After school, the Glee club had a last minute "Super-Rehearsal", as Claire had nicknamed it. She had to learn all of the choreography in a few hours, before the bus left for their Sectionals competition. Thankfully, since Claire had multiple solos, Mr. Schue kept Claire's dancing to a minimum. After two hours of non-stop practicing, the bus arrived at the school, and the Glee club piled in, carrying their costumes and makeup.
The competition was being held at a high school about 30 minutes away from McKinley, so the bus ride wasn't very long. When Claire first sat down, she checked her phone, and saw that she had a new message from Ryan.
RYAN DAUGHTERY: No pressure or anything… but I may or may not be sitting in the front row tonight =)
Claire smiled, and began to reply.
CLAIRE DEVINE: Be glad I don't have stage fright, or the rest of the New Directions would be so mad at you… Wouldn't want me to mess up my solo!
"Claire… are you texting Ryan?" Kurt said in a sing-songy voice. He turned to the rest of the group, some of whom were smiling because they knew who Ryan was, and explained to the few who were as up-to-date than others. "She's been texting him non-stop lately. They are so cute. Claire can't stop smiling and… Oh my gosh, she's blushing already! I think she actually talks to him more than she talks to me."
"That's not true…" The girl blushed, hiding her phone.
"Is he the guy you met at Breadstix? One of the Warblers?" Tina asked.
"Which one, Blaine said was talking to two." Santana added.
"Claire can't be dating," Brittany said. "Compared to us, she's like a baby. Babies can't date."
"Weren't you dating Wes Brody a few years ago? How old was he?" Puck asked, although he knew the answer.
"Lay off it, Puckerman." Santana retorted, putting her head on Brittany's shoulder.
By now Claire's cheeks were cherry red. "…I'm not dating him…"
"Yet." Kurt added, and practically the whole bus started giggling.
"He's coming to Sectionals, right?" Quinn said. "I want to meet him."
"I think we all do," Mercedes nodded. "We need to approve him before he gets too close to Claire."
CLAIRE DEVINE: Warning: everyone on the bus is convinced that we are dating. And they want to meet you. Hide while you can.
RYAN DAUGHTERY: What made them assume that?
CLAIRE DEVINE: The New Directions is full of relationships, and the drama that goes along with it. All of the breakups, all of the melodramatic songs that fit, even slightly, to their relationship. Two people can't be friends without suspicion that they are dating.
RYAN DAUGHTERY: Well, are we?
Claire didn't know how to respond to that, especially with. Blaine, who was sitting behind her, looking over her shoulder and telling people what Ryan was saying. It was not even a full minute before Blaine and others were quietly chanting "Say yes! Say yes!"
"I'm not like this with you guys!" Claire began. "I just let you guys handle your own relationships without my input!"
"Technically you just admitted to being in a relationship." Rachel called from the front of the bus.
"You know what I mean!"
"But you're different Claire, you're, like, our little sister." Blaine said.
Before Claire could think of a response, the bus parked in front of the school. The New Directions piled out of the bus, costumes in tow, and found their "dressing room". And soon enough, they found out that they were performing last. Eventually, Mr. Schue told the group to get ready behind the stage, since the Glee club performing before them were starting their last song.
From the edge of the curtain, Claire looked around the front row, looking for Ryan. As she continued to scan the first couple of rows, she couldn't find him. Instead, to Claire's surprise, she found Cody Callahan, the other boy who had talked to her the week before.
Before she could think about why Cody was in the audience, it was time for Claire to go onstage. The song that opened the set for the New Directions was a duet between Claire and Quinn. When they got their cue, they both stood in their spots, on opposite sides of the stage. Claire looked towards her duet partner, and started to get slightly nervous. Quinn could tell, because when she met Claire's glance, she smiled towards the younger girl and mouthed the words "You'll do fine".
Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello, I am your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello
As Quinn sang her part of the duet, Claire continued to look for Ryan. But every time, she just saw Cody. She thought back to when she was with the two boys, they seemed to be angry with each other. Claire made a mental note to ask Ryan about it sometime. She wondered if he had seen that Cody was there…
Claire was so lost in thought that she almost missed her cue. She snapped back into reality and sang the Evanescence song that had been stuck in her head for the past few days. The light completely faded from Quinn, and now was slowly getting brighter on Claire's side of the stage.
If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken
Hello I am the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry
Claire looked towards Quinn again, hoping that she didn't look too nervous in front of the audience. For the final lines of the song, Claire stayed on the melody while Quinn added a strong harmony.
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello, I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday
The audience's applause was a lot louder than Claire had expected. The rest of the girls began to fill up the stage, making two rows. The front included Quinn, Santana, and Rachel, who had the first three solos. Santana took the first verse.
I can be a nightmare of the grandest kind
I can withhold like it's going out of style
I have the bravest heart that you've ever seen
And you've never met anyone
Who's as positive as I am sometimes.
The choreography for this song was very interesting to Claire, it wasn't what she would have expected from a show choir. What happened was after each girl finished her solo, one of the boys appeared from the darkness, and had a dance duet with the girl. They danced in the back, behind the girls who have yet to sing, in faded light, so it seemed as if they were in a completely different world than the singers. The song continued, with Rachel and Quinn each taking a verse.
You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here
I blame everyone else, not my own partaking
My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating
I'm the most gorgeous woman that you've ever known
And you've never met anyone
Who is as everything as I am sometimes
As the two girls went to the back to meet their dance partners, Tina and Brittany shared this chorus, with Brittany echoing.
You see everything (You see everything),
You see every part (You see every part )
You see all my light (You see all my light)
And you love my dark
You dig everything (You dig everything)
Of which I'm ashamed (Of which I'm ashamed)
There's not anything (There's not anything)
To which you can't relate (To which you can't relate)
And you're still here
Mercedes sang next. Claire felt bad that Mercedes was always under Rachel Berry's shadow, although she would never say that out loud. And now, in the older girl's senior year of high school, she was still not getting the main solos. Remember to ask Mr. Schue if Mercedes can get a solo at Regionals, Claire thought to herself as she listened to Mercedes' voice, and then continued to sing the chorus, with the rest of the club singing behind her.
What I resist, persists, and speaks louder than I know
What I resist, you love, no matter how low or high I go
You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything (You dig everything)
Of which I'm ashamed (Of which I'm ashamed)
There's not anything (There's not anything)
To which you can't relate (To which you can't relate)
And you're still here…
And you're still here...
There seemed to be a louder applause after their second song, lasting noticeably seconds longer. Claire used this time to scan the audience, not only the first row, but any row that she could see. She kept looking for Ryan, but here glance kept bringing her back to Cody. He always seemed to be looking at her, not at the group as a whole. His eyes followed her when she walked across the stage, as if Claire was the one sole focus of the group. Quickly, Claire realized that if Cody kept watching her, the judges probably were as well. She closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself, and found her place for the final number.
Stop me on the corner
I swear you hit me like a vision
I, I, I wasn't expecting
But who am I to tell fate where it's supposed to go with it
Don't you blink you might miss it
See we got a right to just love it or leave it
You find it and keep it
Cause it ain't every day you get the chance to say
Claire stood next to Kurt and Quinn during this song, dancing to the choreography that Claire had to learn in less than a day. Rachel sang lead for this song, with Brittany and Tina for backup.
Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
Oh, we could be the stars, falling from the sky
Shining how we want, brighter than the sun.
The next verse was sung by some of the boys, since the two previous songs were focusing on the girls.
I've never seen it, I found this love, I'm gonna feed it
You better believe, I'm gonna treat it better than anything I've ever had
Cause you're so damn beautiful
Read it, it's signed and delivered let's seal it
Boy we go together like peanuts and Paydays and Marley and reggae
And everybody needs to get a chance to say
Everything is like a white out, cause we shook-a shook-a shine down
Even when the, when the light's out but I can see you glow
Got my head up in the rafters, got me happy ever after
Never felt this way before, ain't felt this way before
For the end of the song, the entire group sang and clapped, encouraging the audience to clap along. Claire looked out at the audience, everyone seemed to be smiling. Cody had this big smile, and Claire couldn't tell if it was a legitimate smile or not, because it looked as if Cody was faking a smile. Why he would was a question that Claire couldn't answer, but she dismissed that thought as the New Directions finished the song.
Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
"The winner of your 2011 Sectionals competition is…the New Directions!"
The entire group cheered, but Claire was the most ecstatic. This was her first show choir competition, and she and her friends had won. As the group laughed and grinned all the way back to their dressing room, everyone was congratulating each other.
"Claire!" The girl turned around to find Cody behind her, holding a rose. She walked over to him, partly because it would be impolite to ignore him, but also because she was hoping that she would see Ryan walking down the hallway.
"Um, hi Cody." Claire said, feeling much more awkward than she would have liked. "I saw you in the front row."
"You were great. It appears that I have some competition to prepare for before Regionals. Anyway, this is for you." He said, handing her the rose. "I heard that you met my cousin. Mitchell Thompson?"
"You're Mitchell's cousin? Yeah, I met him last week. He wanted me to submit some poems to The Lima Literary."
"Did you?"
"Not yet, I'm not sure if I really want to. Most of it is kind of personal."
"That's totally understandable. But I'm not here to talk about poetry. My dad's friend owns a recording studio, and if you ever wanted to make a demo CD or something, we could bring you over."
Claire was speechless. This was how the drama in most chick flicks started – the girl likes one guy, another guy likes the girl, and the second guy tries to win the girl over. It usually did not end well. But then again, if Cody actually thought that Claire had the talent for this, shouldn't she accept the compliment?
"I'll think about it." Claire nodded, and saw Ryan running down the hallway. Claire could see change in emotion from both of the boys – Cody looking annoyed and Ryan looking confused.
"Look, I have to go, but think about it, okay?" Cody said as he swiftly turned around and left, giving Ryan a glare as he passed him. Claire saw Ryan looking at the rose that she was holding.
"Cody gave you that?"
"Yeah." Claire said quickly, hoping to change the subject. Talking about the other boy, no matter which one she was talking to, always escalated to unspeakable awkwardness. "Where were you sitting? I thought you said you were in the front row."
"I was, but then a security guard asked me to get a new seat. Looking back, it may have been one of Cody's security guards. Was he sitting in the front row?"
"He was. He has security guards? I thought his dad owned a hotel, that's not really a dangerous business."
"That's his dad. His mother stars on a TV show, I forget which one it is. I don't really care for it. But yeah, he usually has at least one person guarding him. I'm surprised he didn't follow Cody back here. But enough about Cody. You were amazing, and although I don't have any flowers, but I was hoping that you were still up for doing something tomorrow."
"Of course, I kept my schedule free for you." Claire smiled. The Glee club was going to have a post-Sectionals party the day after the competition, but Claire opted out so she could spend the day with Ryan. Although she would never say it out loud, she really liked him. And whenever Kurt or Blaine make fun of her for texting Ryan, Claire would blush because they could tell that she liked him. Since Dalton is in Westerville, which is about two hours away, Claire was never sure about how often they would get to see each other.
"I'm glad, because then I would be staying with my cousin for no reason. He's actually going to be at work most of the day, so we could either do something there or go out somewhere. I don't know how protective Carole and Burt are about you being alone with boys."
"They haven't really had to worry about it yet, but I could probably get Kurt or Finn to drive me over." In the mirror that was on the wall, Claire could see a handful of the New Directions members peeking through the doorway, trying to hold back their giggling at the sight of their "little sister" and her crush.
"I think that you are wanted." Ryan pointed to the mass of students, back in their normal clothes but still wearing stage makeup. The glee club immediately fell back into the room after being noticed, giggling so loudly that they were heard throughout the hallway.
"I'll text you when I get home." Claire smiled, turning back to the dressing room.
Ryan stood there for a moment before he left. He knew why Cody was here tonight. And it wasn't a coincidence that Cody ended up taking Ryan's seat in the front row. Cody has basically everything that he could ever want, but when he finds something new, he will not let anyone get in the way of what he wants. Right now, what he wants is Claire. And, like it always has been, Cody will pay and spend his way to the stop. So maybe Ryan's family isn't rich. Ryan's dad owns a small diner, not a hotel. His mom is a stay-at-home mother, not a television star. His family would barely be able to pay for Dalton if it wasn't for all of the scholarships that Ryan had applied for. But Claire was going to be different than all of the other things that Cody stole from him. Ryan really cared for Claire, whereas Cody does not have the ability to care for anyone other than himself.
Sorry for the wait! My cousin's birthday party was on Saturday, my best friend's birthday was on Sunday, and my electricity kept turning on and off over the weekend because of the hurricane, so I didn't want to risk suddenly losing a chapter because of my computer. My heart goes out to everyone that was seriously affected by it. I should be lucky that all we got over here was a couple of electricity flickers and ton of rain (the pool in my backyard is overflowing!). And ever since then, I have been working nonstop at memorizing my lines for the school play, which opens in 2 weeks!
But you guys don't really want to hear my excuses for not posting.
Anyway, so I'm not sure if I'm going to post this Sunday or if I'm going to gradually get back into the schedule by still posting week by week. Does that make any sense? I'm not sure. But I am really excited for the next chapter. I mean, you know that it's going to be good when the author is excited! The next chapter is Claire and Ryan's "date", and I have to admit, it's really cute. I usually don't write romance-y stories and chapters, but I just had to write this.
*SPOILER* Ryan sings a mash-up to Claire. What songs? Well, I won't directly tell you the song/artist, but let me just say that the lyrics are PERFECT for their situation andI believe that it is PERFECT FOR YOU readers! Kind of just gave it away, but there are tons of songs that could fit!
Okay, I really should finish my homework now. See you all soon, thank you for any and all reviews, and I love you all!