Hi there!

I really have no formal introduction so...

Enjoy!

For the next few weeks leading up to West Side Story auditions, Rachel practiced non-stop wherever she went. No matter where she was, she was either singing all the songs, reciting lines from the script, dancing around, or pretty much anything that had to do with the show.

Everyone was glad to help her too. The Warblers helped her pick out audition songs. She was originally going to sing I Feel Pretty, but they convinced her that even on Broadway, the judges would be more impressed if she sang a song outside of the show.

Blaine helped her with lines in case Artie required a cold read. He eased her from being too dramatic and sharp with her reactions to being loose and natural when reciting. "Honey, I really do think you have this audition in the bag. You know everything already, front to back! You even know everyone else's line!"

Finally it was audition day. Rachel took another look at the audition list to go over who she was up against. Mike, Tina, Brittany, Quinn, Rory, Puck, and Santana were auditioning and of course...Kurt. She closed her eyes and sighed, deciding that no matter what part he wound up getting, she would just grin and bear it.

After school, she made her way to the auditorium with her music sheets holding her breath. The whole room was partially packed, she was surprised to even see the whole football team there! She spotted Santana, Brittany, Rory, Quinn, Sam, and Puck sitting on one side of the room and went to join them. Mike sat on the other side with Tina and Kurt.

Finally Artie, Ms. Pillsbury and Coach Beiste arrived and took their seats at the center on the auditorium. "Welcome to auditions for West Side Story. We will listen to your auditions one by one and if we consider more than one person for a single part, we will contact certain people to return for callbacks. First we'll listen to your audition songs and then we'll call up random people for cold reads. Break a leg! Who's first?"

Mike hopped up on stage. "Hi, I'm Mike and I will be auditioning for the part of Riff."

The auditions went by pretty smoothly. There were really good ones and really bad ones. Surprisingly, no one auditioned for the part of Maria which gave Rachel much hope.

Finally it was time for her to go up since she was the last one to audition. Everyone else was dismissed after their audition but Santana, Brittany, Quinn, Rory, Sam, Puck, and Mike decided to stay. They all hugged her and wished her luck. She was even mildly surprised to see that Kurt and Tina stayed.

Legs shaking, she wobbled her way on stage and faced the judges. "Hello, my name is Rachel Berry and I will be auditioning for the part of Maria."

Artie folded his hands together. "And what will you be singing for us today, Miss Berry?"

She smiled. "I will be singing Somewhere."

Ms. Pillsbury cleared her throat. "Very well, begin when ready Rachel."

Rachel took a deep breath and began the song.

There's a place for us,
Somewhere, a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere

There's a time for us,
Someday a time for us
Time together with time to spare
Time to learn
Time to care
Someday

As she sang, she imagined the whole auditorium was filled with people smiling and amazed at her wonderful voice. She wished Blaine was there to see this.

Somewhere,
We'll find a new way of living

Oh, oh, we'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere

There's a place for us,
A time and a place for us
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold... my hand and I'll take... you there

Somehow
Someday
Somewhere...

As she held out her last note, she saw a mix of reactions from everyone. Her friends on one side of the auditorium smiling encouragingly, Kurt and Tina on the other side trying to hide how impressed they were while Artie smiling like mad and the other two ladies on the verge of tears.

After her song, there was literally pin drop silence. Everyone's jaw was dropped in shock and she crossed her fingers behind her back that she did well.

Finally Artie, who was staring at her like she was in a trance, shook his head. "Brava, Rachel, brava."

Everyone started clapping. Her friends on the left side were clapping, cheering, and whooping. Coach Beiste and Ms. Pillsbury were wiping their eyes.

She curtsied and made her way off stage towards her friends. Puck handed her a bottle of water while everyone hugged her tightly.

Artie clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Fantastic job, everyone! You are all dismissed. Ms. Pillsbury, Coach Beiste and I will discuss our decisions and contact you if you receive a callback."

They all got up and made their way out of the auditorium.

"Rachel, that was phenomenal!" Sam exclaimed.

"Sensational!" Rory replied.

"Absolutely stunning." Quinn crooned.

Rachel looked over her shoulder and saw Kurt, Tina and Mike exiting from the other side of the auditorium. She sighed sadly.

Puck put his arm around her. "Don't worry, my Hot Jewish Princess, you got this role. I bet Artie, Ms. Pillsbury, and Coach Beiste are in there right now talking about automatically giving you the role."

She smiled and hugged him. "Thank you very much, Noah, I sure hope I made an impression of him."

Her phone beeped in her pocket. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Everyone already went ahead and left. "Hello?"

"Hey Rachel, how did your audition go?"

She grinned. "Fantastic, I really believe I have the judges convinced!"

"Great! I actually think your rendition of Somewhere was positively magical."

She stopped walking. "Wait, what? How did you know I sang that for my audition?"

"Come out into the lobby."

Wither her heart pounding and legs shaking, she slowly made her way to the lobby. What she saw almost made her heat stop.

Blaine was standing there leaning against the door grinning ear-to-ear. "Well done, my love."

She squealed and ran over to him. "You watched my audition?"

He shrugged. "How could I not? I even recorded it to show to the boys tomorrow." He slung her backpack over his shoulder. "Come on, your Dads invited me over for a pre-celebratory dinner."

Suddenly Artie wheeled up to them. "Rachel, wonderful job on your audition."

She bent down and kissed his cheek. "Why thank you Artie, I appreciate it."

Artie wagged his finger. "Now now, Rachel, literally kissing up to the director won't get you anywhere." He spotted Blaine. "Ah, you must be Blaine. I remember you from Sectionals and Regionals last year."

Blaine nodded. "Yup, that's me."

Artie eyed him. "Yes, that's you. May I take a look at you for a second?"

He blinked. "Um...sure?"

Artie then began rolling around him in circles, looking at him up and down.

Blaine cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I can't believe you guys are doing West Side Story. It's one of my favorite musicals! And it's always been my dream to be in it."

"For which role?" Artie asked.

Blaine shrugged. "Tony, but I'm okay with being any of the other Sharks."

Artie finally stopped rolling and rubbed his hands together. "Blaine, how would you like to help out with our little production?"

"Sure!" Blaine replied. "What, do you need like tech or something?"

Artie shook his head. "No, not a backstage person. How would you like to be cast in my production?"

Rachel looked confused. "Wait, Artie, we had lots of people audition. Why do you need Blaine? And are you allowed to do that?"

"It's my production so what I say goes." He replied simply. "So what do you think, Blaine?"

Blaine shrugged again. "Sure, I think that would be fun. Do you need anymore extras?"

Artie looked him dead in the eye. "No, Blaine. I want you to play...Tony."

Blaine and Rachel's jaw dropped in shock. "But what about the other people who auditioned?"

Artie rolled his eyes. "Please, none of them are even close to my vision as Tony. But you on the other hand, are perfect. I've heard you sing, I see how you look and even your mannerisms are just how I envisioned then. So Blaine...will you do the honor of playing Tony in my production of West Side Story?"

Blaine stared at him for a few seconds and then broke out into a huge grin. "I would be my pleasure! But don't I need to do a proper audition first?"

Artie sighed frustrated. "You want to audition? Fine. Sing One Hand, One Heart with Rachel."

He turned to Rachel smiling. "Ready, my dear?"

She nodded and he began to sing softly:

Make of our hands one hand
Make of our hearts one heart
Make of our vows one last vow
Only death will part us now

Make of our lives one life
Day after day, one life

Now it begins, now we start
One hand, one heart
Even death won't part us now

Artie clapped wildly. "Fantastic! Blaine Anderson, you are the leading man of my dreams. I think you will make a terrific Tony."

Blaine put his arm around Rachel. "And this Tony will look terrific alongside this Maria."

Artie nodded to Rachel. "Rachel, again you did a wonderful job. You are most certain to be getting a callback."

She broke away from Blaine outraged. "Callback? But no one else auditioned for the part of Maria!"

He shrugged. "Au contaire, Rachel. There actually was one other person who requested to audition for Maria but she couldn't make it. She'll be here after school tomorrow to do her audition."

She crossed her arms. "And who might this amateur be?"

"I wouldn't call her an amateur, Rachel, because she is just as competitive as you." Artie replied. "But if you're keen on knowing who you're up against, I'll be happy to tell you. The other person who requested to audition for the part of Maria is...Mercedes."

Dun dun DUN! Plot twists and a cliffhanger! Nice touch, don't you think?

Enjoy and have a nice day!