love like fools ➙ glee

four ; taking chances.

Alicia didn't care about winning. At least, not enough to hire Dakota Stanley.

She glowered at the I'm Sorry cookies, abandoned on the piano as the rest of the group discussed how they were going to hire the expert. Well, everyone except for Finn. Like her, he was off to the side, watching in disbelief as the New Directions talked. Including his girlfriend.

It was shocking that Quinn Fabray had joined. It was a miracle that Coach Sylvester hadn't come banging down the door and throwing lit matches into the choir room as payback. From what Alicia saw, and how the coach regarded them, she wasn't fond of glee club.

Alas, no matches. Aside from the one that the Cheerios and Rachel had just lit by insisting on Dakota Stanley. Whoever that was.

"You don't think this is right, either, do you?"

She looked up at Finn in surprise. Apparently she had been staring at Rachel, too caught up in her dwellings to notice she had zoned out. She hadn't even noticed him approach. "No, of course not. I know Mr. Schuester isn't a prized dancer or anything, but . . . he fits us. We don't need to be like the other teams to win."

"I'm not sure that's the real reason Rachel's doing this."

"What do you mean?"

Finn glanced over at the others, but they were occupied, making plans for when they were going to visit Carmel High to find Dakota Stanley. Still, his voice lowered. "You know that day I told you I was with Rachel?"

Alicia squinted. "Vividly."

He seemed confused. "Well, we, like, kissed and stuff. It was super accidental, and I didn't want-- I'm dating Quinn, y'know? And she's mean and everything, but I really like her." Alicia said nothing, giving him a bleak stare. Her disapproval was obvious. "So uh, I think it's about that."

"No."

"What? Why 'no'?"

"I don't think Rachel would eliminate Mr. Schuester as our dancing director out of spite over you not breaking up with your girlfriend for her. She's a little dramatic, I'll admit. But she isn't genuinely mean." Not like Quinn or Santana, she added silently. 

"So what do you think this is about?"

She looked back over at their friends. Or, well, at the rest of New Directions. Alicia was pretty sure the Cheerios didn't consider her their friend. "I think Rachel would do anything to win. Even if it means stomping on the people she respects."

"Isn't that a little crazy?"

"It's ambitious. But not crazy, I've heard of people doing worse things to win." Mostly in books, but Alicia wasn't about to admit that. She didn't care about her reputation, being practically invisible, but she wasn't going to embarrass herself, either. 

Observing the group made Alicia uneasy. She noticed the longing looks Rachel would shoot at Finn when he couldn't see; Quinn certainly saw, becoming tenser each time. She saw how Santana and Brittany were attached at the hip, how Mercedes seemed to smile softly every time Kurt whispered a compliment to her, and how Artie never really quit staring at Tina.

They were all perched on a fragile line. It was only a matter of time before they tumbled off.

"Well, we've gotta fix this."

"We?" Alicia snapped her head over, her observations forgotten as she shot Finn a startled look.

Finn shrugged, his hands slipping into the front pockets of his jeans. "Well, we both don't like this, right? We don't need some fancy dancer to tell us stuff. We have Mr. Schue, and he cares about us, that's gotta count for something."