The next week was quite an interesting one. Mr. Schue wound up getting sick due to the flu going around the school which could mean only one thing. We were getting a substitute. Besides that Coach Sylvester had been named principal since Principal Figgins also caught the flu and would be out sick for the next few weeks. This definitely meant trouble for the Glee Club.
In the meantime Rachel decided it was best if she took over writing 'Me' on the board and underlining it. "Class, in Mr. Schuester's absence, I'd like to go around and ask everyone what solos they'd like to hear me perform at sectionals," Rachel said. Most of us just rolled our eyes at Rachel but Santana wasn't having any of it. "All right, you know what? Let me at her!" Santana exclaimed as Sam as well as some of the others held her back "¡Tú eres loca!"
I couldn't help but chuckle. Santana wasn't wrong about Rachel. Her selfishness was part of why almost no one else got solos. I think the majority of us were tired of it being the Rachel Berry show. On the bright side Kurt had found us a substitute which meant the rest of us wouldn't have to listen to Berry squak while trying to lead us which was a relief, especially for me.
Puck was buttering the floor which I couldn't help but roll my eyes at. "Dude, what are you doing?" Finn asked. "Kurt got us a substitute, so I'm buttering the floor," Puck smirked. "But sectionals is, like, two weeks from now," Finn frowned. "Hey, Gigantor. We're all gonna swap names, yo," Artie laughed as he Mercedes and Tina giggled. "Um, did I hear something about a substitute," Rachel said as she slipped on the buttered floor. I couldn't help but chuckle as well as the rest of the New Directions. "Yes! It works!" Puck exclaimed excitedly. "Well, at least I didn't fall and break my talent," Rachel said as the rest of us snickered "I'm fine."
The substitute entered the room next sliding on the floor which impressed all of us. "Oh, what the hell?" Artie said. "Hola, clase. Nothing says "bienvenidos" quite like a buttered floor," the substitute said as Kurt entered behind her, slipping in the butter "Let's start with some introductions. My name is Holly Holliday. What's yours? Go," Miss Holiday said as she snapped her fingers looking at Puck. "I'm Finn Hudson. I'm quarterback of the football team," Puck said imitating Finn. "I'm Rachel Berry, his loud, loud girlfriend," Santana said raising her hand. "I'm Mike Chang," Brittany said as Mike nodded at her impression. "Those aren't your names. You know why I know that?" Miss Holiday said. "You're psychic?" Brittany asked. "know this because I recently watched a video of you guys performing at regionals, where you came in last. Maybe it's because the songs were about 30 years old, but..." Miss Holiday began. "Those songs are classics," Finn objected. "Those songs are amazing. But they sounded like somebody else's favorite songs. Not yours. Just sayin'," Miss Holiday shrugged. "She speaks the truth," Brittany nodded.
"I'm not your average, run-of-the-mill substitute teacher. I want you guys to do things that you want to do. I want you to have fun in our fabulous but fleeting time together. What do you say we have class outside today?" Miss Holiday asked. "It's raining outside," Mercedes said shaking her head. "Well, then let's take a field trip to Taco Bell," Miss Holiday smirked as the rest of us looked at each other. She definitely wasn't your typical substitute. "Should we take up some medical-grade marijuana? I wish," Miss Holiday smirked. "It's really hard not to like this woman," Finn said shaking his head. "Okay, no. We can't just goof off all day. We have to write a set list for sectionals," Rachel defended. "You're right. What songs would you like to do?" Miss Holiday asked as we all looked at each other.
"Oh. Don't get asked that question much, do we?" she said as we shook our heads. "Ms. Holliday is right. Mr. Schuester's setlist sometimes seems like he hasn't listened to the radio since the '80s," Kurt agreed. "He never listens to what I have to say," Puck frowned "Just last week I suggested we do the New Cee-Lo song, you know 'Forget You'." "Cee-Lo! That's what I'm talking about," Miss Holiday grinned. "Okay, excuse me? What would you know about Cee-Lo? 'Cause you're like, 40," Santana quipped. "Top 40, sweet cheeks," Miss Holiday said to her "Hit it!" she motioned to the band as we began to perform 'Forget You'.
I sang background dancing around with Santana and Brittany. We soon got in formation as we danced in front of the choir room as the others circled around Miss Holiday. Rachel, however was the only classmate who looked less than pleased with Miss Holiday. Towards the end of the numbers we were dancing across from the guys and it just so happened that I was paired with Puck. "I see you driving 'round town with the guy I love and I'm like forget you. I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough so I'm like forget you and forget him too," I sang to Puck as I pushed him. The lyrics definitely related to how I felt about him and Santana together. I know I didn't have a right to be jealous, especially since I had Sam but I couldn't help it. "Said if I was richer, I'd still be with ya, ain't that some shhh. Although this pain in my chest I still wish you the best with a forget you ooh ooh ooh ooh," I sang as I danced with Mike this time as we ended the song cheering and clapping.
Glee Club felt together, like how it used to be when we would have jam sessions. Mr. Schue had done a great job with us and everything but sometimes I definitely felt like we were at our best when we were loose. "Let's go get some tacos!" Miss Holiday said enthusiastically as we cheered. She was definitely a nice break from Mr. Schue, I had to admit it. As great as Mr. Schue was he didn't always take our opinions as seriously as he should. The bell rang as we left the choir room, thrilled to have Miss Holiday, at least for the week.
Having Miss Holiday all week turned out to be fun and a good time but when it was revealed that she had taken over Mr. Schue's job due to Sue being in charge, we all couldn't help but be devastated. As great as Miss Holiday was we didn't want to lose Mr. Schue. He had done so much for us. "Guys this is a huge problem," Rachel frowned as we nodded. "As much as I love Miss Holiday, Rachel's right. Coach Sylvester was just looking for a reason to fire Mr. Schue. As much as it pains me to agree with her we can't just sit around and do nothing," I said as Rachel smiled at me "Thank you Quinn." I nodded as the others agreed. We were going to campaign to Coach Sylvester to bring Mr. Schue back.
"Q, what are you doing in here?" Coach Sylvester asked as I entered. "Coach Sylvester I want to talk to you. You shouldn't have fired Mr. Schue," I said as she narrowed her eyes at me. "Is that so?" she asked. "It is. You see how Miss Holiday handled the whole tater tots situation with Mercedes. If Mr. Schue had been in charge, Mercedes would've been stopped before she shoved them up your tailpipe," I said confidently as Coach Sylvester seemed to nod. "Go on," she said. "Besides that Mr. Schue helped me when I was at my worst. Throughout all the pregnancy drama he was there for me. He accepted me despite what I put him and the rest of the club through last year, especially when Finn almost quit," I insisted. "You know what Q, you make a lot of fair points. This is why I wanted you back on the cheerios where you belong. You are ruthless and will do anything to get what you want," Coach Sylvester smirked. "What I want is for the school to be successful. Us being successful during your principal rule it will help the school board see that you are the true fit for McKinley High," I smiled. "Outstanding Q," Coach Sylvester commended as I smirked "Now get the hell out of my office." I obeyed leaving her office feeling proud of what I had accomplished.
We all cheered upon the return of Mr. Schue. "Alright, alright, thank you very much, guys. Please, please, sit down," Mr. Schue said as we all took our seats. "Just... Thank you... For that and... and for all the kind words you said about me to Sue. The feelings are mutual. Now, we got to get crackin', though. We lost a few days there, and it's all gonna be about focus and hard work for the next couple of days." "I guess Ms. Holliday really is gone," Puck sighed as Mr. Schue got us our new sheet music.
"I know you guys liked her, and she was a lot of fun, but she and I both agreed that this is what was best," Mr. Schue said. "Don't get us wrong, Mr. Shue, we always wanted you as our teacher. She was just kind of a nice break," Tina said. "She did loosen us up," I agreed. "And she actually had some good ideas for a sub," Artie said. "Yeah. I get it," Mr. Schue laughed nervously as he handed us out our sheet music "And maybe we can, uh, incorporate those... after sectionals."
"Now, when I'm sick, there is only one thing that makes me feel better," Mr. Schue smiled. "Gin and juice," Artie said. "No. Singin' in the rain. I must've watched it, like, ten times over the past three days. It's actually what inspired me to try this out as a contender for our first song at sectionals," Mr. Schue said as we looked at our music. "When is the song from?" Sam asked. "Well, the movie opened in 1952," Mr Schue said as we all just looked at him "But-but... but it's... But it's really timeless." We shook our heads. "Okay maybe I should ask Miss Holiday for help on this one," Mr. Schue said as we all nodded. "Be right back guys," Mr. Schue smiled as he headed to the history classroom and got Miss Holiday as we prepared a mashup of 'Singing in the Rain' and 'Umbrella'. Who knew that putting those two songs together would make such magic. Performing on the stage in the rain and puddles made by the AV Club just added to the number. It actually did seem like it could be a great number for sectionals, just as Mr. Schue had said. I could only hope that Sectionals this year would go a lot more smoothly than last year. What's the worst that could happen?
The next week turned out to be an interesting one. As it turned out Finn and Kurt's parents got engaged and were going to get married fairly quickly in their local church. "Well our parents needed a band so...." Kurt said as we all looked on nervously "We're going to perform!" We all chattered excitedly. "Kurt, that's amazing," Mr. Schue grinned as he wrote on the board for the week 'I DO'. "Our lesson plan for the week, finding the perfect songs to sing at Burt and Carole's Wedding," Mr. Schue said as we cheered. Picking songs for the wedding should be a great job for the week. I was looking forward to it. It was nice to see Finn's mom get a happy ending. She had been so kind to me when I lived with her and Finn. I was a little nervous about seeing her again, especially after everything I had put Finn through last year but I figured this wouldn't be any different from seeing her at our performances, right?
"Hey..." Sam smiled at me as we left the choir room. "Hey," I smiled back. "Meet me in the Astronomy classroom in 5," he said. "Okay," I smiled a bit as I went to freshen up wondering what in the world Sam would want to talk about.
"So, what do you want to talk about in private?" I asked as we entered the astronomy classroom. "These galactic mobiles aren't the stars of McKinley. We are. Or at least, I want us to be," Sam said to me. "Okay," I smiled. "I think I love you," Sam said as I looked at him stunned, this was all so much so fast. "Look, my shoulder's healed, I'm going to be the quarterback again soon," He said as he grabbed my hand and walked with me "And you're already the head cheerleader." He then proceeded to kneel down on one knee presenting a white box with a ring inside.
"Oh, my God, are you proposing? We've known each other for six weeks. Stand up. You're freaking me out," I said nervously. "I want to marry you...someday. Until then, will you accept this promise ring?" Sam smiled at me. "What are you, six?" I quickly said shaking my head. "If you accept, this ring will symbolize my promise to you to be true, to never pressure you to do anything more than kiss, to listen to your problems, to tell you when you have food in your teeth or eye gunk, to come over to your house whenever you need something super heavy moved around. I promise to make you feel proud when you point down the hall and say, "That dude's my boyfriend." And I promise to do all of those things without ever trying to sound like Matthew McConaughey," Sam smiled as I chuckled a bit. He was so sweet. He then knelt again on one knee. "I really care about you, Quinn. And I want us to be together," he said looking into my eyes. I wanted that too, yes but my feelings lately had been so confusing. As much as I cared for Sam I didn't know that I wanted to be exclusive just yet. I closed the box. "Is that a no?" Sam frowned. "It's a maybe," I said as I exited the room.
I had a lot to think about. Was I truly ready to commit to being someone's girlfriend again? The last time I did that things didn't end well. I hurt the guy I cared about by cheating on him with his best friend. I didn't know if history would repeat itself with me and Puck. As much as I wanted to be over him, I wasn't. I didn't know who I could turn to with this problem. Santana thought of Puck as hers so there was no way I could mention this to her. As much as I loved Brittany, she was too close to Santana which meant she probably would tell Santana exactly how I felt. Mercedes and I were close but she was definitely a gossip. She had admitted to the fact to telling the entire club but Rachel about Puck being the father of my baby. As much as I hated to admit it I might have to turn to the one person I thought I didn't need advice from....Rachel Berry.
Rachel could be self-centered most of the time but she had proven herself to be a loyal friend. Sure, we weren't exactly close but she had asked me for help when it came to Finn. I called up her number on my phone and began to type 'Rachel...can we meet up?' Rachel quickly replied 'I was just about to message you! Come meet me in the choir room.' I walked to the choir room expecting to talk to Rachel about my problems but I was met with Rachel, Tina, and Brittany which had me slightly confused. "What is all this?" I asked. "Take a seat Quinn," Rachel said as I scrunched up my face as I sat in between Brittany and Tina.
"Ladies, the Kurt-Karofsky bullying situation is getting way out of control. Kurt's miserable, he's losing weight...and not in a good way. And he's barely even fighting me for solos anymore," Rachel said. "We've all been teased, but something about what Karofsky's doing is so much worse," Tina frowned. "We're all lucky enough to have boyfriends on the football team. I say, we band together and demand that they confront Karofsky," Rachel said as I narrowed my eyes at her. She called me for a meeting for this? I wanted to help Kurt as much as anyone but just for us to have to call on our guys to defend Kurt made us seem somewhat helpless. "Okay, first off all, I'm not dating Sam. And second of all, I think you personally just set the feminist movement back 50 years," I said to Rachel. "But guys like Karofsky only respond to muscle," Rachel defended herself. "So we're going to fight violence with violence?" I asked shaking my head. No! Look, I'm not saying that they should hit him. What I'm saying is that we need to defend Kurt, and there's strength in numbers," Rachel said as I rolled my eyes. I knew exactly what that girl meant. So much for me coming to her with my problems. The girl didn't even know how to handle her own.
"I'm confused," Tina said shaking her head as she asked Brittany "Are you and Artie officially dating now?" "Deal with it," Brittany smirked as she then whispered "When you guys fooled around, did he ever, like, just lie there?"
Santana then entered the room annoyed "Why didn't you tell me that we were having a Glee girls meeting?" She asked Rachel. "This is a meeting for Glee girls with boyfriends. We're going to make them stop Karofsky from bullying Kurt," Rachel said. "Okay, I'm dating Puckerman," Santana said annoyed. "You're getting naked with Puckerman," I corrected her. "Besides, Puck can't mess with Karofsky; He's on probation. If he gets in a fight with him, he'll be sent back to juvie," Tina said. "Mm-hmm. Yeah, so now if you'll excuse us," Rachel smirked to Santana. "You're so on my list, dwarf," Santana said as she exited the choir room. "Look, if something bad happens to Kurt, and we didn't do anything to stop it, we'll never be able to live with ourselves," Rachel frowned. I couldn't help but agree with her there. Maybe I should talk to Sam about what was going on with Kurt. Not that I couldn't handle myself but I was worried about Kurt's well-being. He had been such a great friend to me when I really needed one so I needed to return the favor.
"Hey," I smiled a bit as I walked over to Sam after the meeting. "Hi," Sam said as he closed his locker. "I wanted to talk to you about Kurt," I said as Sam looked worried. "Is everything okay with him?" he asked. "Not at all. The whole situation with Karofsky really seems to be getting to him. He's usually so much stronger than this," I sighed. "What do you want me to do?" Sam asked seriously "Kurt was such a great friend to me when I first started here, I mean I would do anything to repay him for that." I smiled at him "Just talk to Karofsky. Tell him to back off of Kurt," I said as Sam nodded. "I can do that," he smiled. "Thank you," I smiled as I kissed him on the cheek. Sam smiled at me as I walked away. Seeing how Sam was so willing to step up almost made me like him more. He was such a good guy. Always willing to help others, maybe just maybe I was ready to be his girlfriend.
Sam walked out of football with a red eye and an ice pack. "What happened?" I asked worriedly as I rushed over to Sam. "It's Karofsky. I got involved like you asked and I kind of threw a few punches at him. He knocked over Artie and Mike, what was I supposed to do?" Sam frowned. "I so appreciate it," I smiled a bit as we walked into the choir room. I began to ice his eye. "How bad is it?" he asked me. "It's pretty hot actually," I smiled continuing to ice his eye. Santana and Mercedes seemed to go after Finn for not standing up for Kurt and for not being there. "Lay off Finn, everyone. It isn't his problem," Kurt told us seriously "It's none of your problems, actually. But thank you for what you did, especially Sam." "Seriously an epitome of a leader," Mike agreed as Sam smiled. Mr. Schue then entered the choir room. "What's going on? What happened to Sam's eye?" he asked. "He stood up to Karofsky," I said. "All the guys did," Tina agreed before adding "Well, not Finn." "Is everyone okay? Do we all need to go talk to Principal Sylvester?" Mr. Schue asked. "No. I got in a few good licks, too, so we can just call it even. And maybe this will send a warning to Karofsky, telling him to back off Kurt," Sam said. "You okay, Kurt?" Mr. Schue asked as Kurt nodded.
"Alright, guys. Let's take our places. We got a wedding to prepare for," Mr. Schue said as we began rehearsing our opening number for the wedding which was Bruno Mars' 'Marry You'. It was a lot of fun to come up with the choreography, especially since most of the couples were paired up. Sam and I would be singing together which I was looking forward to. It felt almost fitting that we would be singing a song about marriage when we were thinking of taking things between us to the next step of officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Thanksgiving Break had begun which was a fairly exciting time for all of us. I thought back to last year and how I had spent the holiday with Finn and his family. Things were so different this year. I wasn't trying to please anyone anymore. When I did something it was because I wanted to. It felt nice to have that luxury. I was getting back on top in so many ways, it wasn't to regain power it was just to retain something in my life. While Brittany was still captain, Coach Sylvester had me leading the cheers like it used to be. I was more commanding than Brittany which is why Coach Sylvester used me as her head cheerleader. Brittany was kind and sweet, I however could get the girls to obey me which was part of why I was head cheerleader last time around.
"Wow," Sam said as he entered the room I was in as I turned around. "You look beautiful," he smiled at me. "Thank you," I smiled as I kissed him. "You're welcome," he said "Do you think you're ready for today?" he asked. I sighed "I hope so. I mean I'm happy for Kurt's dad and Finn's mom but after what I put Finn and his mom through last year I'm a little nervous about seeing her again," I sighed. "You were a different person last year. Besides, you didn't lie to hurt Finn. You just didn't know how to tell him," Sam smiled as I shook my head, blown away by how much he truly got me especially since he wasn't there when everything went down last year. "How did I get so lucky?" I smiled a bit as Sam and I walked to join the others.
"Quinn, I'm so glad you could make it," Carole smiled hugging me as I hugged her back, a little stunned. "It's good to see you again Carole," I smiled a bit. "You too," Carole smiled as I sighed. "I'm sorry about last year. You didn't deserve that. Especially with how kind you treated me after I got kicked out," I sighed as Carole looked into my eyes. "Honey, I know why you did what you did. You didn't want to hurt Finn," Carole said as I nodded. "Exactly," I sighed. "It's all in the past now. Don't worry about what happened back then," she told me as I looked up at her stunned. "I'm just glad things worked out with you and your mom," Carole smiled. "Me too," I smiled back. "I better go get ready. It was so nice to see you," Carole smiled as she walked off.
Couple by Couple we entered the wedding singing 'Marry You'. "Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard We can go-o-oh," I sang as Sam and I danced down the aisle. "No one will know-o-oh," I sang I switched sides with Sam. "Oh come on, girl," Sam sang smiling at me. "Who cares if we're trashed? Got a pocket full of cash," I sang as Sam spun me around as we were joined by Kurt and Mercedes. "We can blow-o-oh. Shots of patro-o-on," Sam and I harmonized. "Ah! And it's on, girl," Sam sang as he walked up to the front of the aisle with me. I smiled a bit as we continued to sing the chorus as Burt and Carole each walked down the aisle. We finished the song as everyone cheered and the wedding ceremony began.
I smiled big watching Burt and Carole get married. Both of their speeches were so heartfelt and real. I couldn't help but hope one day when I got married that my husband and I would have a foundation of a relationship as strong as Burt and Carole. I looked over at Sam who seemed to be enjoying the wedding as well, thinking about how maybe someday we'd be this happy and that I should take his promise ring. I wanted to be his after all. Sure, my feelings for Puck at times were confusing but things were never easy between us. With Sam everything just felt...right. I knew what my decision was and I was glad today would be the start of something new for Sam and me.
Mr. Schue performed 'Sway' which was Burt and Carole's first dance. I couldn't help but smile watching them, seeing how happy they were. I smiled as Sam wrapped his arms around me. "I'm really happy for them," he whispered to me as I nodded. "I am too," I whispered. The song ended as we all clapped for Mr. Schue. It was then time for Finn's toast to the couple which the rest of us had been working on in secret. He was going to sing 'Just the Way You Are' by Bruno Mars which was such a sweet and perfect song, he was dedicating it to Kurt just to let him know we all love him for exactly who he is.
The guys were up dancing at first as Sam smiled in my direction as Finn sang the opening lines. "Oh her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining. Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying. She's so beautiful and I tell her everyday yeah," Finn sang as us girls got up on the opposite end singing background. "Oh you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change if perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same," I sang with the other girls as I did the choreography. When Finn got Kurt and danced with him we all formed a circle around them dancing around. I smiled at Sam singing the chorus, meaning every word I sang. He looked me in the eye as we held each other close splitting up from the group and dancing together as the song ended. Kurt smiled seeming grateful for the performance.
We all danced the night away with many party songs performed by the group. Sam and I smiled at each other seeming more and more happy to be together by the minute. "I'm glad I came to the wedding," I smiled a bit. "I'm glad you did too," Sam smiled as I looked at him. "I'll be right back," I smiled as I grabbed my bag. Before the break I had taken the promise ring. I was pretty sure I wanted to wear it but after tonight it just confirmed it to me. I slipped on the ring and walked back to Sam.
"Hey you're back," Sam grinned as I had a bottle with me. "Arnica twice a day. It'll help your bruise," I smiled "Thanks," Sam smiled. "I've been thinking a lot about what you did for Kurt. It made a real impact," I said. "I thought the only impact that was made was Karofsky's fist impacting my face," Sam joked. "You saw what Finn did tonight. That was because of you," I smiled as I then added "We've been talking this whole time, and you haven't even noticed that I'm wearing your ring." "How'd you get that?" Sam asked bewildered. "I broke into your locker. I've always been really handy with a nail file," I smiled a bit. "Really?" Sam grinned. "Mm-hmm," I smiled as he kissed me. "You have no idea how happy this makes me," he said shaking his head. "The feeling is mutual. I'm proud to have you as my boyfriend," I smiled as he held me tight. Everything felt perfect for the first time in a long time.
I could see Puck looking over at us, almost seeming jealous. Santana was too busy holding him to notice him staring at me but I wasn't going to let how I used to feel get in the way of tonight. Tonight was about love and people coming together. It wasn't about the past or what could've been. I was ready to move on with my life and I could only hope things could only get better from here.