Adalynn sat next to Tina as they laughed at a video with their fellow Glee Clubbers that the brunette had found in Sue's office.
"What's so funny?" Finn asked as he came in and sat down next to Bailey.
"You aren't watching me falling off stage at my first Tiny Tots beauty pageant are you?" Rachel asked as she walked in with Julian.
"That was Carrot-Top funny compared to this comedic tour de force," Kurt chuckled.
"That's Olivia Newton John's, Physical," said Julian. "It was groundbreaking subject matter at the time considering its depiction of fluid sexuality."
"Oh my goodness," Mercedes laughed.
"Wait, wait," said Finn. "That's not Olivia Newton John. That's Sue Sylvester. Where did you get this?"
"I can tell you that I certainly did not steal it from her locked file cabinet yesterday when she sent me back to her office to get her hormone replacement injection during Cheerios practice," Adalynn laughed.
"Wait, did she just do the cabbage patch?" Artie asked.
"I'm posting this on YouTube," Finn chuckled as he moved to sit between the Hummel siblings.
"Wait," said Rachel. "Do you think that's a good idea?"
"No, it's a great idea," Bailey giggled as she exchanged a look with Artie, who laughed and nodded in agreement.
"She might kill us."
"Oh, let her get a taste of some of the humiliation she put us through," said Mercedes.
"I'm with Finn," Julian spoke up. "You need to stop being such asses and start being bad asses."
"Ten bucks this goes viral by lunch," Finn said as he reached for the laptop, exchanging a smirk with a giggling Adalynn as he posted the video.
****
"What the hell am I looking at right now?" Adalynn asked, arms crossed and brows furrowed as she looked at the list hanging on the wall.
"What's a 'Glist?'" Tina asked. "Who made this?"
"Maybe it was Puck," the brunette suggested. "Or Julian."
"You called?" the junior said as he walked up next to his cousin.
"Did you make that?" Adalynn asked, pointing to the list on the wall and looking up at the older boy with her lips pursed.
"I'm offended you would think that," Julian scoffed. "And if I really made this Glist thing, I most certainly wouldn't have put myself at number 5. And where's Bailey, huh? She's fine as fuck. How come she isn't on the list?"
"Don't talk about Bailey like that!" Tina snapped, crossing her arms. "And if you didn't make it, then who did?"
Before Julian could open his mouth to say anything else, all three of their phones buzzed. They all reached into their pockets and saw a text that Kurt sent in the group chat.
losers like me
kurt
> ada, bailey, tina, cedes,
and artie get your butts to
the choir room right now
artie
> why?
mercedes
> i'm trying to study for a test
bailey
> is this about the 'glist?'
kurt
> yes
> now get to the choir room
> NOW!!
Adalynn and Tina exchanged a look before ditching Julian, leaving him alone in the hallway, as they headed to the choir room for this emergency meeting.
"Fellow Glee Clubbers, I called this meeting because our free falling reps reached terminal velocity," Kurt began as soon as everyone was present. "We are DEFCON 1."
"We're such zeros, they didn't even bother putting us on the Glist," Mercedes mumbled.
"That's probably a good thing," said Bailey. "Santana said that the Glist was how much sexual appeal everyone has, so not being on it means we won't be targeted as an easy lay."
"What does a C-lister do when their tiny star is about to fall off Perez Hilton's radar screen?" Kurt asked.
"They cause a scandal so extreme they can no longer be ignored," Adalynn answered.
"Exactly, little me," the older boy smiled.
"Um, excuse me?" Artie asked, raising a hand. "Why is she here?"
The group of friends turned to see Brittany sitting alone on the risers, a blank expression on her face.
"I've been here since first period," said Brittany. "I had a cold. I took all my antibiotics at the same time and now... I can't remember how to leave. But I also don't know why I only made fourth on the Glist. I made out with, like, everyone in this school with the exception of Bailey. Girls, boys, Mr. Kidney the janitor. I thought I made out with Adalynn, but that was just a dream. I need to do something to get in the top three."
Adalynn felt her face get hot at the older girl's mention of having a dream that they made out. She had to admit, she wasn't exactly opposed to the idea.
No! That's your best friend's sister, idiot.
"Fine, you're in," Kurt said, snapping Adalynn out of her thoughts.
"In what?" Bailey asked.
"We don't even have a plan," Mercedes pointed out.
"What is the worst thing a student can do at this school?" Kurt asked.
"Eat in the cafeteria," Tina joked, getting a chuckle out of Bailey and Mercedes.
"Be a disruption in the library," Adalynn suggested.
"Correct again, Ada," the older Hummel said. "Now, I'm not talking about trying to check out a reference book. I'm talking about full-on chaos. Including getting your Glee on in the stacks."
"Genius," Artie gasped.
****
Adalynn and Bailey had gone to visit Jean in the nursing home. The blonde was reading her a book as the brunette put little braids in the older woman's hair, tying each one off with a purple ribbon.
The door to Jean's room opened and Sue came in, smiling when she saw how sweet the younger girls were being to her sister.
"Hi, Coach Sylvester," the Cheerio greeted with a small smile.
"Hello, Adalynn. Bailey," Sue greeted. "Look at you, Jeanie."
"I'm being spoiled!" Jean smiled.
"I'm glad one of us is having a good day," the younger Sylvester said as she sat down across from her sister. "My personal video was leaked online, making me a laughing stock in the teacher's lounge. I'm nothing but a mockery now. I never really understood how hard it is to be laughed at. Particularly in slow motion."
Adalynn and Bailey exchanged a guilty look, both ashamed that they stooped to her level and posted her private video on the internet.
"I try to make it seem like nothing can touch me, but, boy..." Sue continued, shaking her head. She reached over and placed a hand on top of her big sister's. "Jean, I'm so sorry you ever felt that way. I'm sorry I didn't protect you more."
"Remember what we used to do, Sue?" Jean asked as Adalynn tied off another braid. "Whenever I got sad, we'd help at the animal shelter to give back."
"Because there's always someone who's got it worse than you do."
****
Julian sat in Rachel's room, not knowing how he let her convince him into coming over.
"So, what's the real reason you invited me here?" the junior asked. "Do you want to date or something?"
"As you know, I still have very strong feelings for Finn," said Rachel. "But I can be of some assistance. Help me with my song for Glee Club. It might be the last chance you have to salvage what's left of your reputation and stay in Glee."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You need a song that will help you express your inner pain."
"My inner pain? I don't have any inner pain," Julian scoffed. "So, what song do you wanna do for your assignment?"
"I've chosen David Geddes' fantastically terrible 70s Top 10 hit, Run Joey Run," Rachel beamed. "It's a story song, so we get to play parts. I'm gonna play the part of the tragic heroine who dies in the end à la Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge. And you can be the hunky, heroic male lead."
"Do I get to kill you?" the older boy smirked.
"Actually, my dad shoots me with a shotgun."
"Oh." Julian sighed down and sat down on Rachel's bed. "Do you think I made that Glist? Cause Adalynn and I got into an argument about it last night. Everyone thinks it was either me or Puck."
"It does sound like something one of you would do," Rachel admitted.
"I'm so tired of people judging me for a few mistakes I've made. I try to be a good guy. I go to school and I say, 'Be cool, Julian. Be nice.' But by second period, I've got a fire extinguisher in my hands and I'm lighting my homework on fire. Then I come back to reality and I don't even know how I got there."
"I understand," Rachel said as she sat down next to Julian. "I sit in Glee Club and I watch a couple of imperfect performances and a litany of criticism just start building up inside of me like a volcano. And I keep telling myself to hold it in, and then it just comes bursting out. Granted, generally, I'm right, but it doesn't do much for my reputation."
"It does suck when you do that," said Julian. "Can't you go five minutes without opening your big mouth?"
"Ignoring that insult, I think we should go ahead and get started on the project. It'll help us both."
****
Adalynn, Bailey, Brittany, Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina were dressed up and ready to perform a hip-hop number in the library. To say that the younger Hummel was nervous would be an understatement. She didn't want to be seen as a troublemaker like Julian, but she also wanted to be taken seriously.
"Looks like we got a full house, y'all," Mercedes beamed, pulling Adalynn from her thoughts.
"I'm kind of getting cold feet here," Artie mumbled.
"Can you even feel your feet?" Brittany asked.
"Shh," the librarian shushed, glaring at the group of teens.
"Team, listen up," Kurt said as everyone huddled together. "If we pull this off, we'll be legends at this school. We'll rocket up the Glist. We'll be top five, easy. Artie, pump up the jam. It's about to go down."
Adalynn and Tina exchanged a look, panting and out of breath as the number ended and the librarian came over to them.
"Here it comes," said Artie.
"That was very cute," the librarian said, and Bailey and Brittany exchanged a confused look.
"Cute?" the younger Pierce sister questioned. "It wasn't supposed to be cute."
"You are cute," Brittany said, smiling at her sister and gently touching her cheek.
"I am gonna talk to my pastor and see if I can't get you kids to perform that for our Sunday service," the librarian beamed.
Adalynn's jaw dropped as the librarian walked away with a smile on her lips. Cute wasn't what they were going for.
"You've got to be kidding me," Kurt muttered.
****
After an argument broke out in Glee Club over Rachel's Run Joey Run video, which Finn, Puck, and Julian were triple cast in, Adalynn sat on the steps in the courtyard as she thought over the events of the week. Particularly the Glist.
Adalynn already came to the conclusion that it wasn't Julian or Puck, so her list of suspects was down to zero. She was still a little shaken up from her interrogation session with Mr. Schuester, so focusing on anything else was difficult. He thought she did it because she felt like an outsider on the Cheerios since there were so many of them on the Glist, but that wasn't the case at all. She just felt like she didn't belong on the Cheerios. It was fun, just not something she thought she'd come back to do next year.
"Hey."
Adalynn looked up and saw Quinn sit down next to her. She smiled softly at the younger girl and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. With her vision clearer now, the brunette noticed the older girl's green eyes traced with guilt – the same guilt that she felt for showing and allowing Finn to post Sue Sylvester's Physical video.
"It was you," Adalynn accused gently. "You made the Glist. Didn't you?"
Quinn lowered her gaze and mumbled a barely audible 'yes.'
"Unbelievable," the brunette scoffed. "You're better than that, Quinn."
"I never meant to hurt anybody," the older girl said quietly. "I was captain of the cheerleading squad. President of the Celibacy Club. I had Finn. People would part like the Red Sea when I walked down the hallway. Now I'm invisible."
"Now you know what it's like to be me," Adalynn said, her tone softening as she gently wiped a tear off of Quinn's cheek. "But being seen as a cheap tramp isn't any better."
"A bad reputation is better than no reputation at all."
"That's where you're wrong. Your reputation doesn't define you. You're so much more than a girl who had it all and then lost it by making one mistake. As soon as this whole pregnancy thing is over, you're gonna go on to do amazing things, Quinn. You'll forget about us losers and be back on top like you were before."
"I could never forget you, Adalynn. You're the only good thing that's come out of this hellish year," said Quinn. She sighed and ran a hand through her blonde locks. "You really think I can get it all back one day?"
"No. I think you can do something better," Adalynn said, giving the older girl a small smile. "I mean, come on. You're Quinn Fabray. Those people didn't part when you walked down the halls. You moved them with your attitude."
"Thanks, Adalynn," Quinn smiled softly. "You're a really good friend."
"You were one to me first," the younger girl shrugged. "I'm just returning the favor."
"It really means a lot that you've been here for me through all of this," the blonde said, glancing down at Adalynn's lips for a split second – something that didn't go unnoticed by the brunette, who cursed herself for wishing Quinn would just lean in and kiss her. "We... uh, we should get back inside. You're late for Cheerios practice."
"Oh," Adalynn mumbled, looking down at her cheerleading uniform. "Yeah. That."
Quinn stood up and extended a hand to Adalynn, who took it and allowed her to help her up. They walked hand in hand back inside the school, both of them dreading the moment they reached the gym and would have to let go.