She's nervous. Nervous is an understatement. She's petrified. This is the last time she has to win this, her entire high school career came down to this. She knew this was coming, she shouldn't be nervous, except she was. She had A few theories why. Number one, stage freight witch is completely normal. Number two, it isn't the right song. She hates the song she's singing as a solo, it means nothing to her; it's honestly a bunch of lyrics she has to sing. Number three, last year's round of events. She knows it was a huge mistake considering they broke up only after five months. She actually broke up with him, it felt right. While she's pacing furiously the rest of her team mates are debating. "Just let her sing what she wants, we all know that song sucks" Kurt crosses his arms. "I agree, Rachel is an excellent performer and we're better off with her winging it with a song she cares for instead of some random eighties song" Blaine chucks in his two sense. "You only agree because you two are fucking" Santana rolls her eyes. "Come on san, Rachel's really good" Brittney lays a gentle hand on the Latina's arm, she sighs. "Fine" she agrees. "Raise your hand if you agree" Kurt announces, almost everyone raises their hand, except Finn. "We can't just change it behind 's back" he argues. "Oh shove it orca" Santana rolls her eyes at him, it's settled. "I'll go tell her!"
"Rachel" she jumps a little and turns to see Kurt, she offers a smile. "We all agreed as a team, that you should sing what you want to" he tells her, her mouth pops open. "You're all allowing me to wing it? At nationals?" she questions him. He smiles. "Thank you" she whispers to him with a glimmer of a tear in her eye. "I'm going to hug you now"
She clenches and un clenches the microphone In her hand, the bedazzled microphone leaving marks in her palm and then fading quickly. "Please welcome McKinley High school's New directions!" the crowd gives a gentle applause, and it's show time.
I miss your soft lips, I miss your white sheets
I miss the scratch of your Curly hair on my cheek
And this is so hard 'cause I didn't see
That you were the love of my life and it kills me
She knows exactly what's she's doing. She heard this song on the radio one night, and cried herself to sleep. She assumed she'd always have her entire life to figure things out, decode life's mysteries. Except the love aspect of it all, took only one song and four years. She'd never would have guessed that Ke$ha the drunken pop star would help her realize it.
I see your face in strangers on the street
I still say your name when I'm talking in my sleep
And in the limelight I play it off fine
But I can't handle it when I turn off my nightlight
But I can't handle it when I turn off my nightlight
She remembers one night she went to see a play with Kurt, he'd offered to take her knowing the state she was in, the after math of Rachel berry's breakups were massive and horrific. She had watched the show, and would still tell you she saw him, He was in the background, one of the dancers, she asked Kurt about it, if he had seen him too, and even looked in the playbill for his name, Kurt didn't see him and his name was not in the playbill. It started to get worse; she'd swear she saw him in a Starbucks, or the music store where they had met.
They say that true love hurts
Well, this could almost kill me
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
The team is in the green room listening to their co-captain belt out the song. Kurt gets brought to tears a few times, and Blaine squeezes Kurt closer and kissing him on the check, which Kurt smiles at. Rachel's thrown herself into the song, her eyes staying at the back of the auditorium, An old trick to make it seem like you were looking at the audience but you actually weren't. She knows he's here. With his team, Vocal adrenaline, the team that damned them. She hated vocal adrenaline, she down right loathed them.
The life is fading from me
While you watch my heart bleed
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
They've actually barricaded Finn in the corner with chairs, the boys are all siting around him, he actually tried to leave and stop Rachel from singing. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Finn caught off guard by puck gave him a sneer. "She doesn't need you, Give it up. Hell is she doesn't need the puckasouraus's love she doesn't need yours. I think we both know who's she does need though. And I'll be damned if you try to screw this up Again. We've got the Irish kid, we don't need you to go on with us and I'm open to breaking a few limbs" he tells his former best friend. Finn pouts in the corner, like a five year old. Meanwhile Sugar is thinking of ways to get him alone.
Remember the time we jumped the fence when
The Stones were playing and we were too broke to get in
You held my hand and they made me cry while
I swore to God it was the best night of my life
Or when you took me across the world we
Promised that this would last forever but now I see
It was my past life, a beautiful time
Drunk off of nothing but each other 'til the sunrise
Drunk off of nothing but each other 'til the sunrise
"We'd tour the world, it would be a tragedy if the entire world didn't get to have the honor of seeing us perform together" she rolls her eyes and lets out a giggle. "You know it's true" he tells her laying a trail on kisses down her neck, he discovered after a few weeks of dating she liked that, So he did it constantly, she was putty in his hands. "It would have to Either Wicked, West side story, or Romeo and Juliet. Something to really show the world how star crossed we really are" she tells him. "Agreed, I think we'd both own those characters, and wouldn't be missing any emotional depth" now he's slightly teasing her, she smacks his chest. "We both know I wasn't missing anything at sectionals. I was flawless and you don't want to admit it" she tells him. "Maybe so, I guess you'll never know" he smiles at her before softly kissing her neck.
They say that true love hurts
Well, this could almost kill me
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
The life is fading from me
While you watch my heart bleed
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
The green room is quiet; you could hear a feather drop. Rachel's voice coming through the speakers silenced them, the raw emotion pouring into their ears. No one could deny the girl had talent for conveying every little thing she owned into a song. Kurt wasn't the only one who had shed a tear, almost everyone was secretly thinking about their relationships, Tina looked at mike and he took her hand and she snuggled closer, Sam glanced over at Quinn who was already looking at him, they both offered each other smile. Artie gave a sheepish smile to Britney who returned it. Finn was still stewing in the corner, mad at himself for treating Rachel as he did, mad for not making her feel like she wanted to. Mad that he could never truly give her what she needed. Rory looked over at puck, who shrugged, Rory had no idea what was going on. He just kept listening to Rachel sing.
It was a past life
A beautiful time
Drunk off of nothing but each other 'til the sunrise
'Til the sunrise
They say that true love hurts
Well, this could almost kill me
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
She opens her eyes, and she sees him. He's watching her, he's been watching her. He had been standing in the back watching her sing, He had heard about the huge final break up, it had made its way to the halls of Carmel, and everyone was convinced they had Nationals in the bag, even more than they already thought. Jesse knew better though, He refused to let his team slack off. He knew Rachel would bring that emotional depth to whatever she did. He wasn't initially interesting in what she was singing, He would have never guessed she would ever sing ke$ha, he had heard this song a few times before, the Harold song. He knew a good portion of the lyrics. And He knew the second line of the song wasn't about curly hair, he was pretty sure it was something along the lines of an unshaven face. This song wasn't about Finn, it was about him. She was singing about him. He was hooked; he had gradually made his way upfront. He had stolen a seat in the first few rows. He watched her as tear slid down her face; she had furrowed her eyebrows and pouring emotion out of herself. He watches her eyes open again, this time somehow they're on him, their eyes meet and He hears a new edge to her voice, he's just given her the final winning necessity that she had given him his senior year.
The life is fading from me
While you watch my heart bleed
Young love murdered, that is what this must be
I would give it all to not be sleeping alone, alone
She smiles at the applause. Her team has filed on behind her now, "Ladies and gentlemen, the new directions!" she announces getting in form with them.
They Win. He'd known it since they looked each other. The new directions are ecstatic, The did it, they finally fucking did it. Santana said it was the entire team, but she knew along with the rest of the team it was really Rachel that had given them the win. She hates to admit it to herself. She saunters up to her. "Why are you still here?" she asks the petite brunette, who's face falls. "last time I check, vocal adrenaline's pissing match is over there, not here" she tells her, Rachel smiles, Santana almost peels off Rachel's hug, but she can't find herself to. She shrugs as Rachel takes off.
She walks down the white painted hallways towards Vocal adrenaline's green room. "You were flat, I told you to work on that and your ego got in the way, and look what happened. You disgust me get back in the room" he sighs standing with his back almost against the wall. The student with dark dreadlocks rolls his eyes and goes back into the room. He's flipping through his clipboard, "Congratulations" he says, she jumps a little, she hasn't even made it to him yet. "Thank you" she nods. "Was I lacking any emotional depth?" she asks, she's trying to keep the mood light. "None that I could find" he tells her. "Your team was amazing" she tells him. "I know" she's not sure what angle she's going to have to work to get to him. "-But you Somehow managed to Blow my team out the park in a single solo, and I am taking credit for some of that" he tells her. She's about to argue with what he said, when he breaks the second of silence. "Winging it is a very gutsy thing to do" he tells her setting the clipboard down. "I know" she nods. "Good. Because this relationship is going to be one hell of a roller coaster, Considering Who's in it" it takes a second for her to break out into a smile. She breaks out into a run connecting the space between them; he embraces the girl in his arms, inhaling her enchanting smell. He kisses her softly, "What took you so long?"
