When It All Begins Again Chapter 25: Friend v Friend, Foe v Foe, a glee fanfic

Hey Everybody! I'm back again with another new chapter! (:

Really quickly I want to address one thing – I keep guest reviews open because I want to give everybody an opportunity to review and say what they need/want to. I also look forward to hearing from all of you on everything about the story, even the criticism. BUT, one thing I'm not going to accept is outright rudeness or hate. Telling me that something is "f**king stupid/dumb" is not going to make me want to include whatever it is you think is missing. In fact, it's going to make me want to do the complete opposite! There is one guest reviewer who got rude on the last chapter, and yes, I deleted that review. If you have constructive criticism, by all means, say it! I welcome any chance to get better, but telling me I'm stupid because I haven't included your/a character lately is NOT okay! If I keep getting messages/reviews like that, I'm going to 1) Turn off guest reviews, 2) rethink writing/finishing this story, and 3) If I do keep writing/finish the story, make me evaluate the inclusion of said characters and possibly write them out! With all of that said, I had an opportunity to include the character in question in this chapter, and I almost didn't because I don't want that guest reviewer to think I'm giving into comments and hate like that. The ONLY reason that character is in this chapter is because while I don't think it was completely necessary to the story, I enjoyed the little moment I wrote for that character.

To everyone else who leaves nice/sweet/encouraging reviews, I love you! Thank you for that! You are the ones that keep me inspired and writing this story!

Chapter 24 – Friend v. Friend, Foe v. Foe

As Caleb and Adriana walk through the entryway of the hall that's holding the Regionals competition, Caleb reaches down and weaves his fingers through Adriana's before squeezing her hand tightly. "Nervous?" He questions her when he leans in and leaves a short, sweet kiss on her temple.

Adriana blows out a deep breath. "Either that or my morning sickness has returned." She turns and gives her new boyfriend a deadpan look.

Caleb lets out a short chuckle before bending down and leaving a gentle kiss on her lips. "Everything's gonna be alright." He whispers to her when he pulls away.

Adriana smiles up at him sweetly before blowing out a deep breath. "One of this pregnancy's biggest downsides is that I have to pee every three minutes." She rolls her eyes playfully. "I'll be right back." Adriana tells Caleb when she pulls her hand away from his and steps away from him.

Caleb watches Adriana go with a smile on his face, and he's so distracted that he doesn't even notice when someone approaches him on his left side. "So, you and Adriana, huh? You make a good couple."

Caleb takes a deep breath before turning to face Nathan head on. "I figured you'd approve since it's not Sophie." Caleb says before even thinking about it. He no longer cared about what Nathan thought, or if his dry sense of humor or attitude would hurt his former best friend's feelings. Nathan had brought this all on himself.

Nathan lets out a deep breath. All he wanted was to make things right with Caleb and be friends with him again, but the other boy was not making it easy. "I'm trying here, Man." Nathan breathes out.

"Too little, too late." Caleb lets out quickly. When he turns to walk away, he sees Dominic approaching Sophie, who has her back turned to the Warbler as she checks something on her phone. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but it looks like your damsel might be in distress any second now." Caleb looks at Nathan over his shoulder. It wasn't that Caleb thought Sophie was actually a damsel in distress, but seeing as he'd been spending a lot of time with Adriana at Sophie's house lately, he knew that Sophie was in a pretty fragile emotional state still. She's strong, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't need any support when facing Dominic for the first time since the breakup.

Caleb's comment catches Nathan's attention immediately. He begins looking around, searching the room for Sophie, until his eyes land on her standing across the room. "I'll be right back." Nathan quickly tells Caleb half-heartedly while rushing over to be by Sophie's side. Like Caleb, he was sure she'd need the support.

Sophie notices Nathan approaching and smiles up at him just as she feels a small tap on her shoulder. She turns around to greet whoever it is, but her smile drops immediately when she recognizes her ex-boyfriend. "I thought I told you not to talk to me when you saw me." Sophie quickly crosses her arms over her chest.

"I just thought I'd come and wish you luck." Dominic smirks smugly when he notices Nathan stop and stand right next to Sophie.

"Turn around and walk back to your friends." Nathan glares at Dominic while clenching his jaw tightly.

Dominic looks between Sophie and Nathan and does a quick analysis of their body language. Nathan hadn't reached out to comfort Sophie, and she wasn't reaching for him either. "You're like a puppy following its master around, just hoping she'll throw you a bone." Dominic laughs out, hoping to get under Nathan's skin.

Sophie rolls her eyes. "It's not going to work, Dominic."

Dominic lets out a chuckle under his breath while watching Nathan carefully. He can see the older boy's temper starting to rise. "Why don't you tell that to your watch dog?" He suggests when looking back at Sophie.

Just as Sophie is about to say something else, Callum walks up and joins the trio of teenagers. "Oh, Sophie… How awful it is to see you." He dramatically lets out a sigh. "So, are you ready to epically lose today?" Callum lets a cocky smirk cover his face while reaching up and letting his elbow rest on Dominic's shoulder.

"Keep underestimating us, Callum. It'll make kicking your ass ever sweeter." Sophie grins back at Callum, not letting his trash talk affect her at all.

Callum gets a wicked look in his eye as he turns to face Dominic. "So, did you ask her about that thing?" He asks Dominic.

"What thing?" Dominic questions his friend, looking just as confused as Sophie now.

Callum turns to look at Sophie, square in the eye, before he speaks. "He just wanted to make sure you're clean. Considering who you've done, he wants to make sure he didn't catch anything the other night when you two had sex." Callum grins. Game. Set. Match. Callum laughs to himself when he sees Sophie's jaw nearly drop and hit the ground while Nathan moves to step forward, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Stop." Sophie reaches her arm over and keeps Nathan from moving forward. Knowing Nathan wouldn't push her away or even out of the way, she turns her attention back to Callum. "You're disgusting." She glares at him before letting her eyes drift over towards Dominic. "And, you're the biggest disappointment of my life." Sophie shakes her head while beginning to back away, grabbing Nathan's hand and dragging him away with her.

Once Sophie and Nathan are away from the two Warblers and out of both their eyesight and hearing distance, Sophie stops walking and turns to face Nathan. "Don't let what either of those jackasses said get to you. We're already fighting an uphill battle as it is." Sophie looks straight up into Nathan's eyes.

"Is it true? Did you sleep with him?" Nathan uses his hand to point backwards, towards where they'd been standing with the two Warblers.

Sophie bites her bottom lip while inhaling a deep breath. She hasn't exactly been planning to tell Nathan about her night with Dominic. "Yes, I did." She admits quietly.

"Oh my…" Nathan breathes out while reaching his hands up and running his hands through his hair, back and forth, a couple of times.

Sophie shakes her head. "You can't be mad at me, Nathan. You're not my boyfriend, and he was at the time." Sophie reminds Nathan.

Nathan takes another deep breath. "I'm not mad, Soph." Nathan locks his blue eyes on Sophie's chocolate brown irises. "I'm… disappointed. I'm sad even." Nathan tries to pinpoint the exact emotions he's feeling. "I always felt special being the only guy you'd ever slept with… And that's not true anymore."

Sophie takes a second to think about her response while licking her lips quickly. "It's my decision who I have sex with, Nathan. It's not yours, and I'm sorry but I… You and your feelings aren't my first priority anymore." Sophie shrugs her shoulders not know what else to say.

"I'm not disappointed in you, Sophie." Nathan begins to clarify. "It's me. Everything that's happened is my fault, including this. If I had just been honest, you never would have been with him in the first place!" Nathan gives voice to what he'd been thinking for weeks now.

Sophie takes another deep breath. "We can't do this right now, Nathan. We need to concentrate on the competition." Sophie tells him clearly before turning and walking away from Nathan.

Inside the hall, while everyone is taking their seats in anticipation for the beginning of the competition, Santana takes a seat between Sebastian and Frankie, who had joined the parents that day so she could also support the twins and their friends. "How are the kids doing?" Sebastian asks Santana, who had just returned from checking on the entire glee club. After working all week to create a new setlist, no one was entire confident in the new product. It was one of those times where they just had to hope and pray that luck was on their side in this one.

"They're all nervous." Santana admits to the co-parent and her girlfriend.

"It's going to be okay." Frankie tells the two parents, who just look at her with confused looks on their faces. Since when was Frankie any more optimistic than Santana and Sebastian were. "The boys and their friends have worked entire too hard for it not to go their way." Frankie tries to reassure the two.

Santana feels a smile growing on her face as she leans over and sweetly kisses one of Frankie's cheeks. The fact that Frankie was even here supporting the boys was more than enough for Santana to fall just a little harder for the other woman, but when she said things like that, Santana couldn't help but think that Frankie just might be the woman for her.

Backstage, Dominic and Callum are talking while they approach Isaac. "Why the hell would you say something like that?" Dominic asks Callum while they stop, getting into their spots for their first number. The Warblers were first up, and they were actually getting ready for the curtain to raise any moment now.

"Did you see the way it got under Nathan's skin?" Callum laughs to himself while pulling on his Warbler blazer, adjusting it slightly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he and Sophie are off arguing now, completely messing with their show-day chemistry." Callum lifts his eyebrows while glancing over at his friend.

"What are you two talking about?" Isaac asks while lowering his voice. He can hear the announcer introducing the judges out front so they'd be starting their first song any second, which means the microphones would be turned on any time now too.

Dominic turns his head around to look at Isaac. "He threw the fact that Sophie and I had sex in Nathan's face!" Dominic whisper exclaims out.

Isaac lets a pained expression cover his face quickly while lifting his hand up to rub at the creases in his forehead. "Perfect…" He sighs out.

But, before any of the three can say anything else, they hear the announcer introducing them and then the curtain is opening. All three turn and face the front, smiles plastered on their faces as the Warblers start singing the sound of their first song. Right away, Dominic starts singing.

Hey what's up! It's been a while
Talking bout it's not my style
Thought I'd see what's up
While I'm lightin' up
It's cold-hearted, cold-hearted

Know it's late but I'm so wide
Saw your face and got inspired
Cause you let it go, now you're good to go
It's cold-hearted, cold-hearted

The rest of the Warblers sing backup for Dominic as he sings the next two syllables.

Oh oh

The boys continue to backup for Dominic while the start moving slightly out of formation with sharp, precise movements following the beat of the music.

This is probably gonna sound wrong
Promise it won't last long (Oh oh)
If we can never go back
Thought you'd like to know that

As the music picks up, Dominic and Isaac begin to sing lead with Dominic. All of the Warblers start rocking back and forth to the upswing tempo of the song while also turning and doing the practiced arm movements.

He, won't touch you like I do
He, won't love you like I would
He don't know your body
He don't do you right
He won't love you like I would
Love you like I would

Dominic takes over lead again, jumping forward and singing at the front of the stage while his eyes look out and find Sophie in the audience. Her angry expression only fuels his fire, pushing his energy up even more.

It's okay to want me cause I want you
Been thinking it over, but I prove
So stop wasting all my time, messing with my mind
It's cold-hearted, it's cold-hearted

The boys back up Dominic again as he moves backward quickly, then turns and steps back into formation and does the choreographed dance along with the rest of the Warblers.

Oh oh
This is probably gonna sound wrong
Promise it won't last long (Oh, oh)
If we can never go back
Thought you'd like to know that

Isaac and Callum begin singing with Dominic again, their voices blending perfectly together while the rest of the Warblers only strengthen their sound as they sing backup.

He, won't touch you like I do
He, won't love you like I would
He don't know your body
He don't do you right
He won't love you like I would
Love you like I would

He can't hold you like I would
He can't love you like I would
He don't know your body
He don't know your body

Next to Sophie, Nathan reaches down and tightly clutches the armrest between them. She looks down and sees the veins in his hands practically popping up while his knuckles turn white. "Stop letting him win." Sophie leans over and whispers to Nathan. When Nathan's face turns to face Sophie, her expression turns soft. "This is exactly what he wants. Make you mad, and ruin any chance we might have at winning this thing."

Nathan takes a deep breath, reminding himself to calm down and think rationally. "You're right." He breathes out, still running calm thoughts through his head.

Sophie just gives Nathan a small smile before turning her attention back towards the stage, where if she wasn't thinking rationally, she'd run up there and punch both Dominic and Callum in their smug faces. She still couldn't believe Dominic had let Callum use their sex life against her. When Sophie takes a deep breath to keep herself calm, she unconsciously reaches up and squeezes Nathan's hand in hers, the one that he'd been using to clutch the armrest only seconds ago.

He, won't touch you like I do
He, won't love you like I would
He don't know your body
He don't do you right
He won't love you like I would
Love you like I would
Like I would

As the first song comes to a close, the Warblers take a few seconds to catch their breath before they start the second song of their setlist. While clapping their hands to the beat, many of the Warblers start humming while the others make up the instrumental of the new song.

When it's time, Isaac steps up and starts singing the first verse, the rest of the Warblers gently swaying behind him.

Ramblers in the wilderness we can't find what we need
We get a little restless from the searching
Get a little worn down in between
Like a bull chasing the matador is the man left to his own schemes
Everybody needs someone beside em' shining like a lighthouse from the sea

Dominic and Callum quickly join Isaac in the front of the stage, standing strong beside their friend, all three boys standing still as they sing their hearts out with the rest of the Warblers acting as a choir behind them, standing still as well.

Brother, let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you're low
Brother, let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

Callum begins singing the next verse as his two best friends take a few steps back, standing behind Callum yet in front of the rest of the Warblers.

Face down in the desert now there's a cage locked around my heart
I found a way to drop the keys where my failures were
Now my hands can't reach that far
I ain't made for a rivalry, I could never take the world alone
I know that in my weakness I am strong
But it's your love that brings me home

Just like before, Dominic and Isaac step forward to sing the chorus with their friend while the other Warblers sing as a strong unit behind them.

Dominic steps forward to take the last verse. He takes the moment to look behind him and smile at Callum and Isaac, his de-facto brothers. While he had one biological brother, he also had a special kind of bond with his two best friends – his true brothers in every sense of the word.

And when you call and need me near
Sayin' where'd you go
Brother, I'm right here
And on those days when the sky begins to fall
You're the blood of my blood
We can get through it all

The three best friends sing the chorus together again, their voices sounding perfect, strong and united together.

Brother, let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you're feelin' low
Brother, let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home

For the last chorus of the song, the rest of the Warblers walk forward before the entire group forms one big circle, all singing and looking at one another. The Warblers was one big brotherhood, and they were all singing this song for one another.

When the song ends, the audience begins cheering and applauding the prep school boys and watch as the curtain closes, hiding the Warblers from view.

Glee!

After two more groups had gone, now the New Directions are waiting backstage for their time to perform, which is in just a few moments.

Nathan can't help it, but he's still thinking about the fact that Sophie had slept with Dominic. As much as he wants to forget about it and go out and give his heart to the competition and to his team, nightmare images are flowing through his mind. Nathan knows he's in no shape to go out and perform so he approaches Caleb again. "I know you hate me, but I really need you to be my best friend for the next two minutes." Nathan estimates the time they all have before their turn begins.

Caleb takes a deep breath and takes in Nathan's anxious state. Nathan was never like this, not even before a performance. Something was going on, and in the best interest of the entire team, Caleb knows he has to give in. "What is it?" Caleb relents.

"Sophie slept with Dominic before they broke up, and I just found out. Callum made sure of that." Nathan practically growls the last bit out angrily.

"That's genius." Caleb shakes his head at the Warbler's dirty tactics. Then, he reaches forward and pushes Nathan's shoulder gently. "They know how much she means to you, and they're using your feelings against you, Nathan. Don't let them. Instead, use your feelings against them." Caleb pushes his former friend.

"How?" Nathan asks while shrugging his shoulders.

Caleb lets out a playful scoff under his breath. "When you and Sophie sing together, when you know you mean what you're saying, nothing and nobody can compare to that, Man!" Caleb says while reaching forward and pushing on Nathan's chest, trying to puff him up and get the other boy excited.

"It hasn't been the same since I came back…" Nathan shakes his head, remembering that the only time he and Sophie had even sung together since their breakup was this past week in rehearsals.

"It doesn't matter." Caleb shakes his head. "Why do you think we all insisted that you and Sophie sing a duet when we had to make the new setlist?" When Nathan doesn't say anything, Caleb locks eyes with him. "Because we know you two are going to go out there and be perfect together. You always are. It's a lock, a guarantee!" Caleb says, boosting Nathan's fragile ego.

Nathan lets a smile cover his face before lifting his eyes and looking at Caleb. "Thanks Cal. I needed that." He pauses while letting his eyes stay on his best friend. "It was nice to have you back."

"I did it for them." Caleb says while glancing around at all of their teammates around them.

"And now, from William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio – The New Directions!" Everyone hears the announcer introduce them as they're all scattered behind the curtain, backstage waiting in the wings for their cues.

As the curtain opens and the music starts, they see Sophie standing in the middle of the stage behind a single microphone stand.

Life is like a big merry-go-round
You're up and then down
Going in circles trying to get to where you are
Everybody's been counting you out
Where are they now
Sitting in the same old place
Just faces in the crowd

Quinn and Puck watch their daughter from the audience in complete awe. Here she was, by herself just the music and a microphone, and she was soaring in their eyes. She sounded beyond lovely, and beautiful didn't even begin to describe how she looked.

Puck watches, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, wondering if he'd ever been more proud of Sophie than he was in this moment.

We all make mistakes
You might fall on your face
But, you gotta get up

As the chorus begins, Sophie looks out in the audience, searching for Dominic, Callum, and the rest of the Warblers. This was a message to all of them. They may have cheated and tried to knock her down, but it was going to take more than a few stolen videos and mean comments to keep her down. She takes the microphone off the stand and stands taller as she begins singing.

I'd rather stand tall
Than live on my knees
Cause I am a conqueror
And, I won't accept defeat
Try telling me no
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror
I am a conqueror
Ooh oh

I am a conqueror

We all make mistakes
You might fall on your face
But you gotta get up
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face
Don't ever give up

As Sophie sings, Adriana, Stella, Audrey, Caleb, Rio, and Adrian walk out from the sides of the stage and begins swaying in two groups behind her. They begin singing the chorus with her, backing her up.

I'd rather stand tall
Than live on my knees (Than live on my knees)
Cause I am a conqueror (I am a conqueror)
And, I won't accept defeat (And, I won't accept defeat)
Try telling me no (Try telling me no)
One thing about me (Said one thing about me)
Is I am a conqueror (I am a conqueror)
I am a conqueror
Ooh oh

I am a conqueror

When the music stops, everyone but Sophie leaves the stage, taking her microphone stand with them, as Nathan walks out on stage with a microphone in his hand. He stands on one side of the stage while Sophie stands on the other, just looking at him.

Then, the music for the second song begins to play. And soon, Nathan is the one singing, his eyes locked on Sophie's and never straying. That was the one thing Marley had told them, the one note she'd given to Nathan and Sophie for the performance – Stay locked on one another and feed off one another. She wanted that intensity and vulnerability for this song.

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one if you want me to
Anywhere I would've followed you

Now, Sophie begins singing with Nathan. Both of their voices, while strong in pitch and melody, also hold a certain vulnerability in them.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Both teenagers keep singing together, their voices harmonizing perfectly, and looking at only one another, their eyes never leaving the other's, but neither Sophie or Nathan make a single step to move closer to one another. They're so connected, yet they're separated by an entire stage.

And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all
And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl

In the audience, Dominic clenches his jaw shut tightly as the watches the connection between Sophie and Nathan on stage. Even if he'd known it all along, the love his ex-girlfriend feels for Nathan is more apparent in that moment than he'd ever seen it before. Even if she wanted to, Sophie would never be able to deny that she was in love with Nathan again. Nobody could act that well.

And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye

Juxtaposing the words in the song, Nathan and Sophie now start slowly walking towards one another, each of their steps just a small distance closer.

Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
And anywhere I would've followed you, Oh Ooh
Say something, I'm giving up on you

Now, Sophie and Nathan are only a foot or so away from one another. Instead of closing the distance, they begin to circle around one another keeping that small distance between them the entire time. Once they've moved in a complete circle, they stop.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Just as they finish the last word of the song, both Sophie and Nathan take one small step towards one another, meeting in the middle and reaching out to grab the other's hand. As the music begins to fade, the turn and walk towards the back of the stage.

Once the music is over, the exit stage right. While Megan and Molly enter onto the stage, one from stage right and the other from stage left, and begin singing, Sophie and Nathan hand their microphones off and grab ahold of the tiny headpieces the rest of their teammates were wearing.

Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du du-du du du

Adrian bursts onto the stage and begins to sing lead.

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

Everyone else joins Adrian, Megan, and Molly on stage as Caleb takes over singing the next few lines instead of Adrian.

And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

Everyone sings together now.

Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah

Stella sings the next song while everyone dances their way into place.

Remember me for centuries

As they entire group begins the choreography that Rio had made with Jake, Hunter jumps forward and begins the next verse.

Mummified my teenage dreams
No, it's nothing wrong with me
The kids are all wrong
The stories are off
Heavy metal broke my heart

On the word 'heart,' the teenagers had paired off in two lines. The line in front fell back with their hands pressed together in front of them, only to have the second line of members behind them catch them and push them back up quickly.

Next, Joey begins singing and leading the group.

Come on, come on and let me in
The bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints
And, this is supposed to match
The darkness that you felt
I never meant for you to fix yourself

Now, Blair and Laura begin singing while they all prepare to go into the second chorus.

Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du du-du du du

Audrey sings lead while the rest of the group sings backup under her.

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

All the members of the New Directions are having so much fun with this performance that they've almost forgotten all the pressure they're under to perform and perform well. All of the stress of the last week washes away more and more with each second they continue sinigng.

Just as Audrey had done, now Via takes the lead for the second part of the chorus with the rest of the group singing behind her.

And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

Now, everyone sings together.

Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah

Tony sings the next line by himself.

Remember me for centuries

In the audience, Jake watches his sons with such pride and awestruck in his eyes. They were both having the time of their lives up there, and to see them doing the choreography he'd worked so hard on creating with Rio was a moment he'd absolutely never forget.

While dancing his way to the front in a spectacular fashion, Rio sings the next two lines.

And I can't stop til the whole world knows my name
Cause I was only born inside my dreams

Hunter takes over the lead again, giving this performance all he has. This was his first shot at taking any sort of lead or spotlight in the group, and he didn't want to screw it up. He didn't want to let his teammates down.

Until you die for me, as long as there's a light
My shadow's over you cause I am the opposite of amnesia
And, you're a cherry blossom
You're about to bloom
You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon

Molly and Megan start singing again.

Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du du-du du du

Austin starts singing now while the rest of the New Directions back up him. All of them executing Rio's choreography perfecting, hitting every move and beat just as the boy had intended.

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

Andrew sings the next lead, and he can't help but look over and smile at Molly, sending her a private wink. Things were so good for them, and honestly, Andrew had never been happier. He never thought he'd like singing in the glee club, but it was actually pretty fun – and he was happy to be doing it with the girl he spent his all his time thinking about.

And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

Now, everyone sings together again.

Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah

Adriana sings the next line.

Remember me for centuries

All of the New Directions members start singing together again.

We've been here forever
And here's the frozen proof
I could scream forever
We are the poisoned youth

Megan, Molly, Blair, and Laura sing the next part together, their voices blending so cohesively.

Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du du-du du du
Du du du du-du du du
Du du du du

Danny sings the next small bit by himself as the music drops dramatically and his voice is the only thing heard on stage.

du-du du du

For the last chorus, Nathan takes the lead with all of his friends backing him up. All of their energy is so high.

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

Everybody sings together again.

Hey yeah, oh hey, hey yeah

Sophie takes the last lead of the song, belting out like she knows how to do so well.

We'll go down in history

For the last line of the song, and their entire performance, every single member of the New Directions sings together again.

Remember me for centuries

When the song ends, they're all standing completely still as the audience members, specifically their parents, start roaring with applause and praise.

Glee!

Waiting for the last group to perform, and then for the judges to decide had been agonizingly painful for the members of the New Directions, but the group of Z-list judges they'd put together to judge this competition were dragging out the awards ceremony, making each teenager realize just how nice the waiting had been before – when they weren't up on stage for everyone to see what would either be their failure or the epic success.

After giving out 5th, 4th, and 3rd place, only the Warblers and the New Directions are left on stage. One will win, and for all intents and purposes, the other will lose.

From his spot in the second row of the New Directions, Rio looks over and sends a quick wink to Isaac, hoping to reassure the older boy that whatever happened, they'd be okay. They'd agreed to keep the competition and animosity between their two show choirs out of their relationship, and this was the first test of that.

As the clown, Bucky the Bozo, who somehow was deemed qualified to judge today, begins to open the first place envelope, Caleb reaches over and squeezes Adriana's hand in his tightly. This was it, sink or swim – they'd know the glee club's fate in a matter of seconds.

"First place in this year's Regional Show Choir competition is…" Bucky drags it out a few more seconds before his smile grows in that creepy kind of way that only a clown can do. "The New Directions!" He proudly announces while Marley walks forward to collect the trophy alongside Joey and Alice.

The rest of the New Directions are hollering in excitement and accomplishment. Right after hugging Via and Stella, and wiping some of the confetti out of her face, Sophie looks over to see both Callum and Dominic glaring at her with contempt. Sophie laughs to herself while walking over to them. "How bad is it when you can't even win when you cheat?" She taunts the two boys.

"This isn't over." Callum shakes his head. "We'll get a recount… There's no way you were better than us!" Callum exclaims while crossing his arms over his chest like a spoiled child.

Sophie ignores Callum's temper tantrum while turning to rejoin her friends in celebration. Before she gets very far though, she's picked up and being spun around in the air. When the person sets her back down on her feet, she turns to see Nathan smiling down at her. "Good job, Buddy." He's beaming down at her.

"You too, Friend." Sophie smiles back up at him while standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around Nathan's shoulders in a tight hug. It's as if they're saying that it's okay. Everything that has happened between them the last few months is in the past, and whatever happens in the future – they have a fresh, clean slate.

While hugging Sophie and feeling good for the first time in a while, Nathan catches a glimpse of Caleb over Sophie's shoulder. He sends a quick smile in the other boy's direction, hoping that maybe the ice has thawed just a little. But, when Caleb just sends a quick, noncommittal nod in Nathan's direction, he knows he still has a lot of making up to do to his best friend.

And there you have it, there's the latest chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! If you're feeling like it, please leave a review! (:

-Songs Used-
ZAYN – Like I Would
NEEDTOBREATHE ft. Gavin DeGraw – Brother
Estelle – Conqueror
A Great Big World – Say Something (Although I used Alex & Sierra's arrangement)
Fall Out Boy - Centuries