𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 - 𝐬𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐬

HOLD ON TO SIXTEEN

"I thought you weren't allowed here." Quinn asked Rachel as she stood at her locker.

"Yeah, am I imagining it or did you get suspended?" Alicia narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember.

"I did, but I'm permitted on school grounds as long as I'm getting my work." Rachel informed them, gesturing towards her notebook as if it were evidence. "Oh, I wanted to tell you I'm available for vocal coaching if you need any help. We need to bring our A-game if we have any chance of beating the Trouble Tones."

"Oh, we're not gonna have any trouble with them." Quinn said assuredly before grabbing both Rachel and Alicia and spinning them around to face the other end of the hallway. "They're sleeping together."

Narrowing her eyes, Alicia tried to figure out who Quinn could possibly be referring to. "Who? Principal Figgins and his receptionist Donna?"

"No. Although that wouldn't surprise me." Quinn shrugged in amusement, before growing serious again and pointing at two figures. "Shelby and Puck."

Now getting a better view, Alicia could see the two talking at the other end of the hallway. They were both smiling as they talked, but other than that it seemed pretty normal.

"Quinn, that's a pretty dangerous rumour to make up. It could ruin Shelby's reputation." Rachel shook her head in disapproval while looking back at Quinn.

"That's the plan." The blonde girl smirked. "And it's not a lie. I heard it from Puck."

"First of all, Puck is 18, so what he and Shelby are doing, even though it's just wrong
and gross-" Rachel began.

"So gross." Alicia muttered, shaking her head to try and get rid of the thought.

"What they're doing isn't illegal." Rachel continued. "So all you're doing is you're just getting her fired, which is gonna take away her income to provide food and clothes and put a roof over her child's tiny little blonde head."

Sighing, Alicia spoke two words that she never really thought she'd ever say. "Rachel's right. If Shelby doesn't have a job, Beth will be the one that suffers."

"She's an unfit mother, and I'll be waiting in the wings when they take Beth away
from her."

"Quinn, Shelby is Beth's mom too and she's a pretty good one at that." Rachel raised her eyebrows at Quinn, who only looked away in guilt. "Look, you've done a lot of really bad things, Quinn, but if you tell people about this Puck-and-Shelby thing, you'll be ruining this little girl's life, and then you'll have really hit rock bottom. There are other ways to succeed, you know."

Giving Quinn one last pointed look, Rachel shut her locker and walked away. With her words playing over in her mind, Quinn leaned back against her locker with a sigh of resignation, realizing that for once in her life, maybe Rachel Berry was actually being reasonable.

ꕤ  ꕤ  ꕤ

Having taken Rachel's advice and deciding not to expose Puck and Shelby's relationship, Quinn wanted to focus her energy on something positive to help the team. Cornering Finn who was sat in the Choir Room flicking through a songbook, she cleared her throat to grab his attention.

"Quinn?"

"I have an idea to solve our performer problem."