I was shaking backstage. It was my first performance with Vocal Adrenaline and you could say that I was nervous. We were one of the last teams to perform and after we watched a few other teams I could feel my stomach start to churn. Kennedy grabbed my hand and smiled as we stood back stage. The rest of our team stood backstage waiting for us to just about end he song before they joined us on stage.
I took a deep breath and then the song started to play and the curtain rose revealing Kennedy and I to the audience. We took a few steps away from each other walking towards the center of the stage.
"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason Bringing something we must learn and we are led to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them
And we help them in return
Now I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today because I knew
you...
Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you, I have been changed for good" Kennedy smiled at me and then started her part. I looked out to the audience and saw the faces of my ex-team mates sitting a few rows back watching us perform.
"It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me is what I have learned from you
You'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart
Now whatever way our stories may end
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend...
Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you, I have been changed for
good."
"Because I knew you..." I sang facing her and then she joined me.
"I have been changed for good."
"And just to clear the air I ask forgiveness for what you blame me for..." She sang walking a little farther out on to the stage and I followed her.
"Well I guess there is blame to share..." I sang as I grabbed her hands making her face me and we stopped walking.
"And none of it seems to matter anymore.
Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood
Like a ship blown off its mooring by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a skybird in the wood
Who's to say if I've been changed for the better?" Our voice rang through out the auditorium in harmony.
"Because I knew you." I sang tugging on her hand a little bit.
"Because I knew you." She sang smiling.
"I have been changed for good." I took a few steps backwards towards the rest of the team who had filed on stage while Kennedy waited for the roaring applause to die down and the next song to start. There was a brief second of silence before the song started and Kennedy started to rock the crowd. I had to admit that the one thing she really knew how to do well was work the crowd that she was in front of.
"There ain't no reason you and me should be alone
Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"Tonight, yeah, baby!" The rest of the team echoed as we carried on the dance routine.
"And I got a reason that you're who should take me home tonight"
"Tonight"
"I need a man that thinks it's right when it's so wrong
Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"Right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight
It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you
Where we can both fall far in love" The best dancers and I made our way to the front of the stage as Kennedy belted out the chorus and we continued with the complicated routine that Shelby and Jesse had engrained into us.
"I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth
Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you.
Another shot before we kiss the other side
Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight"
"Alright! Alright!"
"Put on your shades, 'cause I'll be dancing in the flames
Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"Tonight, yeah, baby!"
"It isn't hell if everybody knows my name tonight."
"Alright! Alright!"
"It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you
Where we can both fall far in love
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth
Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you."
"I'm on the edge with you" I sang out loudly echoing her voice as the dance raged on.
"I'm on the edge with you" Kennedy continued.
"You, you, you..." Our voices faded out as we all continued on with the dance routine during an instrumental break and then Kennedy took the song over the top with the ending.
I"'m on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you
I'm on the edge with you!"
"With you, with you, with you, with you, with you..." We all froze at the ending as the crowd jumped to their feet in a roaring applause. Even the members of New Directions were standing and applauding for us.
We stayed frozen until the curtain dropped and then we all rejoiced and moved off the stage and back into the green room where Shelby, Jesse, and Dustin were now waiting for the team to file in.
We walked into the room and Shelby smiled. She didn't say anything but we all knew that she was happy with the way that we had performed.
"Okay the results will be posted in an hour. I want you to meet me in the lobby and then we will check the results so take some time and relax because if we make it to finals you are going to be in for a long night." We all rejoiced and then filed out of the green room and into the lobby of the hotel where the competition was being held.
As soon as we were in the lobby the members of New Directions came running over to me.
"Wow Rachel that was amazing. You and Kennedy are amazing." Kurt gushed and I couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks." I said giving him a hug. "You have no idea how much I miss you guys."
"We miss you too Rachel." Puck said looking around for Kennedy.
"So does that mean that you are going to come back?" Tina said with a hopeful tone.
"I don't know." I said looking down at my shoes. As much as I missed my old team mates I couldn't imagine leaving my new team. I was starting to forge a strong relationship with my new team mates and I couldn't just break it.
"It's fine, we don't need her." Michael said pushing his way to the front of the group.
"What are you doing Michael?" I asked as he glared at me.
"I am taking care of my team, Rachel." He said crossing his arms.
"You're team?" I questioned looking at the faces of his "Team mates" who looked like they wanted to kill him.
"They are more my team than yours."
"Look Michael we were the ones who came to talk to her." Mercedes said stepping up.
"Yeah well this conversation is over. Let's go." He said turning and walking away.
"I'm sorry Rachel, we have to go." Artie said rolling after Michael followed by the rest of the team.
I was sad as I watched my old team walk away but it didn't last for long. A few moments later Dean had his arms wrapped around my waist and he turned me around and kissed me.
"You were brilliant." He said as he pulled away.
"Why thank you!" I said with a smile.
"Don't thank me. I only speak the truth." He said with a smile and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the corner of the lobby where we waited for the results to be posted.
I could feel the difference in the lobby when the results were posted. There was a sudden excitement that filled the air and I turned from Dean to see the rest of the team surrounding us. It was a few minutes later that the coaches walked over to us with their arms crossed and their faces frozen.
"Well that could have gone better." Shelby said and I felt my heart sink. We had put everything that we had into that performance and it didn't seem like that was enough. "It's just too bad we are going to have to keep the number one place for another round." She said as a smile spread across her face.
Our entire team erupted into a celebratory cheer. Dean grabbed me as he jumped up and he twirled me around. While he was doing that I could see New Directions who seemed to be getting bad news which recked my mood. Dean placed me back on the ground and I slowly made my way over to them.
As I approached I watched Michael glare at me and then storm off. I then walked over to Kurt and gave him a hug.
"What happened?" I asked as he stared in shock.
"We came in fifteenth. We aren't moving on." I could hear the sadness in his voice as he told me the news.
"It's okay." I said trying to console my old teammate.
"You know what, it really is." He said pulling away with a smile.
"What?"
"We have worked so hard and I am just glad that we made it to nationals. Although wait until next year because we are coming for you. But for now you go out on that stage and show those other teams what you can do." He said pushing me back towards the celebration that was still going on.
"Thank you." I mouthed as I turned and walked back to Dean.
After the quick celebration we all made our way to the rehearsal room where Shelby worked us to death on the one song that we got to do in finals before she finally let us go up to our rooms for bed.
I hung back after rehearsals. Puck was meeting me in the lobby and then we were going to hang out for a little bit before I went upstairs. It was then that I saw Michael talking to a few other coaches that were going to finals. When he saw me he quickly ended his conversation and walked over to where I was standing.
"What was that?" I asked as he smirked.
"Let's just say people are tired of losing to you guys and they aren't above cheating to bring you guys down." He said as he started to walk off.
"Michael what did you do?" I asked grabbing his arm and making him face me.
"I just made it an even playing field, for everyone but you guys." He pulled his arm away from me and walked off.
I was still watching Michael walk off when Puck covered my eyes.
"Guess who." He said as he stood behind me.
"Puck I have to go." I said pulling his hands off my eyes and then kissing him before I dashed onto the elevator that Michael was getting on.
"Michael what did you tell those coaches?" I asked as the door closed.
"All the possible songs that Shelby will let you do." He said avoiding my gaze.
"Why?" I asked hurt by what he did.
"Because you and your mother cost me my career. You broke my nose and then she made we walk out of my ticket into college." He said glaring at me.
"I may have broken your nose but you broke my heart and as for my mother she never forced you to leave, you walked out!" I yelled and I watched him flinch at my anger.
"Yeah well it's too late now." He said getting off the elevator that was on stopped on his floor.
When the doors closed I leaned against the wall and thought for a moment. I had no idea what I was going to do but I couldn't tell my mother, she would kill Michael and the other coaches and that wouldn't help us now. Instead I got off the elevator and then raced to Rachel's room and banged on the door.
"What in the world..." Carmen sneered as she opened the door. "Oh it's you. Rachel..."
"Wait I need you and Rachel in my room. Please." Carmen looked at me and then grabbed Rachel's hand and followed me into my room where Giselle, Greta, and Hazel were sitting on the beds. When the door closed I started pacing the floor.
"Kennedy what is wrong?" Rachel asked taking a seat on the bed.
"Michael told the other coaches all the songs that we could do for finals. We perform last which means we are screw." I said turning to all of them.
"Where is that boy I am going to kill him!" Carmen said starting towards the door.
"Wait no." I called and she turned to me.
"What do you mean no?"
"I have an idea, but it is going to take a lot of work tonight and we can't tell Coach Corcoran." I said turning to them.
"Kennedy I don't know how comfortable I am with that." Rachel said pulling her legs into her chest.
"We don't have a choice. If we tell her ahead of time she is going to panic and that means we fail. Carmen can you get Jesse?" I asked turning to her.
"Yeah."
"Get him and meet us downstairs in the rehearsal room in five minutes."
"Aren't other teams practicing?" Greta asked looking at me.
"Not where we are going." I said turning and walking out the door.
I made sure that I got everyone up early in the morning. I was excited about finals and I knew that we had a winning number under our belt. Kennedy, Rachel, and a few of the other girls seemed worried but I just passed it off as pre-performance jitters. After breakfast I required them to take a temporary vow of silence while they all got their hair and make-up done and got dressed for the final performance. I made my way to my seat in the audience while they took their places in the green room to wait for their turn to perform. I had not been able to see the other performances so I leaned over to Will Schuester and asked him what songs had been done.
"Um...The Good Life by One Republic, a Happy Days Are Here Again Get Happy mash up duet..." As he continued to list out songs I knew that we were screw. Some one had leaked the list of songs that we had rehearsed and my team was about to go on stage and perform something that had already been seen. I took a deep breath and looked around trying to find Michael but I couldn't see him anywhere, which was good for him.
I watched as the curtain rose and I was confused when I saw just Kennedy and Rachel on the stage.
The song started and I could feel the anger rising inside of me. Rachel took her microphone in her hand and looked out to the audience and then started singing.
"Mama who bore me"
"Mama who gave me." Kennedy said trading off lines with her.
"No way to handle things."
"Who made me so sad."
"Mama, the weeping. Mama, the angels. no sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem."
"Some pray that one day christ will come a'-callin'."
"They light a candle and hope that it glows..."
"And some just lie there crying for him to come and find them."
"But when he comes they don't know how to go." They sang in unison and I could tell that this was turning into a great performance. Kennedy took over the next stanza.
"Mama who bore me. Mama who gave me. No way to handle things. Who made me so bad." they they both sang together.
"Mama, the weeping.
Mama the angels.
No sleep in heaven or Bethlehem..." That was when the song picked up and I heard other voices coming from off stage as the rest of the girls walked on stage. Followed by the rest of the team who started on an elaborate dance routine that I did not recognize.
"Mamma who bore me
Mamma who gave me
Mamma, the Angels
Who made me so sad." After that Rachel and Kennedy together joined the other girls and they all continued with the song.
"Mamma who bore me
Mamma who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so sad
Mamma, the weeping
Mamma, the Angels
No sleep in Heaven
Or Bethlehem
Some pray that one day, Christ will come a'-callin'
They light a candle and hope that it glows
Some just lie there crying for Him to come and find them
But when He comes they don't know how to go
Mamma who bore me
Mamma who gave me
Mamma, the Angels
Who made me so bad
Mamma, the weeping
Mamma, the Angels
No sleep in Heaven
Or Bethlehem." After the last note rang everyone jumped to their feet and some even let out whistles and yells as the girls took a bow and then moved off stage with the rest of the team.
I met them in the green room after their performance and it got deadly silent as I entered. Kennedy got out of her seat and walked over to where I was standing.
"What was that?" I asked referring to their number that I had not put together. Kennedy went to say something when Carmen jumped to her defense.
"Look Coach Corcoran Michael told the other teams our set list last night and Kennedy worked really hard on trying to put something together that would help us win despite Michael and his cheating..."
"Enough!" I said and Carmen backed up. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" I asked getting angrier.
"Because they didn't want to stress you out." Jesse said walking towards me.
"You knew?" I said turning to him.
"They told me last night and I agreed with them."
"Me too." Dustin said from where he was leaning against the door frame.
"Wait so was I the only person who didn't know?" I asked looking around the room.
"Yes." Kennedy said looking at the ground.
"Well let's just hope your little stunt pays off." I said walking out of the room and onto the stage where the teams were gathering to hear the announcement of the winners.
My team followed me onto the stage leaving some distance between where I stood and where they were standing.
"Alright, it is now time to announce the winners. In third place is Teenage Scream..." The announcer's voice faded into the cheers that were coming from one of the teams on stage. When it finally died down the announcer picked it up again.
"In second place is Jefferson City Airplane." There were more cheers and I could feel my heart start to pound. Jesse grabbed one of my hands and Dustin grabbed the other as we waited to hear how our team did.
"And the national title goes to..." There was a brief pause that seemed to last years. "Vocal Adrenaline." His voice faded into the cheering from both my team and the audience who seemed to agree with the final decision of the judges. I turned around to see Kennedy and Rachel hugging each other and then I walked over to the both of them and pulled them into my arms. I felt their arms wrap around me and then I pulled away to accept our first place trophy which I promptly handed to the both of them and then pulled them in front of me as the winning picture was taken. These past few weeks had been some of the toughest weeks of my life but this moment seemed worth is, and while I was mad that they had gone behind my back I was happy that they were able to pull this off. I had a smile on my face as we headed up to our rooms that night, a smile that would not fade.
A/n: SO I think that there is only like one or two more chapters left for this story. Which would be sad if I hadn't already told you that there is a sequel and if I hadn't already posted my new story. Which reminds me if you haven't checked out my new story Best Year Ever? you really should because I have been told that it is awesome. (that was my little plug for myself) Now back to this story. I hope you liked this chapter and I will try not to drag my feet on the other chapters in this story. So please review and let me know what you think!
-Katie