Hey there! Here's a new update! :) In this chapter, it's time for the six prom court candidates to make their performances. However, things get placed under a whole new light when an unexpected element (namely, a new competition) is added to their campaigns. Here's to hoping you read, enjoy, and review! :)

But first, the mailbag:

GarethGlee14: Well here's the next chapter! :)

FinchelFan728: I'm glad you liked that little bit :). I have a feeling that you're good feeling about the elections will come to pass ;)

Cazred11: I'm glad you had so much to say! I eagerly await your next review :)

IHeartFinchel3: A: I'm glad you like my story, and I definitely am happy to hear that Susan is your favorite among my OCs. A very good choice for favorite indeed. B: I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm confident that things will be perfectly fine; as long as we respect each other's opinions, I'm sure that the remainder of this story will be a pleasant experience for both of us.

Cookie05: I'm happy to know that you think that way :) I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Again, I own neither Glee, nor any of the songs I use. Now on with the fic!

Chapter 52:

A Contest Fit for a King

Fifteen minutes later, the six top nominees for prom court were beginning to wonder when they'd be called up for their prom performances. All six of them were feeling very confused as they continued to dance and wait for their turn to be announced. "What was taking so long?" they all wondered to themselves.

Eventually, Calvin decided that he'd now had enough of waiting. He needed to know what was taking so long. "Hey guys?" he asked. His five fellow prom court nominees turned to face him. "I'll be right back; I need to have a word with Mr. Schuester." The other gleeks running for prom court nodded, and gestured for him to go ahead. Calvin smiled, turned around, and started to head off towards where he could see Mr. Schuester talking to his wife not too far away. Hobbes followed him.

However, right as Calvin and Hobbes were about five footsteps away from Mr. and Mrs. Schuester, the air was split with the sound of Principal Figgins speaking on the microphone. He said, "Good evening people of McKinley High! I hope you have all enjoyed yourselves so far, because now it's time to get some serious prom business taken care of."

At the sound of this, Calvin, Hobbes, and the other five prom court nominees turned their heads toward the stage, as did everyone else in the gym. Smiling, Figgins continued, "As you all know, all the standard ballot votes have been cast for prom court. However, it is time for you all to cast your votes for them in regard to one final category."

The six prom court gleeks raised their eyebrows in confusion. What on Earth did that mean?

"Due to how all six of the candidates are in the New Directions glee club, we shall be taking a page from the American Idol book, and have them do their scheduled performances for you in the form of a final competition for who gets the crowns. Coming up, you shall first be treated to the performances from the three potential queens, and then the performances from the three potential kings. Once that is over with, we shall have a ten minute recess in which everyone proceeds to cast their votes one more time after the performances, then the votes shall be counted, and we shall finish things off with the announcement of the winners."

After finishing his explanation of the unexpected (from the students' point of view) competition, Figgins said, "At this time, may the six candidates for prom court come up on the stage?"

Upon hearing this, the six prom court nominee gleeks all directed a suspicion-filled glare towards Mr. Schuester out of the corners of their eyes. The teacher only smiled enigmatically, and gestured for them to go up on the stage. Growling mentally, Diana, Daniel, Calvin, Susan, Zack, and Charlotte proceeded to walk slowly over to the stage. And of course, Hobbes was walking along with them close behind Calvin. It appeared that they had been set up.

One by one, the six gleeks and the German shepherd climbed up the stairs leading onto the stage and came to a stop in front of Mr. Figgins. The principal smiled, clapped his hands once, and said, "I am happy that you were all able to make it here tonight. Now the match will truly be fair."

"Thank you for your concern," Daniel stated sarcastically. He and the other five prom court nominees were definitely still more than a little miffed about how no one had seemed to find it convenient to tell them in advance about this.

Figgins chuckled, tapped Daniel on the shoulder, and then gestured towards three seats that had been set up on the side of the stage. "Those seats are where you and the other prom king nominees will be sitting and watching the three queen nominees performing. At this time, you are free to take your seats."

Daniel rolled his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and proceeded to make his way over to the three chairs. Calvin and Zack briefly watched Daniel in confusion, but then made their way to the chairs when they saw Figgins gesture for them to follow Daniel. Hobbes, as usual, followed close behind Calvin.

When the three boys were seated, Figgins turned to face the audience once more and said, "Now that the boys are seated, the prom queen candidates may now have a couple minutes behind the stage to privately discuss their performances, for it has also been decided that while each one shall have their own solo performance, the other two will each provide instrumental accompaniment during each performance. The same shall apply for when the prom king candidates do their performances. At this time, you are free to carry on with what you were doing before this announcement. But be prepared for when the call is made for the performances to start. You will need to listen carefully in order to have the easiest of times in making your decision of who to vote for."

When Figgins finished talking, the audience applauded, and then dispersed to get back to their tasks they'd been doing before the announcement. Diana, Susan, and Charlotte took deep breaths to calm themselves down, and then proceeded to go to the 'backstage area' to discuss how they'd now have to adapt their performances to fit with the rules of the unexpected competition.

Seconds after the three girls went backstage, the three boys sighed on their seats. Daniel was seated in a chair that was closest to the background segment of the stage, Zack was seated in the chair on the opposite end located closer to the edge of the stage, and Calvin was seated on a chair located in between his two friends' seats while Hobbes was seated in typical dog fashion between Calvin and Daniel's chairs. As the three boys waited for the girls to come back onstage to get the whole business over with, Calvin whispered to his fellow prom king candidates, "The performances following had better make up for the embarrassment we just went through."

. . . . .

"I still can't believe Mr. Schuester didn't tell us about this in advance," said Diana.

"So you keep saying," said Charlotte. This comment earned her a small slap on the back of her head from Susan.

The three girls had just spent about five minutes backstage, and they were slowly getting over their embarrassment and irritation that had come from the unexpected announcement about the new element added to their prom court campaigns.

"Listen," said Susan. "I get it, this did come out of the blue and it would have definitely been far more desirable for Mr. Schuester to give us fair warning. But right now, let's just focus on this competition. We all know what songs we were planning to sing, and now we just need to decide how to adapt our performances so that they incorporate instrumental back-up from the rest of us. Savvy?"

Diana and Charlotte looked at Susan, thought to themselves, and then proceeded to take a deep breath and exhale alongside Susan.

"Good," said Susan. "Alright, since Charlotte was originally the one set to go after Cody, Bailey, and Raj's performance, we'll start by discussing hers." At that, the three girls promptly began discussing their upcoming performances. Before long, all three of them had decided on the necessary adaptations. They took a deep breath, and prepared to go back onstage.

At that moment, Charlotte said, "You know, it's going to be a whole lot of fun performing together. Don't you think?"

At the sound of these comments, Diana and Susan stopped, looked each other in the eyes, and then turned to face Charlotte. Both girls had stern glares on their faces and their arms folded across their chests. Charlotte smiled nervously at her two fellow prom queen candidates, and raised her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Is something wrong?"

"What is your game here?" Diana asked.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked back.

"All this behavior you've been showing recently suggesting an abrupt change in attitude since the day after Valentine's Day," said Susan. "We've been patient this long waiting for you to reveal the big twist in your current game, but we are sick now of keeping ourselves braced up. We want to know what you've got up your sleeve now."

Charlotte's smile faded, she hung her head, and she said truthfully, "I really don't understand what you're talking about. I'm not up to any games."

"You sure about that?" Diana asked. "You could have fooled us."

"I'm serious," said Charlotte. Sighing, she continued, "It's been practically two and a half months or so since Valentine's week. Why can't you just let it all go and trust me now?"

"Trust you?" Diana asked with considerable heat and venom in her voice. "After all the wrongs you've done to the glee club? After all the wrongs you've done to us? After all the wrongs you've done to me?"

Charlotte stepped back, a stunned and horrified look on her face from hearing Diana shout at her like this.

Diana glared at Charlotte, pointed her finger at her, and hissed, "Since when have you actually cared about me or wanted to be my friend without having an ulterior motive behind it? I still remember how far you were willing to go in your efforts to force Daniel into becoming your unwilling lover and sabotage our chances together! Hell, you were arrogant enough to just state that there was no chance whatsoever that the song I sang during Valentine's week was dedicated to him! Hell, you even tried to have me abducted on Valentine's Day in an effort to force Daniel into becoming your boyfriend in order to keep me from getting hurt!"

Diana took a threatening footstep towards Charlotte, growled, and venomously hissed, "You tell me, after all that, why I should believe that you've truly changed and moved on with Zack that easily and that you're no longer up to any games against me to try to steal away Daniel."

Charlotte gulped, and hung her head in shame as she remembered all the cruel and horrible actions she'd done against Diana and the demeaning and brutal things she'd said to her. Her guilt was further intensified when she heard Susan say, "And she's not the only one with a bone to pick with you either."

Charlotte turned her head to face Susan, and saw that the dark haired girl was now also pointing to her and glaring at her in much the same way that Diana had been. Snarling, Susan stated, "You may have been in it for Daniel, but you were also hard at work in trying to help Miles get with me by trying to arrange things so that all chances of a 'more-than-friends' relationship developing between me and Calvin would be sabotaged. In other words, you and Miles were practically willing to try to break us up before we even became a couple, and you were even willing to make one final crack at it before Miles ended up seeing the light and bailing out. And if you think I'm even close to forgetting what you did to nearly sabotage my friendship with him permanently during Halloween week, you are sadly mistaken."

Charlotte gulped, and looked sideways with a guilty and saddened face as she remembered all the things that Susan had brought up, and in particular the cruel action she'd committed in trying to destroy Calvin's friendship with the other gleeks, including Susan. As she remembered that particular detail, she remembered the terrifying performance of James Durbin's Deeper that Calvin had done, how he'd yelled at them all for betraying him, how he'd proceeded to kick the snot out of all the other boy gleeks when they'd tried to stop him from beating up Charlotte, how he'd ended up leaving the auditorium afterward roaring in outrage, and finally, how directly after she'd rubbed the loss in Susan's face by arrogantly asking if she wanted to have her set her up with Miles, Susan had punched her in the face, very nearly garroted her with a plug before the other gleeks had broken through to her, and how she'd resorted to instead knock her out by kicking her in the back of the head before running out of the auditorium in tears.

Susan glared, clenched her fist, and stomped her foot down on the floor before stating, "Tell me. Why should I trust you after all of that? Why should I believe that you are not up to any games that could potentially lead to further trouble for me, Calvin, Diana, and Daniel?"

Charlotte hung her head, looked back up to see that Susan and Diana were still angrily glaring at her, and then sighed before saying, "Look. I get it, I was horrible back then. I was wrong doing what I did. I should never have done any of the things I did to you. I especially shouldn't have victimized you the way I did the day before Daniel finally came clean to you about his feelings for you Diana, nor attempted to permanently destroy Calvin's friendship with you Susan. If I could go back and change things, I would. I know that what I did was cruel and terrible, but I've truly changed now since then."

She looked at her two angry fellow prom queen candidates, sniffled, and continued, "Yes Susan, I'll admit, I thought that Miles would make an excellent assistant, and I knew that he would be guaranteed to give it his all if there was even the slightest chance that he might get his hooks into you in the end. But in the end, he bailed out. And that was an excellent thing for him to do since not only was my conquest doomed from the start, but the love and friendship you and Calvin have for each other is just something so precious to you both that the loss or destruction of it would have very possibly figuratively killed you both. And yes Diana, I'll admit, I thought I was in love with Daniel, and I wanted so badly for him to at least try to give me a chance and to get what I wanted that I did unspeakable actions towards you in my efforts to stab my hooks into him. But in spite of all the plays I made for him, he still refused me and got himself with you. And for that matter, that was the best thing he ever did. I've seen how happy he is with you now, and thanks to Zack, I've realized how he would truly never be that way with me, and I've also realized that just like how you're the one who truly belongs with Daniel, I belong with Zack. And yes, I do love him. I really do now. And I've moved on since Valentine's Day and have changed. I'm sorry for all that I've done to the gleeks, and especially to Daniel, Calvin, and you two. But I've really changed now, and all I ask is that you please forgive me, trust me, and let me be your friend."

Upon finishing what she was saying, Charlotte broke down, and started crying. Upon seeing this, Diana and Susan momentarily gaped at Charlotte in shock before eventually realizing the full import and truth in what she'd said, feeling pity for her, and proceeding to give her a hug. Charlotte gratefully accepted the hug, and proceeded to cry heavily on Diana and Susan's shoulders while the two girls who'd formerly considered themselves her enemies whispered words of encouragement and comfort.

When Charlotte finally stopped crying, she tapped Diana and Susan on the shoulders, and the other two girls let her go. Charlotte sniffled one last time, looked down towards the floor, and then looked back up at Diana and Susan before saying, "I'm sorry."

Diana and Susan smiled in sympathy, placed their hands on her shoulders, and said, "It's ok. Come on, why don't we go ahead and get our performances started. That's bound to get us all nice and happy." Charlotte smiled weakly, and nodded her head in agreement with the suggestion. Smiling widely, Susan and Diana turned and proceeded to head towards the exit leading back onstage once more with Charlotte following behind them.

. . . . .

Outside on the stage, the three candidates for prom king were patiently sitting on their chairs and waiting for their girlfriends to get out from backstage and begin their performances. Calvin was very clearly starting to show signs of running out of patience, as he was drumming his fingers on the left arm rest of his chair, and had a frown on his face. Daniel and Zack, meanwhile, still looked as if they could stand waiting a few more minutes.

Calvin turned his head to Daniel and whispered, "What's taking them so long?"

"Patience Calvin," Daniel responded. "Don't worry. They'll be back on stage before the night ends."

This earned him a raised eyebrow from Calvin. Then Calvin heard footsteps coming from behind the stage, and he noticeably perked up. "Here they come," he whispered to Daniel. Daniel smiled, and gave Calvin a thumbs-up. Zack saw this as well, and realized that it must now be time for the performances to begin. The three boys promptly positioned themselves so that they could properly view the upcoming performances just in time for them to see Diana, Susan, and Charlotte come back onto the stage.

As the girls came back on stage, Calvin quickly turned to Zack and whispered, "Which of them is performing first?"

"Charlotte," Zack replied.

"Got it," said Calvin, clearly not all that enthusiastic about the information. In a flash, Calvin leaned backward on his chair, slumped down, and promptly started acting as if he were about to fall asleep.

Daniel noticed this, and raised his eyebrows at Calvin. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't you mind me," Calvin stated in a tone that sounded as if he were half asleep. "I'll just be sitting her waiting for the more exciting performances that will be coming from my girlfriend and yours after this."

Upon hearing this, Daniel rolled his eyes, and turned his head to face the girls again as they proceeded to position themselves for the coming performance. Within seconds, Charlotte had positioned herself at the microphone, Diana had sat down behind her to her right and picked up a guitar, and Susan had taken a seat at the drums.

Throughout all this time, Figgins had been calmly waiting by the microphone that Charlotte was now standing by as well. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Figgins. "The final round in the race for prom court begins now with Charlotte Thornton!" The audience cheered in applause. Even the other gleeks in the audience clapped politely upon hearing the news. Figgins left the stage, Charlotte walked up to the microphone, and she then picked it up and took a deep breath as she prepared herself for her performance. When she was ready, she winked at her two fellow prom queen nominees, and Diana promptly started playing a tune on the guitar that the audience was quick to recognize. As the performance was starting, Zack was very clearly excited as he watched intently, Daniel had a look of polite interest on his face, and Calvin looked flat out bored. Within seconds, the performance had gone into full swing, and the resulting performance that followed with Charlotte singing, Diana strumming on the guitar, and Susan banging on the drums, went like this:

(Charlotte)

I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)

We're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)

We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
(Beat Break)
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
Young hearts, out our minds
Running 'til we outta time
Wild child's lookin' good
Living hard just like we should
Don't care who's watching when we tearing it up (Diana: You Know)
That magic that we got nobody can touch (Susan: For sure)
Looking for some trouble tonight (Susan: yeah)
Take my hand, I'll show you the wild side
Like it's the last night of our lives (Diana: uh huh)
We'll keep dancing 'til we die
I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms,
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)
We're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)

We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
(Beat Break)
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
Young hunks, taking shots
Stripping down to dirty socks
Music up, gettin' hot
Kiss me, give me all you've got
It's pretty obvious that you've got a crush (Diana: you know)
That magic in your pants, it's making me blush (Susan: for sure)
Looking for some trouble tonight (Susan: yeah)
Take my hand, I'll show you the wild side
Like it's the last night of our lives (Diana: uh huh)
We'll keep dancing 'til we die
(Diana and Susan: 'til we die)
I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms,
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)
We're gonna die young
(Susan and Diana: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa)

We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

When the performance was finished, Zack gave a standing ovation, whooping in happiness. Daniel and Calvin remained seated, Daniel clapping fast enough to be polite and Calvin with an apathetic look on his face and clapping very slowly as if in accompaniment with a death march. The majority of the audience watching from off the stage, meanwhile, applauded very much in the same way that Zack was. The gleeks in the audience, meanwhile, clapped in the same way that Daniel was doing.

Daniel leaned sideways towards Calvin and whispered, "See? That wasn't so bad right?"

Calvin glared at Daniel out of the corner of his eyes, and responded, "My ribs still hurt." Right as Charlotte had been singing the lyrics involving "obvious that you've got a crush," Calvin had pretended to fall asleep, only for Daniel to elbow him in the ribs, which had promptly jolted him 'awake.'

Daniel rolled his eyes, placed his hand on Calvin's shoulder, and said, "Just be glad I've prevented you from falling asleep for real and missing Susan's performance. Did I mention that she's performing next?"

At the sound of that, Calvin's eyes widened, and he promptly positioned himself so that he could get a good look at where the three girls were, his face very clearly now showing an excited and anticipatory look. Daniel smiled upon seeing this, for the Calvin that was now watching and waiting for Susan's performance to begin was a world away from the bored and half asleep Calvin that had watched Charlotte's performance. Zack noticed this as well, and gave Daniel a thumbs-up.

When Susan had taken her place at the microphone and Charlotte had taken Susan's previous place at the drums, Susan lifted the microphone up to her mouth and said, "Alright everyone. I hope you're still in the mood for some more fun after listening to the resident head cheerio's performance, because it's time for the fun to really start." Susan snapped her fingers, and Diana started playing the tune for Susan's chosen song on the guitar she was holding. When Charlotte joined in on the drums and Susan started singing, the resulting performance went like this:

(Susan)

I'm feeling sexy and free
Like glitter's raining on me
You're like a shot of pure gold
I think I'm 'bout to explode
I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there
Don't you know? You spin me out of control
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

We can do this all night
Damn this love is skin tight
Baby, come on
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Boom me like a bass drum
Sparkin' up a rhythm
Baby, come on!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Rock my world until the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
You got me losing my mind
My heart beats out of time
I'm seeing Hollywood stars
You strum me like a guitar
I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm running cause you're taking me there
Don't you know? You spin me out of control
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
We can do this all night
Damn this love is skin tight
Baby, come on
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Boom me like a bass drum
Sparkin' up a rhythm
Baby, come on!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Rock my world until the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
Ooh, baby, baby, got me feeling so right
Ooh, baby, baby, dancing in the moonlight
Ooh, baby, baby, got me feeling so right
Ooh, baby, baby, dancing in the moonlight
(Charlotte: Yeah)

Ooh, baby, baby, got me feeling so right
(Diana: Yeah)

Ooh, baby, baby, dancing in the moonlight
(Diana: Yeah)

Ooh, baby, baby, got me feeling so right
(Charlotte: Woohoo)

Ooh, baby, baby
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Rock my world until the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino
Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancing in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

When Susan finished her performance, she lifted her arms up as if anticipating applause. And applause she indeed received in the form of a massive roar that burst from the audience. Smiling, Susan proceeded to curtsy to the audience before heading back over towards the drums.

As he watched Susan head back to the drums, Calvin smiled and continued to clap nonstop until Daniel finally got him to stop by placing his hand on his shoulder. Daniel smiled at his autistic brother from another mother, and said, "See? That was definitely a whole lot more fun huh?"

"You bet," Calvin responded without hesitation. "I especially liked the little stunt she did with the holographic breath attacks from the animatronic fire and thunder dragons during the bridge." Daniel chuckled when he heard this, for he could definitely agree that the event Calvin was talking about certainly had been a nifty trick for Susan to pull off during her performance.

At that moment, Diana walked up to the microphone while Susan proceeded to reclaim her seat at the drums and Charlotte moved over to the piano, which Brad graciously got up from and handed over. Diana lifted the microphone up to her mouth and said, "I'm glad to see how you've enjoyed the performances from my two friends in the race for prom queen alongside me. But now, it's time for you all to hear what I have to offer, and here's to hoping that you find it just as enjoyable, if not more."

Diana turned her head to Charlotte and Susan, and winked to signal for them to begin. In a flash, Charlotte began playing the tune for Diana's chosen song on the piano while Susan began playing the appropriate drum beat. As all three of the prom king candidates and the audience intently watched, the performance that followed went like this:

I just want you close
Where you can stay forever
You can be sure
That it will only get better
You and me together
Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like
But all I know is everything's going to be alright
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
When the rain is pouring down
And my heart is hurting
You will always be around
This I know for certain
You and me together
Through the days and nights
I don't worry 'cause
Everything's going to be alright
People keep talking they can say what they like
But all i know is everything's going to be alright
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you
Can get in the way of what I feel
I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have
I know people will try, try to divide, something so real
So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one
No one, no one
Can get in the way of what I'm feeling
No one, no one, no one
Can get in the way of what I feel for you
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
No one, no one yeah

Can get in the way . . . of . . . what I'm feeling

No sooner had the performance ended, when every person in the audience, and among the three candidates for prom king, roared in applause. Of course, the person who was applauding the loudest in Diana's perspective was Daniel. And indeed Daniel looked absolutely ecstatic as he clapped and cheered nonstop. Calvin had to return the favor Daniel had done for him earlier by placing his own hand on Daniel's shoulder to get him to calm down.

Diana smiled, bowed to the audience, and the extended her hands out to her sides just in time for Susan and Diana to take positions on either side of her and grab onto her hands. The three girls took one look at the audience, raised their hands in the air, and proceeded to bow to the audience as one, much to the delight of the audience. After the three candidates for prom queen straightened up from their bow, they turned around to look behind them just in time to see Principal Figgins come up to them.

Figgins smiled, gave a slight bow to the three girls, and said, "Very impressive indeed. I have a feeling that it will be a hard race to see which one of you wins." The three girls smiled, and nodded at the principal. Chuckling happily, he gave each girl a fatherly pat on the shoulder, and gestured for them to go to the area where their boyfriends were seated.

At the sight of this, Daniel whispered to Calvin and Zack, "That's our cue to get up and go backstage to prepare." Calvin and Zack smiled, and got up from their seats along with Daniel. After allowing their girlfriends to sit in the chairs they'd been sitting in (Diana in Daniel's chair, Susan in Calvin's, and Charlotte in Zack's), the three boys (and of course Hobbes) proceeded to walk through the small curtained opening that led to the 'backstage' area.

. . . . .

Fifteen minutes later, the boys had come back onstage. Daniel was seated at the drums, Calvin was standing to Daniel's right while holding his guitar, and Zack was at the microphone. Smiling, Zack looked once at Charlotte and winked before then snapping his fingers at his two fellow prom king candidates. In a flash, Calvin started playing the tune for Zack's chosen song on his guitar, and when the time was right, Daniel began playing the appropriate beat on the drums while Zack started singing at the same time. The resulting performance went like this:

(Zack)

In the beginning
I never thought it would be you
When we were chilling
Smiling in the photo booth
But we got closer (Calvin: yeah)
Soon you were eating off my spoon
You're coming over (Daniel: coming over)
And we would talk all afternoon
Tonight we'll just get drunk
Disturb the peace
Find your hands all over me
And then you bite your lip
Whisper and say, "We're going all the way."
Tonight
Take me to the other side
Sparks fly like the Fourth of July
Just take me to the other side
I see that sexy look in your eyes
And I know we ain't friends anymore
If we walk down this road
We'll be lovers for sure
So tonight kiss me like it's do or die
And take me to the other side
This could be perfect (Daniel: yeah)
But we won't know unless we try (Calvin and Daniel: try)
I know you're nervous
So just sit back and let me drive
Tonight we'll just get drunk
Disturb the peace
Find your hands all over me
And then you bite your lip
Whisper and say, "We're going all the way."
Tonight
Take me to the other side
Sparks fly like the Fourth of July
Just take me to the other side
I see that sexy look in your eyes
And I know we ain't friends anymore
If we walk down this road
We'll be lovers for sure
So tonight kiss me like it's do or die
And take me to the other side

(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa, whoa, whoa)
(Zack)
Kiss me like it's do or die

(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa)
And take me to the other side
Tonight we'll just get drunk
Disturb the peace (Calvin and Daniel: Hmm)
Let your love (Calvin: love) crash into me (Daniel and Calvin: crash into me)
And then you bite your lip
Whisper and say (Calvin and Daniel: whisper and say), "We're going all the way."
Tonight
Take me to the other side
Sparks fly like the Fourth of July (Daniel: yes, we do, yeah)
Just take me to the other side (Calvin: take me, baby)
I see that sexy look in your eyes
And I know we ain't friends anymore (Calvin and Daniel: oh, no)
If we walk down this road
We'll be lovers for sure
So tonight (Calvin: so tonight) kiss me like it's do or die (Daniel: kiss me, kiss me)
And take me to the other side
(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa)
Take me to the other side
(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa)
And take me to the other side
(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa)
Kiss me like it's do or die
(Calvin and Daniel: Whoa)
And take me to the other side
(Jason Derulo)

No sooner had the performance finished, when the prom queen candidates and the audience off stage howled in applause. Zack smiled, and bowed to the audience while Daniel proceeded to stand up from his seat and lift his drum sticks up in the air in an obvious victory pose and Calvin put down his guitar, raised his hands up in 'clawed' form, and roared triumphantly like a lion, which of course triggered Hobbes into howling like a wolf. This, of course, caused the audience to applaud even louder.

When the applause finally died down, Calvin and Zack proceeded to switch places (though Zack fortunately had the sense to use his own guitar rather than touch Calvin's guitar). Calvin picked up the microphone, grinned at the audience, and proceeded to rub his fingers through his spiky golden blonde hair before turning his head to face his fellow prom king candidates and winking at them. The instant he turned his head back to face the offstage audience once more, he took a deep breath, and the performance that immediately followed went like this:

(Calvin)

Whoa ooh,

Something 'bout love, love

Whoa ooh,

Something 'bout love, love

Every night it's all the same
You're frozen by the phone
You wait, something's changed
You blame yourself every day
You'd do it again
Every night
There's something 'bout love
That breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh
It sets you free
There's something 'bout love
That tears you up
Whoa oh, oh, oh
You still believe
When the world falls down like the rain
It'll bring you to your knees
There's something 'bout love that breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh…
But don't give up
There's something 'bout love
When you were young
Scared of the night
Waiting for love to come along
And make it right
Your day will come, the past is gone
So take your time
And live and let live
There's something 'bout love
That breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh
It sets you free
There's something 'bout love
That tears you up
Whoa oh, oh, oh
You still believe
When the world falls down like the rain
It'll bring you to your knees
There's something 'bout love that breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh…
But don't give up
There's something 'bout love
Don't fight
Don't hide
Those stars in your eyes (Daniel: in your eyes)

Let em' shine tonight
Let em' shine tonight
Hang on
Hang in
For the ride of your life
It's gonna be alright
Hold on tight
There's something 'bout love
That breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh
There's something 'bout love
That breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh
It sets you free
There's something 'bout love
That tears you up
Whoa oh, oh, oh
You still believe
When the world falls down like the rain
It'll bring you to your knees (Daniel: to your knees)
There's something 'bout love that breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh…
But don't give up
There's something 'bout love
Whoa oh, oh, oh..
Set's you free
There's something bout love
That tears you up
Whoa oh, oh, oh
You still believe
When the world falls down like the rain

It'll bring you to your knees (Daniel: to your knees)

There's something 'bout love that breaks your heart
Whoa oh, oh, oh…
But don't give up
There's something 'bout love

After finishing his performance, Calvin held up his hand in a gesture that appeared to be meant as a signal to wait before applauding, placed the microphone back on its stand, and then beckoned with both hands to signal 'applaud.' The audience promptly let out a mighty roar of applause. As he basked in the applause, Calvin let loose with his usual trademark, lion-like, roar, followed by Hobbes howling like a wolf at the same time.

The considerably louder applause that followed Calvin and Hobbes's duel beastly finale call took what seemed like an hour, but in reality was only five minutes or so, to die down. When the applause finally ended, the three prom king candidates proceeded to switch places once again. This time, Daniel got up from his seat at the drums and made his way over to the microphone, Zack seated himself at the drums, and Calvin reclaimed his spot as guitarist (and of course with his own guitar).

Directly after taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Daniel looked closely at Diana, smiled lovingly, and then snapped his fingers to signal for Calvin and Zack to begin playing the tune for his performance. Calvin and Zack promptly began playing their instruments in the appropriate way for the song Daniel had chosen, and when the time was right, Daniel smiled, and happily sang:

(Daniel)

First crush, first kiss, first time I saw the ocean
And dug my toes in the sand
(Calvin and Zack: Your love is better than that)
Baseball and summer nights, casting out when the fish first bite,
First time I got a Chevy in my hands
(Calvin and Zack: Your love is better than that)
I thought nothing can touch that by a mile
I thought nothing can make that moment seem so worthwhile
Your love is better, better, better than that
Nothing is sweeter than you,
Making my heart beat so fast
Everything I could have been
That was at the end of all those other paths
Your love is better,
Your love is better than that
Six string, first song, the way it felt to sing along
To some words that were scribbled on my soul
(Calvin and Zack: Your love is better than that)
I thought nothing can touch that by a mile
I thought nothing can make that moment seem so worthwhile
Your love is better, better, better than that
Nothing is sweeter than you,
Making my heart beat so fast,
Everything I could have been
That was at the end of all those other paths
Your love is better,
Your love is better than that
(Beat Break)
One day, years from now,
When I'm old and gray, I'm gonna smile about
How life has been so good...
But your love is better, better, better than that
Nothing is sweeter than you,
Making my heart beat so fast,
Everything I could have been
That was at the end of all those other paths
Yeah, yeah, your love is better than that,
Better than that
(Calvin and Zack: Your love is better than that)

When the performance finally ended, Daniel briefly found himself gazing at the audience in front of him, waiting for them to break their silence. After what seemed like an eternity, the audience erupted in such joyous applause that Daniel didn't even care how he could now barely hear himself think.

As the audience and the three prom queen candidates continued to applaud, Daniel proceeded to do the same gesture that Diana had done for Susan and Charlotte while Calvin and Zack walked up and positioned themselves on either side of him. After locking hands, turning their heads to face the audience, and raising their hands up in the air, they proceeded to bow as one in the same way their girlfriends had done, resulting in a further burst of applause from the audience.

Minutes later, the boys straightened up from their bow, were dismissed by Figgins, and proceeded to walk over towards their girlfriends. As they watched their boyfriends walk up towards them, Diana, Susan, and Charlotte got up from their seats, ran over to their respective boyfriends, and gave them all joyous hugs, which their boyfriends promptly returned. And as the six prom court candidates stood their hugging each other lovingly in front of the applauding audience, they couldn't have felt happier. And even now, they had already forgiven Mr. Schuester for setting them up for embarrassment earlier. The aftermath that had followed had definitely made it all worthwhile. How they couldn't wait now for the results to be announced.

And just like that, all the performances to occur before the election results announcements have taken place! :) I hope you enjoyed them (and of course the song choices). On another note, for anyone wondering what Susan's 'little stunt' with the dragon animatron breath attacks was, basically imagine Susan leaning down backwards as if narrowly avoiding the holographic jet of flames and holographic lightning bolt that collided with each other right above her (directly after the bridge ends). On another note, here's to hoping you enjoyed this chapter and that you leave lots of reviews (in fact, in your reviews, I recommend that you go ahead and tell me who you hope/think/want to win the categories of prom prince, princess, king, and queen). Once again, enjoy! :)

Coming up next: Becket and Silena briefly attempt one last devious plot, only to get foiled when their unwilling lackeys, Donovan and Ashley finally develop the guts to resist them. Meanwhile, it is time for the prom court results to be announced. Who will be crowned to be the four members of this year's prom royalty? And after those are out of the way, it's time for Raj, Kimberly, and Sid to do their big performance with Cameron providing his 'kick-ass instrumental accompaniment.' Will Sue be impressed enough to finally let Kimberly and Sid off the hook for good? Find out next week! :)