You Drive Me Crazy || Sam Evans

73. Feud

The following couple of weeks in Glee Club had been tense, to say the least.

For starters, Finn and Mr. Schue were now locked in a full-blown feud ever since Finn told him about his kiss with Ms. Pillsbury. And Mr. Schue wasn't even trying to hide his disdain for the 19-year-old.

From making him run ridiculous coffee errands—ones he somehow always managed to mess up in Mr. Schue's eyes—to nitpicking every little thing he did, it was clear Finn was in the doghouse.

"Sorry I'm late! Huge lineup at the Lima Bean, but here are the lattes Mr. Schue made me get for everyone," Finn announced, hurrying into the choir room with two trays of coffee. He set them down on the piano, and everyone moved to grab theirs—everyone except Melanie, who stood idly to the side.

"You don't want one?" Tina asked, noticing her not grabbing one.

Melanie shook her head. "Uh, no, I'm good."

Sam furrowed his brows. "But you love coffee. I've never seen you turn down free coffee before."

"I just don't want any," she replied, her tone sharper than she'd intended.

Mr. Schue took a sip of his drink and immediately grimaced. "Uh, Finn? I asked for two pumps of mocha. I taste three. Take them back. All of them." He turned and walked away, leaving the rest of the New Directions frowning at their coffees.

And the petty punishments didn't stop there.

Then came the dry-cleaning errand—just another excuse to berate Finn in front of everyone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Schue, but all I did was pick up the vests, I didn't—" Finn began.

"What's most upsetting," Mr. Schue interrupted, holding up one of the vests with a scrutinizing glare, "is that you actually think these vests are clean. That it's okay to turn in subpar work."

He tossed the vest back at Finn, his words laced with disdain.

And finally, Finn snapped.

"Great job, Ryder!" Mr. Schue praised after Ryder's performance. "See that guys prowess on the football field and a terrific singing voice are not mutually exclusive anymore!"

"I can't take it anymore!" Finn shot to his feet, his voice echoing through the room. "It's bad enough you're treating me like your lackey, but I'm not gonna sit here while you fake-compliment Ryder just to hurt me!"

Ryder blinked, looking both offended and confused.

Finn stormed toward the door, pausing only to kick over a music stand with a loud clatter.

"He's kicking music stands again," Artie murmured, watching Finn go.

Tina and Blaine exchanged a concerned glance. "This is getting out of hand," Tina agreed.

"Seriously, it's like the Hatfields and McCoys in here," Artie added.

"We've gotta do something about this feud," Blaine said determinedly.

Their attention shifted to Melanie, who sat beside them, staring off into space.

"Are you in, Mel?" Blaine asked.

Melanie barely reacted. "Hmm?"

"We're gonna help Finn and Mr. Schue end this feud. You wanna help?" Artie repeated.

"Oh... um, not really," she said quietly, grabbing her bag and rising to her feet.

"Melanie, where are you going?" Mr. Schue called after her.

"Not feeling great," she muttered, not bothering to turn back as she walked out.

Sam's eyes followed her retreating figure, his worry growing.