A/N: I totes tricked you guys. :P It's not the chapter you think it is. It's a VERY fun chapter. But, sadly, I have bad news, two: since it's chapter twenty, we have TWO more chapters left. I won't reveal next chapter until the end, but I must say I'm bending high school rules. :P And, the final chapter is pretty obvious.
Chapter Twenty: Around The Campfire, Roasting Marmallows, And Nearly Drowning
Mr. Schue grinned and looked at his Glee kids, wearing slightly cooler clothes since the coming of spring was soon. March. He knew time was ticking on Nationals. But, he figured, might as well have some fun with it while they had time. But, first thing is first: recruiting.
He had plastered posters all over the school in hopes that someone, anyone, would sign up. He had two names.
Dane Strickland and Marie Reeves. They were in his Spanish classes.
He knew that Dane was a popular football player that was tall, with black hair and wide green eyes. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had a good heart. Marie was a bookworm with a biting, sarcastic, witty sense of humor and straight brown hair. She didn't talk a lot, but when she did it was something important.
Mr. Schuester was pleasantly surprised to see Dane and Marie walk in silently. He greeted them with a: "Oh, hey! Kids, this is Dane, and this is Marie. They are here to help us win Nationals.
Dane frowned. "I thought this was homework help."
"Nope!" Mr. Schue said quickly. "But we do that, too."
Marie raised her eyebrows. "You don't know if we can sing or dance."
Mr. Schue frowned, then his face lit up, "Wait! I have a perfect idea!"
Daniella grinned, "What, Mr. Schue?"
He smiled and clapped his hands. "We need a team-building exercise to help with Nationals!" People reacted differently, some excited, some wondering what the crap he was talking about.
Hannah nodded. "That's a good idea!" She and Maureen began whispering excitedly.
"We'll go camping! This weekend!" He said.
Silence.
Maureen gaped. "In the woods?"
"With bugs?" Savannah asked. "I need some time before I faint from horror."
Oblivious to the not-so-happiness, he continued to talk. "We can go this weekend. It'll be great. We'll have lots of team-bonding. And actually, I know a Girl Scout camp that would be happy to lend themselves to us. My old friend April Rhodes owns it. It's a huge hit. So we'll have cabins and showers!"
"In the woods..." Maureen said.
Hannah smiled. "My dad used to take me camping. I actually love it."
"Then it's on! Glee club goes camping!" He said with finality.
As Hannah stood in her pastel room, packing a duffle bag with old clothes to wear camping, she heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" She said.
"Hannah?" Her blonde mother said as she brought a plate of cookies into Hannah's room. "What are you doing?"
Hannah widened her eyes at the plate of cookies and gulped. "Packing. Some friends of mine are going camping this weekend and I'm going with them."
Her mother gasped. "Why didn't you ask your father and I? By the way, I baked your brothers some cookies."
"Because...uh..." Hannah started lamely. "Can I have one?"
Her mother laughed. "Hannah, dear, do you want to get fat?"
She blinked and shook her head. "No..."
"Sweets and carbs are for fat people, you know that!" (A/N: I DO NOT agree with this! This is Hannah's mother's view on food and people, not mine. No flames, please.)
Hannah nodded, "I know, I know. I should know by now."
Her mom grinned and kissed her youngest child on the forehead. "Now, have fun on your little camping trip. Your father and I are going to New York for the next two weeks, Brady has soccer camp, and Brent has theatre camp, both for the next month and a half. Will you be okay by yourself for that long? Well, of course you will. You should-"
"-be used to it by now," Hannah finished. "I know. But, I thought the twins had to finish up some college courses."
Her mother shook her head. "No, Bill paid the college so that they could get out of for a little while. What are you interested in, dear? Maybe, violin, or piano? What do you want us to sign you up for?"
"Nothing," Hannah muttered. "Nothing at all."
"You cannot spend the rest of your high school life holed up in this room, listening to that John Mayer guy and watching Lord of the Rings. Get a boyfriend or something, I don't care, just do something besides that!" Her mother scolded harshly. She composed herself. "Sorry, dear. I have to leave, okay? Call me tonight, I'll be in New York."
She kissed her forehead, and Hannah heard her dad call, "Anna! Come on, our flight leaves in about five hours!"
"Bye, dearie!" Anna called as she joined her husband downstairs.
All of the Glee kids were lined up in the middle of the parking lot Friday morning, duffle bags in hand, tired and yawning. Alice was leaning on Hannah, half-asleep, which was odd because Alice was so much taller than her. Connor was practically carrying a sleeping Maureen. Tyler and Blake were holding hands and whispering softly in the back.
Everyone clutched blankets, Snuggies, and pillows, ready to board the bus at 5 o'clock at the morning. Mr. Schue grinned and motioned for them to load the bus and they threw their bags and assorted equipment in the first five or six seats, then lounged about in the rest of the long school bus's many availble seats.
Hannah curled up and slept the entire ride, listening with her iPod on low. Connor kind of felt like a creeper, because honestly, she looked so young when she slept. But when she slept, she wasn't smiling, and he could see little worry lines along her forehead, and pre-mature laugh lines.
Once arriving at the camp at seven, everyone woke up to see the sun rising. After many pictures were taken, they got thier respective luggage, and got off of the bus. Dane yawned cutely before saying excitedly, "Look, squirrels!"
He ran over and they scattered, and everyone giggled at the heartbroken look on his face. Savannah approached him softly, "You have to be calm, and quiet, and slow. Watch."
She knelt down and did this weird thing with her tongue, and it made a clicking, calling sort of noise. A squirrel cocked it's head and walked toward her cautiously. Dane grinned.
"You're awesome."
Savannah blushed before smoothing her Cheerio's uniform and walking back to the group. Mr. Schuester was conversing with a fake-looking blonde lady, with a grating voice.
"Welcome to the wilderness!" She called out. "I'm April Rhodes. Girls, you are in cabin A, boys, cabin B. There are twenty-four cabins, but twenty-two of them are locked," she winked, "so no funny buisness. I will be the girls' cabin moniter, and Will is the boys'. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good. There aren't many rules except these: no walking off into the woods by yourself, and there will be a group campfire every night from seven till ten. It's mandatory."
Marie raised her hand. "What excactly are we supposed to do while we are here?"
"There are heated pools, a game room, a theatre, and a spa, but there are also hiking trails, rope and tire swings, a lake, bikes if you want to ride, and a huge outdoor stage."
Maureen's eyes lit up.
"But there is a specific time that you can do each thing. So don't think you'll be spending all your time at the spa, ladies!"
Savannah frowned. "Damn."
"And no cursing!"
"Darn."
"Now, go check out the cabins!"
The group ran through the trail in the woods that led to a circle of cabins with a huge bonfire in the center. Different paths inbetween the cabins had signs telling you what it led to. For example, inbetween cabins A and B was a path that said 'To: Tennis Courts' with an arrow.
Hannah grinned and opened up the door to Cabin A, and walked in. About six sets of multicolored bunkbeds were in there, with a set of cubby-like boxes lined up, one on top of another, on the opposite wall. At the end of every set of bunkbeds was a large trunk, to put your belongings in.
Hannah plopped on the yellow bunk bed and sighed. "This thing is so uncomfortable. But luckily, there is one bunkbed for each of us."
Alice and Maureen chose the light blue and red beds, respectively. Blake and Savannah picked pink and purple, while Marie took the green bed. They unpacked their stuff, and changed into camp-appropriate outfits.
Hannah picked some denim short shorts, a faded yellow tank with a black off-the-shoulder knit t-shirt paired with black tights and ratty Converse. It was so eighties it made Maureen almost throw up. It was quite chilly for March, so Maureen opted for a dark blue sweatshirt and black shorts that hit the middle of her thigh, and some funky Hummel tennis shoes.
Alice wore a light blue sundress with rubber flip flops, and Blake wore an orange t-shirt with boy's basketball shorts. Savannah matched her except for a green t-shirt. Marie wore sweat-material capris that cinched at the knee and a tank top. They were ready.
All of the guys were wearing the same basketball-shorts-white-t-shirt-with-a-sweatshirt-and-sneakers- combo. Mr. Schue grinned at his kids and said, "Okay, today, you can do any outdoor activity you want. Go!"
They looked at him lazily. "Really?"
He nodded.
"Wanna go canoeing?" Connor yelled. Everyone cheered and followed him to the lake. He opened up the shed near the makeshift beach leading into the lake and pulled out six canoes.
Hannah and Maureen grabbed the first one they saw and smiled identically. A race. "We'll race anyone who dares to challenge us!" Maureen called out.
Connor smirked. "I will."
"Me too!" Sam called out. "Me and Connor versus Hannah and Maureen."
They pulled on lifejackets and pushed the canoes into the lake before jumping in them and almost flipping them. Hannah was the one in the front and Maureen was in the back. "Ready...set...go!"
Both pairs began paddling frantically to the cheers of people. Connor and Sam quickly passed them quickly and Maureen stomped her foot in frustation, only to feel something wet seep into her Converse.
Water.
There was water in their canoe.
Maureen looked around frantically and saw the problem: a dime-sized hole in the bottom of the canoe. "Uh...Hannah?"
"Yes?"
"Can you swim?"
"Somewhat, yes. Why?"
"There is a fricking hole in our canoe."
Hannah turned around to see water seeping in, and already pretty high in their canoe. She freaked. "Oh my God, we're going to die today, aren't we?"
Maureen shook her head. "No, we aren't. We are going to scream at them until they come help us!" She stood and screamed at the canoe that was so far ahead of them, it was a miracle they even heard: "SAM! CONNOR! HELP!"
"HOLE IN OUR CANOE!" Hannah screamed to no avail.
Sam turned slightly. "Dude, they just said they have a hole in their canoe. It's sinking pretty fast."
Connor shook his head. "I know Hannah and Maureen, it's just a ruse."
"Um...they're about to be submerged in this freezing water in the middle of March."
Connor turned around the canoe quickly and saw that Sam was right. The two began to paddle hurriedly before the two girls could drown, and they reached them just in time. "Quickly, Maurie, Hannah, get in!"
Sam lent them a hand and the dripping girls got into the canoe, and squeezed into it. The two boys paddled the canoe back to shore, to the worry of Mr. Schue.
"What happened?" Mr. Schuester asked. "Why are they wet?"
"There was a hole in our canoe!" Maureen exclaimed. "Could we get some towels?"
Alice nodded and pulled one out of the shed. Maureen and Hannah wrapped themselves up in it quickly.
"Be more careful next time!" He scolded.
Later that night, at the campfire, Mr. Schue pulled out a guitar. "Okay, who wants to sing some campfire songs?"
Connor laughed and raised his hand. "I will!" He began strumming an almost country tune and said, "It's called 'Slow Dancing In A Burning Room' and it's by my favorite artist ever, John Mayer."
"It's not a silly little moment
It's not the storm before the calm
This is the deep and dying breath of
This love that we've been working on..."
He sang loudly, over the crackle of the flames.
"Can't seem to hold you like I want to
So I can feel you in my arms
Nobody's gonna come and save you
We pulled too many false alarms..."
Connor felt tears fill his eyes as he sang,
"We're going down
And you can see it too
We're going down
And you know that we're doomed.
My dear
We're slow dancing in a burning room..."
Connor shook his head, as if telling himself to stop thinking like that. Hannah just looked at him with sad eyes.
"I was the one you always dreamed of
You were the one I tried to draw
How dare you say it's nothing to me?
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw..."
Connor continued to strum lightly, before singing,
"I'll make the most of all the sadness
You're not a bitch, 'cause you can't
You try to hit me just to hurt me
So you leave me feeling dirty
Because you can't understand..."
He changed up a line, because there was no way possible Hannah could be a bitch.
"We're going down
And you can see it too
We're going down
And you know that we're doomed
My dear
We're slow dancing in a burning room..."
Hannah closed her eyes, and the Glee club started to sway.
"Go cry about it - why don't you?
Go cry about it - why don't you?
Go cry about it - why don't you?"
He sang,
"My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room
Burning room
Burning room
Burning room
Burning room..."
He smiled bitterly,
"Don't you think we oughta know by now?
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?"
He finished and everyone clapped. Mr. Schue took the guitar back and strummed out a tune himself. "This song is called 'Do You Remember' and it's by an awesome guy called Jack Johnson."
"Do you remember when we first met?
I sure do..."
Tyler jumped in, singing,
"It was some time in early September
You were lazy about it, you made me wait around..."
Xriss winked and sang,
"I was so crazy about you I didn't mind..."
Connor grinned and sang,
"I was late for class, I locked my bike to yours
It wasn't hard to find, you painted flowers on it..."
Dane, unsure of what to do, hesistantly joined in and sang,
"I guess that I was afraid that if you rolled away
You might not roll back my direction real soon..."
Mr. Schue sang,
"I was crazy about you then and now
The craziest thing of all
Over ten years have gone by
And you're still mine
We're locked in time
Let's rewind..."
Sam sang softly,
"Do you remember..."
Tyler smirked and sang,
"When we first moved in together?
The piano took up the living room..."
S.J. sang, laughing,
"You'd play me boogie woogie, I played you love songs
You'd say we're playing house, now you still say we are..."
Connor sang, nudging Maureen,
"We built our get away up in a tree we found
We felt so far away but we were still in town..."
Dane grinned and sang in a pleasant voice,
"Now I remember watching that old tree burn down
I took a picture that I don't like to look at..."
Mr. Schue sang cheerily,
"Well, all these times they come and go
And alone don't seem so long
Over ten years have gone by
We can't rewind
We're locked in time
But you're still mine!"
He finished off with, "Do you remember?"
Everyone laughed and clapped, and they made their way to the cabins to get ready for bed. Luckily, each cabin had a bathroom with toilet stalls and shower stalls.
Laying on the top bunk, Connor stared at the ceiling sadly.
"What's wrong?" Dane asked. "Why are you staring at the ceiling like it kicked your puppy, which is actually not a nice thing to do..." he mused.
Connor grinned and shook his head. "Nothing, I'm just confused."
"I know the feeling," Dane admitted. "But...why?"
"Hannah..." he said quietly. "Should I give up?"
Dane shrugged. "You kind of look at her like a dog does when it's owner scratches it's ears. Except, less dog-like. Oh! Puppy-dog eyes! That's what it's called..." he muttered. "Anyway, Hannah is the tiny blonde girl who wears light colors, right?"
Connor laughed softly. "Yeah, that's her. I honestly need to give up on her, but I can't."
"Then don't." Dane shrugged.
The next morning, after waking too early for their liking and eating breakfast in the mess hall, the group gathered in the game room and played their hearts out. It was Saturday, meaning it was their last day there. Then, after taking a few swims in the heated pools (which was awesome, by the way) it was time for the campfire.
The Glee kids, clad in sweats and eating marshmallows around the fire, grinned as Mr. Schue pulled out his guitar again. "It's girl's night! Ladies, want to sing anything?"
Hannah raised her hand. "Me!" Sam grinned, then said,
"What are you going to sing?"
She thought for a minute. "Don't Let Me Fall, by Lenka." Mr. Schue started playing the guitar, and Hannah sang,
"Underneath the moon, underneath the stars
Here's a little heart for you
Up above the world, up above it all
Here's a hand to hold on to..."
Her voice was sweet, but singing this song, the sweetness was intensified by about million.
"But if I should break, if I should fall away
What am I to do?
I need someone to take a little of the weight
Or I'll fall through..."
Hannah smiled and sang,
"You're just the one that I've been waiting for
I'll give you all that I have to give and more
But don't let me fall..."
She looked to Connor slightly and sang,
"Take a little time, walk a little line
Get the balance right
Give a little love, gimme just enough
So that I can hang on tight!"
Hannah continued to sing the bouncy song,
"We will be alright, I'll be by your side
I won't let you down
But I gotta know no matter how things go
That you will be alright..."
She grinned,
"You're just the one that I've been waiting for
I'll give you all that I have to give and more
But don't let me fall, don't let me fall!"
Hannah softened her voice a bit and sang,
"Underneath the moon, underneath the stars
Here's a little heart for you
Up above the world, up above it all
Here's a hand to hold on to..."
She picked back up and sang,
"You're just the one that I've been waiting for
I'll give you all that I have to give and more
But don't let me fall!"
She finished with a smile and sang,
"You'll be the one that I'll love forever more
I'll be here holding you high above it all
But don't let me fall..."
Everyone grinned and clapped. Maureen smiled and said, "Mr. Schuester? Can I sing something? To wrap up our little weekend camping trip."
He nodded and she told him the name of the song. She cleared her throat as he began to strum.
"I've made up my mind
Don't need to think it over
If I'm wrong, I am right
Don't need to look no further..."
She closed her eyes and sang,
"This ain't lust
I know this is love
But, if I tell the world
I'll never say enough
'Cause it was not said to you
And that's exactly what I need to do
If I end up with you..."
She belted out,
"Should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there
Should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere!"
She breathed in heavily and sang,
"I build myself up
And fly around in circles
Waitin' as my heart drops
And my back begins to tingle
Finally, could this be it..."
She belted out,
"Or should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there?"
Maurie sang strongly,
"Should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place should I leave it there
Should I give up
Or should I just keep on chasin' pavements
Should I just keep no chasin' pavements
Ohh oh..."
She sang once again,
"Or should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there
Or should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there..."
She finished and everyone clapped with tears rolling down their faces. Maureen smiled humbly before saying, "It's called Chasing Pavements and it is by Adele."
They went back to their cabins, exhausted but happy.
Back at school Monday, they still faced one problem: they needed one more guy to go to Nationals with.
But that problem was solved when Sam was rendered speechless in Glee as Evan walked through the door, in dark-wash jeans and an evergreen t-shirt. "Excuse me? I'm new here. What's going on?"
"This is Glee club. We're kind of losers," Sam said breathlessly. "I'm Sam."
"Evan," he said.
"Come on, come sit beside me. Welcome to McKinley..." Sam said. Everyone hugged Evan and cheered, because now they had enough people for Nationals!
A/N: That was fun for me to write. Didn't have much plot, but oh well.
READ ME: Next chapter is PROM! You heard right! Now, not only do you have to send in song suggestions, but you have to send in the dress/tuxedo you want your character to wear! PLUS I changed it to where Sophmores, Juniors, and Seniors all have Prom together.
Review? Please?