"You have pretty eyes, too."
"All right, let's, uh, let's gather around." Mr Shue began, walking into the choir room. "Sorry I'm late, guys. I was with Principal Figgins. Bad news, guys. Puckerman's in juvie."
"It really was just a matter of time." Tina exclaimed
"What did he do?" Quin said, turning to his sister
"He drove our mom's Volvo through the front of a convenience store and drove off with the ATM." Maggie said, head in her hands.
"And when is he getting out?" Rachel asked, as Maggie shrugged
"Unknown." Mr Shue added.
"He might be the dumbest person on this planet, and that's coming from me." Brittany laughed
"Guys!" Mr Shue scolded "Let's have some sympathy."
"For a guy who put his needs before the team's?" Finn asked "We need his voice and his bad-boy stage presence."
"We can't look at this as a crisis." Mr Shue told him "It's an opportunity."
"For what? Further embarrassment and humiliation?" Quinn asked
"For welcoming our new member... Sam Evans!" He pointed to the door of the choir room, as the tall blonde boy jogged in.
Maggie's eye widened, as she straightened up in her seat.
"Hey, everybody. I'm Sam." He started "Sam, I am. ... And I don't like green eggs and ham." He said, looking straight at Maggie.
She let out a giggle, remembering when they first met. Her laughter gained her some looks, as the rest of the club looked at her.
"What, It was funny." She whispered to Finn infront of her, as he shook his head
"Oh, wow. He has no game." Santana added
"Okay! This is gonna be great." Finn exclaimed, standing up You're not going to regret joining, Sam.
"Oh, good." He replied, relieved
"Sam, you sit right here." He pointed to the seat beside Maggie, in the middle row.
"Hi!" Maggie whispered excitedly to the boy "You didn't tell me you were joining."
"Wanted it to be a surprise." Sam replied, smiling, before turning his attention to the front of the room
"All right! Question for the group. What's a duet?" Mr Shue asked
"A blanket." Brittany blurted
"Close, Britt, that's a duvet." Maggie told her with a soft smile
"A duet is when two voices join to become one. Great duets are like a great marriage. The singers complement each other, push each other to be better. So, this week I want you to pair up and sing a duet. And, since you guys all seemed to love our little 'Defying Gravity' diva-off, I'm making this a competition."
"What's the winner get?" Mike asked
"Dinner for two, on me... at Breadstix."
The room erupted in excitement as Maggie uncomfortably shifted in her seat.
The bell rang, and the group slowly dispursed, chatting about the contest and the prize.
"Hey, thanks for laughing at my joke." Sam laughed as they walked out of the choir room together. "Everyone seemed to think it was pretty lame."
"Oh, you mean my joke?" She nudged him "Never lame in a million years" She smiled up at him, as they approached his locker.
"So, listen, about the duets-" Sam began
"Hi. I'm Kurt Hummel." Kurt interrupted, sticking his hand out.
"Hey." Sam replied, shaking the boys hand.
"I just wanted to personally welcome you to the glee club." He said
"Thanks." He smiled, as kurt just stood there, smiling
"Just tell me." Kurt blurted, Maggie and Sam looking at eachother confused "Look, maybe at your old school, you could get away with the whole 'I just stayed in the sun all summer' excuse, but I have three gifts: my voice, my ability to spot trends in men's fashion, and my ability to know when it comes from a bottle."
Maggie let out a giggle
"I don't dye my hair, dude."
"Yes, you do. But it's just between friends. That's not natural."
"Okay, great catching up but I've got to run to class." Maggie said before she could get caught in a silly conversation about hair dye.
Sam gave her eyes pleading her to stay, but she just let out a laugh and turned around, walking down the hallway
"I'm gonna go too, cause you're kinda freaking me out." Sam said
"Wait, wait. Maybe my instincts were a little off. Let me make it up to you. Team up with me for the duet competition. Listen, unless you team up with Rachel, I am your best bet at winning."
"Aren't duets supposed to be between, like, a girl and a guy?" Sam asked, looking back at Maggie.
"Well, Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor would protest." Sam just looked at him confused "Make 'Em Laugh? Singin' in the Rain. 1952. Nothing? Okay, maybe you are straight."
"What?" Sam started "Look, I'm honoured you want to sing with me, but i was kind of just about to ask maggie to sing with me" He admitted
"Okay, as much as I think you two singing together would be adorable," Kurt swooned "If you really want to win, you and I need to join forces. Trust me."
Sam gave him a wary look
"Listen, rent Singin' In The Rain." He told him "And then look up the menu for Breadstix online, and call me, because we are gonna win this."
✮✮✮
Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Finn and Rachel
"We're totally going to win this thing." Finn smiled
"I know." Rachel frowned, taking a seat
"Well, don't be sad. I mean, Breadstix has these vegan meatballs, they're... they're okay." Finn tried to comfort
"I'm not really a nice person. I'm selfish. The fact is, I'm only really generous if there's something in it for me." She admitted
"Yeah, but I still like you."
"But you, you're so... kind, and open. Well, it's made me want to be a better person." She tole him "We have to throw the competition."
"But I love Breadstix." Finn muttered
"No, 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."
"Okay, well, he's not gonna win by singing with Kurt." Finn laughed
"Right. We need to set him up for a duet with Quinn." Rachel stated
"What? No, he needs to sing with Maggie." Finn argued "Rachel, they're like mega crushing on each other. This would be the perfect push."
"Finn, think about it." Rachel stood up, "Yes, Maggie is a Cheerio, but Quinn is head Cheerio. Singing with the most popular girl in school is the only way Sam's going to stick around."
"Wow, Rachel, I've never seen you like this. I'm kind of impressed." Finn admitted
"Well, like I said... you inspired me."
"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." He replied
"Okay, so I'm just gonna ignore what you just said. 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." She said with a nod.
"Right." Finn agreed "I don't fully agree with this plan, but I trust you."
"I don't see the big deal. He e-mailed me, like, 60 MP3s of him singing, and I thought it was Faith Hill. The kid's good."
"Look, this isn't about how good Kurt is. Being in glee club is like... it's like walking down the double yellow lines of a highway. If you get just a little off course, you're gonna get crushed."
"I gotta be honest, you're kind of confusing my head right now. I mean, do you remember what you said when you talked me into joining glee club?"
"You told me 'Nationals are in New York City. Can you imagine what it's going to be like coming home with that first-place trophy? Most of the kids in this town have never even seen the ocean. We'll be gods.'" He looked at Finn "You also told me it would help me spend time with Maggie, and now you're telling me to sing with Quinn?"
"You'll have a bunch of other chances to sing with Maggie, I promise." Finn smirked at him, "Right now, if you wanna be the most popular guy in school, you have to sing with Quinn.
"Finn, I joined up because I'm new here and you said it would make me popular, and now you're telling me that it's going to get me killed?"
"Well, eventually you're going get popular from it, believe me, but until then, you've got to lay low a little bit. And singing a duet with another dude is not laying low."
"I didn't realize that you had a problem with gay dudes."
"Look, I don't have a problem with gay dudes, everyone else does. And we're living in their world, and in their world, you singing a duet with Kurt is a death sentence.
"Well, I gave him my word. In my world, that's that." And with that, he walked out of the locker room.
"Boom!" Karofsky exclaimed, tossing a red slushie in his face.
"Welcome to glee club, lady lips!"
"Oh my god! Sam!" Maggie said, seeing the interaction from her locker.
She grabbed the boy's hand, pulling him into the girls' washroom, after making sure no one was in there.
She grabbed a towel, beginning to wipe off her friend's face.
"The blueberry flavour is the worst, especially if it gets down your skirt. I looked like a creature out of "Avatar" down there when I got slushied." She laughed, as Sam looked at her.
"I saw "Avatar," like, six times." He smiled
"Well, I've only seen it twice" Maggie smiled "Looks like I've got some catching up to do. Anyway, you'll get used to it."
"You're a cheerleader, why do you even bother?" Sam asked the girl "I mean, you don't need glee club."
"I really love to sing." She admitted, pulling red ice out of his hair "And something about being in that room full of people who love and care about me so much, it makes me feel pretty special. Even if that means a slushy facial every once in a while." She laughed, their faces now closer together than ever before
"Lor manari." Sam whispered.
Maggie just blushed, exhaling a laugh and looking down.
"You have pretty eyes too." She told him back, nudging his shoulder with hers.
"C'mon, go get changed." She told him, begining to walk out of the bathroom with him following close behind.
"Wait for me out here and we can walk to glee club together? I'll be quick" Sam asked her, as they aproached the locker room
"Kay" She smiled, leaning against the wall
River Deep, Mountain High by Mercedes and Santana
"Whoo! Ladies, nice work! What an incredible song!" Mr Shue exclaimed once the performance was over
"And just so you know, I've already bought custom bibs for me and Mercedes here. You know why? 'Cause we's be going..." Santana started
"To Breadstix!" The finished together
"You hear that, guys? You have your work cut out for you." He let out a laugh
Everyone began to pack their things up and head out, as maggie caught up with Santana, beginning to walk down the hallway
"Tana! That was amazing!" Maggie approached her friend "You guys are totally gonna win."
"Not so fast," Santana stopped her "You and Sam singing together might just be too cute and win us all over."
"Oh, no," Maggie shook her head, "Sam is singing with Kurt. I actually haven't got a partner, but I'm happy just watching." She smiled
"Oh, please," Santana rolled her eyes "No way trouty mouth goes through with that duet. It's got school joke written all over it."
"Trouty Mouth?" Maggie furrowed her eyebrows
"It's my new nickname for him." Santana told her "Anyways, you have got to sing with Sam. That would be so sweet my teeth actually may fall out."
"I think he's pretty set on singing with Kurt, but I'll see what I can do." Maggie sighed
"Okay, guys, so... who is up first today?" Mr Shue began.
"Mr. Schue, if I may?" Kurt raised his hand
"You may."
"As many of you know, I had a duet partner, but due to sensitivities I'd rather not get into at the moment, I have dissolved the partnership."
Maggie looked at Sam beside her, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Okay, so who are you going to sing a duet with?" Mr Shue asked
"Only the most talented member of the glee club... myself. When you're different, when you're special, sometimes you have to get used to being alone. I've asked a few members of the glee club as well as some Cheerios to help me out."
"How can you do a duet by yourself? That's like vocal masturbation or something." Santana blurted
I will be doing a number from the seminal classic movie "Victor/Victoria." It's a show about embracing both the male and the female sides. Watch and learn, Santana." he turned to Brad "Hit it!"
Le Jazz Hot by Kurt Hummel
The rest of the club watched from their seats, cheering Kurt on. Once the performance was over, Maggie turned to look at Sam.
"Hey, so how come you didn't sing with Kurt?" She asked him
"I don't really know" Sam admitted "He approached me and called it off."
"Oh." Maggie paused "Well, since you don't have a partner and neither do I, do you wanna sing something with me?" She smiled.
Sam looked down "Uh, yeah, about that." Maggie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"I kinda already asked Quinn to be my partner." He said, scratching the back of his neck "It's just that, Finn told me that in order to stay popular I needed to sing with the head cheerleader, and well, I'm the new kid and I really don't want to give Azimo and Karofsky-"
"Sam," She laughed, cutting him off, "It's okay, I totally get it."
"You do?" He asked
"Yeah," She smiled, "You guys are gonna sound great together."
She walked up the stairs, waving bye to Sam and heading to find Finn. She was about to give her best friend a run for his money.
"Finn! What the hell dude!" She exclaimed, approaching the boy at his locker.
"Uh oh." He muttered.
"Yeah, uh-oh." She said, "I thought you had my back here."
"I do!" He began "I totally do have your back. It was Rachel's idea anyways. Don't you want Sam to stick around?"
"Well, yea, but why does he need Quinn for that?" she asked
"Singing with Quinn, and winning, might be the only shot we have at him not quitting." Finn explained "I'm just looking out for you. I want you guys to have the chance to sing together a billion other times, but right now we need to focus on helping him see that glee club isn't for losers."
Maggie didn't really know what to say, kinda stunned that Finn had actually had a plan and valid reason for doing this to her.
"Look, please don't be upset with me." Finn looked down at her
"I'm not," She shook her head "I get it. Just some heads up would have been nice. I totally just embarrassed myself asking him to sing with me." She laughed.
"Noted." Finn smiled, throwing his arm around her shoulders as they walked to class.
✮✮✮
After Mike and Tina's incredible performance of Sing!, Quinn approached Maggie in the hallway.
"Hey, Mags," Quinn started "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," The young girl smiled "Anything."
"You and Sam, what's going on there?" Quinn asked
"Oh, um," Maggie started, not expecting Quinn to be so straightforward "We're just friends."
Quinn gave the girl a wary look.
"Why do you ask?" Maggie asked her.
"Well, we were practicing for our duet," Quinn began "And, he kind of leaned in to kiss me."
Maggie's heart sank.
"But, we didn't!" Quinn said, noticing the look on the girl's face "I pulled away. I didn't want to get involved with him because I thought the two of you were kinda together. But, you're just friends?" She asked again.
"Yeah, just friends." Maggie nodded "Totally not anything more. Just friends."
Of course, Maggie wanted to tell Quinn that she had a huge crush on the boy, but at the end of the day, she cared about Sam's happiness, and if he wanted to be with Quinn, she didn't want to come in the way. Even if that meant she was that much farther away from being with him herself.
"Okay, good to know." Quinn smiled "Thanks, girl. see you at practice."
Maggie waved as Quinn turned and walked away. Imideately scanning the hallways for her best friend. As mad as she might be at him for setting this whole thing up, all she needed right now was a hug.
She made her way over to his locker, tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey!" Finn exclaimed, seeing the girl "Hey, what's wrong?!" He noticed her watery eyes.
She pulled him in for a hug, him returning it right away.
"Maggie, what happened" he asked, concerned.
"He tried to kiss her." She mumbled into his chest.
"What? Who?" he asked, confused.
"Sam," She pulled away, Finn's hands on her shoulders "Sam tried to kiss Quinn."
"What?!?" Finn looked confused "Where? When?"
"When they were practicing for their duet." Maggie looked up at him. "I was just starting to think he might actually like me back." She buried her face in his chest once more, as he rubbed her back.
"Hey," Finn said, "Don't be sad. I'm sure Sam had his reasons. Let me go talk to him." Finn said, earning a nod from Maggie, as Finn rubbed her shoulder and walked into the locker room.
"You tried to kiss her?!" Finn exclaimed, approaching Sam at the punching bag. "Major glee party foul, dude!"
"Look, I know I shouldn't have." Sam looked away "She was just sending me these vibes. And those eyes.."
"Maybe it's for the best she backed out. I mean, if that Puckerman kid ever gets out of jail, he's gonna beat my ass. I'm sure you still have feelings for her, too."
"No, no. No way. I'm with Rachel now. I mean, she's a lot shorter than Quinn and she talks a lot, but I'm in love with her." He admitted
"Look, this isn't about dating, dude. It's barely even about Quinn." Finn began, "I thought you liked Maggie. What you're doing with her, and with Quinn, it's not cool to either of them."
"Dude, you're the one who told me to sing with Quinn," Sam replied
"I told you to sing with her, not make out with her!" Finn exclaimed
"Either way. If you wanted me to sing with Maggie, you should have said that. This is all really confusing my head." He told Finn, shaking his head.
"Look, at the end of the day, this is about you singing with Quinn to raise your musical rep in the group." Finn told him "I'm not saying you're gonna win, but I'm just saying that, you know, even coming in second would go a long way with the rest of the team."
✮✮✮
After Finn and Rachel's disturbing performance of With You I'm Born Again, Quinn and Sam had taken the floor.
"Okay, I just want to say I'm really excited, and that I couldn't have asked for a better partner," Sam stated, grabbing his guitar.
Maggie looked down, trying to conceal the tears once again welling in her eyes.
Lucky by Sam and Quinn
Maggie watched, heartbroken, as Sam took Quinn's hands, the two singing into each other's souls. As much as she was upset, she had to admit it was a really good performance, and she did like seeing Sam happy, even if it wasn't with her.
Once the song was over, the group applauded. Sam looked over at Maggie, and she just gave him a smile and a thumbs-up. All she wanted to do was support him.
The bell rang, and everyone left the room, heading to their next class.
"Maggie, wait up." She heard from behind her, turning around to see Brittany running to catch up with her.
"Hey Britt-Britt!" She exclaimed, "What's up?"
"Artie doesn't want to sing with me anymore. I'm pretty sure it's because he's off to fight in a war and doesn't want to let me down." Brittany started. "And I know that Sam sang with Quinn instead of you so you don't have a partner. So I thought we could sing together."
"Oh my gosh, yes, Britt!" She smiled "I would love to. We are gonna sound so good!"
The two walked off, beginning to plan what song they were going to sing. Though Maggie was sad about Sam and Quinn, she had to admit, this was a pretty good alternative.
Man! I Feel Like A Woman by Brittany and Maggie
The two girls sang and danced their hearts out, not even caring about winning the competition. They knew they were good, they didn't need a breadstix date to prove it.
The club watched and danced along in their seats, all enjoying the performance and the energy in the room.
The song ended with applause, the two girls catching their breath as they hugged, sitting down together.
"Girls, that was awesome! Okay, I guess it's time to take it to a vote." Mr. Shue exclaimed.
Maggie wrote down her and Brittany's names on her paper, dropping it in the hat.
"Well, even though it looks like just about everyone voted for themselves – even those who didn't compete – we do have a winner. And the winner is... by two votes... Sam and Quinn!"
"What?! What?!" Santana jumped out of her seat "Screw that, I want my 'stix!"
Mercedes and Maggie pulled Santana back to her seat, consoling her.
"Unbelievable!" Santana added
"It was mine! No, I don't know how this happened!" Rachel said, "Unbelievable."
"This is so not a date." Maggie heard Quinn whisper to Sam.
Well, at least she had that.