"All right, we need $5,000 to pay for our trip to nationals in New York." Mr. Schue announced during their next glee meeting.

"What happened to the money that we got from the Cheerios?" Quinn asked.

"I guess Sue was hiding it in offshore accounts in the Cayman Island and we're having some trouble accessing some of it." The teacher said, as Piper pouted, not in the slightest surprised about the whole thing. "Any of it."

"Makes sense." She mumbled quietly as Mercedes chuckled from beside her.

"This is saltwater taffy." Mr. Schue said, as he held up a small package of the candy.

"I love saltwater." Brittany whispered.

"When I was a student here, we paid for our entire trip to nationals selling this classroom to classroom, door to door." Mr. Schue continued, throwing some of the taffy around for the kids. "We pushed this stuff like crack. And so will we. So to make $5,000 at 25 cents apiece we need to sell 20,000 pieces of taffy."

"Wait." Santana scoffed. "Do you honestly think that we can sell 20,000 anythings? We won regionals for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the planet and I still got a freakin' cherry ICEE facial."

"Yeah, Santana's right." Quinn was quick to agree with her friend. "Nobody cares about us."

At that, Mike quickly stood up from his chair, picking up his bag as he started to leave. Everyone turned to look at him surprised.

"I can't listen to this." He said.

"Mike, are you okay?" Mr. Schue asked then, stopping the boy before he could leave the room.

"No." Mike spat, as he turned back around to glare at his clueless friends. "You guys complain all the time about being mistreated but you have no idea what it's like to work your butt off for something and have everyone, even your friends, ignore you."

"I'm so trying to remember his name right now." Lauren whispered over at Puck as Artie, Tina and Brittany stood up to join Mike.

"Artie, Tina, Brittany and I are on the Brainiacs." The boy said, as Rachel frowned.

"Isn't that the Academic Decathlon team?" She asked.

"We have one of those?" Finn asked, confused.

"Yes, we do." Artie said. "And the four of us went on the Smarty Pants Show and beat Carmel High to go to the Academic Decathlon finals in Detroit next week."

"You guys were on TV?" Sam asked, shocked. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"

"We did." Mike said, causing Sam to flinch a bit.

"If it makes any difference — probably not... I've watched it." Piper spoke up as Mike winked at her, gratefully.

"Wait." Mr. Schue said. "I-I get the three of you being on the team."

"Is it because two of them are Asian and Artie wears glasses?" Puck asked, as Mr. Schue frowned.

"No." He said, before turning to the four Brainiacs. "But Brittany?"

"Liz Schneider was our fourth, but she got rubella." Mike explained.

"Her parents are hippies who don't believe in vaccinations." Tina added, causing Piper to frown.

"Brittany was the only person we could find on short notice." Artie said. "We bribed her with Dots. That Sunshine Corazon that Rachel sent to a crack house was on the other team. She was great. Luckily, we had our own secret weapon."

At that, Tina nodded, smiling at Brittany as the girl shrugged.

"Brittany answered every cat disease theme question right and we won." She said. "Sadly, we can't afford to go to the finals, so we're gonna have to forfeit."

"Why don't you just have your parents pay for it?" Rachel asked, causing Piper to roll her eyes.

"Because we shouldn't have to." Tina explained. "We're a school club. The school should pay for it. It's a matter of pride."

"You guys are absolutely right." Mr. Schue said, and, for the first time in forever, Piper agreed with the teacher. "How much do you need to make the trip?"

"With gas and motels, if we only ate Funyuns, hum, $250." Tina shrugged, as Mr. Schue walked toward the board and added a few more taffies to the calculations he had done earlier.

"Which means we just need to sell more taffy."

***

The glee club had decided to throw a benefit to raise money for the Brainiacs instead of selling taffy. Mr. Schue had even called it The Night of Neglect where they would be singing songs from neglect artists but, somehow, Sunshine Corazon had heard about it, and, being in an Academic Decathlon team herself, she apparently sympathized with the cause and had decided to come and perform for them so they could decide if they'd let her perform or not.

Obviously, after a near flawless rendition of All by myself from the girl, Rachel was less than enthusiastic about having her perform. Even though she had promised to bring all of her 600 Twitter followers. Which they could really use, considering they had only managed to sell four tickets — and two of them having been bought by Piper herself at Kurt and Blaine's request.

"Absolutely not." Was Rachel's answer as the group rejoined in the choir room to decide on taking up on Sunshine's offer or not. "She's just trying to get on our good side so she can spy on us."

"You're one to talk." Quinn accused. "We told you the same thing about Jesse St. James last year."

"And you were right." Rachel argued, as Finn shook his head.

"This whole thing isn't about us." He said. "It's about helping the Brainiacs. We need Sunshine's Twitter followers to come and pay for tickets or there's no point in having a benefit at all."

Noticing how everyone seemed to agree with Finn and recognizing she was fight a losing battle, Rachel sighed heavily, turning around to look at Mercedes instead.

"Fine." She said. "Mercedes, you're okay with being bumped to the decidedly less glamorous middle spot, right?"

And, at that, Piper noticed how Mercedes hesitated and she pouted a bit, knowing how much Mercedes wanted the closing slot, instead. Noticing everyone's eyes on her, however, as they waited for her reaction, the girl sighed.

"Hum, sure, I guess." She shrugged. "Absolutely."

***

"Piper! We've been looking for you."

At that, Piper frowned a bit, looking away from her locker as she found Finn and Quinn standing beside her instead.

"Hum, I'm here?" She said. "How can I help?"

"So, hum... The Brainiacs asked us to be benefit heads for the Night of Neglect." Finn explained. "But, hum... We kind of need your help."

"With what?"

"Mercedes." Quinn said. "She's making so many demands."

"What kind of demands?" Piper asked, as Finn sighed.

"She asked for a bowl of green M&M's, a ton of humidifiers and, hum..."

"Puppies." Quinn finished Finn's sentence as Piper frowned.

"Puppies?" She asked. "For what?"

"Drying her hands." Finn said.

"This is ridiculous." Piper scoffed.

"Exactly. Which is why we need you." Finn said. "You're her best friend. You must know why she's acting like that, right?"

"I do know why she's acting like that, yes." Piper nodded. "She's been feeling neglected in the glee club and now she wants to be the diva. So, she's making stupid demands to get attention."

"Is that why?" Finn frowned as Quinn rolled her eyes at him.

"Will you help us, then?" She asked, frowning a bit when Piper scoffed angrily at her.

"Isn't that your job?" She asked. "As benefit heads?"

"Yes, but we've tried and..."

"Sure, you couldn't do it, so it's up to me." Piper rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do it."

Noticing her bad mood, Quinn opened her mouth to speak and she could swear she felt her hand itching to reach over to her. But with Finn there, she couldn't. So, instead, she opted for a softer approach.

"If... If you think it's too much trouble we can... We can figure it out ourselves." Quinn said, as Finn frowned at his girlfriend.

"I thought we were asking Piper because we didn't know how to..."

"Shut up, Finn." Quinn glared at him before turning back around to Piper. "So? What do you say?"

"I'll take care of it." Piper nodded, still clearly annoyed. "It's fine."

And as she watched her go, Quinn frowned, picking up on the offish vibe coming off of Piper as it ignited a small, all too familiar worry in the back of her head. Well, she'd definitely be having to break into her locker later to put a granola bar in there.

***

"So... Humidifiers, M&M's..." Piper scoffed as she walked into Mr. Schue's office that some of the glee kids had decided to give to Mercedes to try and please her a bit. "What kind of bullshit is this?"

At that, Mercedes frowned, not really used to hearing that tone from Piper. Especially, not directed at her. And as her best friend stood there with huge bags beneath her eyes and with an undertone of spite to every single word she actually spoke, Mercedes instantly knew she wasn't in her prime that week. And she had a pretty good guess as to why.

"We're still waiting on those puppies." Lauren spoke up, flinching a bit when Piper turned to glare at her instead.

"They actually sent Puckerman to find it for you."

"Good." Lauren said. "This is almost worthy of the artist doing the closing number at the benefit."

"Actually, Sunshine is gonna be doing the last number." Piper said. "Because she's bringing in hundreds of people."

"So... Mercedes is going on before Sunshine?" Lauren requested, as Piper shook her head.

"No. Rachel is."

"Why?" Mercedes asked then as Piper turned to her with a shrug of her shoulder.

"I don't know, cause she's Rachel." She rolled her eyes. "If you don't like it, you can talk it out with her. It's not my problem."

"Do you think that's a way of speaking to a star?" Lauren asked suddenly as Piper scoffed.

"First of all, that's my best friend. I talk to her however I want." The girl spat, clearly not really acting like herself. Turning her glare to Mercedes next, the girl frowned a bit when she noticed how badly Piper had been taking everything that week and cursing herself for letting it all slide. "Second of all, those demands are ridiculous and you know it. Now, if you ever want to go back to being my best friend Mercedes and not this cheap copy of you think a diva is, then you can go and talk to me."

And, with that, Piper was out of the room, slamming the door on the way out. At that, both Mercedes and Lauren exchanged a glance, all surprised by Piper's sudden outburst.

"I had never seen her like that." Lauren spoke up and, with a pang of guilt poking her in the chest, Mercedes sighed.

"Honestly, neither have I."

***

"And that was the Spanish classroom." Kurt was saying as she showed Blaine around the school. "And, of course, you know the choir room."

Blaine watched him quietly, smiling sweetly at his enthusiasm. When he heard a few steps coming toward them he looked up, smiling a bit as he nudged Kurt and nodded toward the person making a turn down the hall.

"Piper!" Kurt called excitedly, causing the girl to snap her head in his direction and break into a huge smile.

"Kurt!" She squealed, rushing over to him and engulfing him a hug.

Blaine watched quietly as the two of them giggled together, greeting each other after some time not seeing each other. He smiled when Piper finally let go of Kurt and walked toward him instead to hug him too.

"Oh, it was so nice of you to come!" She said, smiling at both the boys as they nodded at her. "Everyone's really excited you're here."

"Are you performing tonight?" Blaine asked, as Piper shook her head.

"Oh, no." She smiled. "It's not today I'm going to be blowing you away with my amazing voice, Mr. Warbler."

Blaine laughed then rolling his eyes a bit at her playfulness.

"A shame, really." Kurt spoke up. "You should've really performed. How long has it been since you've gotten a solo?"

"I just... I just have a lot in my mind right now." Piper shrugged. "And really, a solo right now it's the last thing I need."

And, at that, Kurt frowned, taking one good look at the girl in front of him and sighing when he noticed how much thinner she had gotten since the last time he had seen her — that hadn't even been that long ago, if he was being honest. Before he could point it out, however, a new voice was heard and Piper jumped a bit, suddenly scared.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" Karofsky demanded, causing Blaine to quickly reach for Piper and pull her closer to him as he stood in front of her, protectively.

"We're here for the benefit." Kurt said, also taking a quick look at his best friend to make sure she was doing alright. "Don't tell me you're going."

"I wouldn't be caught dead." Karofsky spat at them. "I was pumping iron in the gym, and one of the guys told me you two were here spreading your fairy dust all over the place. And now that Lesbo joined you, you might actually start vomiting rainbows now. Not that it takes much to get boylady over there to throw up, anyway."

"Will you just give it up?" Blaine scoffed then as Piper frowned and looked down ashmed, taking a step closer to Kurt to feel a bit more safe. "Live whatever lie you want, but don't pretend the four of us don't know what's going on."

"You don't know squat, butt boy." Karofsky threatened, taking a step toward Blaine with raised fists.

"Real brave with your fists, but you're a coward when it comes to the truth."

"Truth about what?"

And, at that, everyone turned around, just in time to see Santana standing there. Stepping up closer to Karofsky, the girl brushed a hand over Piper's shoulder when she noticed her fragile state and stood up in front of the three other kids against the big football guy in front of her.

"It's none of your business, J. Lo." Karofsky said, as Santana scoffed.

"First of all, anything you do became my business when you decided to toss that slushy up in my grill." She said.

"I think I can take a couple of queers and a girl." Karofsky said, causing Santana to shake her head.

"Okay. See, here's what's gonna go down." She said, stepping up to Karofsky again as the boy took one small step back. "Two choices. You stay here and I crack one of your nuts, right or left, that's your choice... Or you walk away and live to be a douchebag another day. And also, I have razor blades hidden in my hair. Mm-hmm. Tons. Just all up in there."

Unsure on how to react, Karofsky backed up then, turning around to leave, as Santana just smirked, proud of herself before turning to the other three kids.

"We could've handled that." Blaine said, as Santana shrugged.

"It was more fun doing it together." She smiled, sending Piper a wink that was quickly responded to with a smile. Before anyone could do anything else, however, Santana frowned as she looked down at her phone. "Oh, crap."

"What?" Piper asked then, as Santana sighed.

"Come on, we have to go." She said, grabbing Piper by the wrist as she dragged her away from the boys and toward the choir room.

"Enjoy the show!" Piper called after them before turning back around to look at her friends warming up as soon as she and Santana stepped into the choir room.

"This just in." The Latina announced, waving her phone a bit. "According to Sunshine's Twitter, she's not coming and neither are any of her followers."

"I told you." Rachel said. "She's evil."

"I was just in the auditorium." Puck said, as soon as he walked inside too. "There's, like, six people in there. I say we blow this whole thing off and hit the arcade."

At that, everyone frowned a bit, upset with the situation. Before they could all decide to really give up, though, Finn spoke up.

"No. No. Screw that." He said, as everyone turned to look at him. "These people paid to see us sing. What's that saying? The show's gotta go all over the place or something."

"You mean, The show must go on." Rachel corrected as Finn nodded. "Finn's right, you guys. Whether there's six or 6,000 people out there, we still have to give it our all. Okay, Tina, you're up first."

***

Well, the show hadn't gone exactly as expected and Tina had gone through some traumatic heckling out there. They had decided to give away all of their taffy for the kids — and Mr. Ryanson for whatever reason — that had been causing mayhem and that had worked for a while apparently because, at least for Mike's dance number, everything he gone smoothly.

"I was all kinds of awesome." Mike said, as soon as he rejoined the group in the choir room as everyone cheered.

"Terrific job, Mike." Mr. Schue praised, as Piper allowed Tina to run up to her boyfriend as she jumped down from her place at the piano beside her friend where she had been offering her some comfort after her performance. "Hey, sounds like the Heckling Club loved our refreshments."

"Yeah, but we're almost out of that taffy." Quinn said. "How are we gonna keep them from going after us again after the intermission?"

"By being so good that they can't heckle us." Mr. Schue smirked. "And I know just the person for the job. Where's Mercedes? She's up."

At that, everyone took a look around, searching for the girl, but as soon as Lauren walked into the room, Piper knew they were in trouble.

"I'm sorry. Ms. Jones has not appreciated the way she's been treated and is refusing to go on." She said, as Piper rolled her eyes.

"Let me talk to her." She said, jumping down from the piano but stopping when Lauren shook her head.

"Don't bother." She said. "Mercedes has left the building."

***

Now, if it wasn't raining outside, Piper knew Mercedes would have been at the bleachers, but since it was and Mercedes hated the rain, there was only one other possible hiding place for her. And that was exactly where Piper found her best friend.

"Let me in." She yelled, knocking in the closed window of Mercedes' car. "Come on. It's raining."

After a second of hesitation, Mercedes complied, but refused to look at Piper as the girl sat down on the passenger seat, shivering a bit from the cold.

"We've all been looking for you." She said, as Mercedes sighed,

"Don't bother with the pep talk." She said, as Piper frowned. "I'm not going back in there. My demands were not met."

"First of all... I didn't come here to give you a pep talk." Piper said and, at that, Mercedes groaned, knowing she was in for a ride. After all, it wasn't common for Piper to get annoyed, but when she did... It was hard calming her down again. "I came to give you a reality check. Because no matter what Lauren said, right now, you're not being a diva. You're being a spoiled brat."

"Piper..." Mercedes frowned, as Piper shook her head.

"Second of all, have you read anything about Aretha Franklin?" The girl continued, as her best friend sent her a look. "She was a gospel singer. And one day she went to this show. Nothing fancy. It was just a state fair. And the master of ceremonies hands her a tiara and calls her the Queen of Soul. And that's how she earned her crown. That's how she gained all of her respect. Not by requesting for special pillows or food, but for doing what she does best. Singing."

"I just don't get it." Mercedes admitted with a heavy sigh. "Why is Rachel a bigger star than me? She always gets the big solos, the best songs, the moments in the sun... Why is it never me?"