"THE POWER OF BRITNEY!"

KURT WAS DESPERATE TO DO BRITENY SPEARS AND SO WAS THE REST OF THE GLEE CLUB, ALL EXCEPT BRITTANY. "Why no Britney, Brittany?" Kurt asked her curiously, trying to hide his irritation that Mr Schue was given any reason for them not to perform her music.

"Because my name is also Briteny Spears." She told them, casually, not expecting the many strange looks thrown her way.

Throwing her confusion around the room, Mercedes held her hands up in defeat at Brittany's weird but wonderful ways, "what the hell is she talking about?"

"My middle name is Susan, my last name is Pierce," Brittany began to explain, innocently, "that makes me Brittany S. Pierce — Brittany Spierce. I've lived my entire life in Briteny Spears's shadow, I will never be as talented or as famous. I hope you all respect that I would like glee club to remain a place where I, Brittany S. Pierce can escape the torment of Briteny Spears."

Despite his confusion, Mr Schue was delighted to be given a reason for the group not to venture into the world of Miss Britney Spears, clapping his hands together with his usual enthusiasm, "well I guess that settles it. It's been decided, no Briteny, sorry."

As she saw the grin form on his mouth, Tessa knew that Mr Schuester really wasn't sorry. Upset by his idea being shot down, Kurt whipped around to Brittany with a dangerous glare, "thanks Britt. Thanks a lot."

"Leave Brittany alone." Santana stood up for her almost immediately, throwing Kurt the dirtiest glare as she rubbed a comforting hand over Brittany's shoulder.

Quick to also stand up for her friend, Tessa shot the girl a smile before turning back to the rest of the group, "yeah it's okay. We can do someone else! Like... Avril Lavigne!" She suggested, hopefully, receiving many approving nods from her friends, including Brittany this time.

"Or...Micheal Bolton!" Mr Schue ignored her suggestion completely, making Tessa groan and slam her head down onto Puck's shoulder as she attempted to listen to Mr Schue ramble on about the artists only he wanted to do.

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ACCOMPANYING FINN AND RACHEL TO HIS LOCKER INVOLVED A LOT OF LISTENING FOR TESSA. Whether it be to Rachel rambling on about glee club or Finn groaning about not being on the football team anymore, she always seemed to find herself free to listen.

Stopping in the middle of explaining which Britney number she was desperate to perform, Rachel looked up to Finn with concern in her eyes, "are you alright? You seem a little down."

"Didn't you like the banana bread we baked you?" Tessa asked, a goofy smile creeping onto her lips, "that took us hours, dude."

"It was awesome." He replied, a smile breaking onto his face before addressing Rachel directly, "it's just, how do you feel about me not being on the football team anymore?"

Looking to Tessa for a brief bid of reassurance, Rachel decided to tell him her honest opinions, "I'm actually kinda happy about it." She admitted, guiltily, "now I don't have to fantasise about what song I would sing at your bedside if you were ever in a coma."

Widening her eyes slightly, Tessa immediately fixed her gaze on Rachel, her expression full of curiosity, "what would you sing?"

Before Rachel could answer in some long-winded explanation, Finn had begun speaking, "I'm just so not cool anymore, you know?"

"Hey, I think you're the coolest!" Tessa exclaimed, punching him lightly on the arm with encouragement, "just because Azimio and Karofsky ripped up your letterman jacket doesn't mean they're any cooler than you. They just think they're cool because they bully people."

"Exactly." Rachel agreed, "plus, the less cool people think you are, the less chance there is of you running off with some cheerleader."

Reaching his locker and after taking a moment to take in what she'd said, Finn frowned at her, "Wait, so you want me to feel bad about myself?" He tested, making Tessa sigh at the thought of being trapped in the middle of yet another disagreement.

"No..." Rachel answered quickly, "I just-I want to be the only thing that makes you feel good." She said honestly, laying her back against the lockers besides him, "I'm just being honest."

An awkward silence filled the air between the three of them and just as Tessa was about to speak up about being tired to break the tension, Santana and Brittany strutted by, quickly throwing insults at Rachel, "hey dwarf, did anyone ever tell you that you dress like one of those bait girls on To Catch A Predator?"

"And I'm more talented than you." Brittany chipped in.

Noticing the slight slump in Rachel's shoulders at the comment and as Finn began to laugh, Tessa decided to take the high road and raised her eyebrows at them both, "guys, knock it off." She said, calmly.

"Love you too Tess!" Santana called after her, flashing her a smile before turning on her heel and disappearing into the next classroom.

"She didn't mean it." Tessa told Rachel quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "that was Snixx's fault."

Nodding, despite not really understanding, Rachel gave her a half-hearted smile, "thanks Tess." She whispered before turning to Finn with a disappointed glare, "you could've defended me as well."

Shrugging, Finn was still immersed in the argument that the two were previously having, "well Santana has a point." He spat, spitefully as he slammed his locker door and began to walk away, "I'm just being honest."

"Does that mean he's attracted to the bait girls on To Catch A Predator?" Tessa whispered under her breathe, furrowing her eyebrows and giving Rachel an apologetic smile before racing after Finn.

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TESSA DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE'D GOTTEN HERSELF INTO AS SHE STOOD IN THE BATHROOM WITH RACHEL BERRY THE NEXT DAY. Sighing as she pulled her tiny cardigan as far around her as humanly possible, she forced her eyes up to meet Rachel's.

"Don't we look hot?!" She exclaimed, enthusiastically grabbing onto Tessa's hand.

Ignoring her question, Tessa focused on her insecurities, "why me?" She groaned, "I swear I haven't worn a skirt since I was like nine."

"Stop it, you look great." Rachel told her, giving her light squeeze of the shoulders, "besides, you're the person who stood up for me so it was kind of a no-brainer."

Tessa cursed herself internally, but kept a faint smile etched across her face as Rachel put the finishing touches on her braids. Next thing she knew, Rachel was skipping towards the door to leave, motioning for her to follow. Shaking her head, Tessa decided that this definitely wasn't a good idea, "nope. I'm not leaving this bathroom." She insisted, stubbornly, "what if Puck see's me? He won't want me to take it off — like ever."

"Are you sure that's not just because you'd rather somebody else saw you first?" Rachel wiggled her eyebrows, suggestively at her and Tessa knew exactly who she was on about.

Slapping her arm with a hard glare, Tessa was quick to shoot her idea down, "I'd not rather Sam saw me first, actually."

Shrugging, Rachel moved towards the door, grabbing Tessa's arm and linked it in hers, "suit yourself."

As soon as the door was dramatically swung open, Tessa was instantly alarmed by the speed of the heads that all turned towards the two girls at once, eyes wide with excitement. She immediately wished that the ground would swallow her whole, leaving Rachel to absorb the spotlight, as she always did.

It came almost as a relief when Finn practically sprinted over with a jacket in his hands and forcefully tried to cover Rachel's body with it, "here take my jacket you look cold." He insisted, throwing glares at anyone who was looking.

"Don't you like my new look?" She replied, shrugging off his persistent attempts to hide everything that the costume was not covering. With this, Finn was too invested in trying to cover his girlfriend that he didn't notice Tessa gently attempting to pry the sweater out of his hands so she could cover herself.

"Don't you think it's a bit much? I think that guy over there broke up with his girlfriend just so that he could stare at you." Finn complained, glancing around the hall as he shielded them with his long arms, "I like your reindeer sweaters."

"You did say she looked like a bait girl in them." Tessa mumbled, her arms kept tightly wrapped around her waist as Finn finally noticed her stood there, pointing directly at her with a shocked expression on his face as he turned back to Rachel, "and what have you done to Tess?!"

"She's traumatized me." Tessa told him, shuddering.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel gave him a slap on the arm, "Tessa is here because she'll support me when you won't. Besides, it's not that different, it's just my regular look but with the volume turned up."

"Well turn it back down. Full volume Rachel is being personified by everyone right now!" Finn exclaimed, flustered.

"Objectified." Rachel corrected him.

Deciding that she didn't want to be caught in the middle of another Finchel argument that would lead her to make a fool of herself, Tessa slowly backed away from the conversation, taking a huge sigh of relief as she made eye contact with Sam Evans across the hall.

She cursed under her breathe as she saw Karofsky and Azimio heading her way, her eyes glued to the floor in the hopes that they would just breeze straight past her and onto Rachel. But they didn't, whistling, Karofsky spoke in a loud enough voice to attract the unwanted attention of the whole hallway, "who knew Puckerman's girl had that underneath her hoodies?"

Whipping her head round, Tessa flushed bright red but tried her best to retaliate, "Another word and I destroy you, is that clear?"

Becoming cocky, Azimio threw her a smirk, "Please, if rather you let me —"

He was cut off instantly by Tessa picking up speed and colliding straight into Sam at his locker. Holding her at arms length as she muttered her very flustered apologies, Sam was quick to put her at ease, "you're okay, I'm not looking — promise."

"Thank you." She breathed out, embarrassed, "do you have a hoodie I could borrow? Please?"

Nodding, Sam reached into his locker and revealed a large, blue hoodie and held it out to her with a soft smile on his face, "keep it as long as you need."

Pulling it over her head and sighing contentedly as she felt comfortable almost instantly, she smiled in thanks "stupid Rachel made me wear it." She explained.

"Let me guess — she had a Britney Spears fantasy?"

"You must be keeping up with the glee club gossip." Tessa said, surprised whilst a grin of excitement came over her. "You have to join now, Sam-I-Am."

"I'll have to see how you guys do at the pep rally." He teased, smiling as she giggled.

Placing a hand against her head, Tessa laughed lightly as she thought about the performance that was probably going to end up in shambles, "we're still trying to get Schuester to let us do Briteny. We'll probably end up doing a Journey song though."

"You'll be great either way." He grinned, "I'll be your number one fan out there."

"And I'll be yours on the football pitch." She replied, with a supportive shrug of her shoulders.

Sam's face lit up almost immediately as he closed the door on his locker, "great. I can't wait." He grinned as the bell rang and the two started walking alongside each other to their next class, complete immersed in conversation.

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MR SCHUESTER HAD FINALLY GIVEN IN AND ALLOWED THE GLEE CLUB TO DO BRITNEY SPEARS FOR THE PEP ASSEMBLY, ON THE CONDITIONS THAT HE COULD JOIN IN. Stood in their black and white costumes, Tessa peeped through the curtains and out into the crowd.

Making eye contact with Sam, she sent a wave his way, which he enthusiastically returned and began to attempt a conversation with him across the gym. Pulling herself up above her slightly so she could see out the curtain too, Santana dropped a hat on Tessa's head and smirked as she saw the guy she was talking to, "stop flirting with the new guy and come help Britt teach Frankenteen to dance." She teased.

"I'm not flirting with him Santana, I have a boyfriend." Tessa reminded her, with a raised eyebrow, giving a quick wave goodbye to Sam before shutting the curtain behind her, "but sure, we'll teach Finn the dance."

Watching Finn trip over his feet from a distance, Tessa smiled affectionately but sighed, "we're gonna suck."

"You guys might suck, but I won't." Santana shrugged, confidently.

"I'm serious. Mr Schue is literally the lead vocalist, it's not even a glee club performance." Tessa complained. She wasn't at all happy that the only person really shining in the routine was her teacher, who clearly just wanted to impress his crush. However, the more she thought about it, the more she knew it would've just been Rachel and Finn anyway. But at the moment, she'd definitely prefer that.

"Ugh I know." Santana agreed.

Shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of her bad mood, Tessa let out a long breathe, "we'll just have to use the power of Britney to get us through this."

"We'll try." Santana groaned, rolling her eyes to the sky as Mr Schuester finally came behind the curtains, ordering everyone to their starting positions for 'Toxic.'