Picture Perfect - Book 3 - Q.F.

Mash-Off

Piper and the rest of the Trouble Tones headed to the auditorium as per Shelby's request, but, as soon as they got there, they noticed the New Directions walking onto the stage from the other side. Piper had barely had the time to process what was happening before Rachel spoke up.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Shelby told us she had something to show us." Santana said. "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Shue said the same thing."

"Let me guess, he wants to combine choirs for Sectionals." Mercedes rolled her eyes then.

"Well, it's not gonna happen." Santana said. "The Trouble Tones are here to stay. So why don't you shuffle your busted choir off our stage."

"Look, you guys, we can compete without being enemies, all right?" Finn said, clearly trying to avoid confrontation. "We don't have to get vicious."

"Oh, I think we do, Soft Serve." Santana teased, continuing to glare at Finn. "See, the Trouble Tones are 3F: fierce, femme, phenomenal. Oh, and, guys, hurry up, go get some moist towels. We have to keep Finn wet before we can roll him back in the sea."

At that, Sugar reacted, already moving to obey Santana, but before she could leave, Piper reached over to her and shook her head to let her know it was a joke.

"Okay, you know what, Santana, Finn is in great shape, and your meanness only highlights your own personal insecurities." Rachel was quick to stand up for her boyfriend, but Santana remained unbothered.

"And, Rachel, your mustache is thicker than a Middle Eastern dictator's." She said.

Before anyone could say anything else anymore, however, Shelby and Mr. Schue appeared, already singing a Mashup of Lady Gaga and Eddie Rabbit's You and I. For a second, Piper allowed herself a moment of peace, just enjoying the song, but it wasn't until she lifted her eyes to meet Quinn's across the stage that she noticed how she frowned a bit at Puck, both of them noticing the way him and Shelby kept on stealing glances.

When Quinn turned to look at her, she smiled a bit, however, sending her a discreet wink as Piper smiled back at her, deciding to ignore that small pit of jealousy in her chest as she clapped for Mr. Schue and Shelby after their performance.

"Mr. Shue, Shelby, I think we can all admit that that was weirdly amazing." Rachel was the first to speak up. "But what exactly was the point?"

"That sometimes bringing together two conflicting things can create something totally unexpected." Mr. Schue said, as Mercedes scoffed.

"We're not combining Glee Clubs, Mr. Schue." She said, as the teacher shook his head.

"That's not what I'm talking about." He said as Mercedes and Piper exchanged confused looks. "Shelby and I agree that with Sectionals coming up for both of us, it's time we all got serious with some friendly competition. Each group's going to put together their own mash-up to perform head-to-head. For the first annual McKinley High Mash-Off."

***

"Can I have some of that strawberry?" Quinn asked, as she pointed with her plastic spoon to the ice cream pint in her girlfriend's hand as the two of them sat in the backseat of her car after heading to a small market near school and just hanging out in a secluded area of the parking lot.

"Sure. Can I have some of that chocolate?" She asked, nodding at Quinn's pint.

"Here." The blonde said, switching the ice creams in between the two of them and smiling a bit as she placed her legs over Piper's lap. "This tastes amazing."