The kids talked Mr. Shue into letting them do "Born this Way" at Regionals, through a compromise in which their entire theme was "Born" (ironic, since the previous year Beth had almost literally been born onstage). Their opening number was "Born in a Trunk" from the musical "A Star is Born" (sung by Rachel, of course) followed by "Born in the USA" (sung primarily by Finn and Puck). Aside from a little bit of harmonizing, the majority of the club did little singing during "Born in a Trunk," as was usual for Rachel's ballads by now. However, Brittany and Mike had choreographed some easy dancing that everyone could do, so they felt like they were a part of the song. "Born in the USA" was more their standard fare: a power ballad group number complete with fist pumping and belted out lyrics, and it went over well with the crowd.
The beauty of "Born this Way" was that all of the club members had a small solo. Even Mike, who usually wouldn't sing solo if his life depended on it, agreed to do one of the talking "Don't be a drag, just be a queen" sections. To everyone's surprise, Santana had actually raised her hand and requested to sing the section specifically about being gay. Mr. Shue had done better and let her start it as well.
The song started off with the group in a clump, heads down, with Santana front and center. When the spotlight hit her, she looked up and began, singing softly but with power, while everyone else was still:
My mama told me when I was young
We're all born superstars
She stepped out of the group as the verse built:
She rolled my hair, put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir
Brittany knew she had to keep her head down, but she had it just up enough to watch the girl she'd turned down. Santana was breathtakingly good, and Brittany missed her more than she wanted to admit.
Alex stepped into the spotlight as she stepped out, and the rest of the club fanned out on stage, moving with the beat:
"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are"
She said, "'Cause He made you perfect, babe"
"So hold your head up, girl and you'll go far,
Listen to me when I say"
On the other hand, Alex was pretty awesome too. Brittany took over the lead from her girlfriend, punctuating her words with perfectly timed dance moves as the tempo became more upbeat, the rest of the group moving in unison behind her:
I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Some of the male members of the group hadn't been keen on doing solos to Gaga, but after minimal cajoling Puck had been ready and willing to do his part:
Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Everyone sang the chorus, doing a dance reminiscent of Gaga's, choreographed by Britt:
Ooo, there ain't no other way
Baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way
(Born this way)
Ooo, there ain't other way
Baby, I was born this way
Right track, baby
I was born this way
Stepping forward, Kurt did the first talking solo - with plenty of vamping as only he could do:
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be!
Quinn sang the next verse:
Give yourself prudence and love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice the truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be myself, respect my youth
For a straight guy, Sam had been totally happy to sing the next part. Santana thought he was pretty cool, for a guy. If she had known him better when she was not hopelessly in love with Britt, they might have gone out. He even managed to sing it in the same octave as Gaga:
A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (hey, hey, hey)
I love my life, I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah
A verse of solo was just about perfect in Tina's mind, as it wasn't enough to freak out about, but it was enough to feel special, especially singing these lyrics:
I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Finn had been the hardest to convince to sing Gaga. But after all the other guys, even Mike, agreed to solos, he wasn't going to be the one left out:
Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Everyone sang the chorus again, this time incorporating a few spins that it had taken Brittany hours to teach Sam, Finn, and Alex how to do to her satisfaction:
Ooo, there ain't no other way
Baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way
Ooo, there ain't other way
Baby, I was born this way
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Mike's big moment came during the second talking part. He'd decided it was less racist for him to say "orient" than Kurt, so he'd taken this one:
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're lebanese, you're orient
And of course, Artie had chosen to sing the appropriate verse:
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby, you were born this way
Santana stepped back in front of the group to sing the verse that meant the most to her. She knew it would have had meaning for three of the other members too, and she was glad they'd agreed to let her do it. It had been the hardest for her to come to terms with not being straight. With all of her heart, and proudly, she sang:
No matter gay, straight or bi
lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to survive
Mercedes gave her a grin as she stepped forward to sing her verse:
No matter black, white or beige
chola or orient made
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to be brave
Rachel worried that her voice wasn't "pop" enough to sing this song, but had been swept up by the enthusiasm and sung her heart out:
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Though Kurt had wanted to do the drag queen section, the numbers worked out so that he the final verse too:
Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way, yeah!
As the entire group finished out the song with the repeating chorus, Santana was able to look around and see her teammates – her friends – singing their heart out, and even though her own heart still broke as her eyes swept over her blond ex-best-friend, she was very happy she'd stayed. This was where she belonged.
After the rousing applause and standing ovation the song got, she teared up a little. She had been so scared of coming out that she'd lost Brittany, but it hadn't even been that big of a deal. Nobody had slushied her, and here they were singing a song about how it was okay to be different, okay to be gay, and they'd gotten a standing ovation.
She lost it once they got backstage, sobbing almost uncontrollably. Though they had barely talked in a month, Brittany was instantly at her side.
"Honey, are you drunk?" She had only seen Santana cry a few times when she wasn't drunk. Once when Sue cancelled Nationals last year, and once when she'd told her she was staying with Alex.
Santana shook her head and cried harder, momentarily letting her blonde friend comfort her before remembering that Brittany had chosen Alex.
"I'm fine, okay, leave me alone."
Brittany sadly let go of her and walked off with most of the rest of the group. When Santana's tears subsided and she looked up, she was surprised to see which of her teammates had stayed behind.
"It gets better." Kurt said simply.
Santana wiped her eyes. "What?"
"I felt it too. It was liberating, singing that song, getting that response. Almost makes you wonder why you were scared to come out at all, right?"
Santana was silent for a minute. "I thought I was stupid, for coming out, if Brittany didn't want me, what was the point, you know? But singing that song…I'm…well I'm not sure what I am, but I'm not straight, and even if Brittany never wants me back, that's not changing. It's not just her, Kurt."
Kurt nodded silently, sensing she wasn't finished.
She looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry for being a bitch. To you. I think…I think I was scared of being found out if I was nice to you, and scared of how okay with it you were. I can't promise I'll be nice to everyone…and Berry's still a midget in toddler clothes…but it wasn't okay to be mean to you for being gay."
"Apology accepted." He said graciously. "And I'm sorry that Brittany didn't choose you."
Santana sighed. "She was right not to. I strung her along for years, hooking up with her and refusing to talk about feelings. I rejected her a lot more times than she rejected me. If Alex is good for her, I'm trying to be happy for her."
"While still hoping that Alex falls off a cliff or breaks up with Britt for no reason?" Kurt said with a smile.
Santana laughed and wiped her eyes. "Exactly."
Luckily, the third team still had to perform after New Directions, so Santana had time to pull herself together. Of course, she lost it again, along with the rest of the team, when they were announced to be the winners. But this time it was okay. She was pulled into a hug that she knew by feel was Brittany. Surprised that her friend was hugging her, and not her girlfriend, she pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"We won!" Brittany said with a grin.
Over Brittany's shoulder, Santana saw Alex, trying to hide the hurt that Brittany had leapt into Santana's arms instead of her own.
"I know, Britt. But I think your girlfriend wants to hug you too." She said sadly.
Brittany's eyes got a look of confusion as she pulled away. She had forgotten all about Alex for a moment there. There had been so many winning moments shared with Santana that it was natural to go to her first. She turned around and squealed at Alex too. A hand found Santana's as she looked away from the happy couple. Kurt squeezed gently.
AN: This story is so old that I had this part written before I even heard they were going to do Born This Way. But I left it in because it's so AU by now anyway. Thanks for everyone who's reviewed and read - and I do promise it's going to be Brittana very soon! In the meantime, I have another story posted that's Brittana throughout. =)
