"I feel really bad," said Julie, pacing in her bedroom as Ryder lied on her bed. "I mean, no one deserves a great night out as much as Unique."
"You do," he responded, flipping through one of her sketch journals. "Terrible artist or not, you really could use a perfect night with your friends."
Julie shook her head, looking back at Ryder and saying, "Those drawings are from when I was a kid."
"You still draw like this," he pointed out, grinning.
She rolled her eyes and told him, "I just wish we could help Unique somehow. What they're doing to her is terrible."
"Or maybe it's what she gets for butting into everyone's business all the time," Ryder shrugged.
She turned to him and asked, "What do you mean?"
"The way she gets involved in everyone's personal matters," he answered. "Like with Alex and Amity, she was way out of line and is still constantly trying to break what they have. And then there's the fact that Jake and Marley were going to be friends but any time they try to talk she gets in the way. I'm sure they would've gotten back together by now if not for Unique."
"Doubt it..." Julie mumbled. She looked up at Ryder and, noting the way he was looking at her, added, "She doesn't seem interested anymore... Anyway, uh, that's besides the point."
"And what exactly is your point?" he asked.
"We need to do something to help Unique," she responded.
"I know a great place for tuxedo rentals," he suggested. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him as he chuckled.
"Ryder, this isn't funny!" she exclaimed. "We have to do something."
Ryder sighed. "Normally I'd warn you to leave this one alone," he said, "but considering this is the first time I've seen you care about anything in a while, I think--"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she stopped him, her brow creased. "You think I don't care?" He shrugged so she told him, "There's plenty I still care about, Ryder. I care about my dad and Cory. I care about you..."
He forced a smile. "It just seems like nothing matters anymore..." he confessed. "And that really worries me."
She looked back at him for a moment and said, "It's not that... It's just that my energy is really low... Well, my dad, uh... he texted earlier and said he'd picked up my prescription so I'll be back to normal soon."
"Julie..." Ryder began. "Today you risked possibly getting kicked out of the Cheerios and--"
"I should rest, though," she said, walking towards the door and opening it. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
He nodded, getting up and heading out, but not before turning to give her one last look of concern. "See you at school then?"
She nodded and, after giving her a kiss, he finally headed out.
***
"Hello Puckerman..." Kitty grinned as she appeared at Jake's door. "We need to talk."
"Kitty..." Jake mumbled, confused. He looked back inside his house and said, "Not here." Closing the door behind him, he led Kitty to her car, where the two sat inside in awkward silence.
"Didn't think we'd ever be alone in here again," she said smugly.
"What's this about Kitty?" he asked.
"There's something that's been bothering me for a while," she began. "You have like, the world's worst anger issues and you've been known to fight off anyone who poses a threat to what you want. Kind of like me. But see, today when I saw Marley hitting on my man I realized something--"
"Wait, what?" he stopped her.
"She's totally got the hots for John," she rolled her eyes. "Keep up. It's like the girl's got a censor for taking anything that's mine."
Jake rolled his eyes. "And your point?" he said, not believing what she'd said about Marley.
"Right," she continued. "I realized that the Jake Puckerman I knew would not have given up on Julie so easily. So what's your angle?"
"There's no angle," he shrugged. "I had a tiny little crush on her and I impulsively kissed her but that's it."
"See, this morning I might've believe you," she told him. "But after seeing you dance with her I know that not only are you still into her, but your raging Puckerman hormones are worse than ever."
Jake looked at her with an amused smile and said, "Are you done?"
"No!" she exclaimed, hitting the center console in frustration. "Tell me why you won't just fight for her!"
"Because she's better off without it!" he cried, sighing. "She's better off without me..."
"Not that I disagree..." she admitted. "But when has that ever stopped you? Nobody wanted you to chase after Marley and that only made you want her more?"
"And look how great that turned out," he muttered. "Look, Kitty, I appreciate what you're trying to do-- actually, I'm not really sure what you're trying to do. But the thing is that she and Ryder are always going to go back to each other and getting in between them would be the dumbest thing I could do. She's not Marley."
"And you're not the same Jake you were sophomore year," she said. "I'm not telling you to steal her away from Ryder because as nauseating as they may be, they're cute together and right now she needs him and what he can offer her. And same goes for him. All I'm saying is that you need to stop thinking that you'll never be good enough for her."
"How--?" he began.
"Please, I can read you like a book," she said. "I know how you think and I know what you do. Lash out, fight with everyone, feel bad, think you're terrible, and cycle repeats on and on. Look, she needs all of us right now, Jake. And you choosing to be a martyr and to keep your distance from her is about the worst thing you can do. So think about what it is you're giving up because you're right... She's not Marley. Now get out of my car Nipples."
He sighed, doing as she said and watching as she drove away.
***
"I got chills and they're multiplying," Dan mumbled as he met up with Harmony the following day. "You look fantastic."
"I wasted so much time," she said, looking up at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, never really sure what she was talking about.
"Trying to lead glee club," Harmony told him. "When I should've been trying to lead the school..."
Dan's face contorted into a confused expressions as he said, "But we had an election and you weren't even in Lima at the time."
She rolled her eyes. "Not as student body president," she said. "Answer me this, how many friends do you have?"
"Plenty," he said.
"Outside of glee club?" she asked. When he didn't answer she said, "Exactly. Nothing against Mr. Schue or New Directions but we spend way too much time in glee club for anyone's own good. We all date each other, have lunch with each other, hang out with each other. Most of us don't have many friends outside of glee club. Just the Cheerios and the God Squad people and that's only because they're forced to interact with other people."
"What's your point?" he asked.
"We need to go out and make friends outside of glee club," she said, grinning.
***
"Hey man," Ryder said as he reached Jake at his locker. "We need to talk."
"Can we wait until at least lunch to fight it out?" Jake responded, sighing.
Ryder shook his head. "I'm not going to fight," he said. "Jake, Julie's not in school today."
"Maybe she's late," he suggested.
"No," Ryder insisted. "Anyone she ever gets rides from-- John, Kitty, Bree, me-- we're all here. And I've asked all of them; she didn't ask for a ride."
"So maybe she's sick," Jake responded. "Why is it such a big deal if she misses school?"
"I was over at her place last night," said Ryder, and seeing Jake wince he added, "Talking, that's all."
"Right," Jake said, closing his locker.
"Jake," Ryder continued, "she told me she'd see me at school. She had no plans to miss. And something seemed off about her."
"So call her at home and see what she says," Jake said.
"Can you try to care just a little more?" Ryder asked him angrily.
Jake sighed. "You wanted me to stay away from her," he said. "Believe me, I'm doing this for you, not me." He walked away and Ryder leaned against the lockers, pulling out his phone once again to call Julie, only to have her not pick up for the fifth time that morning.
***
"What is the key to any and all performances?" Will asked the glee club as he walked through the door.
"Winking!" Kitty exclaimed.
"What?" Will responded. "Umm, no. I was going to say--" He looked around the room and asked, "Where's everyone at?"
"Joe, John and Unique are meeting with prom committee to decide on a theme," said Marley.
"Can't believe she's still helping out..." Shana mumbled.
"Dan and Harmony are exploring or something like that," Ryder shrugged.
"Eww," Kitty groaned. "I don't want to know what that means."
"I think they're trying to make friends," Sugar said. "At least that's what I got out of what they said earlier."
"Friends outside of glee club?" Bree scoffed. "Doubt it."
"And Julie and Jake?" Will asked.
"Julie's out today," said Kitty. "And Jake was here up until third period when he magically vanished."
Ryder thought about this for a second. He'd talked to Jake before third period...
"I guess they're going to be missing out on the treat I had today," said Will. "I know you guys spend a lot of time in here and that takes sacrifice, especially your lunch time. Which is why today, I decided to treat you to a nicer lunch than the school would've provided you with. Pizza and ice cream should be here any minute. Let's get started, shall we?"
***
Knock, knock, knock. Julie pushed her head into her pillow as she heard the faint sound of someone arriving. When that someone knocked, she groaned and weakly called out, "Go away..."
Downstairs, Jake stood at the doorway with his hands in his pocket. Judging by the empty driveway, nobody was home. Yet, something told him she was inside. He hesitantly reached for the doorknob, only to find that the door was unlocked. Stepping inside and wondering whether the home had an alarm system, he closed the door behind him and looked around.
He was facing the staircase, which was just a few feet away from the door, and to his left was the empty living room. He went right, instead and found that the kitchen was also empty. Immediately, he felt discomfort at being in a private home, but his concern for Julie had risen higher than before.
"Julie!" he called out. Nothing. He slowly crept up the stairs, feeling as though he was in a horror movie. It wasn't until he heard a thud from Julie's bedroom that he stopped thinking so much and just charged inside.
He didn't know what he expected to find. Her room appeared to be empty, the bed undone and the lights all turned off. The single window was covered completely so that the only light coming into the room was from the hallway now that he'd opened the door. He was about to turn around and leave when he heard her breathing.
As soon as he turned on the lights, she hissed, "Turn that off, now..."
He did as she said, though he still couldn't see her. "Julie?" he asked, spooked. "Are you okay?"
He followed her voice and finally spotted her, covered by a Minnie Mouse blanket, on the other side of her bed. He walked around it and joined her on the ground, her cold lifeless stare on the closet.
"You weren't in school today," he said. "Ryder was really worried."
"Do not mention him to me," she growled in a mere whisper.
"Okay, talk to me then," he said, shifting positions so that he was now facing her. "What's wrong?" He reached for her face, wanting to lift up her chin, but she pushed him away.
"He doesn't love me..." she muttered, her eyes watery. "He looks at me like I'm some sort of charity case, like I'm a broken toy... Everybody does... And he talks to Marley like she's crystallized and perfect and--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he stopped her. "Don't say that. Ryder is crazy about you. And nobody thinks you're broken."
She looked up at him. "Yeah they do," she said, nodding slowly. "I can see it on their faces when they talk to me. Like if I'm about to fall apart. Even Sam, and he was always... different. He saw me for me, not for my problems, but now... He's moved on and he doesn't see me the same way, Jake... He loves Mandy, he told me so... He doesn't care and--"
"Julie, quit it," Jake interrupted her again. "Look at me... This isn't you."
"Don't you get it?" she screamed. "Don't you see that's the problem? This is me! This is who I am. I can't control it. I can't... I try so hard and nothing ever works out. Everything ends up being a disappointment. And I can try so hard to love but it falls apart. Aren't you happy? Everything works out for you."
"What?" Jake asked. "Julie, why would I be happy seeing you like this?"
She sighed and looked up at him, calmly but still terrifyingly. "You wanted this," she accused him. "You wanted me to hurt because you were unhappy. That's the only reason anyone would ever trade Marley up for me. She's the perfect girl... And you knew Ryder would eventually want her back so you went for me. You sabotaged everything!"
She reached for something from her end table, nearly knocking down a table lamp, and threw it at him. Jake hit it out of the way, realizing it was just a hair brush, and grabbed her arm before she could get anything else. She started screaming and squirming, trying to break loose of his grip.
"Get out!" she screamed when he finally let go of her. "Leave my house and leave my life, will you?"
He hesitantly left the room, completely shaken up about seeing her so wrecked but knowing she wouldn't calm down while he was still in the room. Instead of leaving the house, however, he perched at the top step of the staircase and pulled out his phone, dialing a number quickly.
"Hey..." he said. "You need to get over here now. I, uh, I'm really worried."
***
"Sam," Will said after crashing into him in the hallway. "Heading out?"
"Uh, yeah," Sam said. "Something came up. I probably won't make it by after school."
"Oh..." Will mumbled. "Is it serious?"
"I'd love to explain but I have to go," Sam said, rushing out the front door.
Will sighed, not sure what to make of that, and headed for the teachers' lounge. He had two off periods during the day, not including lunch, and while he typically spent them with Emma, she actually had a kid go see her for the first time since she'd returned. So now he was left to socialize with the other teachers.
At least that's what he thought he'd do when he walked in and found the room full of tension and nervous breathing. "What's going on here?" he asked as Sue stormed past him and out of the room. When the crowd dispersed and cleared the way, he saw that Principal Hallman had been in the center of it.
"Is everything okay?" he asked her as she took a seat at the nearest table.
"That Sue Sylvester sure is a handful, isn't she?" she responded, chuckling. "Came in here demanding that I change my prom rules."
"Sue?" asked Will. "Really? That seems unlike her."
"Yeah, it's something one of her cheerleaders told her about," said Principal Hallman, shrugging. "Didn't really seem like she was doing it out of her own free will. But regardless, it wasn't enough to change my mind." She stood up and headed out of the teacher's lounge.
Will sighed. As much as he and Emma had worked to be on her good side, he knew he had to do something to stand up for Unique.
***
"Where are you?" asked Jake, on the phone once again.
"Right outside," Sam responded. "Sorry I took so long. Kinda don't have a car, remember?"
The door opened, forcing Jake to look up and see Sam walking through the door. Jake ended the call and stood up, signaling for Sam to come up the stairs.
"I'll stay out here," Jake whispered. "I think if she sees me again she'll spaz out and possibly hurt me."
"Won't mind as long as she doesn't hurt herself," Sam replied, taking a deep breath before going inside her room.
"Good luck," Jake muttered, though he knew Sam couldn't hear. Sam closed the door behind him, giving himself privacy, and looked around. He hadn't been in there in months and now, in the darkness, the place looked so unfamiliar.
"Julie..." he whispered, getting closer to her. "You still in here?"
The closet door opened and Julie walked out, walking slowly towards him. Her eyes, red and puffy, stared up at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I, uh, wanted to make sure you were okay..." he said carefully. "Want to sit down and talk?"
"There's nothing to talk about," she said calmly. "Everything is very lovely..."
"Have you, um..." he began. "And I'm asking out of concern, not as an accusation but... Have you taken your pills?"
She watched him with ghostly, tired eyes and in a low voice said, "Why does it always have to come down to that? Why can't I just be upset?" She clenched her hair in frustration and much more loudly added, "I am not mentally ill!"
Outside, Jake pressed his lips together, closing his eyes as he heard that last part. He was fighting every inch of his body to prevent from marching in there himself.
"I know you aren't," Sam told her, sitting down at the edge of her bed. "Come on, let's have a seat. You look tired."
"Of course I'm tired," she said, shaking her head as she sat down beside him. "I'm exhausted. I haven't slept in weeks. I'm worn out from everyone watching me like I'm some basket case. And I just want it all to stop."
"You should try getting some sleep then," Sam suggested, pointing at the other end of the bed.
Julie looked at her pillow for a second and sighed, "I can't... I've tried, Sam, I really have. But every time I close my eyes I see everything that's wrong with me. Everything I've screwed up and everything I've lost. And I'm scared that if I go to sleep, I'll wake up to find more gone."
"I'll be here," he assured her, reaching for her hand. "Get some rest and I'll be here beside you. And I won't leave you. Come on..." He scoot his body back and helped her cross the bed as she hesitantly lied down.
"I'm letting everybody down, aren't I?" she said once they were both in bed. Tears pouring down her face she added, "They all think I'm done with... I couldn't beat this. I failed..."
"No, no, you haven't failed," he responded, caressing her face. "You haven't done anything wrong. We're going to make this right, okay?"
She didn't answer, instead forcing her eyes shut. Sam watched for a few minutes, a lot calmer once he saw that she'd managed to fall asleep. And before he knew it, he was also asleep.