Life at McKinley High was going as usual. Glee Club was the most popular it had ever been, and everybody loved them. Artie and Kurt were happily together, same with Santana and Finn, Rachel and Sam, Quinn and Mike Chang, and Mercedes and Puckerman. Regionals were coming and everybody was nervous with anticipation.
"Okay boys and girls, this is our time to shine. We need to bring our A-game and take regionals again this year!" Mr. Schuester said with a big smile on his face.
Brittany raised her hand with a look of pure confidence on her face, "Mr. Schuester, what solos are we going to have this year? I need to know immediately so I can rehearse them as soon as possible."
Mercedes and Rachel groaned and looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Brittany had been acting like she was the only talented singer in Glee for the last year, and everybody was getting tired of it, including Mr. Schuester.
"Well Brittany, we still have to audition for solos. Nobody has a solo set in stone." sjjaid Mr. Schuester, trying not to sound too insincere.
"But Mr. Schuester, I am obviously the only one with enough mental capacity to handle having a solo." Brittany said with the same arrogance that had made her one of the most despised girls in high school.
Mr. Schuester ignored her and kept talking, "I was thinking about doing the song, "Happy" by Pharrel Williams. Does anybody else have any other choices?"
"Oh I love that song!" Finn said pumping his fist in the air.
"Me to." Quinn said.
"I think it will really showcase all of our voices." Kurt said with a look of excitement.
"I don't like it." said Puckerman with a look of irritation.
Everybody looked at him expectedly, waiting for him to explain. "Why do we always have to do happy songs? Why can't we do one with meaning, sadness makes people feel more." As he asked this Mercedes was squeezing his hand trying to comfort him. Noah Puckerman's dad had just died about 4 months ago. He had been coping with it the best he could, but couldn't quite get over it.
"Don't you think it would help you to sing something happy? Singing can bring anyone spirits up from the darkest places." Mercedes said, trying as best as she could to make him feel better.
Everybody in Glee had been there for Noah. When he found out in class on the day it happened, and hadn't cried, they helped him let out his feelings. And from then on, they had been there to pick him up whenever he had breakdowns and emotional problems.
"Alright, I guess. Let's give it a try." Puckerman said with a forced smile.
"Okay guys let's get started on this tomorrow, I'll see you then!" Mr. Schuester said as he opened the door for them to leave.
"I am so excited Mercedes! Maybe we can actually get solos this time! I doubt it though; we can't measure up to Brittany." Rachel said as she and Mercedes walked down the hall.
"Hey, don't say that! We both have a great chance of having solos. You just need to have more confidence in yourself." Mercedes said with a hopeful expression.
"But no matter how hard anybody tries, she always gets the solos." Rachel said as she looked down at the ground.
"It won't be like that for long! I promise. Some day we will have our time to shine." Mercedes decreed with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Now let's go find Santana and have that movie night we planned!"
Later that day, Will was talking to Emma (the guidance counselor/cheer coach) in her office.
"I just don't know what to do Will! No matter how hard my cheerleaders work, people still don't like them and continue to lower their self-esteem." Emma said as she put her head into her hands.
"Have you tried promoting cheer more? When I promoted glee club it really helped the image." Said Mr. Schuester, with his usual hopeful positivity.
"Yes, I have! And it seem like the image Sue left of them won't go away. When she left and I had to take over the coaching, cheerleaders had an image as bullies who just followed Sue's path. But they are more than that Will! They are great girls with hearts of gold, but nobody sees it." Emma said as she sat down with a sigh.
"I know that Emma; they are great girls. You're the only one who sees it right now, but maybe someday it will change. I'm sorry to change the subject, but I came in here to talk about Regionals. Are you aware that regionals for Glee and regionals for cheer are on the same day?" Will said with a worried expression on his face.
"Really? I didn't know that, how are we going to make that work? You have two of my cheerleaders."
"Let's look at the times of both events."
"Okay, so regionals for glee is at 5 in Springfield, and regionals for cheerleading is at 7 in Ottawa. That leaves maybe an hour to get to both places?"
"That's cutting it short Emma, don't you think. They're going to have to choose between the two."
"But that will be a hard decision for them."
"It will be fine, I'll ask them tomorrow."
Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes' girls' night was going great. They had already talked about the usual gossip, and boy drama. "I just can't believe Brittany thinks she's so much better than us. Something needs to change." said Mercedes with a shine in her eyes. "You can say that Mercedes, but you know no one is going to have enough confidence to show her up." said Santana while painting her nails absent-mindedly. Rachel just stayed quiet and continued to braid Santana's hair.
Later that night as she was laying down, Mercedes thought of something. What if she, Rachel, and Santana confronted Brittany together! Then Brittany would be outnumbered and have no choice but to listen. She went to sleep and told herself she would ask the girls about it in the morning.
The next day as they ate the usual blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast, Mercedes brought it up. "So uhm, I was thinking about what to do about Brittany, and I think I figured it out." She said a little nervously as she got some orange juice. "What?" Rachel asked with a mouthful of fluffy pancake. Santana just acted uninterested and focused on eating the yummy sausage. "What if we all confronted her together? Then there would be less chance of her being mean back. She would be outnumbered." Mercedes said. Rachel thought about it for a second and set her fork down then said, "That's brilliant Mercedes! I am totally in." "I'm in to, but I really don't want a solo so you guys can have them." said Santana. "Alright, what exactly are we going to say?" Rachel said. As they continued to talk about the plan, they all got excited about the thought that maybe things would finally change.
When Monday came around and school was back, Mr. Schuester was nervous. Today he had to break the news to the cheerleaders in glee. They would have to choose between cheer and glee. He was sure it would be a pretty hard decision for them. He walked into the classroom with a look of sadness in his eyes; the kids knew right away something was wrong.
"Everyone, I have an announcement. Regional's is the same day as it is for cheerleading. So the cheerleaders will have to choose between Glee and cheer. I'm sorry it has come to this but there is nothing I can do." Mr. Schu said as he looked into their shocked eyes.
"But they can't do that!" Santana yelled.
"Yeah! This isn't fair." Said Rachel.
"The way I see it, that's less competition for me." Brittany said while smirking, as she was no longer a cheerleader.
"You're so inconsiderate Brittany." Mercedes said with a glare.
"Calm down everyone. Everything will be fine. I just need to know your choice by the end of today." said trying to calm everyone down. Quinn was whispering to Mike about how relieved she was that she wasn't in cheer anymore.
The class was dismissed and tension filled the air around the glee club. Their usual popular and talkative lunch table was quiet. Brittany didn't even insult people. Everyone wasn't feeling like themselves. Santana was talking to Mercedes about what they should do. Cheer was their first love! They had started in 3rd grade and loved it ever since. Cheer is how they had become friends. And when high school came, and Rachel joined cheer, it was how Rachel became friends with them. Cheer was a big thing. But so was glee! It was Regionals. They just didn't know what to do.
As the club members were freaking out, Mr. Schuester was working on a plan. He would ask the principal if there was any way they could get the cheerleaders to both. He walked into the office and was immediately nervous. His hands began to tingle and sat quickly so his boss wouldn't see his shaking.
"Can we please have more funding for a bus to transport the cheerleaders to both?" asked Mr. Schu with the most hopeful/nervous smile in the world.
"That would be about 200 more dollars. Is it really that important? Isn't your glee club big enough without them?"
"Sir you don't understand how close these kids are. They are part of a team! Almost like football. If one player is out, it is harder for them to perform."
"Well I suppose, but half of the funds will be coming out of your paycheck."
"Alright." Although wasn't excited that he would have less money that month, he didn't regret it. He really would give anything for his glee club. As he headed to the lunch room, he noticed something. All the kids that were usually in the hallway were gone. Something was up. When he got into the lunch room he saw everyone huddled in a circle around some people. Not just any people, it was Mercedes and Brittany. They looked like they were about to fight. He hurried into the center to stop it as fast he could. "What happened ladies?" he asked as he stepped between them.
"Mr. Schu, this brat thinks she deserves a solo more than me." Brittany said while pointing an accusing finger at Mercedes. Mercedes just crossed her arms and had a smug look on her face and said, "Actually , I put her into her place. I told her how I, and most of the glee club has felt for a while, and told her to drop the attitude. She just doesn't like hearing the truth so she's in denial."
Mr. Schu thought about it for a moment before he knew what to say. "Ladies, look I know there are disputes and I know you girls don't get along, but you both have a point and are right in your own way. Brittany, you should not act the way you do towards the people around you. And Mercedes, you could have told her in a nicer way with less conflict. I say we forget about all this, and focus on Regionals!"
"But I can't even go Mr. Schu." said Mercedes.
"Yeah Mr. Schu, what are you talking about?" said Brittany.
"I talked to the Principal andddddd, YOU ARE GOING TO BOTH REGIONALS!" Mr. Schu said with a voice that filled the room with. The fight was forgotten and everybody cheered in the lunch room. They were happy that the glee club was going to regionals with a full team, including the cheerleaders. After everyone was done being excited, Brittany walked up to the glee club and said, "Guys, can I Say something?" They just nodded, shocked at the non-attitudic tone of her voice. "I am so sorry for the way I have treated everyone. I don't deserve a solo more than anyone else does. From now on, I will be more supportive of everyone." Brittany slouched, almost as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
As the glee club looked around at each other in disbelief they began to realize what she had said. They were so shocked they didn't even have a reaction. They walked up to her and said the usual things like, "Yeah, thanks." and "Oh okay." Rachel, unlike the others actually hugged her. She looked at her with her big brown eyes and said, "I knew deep deep down that you were a good person and just walked away.
2 Weeks Later
"Load the buses! Regionals, here we come." Yelled Mr. Schu as he motioned for them to get into the bus.
"Oh my gosh today is the busiest day of my life!" Rachel yelled to Mercedes and Santana over the bus engine.
"I know! I can't wait to sing and cheer! It's like the best day ever." Santana said with a huge smile on her face.
"Babe, you left your cheer bag in my car." Finn said as he kissed Santana's cheek. "I should probably get that." she said while skipping off.
The bus was loaded with kids and the excitement in the air was almost tangible. Mr. Schuester was nervous. They had had only two weeks to prepare for this and he really didn't want the kids to lose. The whole drive there he was thinking about the motivational speech he would make before they performed.
Rachel could not stop talking, as she always did when she was nervous. "I CAN NOT believe we got solos Mercedes! We have wanted this forever and it's finally happening. I just can't believe it. It's Crazy. I wonder if Brittany is secretly mad." she said as she bounced on her seat with nerves.
"Calm down Rach! Everything will be fine. And no Brittany isn't mad. I think she has really changed. And thank goodness for that!" Mercedes said as she held Rachel's shoulders down.
The rest of the drive, the kids talked with anticipation and prepared to win. After all, they had a reputation to uphold. They had won Regionals for the past 4 years. But this year was different! This year they were actually doubting themselves. As they pulled into the school's parking lot, they saw their competition. The Karmas were here, along with Vocal Adrenaline, and the Sang Tangs. Mr. Schuester watched them as they looked at the competition, then watched the looks on their faces, and then quickly pacified them, "Guys don't even worry about them! If we sing as good as we have been practicing lately, we will be fine!"
The kids got ready in the dressing room and did their usual routine of praying and some warm-ups, and finally they were ready. They watched Vocal Adrenaline go first with the song "Neon Lights" and all agreed it had been great. "Don't worry! We will just have to work extra hard to beat them, but I know you all can do it; I believe in you." Mr. Schuster said as they huddled. "Are you guys ready for this?" Finn asked, attempting to pump them up. It worked. They all high- fived and ran onto the stage.
The song started and Rachel took the spotlight. Her hands were shaking at first but she took the solo by a storm! The performance was great! Everybody's dance moves were on point and the singing went together perfectly. Mercedes hit the last piercing note and the performance was over. They bowed and ran off cheering. They had done it! It was one of the best performances they had ever had.
Everybody congratulated Rachel on her solo and hugged her. Brittany walked up to her quietly after everyone was done and said, "I just wanted to let you know that you did an amazing job and I'm sorry that I underestimated you. Good luck at Cheer today." She hugged Rachel and walked away quickly.
"Ready to cheer ladies?" Mercedes asked as she locked arms with Rachel and Santana.
"It's a bummer we won't be here to see the reward ceremony, but I have a feeling we won." Santana said with a wink. As they left with the cheer bus, the whole glee club wished them luck. They sat and waited for the results.
1 Week Later
"I still can't believe we did it! We won regionals for both cheer and Glee!" Rachel said as she happily walked with the cheer team. Fellow students smiled and waved at them. Winning regionals had really fixed how they were looked at by others. They even got to sit with the glee kids at lunch! Things at McKinley were looking up for Glee Club. Brittany was nicer than ever, the cheerleaders were back in good standing with everybody, and the Glee kids were even attempting to set Will and Emma up. Did they end up making a match? I guess we'll never know. Thanks for reading!