You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

56. Nationals

"What's going on? How bad is it?" Mr. Schue asked, stepping into the girls' hotel room where they were gathered anxiously around a sick Mercedes, who was lying, miserable in bed.

"Her temperature's 101 degrees. Given that Weezy's complaining about an upset stomach, it's either Amazonian dengue fever or the H1N1 super virus," Coach Sylvester announced, glancing at the thermometer.

"Or I have food poisoning," Mercedes mumbled weakly as Melanie gently pressed the back of her hand against her forehead, checking for heat.

"We all wanted burritos for lunch, so we went to Chipotle, but Mercedes decided to try some sketchy dive called 'Señora Salsation,'" Santana added.

Coach Sylvester moved aside to speak quietly with Mr. Schue while Santana swapped places with Melanie and carefully placed a cold, damp towel on Mercedes' forehead. Brittany approached with a bowl of soup, but Mercedes held up a weak hand, the mere thought of eating making her stomach churn.

Melanie noticed and quickly grabbed a water bottle from the mini-fridge. "Here," she said, offering it to Mercedes, who gave a faint shake of her head in refusal.

"Cedes, you're just gonna feel worse if you're dehydrated," Melanie insisted softly, Tina and Quinn nodded in agreement, silently backing her up.

With a reluctant sigh, Mercedes groaned and took the bottle, managing a small sip.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Mr. Schue said, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Mercedes, you're on bed rest. Quinn, you're stepping in."

"No, no, no, I can't dance that number," Quinn said quickly, shaking her head in panic. "I can't sing it either—not like—"

"The Trouble Tones need you," Mr. Schue interrupted firmly.

"And you're better than you think you are," Tina added, encouragingly.

"Tina, you too—you're in the Trouble Tones," Mr. Schue added, pointing at her. Melanie gave Tina's arm a small, reassuring squeeze.

Mercedes struggled to sit up, letting out a frustrated groan. "Mr. Schue, this is my last competition. I don't want to miss it."

Melanie's heart sank at the sight of her friend trying so hard to stay strong. She didn't know what was worse—Mercedes pushing herself when she clearly wasn't well or the possibility of going into the competition without her. Either way, it felt like things were slipping out of their control, no matter how determined Mr. Schue tried to sound.

"Amen to that, sister," Coach Sylvester cut in. "That's why I'm putting you on a vitamin B-12 drip. We're flushing your system with Pedialyte, and I'm gonna fill that bathtub with ice to see if we can't get your ambient body temperature back down to normal. Worked in Jacob's Ladder," she added nonchalantly, already moving toward the bathroom to gather ice.

"All right, we all have our marching orders. Let's do it," Mr. Schue said with a clap, rallying the girls.

The next day at practice, things weren't going any smoother. The conference room had erupted into chaos, with Puck and Sam shouting at each other while the rest of the boys tried to hold them back.

"Hey, calm down! Hey, hey, calm down!" Mr. Schue said, stepping in to intervene, his voice straining over the noise.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Sugar shouted enthusiastically, clearly enjoying the drama.

"Cool out!" Mr. Schue repeated, placing himself between the two boys.

"He's studying for geography while we're trying to rehearse! It's bogus!" Sam yelled, gesturing angrily at Puck.