𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | r. berry

Duets

"Hey, don't be sad," the cheerleader said as she sat down next to her girlfriend. "I mean, Breadstix has these vegan meatballs, they're... they're okay, I guess."

"I'm not really a nice person," the diva said. "I'm selfish. The fact is, I'm only really generous if there's something in it for me."

"Yeah, but I still like you," Autumn shrugged. "And you're not as bad as you think. You're caring, and there are times when you put others first."

"But you're so... kind, and open, and it's made me want to be a better person," said Rachel. She thought it over for a minute before saying, "We have to throw the competition."

"Wait, what?"

"If we wanna win at nationals, then Sam has to win this contest. Okay? He has to feel like he belongs, and the team has to believe in him."

"But, we do believe in him... I think. I mean, he just joined, but he hasn't given us any reason not to believe in him," said Autumn. "But technically you're doing this because it'll help us win nationals, which means there's something in it for you, so it doesn't really count as you doing something nice."

"Okay, so I'm just gonna ignore what you just said," said Rachel. "Repeat what I said before. We just have to find a way for me to lose a singing competition so that the new kid sticks around."

"Right."

****

Naomi put her things away in her locker before closing it and walking down the hall. She ran a hand through her long brunette locks, sighing as she thought about the duets project.

She was pulled by her thoughts when a cold, blue slushie was tossed in her face. She gasped, and reached her hands up to wipe the slush off.

"Where's your sister, Mini Mouse?" Azimio teasingly asked. "No one to protect you when she's not around."

The bully walked away, leaving Naomi alone in the empty hallway, except for a certain blonde who had seen everything.

She gently reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, making the smaller girl jump and take a few steps back.

"St-stay away from me," Naomi said, protectively wrapping her arms around her numb body. "I can't trust you."

"I just want to help," Quinn said, taking a small step towards her ex-best friend's half sister. "Will you let me?"

Naomi looked the older girl up and down for a moment before hesitantly taking the hand that she was holding out to her and allowing her to lead her to the Cheerios locker room.

"Oh my god," Autumn gasped, her jaw dropping when Quinn and Naomi came into the locker room.

"What the hell happened?" Santana asked as she grabbed a towel and went over to Naomi, Autumn following close behind with a change of clothes she kept in her locker.

"It was the big dummy," Naomi said as Santana poured some water from her bottle onto the towel and gently wiped the younger girl's face.

"Karofsky?" Autumn asked.

"No, the other one."

"Azimio," said Quinn.

"He's dead," Autumn said as she stormed to the door of the locker room.

"Autumn, no," Quinn said, grabbing the brunette's arm. "He's not worth it."

"Besides, you're like 5 foot 1," Santana added as she led Naomi over to the showers to rinse the slushie out of her long locks. "He's, like, triple your weight, and he's stronger than you."