So I didn't think I was going to do another chapter, but I had people asking to know what Shelby would have said to VA. I still wasn't planning on it, but then I was sitting there and another plot bunny bit me, and it sounded a lot like Shelby. (Or what my version of Shelby sounds like.)

So I did this in a little less then an hour. I may do some more small parts/chapters to this but I am not sure yet. I was so sure that I wasn't going to write this and now look at me...


Hard Truths

Shelby, Jesse, and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. New directions isn't in this chapter, just talked about briefly. They'll (and Rachel/Puck) will be in the next one chapter/part. If I write it. :P


Shelby walked into the room and all of the kids quieted down. They expected her to go into their pre-performance pep talk and visualization. But instead she paced back and forth in the front of the room every now and then glancing at them all before continuing.

She did this for several moments before standing still and turning to look at them.

Shelby knew how to do a performance, and they were all focused on her. Just like she wanted them to be.

"Maybe we've let you get away with too much, maybe we've spoiled you all to the point where things like integrity or compassion mean nothing to you. Instead you focus on doing anything to win. That's our faults, my fault. We've been treating you like your superstars, like you're above the common. We've been treating you like adults and professionals and today it just got proved to me how much you aren't. How much like children you really are."

"Coach?" One of the girls asked, confused at what this was leading to.

"I'm talking, Corrine, not you." Shelby said then continued. "Trying to psych the competition out is one thing, so is a little meaningless and harmless prank like toilet papering their glee room. But now I find out that you assaulted someone, a girl on one of our opposing teams? A girl who is my biological daughter and all of you knew this and did it anyway." Shelby stared at them.

"Regardless of who it is, behavior like that is unacceptable. I cannot believe what all of you have done."

"It was only a joke. I can't believe they went running to you about it." Yolanda sniped. She was the lead female singer of Vocal Adrenaline and the one who had planned the egg attack and had told Jesse what to do.

"She didn't tell me, and something like that isn't a joke. Did you know they could call the police on all of you for assault? All of you could be arrested if Rachel decides to press charges. It may not be a big crime, but it will be put into your permanent record and probably cause you to loose any scholarships you would have had. It would also get you kicked off this team, because we have no tolerance for those who break the law. You're teenagers, your children, and we've been treating you like your more mature then that. So maybe you haven't learned that actions have consequences. We're you proud of yourselves for doing that? For ganging up, a group this size against one girl? We're you proud that you humiliated her? I have half a mind to call the police myself and make sure that charges are taken against everyone of you that was involved."

Shelby paused and looked at them.

"You're supposed to be better then that. You wanted to be the best, you wanted to be professional, you wanted to be stars. So we trained you, and we worked so hard with you. Trying to teach you, but we forgot to drill into your heads what the responsibilities were that came with being one of the best. You're supposed to know better. Honor, integrity, compassion, those are supposed to be our schools values. We're supposed to go out there and win because we're the best, because we work hard for it and we want it so bad, but not badly enough to not earn it. Winning means nothing if you don't earn it, if you don't work and sweat and bleed for it.

"Now you are all going to go out there and do your best. You are not going to talk to anyone who isn't on this team, you're not even going to look at anyone on this team. If I catch you doing so I will go straight to the boosters and to the principal and make sure they know exactly what kind of children they are supporting. You had better pray that they don't press charges on you, because your futures lay in her hands, the girl who you assaulted and humiliated. How does it feel to know that with one word she can ruin your future college lives? A decent college will not take you with that kind of mar on your record and I will personally make sure that they don't. You're actions have consequences, it's time you grew up and learned that. You wanted to be the best, but from where I'm standing all I see are some talented but spoiled children who were so afraid of their competition that they sunk to a level that is so low that only the talent less would be able to reach. Everyone of you disappointed me, I expected you to be stars, and you're not. Get ready to perform. You're on in thirty minutes."

Shelby said then turned and left the room not saying another word. She didn't go through the performance with them like she usually did or give them any pep speech. Instead she hoped they knew how disappointed she was with them.


"Coach! Shelby!" Jesse called, running after her.

Shelby stopped in the hallway and looked at him.

"Do you know why I chose to ask you to make friends with Rachel? Because I thought you were different from them. I look at all of you and I see your talent, and your potential, and then I see how much you all lack. All of you are flawless, perfect. But perfection isn't something to strive for all the time. The thing none of you never were able to understand is that sometimes the beauty of something is in it's imperfections, in it's flaws. You will all go out there tonight and be flawless and perfect, but you lack the emotional depth to connect with the audience. When they see and hear you sing, they see your talent, they see your skills, your hard work. They'll be impressed, and awed because of it, but they wont feel the emotion of the song. Because none of you can feel it.

"They called me soulless, you know. They thought I knew about it, thought I gave my approval. It wasn't a stretch for them to believe it, to believe I'm as soulless as the team I couch. I watch all of you and I see how fake each one of you are. I choose you, because you weren't like them. You were still able to feel, you love to sing and it shows. You wanted to be hard and soulless like them, and they were trying so hard to make sure you were and I guess I hoped that if you were friends with Rachel for a little while that wouldn't happen to you. But I see I'm too late. You feel it, hurt, pain, and guilt. I know you do, I can see it, it's in your eyes. You regret it, but that doesn't change what you did. Just a few weeks ago you sat in my car and told me you didn't want to see Rachel get hurt and now I find out that you personally made sure that she was. I'm sorry I ever asked you to do it, I wish Rachel never met you. I've caused her so much pain already and I never meant to. I don't care if you do still care about her or not, stay away from Rachel. If you don't I will make sure that no college will touch you. We've caused her enough pain, and we don't need to cause her more. So go out there and perform with the rest of the team and do your best, because if they beat you I want all of you to know that they did it because being perfect and flawless wasn't enough. Because to effect others, to be a true star, you have to be able to feel the emotions your singing. After what I've learned, I know none of you are capable of it."

"I didn't want to hurt her." Jesse said when she finally stopped talking. He was staring down at the ground, not wanting to look at her. "I feel terrible about it. It's consuming me. I thought I loved her. But then I realized that it couldn't be love if I was capable of hurting her that much. If I really loved her, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I'm sorry Shelby."

"Something you learn as you grow up? Sorry is just a word and it doesn't mean much. If you were sorry enough for it to matter, you never would have done it in the first place. But you did it. Now you get to live with it. That consuming feeling? Someday it might go away or it'll haunt you for the rest of your life, and you'll know that you destroyed something that could have meant something great to you. Take it as a life lesson, kid, and start growing up."


"It's a cutthroat world. Everyone who wants to be a star does what they have to do to make sure they get what they want. If it means hurting others, so what?" Yolanda said to the others. Some nodded but some looked uneasy.

"Is that really what you want? To be the cutthroat? To be the star that didn't earn the spotlight because of talent or hard work but because of the things you did to make sure it was you?" Jesse asked walking into the room.

"As long as I'm in the spotlight, what does it matter how I got there?" Yolanda said, turning to look at him.

"Because if that's how you get the spotlight, that moment is all you'll have. Who went on to have a long and lasting career because they stole it away from others? Someday someone more talented and more liked and someone you can't manipulate is going to come and take it all away from you, and no one will remember your name. All they'll remember is how much taht other person is better than you. I don't want that. I want it because I was so talented the part was written for me." Jesse told them all.

"Coach was right. what we did was wrong. We should have known better, and we risked a lot by doing something so childish and immature. We caused someone pain because we thought we were better. But instead we proved how much we weren't. We lost the respect of our coach, and probably anyone who has heard what we did. We're supposed to be stars, we're supposed to know better. But instead we acted like we were better and we're not. We need to grow up. Our behavior wont be acceptable in the real world, acting like we did will close more doors then it will open, and we need to start acting like professional performers instead of the teenagers we tend to forget we are. We make mistakes, but we need to learn from them." Jesse told them all, making sure to look at everyone as he spoke.

Yolanda rolled her eyes. "You do that, see how far it gets you. I'll choose my own way. Now though, we need to start getting ready and run through our warm ups again."

Jesse shook his head at her. "I feel sorry for you Yolanda, because you'll never be half as talented as Rachel Berry. While you're talented, you lack any emotional depth which makes it painful to watch you perform. Luckily for us it's quite a large group that we have performing so I'm sure nobody will be concentrating on you long enough for them to notice. I'm sure you'll someday fail dismally at a solo career because you will have no one to take the focus off how very lacking you are." Then he smiled with his show face and spun around and walked to the other side of the room and started stretching.

The others exchanged wide eyed glances before hurrying into their own spots to start their warm ups.

When Jesse caught the look on Yolanda's face his mouth stretched into a wide grin, only this time it was completely real.


So yeah, apparently I still kinda like Jesse's character. He's flawed but redeemable. He does deserve to get beaten up for the egg incident though. So maybe I'll let Puck do the honors.

I was a little worried it was a little over dramatic but then I realized who the characters I was writing were and now I'm worried it's not dramatic enough. :P But I like how it ended up, please let me know what you thought and if I should continue. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added me to their alerts, or favorites! It means a lot every time I get an email notifying me!