Autumn frowned, furrowing her brows as she overheard a conversation between Sam and Rachel at the blonde boy's locker. She looked over at them out of the corner of her eye, quickly looking away when Sam's gaze met hers.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to calm her racing mind. She tightened her high-pony before switching out her textbooks. She closed her locker, hugging her physics book close to her chest as she made her way down the hall.
Although it was great to finally be back home, she wouldn't deny that she was having trouble falling back into the swing of things. She had missed out on so much while she was away, and she didn't quite feel like she fit in with the friends she used to get along great with. They had all these memories and inside jokes, and even though they tried to include her, she always ended up feeling left out.
Voices caught her attention, and she stopped right outside the door of the astronomy classroom, watching curiously as Juniper and Quinn argued about something.
Ever since the Latina transferred, she and the HBIC had been at each other's throats. Why that was, no one knew. Quinn loved to tease her and get under her skin, and Juniper wasn't afraid to attack her with her words and witty comebacks.
But Juniper was all bark and no bite. She was a huge softy, but she would never let Quinn know that.
"Just admit it, half-pint," the blonde said through gritted teeth.
"Admit what?" Juniper scoffed. "That you're a bitch? Cause I think everyone already knew that."
"Admit that you're jealous of me."
"Me? Jealous of you? You're fucking delusional."
"I know you are, but what am I?" Quinn smirked, cocking a brow.
"Wow, that's such a great comeback," Juniper chuckled sarcastically. "What are we, 6? Did you learn that one while picking on kids during recess?"
"Oh, you know what?" Quinn gasped, raising a finger up, her smirk widening when Juniper clenched her jaw and glared up at her. "Your favorite game."
"Don't you dare fucking touch me," the brunette spat.
"I'm not touching you," the older girl smirked as she circled her pointer finger in front of the shorter girl's face.
"I'm serious, Fabray!" Juniper whined, pushing her hand away. "Don't touch me."
"I'm not touching you," Quinn shrugged innocently. "If I was touching you, I'd do this."
She roughly pushed her back against the wall, her hands planted firmly on her shoulders to hold her in place, their faces just inches apart.
Juniper's breath hitched in her throat, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked up at the taller girl, who also seemed to be a little caught off guard by the distance.
Knowing she had probably seen too much, Autumn continued making her way down the hall as the bell rang loudly overhead.
****
"What the hell is this, dude?!" Finn snapped as he stormed into the choir room. "'What blondie former cheerleader is having a secret Moonlight Motel rendezvous with another big-lipped blondie?'"
"Where does it say that?" Sam frowned.
"Right on the front page of the school newspaper!"
"The tea is spilling," Juniper said as she sipped her coffee.
"Shut up, Juniper," Finn scoffed.
"Don't make me fight you."
"You don't seriously believe this, do you?" Quinn asked Finn, guiltily glancing at Juniper out of the corner of her eye.
"Why shouldn't I?" Finn scoffed. "Why wouldn't he do the same thing that I did to him?"
"What the hell?" Autumn frowned.
"It's a long story," Mike shook his head.
"Of course it is," Autumn mumbled, sighing sadly.
"It's gossip, Finn," Quinn said.
"This is your fault!" Santana yelled as she stormed into the room and walked up to Brittany. "You and Naomi told everyone that I played for 'another team' on your ridiculous melted cheese show!"
"I didn't do anything!" Naomi tried defending herself, hurt that Santana would accuse her of outing her.
"Wait, are you mad?" Brittany asked. "You do play for another team. You were on the Cheerios and now you're only in New Directions."
"And you couldn't have thought of any other way to say that?" Santana scoffed.
"I swear, I'm gonna punch your face off!" Finn shouted as he shoved Sam.
"You've got a lot of nerve accusing me," Sam scoffed, shoving the older boy back harder. "You're the one who stole my girl!"
"Stop it!" Quinn snapped, pushing the two boys apart.
Finn stormed out of the choir room. Santana sent Brittany a hurt glare before turning and leaving as well.
****
"What do we know about Sam anyway?" Tina asked as some of the New Directions sat around a table at the Lima Bean. "I mean, what town is he from? What state? What's his old school like?"
"Maybe he's a serial killer," Juniper shrugged, exchanging a look with Naomi as they both started laughing.
"Kurt wouldn't cheat on Blaine," Autumn said as she took a bite out of her coffee cake.
"You wouldn't know," Puck scoffed. "You haven't been here."
"It's just like the Rumors album," Rachel said. "I mean, people being apart or on the road is hard for two artists. Performers have this 'love the one you're with' mentality. I mean, look at all of us. Look at all of the different combinations that we've had. Autumnchel, Puckleberry."
"Tina Choen Chang-Chang," Tina jumped in.
"Artittany."
"Pizes and Pucktumn"
"Ew," Autumn scoffed, taking a sip of her mocha.
"You dated him?" Juniper asked.
"Unfortunately."
"Guys, we're sitting here squabbling over what? A rumor," Finn said.
"Finn's right," Rachel agreed. "We need more information."
"I don't wanna get into it," Quinn spoke up. "But all I'm gonna say...Sam's not gay."
She stood up and grabbed her bag, leaving the cafe without looking back once.
****
"Fondue for two! Fondue for two! That's some hot dish! Fondue for two!"
"Hi, I'm Brittany. Welcome to Fondue for Two. My guest today was supposed to be Santana, but she texted about an hour ago and it just said, 'I can't.' So...show must go on. Um, I will be interviewing one of my best friends, Autumn Graham."
"It's an honor to be here, Britt," Autumn said, smiling softly at her friend. "I'm sorry about Santana."
"It's fine," Brittany shrugged. "Alright, question one. What is your response to a claim made in the school newspaper that Finn's having an affair with Rachel to get back at Quinn?"
"Uh..." Autumn felt an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She lowered her gaze, picking at the chipped purple polish on her nails. "I...uh...I believe what she told me."
"Which was?"
"She and Finn were just on a stake out to get proof that Quinn was cheating with Sam."
"And why didn't she invite you?" Brittany asked. "I mean, that seems a little suspicious, don't you think?"
"Um, n-not really."
"You hesitated."
"I-I didn't."
"You did," Brittany nodded. "And you're fidgeting, you're nervously bouncing your knee, and you're struggling to keep eye contact."
"Uh..."
"You still have feelings for her don't you? And that's why you're lying to yourself because you don't want to believe that she's hooking up with Finn," Brittany declared.
"Um, Britt, just to be clear, you're not gonna be posting this, right?" Autumn asked.
"We've been live streaming the whole time," Brittany said, smiling at the camera.
"Fuck," Autumn groaned, burying her face in her hands.
****
"Alright, guys," Mr. Schue said as he walked into the choir room. "Who is up first today?"
"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel raised her hand. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to do my own reinterpretation of my favorite Fleetwood Mac song."
"Great, Rachel. Which one?"
"Go Your Own Way," Rachel said as Autumn glanced over at her out of the corner of her eye. "It's the song about the painful break up between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Traditionally, it's sung by a man, but today, Rachel Berry's gonna put her own feminine twist on it. Hit it."
As the diva sang, two pairs of green eyes had their own emotions flashing through them. Autumn knew for a fact that Rachel had seen Brittany's show and was singing to her, while Quinn, on the other hand, thought that she was singing to Finn.
Everyone clapped and cheered as the song ended.
"Don't you think it's maybe a little inappropriate that you chose to sing a love song to my guy?" Quinn asked as Juniper scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You're such a hypocrite, you Little Miss Perfect Prom Queen. You're a cheater who cheats in cheap motels with Sam and makes out in empty classrooms with Juniper!" Rachel accused as the whole room went quiet.
Juniper felt her cheeks heat up as the eyes of everyone in the Glee Club turned to her. She shook her head through her flustered state and looked across the room to Quinn, whose face was bright red.
"You know, I blame Sam for all this," Santana said, breaking the silence in the room. "And Rachel too. I blame her."
"What did I do?" Rachel scoffed.
"I'm sure you did something."
"I'm with Santana," Lauren spoke up. "Why doesn't Sam have anything to say?"
"Guilt," Artie mumbled.
"Seriously, dude, what you're doing is not cool," Puck said. "They both have boyfriends."
"Shut up!" Sam snapped. "I'm not messing around with Quinn or Kurt or any one of those guys. They're just helping me."
"Oh, is that what we're calling it now?" Mercedes asked. "And Juniper, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Leave me alone, I didn't do shit," Juniper scoffed. "She kissed me."
"Hold on," Mr. Schue said as he turned to Sam. "How were they helping you out?"
Sam sighed. "Kurt was bringing me clothes, and Quinn's helping me babysit my little brother and sister."
"Then why were you in that motel?" Finn asked.
"Because that's where I live now," Sam said as the room once again went dead silent. "My dad lost his job a few months ago. Then we lost our house. So, now we live in that motel in one room. Are you all happy? The truth is finally out."
****
Juniper was walking down the hallway when she felt someone grab her arm, dragging her into a classroom and locking the door.
"What do you want, blondie?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring up at Quinn.
"Don't play stupid, half pint," Quinn spat, grabbing the smaller girl by the collar of her shirt. "What part of 'don't tell anyone' did you not understand?"
"R-Rachel was the one who told," Juniper whimpered, her tough exterior breaking under the blonde's hard glare.
Quinn's stomach churned with guilt. She knew Juniper had a dark past – that was one of the reasons why she felt the need to build up a wall to shut people out. Her eyes softened, and she let her go.
"Sorry," she sighed. "I'm just scared, but that's not an excuse to take it out on you."
"You know, you're kind of a bitch," Juniper mumbled.
"And you're a little shit who gets on my fucking nerves," Quinn scoffed.
"I know you are, but what am I?" the younger girl teasingly asked, smiling a little when the blonde rolled her eyes.
"You're a dork."
"I thought I was a little shit?"
"Don't be a smart ass, Oakley."
****
The New Directions were all talking over one another as they looked over the latest issue of the school newspaper. Naomi gasped, pointing to one of the headlines and exchanging a look with Brittany.
"Mr. Schue, is this true?" Mercedes asked as the teacher walked into the room.
"The Muckraker says you're leaving us to do April Rhodes' show," Autumn said as she held the newspaper up.
"Guys..." Mr. Schue sighed. "If there's anything we've learned from this week's assignment, it's that you can't believe every rumor you hear."
"But isn't it your dream to sing on Broadway?" Tina asked.
"I have a lot of dreams. My top one being taking you guys to nationals."
"So, you're gonna stay?" Quinn asked.
"Look, we are going to nationals together, and we are going to win," Mr. Schue said.
"Hey, everybody," Sam said as he walked into the room with his younger siblings. "Wanted to get these guys out of the motel for a while. I hope it's okay if I brought them. I was also hoping that maybe they could help out with a number today. I have the perfect song I wanna sing to them. And don't worry, it's good for the assignment, Mr. Schue."
"The more the merrier," Mr. Schue said as he patted him on the back.