["Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora.]
Marley: I'm gonna love you... Until you hate me... And I'm gonna show ya. What's really crazy. You should've known better. Than to mess with me, honey. I'm gonna love ya, I'm gonna love ya. Gonna love ya, gonna love ya. Like a black widow, baby.
Bree kept her face towards the ground. In honor of Joe's return, Will had let him, John and Sam have control of New Directions for one of their rehearsal slots. She did not like this, as she needed as much time as possible to rehearse her solo for Sectionals and only had one day left to do this. However, Will insisted that they were all ready and they needed a chance to relax.
Shana: This twisted cat and mouse game always starts the same. First we're both down to play then somehow you go astray. We went from nothing to something, liking to loving. It was us against the world and now we just fucking.
Shana was glad to have Joe back. He believed in equality. That plus the fact that Julie wasn't around meant she was actually allowed to sing. She liked hip-hop almost as much country, so this was of course a good day.
Unique: It's like I loved you so much and now I just hate you. Feeling stupid for all the time that I gave you. I wanted all or nothing for us ain't no place in between. Might, might be me believing what you say that you never mean.
Shana kept her eyes away from Unique. She liked her a lot but until the girl was willing to be open about them, she couldn't face her. She understood how hard it was to come out in such a way, but she had more respect for herself than to be in a relationship where her partner was embarrassed or ashamed of her.
Bree: Like it'll last forever but now forever ain't as long. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be stuck singing this song. You were different from my last but now you got it mirrored. And as it all plays out I see it couldn't be clearer. Now sing.
Amity was sitting with Alex for the first time since getting back together with him. Now that everyone knew, she felt no shame in making faces at him and goofing around as she sang, though part of her focus was also on Joe's return and Bree's reactions to it.
Amity: You used to be thirsty for me. But now you wanna be set free. This is the web, web that you weave. So baby now rest in peace.
Shana: It's all over with now.
Harmony crossed her arms in a dignified matter. The other girls hadn't even bothered to invite her to sing this with them.
Kitty: I'm gonna love ya. Until you hate me
Shana: Right.
Kitty: And I'm gonna show ya
Shana: Show 'em what, show 'em what
Kitty: What's really crazy. You should've known better. Than to mess with me, honey
Shana: It's all over with now
Kitty: I'm gonna love ya, I'm gonna love ya. Gonna love ya, gonna love ya. Like a black widow, baby!
The song ended and the guys cheered them on, Harmony clapping weakly for her teammates. "That's just a sample!" Unique exclaimed, absolutely no humility as she grinned.
"That's right!" Kitty added. "If you want the full version it'll cost ya!"
"That was great," Joe said, nodding at them as he took the center of the floor with John and Sam. "Before we let you all go, Harmony had a few words. The floor's yours."
Joe an empty seat in the front row as Sam sat next to Ryder and Stefan. Meanwhile, John took a seat next to Alex. When the latter jokingly put his head on the former's shoulder, Amity made a face and pulled them apart. "Cut it out," she hissed as the two laughed.
"Hi everyone," Harmony began. "As most of you know, I'm playing Marcy Park in the community theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Opening night will be this Saturday, so I've taken the liberty of reserving you all tickets. I hope to see you all there."
Harmony went back to her seat and began collecting her things. As everyone was leaving Kitty said, "Why do you assume we don't already have plans?"
"Excuse me?" Harmony responded.
"Seriously," Kitty went on. "You say you got us tickets like we're just supposed to drop everything and go clap for you."
"It wasn't like that," Harmony said, genuinely confused and a bit intimidated by Kitty. "I think you all would enjoy the—"
"Why would we enjoy watching you jabber on a stage for two hours?" Unique joked, rolling her eyes. Her supposed friends continued to mock her show as they walked past her and out the door. She watched as they walked out, but when Dan was passing by her she stopped him.
"Are you coming?" she asked.
"Uh..." he muttered. "I don't know... Julie's having a slumber party and—"
"She is?" Harmony asked, trying not to be surprised that she hadn't been invited.
"Yeah..." Dan said, awkwardly.
"Oh," Harmony said, looking down at the ground. "Well, it would really mean a lot if you came by. You mean a lot to me and—"
"We're not a couple anymore, Harmony," Dan sighed.
"I get that!" she exclaimed. "But why can't we at least keep being friends?"
"We're practically strangers," Dan responded.
"Why do you treat me like this?" she asked suddenly. "Why does everyone treat me like this? Like I'm a horrible person?"
"You're not a—" he began, shaking his head.
"Then why?" she asked, her blue eyes staring at him, begging for an answer.
"Sorry," Dan said. "I have to get to class." As he walked out the room, she followed, her dress swishing beneath her as she stopped outside of the room and watched him go. Just a few feet away, Stefan stood at his open locker, watching as Joe walked Bree to class.
[Cue "Too Close For Comfort" by McFly which is about to become one of your favorite songs when you hear.]
Stefan: I never meant the things I said to make you cry... Can I say I'm sorry? It's hard to forget. And yes I regret all these mistakes. I don't know why you're leaving me. But I know you must have your reasons. There's tears in your eyes. I watch as you cry. But it's getting late...
He watched them talk and realized he didn't like losing. And right now, he felt like a loser.
Stefan and Harmony: Was I invading in on your secrets? Was I too close for comfort? You're pushing me out when I wanted in. What was I just about to discover? When I got too close for comfort. Driving you home. Guess I'll never know.
Harmony walked down the halls towards her next class and watched as her New Directions friends all seemed to have someone else in the club who they could trust and confide in. They all had a friend in there who would stick up for them no matter what. Except for her.
Harmony: Remember when we scratched our names into the sand. And told me you loved me. But now that I find that you've changed your mind. I'm lost for words. And everything I feel for you I wrote down on one piece of paper. The one in your hand. You won't understand how much it hurts to let you go.
Stefan and Harmony: Was I invading in on your secrets? Was I too close for comfort? You're pushing me out when I wanted in. What was I just about to discover? When I got too close for comfort. Driving you home. Guess I'll never know.
When Stefan finally decided to walk away, all he could think of was the fact that he needed a girl like Bree, a girl with status, to really be bigger than Ryder. He looked around the hallways and searched through the girls. Without cheerleaders, it was hard to tell who was right and who wasn't.
Stefan: All this time you've been telling me lies. Hidden in bags that are under your eyes. And when I asked you I knew I was right.
Harmony sighed as she passed by Stefan. At least he noticed her as he watched her go. To everyone else, she may as well not exist. She looked down at the ground and wondered whether she was the only person who thought this.
Harmony: But if you turn your back on me now. When I need you most. But you chose to let me down.
Stefan and Harmony: Won't you think about what you're about to do to me. And back down...
Stefan and Harmony: What was I just about to discover? When I got too close for comfort. Driving you home. I guess I'll never know...
***
Kitty paced the floor of the choir room and said, "I guess you're all wondering why I gathered you here."
"That's exactly what we're wondering," Alex said as he, Stefan, Harmony, Jake, and Bree sat in front of her.
"You are all by far the most devious minds I know," she began. "Alex, you're destructive in ways I can't even understand. I heard you caused an explosion in the chem lab while you were in gym class. That's bad ass."
"I am a bit of a genius when it comes to math and science..." Alex said with a nonchalant shrug. He turned to Stefan and bragged, "I got suspended at my old school for making the toilets bubble up from two floors down." Stefan gave him a high-five, impressed, while the others rolled their eyes.
Kitty turned to Harmony and said, "I don't even know what your endgame is here. You're a two-faced bitch and that's totally useful. Trust me, I know. The way you've weaseled your way into all of our lives is a bit scary and fascinating."
"This is a bit unprecedented," Harmony mumbled, not feeling as though she was being complimented.
When Kitty looked at Jake, he expected something terrible. She sighed and said, "Well, you've gotten into just about every girl's pants so it's not surprising that you know the arts of manipulation well." Jake pressed his lips together and looked down at the ground. Kitty didn't want to make things weird, so she looked at Bree and said, "You broke up sweet, perfect Jarley. You took me down as head cheerleader. You pulled a Carrie on Tina two proms ago, and I'm talking about the movie, not the evil cheerleader here. Bree, you may be the most devious of us all."
"Why am I here?" Stefan asked, confused. "I haven't done anything bad..."
"You're not as dumb as you look," Kitty shrugged. "Everyone in here knows you've been trying to get into Julie's pants—"
"Which I'm still pissed about," Jake intervened, glaring at him.
"—yet Ryder hasn't seemed to notice so you must be doing something right," Kitty finished. "You're sly and you're cunning and that'll be useful for what I need from all of you."
"Which is?" Harmony asked.
"The Cheerios will be back by Friday's game," Kitty declared.
Bree rolled her eyes. "Why?" she asked. "We've done everything we can."
"No, we haven't," Kitty insisted. "Julie gave me some of the work you two compiled since stepping into the presidency and I found something that you may not have considered as strongly as you should've." She pulled out a manila folder and handed them each copies that were inside.
"What is this?" Jake asked.
"It's the research I did on the budget distributions since Hallman became principal," Bree muttered, looking at the graphs Kitty had made. "Only, this is a lot more organized."
"I couldn't crunch numbers but I made it all look nice," Kitty shrugged.
"So what?" Alex asked, looking down at all the figures. "You think there's some fishy things going on here?"
Kitty nodded. "I need you to look through these numbers and figure out if it adds up," she said.
"This can't be everything," Alex shook his head. "I'd need access to the school's network and that could take days to hack into without a direct..." Seeing the mischievous grin on Kitty's face he said, "Oh no... No... You can't seriously expect for me to get into a teacher's computer and hack the database."
"You've done worse," Kitty crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.
"Sure," Alex said. "I've done federal-level crimes as early as twelve years old. But the difference now is that I've promised Amity I'd behave."
"Whipped..." Jake muttered.
Alex turned to him and snapped, "You're one to talk!"
"Ok, enough!" Kitty exclaimed. She turned to Alex and said, "You won't get caught, Alex. I promise. The rest of us are going to ensure that everything else goes well."
"How so?" Alex crossed his arms.
"We need someone to get Hallman out of her office," Kitty said. "If we distract—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Alex stopped her. "Hallman's computer? That's the one I'm— No way!"
"Hear me out," Kitty pleaded. "This is my plan."
***
"So tomorrow's going to be a big day, huh?" Stefan said as he caught up to Bree in the hallway.
"Hacking into the school while competing at Sectionals?" she asked. "Yeah, I'd say."
"Are you mad at me, still?" he asked. "Since your ex showed up, you won't even—"
"You told Amity I needed help," she snapped at him. "This is your fault."
"What is?" Stefan asked curiously. "Are you, like, getting back with him or something?"
"That's none of your business," she said, facing forward and lifting her chin up.
"I beg to differ," he responded, moving aside to avoid crashing into another student. "If you and I are going to be involved you can't be with someone else."
Bree laughed coldly and turned to him. "Get it through that pretty little head of yours," she said. "You and I are never, ever going to do anything together again."
"Again?" said Joe, standing just around the corner they were rounding, with John, Alex and Harmony.
Bree opened her mouth to speak but Joe simply nodded and then walked away, followed by John. Alex looked away sheepishly and Harmony raised her brow. "So everyone had to abide by your stupid boyfriend contracts except for you, huh?" Harmony said, shaking her head before walking away. Alex went with her, not mentioning the fact that he'd seen them arriving at Stefan's house multiple times before, so it wasn't exactly shocking news to him.
Bree turned to Stefan, who said, "I'm really sor—"
"Screw you," Bree said. "Thanks to you, I have to quit glee club now."
"Me?" Stefan said as she stormed off.
***
When Dan walked into the glee club, he tried to talk to his friends but they all seemed too deeply involved in their own top-secret conversations to let him in. Amity was whispering about something with Alex and John. The others were all talking about something else. And with Julie away, it was obvious to Dan that he didn't have many friends.
When Bree walked in, everybody stopped talking. They all knew. She sighed when Will turned to her and said, "Great, we can get started."
"We can't," she said. "Because I have something I need to say... Last spring, before we knew that the Cheerios weren't going to return... Kitty and I figured we'd have to choose a side. And she chose for us, the glee club. I went with it because there wouldn't be any Cheerios but... That's no reason to stay. I don't belong here anymore and I'm hereby resigning from glee club."
"Bree, why—" Will began worriedly.
Bree sighed and turned to him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Schue," she told him. "I really am. But you're going to have to let me go." She glance briefly at Joe, then at Kitty and Amity, and finally, she left the room.
"What just happened?" Unique said as Sue followed after Bree.
"She broke the contract from the draft," Harmony explained. "Probably thought we'd make her quit."
"That's crazy," Marley said. "None of us care about that anymore."
"What are you all talking about?" Will asked. When nobody responded he said, "We don't have time for this. Sectionals is tomorrow and we're missing a number." He turned to Harmony and said, "Looks like you're going to be our soloist."
Harmony smiled for a brief second but then it faded. She's been waiting to hear those words for a very long time, but somehow now it didn't feel as great as she thought she would. "I'm going to have to decline," she said, shocking everyone. "I've had enough solos at sectionals to be happy graduating like this. I think this year it'd be a good opportunity to give the solo to someone else. Like, you know, maybe Amity?"
Amity looked up, surprised. "Really?"
"Really," Harmony nodded.
Amity looked around at her friends, not knowing what to say. They all nodded, so she turned to Will and said, "If that's ok?"
Will smiled and said, "Yeah. Yeah, that's actually perfect. We can definitely..." He continued to talk but Amity wasn't listening. So much had just occurred, so much that she couldn't focus on a single thing.
***
"Bree, wait just a second," Sue called after Bree.
The ex-Cheerio turned around, rolling her eyes, and said, "What do you want Sue? Aren't you happy? I quit."
"I never wanted that," Sue said, walking slowly towards her. "Bree, I know I've been giving you a hard time... But you should know that it's because I care about you. Oddly enough, I care about most of the glee kids—you, Kitty, Julie, Unique, not so much the tall fellow with the dirty blonde hair—but my Cheerios in particular. Because you are still my Cheerios. Always will be. And you're also my glee girls. When I see the three of you up on that stage, doing more than what I've taught you to do, things that nobody could've taught you to do because it's sheer, innate talent. And it makes me proud to see that. You have talent, Bree. And you were born to lead. Don't throw those things away."
Tears running down her angry face, Bree wiped her eyes and turned away, heading to the parking lot, getting into her car, and driving away.
***
"Bree's going to hate me," Amity said as she walked with Alex down the hall.
"Bree doesn't care," Alex assured her. "She quit. It's not like with the musical. Besides, I heard she left school early so she probably doesn't even know. This is a great opportunity for you and I'm sure you'll be amazing tomorrow."
"But it's tomorrow," Amity said. "Why would anyone think I could be ready by then?" They continued to discuss this as they walked down that crowded hallway. In the next corridor, Dan was at his locker, getting ready for his final class, when he turned into the wrong crowd.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Phil Lipoff as he moved away, having bumped into Dan. "Watch where you're going dweeb."
Dan reached down to pick up his books but Bobby Surette had seen him as a target now, pushing his books down to the ground and smiling. "Oops," he said.
As Dan reached down to get them once again, Phil pushed him down, making him fall to the ground. A group of ex-Cheerios stood back, not laughing because of their smidgen of loyalties to Julie and Kitty but not stopping it because of their fear of losing popularity.
Alex, however, had just left Amity at the library and had rounded the corner in time just to see Phil lift Dan up by the collar. Just before he could deliver the first punch, Alex shouted, "Hey, that's enough!" Phil turned around, as did the other jocks, and held his fist above Dan.
"Stay out of this, Zimmerman," Bobby told him, his arms crossed.
"I'm only going to say this once," Alex said, clenching his fists. "Leave. Him. Alone."
"Or what?" asked Phil, letting go of Dan and walking towards Alex. "Going to call Ryder Lynn and the rest of his football idiots to help out now?"
Alex smiled and said, "Why would I call for help when I can handle you on my own?"
"There's five of us and one of you," Bobby said, joining Phil with the other three wrestlers standing behind them.
"Oh, you learned how to count!" Alex laughed. Angrily, Bobby tried to throw a punch but Alex dodged it. When the other guys charged towards him, a firm voice interrupted them.
"Knock it off!" exclaimed Coach Beiste. "The five of you, principal's office now." Beiste led the vexed jocks away, but not before they had a chance to spew threats at Alex and Dan. The crowd that had formed dispersed at the sound of a bell, but Alex and Dan stayed behind.
"Thanks," Dan said softly, grabbing his things and looking rather sheepish. "You didn't have—"
"I did," Alex stopped him. "You had my back with Amity. So now I have your back. With everything. That's what Amity means to me, everything." Dan nodded as Alex patted him on the shoulder and walked away. He wasn't ready to embrace a bromance with Alex, but maybe it was about time they got along, if not for the team then at least for Amity, who finally seemed truly happy.
But what about him. Was he happy? Could he be truly happy when everyday he was picked on and the first one to notice was his so-called nemesis?
["Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan.]
Dan: Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don't belong. And no one understands you?
He went home that night and straight into his room, which still didn't feel like his after all this time. To his mom, it was his room. But to Tony and Julie, it was Cory's room still, and soon he'd be back to reclaim it. Then what would happen to him? Would he just be tossed aside? Forgotten?
Dan: Do you ever wanna run away? Do you lock yourself in your room? With the radio on turned up so loud that no one hears you're screaming? No, you don't know what it's like. When nothing feels all right. You don't know what it's like to be like me...
He loved Julie, he really did. But it wasn't easy living with her. Under her shadow. At home, it was all about her. At school, it was all about her. She was a senior, she was talented, she was smart, she was perfect. And that didn't make him a black swan. It made him an ugly duckling.
Dan: To be hurt. To feel lost. To be left out in the dark. To be kicked when you're down. To feel like you've been pushed around. To be on the edge of breaking down. And no one's there to save you. No, you don't know what it's like... Welcome to my life...
He's never admit it out of fear of hurting her feelings, but he was enjoying life at home a little bit more now that she was away. Conversations at dinner actually included him anytime that she wasn't home. He couldn't blame her—the limelight chased her, not the other way around—but he couldn't help being jealous and insecure in her presence. It was petty and he knew it, which only made him feel even worse.
Dan: Do you wanna be somebody else? Are you sick of feeling so left out? Are you desperate to find something more before your life is over? Are you stuck inside a world you hate? Are you sick of everyone around? With their big fake smiles and stupid lies while deep inside you're bleeding.
He hated secrets. Dan hated knowing that everyone around him was telling lies—they knew they were hurting each other but that was never enough to stop them. But he had his own secrets. He walked to the tall mirror on the closet door and looked at his reflection.
Dan: No, you don't know what it's like. When nothing feels all right. You don't know what it's like. To be like me...
When he pulled up his shirt and saw the bruises—all different colors indicating the difference in the timing and intensity of the hits—he wondered why his friends didn't know what Phil, Bobby and the others were doing to him. Even some of the football players shoved him around for kicks when Ryder wasn't around.
Dan: To be hurt. To feel lost. To be left out in the dark. To be kicked when you're down. To feel like you've been pushed around. To be on the edge of breaking down. And no one's there to save you. No you don't know what it's like... Welcome to my life...
His friends talked big game about being underdogs, but none of them really knew what that was like. It wasn't something to be proud of. It was painful and scarring. Kitty had never been slushied, Bree had never been bullied, Julie had never been punched. He didn't wish any of these things on them, never. But he couldn't expect them to understand. Surprisingly, the only one who seemed to care was Alex.
Dan: No one ever lied straight to your face. And no one ever stabbed you in the back. You might think I'm happy but I'm not gonna be okay... Everybody always gave you what you wanted. You never had to work it was always there. You don't know what it's like, what it's like...
As his mother called him down for dinner, he pulled his shirt down and took a deep breath. He was doing a great job at hiding the pain—either that or nobody really cared. He just had to keep up what he was doing and maybe eventually things would get better.
Dan: To be hurt. To feel lost. To be left out in the dark. To be kicked when you're down. To feel like you've been pushed around. To be on the edge of breaking down. And no one's there to save you. No, you don't know what it's like...
He sighed and turned away from his reflection, which had only made him angrier at himself. During Spring Awakening, he had controlled his feelings by throwing all the self-hatred at his character. But he killed him and ended him, so now what? Shaking his head, he headed downstairs for the second Julie-free dinner, looking forward to not feeling like he had to compete for attention in a race that was lost before it even began.
Dan: Welcome to my life... Welcome to my life... Welcome to my life...