Thank you to all of you have commented recently. I know this fic seemed like it was dead in the water. I thought so too for a while, to be honest. But apparently I'm back on it, so yay!

Song credits go to Michael Jackson.

Chapter Forty-one: Such a Performance.

The day before everyone had agreed to give up half of their lunch hour so that they could try and see all of the performances before the week was over. So, Rachel reluctantly made her way to the Choir room.

The day before Rachel had thought it was a wonderful idea, now she didn't, but, as always, Glee came first.

She took the same seat she had yesterday, as did Quinn. They were mere chairs apart, but Rachel felt further away from her than ever. The thing in the bathroom . . . well, obviously it had been awful. She'd really hoped to just stay out of her way as much as possible today, for both their sakes, but with first the confrontation with Santana and then the confrontation with Quinn . . . now she really wished she'd taken up her parents offer to stay home. She was angry with Santana, no that didn't even come close to how she felt about Santana right now, disturbed and repulsed were better ways of describing it, but Quinn . . .

Oh God, she didn't even know!

Mr. Schuester swept into the room, smacking a rolled sheaf of papers on top of the piano before coming to stand before them. "Right, everyone ready to get started? Finn and Puck, why don't you go first?"

"Uh, okay." Finn shared an uncomfortable look with his best friend before they left their seats.

Puck grabbed his guitar and then joined him in the centre of the room. "So, we figured our main conflict was . . .

"Dude, let's just sing it!" Finn said and the piano started up on cue.

"Every night she walks right in my dreams

Since I met her from the start,

I'm so proud I am the only one

Who is special in her heart."

The girl is mine

The doggone girl is mine

I know she's mine

Yeah, the doggone girl is mine."

Finn sang, clearly uncomfortable even though he was pulling off the lyrics quite well. Rachel only twigged what was going on, and it caused a metaphorical spit-take, when Puck took up the next verse.

"I don't understand the way you think

Saying that she's yours not mine

Sending roses and your silly dreams

Really just a waste of time."

Holy effing Barbra! They really hadn't shied away from this assignment. And they sounded good! Not just vocally, but they were in time, they were seamless in fact, they had to have practised this more than once.

To have a friend so good, that even knowing you were into the same girl could be put behind you to pull off a performance like this? Rachel was in awe. That took two things . . . true professionalism and a really true friend.

"I love you more than he," Finn sang. "Take you anywhere,"

"But I love you endlessly." Puck sang. "Loving we will share."

It was rude to look away from a performance, but she just had to, and as she did, she saw that everyone else had too. So, they were all seeing Quinn turn the colour of an over-ripe strawberry and looking absolutely mortified. She was staring at the duetting pair like she couldn't believe this was happening, and like she wanted to kill them both.

"But we both cannot have her.

So, it's one or the other." Finn was singing to Puck now rather than the audience.

Puck abandoned his guitar and stepped up to Finn.

"I know she'll tell you I'm the one for her.

'Cause she said I blow her mind."

At Puck's cocky smirk and the glint in Finn's eyes, Rachel jumped up to call an end to the performance. She was still too slow to stop the first punch from being thrown.

Puck ducked his head back just in time and Mr. Schue jumped in to hold Finn before he could make a second punch. "Okay, okay, maybe not the right song for conflict resolution but a valiant try at the assignment. Let's all calm down."

Finn shook off his hold and took a seat on the top level of risers, ignoring everyone. Quinn practically climbed over her chair to put her arms around him, kissing him soundly. Everyone heard the muttered, "You're the only one for me, okay?"

Rachel turned back in her chair to face the front. Puck took some time putting his guitar back in its case and then sat down in the chair next to her. They shared a look, it was bitter.

"Okay, who do we have left?" Mr. Schuester grinned at them all. "Mike and Santana and Quinn and Rachel . . ." Rachel's stomach dropped. ". . . Who wants to go . . ." The bell for the end of lunch rang. ". . . first. Dang!" he finished with a grin and a sideways pump of his fist. Did he think he was Popeye now or something? "I guess you four get a reprieve until after school. Have a good afternoon, guys!"

Like that was likely.

For once Rachel was the first to leave the Choir room. What were they supposed to sing? They'd barely discussed it when things were okay between them and now . . . Oh, God, all she could envision was a performance even more mortifying than the one Puck and Finn had put on.

"Hey, Rach . . ."

Only one person had the legs to catch up with her that fast and she looked up warily from behind her locker door, to see Finn smiling down at her.

"Yes?"

"You left kind of fast, did you not like our song?"

She took a breath to offer some generic praise and then . . . blew it back out again. "Actually, Finn, no I didn't. Don't get me wrong, you and Noah sounded very good together, but the song itself . . . it was really unfair of you to put Quinn on the spot like that."

"Hey, it could have been worse, Puck wanted to ask you to sing with us too." She couldn't tell if he was joking or not and when she gave no answer, he scuffed the toe of his sneaker on the floor sheepishly before saying, "Anyway, I really just wanted to give you this."

She stared at the yellow flower he carefully pulled from his bag and held in front of her.

"It's not, um, I mean it's not a romantic flower," he was quick to explain. "It's a thank you flower, for this morning, and a sorry flower too, I guess, for acting like an ass afterwards."

"Okay." Her fingers hesitated before closing around the stem. "Thank you."

"No problem," he gave her a big grin and pulled his bag back over his shoulder. "See you later."

She continued to stare at the flower after he'd gone, not sure if she should have accepted it despite his explanation. It was very thoughtful of him, and she did value his friendship highly, but right now Finn Hudson was just one complication too many.

Quinn saw Rachel as she passed by to go to her locker, wondering why the girl was just standing there motionless, lost in thought, begging to be the victim of a roving slushie attack.

It was only when she had the cover of her locker door that she glanced over again and saw what had Rachel so transfixed.

"Britt," she muttered, "do you know who gave Rachel that flower?"

Brittany pushed off of the locker beside hers just enough to see past Quinn's shoulder. "Is this a trick question? Was it you?"

"No, it wasn't me and it's not a trick question."

"Oh, then no. She didn't have it in Glee, I would have remembered, it's really pretty."

It was, although from Rachel's expression there may have been a bug nestled in the yellow petals.

"Do you think there's any way we could find out?"

"Well," Brittany was quiet while she thought about it. "We could ask?"

"I can't talk to Berry in school, remember?"

"Oh, right . . . why's that again?"

Quinn closed her eyes and prayed for patience. "Because it's complicated . . ." she rolled her hand in time with her words, hoping it would help jog the distant memory of the conversation they'd had the day before.

Brittany stared intently at her hand and Quinn had to push down the unkind but not necessarily unrealistic thought that she was about to bat at it like a cat would a piece of string.

Then she popped her gum and said, "I didn't learn sign language yet, so I don't know what you're saying, but I'm gonna go ask her about the flower before she leaves. Wait here."

She couldn't, because only being three lockers away made it all too obvious, so Quinn grabbed her book quickly and struggled her way through the noisy groups of students heading to class – nobody ever moved out of her way anymore – to wait by the corner.

Brittany joined her after a minute and Quinn immediately started walking, "Well?"

"She said a friend gave it to her as a thank you."

"Oh."

She'd figured as much, the who, not the why. What was he saying thank you for? Because in Quinn's mind you didn't buy someone a flower to say thanks for helping me learn about the human gestation period, you bought someone a flower to say thank you for a great date.

"So, who do you think the 'friend' is?" Brittany asked as they entered the classroom together and took their seats.

Santana joined them, turning the chair of the desk in front so that they were all sharing the same one.

"Who do we think whose friend is?"

Quinn didn't answer, she was still angry with Santana, but that was foolish because it just gave Brittany free rein to respond.

"Someone gave Rachel a flower and she said it was from a friend."

Santana looked at her expectantly and Quinn rolled her eyes. "Obviously it wasn't me, and 'because we're not friends' is just the first reason in a list of why it wouldn't be."

"I wasn't thinking of you, I was thinking of the only person stupid enough in this school to actually want be her friend."

"Jewfro?" she asked innocently.

"Your so-called perfect boyfriend is giving that hobbit flowers now, Q. In school! And if you're not going to crush her for it like you keep saying you're going to, you are going to end up as more of a laughing stock than you are already, and I am not going down with you."

Quinn sneered, "Thanks for your support."

"No, screw you," Santana countered, surprisingly mildly. "I gave you my support earlier and you gave me an earful for it and have been acting like I insulted your girlfriend ever since. So, you get to handle it on your own, like you obviously want to do everything these days, now just stop fucking it up and get some results."

Santana scraped her chair back around to face the front and Quinn sat there fuming, and still slightly pink from the 'girlfriend' comment.

She didn't want to do everything on her own! If it came across that way, it was because her friends were totally self-involved (with each other) unless her problems presented an opportunity to gossip or demean someone and her boyfriend would rather go to Rachel for help than her and Rachel just didn't want to know anymore period.

And, God, when Puck was looking like her best option for anything there had to be something wrong with the world. Especially after singing that song in Glee and outing his feelings for her. That had been so embarrassing.

Still, as much as she hated to admit it, Santana was right, she needed to crush this thing between Rachel and Finn once and for all or she had to make a stand and distance herself from it. Blow it up in their faces. Let everyone know that she knew what was 'allegedly' going on and tell her side of the story.

The only question was how?

She doodled on her pad, so it at least looked like she was taking notes of the lesson, but her mind was in damage control overdrive and halfway through she had a mini-Eureka moment.

Maybe Finn and Puck singing that awful song about her had a silver lining.

Rachel worried about it all through fifth period, trying to come up with songs that would work without revealing anything, and then in the mayhem that always occurred in the halls between periods, Quinn jostled her and moved on without a word.

Unless you counted the ones left in her hand.

She waited until she was seated in sixth period before she opened up the folded square of paper.

I have an idea. The rumours are rife, why not take advantage? You can join in or sit there and look disapproving, I don't care. xx

Join in with what? A heads up on what she was planning on singing would have been nice!

Rachel wondered about it for the whole of the lesson and still tried to come up with songs in case she didn't like Quinn's choice and decided not to take her up on the offer a duet.

It was insane anyway to try a duet they hadn't practiced! What was Quinn thinking?

But other than a hundred hopeless love songs, she couldn't come up with anything herself, and she was too miserable to sing an ode of love to Quinn right now, even if it would be in character.

Glee came around again far too soon.

"Okay, who has the guts to go first?" Mr. Schue dared them with a grin.

"Fine, we'll go," Santana sighed, standing up. "And, for the record, sticking me with a partner who can't even sing? Low-freaking-blow, Mr. Schue!"

He grinned again and waved for them to get on with it.

Santana began to sing a song that, well Rachel had never heard it before, but it was raspy and beautiful and she found herself listening to Santana's voice more than the words she was singing, which were about devotion and cheating and apologies. Mike added his voice to the chorus but mostly just danced slowly around Santana, drawing her gaze over and over until they were turning together, and she was singing to him even though her words were clearly about someone else.

It was mesmerising and Rachel found herself clapping maybe more than she had for any of the others. She still detested Santana right now, but a performance like that deserved its praise.

And then . . .

"Okay, Quinn, Rachel, show us what you've got!"

"Actually, Mr. Schue," she began, meaning to tell him they had nothing, but Quinn was already making her way to the floor.

Rachel rolled her eyes and continued, "I'm afraid I didn't come up with a suitable song and I have no idea what Quinn is about to sing, so I think that makes our participation in this assignment a failure."

"She knows the song," Quinn said, as she stood in front of them all. "She just doesn't like what it says about her."

Quinn nodded at Brad then, and Rachel's eyes went wide because that meant she'd already passed the music on. This was happening, whatever this was.

Quinn smirked at her, it wasn't a very nice smirk, and then shifted her gaze to the general audience as she airily began to sing.

The story starts when it was hot, and it was summer and

I had him there I had him right there where I wanted him.

She came along, got him alone and lets here the applause.

She took him faster than you could say Sabotage!

I never saw it coming wouldn't have suspected it.

I underestimated just who I was dealing with.

She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum.

She under-estimated just who she was stealing from.

Yes, Rachel knew it, so did everyone else judging by the way they were tapping their feet or clapping their hands or laughing at her.

Quinn burst into the chorus with a wide, evil grin. "She's not a saint and she's not what you think, she's an actress! Wha-ohh"

Rachel wasn't having this, she was innocent! And jumped up to sing over her, spinning to the audience while pointing a finger at Quinn.

"And she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress! Wha-ohh"

"Hot tub, actually, Sweetie!" Quinn mocked quickly, before continuing,

"Soon she's gonna find stealing over people's toys on the playground,

Won't make you many friends.

She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind— "Quinn stepped up to her, staring her down. "—that there is nothing I do better than revenge!"

Quinn's mouth was open to begin the next verse, but Rachel got there first, stepping back and pointing at her again.

"She lives her life like it's a party and she's on the list.

She looks at me like I'm a trend and she's over it." She rolled her eyes.

"I think her ever present frown is a little troubling.

She thinks I'm psycho cos I like to rhyme her name with things.

But sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know,"

Rachel started to circle her now, eyes locked on Quinn and gesturing at her in time with the music more than actually dancing. Quinn shook her head, laughed, rolled her eyes, and was generally dismissive of every line she sang.

"Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go.

Oh, they didn't teach you that in prep school so it's up to me.

But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity."

She sneered up and down at Quinn's sunshine yellow church girl dress and Quinn quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"I'm just another thing for you to roll your eyes at, honey.

You might have him, but haven't you heard . . ."

"Oh, I've heard," Quinn said dangerously, before singing back,

"I'm just another thing for you to roll your eyes at, honey.

You might have him, but I always get the last word."

They were up in each other's faces again now, and while she hadn't looked at the risers in a while she could tell everyone was on the edges of their seats, wondering if this was going to come to blows like Finn and Puck.

"Do you still feel like you know what you're doing," she sang, never breaking eye-contact, never stepping back.

"Cos, I don't think you do.

Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?

I don't think you do.

I don't think you do."

Quinn took over, "Let's hear the applause.

C'mon show me how much better you are.

See you deserve some applause.

Cause you're so much better . . ."

Quinn turned back to their audience for the last line.

"She took him faster than you could say sabotage."

The most startling thing to Rachel was the applause they actually received. Everyone was clapping, even Santana, if somewhat sarcastically. The second most startling thing, which was more startling in retrospect, was the way Quinn was smiling at her, in front of everyone.

But applause she could take, Quinn looking at her like that she couldn't.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

Mr. Schue called after her, "But, Rachel we still have an hour!" She stopped by the door; She didn't want to be the person who let Glee down. "I want to run you guys through the It Takes Two routine again."

It had been weeks since they'd last practiced it, why did he have to choose today?

Rachel's chest kind of spasmed at the thought and she met Quinn's eyes across the floor without meaning too. Quinn gave a barely perceptible shrug back. She thought about it, about Quinn twirling her and then tucking her in close. About how she'd be able to smell Quinn's hair and skin, about how she'd be able to feel her breath on her face . . .

"Sorry, maybe we can practice it next time, but I really need to go."

She was gone before anyone could say anything else, but she didn't miss Quinn's disappointed look.

She couldn't believe Rachel had just run out like that and left her to bask alone! Their performance had been so much better than she'd anticipated, partly because she'd expected Rachel to leave her to sing by herself while she'd stared at her knees in embarrassment the entire time.

That was actually what she had planned on happening, she'd only given Rachel the heads up in the first place because the assignment said that they both had to be in the know and, well, she hadn't really let her know much beforehand but she'd felt it was enough.

Quinn wasn't really sure how well she had accomplished her mission, and there hadn't been a lot of conflict resolution involved, but she felt she'd gotten her message across. Finn and Rachel wouldn't even be able to look at each other for a while without the Gleeks thinking they were going behind her back and she didn't have the support Finn did in the club, but she had more than Rachel so that should even it out.

Honestly though, while she was sort of thinking about this, because it was what she should be thinking about, she was mostly still feeling the looks she'd shared with Rachel while they'd sang. The angry fire, the passionate heat – maybe it was for the best Rachel had run out, because if she'd stayed another minute Quinn might have mounted her.

And she knew Rachel was feeling it too, hadn't she been the one to say that performing always turned her on? Was that why she had run out?

Quinn found herself smirking and blushing until Santana stepped down from the risers and elbowed her softly in the side. And then she was just blushing.

"What?"

"Good effort. If you hadn't been eye-fucking her through most of it, I might have believed it."

She didn't rise on this occasion. "Believed what?"

"Honestly, Q, at this point I have no fucking idea . . . but like I said, good effort," Santana nodded seriously and then winked before taking her place on the floor.

A minute later they started practicing the 'It Takes Two' song and dance. Without Rachel there it was a mixed blessing – she got to sing female lead but there was no Rachel to dance with.

The hour passed quickly though, and Quinn left the Choir room a little more relaxed than she had been all day. She headed to her locker wondering if Rachel was still in the building waiting for her dad to pick her up or if she'd made her way home under her own steam. Quinn's Dad hadn't lowered her curfew any further from six-thirty despite all of the drama; so that gave her an hour and a half to find Rachel, wherever she was.

So, yeah, she was a little bit annoyed when Finn caught her up and delayed her search.

"Are you pissed at me for that song I sang with Puck? Is that why you embarrassed Rachel like that?"

She spun from her locker to face him, not caring that there were other Glee kids still around, actually that was probably a bonus.

"No, that's two entirely different reasons for why I'm pissed at you! I can't believe you sang that. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that made me?"

"Yeah, now I sure as hell do!"

She rolled her shoulders back at that. "Good! And as for Berry, stop disappearing into corners with her and giving her flowers and I won't embarrass her anymore. God, Finn, if you want to be with her so bad, just go!" She hadn't actually meant to voice that, and she saw Tina, Mercedes and Kurt stop their subtle eavesdropping to turn to them outright, mouths hanging open in surprise. Now she had to keep going. "If you'd rather be with that loser than the mother of your child . . ."

Guilt stabbed her chest when his face fell. And it only got worse . . .

"I wouldn't," Puck said clearly from across the hall.

"I don't . . . That's not," Finn began awkwardly. "The flower . . . it was . . ."

"Yes, Finn?" Santana strolled over and crossed her arms as she stared him down. "What was that flower about?"

Quinn wanted to tell her to get lost and mind her own business – all of them actually – but this was Santana showing support again and how many more times could she stomp on that before her friend really did stop trying?

"I, uh, it . . ." he began awkwardly but then exploded, shouting at Santana but gesturing wildly to include everyone. "Look, it's nobody's damn business what Rachel and I were doing this morning or why I gave her a flower, okay!"

"Excuse me?" she snapped out and he turned to her in frustration.

"Okay, maybe it's yours a little, but I'm sick of everyone knowing my business and I'm sick of everyone thinking they can do it better than me and I'm sick of everyone looking at me like I'm some douchebag loser because I got you pregnant! It was an accident, alright?" he shouted at the crowd. "It's not like I was stupid enough to have sex with her without a condom! We were just unlucky and I'm doing the best I can, so you all just need to leave me the hell alone!"

He was about to storm off and she stepped closer, reaching for his arm, "Okay, calm down, let's just go to yours."

He twisted, evading her. "No, I mean you too, Quinn. I just need some space. Can you not just at least do that for me?"

She raced to keep pace with him, frightened by his dismissal of her. "No, Finn, I can't. Not today! I need that money now and if you don't have it then we have to figure out what we're going to do about it."

They were already at the exit doors, around the corner from everyone else, when he turned and thrust a twenty-dollar bill at her.

She looked at it in horror. "This isn't even enough to . . . Is this all of your wages?"

"No." He was still agitated but his voice was softer now it was just the two of them. "This is to cover what's left on your account. I went to the clinic this morning, as soon as I picked up my money, but they have this stupid rule where only the person who's pregnant can settle the full balance. So, you just need to go there now and give them that and they'll be off our backs 'til the next time."

The unspoken 'And you'll be off mine for a little while' was heavily implied.

She was still staring at the money. "But . . . how? Rachel said you weren't going to get paid enough."

He shrugged, "I got an advance on my wages. What does it matter? I got you the money you needed, didn't I?"

He sounded so defensive but that was hardly a surprise with the hard time she'd been giving him about it recently.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I've been so . . ."

"It's . . . Whatever. I get it. I was worried about it too, y'know?"

She nodded. "Are you going to come with me to the clinic? We could do something after . . . get a milkshake or something normal like that? Talk about anything but the baby for a while?"

"No, I'm sorry, I can't. It's been a crap week, what with everything and I think I just need to go kill some stuff on the X-box before I can, like, talk to anyone without wanting to shout at them."

"Even me?"

"Yeah, sorry."

She felt a tremor of panic course through her when his eyes added: especially you.

"Will you call me later at least?"

He shrugged, "Maybe you could call me for a change."

"I do call you, all the time."

When she wanted or needed something from him, and the same thought showed on his face, but he didn't say it out loud.

"I'll call," she promised. "Late, though, so you've had time to kill some stuff." That earned her a small sheepish smile. "So, later then?"

"Yeah, okay." He leaned down to kiss her cheek (her cheek!) and then he was gone, leaving her standing awkwardly in the doorway.

She looked down at the twenty dollars again and thought about trying to find Rachel, to see if she would go to the clinic with her, but she wasn't sure if she could handle two rejections in such a small space of time and ultimately walked out to her car alone.

Rachel was already four blocks away from school anyway and about to walk into her favourite stationary shop. This morning had proved that Finn's money alone wouldn't touch the sides of Quinn's expenses and Rachel had less than a hundred dollars left of her savings.

However, she had heard somewhere that it took spending money to make money, so she was happy to use the last eighty dollars she had to accumulate some more.

An hour later, Rachel was walking into the printer shop her fathers favoured.

"The yellow stars are going to bump the price up," Kieran, the owner, told her.

"They're not yellow, they're gold!"

He shrugged, "Be cheaper to do them in black and white. Even with family discount you're looking at . . ."

Her eyes bugged a little at the number he gave her, but she shook her head. "They need to be eye-catching, Kieran! With the employment market as depressed as it is I need to be that bright spark in people's lives."

"Why do you need money so bad? Did your parents cut your allowance or something?"

She felt uncomfortable doing it, but flawlessly reeled off some flannel about an expensive hip-hop class her dads were less than impressed she wanted to take.

Not long after that, Rachel left with some amazing looking posters and a job cleaning printer plates every Saturday morning, to help her towards her goal.