love like fools ➙ glee

forty-three ; my man.

"Don't you think you were maybe a little too harsh on Finn earlier?"

Jesse gave Alicia a look of disbelief. From across the choir room, Will cringed, beginning to sort through discarded sheet music at a faster pace. Alicia had lingered after rehearsal today to help Will and Jesse clean up, supposedly, but her true intentions were starting to show. She hadn't liked the way that Jesse had fixated on tearing Finn apart during rehearsal this afternoon and she needed to talk to him about it.

"I was honest," Jesse said flatly. "Finn has only limited singing capability and he is completely unable to dance. You saw it yourself when he broke Rachel's nose. How can you possibly argue with that assessment?" A pause. "From an . . . unbiased standpoint."

From her peripheral vision, Alicia saw Will put his face in his hands.

Alicia narrowed her eyes, no longer stacking forgotten chairs as she whirled to stare at Jesse. They still hadn't acknowledged what happened during prom. It seemed like Jesse wanted to pretend it never happened, but it kept nagging at Alicia, even now. "Everyone has a place in this club. That's the entire point, Jesse. If you're going to be our consultant, you should know that."

"While that might be an efficient strategy for Ohio, it isn't good enough for New York." Jesse crossed his arms. "And considering that you still lost to Vocal Adrenaline last year, it doesn't really seem like it was good enough for Ohio, either."

Annoyance prickled at Alicia. "You had a part to play in that," she said. "Maybe we could've won, if--"

"If what?"

She inhaled deeply. She wasn't trying to fight with Jesse. Her only goal was getting a point across. "Look, I don't want to rehash old problems. But you can't keep picking on Finn like this. He's the leader of the New Directions, and we can't let him start doubting himself immediately before Nationals."

"And that is the only reason you're so concerned? For the sake of the glee club?"

Alicia faltered. She risked a quick glance towards Will, who was already observing with a knowing expression on his face. When she arched her brows questioningly, he put up his hands, taking a slow step back. Clearly he wouldn't help her. 

With another deep breath, Alicia met Jesse's expectant gaze. "I care a lot about the New Directions. I would feel just as frustrated if you were picking on Santana or Mercedes, and I'm really not that close with them."

It still didn't seem like Jesse believed her explanation, but he shrugged. "The truth hurts, Hastings. I'm quite familiar with that philosophy. You've taught me a lot about it." With a bored nod towards Will, Jesse left the choir room. His designer boots clicked against the cheap tile flooring. 

Alicia turned to Will, bewilderment etched across her features. "Can you believe him?"

Will winced, setting the sheet music aside and offering Alicia his complete attention. "You do have a point, Alicia. But . . . so does Jesse. It does seem like this is coming from a place of bias. He has been criticizing Mercedes and Santana a lot recently, and you haven't spoken out against that."

She frowned. "I'm not . . . that doesn't prove anything. Maybe I just haven't heard whatever he said about them."

"I mean. It was in the choir room. Today. Fifteen minutes before he started talking to Finn."

Alicia wavered. She hadn't intended to act biased within the glee club. She cared so much about everyone, she'd just assumed that it was impossible for her to act biased. But apparently not. "Well, you have to agree with me that Jesse is being biased by going after Finn so much. This is just about--" she cut herself off, a flush heating her pale cheeks.