A/N
Thanks for the reviews, or rather, review. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, if you get pissed just drop in a review and prompt me. No suggestions as yet as to love interests but I'd still like some thoughts on options if you've got them. For the purposes of this story, Jesse is currently a senior in high school. I think it's time for Olivia to make some friends though, whatever happens, don't you?
The glee club were all gathered in the choir room, awaiting their director. Olivia stumbled in late from history and all of them turned to look at her. A ripple of embarrassment shook through her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rachel straighten up a little.
There were very few seats free, the front row was especially full. Olivia would guess that those who'd placed themselves on the front row were vying for solos, they wanted to be noticed. Suppressing a smirk, Olivia realised that she didn't need to be noticed. She must have stood awkwardly in the doorway for too long however because Santana called "What are you waiting for, do you need an invitation?"
Heat rushed to Olivia's cheeks.
Good-naturedly, Blaine gestured to the seat beside him "There's a space next to me." With a grateful smile, she scurried to take her seat just as Derek entered the room.
He didn't speak as the room fell silent just walked to the back wall and scrawled Contemporary Musical Theatre across the board. Then he slid it on its rails to the centre of the room. A couple of the boys groaned. Snapping round to face the class, Derek began "Careful of your preconceptions boys, this one is a very specific lesson. I understand your last choir director was looking at performing West Side Story for this year's musical-"
Standing, Rachel interrupted "Yes and I would like to inform you Mr Wills that I am the favourite to be cast as Maria on Jacob Ben Isreal's blog."
"That's very nice Miss Berry," Derek responded tersely "But irrelevant both because I'm unlikely to be influenced by a wannabe gossip columnist and because we are no longer doing West Side Story."
Slowly, sheepishly, Rachel lowered herself into her seat. The rest of the glee club either sniggered or leant forward shocked as Mercedes uttered "But why?"
"Well because I think it's overdone and I thought a bunch of creative high-school students might want to do something a little more this-century," Derek said, barely keeping his voice civil "So, I propose, you pitch me ideas for shows. Find a show, come and sing a song from it, I'll write it down on the board if it's a possibility and at the end of the week we'll take a vote. I have a few criteria, it must have been written in the last twenty years; that is a must. Other things I want you to think about are how much it would cost to put on and how easy it would be with this cast because, although we can find people from elsewhere in school, it is easiest to take our cast from people in this room. Also, if at all possible, give me something different. I think a lot of you kids feel like theatre isn't for you and I say, whatever type of music you like there is a musical for you. So go and find that musical. Now, have any of you got anything to start us off Miss-"
Knowing that Olivia had advanced notice, he had been about to ask her to perform but Rachel's hand shot up before he could. With a sigh, he smiled "Miss Berry, why am I not surprised? All right, you're up."
They exchanged places, Rachel taking the floor and Derek choosing a seat on the back row, just behind Olivia. Rachel whispered something to Brad and then turned to the front and began "This is from one of my favourite new shows, well I mean, in our time frame. Gimmie Gimmie, from Thoroughly Modern Millie.A simple choice, nothing more
This or that, either or
Marry well, social whirl, business man, clever girl
Or pin my future on the boy I love..." Her rendition of the song was more than impressive, it was downright stunning. More than her audition had, that performance of Gimmie Gimmie showed Olivia that Rachel Berry was a star. She hit every note, both musical and emotional, with such soul and surety. The girl may be sitting on the front row and constantly vying for attention but just because she was needy didn't make her untalented. Rachel Berry was a force to be reckoned with.
As they applauded, Derek stood again and said "Very nice, Miss Berry, I'll put Millie on the list." He wrote it down on the board but then turned to face them all again "That was a very good example but I want you guys who aren't as aware of musicals to know that they don't all sound like that. Have any of you ever heard of a show called Murder Ballad?"
Cautiously, Olivia raised her hand "I have."
"Very good Miss Lynn," Derek smirked, knowing that he had set her up for this "Do you think you could give us your Sara?"
Blushing, Olivia replied "Well, most of the songs in the show are... well the ones that best showcase the show are duets."
"All right," Derek scanned the club "Noah Puckerman, would you be willing to meet with Olivia and prepare the number with her?"
Frowning, Puck replied "Sure, why not?"
"Good, now go forth and explore," with that, Derek dismissed them and paced through to his office.
Santana leant back in her chair "Do you think he always exits like that?"
The glee club started to gather their things to leave, it was the end of the day after all, most of them wanted to get home. Derek would end up pretty popular if he kept letting them go early. Even Brad was leaving with a smile. Olivia still felt a little embarrassed, she presumed her father was trying to better integrate her into the group. It wasn't easy, especially when all of the other kids seemed to already know each other but Puck seemed an odd choice of friend… Though, she had to admit, he was right for Murder Ballad. Perhaps this was simply a matter of convenience.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Puck until he was stood right beside her "Hey, it's Olivia isn't it?"
"Yeah," she started, offering her hand "Hi and you're Noah."
With a grin, he high fived her, rather than shaking her outstretched hand "Puck. You're kind of formal, aren't you?"
"Daddy didn't raise no savage," Olivia attempted to sound cheeky, she wasn't successful.
He nodded politely but then changed the subject "So what's this number we have to do?"
"Well, Mr Wills has only given us the show…" she began, digging her ipod from her bag "But I think I know the song I want to do. Is there an ipod dock in here?" He showed her where it was and she set it up, clumsily at first, then with quiet conviction. The rock chords of the introduction played out and Olivia stood by the speakers, awkwardly observing Puck's reaction.
As it hit the second verse, he pointed to the speakers "That's my part?"
"Yeah," she shrugged "It's a pretty short."
With a smile, he admitted "I like it."
Suddenly, Derek emerged from the office, holding bits of paper. He was trying to avoid looking at Olivia directly, scared he'd give something away so kept his head down as he walked towards them "I found you kids the sheet music."
Puck took the music and grinned "Great, thanks Mr Wills."
"You're welcome, I'll be in the office, if you need me."
As Derek disappeared again, Puck admitted "I don't know what to think about him."
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, suddenly nervous of what he would say. After all, Derek was her father and she didn't really want to have to keep the dressing room gossip from him.
With a shrug, Puck sat down on the piano stool "I guess he's just different to Mr Schu, I mean he was so… orthodox I guess. Anyway, let's run the number, shall we?"
Feeling somewhat relieved, she watched as he picked up his guitar and played the opening chords. "I thought I'd start across the room."
"Just sing."
"Right," she smiled awkwardly and then began "A kiss like a mouth tattoo…"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Derek found his daughter in the basement that night, running ballet positions at the bar. Their house was large enough that they could devote the basement to studio space. Almost as soon as they moved in, Derek had installed the bar, the floor and the mirrors. This was the room in which Olivia had learnt to dance, he'd pointed her feet as a baby and taught her movement almost as soon as she could walk. Although he would never be able to teach her singing or give her real acting lessons, he knew he was more than capable of teaching her how to dance and she had thrived under his careful instruction.
"Don't crook your elbow, curve it," Derek said softly.
Olivia smiled, a shadow of his signature smirk "I know, I just wanted to see if you were paying attention."
"Of course you did," he laughed dryly "How did rehearsal with Puckerman go?"
Rolling her eyes, she replied "Like you weren't watching from the office." With another laugh, he shook his head. There was no doubting that Olivia knew him well. It was probably because they were so self-contained, the two them. They moved around a lot, they went through a lot but they always did it together. She was his best friend. As he pulled up one of the black chairs they kept around, she turned to him "Did you like my blocking?"
"You certainly inherited my eye," he said through his smirk "Though it should probably have more sex."
She quirked an eyebrow "You're my father."
"I am aware," he leant forward a little "And I'd really like to see you in princess dresses and tutus your entire career but realistically that's not happening, I'm going to have to come to terms with you wanting to work in theatre and that means, eventually, you're going to have to be sexy for an audience. Of course, the actual sex I don't have to come to terms with."
Laughing then, she turned to him "I don't know if I'm ready to even play sexy yet."
"That's okay," Derek smiled "But just know that I'm ready when you are."
With an irritated groan, she commented "I'm the only teenage girl in America who can have the sex talk without actually having the sex talk. Look, Dad, can you teach me the opening combination from a Chorus Line because I've always wanted to be able to do it and-"
"Sure darling, go put the music on," he stood, with a sigh. More than once, Olivia had suggested he open a dance and drama school but, honestly, he couldn't do more than run a couple of amateur groups. Derek Wills was not as young as he used to be and keeping up with Olivia was more than enough for him. These were old combinations-muscle memory, he'd been a choreographer's assistant on a production of a Chorus Line in his teens, you didn't just forget one of the most iconic dance combinations in history but he wasn't as capable of doing them as he was then.
Olivia, however, shone as she moved into each step. This girl was talented.
Suddenly, as she hit the first touch, there was a knock at the door. Glancing back, Derek told her "Keep running that, I'll get the door."
The man at the door was tall, with a short crop of curly brown hair. He must have been a senior in high school, maybe a little older.
"Jesse St James," the man offered his hand "Senior Assistant Coach and star of Vocal Adrenaline, Miss Corcoran sent me to offer her congratulations on your new post as coach of the New Directions, as your main regional rivals we are extending the hand of friendship early this year to avoid any unpleasantness nearer competition season."
Skeptical even as he did it, Derek shook the boy's hand "I appreciate that but I'm afraid I can't control what my students do outside our rehearsal space-"
"Oh, I am well aware of that but I'd appreciate it if you let Rachel and Finn know that we have an agreement," Jesse replied.
With a frown, Derek asked "Why does that girl seem to think she runs the glee club?"
"Rachel?" Jesse smirked "Well she is their captain, in every sense, she's their star."
Just as Derek was about to comment again, Olivia appeared in the hall, still in her dance clothes. A sudden need to protect his little girl washed over him, something about Jesse felt a little off. Nevertheless, she was walking towards them both with her own brand of quiet confidence "Dad?"
"Olivia, this is the Student Coach of Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St James," Derek said, laying a protective hand on her arm.
With a chuckle, she shook Jesse's hand "So you're their Rachel?"
"I resent that!" Derek exclaimed, good-naturedly.
Eyeing her up, Jesse chuckled "Olivia. You look like a little star-in-the-making, if ever I saw one."
"She's no star in the making," Derek replied "She's already a star." Beside him, he felt her look up at him, questioning. The little blonde could see he was posturing to Jesse, not marking his territory exactly but setting a boundary. He needed the boy to back off.
Darkly, Jesse changed the subject "So, do we have an agreement?"
"Mr St James," Olivia began, stepping out of her father's arms and towards the boy at the door "May I suggest that, if you want the respect, co-operation and good behavior of the New Directions, you provide the same from Vocal Adrenaline. In the long rivalry between our choirs, when have we ever made the first move? What I'm basically saying is, we don't play dirty but you shoot first, maybe we'll shoot back." Then, with a sweet smile, she shut the door and said "Goodbye." She rolled her eyes and turned back towards Derek, seeing the look of confused amazement on his face "What?"
Shaking his head, he laughed "I guess I forgot that you didn't need protecting."
"Some days I do," she shrugged and then headed back to the dance studio. They may know each other very well, but Derek found his little girl could always surprise her.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Thank you, Mr Anderson, we'll put Next to Normal on the list, though I'm not sure how appropriate it is to a group of teenagers," Derek said as Blaine went back to his seat, beside Kurt. Olivia could feel the promise of fear bubbling up within her as her father looked her way. Although she and Puck had been practising all week, Olivia wasn't entirely sure she was ready to perform. Rock wasn't a genre she was as comfortable in as she was in others, it was harder to fall back on technique and still get the correct sound. Nevertheless, Derek called them up and she took her place.
She swallowed her fear because the character wouldn't be afraid. Olivia was afraid but Sara wasn't so she waited for the chords and then began. Gripping tight to the back of a chair she writhed with the music, feeling the pull of it, the sleaze of the club where Murder Ballad was set. It was like she was there and the choir room faded away as she reached the chorus, hitting the centre of the room "Branded by love!"
Then Puck's voice came in, him setting the guitar down as he approached her. She stayed very still as he circled, never taking his eyes off her for a moment, except to glance away conflicted. Then she paced away again so they hit opposite sides of the room as they reached the next chorus, striking the harmony.
Finally, she turned to face him on the bridge, stamping her foot to the beat "But if I choose to scar my story, does that mean that I'm in love with you!" He turned on the next line and they paced towards each other for the final chorus, finishing the song almost nose to nose. In the show, Sara and Tom would kiss then, but this wasn't the show, this was the choir room. The choir room that was currently erupting in applause. Olivia looked around at them, stunned as she and Puck gave a quick bow and sat back down.
Derek stood, grinning "See, that's what I'm talking about, edgy new musical theatre that sounds like it's modern and doesn't apologize for it. Murder Ballad may be too small a show for us but it's the kind of show I want you exploring. Broadway does not mean out-of-touch or old fashioned, not by a long shot."
