"You were great!" Marissa exclaimed, leaping forward and hugging Damian. He laughed, as he clung to her. They were all crowded in the dressing room, laughing and congratulating each other on their own individual performances. Damian smiled as Marissa pulled her head away from the crook of Damian neck and kissed him.
Mr. Shue entered the room, smiling at the excited teenagers. He clapped his hands together once, trying to grab their attention.
"You were all great," He laughed, as they all smiled back at him. Damian was still holding Marissa around the waist, his hand placed lightly on her waist. Hannah was smiling at Samuel with pride and awe.
"No matter what happens" Mr. Shue smiled, "I'm proud of you all"
Three anxious and tense show choirs filled the stage with edgy laugher and darting scowls. The New Directions piled themselves together on the left side of the stage, not saying a word and not even daring to breath.
"You've changed so much" Damian breathed in Marissa's ear. A slow shivered made its way down her back, as his words caressed her skin. Those words were full of pride and confidence, as a smile curved around her lips.
"You've helped so much" Marissa breathed, leaning in to him ever so slightly.
"Save the mushy stuff for when we win" Lindsay advised them, darting a look at the still discussing judges. Everyone let out a hiss at Lindsay's words, their eyes goggling at the judges.
"What?" Lindsay muttered defensively, crossing her arms with an annoyed huff.
"Don't jinx it" Cameron warned, twirling his cross out of nervous habit.
"Christian boy believes in jinx's?" Lindsay giggled.
"I'm not just a Christian" Cameron scowled.
Lindsay rolled her eyes, "You repeat it every so often"
"Lindsay" Hannah warned, "Shut up"
Everyone let out a little chuckle at the easy brush in Hannah's voice, the way she had simply advised Lindsay to do something everyone was begging her to do constantly.
The three judges slowly made their way to the stage; every step caused the ball of worry to grow.
"What if we don't win?" McKynley asked her friends, horror spreading across her face.
Samuel shrugged and smiled, "You know there's always next year for us. We can keep trying guys"
"Nice words of encouragement" Cameron smiled.
"Guys" Marissa huffed, her eyes widening as the female judge took the mic.
"I would first like to say, you all did a brilliant job. It was fantastic, truly spellbinding!" She looked at each show choir individually, before opening the white envelope.
"Third Place" The judge paused, "Is Sheet Notes!"
Sheet Notes erupted in tears, as they all ran forward to collect their trophy. The despair was clear on their faces, their chances of winning Nationals slammed.
"First Place" The judge muttered slowly as she squinted at the card, "Alistar High School!"
That final announcement was like a spear through The New Directions heart. They all looked at each other with mirror expressions of shock and hurt, slowly walking off the stage. Marissa let the silent tears fell.
"Don't cry," Damian begged, "Please Marissa"
"I'm okay" She smiled with a hug, "Really"
All disgruntled members sat in the choir room, not talking just staring at the floor. No one looked up when Mr. Shue entered and none of them saw the smile which was on his face, if they had no one required the heart to question it.
"Guys" Mr. Shue yelled, sitting down on a chair in front of them. Slowly each member raised their sad eyes to meet his joyful ones.
"We don't have a lot to be sad about" Mr. She continued, "Sure we lost, but we have a chance to work harder and get better! Like Samuel said, we have a chance next year. Everyone's changed so much in the past few months and even though we lost, I'm still proud of all of you"
Letting Mr. Shue's comforting words wash over them, some nodded in agreeance but many still looked heartbroken. Samuel's head snapped up and hit Cameron on the shoulder lightly, motioning his head towards the front. Cameron shrugged but got up and followed Samuel to the front.
"You guys want to say something?" Mr. Shue asked, raising his eyes.
"Yeah" They both nodded.
Hello
Hello
Hello
Samuel stepped forward and looked at all his friends, singing about them and to them.
Waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But it's feeling just like every other morning before,
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone,
The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour
And I started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?
I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Well I believe it all is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Cameron and Samuel sang together, Samuel dancing like a rockstar and Cameron dancing in his most addictive but awkward way.
I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know
And I can't remember caring for an hour or so
Started crying and I couldn't stop myself
I started running but there's no where to run to
I sat down on the street took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell
Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to
Together the whole of New Directions got to their feet, singing and dancing together. The pain wasn't to bad, because it's not like it was the end. They lost but a lot more had come from it.
I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
It's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
It was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for you
Well it's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
Well it was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for you
I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
