A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I've been ill lately so I haven't been able to work on the chapter much. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, I'm so glad you are still enjoying the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter and review again (: Oh and also, where lyrics are concerned with italics and initial stands for who is singing and bold italics for both. If both sing on the same line, the other person to the initials will be in bold.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Glee or the songs used in the story, sadly.
HPOV
"Just where exactly did you learn to dance like that? And you have gymnastic skills too, it's almost impressive." Rolling my eyes at the best form of a compliment I was going to get from the orange track suit clad woman in front of me. The orange was bright and just making her look like a walking carrot really and it was distracting.
"I've been dancing just as long as Rachel has, just where she's been doing more classic dancing to prepare for Broadway I chose hip hop and gymnastics and stuff. My dad made me learn some martial arts too for self defence so I'm pretty flexible." Coach raised her eyebrow and leaned forward onto her desk.
"You're in"
"Excuse me?"
"You're a Cheerio now, I expect you to..." I quickly interrupted her before she got carried away, cause as much as I love San and Britt and dancing being a Cheerio just isn't an option, yet anyways.
"Whoa, hold up there. Who says I want to be a Cheerio? Besides you have a full squad" She looked at me in shock, clearly no one has ever said no to Sue Sylvester before.
"You don't decide to be a Cheerio you get chosen, it's like Schuester's hair because he can't be stupid enough to choose to look like a lesbian, but brilliant instead of ridiculous. And Becky has been the weak link since we started this year, you can replace her and be co captain with Santana" I quickly shook my head, Cheerio captain is what Santana was born to do in High School at least, no one should take that away from her. I quickly scooted forward in my chair and looked her in the eye.
"Look don't take this the wrong way but I don't want to be a Cheerio yet, I'm happy just getting used to this place..." She opened her mouth to argue, a determined scowl on her face so I quickly put my hand up to stop her. "...but I will help you and the team, I dunno, maybe be a choreographer? I'll help you make routines and teach them to the cheerleaders when needed and maybe at some point in the future I'll take you up on becoming a Cheerio. How does that sound?" Sue leaned back in her chair, considering her options going off the look on her face before sticking her hand out.
"We have a deal, but you have to wear a Cheerio tracksuit or gym combination for gym class and come to the training I need you to come to, which is probably all of them. And, this isn't negotiable, you have to be a cheerleader for at least a year at some point" I quickly nodded and shook her hand, after all getting her to listen at all had been an achievement so I wasn't going to push it, I kind of do value my life after all.
"One thing, don't call me British Berry anymore Coach S" She looked at me smirking, clearly pleased with herself after shouting that out in the middle of the field. I swear if that catches on I won't be held accountable for my actions, it's just insulting really because yes I am British and now technically a Berry but there's just no need for it. Especially when I've heard how people call Rach 'Berry' in the halls.
"Fine, now your clothes and a uniform are waiting on the chair behind you." I quickly turned in my chair to look behind me, seeing a red Cheerio duffel bag sitting there, I raised my eyebrow in question.
"You know they are my size how exactly?" Sue simply smiled, resembling the cat that got the cream before answering in a voice that sounded as though it belong on a horror movie.
"I know everything" Right, of course you do. Quickly nodding my head and grabbing the bag I headed out of the office, waving as I went before putting the bag on my shoulder and slipping my earphones in putting my iPod on. There was still just over ten minutes before the bell rang and the others would head to the choir room. Making my way to my locker I smiled contently as Show Me How to Live by Audioslave filled my eardrums.
In with the early dawn
moving right along
I couldn't buy an eyeful of sleep
and in the aching night
under satellite
I was not received
Opening my locker I couldn't resist singing along quietly, well aware that lessons were still going on around the school. Throwing the bag with the Cheerio stuff in, I quickly made work on getting my bag ready so Mercedes, Tina and I could leave straight after Glee to go to the mall. Seems like after Rach and Finn got together and then Noah and I, Artie manned up and asked Tina out on a date to the movies tonight so that is why arrangements were made that us three would go shopping after glee to get Tina the perfect outfit. Rachel was going to hang around the auditorium until after football practice and then Finn was taking her out bowling which had Rach running around giddy all last night while singing sappy love songs. The smile on her face was priceless.
with the stolen parts nail in my hand from my creator
a telephone in my heart
someone get me a priest
to put my mind to bed
this ringing in my head
is this a cure or is this a disease
you gave me life now
show me how to live
Closing my locker I tensed as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. Quickly pulling the right earphone out my ear as I spun around to face the person, I was met with the smirking face of my boyfriend who quickly placed a kiss on my lips.
"Hey baby" I smiled at him, slightly confused at how he managed to get out early.
"Hey how did you get here so quickly?" He shrugged his shoulders before tightening his grip around me, making me be pulled in so I was flush against him, before resting his head in the crook of my neck.
"I left when you did, figured you would be here by the time I showered and stuff." His breath on my neck caused me to involuntary shiver against him and I could feel him smirking against my neck as he started placing butterfly kisses up my neck making my eyes close before whispering in my ear as he reached it. "What did Sylvester want? Oh and that dancing earlier, total turn on and I'm pretty sure I saw a bit of a tattoo on your left hip or am I imagining things?" Placing one last kiss behind my ear he pulled away to look at me, I opened my eyes to see him still smirking and feeling proud of the way I react to him. I lightly smacked him on the shoulder smiling at him.
"You can be mean sometimes, you know that?" We both laughed as he nodded and placed a kiss on my forehead before putting his forehead on mine looking straight into my eyes. The second his hazel lock onto my brown, I feel mesmerised and as though my bloods on fire. All day I've been asked what I can see in Puck to actually go out with him and I just smile at them and reply with 'Lots of things' and it's moments like these that makes me sure that this isn't a mistake. People can gossip all they want about why I'm with him or vice versa but they don't know him like I do, even though they've known him longer. He lets me in passed all the 'Puck' front and lets me see Noah and it's amazing, not that anyone would believe that there is a different side to him other then the cougars and dumping people in dumpsters. "Sylvester wanted me to be a Cheerio, but I told her no so now I'm the choreographer and have to be a Cheerio for at least a year as part of the deal and as for the tattoo, I think you are imaging things" He can tell I'm lying about the tattoo, I cant wipe the stupid smile off my face long enough to pull a straight face to get away with it.
"Really? Guess you won't mind if I look then" He pulls his head away from mine and looks toward the waistband of my jeans before gently lifting the bottom of my top up slightly showing a glimpse of the tattoo, then placing his hand on the waistband looking at me with this intense look in his eye silently asking me if its okay to do this. Nodding and smiling in return, I quickly put my hand on top of his at my jeans before pulling them away from my hips, showing the black Chinese symbol that is on my left hip and the top of my navy lace boy shorts, causing him to groan.
"Baby, that's sexy as hell and pretty damn badass and coming from me, you know that's a compliment" I had to laugh at his reaction and the smirk on his face. "What does it mean?"
"It's the Chinese symbol for love; I got it just under a year ago after nagging at my parents for ages. My dad asked me why love, thinking I was getting it for my ex but I explained why I wanted it. My Dad's mom was very much into the whole Chinese symbols to represent stuff and all that and this way I would always remember her and everyone important as she used to say 'Love is never a bad thing Haley, it just has the potential to be in the wrong hands, but even then it's pretty damn fun'" He smiled at me, not the usual Puck smirk/smile, but the Noah smile that reaches his eyes and causes his cheeks to dimple slightly.
"Only your grandmother would say something philosophical and then bring down the tone within the same sentence. It's clearly genetic" I playfully scowled at him, swatting his shoulder before deciding that all this teasing simply had to be returned. As an idea formed in my head I couldn't help the smirk that was starting to form so I quickly bit my bottom lip, looking up at Noah before moving so that I was exactly flush against him, my eyes never leaving his. Watching as his eyes seem to darken and glaze over I can't help the little victory dance going on in my head as I slowly moved my face up the side of his neck before stopping at his ear feeling even more victorious as he shivers against me. Making sure my mouth is just at his earlobe so that my breath is hot against his ear.
"We should head to glee" With that I quickly pulled away from him and winked before turning and walking off in the direction of the choir room, looking over my shoulder to see Noah to still standing there in a daze before his head quickly turns in my direction.
"Hey!" And with that I'm off running down the hallway laughing with Noah's footsteps and laugh following me.
WPOV
The choir room was buzzing with the chatter from the club as I walked through the doors. Artie was sitting on the side closest to the door, with Tina beside him and then Kurt all in a conversation. Haley was on Kurt's right straddling the chair facing Santana, Rachel and Brittany talking animatedly, with Puck beside her their hands linked and fingers laced in between them as he sat talking to Finn, who Rachel was leaning against, and Mike and then Matt and Mercedes in the back in their own little world of their own. Its still a bit of a shock to see them all get along like this, if Rachel had tried to engage in conversion with the Cheerio's before the Latina would have had no trouble putting 'Man hands' in her place. Placing my stuff down on the piano I quickly clapped my hands together to get everyone's attention.
"Right guys as we all know today is performance day. So which of you is going first?" Brittany quickly jumped to her feet dragging Santana with her, nodding at the band who smiled back at the blonde Cheerio. The two stood at the front of the room, smiling at their audience.
"Well we picked this song because it's one of our guilty pleasures and totally keeps us going after a hard day with coach!" Everyone laughed at the bubbly cheerleader as Santana playfully rolled her eyes before signalling the band.
[B]: Into your head, into your mind
out of your soul, race through your veins
You can't escape, you can't escape
[S]: Into your life, into your dreams,
Out of the dark, sunlight again.
You can't explain, you can't explain
[B]: Can you feel it, can you feel it
[S]: Rushin' through your hair
Rushin' through your head
[B]: Can you feel it, can you feel it
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every colour that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try.
[S]: Pullin' you in, spinning you 'round
Lifting your feet right off the ground,
You can't believe it's happening now
[B]: Can you feel it, Can you feel it
Rushin' through your hair
Rushin' through your head
Can you feel it, Can you feel it
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try
[S]: It takes you to another place,
imagine everything you can
[B]: All the colors start to blend,
Your system overloads again
[S]: Can you feel it?
Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try
Don't let nobody tell you, Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Don't let nobody tell you,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Be every color that you are,
Into the rush now,
You don't have to know how,
Know it all before you try
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Everyone was up on their feet clapping as the song come to an end and I was pleasantly surprised at the range the girls had.
"Alright, that was excellent guys! Who dares follow these two?" Matt and Mike quickly stood up and walked to where the girls were previously standing, smiles on their faces before Mike spoke up.
"For our song we decided that it represents us cause it shows off our mad skills" This earned a few chuckles, especially since he combined it with pulling the collar on his polo. Mike nodded at the band and the pair broke into Yeah by Usher accompanied with dance moves including pulling Mercedes and Brittany up to dance with them and eventually all of the club were up dancing and doing the dance moves as they were called. As the song ended everyone burst into cheers and hugged each other before complimenting the boys.
"Damn, triple threat, you can sing, rap and dance" We all laughed at Finn's comment as the boys in question slightly tinted pink from the attention. To quickly get a move on with things I walked back to my seat next to Brad at the piano and watched as the others returned to their own seats.
"Right, who's next?"
Kurt and Tina quickly rose from their seats and strutted to the front of the room and I noticed Haley and Artie did a mini clap for them as they stood there. Kurt did his signature move, pushing his hair from his face while Tina smiled all gooey eyed at Artie.
"Our song represents all of us really, except maybe Miss King over there since she was lucky enough not to come from this little cow town" And with that the pair went into Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, alternating verses and coming together flawlessly on the chorus. This could be a serious candidate for sectionals. As the song ended we all clapped as I stood and walked towards the two, patting them on their backs in congratulations before the pair bowed and went back to their seats. I rubbed my hands together, smile on my face as I was genuinely excited to see what the next three pairs have managed to come up with. Especially Haley and Rachel since they have such powerful and wide ranges and since Rachel usually controls the partner or group work she's in I have a feeling Haley wouldn't let her just take over.
"Next?" Artie rolled to the front, Mercedes walking behind him. I quickly got out the way so they could be in the spotlight and noticed that Brad had moved slightly so that his hands were hovering over the keys of the piano.
"Well our song is something you won't be expecting, we stumbled upon it when we were searching at found that the title and the lyrics has a meaning, especially with us being in glee. We're going to do Words by Anthony David and India Arie" With that Brad started playing the piano and Artie's smooth voice filled the room, contrasting beautifully with Mercedes' as the soft song played out. The emotions and blend of those two voices together is a great fit, something I'll have to keep in mind for future performances. When the song ended everyone once again clapped before Puck and Finn stood up and walked to the front.
"Well our song isn't a classic rock song..." A few gasps were heard around the room and a few chuckles, including from myself as with Finn and Puck both being into rock I was expecting Finn to make Puck do some classic rock song, obviously not the case."...it's still a rock song though, but we thought this song just fit" And with that Puck smiled at Haley softly, shocking me slightly as I've never actually seen the boy smile before, always smirking, but never smiling and certainly not like that. The boys then went into an amazing rendition of Crashed by Daughtry, their voices blending well together as they both suit this style of song. I watched as the pair sang the song, eyes hardly leaving their girlfriends who were sitting there with these smiles on their faces that makes me happy for them but hurts at the same time. Once upon a time Terri looked at me like that, we looked at each other like that, and now it's just...forced and stressed with the pregnancy and Emma. As the club clapped Haley and Rachel ran to Puck and Finn who caught them in hugs, Puck swinging Haley around as she kissed him softly before putting her back on her feet I forced all thoughts of Terri away and focused back on the group. I clearly wasn't quick enough though; as Haley noticed me looking zoned out and was looking at me with a questioning expression. None of the others know this but Haley actually knew what was happening at home with Terri, the baby and Emma and I know a bit about her parents. It all started one night when I went to the park to escape after another argument with Terri over new houses and cars and Haley was there, sitting on one of the swings. She had tear tracks down her cheeks, red puffy eyes and a slightly red nose so I approached her and she told me that the park was her escape when times got hard and from there we talked about our problems. All of my 'gleeks' are like my kids, but she feels more like a daughter then the others. Whether that's because I'm aware of how alone she can be and I know she needs that parental role in her life I don't know but its there. I just smiled reassuringly at her and went to speak but was beaten to the punch.
"Right guys now it's Haley's and I's turn so please take your seats and prepare to be amazed as this song is really an amazing combination of two voices with melodies that will..." Haley quickly put her hand over her mouth as we all laughed at the cousins antics, they really do act like sisters.
"What Rach is trying to say is that our song is something you probably won't expect from me but it's been a favourite duet of ours since we found it and the ability to sing, enjoy it." Removing her hand from Rachel's mouth she nodded at Brad and then the band which I just realised had some people from Brad's music class in, before sharing a grin with Rachel.
[H]: I'm scared, so afraid to show I care
Will he think me weak if I tremble when I speak?
Ooh, what if there's another one he's thinking of?
Maybe he's in love, I'd feel like a fool
Life can be so cruel, I don't know what to do
[R]: I've been there with my heart out in my hand
But what you must understand
You can't let the chance to love him pass you by
Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper tender words so soft and sweet
[H]: I'll hold him close to feel his heart beat
[R]:Love will be the gift you give yourself
[R]: Touch him with the gentleness you feel inside, I feel it
Your love can't be denied, the truth will set you free
You'll have what's meant to be, all in time you'll see
[H]: Ooh, I love him, then show him
Of that much I can be sure, hold him close to you
I don't think I could endure if I let him walk away
When I have so much to say
Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper tender words so soft and sweet
[H]: I'll hold him close to feel his heart beat
[R]:Love will be the gift you give yourself
[H]: Love is light that surely glows
In the hearts of those who know
It's a steady flame that grows
[R]: Feed the fire with all the passion you can show
[H]: Tonight love will assume its place
[R]: This memory time cannot erase
Your faith will lead love where it has to go
Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper tender words so soft and sweet
[H]: I'll hold him close to feel his heart beat
[R]:Love will be the gift you give yourself
Ooh, never let him go
HPOV
As we finished the song I quickly grabbed Rach and pulled her into a massive hug which she returned as the others all clapped for us. We decided on this song because it was a duet we both liked, Rachel got to be Barbra Streisand, it shows off our range and at the time we both liked our now boyfriends and it seemed appropriate. The hug suddenly got larger as I felt a hand on my arm as Finn put his hand on Rachel's arm and kissed her. Smiling I turned to Noah, who had this amazing smile on his face that lit up his eyes as he swooped down and kissed me quickly, whispering a quick 'you rocked baby' as Kurt worked his way in between Rach and I, tears in his eyes and then everyone else got in creating a group hug.
"Hey, why so teary?" I squeezed his shoulder in a sign of comfort as he laughed shaking his head.
"You did Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand, and you killed it and I just got sucked in" Shaking my head I laughed at him as we all broke apart and headed back to our seats, my hand being took into Noah's larger one as soon as the hug broke he lead the way. Mr Schue was back up in the front of the room, smile on his face as he laughed that laugh he always does when he's shocked.
"Guys that was amazing! You all did so well!"
"Safe to say the Berry's wiped the floor with us all though, I mean Celine and Barbra, we had no chance" Kurt nudged my elbow with his as we all laughed before I shrugged.
"I warned you at the cinema that we would blow you away" Santana chuckled before scoffing.
"Yeah you did, but you made him cry Hales" Everyone burst into laughter as Kurt put his head in his hands muttering how it wasn't his fault before removing his hands and laughing himself.
"Alright, I will admit that Rachel and Haley's performance was sensational and I think we all agree that they won that little battle of the duets?" Everyone but Rach and I nodded. "Right, now I have something so fun for your next task"
"More group work?" Mr Schue nodded.
"Yeah Mike, but this you will also have solos and different groups. Figgins' has allowed us to promote glee club in next Friday's assembly" And that piece of wonderful news was met with something that was a rarity with us – silence.
Songs used in this chapter are Show Me How To Live by Audioslave, Rush by Aly and Aj, Yeah by Usher, Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, Words by Anthony David and India Arie, Crashed by Daughtry and Tell Him by Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand. Will probably make the chapter better if you listen to the songs (: