So hey there.
Yes I'm here.
It's me.
So, I wouldn't blame you if you'd forgotten all about this. I did. But I was going through some old emails last week and I rediscovered this story. I was heartbroken I'd given it up, but felt that too much time had passed to just continue on. So this is a new start.
The sequel that we talked so much about. This is the first chapter.
I have a new-found energy and passion for this story and want to continue on with this for as long as I can; well, for as long as you're interested! So here goes nothing I guess...
Allow me to introduce The Next New Directions 2...
Will stared at the door at the back of the auditorium, his legs swinging off the stage, the metronome ticking behind him, the silence of the room making it sound much louder.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
He cast his mind back to the previous May, when he'd ran backstage after a shockingly terrible Warbler's performance and Regionals. He'd expected to see the kids practicing and celebrating their imminent victory. Instead, they were killing each other.
Literally.
Well not literally, but you know what I mean.
Brian and Flynn were at fisticuffs, again, Stephanie and Mollie were screaming at each other about moving away from home, Faith begging them not to go, Patrick was trying to comfort Mary who was crying hysterically, Daniel and Kyle; who had broken up the week before, were shouting, faces millimetres from each other. Beck and Una were at the start of the messiest break up of all time, and she was accusing him of cheating on her with Ms Holliday on her annual visit to the club the month before. Bella was drunk, which, yes, was unlike her, but somehow didn't surprise Will. Lily joined her, but Lily was a teary drunk, and she was crying about the cancellation of 'Happy Endings', or maybe it was '666 Park Avenue'?
After trying to reason with them for 10 minutes, only half the team were prepared to go on stage and the New Directions were subsequently disqualified for not having enough members.
They'd lost without even trying.
The bus ride home was silent, everyone had screamed themselves out of it and they were all exhausted.
That was the last time they were all together again.
The club was disbanded, and they all grew apart. Stephanie and Mollie moved to New York in June, leaving Ohio and their mom far behind. Daniel and Kyle reconciled and moved to L.A. together, partly to get away from Kyle's disapproving parents and also because Daniel had been expelled after punching Sue for making fun of their defeat at Regionals. Patrick and his mom moved to Australia in July, as she was placed there for work.
He left without saying goodbye to anyone.
They all did.
And that was the end of the New Directions 2.
Will had posted a new sign up sheet on the first day of school, in the fervent hope that someone, anyone, would join. But no one did. Not even the kids who hadn't moved or graduated. He felt like the world was swallowing him up, that he was going to wake up and it would all be a terrible dream and he would go in and they would all be playfully bickering in the choir room.
But it wasn't a dream.
It was a real life nightmare.
0000000000000000
Bella marched up the corridor on the first day back after summer. The crowds parted like the Red Sea as she walked by, everyone staring.
She felt on top of the world.
She pulled out a cigarette and lit in in the hallway, never stopping in her confident stride to her locker. Her Doc Martens made soft squelching noises under her feet. Arriving at her locker, she opened the door and pulled off her dark Ray Bans to reveal her heavily kohled bottom lash line. She took out a liquid liner and drew a heavy black line all across her lids to match. Adjusting her nose piercing and clipping her in lip piercing, she drew on her cigarette, pulled her Chemistry book from the depths of her messy locker and slammed the door, continuing to class.
Just as she turned the corner, Figgins strode out from the wall and stood in front of her.
"Ms Tamser, put that cigarette out immediately, not only is it against school rules but it is also illegal to smoke indoors in a public place! Get rid of it this instant!"
Bella raised a heavily drawn on eyebrow and drew another breath of her cigarette.
"Fight me, Chinese takeaway."
"I'm Indian."
"Oh I am sorry." she drawled sarcastically, walking around him and marching on to class, her cigarette still firmly perched in the side of her dark red lips.
"I'M CALLING YOUR PARENTS!"
"They don't give a shit." mumbled Bella to herself, throwing the butt of the cigarette on the floor and stomping on it before looking up at the sign up board. There in pride of place was the bright yellow glee sign up sheet. Bella scoffed. Glee had singlehandedly been the worst year of her entire life, nothing but drama and stress and over emotional bullshit. She tutted and opened the door of her classroom, slipping inside. She sat at an empty desk at the back and doodled on it, thinking back on the previous year. She hated glee club, all the fake crap and false niceness. Everyone hated each other all along. Weren't they all just supposed to be themselves? That was a load of bull. She was so glad to be out of it.
Well that's what she told herself anyway.
0000000000000000
Beck was laying on the backseat of his new heap of junk, well, car, that his mom had bought him for acing his tests that summer. Felicity Matthews lay on top of him, and she was sure as hell going for it. Beck hadn't even realised girls tongues could go that far down guys throats. Still, he was well on his way to conquering the entire Cheerios squad already, on his first day back!
He'd been dating Felicity for three weeks now, and she was cool, he guessed. She hadn't tried to reenact the shaving scene from James Bond 'Skyfall' like Jennifer did, and she hadn't planned out their wedding colour scheme, like Maddie had done. But it still didn't feel right.
He knew he still loved Una, and he knew that she still loved him too.
He wished he hadn't let her break up with him. And he wished he hadn't made relations ten times worse by telling everyone that he was the one who dumped her because she was a 'psycho control freak'.
He also wished she wasn't dating Jeremy Larks, the schools hockey team captain. That was typical Una; dates the captain of the hockey team to get back at the captain of the football team.
"BECK!"
He opened his eyes to see Felicity staring into his face, eyes wide, lipstick smudged. He had completely zoned out.
"I've gotta go, I've got French at 8:30." she sighed, as they sat back up again.
"Yeah sure. I'll see you around." he mumbled, pulling on his Letterman and opening the car door to get out.
Ah yes. There she was. Across the parking lot, he saw Una nestled under the arm of Jeremy, twirling a bit of hair around her finger and staring up into his face. Beck spat onto the spot next to him and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
"See you at lunch?"
He could faintly hear Felicity talking on the other side of the car. He nodded quickly, not taking his eyes off Jeremy and Una for a second. Then Una looked over at him, and they made eye contact for about ten seconds, before she swiftly flashed her middle finger at him, and proceeded to kiss Jeremy as obviously and passionately as she could muster.
"Fuck you." muttered Beck under his breath, before turning on his heel and stalking into school.
00000000000000
Brian and Mary were blissfully happy.
(Yeah I know, you weren't expecting that were you?)
They strolled into school together, his arm draped around her shoulder; hers around his waist. They had began dating in August, and were still very much in the honeymoon stage of their romance.
They bonded over their joint hatred of two things; posting pictures of food on Instagram, and Glee club.
Mary blamed the glee club, and in particular Mr Schuester for not getting her help sooner when she had depression. Deep down she knew that this was her own fault, and that yes, they had tried to help her on many occasions, but she wasn't ready to admit that just yet, and she continued on her cycle of despising New Directions.
Mary had come a long way, and she had a grip on her depression now. She was taking her meds, and going to therapy twice a week, and now she had Brian to boost her mood when she was feeling down. She smiled and nestled her head under his shoulder.
Brian leaned his face on the top of her head and pulled her closer to him. He was so content, nothing could dampen his mood. Well…
There in pride of place in the centre of the notice board was the Glee sign up sheet. Mary pulled away from Brian and grabbed the pen.
"Will Schuester, life destroyer." she scribbled on the first line, turning to face Brian.
"I hope they crash and burn," she muttered, before pulling her rucksack further over her shoulder.
"That's if they can even get off the ground." he chuckled, as she leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I guess so. I've gotta go, see you at lunch." she smiled, turning and walking down the hallway. Brian watched her leave, and his smile faded. He looked back up at the sign up sheet, completely empty apart from Mary's scrawl on the top line.
Brian didn't hate glee club. He didn't hate Mr Schuester. He just told Mary he did.
No, Brian hated Flynn. He hated Flynn with every fibre of his being. He hated Flynn when he woke up; he hated Flynn when he went to sleep. Hell, he even hated Flynn when he saw him packing bags at the grocery store.
He hated Flynn.
He hated Flynn, not for stealing Bella, twice, and dumping her for Lily, twice. No, he hated Flynn for making him hate Bella and Lily.
Except, Brian didn't really hate the girls.
And he didn't really hate Flynn. (He just strongly disliked him.)
Brian couldn't hate anyone.
He stared longingly at the sign up sheet and shook his head violently. Sure, glee had been great. He'd befriended people he wouldn't have even dreamed of talking to before. He got to play drums whenever he wanted and he finally got a girlfriend. Or three.
But something didn't feel right anymore.
Maybe it was listening to Mary's rants about how screwed up glee had made her that was making him hate it too. Second hand hatred. And since he'd agreed with her all along, she'd surely dump him now he didn't.
Looking away from the signup sheet, he looked up and down the corridor.
None of these people were going to sign up. Not even losers signed up. Then he saw something that didn't leave his mind for the entire day.
Bella.
She didn't look like Bella anymore, and she certainly didn't act like Bella anymore. But it was definitely Bella.
She was smoking, and answering back to Figgins.
But Bella hated smoking, and Bella hated answering back?
Brian shook his head and turned on his heel, almost running up the opposite way of the corridor.
'Glee did this to her,' he thought to himself. 'Mary was right all along.'
0000000000000000
Faith sat in Figgins office, twiddling her thumbs and rolling her tongue. Figgins sat opposite her, tapping the table.
"Why did you set Will Schuesters desk on fire?" he asked.
"Because he's an asshole." replied Faith matter of factly, folding her arms across her chest defensively.
Will sat on the couch in the corner, looking at the palms of his hands. Faith turned to him and glared.
"You forced Stephanie and Mollie to move." she snapped. Will looked up, shocked.
"What?! Of course I didn't!" he exclaimed, standing up and looking between Figgins and Faith. Faith stood up too. She wasn't a short kid, but she still had to look up at Will.
"Yes you did! They would never have left if glee club wasn't around! Stephanie was the most popular kid in school and glee ruined that!" she shouted up at him, pushing him back towards the door.
"Miss Connors, you stop that this instant or you will be expelled! You are already looking at suspension for this mornings inferno." called Figgins from behind her. Faith turned to face him, shook her head, then turned to Will and looked him up and down.
"I don't need this bullshit." she snapped, pushing past Will and storming out of the office, throwing the secretary's phone against the wall as she left.
"That's another phone I'll need to replace for Anita. We're already on our way to beating last years record of six." sighed Figgins, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling in defeat.
"Don't suspend her, Figgins. Please, she's not a bad kid. Give her time." begged Will. Figgins sat up in his seat and stared at him.
"You don't want her suspended?"
"No."
Figgins sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time that day and stood up.
"Alright, but you need to discipline her in some way." he agreed.
"Already on it." smiled Will faintly, leaving the office in a slightly more civilised way.
Faith stalked up the hallway, a face like thunder. All around her were happy couples. Brian and Mary were nestled together strolling up the hallway, Una and that hockey guy were making out by the water fountain and Beck and whatever Cheerio he was with this week were pressed up against her locker, doing God knows what.
"Move, Drama." she snapped. Beck looked over the blonde girls shoulder to see Faith standing in front of them, arms folded across her chest, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Hi Faith, how are you?" he tried smiling at her. She rolled her eyes.
"Trying to be nice to each other for glee's sake, is over. Get out of the way." she tutted, nodding at her locker. The Cheerio removed herself from around Beck's neck, glared at Faith and stormed off.
"I'm not trying to be nice, what is up with you?" he asked, moving away from her locker. She pulled the door open and glared at him.
"Look across the hall. There's Larks from the hockey team shoving his tongue down Una's throat. Your Una. The girl you love. That hurts right?" she muttered. Beck glanced across the hall and nodded.
"Then put yourself in my shoes. My girlfriend moved across the country without even saying goodbye. I didn't even get her address, and she changed her number. At least you get to see Una everyday. I don't get to see Stephanie ever. The girl I love."
There was real hurt in Faith's voice, and she swiped at her eyes to remove the tears that were forming. Beck patted her on the back awkwardly and whispered something like 'I'm sorry' before running off down the hall.
'Fuck Stephanie,' thought Faith, slamming the door closed and marching off to class. 'I don't need anyone.'
As she walked up the hall, some dumb chick with long brown hair slammed into her, dropping her books all over the floor.
"Watch it!" yelled the girl, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Get lost." replied Faith, pushing past her and walking up the hall. She turned back to see the girl. She was cute, she thought, as she watched her pick up her books off the floor. She shook her head violently and carried on walking.
'I don't need anyone.' she thought again, opening the door to Biology class.
0000000000000000
Flynn and Lily held hands as they stood in front of the glee sign up sheet.
"'Will Schuester, life destroyer?"' read Lily, looking up at the yellow slip of paper.
"I hate this place." muttered Flynn.
"Are we seriously the only two that want to go back? I mean, I know some people left but look there's Beck, and there's Una, and there's Brian. Oh hi Faith!" Lily replied, waving to Faith animatedly as she walked past. But Faith didn't even acknowledge her existence; it was like in The Sixth Sense the way no one talks to Bruce Willis, she just completely ignored her and kept walking. Flynn sighed and they continued walking.
"Maybe the others haven't noticed yet?" he thought aloud.
"I'd put at least five dollars on either Mary or Faith being the ones who wrote that. Face it, there is no glee club." replied Lily, resting her head on his shoulder. Flynn shook his head, making Lily stand up straight quickly.
"No way! We're going to get this club started again! If Mr Schue can build something from nothing, so can we!" he declared, nodding triumphantly.
"Calm down squirt, think about this logically. There's no one within a square mile of this dump that would even dream of joining." she replied.
"Yes there is! What about the kids who will do anything to fit in? We were those kids last year, Lil', we can do it!"
Lily shook her head and let go of his hand.
"I don't know, Flynn. After what happened at Regionals…"
"Forget about Regionals! Thats done now! We need to get the gang back together, and get some new faces to mix things up a little. Please tell me you're with me?" he insisted, looking at her with the worst puppy dog eyes ever.
Lily exhaled gently and folded her arms. She could see where he was coming from, but was it worth risking the shred of popularity she had? She shrugged and closed her eyes before opening them again slowly.
"I'm with you." she smiled gently, taking his hand. He kissed her, delighted, and spun her around. She laughed.
"This is going to be great! We're gonna make this work, I promise!" he grinned, letting go of her hand and running off to his locker.
"I'll see you at lunch break!" she called after him, smiling. He waved back at her, still running up the hallway. Lily chuckled and walked to her locker, taking her books out and heading off to class herself.
0000000000000000
Una opened her locker and reapplied her lipstick, pulled out her math books and prepared for class. She could see a pair of red Converse shoes from under the door, and she tried a smile and closed the door.
"Not now I've got class," she forced a laugh, expecting to see Jeremy standing there. Jeremy never tired, she'd noticed. And it was beginning to take it's toll on her. Seriously, the guy could go for hours. She shuddered internally. He'd spent the whole weekend pressuring her into putting out for him, but to no avail. Beck had never done that to her…
'No. You hate Beck. Beck's an asshole.' she thought to herself. She prepared herself for what felt like round 37 of tonsil tennis with Jeremy. But it wasn't Jeremy. It was someone very different.
"I thought you'd always have time for me Donnelly." chuckled the bouffant haired boy standing in front of her.
"DECLAN!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.
Declan Sheehan had been at the same foster home as Una back in Dublin, and they were like two peas in a pod. When she had moved to Ohio, it broke his heart, like he'd lost a sister. Now he had also been adopted by two Americans, and after a brief stint in Dalton that had come to an end after he had crashed into the principal accidentally on purpose, Declan had enrolled at McKinley High.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking along with him to class.
Declan told her the whole story of how he'd ended up in Ohio, until eventually they were both sat next to each other in Math class. The teacher walked into the room and began welcoming the students back; no one really listened because they were all too busy nattering about summer break. While Una was in the middle of explaining her break up with Beck, she felt something hit the back of her head. It was a scrunched up note from Flynn that read;
Auditorium at 3:30, the New Directions are BACK!
She turned around in her chair and nodded enthusiastically at him.
"Can Declan come?" she mouthed at him, gesturing at her friend. Flynn nodded in return and they both smiled excitedly at each other.
"You're joining glee club by the way." she smiled up at Declan, folding the note and placing it in her notebook. Declan raised an eyebrow, and nodded slowly.
"I better not live to regret that agreement." he warned her, opening his book as the lesson began.
000000000000000
Lily sat in her car at lunchbreak, waiting for Flynn. They had agreed that this was to be their meeting point for lunch today, mainly because they could pig out as much as they wanted and no one could see them apart from each other. Relationship goals, right there.
Her ears perked up when she heard a noise next to her. The car next to hers to be exact. Sat in the front seat was a blonde haired boy, holding a Greek yoghurt singing one of the best renditions of 'Stay With Me' she'd ever heard before, using the spoon as a microphone and every now and then taking a spoonful without even stopping the performance. She rolled down her car window and started throwing raisins at his window to get his attention. It wasn't working; he was really into his performance. Or maybe he was just too into the yoghurt.
"HEY DUDE." she yelled at him, he looked across, jumped and pulled his headphones out, rolling down the window.
"Sorry, was I bothering you?" he asked, nervously. Lily smiled.
"No, not at all. You're kickass, do you know that?" she replied, leaning her arm out the car door. The boy smiled, and hung his head, embarrassed.
"Thanks," he mumbled. "I'm Ryan."
"I'm Lily," she replied. "Say, would you be interested in joining glee club?" Ryan's face fell and he shrugged.
"Isn't glee kinda for losers? I don't want to get made fun of..." he stuttered, playing with his spoon. Lily shook her head.
"No! Glee's awesome, everyone wants to be in it, right Flynn?" she lied, looking to Flynn who'd just sat in next to her.
"Sure. I mean we don't just take anyone!" he joked, winking at him. Ryan raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.
"I guess so… Okay I'll join!" he smiled.
"Great, auditorium, 3:30. Don't be late!" beamed Lily, as Ryan got out of his car and walked back inside.
"Bingo." grinned Flynn, fist bumping Lily as they tucked into their sandwiches.
00000000000000000
Faith sat on the bleachers, in the exact spot she and Stephanie had first kissed. She watched the footballers training and the Cheerios practicing, eating Skittles like there was no tomorrow.
"Hey." She hadn't even noticed Una sitting on the bench behind hers. She looked up at the small Irish girl that she'd taken an instant shine to last year and sighed. Glee had brought them all together but also completely torn them all apart.
"Hi," she replied solemnly. "What do you want?"
"Just to spend lunch with you. Like old times, y'know?" smiled Una, moving down to sit next to her and offering her a Jolly Rancher. Faith shook her head at the bag and offered Una one of her Skittles.
"So how was your summer, Donnelly?" she asked, picking at a rip in her jeans. Una shrugged and pulled a red Skittle out of the bag.
"It was alright. Ups and downs. You?"
"Awful." snapped Faith quickly, looking in the opposite direction. Una looked at her sadly before glancing down onto the football field.
"Break ups suck ass, huh?" she muttered. Faith looked back at her. She was staring down onto the pitch, watching Beck's every move.
"Totally. Why did you two break up? You seemed really happy." she asked, pulling a Jolly Rancher from Una's bag. Una shrugged, not taking her eyes off the field.
"We just kept arguing. All the time. And then one day he made a bad comment at a bad time and I flipped." she whispered, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
"You still love him, don't you?" Faith asked outright. Una's gaze broke away abruptly and she stared at Faith. The question had caught her off guard. Faith held her eye contact with an all knowing smile before raising an eyebrow. Una nodded slowly and tutted.
"It's whatever. I'm with Jeremy now." she shrugged. Faith rolled her eyes.
"Larks. And I thought Drama was a dick. You're an idiot, Donnelly." she laughed. Una really wanted to make a sassy comment back, but she knew she couldn't.
"So, would you be interested in rejoining Glee club?" she asked outright. Faith's eyes grew angry immediately.
"Glee club is the reason Stephanie moved and you know that." she snapped.
"No it wasn't! She moved because-"
Una never got to finish her sentence. Faith stood up and slapped her hard across the face, standing over her and panting.
"I will never set foot in that choir room again. D'you hear me Donnelly? Never. How dare you for even asking. Fuck you, and all the glee club. I hope you all fail at everything for the year. Don't even dream of crying to me about it after." she ranted, before storming off. Una sat, cupping her face trying to cool it down and looked up about 10 seconds later upon hearing a familiar voice.
"Are you okay? I could get you some ice? A glass of water? Holy shit she really hit you hard."
Beck kneeled down in front of her, lifting his hand to cup her face. Una froze and they stared at each other for a while, not saying anything. Then, Una swatted his hand away, before standing up. Beck stood up too, and they looked at each other for a very long time before Una pushed past him.
"I'm fine. I don't need your help." she snapped.
"Well I'm sorry that I still give a shit about you." he snarled at her. She turned to face him again, still holding onto her stinging cheek.
"I'm sorry you do too." she replied moodily, storming off.
0000000000000000
Mary sat outside Will Schuesters office, bracing herself for what she was about to do. She tried to channel every negative emotion she had felt against Glee club for the past year and use it all on this one altercation. She took a deep breath and pulled on the handle.
Will looked up from the tests he was correcting to see the little red head barge into the room. She had a face like thunder and she pulled the chair out opposite him and sat down.
"I just wanted to let you know that it was my biggest regret doing glee club." she began, folding her arms across her chest. Will leaned back in his chair and joined his hands together.
"Glee club wasn't the cause of your problems. Glee club wasn't the reason you're parents broke up. If anything glee club was your outlet, your escape." he countered, holding her furious gaze.
"No it wasn't. I'm never setting foot in that choir room again." she snapped. Will stood up and walked towards the door, pulling it open.
"Well I'm sorry to hear that. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave now. That's all you wanted to say to me, right?" he asked defiantly, holding the door open and gesturing for her to leave. Mary stood up and adjusted her jacket.
"Thats all. Have fun running another group of kids into the ground." she hissed, storming out. Will watched her leave and then closed the door slowly, sitting on the floor in a quiet strop. He was furious, but sad. He knew Mary would come around eventually, but that didn't mean her words hurt any less.
Mary stormed down the hall and barged into the girls toilets, locking herself in a cubicle and bursting into tears. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed loudly, trying to muffle the sound. There was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" she choked, wiping her eyes and sniffing.
She then jumped and looked up at a noise in the cubicle next to her. Sue was peering over the top of the wall, looking down at her, standing on top of the toilet.
"What are you doing in here? Get to class!" she yelled at her. Mary jumped up and unlocked the door of her cubicle.
"You can't just do that!" she exclaimed, as Sue stood over her. Mary cowered away from her.
"I heard your little spat with Will Schuester just then. About how you're never going back to Glee club?"
Mary raised an eyebrow and began to nod.
"Yes… you're point?"
"Well, I was wondering if you'd do me a little favour…"
0000000000000000
Brian sat in the library, using his free period to cram for a Chemistry test. He had piles of books all around him and had his head buried in a book when he sensed someone sit opposite him. He looked up, and the one and only Flynn McCormack sat in front of him. Flynn chanced a smile and leaned across the desk.
"What are you studying for?" he asked, holding his smile. Brian looked at him briefly before going back to his books.
"Chemistry." he replied solemnly, not looking up from his book. Flynn's smile faltered slightly and he drummed his fingers on the desk.
"Listen Brian I-"
"No. Don't try and get on my good side. Not after everything that's happened." snapped Brian, slamming his book shut. Flynn looked startled and sat back in his chair slightly.
"I just wanted to talk to you about glee club." mumbled Flynn. Brian raised an eyebrow and looked around for eavesdroppers.
"What about glee club?" he questioned, leaning over the desk slightly. Flynn shrugged.
"Me and Lily were trying to get a few of us back together. I know we can do it this year, Brian." he replied, looking the other boy directly in the eye, his tone earnest. Brian sighed.
"That's never going to happen. We crashed and burned last time. No one's going to want to be in the same room as each other." he whispered. Flynn rolled his eyes.
"No! We're going to start afresh. This is our year!"
Brian raised his eyebrows again and shrugged. "What makes you think you can get the gang back together?" he asked. Flynn's smile faltered for the second time and he shrunk back into his seat again.
"Please Brian? Just do it for me?" he asked.
The second he'd said it, he'd regretted it. That was the worst thing he could have said. Brian saw red and stood up from his desk, nostrils flared, eyes blazing. He grabbed Flynn by the collar of his shirt and dragged him from his seat, staring him directly in the eye and muscling into him, so they were nearly nose to nose. His words would stay with Flynn for days;
"I will NEVER do anything for you McCormack. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. You're the reason I'm not setting foot in that choir room again, and you're the reason last year was so miserable for me. If anything, you've put me off rejoining. Now take yourself, and your books, and get out of my sight." he hissed. Flynn nodded rapidly and shook himself free from Brian's grip. Snatching his books from the desk, he made a beeline for the door. Just before he'd opened it, Brian called his name. He turned slowly to face him.
"Don't come looking for something from me again. You know what the answer will be." he added, with a hint of a smirk. Flynn nodded sadly and left the library.
0000000000000000
Bella sat under the bleachers during her free period, smoking and drawing swirls in the dust on the ground. She looked up as she heard footsteps, and saw Lily making her way over. Bella put out her cigarette and sat up. Lily smiled shyly and sat next to her.
"Hey." mumbled Bella, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"Hi." replied Lily, crossing her legs and leaning her head on the pole behind her. Bella glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and sighed.
"What do you want?" she asked, trying to keep the 'tough girl' persona up. Lily looked at her sadly as she lit another cigarette.
"What happened to you? You don't talk to anyone all summer and then you come back to school like this? Why?" she asked. Bella exhaled and blew smoke all over Lily, who coughed and swiped the fumes away.
"I don't need friends. I don't need anyone. The only thing glee club taught me was that you can't trust anyone. No one cares about anyone but themselves." she hissed, tipping the ash off her cigarette and taking another puff.
"That's not it, is it?" replied Lily. Bella glared at her and blew out more smoke.
"Yes it is. You know it's true." she snapped, going to stand up. Lily stood up with her and followed her across the football field towards the school.
"You're only doing this to get the attention of your parents! Don't think I haven't noticed them not being around as much as they should! You're doing this in the fervent hope that they might turn around and show you a bit of empathy." she called. Bella stopped walking and threw her cigarette on the ground, stomping it out. She slowly turned to face Lily.
"I don't need them." she muttered, folding her arms across her chest. Lily sighed and shook her head.
"Remember when you used to tell me everything, Bel? And I told you everything? And we were best friends? Because I miss those days. I miss that Bella. What happened to that Bella?" she asked, leaning her head to one side, a lonely, sad look on her face. Bella gulped and began to walk closer to Lily again.
"She realised that life's fucking hard. And you have to be one of the strong ones to survive." she whispered, standing right in front of Lily, tears forming in her eyes. Lily reached out and took hold of her hands.
"And does the new Bella realise that sometimes its good friends that make you a strong one?" she smiled. Bella wiped away tears from her eyes using her shoulder and then broke down in Lily's arms.
"I don't like the new Bella." she wailed as Lily sat down in the grass with her cradled in her arms. She chuckled, stroking her friends hair.
"Neither do I. Seriously kid, did you just buy all the black eyeliner in Sephora?"
Bella laughed and sat up again. "You know how in The Breakfast Club, Claire takes Allison away and cleans her up, but somehow manages to make her look worse?"
Lily nodded. "You want me to clean you up but make you look like the real Bella again, and not like Ally Sheedy, because seriously, she looked like she was wearing a pyjama top at the end of that movie and it ruined everything." Bella laughed again and nodded.
"Yes please."
"Sure. On one condition?" smiled Lily. Bella narrowed her eyes.
"What's that…"
"Meet me in the auditorium at 3.30."
"Why?"
"You'll see."
000000000000
Brian, Mary and Faith sat in Sue's office at the end of the day, all with their hands placed neatly on their laps, looking terrified.
"Nice to see you all." drawled Sue, sitting back in her chair, hands pressed together. Brian glanced at Faith who shrugged. Mary had coaxed them both to come with her, and neither had any idea what they were doing.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Mary, looking at the other two she'd dragged to the meeting with her. Sue smiled sneakily and stood up.
"Believe it or not, Will Schuester has actually managed to recruit a number of new members, without even knowing it."
The three of them looked at each other confused and then looked back to Sue.
"But the signup sheet was empty?" questioned Mary, sitting up in her chair slightly. Sue shrugged and poured herself a glass of water, without offering the other three any.
"Well if you'd kept your eyes and ears open all day, you'd know that the blond Potato and his girlfriend have been recruiting new members all day." she replied. Mary's eyes widened in disbelief while the other two shrunk back into their seats guiltily. She looked at them suspiciously.
"You two knew about this, didn't you?" she said, narrowing her eyes. Brian shook his head violently, but Faith nodded slowly.
"Yeah, Donnelly asked me to rejoin." she shrugged. Mary glared from her to Brian. He sighed in defeat.
"Flynn asked me to come back." Mary tutted and sat back into her seat. Sue took a sip of water and sat back down again.
"It doesn't matter who's joined. It's about how many you three can get to quit before their first competition. You've got six weeks. I'll be wanting daily progress reports as you go along." she demanded. The three of them looked at one another and nodded slowly. They got up to leave and as they got to the door, Sue called them back.
"There'll be a reward in this for all of you if you succeed. Don't let your heads get turned by the poppy show tunes about how great the world is. And don't let yourselves think that Will Schuester is a nice man."
"We won't." smiled Mary defiantly, nodding her head.
"Good. Now get the hell out of my office."
0000000000000000
Will stared at the back wall of the auditorium, the empty signup sheet clasped in his hand. He sighed and stood up to leave, turning around and facing the back of the stage. Then, he heard a voice.
"Where ya goin', Mr Schue?"
He turned around and saw Flynn walking down the aisle of the auditorium, his guitar swung over his shoulder. He smiled sadly and shrugged.
"There's no point Flynn, glee club is over." he conceded.
"No it isn't," Lily walked out from the right hand side of the stage, smiling broadly.
"Not if we have anything to do with it," giggled Bella, walking out from the right hand side too, her eyeliner all gone and a smile plastered across her face. Will laughed in disbelief.
"It's too bad if you don't want to help us anymore," beamed Una, walking out from the other side of the stage, joined by Declan who smiled shyly.
"Because me, and Ryan," he began, gesturing up to the other side of the auditorium where the other boy stood smiling. "...would really like to give this a try."
Will looked around at the six kids who had joined an rejoined him as they all made their way to the centre of the stage. The three girls sat on the battered old couch, the three boys at the back.
"Now please, take a seat." smiled Ryan, nodding at the front row. Will narrowed his eyes and jumped off the stage, sitting into the seat. It was only then that he realised their outfits.
Flynn was Ross.
Lily was Rachel.
Ryan was Chandler.
Una was Monica.
Declan was Joey.
And Bella was Phoebe.
"Of course!" he laughed, as the familiar guitar chords of one of the most famous theme tunes of all time tuned in.
Flynn sang the first verse. All six of them joined in for the iconic four claps after the first line.
So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but
They all joined in for the chorus, the boys singing the second line, the girls the fourth and all of them the sixth, all dancing together around the couch just like they did in the show.
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)
Bella sang the next verse, sitting on the edge on the stage and singing right to Mr Schue.
You're still in bed at ten and work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast, so far things are going great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees and
They all sang the chorus together again, Ryan and Declan jumping down to pull Will up with them.
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)
Lily: No one could ever know me
Una: No one could ever see me
Both: Seems you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me
Declan: Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with
Ryan: Someone I'll always laugh with
All:Even at my worst, I'm best with you, Yeah!
Will sang the next two lines, sitting into the couch and smiling around at the six kids who were prepared to risk their social status to do what they loved.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year
The six teens pulled him up again and they all danced around the stage. At the back of the auditorium, Beck sat alone, shrunk down into his seat so no one could see him. He looked longingly up on stage and sighed, standing up and leaving, but not before taking one last look at what could have been.
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)
Brian, Mary and Faith stood with Sue in the exact spot that Quinn, Santana and Brittany had stood in Season One; Mary and Sue glaring, Brian and Faith looking a little sad. Will jumped off the stage before the final chorus, taking his seat in the front row again.
I'll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you
(Like I've been there before)
I'll be there for you
('Cause you're there for me too)
The six kids sat on the couch together as the song ended, and as the music drew to a close they all cheered and hugged each other.
"Good guys," smiled Will. "But there's still more work to do. Lot's more."
He smiled and folded his arms, satisfied.
This was going to work.
He just knew it.
So there it is. Was it okay? I think I might be a little rusty, but what can ya do, eh? ;)
Songs featured:
The Rembrandts- I'll Be There For You
I'll try and be back again as quick as I can!
Totally Awesome
So The Drama.