This is a spin-off of 3 Little Words. Its what happens at Regionals and the events following from Rachel's perspective.
So Happy Reading to you all :)
Disclaimer: No I don't own Glee. Yet...
Today was the day that Rachel had been dreading for a long time now: Regionals. You might think she'd be dreading it because she was worried about losing. Oh no, Rachel was confident they'd win. They finally had Kurt back, and they had Blaine as a new addition. Plus her duet with Finn was flawless. Well, at least she was.
No, what she was worried about was coming face to face with her past. She'd have to face Sunshine, who could have been a member of New Directions, until Rachel drove her into the evil clutches of Dustin Goolsby who replaced her mother as the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, their rival team. Her mother… she hadn't spoken to her in a while, not since Regionals last year. Rachel thought they were going to be friends at least… apparently not.
And then the worst of it: Jesse St James. Rachel knew Jesse (at least she thought she did) and there was no doubt in her mind that he would come to Regionals. He would come to see how his old team was faring without him, maybe even bring Shelby along with him and they would sit in the back row and mock every little flaw that no one else besides them would notice.
Rachel was happy. For one of the first times in her life she really felt like things were falling into place. She had a good boyfriend in Finn, great friends in Kurt, Blaine, Tina and Mercedes, and a solo that she was going to absolutely kill (in the best way possible) this afternoon. Sure, she had her heart tossed away several times and he mother didn't want her, and she received a slushie in her face frequently (less since dating Finn but still…). But in spite of all this she was happy, and she didn't want her past to mess it all up.
But there wasn't much she could do to stop it…
When they arrived at Regionals she was so nervous she started to shake. Finn guessed it was just nerves and he held her hand as they signed in. They found out first performing was the Warblers, the Vocal Adrenaline, then New Directions.
Everyone started groaning because they thought that was a bad thing. Rachel tried to reassure them until Santana told her to shut up. Rachel fought of the urge to cry. Finn squeezed her hand tighter. They went to sit down in the theatre but Rachel excused herself. She went to the green room and retrieved her costume, wishing luck to all the Warblers. Most of them tried to hit on her but she scurried out of there before she had to respond.
In the bathroom getting ready were all the Vocal Adrenaline girls. Rachel saw Sunshine applying make up. Rachel went up to her and told her
"Sunshine, I am sorry about everything that happened with us, and I just wanted to say good luck" Before Sunshine could respond Rachel flew into a stall and dressed herself quickly in the costumes that she helped pick out.
Of course they were no match for Vocal Adrenaline's but they weren't too shabby. The girls wore bright yellow and white gauzy dresses that fell above the knee. Under they wore black leggings and strappy black heels. They all wore their hair out with a black bow hair head band.
When Rachel was changed all the Vocal Adrenaline members were already in the green room so she had the bath room to herself. She did her hair and make up and when she was good to go she did some vocal runs to warm up her voice, praying no one would walk in. When she was sufficiently warmed up she exited the bathroom and went out into the theatre.
She saw the Warblers were nearly finished and she told Mr. Schuester she was already warmed up and ready and that she needed to watch the Vocal Adrenaline performances. Mr. Schuester told her it was okay, and that she should hum to herself to keep her voice warm. She agreed and when the Warblers finished the rest of New Directions went to the green room leaving Rachel behind. Finn kissed her cheek as he went past. She loved that he was so understanding.
And she relaxed in her seat as the Vocal Adrenaline performance was about to begin. She watched their performances with rapt attention silently critiquing them. The first song was Pyramid that Sunshine sang as a solo. It was very good but she was a little shaky on the choreography. Her runs were flawless though, Rachel had to admit it. Though Rachel could have done a better job…
The next song was All that Jazz from Chicago. Rachel loved that song and Sunshine sang it well with back up from the rest of them. The last song was The Show Must Go On by Queen. Rachel rolled her eyes. Just as New Directions, rather overused Journey, Vocal Adrenaline had sung nearly every Queen Song there was. But still Rachel felt a little pang in her chest. Jesse loved Queen. And he sang it so well…
That thought brought tears in her eyes that she struggled to not let out. She let a few fall and wiped her eyes vigorously to prevent any more slipping out. Then she realized her eyes must be red. But she had to go back stage. She hummed to herself as she made her way to the green room.
When she arrived everyone was ready and Mr. Schuester was giving them a pep talk. She went to the sink and mirror they kept there for last minute primping and she washed her face and was grateful for water proof mascara. She then went and sat in Finn's lap and listened to the end of the pep talk which left something to be desired…
But then she forgot everything. The pep talk, Sunshine, Jesse, Shelby, Vocal Adrenaline… it was time to go on.