STAR SPANGLED BANNER
Warnings: Mentions of physical assault.
Principle Figgins walked slowly out from the Mckinley Bench onto the middle of the football field. The small wrinkled Indian man looks so out of place under the harsh glare of the halogen floodlights. Once he reaches the centre of the field he turns to face the stands and taps the microphone in his hands.
"Welcome students and parents to the season opener for the Mckinley Titans." He droned on in a hopeless monotone.
The crowd replied to him with a small smattering of weak applause for the team that finished their season absolute last place the previous year.
"And for the first halftime performance of the year, fresh of their National Championship win last year our cheerleading squad, the Mckinley High Cheerios."
His last words are drowned out by the whole crowd cheering, screaming and clapping, clearly indicating who they are all here to actually see.
"Yes, yes, achievement," he continued once the crowd had died down a bit, raising his free hand in a fist and shaking it. "Now please stay on your feet for the singing of the National Anthem. We have a new student joining us tonight, she just transferred to Mckinley this afternoon and will start with our freshman classes on Monday. Please welcome Miss Rachel Berry."
Figgins was handed a mike stand by an AV nerd and clapped jovially along with most of the crowd as a young girl popped out from the Mckinley bench and began to walk toward him.
Off on the field's sidelines, watching intensely within the sea of red and white wrapped Cheerios, was freshman and "baby" cheerio Quinn Fabray. Quinn eyed this new arrival like a hawk as the short brunette walked away from them to the centre field. She was sporting a very patriotic and 'Mckinley-esk' red dress with a black belt that was coved with gold and white stars. Quinn couldn't tell for sure but the girl looked like she was short in stature and obviously, she wasn't the only one who noticed as she heard her friend Santana lean over to another cheerio, Brittney and say "She looks like a sparkly Hobbit." And they both giggle together.
Rachel finds centre field, grabs the mike off the stand as 2 spotlights from the top of the bleachers pop on, making her dress shimmer and sparkle more as she turns around surveying the crowd with what Quinn could only describe as a 'Megawatt Smile'. The girl beams at everyone for a second or two then, inexplicably her gaze somehow finds Quinn in the herd of cheerleaders and time seems to stop.
Quinn feels like all her air has been sucked from her lungs as she gazes back at this angelic thing of beauty. She notices now that Rachel has a gold headband in her hair and the spotlights are shining off it in such a way that it looks as if the girl has a legitimate halo around her head. All the things Quinn has grown up hearing about love at first sight seems to be ringing around her head and she knows at that moment she won't ever feel something like this ever again. As if acting on its own, Quinn's mouth returns Rachels gaze with as big a smile as Quinn can ever remember giving, so much so that there are tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
Time starts to move again and Rachel raises the mike to her lips and starts to sing.
The whole stadium is stunned into complete silence within the first 2 lines of Star-Spangled Banner. No one has ever heard a teenager sing with that much emotion and power in this small pocket of the USA.
To Quinn it feels like another punch to the gut or to heart, she isn't quite sure which yet, but the blond knows she has never heard something more beautiful. Quinn's conciseness is blasted with the idea that Rachels's voice is the combination of Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé and a Broadway actress she could not remember the name off at the moment.
It takes a monumental effort to pull her eyes away from Rachel but Quinn takes a moment to look around at everyone else's reactions. She sees tears in the eye's of parents and Cheerios alike, she sees both Brittney and Santana's mouths just hanging wide open, looks of absolute shock on their faces and she sees coach Sue Sylvester looking white as a sheet as she watches the tiny diva belt out the final verses of the anthem.
As the final notes ring out and reverberate around the stadium there are a few moments of quiet caused by the state of shock Rachel's singing has put everyone in. Then slowly, but with rapid momentum, a wall of noise rises from every person within the area as they all begin smashing their hands together as powerfully as possible and cheer as loud as they can. Rachel seems to bask in the applause for a few breaths then she shines that megawatt smile to everyone while giving out a few curtsies.
Principal Figgins moves back up beside her and offers her a handshake in thanks. Rachel surprises him with a hug instead that has everyone laughing at his shocked face. After awkwardly patting her on the back he escorts her off the field so they can begin the game.
Quinn knows as she watches Rachel come closer and closer to the Mckinley side of the field, deep down in her soul she needs to be close to her, to become friends with her at least. Her heart was even aching for the possibility of more. Suddenly an idea hits her as the rest of the team are stretching back out to get ready for their sideline performances. She quickly moves over to Coach, who is still watching Rachel walk around the football team towards the stands.
"That girl could be our one-way ticket to Nationals again," Quinn said, loud enough to snap Sue out of her stupor.
"What crap are you yammering about Fabray?" Coach replied, not looking down at her.
"I was just remembering you yelling that you expect the best of the best program Cheerios have ever done this year at cheer camp and thought that if we have a voice like that singing our songs the other squads won't know what hit them."
Sue now turned to face Quinn and fixed her with one of the most powerful glares the blond had ever felt. But as she looked up to her coach's eyes she noticed that coach was also analyzing her, so she set her own features and returned coach's gaze and didn't back down. They held their posture for a moment till coach, still staring daggers at Quinn, barked out:
"Brittney! Front and centre," the other taller blond was there in seconds. "Q you might have stumbled on something we could use. You and B will go see the midget and offer her an invitation but its a trial by fire to see if she is even worth my time. She needs to learn our arrangement by halftime and preform with us tonight." Quinn was shocked. Clearly, Sylvester didn't have much faith that Rachel could work with them, but after hearing Rachel sing, and the emotions she had stirred up inside the blond, Quinn needed to try.
"The rest of you sloppy baby's get to work!" She yelled while looking up at the rest of the squad, and they jumped into action.
Quinn grabbed Brittney's hand and ran off toward where she had last seen Rachel walk off-field and see if she could find the diva with this once in a lifetime opportunity, really hoping to herself she would take it...
Rachel Berry was bouncing up and down holding her dad's hands. She felt like she was on cloud nine after that applause. She really hoped this new school was going to be a fresh start for her and her family. Honestly, she was so happy the two Berry's had been in the right place at the right time this afternoon in Principle Figgins's office.
They had just about finished their registration meeting with him when his secretary had come in saying their usual performer, a girl named Mercedes, had come down with the flu and could not sing the anthem later that night. Of course, Hiram had offered Rachel as an alternative, proudly citing her many points on Rachel's dramatic resume.
Figgins had quickly agreed after Rachel had sung him only a few bars, being quite relieved he did not need to go searching far for a backup plan. He gave the Berry's the details for the evenings game and made sure Rachel had something suitable to represent McKinley. Rachel only replied with one of her dazzling smiles, and nodded, knowing exactly which dress would be suitable.
Rachel is roused from her musings by the appearance of 2 blond cheerleaders bounding in front of her.
The first was quite tall, built like a dancer, with long legs and a youthful face with a big smile that reached right to her eyes. She stepped off to Rachel's right and Rachel could have sworn her heart stopped flat at the sight of the second cheerleader.
This girl was by far the most beautiful human being Rachel had ever seen. Her angelic face was framed by golden hair pulled back into a perfect high pony. Rachel was drawn up into this girl's eyes and could see that she was happily exited on the surface, but as Rachel took a moment to look deeper she could see a hidden pain. She snapped out of the gaze as the taller girl started to talk.
"Hi, Rachel!" She said, very bubbly. "My name is Brittany and this is Quinn, we are with the Cheerios Cheerleading team. You have one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard, it was like listening to an angel. Didn't you think so Quinn?" She said while nudging her counterpart with her elbow.
As Rachel looked to Quinn, she could have sworn she saw a light blush form on Quinn's cheeks and the tips of her almost elf-like ears, but then it was gone as quick as she had noticed it.
"Well, that's pretty much the reason we are here Britt," Quinn said with a smile and reaching out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Rachel."
Rachel returned her smile and handshake. "Nice to meet you both too, care to elaborate on what you mean Quinn?"
"Our coach wants us to offer you an invite into the Cheerios to help us perform and sing our dance numbers. A voice like yours will be the exact thing we need to take us straight to Nationals. In addition, the Cheerios are the leaders at this school so you'll have a group of friends ready to look out for you in this new school."
Rachel was shocked, she would have never expected her performance to garner the attention of the Cheerios. She definitely wasn't going to turn down this gift horse.
"I'm totally in!" She told them excitedly. Then she got a little worried when the girls exchanged a look and a slight grimace.
"There is a bit of a catch," Quinn said quietly looking back at Rachel. "Coach calls it a Trial by Fire. You will need to learn the arrangement and perform with us by half time."
Rachel was through for a bit of a loop. Pretty much less than 20 min to learn a song well enough to perform and impress the rest of the squad and the coach. That was going to be a pretty daunting task. But it only took her another second to realize she really wanted this. She wanted to make some friends who might look out for her and, if she was being completely honest with herself, she really wanted to get to know Quinn better.
"I'm still in," she told the girls putting on her game face. "Do you have recordings and track setups?"
Quinn and Brittany got a bit of whiplash when they looked at each other then back at Rachel with shocked faces. Then Quinn cracked an excited smile again and she reached out for Rachel's hand and began to lead her back to the AV table.
Once the girls were at the table, Rachel settled into the seat and slipped on the headphones while Quinn cued up the practice recording.
After hitting play she stepped back a bit and watched Rachel's reaction to the routine. Quinn was surprised at the level of focus and determination she saw etched into the brunette's features. Only a minute into the recording she was already mouthing the words along with the song. At the 2-minute mark, Rachel must have seen something important or impressive because Quinn watched her mouth give a little smirk and her eyes go wide. Rachel even reversed that section 3 times before finishing off the video. Quinn definitely thought she seemed to be planning something.
Rachel cued the video back to the beginning but didn't hit play. She turned back to the girls.
"I have an idea that will probably blow everyone's mind, including your coach." She said with a smile. "But I'm going to need a few things to pull it off."
"We are here to help Rachel," Brittney said, starting to bounce excitedly beside Quinn.
"Ok, do you have a supply room with spare Cheerios gear?" Brittney nodded happily back at her. "Then I need a pair of red spanks you girls have on, a pair of socks and shoes, size 6 hopefully?" Brittney blasted off like an energizer bunny, en route to the Cheerios locker room.
Quinn looked quizzical down at the other girl. "What on earth are you planning Berry?"
"Can you trust me?" Rachel said, her brown eyes looking up straight into Quinns.
"I don't even know you yet, but I feel like I don't even have a choice."
Rachel flashed Quinn her a megawatt smile and Quinn felt momentarily stunned.
"Do we have any wireless mic?" Rachel asked, shaking Quinn out of the haze of strange emotions Rachel was making her feel.
"I'll get one set up for you," Quinn replied and she hurried off to another table, thankful for the time to try and get a grip on herself.
Rachel turned back to the video and hit play and then closed her eyes and just let the music wash over her. She sat like this for 2 full playbacks of the video while she memorized the song. Then she watched it once more to get the timing exact for what she had in mind. Just as she was finishing Britney came racing back with her supplies. Rachel used the table to block any onlooker's view as she shimmied into the spanks. Then sat back down, toed out of her shimmery golden high heels and into the white Cheerio athletic socks and Adidas. As she finished lacing up, Quinn came back with a wireless mic kit in her hand. Thankfully Rachel had worn a belt with this dress. She cinched it a bit tighter and attached the battery pack to her back. As Brittney helped Rachel attach and tape the mic to her cheek, Quinn was carefully threading the cord down the back of her dress.
Rachel could have sworn she felt Quinn's fingers linger along her back slightly longer than necessary when she adjusted Rachel's zipper. The ghostlike touch of Quinn's fingers left the top of Rachels dress and met the back of her neck, just underneath her hair, and Rachel shuddered slightly, goosebumps forming across her skin. The shudder made Quinn realize what she was doing and she retracted her hands sharply with a quick gasp. Rachel turned slightly to peek at her out of the corner of her eye. Quinn was staring dazed at the ground, wringing her hands in front of her, and her cheeks flushed pink. Rachel turned the rest of the way around and wrapped both her hands around Quinns.
"Everything ok Quinn?" She said to her with a small smile.
"What?" Quinn whispered out, looking up at Rachel very dazed and confused again.
"Are we all set up and ready to go?" Rachel asked quietly, taking a bit of pity on the blond, trying to get her focused on the task at hand.
It took a few more seconds but Quinn shook herself again and her game face slid back into place again. "Yep, you're all wired up and ready to rock."
"Good!" Rachel replied. "The last thing I need from you both is to pass the word to the squad to stay extra focused at the 2 min mark of the routine, not to get distracted by anything else going on."
"No problem." Brittney and Quinn agreed, "Let's head over there now, Quinn and I should warm-up and stretch, halftime is coming up." Brittney continued.
The girls walked together over to the squad. Coach Sylvester watching them like a hawk as they approached. Rachel had the distinct feeling she was being completely analyzed, she even noticed the exact moment when the coach saw she was wearing Cheerio shoes, as her eyes went wide and her face formed a grimace.
"What's going on Q?" She greeted them in a low growl when the girls made it to her.
"Coach Sylvester, meet Rachel Berry," Quinn replied, slightly dodging Coach's questions. "Rachel has accepted your Trial by Fire, and has something special planned."
"Pleased to meet you Coach." Rachel offered her a handshake and a megawatt smile. "Thank you for this chance, I can promise you won't be disappointed."
"Ha," Coach exclaimed, completely ignoring Rachels outstretched hand, "You might have an impressive set of pipes there Little Streisand, and that might have got your little foot in the door, but I completely expect this to be a supreme waste of my time." She glared down at Rachel, but Rachel was secretly empowered by the mention of her idol, so she squared up her shoulders and glared back not backing down under the withering gaze of Sue Sylvester. They held the stare down for a minute, then Coach barked "Q, B lead warmups!" Still not breaking her gaze at Rachel. Another point for the tiny diva Sue secretly mused to herself, she didn't even flinch. The blonds hustled off and Coach finally looked away from Rachel to supervise.
Rachel let out a little breath and then stepped a bit behind Coach and began her own warm-up and stretched, very excited for what was to come.
A few minutes later the horn sounded the end of the quarter. Unsurprisingly the Mckinley Titans were already loosing 21-7, but when the Cheerios were announced and took to the field the groans of the crowd immediately changed to cheers and everyone was on their feet to watch the true spectacle.
Once everyone was in place the crowed calmed just before the music for 'Don't Stop the Music' blasted out of the speakers and the Cheerios launched into action. The squad was flawless as they flipped, jived and danced to the beat. What shocked everyone was Rachel striding out onto the field while singing the lyrics. Once she joined the squad she fit herself in seamlessly, even joining in on the dance moves like she had been practicing them with the squad the whole time.
Another point to Little Streisand thought Coach Sylvester from the sideline.
The moment for Rachel's surprise came closer and she weaved in and out of the squad like they were not even there, slowly moving to the back of the formation, singing the song perfectly the whole time.
Then the 2-minute mark hit, the squad had formed a cascade of bodies pulling and flying from the centre out to both sides evenly but leaving a channel of space down the centre just were Rachel had positioned herself. She took a quick breath and took off with a running start towards the crowd as the opening formed. Suddenly she threw her hands into the ground and was flying through the squad in 3 consecutive gymnast round-offs, on the 3rd she was passed the front of the squad and her momentum was built enough that she coiled her legs and flowed right into the air in a full front flip, her red dress flying behind her like a cape. She landed on her feet and dissipated the last her forward momentum with a hands-free cartwheel that transitioned into the splits on the grass, and resumed the lyrics from there to finish the song. Moments later the squad finished with their final pose.
It was like a localized thunderstorm hit Mckinley. The noise from the crowd was completely deafening and Rachel took a moment, closed her eyes and let it roll over her while she smiled again. She only got a moment before a tall blond swept her right off the grass in a swinging hug! "That was amazing Rachel." Brittney squealed into her ear. As Brittney set her down she was slammed into another hug by another blond. "Holy shit!" Quinn exclaimed. They couldn't say much more because 2 of the base position girls came up behind Rachel and hoisted her up onto their shoulders and they led the squad off the field to the resounding cheers of "Cheerios! Cheerios! Cheerios!" The cheers followed them down into the hallway, echoing around them and only got slightly muffled once they got threw the doors to the change rooms.
Everyone was cheering, clapping and congratulating Rachel on such an amazing routine change.
"Alright, you sloppy baby's!" The whole room instantly went dead quiet as Coach Sylvester slipped into the change room. You could hear a pin drop as Coach waited a moment to draw tension. "Take a moment to welcome your new Cheerio member, then let her explain where the hell those floor skills came from?"
Everyone started laughing, even Coach had a small smirk if anyone cared to notice.
Then the squad began to chant, "Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!"
She graciously smiled, shook some hands, and received some more hugs before they all calmed down a bit so Rachel could explain.
"Thank you, everyone, for this opportunity, honestly if tonight had not happened, tomorrow at school I would have been seeking you out begging for a way to audition. The Cheerios were one of the first things we heard about when we moved here." Everyone laughed again. "All my extracurriculars have been focused around performing since I was 5, so I am professionally trained at a competitive level for singing, dance and floor gymnastics. Last year I was injured pretty badly and couldn't dance or be on the gym floor so I filled that time with choreography/and teaching courses, so I also have certification there as well, not to sound like I'm bragging or anything." And the squad laughed again.
Rachel took a moment to glance around the room at the smiling faces looking at her and she knew now was the time for full disclosure and hopefully what she offered onto the table would be enough, of course, she picked out Quinns face from the crowd smiling back at her and she focused on her to gauge her reaction.
"I really want a chance to be part of this squad, but my past has taught me some hard lessons and I want you girls to know who I am before you bring me in." Rachel kept staring at Quinn as she saw some concern to mask over the smile. "I was injured last year because I was jumped by kids from my old school and beaten pretty badly. I was jumped because my best friend turned on me when I shared with her something I have known about myself since I was 9. I was in the hospital for a month recovering from being attacked because I'm gay."
Suddenly you could hear a pin drop in the Cheerios locker room for the second time that night.
Feb 12/2020
AN: I honestly don't know where to go from here with this story as this was as far as my inspiration took me. Please read and leave a review or some suggestions, just make sure to start the review with (Star Spangled Banner). I'm sorry again for any Grammar or spelling issues, I'm trying to work on them.
Thanks for reading
Tristian