Hey, the name's Jane. First SYOC ever so I hope you guys enjoy. It's a bit AU from the Glee that ended that we all still love and care for but most of this is canon. More info found below and on my profile, enjoy! :)
1
"Rachy!"
"Dads!" The 45-year old woman called back the minute she got out of her car, running to the garage door of 241 Birch Hill Road on that early summer morning. Both LeRoy and Hiram Berry trapped their daughter into their arms with smiles. Her husband, Jesse, leaned on the passenger car door, his arms crossed and his smile just as bright.
"Family hug, get over here, young man!" Hiram yelled, still hugging on to Rachel with LeRoy, who silently rolled his eyes.
"It's good to see you again, Hiram and LeRoy."
"Especially under these circumstances, huh? Egging our daughter, leading her to Shelby without our knowledge or our permission, and now burning down your own family's house. How-"
Rachel slapped LeRoy's arm once she saw the the guilt in her husband's eyes for all of the pain he was responsible for in his high-school days. "Daddy!"
"Speaking of family, where are our beautiful grandchildren?"
"Or did you get rid of them too?"
"They fell asleep on the ride here. I'll get 'em." Jesse replied, shrugging off yet another snap from LeRoy.
The 47-year old man opened the back door to find all of his kids sleeping peacefully, his daughters' heads resting on each of their brother's shoulders. The ten hour drive back to Rachel's hometown was a doozy.
"Guys, we're here!"
Immediately, the St. James triplets all jumped to their father's voice. The youngest, Riley, looked confused for three seconds before sighing in resentment once she got out of the car.
"Damn. And I thought us moving to this hellhole was just a bad dream. Guess not." Riley observed, looking around her mother's old neighborhood.
"The mouth on you!" LeRoy said with a laugh, approaching her with a tight hug. Jesse shot a shocked glance at Rachel, who only smiled and shrugged in embarrassment.
"Wonder who she got it from." Ryan whispered to his younger sister, Rebecca, who couldn't help but to laugh alongside him and their father.
"C'mon out here, you two!" Hiram beckoned with his hands. Without hesitation, Ryan and Rebecca got out their car and happily greeted both of their grandfathers with the same, familiar Berry family embrace. "How was the ride?"
"Long." Ryan said with a laugh.
"And speaking of long..." LeRoy combed his fingers through the long, wavy, dark mane of his grandson's. "How could you let his hair grow out so long? He needs a haircut!" He then directed at Jesse, who replied with a nervous chuckle.
"I like how my hair is."
"Yeah, son, so does every other unemployed homeless man who doesn't care about his hygiene." LeRoy said, patting the top of Ryan's head like an obedient dog.
"Daddy!"
"What, he's right! I almost mistook him for one of the girls when you pulled up in the driveway." Hiram agreed with a shrug, leaving Rebecca and Riley to giggle among themselves. Before another word was said, the triplets all felt their phones vibrate inside of their pant pockets, notifying them that an available WiFi network was close by.
"Oh! By the way, what's the WiFi password to...'The Berry Bush'?" Rebecca asked.
"It's-"
"Hold it!" Rachel interrupted Hiram. "Until we find out who's cigarette was responsible for the fire, you're all grounded, remember?"
Both LeRoy and Hiram gasped dramatically while the triplets all moaned in resentment. "You smoke?" Hiram asked.
"This never would've happened if they had a better father figure in the household..."
"STOP! My parenting skills has nothing to do with my children's smoking habits! It's called peer pressure, LeRoy, and apparently, all the kids are doing it nowadays!" Jesse said, his voice rose in anger. He then sighed in an attempt to calm himself down. "And I'm pretty sure it was either Riley or Ryan."
Both Riley and Ryan rolled their bright green eyes and scoffed. "Because my 'holier than thou' sister can do no wrong in the eyes of our parents." Riley air-quoted, while receiving Rebecca's cautious glare. "But it was most likely Ryan."
"Or Rebecca." Ryan said.
"She would've cried her eyes out for hours once they told her about the fire."
"She did cry her eyes out for hours when they told her about the fire. Why don't you just admit it already and stop holding me and Rebecca hostage?"
"It's like I'm not even here." Rebecca whispered to LeRoy, before he politely shushed her to continue to listen to her siblings' vocal altercation.
"And the Academy Award for Best Actor goes to...somebody else!" Riley continued. "If your smoking wasn't responsible, it would've been your hairdryer. You use it more than we do our own."
"Well excuse me for not waking up with fabulous hair every morning!" Ryan shot back. He gestured to his luscious, brunette, curls. "This, takes work, but I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Riley gasped sharply as her grandfather's cooed as if they were an applause track on a sitcom. When Ryan went for hair or anything about anyone's appearance, the St. James girls knew shit got real.
"How about we get ourselves settled inside?" Rachel slightly pushed her fathers to the front door. "Ryan, Jesse, get the bags out the trunk."
"But-"
"NOW!" Rachel ordered her son, who quickly ran to the trunk with his father.
"Our little diva!" Hiram said in admiration. LeRoy laughed and nodded in agreement as he unlocked the front door to the Berry household. Rachel stared in admiration once she walked right through the front door. Everything was exactly as she remembered it and she could suddenly retell each and every last memory from her younger days. The duet she sang with Jesse in her bedroom, the first party she threw in the basement, her first dinner with her first fiancee, Finn. A tear dripped down her cheek as she began to sob quietly.
"Rach, you okay?"
"I'm fine." She answered Hiram. "I never realized how much I missed this place."
"We were here last Christmas, weren't we?" Riley whispered to her dad.
"Ssh, you're ruining the moment." Jesse replied, placing his index finger over Riley's lips.
"So, the girls can sleep in Rachel's old room, Rachel in the first guest room, and Ryan in the last guest room."
"What about me? Why can't I share my room with my wife?" Jesse asked.
"Because I thought you'd be better off-"
"Let's hurry and pack so we can get the kids registered to William McKinley School of the Arts!" Rachel said in a melodic tune, before LeRoy could finish what he was saying. Rebecca and Ryan sighed in animosity. "C'mon, it's an arts school!"
"But it's not LaGuardia! And our friends aren't there!" Rebecca justified.
"And I'm stuck in a room with the spoiled diva..."
"How about you keep quiet and start working on your confession to burning down our house?!"
"IT WAS RYAN!"
"No need to yell, we're all right here." Ryan chimed in. "And for the last time, I'm innocent!"
"Also, I don't want to go to an arts school! I didn't get myself kicked out for LaGuardia for nothing! Aren't there any other schools to go to?"
"We don't live in the district for you to take the bus to North Lima." Rachel said.
"How far is it?"
"It's on the other side of town. It's at least a twenty minute walk." Hiram replied to his grand-daughter.
"That's nothing! I was born in New York, all we do is walk!"
"True, but we don't trust you walking to 'school' everyday." Jesse air-quoted. Riley mouthed 'damn it' to herself at the fail of yet another one of her schemes.
"Then there's Jane Addams Academy, but that's for girls who got out of juvie." Rachel continued.
"Then she'll fit right in." Rebecca said, causing Ryan and the grandparents chuckled to themselves.
Riley didn't hesitate to reply back to the elder sister. "Yeah, on the account of your murder!"
"Don't forget arson..."
"You bitch..."
"HEY!" Rachel interjected, holding Riley before she could pounce. "Apologize."
"Sorry for almost killing you." She said, in unconvincing monotone voice. Riley still met with the gaze of her mother's dark eyes and her father's icy's orbs. Riley then sighed. "And for calling you the b-word."
"You're forgiven."
Rachel, Jesse, and the kids had packed all of their belongings into their assigned rooms of the Berry household, despite the dismay of the girls having to share a room. Once they were finished, Rachel gathered the herd and immediately headed to yet another familiar landmark close to the mother's heart.
"Here it is!" She squealed as she abruptly parked in the student parking lot, swaying the rest of her family forward.
"So, this is it, huh?"
"No, Rebecca, Mom just drove to another school that happened to have the same name in the small town that we're living in." Riley replied.
"Does your mouth ever take a vacation?"
"Only when's she smoking."
"Fuck you too, Ryan!"
Jesse whistled loud enough for the triplets and their mother to cover their ears. "Could you all act your age and have some decency, please? I swear, you three can't go two seconds without arguing or teasing one another. I can't believe I have to tell three sixteen years old that 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'. Can you three even fathom how immature you can all come across sometimes? Jeez."
Rachel sighed, messaging her temples after hearing another over-dramatic rant. "...are you done?"
"Yes, dear, I am."
"Then, let's go!" She beamed her bright, white smile.
The family got out of the dark blue Chevrolet Equinox as a unit and approached the nearest entrance. Rebecca had almost stopped at the glance of a familiar looking vehicle in her peripheral vision, but continued walking among her loved ones so she and her siblings could audition and register.
However, Rebecca's suspicions were soon cleared once the family arrived in the hallway. One shriek from Rachel caused the three males to immediately turn around. Their blue and brown eyes were sparkling like glitter on construction paper. The adult males were around Rachel's age, their lips curled into smiles as they ran straight toward both her and her husband with a family-friendly embrace. The younger adult slowly followed with his hands in his jean pockets.
"Rach! Jesse! You never told us you were moving back home!" Kurt Hummel-Anderson said, in an even higher octave than usual for him.
"Well, we all couldn't live in a hotel forever." Jesse replied casually with a shrug
Blaine Hummel-Anderson chuckled alongside his husband. "A head's up never hurt anyone though. We could've had a cute reunion brunch!"
"And speaking of brunch, I am starving!" Kurt continued, rubbing his abdomen, this time causing Rachel and Jesse to chuckle.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?"
Blaine took a breather. "Well, Rach, we're enrolling Elias back into William McKinley." He informed, placing his hands on his son's shoulder as he slightly shook him.
"Really? What happened to Grand River Academy?" Jesse asked.
"Well, Uncle Jesse, I'm a changed man! I've matured and now, both of my dads can finally see it! Grand River Academy really set me straight! It's a fine institute!" Eli spoke up, before either of his dads could answer.
"Oh, Eli!" Rachel cried out. Proudly, she grabbed the eighteen year old and trapped the young man in her petite arms. Eli laughed nervously while Jesse, Kurt, and Blaine shot each other worried glances before lightly pulling the woman away. "Anyway, what art program are you auditioning for?"
"They didn't tell you?" Blaine asked.
"William McKinley's no longer an arts school. It hasn't been for seven years now."
"What?!" Rachel, Jesse, and Rebecca all asked simultaneously.
"Why?" Rachel asked again.
"I can answer that for ya." Another familiar voice spoke. The Hummel-Andersons and the St. Jameses turned around to spot the handsome, middle-aged blonde man walked out of the student bathroom, a smile curling on his trouty lips.
"Sam! Or should I say, Principal Evans?" Rachel said with a smile.
The two old friends met halfway with a hug while Jesse decided to greet the principal with a wave and a handshake once he approached him.
"Why don't we get reacquainted in my office?" Sam suggested, leading the adults to the reinvented glass walled office.
"How about letting Eli show yourselves around? Get to know the place so you won't get lost on the first day." Rachel told Eli and the triplets before walking inside with the others. Eli replied with a thumbs up through the glass as he watched Rachel, Jesse, and his dads take the four seats in front of Sam's desk. He turned around to face Ryan, Rebecca, and Riley.
"You can drop the act, the rents are gone." Riley said.
"And what makes you think this is an act?"
Immediately, all of the triplets sent Eli a suspicious glare with a furrowed brow. He laughed. "Guess I'm not as good as I thought."
"How'd you get away with getting out of Grand River Academy?" Rebecca asked.
"I've had it all worked out since seventh grade. And so far, everything's gone according to the plan." He answered with a smug smirk and a shrug of his broad shoulders.
"You purposefully crashed Uncle Kurt's car into the garage so you can be sent off to Grand River Academy?"
"Oh Ryan, let me explain." Eli began. "You see, I was held back in kindergarten."
"Because you skipped school then and played all day on the playground, we know. It's legendary." Riley reminded.
"I'm invincible now, like diplomatic immunity! A parent can't send an 18 year old dependent off to military school because they'll need my consent to do so! And once I turn 19, I'll be too old to be attending any military school. This senior year is going to be epic!"
"I salute you!" Riley high-fived Eli, while Rebecca shook her head in resentment.
"Well, I'm glad to hear you and the girls are doing alright!" Rachel said. "But what happened to McKinley being an arts school?"
"When I was the New Directions director, everything was great. The Glee Clubs were cool and full of talented, energetic, kids, the other arts programs improved. It was almost like a decent remake of 'Fame'."
"So what was the problem, Macaulay Culkin?" Jesse asked with a laugh.
"Once I became the principal, things were different. According to the school board, we weren't bringing in much profit to be considered an arts school. So we had to cut back. The drama departments could only put on two plays or musicals a year, all county band, chorus, and orchestra were disbanded, and then the Glee Clubs."
Rachel and Jesse gasped dramatically.
"You don't mean-" Rachel began.
"No, no, the New Directions are still around. For now, anyway..."
"What do you mean, for now?" Kurt asked this time.
"Mr. and Mrs. Meeks got a job opportunity to start an arts school back in Chicago." Sam explained. "And without the New Directions' co-directors and the new rules, the New Directions can't qualify to compete. I'd do it but being the school principal is occupying enough of my time as is. Plus, the music and drama departments will need a teacher."
"What if I took over?" Blaine volunteered.
"Well, I was actually hoping if Rachel and Jesse could do it."
"Really?" The married coupled asked in unison, while Blaine looked down in slight embarrassment.
"Of course! You two were some of the best Glee Club coaches I've come to known. You're both qualified for the teaching positions, and you're both talented with drive. You might bring up some of that old McKinley groove back."
"I-I-I don't know what to say."
"I do! Hell yes!" Jesse immediately accepted with a firm handshake. Kurt, Blaine, and Sam couldn't help but to laugh at Jesse's excitement while Rachel's eyes were widened in shock.
"Jesse! What about your interview at Lima Community tomorrow?"
"Screw it and that sorry excuse of a community college! We're back in game!"
Rachel couldn't resist laughing any longer. "Well, if this is what you really want."
"I do! I do! Now the question is, do you?"
All of the eyes were on Rachel, who drifted off into deep thought. She hadn't coached or took part in anything Glee Club related since Rodrick Meeks himself was a high-school senior. And despite so, she couldn't help but to create a few ideas for numbers and set-lists for the many songs she had heard over the years. Not to mention the ideas that were shut down by the previous New Directions director, William Schuester.
Rachel took a breather and then a short glance at everyone in the room.
"C'mon Rach, you know the kids are talented! Just look at some of their parents!" Jesse continued to convince.
"They made it to Nationals again this year. They were the third runner-up!" Sam also informed.
"WWRBD—what would Rachel Berry do?" Blaine added.
"...alright, I'm in!"
With that acceptance, Sam, Kurt, Blaine, and the new co-directors of New Directions had cheered loudly in Sam's office for what would be yet another memorable year at William McKinley High School.
Yup, this is my first SYOC ever. I saw a few ideas around and finally decided to put this together after being just an anonymous reviewer for so long.
So far, I'm accepting at least 21 characters. 14 characters at WMHS (Three non-pairings, two guys and a girl), at least 3 characters at Carmel , and at least four characters at Crawford. I'd also accept non-pairing kids at Crawford and Carmel.
This story will not only showcase New Directions, but the revival of William McKinley's other show choirs: the Troubletones and the Duly Noted. And again, more information will be found on my profile.
Please let me know in the reviews what you think of the story so far, what you think of the characters, and if you're possibly interested.
Thanks for reading :)