A/N: Hello everybody! Thanks so much to everyone's constant help and collaboration on this fic. We managed to get all 49 slots filled and I couldn't be happier! So really, thank you to everyone who helped out. There's too many of you to name lol, but genuinely you've all helped so much! As always just a few things to note! The first being there's a few characters in this story who use more than one pronoun - example he/they, she/they, etc. I've reached out to everyone who sent me characters like this to make sure they're okay with me jumping between the two or seeing there's one they preferred so I did my best to use multiple for those specific characters! Of course if you have any comments or questions regarding that or your characters pronouns or anything else, please feel free to PM me!
Second thing is that because I introduced SO many characters in this chapter some of them may not have gotten a chance to shine or had a huge part or even showed up! But as long as they are on that list I have their intro planned and have some things I'm working on for the next few chapters!
On that note this chapter got WAAAAAY longer than I ever intended it too lol, I know it's a lot but I do ask you read through all of it and give me your thoughts! Knowing what parts you liked or thought were funny or interesting helps me make it better in future, so please read through it if you are able to! I have though, added breaks between the time of day and schools to keep it somewhat organized and easier to keep track of.
Lastly, I've added a list of all the songs used in this chapter, in order at the bottom of my second author's note! I've kept it down there to avoid spoilers of what songs are included lol, but if you ever go back and re-read it, or don't mind seeing the songs beforehand I highly suggest listening to them as you read the parts their featured in!
All that aside thank you all for your continued support, and as always my PMs are always open for any questions, comments, or concerns!
MORNING
Per usual, things were hectic in the Puckerman household. Marley rushed trying to make sure all her kids (and Jake) had their lunches and everything else out and ready for the day. It was only Tuesday and she had already felt herself getting slightly overwhelmed. Between two of her kids transferring schools, starting a new job herself, getting used to the four kids in her glee club as well as trying to figure out how she would get new kids to join, she feared she was spreading herself too thin. But if there was anything Marley wasn't, it was a quitter. The stress made her more determined than ever, as she continued with her tasks.
Just as she was putting the finishing touches on the note she was writing to put in her youngest's lunch, she heard two heavy pairs of footsteps on the staircase. Looking up, she first saw her husband Jake, closely followed by her oldest son Oliver. Looking at them standing together it was noticeably clear that Oliver had inherited his father's looks. Though he had his mother's height and her bright blue eyes, his skin was just a few shades lighter than his father's, and had the same shaved, short black hair, and a somewhat wiry but lean build.
"Look at my beautiful boys," Marley cooed, as Jake came up behind her planting a small kiss on her cheek. "Oh, Oliver, you look so handsome in your uniform." She continued on.
Pulling at his collar, Oliver sighed out slightly, as his plan to leave without having to deal with talking to anyone had failed. "I don't see why you made me transfer. I was fine at Carmel."
"Your mother thought," Jake spoke up, not looking at his son, eyes instead fixated on the cup of coffee he was pouring, "that this year could be a good, fresh start for all of us. And I have to agree with her."
"That's easy for you to say," A new voice came from the stairs once more, "You're a sub, dad. Every day is a 'fresh start' for you." The voice came from their second son, their third child overall. He was just a few inches shorter than the eldest son, his skin more or less the same tone, but had bright brown eyes, and his hair was slightly longer, and just a little bit lighter.
"Never thought I'd see the day you two agree on something," Was Jake's only response, earning him a playful nudge from Marley as if to say "Don't egg them on."
"I'm very agreeable, it's Oliver that's the issue." The second boy continued, messing with his uniform – an identical one to the one his older brother was wearing.
"That's enough out of you, Sutton. Now come on, pick up your lunches. I packed a muffin and some fruit for each of you to have for breakfast, too. Oh, and Oli, now that you're going to the same school, I'm going to need you to drive your brother."
"Why can't Dad drive him?" Oliver responded, audibly irritated.
"Because I'm teaching an English class on the other side of town, and Dalton is far enough away that it doesn't make sense to take two separate cars. Besides, it could be good for you two to spend some time together." Jake spoke, his voice calm, but firm.
"This blows," Sutton muttered, grabbing his lunch from his mother, "After you, my liege," he spoke to his older brother who simply rolled his eyes as the two headed out, just as their youngest sibling entered the kitchen.
"Hi, mom. Dad," She spoke, clearly still very tired. She was fairly pale in comparison of her brothers, and was just slightly over average height and had the typical build of a ninth grader. Not skinny, but not built or chubby, and had her long, straight brown hair tied into a loose ponytail.
"Good morning, angel," Marley responded in a singsong-y voice, handing her a plate with a bagel, cream cheese and a fruit salad on the side. "Eat up! It's your second day of ninth grade and glee club auditions start today! It's a big day!" She grinned excitedly.
"I already told you I'm not trying out," she mumbled, picking at her fruit. "Besides, it's lame to be in a glee club with your mom." She groaned.
"Nikki," Marley spoke firmly, "you need to go out and make some friends. Your own age."
Nikki had opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by her father saying, "Oliver doesn't count."
The youngest Puckerman rolled her eyes taking a small bite of her bagel just as her older sister, and her second oldest sibling overall came down the stairs.
"Good morning Leah!" Marley called out, handing her a plate as well.
"Sorry mom, I'm running late," her eldest daughter responded. Of all of their children Leah looked the most like Marely. Tall, thin, though her complexion was a bit darker and she was told she had her fathers brown eyes, her hair was long and a medium-dark brown, straight and held back with a headband.
"Late for what?" Jake mused looking at his watch. "It's 7 AM."
"Jude is picking me up and-" Leah had started, but was not surprised when her mother cut her off.
"You know I don't like that boy," Marley muttered, "all those piercings…what do his parents think? I just think you could do so much better."
"Maybe his parents aren't judgmental and overbearing." Nikki muttered, but was still heard, earning a gasp from Marley and 'cut it out' look from Jake.
"Well maybe if I was still in Vocal Adrenaline," Leah mused, opting to ignore her sister, "I wouldn't have to leave at 7 AM just to spend time with him."
"You know I don't like the way that Mrs. Pearce treats her students." Marley groaned, knowing this was a losing battle.
"Well, according to Jude there's some new co-director over there. Besides, I told you that since I can't be with my friends anymore, I'll join your club, Mom." Leah spoke, just to get the conversation to stop, not wanting to start the day on a bad note.
"I don't trust anyone who works with that old coach of yours," Marley continued to mutter, "but you'll love The Troubletones! It's full of nice girls. Well not full of but…oh! I can't believe I forgot to mention this but Audrey Fabray is in our group! It could be nice for you girls to reunite!"
"What?" Jake and Leah said in unison, shooting each other a look right after.
"You know what? We'll talk about this later. I'll see you at school, Mom." Leah turned to leave the house, right as her boyfriend had pulled up.
"Why didn't you tell me Audrey was in your group?" Jake questioned, voice low, but concerned.
"It just slipped my mind – honestly! I couldn't believe it when she walked in. C'mon, it's not that big of a deal." Marley turned facing her husband, to hold his hands.
Sighing out, Jake gave in, "Fine. But just don't let her mother find out." He spoke, defeated.
Marely however, was happy to simply move on from that conversation, placing a sweet, gentle kiss on Jake's lips.
"Ew," Nikki, who'd still been sat eating her breakfast, spoke louder than she had all morning. "People are trying to eat here."
MCKINLEY HIGH
As children started filing in the halls of McKinley, Marley had managed to run into the exact person she was hoping to. "Mr. Schue!" She called out.
Turning around to look at his past student, he smiled, "Marley! I'd heard you'd taken over The Troubletones, I was wondering when I'd bump into you," he slowed his pace, to keep in time with her. "Which reminds me – now that you're teaching here, please, call me Will."
Marley smiled, knowing that would take some getting used to. "Okay, so, Will," she started slowly, "I know we're technically 'competition' but…I could really use some advice." She sighed out, defeated, "I've only got four girls so far and I wasn't able to reserve the auditorium for auditions because Principal Sylvester wouldn't even let me make an appointment to see her."
"Have you considered not doing auditions?" Will questioned, "This might've been a bit before your time but for a few years the New Directions let anyone join. That could be something to consider."
Marley paused. She had thought of that. She thought about it so much, in fact, that she brought it up to her girls during the first glee meeting. It, unfortunately, had not gone over well, as they were trying to convince Heather that she still needed to audition. Shaking her head, she looked back over at Will.
"That, uh, isn't really an option." She spoke sheepishly, tucking a stray piece of hair between her ear.
"I'll tell you what," Will spoke, placing a comforting hand on Marley's back, "Sue aside, I have the auditorium booked up for New Directions auditions anyway. Why don't you invite your girls to come watch some auditions with us? Maybe we can both even out our glee clubs that way."
"Really? You'd really do that for me?" Marley couldn't even begin to explain how grateful she was.
"Of course! Besides, it gives us a chance to see who we'll be competing against." Will chuckled.
In the same hallway, Audrey Fabray had been getting acquainted with an old friend. She stood next to her locker looking at a relatively tall boy, with shaggy, curly brown hair. His physique was quite toned and he had warm, welcoming brown eyes. While the two had known each other since they were young (due to their parents being friends), they rarely took the time to talk so the young male decided he would do so now.
"So, what song are you going to sing for your glee audition, Lex?" Audrey asked her friend. She wasn't sure how they'd got on the topic of glee but was excited that they had.
"Guess you're gonna have to wait and see," He gave a cheeky smile back. In all honesty, Lex didn't know. What he did know was that he had heard Audrey mention she was in glee and knew he wanted to get closer to her. And before he could even process the thought, he'd told her he was auditioning. In his defense, his dads were always telling him that he was a good singer and should join glee, and now he had a good reason to.
"Well," Audrey started tucking a stray curl behind her ear, "I'm sure whatever you do will be amazing!"
"I hope so!" Lex laughed in turn, before offering his arm out to her, "Let me walk you to class?"
Giggling slightly, Audrey took his arm, linking them at the elbows. The pair had barely gotten 3 feet towards their destination when they noticed Mr. Shue and Marley coming up behind them.
"Great news guys," Mr. Shue said to the two kids whose conversation he had managed to catch the tail end of, "Auditions for both groups are happening today in the auditorium. 3:00, don't be late!" He smiled, before continuing heading off with Marley.
"We won't be!" Audrey responded happily, turning to see Lex's reaction, but was only met by Lex smiling at her, not having paid much attention to anything else since their arms were still linked together.
"Make sure you tell everyone, okay?" Marely called back, still desperately trying to get as many girls as possible interested.
DALTON ACADEMY
Meanwhile, at Dalton, Sutton had walked into the first Warblers meeting of the year that had included all of the Warblers. He was soon greeted by another returning Warbler – he was just around average height, if not an inch or two below, and was pretty wiry. He had very dark skin, brown doe eyes and decently long black curls atop his head.
"C'mon man, you're late!" He ushered Sutton into the room.
"In my own defense, Ambrose," Sutton paused putting his hands up in a mock surrender sort of way, "I had to get a drive from my stupid brother. He almost didn't even pull up to the school. I'm convinced if I hadn't made him, he wouldn't have." He exaggerated slightly.
"You have a brother? Did you know he had a brother?" Tommy first asked Sutton before turning around to ask Mack.
"I didn't know," Mack breathed out, shaking his head.
"If we don't go now, we're all going to be late," Teddy spoke to all four men in his presence, "And now that there's just the five of us we need to try twice as hard to get people interested in joining us." He concluded.
"Woah, woah, only five?!" Sutton questioned, following the other Warblers just back out the way they came. "What happened to literally…everyone else?"
"If you would have been on time for the meeting, maybe you would know." Ambrose spoke, his tone nonchalant.
"We were expecting most to come back but turns out there were a lot of transfers, lots of graduates, lots of people not trusting this council…" Teddy tried, his words dry.
"But we make up for it with enthusiasm!" Mack attempted to lift the mood but was only met with a look of pity from Teddy.
The five gentleman made their way down the infamous Dalton Academy stairs, as ready as they could be to put on an impromptu show. While they normally would have preferred to do acapella, they did have a background track just for this one performance. The song had been decided the night prior when Sutton texted Mack the suggestion, and all other Warblers agreed to it that morning. Pressing the play button on the speaker that he'd just sat down, Tommy took the first verse.
"Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that'd been away
Haven't changed, hadn't much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy"
He sang, following a very loose easy movement that the Warblers behind him were performing. He then spun to switch places with Mack who took the next part of the verse.
"They were askin' if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
Told them you were livin' downtown
Drivin' all the old men crazy"
Mack was by no means the best singer in the group, but his energy was infectious and the other Dalton students began to notice as Mack and Tommy both stepped slightly to the side to let Ambrose come in and take the main parts of the chorus, lightly backed by Teddy and the rest of the Warblers.
"The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
I said, the boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town"
While it was repetitive, even Ambrose couldn't deny that it was catchy, and as always, he gave a great performance, not a step out of place or a line out of tune, the whole chorus delivered with precision. Switching spots so that Teddy was now in front, he began his, admittedly, smaller part.
"Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town
You spread the word around"
While his voice was not necessarily anything special, he was in tune and carried himself very well. Sutton, however, was psyching himself up to sing the song he'd selected, ready as ever to give Dalton a show.
"Friday night they'll be dressed to kill
Down at Dino's bar and grill
The drink will flow, and blood will spill
And if the boys wanna fight, you better let 'em"
He looked up for just a moment, immediately making eye contact with what looked like a somewhat more reserved, almost disinterested boy watching each of the Warbler's moves precisely. Though he stood in the corner, his eye contact felt deliberate and almost would have felt intimidating if Sutton hadn't convinced himself that he was just enjoying the show. He was of about average height, having dark skin and incredibly short black hair. Sutton made a mental note mid shimmy to try and recruit him later. But for now, he had a song to keep singing.
"That jukebox in the corner blasting out my favorite song
The nights are gettin' warmer, it won't be long
Won't be long 'til summer comes
Now that the boys are here again"
Sutton wrapped up his verse - his talent was indisputable but what really sold it to the audience was his silly faces and goofy movements that he tended to just let happen mid performance.
Stepping back to take on the chorus once more, Ambrose once again delivered a great performance, having Tommy and Mack as his echo and main backup now.
"The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
Spread the word around
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back, the boys are back"
Finishing out the song, Tommy let out a pleasing sounding "The boys are back in town again".
This was closely followed by Sutton's surprisingly passionate "They're hanging out at Dino's".
Finally wrapping up the song was Ambrose letting out an enthusiastic "The boys are back again!"
And all though they, of course, were not expecting anything less, the Warblers were ecstatic as their friends and peers let out a loud clap, even earning them a few "woo!"s from various students. The council stood for a moment taking it all in – maybe it wouldn't be so hard to try to get people excited about The Warblers after all.
CARMEL HIGH
Per usual, Vocal Adrenaline was having a less easy time. Unique had called an emergency meeting in the auditorium before classes even started – without telling Harmony and instructing the kids to not tell her either. The six returning members of the group had been sitting on the edge of stage in more or less of a straight line, waiting for the new coach to come in.
"I feel dirty being here without my mom knowing," Xavier practically shuddered at the thought.
"Come on, what she doesn't know won't kill her. I just don't see why we had to have this meeting before class." Emery, who'd been sat next to Xavier, responded, a slight yawn following.
"Maybe she wants to get to know us all more individually?" Kate who was sat just few places down, tried, resulting in an enthusiastic nod from Dana who was the only student standing up – simply just spinning behind the rest of the group.
"Whatever it is, it better help us win. We wasted an entire practice yesterday all just getting 'acquainted' with Unique," Sydney spat the words out, earning a slight eyebrow furrow from Kate who'd been sitting next to her.
"Who cares?" Jude mumbled, he sat in the dead middle of the stage, taking a small sip of his coffee.
Although Sydney opened her mouth to speak (likely to explain how they should all care if they want to win), she was cut off by Unique coming in, causing Dana to stop their spinning and freeze in place. Behind Unique was what the group could only assume was another student. She was just above average height and had her black hair sleeked back into a low ponytail, showing off her defined eyebrows and cheekbones, small lips and nose, bright brown eyes and olive brown complexion.
"Good morning my lovelies!" Unique called out in a singsong voice, "I appreciate you all meeting me here and not inviting your co-director. There are some things I'd like to discuss and just keep between us." She smiled, making her way closer to the stage.
"Okay but first," Sydney started, "Who the hell is that?" They questioned, sneering towards the girl following closely behind.
"I would also like to know!" Harmony called back from the other back entrance to the auditorium, also having a young girl behind her. This student, however, was the textbook definition of average. Average height, average build, even all of her facial features were average. She had limp dark brown hair, lazily thrown over her shoulder, dull hazel eyes, and ivory skin. Her movements were slow and lacked motivation.
"Chloe?!" Xavier called out looking to the girl behind his mother to which she only responded with a sup nod.
"In all fairness," Jude continued to grumble, the annoyance of being there so early evident in his tone, "You've also got a random kid behind your back, dude."
"So many new friends!" Dana grinned, picking up their careless spinning once again.
"Dana. Stop spinning." Harmony directed and Dana complied. "And two things, Mr. Hart," she directed her attention back to Jude, "Firstly, please do not call me dude. Secondly, I will have you know this is my daughter, Chloe. And she's going to be a big, big star so she will be joining Vocal Adrenaline."
Chloe simply shrugged, not bothering to move past that.
"Ooh sibling bonding time!" Xavier called out excitedly, holding out his hand for a high five to Emery who did not reciprocate as they mumbled about how they did not have siblings.
"Well for your information, Mrs. Pearce," Unique began, her tone pointed, "this is my daughter, Leslie, who is also very talented. And will also be joining Vocal Adrenaline." She concluded with a small smile, hands on Leslie's shoulders as she gave a slight, friendly wave to the students on the stage. Dana and Kate were the only ones who waved back. "Besides, this is a closed meeting."
"Closed meeting?!" Harmony began stomping her way to the front where Unique was standing, "this is my group. You can't hold a meeting without me!"
"First of all," Unique began, pointing a finger at Harmony, "do not speak to Miss Unique in that tone. Secondly, this is our group because you were deemed unfit to run a group by yourself."
"You may be my co-director, but that does not give you the right to just assume your child will get into this group without auditioning. These kids are disciplined and are hard workers. We can't let just anyone in!"
"I can see that," Unique spoke sarcastically, eyeing Dana, who'd moments after being told 'no' had picked back up on spinning, "Well, if Leslie has to audition then so does Chloe." She concluded, bringing her voice back down to a calmer tone.
"Fine," Harmony practically spat back, "I guess we'll see who's kid is more talented this afternoon then." She finished, turning to quickly leave the auditorium and signaling for Chloe to go with her.
"This was never about that!" Unique called out before turning to the students on the stage, "I'm sorry you all had to witness that. But we'll see you after school back here for auditions, yes?" She smiled; her voice suddenly much softer.
"It was nice meeting you all!" Leslie spoke, her tone friendly but somewhat awkward after the scene that had just unfolded before them all.
As Unique and her daughter left, the rest of the group simply looked at each other and shrugged, all slowly but surely making their way to class.
AFTERNOON
MCKINLEY HIGH
Sitting in the auditorium were both the New Directions and the Troubletones. Of course, they were divided by both of their coaches sitting in the middle. Next to Marley sat Audrey, followed by Tia, Mia and Heather. On the other side was Will who sat next to Delia (who was not happy about it), and next to Delia was Kyla, then Oscar, Naomi, and Simon. Standing up to turn to the other students, Will began to speak. "Good afternoon and welcome to the first official auditions for the New Directions and the Troubletones." He was left with nothing but an annoyed look from his daughter and polite, quiet applause from Naomi and Simon. "Before we start, does anyone have any questions?" Looking around, Heather was the first to put her hand up, so Mr. Shue thought it was fair to call on her first.
"Yeah, uh," She started looking at the man sitting in the row ahead of them, directly in front of Will. "Why the hell is the football coach here?"
"Oh, assistant to the coach, actually." Sam corrected her standing up, turning around, and giving everyone a slight wave. "I'm Sam and I'm uh, well I'm here for moral support." He smiled, nodded, looking around before giving a second wave, this one directed at his two children sat on the far end.
"Mr. Evans is also here," Will spoke up, "to help cool down any disputes between the two teams. Not that I think there will be or should be any. But just as a precaution." He spoke carefully, trying not to come across too strong.
Though there were some grumbles and exchanged looks, most of the kids seemed to agree that this was fair and that it would be better to just let it happen.
"I have a question." Delia spoke up suddenly, her dad giving her a curious look and the okay to go on. "Why is it that we all had to audition but Simon didn't have to? I don't think it's fair to give him that advantage just because his father is in this room. I - of all people - would know that." She concluded; her tone cool but sharp.
Before her father had the chance to respond, Naomi had, of course, jumped to Simon's defense. "I knew you were going to say that. I called it, didn't I?" She was clearly annoyed, turning to ask Simon who, at that point, just wanted to be excluded from that narrative. "Lucky for you, we had something prepared." Naomi concluded, her and Simon heading down the stairs and up to the stage.
"Hit it." Naomi directed the band, who she had previously told to prepare the song they would be singing now. They started playing an upbeat pop rock sort of instrumental. Simon took the lead.
"I think we're going somewhere, we're on to something good here," He sang on his own, his voice was smooth, though obviously not as refined as some of the others. But it was clear he was trying and he certainly did not sound awful.
"Out of mind, out of state, trying to keep my head on straight," Naomi jumped in and harmonized with Simon. As usual, it was obvious Naomi was Mercedes' daughter as her voice was one of the stronger ones within the club.
"I think we're going somewhere, we're on to something good here" Simon sang by himself once more – he was clearly somewhat nervous but his cheerful demeanor was able to sell it.
"There's only one thing left to do, drop all I have and go with you," The two twins sang together once more, Simon still leading.
"Well, you can't say they don't sound good together," Kyla muttered to Oscar who nodded in agreement.
"Somewhere back there I left my worries all behind, my problems fell out of the back of my mind" Naomi took this part by herself, if for no other reason than to remind the rest of the glee club of her talent. "We're going and I'm never knowing, never knowing where we're going," she continued by herself.
"To go back to where I was would just be wrong," Simon took over by himself once more.
From the audience there was a loud "yeah!" from Sam, as well as a glance shared between Delia and Kyla who both were surprised that the two had time to prepare any sort of song together – let alone the basic choreography that they had come up with.
Coming into the chorus, Simon took the main lead while Naomi once again harmonized, the two balancing each other out perfectly.
"I'm pressing, on pressing on
all my distress is going, going, gone
Pressing on, pressing on
And I won't sit back and take this anymore
'Cause I'm done with that, I've got one foot out the door
And to go back to where I was would just be wrong
I'm pressing on"
The two finished and took a small bow, earning themselves a scattered amount of applause (albeit the loudest applause was from their father, who continued his "yeah!"s and his "woo!"s until the two were seated behind him again).
"Now that," Will started, a wide grin on his face, "was a great start to auditions. Very well done, you two."
Simon smiled and thanked Mr. Shue, who then went on to ask if there was anybody else left to properly audition.
"Heather?" Audrey tried, "you didn't technically audition. How about you go up there next?"
"Nah," Heather shrugged simply – firstly because she just didn't feel like auditioning, secondly because she could see it was visibly irritating Audrey.
Though she had wanted to argue back, Audrey decided to be the bigger person and that this was not the time nor place, and once that tension had drifted away, Marley spoke up.
"Alright! So! Who's coming into audition now?" She tried her best to move the process along. Luckily, she did not have to wait long.
Walking out onto the stage was a female – slightly above average height for a girl her age, with a toned dancer's body. Her naturally curly brown and pink highlighted hair was tied half up into a sort of fluffed up bun, and the rest fell just slightly past her shoulders.
"Hi!" Marley called out, her usual friendly demeanor showing, hoping this girl would lean towards joining the Troubletones. "Can you just tell us a little bit about yourself?"
"Of course!" She smiled, hand placed loosely on her hip, her brown almond shaped eyes looking towards her audience. "My name is Savannah Lopez-Pierce. I'm in my junior year and I am willing to bet that I am the best dancer you will see here today, maybe the best singer too." The words left her mouth before she'd had the time to stop them.
"Well," Mr. Shue started slowly, "we like to see the confidence. Whenever you're ready." He smiled as she turned to the band, motioning that she was ready to start her audition.
"The farther I come the farther I fall, whatever I knew it was nothing at all," Savannah started. Her voice was pleasant to listen to, and both groups knew it could be an asset.
While Delia and Naomi looked as though they weren't bothered, Oscar seemed mildly impressed as he bopped his head along to the music, and Audrey just seemed somewhat confused.
"Nothing at all, just making me small, smaller and smaller, I fall back," Savannah continued, now slightly moving around the stage, demanding the audience's attention.
Savannah knew that she wouldn't have much time left – as the audition sheet said not to prepare anything longer than a minute because they had a lot of people to see – so she took complete command on the stage, making direct eye contact with anyone who looked her way, continuing to move about the stage showing that she felt comfortable up there and just as comfortable in her own skin.
"Sooner or later with a view from the ground
Chasing the race and the races run you down
Sooner or later with a view from the ground
And a tear in your eye
You say baby why can't we fly"
She began wrapping up her song as Heather turned to Mia to acknowledge that "she's got moves,"
"Into the blue sky, high into the blue sky" Savannah belted out the last note to show what she could do, earning a decent amount of applause from the audience.
"Yeah! Great job!" Sam called out, temporarily forgetting that his job was not exclusively to cheer on every student that came across that stage.
"I look forward to hearing from you," Savannah spoke to the teachers who had just thanked her for her performance as she strutted off stage.
While everyone was waiting for the next person, Audrey sent off a text to Savannah – one of her best friends – questioning why she didn't tell her she was auditioning for glee. Savannah only responded saying it would be more fun that way and before Audrey had the time to react, the next student had stepped out on stage.
Immediately Mr. Shue had recognized her as one of the females he'd seen in the hallway the day prior. "Welcome to the stage, Rey." He smiled politely, "Go ahead and tell us a little about you, and whenever you're ready start the song.
"Okay, well," She started slowly, messing with her glasses for a moment, as if stalling to buy time to try to think of something. "I'm Rey! Abrams. I'm in the ninth grade, and I, y'know, sort of grew up always singing with my family? So I'm gonna sing one of the songs my family likes – one of my favorites. It's by Billy Joel?" She kept speaking before realizing she could just go ahead and sing it.
The band started on piano, and Rey began to sing.
"If you search for tenderness, it isn't hard to find," she began, it was obvious from the get go that her voice was not the most powerful, but was definitely very pretty.
"Aw, she's adorable," Mia noted, thinking of her already as someone young and impressionable, despite only being a year older than the girl singing on stage.
"You can have the love you need to live," Rey continued, opening her eyes since the first time that she started singing before carrying on.
"But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind
It always seems to be so hard to give"
She sang out the verse, preparing to show what strength she did have as she looked out to the audience searching for a friendly face and finding one in Sam – one of the only adults she remembers knowing from when she was a baby – giving her an encouraging thumbs up.
"Honesty is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue"
Delia noted her going into her higher range, noting that it could come in handy later on.
"Honesty is hardly ever heard, and mostly what I need from you," Rey finished strongly before letting out a small, "thank you!"
"You were great!" Cay, who'd been waiting for her turn backstage, a small smile on her lips as she encouraged her friend.
"Thank you so much!" Rey squealed, "Now go on, knock 'em dead!"
Cay thought about asking Rey if she meant metaphorically or literally but decided now was not the time to rile her friend up. Marching out to the stage she didn't wait to be spoken to before speaking up.
"Hi. I'm Cay Chang. I'm a freshman, and I'll be singing a song called 'She'." The petite young woman concluded before taking a step back, as the band began to play.
"Nine in the morning
The man drops his kids off at school
And he's thinking of you
Like all of us do"
She began, her voice started as soft and cool, finishing that part, allowing herself to move her arms slightly in tune with the music.
"Good stage presence," Naomi noted quietly to Simon who wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but went along with it.
"Sends his assistant for coffee in the afternoon," Cay continued singing, her voice growing left soft and slightly more powerful.
Looking at Kyla, Oscar let out a simple, "dang." While Kyla was pretty sure he'd meant it as a good thing, she figured it was best not to ask and just shrug in agreement.
"Around 1:32 like he knows what to do," Cay smiled for a moment, secretly knowing she was good. While she wasn't necessarily confident in everything she did, she knew she could perform. She allowed herself to sway slightly to the chorus as she let her voice get higher as she rang out the chorus, and the last few seconds of her performance.
"She, she lives in daydreams with me
She's the first one that I see
And I don't know why
I don't know who she is"
She let her voice peak before bringing it back down to the original soft cool tone she started with, finishing her song.
"Thank you so much, Cay!" Marley cried out happily even though Cay had already began walking off stage.
"Told you, you'd kill it!" Rey laughed, happy her friend did so well.
"No. You told me to kill them," Cay corrected, a small laugh escaping her, "C'mon, let's go to the library while we wait for our brothers to pick us up."
Meanwhile, getting ready to go out next was another pair. "C'mon, you can't back out now, we said we'd do this together." Finley Jones pleaded to his younger sibling, knowing that he needed a reason to finally man up and join and they were the one who convinced him. He was definitely tall but was on the skinnier side. He had medium dark skin a short, dark afro, big brown eyes and a small scar over one of his eyebrows – he also had inherited his dad's big lips.
"That was before we actually got here," they spoke meekly. Rowan Jones was the opposite of their brother – small, scrawny, certainly the palest of all their siblings with bright hazel eyes and short hair but moderately long bangs – something that drove their mother crazy.
"C'mon," Finley moaned, "don't bail on me now."
"Fine." Rowan spoke, arms crossed over their chest. "But you have to go first."
And with that, Finley walked out on stage.
"Woo-hoo! That's my boy!" Sam called out loudly, clapping.
"Dad," Simon spoke, his voice dry but a smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Si, you're my boy too!" Sam reassured him, not realizing that Simon more so meant that he could have been embarrassing his brother.
"Uh, hi everybody," Finley smiled, eyes squinting slightly as for some reason he wasn't expecting the lights to be so bright. "I'm Finley Jones and I'm going to be singing, uh, just a song I like?" He finished it as though it was a question – he wasn't entirely sure how to introduce himself for an audition (Naomi had to continuously remind him it wasn't the same as a 'try out') and at this point he just wanted to start singing.
Luckily for him, the band had his song prepared and started playing in the background as he psyched himself up to sing.
"Bartender looked at me like, 'Pony up man, we're closing down'
I paid the tab and I turned around
Got on that phone on the way home
Ended up down the rabbit hole again"
He sounded only somewhat shaky and was definitely talk-singing more than actually singing – which all boiled down to his nerves. None of the Troubletones were paying attention since they knew he wouldn't be in their group, which was not great for his confidence.
"Funny how you haven't changed a bit but you're twice as pretty
I'm glad you finally got to see New York City
And I know it's not a race
But it looks like you're getting over me faster than I'm gettin' over you
But hey, what you gonna do?"
Looking at his dad and his siblings who were giving him a thumbs up, Simon and Sam both cheered right before he went into the chorus and he started to get over his nerves.
"I'm sick of sitting at the house
Dying on my phone
Wishin' I was somewhere I could be alone
Try to let you go but somethin' always reminds me
I bet breaking up was easy in the 90's"
Finley was now definitely loosening up and it was clear his voice suited the song and was better than most of the audience was anticipating.
"He's actually…not bad." Kyla thought out loud to which both Oscar and Delia nodded in agreement.
"I'm tired of gettin' drunk
Tired of being free
Tired of seeing pictures I don't wanna see
Girl you're everywhere
Everywhere but behind me
I bet breaking up was easy in the 90's"
Finley finished up, looking directly at Sam who was mouthing at him to say thank you as the group applauded.
"Thanks!" Finley called out, smiling as his dad gave him yet another thumbs up. "Alright, you're up." He spoke to his younger sibling as he made his way backstage.
Walking out onto the stage, it was clear that Rowan was somewhat timid, and was absolutely mortified when Sam began cheering just as loudly and obnoxiously as he had for Finley and for Simon and Naomi before that.
Blushing profusely, Rowan had their guitar in hand awkwardly asking, "Is it uh, okay if I play my own music?"
"Of course," Will responded, a warm smile on his face, as Heather made a mental note that they played an instrument that was not already represented in her band. "Do you want to tell us a bit about you before you start?"
"I'm um," they paused before continuing. "I'm Rowan? Jones? And uh, I'm in the ninth grade, and uh, my pronouns are they and them…which I uh, feel is important to mention?"
"Of course!" Marley chirped up pleasantly. "Whenever you're ready Rowan!"
Strumming a few basic chords, Rowan began to sing.
"Someone told me long ago
There's a calm before the storm
I know, it's been comin' for some time"
They sang, slightly off pitch at first, but they did find where they were meant to be before they peeked out to look at the audience to see Naomi and Simon who were swaying to the music and Heather who was making notes on her phone about their guitar skill.
"When it's over, so they say
It'll rain a sunny day
I know, shinin' down like water"
Tapping their feet awkwardly for only just a moment before deciding to stop, much like their brother they had surprised the audience with the fact that they were actually a pretty decent singer despite the early performance nerves.
"I want to know, have you ever seen the rain," They sang out, their voice surprisingly powerful.
"Dang," Oscar repeated.
"I want to know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day"
Finishing much stronger than they had started, Rowan meekly spoke, "Thank you," while Sam was still cheering loudly in the audience.
"See? That wasn't that bad!" Finley nudged Rowan.
"Yeah, sure." Rowan shook their head, as the two walked off.
The next student walked out onto the stage, and while not many people paid attention, Heather was caught completely off guard.
"No freaking way," she spoke to herself before calling out, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Auditioning, obviously." The young man on the stage spoke. He was tan and shared many of Heather's features including her dark hazel eyes, round face and even had the same nose ring. The only major difference was that he was a noticeable amount taller and kept his hair it's natural dark brown and cut short while Heather's purple hair was out, wavy, and some would argue messy.
"How come you didn't tell us your brother was auditioning?" Tia pressed.
"Well obviously I didn't know!" Heather turned to face Tia but was being held back by Mia who sat in between them.
"Anyways," He called out from the stage, "My name is Felix Porter, I'm a senior, and this song is my freaking jam." He turned for dramatic effect, letting the band play a bit of instrumental before his song began.
"Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high"
The music suddenly got slower as Felix sang dramatically, seemingly directly to Heather. He was by no means a bad singer – in fact he was incredibly talented. But the overly expressive faces he made while singing distracted from that a bit.
"Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season," He continued to sing, somehow perfectly in key as he began to move himself around the stage.
"I like the energy," Simon noted, wanting to fit in as everyone else had been making commentary earlier.
"And if I claim to be a wise man, well, it surely means that I don't know," Felix continued to sing, pointing at the audience as he walked from one end of the stage to the other.
"On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say"
He continued on singing surprisingly well, causing Mia to ask Heather why she'd never mentioned it.
"You never asked," Heather shrugged, begrudgingly watching her brother sing, striking a dramatic pose before he got to the chorus.
"Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more, no!"
He ended by falling to his knees, breathing out heavily from throwing himself around the stage. Standing up and brushing himself off, he spoke up, simply stating, "Thank you and you're welcome."
The students were so preoccupied mumbling about what they'd just witnessed that they had barely noticed the next young woman walk out on stage. It actually wasn't until Marley spoke up that everyone else lifted up their heads to see what the fuss was about.
"Hi honey!" Marley called out to her oldest daughter, Leah.
"Uh, hi Mom," Leah responded somewhat awkwardly, though there was still a smile on her face. "Um, I'm Leah. Puckerman," she paused to laugh, "I'm a junior but it's my first year at McKinley... and I'm going to be singing a song called You Were Meant For Me," she finished confidently.
"Whenever you're ready," Will spoke encouragingly.
The band started behind her, and Leah stood, swaying just slightly to the music. She was used to being on stage – just not this specific stage.
"I hear the clock, it's six A.M
I feel so far from where I've been
I got my eggs, I got my pancakes too
I got my maple syrup, everything but you,"
Her voice, like her mother's, was inarguably beautiful. Her voice had always been good, but being on Vocal Adrenaline last year really pushed her into getting her voice to be as strong as possible.
"Dang," repeated Oscar for a third time.
"Is that the only word you know?" Kyla smirked as they turned their attention back to Leah on the stage.
"I break the yolks and make a smiley face
I kinda like it in my brand new place
Wipe the spots off of the mirror
Don't leave my keys in the door
I never put wet towels on the floor anymore"
She continued singing, still just as good as before. Delia had noted that her breathwork could use some adjusting, but was overall impressed with her performance, as were the Troubletones who, while they were impressed, were muttering about how if Leah ended up in their group she would get all of the solos because of her mom coaching.
"'Cause dreams last so long
Even after you're gone
I know that you love me
And soon you will see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you"
She finished just a bit higher than she'd previously been singing, just to show any potential range. Though she wished she could've been back at Carmel, she figured she'd do the best she could with the situation that she was given.
"Great job, sweetie!" Marley called out, clapping proudly.
"Thanks," Leah smiled back, waving at both her mom and everyone else who sat watching as she made her way off the stage.
Following her was yet another child of one of the teachers in the auditorium. She was of average height but otherwise tiny. She had long, layered, wavy caramel colored hair with just a tinge of red that was only really caught by the light. She was pale and had a few freckles sprinkled over her cheeks. Her pale skin made her big brown eyes pop as she looked out to the audience. The first thing she saw was Delia rolling her eyes.
"Be nice," Will warned quietly before turning his attention to his youngest daughter standing on the stage. "Hi, honey. Go ahead and introduce yourself."
"Hiya!" She waved enthusiastically, "my name is Flora Schuster. I'm in grade 9, so this will be my first year in glee! I'm going to sing a song that's just a fun song for me to sing." She continued just for a short moment, her bubbly demeanor not once faltering. As the band started to play, Flora soon joined in.
"I'm nearing the end of my fourth year, I feel like I've been lacking crying too many tears," She started slowly, her voice was smooth, strong and confident. "Everyone seemed to say it was so great but did I miss out? Was it a huge mistake?" she continued just as strongly as before, as she began moving around the stage.
"Not bad," Heather nodded, making notes on her phone.
"She's obviously going to go to her dad's group, though," Audrey commented, still somewhat annoyed that Heather thought she knew better than everyone despite being in the group for a day and not auditioning.
"You don't know that for sure," Mia tried as they turned their attention back to the singer on stage, while Tia sat, arms crossed over her chest, bothered that she was in the middle of them.
"I'm sittin' here
Crying in my prom dress
I'd be the prom queen if crying was a contest
Makeup is running down
Feelings are all around
How did I get here
I need to know"
She picked up both motivation and talent as the chorus came along, making direct eye contact with the few people in the audience who were actually paying attention.
"I guess I maybe had a couple expectations
Thought I'd get to them
But no I didn't
I guess I thought that prom was gonna be fun
But now I'm sittin' on the floor
And all I wanna do is run"
Flora wrapped up nicely, thanking everyone for watching, earning her a thank you in turn from her father.
"I think she'd be great," Delia started earning her a surprised look from her father before she continued, "as a Troubletone."
Before Will had the chance to respond, two girls walked out on stage together. Even though just moments ago the older of the two was trying to convince her younger sister they did not need to audition together, there they stood, looking as happy as ever to be there.
"Hi girls!" Marley called out, recognizing them as the sisters of Leah's boyfriend. "Can you tell everyone here a bit about you?" She, as always, asked politely.
"I'm Trina Hart," the older girl spoke kindly but professionally. She was of average height and she was fit, though a little fuller figured than her counterpart. Her long dark hair was out, reaching her hips, and her skin was decently tanned considering who her parents were. "I'm in the tenth grade."
"I'm Sophie Hart!" The younger sister called out, her youthful energy shining through. She was a few inches shorter than her sister, and had big brown eyes that stood out because of how small the rest of her features were. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and just in case her looks were not enough, she dressed almost identically to her mother, Sugar. "I'm in the ninth grade."
Mr. Shue laughed to himself at the resemblance for a moment before continuing, "Please feel free to start whenever you're ready!"
Looking at each other, the two sisters each turned to look at the band demanding that they "hit it!" as a dance beat started behind them, the two moving in perfect synchronization – which was impressive given that they had decided to do their song as a duet just moments before they went on stage.
"Clock strikes upon the hour,
And the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away"
Trina took the first part of the verse – her voice was impressive and quite strong, especially when you took into account that both of the girls were also dancing.
"I've done alright up to now
It's the light of day that shows me how
And when the night falls, loneliness calls"
Sophie took the second part, and though her voice was not quite as strong as her older sisters, she more than made up for it with enthusiasm.
"They're gonna give you two a run for your money," Heather teased Tia and Mia, resulting in Tia shooting her a dangerous look and a small nudge from Mia.
"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me"
Trina took the main melody as Sophie harmonized. They sounded great together and that seemed to be something most of the audience agreed with, and even if they didn't, they seemed to be enjoying the performance – if Naomi and Simon swaying left and right in synchronization was any sort of indicator.
"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me"
The duo finished strong, earning them scattered applause from the audience.
"Wow, fantastic job, ladies!" Will called out, "Thank you!"
The two walked off, proud of what they'd done, as Marley was shocked by what she'd seen. They were amazing. They showed off so much initiative. Why couldn't Leah have dated one of them instead? Lost in her own thoughts, she shook herself back into reality just in time for the last person auditioning to appear on stage.
"Hi everybody!" He popped out from backstage, already having fantastic stage presence which is something else Delia made a mental note of. "My name's Lex Anderson-Hummel. I'm in grade 11, and I'm ready to sing whenever you're ready to see it." He spoke happily and confidently, being sure to look for Audrey in the audience who he'd winked at when he saw her.
"Go for it!" Will responded, glad that they would be ending auditions on what seemed like an energetic note.
Turning to face the band as the music started, Lex moved easily along to the music, turning to face the audience as he began to sing.
"I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me"
Lex began singing immediately to the audience, he was clearly very charismatic and was able to sell a song – it also didn't hurt that he was one of the better and more confident male singers they'd seen that day.
"I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me"
He continued, seeming to be singing to most of the females in the audience, eyes lingering on Audrey for just a few moments too long, causing Heather to look over at her with a confused look which Audrey simply ignored.
"I'll shine up the old brown shoes
Put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me"
He continued singing, and admittedly, hamming it up a bit as Delia and Naomi leaned over the few other members of New Directions sharing a knowing look – that Lex was a good candidate for a male lead at competitions.
"Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?
Feeling all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?"
He, much like the girls before him, ended on a strong note, leaving a lasting impression on most of the students in the audience.
"Thank you!" Marley called out despite knowing that he, obviously, would not be on The Troubletones. "We'll be in touch."
DALTON ACADEMY
The Warblers were nervous. Despite their amazing performance earlier on in the day, nobody else had signed up for auditions. While they knew there was still at least one audition, it didn't feel very promising to have so few of them there. Sitting on the council from left to right was Mack, Tommy and then Teddy. On a seat next to Mack sat Sutton, and Ambrose sat on the other side, closest to Teddy.
"And you're sure your brother doesn't want to audition?" Tommy asked Mack.
"Isaac goes to Carmel. He literally goes to the same school as Dana." Mack responded, but laughed, clearly not actually bothered by Tommy's mistake.
Just as Teddy was about to interject, they noticed the boy they'd been waiting to come and audition slowly make his way in.
"Oh…uh…hi!" He peeked his head in through the door, "I'm here for my Warblers audition?" He questioned. He was short for a male and somewhat scrawny. He had dirty blonde hair that appeared thick and somewhat unkempt, bright blue eyes, and a few scattered freckles on his face.
"Eric Karaofsky? Tenth grade?" Teddy checked the clipboard in front of him as if there was any other name on the list.
"That's me!" Eric responded happily. "Should I uh, start singing now?" He asked as he made his way into the room.
"Absolutely!" Tommy spoke maybe a bit too loudly, but he was simply trying to give off a good, welcoming energy.
"Whenever you're ready!" Mack encouraged, matching Tommy's energy.
Taking a small step closer to the council, Eric took a deep breath and began singing. There was no band to back you up in an acapella group so Eric started slowly, knowing his voice would echo.
"Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man"
He was obviously nervous, and slightly taken aback when Sutton whispered to the other Warblers "Oh man, I love Elton," which was only met by a look from Ambrose as if to say shush.
"Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand"
Eric continued, finding his rhythm and courage. He didn't sound bad by any means – Teddy noticed that maybe his rhythm could use some work and Ambrose thought the same about his breathwork but the three other Warblers seemed to simply be smiling and enjoying the performance.
"But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly slowly"
The confidence and strength picked up in his voice as he continued to sing, managing to impress at least the left side of the room, Teddy and Ambrose both seemed somewhat difficult to read. Tommy and Mack, however, were swaying along to the words.
"Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today"
He concluded, ending with his voice in a higher register than the rest of the song, the Warbler council looking at each other, all being impressed with the boy's vocals.
"How are you at swaying?" Tommy asked as though it was a pressing matter.
"Like…this?" Eric questioned, swaying slightly.
"My god, he's good." Mack muttered under his breath and was met by a nod of agreement from Tommy. "Eric Karofsky, welcome to the Warblers!" Mack grinned happily.
"You mean it?!" Eric asked excitedly.
"Absolutely," Teddy smiled, beckoning the boy over to take his rehearsal schedule. While he would have rather waited to post a list, he knew they were in no position to turn away the only person who auditioned. And while he figured Eric would need to work on some things, he would easily say the same thing about Mack and Tommy. "This is when we rehearse. We look forward to seeing you then."
"Awesome! Oh, and one more thing," Eric started, suddenly very shy, "I um, brought a friend? To audition with me. I hope that's okay?"
While the council looked at each other, and the other Warblers, nobody seemed to object, and they all knew the more people they could get the better.
"Sure thing," Mack spoke up decisively.
Poking his head back out the door, he ushered for his friend to come in, and to Sutton's surprise it was the boy he saw making eye contact with him at the performance earlier.
"No freaking way!" Sutton called out excitedly.
"Sutton, please." Were the only words Ambrose could manage to get out, simply wanting to get on with it.
"What's your name?" Tommy suddenly asked the young male Eric had just pulled in.
"Michael. Anderson-Hummel." He didn't seem to be much for talking.
"Anderson-Hummel?!" Tommy exclaimed, exchanging an excited look with Mack. "Like Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel? No way!"
"Uh, yeah. Those are my parents." Michael responded, already somewhat regretting letting Eric (who he'd assumed was only friends with him because their parents were close, so they knew each other growing up) talk him into auditioning with him. Sure, he'd wanted to, but right now more than anything all he wanted was to walk out of the room. Something about all those eyes looking at him didn't feel right.
"Wow, what a small little world!" Mack laughed.
"Michael," Teddy spoke, trying to direct the attention back to the boy who was auditioning, "Did you have a song prepared?"
"Uh, yeah. I have something I can sing." He responded meekly.
"Then please feel free to go for it whenever you feel ready!" Mack exclaimed happily.
"Can I um, put my headphones in?" Michael questioned shyly, knowing his best chance at not being terrible would be singing along. While it had never been done before, the council decided it would be alright, and with that, Michael put his headphones in, letting the beat start in his ears, attempting to get comfortable with his surroundings before he started singing.
"We couldn't turn around till we were upside down, I'll be the bad guy now, but know I ain't too proud," He kept his eyes closed as he let the strength in his voice come through in the next few lines, "I couldn't be there even when I try, you don't believe it, we do this every time"
Michael opened his eyes to see many of the Warblers' mouths agape, surprised that this was the same shy boy who'd spoken to them just moments to go. Needless to say, though it surprised him, it was all the encouragement he needed to get to the chorus.
"Seasons change and our love went cold
Feed the flame 'cause we can't let go
Run away, but we're running in circles
Run away, run away"
Mack, Tommy and Sutton were all swaying as his smooth voice handled the chorus beautifully, and Ambrose and Teddy shared a small nod, silently agreeing that they'd made the right decision in letting him audition. Michael's voice seemed to grow more powerful as he wrapped up the second half of the chorus.
"I dare you to do something
I'm waiting on you again, so I don't take the blame
Run away, but we're running in circles
Run away, run away, run away"
Finishing strong, everyone in the room, including Eric who was still there and was unaware that Michael could even sing, were clearly impressed.
"That was…awesome!" Mack smiled, before decompressing himself a bit. After sharing a few glances with the rest of the council, he smiled just as big as before, "Welcome to the Warblers, Michael!"
CARMEL HIGH
After the argument between the two glee coaches that morning, thing at Carmel high were tense and the six current members of Vocal Adrenaline were worried about what would happen when the coaches arrived. All of the kids sat in the center middle of the auditorium but were all fairly spaced out. From left to right; first sat Dana who only sat a few seats away from Kate. Sitting in front of Kate, and a few seats over was Sydney, and several seats away from her were Xavier and Emery who were sitting together. Xavier had offered for Jude to sit with them but was only met with a shrug as he sat the furthest away from everyone else. Xavier had assumed he was just in a bad mood and decided to write it off as that.
"So Chloe is really joining, huh?" Emery questioned, arms crossed over her chest, looking at her friend.
"Of course she is!" Xavier responded gleefully, "and I am so excited for you to meet her. Properly. Which reminds me, I still can't believe you haven't met Trina! My-"
"Girlfriend," all five other members of Vocal Adrenaline had finished for him. In their defense, he was talking loud enough for them to hear, and other than his mom and his sister, his girlfriend Trina seemed to be his favorite conversation topic.
Emery laughed at the rest of the group finishing his sentence before responding, "I feel like I know enough about her. She's all you talk about. Besides I've met Jude, and they're siblings so that's basically the same thing." They shrugged.
Just as Xavier was about to protest, Unique and Harmony entered the auditorium from different sides but almost eerily in sync, never taking their eyes off each other as they made their way from the back to the front of the stage where they looked at the six students in front of them.
Behind them were their daughters – where Leslie made sure to follow close enough to Unique to not fall behind, but kept enough distance for people to see them as different entities, Chloe was still lazily making her way down the stairs.
"Chloe, for the love of God, can you please walk with purpose like we've discussed?" Harmony spoke, her voice sharp, growing more visibly irritated as Chloe simply waved her hand, not bothering to pick her speed up.
"Welcome everyone and thank you for being here today." Unique turned to the students in the seats, trying to distract them and keep things moving forward, "So as I'm sure you're all aware we're going to be seeing some auditions this afternoon. Please just be kind and keep any negative feedback until our auditioner leaves the stage."
"Oh no," Harmony turned, now facing Unique instead of her daughter, "if someone is horrible it is our responsibility to tell them."
"Let's respectfully agree to disagree." Unique spoke, trying her best to not get worked up again before turning back to the kids. "Leslie and Chloe will be auditioning first, and we'll be flipping a coin to see who goes first between them. And Mrs. Pearce and I agreed that they will each leave after their auditions, the same way anyone else would. Are we all okay with that?"
"That seems fair to me," Kate spoke up, earning her a far too enthusiastic nod from Dana, who was just happy to be there.
"Well then, if we're all agreed," Harmony spoke through clenched teeth, though she did her best to smile. "Let's do the coin toss. Leslie, would you like to call heads or tails?" She asked Unique's daughter – it was the closest thing anyone in the room could expect to a peace offering.
"Tails!" Leslie called, standing behind Unique. Unfortunately, it had landed on heads.
"Yes!" Harmony and Xavier called out in unison as Unique had flipped the coin and called out the winner.
"Alright, Miss Chloe Pearce," Unique spoke up to the girl who had finally caught up to everyone else. "Do you have a song prepared?"
"I guess?" Chloe responded. To everyone else in the audience, it seemed as though she really did not want to be there. Her brother, however, couldn't have been more excited to see her perform.
"Yes Chloe! You got this!" Xavier cheered her on, causing Emery to move over a few seats, leaving a small gap between them.
Everyone else in the audience could not have been less interested. Kate did her best to make it look as though she was ready to support anyone who needed it, Dana was wagging their head from side to side, Sydney was tweeting about how she didn't want to be there, and Jude was barely awake.
"Whenever you're ready, honey!" Harmony called out, now sitting in the dead middle of the front row, Unique and Leslie a few seats away on the right.
Chloe got up to the stage clearing her throat slightly. "Uh, hi. I'm Chloe. Pearce. Hi Xavier," she waved lazily, Xavier enthusiastically waving back. "And I'm gonna sing Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash, I guess."
The Vocal Adrenaline band started playing behind her, and unsurprisingly to everyone Chloe stayed in place, a somewhat tired and/or bored expression on her face. It was hard to tell, as Jude started mentally planning to ask the other members of the group to take bets on which they thought it was.
"Love is a burning thing," at the pause, Emery looked at Xavier with a confused look who was too proud of Chloe to notice. "and it makes a fiery ring," She continued.
Her voice fit the talk/sing style of the song perfectly - in that she wasn't putting any effort in, and it showed.
"What the hell?" Sydney whispered loudly, turning to look at Kate who only met her with a shrug.
"Bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring of fire," Chloe continued, now swaying slightly as she looked at her mother who was miming for her to start moving. "I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went higher," She kept going.
Sydney noted that she might have actually sounded good if she chose a song she could actually sing. Unfortunately she continued to talk-sing which showed off nothing. Dana however, seemed to be having a good time as their head wags became more manic.
"And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire," Chloe wrapped up, lazily.
"Thank you very much dear, we'll be in touch," Unique spoke up scribbling notes on her clipboard, which earned her an unfriendly and mildly threatening glare from Harmony.
"You did great Chloe!" Harmony encouraged her. She would never understand why her daughter wouldn't put in the work when she was so talented, but the best she could do for now was encourage her.
"Amazing!" Xavier cheered her on, just then noticing that Emery had moved away. "Why are you all the way over there?" He questioned, gesturing at the two empty seats between them.
"You were embarrassing me," Emery spoke loud enough that Xavier would hear, but no one else would.
"Alright!" Unique clapped her hands. "Leslie? You're up, sweetie."
Taking the note, Leslie walked up to the stage, looking at all of the seemingly disinterested students behind her. She took note of what Chloe had said when she introduced herself and tried to follow that.
"Hi everyone, I'm Leslie Adams," her tone was friendly, but professional and confident. She was somewhat nervous, as singing in front of audiences wasn't always her favorite thing, but her mother had convinced her that she was good enough for Vocal Adrenaline and had even helped her prepare a song. "I'm in grade 10, and I'll be singing a song from one of mine and my mom's favorite musicals."
The music behind her had started halfway through the song as Unique had instructed her to start there so it would show off more of her talent, and if she only had a minute, she would have to do the most with it that she could.
"I could stay home every night, wait around for Mr. Right," Leslie's voice started in a powerful place and immediately caught the attention of those listening. It couldn't have been more different from Chloe's performance. For starters, it was good. "Take cold showers everyday and throw my life away on a dream that won't come true."
The kids weren't sure if it was a shockingly emotional performance, or if it just appeared that way because of the performance they'd seen prior. Either way she'd gotten a few whoops from Dana and somewhat surprised but encouraging looks from Kate, Xavier and Emery.
"I could hurt someone like me
Out of spite or jealousy
I don't steal
And I don't lie, but I can feel
And I can cry
A fact I'll bet you never knew
But to cry in front of you
That's the worst thing I could do"
Leslie finished the song, ignoring the looks from her peers, but the performance was indisputably incredible and surprisingly moving. She gave a polite "thank you" as she left the stage, pausing only for a moment to hug her mom goodbye as she made her way out of the auditorium.
"Okay," Harmony spoke up, turning around to once again face the kids who sat in the seats before her. "We only have a few more minutes before the other auditioning students come in. And we need more people and we want them to want to be in this group. So please, please behave." She practically begged, "And for all that is holy please at least act like you like each other."
This last comment confused Kate and Dana who didn't think there was anybody in the group who they truly disliked. In the few moments that they waited for new people to come and audition not much had changed. At Unique's suggestion to close in some of the gaps between them to make it appear as though they got along better than they did, there was now no gap between Dana and Kate, and Sydney was in the same row as them, with just one seat between her and Kate. On the other side Emery had closed the gap between herself and Xavier. Jude was also now sitting beside Emery in the same row, the two debating whether Chloe was tired or bored while Xavier pleaded for them to stop talking about her that way because he "really just didn't get it."
Finally, there were footsteps on the stage, causing everyone to look up. The student on the stage looked somewhat too young to be a high school student but all of VA wrote it off as just being baby faced.
"Hi!" They called out ecstatically.
"Hi!" Dana called back, matching their energy.
The student on stage laughed at the response, pushing his long, platinum blonde hair out of his slightly narrowed hazel eyes. Their features were soft and arguably feminine. They were definitely on the shorter side and had their pale skin slightly washed out by the bright lights.
"I'm Sawyer Jackson, I'm in the ninth grade, and I don't think there's anything else you really need to know?" He questioned.
"You are all good!" Unique called back cheerfully, "Please feel free to start whenever you're ready."
A piano started playing behind him, and soon after Sawyer had begun singing.
"Step one, you say, 'We need to talk'
He walks, you say, 'Sit down. It's just a talk'
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through"
His gentle, pretty voice did take a few of the current members of Vocal Adrenaline by surprise. But it was a good voice.
"Could be good with some lessons," Sydney muttered to Kate, who opted to ignore it, instead smiling at Sawyer who Kate thought was doing an excellent job.
"Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came"
Sawyer felt the song building and remembered what his mom said when it came to the more vocally challenging parts of the song – her sound advice being 'don't be a wuss', but it was good enough advice for him, so he took it and continued singing into the chorus.
"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"
Sawyer was surprised by the fact that five of the six people in the audience had applauded for him – Sydney noted that she would clap when he learned how to hold a note. Thanking everyone for their time, Sawyer left the stage.
"What a sweet kid," Xavier cooed, earning him a nod of agreement from Emery.
Before anybody else had a chance to speak about Sawyer, Harmony called "NEXT!" and sure enough, the next student made her way across the stage.
"Hello Vocal Adrenaline, I'm Kendall Holliday and I'm in grade 11." Her voice was cool and collected. She was on the shorter side and had beautiful dark skin, big brown doe eyes, a button nose and round lips. However the features that caught most of the group's attention were her deep purple hair, septum piercing and several ear piercings.
"You two should be friends, you've got matching ears." Emery spoke quietly to Jude, nodding towards his similarly pierced ears as he only responded with a small, quiet chuckle and the shake of his head.
"Whenever you're ready, please go ahead!" Harmony spoke up.
"Thank you!" Kendall responded pleasantly, a wide smile on her lips. She turned and nodded to the band who began playing at her cue.
"You and me, we made a vow
For better or for worse
I can't believe you let me down
But the proof's in the way it hurts"
Her voice was deep, beautiful and soulful. She also knew she was good and recognized the faces of everyone else realizing this as she continued to sing.
"For months on end I've had my doubts
Denying every tear
I wish this would be over now
But I know that I still need you here"
"Wow, she's really good." Xavier noted out loud, while on the other side of the auditorium Kate was having similar thoughts. Sydney felt vaguely threatened but also knew the more talented people they had in Vocal Adrenaline the higher chance they had at beating New Directions.
"You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one"
Finishing just as strongly as she started, Kendall took a small curtsy at the scattered applause from the audience.
"Thank you so much. I expect to hear from you soon?" She questioned, looking at Harmony and Unique.
"Absolutely. We will be in touch," Unique confirmed, smiling, "Thank you so much for your time Kendall."
Giving a slight wave, Kendall walked off the stage leaving Vocal Adrenaline to process the fact that they'd actually had some really good singers so far. It wasn't that they weren't expecting it, more so they needed it and were glad it was happening.
Just as they were all thinking this, a new presence made himself known as he walked across the stage confidently to the direct middle. He was definitely fit and had brown hair and dark eyes that contrasted against his pale skin. He had a prominent nose, but more than that was very well dressed, especially in comparison to the other students sitting in the auditorium.
"Hello, Vocal Adrenaline," He projected his voice and was certainly confident. "My name is Anthony St. James. As in my father, Jesse St. James who is both a Broadway and Vocal Adrenaline hero. My mother, Rachel Berry is a Broadway legend. You may have heard of them. They've been on Broadway." Anthony spoke redundantly, reminding Unique almost too much of his father. "You may be wondering what I'm doing in Lima. My mother has decided to write a memoir and wanted to get in touch with her roots. My father and I both decided it was time that I step into my rightful place as the star of Vocal Adrenaline. And since I'm only in grade 10 I can make sure this is a winning team for the coming years. Now if you're all prepared to let me show you what a talented singer looks like, I'll start my song."
While Sydney had opened her mouth to retaliate, she was not given the chance as Anthony had turned to the band and given them the signal to start playing.
"Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars"
Everyone in the audience was begrudgingly shocked at the fact that despite his obviously conceited view of himself, he was good. Almost too good. And in grade ten! He reminded Harmony of herself in that aspect.
"In other words: hold my hand," He continued to sing moving around the stage showing his presence as he made sure to make eye contact with most of the female presenting kids in the club, giving each of them a cheeky smile, "in other words: baby kiss me"
Dana, per usual, was enjoying the performance, moving their head around to the music after nodding when Kate uttered the word, "impressive."
"Fill my heart with song
Let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore"
Xavier and Emery shared a glance – they appreciated the fact that he was so talented, but also knew that this would mean he'd be getting all of their parts.
"In other words: please, be true, in other words," He allowed this part to show his full vocal range and power capability, "in other words: I love you"
While most of the group was shocked by his talent, or worried about what him being in the group would mean for their solos, those who weren't completely taken aback managed to clap.
"When do we start rehearsals?" Anthony demanded, standing in place with his hands on his hips.
"We'll be in touch," Unique responded kindly but firmly, knowing what the weight of having a St. James on the team would be. Now turning to the students sitting behind her, she spoke up again, "Now I know that was a lot, but there's only one audition left, so please hold any concerns until we're done."
"Who is it?" Kate questioned curiously – she was in the drama club and was hoping one of her actual friends would be auditioning.
However, before Unique got the chance to respond, the student walked on stage waving frantically. He was a bit above average height but was quite scrawny. He had big, expressive moss green eyes, gelled back white-blonde hair and somewhat chubby cheeks. Kate did recognize him from drama, but was not the only person in the room who recognized the young boy.
"Steven Smythe!" He answered Kate's question as he reached the middle of the stage, "Sydney's brother! Hi Sydney!" He called out waving.
"Steven!" Sydney called out less than happy. "You already have all your theater nonsense, why did you need to join glee club?"
"I thought it would be fun!" He replied simply and happily.
"Well Steven," Harmony spoke after looking back at Sydney giving her a glare to try to get her to stop being rude. "Whenever you're ready!"
"Thanks! I'm gonna be singing a song our dad helped me pick!" Steven responded, happily getting ready to start.
"Your dad. Elliot is your dad." Sydney muttered, arms crossed tight over her chest, rolling her eyes.
Despite Sydney's protests, the music started. Steven initially was going to pick a showtune, but Elliot thought it would be better to pick something more accessible as it would make him stand out more.
"Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all
But you never give
Should've known you was trouble
From the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open?"
He started, his voice was crisp and clear, and while Kate looked over to Sydney on her left who was visibly annoyed, Dana was throwing their arms around wildly, and at this point, not even in rhythm with the music.
"Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, you tossed it in the trash, you did," he continued to perform, truly acting out the dramatics of the song while still managing to sing the song well "to give me all your love is all I ever asked 'cause, what you don't understand is,"
He paused for dramatic effect before going into the chorus, as he noticed Xavier, Emery and Jude all sort of bopping along to the music – Xavier especially, who was someone else he knew from drama.
"I'd catch a grenade for you
Throw my hand on a blade for you
I'd jump in front of a train for you
You know I'd do anything for you
Oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for you, baby
But you won't do the same"
Steven wrapped up on an incredibly strong note. While nearly everyone was impressed with his singing, what they were more impressed with was his ability to sell a song. It also didn't hurt that it was easily the most entertaining performance they'd seen that day.
"Thank you very much for your time Steven!" Harmony called out, turning back to the Vocal Adrenaline members, as he left the area. "Well? What did we think of everyone?"
AFTER SCHOOL
Back at the Puckerman household, Marley, Jake and their two daughters had arrived back home and were only waiting on the arrival of Oliver and Sutton.
"I just don't get why you didn't try out, Nikki," Marley tried, but didn't want to push too hard.
"I told you earlier," her youngest daughter responded. "Glee is lame. Besides, if Oliver isn't in his weird boyband at his school, then I shouldn't have to be in your weird girl group."
"You know there's more to life than doing whatever your brother does, right?" Jake raised his eyebrows, only being met with a shrug from his youngest.
"In fairness, there's that other group too, right? New Directions?" Leah tried to come to her mother's defense.
"That's somehow worse," Nikki muttered, grabbing the apple that Marley had just handed her before heading up the stairs.
"If it makes you feel better," Leah tried to console her mom, "Jude told me that the two Vocal Adrenaline coaches got into it this morning. So at least you're doing better than that." She reached over to give her mother a side hug, before following her sister up stairs.
Turning to Jake who Leah had opted to ignore, Marley spoke "Why would hearing that make me feel better?"
Laughing, Jake wrapped his arms around his wife, sighing out, "Because the only part of that conversation you heard was 'Jude'. The Troubletones are in a good spot. And from what you've told me, Schue has actually kind of been a help." He let her go, laughing once more as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
While she was about to respond, she was cut off by her two sons walking in. "Hi boys!" She called out, "How was school?"
"Fine," Oliver spoke plainly, not looking to discuss anything much further as he actively ignored the snack Marley had set out for him.
"Well, did you stay out of trouble?" Marley pressed, Oliver responding only with a shrug, not unlike Nikki had responded to their father earlier. Before she got to question him further, he disappeared up the stairs just like his sisters had moments ago.
"How about you Sutton?" Jake tried, knowing how important it was to Marley that their kids spoke to them.
"Well Oliver almost made us late, there's only five Warblers who returned this year, and me and Ambrose are the only two who are returning that aren't on the council. But you know who is on the council? Tommy!" Sutton spoke without taking a breath, while his dad laughed at the visualization of Tommy Abrams sitting on the Warblers council.
"Just Tommy?" Marley asked, genuinely concerned for the sake of the glee club.
"No, no," Sutton waved her off, "It's also Mack Sterling and Teddy Chang. Who's a real stick in the mud, if I'm honest. Him and Ambrose both." He breathed out, while the realization of Teddy being the third councilman made both of his parents sigh out in relief.
"It's strange that there's no adult on that team," Marley shook her head. "Like a chaperone? I don't know, it doesn't sit right with me."
"Oh yeah! That's the other thing!" Sutton sighed dramatically once more, "Two new kids joined and after they were accepted, we were sitting around talking about songs – more like arguing – but some kid gave us a noise complaint! So now they're gonna get some third stick in mud to come babysit us. Ridiculous!" Sutton threw his hands in the air, shaking his head. "I need a drink," he spoke meekly before moving to grab chocolate milk out of the fridge and drinking it out of the carton.
"Sutton!" Marley called out, shocked and upset about whatever it was that had just happened, but per usual in this household, Sutton ignored her, stomping his way up to his room.
"Just one kid who does what I ask. That's all I wanted," Marley sighed out, but laughed. "Here, help me make dinner." She directed Jake as the two began catching each other up on their day.
A/N: If you have actually managed to read this far thank you so much! I really appreciate it, and I know it takes a long time to read through (I've read through it several times myself lol). As always this is just me encouraging you guys to reach out to me if you have any ideas or suggestions for future plots (especially if they involve another character too! Even if you don't have a specific secondary character in mind I can always help you brainstorm or lend you one of mine!) That said, as promised, here are all of the songs used in this chapter in order of appearance. I'd also like to add that yes, most of these are songs you've all sent me in, but they may be repurposed for your character later, as well! I'd also love to hear some more song suggestions you may have for any and all of your characters if you have any! Thank you so much everyone!
The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
Pressing On - Relient K
Blue Sky - Bethany Joy Lenz
Honesty - Billy Joel
She - Harry Styles
Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90's - Sam Hunt
Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Carry on Wayward Son - Kansas
You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
prom dress - mxmtoon
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Circles - Post Malone
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
There Are Worse Things I Could Do - from Grease
How To Save a Life - The Fray
I'm Not The Only One - Sam Smith
Fly Me To the Moon - Frank Sinatra
Grenade - Bruno Mars