CHAPTER 34
After Santana and Brittany's gorgeous performance, they took a short break. It was turning out to be a pretty fun rehearsal, but it kind of targeted those not in a relationship. Particularly Emily and Mercedes, who watched the rehearsal with jealousy swirling around in their eyes. Finn and Artie were less so as they were happy with the way their love lives were. During the break, Finn, Santana, Artie, Puck, Mike and Josh stayed in the choir room. Finn then took out a bag full of slips of notes. Everyone raised an eyebrow.
"The hell is that?" Josh asked. Finn shrugged.
"Bunch of people slipped Valentine's Day messages in my locker this morning. I kind of want to read them to see what they say."
"Bunch of people?" Artie laughed. "Dude, there's gotta be like 200 messages there!"
Finn nodded.
"I know, right? Pain in the ass." He grumbled. Artie scoffed.
"Oh, I pity you!" He remarked in reply, before looking through the pile. He wolf whistled. "Damn, bro! Did every single Cheerio give you their number?"
"Looks like it." Josh remarked in reply as he looked through the pile himself. He cracked up laughing at one point.
"What?" Finn asked.
"Look at this…" He said, showing Finn a slip of paper. "Someone wrote you a poem."
Finn took the paper and read it…
Ur the hottest guy in school, according to me
You're biceps and muscles are as big as a tree
All I want is for you to fuck me
From, the hottest Cheerio Amy
Finn couldn't help but chuckle.
"Wow, that was… weird. Who the hell is Amy?"
"No idea. But I think she might be into you." Josh remarked. Finn rolled his eyes.
"No, I hadn't guessed." Finn responded, drily. They kept sifting through the pile.
"Phone number, phone number, phone number, phone number… Jesus, Finn! You really got a sweep this year!" Mike exclaimed. Finn shrugged.
"Yeah. Why are so many people into me anyways? I'm just the average guy here in McKinley."
Artie scoffed.
"The average guy?" He laughed. "That's a good joke."
Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"Oh, come on man!" He exclaimed. "First of all, you're the new Quarterback which basically makes you king in the school. Secondly, you're probably the only one who's going to make it famous outside of Lima.
"Third, you went full-on Rocky mode on Sam in front of the whole school." Puck added. "Chicks dig that."
"And…" Santana chimed in. "In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of hot so that always helps."
Finn laughed.
"Wow, thanks guys." He said.
"187!" Puck suddenly announced. "You have 187 phone numbers. Dude, you have your pick of every fish in the sea. Who are you going to hook up with?"
Suddenly, a chair fell on the other side of the room. Everyone, surprised, jumped up and spun around. They saw Emily, with tears in her eyes, storm out of the room. Everyone looked at each other, worriedly.
"Did you guys know she was there?" Finn asked. Everyone shook their heads. Emily hadn't said a word since rehearsal started, and because she was at the back of the room, everyone forgot she was even sitting there. Santana stood up.
"I'm going to go talk to her." She said, walking out of the room.
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Emily sat on the bleachers, crying her eyes out. She could never have anticipated how difficult today was. It was Valentine's Day, and she had to watch as the love of her life got hundreds of phone numbers and chose who he would be spending valentines day with. All she wanted was to be the girl he would be with. For him to hold her in his arms and call her his again. Suddenly, the weight on the bench she was sitting on shifted as she felt someone slide in next to her. It was Santana. Emily sighed.
"Santana, please, I don't want to hear it. If you're going to make fun of me, please do it some other time."
Santana shook her head, and it was then when Emily noticed a look of sympathy in Santana's eyes.
"I'm not going to make fun of you." Santana said, softly. "I know what it's like. That feeling of longing, as you watch the person you're meant to be with be with someone else."
Emily looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"You do?"
Santana nodded.
"Yeah. Britt and I only got together last summer. I had to spend a whole year and a half with feelings for her that weren't reciprocated."
"So what did you do."
"I moved on. And you need to too." Santana replied. "You shouldn't waste your time on a guy you're no longer together with. I know it sounds harsh but it's true. If you keep trying, it's only going to end in heartbreak. You don't deserve that."
"I can't, Santana. I just can't." Emily whispered.
"Yes, you CAN!" Santana exclaimed. "Listen to me… you're being crazy. There's no point being hung up on Finn. You're killing yourself over a guy in HIGH SCHOOL! High school! That's not crazy! That's more than crazy! I don't even think there's even a word for that."
"Actually, there is a word for that. It's love. I'm in love with him, okay?" Emily snapped. She continued in a slightly calmer tone. "If you're looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have whatever they want no matter how much it destroys you, it's love. And when you love someone you just, you…you don't stop, ever. Even when people roll their eyes and tell you to move on. Even then. Especially then. You just– you don't give up. Because if I could just give up… if I could just, you know, take the whole world's advice and– and move on and find someone else, that wouldn't be love. That would be… that would be some other disposable thing that is not worth fighting for. But I– that is not what this is."
Santana slowly nodded. She knew only too well how Emily was feeling.
"I know. That's how it was with Britt and I. I felt that for her, but she was with Artie at the time. You know what I did?"
"What?"
"I moved on. I didn't let my happiness depend on one person. And look, now everything worked out. We're together, we're happy, and that's just how your and Finn's relationship is going to go."
"Promise?" Emily asked quietly.
"I swear."
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"OK. Welcome back." Mr. Schue said. "Who would like go next?"
Mercedes raised her hand.
"I know I'm not in a relationship but I can still sing a love song better than anyone else here."
Mr. Schue chuckled.
"Let me be the judge of that Mercedes. Now, what are you singing?"
"I'm going to be singing I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston."
Mr. Schue whistled.
"Big song. Are you sure you can do it justice?"
Mercedes nodded.
"I'll try my best." She replied. Mr. Schue smiled.
"OK then. The floor is yours…"
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way
And I... will always love you, ooh
Will always love you
You
My darling, you...
Mmm-mm
Bittersweet memories –
That is all I'm taking with me
So good-bye
Please don't cry:
We both know I'm not what you, you need
And I... will always love you
I... will always love you
You, ooh
[Instrumental / Sax solo]
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this I wish you love
And I... will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I, I will always love you
You
Darling, I love you
I'll always...
I'll always love you
Ooh
Ooh
To see the actual song, click:
watch?v=WAlkk6EjW6k
Or search… 'I Will Always Love You Glee'
Everyone cheered as Mercedes held the final note of the song. She had crushed the song and she knew it. She strutted back to her seat confidently. However, on the inside, she wasn't happy. She wanted a boyfriend. SO BADLY. She was 18 and she had never even been out on a date. Never had a boyfriend. She had never even been kissed. It was days like today that were the hardest though: everyone was particularly affectionate to their significant other, and she was sitting alone.
"Great job, Mercedes. That was just breathtaking!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "Well, I feel bad for whoever has to follow that. Who's going next?"
Finn and Josh stood up.
"Um… we'll go next." Finn said as they walked to the front of the room. Mr. Schue nodded.
"Cool. What are you two going to sing?"
"We're going to sing the Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood." He replied. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow. He had covered Valentine's Day in Glee club for the past three years, as well as four years when he was in his high school Glee club, and not once had anyone sang that song. It wasn't a particularly popular song, and it wasn't a slow ballad either. But Mr. Schue was optimistic. If anyone could turn the slightly annoying song into a beautiful one, it was Finn.
Finn:
Dreams are like angels
They keep bad at bay
Love is the light
Scaring darkness away
I'm so in love with you
Make love your goal
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on, burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
Josh:
I'll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down, I'll be around
With my undying, d**h-defying love for you
Envy will hurt itself
Love is like an energy
Rushing in, rushing inside of me
Both:
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on, burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
This time, we go sublime
Lovers entwined, divine, divine
Love is danger, love is pleasure
Love is pure, the only treasure
I'm so in love with you
Make love your goal
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
The power of love
A force from above
A sky-scraping dove
Flame on, burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
To hear the actual song, click:
watch?v=5TKT7b3H6y0&ab_channel=DaltonHarrisVEVO
Or search… 'The Power of Love Dalton Harris'
The two guys were the clear winners of the competition. They had such amazing chemistry singing together and there wasn't any awkwardness when they were singing as was the case whenever a single guy and girl sang together. Josh also had a gorgeous raspiness to his voice, not so strong that it overpowered the performance, but strong enough to give the song a unique feel. Meanwhile Finn, who normally brought that to his performances, switched to more delicate vocals. His versatility with the way he sang was second to none and was like nobody Mr. Schue had ever met before.
"Wow… well I think it's safe to say that Josh, you definitely passed your audition. That was insane!"
"Thanks." Josh and Finn replied, before fist-bumping and sitting back down. The brotherhood those two shared was unrivalled by anyone… they would follow each other to the ends of the earth - when one of them would be dragged to the very depths of the world, the other would be right behind them. It was scary to think that they had only known each other for a couple of months; they acted like they had known each other for their whole lives. After all, given all the time they spent together because of racing, they spent more time together in a month than many people do in a year.
"OK, I have made my decision. The free dinner for 2 goes to… Finn and Josh. Congratulations, guys." Mr. Schue said, handing them the vouchers. They took them and thanked Mr. Schue.
"Ooh, are we seeing the start of the Glee club's newest couple?" Tina joked.
"Are you kidding? I'm so out of his league!" Finn responded, jokingly.
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that, buddy." Josh replied, rolling his eyes. The bell then rang and Glee ended and the day began…