Awkwardness is just a state of mind

[points_the_way]

Who: Glee club
What: Theme of the week time!
Where: Choir room
When: Monday
Rating: G

"Okay, guys," Will said, facing the members of the glee club. "Last week's was good, but this week's theme is going to be better. Now you are going to be working with someone. Duets are a key element if we want to win Sectionals. You need to learn how to work

Comments

[singslikeagirl]

The glare that Kurt reflexively shot Quinn at the news probably could have cut glass. He wanted to jump up and passionately protest to Mr Schue what a travesty this was, and that he couldn't promise he wouldn't strangle her with her Cheerio skirt by the end of it. He wanted to throw a massive diva-esque tantrum and declare how his talent wasn't being met on equal level. He also wanted to point out that any love song sung by both of them was just going to end up looking like a scene from Not Another Teen Movie, and he even petulantly wanted to stamp his foot and pout.

But he didn't do any of that. He merely pursed his lips and managed to hold his tongue. There was still the bathroom encounter. Some sort of dynamic had shifted with that, even if he didn't know what. It wasn't like either of them had spoken since, and somehow, Kurt had climbed the social ladder just a tiny bit winning his first football game with a goal he scored. The only thing was, he quit the sport that same night. It wasn't him, and it was never going to be him. But was singing a duet with a cheerleader really him, either?

[fabraymazing]

Quinn's head snapped in Kurt's direction upon Mr. Schuester's instruction, her slumped posture stiffening almost instantly as she sat up, taking her chin off her fist. Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak, but, upong giving another quick glance in Kurt's direction, couldn't expel anything - only an awkward hitch of a breath before she slumped back into her seat with a sigh. Kurt hadn't spoken up, caused a fuss, or stormed out in protest. If he was going to do this, Quinn could, too.

Quinn gave Finn a tight squeeze of his hand before she swallowed, standing to make her way over to Kurt. If civility is what was required, she was going to deliver it in masses - if only because Kurt seemed to want to one up her on this front. She put her hands in the pocket of her jacket as she stood in front of the boy, looking down at him as he sat still - but never into his eyes (much like the Amish in relation with photography, Quinn had the irrational fear that if she met eyes with someone for too long, it would steal a part of her soul). "Any ideas?" she inquired plainly, focusing on Mike Chang's sneakers to the right of Kurt's head as she spoke.

[singslikeagirl]

"I don't think the janitors would appreciate blood shed, so I guess a healthy bitch slap is out of the question," Kurt responded, dropping his hand onto his thigh from where he had been boredly chewing on his pinking nail as he propped his head up. Why couldn't he be paired with Mercedes? They would totally rock the duet thing and actually have fun in the process. Now another week in Glee bit the dust.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes holding her gaze as he raised an eyebrow. "I have plenty of ideas. The question is, will you bother to listen to me?"

[fabraymazing]

"The last thing I think we both need is to have Mr. Schue on us for not working together," Quinn sighed, rolling her eyes. If the cheerio was to be honest (which she never really was), she was far too low on energy to exert any into a possible bitch fight with Kurt. She hadn't slept more than a few hours since Thanksgiving, and the cheerios practices combined with...whatever had been happening in her body was exhausting, and the last thing she needed was to end up in the Nurse's office. People talk, and Quinn didn't need any more gossip than she'd already gotten to her name.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she broke her posture. "All of my suggestions for this club were denied by Mr Schue. Apparently it's inappropriate to sing about religion in public schools," she said stubbornly, almost childishly. She licked her lips and broke her focus, her eyes drifting off as she finished. "So I don't really have a choice, do I?"

[singslikeagirl]

Kurt looked over her face, and her body language wasn't lost on him. By now, they would probably have been loudly and viciously verball tearing shreds off each other, so at least they seemed to have set some differences aside... and now they had to work together. "Well, Mr Schue denies just about everyone's suggestions, Princess, so I wouldn't take that personally. Unless you suggest a Nineties rap, Journey, or anything at least fifteen years old, he'll always shoot you down in flames. Apparently it's inappropriate to be gay in public too so, suck it up." He really wasn't being nasty here, it was more just a statement of fact and the words came out tired this time, lacking any bite.

"Just for the record, I won't sing about religion. No offense. I think we can at least find some common ground here. Your voice is restricted, too. You haven't used it enough, so we need to take that into account and find something in your vocal range."

[fabraymazing]

Quinn fought a yawn as it tingled in her chest and rolled her eyes at the boy's words, recognizing their truth - Schuester was certainly set in his ways. She wondered what exactly he hoped to get out of seeing people at odds such as Kurt and Quinn partner up for an assignment, and what he hoped the students would get out of it, too. It was sadistic, really. Quinn pursed her lips at the boy as he spoke, choosing not to elaborate on her feelings regarding his life choices and the publicity of them but instead raising her eyebrows in a gesture of indication that she wasn't completely oblivious to his sentiment. She heard it, and she cared, but probably not for the reasons he wanted her to. And if she'd gotten more than two hours sleep the night prior, she may have chosen to inform him of her own reasoning, and may have been more willing to fight when Kurt began listing the pretenses.

"I think I'd actually prefer it if we didn't, in this case," Quinn said plainly, pulling a chair from Kurt's side and bringing it in front of him. She sat, crossing her legs and leaning back into the seat with her hands in her pockets as she thought. "And yes, please take my vocal range into consideration before you start choosing Celine Dion and Liza Minnelli songs for me to cover. Or...whatever else you listen to," she said flippantly, pulling out whichever stereotypes she'd learned from watching VH1 late at night.

[singslikeagirl]

Kurt's eyes were trawling around as people began to pair off and he was trying to figure out if Mr Schue was going to expect them to just brainstorm here in front of everyone. Where was the fun in that, and it wasn't like there wasn't a risk of idea stealing. The world of duets could be narrow for people who didn't think out of the box. He didn't want anyone stealing his limelight, even if he had to share it with Quinn Fabray. She would just have to like sharing with him or he would shove her forcefully out of it completely.

His looked back to Quinn now she was sitting in from of him on eye-level. This was new, really. Even keel, shared ground, and it didn't feel like a freaky Mexican Stand Off, either. She actually brought herself down to his level and that was pretty telling for him. It definitely took him by surprise. "I would never do a Celine or Liza duet. My voice could handle those all on their own," he said arrogantly. "Next you will be suggesting that I want to do a Barbara or Cher number dressed in drag whilst flying a little rainbow flag. How do you feel about Dolly or Bette?"

[fabraymazing]

Quinn's eyes were growing heavier, and while Kurt watched the others, Quinn's eyes drifted over to Finn, who'd been speaking with Puck. She hadn't heard his name get called, but she also hadn't really paid attention. Glee Club wasn't something she really saw the necessity in devoting herself to, particularly when she was spread so thin as it was. To be paired with Kurt, then, seemed to be God's way of punishing her.

Quinn shook her foot as it hung in the air over her crooked knee in a gesture to keep herself awake, eyes darting back to Kurt now. She scoffed at him, making a note that those stereotypical assumptions had, in fact, been correct, and squared her shoulders. "I don't know what you do in your free time," she said, not enough conviction to make it as critical as she'd intended. "But I do know that covering Dolly Parton is going to be impossible. Unless you practice your southern twang, which, honestly? Would not surprise me."

[singslikeagirl]

Kurt glanced down at the restless way her foot was shaking. "If you're going to run away, please, be my guest, but if you're going to wet yourself, I would appreciate you not doing it anywhere in my vicinity. I'd rather not know what floats your boat in your spare time, either." Okay, so his bitch was shining through for a moment, but he was getting nothing but standoffish vibes from her.

"Also? What fun is a cover if you're just going to emulate the original? Of course, in some circumstances, it's simply vital. Madonna, or Lady Gaga, for example. Things aren't always so black and white, Quinn. We can take a good song and sing it any way we want. No one needs a southern twang or even breast implants to sing a Dolly Parton classic."

[fabraymazing]

Quinn stopped her foot instantly, dropping it to the ground as she sat up and moved her arms across her chest. "Running would say that I can't do this, which I can and will," Quinn said stubbornly, as if this was a challenge beyond that of Glee. "And I already took care of the other thing, but thanks for your concern."

Quinn rolled her eyes before she gave Kurt a stern look, eyebrows raised. "Kurt, this is me doing you a favor - doing this is only going to be bad news for both of us. You're going to end up in more dumpsters, and it's going to hurt my rep to be singing Dolly Parton with McKinley's resident gay kid. This is not going to help either one of us," she emphasized, glancing over to the clock. She brought herself to her feet, never uncrossing her arms as she stood, still looking down at him. "We'll figure something out. I have Cheerios practice after school tomorrow, so do you have any free periods? I can just get Coach Sylvester to give me a pass and tell her I'm going tanning or something."

[singslikeagirl]

Kurt looked at her blankly and leant forward to pull his bag out from under his chair, getting ready to leave. "How about I do you an even bigger favour and walk out to leave you all on your own, hm? How will it look for your reputation when it gets made public that you got dumped by Kurt Hummel because you distinctly lack in talent? It's going to hurt my talent to sing with someone who has their head so firmly lodged up their ass that people can't tell if you're singing or it's simply an untimely bodily function."

He stood up, looking down his nose at her. "I'm available on Wednesday after school and I'll practicing in my basement at home. Be there, princess, or I'll do this on my own. To think, for a moment there, I actually thought you might be turning into a human. Have fun with the tanning. I'll resist the urge to tell you that you already look like an Oompa Loompa bred with a giant carrot." He turned around and with a wave at Mr Schue, left this travesty behind.