When New Directions gathered after school, Amity and Bree waited a few minutes before making their entrance. As they did, the music began and multiple jaws dropped after seeing Amity's makeover.
Bree: Lalalalalala. Lalalalalala. Lalalalalalalalala!
The corner of Alex's mouth creased into an almost indiscernible smile as Bree danced around and Amity faced him.
Amity: It took too long. It took too long. It took too long for you to call back. And normally I would just forget that. Except for the fact it was my birthday. My stupid birthday.
Everyone looked over at Alex, curious about what his reaction would be. Unique was pleasantly surprised, her mouth gaping as she smiled in Alex's direction.
Amity: I played along. I played along. I played along. Rolled right off my back. But obviously my armor was cracked. What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?
At the word 'boyfriend' Alex raised an eyebrow, making Amity lose focus for a moment. Luckily, Bree was there to stand by her side and nudge her as she rested her arm on her shoulder.
Amity: Who would forget that?
Bree: The type of guy who doesn't see what he has until she leaves.
Amity: Don't let me go.
Bree: Cause without me, you know you're lost. Wise up now or pay the cost.
Amity: Soon you will know
Amity backed up as Bree kicked the chair Alex was using as a foot rest, forcing him to sit up from his usual lazy slouch.
Both: You're not livin' till you're livin'
Amity: Livin' with me
Both: You're not winnin' till you're winnin'
Bree: Winnin' me
Both: You're not gettin' till you're gettin'
Amity: Gettin' me
Both: You're not livin' till you're livin'
Amity: Living for me
The other guys directed semi-teaseful, semi-concerned looks towards Alex. The only people in the room who were fully enjoying themselves were Kitty-- who admittedly loved Aly & AJ-- Dan-- who admittedly disliked Alex-- and Unique-- who admittedly distrusted Alex. Everyone else enjoyed the singing and the dancing but felt some degree of discomfort as the song progressed.
Both: You can try, you can try. You know I know it'd be a lie. Without me you're gonna die. So you better think clearly, clearly. Before you nearly, nearly. Mess up the situation that you're gonna miss dearly, dearly. C'mon.
As Amity sang the chorus, with background vocals from Kitty and Shana, Bree belted out some of the lines and Mr. Schue nodded along proudly.
Both: This is the potential break-up song. Our album needs just one. Oh baby please, please, tell me.
Amity, who was exhausted after putting the most energy into a performance that she ever had before, walked slowly towards Alex.
Both: This is the potential make-up song. Please just admit you're wrong. Which will it be?
Amity: Which will it be?
Bree: Lalalalalala. Lalalalalala. Lalalalalalalalala.
The room filled with applause, especially from Mr. Schue, who said, "Wow! That was outstanding. Bree, your vocals are impressive and Amity, I don't think I've ever seen you sing so passionately. I'd hate to be on the other end of those lyrics, huh? Give it up one more time for them, guys!"
***
"Mr. Schue doesn't pay attention to any of our personal issues," said Kitty as she began an emergency glee girl meeting during lunch the next day. "Guys don't care about feelings and he's one of them. I mean, that comment he made after Amity sang... What was that about?"
"Oh, come on guys," Amity said. "It wasn't that big of a deal."
"Maybe not once," said Marley, "but Kitty's right. He does this a lot. Last year, it took him about three performances to realize that Jake and I had broken up."
"He knew about what I did to you," Bree shrugged.
"That's because you made sure everyone knew," Marley responded, rolling her eyes.
"Wait, so he doesn't notice what's going on even after people sing to each other?" Shana asked, confused.
"Does that mean he doesn't know about Dan and me?" Harmony asked, laughing.
"Probably not," said Julie, crossing her arms. "Then again, most people wouldn't since you treat him more like your slave than your boyfriend."
"Okay, you don't know--" exclaimed Harmony defensively.
"Enough, enough," Kitty quieted them down. "I called this meeting with an understanding that we wouldn't fight among each other."
"Kitty's right girls," Unique spoke up. "We need to stop fighting with each other. It's those boys we should be turning against, not one another."
"Agreed," said Kitty. "And we need to stand up for ourselves and express what we want, just like Amity did yesterday."
"It didn't even work," Amity pointed out. "He hasn't talked to me since."
"Give it time," said Bree. "You guys are new. Anyway, I haven't really been paying attention to anyone's troubles lately. What else is going on?" When nobody spoke up, Bree turned to Kitty, who had begun the discussion.
Kitty sighed. "John and I had a talk at Amity's party," she said, "and he was kind of talking circles so I'm not really sure where we stand at this point."
"John didn't mention you guys were still having trouble," Julie said, confused. "All we talked about was the Jake situ... I mean, the—"
"Ryder?" said Bree. "Did you mean about how Ryder mistakingly thought you were seeing Jake behind his back?"
"Umm," Julie started. Bree gave her a look, indicating that she'd better go along with it. "I mean," she said. "Yeah. That whole mess. Which is hopefully fixed by now."
"Well, that's what you have to do," said Kitty. "Show Ryder that he's the one that you want." Julie didn't respond, not knowing whether that was even true at this point.
"And you," Bree told Kitty, "need to put your foot down with John. He gets away with a lot and I think you need to be clear before you guys keep going. I mean, he's graduating and you two need to have a plan for what will happen after he goes away."
"If he even does," Kitty sighed.
"People change after they leave high school," Julie shrugged. "I think Bree's right. It's a good time to have that talk."
"Marley, what are you up to on the guy department?" Bree asked suddenly. "I know you don't have a boyfriend and that that's my fault. And I'm sorry for being a bitch about it. But if us girls are going to band together we should help you with whatever romantic issues you're having."
"I'm not seeing anyone," Marley responded curtly.
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Are you crushing on someone?"
"No," Marley said, a bit nervously. "Not really. But, uh, I think if we all band together like you guys said, we can finally stop letting those boys step all over us and cause us trouble."
With that, the attention shifted back to making demands from the guys. By the end of lunch, they had an entire list of demands they had made to give to Mr. Schue and the rest of the guys after school. Before they met up in the choir room with them, however, Bree held Julie back.
"We need to talk," she told her.
"About?" Julie asked.
"What happened in lunch," she said. "When you mentioned Jake. I saved your ass and I won't do it again."
"I don't know what you're—" Julie began.
"I heard you guys fighting at my house on Saturday," Bree said. "I know all about how you two kissed and you're keeping it from Ryder." Julie opened up her mouth but now words came out. "I know I'm a slut," Bree said, "but I didn't think I'd rub off on you so easily."
Bree walked away and into the choir room. Julie suddenly felt as though she couldn't breathe, standing there with her stomach so low that she couldn't move.
"Hey," said Jake as he arrived and saw her frozen. "What's wrong? Did something happen with Isabella?"
Julie shook her head, looking up at him and whispering, "Bree knows."
They headed into the room without another word. "Mr. Schue," said Kitty as soon as everyone was there. "We girls met up earlier and we have something we need to say. We don't appreciate the insensitivity of the Y-chromosomal members of the club when it comes to performances."
"What do you mean?" asked Will.
"She means the fact that we have to sing with people we're at odds with," said Marley. "And I mean, we're all for taking one for the team, but sometimes our personal feelings are more important than a simple little number."
"We think it's unfair," Bree added. "Because it seems like we girls are more affected by it." The boys began to protest but Mr. Schue quieted them down.
"Okay, okay," he said. "I hear you. So what do you suggest we do about it?"
"We have these," said Kitty, pulling out the lists they had produced at lunch, "to hand out." She gave them to Marley, Bree and Shana, who distributed them down every row. "They are basically a list of demands," said Kitty, "to make us feel a bit more appreciated."
"Don't use girlfriends and exes as punchlines?" said Ryder as he read out one of the demands from the list Marley handed him.
"Don't see two members of glee club at the same time," Jake read out another. He looked over at Julie, who was working exceedingly hard to avoid eye contact with him.
"These are just little things that will go a long way," said Kitty. "We know that every once in a while we'll have to sing with someone we have romantic history with, which makes sense considering everyone in this room has at some point been or currently is involved with someone else in here."
"This is very admirable," said Will, reading through the list. "We will definitely refer to this in the future. But unfortunately I had a great song for you to do today and I'm not exactly sure who has dated who anymore. Not all of you announce everything in here."
"You can just ask," Sugar shrugged. "I'll start. Rory and I are dating."
"I knew that one," Will told her. "But I guess for the purpose of the number it'll be good to know. Okay so..." He reached for a sheet of paper he had on his desk and turned back to them. "By a show of hands, who in here has been romantically involved with Marley?"
Marley's eyes widened at Will's method. Bree rolled her eyes as Kitty face-palmed, but when Ryder's hand went up, quickly followed by Jake's, everyone began to participate in Mr. Schue's who's-dated-who session.
"Alex, raise your hand boy," Unique said. "You tried to kiss her in New York."
"What?" exclaimed Shana, enjoying the new revelation. Marley shot Unique a look and Alex sighed, raising his hand and glancing over at Amity, who was once again all dressed up. Mr. Schue made a note of this.
"Wait, so just kissing someone counts?" Bree asked. "Outside of acting, of course." Julie's face flushed red and Jake looked down at the ground.
"I suppose," said Will, not really caring or wanting to know those details. "Okay, how about Amity?" Alex sighed once again, raising his hand as Mr. Schue scribbled something. The few people in the room who didn't know about Alex and Amity had their respective reactions and Mr. Schue moved on. "And Julie?" he asked.
Ryder raised his hand, blushing as a few people teased. Bree glanced at Jake briefly before turning her attention back to the front. Julie didn't smile, despite everyone making little comments that would've normally made her stomach flutter with butterflies. Instead, she had moths, and they were making her want to throw up.
"Great," said Will. "In that case, I think I've come up with a great distribution of solos for this number. It's a three-couple duet, but obviously we're trying to avoid the couple part here. And I think this is a good thing. This song is about friendship and giving back, so I'm looking forward to the outcome now more than ever."
Marley began to drink water, preparing for the solo she knew she'd have now, and Amity nervously tapped her foot. Julie exhaled softly, ready to get back to singing so that she could forget about everything.
"Okay," said Kitty, "so obviously Marley, Amity, and Julie are three of the soloists since you only asked about them. Who else is singing?"
"With Amity," he said, looking down at what he'd written, "we'll have Dan." Amity, feeling comfortable with this, seized the fidgeting for a second as Harmony crossed her arms with a jealous scowl on her face. "Marley will be singing with John." Marley nearly choked on her water, something which everyone Bree failed to notice. "And Julie will sing with Jake." Julie was sure she'd puke any second now.
"Sorry, what?" said Jake.
"You three have proven to really complement these ladies' voices so let's get moving," Mr. Schue explained. "To the auditorium."
***
"Alright," said Will. "Ready to run the whole thing?"
The kids nodded. The New Directions lined up in the back, at least those who didn't have solos, and waited for the music to begin. With six microphones set up in the front, Marley, John, Julie, Jake, Amity and Dan lined up behind them, in that order, and got ready to begin. When the music started, the background members swayed and hummed as the spotlight hit Marley and John.
Marley: A word is just a word til you mean what you say.
John: And love isn't love til you give it away.
Marley looked over at John, who was looking straight forward, as they sang.
Marley: We've all got a gift.
John: Yeah something to give--
Both: --to make a change!
Marley directed her eyes towards the front as John briefly looked over at her. The lights in the back lit up to reveal the New Directions.
Marley and John: Send it on
New Directions: Send it on...
Marley and John: On and on
New Directions: On and on...
Marley and John with New Directions: Just one hand can heal another
Marley and John: Be a part
New Directions: Be a part...
Marley and John: Reach your heart
New Directions: Reach your heart...
Marley and John with New Directions: Just one spark starts the fire
Marley and John: With one little action the chain reaction will never stop. Make it strong shine a light and send it on.
As all lights went off and the spotlight shined on Jake and Julie, Bree watched them carefully. She wasn't sure whether Julie had genuinely resisted him or there was something going on, but she also didn't really want to know.
Julie: Just smile
Jake: Just smile
Julie: And the world
Jake: And the world
Julie: Will smile--
Both: --along with you
Jake: That small act of love that's meant for one--
Both: --will become two.
All lights went on and Bree saw more clearly now. Jake was looking at Julie and she was looking into the distance. But what caught her eye more were the glances that Marley and John were giving each other.
Marley: If we take the chances
John: To change circumstances
Marley and John: Imagine all we can do if we...
As Julie and Jake sang the chorus with the rest of New Directions backing them, Bree wondered whether she was losing it. Perhaps she'd been so suspicious of everyone since the Valentine issue that she was seeing things that weren't there. John and Marley didn't make much sense. It had to be the Jake and Julie thing that was making her see hidden relationships everywhere. But was there even a hidden relationship with those two?
Marley and John: There's power in all of the choices we make.
Jake and Julie: So I'm starting now there's not a moment to waste.
Dan and Amity: A words just a word til you mean what you say. And love isn't love til you give it away!
As they sang the chorus, the six selected soloists belted out as best as they could, particularly Marley, Julie and Jake. When they were finished, Mr. Schue clapped proudly and most of them celebrated a well-executed performance. However, Marley and Julie felt less comfortable than they had before they'd begun.