Sam's situation, Rachel and Finn decided to be the first ones to help him out. They bought him back his guitar, and we are introduced to his brother and sister, Stevie and Stacey. Sweet, adorable kids.

In the auditorium, Sam brought them in to sing "Don't Stop" with the others. Unfortunately, April had to take off again after that, but she had a lot of fun.

Figgins opened his door and said, "I'm afraid have some bad news." Will walked in with Shelby and Jack. Figgins said, "Junior prom is in one week and my favorite band cancelled."

Will asked, "What band?"

"Air Supply, William. So, I'm inviting my next favorite group, the New Directions."

Shelby said, "That's great, Figgins."

Will said, "I agree. But Nationals are in three weeks, which means we have a lot of rehearsal and we still have to sell a lot of taffy so we can afford the trip."

Figgins said, "William, this glass is half full for all of us. I can pay you the money I was going to pay Air Supply. So, that's $400 right there for you."

Shelby said, "Fine."

Jack asked, "Wait, why am I here?"

Figgins said, "We need all the ideas we can get."

Shelby said, "That shouldn't be much of a problem. When I was on Vocal Adrenaline, we had a very active budget. Now that I'm no longer coaching the team, I am also no longer part of the budget. That's just the way it goes. But I'll still be able to do my part."

Figgins said, "Miss Corcoran, you are as wise and magnanimous as you are generous."

"Thank you."

"We also need to raise money for the school for all the crap that Sue printed in the school newspaper last week."

Jack said, "Well, in that case, allow me to make the first donation." He gave Figgins a check. He was surprised.

"Mr. Masterson, this is most generous."

Will said, "Jack, how can you afford this?"

"I come from a pretty big family and we have some leftover money saved. Besides, it'll be worth every penny to see Sue get what she deserves."

Figgins chuckled. "You have a bargain."

Will smiled at Jack. "Thanks, Jack." He patted his back. "We'll really owe you. If you'll excuse me." He walked out.

Shelby said, "So, are you not going to chaperone the prom? I was hoping maybe we could hang out."

Jack said, "Actually, Rachel asked me to go with her."

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. She's really fragile right now and I think that maybe going to prom with her might be kind of fun. But…"

"Is this about your old flame?"

"Look, there's more than one reason why I came here. Yeah, I needed a reason to get out of the house after I was dumped. I thought that if I raised enough money, I could maybe find a way to get my life back together."

"Is that all?"

"We're best friends. I know we're not supposed to keep secrets from each other. I was hoping to surprise you."

"Jack, you always surprise me. Look, whatever your reasons, you don't have to be embarrassed."

In the choir room, Will wrote "Prom."

Sam said, "Please tell me we're not doing songs about prom."

"Nope. We are the prom. Figgins asked us to sing."

Brittany said, "Well, I don't have a date for prom. Your dates will be my dates."

Rachel walked to Jack. "Hey."

"Hi, Rachel."

"You know, you still haven't given me an answer about prom."

"Oh. That."

"Look, it's this Saturday. If you don't want to go with me, just say so."

"No. Rachel, it isn't that. It's just…the last prom was the best night of my life. But times are different now. I'm afraid that if I go, it won't be as much fun."

"You want to recreate the perfect night, but it might not go as you planned. You're afraid of being disappointed. I get that. I may have an idea."

That night at Breadstix, Kurt said, "Give me your hand. Blaine, will you go to the junior prom with me?"

"Prom?"

"It'll be the social event of the season. You don't want to go with me?"

"No, no, no. Of course, of course I want to go with you. It's just…prom."

"What about it, Blaine?"

"Last year, we had a Sadie Hawkins dance at my old school. I had just come out, and this only other gay guy was my date. When we were waiting for his dad to come get us, these three guys beat the living crap out of us."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm out and I'm proud and all that."

"We can go to a movie instead," Kurt insisted.

"I am crazy about you."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Yes," Blaine smiled.

Kurt jumped with happiness in his seat.

"We're going to the prom."

The next day, Rachel and Mercedes were in the auditorium with Sam. They asked him to go to the prom with them on a budget. Rachel suggested that Jack was gonna be the driver. Mercedes said that Jack would look so cute as a chauffeur. In a classroom, Kurt was helping Santana and Lauren wear some dresses. Tina and Brittany were sitting on either side of him. Kurt also announced that he was going to prom with Blaine, which the girls were very excited about.

Puck went to Artie in the hallway, asking him to spike the punch bowl. Artie asked why would he ever want to go for that. Puck said it was the perfect opportunity to win prom king so that Lauren could be prom queen. So, he decided to show off his dance moves in front of Sue as a distraction so that Artie would pour from the flask.

The day after that, Rachel was singing "Rolling in the Deep." Much to her surprise, Jesse made an appearance.

"It's good to see you again, Rachel."

"Jesse. What are you doing here?"

"I was majoring in show choir. I came back to see you."

"Yeah. It was kind of weird."

"I've come to make amends. What are you doing for prom?"

"Well, I asked my boyfriend, but he wasn't interested, so."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't say that he and I are exclusive, but we have a special connection."

"And he still turned down your prom-proposal?"

"He has his reasons. I really, really like him. He's actually going to be our driver."

"So, why don't you go with someone else? That way you won't have to go by yourself."

Finn walked with Rachel in the hallway the next day. "So I heard a nasty rumor that Jesse St. James is back in town and he's going to be your prom date."

"No, he's just going with Mercedes, Sam and I on a budget."

"I just don't trust him."

"He's only going to be in town for a while, so I don't really know what's to come of it."

"You know, I don't even care about prom anymore. Quinn's handing out pens with our names on them."

"Get her something simple like a wrist corsage."

In Kurt's house, Finn sat down next to Blaine watching a football game with Burt. Kurt walked downstairs to show off his tuxedo with a kilt.

Blaine said, "So it's cool if I jam with you guys at prom?"

Finn said, "Yeah. Totally."

Burt said, "I remember what I wore at my prom. I looked like Tony Orlando."

Blaine asked, "Was he a designer?"

"No."

Kurt showed off his suit with a kilt.

Finn said, "Dude, that rocks. You look like a gay Braveheart."

Kurt said, "Thank you."

Burt said, "I don't like it."

"Of course you don't."

"Look, Kurt, I want you to be yourself. But I also want you to be practical. There are a lot of bad people out there, worse than this Karofsky kid. They're just going to light a match to fire their hate."

"What's the point of dressing up?"

Blaine said, "I think your dad has a bit of a point. I don't want them to give us a reason to cause any trouble."

Kurt nodded, "Okay, I have done everything right."

Kurt was walking with Karofsky. "Have you noticed that no one has said boo to me this week?"

"That's because the bully whips are protecting you."

"Maybe no one's been harassing me because nobody cares. I see how miserable you are, Dave. I mean, I could just hate you when you were bullying me, but now all I see is your pain."

Karofsky took his hat off and look depressed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so freaking sorry, Kurt. Just sorry for what I did to you."

"I know," he nodded. "I know."

"Cool. You'll wait for me here, all right?"

In Shelby's apartment the next night, it was finally time for prom. Shelby wore a black dress. She said, "Are you ready yet? We have to get to prom on time, Rachel."

"Just a minute."

There was a knock on the door. Shelby walked to it and opened it. Jack turned around wearing a dashing black suit.

"Hey," Shelby smiled.

Jack was left speechless. "Shelby, y-you look beautiful."

"Thank you. You look handsome, too."

Rachel said, "Okay. I'm ready. Let's go. Wow."

Shelby said, "Wow is right."

Jack said, "You look incredible, Rachel."

Rachel said, "Really?"

Shelby said, "Rachel, you are going to light up the prom tonight."

Jack said, "I'll wait in the car. Mercedes and Sam are waiting."

Jesse said, "Alright, let's get this over with. Miss Corcoran."

Shelby said, "Hello, Jesse. You've got a hell of a lot of nerve coming back here."

"Hey, now, is that any way to treat your favorite student?"

"Yeah, well, you're not my student anymore."

"Don't get huffy with me. You were the one who dragged me to see her."

"I told you. I signed a contract."

Rachel asked, "What contract?"

Jesse said, "Oh, so you still haven't told her yet."

Shelby said, "It's a long story. Oh! Jesse, this is Jack. Jack, Jesse."

Jesse was intrigued when he saw Jack. "Oh, so you're Jack Masterson." They shake hands. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Jack said, "Uh, I'm from Los Angeles."

"That's probably it."

Shelby said, "Look, can we just go already? I don't want to food to get cold."

Jesse chuckled. Jack said, "So, what do you think of the suit?"

Rachel said, "You're the most handsome thing in the world to me." She kissed him. "Uh, come on, let's go."

At Quinn's house, she put on her eye makeup and pictured herself and Finn as prom king and queen. Her mother called her downstairs, Finn took one look at her and was in awe. He gave her the corsage without any hesitation.

Henry put on his tuxedo in his house. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm all set. I wish I could take Claire."

Ian said, "Except this is a junior prom, and you're a senior and she's a freshman, so you can't."

Anne Marie said, "Don't worry, though. She'll still be there. We'll all have a wonderful time, and no one will have to stand in line for pictures." She had on a very stunning dress, not the kind of blue that would match Quinn's, but it was her own personal shade.

Henry asked, "So, do you really find it a good idea for me to be there?"

Ian said, "Why not? Artie, Tina and Blaine are sophomores, and Blaine doesn't even go to McKinley."

Then at Breadstix, Rachel was sitting with Jesse and Mercedes was sitting with Sam. Rachel told Jesse about Sam's current situation. Finn and Quinn met them there. By the time they were done, they were all at the gym.

Jack started to sing and dance for the Glee Club. He was singing "Save the Last Dance" by Michael Buble. The girls were fawning over him, except for Santana, who was just mildly impressed. Mike himself was impressed with his dancing. Rachel couldn't help but smile, and Kurt and Blaine were melting at the sight of them. Artie, Puck and Sam were on stage singing with him. Rachel was clapping vigorously, Santana was clapping slowly. Brittany shouted, "Best prom ever!"

Rachel took one look at Jack and smiled. She put her hand on her chest.

Henry asked her, "Rachel, are you okay?"

"I think my heart just skipped a beat."

Rachel was singing Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts."

Kurt asked, "Don't you love how prom night is so inclusive this year?"

Henry said, "Claire?"

"Hi, Henry. Henry? Would you like to dance?"

"Why, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

Sam said, "Mercedes, I just wanted to tell you you look beautiful. Would you like to dance?"

Mercedes smiled and said, "I'd love to."

Applause. Quinn said to Finn, "I'm so happy to be here with you."

Puck tried to distract Sue. She caught Artie with a flask. She took him to her office. "It was Puckerman, wasn't it? Oh, he'll get expelled. And you'll have one less mohawk for Nationals."

Artie said, "Look, I just want to have one dance with Brittany."

Blaine was singing, "DJ Got Us Falling in Love Again" by Usher and Pitbull. Yeah, that's right. Tina and Brittany were dancing beside him. Puck and Lauren were dancing together. Mercedes was doing the robot.

Finn walked to Jesse. "Hey. Keep it PG."

Jesse said, "It's none of your business."

"Yeah, well, this is my school, so it is my business."

"She's not your girlfriend, so beat it, MJ."

Then they took turns pushing each other. Rachel and Quinn tried to stop them. Becky said, "Code blue in the gym, Coach!"

Shelby said, "Finn! Jesse!"

Jack said, "Hey, cool it over there!"

Finn tried to take a swing at Jesse, then Sue grabbed him and said, "Prom is over for you, Sugar Ray! You too, Marvelous Marvin!" They all walked out.

Figgins said, "Will the candidates for king and queen gather onstage? This is the moment you've all been waiting for. Drumroll, please. This year's prom king is…David Karofsky!" Some of the guys said, "Yeah!" Applause and cheers were met. Karofsky received his crown. Figgins continued, "And this year's prom queen is… There seems to be a mistake."

Claire said, "No, what was a mistake is Karofsky winning prom king."

Shelby pursed her lips.

Anne Marie said, "Who the hell did this?"

Ian said, "Uh…"

Out in the hallway, Kurt ran and Blaine ran after him.

Blaine said, "Kurt, wait, stop."

Kurt said, "All that hate, they were too afraid to say it out loud."

Santana walked into the choir room. "How could my running mate win and not me?"

Brittany said, "It's just a crown. You can buy them at any party store."

Ian said, "Would you at least sit down?"

Henry said, "Wasn't this prom supposed to be about redemption? They didn't even acknowledge us!

"So, do you want to leave?"

"If we leave now, all it's gonna do is give me a lump in my throat."

"So what do you want to do?"

"This is my senior year. I'm gonna go out with a bang if it's the last thing I do."

Kurt said, "They can't touch me, they can't touch us, or what we have."

In the girls room, Rachel said, "Most people would be upset, but I happen to appreciate the drama."

Shelby said, "I know you think it's hard to be you, Rachel. You don't have to be terrified all the time."

Rachel asked, "What are you scared of?"

"Not proving my mother wrong."

"You have nothing to be afraid of. You're a fierce woman, Shelby. Boldest one I've ever met. You're a lot more than that. You're not your mother. You're you. And you are not a disappointment."

Santana said, "They must've sensed that I was a lesbian. Do I look like a golf course?"

Brittany said, "They don't know what you're hiding. If you were to embrace the awesomeness, you would've won."

"How do you know?"

"Because I voted for you. And I believe in you, Santana."

In another classroom, Claire said, "Prom sucks. What are we gonna do?"

Anne Marie said, "We're gonna go back out there and be there for Kurt. And everybody else. I'm sure it's harder for him as it is for the rest of us."

Blaine asked, "Are you ready for this?"

Sue said, "Well, it's 10 pm."

Artie said, "Look, I'm not gonna rat out somebody for doing something that I did. I poured lemonade into the punch."

"Wait, so you didn't spike the punch?"

"No, I didn't. I was only trying to impress a girl."

"Well, then why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

Back in the gym, everyone was murmuring. Kurt walked on stage.

Tina whispered to Mike, "Oh, God, I feel so bad for him."

Figgins said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Kurt Hummel."

Kurt muttered, "Beat that, Kate Middleton."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Rachel jumped up and down for him. Figgins chuckled. Kurt said, "Now's your moment."

Karofsky said, "What?"

"Make a difference."

"I can't."

Mercedes and Santana were singing Mamma Mia's "Dancing Queen."

Kurt and Blaine danced together. Jack walked up to Rachel and said, "Excuse me." Rachel turned around in surprise. Jack held out his hand and said, "May I have this dance?" Rachel smiled and beamed, "Yes! I mean, sure. Yeah. Of course you may."

Mercedes and Sam walked out with Tina and Mike. Rachel said, "Good night, you guys. See you on Monday." She and Shelby hugged.

Shelby said, "Well, this was definitely a night to remember."

"I'm sorry if it was too much for you."

"I'm sorry about the whole Jesse situation."

"It-it's fine. Really. I'll see you in the car." She walked off. Jack walked out, "So, I guess my search has come to an end."

Shelby turned around. "What do you mean?"

"I came to McKinley hoping for a fresh start. And, well, despite all the horrible people at this school, I realized that I have a lot to offer the world. Rachel was the first person to help me see that."

"Well, Rachel's very lucky to have you as a friend, Jack. And so am I." She kissed his cheek. "Uh…"

Jack smiled and felt his face burn. He cleared his throat, and then she cleared hers. Jack asked, "So, uh, do you want me to walk you to your car?"

Shelby said, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'd-I'd really enjoy that." They interlocked arms and walked.

"Uh, that's a…really nice dress."

"Thanks. And, um…your suit looks good on you."

By the time they got to Shelby's apartment, she opened her door, wearing Jack's coat. "You know, I have to say, despite all that had happened tonight, I'm really glad you came."

"Me too."

"Uh," she took it off, "here, here's your jacket back."

"Thanks. Uh…good night, Shelby."

"Good night, Jack." She closed her door and Jack almost lost his balance. He walked off with a smile on his face. Shelby felt her heart race and her face heat up. She put her hand on her cheek and said, "Oh, my God," while smiling.

Will said, "New Directions, I would like to introduce you to our temporary consultant, Jesse St. James." Rachel was the only one to clap her hands. Mercedes shook her head.

Finn said, "I don't trust this guy." Lauren nodded.

Will said, "Guys, I make all the calls. This is it. We've been working hard for two years to get to this moment." Mercedes and Brittany nodded. "Now, I think we should do an original song for this competition. I was thinking of a group number and a duet."

Finn said, "Rachel and I should be singing a duet. We killed it at Regionals last year."

Jesse said, "May I? Now we all agree that Rachel should take the solo and Shelby should take the lead. Mike Chang can at least dance." Mike pursed his lips.

Mercedes asked, "So what does everyone else do?"

Puck asked, "And who's our star performer?"

Rachel suggested, "Let Claire have a shot."'

Claire said, "No."

Will said, "Oh, come on, Claire. You're every bit as talented as everyone else in this room. You and Henry should perform the duet."

Finn said, "Yeah, Mr. Shue's right, Claire. You've earned this."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Becky said, "Mr. Shue?"

Will said, "Hey, Becky."

A woman walked up and said, "Mr. Shue, I'm Donna Jackson, Becky's mom."

In the auditorium, Becky asked Will to join the glee club.

"That's great, Becky," he said. "Can you sing?"

"Not really."

"But I thought you were having fun on the Cheerios."

Donna said, "Sue kicked her off."

In a flashback, Sue said, "Becky, you're off the Cheerios. Is that understood?"

"Did I do something wrong, Coach?"

"Quite the opposite. I want your pompoms on my desk by the end of the week."

Back in the present, Will said, "Becky…we're a week away from Nationals. I would love to have you join next year, though."

Donna said, "Thank you for your time."

Becky said, "I hate this school."

Will walked in the teacher's lounge and said, "You are a terrible person. Becky was loyal to you, Sue. She had a purpose on the Cheerios, and then you just take it away from her!"

"Well, William, I have a good reason. She reminds me of my sister."

"You love your sister."

"I do, William, and she passed yesterday."

"…What?"

"The doctor said she had pneumonia last week. They said it wasn't that bad. They put her on antibiotics. Last night, I got the call at 2 a.m. that she passed away in her sleep."

"Sue, I am so sorry."

"Would you leave me alone, please?" She put her glasses on.

In the hallway, Rachel signed up for the solo. "Hey, Finn, are you trying out to get the solo?"

Finn said, "No. I'm not auditioning."

"You're really good, Finn."

"No, I'm Lima good, not New York City good."

Shelby walked down the hall. She exhaled, folded a document, and then gasped. "Jack, hi." "Hi, Shelby."

"Uh…so, um…I-I haven't seen you much since prom night. Uh…what's, uh, what's going on?"

In the teacher's lounge, Jack said, "I was going to call you, but I figured I should tell you in person. I got a job offer back home in LA."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They heard what great progress I've been doing here lately. Supporting me and my family. They offered me a position is economics. They want me to be top executive."

"That's great, Jack. I'm really happy for you."

"But I'll be gone for the whole summer."

"Oh. Really? That soon?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I'll miss you."

He smiled at her.

Her cheeks started to turn pink. "Uh, I, um…"

"Yeah."

She cleared her throat. "So…when do you have to leave?"

"They haven't given me a definite date or time yet, so I'll probably get an answer by the end of the week."

Shelby nodded and the school bell rang.

In Sue's office, she was going over some of Jean's belongings in boxes.

Kurt and Finn walked in with flowers and a stuffed cat. Sue told them to put them with the other gifts. Finn picked up a cassette. "Willy Wonka?"

Sue said, "That was Jean's favorite movie."

Kurt said, "We know what it's like to lose someone close to you."

Finn said, "Kinda. My dad died when I was a baby."

Kurt said, "Yeah. His dad's dead. My mom's dead. Have you told your mother yet?"

"As far as I'm concerned, she said her goodbyes to us years ago. Just riddle me this, Eddie and Herman Munster. Why was it her time and not mine? She was the sweetest person I knew. And I'm the meanest. So why am I still here talking to the two of you?"

In the choir room, Santana asked, "Okay, I'm willing to put the fun back in funeral as much as the next gal, but why would we ever help Sue Sylvester plan a service?"

Kurt said, "We're not doing this for Sue. We're doing it for her sister."

Finn said, "Jean was just like us, guys. An underdog and an outsider."

Jesse said, "Can I say something?" Shelby and Jack look at him and he went on, "When a person dies, it's a tragedy, but it's also part of life. You can't let death put your life on hold."

Henry asked, "Does he have to be in here?" Finn chuckled.

Jesse said, "As I was saying, I don't think you should be planning a funeral the same week you should be setting for Nationals."

Shelby said, "Jesse."

Jack said, "You're not serious."

Jesse said, "Actually, yes, I am. Do you have any idea what Vocal Adrenaline is doing right now? They're in their third week of rehearsal. They're in an IV drip. Do you know what happens when someone dies during a number? They use them as a prop."

Jack said, "No. Thanks for your input, Jesse, but these people have their sights set on helping plan the service for Sue's sister."

The others nodded. Jack continued, "We're doing this."

Will smiled at him with respect. Jesse sighed and clicked his pen. Finn smirked.

In the hallway, Jack was walking and Shelby ran after him. "Hey, Jack, wait up." He turned around and Shelby said, "That was amazing back there. What got into you?"

"Um, I don't know. Spunk, I guess. I didn't like the way Jesse was talking. Somebody needed to set him straight."

Shelby nodded and said, "Well, once we find out what we're gonna do with the ceremony, we'll get everything set up and in place."

"You wouldn't want to hang out later, would you? I mean, I thought maybe we could sing a duet together."

"Really? I'd love to."

They were in a classroom. A guitar started strumming and they were singing "Heal the Pain" by George Michael.

Shelby said, "You are really, really good."

Jack smiled, sheepishly, and said, "Yeah, well, I mean…"

"Jack, would you like to come with us to Nationals?" Jack looked up. "I-I just thought that, you know, after…you know, everything…"

Jesse slammed some piano keys.

Shelby was startled, she jumped in Jack's arms. "Um…uh…" They were blushing and chuckling. "So, I'll, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." He walked out.

Shelby was blushing and her heart was beating super fast.

In the auditorium the next day, Will was seated with Shelby and Jesse. He said, "I'm still not convinced this is a good idea. I don't want the kids to feel like they're worthless."

Jesse said, "But that's a crucial part of the process. When I was at UCLA, I took a class for judging reality shows. I learned a lot. It was a good class, so I'm totally ready to give feedback that's blistering and helpful."

Shelby said, unenthused, "Fine."

Jack walked on stage to get everything set up. Shelby's heart started racing.

Jesse said, "We're ready for our first contestant."

Shelby said, "Hey, is anyone else hot? It's really toasty in here."

Jesse said, "Uh, it's perfectly air conditioned."

Henry said, "Hi. I'm Henry Reynolds and I will be singing 'The Kind of Man I Am' by Todd Carey."

Jesse said, "I have no idea who that is."

Will said, "Okay. Whenever you're ready, Henry."

Shelby took a drink of water. She gulped and sighed. Jesse looked at her.

Henry played his guitar and sung the song with great anticipation and feeling. Will and Shelby clapped. Will said, "Not bad. Not bad at all, Henry. Well done."

Shelby said, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

Jesse said, "Thanks so much for coming in."

Santana said, "Wait, that's all of you to say? You spent the entire performance scribbling notes." Will and Shelby looked at Jesse's paper and saw that he drew a cat.

Shelby said, "You drew a picture of a damn cat."

Jesse said, "It's all about respect."

Henry said, "I'll show you some respect."

Shelby raised her eyebrows. Will said, "Okay, thank you! Henry. That's all we'll need." Santana look surprised. Mercedes tried not to laugh.

Henry said, "Miss Corcoran." Shelby smiled and nodded. Henry walked away.

Jack sat down next to Shelby. "Hey."

"Hey."

Jesse looked at them. Anne Marie and Ian made a comeback on the stage. "Hello. I'm Anne Marie Tompkins. This is Ian Rivers. And we will be performing

Bop to the Top from High School Musical. Will said, "Great selection, guys. Let's hear it."

Jesse raised his eyebrows. Will was liking what he was seeing. Applause and cheering ensued after they were done. Will laughed with excitement. Claire said, "Do you see why we love the theater?"

Will said, "Great job, you two. That was so much fun."

Shelby said, "Almost as good as the original."

Jesse said, "Considering you two are supposed to be teachers, even though it was an exciting performance, I just don't think it's quite what we're looking for."

Anne Marie pulled Ian away.

Jesse said, "Usually at this point, the reality show would go to commercial. You know, you're doing a great job. Shelby, I will see you in five. Jack, you should really comment more."

Shelby saw Jesse, sighed and said, "I don't know why I even bother with him."

Five minutes later…

Will said, "Oh, good, Claire's here."

Shelby said, "Okay, honey. What are you gonna sing?"

Jesse said, "Something from High School Musical, I bet."

Claire said, "Actually, I was thinking somewhere along the lines of…this." "Peeking Through" from Skyway Flyer.

Shelby said, "I like this one already."

Claire was singing. Shelby was tapping her foot. "God, she's good."

Rachel said, "Isn't she fabulous?"

Will clapped, "Wow. Claire, seeing you up there reminds me of the first time you auditioned for glee club. You were great back then, but you are just amazing now. Thank you for singing that."

"Thank you, Mr. Shue."

Jesse said, "You're not a star yet. You're just a girl who can really sing. Do you want this badly enough, Claire?"

Claire said, "Oh, like you could've come up with a song like this on the spot."

Shelby raised her eyebrows. "She's got you there."

Jesse said, "Whoever gets this solo has to work on it day by day. Do you think you're ready?"

Will said, "I do."

Shelby said, "Me too."

Claire said to Jesse, "You are not whelmed. Not whelmed at all." She walked off.

Shelby said, "Whelmed." She nodded.

Mercedes said, "I hate him."

Claire told her, "Get in line."

Rachel got on stage and said, "Hello. I'm Rachel Berry and I will be singing the most difficult Broadway song ever sung. Streisand's final song of my favorite movie, Funny Girl." Shelby smiled warmly.

Jesse asked, "Rachel, are you singing to anyone in particular?"

"Well, there is one person."

Jesse said, stunned, "Oh."

Rachel was trying hard not to look at Jack while singing "My Man."

Kurt said, "She may be difficult, but, boy, can really sing. Bravo!" He clapped. Shelby shouted, "That's my girl!" She got up and clapped. Jack stood up and clapped as well. Claire applauded. Anne Marie and Ian also clapped and stood up. Anne whooped while Ian whistled. Henry clapped as well.

Jesse said, "I have to be honest. That was brilliant. I have nothing to give you but the tip of my hat."

Jack said, "Oh, is that what you say every time you click your fancy pen?"

Shelby chuckled. Jesse looked at her. She cleared her throat and said, "What? You were the one who told him to comment more."

Mercedes giggled. Santana said, "This is garbage. He'll only accept her."

Will said, "Guys, remember. I make the final call here, not Jesse."

Jack said, "So, do you think Jesse has finally run out of words?"

Shelby said, "I have no idea. He does look a little out of breath, though."

They chuckled.

In Shelby's apartment, Rachel was laying down on her couch while Shelby was sitting on the floor. Rachel said, "That was really intense. I thought I was gonna blow that last note."

"I didn't. You were amazing as usual. Really brought the house down."

"Hey, you really let Jesse have it."

"Yeah, well, I guess he just wasn't the guy I thought he was. Rachel, you deserve to have someone in your life who is incredible. Someone who has a unique sense of style, someone cool, intelligent, caring…and just…wonderful."

"Is this about Jack Masterson? Oh, my God, you like him, don't you?"

Shelby smiled and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Oh, my God, your face is blushing."

Shelby smiled and blushed pink again. "Rachel… I guess I just… Well, when I first saw him, I admit I thought he was super cute." Rachel smiled. "But then after prom, I just…started seeing him in a different way. He makes me feel like I'm 18 again. I've never known what it was like to have a crush before."

Rachel said, "Wait, seriously? This is your first crush?"

"Well, I've dated a bunch of guys before, but…this is my first real…serious crush."

"So are you gonna tell him?"

"What? No."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." "No, Rachel, it's not that I don't want to. It's just, well, this is the first time I've ever really felt like this."

"You've never been in love before?"

"Well, not seriously, anyway. Do you think that…? Do you think that he might be into me?"

Rachel looked surprised for a bit, then said, "Well, I mean, it's not my place to say, but…I think you should tell him. Trust me, it'll be worth it."

Outside of the chapel, Rachel and Shelby were getting ready to enter. Jack walked out of his car and Rachel smiled when she saw him. Shelby also smiled when she saw him, and while he was walking in slow-motion, her heart started to race. "He's so frickin' handsome." She turned to Rachel and asked, "Rachel, how do I act cool around him?"

Rachel smiled and said, "You're seriously asking me that question? Look, all you have to do is be yourself."

He stopped and said, "Hi." She also said, "Hi." Rachel said, "Hi," as well and said, "I'm gonna go inside."

Shelby said, "So, um…" She wiped her eyebrow. "Do you want to sit together?"

"Yes."

Inside, everyone was seated. The minister said, "Welcome to the most unusual funeral I have ever attended. It makes sense, considering Jean is the most unusual person I've had the pleasure to spend every Sunday for the last 30 years with. Jean's sister Sue would like to say a few words."

Sue got up and put on her reading glasses. "I miss my sister," she read. "She used to call me on the phone, and when I asked her why, she told me that her body told her she wanted to hear my voice." She looked sad.

Will stood up and picked up for her where she left off. "I miss my sister," he read. "When you love someone like I loved her, they're a part of you. It's like you're attached to a tether, and no matter how far you are, you can always feel them. I miss her so much. Just one more time I want to hold her. But I can't. I won't. I love you, Jeanie. Rest in peace."

They all stood up. Finn said, "This was Jean's favorite song." They started to sing "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka. Tina said, "Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three." Anne Marie and Ian were enjoying it. Shelby put her hand on Jack's. They both looked down and instantly she nervously put her hair behind her ear, whereas he scratched the back of his head. Rachel looked at them….

Sue whispered, "Thank you." Kurt smiled.

Outside, Rachel was walking to Jack's car. "Hey. Is this seat taken?" Jack let her in. He said to her, "You did such a great job with the funeral."

"You know, I thought I could fix everything that happened this past year, but I can't."

"But you did. You forgave your sister, you gave me the chance to see my family again, to stand up for myself, to…talk to Shelby without bumbling. You even helped make the new guys feel welcome. I've been meaning to tell you eventually. Some professional at the school board wanted me to check out the Glee Clubs in this state, so they sent me to McKinley to check out New Directions. I'm kind of a creative consultant of sorts."

Rachel smiled and said, "That explains a lot. I love you, Jack. But that feeling that Mr. Shue read that Sue wrote, you know, about being tethered to someone? I don't know if I feel that way about you."

"But you do with Finn. Look, Rachel, I get it. You know? I'm not mad. I got a new summer job. It pays really well."

"That's great."

"So, are you we breaking up?"

"I'm so sorry." She pulled out the guitar pick. "Here. You should have this back."

"Keep it. It was a gift."

"How do I know you like me for me, not just because you like my sister?"

"Rachel, I do like you for you. I liked you before I even saw your sister. You're smart, talented, and beautiful. Those guys who Slushied you are nothing compared to you."

"Okay, I feel better now." She hugs him. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I'll miss you, too."

Rachel kissed him. Then she smiled and said, "Have a great summer, Jack."

"You too."

Rachel left the car and closed the door.

In the choir room, Jesse said, "Well, it was a tough competition, but here's the dope. Henry Reynolds? Too easy. Anne Marie Tompkins? Too obvious. Ian Rivers, too happy. Claire Thomas? Lazy B-O-N-E-S. Rachel is the clear winner."

Shelby said, "I really don't want to have to do this with a camera. It's like having to pick a favorite child."

Jesse said, "That's what my parents told me."

"Do you really think picking Rachel is the way to beat our former team?"

"It's in the bag."

Knock on door. "Coach, can I come in?"

"Hello, Becky."

"I'm turning in my pompoms and the megaphone that you gave me. I'll miss our time together."

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Becky. You ever hear of menopause? Well, I fired you out of womb rage, and for that, I apologize. Now, I want you to pick up those pompoms and megaphone. You want to know why? Next year, you're captain of the Cheerios."

"Oh, my God. Thanks, Coach."

Sue smiled.

"Gotta call my mom."

"Uh, hold on. I'm not finished. I want you to give me a hug. Come here." And they did. Becky put her hands around Sue's back.

In the teacher's lounge, Will was eating a sandwich. Sue asked, "That seat taken?"

"No."

Sue sat. "William, I have said a lot of hurtful words to you. But here's one thing I've never said. Good luck. I have spent all this time hating you and the glee club. Sometimes I do this thing where I have one person the most at a time. Right now it's the dancing Asian. But you have something that Jean had and I don't - a pure heart. So from now on, I will no longer be attacking the glee club." For now.

In the auditorium, Claire was in the auditorium. Henry walked to her.

"Henry."

"You remember the sound of my very many steel-toed boots."

"Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

"I have to tell you something. I don't care about Jesse St. James. I think that you should be the one to sing at Nationals. And I want to sing a duet with you."

Claire said, "You do?"

"Yeah." They hug.

"But Rachel and the others worked so hard. We're still the new kids."

"But I'm the one who's graduating this year. Stardom wasn't the only thing that matters. There's something that matter more to me."

"What?"

"You." They leaned forward and kissed.

In the choir room, Will was standing with Shelby and Jesse.

Shelby said, "What's happening?"

Jesse said, "Motivation. This is just the beginning."

Will said, "No. You're not part of the team, Jesse. We're going back to what got us here. Singing originals songs by the entire club. We're a team, and we're best when we work as one. Whatever we do, we're gonna do it together."

Kurt said, "Anne Marie and Ian sound pretty good."

Santana said, "You guys were all pretty dope, too. Even Claire."

Shelby asked, "Hey, where's Jack? Shouldn't he be here for this?"

Artie said, "Yeah, where is he? He's part of the team now, too."

Finn said, "Yeah. We really owe him a lot."

Will said, "I agree. Rachel?"

Rachel said, "Uh, I think he said something about going to the airport."

"What? Why?"

"He said he was going to be in LA for the summer. He got a job offer that he just couldn't refuse."

Shelby went out into the hallway. "Jack." He stopped walking. Shelby ran to him, he turned around and she hugged him. Jack looked surprised and hugged her back. She said, "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. And it's been really great working with you. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Me neither." Jack felt his face burning again. "Shelby, uh…I had a lot of fun. It-it's been real."

"Yeah." She kissed his cheek.

"I really hope you find what you're looking for."

"You too. See you in the fall."

Jack picked up his briefcase and walked away. He had a big smile on his face. Shelby sighed deeply and smiled.

They were all in New York, ready for Nationals. Rachel said, "I made it."

Kurt said, "A year and a half ago, the New Directions were six misfits. But now, we're here."

Claire said, "New York, New York."

Finn said, "We still have a new song to write."

Rachel said, "Guys, Shelby and I got us all tickets to Cats."

Brittany said, "Whoo!"

Kurt looked happy, but Quinn said, "You might want to check the dates on those tickets, Rachel, because Cats closed about 11 years ago."

Rachel said, "He did seem crazy. Tried to use my credit card by swiping it up his butt crack."

Shelby said, "Ah!" She dropped it.

In the hotel, Will asked, "Finn, where the hell is Puck?"

Puck said, "I'll have a Manhattan."

The woman said, "Do you even know what's in a Manhattan?"

Puck said, "Yeah, me."

Will said, "Guys, meeting in the room now."

Kurt said, "I feel like Eloise."

Henry said, "Can I run something by you guys? I think a duet should be sung by me and Claire."

Mike said, "I just want to win. Singing an epic duet is our best shot at that."

Puck said, "Look, ask her out, dude. Finn, ask out Rachel, too."

Finn said, "But she's totally into Jesse and Jack Masterson."

Puck said, "You're in New York. Anything is possible here."

Sam said, "If I were in love with a girl, I'd totally go for it."

Rachel was hard at work in the other part of the room.

Shelby found Claire upside down on her bed. "Claire!"

"Huh?"

"Claire, what are you doing? We have a song to write."

"I can't think of anything. I'm drawing a blank here."

Shelby folded her arms. "No one ever said this was going to be easy."

"Fine, you tell me, then. Have you thought of anything yet?"

"Actually, no."

"See?"

"But we're working on it. Rachel is very hard at work. Brittany just wants to sing about cups. We'll come up with something."

That night, Rachel and Shelby were dining at a restaurant together.

Shelby looked at the menu said, "Hey, do you think they have anything vegan?"

Rachel said, "I wonder if they're gonna put a picture of me up on these walls. Oh, my God. It's Patti LuPone."

Shelby turned and LuPone stood up.

Rachel said, "Oh, no, I can't do this. No, I have to. Kurt would kill me if I didn't." Shelby smiled and Rachel stood up. "Excuse me, Miss LuPone. I'm Rachel Berry. I just have to say that you are my idol."

Patti smiled and said, "Well, thank you. That's very sweet of you."

"Oh, uh, this is my sister, Shelby Corcoran."

"Miss LuPone."

Patti smiled, "Are you an actress?"

Rachel said, "Well…"

Shelby said, "Uh…"

Rachel said, "I am. But I'm still in high school."

Shelby stated, "Yes. We're in the National show choir competition."

Patti said, "I was in show choir in high school. It was my favorite class. Well, Rachel Berry, promise me one thing. You never give up."

"Yes, Miss LuPone. That's always been my intention."

"Hm, well, good luck." She shakes her hand. "You too." She shook Shelby's hand.

"Thank you," Shelby smiled.

Rachel chuckled softly. "I can't believe that happened. You know, being in New York is like falling in love every minute. I only wish…Jack was here."

"Me too."

"He said I could light up the world someday."

"Light up the world, huh? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I think I might just be. Is this what it's like? To have a girl's night out?"

"I wouldn't know. But I'm really having a good time."

"So am I."

The next day, Kurt woke up Rachel. "We're going to Breakfast at Tiffany's."

They were discussing the future. Rachel wants to go to New York, but she also wants to be with Finn, now that Jack has left for LA.

Inside, they went in an auditorium. A big man said, "You're not supposed to be in here. You're from Indiana?"

Rachel said, "Ohio, actually."

"You got some big Broadway dream."

Kurt said, "Look, we're really sorry."

"You have 15 minutes."

Rachel said, "Thank you." She and Kurt ran happily to the stage. After they were performing "For Good," Rachel said, "Thank you, Kurt." They hugged. "I know what I want now. This, this is where I belong. I think I want to go to New York next year."

Santana said, "Quinn! I need to re-pencil my eyebrows. Everyone's in the other room working."

Quinn said, "Yeah? Where's Mr. Shue? I'm gonna tell him Rachel and Kurt snuck off."

Brittany said, "You can't do that."

Santana said, "You know what? We get it. You're mad about Finn dumping your sweet ass. Get over it."

Quinn shouted, "I don't want to get over it! Okay?"

Santana said, "The only person you're sabotaging here is yourself."

"Aren't we supposed to be the popular girls? Rachel has love. Tina has it. Even Zizes hooks up."

In a bedroom, Shelby was still sleeping. Rachel walked with a bagel and some coffee. "Shelby? Shelby. Wake up." She moved her, then tapped her. "Get up! We're supposed to get back to work."

"Honey, there's plenty of time before Nationals. Now, let me sleep."

Rachel opened a curtain. The sun shined bright. "There. That woke you up, didn't it?"

"Oh, God, what time is it?" She rubbed her eyes.

"It's way past noon."

Shelby yawned and stretched.

"I brought you some coffee."

"Thanks. Where have you been?" She picked up her cup and drank from it.

"Kurt and I had an amazing time. We had breakfast at Tiffany's and we sang on a Broadway stage. I had the time of my life this morning."

"I'm sorry that I missed that."

"Why are you so tired?"

"I stayed up pretty late last night. I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Well, that makes two of us."

"What do you mean?"

"This is where I want to be, Shelby. This is where I want to spend my career. I want the same for you. We should go on Broadway together."

"Rachel…"

"Look, I know. I know what you're gonna say. But it's not too late for you. It's never too late."

"Look, sis, I've already learned my lesson from last year. This is who we are. This is who we've always been. But I'm an educator now. This is your dream."

Rachel hugged her. "I don't know what to do without you."

Shelby smiled. "You've always been capable of doing things on your own. You don't need me."

"But I do. Maybe not all the time, but still."

"Trust me. You'll find a way."

Claire was washing her hands.

Rachel said, "Claire? Oh, my God, you're shaking."

"Yeah. I'm so nervous. When I first came here, I thought that glee club would be safe, where no one else would take them. Why did you take a chance on me?"

"Because I liked you. You're good, Claire. You have real potential. That's why I wanted you to audition. You have to sing. You have a gift, something that Shelby and I would kill for. I'm gonna help you through it. We all will."

The announcer said, "And now, from William McKinley High in Lima, Ohio, the New Directions!"

Jesse sat down next to Will and Shelby when applause occurred.

"I couldn't stay away."

Will said, "From the stage or her?"

Claire and Henry started to sing "Breaking Free," another High School Musical hit. Everyone in the audience were clapping, even Will. Bernadette Peters even threw her clipboard and started clapping along as well, much like Ms. Darbus from the film. Even Jesse seemed to be impressed by their performance. After that, they all performed "Light Up the World" and the audience cheered even louder.

Shelby shouted, "Yeah, Rachel!"

Rachel said, "I think we were good."

Finn said, "Good? We were amazing."

"Claire and Henry were…interesting."

"Yeah, I'm calling it the song of the decade."

Jesse said, "Finn, that song was way too obvious a choice. It was totally predictable. Just what the audience expected them to do."

Finn told Jesse, "Dude, back off. You're just jealous. Jealous of what we have and what we can all do together. And as for Claire and Henry, it was the Superman and Lois Lane of duets."

There was screaming.

Rachel said, "Oh, I'm too nervous to look."

Will said, "I'll look."

Back on stage, Bernadette Peters walked on stage. "Congratulation to all the performers. But only one will be the winner today. The runners-up…Vocal Adrenaline!" Cheering and clapping. The others sighed in relief. Peters continued, "And now, the 2011 National Champions are…the Portland Scale Blazers!" Confetti shot up. Applause and cheers sounded. Jesse raised his eyebrows and clapped. Shelby sighed and looked down. Will was stunned.

In the Lima Bean, Kurt said, "Oh, my God. You should've been there. When Bernadette Peters was there, we all just went numb. And Jesse kept going on about how Claire and Henry's duet was too easy of a choice."

Brittany said, "We should have come in first."

Finn said, "Well, at least we gave it our best shot."

Claire said, "Maybe if we had just sung a different song."

Kurt said, "So when we got back to the hotel, Santana lost it."

Santana shouted in Spanish. Quinn, Mike and Sam all held onto her. Claire and Henry held onto each other. Finn covered his face. Tina covered her mouth in shock.

Kurt said, "Personally, I thought they did a great job."

Blaine said, "While I do think High School Musical is slightly dull, I am impressed. I mean, starting with a cover and ending with an original was definitely the best way to go. Wait, but you don't seem sad at all."

"Well, it was still amazing. I got on a plane, I had breakfast at Tiffany's, I sang on a Broadway stage."

Blaine smiled at him and said, "I love you."

Kurt paused, then said, "I love you, too." Aw. "You know, if you think about it, Kurt Hummel's had a pretty good year. Hey, look who's here."

Mercedes and Sam walked in.

Blaine said, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Sam said, "Just getting a coffee."

Mercedes said, "Do you think they know?"

"I don't think anybody knows." They hold hands.

Brittany said, "Hey. You still pissed?"

"Uh, yeah. How can you be so calm?"

"I don't know. I hated losing as much as everyone else."

"Clearly, 'cause we got our asses kicked."

"Family is a place where people love you, no matter what. They accept you for who you are. I love everyone in glee club. And I get to spend another year with everyone, so I'm good."

"What about me?"

"I love you, Santana. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else in the whole world. Anything's possible."

Santana smiled and hugged her, "You're my best friend."

"You're mine, too."

"When did you get so smart?"

In the library, Rachel looked in her hand mirror and Claire stood behind her. Rachel gasped and Claire chuckled. "Where's Shelby?"

"She decided to stay in New York for the summer."

"Rachel, thank you for everything."

"No, Claire, I should be thanking you. You gave us a whole new perspective. I can't wait for you to do it all again next year."

"Maybe, I just don't know."

They hugged. Rachel sat next to Finn. "Hey."

Finn smiled, "Hey."

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding."

"You haven't said a word since we left New York."

"I screwed up. I'm supposed to be the co-leader, hold everyone together. It cost us the championship."

"What were you feeling in that moment?"

"That I loved you."

"Was it worth it?"

"What about you? Aren't you happy with Jack?"

"We broke up."

"Really?" He smirked a bit. "Why?"

"I guess we both have different goals in life. Besides, I know that we'll have another shot at Nationals. I'm going to New York, Finn."

"Graduation's a year away. You got any plans till then?" They kiss.

"Okay. Let's go."

"Where?"

"Final glee club meeting of the year."

Will said, "No show choir has ever felt so honored."

There was a banner up top that read, "Congratulations, New Directions! Good on ya."

Will said, "Well, guys, this is what third place looks like." They all clapped and cheered.