A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. A lot has happened over the past few months that have kept me rather busy. I will mention that I have started school again so I don't know when I'll be able to update. I want to update every so often but I have a lot of work coming up that involves writing so well just have to plan it by ear when I can update again. Thanks for being patient. Anyways, hope you like this next chapter and will review!
As Monday rolled around, the New Directions were more than excited to head to New York for a couple of days and compete at Nationals. It was finally time to show everyone what they could do and they wanted nothing more than to win and bring home the first place trophy.
"Alright guys, we leave for New York tomorrow," Will said with a clap of the hands, looking around the choir room. His eyes drifted over each member and as most had smiling faces, happy, to be leaving Lima for a few days; he couldn't help but notice the distraught look that appeared on Quinn's face. He knew it had to be from her recent break up with Finn but it worried him that she was going to turn that around and use it against him and Rachel. He was nervous about travelling with her for a few days and he knew that Rachel was as well.
"Let's go over a few last-minute details," Will added with a shake of the head to rid him of his worrying thoughts.
"Guys and girls are to stay in separate bedrooms during the night. I have assigned each of you roommates," Will said as he pulled out another piece of paper from behind the one he was currently reading.
"Rachel, Mercedes, Tina and Santana will be in room one. Quinn, Brittany, and Lauren will be in the second. For the boys, Sam, Finn, and Kurt in the first room and in the second room, Artie, Puck, and Mike," Will said noticing some were happy with the arraignments, Rachel especially because she would not have to be in a room with Quinn. She had made it a special request to him and he happily obliged.
"I'll have my room right next to each of your guy's rooms in case there are any problems," Will said quickly glancing over to Rachel. Even though they were unable to stay in the same room together, he still wanted to reassure Rachel that he would just be down the hall from her if something were to go wrong.
"Okay, so we leave tomorrow at eight am and the flight leaves at nine thirty. We compete on Thursday," Will said, switching papers over again to read the schedule. The competition was through Saturday, but they were only able to stay until Friday. They would only stay longer unless they made the top ten, where they would then get to perform again on Saturday.
"It looks like we'll be performing in the evening," he added, double checking the time.
"What about Vocal Adrenaline?" Tina asked. "When do they perform?"
"It looks like right before us, so we need to be as prepared as possible. We know what they are capable of doing so we need to up our game," Will said.
"Now, if there are no more questions or concerns, we need to rehearse. Rachel and Finn, how's your original song coming?" Will asked once no one raised their hand for a question.
"It's coming along but I was hoping we could rehearse it today?" Rachel asked, hoping to get a couple of practice runs in for the day with Finn. They need to work out their harmonies still and make them stronger before the competition. They had just decided on original songs again after a mishap with trying to pick soloists.
"Yeah that would be fine and then we'll do the original song group number," Will said, agreeing with his own plan.
"Okay, let's get to work. Rachel and Finn, you have the floor," Will said as he motioned for them to take the center.
"Thank you," Rachel said as she walked to the front of the room with Finn next to her. She took a moment to let out a breath and then glanced over to the band to let them know that they were ready to start performing. Taking her cue, the band started to play the ballad.
Once Rachel and Finn were done, the group clapped, surprised by how well the original song had sounded. They had only recently completed it and were in the stages of fine tuning it for the competition.
"Great job, guys," Will said from his chair. "What did you everyone else think?" he asked, hoping for some constructive criticism.
"It's great. Really powerful," Tina commented.
"Yeah, I think you guys nailed it," Sam said.
"Anyone else?" Will asked as he looked around at the unspoken members.
"Quinn, you seem rather quiet today. Any thoughts?" Will asked curious to know what was going on in her head as she watched her former boyfriend and enemy perform together. He knew that having Rachel and Finn pair up was a sensitive issue to her and would only make her lash out at him, but he had to do what was best for the team. Surprisingly, she was okay with the pair, which made Will second guess her actions.
"It was fine I guess," Quinn said quietly, even though there was a lot more she wanted to say. She didn't want to make a scene though and pushed her angry thoughts away, saving them for New York where she could finally have some time to think about her plan.
"Okay, well if that's it for the comments then let's get into opening formation for the group number," Will said with a clap of the hands, signaling it was time for the rest of them to get up and out of their chairs.
Once they were ready and situated, Will clapped his hands in time to the music and the group started to move in sync. He watched them carefully; making sure each dance step was perfectly in time. Once the number was done, he clapped and let out a cheer of surprise.
"Okay great job guys. There were almost no mistakes but Mercedes, make sure your breathing is timed right for the last note and Kurt, when you pick Quinn up, grab at her hips so she won't fall," Will commented, noticing that he struggled a bit with the maneuver.
"Let's do it one more time and then we'll go back to the duet," Will said, watching everyone move back to opening formation.
Once after everyone was ready, the song started and was finished shortly after, this time Will noticing improvement. He really thought they had a chance of winning and he was so proud of them.
"Perfect, great job guys. How about you take five while Finn and Rachel take the stage again," Will said as he walked over to the duo.
"You guys ready?" Will asked, looking between the pair. "I think so," Finn said, a bit unsure but nonetheless confident.
"Great, you're up again," Will said as he lightly grabbed Rachel's shoulder, hoping to give her some support. He knew she didn't get nervous performing like some of the others, but he wanted to show her that he was there for her if need be.
"Whenever you're ready guys," Will said as he sat back down in his red chair.
"Okay," Rachel said, once again looking over to the band to start playing.
As Rachel opened her mouth, Will could already tell that the song had made an improvement. Rachel sang with so much emotion that it made him smile with pride that maybe it was something he taught her that made her sound like that. When Finn joined in with the first harmony, Will knew that they had a winning song. Their voices always blended together perfectly, but this time it was different. They wanted to win, and it showed.
"Amazing job, that was just what we needed," Will said once they were done.
"I don't want to brag guys, but I think we could be bringing home a first place trophy," Will said causing cheers and claps around the room.
"I hope so," Mercedes added in.
"Me too," Artie commented.
"Well we just might. Anyways, I think we can call it a night guys. I want you all to get plenty of rest because tomorrow is a big day," he added, just as excited himself to go to New York. He was ready for a change of scenery and some time outside of Lima with Rachel.
Will sat back as he watched them cheerfully grab their things and head out the door, all of them saying good bye to him.
"Bye guys and seriously great job today," he added again, making sure that the New Directions knew just how much he cared about them and how proud he was of their hard work.
"Rachel, could you stay behind for a moment?" Will asked as he began stacking the chairs.
"Sure," Rachel said saying goodbye to Finn and the others. She walked over to him, sitting down in one of the unstacked chairs, legs folded over each other and her hands placed on her skirt.
"So, I thought you did great today. Are you excited?" Will asked with enthusiasm as he finally sat down in the last remaining chair.
"I am, a bit of me is nervous though," Rachel stated with a shy smile. She hardly ever got stage fright, but she was afraid of letting the others down when it mattered the most.
"Don't be," Will said a bit shocked at her confession. "I know you'll be great, but, if you do get nervous, remember that I'll be in the wing watching the whole time," Will said with a smile and then a light kiss to the forehead.
"Thanks, I just hope that original songs weren't a terrible idea," Rachel replied with a slight chuckle. It was her idea after they performed them so well at regionals. She just didn't want to disappoint the audience by doing the same thing again.
"They won't be. They worked at regionals. Everyone was so surprised by them," Will said with a reassuring confidence. He knew original songs were risky, but Nationals was the big leagues and they needed to use all of the surprises they could to wow the judges. He had faith in Rachel and the others that their original songs would prove to be top contenders.
"I know, I just hope these songs are as just as good," Rachel said with a bit of a frown, a bit doubtful that her song wasn't good enough.
"Listen, Rach, your song is amazing and with Finn added in, it makes it even better. I know we will win because we have you," Will said leaning over, this time placing a kiss to her lips. It was slow and sweet and exactly what Rachel needed to give her the confidence to perform.
"Thank you, you always know what to say to make me feel better," Rachel replied with a smile, hands resting on his shoulder.
"I try," Will said with a grin.
"So did you notice Quinn and her fake reply?" Rachel asked as the image of Quinn's fake smile reappeared in her head during her performance.
"I thought it seemed a bit too real that she would say something nice," Will commented.
"It's probably all in her plan to get us to think that she's moved on from us," Rachel explained.
"How so?" Will asked.
"She's just using playing nice as a distraction so when we think she doesn't care anymore, she goes and makes and accusation about us," Rachel explained her thoughts. Will stared at her in confusion but after processing her theory, he knew it was likely and he became slightly worried.
"Well what should we do?" Will asked.
"I don't know. Just keep an eye out for her at Nationals I guess?" Rachel suggested.
"Yeah I guess," Will said feeling a little helpless that they couldn't do anything more to stop Quinn without outing their relationship.
"Noah said he would take care of her, but he's not doing a very good job," Rachel commented as she thought back to their deal the week after prom.
"Puck? What does he have to do with this?" Will asked, not knowing that the boy had been involved somehow. Rachel stared at him a bit scared. She had yet to say anything to him that Noah knew all about them and that it was him who helped her approach Will in the first place.
"Will, I think it's time I tell the truth," Rachel said making Will squint his eyes at her in worry.
"Okay," he said a bit unsure of where this was going.
"Puck knows about us and he has for a while. He actually was the one that encouraged me to pursue you," Rachel explained as she looked down at her feet, afraid to see the look on Will's face.
"He hasn't told anyone and he won't, but he does know," Rachel quickly added seeing that Will had yet to say anything. His face was a mixture of emotions.
"Are you mad?" Rachel asked quietly.
"No," Will said calmly.
"No?" Rachel asked surprised.
"I mean, shocked yes but not mad," Will said as he looked at her intently. "Rachel, you have to understand that I love you even if you make mistakes," Will explained seeing Rachel's confused face.
"But he knows. I thought you would have had a panic attack or something when you would hear this?" Rachel commented.
"Like I said, I am a shocked but not mad. I think this could actually be good for us," Will said surprising Rachel even more.
"How?" Rachel asked seeing as their one rule was to never get caught by anyone ever. She didn't see how Puck finding out could have a bright side.
"Well now you have someone to talk to about things with someone other than just me," Will said with a smile. He liked being able to talk to Rachel about everything and anything but he knew that Rachel sometimes struggled with it. There were times where she admitted to wanting to tell her dad's the truth about their relationship but he had begged her no. With Puck in the picture at least he could be a confidant for Rachel if there were ever a problem he couldn't fix himself.
"Yeah I guess," Rachel said, thinking about his explanation. It was nice to know that she had another person to talk things out with things that were happening between her and Will. There were times where she wished she could tell her dads or even Kurt what was going on, but she knew that wasn't a possibility
"So you're okay with this?" Rachel asked again just making sure that he was completely fine.
"I am, just no more people knowing okay?" Will asked with a smile. Rachel nodded back in understanding. She knew how things worked at McKinley. Once one person knew, the whole school knew and they couldn't afford for that to happen.
"You know what I'm most excited for about this trip?" Will asked, as silence crept into the room. He knew Rachel was still thinking about Puck and he wanted to show her that he truly wasn't bothered by him knowing.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"That I get to spend it with you. I know we can't share a room or anything but just going out of town with you is exciting," Will explained, causing a smile to appear on Rachel's face.
"I love that we get to share this experience together too and not to mention in the greatest city in the world," Rachel replied with a laugh.
"I know New York is going to be amazing," Will said agreeing. He loved the city just as much as she did and he couldn't wait to see the buildings and signs everywhere.
"I love you," Rachel said causing Will to grin ear to ear. She was excited that he was just as ready to go as the rest of them.
"I love you too," Will said with a kiss. Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck causing him to pull her over into his lap. She rested on his thighs but found the position to be uncomfortable. Swinging her left leg over, she was now straddling him, hands gripping tighter around the skin on his neck.
Will grinned as he felt her shift on top of him and gasped a little as he realized the position they were in. They had never done this with a chair before so he was willing to see what would happen, even though he knew where they were. The fact that it was after school hours though, made him feel a bit better about not being caught because the school was almost empty.
"Rachel," he moaned out, feeling himself harden with every kiss on his lips. He wasn't afraid of Rachel shying away anymore. Ever since prom, she had been more intimate with him and willing to try things that surpassed kissing. She wasn't nearly as afraid of intimacy as she was before and he knew that it was only a matter of time before they would give themselves to each other fully.
"I wish we could stay in a room together," Rachel moaned out, causing Will to pant out a response.
"I know me too," Will added in agreement as his lips traveled down to her neck.
"Maybe we could?" Rachel asked innocently, eyes looking at him through her bangs as she pulled back a bit.
"I don't know, Rachel. It would be risky," Will said with a shake of the head, rationality starting to reappear.
"I know, but, we're finally going away together and I wanted it to be special," Rachel explained.
"Me too but I think this is the wrong time. I promise though that when we get back we will try to find a night were you can come over to stay the night," Will said, hoping his compromise would work.
"Okay," Rachel said a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be sharing a room together, but the thought of staying the night made her just as excited. She hadn't experienced sharing a bed with Will yet and that thought alone was enough to make her smile.
"That's my girl," Will said with another kiss, this time taking his time, unlike the other previously heated ones.
Once they broke apart, Rachel hopped off his lap and reached down to grab her bag.
"Well I should be heading home. I still need to finish packing," Rachel said.
"Yeah, I actually need to finish that too," Will said in agreement.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Rachel said with a smirk.
"You better," Will said, arms folded over his chest, a proud smile on his lips.
"Bye," Rachel finally said with a nod as she walked out of the choir room completely, a certain spunk in her step that wasn't quit there before. She had a new energy and was ready for tomorrow.
Luckily for Rachel, the rest of the night went by rather quickly as she finished packing her things for the few days that she would be gone. By ten she was in bed and almost asleep. Her alarm was set for six thirty and she wanted to get as much sleep as she could, knowing that the next few days were important and required rest.
Her alarm rang early in the morning, making Rachel wide awake. She had nerves in her stomach, but wasn't sure if they were from performance anxiety or excitement about New York. She decided not to think much of it and proceeded to do her morning routine of getting ready.
Once she was finished and had her travel bag ready, her father's drove and dropped her off at school.
"Good luck, sweetheart," Leroy said enthusiastically as he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"Thank you, I wish you guys could come," Rachel said as she turned her attention over to Hiram to give him a hug..
"I know and we do too but business calls. The next competition for sure, Rachel," Hiram said as he pulled away, giving her back a pat in the process.
"Listen to everything Mr. Schuester says, okay?" Leroy asked, knowing that Rachel would obey the rules without his comment.
"I know dad," Rachel said as she smiled back.
"Okay, be good and have fun," Hiram said as Rachel grabbed her bag from the back of the car.
"Thanks," Rachel replied as she shut the door.
"And win!" Leroy commented, as he climbed back into the car.
"We'll try," Rachel said with enthusiasm. "Love you," she added as they started to pull away.
"Love you too," they both replied back as they drove away.
Rachel watched them drive away from the curb before heading into the school. She was a bit early but figured most of the New Directions would too due to the excitement of the trip.
When she walked in the choir room, she was proved right. Finn, Kurt, Sam, Lauren, Mercedes, Tina and Puck were all talking excitedly in the room. She smiled at them but glanced around the room for Will.
"Is Mr. Schuester here yet?" Rachel asked as she joined the group.
"Yeah, he's in the teachers' lounge getting some coffee," Puck replied with a smirk.
"Oh, well good. Every little bit helps to get the energy flowing," Rachel said a bit rambled. The others stared at her in confusion, wondering why Rachel was acting weirder than normal. It was Puck that gave her a look with a raised eyebrow to let her know that she was explaining too much.
"Yeah, anyways," Rachel heard Mercedes say as the group continued on with their conversation.
"I'm going to go use the restroom," Rachel commented as she pulled away from the group, using this as a chance to find Will.
"Okay," Finn said. "Yeah, I have to go too," Puck said, causing Rachel to slightly glare at him that he would follow her.
When they were out in the hallway, Rachel broke the silence.
"Noah, what are you doing?" she asked. "Using the bathroom, duh," he responded.
"Yeah right, you're following me," Rachel said as she stopped in front of the bathroom right next to the teachers' lounge.
"Okay, what if I am? I already know remember?" he commented.
"I know but I just want to have a few minutes alone so we can talk before everyone else gets here," Rachel explained.
"I can dig that. How are things going by the way?" Puck asked, truly interested.
"There good, we're happy," Rachel said with a smile.
"I can tell, both of you walk around with smiles all the time," Puck explained with a sneer.
"Well sorry for being cheerful. Maybe you should try it and while you're at it, help Quinn. I thought you said you were going to take care of her?" Rachel asked.
"I am but she hasn't really done anything to you yet," Puck explained. "She's still pissed about prom queen and Finn dumping her," he added.
"Yes but that all rounds back to Will and I," Rachel explained.
"Look if something changes, I'll talk to her, but for now just lay low," Puck told her.
"Okay, thank you," Rachel replied with a smile.
"Oh and if I don't get to tell you, I told Will about you. He knows," Rachel said, while Puck stared at her in concern.
"He knows? Really?" Puck asked a little worried of what his reaction was.
"Yeah, but he was surprisingly calm about it. He thinks it will be good for me to have someone to talk to," Rachel explained.
"About him?" Puck asked with a smirk.
"I don't know, I guess," Rachel said with a shrug. "The point is that he knows and we have trust in you that you haven't told anyone or will tell anyone, okay?" Rachel asked with a demanding look in her eye.
"No problem," Puck replied. "And speak of the devil, here comes your cradle robber," he added with a smirk as he saw Will walk out of the teachers' lounge, coffee and sheet music in hand.
"Hi guys, ready for the competition?" Will asked as he stood by Rachel, light hand on her back. Puck took notice.
"Totally Mr. Schue," Puck replied with a wide grin and Rachel nodding silently.
"Good, well let's hurry up here and head back to the choir room. We need to load everything into the travel van," Will said enthusiastically.
"Sure thing, Mr. Schue," Puck said. "Yeah, be there shortly," Rachel added. "Great," Will said as he began walking again, turning into the choir room and out of sight.
"So are you going to share a room with him?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow, once he was out of ear shot. Rachel gave him a shocked expression, a little thrown off that he would ask that.
"We talked about it but decided no," Rachel explained a bit sad.
"That's probably best anyways," Puck replied as he thought of the interruptions they would have with all the glee members close by.
"Well I don't' know about you, but I really do need to pee," he quickly added as he opened the door to the boys bathroom.
"Lovely Noah," Rachel said at his bluntness.
"What? A man's got to do what a man's got to do," Puck explained.
"Okay, I'm leaving you," Rachel said with wide eyes. She shook her head as she walked away, wondering to herself how Noah could say some of the most interesting things and not even care how they sounded.
When Rachel walked back into the choir room, everyone else had shown up, helping Will load the bags out to the van. She looked for her pink duffel bag but found that Finn had over his shoulder, his dopey grin on his face.
"You don't have to do that," Rachel said with a smile.
"It's no problem," Finn said, happy to do anything for Rachel. He still cared about her and was willing to do anything that would show that.
"Alright guys I think that's all the bags. It's time we head to the van and off to the airport," Will said with an eager face.
"Listen Rachel, I was wondering if you wanted to sit by me on the airplane?" Finn asked as they began walking out of the school.
"Um, I don't know," Rachel stammered, a bit surprised by his question. She had hoped to sit by Will.
"Come on, I just want to talk," Finn explained.
"I, okay then, I guess," Rachel agreed after thinking about it. It had been a while since either of them had really talked and surprisingly, she had missed that connection.
"Great, this trip is going to be awesome," Finn said with a smile.
"Do you think we can win?" Rachel asked.
"You know, I do, because we've worked hard and we have you," Finn said causing Rachel to smile to herself.
"Thanks Finn that means a lot to me," Rachel smiled back. Finn slid the door open of the van for her and both climbed in, followed by the others.
After driving about twenty minutes, the van had pulled in front of the airport and Will stood up in the front to give instructions.
"Okay guys, grab your bags and follow me to the airport terminal," Will yelled loudly so all could hear him as they began to shuffle around. Finn once again grabbed his and Rachel's bag and followed Will closely.
After their bag check and a half hour of waiting before boarding, the New Directions were called to their boarding gate. Everyone lined up with smiles as the attendant checked each ticket.
"So Rach, will you sit by me?" Will whispered as they walked in front of everyone in the terminal.
"I would love to but I told Finn I would sit by him. I'm sorry," Rachel replied, a bit guilty to deny his gesture.
"Oh, that's okay," Will said as he tried to mask his disappointment.
"I can tell him no," Rachel quickly replied. "No, it's fine, Rachel. Really," Will said as he went down to give her a kiss on the forehead for reassurance. He stopped himself though as the airport attendant looked at him suspiciously.
"Okay," Rachel replied quietly. "Ladies, first," Will said as they reached the end of the terminal. Rachel smiled and stepped over the landing and onto the airplane.
Finding their seats, Rachel, Will and the rest of the New Directions settled in for their flight. They took up four rows, with Will in the front and Rachel and Finn behind him.
After listening to the safety instructions the airplane took off and within minutes they were in the air. It was a rather long journey, so Will spent much of it reading, trying to focus on other things than the competition and Rachel next to Finn. He trusted her though and knew they were only talking. He could just barely make out their conversations but knew they weren't talking about anything serious.
Deciding to try to sleep, Will put his ear buds in and closed his eyes. He knew he should have been monitoring his students, but he had enough faith in them that they would behave themselves.
Before he knew it, the loud-speaker from the air hostess had come on; awakening him by saying they were descending into New York. He looked out the window and could see the city outline of tall buildings. He turned around to see what the kids were doing and most were talking excitedly amongst each other that they had arrived.
When they finally landed, Will stood up with a smile.
"Welcome to New York guys!" he said with a clap causing an eruption of applause and cheers throughout the plane from the rest of the members.