You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

15. Britney/Brittany

"You and Mike are so cute together," Melanie exclaimed as she and Tina walked through the halls.

Tina let out a shy laugh. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Artie was great and all, but with Mike, it feels different. I don't know how to explain it... I've never felt like this before."

Melanie smiled, about to respond, but her attention was caught by Sam walking past them. "Hey, Melanie," he greeted as he passed by.

"Hi, Sam," she replied, her eyes lingering on his retreating figure for a moment.

When she turned back to Tina, she was met with a mischievous smile. "What?" Melanie asked, a little flustered.

"You like him," Tina said with a knowing grin.

"Uh... yeah, he's a friend," Melanie shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

Tina raised an eyebrow. "Do you blush when greeting all your friends?" she teased.

Melanie quickly touched her face, feeling the heat rise. "I'm not blushing. It's just... hot," she protested.

"Okay," Tina replied with a smug smile, clearly not convinced.

"I do not like him like that," Melanie insisted, her voice firmer now.

Tina raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, fine, you don't like him," she said, though her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Melanie huffed inwardly, trying to convince herself. I don't like him, she thought. She couldn't. She barely knew him. Sure, she thought he was cute. And yeah, she looked forward to those small moments when they'd pass each other in the hall or share a quick smile from across the classroom, but that didn't mean she had a crush on him. Right?

They reached the choir room, and Tina went to sit with Mike while Melanie made her way over to Mercedes.

"Alright, who can tell me who Christopher Cross is?" Mr. Schue asked, turning to the group.

"He discovered America?" Brittany guessed.

Rachel shook her head. "Close. He did write an iconic chart-topper, "Sailing,"" Mr. Schue answered.

"I have a bad feeling about this lesson," Kurt muttered, turning to Mercedes and Melanie, who both nodded in agreement.

"Never heard of him, don't want to hear about him," Tina added bluntly.

"Now, some people think of the term 'easy listening' as a bad thing. But I'm gonna let this music speak for itself," Mr. Schue continued. "You guys love Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones... and you're really good at putting it all out there. But really good music can also be controlled and restrained. It doesn't have to attack an audience; it can let them come to you." He began handing out sheet music.

Finn frowned at the paper in front of him. "How can you get caught between the moon and New York City? They're like thousands of miles apart?"

"Mr. Schue? If I may," Kurt interrupted, raising his hand. "I think I speak for all of us when I say it's not that we don't love the idea of spending a week on this silky smooth adult contemporary... It's just that, as teens, this isn't the easiest music for us to relate to."

Kurt paused dramatically before continuing. "However, there is a burgeoning Facebook campaign that has swelled to over five members. The ardent demand is that this week, at the fall homecoming assembly, the McKinley High Glee Club perform a number by... wait for it... Ms. Britney Spears."

"Oh my God! Yes!" Melanie exclaimed.

"Yo, Spears is fierce, yo," Artie added while Tina clapped excitedly.