The sun was just rising on the horizon and would show up between the immense pines that were planted on either sides of the road. The purple landscape almost seemed unreal and there was like magic in the air.

Brittany loved mornings.

Every morning, it was like the entire world would start all over again and all the bad events from the day before were deleted to be replaced with much better ones. The sky always looked new, illuminated by the orange and burgundy rising sun, and it was like the entire nature was waking up from a long torpor. The leaves were softly whirring, troubled with the morning breeze, and some dew drops were crashing in the humid grass, glimmering in a golden radiance when the sun rays would finally reach them. The atmosphere could be foggy and chilly, but the fresh perfume in the air would always warm the blonde's heart. She would then forget that she was the local fool, no matter how hard she tried to improve her grades or her knowledge by watching the historic channel where they always play long documentaries in black and white on events she didn't even understand. Brittany didn't have that many painful memories to forget, she thought, looking in the rear-view mirror with a tender smile. But she was always up to new things when she woke up and the sun barely rose from behind the hills. She felt like she could do anything and that no matter what obstacle would stand in her way, she would have the strength to overcome it.

She slowed down progressively and parked the car on the side of the road, being careful not to drive on the pebbles. She put on the indicator, and even though it was useless considering how desert the road was at this hour, she thought that all of McKinley would be surprised to see simple-minded Brittany take this precaution. She opened the glove compartment, took a camera and turned around as slowly as she could, holding it still in front of her.

On the back seats, Quinn and Santana were asleep, and it was hard to believe that these two angels were once the reckless HBIC of McKinley. Quinn was resting against the steamed window, and the blonde's peaceful smile gave her a relaxed look Brittany hadn't seen in a while. As for Santana, she had progressively sprawled herself against the girl next to her, until she had rested her head on her shoulder.

As she studied the tranquility on her face usually so expressive and animated, Brittany thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She had already seen her asleep, but leaned against Quinn like this, smiling like a child dreaming of the gifts they hope to get for Christmas, Brittany couldn't help but see them back three years ago, when the Unholy Trinity was still as united as the Three Musketeers and when they used to spend their weekends at Santana's, watching TV while talking about the last gossips in McKinley. Today this was all over,

With a sad smile, Brittany took one last picture of the two girls and put the camera back in the glove compartment. She made sure there was no-one coming on her right and pulled the car back on the road.

…

…

…

"LOVE, LOVE I WANT YOUR LOVE!"

Tina was trying to keep her eyes on the road but the mishmash going on in the car was making it hard for her. She was starting to wonder why she had chosen to go with the four individuals that were her passengers.

"You know that I want you…" Kurt sung on the back seat clearly eye-sexing Blaine in the rear-view mirror.

"…and you know that I need you!" The guy with triangular eyebrows answered.

"CAUSE I'M A FREE BITCH BABY!" Artie shouted, and Tina almost went off the road.

"I WANT YOUR LOVE AND I WANT YOUR REVENGE!" They all started to sing their head off, and when she was sure she was on the road again, Tina happily sang along.

It was only 7am and yet they all felt as energized as when they did when they left the day before. They had barely slept, and now that it was her turn to drive, Tina was congratulating herself for taking a nap around 2am, while the others had been joyfully discussing who would get to play their CD next. Eventually, using his persuasion gift, Kurt was the one who had managed to impose the compilation Blaine had given him for Valentine's Day. To say that they didn't regret it in that very moment would be a euphemism. Artie took charge of singing the French verses with a clumsiness and an accent that only his enthusiasm could equal, and Mercedes followed on bawling a "I DON'T WANNA BE FRIEEENDS!" that emphasized the exhaustion her voice was clearly in.

"RA-RA-AH-AH-AAAAH RUMA RUMA-MA GAGA OULALAAAH WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE!"

The inside of the car rung out with the singers' applause and they were barely done with congratulating themselves that Mercedes and Artie were already chanting "Again! Again!"

"Ha, too bad you weren't there when we sang it in Glee Club," Kurt said to Blaine, leaning back in his seat. "I never wore Alexander McQueen's with such elegance!"

"If you still have them, you can show them to me when we get back home!" The former Warbler answered with a smile.

Kurt looked at him with satisfaction before getting lost in the landscape. Artie and Mercedes seemed to be calm by now, but Tina could still hear them humming Speechless, that was now playing in the passenger compartment. Tiredness finally worked on the passengers. Pretty fast, they were all asleep and the brunette observed them amused in the rear-view mirror, sprawled against one another on the back seats. Blaine had been sleeping for an hour and seemed to be soundly asleep when Tina looked at him carefully. She took advantage of it to remove the compilation from the CD player, put it down on the dashboard and turn on the radio.

"… a rather scorching sun is planned on the East coast, careful dear New Yorker drivers, don't let yourself be blinded! As for the rest of the United States, the weather should be mild! Indiana will have new records of temperature for the rest of the week, and the surroundings States will take full advantage of it! I'll leave you now with Jack! Jack, you're on, I'll let you wake up our auditors!"

A presenter with a rather annoying voice started to babble and Tina turned off the radio immediately. Only the engine's purring troubled the peaceful silence.

…

…

…

Finn took the bend with diligence and glanced toward the young woman sat beside him, in the passenger seat. She was contemplating the landscape, as if the trees held a hidden interest. Her hands were resting on her thighs, and Finn moved his own to take one of hers. As soon as they touched, Rachel quickly turned her head towards him, and noticed his one and only hand holding the wheel.

"What are you doing?" She worried. "We are almost there, and even though I appreciate the irony in the idea of dying right before reaching our destination, I've always wanted to die on stage, thus I admit that it would spoil my…"

"Rachel."

She seemed to calm down and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "You know how I get when I'm a bit anxious…"

Finn couldn't do anything but keep his eyes on the road, so he just gently squeezed her hand in his.

"You shouldn't be," he said with a smile. "The car is okay, the tires are well blown up, we stopped at the station to get gas like two hours ago and there's no chance of us crashing into someone here."

He was right. There was absolutely no car in sight. Rachel seemed to relax.

"I know but… I'm also worried about this expedition. I wasn't really in at first, considering it will take a week, when I need to practice now more than ever if I want to reach my goals… NYADA doesn't take just anybody..."

She stopped for a moment.

"Moreover," she continued on a quiet voice, "Shelby had finally accepted to give me singing lessons…"

Finn felt she was holding onto his hand, trying to keep her feelings in check.

"And even if she accepted to postpone," she added turning her head to focus on the landscape, "I don't think it's very reasonable. I mean, speleology? I wasn't even able to correctly climb up the ladders in school, so it would totally be like me to stay stuck in the middle of a tunnel. And it's certainly not by singing for help that I will miraculously find a way to get out of there…" She finished on a dull tone.

The former Glee Club leader took the risk to turn his eyes away from the road for a few seconds and contemplate Rachel carefully.

"Rach, look at me."

The brunette reluctantly turned her head from the landscape and Finn noticed she was having a hard time holding back her tears.

"Brittany and I, we spent an entire month training after classes ended."

"I know that, but…"

"No, listen to me," he cut her off. "I may only have had my license for a month, but Brittany has been doing that for three years! And even if all of McKinley is convinced she's stupid, I can assure you she's better than anyone else."

A smile formed on Rachel's lips as she thought of the adorable blonde.

The car was about to leave the road, so Finn focused back on it.

"Besides, weren't you here when we packed up?"

"Yes."

"Didn't you help me check we had all the equipment?"

"Yes."

"And weren't you the one who forced me to take ten first aid kits?"

"Yes, but I still think you should have let me take ten more." She said with a pout.

Finn couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" She rose up. "Don't laugh at me! We'll see if you still play smart when you're on the verge of death after having fallen in a crevice and there's only me and my bandages to save you!"

"Admit that you're overreacting," he insisted with another laugh.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Rachel throwing daggers him before crossing her arms in a melodramatic way.

"Come on, you're not gonna pout for that!"

She loosened her grip and bounced from her seat to place a kiss on his cheek.

"I am sorry."

Finn could barely focus on the road, and Rachel realized it thanks to his struck dumb smile.

…

…

…

"Man, take off your feet from the dashboard!"

"What, Evans? This dustbin is at least ten years older than my mother; it's not by getting myself comfortable that I'm going to destroy it! Besides, I cleaned my shoes yesterday."

"Puck, seriously," Mike spoke, emerging from the back seat, "It's not cool."

Puck mumbled something before sitting back correctly, and Sam thanked him almost grudgingly.

"Not my fault if I need to relax a little bit," said the guy with the mowhawk, stretching with a moan. "We've been stuck in your car for a day, and Puckzilla likes life in the open air."

"Oh my God, and here I thought you'd given up on the stupid nicknames after knocking Quinn up…" Mike said leaning back against his seat.

"It's just his way of showing he's still a man, a real one," Sam said. "We all know in the end, his nickname in Glee Club was Teddy Bear…"

"Bullshit," Puck replied with a casual move of his arm. "The day I lose my Mohawk is the day I lose all of my seduction powers, but until then, Puckausarus is still in the place."

"You should think about getting rid of this haircut, man" Mike spoke. "It looks like you have a dead raccoon on your head, I don't know if you've been told."

"And you should dye your hair pink."

"If you want to find a job, you'll never get far with that," Sam said. "Believe me, my dad had a complete makeover and the next day he was hired."

"No need to have a shaved head for what I wanna do," Puck assured them with a mocking smile. "Finn and I plan on working for Kurt's dad."

"And what does Rachel think about that?" Mike asked surprised. "Is she gonna stay stuck in Lima?"

"Finn talked to her about it, she agreed."

"Oh, I would be surprised if she gave up on her dreams," Sam insisted. "So, Finn either lied to you, or he still hasn't talked to her about it."

"Anyway, we still have a month to think about it," Puck stated with a shrug.

"Less than. You have to apply months beforehand for New York schools!"

"And how do you know that, mister Maths expert?" Puck mocked.

"I finally convinced my parents to let me apply for Julliard," Mike explained with a satisfied smile. "I will probably never be accepted but at least I won't be forced to be an engineer."

"And you'll find yourself licking celebrities' boots in New York streets," Puck added on a sardonic tone.

"I'd rather be doing that than spend the rest of my life changing cars' oil with a dead groundhog on the top of my head," Mike concluded with an amused shrug.

"Santana Lopez, get out of that body!" Sam said turning on the radio.

A country music covered Puck's biting comeback to Mike.

"By the way, what's the name of the cave we're going in?" Puck asked.

"Don't know," Sam said. "We should ask Finn."

Puck glanced at his phone.

"We're really off the grid, I haven't had service ever since we left Ohio." He grumbled putting it back in his pocket.

The sun was now up in the sky and the shining blue sky was announcing a wonderful day. The old analog clock in the dashboard, right above the leather steering wheel, indicated 9am. The GPS Puck had stolen from the electronic store was announcing another five hour drive. Sam sighed and went to roll down the window. It opened with a plaintive screech and some fresh air rushed into the passenger's compartment.

"Could you try calling Kurt, so we can have an idea of where they are?" He asked, turning briefly toward Puck.

The guy took his phone out once again and put it in front of him.

"Still no service!" He stated.

"What about Mike? Is it any better for you?"

"I forgot to charge it before we left, it's dead."

"Well," Sam started, tapping the wheel impatiently, "They left around 7pm yesterday, so they should be there two hours before us…"

"Do we actually care about that?" Puck asked, moving his seat backwards to stretch his legs.

"Hey! Careful with this seat! Last time I moved it I fell…"

The seat bent back completely and Puck's head fell right in between Mike's knees.

"…backwards…"

"Oh shit, sorry, man."

In despite of all his efforts, Puck didn't manage to fix the seat.

"Well, you know what, never mind," Sam said giving him a weary look. "Anyway, this car is mine now, I can do whatever I want, my parents won't kill me."

Puck got himself comfortable and Mike moved to the left.

Interference were heard on the radio and the sound became completely mixed up. With an irritated move of his arms, Sam turned it off.

"Man, if you had a CD player, at least we would have music to set the mood.

"The simple fact to spend time with us should be enough," Sam joked. "We are all so fabulous."

Puck answered him with a mocking whistle and stretched his legs under the dashboard.