A/N: Shout out to togo65, Chrupy23, solo-girl-br, kgh1010 & xxFinnhudsonsbabygirlxx!

togo65: I'm so glad you're enjoying reading this!

Read & Review please. :)


Chapter 12

The Cheerios Routine


Ashley's big day: it was the day that she would unveil to Sue the routine she and the other Cheerios had labored on for the past month. It was a grueling ordeal—putting the routine together in between regular practice, school work and, for Santana and Brittany, glee practice; but all the girls were excited.

Half the school was excited too. Talks about it bounced off the walls like it was a scheduled event for the students. In fact, when Ashley and Artie got to school, almost every kid they passed by threw 'good lucks' their way (specifically towards Ashley, of course). She smiled and waved and thanked them.

Sue passed by kids at the second floor hall, unintentionally hearing their conversations.

"It's at four o'clock, I heard."

"In the field, right?"

"Can we move the tutorials earlier?"

"Sure, I want to catch the Cheerios practice too."

"Everyone who's anyone will be watching, we HAVE to be there!"

"I cancelled my dentist's appointment; these braces can stay on for a few more hours."

Sue's lips curled up. It was exactly the kind of exposure her Cheerios need. This Ashley has a kind of charisma that makes people stop and take notice. Were it not for the disgusting auburn hair she would be exactly like me, Sue thought.

On the other hand, Will was surprised with the buzz happening among the kids. There was no scheduled pep rally that he knew of. Was there a game? He stopped Matt Rutherford when the teenager greeted him a good morning.

"What's going on?" Will asked. "What's everyone so excited about?"

"Cheerios practice this afternoon," Matt said casually.

"Yeah, so?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Ashley is doing this new routine for Ms. Sylvester. It's supposed to be dope! We're holding off baseball practice for a few minutes to watch. You have to check it out, Mr. Schue. The rest of glee will be there, too."

Will nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Matt."

The teacher proceeded to Emma's office, as he always does first thing in the morning. On the way, he couldn't help but think about this Cheerios practice. Obviously, this one is special.

Will knew Ashley was a special girl from the first day Artie had introduced her to him. She hung around the choir room everyday on her first week, watching the kids practice after school and making friends with them. Eventually, she would pop into meetings, whether they are official meetings or just some impromptu discussions, and would blend into the conversation as if she was a member of the club herself.

And, although he's never heard her sing, his instinct told him that Ashley would be a great addition to glee. He wasn't sure if it was because she has great potential to be a sort of Queen Bee in McKinley, thereby boosting glee club's image; or because he had thought and hoped that being Artie's very close relative, she would share his same talent and passion in music.

He had asked Ashley once, and only once, if she would consider auditioning for glee. She answered with another question. "It's already spring. Isn't it too late for open auditions?"

He smiled and said, "There's no such thing as too late in New Directions." She beamed when he said this and seemed to get excited, so it surprised him when the next words that came from her mouth were those of a straightforward decline.

It was only a week later that he found out that Ashley joined Sue's Cheerios. He remembered becoming worried that she might be Sue's new secret weapon. Her spy—taking advantage of her weakness, like she had done with Quinn. Her mole—taking advantage of her naïveté, like she had done with Brittany. But then, Ashley stopped coming to their after-school practices.

Will asked Artie why she hadn't come back and he said that she had become too busy with the Cheerios. This, in a way, had eased Will's mind. Ashley might not be a threat to glee club after all. This was further reinforced when it became readily apparent that the bond between her and Artie was beyond anything anybody in this school has ever had. He believed with all his heart that ten Sue Sylvesters could not break this bond. Ashley will not hurt Artie on purpose, and by association those whom he love, glee club included.


It was a quarter to 4pm. The bleachers began to get crowded. The Cheerios were on the field, doing stretches. Ashley, Brittany and Santana were in a circle.

"Oh my god. I didn't expect the whole school to show up," Brittany exhaled. There was worry in her eyes while they traveled left and right across the seats. She normally isn't one to have stage fright—a trait she has controlled by being in the Cheerios and glee club. But, on that day, Brittany had reason to worry. She would be singing solo parts for the first time.

"Stop looking at them," Santana said, flicking her arm. "Keep it together."

"What if I forget the words?" the blonde said with much concern.

"You are not going to forget the words," Ashley assured the girl. She turned and looked behind her and saw that there were more people now than the last time she checked. She turned to both girls abruptly. "Okay. I didn't expect that too. But, that's a good thing. We'll give them the best show ever!"

"They're here!" Brittany exclaimed. She jumped and waved and directed all this excitement to an area on the field, below the bleachers.

Ashley and Santana turned to look. The entire glee club, minus the baseball jocks who were at the left end of the seats with their team, were there cheering them on. All of them were on the lower benches, near the ground so that Artie could settle in comfortably. Santana grinned at them and waved too; as did Ashley.

"This is crazy," Mercedes let out as soon as the three Cheerios they primarily came to see had scattered about, referring to the mass of students who came out to watch a supposedly typical Cheerios practice.

"I second that," Rachel said, taking a seat.

"I don't remember having regular practice with this much people watching," Quinn commented, reminiscing on her days as head cheerleader.

"We should have totally sold tickets if we knew this would be the turnout," Kurt joked. "Start off that Nationals fund-raising activity." The others laughed and agreed.

Will greeted the kids happily as he got closer to them. They responded in the same manner. He stood next to Artie. Right above Artie was Rachel.

"This must be a really important practice. I mean, look at all this," Will said in combined admiration and amazement.

"Ashley's worked really hard on this one," Artie began.

"It's her Sue-will-worship-me strategy," Kurt supplanted.

Will laughed at the idiom, already rooting for Ashley's success. "What's with all the hype though?"

"Kids talk, Mr. Schue. Santana and Brittany kept on reminding us to watch today's practice, someone probably overheard and just spread the word," explained Quinn. "And, besides, it's Ashley. The students simply love her."

"Judging by all this, I think she will come through with the publicity she promised for the talent show. My hope for our turn at Nationals has never been more secure," Rachel interjected.

Will nodded. He agreed with her every word. All the others did too.

They turned to the field and saw a man handing out headsets to the Cheerios—not to all of them, but a considerable number of them. Mic tests started for each of the girls who had them on.

"Since when did Cheerios ever needed microphones?" Will asked, surprised.

The question wasn't directed to anyone in particular, but it was Artie he stood closest to so it was Artie who answered, "They're singing. Half of the Cheerios will be a chorus."

"What?" Rachel asked with mild hysteria. "But, won't they do tumblings and pyramids and stuff?"

"Yeah, that's why they're using lightweight headsets," Kurt answered, even though Rachel had obviously directed the question to Artie since she leaned over to him. It was only in the morning that he found out that Ashley taught the Cheerios to sing for this routine.

"Why else would Santana and Brittany keep on annoying all of us to watch today?" Mercedes said rhetorically with a laugh.

"What are they singing?" Quinn was the one to ask this time.

"It's a mash up," Tina answered, excitedly. She obviously knows something about it and is elated to witness the performance.

"A mash up of what?" Will asked curiously.

"Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment and Cristina Aguilera's Keeps Getting Better," Artie answered.

"Did you help her make the mash up?" Rachel asked Artie, her eyebrows furrowing and her forehead creasing.

"Not really. I assisted her with the recording of the music, but the arrangement she did by herself. She's musical too, you know." Artie said it with pride, like a father showing off his daughter's talents.

Rachel was half-anxious. She kept it inwardly as she visited each of the faces in the group. They weren't as affected as she was. If anything, she could see intrigue in their eyes. They seemed eager to behold this spectacle more than ever.

Sue walked out onto the field, looking up at the bleachers. Students filled them up as if the Titans had a game. She saw several of the other teachers there, including Principal Figgins. On the ground, at one end, she saw Will and the rest of his glee club; at the other, Ken Tanaka and his baseball varsity. As she came closer to her girls, a megaphone was handed to her. Ashley met her on the field.

"You go through all this effort to get these students out here, you better not screw up, A," Sue said as they walked side by side.

"If there had been efforts, it wasn't mine," Ashley replied with an unwavering smile. "And don't worry too much Ms. S. It will make the lines on your face multiply."

Sue scrunches her face for a second, annoyed at the brazen confidence of the girl. But, she concludes with an arrogant smirk on her face and a snooty reply. "We'll see what you can do, Abrams," she said as they parted ways.

Sue settled in the lower bleachers, at the center where she would be able to see everything. The Cheerios got into position as the students roared and cheered. Every girl had their backs to their audience, except Ashley who looked to Sue for her signal to begin. Sue pointed a finger at her. Ashley nodded with her lips curled up in one corner. She signaled for the music to play and quickly turned to match the others.

The introduction to Keeps Getting Better exploded from the speakers. Pompoms began to shake, timidly but in synchrony to the beat. Santana turned as she sang the first verse of For Your Entertainment, stepping forward while the Cheerios danced with their backs still to the crowd.

Will was overwhelmed with a happy surprise to hear Santana's voice filling the air. The other kids at glee had the same reaction, except maybe Rachel who was still very much distracted and concerned.

When her verse was about to end, she turned her back to the masses at the exact same moment as Brittany turned to face them all and sing the second verse of the song. She stepped forward so that she was linear to Santana, who moved flawlessly with the rest of the cheerleaders.

Will was grinning up to his ears at what he was seeing, and hearing. Brittany's octave was lower than the other girls at glee but at that moment, she sang every word with conviction, in perfect timing and melody to the music—and it worked very well.

The third verse belonged to Ashley. The Santana-Brittany swap was reenacted, in Brittany-Ashley order this time. Her range was definitely higher than Santana's and Brittany's; and she had a full voice, uncanny for such a young age.

Artie grinned like a proud father as he looked at the faces of the friends that surrounded him. This was the first time they had heard her sing and Artie was sure that they had fallen in love (despite the fact that she was actually singing a mashed-up dance song). Kurt has heard her sing in the car on the way to Cleveland, but they were both singing in mock that he wasn't really paying attention; so, technically, this was the first for him too.

Everyone else in attendance was in awe as well. The new girl was hot, she can dance and she can actually sing without any effort at all.

Artie leans closer to Tina and says, "You ain't seen nothin' yet." Rachel heard this, and she got even more anxious.

The mashed-up choruses of the two songs played and the Cheerios, who were now all facing the bleachers, sang together. Will was pretty sure that not all of them were actually singing, taking a clue from the fact that only a few had headsets on, but all their lips moved in unison. His jaw slightly hung. Their voices weren't perfect, but they were good. As a chorus, they were effectively entertaining.

Sue watched, stoic. All around her, students were cheering and dancing, but she focused on the routine. The dance was perfect. Not one head-tilt delayed, not one pompom off-beat. Even while her girls sang (or lip-synched), there was not a single misstep. She remained skeptic, though. Perhaps the pompoms merely distracted her?

During the bridge, surprising moves that she'd never seen before in a cheer dance competition dazzled Sue. Ashley with a couple other girls, twirled like ballerinas, standing stiffly on the toes of their rubber shoes—practically digging into the soft ground. A double cartwheel by four or six others exhibited at the same time. Choreographed backflips were executed as Ashley took to the center.

"Here it comes," Artie said excitedly to Tina.

Ashley belts out a high F while the rest of the Cheerios froze in their last position and the music muted. When the note's final echo was gone and the beat returned, the cheerleaders danced in perfect timing again, and the silenced crowd howled once more. Kurt, Mercedes, Quinn, Tina, and the new kids stood and jumped, cheering as loud as they could. Will whistled before he clapped his hands above his head; Artie did the same. Rachel stood up too, but the other's enthusiasm didn't mirror on her.

Sue watched, still as a rock, as the girls on the field stacked into pyramids. The song was nearing its end, and this was Ashley's finale. Suddenly, Sue felt a smile coming. A crack in this perfect routine has finally surfaced: she's seen the pyramid before. Two years ago, a Los Angeles High School had this exact same pyramid at Nationals. She doesn't remember the name of the school, it only won third place then.

The routine ended with a perfectly stacked pyramid at the back, other Cheerios sitting or splitting on the ground, and only Santana, Brittany and Ashley standing in the center of it all. The audience simmered down as they waited for Sue to say something. She raised the megaphone in front of her and said, "That pyramid was unoriginal and recycled. I am insulted that you had even dared to display that second hand material before me."

Ashley's face fell and her arms dropped to her sides. She looked at Santana and Brittany, who both seemed like they were getting ready to cry, and shrugged as if to say, "We tried." She turned towards Artie's direction with a huff, he shook his head in disagreement. She saw Will shaking his head, too. And, with how the other kids at glee stared at her, she figured they shared the sentiment of both guys.

"However," Sue continued, making Ashley flip her head back to Sue's direction. "Everything else was excellent."

Ashley livened, as with everyone else. There was a sea of applause and cheers. And before Sue got completely drowned out, she made a final direction for Ashley to see her in her office in ten minutes. She left without another word or glimpse at the crowd just above her.

The Cheerios huddled in the field, jumping and screaming. Santana and Brittany turned and ran towards the glee kids. Ashley turned to their direction, focusing mainly on Kurt who mouthed brava; and Artie who tilted his head and discreetly clapped his gloved hands in front of his chest. She smiled at them and curtsied.

"Great job, ladies," Ashley said pointing to the girls as she turned to proceed to Sue's office. On the way, she passed by the baseball varsity. Each of them gave her congratulatory remarks; while those who were members of glee had the privilege of giving her a high-five as well. Puck wasn't there though, she noticed. But, before she could leave the field, she caught sight of him, inconspicuously standing behind the rest of the team. He smiled approvingly and nodded to her once. She returned the exact same gesture before she was gone.

Brittany and Santana were greeted with positive reviews when they got together with the glee kids; as well as bonus hugs from the girls. While the two were put in the center of the spotlight, Will made conversation with Artie. Rachel listened in, but she did so with extreme subtlety—her back to the guys.

"That was incredible! Ashley's a very good singer! I mean, I still can't get over that note!" Will exclaimed.

"And, she can also play the piano and the guitar," Artie said.

"Will you please ask her again, Artie? She might reconsider joining glee if you're the one to ask. We could use her talent in our group. Her choreography was impeccable. And to make those Cheerios sing like that!"

He spoke of Ashley with much ardor, Rachel thought. Suddenly, the kids he has in glee didn't seem good enough. She didn't hear Artie say anything, but she figured that he must have nodded.

"She could well lead us to our win in Florida," Will concluded.

Rachel felt her stomach twist. She was going to lose her solo at Nationals.


A/N: Next Chapter: Early Dismissal