"I swear! She was like an animal! I've never seen anybody play like that before! Not in real life. I've seen videos of the Who and their drummer was a beast! She reminded me of that."
Mike and Puck looked at Finn before laughing.
"I'm serious!" Finn insisted.
"It must have been the sugar. She's never had it before." Mike grinned.
"Were you guys like that?"
Mike looked around the park they were at. "We were active later so there's no real way to tell."
"What'd you do?"
Puck laughed. "You really wanna know?"
"No. Say no." Mike shook his head.
Finn thought about it before shaking his head slowly. "I'm good."
Puck sulked. "No fair!"
Mike threw the football at him. "We don't want to hear your mouth. You're disgusting."
"I heard Mama screamin her head off."
"We're talking about something else."
Puck just grinned. "Let's talk about the party. What can we expect from Mini Mama?"
"I don't know." Mike shrugged. "Marcy's unpredictable on a good day. She can come up with anything."
Finn caught the ball from Puck. "Who's all coming?"
"You guys, me and my brothers, a few family members, Sam, Blaine, Artie and her."
"Which family members?" Puck wanted to know.
"I know Joey and Monty are getting in extra early. Of course Karou is coming-"
"Aw yeah!"
Mike smirked. "I heard Timmy's coming."
"Which cousin is that? Did I meet him?"
"Tim? I don't know. He was only in town for a couple days. He's a Chang. He's in the Navy and is married so whatever we do can't get him in trouble."
"Is his wife hot?"
"Puck!"
"I'm joking!" Puck grinned.
"No, you're not." Finn's lips twisted.
"Okay, I'm not."
"Yes, she's attractive." Mike rolled his eyes. "They've been together since they were eighteen."
"Why so young?" Finn threw the football to him.
"They just met and fell in love. Our family is big on marrying for love."
Finn smiled. "That's a good thing."
"Should be. We rarely divorce."
"Are you all happy?"
Mike stopped then threw the football at him. "I don't know. We don't talk about that kind of stuff."
"We don't talk about it either. I mean Kurt does. All the time. But not the rest of us."
"I don't think most families talk about it."
"Because it's weird." Puck pulled a face.
Mike shrugged. "Anyway. I think Greg is coming. If he can peel himself away from whatever girl he's under for the week."
"My man!"
Mike threw the football Finn just gave to him at Puck hard. "He needs to settle down before he's slapped with a paternity suit."
"He gets around?" Finn asked.
Puck rubbed his chest where the football had hit him. "What's wrong with pollenating the flowers?"
"Your stinger falls off." Mike raised a brow.
Finn laughed at Puck's cracked face. "Hahahaha!"
"Yeah, Gregory gets around. He spends more time bedding women than he does on his studies." Mike shuffled his feet.
"Do all of your cousins get around?" Finn asked.
"All the ones that aren't married it seems." He lifted his shoulders. "Joey cheats on Penelope all the time. Greg sleeps around. Monty sleeps around. Timmy's faithful but Jamie sleeps around-"
"Who's Jamie?" Puck interrupted.
"He's a Barnes and he sleeps with women like it's his job."
"Doesn't your brother sleep with women like that? Why don't you harp on him like that?"
"Marc is going to do what he wants to do. We can't change his mind. We can only hope that one day he and Laura find their way to each other again."
"I really want to know what happened between the two of them." Finn said. "I don't know how they go from being together to just not."
"I don't get it either. I don't know what could have happened between them or what could have been so bad that they just quit being them."
"Maybe it was like what happened between Mal and Mini Mama?" Puck suggested. "Without all the giving birth at the convent from hell."
Mike thought it over. "Maybe?"
Finn looked between them. "Marcy gave birth at a convent?"
Mike and Puck looked at him in surprise. "Oh! You don't know!"
Finn frowned. "No. I don't. What happened?"
"I can't tell you that." Mike shook his head. "That's her story and she's got a lot to deal with. A lot of things you don't know and that she might not want you to know. I'm sure she wouldn't even want us to know if she hadn't been mad at the time."
"Yeah, she doesn't seem like the type to share personal stuff but she was pretty heated at the time." Puck remembered.
"You said she had a rough relationship with her mom. That has something to do with her and giving birth, doesn't it?" Finn guessed.
Mike touched his nose.
"What is that? What are you doing?" Puck threw the football at him.
Mike caught it. "Have you never played Charades?"
"No. We don't play family games." Puck pulled a derisive face.
"You make me sad."
"We play games. Mom really likes them and Kurt gets in on it like he's endorsing them." Finn smiled.
"Family game nights are amazing. We haven't had one in years. Maybe we should talk about that?" Mike chewed on his bottom lip.
"How does it go down?" Puck asked.
"Well we used to set aside a Sunday a couple times a month and get to a house and have dinner then play random games. We'd have board games and card games and stuff. We'd spend all night playing games and just being together."
"I actually like nights like that. It makes me feel like I belong to a real family." Finn lifted his hands.
"Maybe we should have family game night?" Puck made a considering face.
"Ask your mom. Mercy says you give your mom a lot of grief. Game night could go a long way in her forgiving you for you know what." Mike told him.
"You mean...?" Puck bobbed his head. "It might. So we were talking about the party. Where is it?"
M&MC
Mercedes flipped the TV off. She didn't really want to watch it. She'd only turned it on after coming from the club with Quinn to play tennis. She got up and went to see if Marc or Marcy were home.
She opened her brother's door but found his room empty. He was in the process of packing away his things for England and it was a mess in his room.
She went to Marcy's room and saw she was meditating. She didn't want to interrupt but she was bored. She went inside and sat beside her sister. "Hi."
Marcy peeled open an eye. "Hey."
"How long have you been meditating?"
"Don't know."
"I'm bored."
"I see."
"Pay attention to me."
"Why?"
"Because." Mercedes wrapped her arms around Marcy's neck. "You love me."
Marcy breathed deeply and opened her other eye. "I have been at this for a while."
"How long?"
"Since I took the kids to Laura."
"Long time."
"Yep." Marcy unfurled her legs and laid back.
Mercedes looked at her sister's messy bun before pulling the pony holder out.
"Hey!" Marcy's hair fell around her face and down her back.
"When are you going to wear your hair down? You've had this up since Saturday."
Marcy lifted a shoulder. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to."
"It's not that. Just that I like seeing your hair down. Even if it is shorter. I just love this cut."
"Yeah, it's straight." Marcy grabbed a lock. "Are you trying to grow your hair out?"
"I need to stop cutting it but I have such bad split ends." Mercedes ran a hand through her past shoulder length hair.
"Do you want my shampoo and conditioner?"
"Yes, please! I have missed it so much!"
Marcy grinned. "Sure. I can make you your own while we're here."
"Let's go now."
Marcy got up. "Okay. I need to do my hair anyway."
"Why? Shouldn't it still be good from Saturday?"
"I want to redo it for Friday."
"What were you thinking?" Mercedes pulled herself to her feet.
"Of going to the mall for spray dye and giving myself streaks that wash out."
"I could go for that." Mercedes watched her put on shoes and grab her purse.
Marcy waved her on. "Where's Q? We could pick her up."
"She's at home. We just got done playing tennis so she's probably in the shower." Mercedes followed her down the stairs.
"Didn't you shower at the club?"
"She wanted to check something out." Mercedes shook her head. "I went ahead and did."
Marcy inclined her head. "Are we going to the mall first?"
"We could. But we'd get stuck shopping."
Marcy rolled her eyes. "No, we're not. We're going out for ingredients and ingredients only."
"You're no fun." Mercedes pouted.
Marcy opened the front door. "Uh huh."
M&MC
"I still can't believe we just went in for hair spray and that's it." Quinn complained as she shut the door behind her.
Marcy led the way into the health food store. "You're alright."
Mercedes wrapped an arm around Quinn as they walked behind her. "It's okay. We'll be in here for a bit and she can't stop that."
Marcy made a sound as she went straight to the oils. She picked out lavender, sesame, argon, coconut, Jamaican black castor oil and a bottle of olive oil. "Okay, I'm ready to go."
"Come on!" Mercedes groaned. "Let's buy other stuff!"
"We don't need other stuff."
"Who cares about need?" Quinn huffed. "Let's just shop."
"I'm not here to shop."
"Please!" Mercedes begged.
"Whatever." Marcy gave in. "I'm leaving in five minutes and if you're not in the car, you're getting left."
"Five minutes?!"
Quinn groaned. "Fine! Let's go, Mercy!"
Marcy rolled her eyes and walked off.
"She's such a sourpuss." Quinn dragged her to the snack aisle.
Mercedes grabbed a few bags of raw almonds, cashews and peanuts.
"What are you going to do to your hair?" Quinn grabbed a few bars of chocolate.
"I don't know. I'm just going to use the shampoo and conditioner she mixes up for me then do a hot oil treatment with the oils she gives me then blow dry it. I'm too tired to straightened it then curl it."
"I hope she makes some for me, too. My hair has been a mess since I cut it two years ago." She ran a hand through her hair.
"Since you cut it or since you dyed it?" Mercedes arched a brow teasingly.
Quinn sucked in a breath. "Leave me alone, Mercy."
Mercedes checked her watch as they went along the aisle picking up stuff. "She said five minutes."
"I did."
"Ah!" Mercedes and Quinn yelped and swung around.
Marcy blinked. "I can see where this was my fault."
Both had their hands full so they couldn't hit her but both scowled fiercely. "Not funny!"
"I'm not laughing." Marcy had a basket with her and started filling it with snacks.
"Why'd you sneak up on us?!" Quinn spat.
"These are wood floors. I didn't sneak up on you; you just can't hear."
Mercedes glared. "We can so!"
"Then you're just not aware. Which is worse." Marcy turned and left the aisle.
Mercedes and Quinn followed behind. "Where are you going?"
"I hate when you talk in unison like that." Marcy walked to the checkout.
"I hate when you don't answer people straight." Mercedes sighed before rolling her eyes. They would never win. "Are our five minutes up?"
"No. I was just coming to tell you that they have a sale on juice."
"Will you really leave us?" Quinn wanted to know.
"You got five more minutes. And I will be counting." Marcy pulled out her phone and set the countdown for five minutes.
"Let's hurry." Mercedes leaned on Quinn to get her to follow her. She went for a little wire basket they had at the front of the store and set her stuff inside before picking it up and traveling to where the drinks were.
"She is not a nice person." Quinn was right behind her.
"What does she got to do?" She sniped.
"Nothing!"
Both grumbled all the way to the drink aisle then more as they picked out various juices that weren't limited to their favorite juice (strawberry; sweetened cherry).
They walked to the checkout lane and saw Marcy was leaving the line. There were two people ahead of them so they hoped it wouldn't take too long. Marcy didn't make idle threats.
M&MC
"And she swore she'd leave us there!" Mercedes complained.
Laura laughed. "She hates shopping. What do you expect?"
"To not be stranded!"
"Or threatened with it!" Quinn added.
Marcy rolled her eyes as she parked on the street. "Get out of my car, you whiny crybabies."
"And she keeps insulting us!"
Laura's voice held a smile. "Aren't you insulting her, too?"
"Yes!" Marcy leaned over Quinn to shout into Mercedes' phone.
"Be nice to each other. You're sisters."
"She's as annoying as Jr. sometimes." Quinn stopped short of pouting.
"And you're as uptight as Joanna." Marcy got out of the car.
Laura's laughter was overshadowed by Mercedes' and Quinn's screaming.
Marcy got her bags out of the backseat and shut the door. "Get out of my car!"
Mercedes and Quinn got out. "I'm nothing like Joanna!"
"Get your crap." Marcy ignored them.
"We'll have to call you back." Mercedes hung up her phone. "Stop talking about us or we're telling Mikey on you."
"And who's scared of him?" Marcy motioned to the backseat. "You're not moving fast enough. I want to lock my car. If you don't mind."
The Leos grabbed their things and turned towards the path leading up to the house. "You don't want Mikey to get you."
"Ooh! I'm so scared!" Marcy followed behind them.
"You better be! My man don't play!" Mercedes sassed.
"I'm checking on my dog." Marcy went towards the kitchen and therefore the back patio.
Mercedes and Quinn stopped in the kitchen and started putting their stuff up. "She's a real menace."
Quinn nodded. "We got to get her and Mal together. He always calms her down."
"How? She's intent on being with Pierre and we've just convinced her not to cheat." Mercedes left out a few things to snack on.
"We can play up all the ways that Jr. is attractive. We've already got baby pictures. We can remind her of everything she likes about him."
"Easier said than done." Mercedes uncapped her strawberry juice. "No one knows what she likes about him."
"Good point. She won't even admit to liking him so telling us that is impossible." Quinn opened a bag of Stacy's Pita Chips and ate one. "Got any dip?"
Mercedes set aside her bottle and searched the fridge. She pulled out some spinach and artichoke dip. "Here. What do we think she likes about him? It has to be a reason she's head over heels in love with him beyond us just saying she is."
"They're very similar." Quinn crunched. "Very compatible."
"And they understand each other in a way that's crazy. They have the connection."
"So do we but we're not together."
"So do we and Mikey and we are together." Mercedes pointed out.
"Good point. Why am I left out again?"
"Because you love Puck."
"I must." Quinn sighed.
Mercedes smiled. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks. I can't believe he forgave me."
"You know the demon is responsible for that."
Quinn's brows lifted.
"Yeah. Marcy talked to him yesterday and he decided to forgive you from that."
Quinn pursed her lips as Marcy came back inside with the dogs on her heels. "Thank you."
"For giving you an ultimatum?" Marcy raised a brow.
"For talking to Puck for me."
"I didn't talk to Puck for you."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Mercy says you did."
"Mercy doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Hey!" Mercedes was offended. "I do so! Puck told me!"
"Puck is confused. And let's face it; he usually is." Marcy walked out.
Quinn looked at Mercedes. "At least she's modest."
Mercedes' lips flattened. "Let's go make sure she doesn't forget to make our stuff. "Puck is confused" That girl is just plain bad."
M&MC
Marcy poured sesame, lavender and olive oil in a disposal squirt bottle. She placed it in a bowl of hot water and let it sit. When the oils were heated, she took it out and gave it to Mercedes.
Mercedes parted her hair and began squirting oil out along her scalp and massaging it in. She repeated the process for her whole head as Marcy mixed the rest of the oils together for Quinn.
Quinn set the timer. "I can't wait to do this every week."
"I need it so much." Mercedes washed the oil from her hands.
"Do you want an egg hair mask?" Marcy asked.
"I'll do that in a few days. We can have another spa day Friday."
"Another? Does Saturday count as a spa day?"
Mercedes and Quinn looked to each other. "Yes."
Marcy shrugged. "I have to have spa day, too. I can't go to my own party lookin like who did it and what for."
Mercedes and Quinn burst out laughing.
"I need to find an outfit. I don't have any party clothes."
"We can go shopping tomorrow." Mercedes held her cheeks.
"Okay."
Quinn started massaging heated oil into her head. "This party must mean a lot to you if you're willing to go shopping."
"I don't know. I want the guys to have a good time but I know that has more to do with them than me and what I plan."
"I think whatever you planned is good enough. Those bozos don't need anything elaborate." Mercedes soothed, picking at the hair under her foil cap.
"They definitely don't deserve for you to break your brain trying to entertain them." Quinn added.
Marcy toyed with a brush. "I really like these guys though. I'm going to miss them when I go home."
"You've gotten close to them, huh?"
Marcy nodded.
"It's okay." Mercedes wrapped her arm around her. "That's why phones were invented and airplanes exist."
"You really think they'll visit?"
"Well yeah. Artie is close to Puck and Mikey and so is Sam. They're going to visit and then they'll be so happy to see you, too."
"Thank you, Mercy." Marcy slid from under her older sibling's arm. "Want to watch TV while we wait for you guys hair?"
"Sure. We can talk about Marc and Laura."
M&MC
Puck stretched. "It's time for glee."
Mike turned off the television and stood. "I can't believe you wanted to watch cartoons."
"Mini Mama likes the best stuff."
Finn picked his long, lean body off the sofa. "I can't keep up with the subtitles. They talk too fast."
"It'll get easier." Mike picked up a box and walked towards the front door.
Puck and Finn followed him out to his car, where he put the box in his trunk. "If you say so."
Mike chuckled. "You've been friends for too long if you talk in unison."
"I can see that." Puck rotated his shoulder. "Get in the front, Finn. I'm stretching out in the back."
"I don't care. I like this car. It's the most amazing car I've ever been in. Well besides Travis." Finn opened the front door.
"Hey!" Mike got behind the wheel. "Rhonda is way better than Travis!"
"Way, my ass!" Puck dove in the back. "These cars are neck and neck for badass cars."
Mike began driving to the school. "Rhonda is the most beautiful car anyone's ever seen."
"She doesn't have flames." Puck taunted.
"She doesn't need flames!"
"Mike, calm down!" Finn looked at him in surprise. "I've never seen you so amped up. It's just a car."
"Don't listen to him, baby. He's just an idiot." Mike rubbed his dashboard soothingly.
Puck cracked up. "I think your dad passed on his love of cars a little too much!"
"Do you let Sadie drive your car?" Finn wanted to know.
Mike took his eyes off the road to give him a dirty look. "Nobody drives my car but me."
"Mike, it's not that serious."
"Nobody." Mike rubbed the dashboard again.
Finn was in shock as Puck kept laughing. "I can't believe you're being like this. I love my truck but I didn't name it and I let other people drive it. It's not even a her. It's an it."
"That's your problem."
Puck almost rolled onto the floor. "We've found one of your flaws!"
Mike turned around to glare at him but faced front quickly. "Shut up!"
"Ahahaha!"
Finn didn't understand how he got such weird friends... but he loved them.
Mike pulled into the school's parking lot and saw Travis was already there. "The girls are here."
"What's in the box?" Puck asked as he crawled off the seat.
"Pictures and stuff." Mike closed the trunk and walked towards the entrance. Puck and Finn followed him all the way to the choir room.
"Hey, guys!" Mr. Shue waved them in. "Guess what we have for you today!"
"It's cake!" Quinn yelled, excited.
Both Mercedes and Marcy vibrated. "It's cake!"
"Aw yeah!" Puck liked cake.
"It's not for us, bro." Jake said.
"Mama'll share with me." He walked up to her and leaned down to give her a hug and a kiss.
"It depends. If cake is as good as I hope it is, you're not gettin nothin!" She patted his arm.
The others laughed.
"What's in the box?" Sam asked as he walked in with Blaine.
"Pictures and home movies." Mike set it beside the others and sat down.
"Do we have a DVD player in here?" Blaine asked as he gave Mercedes a hug.
"I got one." Mr. Shue pointed to the TV by the wall.
"Yes!" Sam cheered. "I can't wait to see you guys as kids."
"We weren't that much different than we are now." Marcy said.
"But you'd be smaller." He gave her a quick hug.
"Barely." Mike said with a straight face. "If they got any smaller, they'd stop existing."
Marcy and Quinn hit him as Mercedes gave him a dirty look.
"That's two!" Puck laughed.
"Two what?" Artie rolled in with Kitty behind him.
"We've found two flaws Mike has."
"What is it? Is he too nice?" Artie went to Marcy for their made up handshake.
"Naw. He's got a dark side."
"Dark as the sun." Artie snorted.
Tina walked in with Marley and Unique. She made a beeline for Mercedes. "Hi!"
Mercedes rocked with her. "Hi!"
"Diva!" Unique yelled.
"How's my girl?" Mercedes hugged her.
"Great; now that you're here!"
"Hi, Mercedes." Marley said shyly.
"Where's my hug?" Mercedes opened her arms.
Marley smiled and hugged her.
"Hi, Marcy." Tina smiled at her.
"What's up, Korean Fruit?" Marcy inclined her head.
"Can I get a hug?" Unique asked.
"I don't see why not." Marcy opened her arms.
Marley waved. "Hi."
"Hey."
"Hi, Quinn." Tina hugged her.
"How are you, Tina?" The blonde asked.
"I'm good. You?"
"Very good."
"Hi, Quinn." Unique waved.
"Hi, Unique."
"Hi, Quinn." Marley smiled.
"Hi, Marley."
"I can't get a hi?" Mike teased with a straight face. "Nice to know I'm chopped liver."
Tina hugged him. "Hi, Mike!"
"Hi, Tina."
"Hi, Mike." Unique gave him a big hug.
"Ah! Thank you!"
Marley giggled as she gave him a tentative hug. She'd never touched him before so she was extra shy. "Hi."
"Hello, Marley." He patted her back.
"Oh yeah. He's a dark one." Artie joked.
"I'm tellin you!" Puck swore.
Ryder finally made it. "Did I miss anything?"
"No. You're just in time." Mr. Shue clapped his hands. "Blaine, since cake was your idea, you serve them."
Blaine stood up. "You've only had three types of cake in your life and that's just criminal. Cake is the best thing in the world."
Artie waved a hand. "No, it's not!"
"You'll get your turn tomorrow!" Blaine pointed. "Anyway. I chose different cakes that would appeal to each of your palettes."
"You picked these cakes out? Just for us?" Mercedes smiled. "Thank you, Blaine."
Blaine flushed with pleasure. "It was nothing."
"Here." Tina got up and poured them their new favorite sodas. "You'll need it."
Blaine used a knife Mr. Shue had gotten from the cafeteria and cut pieces of a three layer chocolate cake. "This is chocolate cake."
"That has to be good." Marcy said. "It has chocolate in it."
"You have no idea." Blaine set out the four plates with plastic sporks.
The class watched closely as they each took a bite. Their eyes popped open and they scooped more cake in their mouths.
"Mama, can I have some?" Puck teased.
"I don't know you!" She kept eating.
"Q,-"
"Leave me alone." Quinn cut him off.
"Mini Mama,-"
"No." Marcy licked her spoon.
"Mike,-"
Mike growled at him and turned his body to shield his cake from him.
Blaine beamed. "You really like it?"
"This is the second best cake I've ever had in my life." Marcy swore.
"That don't mean nothing. You've never had it." Artie threw up a hand.
She narrowed her eyes. "I was going to be nice to you but you ruined it."
"I'm sorry, Boo Thang."
She scoffed. "Can I have more?"
Blaine shook his head. "We've got more cake. This is a coconut cake."
"I don't like coconut." Mercedes said.
"Sam told me. But I think you'll like it on this."
They each tried the cake. It wasn't as widely received as its chocolate counterpart.
"Okay, this is German Chocolate. I thought you'd get a kick out of that." Blaine was cutting tiny slices so they wouldn't get full.
Quinn was the only one to love it. She ate all their pieces. "This is so good!"
"Can we go back to the chocolate chocolate?" Marcy asked.
"Almost." Blaine sliced into another cake. "This is a strawberry cake."
"I can't eat that. I'm allergic to strawberries."
"Oh." He only cut three pieces and handed them out. "Well try this lemon cake."
"Lemon? I like lemon."
He pointed out the white and yellow detailing. "You see the lemon gel on top? It's between every layer. It's a beautiful cake."
"This cake is amazing." Mercedes pulled her fork out of her mouth.
"Wait until I give you this lemon cake." Blaine passed out pieces.
"Man, that's tart!" Mike set his aside.
"I'll take it." Marcy loved hers.
"This frosting is really good." Quinn went back between the lemon and strawberry cakes.
"I still like this strawberry more." Mercedes finished her lemon slice and went back to finish the strawberry.
"Here's caramel cake." Blaine cut into it.
None really liked it.
He set it aside for the rest of the class. "This is rum cake."
"Rum? In a cake?!" Quinn was all for it.
"Doesn't your sister make all these?" Sam asked.
"Yeah but we don't pay attention to what she makes. It's not for us so why would we care?"
"I don't like rum." Marcy gave her piece to Mike, who ate it happily.
"I like this. Not as much as the strawberry but it's good." Mercedes gave her verdict.
"I like the German chocolate better but yeah, this is pretty good." Quinn agreed.
Blaine went through carrot, pineapple upside down, blueberry crumb and checkerboard cake to rave reviews. "Okay, this is the last one. Birthday cake." Blaine cut into it.
"Ooh!" Their eyes grew wide.
He gave them slices. "What do you think?"
"This is freakin amazing." Marcy said seriously.
"And people have this every year on their birthday?" Mike was in awe.
"We've been jipped." Quinn sat back.
"So not fair." Mercedes agreed.
"Your parents should be ashamed of depriving you of the inherent goodness that is birthday cake." Artie wagged a finger.
"We can get to your pictures now." Blaine cut them pieces of their favorite cakes.
Mercedes got up and went to a box. She brought it back to the table and opened it. "Here's one of us at camp."
Quinn took it. "It's with Kelly."
"Kelly!" Mike and Marcy lifted their forks in salute.
"He was so cute." Quinn flipped to the back of the photo to see the date on it along with the names of the people in it. "Kelly O'Hara."
Puck frowned. "Who is this guy?"
"He's just this cool guy from camp." Mike knew he was jealous and tried to make it as worse as possible. "Everything came naturally to him. He was smart, talented, a ladies man. He only had eyes for Q though."
Quinn giggled. "I have to call him."
"No, you don't!" Puck snapped.
"I haven't talked to him in forever. I should call him."
"Oh! Here's a picture of Marcy with Kenneth Dandridge!" Mercedes waved the picture.
Marcy blushed and snatched the picture from her. "No way! I haven't seen him in years!"
"Mal would have a heart-attack." Mike grinned. "Let's text him the picture."
"You are a mean brother." Tina shook her head.
"That's three." Puck put up three fingers.
"What are these flaws?!" Artie demanded.
"He loves his car like it's his girlfriend. He stirs up trouble. He's the worst brother in existence."
"Jr. exists." Mercedes shook her head as she found another picture. "Here's another picture of you and Kenneth. You're kissing him!"
Marcy snatched that picture, too. "Ignore these!"
"Mal really would drop dead if he saw these pictures." Mike said. "Are you going to keep them?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen Kenneth in years. Hadn't thought about him in years. I wonder how he's doing?"
"Mini Mama. I thought you were done cheating?" Puck raised an eyebrow.
"I never said I was going to start anything!" She spat waspishly. "I just wanna talk to him. I haven't seen him since I was seven."
"They were near going steady." Quinn whispered.
"Old boyfriend?" Puck teased. "Why'd you break up?"
"I left." Marcy looked over the pictures sedatedly.
Puck's eyes widened. "Oh! So this guy is like the one that got away?"
"I guess. Kind of. He was the most interesting second grader in the world."
"That's a compliment." Artie said. "Second graders are not interesting at all."
Marcy smirked. "He was so cute. I remember having lunch with him and sitting next to each other for story time."
"She even shared her apple juice with him!" Quinn told.
Puck's and Finn's mouths fell open. "What?!"
"It was only once but she did." Mercedes nodded.
"I thought you didn't share apple juice?!" Finn accused.
"The way you fought Mal for that bottle; you know you wrong!" Puck fussed.
"I feel like we're missing something." Blaine said as he began handing out cake to the class.
"When we were at the park, Mal and Mini Mama got into a fight over apple juice."
Marcy put the pictures down. "So? He should know by now; I don't share apple juice."
"Unless it's with the seven year old heartthrob." Artie nodded with a smirk.
"Shut up. I shared with him once. It's not like I asked him to marry me."
"No but he asked her." Quinn grinned.
"Why are all these guys proposing to you?!" Kitty didn't get it. "You don't even want to get married!"
Marcy shrugged. "I don't know why he asked."
"Because he was as taken with you as you were with him." Mercedes poked her cheek. "Mal had a sure enough fit."
"Mal hated that guy." Mike confirmed. "If he could have killed Kenneth and gotten away with it..."
"Actually I think he was plotting anyway."
"When Marcy told us that Kenneth asked for a commitment ceremony, he immediately fell out. He screamed and cried and hugged her until she swore she wouldn't go through with it."
"Aww!" Tina cooed. "Poor Mal."
"Poor Mal?! Poor me!" Marcy said. "I had to tell Kenneth I was already married."
"What'd he say?" Sam wanted to know.
"He said he understood and if I ever wanted a new husband, he'd be there."
"I don't like him." Unique lifted her nose in the air.
"Are Mal and Marcy your OTP, too?" Mercedes asked. "Because they belong together and I won't rest until they are."
Unique nodded. "I've never met him but I already know they're cute together and were made for each other."
Marcy rolled her eyes. "There is something I didn't like about Kenneth. He didn't like Mal."
"That feeling was returned tenfold." Mike restated. "You cut him off to be with Kenneth and he hated that."
"I didn't cut him off. I just found someone else to pay attention to for a while. I always invited him to come with."
"To be a third wheel? BT, you know better than that." Artie chided.
"These three have been together for forever and you're not on them!"
"They're the Three Musketeers. It's supposed to be three of them."
"There's four Musketeers!"
"My point is that there needs to be three of them. You and Mal are two peas in a pod and you just jumped ship for a carrot."
"I can't have other friends? He didn't act nearly so crazy over Jude."
"Because he knew you didn't have romantic feelings for Jude. He was only being replaced as a friend. He could handle that if he got all the rest of you." Mercedes said wisely.
"We were six! What romantic feelings could I possibly have?!"
"You were feeling Kenneth." Mike shook his head. "Everyone could see it and was making bets on when Mal killed him."
"You're exaggerating."
"No, he's not. There was a literal pool for when Kenneth was going to disappear." Quinn confirmed.
"Oh my goodness!" Marcy rolled her eyes. "People have no life!"
"If you didn't go to Detroit, we would have known." Mercedes shrugged. "But it's over now. You haven't spoken to him in years and Mal just has to fight Pierre for you."
"You know Mal's going to find a girlfriend." Marcy drawled.
"No, he's not!"
"Yes, he is. And I'm going to help him."
"What kind of-?!" Artie gaped. "You're going to find your baby daddy a girlfriend?! What is that about?!"
"He's still my best friend and I've always helped him get laid."
"Be my best friend!"
"Hey!" Sam snapped.
"Will you help me get laid?" Artie lifted a brow.
"I can try." Sam sulked.
"I don't try. I do." Marcy flaunted.
"Those are the results I'm talkin about!" Artie whooped.
Kitty was full out glaring at him. She cleared her throat.
"I mean if I wasn't already in a committed relationship."
Kitty wasn't buying it.
Artie rubbed his hands to take the heat off of him. "What other pictures you got?"
"I want to watch this." Quinn held up a DVD.
"What is it?" Mercedes asked.
"Maddie's first steps."
"I haven't seen that in forever." Mike said. "We should watch it."
Mr. Shue brought the TV over and set it up. He put the disk in and turned off the lights and shut the doors.
The image on the TV flickered until it stabilized. It was a glaring white until the focus shifted and they could see that the camera had just been pointed at the floor.
The picture was of two little girls aged seven. One was a plump brunette with brown eyes and chocolate skin. Her wavy brown and black hair fell down her back. The other was a green eyed blonde with porcelain skin and a long ponytail.
Both girls waved to the camera.
The person behind the camera spoke to them and they waved big. They spoke in another language (French) rapidly before running off.
The camera moved disjointedly as the person holding it ran after them. They ended up in another room, where five other people were standing around.
"You guys were so cute!" Sam gushed. He was shushed.
On screen, the children were speaking amongst themselves until a young Marcy waved her hands.
She sank to her knees and patted them.
An eleven year old Laura held onto a eleven month old Maddie's hands and walked her across the room from Marcy. She tilted Maddie forward and let her go.
Marc, Mike, Mercedes and Quinn made a bunch of noise as Maddie took her first step. It was small and uneven but it was a step. She took another and another before she had to stop and get her bearings.
Marcy slapped her thighs and called her over.
Maddie giggled and pitched forward. She ran the rest of the way to Marcy and crashed into her. Marcy hugged her to her chest before getting to her feet.
The others in the room were cheering and carrying on. The camera turned around and six year old Mal was seen sporting a smile and thumbs up for his little sister.
The camera turned back around and Mal asked the celebrating kids a question. They each answered it in turn and lifted Maddie up like she just won the Olympics.
The screen went blue.
Mr. Shue turned the lights back on. "Wow."
"You guys were so cute!" Tina gushed.
"That's what I said!" Sam snapped indignantly.
"Well they were!" She flipped her hair at him. "So was Maddie. I can't believe you recorded her first steps!"
"Where were your parents?" Artie asked.
"Working." Quinn said.
"Where were you?" Kitty asked.
"Sweden." Mercedes told her. "We were visiting our grandparents."
"It was right before camp." Mike remembered. "It was the year before the summer from hell."
"It was not the summer from hell."
"You must be thinking about every summer but that one." Marcy snorted. "Nothing went right that summer. We should have just gone to camp."
"Why didn't we?" Quinn wanted to know.
"Aunt Gretchen." Marcy and Mike said in unison.
"Oh yeah. That was a bad summer."
"We had some great moments!" Mercedes insisted.
"Like?" Mike led.
"Singing into the fans was pretty fun."
"What about the bee sanctuary?!"
Marcy facepalmed and shook her head. "We're not talking about that."
"What about the zoo?" Quinn grinned.
"That wasn't my fault! That was on Laura!"
"She did lie." Mike acknowledged.
"She just played with the truth." Mercedes pouted.
"She lied!" Marcy snapped. "Hug, my ass!"
"You weren't prepared for that!"
"How do you think I felt when I realized the truth?!"
"She was only trying to protect you."
Marcy scoffed.
Artie waved a hand. "Hi. Remember us? What the hell are you talking about?"
"You don't want to know." Mike assured him.
"Yes! Yes, we do!" He insisted.
"Have you ever been to Africa?" Marcy asked.
"You've been to Africa?!" Unique gasped.
"It's hot, humid and filled to the brim with bugs."
"And large animals that want to eat you." Mike added.
"You know..." Tina waved her hands. "I don't wanna know."
"I do." Sam said. "It seems interesting."
"What do we got here? A smart Asian and a dumb blond..." Marcy mocked.
"Marcy!" Mercedes hit her arm as the class laughed. "You've hurt his feelings!"
Sam pouted. "You really have!"
Marcy pursed her lips. "I apologize, Samson but this is really a horrible story."
"Why don't we be the judge of that?" Artie pointed to himself.
"I hope you have nightmares."
"Marcy!" Mercedes was shocked she said that.
"No, I don't but I wished I did hope you have nightmares."
"How is that better?!"
Marcy shrugged. "Thing is our aunt didn't have much... experience with children. She saw us all once a year and spent the rest of her time around people her own age."
"But when we were eight, she got pregnant." Mike went on. "She wanted to see us for a few weeks that summer to get used to the idea."
"She had no clue what to do with us." Quinn rolled her eyes. "We went all over the globe doing baby stuff and seeing the same things over and over."
"She took us to a lot of museums. We were twelve, eleven, eight, seven and two. We wanted to run and play, not be quiet and still in a boring museum." Marcy sucked in a breath. "But she took us to a few zoos. The first one was fun but then she kept taking us like it was the Excalibur of outings."
"We went to every zoo Africa had. Or at least it seemed like it." Mike said, upset.
"That wasn't the worst part." Quinn held up a hand. "The worst part was when we tried to make our own fun, we got in trouble!"
"Marcy got us kicked out of six zoos!" Mercedes yelped.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Marcy sat up. "Marcy didn't do nothing by herself!"
"I'm sorry. I forgot about your cohorts." Mercedes glared at Mike then Quinn.
"I was bored!" Mike stressed. "She had simple solutions for that. What do you want from me?!"
"To not follow her into trouble like she's the pied piper of mischief!"
Quinn looked at her nails. "If you weren't so much like Laura, you would know we didn't do anything you didn't want to do."
Mercedes side-eyed her heavily. "I didn't want to release all the baboons during feeding time!"
"Mini Mama, you did what?!" Puck gaped.
"In my defense, I was hella bored!" Marcy snapped.
"How did you even do that?" Artie marveled. "Don't they have security and walls and cages in place to keep people from doing that?"
"Genius." Marcy used her hand to indicate herself.
"Damn." Blaine was blown away.
"None of this explains why you don't want to tell us this story." Kitty pursed her lips.
Marcy rolled her eyes. "Point is, she was at her wits end with us and instead of doing something brilliantly simple or simply brilliant, she didn't send us home or for heaven's sake, take us off that godforsaken continent. She took us to another zoo before taking us to a bee sanctuary. Which turned out to be so much worse."
"For you. And him." Mike grinned. "It was hilarious for us."
"No, it wasn't!" Mercedes pinched him.
"Ow! Was so! I bet he never forgot her!"
Quinn laughed. "The bee sanctuary was the best!"
Marcy shook her head. "No, it wasn't. You two are off your meds."
Puck laughed loudly.
Both Mike and Quinn glared at him.
"What happened at the bee sanctuary?" Sam wanted to know.
"That's not important." Marcy said. "What's important is that at this last zoo, it was boring as all hell but we were leaving when I saw something. I asked Laura about it but she straight up lied to my face about it."
"She was protecting you!" Mercedes insisted.
"She was lying to me." Marcy bit off. "We read what actually happened in the newspaper the next day."
"What happened?!" Artie was dying to know.
"Have you ever seen a man stripped of his skin?"
"What?" He blanched.
"Have you ever seen a man stripped of his skin? I have. A man had climbed into the lion exhibit and one of the lions mauled him to death."
"And you-? And you just saw that?" Sam gulped.
She stared him down. "Yes."
"Did you call for help?" Blaine was looking a little pale.
"I was the only one paying attention and I did ask Laura what was going on. She told me the lion was hugging him."
"And you believed that?" Kitty snorted.
"I was seven and it did look like he was hugging him. At least the way Mal and I hug." She arched a brow.
"She means horizontally." Mike said helpfully.
"I caught that." Kitty muttered.
Tina had her hands over her mouth and was shaking her head with wide eyes. She moved her hands. "I knew I didn't want to hear this!"
"But he was okay though. Right?" Marley's eyes were also impossibly large.
"Oh no. That man died. Horrifically and very much in pain." Marcy said.
Unique gulped. "No wonder you hate Africa."
"I don't hate Africa. Okay, I hate Africa. But only because it's hot and has so many bugs. I hate bugs and I don't do heat."
"I can't believe you watched a man die." Ryder was stuck.
"Don't forget my sister lied to my face about it."
"It seems you're more preoccupied with her lying than you are his life." Blaine said.
"I don't appreciate being lied to." Marcy narrowed her eyes. "And I didn't know him. I couldn't form an emotional attachment to him to care about his passing. Though I did feel bad at the time."
"At the time? Not anymore?" Finn asked.
"I've seen too much. I'm jaded."
"What have you seen?!" Unique really didn't want an answer to her question.
"Some sure enough foolishness."
"Like what?" Finn pressed, remembering his conversation with Puck and Mike from earlier.
"Stuff you wouldn't believe."
"Like what?" He kept going.
"Stuff that would have you looking at the world different and if you ask me "like what?" again, I'm going to hit you."
He kept his mouth closed.
"Boo Thang, tell us about the bee sanctuary." Artie demanded softly.
"No, no. That's a tale for another day." She refused to get into it.
"Like tomorrow?"
"If I have to." She sighed.
"Did you watch someone die there, too?" Jake thought she was the coolest person he'd ever met.
"I doubt he died." She snorted.
"If he did, it'd been all her fault." Mike bumped her shoulder.
She made a face.
"It was funny." Mercedes admitted slowly. "At the time."
"Really?" Quinn asked. "Cuz it's just gotten funnier to me."
"I know I laughed for many a year from that." Mike grinned. He took out his phone. "I'm going to call Marc and see if he remembers."
"Don't be crass." Mercedes shook her head.
"You're right. I'll text him." Mike's fingers flew.
Mercedes sat back with a pout. "You're being the same old Sonny."
He winked. "It's in my DNA."
Quinn laughed. "Has Laura forgiven you for her room?"
"She said the earrings helped but she was still mad at me." He shrugged but he didn't care. "I was thinking of getting her some slippers."
"Why?" Kitty asked.
"How sweet!" Tina cooed.
"Why?" Mercedes was suspicious.
Mike grinned. "They're shaped like frogs."
The boys laughed as the girls shook their heads. "Mike!"
"What? It's a joke! She'll get it."
"After we pry her hands from around your throat." Marcy lifted a brow.
"It'll be worth it." He was sure.
"One of these days she's going to kill you." Mercedes warned.
"Like you're going to kill Mal?" He snorted.
"Yes!" Quinn bit off.
"He read me your diary again." Marcy said. "It was depressing."
Twin spots of color appeared on Quinn's cheeks. "I'm going to kill him!"
"Are you going to beat him with a bat?" Puck grinned.
"You get unnaturally happy with the thought of us beating him." Mercedes noted.
"Because it's funny! Mini Mama, Mike and Marc were laughin just as hard!"
"It's not funny." She insisted. "He has a real problem!"
"One you'll cure him of if it's the last beating he gets?" Marcy lifted her brows in a teasing manner.
Mercedes scowled. "We get no help from you. And it's just because he never reads your diary."
"I don't know why he can't find it. It's not like I'm particularly crafty in my hiding places."
"I can't believe sweet Mal steals your diaries." Tina shook her head in denial.
"Well believe it." Quinn crossed her arms. "He's a blight upon the earth!"
"I don't see what the problem is." Marcy grinned.
"That's because he doesn't prank you, read your diary or ruin your love life."
"Hello! He's trying to ruin my love life now!"
"No, he's trying to be your love life." Mike corrected.
"Well he's going to have to try harder. I don't want him."
"Maybe if you say it enough times, you'll believe it?" Quinn fit her hand on her chin.
"I can tell Puck some things about you..." Marcy drawled.
Quinn's eyes widened. "What about the sister code?!"
"What about the irritating clause?"
"You wouldn't." Quinn stared her down.
"Puck, would you like to know about what Quinn used to do at church?"
"Yes!" He rubbed his hands together.
"No." Mercedes broke their staredown. "Sisters do not act like this. Sisters love each other. Sisters-"
"Ah yi yi!" Marcy rolled her eyes. "Not the Sister Speech."
"We're sorry! Just don't keep talking!" Quinn added.
Mercedes glared at both.
Mike cracked up. "I'm glad Marc's Brother Speech is short and sweet."
"What is it?" Marley asked.
"Knock it off; we're brothers."
"That is short and sweet." Artie blinked.
"Let's watch another home movie." Tina clapped her hands.
Mercedes went through the box. "Here's a Christmas one!"
M&MC
"Okay, guys. In honor of my birthday-"
"Happy birthday!" The class cut Sam off.
He grinned. "Marcy agreed to sing a song with me."
"Really?" Mercedes wanted to hear this duet. "When was this?"
"I don't know. Last week?" Marcy shrugged. She got two guitars from the band.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"There's something to tell?" Marcy handed one to Sam.
"Well yeah. You're singing in public."
"I've sang in public before." Marcy sat on one of the stools Sam pulled over.
"Not a lot." Mercedes pointed out. "What song is it?"
"You'll remember this one." Sam smiled at her as he took the other stool. He started playing and Marcy chimed in.
"We didn't care if people stared
We'd make out in a crowd somewhere
Somebody'd tell us to get a room
It's hard to believe that was me and you
Now we keep saying that we're okay
But I don't wanna settle for good; not great
I miss the way that it felt back then
I wanna feel that way again
Been so long that you'd forget
The way I used to kiss your neck
Marcy: (Remind me
Remind me)
So on fire
So in love
Way back when we couldn't get enough
Marcy: (Remind me
Remind me)
Marcy: Remember the airport dropping me off
We were kissing goodbye and we couldn't stop
Sam: I felt bad cuz you missed your fight
Both: But that meant we had one more night
Marcy: Don't you remember how it used to be
We'd turn out the lights and we didn't just sleep
Sam: (Remind me
Baby, remind me)
Oh, so on fire
And so in love
That look in your eyes that I miss so much
Sam: (Remind me
Baby, remind me)
Sam: I wanna feel that way
Marcy: Yeah, I wanna hold you close
Both: Oh, if you still love me
Don't just assume I know
Marcy: Oh, baby, remind me
Remind me
Yeah
Oh, do you remember the way it felt
Sam: You mean back when we couldn't control ourselves?
Marcy: Remind me
Sam: Yeah, remind me
Marcy: All those things that you used to do
That made me fall in love with you
Remind me
Oh, baby, remind me
Sam: Yeah, you'd wake up in my old t-shirt
And all those mornings I was late for work
Remind me
Marcy: Oh, baby
Both: Remind me
Marcy: Oh, baby, remind me
Baby, remind
Sam: (Yeah, you'd wake up in my old t-shirt)
Me, yeah
Oh
Sam: Baby, remind me"
Mercedes clapped the loudest.
"That was incredible." Artie complimented before taking it back. "For a country song."
Marcy's mouth kicked up. "Yeah right. That was just incredible."
"I can't believe you like country." Jake turned up his nose.
Marcy shrugged.
"What's wrong with country?" Sam demanded.
"A lot when he talks about himself in the third person." Marcy joked.
Sam was so lost. "Huh?!"
"Cuz I call you Country?" She led.
He stared at her blankly.
Artie waved a hand in his direction. "He'll get it one day. I can't wait for Thursday. My day is going to blow this song out the water."
"You're going to sing with her?" Kitty folded her arms across her chest and eyed him darkly.
"It's my birthday. I can sing with whoever I want."
"Guys!" Tina waved her hands. "We don't want to hear you argue. We want to congratulate Marcy and Sam on a job well done. For a country song."
"You guys keep saying that but country is good!" Sam defended.
"Sure." Mike snorted.
Mercedes elbowed him. "Be nice."
"Sure, country is good." Mike lied with a smile.
Puck laughed. "Country sucks! I keep telling you that, Mama!"
Mercedes threw a plastic fork at him.
"I'm telling your dads you threw something at me!"
"They won't believe you!"
"Q will back me up."
"Don't put me in your mess." Quinn lifted her hands.
"Mike?"
Mike shrugged. "We'll see."
Mercedes stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry.
"Real mature, Mama! Mini Mama got my back. Right, Mini Mama?" Puck lifted his chin.
"Yeah, I got ya." Marcy gave the guitars back.
"Now what?!" Puck jumped at Mercedes and she jumped into Mike's lap. Both men started laughing.
"I'm not afraid of you!" She yelled into Mike's chest.
"I think you are." Sam tickled her.
She jerked before slapping at his hand and giggling. "I am not!"
"She shouldn't be." Marcy instigated. "She can kick his butt all the way to Tokyo."
"I know that's right, Ms. Lady! Whoop him up!" Jake cheered.
Puck pushed him off his chair.
"You're just as violent as Marc." Mike chuckled.
Jake grumbled as he pulled himself up from the floor. "He was a jerk, too?"
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"I refuse to believe a man that looks like him is violent." Unique lifted her nose.
"You wouldn't be the first girl to pick him over me." Mike pouted.
Unique blushed. "I'm not..."
"Mercedes, don't you want to move from your brother's lap?" Tina teased.
Mercedes realized they weren't in private and blinked before snuggling close to Mike. "No. He's comfy."
"I don't know why." Marcy said, tongue in cheek. "He's all bones."
Mike was straight up offended. "Move, Mercy." He set her on her chair and stood, whipping off his shirt. He gestured to his body.
Unique's jaw dropped. "That's what your shirt's been hiding?!"
"Whoo!" Kitty whooped.
Marley blushed and giggled.
Tina smiled. "I definitely miss that!"
"Mr. Abtastic!" Mercedes and Quinn shouted.
Marcy was busy laughing. "You're so easy!"
Mike scowled. "You're just Satan personified."
Marcy scratched inside her bun. "It's not my fault you fell for it!"
The girls continued catcalling.
"Alright put your shirt back on. Nobody wants to see all that."
Mike blushed and put his shirt back on. "You're the only one complaining."
"I'm not complaining. I know I got some good-lookin brothers." She ran a hand over her hair. She was dying to take it down and scratch it.
"Hell, I'm complainin!" Artie snapped. "You got my girlfriend hot and bothered!"
"Mikey know he rude." Mercedes pinched his cheek.
Mike blushed brighter. "We can talk about something else now."
"Anything!" Puck sniped. He was used to being the sex symbol.
And Quinn knew it. She smiled deviously. "But Mikey's cut. Like a diamond."
Mercedes caught on and giggled. "He's a hunk!"
Marcy fell out as she got it. "Come get him, ladies!"
Puck scowled. "They don't want him!"
"Yes, we do!" Unique and Kitty yelled.
Marley smiled but couldn't get rid of her blush.
Tina just whooped.
Mike was feeling like a piece of meat but this time it didn't feel so bad. He knew they were only joking. "Thank you, girls."
"Oh the pleasure is all ours." Marcy elbowed Quinn.
"Now if you want some of that returned..." The older blonde winked.
"Hmm!" Artie stuck his nose in the air. "I don't see nothin funny!"
"Don't be like that." Marcy sassed.
Mr. Shue hated to ruin their good time but... "It's time to go, guys. We'll see them tomorrow."
The class grumbled but left. The graduated class and Marcy were left as Mr. Shue went to his office.
"I'll see you in a bit." Marcy told the departing Sam.
"Okay." The towheaded country singer left.
"Do you feel good about yourself?" Puck demanded.
Mike lifted his shoulders. "Kinda."
Finn's lips twitched. "Those girls sure loved you."
"I can give you six reasons why." Marcy pulled up Mike's shirt.
He blushed. "Stop it, Marce."
"Don't be shy. Revel in your hotness. La knows we have enough to spare."
Mercedes laughed. "You did say we were mirror struck."
"And we are." Mike tugged his shirt down.
"So where are we going?"
"I'm going to his house." Marcy hooked a thumb at Finn. "I'm going to make cookies for Sam."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I'll just put your pile on your window seat."
They'd divided up what pictures and videos they wanted.
"Can I catch a ride with you then?" Finn asked.
"Sure. But I'll need to go to the store first." Marcy headed out, Finn on her heels.
Puck played with Mercedes' hair. "Guess what?"
"Stop. What?" She slapped at his hand.
"Jake and that little girl hooked back up." He poked her shoulder.
She slapped his hand. "No way! That's so amazing for them!"
"I can beat that." Mike picked up the cake he was taking home. "T says she forgives me."
"Forgives you?" Quinn cocked her head. "For what?"
"For the way we broke up. When we talked yesterday, she said she finally forgave me."
Mercedes hugged him. "I'm so happy for you! I know that's been weighing on your mind!"
He held her close. "We cleared the air and talked about everything. We're good now."
"Good."
"You want to kiss me." He grinned rakishly.
"No!" She slapped his chest.
"Yes, you do." He teased. "It's okay. I'm pretty kissable."
She blushed. "I don't know why I love you."
Quinn giggled. "Let's go out for dinner."
"Again?" Puck wrinkled his nose.
"Yes. We've gone on exactly two double dates. The number should be higher."
He shrugged. "Whatever."
"Let's go to Panera Bread." Quinn turned to Mercedes.
Whose eyes lit up. "Ooh! Yeah!"
Mike shook his head as they gathered their stuff and left. "Girls."
Puck nodded. "Don't get 'em. Love 'em but I don't get 'em."