A/N: Ahhh we made it to sectionals everyone! It means so much to me that I've been able to be so motivated to keep writing this story and that is, of course, thanks to all of you for your constant support and collaborations with me! So thank you all as this is a big milestone and I'm just so happy that you guys are still reading! Now per usual, just a few things to touch base on!
First is that this chapter is really just divided into four parts for each of the group's sectionals, but is still fairly long chapter so there's a lot to sort of digest without a break, so I apologize for that! But it's a lot of fun, so I hope you all enjoy reading it!
I also wanted to quickly thank you all for sending in new OCs! I was not expecting to get so many so quickly., so for that reason submissions are once again closed, but may open up again later on so keep an eye out! That said all of the new characters will be getting introduced basically between now and regionals so if you do not see your OC right away, please do not panic! I promise they'll eventually come in, it may just take some time, so I just ask that you're all patient with me!
All that said, please enjoy sectionals! This was by far one of the chapters I had the most fun writing! As always the song list is at the bottom and please don't forget to review or PM me your thoughts! Thanks everyone and enjoy!
FRIDAY EVENING, NEW DIRECTIONS SECTIONALS
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Kurt sighed out, looking around the McKinley auditorium. "Feels like just yesterday that we were up there for our sectionals."
"Time flies," Blaine laughed, shaking his head, as he, Kurt and Michael were about to find a seat, they were quickly distracted by a voice behind him.
"Don't think you can get away from us that easily, Anderson-Hummels," Elliot called out, "So good to see all three of you! My goodness you're getting tall, Michael."
"Elliot!" Kurt smiled, reaching over to give him a small hug, "It's been ages! How are things?"
"Great. Now please get your hands off my husband," Sebastian spoke, his tone just as audibly annoyed and snarky as Kurt had expected, "Always a pleasure, Mr. Hummel. Blaine," He turned to face him, "I see you're aging like a fine wine. Would not expect anything less, of course,"
"Aw, stop it," Blaine waved him off, "Hey, why don't we do this more? You know all of us get together?"
"I can name a few reasons," Kurt muttered, rolling his eyes, earning him a small laugh and pat on the back from Elliot.
"Alright if we're done with whatever this is, I'm leaving," Sydney, who was there with her parents and Steven spoke, "I'm meeting a friend."
"What friend?" Elliot questioned out of genuine interest.
"Mind your own business, Elliot," Sydney rolled her eyes sauntering off.
"Hey Steven," Michael nodded towards the other boy.
"Hi Michael!" Steven beamed happily.
"Well, we were just about to take a seat, if you'd like to join us?" Blaine spoke to the other family.
"Have you got room for a few more?" Dave Karofsky's voice echoed from behind them.
"Dave!" Kurt and Blaine both spoke excitedly.
"What are you doing here?" Kurt was still just so happy to see someone who wasn't Sebastian.
"Well, we had to come support Lex, didn't we?" Dave smiled.
"Dibs on sitting next to Michael!" Eric called out, before introducing himself to Steven as the three took seats all next to each other.
"I'm Dave, by the way," Dave introduced himself to Elliot, though he and Sebastian were mildly acquainted.
"Great to meet you!" Elliot smiled, "I think our kids are in glee together, actually,"
"We are," Kate, finally took a second to speak up, "I really enjoy working with Steven," she smiled, earning a wave from Steven, as she neglected to talk about Sydney.
Before anyone else had the chance to speak up, Kurt couldn't help but snicker, "Would you look at that, yet another ex Warbler,"
"So why didn't Bryce come with us again?" Trent questioned his son, Zach, who were both, of course there to support Oscar.
"I dunno, I guess something came up?" Zach shrugged, not thinking much of it.
"Hm, what a shame," Trent spoke on autopilot, secretly glad that he didn't have to worry about the two of them getting into too many shenanigans.
"Kate?!" Zach called out suddenly.
"Zach?" Kate laughed as she turned to see him now standing virtually directly behind her.
"Hi Trent!" Blaine called out among the chaos, as Trent waved back, avoiding making eye contact with Sebastian.
"Can Kate sit with us, dad? Please?" Zach practically begged.
"If she wants to, and if her family doesn't mind," Trent looked to Dave, who he'd known since they both worked at Dalton.
"Go on, Kate," Dave nudged her, sharing a knowing look and smile with Trent who had, truthfully, discussed the potential of their two oldest dating countless times in the staff lounge.
As Kate sheepishly smiled, Zach immediately put an arm around her, as they made their way to the front, Zach wanting to make sure Oscar would be able to see them when he was on stage.
"Hey, isn't she in your glee club?" Zach asked Kate as they passed Sydney, Kate immediately making way to hide behind both Zach and Trent.
"There you are," Sydney spoke to a silhouette behind her, so distracted that she somehow did manage to miss Kate, "What took you so long?"
"I have a life outside of you," Anthony rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, "Some spy you are, by the way. I could spot you a mile away."
"I have a reason to be here. I think his name is Lex?" Sydney shrugged. "You, however, need a reason to be here."
"I love show choir, it's my life's calling," Anthony tried. That was not why he was there. He was there because he wanted to see Flora again. He, of course, couldn't figure out why. He just knew he wanted to see her again, by any means. Which is why, when Sydney extended an invitation to come spy with them at the New Directions sectionals, Anthony couldn't turn it down.
"You'll have to think of something better than that. Since you know, you're 'famous' or whatever," Sydney snickered.
"Is that Sydney and Anthony?" Xavier peeked over to where they were sitting, "What are they doing here?"
"Who cares?" Jude mumbled, fussing with his nose piercing, as he and his family were there to support Sophie. Xavier was also there to support Sophie and to try to get in good with Trina's family, despite Sophie specifically asking him not to come.
"We care! If they're your friends, we should say hi! Love thy neighbor!" Joe smiled at his family and also Xavier.
"Don't forget your #TeamSophie shirts!" Sugar passed them out to the group of them, blatantly ignoring her husband.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Xavier grinned.
"Do you think she can see us from here?" Trina questioned, genuinely concerned.
"She's got 20/20 vision, she'll be alright," Jude smirked, earning an eye roll from his sister.
"I'll make sure she can!" Xavier grinned wide, "I'll get up and wave and it probably will not be distracting for her at all!"
"Yes! That's the spirit!" Sugar clapped, "This is why you're just the best little show choir boy I've ever met," She leaned over to pinch his cheeks.
"Mom," Jude looked at her, but just deep sighed instead of saying anything else he was thinking.
On the other side of the auditorium, a rather large group of people made their way in.
"You know what? I kind of miss the rush of glee club, the power of expression!" Mason sighed out, looking around the room.
"That's the gayest shit I've ever heard," Spencer laughed.
"Hey, be nice to him!" Madison warned.
"Whatever," Spencer rolled his eyes, "So where's Jane? And where's… whatever your husband's name is, Madison?"
"He's… not really around," Madison did her best to explain, looking at her two kids, who were looking at their phones and not paying attention.
"Jane's working," Mason explained, not thinking much of it, but hoping to move things along as he knew things weren't great at home with Madison right now.
"And where the hell is Roderick?" Spencer spoke as though he hadn't even listened to what his friends said.
"I think we've all been wondering that," Mason shrugged, "Been a while, hasn't it?"
"And where is Alistar? If you're so keen on seeing where everyone else is?" Madison placed a hand on her hip.
"I dunno, sleeping I guess?" Spencer shrugged.
"If you guys are done with the boring adult talk, can we go sit by ourselves?" Heather groaned, "No offence."
"Yeah, sure," Spencer waved his daughter off, "Make sure you cheer loud for your brother, yeah?"
"You got it, dude," Heather snickered, "Cool if everyone else comes with me?" She looked at the other parents.
"Of course!" Mason grinned, "Have fun ladies! We'll meet you after!"
"Not you, Addison," Zoey grabbed her son, "I'd like you to stay here with me."
"But Zoey gets to go sit with them!" Addison groaned. "Can't I even go sit with Eric? He's there with like, 6 different adults."
"No! Eric is worse! No, no, you'll sit with me, okay?" Madison took a seat, patting the chair next to her as Addison reluctantly sat down.
As the girls walked off, Zoey stopped in her tracks as she recognized a familiar face, "Why are you sitting by yourself?"
"Oh! I guess I didn't just see anyone else I know," Audrey shrugged.
"Well, you know us, so scooch over bestie," Heather laughed. "We're coming in."
"Are you all here to support Felix?" Audrey questioned curiously.
"Yeah," Mia nodded, "Though now we're here to also support your not boyfriend, too," she concluded, as Tia snickered.
As everyone else was finally getting sorted, the last big group began walking in.
"It's a shame Mercedes couldn't make it," Emma shook her head, "Is it a tour thing?"
"Actually, Rowan got like, really sick. On the way here," Sam spoke in hushed tones, "Which means the New Directions are down a person. So we're trying to sort of keep it… hush hush."
"That's hilarious," Naomi laughed, Delia and Kendall, who came along as she was still living with the Jones', laughing with her. "That they're down a person, I mean. I hope Rowan feels better soon," Naomi concluded.
"Well," Emma spoke slowly, giving Delia a look as if to say 'stop laughing', "Will told me they managed to sort of last minute find someone, so hopefully everything's okay?"
"Hey!" Sam smiled, "That's great news!"
"What's great news?" Artie questioned as he, along with the entire Abrams and Chang clan, entered.
"That you guys are here!" Sam smiled widely, gesturing towards them, "Now it's a party!"
"Party! Yee haw!" Dana called out.
"That's the spirit, buddy!" Mike ruffled Dana's hair.
"I swear he's like a Dana whisperer," Kitty laughed.
"Oh, I'm a cat whisperer," Brittany suddenly joined her old friends. "Which is like, way more impressive."
"We know, Britt," Tina laughed.
"And who's this?" Emma, wanting to change the subject, turned to face the boy standing with Tommy.
"Oh! This is Mack! He's my best friend and is here to support me supporting Rey. And Simon too, of course. Because Naomi's family is important to me too," Tommy nodded in conclusion.
"He's also the head of the Warblers council," Teddy spoke up, wondering how he agreed to letting Mack come along with them.
"That's great! To all things," Sam laughed, putting a small hand on Tommy's shoulder, winking towards Naomi.
"God, can we please just go in?" Cay practically begged, not wanting to deal with whatever was going on between the Abrams and the Jones'.
"I agree," Delia nodded, as the last of them finally made their way in, getting ready to take their seats.
In the green room, things were going less than planned. While they weren't counting on Delia getting poached by the Troubletones, they also weren't counting on Rowan being sick and having to go home, leaving them with eleven and having the rest of the Jones' convinced they were also sick, despite being healthy as ever. Then, the very last thing they expected was to have Oscar have a plan that he 'wasn't happy about', but to get the group rounded back up to twelve.
"Come on, it's not that hard!" Oscar whined, trying to teach the newest member the basic choreography, despite being, arguably, the worst dancer in New Directions.
"Hey, I never said I was coordinated!" Bryce sighed out, "And you're not a very good teacher."
"Here, maybe I can help," Kyla stepped in, seeing the inevitable disaster unfolding before her.
"I bet you can," Bryce laughed, winking at Oscar.
"Oh my god," Oscar breathed out, wondering if it would have been better to just forfeit the competition than have to endure this.
"I still don't see why we needed Gigantor over there to join us," Savannah sighed out, arms crossed over her chest.
"Because we had eleven and would have to forfeit without him," Lex laughed, barely looking up from his phone.
"Whatever," Savannah made her way over to see what he was looking at, "Who are you texting?"
"Audrey, she came to support me! She was just telling me that some of the Troubletones are here and they're sitting together." Lex explained.
"Why are the Troubletones here?" Flora questioned curiously, and somewhat anxiously. "I mean I know Delia's here, but…" She was afraid to finish her thought
"Well, I know at least a third of the Troubletones are here to support me," Felix grinned.
"I know Cay is here for me," Rey spoke up, "Our families always go to each other's performances and events."
"Trina is here to see me, and I would die for her," Sophie spoke up unprovoked.
"So… basically all of the Troubletones?" Lex laughed.
"Yeah, I know Naomi's here too," Simon nodded.
"Woah, where have you been?" Felix nodded towards Simon and the other Jones'.
"Rowan's really sick, and so we also might be really sick," Finley explained, "We don't want to infect any of you."
"You like fine to me," Savannah stood up to walk over to Finley, "And I do mean fine," she smirked.
"Don't touch him!" Simon called out.
"I'm sorry guys, I don't know if we can do this," Hazel shook her head, "It's not worth getting you all sick."
"Uh, I don't think so," Kyla spoke up from the other side of the room, "I didn't sit in the back of that classroom for years to not even perform at my last ever sectionals,"
Before they had the chance to retort, Mr. Schue entered the room, "What's going on in here?"
"The Jones' seem to think they're dying," Felix began his recap, "Our worst dancer is trying to teach our new member how to dance," Felix nodded towards Oscar and Bryce, "And the rest of us just want to go on."
"Well, good news for the rest of you then," Mr. Schue spoke, "Cause it's time."
"Mr. Schue, respectfully," Simon tried, "We're dying."
"Look, we need you and Hazel for the first number. And Finley we need you for the second one. After that you guys don't have to take part. But please, I believe in you. And you'll be fine," Mr. Schue pleaded.
After finally agreeing the group made their way out to backstage, Lex peeked his head out of the curtain smiling as Audrey noticed and waved at him, before getting distracted by something else. "What's Anthony St. James doing here?" He questioned curiously.
"Anthony's here?" Flora's eyes went wide.
"Someone's excited," Savannah smirked.
"No, I just, uh," Flora stammered slightly.
"Flora. Focus," Will warned her.
"Aw look Rey," Simon cooed as he also looked out, into the audience, "Our families are sitting together!"
"Aw!" Rey repeated, face flushing as she saw Cay looking back up at her and smiling, before looking at the rest of the row, "Oh, look. Tommy brought Mack. You guys are friends, right?"
"What?" Simon squinted, looking out and catching Mack's eyes just for a second, "Oh right. Yeah, we're friends."
"Hey look! Zach's here!" Bryce pulled Oscar over by the back of his shirt.
"Yes," Oscar spoke dryly, "He's my brother."
"My brother's here too!" Sophie spoke excitedly, "With my darling sister, of course. Wait a second," she paused. "Why is Xavier here? I told him he wasn't invited!"
"Oh, hell yeah!" Felix peeked out seeing his duet partner from the week previous, "I hope he's proud of me."
"Don't you have, like your whole extended family and friends out there too?" Hazel laughed.
"Yes, and?" Felix tilted his head to the side.
"I'm glad at least one of my moms made it," Savannah smiled, looking at Brittany, "They're both so busy."
"I get that," Finley nodded, "I'm sad my mom couldn't come – normally it's cause of her job, it sucks that Rowan got sick and now neither of them are here,"
"Can we please stop talking about who's here?" Kyla grumbled, noticing that, once again, Brody failed to show up to one of her events, "We go on in like 30 seconds."
"Kyla's right," Mr. Schue nodded, "It's showtime."
As a familiar and fun beat began playing on the stage, the New Directions began entering one by one from either side, as Simon and Hazel were the first to walk onto stage, both walking towards the front as everyone moved behind them, as Hazel started to sing.
"Oh, oh, oh, woke up today
Feeling the way I always do,"
Her voice was strong and beautiful, and despite her nerves over being the one to open the song and their whole setlist, she absolutely crushed it, looking to Simon as he sang the next line.
"Oh, oh, oh, hungry for something that I can't eat
Then I hear that beat,"
If they were giving an award for most improved it would undoubtedly be given to Simon, as not only had his vocals become worlds better from where he started, his confidence, stage presence, and dancing ability had also gotten almost unbelievably better.
"That rhythm of town starts calling me down
It's like a message from high above,"
Hazel sang once more, a small smile on her face as she looked to Simon on stage, the two surprising themselves by following the choreography perfectly.
"Oh, oh, oh, pulling me out
To the smiles and the streets that I love,"
Simon finished up the first verse as the rest of the group prepared to harmonize and get down to the nitty gritty of the choreography, Hazel and Simon singing the main melody together.
"Good morning Baltimore
Every day's like an open door
Every night is a fantasy
Every sound's like a symphony
Good morning Baltimore
And some day when I take to the floor
The world's gonna wake up and see
Baltimore and me,"
While the two leading sounded absolutely phenomenal, the rest of the group was proud of themselves as they managed to nail their harmonies and choreography, including Oscar, Bryce and Kyla who all shared a small smile as they recognized that maybe they could get through this number after all.
In the audience, Trent smiled, clapping for the generally good performance, but more than anything because he noticed the small, proud smile on Oscar's face, feeling proud of his boy. Next to him, after Zach stopped laughing at Bryce 'dancing,' he cheered out loudly for both of them, excited to see two of his favorite people performing together, only stopping when Kate placed a hand on his leg to signal him to tone it down.
Not too far from them, Naomi was going absolutely nuts for Simon as Sam was doing the same for Hazel. Following suit, Tommy also cheered out for them, Mack smiling and clapping along, meeting Simon's eye once more, resulting in a small smile on Simon's face as he sang the next line of the song.
"I know every step, I know every song,
I know there's a place where I belong,"
Simon, impressed with himself over managing to continue doing pretty well, spun his sister Hazel as a part of their choreography, as she, of course, absolutely nailed her part.
"I see all those party lights shining ahead
So someone invite me before I drop dead!"
"Before she drops dead!" The rest of the glee club sang out behind her, Felix giving it the absolute most out of everyone.
"That's my boy!" Spencer called out, far too excited for the minimal amount Felix sang. That however, did not stop Heather, Tia, Mia and, reluctantly, Zoey from also all cheering a few rows ahead of them.
"So, oh, oh, give me a chance
Cause when I start to dance, I'm a movie star,"
Simon sang out once more, looking at Hazel smiling, knowing they were both glad they got to perform this number together.
"Oh, oh, oh, something inside of me makes me move
When I hear that groove,"
Hazel sang out, looking out into the audience for a moment, unbelieving how many eyes were on her, and that she had the confidence to continue pulling this off.
"My ma tells me no, but my feet tell me go!" Simon sang out, looking to Hazel, knowing they both had a big line coming up, but sharing a look, knowing they could nail it.
"It's like a drummer inside my heart," Hazel sang, nodding just slightly at Simon, a small dance beat buying them some time before they got ready for their collective belt.
"So, oh, oh, don't make me wait
One more moment for my life to start,"
They sang together, absolutely nailing the big note in the song, smiling as they realized they did well, the rest of the group behind them singing.
"Good morning, good morning
Waiting for my life to start,"
The group sang their few lines, as everyone continued on with their choreography getting ready to close out the song, Simon and Hazel singing out proudly while everyone else continued to harmonize.
"I love you Baltimore
Every day's like an open door
Every night is a fantasy
Every sound's like a symphony
And I promise Baltimore
That some day when I take to the floor
The world's gonna wake up and see
Gonna wake up and see
Baltimore and me
Baltimore and me,"
As they knew they had three words left, Simon and Hazel grabbed hands, standing at the front of the stage, bringing their arms up together as they once again belted out the last line.
"Baltimore and me!"
As the group earned loud applause from all around the room, it was clear who the parents were, as they stood up cheering embarrassingly loudly, Sam, of course, cheering the absolute loudest. All but two students scurrying off the stage, the two remaining students walked to opposite ends of the stage as the lighting dimmed slightly, a soft ballad playing.
Turning to face her partner, Savannah began singing out, her powerful voice, surprisingly soft, as she slowly but surely began walking to the center of the stage as she sang.
"Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight
I need help believing
You're with me tonight
My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee
Lying beside you
With you wanting me,"
"Woo!" Brittany called out, as the parents sitting with her cheered, along with everyone in the audience, impressed with Savannah's vocals.
Finley, her duet partner, met her in the middle just before she continued singing, as she grabbed one of his hands, the power in her voice coming back as she delivered the chorus.
"And just for this moment
As long as you're mine
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some border line
And if it turns out
It's over too fast
I'll make every last moment last
As long as you're mine,"
The song slowing, Finley swallowed hard, nervous to make his big debut on the sectionals stage, but looking in Savannah's eyes, he suddenly felt all the confidence he needed come to him.
"Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes
Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell,"
While Finley's deep voice was perfect for the song, it also matched Savannah's perfectly, which of course, Mr. Schue remembered and why it was these two he picked for the duet. However, what nobody was expecting, was the sudden power and volume Finley had managed to muster for the end of his verse, earning him loud applause from all sides of the room, the Jones' in the audience once again losing their minds with support for Finley, just as he and Savannah sang together, harmonizing beautifully.
"Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time,"
Even though they sounded better together than anyone could have even imagined, for a split second neither of them seemed to even notice as they were so caught up in singing to each other.
"Say there's no future
For us as a pair,"
Finley sang out once more, once again surprising the audience, this time with his higher range. Smiling, and now turning out to sing to the audience, the duo on stage sang out, both manifesting the exact power they needed, impressing the audience greatly with their harmonies.
"And though I may know
I don't care
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine
Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through,"
"Holy shit they're good," Tia muttered, suddenly somewhat nervous about their sectionals, earning her a nod of agreement from Audrey, who on one hand was also getting nervous about their sectionals, but on the other hand was proud of Savannah despite their current status. Turning back to face each other, Finley and Savannah brought their voices back down, smiling as they perfectly sang out the last few lines.
"And know I'll be here
Holding you
As long as you're mine,"
They wrapped up earning loud applause from everyone, but especially the Jones', The Abrams and the Changs who were all sitting together and all knew both kids on stage, as well as Brittany who was also sitting with them and found herself tearing up at her daughter's performance.
As the cheering wound down, Savannah and Finley ran backstage as the stage went black, just long enough for four new silhouettes to appear on stage. One in the front and center stage, and three spaced out evenly behind them.
A familiar synth beat started playing and a light illuminated on the face of the first silhouette, the winner of the duets competition getting his spotlight moment as he sung out, hands behind his back, stood still.
"I heard you on the wireless back in '52
Lying awake intently tuning in on you
If I was young it didn't stop you coming through,"
Lex's voice echoed through the auditorium, but from where he was standing he was able to focus in on his family and see the proud looks on all three of their faces as they watched him intently. The three silhouettes behind Lex now lit up as Rey, Sophie and Flora all sang out in harmony, all of their families agasp as none of them knew they had any sort of moment at all (other than Mr. Schue, who of course, planned the whole number)
"Oh-a-oh,"
All four students on the stage smiled as the song slowly began to pick up, where they were at first still, now moving just slightly.
"They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine on new technology
And now I understand the problems you can see,"
As Lex sang out, he was finally able to look out into the audience, almost overwhelmed with how many people were enjoying the performance, of course, meeting the eye of Audrey who smiled at him proudly.
"Oh-a-oh," The three girls sang out, starting their actual choreography.
"I met your children," Lex sang as he made his way out across the stage.
"Oh-a-oh," The three freshmen sang once more.
"What did you tell them?" Lex looked to his backup singers as he moved to one side of the stage, the three of them taking the other side.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
Sophie, Rey and Flora were the image of an iconic trio as they moved in sync with each other, their voices meshing perfectly.
"Pictures came and broke your heart,"
Lex sang out again, smiling now moving towards the other three on stage.
"Oh-a-a-a oh," The girls now sang seemingly directly to Lex, moving around him as though they were having a conversation as he picked up singing the verse again.
"And now we meet in an abandoned studio
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago
And you remember the jingles used to go,"
While Blaine was the first to cheer loudly, it wasn't long before Kurt, Michael, and all the Karofsky's were also cheering him on.
Standing face to face, they moved back and forth, each taking their turn singing as if it was a call and return.
"Oh-a-oh,"
"You were the first one,"
"Oh-a-oh,"
"You were the last one,"
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
The three girls sang again.
"Yay Flora! Flora hooray!" Emma clapped her hands together, grinning as she watched her daughter, earning her a head shake of disappointment from her daughter, Delia.
"In my mind and in my car
We can't rewind, we've gone too far,"
Lex sang out now to the audience, using his typical Lex charm to make eye contact with everyone in the audience, even winking at one of the judges.
"Oh-a-a-a oh
Oh-a-a-a oh,"
The three girls sang out, Rey separating from the rest of the group, to join Lex in dancing, Sophie and Flora dancing together.
As the three completed what was somewhat complex choreography over a small music break, they all were secretly thankful for the Footloose number. Audrey cheered loudly for Lex as she watched him, rolling her eyes as Heather told her it was embarrassing. As the music break started to wrap up, the rest of the New Directions joined behind them, also doing the choreography, harmonizing with the three girls who continued the lead on their part as they separated from their dance partners, Rey rejoining the other girls.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
They all continued to sing out, Lex singing lead once more, though got harmonies from Kyla, Oscar and Felix.
"In my mind and in my car
We can't rewind, we've gone too far
Pictures came and broke your heart
Put the blame on VCR,"
As the song dulled slightly, Sophie and Rey went to either side of the stage, each getting ready for the one solo line they each had.
"You are the radio star," Sophie sang, earning her an unreal of up roaring applause from her mother, who was waving one of her aforementioned team Sophie shirts over her head. While Trina cheered almost as loudly, Joe and Xavier were equally as enthusiastic, and even Jude let out a call of support for his favorite sister.
"You are the radio star," Rey took her turn singing out and while Tommy, Dana and Kitty were just as embarrassingly loud as the Harts, Cay also cheered out for her friend, as did the other Changs, as Artie just focused on not letting any of them see the proud tears he was desperately trying to wipe from his eyes.
Stepping up to the middle with the other girls as Lex stepped up to dance with the rest of the group, Flora now took the main melody, the rest of the group backing her.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
"She's pretty impressive," Anthony noticed, not once taking his eyes off Flora.
"You embarrass me," Sydney rolled her eyes, "We're here to spy. Keep it in your pants, St. James."
"You are the radio star," Sophie and Rey sang over Flora and the rest together in harmony, everyone in the group now moving in sync.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
Flora repeated, earning her more applause from her mother, and the surrounding parents around her, and to her surprise, even Delia.
"You are the radio star," Sophie and Rey sang out together again, Sugar turning, waving and getting Artie's attention as she flashed him a big thumbs up.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star,"
Flora smiled, glad she had this moment to sort of stand out, proud of herself for overcoming her nerves, as her dad watched her from backstage, fighting back happy tears – not just for her but for the whole club.
"You are the radio star," Sophie and Rey sang out once more, earning them one last cheer from their families, Xavier surprisingly being the loudest of all of them. All three girls met in the middle, as Lex stepped up once more to meet them, all finishing out the song.
"Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
You are the radio star,"
As they concluded, the four students at the center took a deep bow, smiling, as the other eight students behind them did the same, all of their friends and family going absolutely nuts with applause just before they went backstage, as they got ushered back to the green room to wait for the results.
"Holy cow, you guys were amazing!" Mr. Schue cried out, once they got to their destination, beyond proud of them.
"Holy shit!" Bryce called out, "That was amazing!"
"Looks like someone's got their first post performance adrenaline high," Kyla mused.
"You guys feel like this every time you perform?! I'm never leaving the New Directions!" Bryce called out dramatically.
"Look what you've done," Oscar sighed out.
"Knock knock," Emma smiled as she began entering, "Got any room for visitors?"
"Always," Mr. Schue smiled, placing a gentle kiss on Emma's temple as she walked in the room, many of the families in tow behind her.
"You guys did pretty good," Kendall greeted the family she was staying with, "I'm proud to be an honorary Jones. Even if Vocal Adrenaline is still the superior group."
"Thanks, Kendall," Hazel laughed, "We appreciate it… even if the other two are already distracted," Hazel looked to Finley and Simon who'd already gone off to see others.
Finley made his way to congratulate Savannah, who was standing talking with her mother.
"Oh! Mom, this is Finley, my…boyfriend," She said the word anxiously, looking at Finley to see his reaction.
"Oh, like the shark. Cool," Brittany nodded, referencing the 'fin' part of his name, acting as though this was her first time meeting him when it absolutely was not.
"Boyfriend?" Finley raised his eyebrows, a small, shy smile on his face.
"Yeah," Savannah smiled, grabbing his friend, "Boyfriend."
Meanwhile, the other Jones' were celebrating Simon's debut on the sectionals stage.
"I have never been prouder of you," Naomi immediately wrapped her arms around Simon. "You did so well!"
"Thank you!" Simon grinned, incredibly proud of himself, "Though I would have preferred to have you by my side."
"Enough," Naomi pointed a finger at him, "You did amazing. We're not talking about me."
"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Tommy grinned after making his way from congratulating Rey on a great performance, Mack in tow behind him.
"You're always interrupting something," Naomi nudged Tommy, but laughed.
"Fair enough!" Tommy laughed, "Oh, and great job, Simon!"
"Hey, thanks man," Simon put a hand on Tommy's shoulder, not unlike Sam did earlier.
While the four did chat for a moment, Tommy and Naomi eventually left to continue making their rounds leaving Mack and Simon alone.
"Hey, uh, I don't actually think I congratulated you on your performance," Mack smiled, "You did really well."
"Thanks Mack," Simon smiled sincerely, "That really means a lot to me."
"Yeah, of course, I uh," Mack fumbled, knowing he didn't want to make things weird with Simon, and wanted to show that he was more than happy to just be friends with him, "I mean, you're now one of my close friends, I figured telling you how good you did is the least I could do."
"Well again, I appreciate it," Simon smiled, "Especially from a good friend."
Not too far from them, Rey was getting equally gassed up by her friends and family.
"Seriously, I didn't even know you could dance like that," Kitty gave Rey a genuine compliment for the first time since she could remember.
"You did so well," Tina cooed over Rey.
"You seriously made us so, so proud," Artie grabbed his daughter's hand, nodding, a smile on her face as she was not expecting this kind of reaction.
"They're not the only ones," Cay smirked, "Seriously Rey, that was absolutely incredible."
"R-really?" Rey messed with her glasses, "I was so nervous."
"Well, I couldn't tell," Cay smiled, placing a hand on Rey's shoulder, "And I know you better than anyone, so I don't think anyone else could tell either."
"It was honestly…a lot of fun. Especially being there with Flora and Sophie," Rey nodded, looking over to Sophie who was also being swarmed with affection, but unlike Rey, wanted it to keep coming.
"Tell me again how good I was," Sophie spoke to her mother.
"You are so talented!" Sugar practically screamed, "Brilliant! Incredible! Amazing! Show stopping! Never the same!"
"Alright, alright, the last thing she needs is an even bigger complex," Jude raised his eyebrows but laughed, "But you done good, kid."
"You did amazing," Trina smiled, wrapping her sister up in a hug, "Um, has anyone seen Xavier?" She suddenly realized he was missing.
"I kicked him out," Sophie spoke nonchalantly before going back to talking about how good she was, as Trina looked around for her boyfriend. While she didn't find him right away, she did see Flora speaking to her sister.
"Hey," Delia spoke diplomatically.
"Hi," Flora smiled nervously but optimistically.
"I just figured I'd tell you how impressive I found your performance to be," Delia spoke slowly, "When someone is that good, someone else should tell them."
"Really?" Flora's smile only grew wider, "Thank you Delia, that means… more to me than you could ever know."
"You're very welcome," Delia nodded, "A warning though – I can't help but notice that Anthony St. James is here. I also noticed he was talking about you on my way over here. And given your performance last week I'm able to deduce that there's… something there. Which is fine, and frankly none of my business. But if I were you, I'd keep it from dad. The last thing you need is him losing his head over it."
"Um, thank you," Flora nodded, confused as to why Delia was suddenly talking to her, let alone still just trying to process the fact that Anthony had been talking about her.
Over in the far corner of the room, Kyla was glad nobody was bothering her as she was still disappointed, though unfortunately not surprised, that her father didn't make it. And more than that she was angry. This would be her last sectionals ever and he couldn't bother to show up. As she was watching everyone else be happy with their families, she almost didn't notice the figure next to her.
"Hi," Trent smiled warmly but approached her cautiously, "I'm Trent, you know, Oscar's dad?"
"Oh, yeah, of course," Kyla nodded politely, unsure why he was talking to her, "You coach the Warblers, right?"
"I do! But I promise I'm not here to spy," he put his hands up, "Just to support Oscar, you know? But I just wanted to stop by to let you know I thought you did really well! I know we don't really know each other, but Oscar talks about you two being good friends, and since he's a bit preoccupied with his brother I thought now would be a good time to pop over and say hello."
"Oh, well, uh, thanks," Kyla nodded, "I appreciate it."
"Of course!" Trent nodded, "I won't keep you, but again, fantastic job! Really, you should be very proud," He smiled, turning to walk away leaving Kyla to smile to herself, pleasantly surprised that someone thought she did a good job.
"What are we talking about over here?" Trent asked as he made his way back to his sons and Bryce.
"We were just teasing the little squirt over here about his crush on Kyla," Bryce nudged Oscar.
"I hate it here," Oscar deep sighed, but smiled, glad that he had a whole support system.
"Well, well, well," Heather made her way over to Felix on the other side of the room, "Look at my big bro killing it."
"I'm a force to be reckoned with, I don't know what to tell you," Felix shrugged, laughing.
"Yeah, you were alright," Zoey waved him off.
"Troubletones are still superior though," Tia reminded him.
"Hey," Mia suddenly spoke up, "Has anyone seen Audrey?"
Audrey was on the far end of the room, finally able to pull Lex away from his parents who were being supportive but somewhat overbearing, just as Audrey came to collect him.
"Wonder what that could be about," Blaine smirked as he watched the two kids walk outside the room.
"Dad," Michael raised his eyebrows, though he was also curious as to what would happen.
Out in the hallway, Lex sighed out, "Hey uh, thanks for getting me out of there, I feel like this is the first time I've been able to breathe since we got here."
Without warning or hesitation, Audrey put a hand on the back of Lex's neck, pulling him in for a kiss, pulling back after a few long moments, a smug smile on her face.
"You know what? Maybe I don't need to breathe," Lex laughed, kissing her once more.
"We uh," Audrey's face suddenly flushed as they pulled away once more, "We should get back huh?"
As they entered the room however, what they were not expecting was to see Mr. Schue making a scene.
"You're too young to date!" He called out at Flora.
"We're not dating!" Flora called back.
"And why him? Why couldn't it have been anyone else?" Mr. Schue called out.
"Will," Emma grabbed his arm, pulling him away, "Enough. We'll talk about this at home."
As if they knew it was the worst possible time, the New Directions were immediately informed they were ready to announce the placements. As they all filed out of the room awkwardly, Lex and Audrey were still trying to figure out what they'd missed.
"I mean, I'm assuming it's Anthony?" Lex tried, "But who knows?"
"Oh, yeah," Heather caught up to them after looking for Audrey, immediately wanting to spill the tea over people she barely knew, "It's Anthony. Some new show choir drama blog just dropped. How they found out? I don't know. But things for all of us are about to get messy,"
SATURDAY MORNING, TROUBLETONES SECTIONALS
"Back again!" Tommy grinned wildly as he, along with the other Abrams, the Changs, and Mack, once again, were close behind them.
"As happy as I am to be here to support Cay," Teddy began speaking, "It does still feel weird being here when our sectionals are literally tonight," He sighed.
"Aw, come on, Teddy," Mike laughed, "Lighten up a little."
"Yeah, lighten up!" Dana laughed, high fiving Mike.
"Alright, enough you two," Tina laughed, as she, with the other families, made their way to try to find seats.
"Now I know you weren't going to try to sit without talking to me," Mercedes raised her eyebrows, laughing, as she entered, her kids following behind her.
"Mercedes!" Artie grinned, "We didn't know if you'd make it."
"Well, unfortunately, Rowan is still under the weather, but I managed to convince Sam to let me come to this one since I missed the last," Mercedes spoke, "You know it is so rewarding having a man who will do anything I ask of him."
"Oh I hear that," Kitty laughed.
"Oh Mercedes!" Tommy spoke up, "This is my very best friend, Mack!" he explained as Mack nodded in unison, not realizing that Mercedes did in fact know of Mack.
"Does he follow you everywhere?" Mercedes questioned, laughing.
"Yes," Tommy, Rey and Kitty all surprised themselves by speaking in sync, though at varying levels of enthusiasm.
As Simon took a seat next to Mack, Finley and Savannah took a seat next to them.
"So uh, when did that happen?" Tina whispered to Mercedes in reference to Savannah and Finley dating.
"I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea," Mercedes laughed, "I always know what's going on with my kids but sometimes they just spring stuff like this on me."
"Hey Jones'!" Lex greeted as he saw them, "Oh! And Abrams! And Changs! And Savannah! Fancy meeting you all here!"
"Hi Lex!" Tommy smiled.
"Are you here by yourself?" Hazel questioned curiously.
"Yeah," Lex shrugged, "My dads got caught up with something, so no biggie. But figured I'd come and support Audrey, you know?"
"Well, you're more than welcome to sit with us," Artie smiled.
"If you can find a seat," Kitty snickered, looking at their row quickly filling up.
"Don't mind if I do!" Lex awkwardly climbed through the long line of family friends to get the first available seat.
"Wow," Jake muttered as he looked at them all trying to get caught up with each other, "I feel like we should say hi, but I'm not getting into that."
"Fair point," Oliver looked over to his father, "Too many Warblers over there."
"Where's Sutton?" Jake suddenly realized his youngest son was missing.
"It looks like he's talking to the aforementioned Warblers," Oliver sighed out, "You go find us a seat, dad. I'll deal with wrestling him back in."
Jake did as Oliver suggested, as Oliver dealt with awful small talk, as well as both him and Teddy having to stop Mack, Tommy and Sutton all from yelling out their setlist for that evening. Just as Oliver had managed to excuse himself and and his younger brother, Sutton was once again distracted.
"Hey Addison! Crazy that you're here," Sutton laughed.
"Is this… one of your Warbler friends?" Madison questioned Addison, confused and slightly alarmed.
"Yeah, this is Sutton. You know Marley? The Troubletones director? This is her son," Addison tried to bring up the most impressive thing about Sutton – which was, unfortunately for Sutton, his mother.
"Oh," Madison thought for a long moment, "Well, Marley is lovely, so I'm sure she's raised two great boys," She looked over to Oliver, correctly assuming he and Sutton were brothers.
"Yep! Well, we've gotta get going," Oliver grabbed Sutton by the shoulders, trying to move him along.
"Oh, hey Addison!" Sutton called out just before he was too far away to not be heard, "Do you and your hot mom want to sit with us?"
"Lovely meeting you!" Oliver called out over him, before hitting the back of his brother's head, "Idiot," he murmured.
"Hot mom?" Madison laughed, "That's very sweet of him. But he seems… interesting," she nodded.
"He's pretty cool," Addison nodded, smiling.
"Looks like you beat us here," Jane smiled, "How are you guys doing? Sorry I missed the last performance, work got kind of of nuts," She sighed out.
"Well, you're here for our girls and that's what matters," Madison smiled kindly.
"I'm here too!" Mason made sure his presence was known.
"I know," Madison laughed, "I could sense you."
"Alright!" Jane clapped her hands together, desperate to change the topic, "Should we take our seats?"
"Not without us!" Felix called out dramatically, Spencer hot on his heels.
"The Porters, of course," Jane laughed, "Felix, you must have grown 2 feet since the last time I saw you."
"And counting!" Felix laughed, turning his head just slightly, "Holy shit."
"No fucking way," Spencer laughed, "Roderick!" He called his old friend over.
"Oh, uh hi… everyone," Roderick spoke up, annoyed that he was spotted, Emery walking slightly behind him.
"Wow, it's been a minute," Jane laughed, "We'll have to get caught up."
"Good luck," Felix laughed, "We haven't been able to get a peep out of Emery."
"Yeah, well," was Emery's only response followed by a small shrug, "Hey, Addison," she noticed the only kid she grew up with that she didn't actually mind.
"Hey Emery," Addison smiled politely back.
"So, give us the scoop, Hot Rod," Spencer nudged Roderick, "What have you been up to?"
"Honestly? Just uh, busy with work," He nodded, placing his hands in his pockets, shying away slightly.
"Is that why you couldn't make it to the last performance?" Jane questioned, not realizing that, to Roderick, this felt like the third degree.
"Actually, I didn't know it was happening," He sort of half laughed, "Emery's schedule doesn't match up with mine, so uh, I didn't even know sectionals were happening until today."
"Speaking of Emery… where did she go?" Madison suddenly looked around.
"Probably to get away from her old man," Spencer laughed, "It's fine, Heather usually does the same thing."
"Well, I'm good to hang out with you guys," Felix shrugged.
"And if Felix is here, I'm good," Addison looked, earning him a look from his mother, since they both knew she would have made him sit with her anyways.
"Why don't you sit with us, Roderick?" Madison asked kindly, as they all made their way into their row.
Emery, meanwhile, was trying to lay low, as they didn't even really want to be there in the first place. Just when they thought they'd made it in without being seen, an all too familiar voice called out.
"Bestie?!" Xavier, who was once again sat with the Harts, and was here in support of Trina, climbed over Jude and then Sophie to go see Emery, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just, uh, you know, my dad made me come, to like support the kids I grew up with or whatever," She breathed out.
"Oh, is your dad here?" Xavier asked excitedly, "I wanna meet him!"
"No," Emery blatantly lied. "Here by myself."
"Then you have to come sit with us!" Xavier practically begged, gesturing back to the four Harts whose eyes were now all on Emery.
"Oh, no, that's, that's totally fine," Emery protested.
"Come on, Em," Jude smirked, "It'll be fun."
"You can sit between me and Jude! Just like at our glee club! Pleeeeeeease," Xavier begged.
"It's alright sweetheart!" Sugar insisted, "It'll be great!"
"Uh, sure," Emery breathed out slightly, as the family made room for them to move in.
"Wait a second," Sophie suddenly started paying attention and processing exactly what had happened. "So this is Emery? Interesting," She immediately began making notes on her phone.
"Excuse me?" Emery was beyond confused by this whole thing enough as is, without the addition of Sophie suddenly taking a bizarre interest in them.
"Oh, Jude talks about you. All the time," Sophie snickered to herself, earning an elbow to her side from Jude, "I'll have questions for you when all this is over," She spoke to Emery once more, before hitting Jude back.
"All the time, huh?" Emery couldn't help but laugh, a small blush on her cheeks, as she looked over to Jude.
"See!" Xavier called out, not realizing he was ruining the moment, "This is so much fun!"
As they were all adjusting to whatever just happened, Emma and Flora frantically made their way into the auditorium.
"Oh we're late, we're so late," Emma panicked.
"Mom, it's fine," Flora laughed, "It hasn't even started yet,"
Things were still awkward with the Schuster's since everything the day prior, so it was no surprise to everyone that Will wasn't there. However, this did not stop Emma and Flora from coming out to support Delia.
"Do you think she'll be… you know, mad that Dad's not here?" Flora questioned anxiously.
"Oh.. no!" Emma shook her head, "She knows your father is busy and things have been… tense lately, and probably just needs some time, you know?"
"Sure," Flora sighed out, but couldn't help but feel like this was somehow all her fault.
Meanwhile back in the green room, the Troubletones were frantically getting ready, and also were still trying to get their twelfth member caught up, as she decided to join the Troubletones just days before sectionals, not even bothering to tell her own glee club that she'd made the switch.
"I still can't believe you made the jump over here," Cay shook her head, but laughed, as they all swarmed the new girl.
"Yeah, what does your glee club think?" Naomi questioned, "Not that we're not happy to have you but…wow."
"Even I'm shocked," Delia let out a small dry laugh, "And I mean I just left my club too. What does your mom think?"
"What does Xavier think?" Trina asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
"They don't know," Chloe shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"They don't know you're here?" Leah couldn't help but laugh.
"Nope. Nobody does," Chloe paused for a moment, "Other than you guys, obviously,"
"You do know Xavier is here, right?" Trina raised her eyebrows. "So he'll see you when we perform,"
"Sure," Chloe nodded.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened," Nikki laughed, looking around the room.
"And you're sure you can… you know, perform?" Zoey made sure, knowing that she'd seen a few of Chloe's performances and they were… lackluster on a good day.
"Yes," Chloe responded simply.
"You know the words and choreography?" Tia took her turn asking questions.
"Yes," Chloe repeated.
"Good, cause I'm the half asser around here," Heather spoke, her voice weirdly threatening, "Ask anyone."
"We can't… help you with anything?" Mia pushed.
"Listen," Chloe spoke up, surprising the room, "I don't need to try in Vocal Adrenaline because they're good enough without me. I was forced into it. But you girls need help, and I am willing to apply myself. I also think it will be very funny," She concluded with a shrug.
"Good enough for me," Audrey half laughed, knowing that it would have to be good enough since they didn't have another option.
"We're gonna be great," Leah smiled, nodding, manifesting more than actually believing it.
"That's the spirit!" Marley grinned as she walked in seeing the girls, "Alright, so everyone knows their cues? Chloe, you don't have any questions?"
"None," Chloe shook her head.
"Okay, good, good," Marley smiled, nodding, knowing how quickly things could go south, and that she had to be prepared for anything.
The only sectionals she'd ever performed in did not exactly end in her favor, and she just wanted to make sure the girls would be okay. She also had a small feeling of guilt for allowing Chloe to join the Troubletones, especially since she was taking her away from Unique, but knew that Chloe came to her, and that Vocal Adrenaline would still have enough people to perform, even without Chloe.
"You okay, Mom?" Nikki noticed her mother running through every possible scenario in her head.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Marley nodded, smiling.
"Great, cause those lights are flashing," Delia nodded to the ceiling, "Which means we've got to go."
As the girls all made their way out backstage, they were all curious as to who was there to cheer them on.
"Aw, look at everyone coming together to watch us," Mia crooned looking at all of the parents she'd grown up around sitting with each other and also with Addison and Felix.
"Holy shit is that Roderick?" Tia snickered.
"Ew, why is he here?" Zoey rolled her eyes.
"Who knows? Who cares?" Heather waved her hand. "It is weird to see the big lug after so long," Heather looked long and hard at Roderick who was one of her Godparents.
"Looks like Emery's here too," Trina laughed, looking at her support team, only knowing of their connections through their talking and the little bit Xavier knew, "Weird that they're not sitting together," she shrugged, not thinking anything of it.
"She is sitting next to your ex man though," Nikki nudged Leah before sticking her tongue out at Sutton.
"What?" Leah spoke, somewhat confused as she looked out, though did her best to not think too much about it. They were friends, that was normal.
"God, your guys' lives seem complicated," Cay rolled her eyes before also peeking her eyes out to see her support system, smiling as Rey noticed and gave her an enthusiastic wave.
"Everyone's life is a little complicated," Naomi sighed out, looking at their families sitting together, "But at least they come together for things like this."
"How profound," Delia mused, sighing out as she looked at her mother and sister, not surprised that Will was absent.
"She is right though," Audrey added on, seeing Lex was out in the audience, and so was Savannah, but her mother was also absent. While she was sure she was working, she couldn't help wondering if it had something to do with Marley.
"Are you girls done being philosophical?" Marley laughed, "Because just before you go on, I just wanted to tell you how very proud I am of each and every one of you. Now let's go kick some tail!"
As all the girls laughed, the lights dimmed as they got ready to perform their duet. While a fun beat started on the stage, Naomi entered from one side, Zoey entering from the other as they met in the middle just in time for Zoey to start singing.
"Someday I'll let you in
Treat you right
Drive you outta your mind,"
Her voice was strong and powerful as she completed the choreography all the girls had come up with, with complete ease. Spinning to switch spots, Naomi now took her turn.
"Oh, you never met a chick like me
Burn so bright
I'm gonna make you blind,"
Naomi also completed the choreography with complete ease, though her voice was much more soulful, though equally as powerfully as Zoey, which, to the competition, made them a dangerous combination. As the choreography became somewhat more complicated, the two on stage made it look entirely too easy, as they sang out together.
"Always want what you can't have
Is it so bad if you don't get what you wanted?
Make you feel good as I whip you into shape
Yeah, boy, let's get it started,"
"Hell yeah Naomi!" Simon cheered out happily, his peers around him also cheering, Tommy making sure to cheer louder than everyone else.
Smiling, the girls continued moving around the stage, their confidence and stage presence almost overbearing, but somehow being at the perfect level to impress the audience as they took the chorus.
"Give it up, you can't win
'Cause I know where you've been
Such a shame you don't put up a fight
That's a game that we play
At the end of the night
It's the same old story
But you never get it right
Give it up,"
As if they weren't impressive enough already, their harmonies were out of this world, both of their voices distinct enough that they still shined individually but showed that they knew how much better they sounded together. As both Madison and Mason cheered loudly for Zoey, Addison earned a nudge from his mother to cheer along.
"Come a little closer, baby, baby
Come a little closer
Come a little closer, baby, baby,"
The two girls sang out proudly and confidently knowing just how well they were doing, literally dancing circles around the other as Zoey took her next solo lines.
"So, stop trying to walk away
No, you won't ever leave me behind,"
She continued, a smirk on her lips as she sang out powerfully, having full control of her voice.
"No, You better believe that I'm here to stay
'Cause you're the shade and I'm the sunshine,"
Naomi sang out next, looking first to her teammate, then looking out into the audience, smiling as she saw her mother smiling back at her. Both Naomi and Zoey making their way to the end of the stage, singing to every single member of the audience who was brave enough to look in either of the girl's eyes, they sang out together, their harmonies still unmatched by anything anyone in that audience had seen.
"Look at me, boy 'cause I got you
Where I want you isn't it so exciting?
Wanna shake you, wanna break you
Take a backseat, boy, 'cause now I'm driving
Give it up, you can't win
'Cause I know where you've been
Such a shame you don't put up a fight
That's a game that we play
At the end of the night
It's the same old story
But you never get it right
Give it up,"
Making their way closer to each other once again, the two girls hip bumped as they continued their performance.
"Come a little closer
Come a little closer, baby, baby
Come a little closer
Come a little closer, baby, baby
Come a little closer
Come a little closer, baby,"
Turning to face each other, they shared a look, knowing they were about to absolutely destroy the competition.
"If you are my baby
And I'll make you crazy
Tonight,"
They belted out the note, both riffing while also keeping in perfect harmony with each other.
"Holy shit," Oliver and Sutton spoke in sync, suddenly nervous about their performance knowing that if any of their competition was as good as these two were it would not end well for them.
"Look at me, boy, 'cause I got you
Where I want you, isn't it so exciting?
Will it shake you, when I break you?
Take a backseat, boy, 'cause now I'm driving,"
This once again sent everyone who was there to support either of them into an absolute tizzy in the best possible way and made everyone else see just how good this group really was. The two girls on stage smirked as they continued on with the most complex choreography not just of the song yet, but that the Troubletones had ever pulled off, both girls glad to have someone who could keep up with them.
"Give it up, you can't win
'Cause I know where you've been
Such a shame you don't put up a fight
That's a game that we play
At the end of the night
It's the same old story
But you never get it right
Give it up,
Oh yeah"
They ended on a somehow even higher note than they began, earning them rounds upon rounds of loud applause and even a few standing ovations.
"On the first song?" Teddy's eyes widened, sharing a somewhat concerned look with Mack.
However, not much time was wasted as during the applause, Naomi and Zoey walked to the back of the stage, where the rest of the girls joined them, Tia and Mia taking center stage as a familiar upbeat tune began.
"Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me
I think they're OK
If they don't give me proper credit
I just walk away
They can beg and they can plead
But they can't see the light, that's right
'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right,"
Tia sang out, her and Mia also completing fairly intricate choreography, all the girls behind them following slightly less intricate movements as they all harmonized with Tia and Mia who sang the chorus together.
"'Cause we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl,"
"Yes!" Mason called out watching them, motioning for them to smile when they looked at him.
"They're doing fine," Jane laughed, placing her hand over Mason's, hoping he'd sit down.
Mia took the next verse singing out confidently, her voice gorgeous as she and Tia continued up their fancy footwork.
"Some boys romance, some boys slow dance
That's all right with me
If they can't raise my interest,
then I have to let them be,"
At this point all of the other girls paired off, reminiscent of their Tell It To My Heart performance, all keeping in time with each other.
"Some boys try, and some boys lie
But I don't let them play, no way
Only boys that save their pennies
Make my rainy day,"
It wasn't until this point that Xavier and his friends around him recognized a familiar face.
"Chloe?!" He called out, shocked and bewildered.
"Awww, cute!" Sugar grinned, not realizing why it was a bad thing.
"No way," Jude's eyes went wide, as he finally was able to peel his eyes from Chloe out of nothing but pure shock, turning to see that Emery's jaw was dropped, hand clasped over their mouth, unsure of whether it would be acceptable to laugh or not.
"'Cause we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl"
The girls once again moved around the stage in perfect sync, as Tia and Mia lead with their perfect harmonies, the other girls all harmonizing with them.
"Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl,"
As Felix applauded loudly for his friends, most everyone in the audience was shocked. The Troubletones were certainly not on anyone's radar as the team to beat, but with every step the girls took that quickly changed. The song suddenly slowing slightly, as Heather surprised the audience by taking lead, though those who knew her quickly knew why.
"Living in a material world
Living in a material world
Living in a material world
Living in a material world,"
Heather's voice was low and she was using her talent of talk-singing to make it work as Tia and Mia repeated 'material' over her, the other Troubletones harmonizing as Felix once again let out a loud cheer, this time in support for Heather.
"Boys may come, and boys may go
And that's all right, you see,"
Tia sang out happily, the girls jumping right back into their almost too well thought out choreography, as Mia sang her next line.
"Experience has made me rich
And now they're after me,"
As the girls looked out to the audience, Nikki couldn't help but glance over to her mother, who was rapidly wiping away tears from her eyes as she watched all twelve of her girls sing a song she remembered singing in glee back in the day.
"'Cause everybody's living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl"
The twins continued to lead the group as they all followed perfectly, not a note or step out of place, everyone who was there in support of the Troubletones cheering wildly.
"Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
A material, a material, a material, a material world,"
Living in a material world
Living in a material world
Living in a material world
Living in a material world,"
Finishing up the song, the girls once again earned rapid rounds of applause, somehow outdoing even their last number. Now running around the stage to get in position for their last and closing song, they all let out a deep breath. This was the one Marley was most unsure of, as she was unsure what the judges would think or if it fit the vibe of their other songs. However, it did fit the vibe of the Troubletones as a whole, and the girls wanted to do it, so she knew they'd give it everything they had.
Nikki, Audrey, Trina and Cay all took their places on stage, knowing they knew this performance inside and out, stood in somewhat of a semi circle, the other girls placed seemingly sporadically behind them as Cay began her part.
"Honey whatcha cryin at?
You're not losing him to that
Both her hair and shoes are flat
Why is she so rude?"
As Mike cheered out loudly for his daughter, Rey immediately matched his energy, the rest of the Changs and the Abrams following suit, all proud to see Cay up there. Moving slightly to stand with Cay, and turning to face Audrey, Trina now took her turn.
"Wipe your tears, it's no big thing
You were meant to wear his ring
Cheer-up, chin-up
It's time to bring,"
Trina sang out, her voice pleasing to the ears, as she along with Nikki and Cay moved to stand back with the other girls, while still facing Audrey as Xavier, Sophie and Sugar all cheered out embarrassingly loudly in support for Trina, Sophie seemingly trying to out do them all.
"A happy attitude," All of the girls other than Audrey sang out, somehow managing to pull off what, to the audience, sounded like an eleven part harmony. "Keep it positive,"
Trina sang out once more, "As you slap her to the floor," the audience having varying degrees of reactions to the line.
"Keep it positive," The group behind them sang together.
"As you pull her hair and call her –" Cay sang out, not singing the word 'whore' as that was one of the terms they'd come up with for Marley to let them sing this for a competition.
"You can take her in a fight," Nikki sang out pleasantly, despite the words.
"You and he will reunite!" Trina sang once more, the three girls all now moving around Audrey as the remaining eight girls all moved in perfect sync, singing the next lines.
"You know we're right
We're positive,"
All the girls looked at each other for a moment, laughing as they sang the next two words.
"Kill her!"
"Oh my god," Madison shook her head, not believing the song they were singing while Spencer beside her was laughing hysterically.
"Girls, girls!" Audrey called out, moving to take her moment to shine.
"Violence is never wise
Not the way to win back guys
Anyway she's twice my size
Who's gotta plan B?"
While Lex, of course, cheered louder than everyone else in the audience, all three families he sat with also cheered with him. The most surprising thing to Audrey was that of everyone, Savannah was cheering the next loudest.
"Me!" Nikki called out, now moving up to stand with Audrey as everyone else moved in sync.
"Look at her, she's like a nun
Show him you are way more fun
Bust out the lap dance
And you won
You off the hizzle, gee,"
While both Oliver and Jake cheered and laughed in support of the youngest Puckerman, Sutton sat with his arms crossed over his chest, despite the small smile he was unable to hide.
"Keep it positive," All the girls sang together once more, as Delia and Leah stepped up to the front, Delia taking her first solo line.
"Yeah, let out your inner freak," She sang out, her voice beautiful, though as her mom and sister cheered they couldn't help but laugh as they heard the words she sang.
"Keep it positive," The other Troubletones sang, once again wowing the audience with their ability to harmonize and move in sync as everyone watching finally realized that this performance was to be taken more lightly than the other two, showing that they had a fun side to them as well.
"Miss Prissy Pants won't last a week," Leah sang out, moving around the other girls seamlessly.
"You will whet his appetite," Delia stood on one side of Audrey, singing out beautifully, as she looked over to Leah, who stood on the other side of Audrey.
"You and he will reunite," Leah sang just as beautifully as Delia did, almost distracted by how loudly Sutton had cheered out for her.
The girls suddenly all moving to a straight line by the other three girls all stood on the stage,
"Hey, hey, hey!
We're positive,"
All of the girls sang out as Tia took the next line "That he loves you and not her, you're hotter,"
"And I bet you're smarter," Zoey took the next line.
"She don't know the real him," Heather sang, waving her hand slightly.
"You feel him," Mia sang out.
"So don't her her steal him," Naomi sang her line, as the girls began circling around Audrey.
"Wake him up like sleepin beauty," Cay called out.
"Turn his head with your red hot booty," Chloe took this line, surprising not just herself, but everyone else who knew her with the amount of energy she was able to manifest for the one line she had.
"You bring the noise if we bring the funk
It's positively time to shake your junk,"
All of the girls sang together again, before calling out together.
"Shake, shake, shake, shake,
Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Whoo!"
During the small dance break the girls once again showed the audience what exactly they could do. While the girls paired off, each and every one of them giving the energy and showing off ability nobody even knew they had – Heather and Chloe specifically surprising those who knew them – the thing that took them over the edge were the cheerios on the team, Tia, Mia, and Cay completing a series of rolls and flips during the break.
As the music began to slow, the girls all suddenly moved to the back as the lights dimmed slightly, Audrey taking center stage.
"Girls I'm positive
That we've taken this to far
No I'm positive
This is Harvard not a stripper bar
All this trashy carryin' on
Thats the reason that he's gone
I need a salon,"
Her voice was absolutely gorgeous as the rest of the girls came back to finish out the song together.
"Girls I'm," Audrey sang out, the Troubletones joining in on "positive,"
"Try not to get upset
But I'm,"
Audrey sang out again, as just like the before the Troubletones jumped in with "positive,"
"That it's time for me to go brunette," Audrey sang out though she had an epiphany, showing off her acting chops now as well.
"What!?" All eleven other girls now also acted, maybe a bit too dramatically as they called out in sync.
"Being blonde and being hot
That got me exactly squat!
Gotta to show him I've got more to give,"
Audrey once again wowed the audience with her vocal capabilities as they all stood together once more, finishing out as all twelve girls belted out, "Positive!"
Much like their two earlier performances, the Troubletones earned almost unbelievably loud applause as well as a standing ovation from almost the whole room. As the girls took a long bow, they were soon rushed off the stage as Marley once again frantically wiped proud tears from her eyes.
Arriving in the greenroom, the girls were over the moon with how things went, already celebrating.
"Girls, girls, they haven't announced the winners yet," Marley laughed, though she thought they did have a good chance – a great chance, even, she didn't want to get their hopes up.
"Did you see us? Come on, like anybody could beat that," Heather laughed.
"She's got a point," Audrey agreed, "We got more applause than anyone."
Before Marley had a chance to respond, she was interrupted by being informed that they had visitors by one of the people working backstage. After giving them the okay to let them in, nobody was overly surprised to see who the first parent to come in was.
"There's my girl!" Spencer called out, immediately walking over to high five Heather, "You crushed it, kiddo!"
"Obviously I did," Heather laughed, "I did better than you did, anyways," she smirked, poking fun at Felix who'd come in with their father.
"See, this is why I like the twins better than you," Felix laughed, nodding towards Tia and Mia who were speaking with their parents.
"You were both amazing!" Mason cooed over them, "I'm so proud," he grinned, wrapping them, as well as Jane, in a group hug.
"Seriously," Jane nodded, laughing after they all managed to escape the embrace, "We knew you girls were impressive but that was… insane."
"Well," Mia shrugged, "We learned from the best."
"I was impressed with Zoey, too," Jane noted, "I didn't know she had it in her."
Zoey, however, was also very impressed with herself. That said, she wasn't entirely happy with the reaction from her family.
"That was good," Madison smiled, patting her on the back, "Crap, have you seen your brother? Where's he gone off to?"
"Who cares?" Zoey scrunched her nose up.
"I do! And you should too!" Madison spoke looking around the room for Addison, "Would it kill you to be nice to him?"
"Would it kill you to get your head out of his ass?" Zoey snapped back.
"Enough," Madison spoke, her voice suddenly lower, but far harsher, "We'll talk about this when we get home," she sighed out, turning to look for Addison.
"Are… you okay?" Audrey asked cautiously, "That looked… rough."
"Parents," Zoey spoke dryly, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I hear that," Audrey laughed nervously, "My mom didn't even show up."
"Count your blessings," Zoey sneered, walking away.
"If it counts for anything," A familiar voice came from behind Audrey, surprising her, "I thought you did well. Like, really well."
"Savannah?" Audrey was taken aback as just a few weeks back Savannah had wanted nothing to do with her, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think?" Savannah laughed, "I came to tell you that you did a good job."
"Well… thank you," Audrey spoke cautiously, "But why? I didn't even think you were talking to me."
"I also wanted to apologize. I know we get under each other's skin. A lot," Savannah let out a dry laugh, raising her eyebrows, "But what else is family for?"
Smiling, Audrey nodded, "Right," suddenly looking around she thought out loud, "Are you here with Finley? Where'd he go?"
Finley, of course, was with the other Jones' surrounding Naomi, applauding her for her performance.
"And you said I did good," Simon laughed, "That was amazing!"
"I'm a bit of a seasoned veteran," Naomi laughed, "Thank you all for coming, by the way. I know things have been… strange since I left New Directions,"
"Oh hush," Mercedes put her finger up, "We are your family. We're here to support you. No matter what. And you killed it up there. We're all immensely proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom," Naomi smiled, finally feeling appreciated for her talents. Meanwhile, Delia was also glad she made the jump but was nervous as she noticed her own family walk in.
"Delia!" Emma waved to her daughter as though Delia was not already walking over to meet them.
"Hi mom," Delia smiled.
"Oh, what a fun setlist!" Emma clapped her hands lightly.
"You guys were… wow," Flora laughed, "Seriously, that was impressive."
"Thank you," Delia nodded, truly not thinking much of it, "Both of you."
"No, really, Delia," Flora raised her eyebrows, nodding, "That was… really good."
"Thank you," Delia responded, though her smile was more genuine this time, "So did you not bring your little St. James with you?" She placed a hand on her hip.
"Delia," Emma gasped, "Please," she shook her head before looking around the room, "Have either of you seen Marley? I'd like to go congratulate her on such an impressive first sectionals."
"I think she's a little… preoccupied," Delia raised her eyebrows nodding towards her glee coach.
Surely enough, Marley was preoccupied, with her husband, Jake.
"Material Girl?" He snuck up behind her, placing an arm around her waist, "Really?"
"Hey," Marley laughed, turning to face him, "It was great when we did it for that glee mash up."
"You did it in glee, and it was barely a mash up," Jake laughed before shifting himself to stand directly in front of her, his voice suddenly more quiet and somewhat more serious, "Hey, I'm really proud of you. Really proud. That performance was incredible, and you are so good at this."
"You're just saying that," Marley laughed, trying to wave him off.
"I'm not," Jake shook his head, "You make me so proud to be your husband every day…but that? Out there? I've never been prouder," He gave a sly but genuine smile.
"Jake," Marley sighed, a smile on her face, "Thank you. I love you."
"And I love you," Jake smiled, leaning to give Marley a short but sweet kiss.
"Gross," Nikki stuck her nose up, "Why are they like this?"
"Because they're married?" Oliver laughed, "But you're right. Gross," he shook his head. "Good job out there, by the way."
"Thanks Oliver," Nikki nodded, "And I know Dad made you come but… it was nice to see you out there."
"Of course, dude," Oliver smirked, "As long as you show up to my sectionals tonight," he half laughed.
"Yes, but for you," Nikki raised her eyebrows, "Not for Sutton."
"I can hear you, you know," Sutton rolled his eyes as he walked by Nikki, trying to get to the sister he actually wanted to talk to. "Great job out there, Leah!"
"Hey, thanks Sutton," She smiled.
"Did you hear me cheering?" He questioned, almost defensively.
"I think it would have been hard to miss it," Leah laughed, "But I appreciate it. So thank you."
"Of course," Sutton grinned proudly, once again not thinking about what he was going to say next as the words simply slipped out of his mouth, "Plus I know how weird it must be for you since Jude's here."
"Thanks for reminding me," Leah rolled her eyes, but let a small, dry laugh leave her mouth, turning to look at her ex boyfriend who, with the rest of his family, was gathered around Trina.
"You were so perfect!" Xavier grinned happily, "Not that I would expect anything less."
"You were alright," Jude shrugged.
"She was AMAZING! Watch your mouth, oldie!" Sophie spoke, her tone more than a little threatening.
"Which again, is not surprising," Sugar smiled, looking at her children, and Xavier who she considered her son in law.
"You know what is surprising?" Jude spoke up once more, "Chloe jumping ship."
"That reminds me… where is she?!" Xavier called out, "And where'd Emery go?"
Luckily, he would not have to look too far for either of them, as they stood together with Dana who had also showed up to congratulate Chloe after congratulating Cay.
"So you really just decided to hop over to the Troubletones huh?" Emery spoke, their arms crossed over their chest.
"Eh, we'll see," Chloe shrugged.
"What does that even… you know what? I'm sorry I asked," Emery couldn't help but laugh.
"Yee haw!" was, per usual, Dana's only input.
"There you two are! I was worried!" Xavier called out.
"And that's my cue to leave," Emery turned, seeing a familiar face, "Oh, hey Lex."
"Hey Emery!" Lex said in passing, though he was a man on a mission. "Audrey!" he called out.
"Lex!" She responded happily, excusing herself from Savannah who made her way back over to find Finley, "Thanks so much for coming to see me."
"Of course," Lex smiled, "Besides I sort of had something to ask you?" he spoke sheepishly.
"Oh?" Audrey's eyebrows raised, curious as to if this was going where she thought it might be, but not wanting to get her hopes up.
"I was, uh, going to do this somewhere else but uh," Lex began stammering, not one to normally find himself at a loss for words, "I also didn't want to wait?"
"What's going on, Lex?" Audrey asked as she pulled him to a corner of the room, wanting to be separate from the chaos.
"I just…you know," He huffed out, just as all the visitors were informed that they'd have to go back to their seats.
"What?" Audrey's eyebrows furrowed.
"It can wait!" Lex was unsure whether he was happy or relieved to be interrupted but took it as a sign that now was not the time, "Good luck! I'll see you after, okay?"
"Um, okay?" Audrey was puzzled and somewhat disappointed as she felt someone come stand beside her.
"Nice of him to come say hello," Leah teased her.
"Yeah, I'm glad. You know, I knew most of my family wouldn't make it, but I'm glad Lex and Savannah did," Audrey smiled looking at them walk out together.
"For sure," Leah nodded smiling, "Though, I'm surprised Beth didn't come to see you."
Audrey's smile fell, overcome with confusion, "Who the hell is Beth?"
SATURDAY EVENING, WARBLERS SECTIONALS
"I'm surprised they have an auditorium," Nick looked around the auditorium that, as he was just informed, was the Hipsters rehearsal space.
"I mean they need the space for their like... walkers or whatever right?" Isaac tried.
"I think it's nice!" Jeff noted looking around.
"Of course you do," Nick spoke, before making a sound somewhere between a scoff and a laugh.
"Is that the Sterlings I hear?" David spoke as he and Wes made their way into the auditorium.
"You're hearing correctly," Nick laughed, "How are we doing, gentlemen?"
"Not too bad," Wes smiled, "I heard Mack's head of the council this year. Good for him, being on the council is not an easy job."
"He seems to like it!" Jeff grinned, barely processing what they were saying.
"He's doing what we couldn't," Nick spoke, half joking.
"You're never going to let that go, huh?" David laughed.
"Some people are just natural born leaders," Sebastian spoke from behind the group of quickly growing Warblers alumni, "Gentlemen. Good to see you all."
"Hi everyone!" Elliot greeted happily, only vaguely recognizing the Warblers from various reunion events.
"Hi Isaac!" Steven called out to his Vocal Adrenaline teammate.
"Hey Steven," Isaac responded with a 'sup nod.
"Can Isaac sit with us?" Steven asked to no one in particular.
"He can sit with you," Sydney sneered before turning to the only two Warbler alumni aside from her parents she didn't mind, "Wes, David, glad you're doing well," she spoke as she practically marched off.
"Here comes Dave number two!" Jeff laughed before anyone really had a second to process what had just happened with Sydney.
"Woah, gang's all here!" Dave Karofsky laughed – while he was never actually in the Warblers, he was familiar with them as he now worked at Dalton and they were constantly having events for alumni.
"Hi Kate!" Steven spoke similarly to the way he'd spoken to Isaac earlier, "Wanna sit with us?"
"Sure," Kate laughed, not having even been in the auditorium for two whole minutes.
"Me too!" A voice came from behind as the Abrams and the Changs entered, Dana, the source of the voice, running directly to Kate.
"Good to see half of Vocal Adrenaline made it." Kitty rolled her eyes.
"At least they're having fun?" Mike tried, also laughing.
"Alright girls, you can go sit wherever, just make sure to cheer on your brothers, alright?" Tina spoke to Rey and Cay.
"Sure thing, Tina," Rey smiled, secretly glad to be able to sit with Cay alone.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Cay raised her eyebrows.
"I um, I-" Rey stuttered over her words.
"Rey?" Cay laughed, "I'm kidding. Come on," She all but pushed her friend in front of her as the two made way to try to find seats.
"Are you sure it's okay that we're here?" Simon nervously questioned Naomi as they entered the auditorium.
"Simon," Naomi laughed, "It's an open sectionals competition. Plus, Tommy asked that I come to support him. It's perfectly fine. Why are you so nervous anyways?" She raised her eyebrows.
"I'm not nervous!" Simon spoke defensively as they each took a seat, "I just mean… it feels weird watching someone else's sectionals."
"In case you're forgetting we've both already finished our sectionals," Naomi sighed out, "Besides people do it all the time. Look," she nodded her head over to a figure walking to where Sydney was sitting, "I think that's the St. James kid, sitting with that other crazy from Vocal Adrenaline."
Naomi, per usual, was right. Anthony slowly made his way over to where Sydney was sitting.
"Answer me this," Anthony spoke without even greeting her, "Why are we spying here and at the New Directions but not the Troubletones? I heard they were very impressive."
"Because neither of us had a reason to go see the Troubletones?" Sydney spoke like it was the obvious thing in the world, "For a smart boy you're a goddamn idiot. We'd stick out like sore thumbs."
"Hey," Anthony scrunched his nose up, "I am smart, okay? You just haven't given me a chance."
"You earn your chances with me," Sydney rolled her eyes, "Now if you're down protesting-" Sydney spoke, but was quickly distracted, "Is that Kendall?"
Sure enough, Kendall made her way into the auditorium. While she debated whether or not to show up, she figured she would regret not going more than she would ever regret going, no matter how things turned out. However, while she was trying to lay low, she was soon distracted by a woman speaking to her.
"This seat taken?" April, who Kendall recognized both from Broadway and from being Ambrose's mother, did not wait for a response before sitting down. "I just love the theater," she put her hands in front of her.
"Yeah," Kendall nodded, unsure of how to respond, taken completely aback.
"Hey," April paused for a moment after looking at Kendall's face for a good long moment, "Have we met? I could swear I've seen your face before."
"I get that a lot," Kendall laughed, suddenly nervous to see how Ambrose would react to seeing the two of them sitting together.
Though April was going to respond she was soon distracted by a boy literally jumping and climbing over the seats and another, much smaller boy trying to reel him in.
"Bryce!" Oscar spoke, trying to keep his voice down so as not to attract any unwanted attention, "Stop!"
"All good, little buddy!" Bryce called out, not even thinking about the possibility of making a scene, "I found the perfect spot! There's no way Zach could miss us here!"
"That's exactly what I was afraid of," Oscar sighed out deeply.
"I still don't see why we had to come," Emery groaned, as she and Roderick slowly made their way in, "Nobody else is even here."
"Madison said Addison was performing and since you didn't tell me about Felix's sectionals, it's good for us to make an appearance."
"I think you mean to keep up our appearance," Emery muttered, "And I did tell you. You didn't listen. Besides, since when do you listen to Madison? She's nuts."
"Hey," Roderick lowered his voice, "That's enough."
"Whatever, I'm going to go sit by myself. I don't want to be here when Zoey gets here," Emery walked off just in the nick of time.
"Roderick?" Madison asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you uh, you know, you mentioned Addison's sectionals… I thought we'd come since we missed the first one," Roderick stumbled his way through the sentence.
"Oh," Madison thought long and hard about this, "Well normally it's just me who comes to Addison's events. But you're more than welcome to come sit with us."
"Speak for yourself," Zoey rolled her eyes, much like Emery before her, moving to sit by herself. However, Zoey saw a few familiar faces before she got too far.
"Zoey!" Marley called out happily, "Did you want to sit with us?"
While normally Zoey wouldn't have been able to be bothered, she'd had a weird week, so she figured it would be good to have some company. "Uh, sure."
"I missed you before we all left yesterday but great job with your duet," Leah spoke kindly as Zoey sat, "You were really amazing."
"Of course I was," Zoey laughed.
"So modest," Nikki smirked before turning to her mother, "So where the hell is dad? How come he doesn't have to sit through Sutton doing whatever?"
"He got called in last minute, something about an emergency chaperone situation?" Marley spoke, truly not knowing where Jake was.
"He's a substitute," Nikki scoffed, "Couldn't have been that big of an emergency," she finished just as the lights began to lower.
Coming in late with his parents who, of course, were getting caught up with the other Warblers, Lex was sent to try to find some of the other kids he knew to sit with. However, because of the dark, he managed to trip, nearly falling down the stairs, catching himself on the side of someone's chair.
"Watch where you're going," Emery scoffed before noticing who it was, "Oh. Hi Lex."
"Emery?" Lex laughed, voice low as the Hipsters began their set, "What are you doing here?"
"Don't ask," Emery responded shortly, "Wanna sit?"
Taking them up on their offer, Lex figured it was better than stumbling through the seats to go anywhere else. Plus, he was hoping when all was said and done he'd be able to update Emery on how things were going with Audrey.
As Trent made his way backstage from listening to the Hipsters' setlist, he knew things were about to get messy in the green room.
"Dad!" Zach greeted him, "How's it going out there?!"
"I have some… not great news," Trent started slowly.
"Not great…how?" Teddy questioned, suddenly nervous.
"Eric…" Trent started slowly, "I'm so sorry. I know you were going to sing Waving Through a Window…but the Hipsters are doing it."
"Oh," Eric was at first disappointed, Addison immediately putting his arm around him to comfort him, "But that's okay! We still have Greased Lightning, right?"
"About that…" Trent sighed out.
"You're kidding," Ambrose spoke, his voice dry, though he was in complete disbelief.
"How could they do both?!" Sutton called out dramatically.
"Very easily it would appear," Oliver groaned.
"Do we have anything else we can try?" Trent thought out loud. "Addison, you suggested something a while back, right?"
"I mean, there's that Newsies song…" Addison tried.
"Great, teach it to everyone, you can take lead with Michael," Trent spoke decisively.
"What?" Michael was surprised, "Why me?"
"You won the duet competition, remember? Your time to shine!" Trent shooed them all, pushing furniture around so they could try to move and come up with an acapella arrangement and some sort of coreography on the fly.
They weren't completely shy of time as they still had the other groups' setlists since they were going last, but that still did not leave with them an absolute ton of time. While they had actually made a lot of progress, Mack was suddenly distracted by a beep on his phone.
"Uh, councilmen? And Oliver? Can we, um, talk for a sec?" Mack called out, everyone in the room surprised by Mack speaking up and speaking authoritatively.
"What's up, fearless leader?" Tommy grinned happily, though his smile faded as Mack showed them his phone, with an article on the latest show choir gossip blog about how Oliver was only in the Warblers as a way to keep his permanent record clean.
"Who the hell leaked this?" Oliver got upset, and while Teddy was thinking of a solution or anything else to say, it wasn't long until the rest of the Warblers were also reading the article.
"Oliver?" Frank spoke up, his voice sad and confused.
"Is it…is it true?" Bob questioned.
"I mean…it's not, not true," Oliver tried not realizing that made it worse.
"But it's not as bad as it sounds!" Sutton jumped to Oliver's defense.
"You knew?" Addison asked, his voice uneasy.
"In the spirit of full honesty… a few of us knew," Teddy spoke, "Including myself, the other two men on the council, Sutton and Ambrose."
"I also knew," Trent sighed out.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Zach spoke out, not wanting to get upset, but feeling like it was unfair that half of them were left in the dark.
Before anyone had a chance to answer, the boys got their cue that it would soon be their time to go on.
"Look boys," Trent sighed out, "I'm happy to discuss this after you go on. But please don't let this distract from your performance. I know it's a lot… along with the new number. So we just need to make it out in one piece."
While the Warblers all agreed that Trent was right, there also was a very clear and obvious divide between the boys who knew and those who didn't – which was going to make it very awkward if they couldn't pretend that they weren't dealing with this. All that aside, much like the groups before them, they peeked out the curtain to see who was here to support them.
"Aw look, Teddy!" Tommy called out, "Look at our parents sitting together!"
"Are you surprised?" Teddy scoffed, though smiled when he saw his parents and then Rey and Cay sitting together.
"Nope!" Tommy continued to grin, "And look! Naomi brought Simon with her!"
"Oh?" Mack took his turn peeking his head out, somehow shocked to see Simon, but glad he had an extra friend there, as he turned his head slightly, finding Isaac who he waved at eccentrically.
"Hey, look at all the old Warblers sitting together," Frank pointed out, "I wonder why Sebastian decided to come?"
"Well, Sydney's here," Bob chuckled, "Maybe she's here to see you."
"Speaking of our ladies," Zach turned to find the Warbler he was looking for, "Where's your sister, Eric?"
"Just over there," Eric pointed, as Kate looked up, smiling and waving as she saw both Zach and Eric.
"Oh shit, no way!" Zach was very quickly distracted, "Oscar and Bryce both came?! Hell yeah!"
"Are my parents here?" Michael tiptoed to see what was going on.
"Yeah, with the other Warblers, I think," Addison pointed out, scrunching up his nose, "Why is Roderick here and why is he sitting with my mom?"
"None of us know who that is," Oliver sighed out deeply.
"I met Addison's mom this morning – she's a smokeshow," Sutton grinned, turning to face Ambrose who he, surprisingly, did not get a reaction from, "Hey, what gives?"
"Hmm?" Ambrose furrowed his eyebrows, distracted by seeing his mother sitting next to Kendall, not entirely sure how to take it, "Sorry, did you say something?"
"Woah, are you okay?" Sutton suddenly questioned, stepping slightly out of earshot of his teammates, dragging Ambrose with him.
"I'm fine," Ambrose shook his head.
"You're not," Sutton corrected him, "You never apologize for not listening to me. You usually just roll your eyes and move on. So I repeat: what gives?"
While for a moment Ambrose did contemplate telling Sutton everything, he suddenly remembered where they were, "Maybe after, okay? We're about to go on."
And just like that all twelve boys walked out on the stage getting ready to perform their first song which they'd barely practiced. All the boys stood in formation, Michael standing at the forefront, as he began singing.
"Now is the time to seize the day
Stare down the odds and seize the day
Minute by minute that's how you win it
We will find a way
But let us seize the day
Courage cannot erase our fear
Courage is when we face our fear
Tell those with power safe in their tower
We will not obey,"
Michael's voice was deep and soulful, beautiful as he sang acapella, everyone in the room completely still. While Blaine and Kurt cheered their boy on, Lex somehow managed to cheer even louder just as Addison stepped up to stand next to Michael, the other ten Warblers slowly but surely creating the background music.
"Behold the brave battalion that stands side by side
Too few in number and too proud to hide
Then say to the others who did not follow through
You're still our brothers, and we will fight for you,"
Both boys singing, they were both surprised that they were able to pull off the harmonies that they were, smiling as they thought they might be okay after all as Madison called out almost impressively loud in support for her son while Zoey, several rows away groaned in embarrassment.
"Now is the time to seize the day
Stare down the odds and seize the day,"
They sang out in harmony once more, stepping back to be closer to the other boys as all of the other Warblers who had joined this year dropped the various noises they were making to sing in harmony with the two boys at the front, Teddy, Tommy, Mack, Sutton and Ambrose all still making the background sounds.
"Once we've begun
If we stand as one
Someday becomes somehow
And a prayer becomes a vow,"
Despite it being something they'd put together less than an hour before performing it, the unknowing person wouldn't have been able to tell the difference as they all sounded and looked brilliant and surprisingly put together.
"And the strike starts right damn now!"
Addison called out, surprising not just his fellow Warblers, but also himself with the fact that he was actually a very good singer.
"Now is the time to seize the day," Michael sang, the song picking up, as the Warblers started struggling but managed to figure out and remember their choreography as they echoed him.
"Now is the time to seize the day,"
"Answer the call and don't delay," Michael sang out proudly.
"Answer the call and don't delay," The new Warblers boy repeated once again before singing together with Michael.
"Wrongs will be righted
If we're united
Let us seize the day,"
Looking out into the audience, Teddy allowed himself to breathe out a sigh of relief as the audience seemed to be getting into it, pausing to smile as he watched Cay and Rey dancing in their seats, both flashing him wide smiles and thumbs up when they saw him.
"Now let 'em hear it loud and clear," Addison took his turn to sing out loud and proud as just like with Michael, the other Warblers repeated after him.
"Now let 'em hear it loud and clear,"
All miraculously moving in sync, Trent stood backstage, nodding his head in sync with the song.
"Like it or not we're drawing near," Addison sang, grinning, proud of himself for stepping up to the task.
"Like it or not we're drawing near," The non-instrumental Warblers continued their echo before singing in harmony with Addison.
"Proud and defiant
We'll slay the giant
Judgment day is here,"
Pausing their movement to stand in a straight line, all eight boys doing vocals sang out.
"Houston to Harlem, look what's begun
One for all and all for one,"
As the Warblers moved around the stage the whole council began to get nervous as they knew after a few short lines the Warblers would be off to dance 'however they feel', as they realized that would be easier than a full choreographed dance break, all twelve boys called out, preparing themselves for whatever would happen after that.
"Strike! strike! strike! strike! strike! strike!
Oh! Strike!"
Despite being unsure how it would pan out, all members remembered their vocal parts and while they sort of sporadically moved around the stage, it oddly worked with the song. While Frank and Zach had some questionable moves, Eric and Oliver tried to stay as close to the back as they could to avoid being seen and Sutton's death drop did not wow the audience quite as much as he was hoping, they all managed to pull through in time to once again all sing together.
"Now is the time to seize the day
They're gonna see there's hell to pay
Nothing can break us
No one can make us quit before we're done
One for all and all for
One for all and all for,"
Taking a deep breath, the Warblers once again found themselves in formation, those who were doing the instrumental now jumping in as all twelve members sang the last line in perfect harmony, surprising themselves and everyone else.
"One for all and all for one!"
As the Warblers earned more applause than they were at all anticipating, smiling to themselves as they got themselves in preparation and formation for their duet, Mack and Zach making their way to the front. Though Mack was, of course, nervous for about a million reasons, he was especially nervous since he was unsure how Zach felt about Mack not saying anything about the Oliver situation. However, right before the remaining ten Warblers began the instrumental, Zach nudged Mack, offering a smile and a fist bump letting Mack know that at least for now, things would be okay. Just seconds later the Warblers began the instrumental, Mack and Zach turning to face the audience, Mack began his part.
"Ay, ay, ay
Yeah, let's go
Alright, alright
OK, uh, alright, OK
Alright, OK,"
He walked forward in sync with Zach, who directly began rapping.
"Return of the Mack, get up!" Zach paused to point at Mack before continuing.
"What it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn't.
Looking for a better way to get up out of bed
Instead of getting on the Internet and checking a new hit me
Get up! Thrift shop, pimp-strut walking, little bit of humble, little bit of cautious
Somewhere between like Rocky and Cosby. Sweater game, nope, nope y'all can't copy
Yup. Bad, moon-walking, this here is our party, my posse's been on Broadway,
And we did it our way
Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything I record to it
And yet I'm on
Let that stage light go and shine on down
Got that Bob Barker suit game and Plinko in my style
Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds
But I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town
Trust me, on my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, hustling
Chasing dreams since I was fourteen with the four track bussing
Halfway cross that city with the backpack, fat cat, crush,"
Both boys wandering around the stage getting the audience hyped up, Oscar cheered out, shaking his head knowing he shouldn't have expected anything less from Zach, Bryce cheering exponentially louder while a few rows away Kate cheered almost as loudly as she laughed.
"Labels out here,
Nah, they can't tell me nothing
We give that to the people
Spread it across the country
Labels out here
Nah, they can't tell me nothing
We give it to the people
Spread it across the country,"
Summoning all the courage, power and stage presence he had in his stupid little body, Mack surprised everyone in his glee club by how confidently he sang out his part of the song.
"Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us,"
The Warblers behind him now moved around the stage, the choreography much more obviously put together than the previous number.
"Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us,"
Mack sang out once more, his voice surprisingly suiting the song as Jeff cheered out too loudly for his son while Nick and Isaac cheered but at a more reasonable volume, trying to suppress his laughter at noticing as Zach jumped in rapping once more.
"Nah, can I kick it? Thank you. Yeah I'm so damn grateful
I grew up, really wanted gold fronts
But that's what you get when Wu-Tang raised you
Y'all can't stop me, go hard like I got an 808 in my heart beat
And I'm eating at the beat like you give a little speed to a great white shark on shark week
Raw, tell me go up, gone
Deuces goodbye I got a world to see, and my girl she wanna see Rome
Caesar'll make you a believer
Nah I never ever did it for a throne
That validation comes from giving it back to the people
Nah sing this song and it goes like
Raise those hands, this is our party
We came here to live life like nobody was watching
I got my city right behind me
If I fall, they got me
Learn from that failure gain humility and then we keep marching, I said,"
Zach and Trent were both surprised to hear the audience applauding at the rap, a smug smile on Zach's face, happy and proud that his talent came in handy as he and Mack moved in sync with the Warblers, the head councilman singing out once again.
"Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us,"
"And so we put our hands up," The song suddenly slowed as Mack continued singing.
All the Warblers dispersed into yet another dance break, this one was far more coordinated as they actually had time to plan and organize it. They earned a surprising amount of applause as all of the Puckerman's cheered loudly, Nikki standing up and practically shouting as Oliver got his moment in the dance break, surprising them all with the fact that he could actually dance, just as Mack repeated himself, "And so we put our hands up,"
"Na na na na na na na na," Mack and Zach sang together as all the other Warblers began clapping their hands trying to get the audience hyped, and it worked as they were all soon clapping along.
"And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na
Hey
And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na
And all my people say
Na na na na na na na na,"
All of the Warblers slowly but surely made their way back to each other as Mack sang out the chorus once again.
"Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us,"
As the Warblers found themselves back in the position they started with, all noises made for background stopped as Mack and Zach, miraculously were able to figure out how to harmonize with each other in that one exact moment, singing over absolute silence, both shocked that it worked and also that neither of them sounded bad.
"Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us,"
The lights lowering just for a second, Mack and Zach exchanged a glance smiling, as they began their instrumental part for their 80's song, hoping it would go as surprisingly well as the last two did, Tommy stepping out to start the song out.
"You could never know what it's like
Your blood like winter freezes just like ice,"
He sang out confidently, winking at Naomi who laughed, as the Abrams and Changs called out in support, Kitty standing up and doing the moves with him making sure he was following along, just as Eric came up to sing with Tommy.
"And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you,
You'll wind up like the wreck you hide, behind that mask you use,"
"That's my boy!" Dave Karofsky called out in support, Kate also cheering, though more politely as Tommy and Eric swiveled to switch places with Frank and Bob who were getting ready to take on the next part of the verse, Bob starting them out.
"And did you think this fool could never win
Well, look at me, I'm a-coming back again,"
Bob sang out, at first earning applause from his parents, quickly followed by Lex and Emery who he'd worked with in the group scrimmage all those weeks ago.
"I got a taste of love in a simple way
And if you need to know while I'm still standing, you just fade away,"
Frank took his turn singing out, and while the cheers from his parents and even some of the other Warblers alumni continued, nobody was more surprised than Sydney by how loudly she'd cheered Frank on.
"Thought we were here to spy," Anthony smirked before repeating what Sydney had said to him at the New Directions sectionals verbatim, "Keep it on your pants, Smythe."
On stage, the Warblers proved that this was their most practiced number and clearly the most put together as Tommy took on the chorus, all of the Warblers moving around him like a well oiled machine.
"Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind,"
"Hell yeah!" Artie called out in support of his son, laughing to himself slightly as he thought of when he sang the exact same song in glee.
"I'm still standing," Eric called out as the Warblers sang out behind him, "Yeah, yeah, yeah,"
"I'm still standing," He repeated as the Warblers did the same, "Yeah, yeah, yeah,"
The Warblers all moved around slightly, ending with Ambrose and Sutton at the forefront, Ambrose singing out first, April immediately whooping and hollering in support, informing anyone in her general vicinity that that was her boy.
"Once I never could hope to win
You're starting down the road leaving me again,"
Ambrose's voice was perfectly in tune, every word and note thought out meticulously, as was his footwork. As Sutton began his lines, it was quite the opposite.
"The threats you made were meant to cut me down," He sang out dramatically as Marley and Leah called out supportively and Nikki sat slumped in her seat, Sutton moving around to face and point directly at Ambrose a cheeky smile on his face as he continued singing, "And if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now,"
Ambrose was trying to not think about April and Kendall sitting next to each other, and luckily, he wasn't as he was distracted by Sutton's theatrics. While his first thought was to roll his eyes, he knew he was on stage and couldn't help but smile as the look that Sutton gave him made him realize the dramatics actually were meant to distract Ambrose from whatever was bothering him, even if for just a few fleeting moments.
Trying not to laugh as he noticed this, Tommy took center stage once more, the other two boys falling in line as they continued their best performance on that stage yet.
"You know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind,"
Once again taking his next part, Eric stood at the front with Tommy who harmonized with him, the Warblers singing behind them
"I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah,"
As the Warblers began their third dance break, it was the first where they all moved in perfect sync before Tommy and Eric took on the chorus together, impressing themselves and the audience with their harmonies.
"Don't you know that I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind,"
Slowly but surely as the song wrapped up, each Warbler moved around enough that they all ended front and center in a straight line all calling out together.
"I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah,"
While they were hoping for applause, they simply were not expecting the rapturous applause they received, laughing before remembering they were all mad at each other about the Oliver thing, though Trent sighed out a slight sigh of relief that they managed to get through the setlist without any sort of incident.
"You all did so well!" Trent smiled, "Come on, let's get you back."
And so they all made their way back to the green room, Oliver surprising them all by speaking up.
"I uh, I just wanted to let you guys know I'm… really sorry," He sighed out.
"Huh?" Sutton couldn't help but be surprised – he'd never heard his brother apologize for anything.
"I just, I dunno," Oliver shook his head, "Yes, it's true that I got in trouble or whatever. But I really like being in this group. Like… you guys are kind of my friends now?" He shrugged before continuing, "And I'm sorry if I ruined that. But don't be mad at Trent or the council or even Sutton or Ambrose for not saying anything. It's on me."
After looking around at each other for a few long moments, it was Addison who finally spoke up. "Okay, cool! Glad we're all good,"
"That easily?" Teddy was, of course, glad, but surprised.
"Sure," Zach laughed, "Life's too short. Good to have you back, buddy," he patted Oliver's back.
As the boys were all relieved that the whole debacle ended as quickly as it started just as they were informed that they had some visitors.
"There he is!" Blaine called out, himself, Kurt and Lex all quickly making their way over to Michael.
"Did I… do okay?" Michael questioned almost fearfully.
"You did incredible!" Kurt spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Look at us!" Lex laughed, "Two bros getting starring roles in our first sectionals!"
"Speaking of bros," Bob piped up, "Have you seen mine?"
"I think," Wes came up behind him, "He's over there talking to…Sydney Smythe?"
And in fact he was, Frank just as surprised as his father was that Sydney stood before him.
"So uh," Frank was visibly nervous, "Why…why are you here?"
"Should I not be?" Sydney raised her eyebrows, scoffing.
"No! I just, um, you know…" Frank trailed off.
"Hey. Don't ask stupid questions," Sydney sighed out, "I just wanted to say you did a good job."
"Aren't you afraid of…being seen with me?" Frank thought out loud, finally looking Sydney in the eye.
"No," Sydney shook her head, "I have an alibi."
"Oh," Frank was somewhat disappointed.
"But I am glad I stopped by. You did good, Frank. Really," Sydney gave him a genuine smile before getting distracted, "Oh, of course she's here."
Per usual, Kate actively avoided Sydney, directly making her way over to Eric, surprising him with a small hug.
"Kate!" He smiled happily, "How'd I do?"
"You did amazing!" Their father spoke before Kate had a chance to answer, "You did great out there, champ!"
"Aw, thanks!" Eric cooed, "Hey have either of you seen Addison? I was going to go congratulate him too, but I can't find him."
"If I had to guess," Kate giggled, "I'd say he's hiding from his family."
Sure enough he was, but it wasn't long until Madison found him.
"Addison McCarthy!" She called out, "You didn't think you could hide from me, did you?"
"I wasn't hiding," Addison blatantly lied to his mother's face.
"You're about as good at lying as you are at performing," Zoey, who was forced to come say hi, rolled her eyes.
"Zoey," Madison spoke, her voice hushed but her tone harsh.
"Whatever," Zoey rolled her eyes, already walking away, informing the Puckermans who she'd been sitting with that she was heading back to her seat as she headed out the door.
"We won't be too long!" Marley called back, smiling as she turned to face her oldest son, "Now look at you, coming out of your shell like that! I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks mom," Oliver huffed out, but smiled as he knew that his mother was just trying to be proud of him as he turned to look at his youngest sibling, "What'd you think?"
"I think you looked like a big nerd up there," Nikki snickered, "But it was alright."
"Your loud cheering said differently," Oliver raised his eyebrows, ruffling her hair.
"Knock it off," Nikki slapped his hand away.
"Alright you two, enough," Marley laughed, "Hey where'd Sutton get off to?"
"No idea," Leah sighed out, "I was just looking for him."
Sutton, however, was looking for someone else and found him sitting alone out in the hallway.
"Hey," Sutton spoke, surprising the other male with how soft his voice was, "What's going on?"
"Just… you know," Ambrose sighed out, looking up, "Life."
"Hey," Sutton repeated, taking a seat next to Ambrose, but keeping his distance, "I won't force it out of you, but… you seem distant. Even for you."
"I won't get into it," Ambrose shook his head, "But I do want to say thank you."
"For what?" Sutton laughed, "My irresistible personality?"
"In a way, yes," Ambrose surprised Sutton by laughing with him, "I know you're always…annoying and goofy. But I appreciated it out there. I mean, I kind of always do? You're a nice distraction."
"I bet I know what else could distract you," Sutton smirked, moving just slightly towards Ambrose, both boys jumping as another body appeared in the hallway.
"Oh! There you guys are," Mack spoke not realizing he was interrupting a whole moment, "People are looking for you."
"It's fine," Ambrose stood up, brushing himself off, embarrassed for momentarily letting his guard down, "We were just coming back in anyway."
"We were?" Sutton furrowed his eyebrows, annoyed at Mack getting in the way, but knowing he was well intended. While Sutton was going to try to grab Ambrose again, he saw him talking to Kendall and figured it would be best to let them talk about whatever they needed to talk about.
"Hey," Ambrose spoke to his twin, after his mother left the room, "Why were you sitting with my mom? I told you to not get involved."
"Woah, chill," Kendall put her hands up in defense, "Your mom sat with me. She didn't even notice that we are literally identical, she's a loon, but nothing happened."
"Hey, don't speak about her that way," Ambrose spoke taking his turn to be defensive, but eventually sighed out, "But really? Nothing happened?"
"Nothing happened," Kendall raised her eyebrows, "I have more important things to do than make your life more miserable than it already seems to be."
"So… why are you here?" Ambrose was suddenly confused.
"Because after our talk after duets a couple weeks back…I figured the least I could do was come support you," Kendall explained, "If it's too much I can leave. But I thought it might be a good start."
"It is a good start," Ambrose nodded, smiling, "Thank you,"
"What's going on with them?" Isaac questioned his brother, Mack, as he recognized Kendall from his own glee club.
"No idea," Mack shrugged, "But come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the council," He spoke proudly, acting like it was a big deal.
"I've already met Tommy. Several times," Isaac laughed, referring to Mack and Tommy being best friends since they started on their Warblers journey together.
"Everyone! This is Isaac!" Mack announced happily to Tommy, Teddy and their surrounding families, though very few were paying attention as Tommy was being gassed up by his mother and, surprisingly Naomi, and Teddy was speaking to his parents and sister about the performance.
"Hi!" Simon spoke up, noticing how awkwardly that could have gone if he didn't, "I uh, am not on the council or do I even have a reason to be here. But my sister is dating Tommy so…I'm here," he laughed nervously.
"This is my friend, Simon," Mack explained to Isaac.
"Friend?" Isaac raised his eyebrows, repressing a laugh, since anytime Mack had introduced anyone to him as 'friend' it typically meant Mack was in deep, "It's nice to meet you, Simon."
"You as well," Simon smiled, not thinking anything of Isaac's reaction.
"Hey," Tommy suddenly stepped away from his cheer squad, "Where did Trent go?"
Trent was nervously making his way over to Zach who was currently surrounded by Kate, and soon Oscar and Bryce.
"No, no it was really good," Kate laughed, looking at Zach with what could only be described as heart eyes, laughing.
"Sorry we're so late," Oscar butted in, suddenly embarrassed as he realized he was interrupting something, "Oh, uh sorry," he repeated, "Bryce just kept… wandering off."
"This place is so crazy!" Bryce laughed, "All these old people everywhere."
"Right?!" Zach agreed, laughing.
"Sorry to interrupt everyone," Trent nervously entered the conversation, "Zach? Could I talk to you alone for a moment?"
"Uh, sure?" Zach shrugged, excusing himself as he walked off with his father, "What's up, pops?"
"I just wanted to make sure… you're not still upset. With me. About not saying anything about Oliver," Trent explained.
"I mean," Zach sighed out, "It didn't feel great not knowing about it. And I am still a little upset. But you're my dad – I'm always going to be upset with you about something," He laughed, "But I could never be… actually upset with you."
"That is a relief to hear," Trent matched Zach's sigh, smiling, just as everyone was told to leave as the placements were about to be announced.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, VOCAL ADRENALINE SECTIONALS
"Anderson-Hummels," Sebastian spoke, his tone as snarky as always, "Glad to see you could make it."
"Well you both came out to support our boys," Blaine spoke happily, "The least we could do is return the favor."
"The least we could do is not come, actually," Kurt rolled his eyes, though waved to Elliot.
"Well, either way we're glad you're here," Elliot smiled.
"We're happy to be here!" Lex smiled. He knew very few people in Vocal Adrenaline, but was happy to be along for the ride, anyways. "Hey Montgomery's!" he called out as Wes, David, Frank and Bob all made their way in.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Wes spoke diplomatically.
"Hi Lex!" Bob grinned.
"Aw, I love a good Warblers reunion!" Blaine smiled, as though this wasn't the fourth Warblers reunion they'd had in the last 72 hours.
"Did someone say Warbles reunion?" Jeff laughed, himself, Nick and Mack all entering the auditorium.
"Wow, there's four second generation Warblers here too!" Mack laughed, referring to himself, Michael, Frank, and Bob.
"Congrats, your boy knows how to count," Sebastian smirked.
"Whatever," Nick sighed out, as he, reluctantly, took a seat with his family and the other Warblers.
"Are you sure you don't want to sit with them?" Dave Karofsky asked his son, Eric, as they walked by.
"Nah," Eric shook his head, "They're… a lot," he laughed nervously.
"Karofsky's!" Zach suddenly called out.
"Do you have to be so obnoxious?" Oscar groaned.
"Hey boys!" Dave laughed, "Where's your dad?"
"He's sick," Oscar explained, "I guess there's a flu going around? It sounds pretty awful."
"Aw, that's too bad," Eric shook his head.
"So true," Zach nodded, "Hey, do you guys wanna sit with us? We could be like a little Kate support squad!" He spoke without thinking as he wanted to get in good with Kate's family.
"Why not?!" Dave laughed, himself and Eric sliding in to sit with the two other boys.
Not too far from them, the Abrams and Chang clan were back at it, this time all there in support of Dana.
"I'm so excited!" Tommy grinned, "Dana is going to be so good!"
"Dana will be something alright," Kitty rolled her eyes.
"I think they're gonna be great," Mike nodded, agreeing with Tommy.
"Sometimes I think you like Dana more than you like us," Cay half joked.
"Of course he doesn't," Tina waved Cay off.
"Yeah, I like you all equally," Mike smiled looking at all four kids who sat with them.
"What's goin' on Abrams? Changs?" A familiar voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Holly?" Artie asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I invited her," Mercedes announced as she made her presence known.
"Oh?" Kitty raised her eyebrows.
"We won't get into the details," Naomi who was there with her mother spoke up, Simon following close behind, "But we're all here to support Kendall."
"Speaking of!" Tommy suddenly spoke up, "There's Ambrose!"
And there he was indeed, hoping to make it unseen. While he looked over to the group, he sighed out, knowing he'd been spotted.
"Hi, everyone," He looked over, noticing Holly who immediately looked away.
"Come sit with us, Ambrose," Teddy offered, noticing he was here alone.
"Um, sure," Ambrose breathed out, already regretting knowing these people.
"Holy crap," Simon spoke up, looking down to the front of the stage where a grown man was arguing with one of the stagehands, "Is that Jesse St. James?"
It was, in fact, Jesse St. James, returning back to Carmel after many, many years.
"I demand to speak to Unique," He spoke, clearly upset, "Or at least Harmony."
"You can't do that, sir-" The stagehand tried, to no avail as they were cut off again.
"Do you know who I am?" Jesse tried, his low voice slowly getting louder.
"Who cares?" Another voice called from the audience.
"Excuse me?" Jesse turned to look at who was speaking to him in that tone.
"You suck!" Becky Jackson called out.
"Becky, that's enough," Daryl, her husband laughed, putting a hand on her leg.
"I'm sorry," Jesse shook his head trying to process all of this, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yeah!" Becky spoke up once more, "Shut up and sit your dumb ass down!"
While Jesse waved her off, going back to try to settle in and gather his thoughts, not too far away Mr. Schue was hiding a few rows back, knowing that if Becky saw him his cover would be completely blown. While he was here to spy, he was specifically here to check out Anthony, given the news he'd received two days prior. However, it was not long until an all too familiar and haunting voice came from just behind him.
"You know, I smelled the absolutely revolting scent of past date desperation and hair gel. And I thought to myself, you know what the smell is? That's butt-chin," Sue Sylvester spoke decisively.
"Sue," Will was surprised to see her, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, William," Sue took a seat next to him, unprovoked, "I'm here to support my godchild, Sawyer. As I'm sure you know, by some miracle I'm still not sure I completely understand, my good friend Becky Jackson gave birth to a baby… well I guess we'd be going on 16 years ago now. Of course, I was the only viable option for a godparent, so, here I am."
"Wow, that's…amazing, Sue," Will shook his head, "I uh, I'm just here to scope out the competition, you know? It's been a weird build to sectionals, for all of us, so just… gotta see what everyone else is doing," he came up with the lamest excuse he could.
"You know what is incredible about that story, William?" Sue turned to face him before turning back to the stage, "Is that I don't remember at which point I asked."
Sighing out, Will was so caught up in Sue's shenanigans that he hadn't noticed his daughter, Flora, sneaking in on the other side of the auditorium. Much like her father, she was also here to see Anthony, but for a much different reason. Also like her father, she did not remain unseen for very long.
"Flora!" Sophie called out, waving her over to her family, "Come sit! I demand it!"
"Who's this?" Joe asked, his smile friendly as he was always happy to see his kids making friends.
"This is Flora Scheuster, she's one of my very best friends," Sophie explained before turning to Trina, "No offense, you know you're still my one and only."
"It's nice to meet you all," Flora smiled politely, nervous that Sophie or someone else might tell her father she was there.
"Does your dad know you're here?" Trina asked, not realizing the weight of the question, as she was just generally curious.
"Who cares," Sugar, much to Flora's relief, waved Trina's question off, "We're all just here to have fun and support Xavier."
"And Jude!" Joe spoke up happily, reminding everyone else there who they were really there for.
"I barely know who that is," Chloe, who was invited to sit with them by Trina, suddenly spoke up.
"You were… in the same glee club. This is your old auditorium," Trina furrowed her eyebrows, but was distracted as Sophie recognized a few other familiar faces.
"Look who it is!" Sophie grinned, making both Oliver and Leah Puckerman stop in their tracks.
They were really only here because they both used to go to Carmel and thought it would be nice to come back, but both came to regret that decision almost immediately, Leah internally cringing as her entire ex boyfriend's family looked at her.
"Hey guys," Oliver realized why Leah was silent, a big grin on his face, "How's it going? How's everyone been?"
"We're all good! Hey!" Sophie thought out loud, "Come sit with us!"
"Oh, no that's okay-" Leah tried to protest.
"Don't feel forced," Trina spoke up, "But if you want to, I promise you it's all good."
"How could we say no to that?!" Oliver continued his grin as he practically pulled Leah down into the seats.
While at first Leah was somewhat annoyed and uncomfortable with the situation, her tune changed when she saw a head peeking out from the side of the stage. Nudging Oliver slightly she nodded towards the figure.
"Is…" Oliver paused to laugh, "Is that Dad?"
It was, in fact, Jake Puckerman. As the flu continued to spread around Lima both Harmony and Unique fell sick, unaware that the other one also had, so they both just assumed the other would be able to handle sectionals on their own. Unfortunately, it took them until the night prior to realize that neither of them would make it and that they needed a substitute. Which, of course, is where Jake came in. He'd spent the whole night before making sure he even kind of knew what he was doing as he was only in glee for a year and barely even remembered it other than the fact that they were disqualified from their sectionals.
Stepping back behind the curtain, he took a deep breath in. Sydney Smythe seemed to think she had control over the whole group which was going just as disastrously as a person could imagine, and when he left, the group was arguing over whether they should keep Steven's 'Waving Through a Window' solo or replace it with something else since the Hipsters did it the night previous. Stepping back into the room cautiously, Jake simply looked on at the kids, wondering how the hell he was going to get through this.
"We're not doing it and that's final," Sydney called out, "And where the hell is Chloe?"
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Kendall held her laughter back, "She bailed."
"What?!" Leslie was agasp at the news, genuinely confused.
"So…" Sawyer was afraid to even ask the question on his mind, "What are we supposed to do about the duet?"
"Well I'm not doing it without Chloe!" Xavier pouted, arms crossed over his chest.
"Well someone has to sing it," Jude groaned.
"Does anyone else know it?" Jake suddenly stepped up, opting to ignore the obvious awkwardness between himself and Jude.
"I guess," Anthony sighed out, "Sydney and I will do what we always do and carry this whole team on our back."
"Great," Jake nodded, looking around the room, "Which one of you is Sydney, again?"
"Me," Sydney rolled her eyes, "God, what are you even here for? I could run this whole thing by myself."
"That still leaves us without a Broadway song," Steven pointed out, trying to get things back on track without upsetting Sydney.
"Right," Sydney thought out, "Kate? Got anything in your back pocket? Nothing Disney since we're already doing that for our duet. No offence, Steven," she turned to her brother, "But we need someone more seasoned for something this last minute."
"None... taken," Steven was surprised by how… not rude she was to him.
"I think I have something?" Kate was also surprised not just by Sydney being nice to her, but also her initiative. But if there was something Sydney liked more than being right, it was winning.
"And I'm not doing my part in our last song if I have to carry the duet," Anthony spoke, purely for the drama of it all.
"I'll do your part!" Xavier suddenly cheered up, "I had the secondary part, anyways, so I know it,"
"Kendall?" Sydney turned to look at her, "You good with taking my part?"
"Obviously," Kendall laughed, "Much like Xavier I am happy to step up and take the bigger part."
"Yee haw!" Dana called out happily.
"Curb your enthusiasm, Dana," Jake spoke up once more, to one of the only kids in the room he actually knew, "Who's going to take their parts then?" He looked around the room, spotting the only two students who hadn't actually spoken up yet, "You two, do you know the song?"
"What?" Isaac was surprised to be suddenly called on, "I mean, I guess?"
"Absolutely not," Emery shook her head.
"Well, you're going to have to," Jake suddenly spoke authoritatively if for nothing more than to get control over the room. "You'll take their parts. Is there anything else missing?"
"I… think that's actually everything," Kate was surprised, but relieved, though she, of course, was worried about her solo.
"Alright, you've only got a few moments to sort yourself out so… do that," Jake nodded.
As they did just that, it felt like only seconds passed before the lights began flashing, alerting the group that it was their turn to head backstage and get ready. Without hesitation, Sawyer poked their head out looking into the audience, met with immediate applause from his mother Becky who was the only one to notice him.
"Ha!" Sawyer laughed, "She's so great!"
"Aw, that's awesome!" Steven grinned, taking his turn to peek out, "Oh look! There's my parents!" he pointed to all the Warblers alumni sitting together.
"Obviously they're here," Sydney rolled her eyes, but smiled at seeing Sebastian.
"Hey, my parents too," Isaac smirked, waving back as Mack noticed and waved at him.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Kendall narrowed her eyes.
"Who?" Leslie questioned cautiously.
"My mother," Kendall's eyes continued to grow wide as she noticed Ambrose sitting near Holly.
While Leslie contemplated making a joke about how her own mother should have been here, she figured it would be best to not say anything.
"My… my dad is here," Anthony spoke, genuinely surprised, and for the first time since anyone had met him, showing some kind of genuine emotion.
"Were you…" Isaac looked over to him, doing anything to distract from the fact that he had a part in the last number, "Were you not expecting him to come?"
"No, I mean, I knew he'd come," Anthony spoke, hoping nobody could tell that he was fighting back tears as he spoke.
"Oh no," Kate's eyes went wide, unsure if she should laugh or be afraid.
"What?" Jude made his way over to see what Kate was looking at.
"The guy I'm kind of seeing is sitting with… my family," Kate shook her head in disbelief.
"I'll do you one better," Jude smirked, though he was annoyed, "My whole family is sitting with my ex," he paused to look at Xavier, "And your sister."
"Chloe's here?!" Dana and Xavier spoke excitedly in sync.
"There she is," Kendall joined the small group pointing her out, "We're lucky we still have twelve."
"You're not looking for anyone?" Jude surprised Emery by coming up behind them as they stood away from the curtain.
"I already did," Emery shrugged, "He didn't come. He could go to the sectionals for kids I grew up with. But not for mine. The first competition where I get to have a part... even if it's not really mine…and he's not here," Emery concluded, their voice shaky, unsure why the felt so comfortable dumping this all on Jude.
While it took him a moment, Jude eventually realized Emery was referring to her father. While at first, he was wondering why Emery lied about being alone at the Troubletones sectionals, he was unable to even think about that or what he was doing as he found himself stepping forward and wrapping Emery in an embrace.
"What.. what are you doing?" Emery spoke, surprised, but pleasantly so.
"I'm… hugging you," Jude spoke awkwardly before taking a step back, "But listen. I'm here, and I'm with you and you're going to be great, okay?"
Nodding slowly, Emery eventually responded, "Yeah, and um, thanks," She finally gave him a small smile though the two were soon distracted.
"Stop sticking your noses out of the curtains," Jake once again fought to gain control over the room, "It's time to go on."
As they made their way to their entrance spots, only one of the students actually walked out on stage, a slow almost music box sounding song starting behind her.
"Dancing Bears
Painted Wings
Things I almost remember,"
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December,"
Kate sang out her voice gentle and warm, but eventually growing more and more powerful, every single note perfectly delivered which was quite impressive given that she had essentially pulled this song out of nowhere, Zach being the first to applaud if for no other reason than Eric and Dave both had to actually process the fact that she got a whole solo – something neither of them were expecting.
"Someone holds me safe and warm.
Horses prance through a silver storm.
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory,
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory,"
Kate continued on, delivering the song beautifully, her voice perfectly matched to it, Dave wiping a single tear from his eye as he remembered Kate singing this song around their living room when she was just a little girl, soon distracted as Zach obnoxiously called out, "That's my girl!"
"Far away,
Long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember,
Things my heart
Used to know
Things it yearns to remember,"
She paused dramatically before singing out the rest of the song, her higher range coming completely in clutch as the song finished, and she held the perfect ending note.
"And a song someone sings
Once upon a December,"
As Kate rushed off the stage, Anthony and Sydney soon made their way out, both glad they learned all choreography for all of the Vocal Adrenaline song just in case, a familiar and nostalgic song starting as Anthony sang out.
"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see,"
He, of course, sang out brilliantly, as Sydney jumped in to sing with him, their voices, just like they did before, harmonizing perfectly, as they were both so good on their own, together only made them that much better.
"You were always there beside me
Thought I was alone, with no one to hold
But you were always right beside me,"
"This feeling's like no other," Sydney sang out, earning immediate applause and cheering from Frank.
"I want you to know," The two sang together again, completing every single step of choreography perfectly as they sang the chorus together.
"I've never had someone that knows me like you do
The way you do
I've never had someone as good for me as you
No one like you
So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for,"
They once again did not miss a note or single step, unbelievably good for just deciding moments before that they'd decided to perform this number, as it looked like they had been singing and performing together all their lives.
"So good to be seen, so good to be heard," Sydney sang out confidently.
"Don't have to say a word," They sang together once more as Anthony took his next solo line.
"For so long I was lost, so good to be found," He sang just as confidently as Sydney, their collective stage presence undeniable, Flora cheering loudly in support of Anthony, surprising the large group of people she sat with.
"I'm loving having you around," The two once again sang out, obviously each putting on a show face as the choreography quickly grew more and more complex, simply because they'd dropped the previously arranged dancing to come up with something else halfway through the song which, to their credit, was far more impressive.
"This feeling's like no other," Anthony called out, just slightly disappointed to see that his dad was watching but had a neutral look on his face.
"I want you to know," They sang together again as Sydney gave Anthony a brief but threatening look as if to tell him to stay on task as they wrapped up the rest of the song together.
"I've never had someone that knows me like you do
The way you do
I've never had someone as good for me as you
No one like you
So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for,"
After several 'do-do's and more intense movement, the two eventually wrapped up, earning, what, to anyone else would be impressive amounts of applause, though they were both distracted by the polite, quiet applause they were given by their fathers.
"You okay?" Emery paused to stop Isaac, who, as she could tell, was just as nervous as she was.
"As okay as I'll ever be," He smirked, the two exchanging a glance, not knowing how this would go as they, along with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline made their way onto the stage and into their positions.
As the group all stood on the stage, their voices all making 'da-da's in various ranges, Mr. Schue's eyes going wide as he realized what song they were doing, as Sue let out an audible annoyed groan, just before Xavier walked out, singing proudly.
"Just a small town girl
Living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere,"
Xavier's voice was theatrical and matched the song well as he earned applause from Trina and her mother, though a few rows back, Kurt's jaw dropped as he also realized what was happening.
"Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere,"
Kendall sang out, her voice soulful and impressive and oddly complimenting Xavier's perfectly, the two taking a small step back as Mercedes laughed at the realization of the song and arrangement of it, Naomi, Simon and Ambrose all cheering for Kendall, as Holly wiped a few small tears from her eyes.
"A singer in a smoky room," Isaac sang out, as Emery stepped to the front of the stage with him, his voice surprising himself and everyone else with the way it melded with the music.
"A smell of wine and cheap perfume," Emery sang out, once again surprising the room with not just the range, but the power their voice held.
"For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on,"
They smiled at each other, knowing they made it through it, as they both suddenly remembered they had choreography before once again surprising themselves with their ability to follow it. Out in the audience, Mack was cheering wildly for his brother, as Lex cheered Emery on, and Bob cheered for both of them.
"Strangers waiting," Kendall and Xavier took lead again, their voices once again wowing the audience as they carried on and the rest of the group continued on with their da-da's.
"Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows
Searching in the night
Streetlight
People
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night,"
They belted out, Chloe calling out a loud cheer as Kendall began singing once more.
"Workin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill,"
Her voice once again was beautiful and strong, as Xavier was able to reel his theatricals in for few moments to harmonize perfectly with her.
"Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time,"
They sang together, once again stepping aside for Isaac and Emery to take their next part.
"Some will win," Emery sang out, surprised not only at how well it was going, but how much she enjoyed singing up there.
"Some will lose,
Some are born to sing the blues,"
The two sang together once more, smiling knowing that was their last standout line, glad that they at least had each other, just as Jude and Kate came up behind them, singing together.
"Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on,"
As Sophie cheered out loudly for Jude, Leah deep sighed out as the four students on stage made their way back, making room for Steven, Sawyer and Leslie to sing out together in a three part harmony.
"Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows
Searching in the night
Streetlight
People
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night,"
While Becky called out every word of encouragement she could think of, Sawyer smiled (despite it being a small list), as Elliot also called out in support of Steven. After various da-da's, the group got ready to wrap the song out.
"Don't stop!" Dana called out, belting, which of course had the Changs and Abrams going absolutely bananas over it, despite them all realizing this rendition of this song had very clealy been done before, nobody enjoying Dana's belt more than Mercedes, who, a few seats over, was beside herself with laughter.
"Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Streetlights
People,"
Xavier and Kendall took the main melody again, wowing the audience as they sang out with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline backing them, other than Dana who was still riffing over everyone.
"Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlights
People,"
They all ended up on the edge of the stage, reaching their arms out into the audience as they all ended on the same note, together.
"Don't stop!"
As the audience cheered loudly, earning them incredible amounts of applause, the group bowed, and while a few New Directions alumni were confused about the whole performance, nobody seemed to mind too much since it had been so long ago, and they did a great, albeit somewhat hilarious job.
"Uh, good job guys," Jake laughed as they all made their way backstage, not entirely sure exactly what just happened but remembering after tonight it wasn't his place to care anymore, so he simply shrugged it off.
It wasn't too long until, much like the other groups, they were all getting surrounded by their loved ones, coming to congratulate them all on a good performance.
"Hell yeah!" Becky Jackson called out unprovoked as she saw Sawyer from a distance.
"Mom!" They grinned happily, running up to hug her and then, Daryl, "Thank you for coming,"
"They're not the only ones," Sue smirked, handing Sawyer a single flower, "You did good out there, kid. You show real promise."
"Aw, thanks Auntie Sue!" Sawyer crooned.
Nearby, similarly, most of the Warblers alumni were surrounded around Isaac, congratulating him on his standout moment.
"That was really, really good, Isaac," His father, Nick, assured him.
"Seriously where'd that even come from?!" Mack laughed, "That was incredible!"
"Incredible!" Bob, who stood with them, repeated as he smiled.
"Uh, thanks, everyone," Isaac smiled, unsure how to take all the positive reinforcement, "Seriously thank you guys, a lot."
"Doesn't it make you sick to your stomach?" Sydney sneered.
"What?" Anthony looked at her, confused.
"The lovey dovey shit from all these families," Sydney rolled their eyes, "Speaking of families, there's your dad."
Suddenly looking over to Jesse, Anthony, maybe a bit too enthusiastically, made his way over to his father.
"Hello, father," Anthony smiled and presented himself as professionally as he could, "Thanks for coming."
"Of course, Anthony, wouldn't miss it," Jesse spoke though his words were disingenuous, "Hey kiddo, listen," he spoke gently, "Your mom is having some sort of… breakdown trying to write her memoir. So I gotta jet, but let us know how you do, yeah?"
Before Anthony even had a chance to process, Jesse had already one foot out the door.
"Are you okay?" A small, but familiar and vaguely comforting voice caught Anthony's attention.
"Of course," He straightened up, "Why? And why are you here?"
"I uh, just wanted to see how you guys did," Flora spoke – and while it wasn't the whole truth, Anthony didn't need to know that.
"Well, thank you," Anthony spoke, "But I'm fine, really," he smiled, somewhat genuinely, shocked at the warm feeling he felt when Flora looked at him, "You should check on Sydney though. She's definitely not fine," he fought to change the subject, looking over to Sydney who, just like Anthony was previously, was speaking to her father.
"It was just a little sloppy that's all," Sebastian spoke, his tone firm as they discussed the dancing in the duet.
"Most of it was made up on the fly-" Sydney did her best to try to explain, but was quickly interrupted.
"No excuses," Sebastian spoke in turn, "Do better next time. Now where did Elliot go?" He turned to look for his husband and found him speaking to Steven.
"You did so great sweetie!" Elliot cooed, "You made us very proud,"
"Thanks, dad," Steven smiled, though he watched Sebastian not pay attention to any of the words Elliot was saying.
"We're heading back to our seats," Sebastian spoke up suddenly, "Let's hope your sister didn't ruin it for you all with the on-the-fly dancing," he rolled his eyes, as Elliot wished Steven luck, walking back out with Sebastian.
"They're right, you know," Sydney sighed out, making way to see their brother, "You did do good out there."
"Are you… just saying that?" Steven was confused, knowing if Sydney heard that, she must have heard what Sebastian said as well.
"No, I mean it," Sydney sighed out, "And I don't tell you enough. But you're really talented. You should know that."
"Thank you, Sydney," Steven was taken aback and they were the only words he could think to say until he was distracted, "I uh, I think someone's here to say hi," he giggled.
"Frank?" Sydney's eyebrows furrowed as she made her way over to him, "What's going on?"
"I got you these," He grinned, handing her flowers, "You are… very impressive,"
"Thank you," Sydney took the flowers cautiously, before feeling her cheeks flush, "For the flowers and for saying that."
"You're being so nice," Frank laughed, "But you're welcome."
"Don't push your luck," Sydney teased.
Luckily, Sydney was so distracted by Frank that she didn't notice Kate and Zach finding a quiet corner to talk.
"You were amazing out there!" Zach spoke ecstatically, "Seriously, wow. I mean I knew you were good but… wow," he laughed, shaking his head.
"Thank you," Kate's face was completely flushed but she didn't seem to care, "It helped to know that I had my boyfriend out there cheering for me."
"You…you have a boyfriend?" Zach scrunched his eyebrows together, confused.
"I meant you, Zach," Kate giggled.
"You…oh!" Zach laughed, taking his turn to feel his cheeks turn red. "Well, it is an honor and privilege to be there to support my girlfriend," he smiled, placing a hand on the small of her back, pulling her in for a kiss.
"Oooooh," Dana grinned as they walked by, watching the scene unfold, leaving Kate and Zach to laugh as Dave and Eric Karofsky made their way over to congratulate Kate on such an amazing spur of the moment performance.
"There you are!" Mike grinned, "The Dana of the hour!"
"That was… very impressive," Kitty laughed, grinning.
"Keep that up and you're gonna put me out of a job," Mercedes laughed, as she spotted Holly leisurely making her way in the room, "Could you excuse me a moment?"
As she walked over to Holly, Kendall watched them talking for a moment, suddenly nervous as Holly made her way over.
"Hi," Holly said, a small and simple smile on her face.
"Hi," Kendall spoke cautiously.
"I wanted to say – apparently I was wrong. And you do have a twin. And I should have believed you," Holly spoke out, desperately trying to get to the point.
"So… you just came to this conclusion by yourself?" Kendall's eyebrows furrowed.
"Well, Mercedes did talk some sense into me," Holly waved her hand, "But this lovely young gentleman I just met named Ambrose… he also helped."
"I see," Kendall nodded, trying to process everything.
"I'm not saying you have to move back in like… today but-" Holly started but was cut off by her daughter.
"I'll move back in," Kendall smiled, happy to get back to some sort of normalcy.
Leslie, who was watching from a distance, smiled. She was, of course, sad that her own mother was sick and missed it all, but if that meant Kendall rekindling with her mom, she could live with that.
"Hey," A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Chloe?" Leslie stifled a laugh, "I can't believe you left. And then came to watch."
"Hey, I love a good shit show," Chloe shrugged, "I've been toying with the idea of coming back to Vocal Adrenaline, though."
"Can…can you do that?" Leslie was confused, "Didn't you just transfer?"
"Exactly," Chloe yawned, "All the paperwork's done, which means it's no problem switching back."
"You are… an interesting person, Chloe," Leslie laughed.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a brother to bother," Chloe shrugged once more as she made her way to find Xavier who was speaking with Trina.
"Good job, bestie," Chloe smirked.
"Bestie?! Oh my god you called me bestie!" Xavier was ecstatic, before turning to Trina, "Oh my god the love of my life and my sister who just called me bestie, does life get any better than this?!"
"Honey, you're being dramatic," Trina laughed.
"The only thing that could make this better is…wait, where's Emery?" Xavier suddenly looked around the room, surprised to see who was making their way over to speak to them.
Emery, of course, was sitting alone, still trying to process the fact that nearly everyone else had someone to come tell them they did a good job, but she did not. While normally it wouldn't have bothered her, she couldn't quite shake the thought as someone stood before her.
"Hey," Sophie spoke nonchalantly, "Did you know you were very good? You were one of the best, I think. And I'm not just telling that because God told me to say hi to you because you're all alone."
"Um, thanks Sophie," Emery sort of half laughed, unsure why she was talking to her, especially since they had only met once the day before and it was somewhat awkward when they did.
"Of course, future bestie," Sophie shrugged, "So congratulations. You are somehow meeting all of my standards."
"Your standards for what?" Emery laughed again, confused though she was not unkind, trying to process this whole conversation.
"Oh, you know," Sophie shrugged, but couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as she looked over to her brother, Jude, who was trying to make his way over to speak to both Sophie and Emery but was suddenly stopped.
"Hey," Leah spoke nervously, "Can we talk?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Jude turned to face her, his voice dry, "Why are you here anyway?"
"I thought it would be nice to come support the old gang," Leah tried.
"That was a bad idea," Jude spoke, his voice low, but dangerously cool.
"You don't even know what I want to say to you," Leah sighed out.
"No, you're right," Jude nodded, "But I do know that you lied to everyone, saying you broke up with me when you know that's not true. I know you didn't tell anyone why, either. I also know you bothered Emery a few weeks back about where I was when I was off. Which by the way, if you actually knew anything about me you could probably figure that out on your own."
"Jude," Leah sighed out trying to process everything, realizing the weight of his words, "I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"No. You didn't, you never do," Jude scoffed, "Though I think that's the first time you've ever apologized to me. For anything," He turned to walk away.
"Jude," Leah tried again, but was only left looking at his back as he walked away, turning now to try to find her brother, who, unexpectedly, was speaking to Kendall.
"I know it was you," Oliver spoke to her the moment Holly had left the room.
"What was me?" Kendall laughed, "And do I know you?"
"I know your brother," Oliver raised his eyebrows, only knowing about the drama between her and Ambrose from context clues, "Word on the street is you're the Carmel rumor mill. So I know you ran that story about me on the new show choir gossip blog,"
"Woah, I think you need to calm down," Kendall laughed.
"I don't need to do anything," Oliver spoke, his voice gradually getting more upset, "Did you run it or not?"
"Oh, I absolutely did," Kendall couldn't help but continue to snicker.
"But…why?" Oliver was confused, "And how did you even find out?" He questioned just as all guests were told they had to leave.
"Oh honey," Kendall walked with him to the door, "I didn't find out. I've got an inside source,"
A/N: Per usual, thank you so much if you made it this far! I know there's sort of a LOT to unpack with his chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed! That said there is also going to be even more to unpack in the coming few chapters so I implore that you come and talk to me if you have any comments questions or concerns! Thanks everyone and I'll see you in a few weeks!
Good Morning Baltimore - from Hairspray
As Long As You're Mine - from Wicked
Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
Give It Up - from Victorious
Material Girl - Madonna
Keep It Positive - from Legally Blonde the Musical
Seize the Day - from Newsies
Can't Hold Us - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton
I'm Still Standing - Elton John
Once Upon A December - from Anastasia (musical version)
What I've Been Looking For - from High School Musical
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey / obviously very heavily inspired by the Glee regionals version lol