If there was one thing Blaine was more apprehensive of than getting dragged into Wes' and David's schemes, it was getting dragged into the two boys' girlfriends' schemes. The two girls attended Dalton's sister school and they had all met at some event that students from both Dalton and Crawford Country Day went to. Blaine didn't know the details, as he hadn't been there with them (for which he was now very grateful), but he had learned soon enough that those four together were just deadly.

Which was how he found himself driving towards some public school in some town somewhere in Ohio because the two girls demanded they go. Something about cheerleading and competitions – once again, he didn't want to know the details.

Wes, however, did, so Blaine was still subjected to listening as the girls explained why this was important to them. He had, by now, figured out that the two girls were cheerleaders themselves, but he still didn't quite get it. He heard the words 'Regionals' and 'rival' and 'spy' and yep, this sounded exactly like Wes' crazy plan to spy on every single Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal for a month before Sectionals – because as it turned out, those rehearsals took half a day, every day, so in the end, the Warblers themselves had barely practised.

All in all, not Wes' best idea.

"They've been national champions for four or five years in a row now!" Claire, David's girlfriend, exclaimed, and yes, this became more like their avid Vocal Adrenaline stalking every second.

"So what's the point in spying on them? They'll beat you anyway." Probably not the best thing to say, Blaine realised a little too late, but he was cranky. He didn't want to be here and in cases like this, he tended to become a little immature. The two girls took it entirely the wrong way, and now, Blaine had to listen to them bitching at him. His day was getting better and better.

"We're almost there," David almost shouted as they drove the streets of, oh yes, Lima.

Claire, having calmed down by now, gave Blaine some more directions and in no time, the car was parked in front of some very average (in the worst possible way) public school. Blaine shuddered, remembering all of a sudden why he went to Dalton now. He was just glad the girls hadn't guided him to the high school he would've been sent off to if… stuff hadn't happened.

"At least you're not wearing your Dalton uniforms," Louise, Wes' girlfriend, commented. The girls were wearing normal clothes too, for a change – no school or cheerleading uniforms.

"We learned from last year," Wes muttered – which was true as well. They had gotten caught spying on Vocal Adrenaline so often, and all because there was always at least one person who forgot to change out of their school uniform before going to Carmel.

"Are you sure that pep rally is today?" David asked as they entered the school. Oh – so that was what they were going to see. A pep rally. By a bunch of girls in short skirts. Blaine honestly couldn't think of a better way to spend his afternoon.

"Of course we're sure," Claire scoffed. "Come on, the gym should be… there!" She pointed towards double doors through which a few students were just passing, and the group followed hastily, hoping that they could pass for students here at this school.

The gym wasn't too busy yet, so they just plopped down somewhere, Blaine immediately turning the other way to avoid having to watch his friends and their girlfriends suck faces. He really needed new friends. Preferably single. Maybe also gay.

While the gym became more and more crowded, the cheerleaders entered as well, and they seemed all set to go. Blaine wasn't really focusing on anything, until David nudged him.

"Look, Blaine, there are even male cheerleaders!"

"You mean, one male cheerleader."

"It's the thought that counts."

"Who's to say he's even gay? Or attractive, I mean, we can't see his face or anything!"

"Aren't all male cheerleaders gay?"

"…No, I don't think so."

"I think they are," Claire butted in. "Plus, he's a Cheerio – that's what this team is called, David – so he's probably very… flexible. And in good shape."

"Should I be worried?" David asked her, glancing between his girlfriend and the boy in the cheerleading uniform.

"About me? No. About Blaine?" Blaine, figuring she might have a point, was studying the other boy's frame with perhaps a little too much interest. "See?"

As a black girl (also in a cheerleading uniform, but not in a skirt like all the other girls) entered the gym, the boy turned towards the girl next to him, and Blaine decided that he had nice facial features. No need to go all crazy now.

"This is so not like spying on Vocal Adrenaline," David muttered as the girl started to speak, and Wes leaned over Louise and Claire (who were listening intently to the girl's speech about popularity and such things) to reply.

"Speaking of Vocal Adrenaline… isn't that Jesse St James over there?"

"Jesse St James? What's he doing here?"

"How am I supposed to know? Look, over there… with that girl."

"Yeah, I think it's him… you're right, what is he doing here? Shouldn't he be preparing for Regionals or something, with Vocal Adrenaline?"

Blaine followed his friends' gaze and sure enough – there was their main rivals' lead singer, sitting on the floor with a girl who was probably his girlfriend. And he stuck up his hand in the air when the girl in the cheerleading uniform started naming all sorts of insecurities and Blaine had to admit that he was surprised. He'd thought that the guy was far too self-centred and arrogant to even have insecurities. All the same, Blaine figured he might as well raise his arm too, because some of the things the girl was saying definitely applied to him, scary as that might be.

"I thought this was a pep rally," David whispered to Claire, but she just kept watching the girl behind the microphone and wordlessly put her hand over his mouth. Blaine had to agree with his friend, though, if only just a little. Sure, the speech was very inspiring but there wasn't much pep here.

As the girl began to sing, Louise cursed under her breath (but still loud enough for Blaine, who was sitting three seats away, to hear it). "Damn it. They've got vocals now? That's it, we're done for."

Blaine didn't point out the obvious (namely, that they could still add vocals to their performance too) in favour of just watching and listening. The girl had a great voice, and the song was sung, well, beautifully.

Though he had to admit, he was extremely confused (and, alright, a little disappointed as well) that when the entire group of cheerleaders turned around, only the boy did not do so. That was also the moment that pretty much everyone in the audience got up and moved along to the music. Some kids walked towards the floor to sing and dance along (or just stand there); among them, Jesse St James, and, perhaps even stranger, a pregnant looking teenage girl.

Claire gasped. "Oh my God. Lou – is that – "

"That's Quinn Fabray," Louise confirmed, staring too, a little disapprovingly. To the boys, she explained, "She was the captain of the Cheerios last year. Looks like that didn't do her much good."

While the girls whispered on and on about the fall from grace this Quinn girl had obviously gone through by getting knocked up at age sixteen, Blaine smiled as he noticed that finally the boy had turned around and that, yes, indeed, he had very nice facial features. When the song was done and everyone applauded the performance, the boy hugged the girl who had just been singing and no, Blaine wasn't going to acknowledge the stinging feeling in his belly because what right did he have? He didn't even know the boy, and even if he did, this feeling wouldn't make sense.

As everyone left the gym, their group of five followed suit, but apparently, not quickly enough.

"Well, if it isn't the Dalton boys snooping around again." Blaine, Wes and David whipped around to find the one and only Jesse St James in front of them, smirking. His girlfriend was still standing with the other kids who'd joined the cheerleaders on the floor. "I thought Vocal Adrenaline effectively beat you at Sectionals and set your status for this season to inactive. To what does New Directions owe this pleasure?"

"New Directions?" Blaine had never heard that name before, but by the looks of it, Wes and David had.

"This is their school?" David asked, looking around, as if expecting to see some more… advertising for whatever New Directions was.

"It's a Glee club," Wes muttered at Blaine. "They're new, but they already won their Sectionals this year."

"Yep," Jesse replied, his smirk not leaving his face, making Blaine wonder if it was simply a permanent expression on his face. "This is our school. What, did you think that it was just a random group of people singing the song at the end?"

"Wait – you're in New Directions now?" Wes asked, completely taken by surprise. "What happened to Vocal Adrenaline?"

"New Directions will give me a better shot at winning Regionals and advancing to Nationals this year," Jesse responded. "Plus, now at least I can be with my girlfriend."

Okay, that was sort of a weird reason to transfer, but Blaine decided not to question it. "Yeah," he replied, "fascinating. Anyway, we should go." He glanced towards the doorway, where Louise and Claire were already standing.

"You still didn't tell me what you're doing here if you're not spying," Jesse reminded them, and David snorted.

"We don't have to explain anything to you, St James," he told the other boy. "Besides – we never said we weren't here to spy."

With that, he almost pushed Wes and Blaine out of the gym, and out of the school. "Stop pushing me already!" Wes almost whined, and the girls snickered. Wes just looked wounded. "Well, ladies, I hope that this was worth all the pain we had to go through here," he told them.

"I guess," Claire said with a non-committal shrug. "Now let's go. We have a study group at seven and we expect dinner from you first."

Blaine groaned. Wes and David so owed him right now.